Pot Roast For Les

I promised my friend Les a recipe for pot roast. I've actually already posted one, but I've decided to redo it and make it a bit more accessible.

We're talking easy meal with a minimum of fuss - no more than 30 minutes total prep time that morning (or the night before, depending on how you want to do this), and the dish will be ready for dinner.

The main point is that extended periods of time at low heat are best for breaking down cuts of meat that have a lot of connective tissue. You can get similar results using a Dutch Oven and an oven. In a few ways, using  Dutch Oven might be superior since you can also brown/sear your meat in the same pan, which is something you can't do with a crock pot.

Cuts of beef that are good for slow cooking include the following:

- any cut of beef vaguely identified by the butcher as stew meat;
- beef shank;
- short ribs;
- brisket;
- anything identified as a roast;

NOTE: most cuts identified as steaks are generally better cooked quickly with high heat. However, some cuts are identified as either depending on whether they've been sliced thinly or not. But cuts identified as clod, seven bone, chuck, etc. can be slow cooked with good results even if they're labelled as steaks.

You can place the meat directly into the crock pot, but you can add depth of flavor by searing/browning the outside of the meat first in a pan in a little bit of oil/fat. You can go a bit further by first coating the meat with a light layer of flour. The easiest way to do that is to put a couple of tablespoons of flour, in a plastic bag, add the meat to the bag, seal the bag and then shake the bag allowing the flour to coat the meat. Shake off the excess and heat a pan to very hot - water should sizzle when it hits the pan. Add oil/fat (more on this later) to coat the pan, then sear/brown the meat (waiting until the pan is hot before adding the oil helps to keep things from sticking in the pan.

If this is all too vague, don't worry. A recipe is forthcoming, but know that you can make various substitutions along the way and things will still turn out fine.

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1) Choose a cut of meat.  Seven bone is often the least expensive cut, in part because a lot of it is bone, and there's also often a substantial and should be trimmed away - but not all of it. brisket is also a popular cut, But it's my take that brisket is better if you let it cool and then reheat it and that's a step you can avoid by choosing a different cut of meat. Short ribs are probably going to be a more expensive cut, but the results are so much more unctuous due to how the fat permeates the meat.

Most stores offer them; take an extra plastic bag and put the package inside that.

Call it a minimum of two lbs.

While you are at the grocery store, also pick up (if you don't have any at home):

1 large white onion
1 large carrot

Celery

Garlic
Salt
Pepper

Rosemary  (optional)
Thyme (optional)

Dry red wine (also optional)

Tomatoes (if you don't use wine - I like to add something 'red' but also optional)



2) Optional but recommended. Browning the meat.

Most of the suggested cuts of beef have a significant amount of fat.Trim some of it away. You can use it to grease the pan by heating the fat in the pan. That fat should then be discarded.

Heat a heavy pan skillet to very hot - water should sizzle when you sprinkle a bit onto the pan.

If the pan is not big enough to accommodate the meat, it's ok to cut the meat into appropriate sized chunks.

While the pan is heating, add 2 tablespoons of flour to a plastic bag (the bags you got at the grocery store to get produce are perfect for this). Add the meat to the bag , seal the bag and shake to coat the meat with flour. Shake off excess flour, preferably inside the bag, remove the meat and discard the bag. Season the meat with salt/pepper to taste.ans

Brown the meat in the pan. It's better to do it in batches rather than risk adding too much meat to the pan and bringing down the temperature of the pan to below the browning point.

Place the browned meat in the crock pot. Do not wash out the pan.

3) Adding additional flavors.

There's a famous restaurant in Montreal called Joe Beef. They produced a cookbook which included what they call the Big Mac Theory of Taste Equilibrium. The general idea is that a Big Mac manages to convince your taste buds that it's nutritious prompting to take another bite, but achieving a balance of sweet, salt, fat, acid and bite.

That level of equilibrium is suggestive, so you will reach your own balance point experimenting over time. I suggest you start with the following as a base from which you can adapt:

One large white onion, diced
One carrot, diced

These two ingredients provide sweetness without being obviously sweet.

Garlic cloves (peeled). I don't think you can have too much garlic when it comes to beef.

3-4 stalks of celery, diced.

Herbs that can be added included: thyme, rosemary though I don't recommend both at the same time. a bay leaf, etc.

Something red: a dry red wine, diced tomato, even a can of tomato sauce, or even just some vinegar as part of the acidic component. You can also up the acidic concentration at the end. A spritz of vinegar, lemon juice, even some sour cream will do the trick,

Salt: doesn't have to be salt. There are other potential sources that aren't obvious that also add a depth of flavor that might surprise you, like an anchovy, worcestershire sauce. There's no right or wrong as long as you have balance.

"Bite" can be spicy, but could also be something like ginger. In this case, pepper will do the trick - or you could add a jalapeno to the mix.

Fat is self explanatory. Lean is healthier, but a certain amount of fat contributes to the balance.

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Anyway, dice your vegetables - we're going to leave them in and let break down and thicken the sauce.

Cook the diced vegetables in the same pan, but under low heat, until they change color. Transfer the vegetables to the crock pot.

Add a little bit of liquid (say 1/2 cup of water, stock,wine whatever) to the pan and heat the liquid, scraping the pan clean. (This is known as deglazing). Once all bits have been loosened from the pan, transfer the liquid and loosened bits into the crock pot. Those browned bits add flavor.

Add more liquid to say halfway up the height of the meat. You want to steam the meat more than boil it.

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If there's sufficient room on top, I like to scrub some potatoes (rather than peel them) cut them into 1' chunks and put them on top of the meat in the crock pot. They'll steam while the meat is cooking. I prefer steaming potatoes because they turn out fluffier, and the absorb some of the flavor of the cooking liquid.

When you get home, if you've added potatoes, remove them and  mash/smash the potatoes (preferably by hand with a masher/ricer) with butter and some warm milk - do this while the potatoes are still hot. salt & pepper to taste.

The remaining liquid in the crock pot should be simmering. If it looks thin, you can thicken in by adding a 'slurry' of say 1-2 tablespoons of flour dissolved into a cup of COLD not water. The flour will bind with the fat in the liquid creating a consistency approaching that of gravy.

Let me know if you have any questions.


Bon appetit!

Heads Up

I'm embarrassed to note that it's been over a year since I've posted here. This is bad, since I've been feeding the homeless for over a year now and have come up with a lot of good recipes to feed large crowds on a budget. And given the economic circumstances, frugality will continue to influence my posts.

I generally recommend crimping for fish like salmon, but I always broil the fatty belly cuts; most people find the fatty texture unpalatable, moreover, broiling the fish produces a nicely browned and crispy skin.  There's another cut that's commonly broiled, though you seldom see it served anywhere outside a Japanese restaurant - the collar, or portion of the fish directly behind the gill (usually referred to as "kama"), which, when listed on the menu, generally retails a la carte at $7-8 a pop.

I was passing by the fish section of a neighborhood supermarket when someone came out with a tray of salmon fish heads, priced at $.75 a head. I promptly bought five of them, choosing the ones with the largest sections of collar behind the gill. I made fish head soup with two of them. (There are a couple of good blog posts about how to make salmon head soup Japanese style so I'm going to skip that and proceed to what I did with the remaining three fish heads.

Most people are generally very surprised when i tell them that one of the most tender pieces of a fish is the cheek. Some sushi chefs charge a premium for sushi/sashimi cut from the cheek area. Another delicacy is the eyeball, though not for the squeamish. Overall, there's a high fat content to be found in the head, so I decided to experiment and roast the head along with the collar section.

I have pictures posted on Facebook, which I've made public.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3662559967726.165312.1386527020&type=3

Feel free to refer to them.

Check to see if there's a family resemblance (pic 1)

Dressing the head for broiling. It helps to have a good knife, preferably serrated (see pic 26)

The collar and gills are attached at the front. First disconnect the collar See pics 2-5

The gills are connected just above (pic 6)

Cut the membrane between the gill and the collar (pics 7-9)

Then disconnect the gills at the front (pic 10-11)

Remove the gills (you can leave them in, but it's like eating a used air filter. I'll pass.) pic 11.

The collar section to be removed from the head (pic 12)

Detach the two fins. (pic 13)

Remove the rest of the backbone by making an angular cut on both sides towards the front of the head, then cutting the back bone where it joins the head (pic 14 -16)

The head should then look like so: (pic 17)

Amuse yourself for a few minutes by playing with the fish head. If you're alone, you can just use your finger and pretend it's a tongue (pics 18-19) If someone else is home, you can work the jaw up and down and practice your bullwinkle imitation...

When you're done amusing yourself, then make a cut along the bottom revealing the inside (20-21)

Complete the severing of the head by cutting to either side of the extension of the spine (pic 22)

You now have another chance to amuse yourself by playing dueling fisheads: (pics 23-24)

Pat pieces dry and place skin side down on your grilling tray. (pic 25)

Sprinkle with salt and pepper (i used seasoning salt) (pic 27)

Broil in preheated oven for about 8 minutes.(you don't have to wear your won Secret Asian Men t-shirt, but I wish you'd buy one) (Pic 28) (and next time, remember to close the laundry curtain in the background)

Flip pieces and broil until skin becomes crispy, approximately 5 minutes. (pics 29-32)

Drizzle fish with a small amount of ponzu sauce and devour (pics 33-35). Be prepared to use your fingers and have wetnaps handy.

if you don't have ponzu (frankly, you should), ok. but even storebought ponzu typically pales in comparison with the ponzu you'll find in a sushi restaurant where the chef makes it himself. chefs are typically reluctant to share their recipes, but you can make your own and the following recipe i found online isn't bad:

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/recipe-of-the-day-ponzu-sauce/

I found myself thinking, it'd be a waste to let the fish fat left on rack go to waste, so i trimmed the bottoms off a bunch of asparagus, topped it with a little minced bacon., and broiled that for about 5 minutes. It was pretty good. (pics 33-34)

So if you see salmon heads for sale, grab as many as you can, and enjoy.

the asian version of carbonara

been a little busy working on building up a new business: www.secretasianmen-LA.com, but since i didn't stop eating, i shouldn't have stopped blogging; busy-ness is part of what drives this blog - the belief that it's possible to eat well despite minimal resources of time & money, combined with the idea that we as people of different cultures have more in common than we sometimes realize.

i've been eating a lot of tamago kake gohan (japanese for "egg over rice") lately. it's typically eaten for breakfast - cooked rice either mixed or topped with raw egg, often with a dash of soy sauce. raw yolk with a cooked starch isn't all that uncommon - sunny side up on a slice of toast, and of course, pasta alla carbonara, although a carbonara recipe typically also includes cheese and a cured fatty pork to increase the overall richness, but the bottom line is the combination of raw egg to give a cooked starch a creamy mouth-feel - if you've never had it, try breaking a raw egg over hot mashed potatoes. if the raw egg white makes you a little squeamish, use an egg cooked sunny side up or over easy.

there is no set recipe - the rice can be hot or cold  (i prefer hot), the egg can be whole or beaten - and mixed with the soy sauce while beaten (if you don't have soy sauce, you can add a little salt). toppings can be added for contrast or to complement the flavor and texture of the rice and egg: avocado,  minced green onion, kimchi, minced nori (dried seaweed), natto (fermented soybeans), etc.just don't overdo it. i used nam pla plik (chiles in fish sauce) last night. it's wasn't sensational, but it was a nice change of pace, and i was out of kimchi (which i make myself). for those with more western sensibilities, don't be afraid to experiment. for those of you with a sweet tooth - i've heard that some folks like to add a little sugar to their soy sauce before mixing it in - you may want substitute ketchup for the soy sauce. if you like carbonara, bacon bits?

the quintessential part of the recipe is preparing the rice properly, because it affects the texture. rice should washed in cold water  & drained, repeating as needed until the water rinses clear. rice should be soaked for at least 30 minutes before cooking - especially if the rice is not long grain.

while having a rice cooker simplifies the steaming/absorption process, a cooker is not needed;  a heavy pot with a tight lid will do. the general rule of thumb is two parts liquid to one part rice in terms of volume. bring the contents of the pot to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to lowest possible setting, and let it cook for about 20 minutes. uncover, fluff, and re-cover for five minutes.

Chimichurri cheeseburger

Chimichurri is Argentinian in origin and is similar to pesto, but most often used as a marinade or a sauce for grilled steak. The common ingredients are parsley, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, while variants may include ingredients such as oregano, cumin, red peeper flakes, etc. But it's the garlic that is pretty much a quintessential complement to grilled beef - even hamburger.

Thicker hamburgers (1/2 lb) can be a challenge to cook properly - it's not difficult to char the outside yet and have a raw interior, yet cooking it thoroughly risks a result resembling a hockey puck. And if you want a cheeseburger, you have to add the cheese near the end, and more often than not, you lose some of it down the sides where it burns/drips and is generally wasted.

My solution to guaranteeing a tasty cheeseburger - putting the cheese *inside* the burger.

I like my burgers on the fluffy side - when you form your patties, you should *not* compact them - kinda like with rice when you are making nigiri - it should just barely clump together. But to make a stuffed cheeseburger, you'll have to find a balance between a loose clump and a firm enough pressure so as to keep the "stuffing" from leaking out.

You can probably go as small as a 1/4 pounder, but a 1/3 lb per patty is about the smallest I like when I stuff a burger. Take the meat and form it into a bowl shape. Place a piece of cheese (preferably sharp cheddar, but whatever you have will do).

Here's where the chimichurri comes in. I then add 1/2 tsp of minced parsley, minced garlic to taste, a dash of oregano and a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar, then top with another piece of cheese. Then fold over the "rim" of the bowl, enclosing ingredients inside. Grill/cook as usual.

Because the center is somewhat hollow, it cooks more quickly, and with the cheese in the middle, it's guaranteed to be moist on the inside, nice and garlicky.

1/3 lb. ground beef
parsley (if you don't have it, try cilantro)
garlic (can't skip this though)
balsamic vinegar (any vinegar or even lemon juice will probably work)
oregano (optional)
cumin (optional)
red pepper (optional)
cheese (preferably cheddar)

Corn & Potato Chowder - crockpot version

The weather forecast was for rain so the choice was pretty simple, a soup made in the crockpot. i often use the crockpot to make rice porridge ("jook"),  as befitting my asian roots, but it might surprise you as much as i to discover that China has been the world's largest producer of potatoes for a number of years.

The recipe is pretty straightforward - dice about 8 medium sized russet potatoes (you may peel them, but i prefer to just scrub them and keep the skins on for the additional fiber and nutrients (including phytonutrients which are a natural source of antioxidants. On the flip side, potato crops might be sprayed with pesticides which could be concentrated in the potato skins. If that weighs heavily on you, go with organically grown potatoes.). As medium sized is equivocal, I will guesstimate a volume of about 8 cups of diced potatoes.

Place them in the crockpot (assuming you have a 5+ qt crockpot), and add a 1 lb bag of frozen corn.

You could get away with using ham, but the traditional chowders use bacon, and I love to saute my aromatics in the rendered bacon fat before adding them to the crockpot, especially since i have a market nearby that sells the bacon end cuts for about a third of the per lb cost (something like $1.29 /lb) of regularly packaged bacon which seems to sell for about $4/lb nowadays.

Take about a cup of diced bacon and saute it gently in a pan and remove the bacon once it has cooked but not yet become crispy and add the bacon to the potatoes & corn already in the crockpot. If you have and like carrot, dice one and saute it in the bacon grease. After a couple of minutes, add 1 diced onion (call it 1.5-2 cups in volume) along with 2 peeled cloves of garlic to the pan and continue to saute until the carrot is soft. Add the sauteed aromatics (which will have absorbed most of the bacon grease) to the crockpot. Now add flour to the pan (volume should be comparable to the amount of grease remaining in the pan - we are now making a roux to thicken the chowder, but also add depth of flavor) and continue to stir gently over low heat until flour starts to brown (note: you should already have some "brown" in the pan due to the caramelization of the onion/carrot mixture). Add 1 cup water, bring the heat to medium and deglaze the pan, loosening any bits that may have been stuck to the pan. Add the contents of the pan to the crockpot. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Add an additional 3 cups of liquid (some combination of water & chicken bouillion, chicken broth, chicken stock, etc. works for me. Purists may prefer milk/cream but I think my roux and the bacon fat are sufficient in terms of flavor - and this is a poor man's chowder anyway), set the crockpot on low, and come back in 6-8 hours. The result may appear to be a bit watery for chowder. To thicken it, dissolve 1/2 cup flour in the same volume of COLD water, and add the resulting slurry to the crockpot and let the flour heat through.

8 cups diced russet potatoes
one 1 lb. bag of frozen corn
1 cup diced bacon
1 cup diced carrot (optional)
1-2 cups diced onion
2 peeled garlic cloves
flour
water
3 cups chicken bouillion/stock/broth

which will result in about 3 quarts of chowder - plenty for guests and neighbors, and it's even better the next day..

Cooking - H to O

Today's entry is about cooking with water (H2O, get it?), but using a fairly obscure method known as crimping.

I will suppress the geek in me and just say that protein changes (denatures) when it reaches a certain temperature. Surprisingly, proteins can denature at temperatures as low as about 107 degrees fairenheit (which is why fevers up around 105 are pretty serious and it's important to get the body temperature down). The geek in me wants to blurt out that the major structual protein in muscle (myosin) denatures from 113-131 degrees, while egg whites denature at about 160 degrees.

Poaching (subjecting them to a temperature of 212 degrees) for a sufficient length of time guarantees that denaturing occurs; the problem is that other components of food  also change permanently when certain temperatures are reached. This is really important when you cook oily fish such as salmon whose fats have really low volatilty points - that's why salmon gives off its distinctive odors when cooked at higher heats and stinks up your kitchen.

The solution - crimping. I believe it's a french term, but when i googled it, it only came up after 4-5 pages due to the number of entries about crimping pie crusts.

More geek stuff - specific heat - defined as the amount of heat required (per unit mass) to raise the temperature one degree celsius. Water has the highest specific heat than any other common substance, which makes it a great choice for temperature regulation (like in a radiator - the problem is water's relatively high freezing point, which is why we have to use antifreeze in colder climates).

The bottom line is to heat water to a certain temperature and then let the water transfer its heat to the object immersed in the water. The immersed object can not reach a temperature above the temperature of the water, while the water temperature gradually decreases as heat is transferred to the immersed object.

Practical application: cooking salmon

Use a pan of sufficient size to allow one to lay the salmon flat in the pan - and add enough liquid to ensure that when the salmon is added, it will be covered by about 3/4" or so. (Note: it doesn't have to be just water, for salmon, I like to use a 1/2 dry white wine, 1/2 water combination, with a pinch of tarragon.). Heat the liquid in the pan until the water just starts to bubble, (assuming you are at sea level) which is the start of simmering temperature at about 185 degrees, Add the salmon to the pan. The initial addition of the fish to the pan absorbs a significant amount of specific heat, so keep the pan over the medium heat for about a minute, then remove the pan from the heat, and cover the pan and let it sit for about 20 minutes. That's it!

It's foolproof - the salmon never gets subjected to a temperature higher than about 180 degrees, and cooks gently until the temperature of the fish reaches the temperature of the water. And while that's all going on, you are free to devote yourself to the preparation of the remainder of the meal - or entertaining your guests.

If you want to be fancier, you can prepare a court bouillon by including aromatics such as onion, carrot in the liquid, etc, and let the liquid simmer for a bit before letting it cool, straining the liquid and reheating, but if you have a quality piece of fish, let it do all the heavy lifting in terms of flavor.

Either way, the cooking liquid will be full of flavor and shouldn't go to waste. You can make a very simple sauce for the fish by removing the liquid from the pan (save half for later), and add 1 TBLS (tablespoon - which is THREE (3) teaspoons (TSP), NOT two (2)) each of butter and flour, and make a roux by heating gently and stirring for about a minute. Add the cooking liquid a little at a time, stirring to ensure a smooth consistency. Or even simpler, remove half the liquid, and then reduce the remaining liquid (heating so that liquid evaporates, concentrating the flavor) to half it's original volume, then melt a little butter into the reduction. Add a little lemon juice or balsamic vinegar to taste.

This technique works for just about any type of fish/seafood, although a little common sense is required; a single scallop into 5 quarts of liquid is definitely overkill, and fish that's dense like swordfish is going to need a longer period over heat after adding the fish (but if you do choose to experiment with swordfish, try grapefruit juice as part of the cooking liquid).
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and since i'm still here - you can ensure perfectly cooked "hard boiled" eggs by employing the same concept - as I mentioned before, egg white denatures at about 160 degrees, but at higher temperatures, that ugly green tint forms around the yolk. so for a perfectly cooked egg with a lovely yellow yet fully cooked yolk:

place eggs in *cold* (keeps eggs from cracking) water in saucepan, with enough water to keep eggs immersed. over medium heat, heat until water begins to simmer (bubbles forming). immediately remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 20-30 minutes. remove eggs and place in cold water (which facilitates removing the shell without sticking).

Crockpot Pork Chili Verde

I love crockpot cooking because the prep time is minimal compared to cooking time, and you don't have to be fussing about when you are hosting guests. So I adapted a combination of recipes to create my crockpot version of pork chili verde, which is probably as much a stew as anything else. I've had friends who've lived in costa rica tell me it tastes just like what they ate there. I'm not sure how to take that since I thought that pork chili verde was mexican in origin.

I fly by the seat of the pants kind when it comes to cooking. This will probably infuriate those who need to know the precise quantities of things.

There are a number of different green chilies you can use: pasilla/anaheim, serrano, jalapeno, habanero. I like spicy so I almost always include jalapenos. I may include a regular green pepper or two if they're on sale. My secret touch is to slice all the peppers into 1" pieces (avoid touching the white pith running down the middle - that's where the capsaicin - alkaloid that we perceive as being spicy- is concentrated.) and blacken them in an iron skillet over high heat (no oil) in lieu of roasting them over an open flame. it's a good idea to have the hood fan going if you have one - the vapors coming up off those peppers can be brutal if you inhale them. The blackening of the peppers does seem to affect the flavor.

After blackening the peppers and placing them in the crockpot, use the same pan to brown the pork. I personally don't mind if the meat is a little fatty - it's not necessarily healthy, but it sure does taste better. If you choose to trim some fat off the meat, don't discard all of it. The size of the pieces should be roughly bitesized, but i tend to let the crockpot cook until the meat is tender enough to separate with a fork, I won't bother if I'm using country style ribs. This is optional, but I like to place the meat in a plastic bag, add 1/4 cup of flour and do the ol' shake & bake thing to lightly coat the pork with flour, as it helps to brown the meat, and that flour also binds with fat during the cooking time to thicken the cooking liquid. Brown the meat in batches (salt & pepper to taste) (too much meat in the pan lowers the pan temperature and inhibits browning) and place meat in crockpot. The meat will be in layers. I like to alternate the sprinkling of oregano and cumin between each layer.

If you have any leftover pork fat, place some in the pan over medium heat. Some of the fat will have been transformed to liquid, remove the solid fat. If you don't have the pork fat, use olive oil.

Saute 1-2 onions (cut into 1" chunks) & 5-6 peeled cloves of garlic in the pan until onions change color. Add to crockpot.

Add about 6 tomatillos sliced into about 1" chunks to the crockpot. (If you want to add green pepper, do it here) I like to add a dark beer and a couple of chicken bouillion cubes to the mix, YMMV. it makes the whole thing a little soupy. But as I prefer to eat this over rice, sauce works for me, and I will thicken the liquid by adding a slurry of 1/4 flour dissolved in 1/2 of COLD water, 1/2 hour before the pork is done. The flour binds with any fat that hasn't already bound with the flour that was browned with the meat forming a poor man's roux, and acts as a thickening agent.

Top with minced cilantro when ready - some recipes say put it in, but I personallly don't care for the result that way.

If the result is a bit too spicy for your taste, I recommend  yogurt or sour cream - the milk proteins counteract the capsaicin alkaloids. I also would recommend sour cream if it seems too salty for whatever reason - sour cream with its relatively high acidity will reduce the apparent saltiness.

Chllies - call it 2 pasillas, 4 jalapenos 4 serranos

Pork - call it 4 lbs.

White Onion - 1 large, or 2 small

Garlic cloves (6)

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Cumin (approx 1 tsp)

Oregano (approx 1 tsp)

Tomatillos (6-8)

Optional:

Green pepper (1-2)

1 bottle dark beer

Chicken bouillion

Cilantro garnish