Hot Smoked Salmon

I've been a big fan of Hot Smoked Salmon since I was a kid growing up in Seattle. It was a big treat to get a hunk of it at the Public Market early on a Saturday morning for consumption with cheese and crackers later in the day while watching a game on TV.

Great Smoked Salmon is easy to make if you are patient and have the right recipe. It all starts off with a nice piece of fresh fish. Even though I'm not a fan of farmed Salmon I do find it to be a pretty good product for smoking because of its uniformity in size and affordability. Alaskan Sockeye is another good choice when in season and on sale.

Salmon & Marinade

I like to marinate my fish in a smoky alcohol for an hour before moving on to the dry cure stage. It cleans up the fish and helps keep the albumin in check. It also imparts a little flavor while helping the cure do a better job. 

• 3 lb Skinless Salmon Fillet
• 1/2 cup Scotch, Irish Whiskey, Mezcal, or Bourbon

The Dry Cure

The two important ingredients are brown sugar and salt. You can stop right there if you want. The other spices altered any way you wish. The pink salt is simply a preservative that adds a really nice color to fish. The key is to deliver a product that has a lot of flavor without being too salty. If you are using a skinless filet the curing process will take 4-5 hours. The longer you leave the cure on the saltier the fish will taste. If your filets are skin on then double the curing time.

• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Kosher Salt
• 1 tbs Pink Salt
• 2 tbs Black Peppercorns
• 1 tbs Juniper Berries
• 1 tbs Ground Cloves
• 1 tbs White Pepper
• 1 Star Anise
• 2 Bay Leaves 

The Rest

After the curing is done you rinse the cure off the fish and set the filets on a wire rack to dry for at least 2 hours. I go the extra step. I let it dry overnight to develop a great pellicle. The pellicle is a skin that forms on the surface of the fish which allows the smoke to not only be absorbed better by the filet but also look a lot better when the smoking is finished. Feel free to season the fish with pepper and dried garlic.

The Smoke

I go with a 3 hours per inch rule on Salmon in the smoker at around 200-225 degrees. The lower the temperature the longer you can expose the salmon to the smoke without drying out the fish. Once the filet reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees it is done. Alder is the traditional wood for smoking salmon. Apple and Cherry and fruitwoods work well too. Hickory and pecan in general are too strong for fish.

Slice and Serve

As soon as it comes out of the smoker it is fair game for immediate eating but the best way to handle it is to let cool on the wire racks to room temperature and then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. Once it is cool it is ready to slice and serve.

• Apple or Alder Wood Chips

Braised Korean Short Rib Taco's

Boneless short ribs are one of my favorite things to make for dinner parties because because you can make them way ahead of time and they always turn out great. They also have a lot of flexibility in how you prepare, flavor, and serve them.

Today we are going to do a slow cooked version of Korean Barbecue Short Ribs that just melts in your mouth with a beefy sweetness. These ribs have all the flavor of the quick grilled Kalbi variety but they are lot more tasty and versatile in how you can use them.

Braised Korean Short Ribs

5 pounds of boneless short ribs

10 cloves of chopped garlic

fresh cilantro

fish sauce

1/4 cup fresh ginger

1 cup light soy sauce

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/8 cup sesame oil

4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 fuji apples

1 diced japanese pear

1 diced medium onion

sesame seeds

garlic powder

salt and pepper

3 1/2 cups beef broth

Preheat oven to 275^o F. Season ribs generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In an 8-quart Dutch oven, heat oil to high. In batches, brown ribs on all sides, about 20 minutes total. Transfer ribs to a plate and pour off all but 2 Tablespoons fat from pot.

Add onions, apples, pears, ginger, and garlic. Cook until soft which should take about five minutes. 

Add beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Return the ribs to the pot and bring to a rapid simmer, cover, and place pot in the oven. Cook until meat can be easily pierced with the tip of a pairing knife, about 3 hours. 

With a slotted spoon, transfer ribs to a large straight-sided skillet; discard solids by pouring/straining liquid through a sieve or strainer. 

Skim off fat from cooking liquid. If you have time, place liquid in the refrigerator for a little while, making it easier to discard the fat that will accumulate on top.

Korean Short Rib Taco's

Once we get these puppies cooked off I like to shred them and use them to make asian taco's with the following toppings.

White corn tortilla's
Fresh chopped cilantro
Fresh chopped scallions
Fresh shredded cabbage
Shredded white radish
Fresh chopped jalapeno

Asian-Style Salsa

The ribs are going to have a lot of flavor on their own so what you are trying to do is come up with some type of sauce that will help compliment rather than over power the toppings.

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup sweet-hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup chopped pineapple
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped tomato
2 tsp sriracha sauce

2 tbs. mirin

1 tbs. Asian sesame oil

Beef Short Rib Pastrami Reuben Sandwiches

I have spent the last year trying to raise my talent level when it comes to smoking and curing various types of meats and sausages. It is amazing how much better home cured meats are in comparison to the majority of stuff you buy at stores and deli's.

I am an absolute corned beef and pastrami fiend. One recipe that has been a big hit has been making pastrami or corned beef out of beef short ribs. You can corn/pickle any cut of beef but traditionally the brisket is what you use for corned beef and the tougher navel cut of the brisket is what is reserved for pastrami.

I like using short ribs for pastrami because they have better marbling than todays briskets and they don't have the gristle associated with the navel cut. Better marbling means better flavor. It creates a product that absorbs and distributes the smoke and spices better.

Texture is another big part of why this recipe is so special. When you slow cook a beef short rib good things happen as everything begins to break down. The texture of the final product is very similar to a firmer pot roast with more surface area to develop more crust and intense flavors.

This recipe is pretty simple. You assemble your own blend of pickling spices and briefly toast them in a frying pan to wake up the flavors. You then make a couple of quarts of seasoned brine with the spices and marinate the meat for a few days until it is pickled/cured.

The not so secret ingredient to this brine is either pink salt or a product called Morton's Tender Quick. The nitrates are what helps preserve the meat and gives it the vibrant looking red color corned beef and pastrami is known for.

You can also achieve similar results by using a dry curing rub on the short ribs. I've made it both ways and so far the majority of tasters have picked the pickle/brine method as their favorite because I think it is less intense and salty.

The Tender Quick Brine

2 quarts of water
2 cups Morton Tender Quick
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp whole coriander
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ground ginger
15 whole juniper berries
6 tbsp pickling spice
Fresh ground coriander, smoked paprika, and black pepper to taste

Start off by lightly toasting your spices in a heated frying pan to open up and refresh their flavors. Add all the ingredients with the exception of the short ribs to two quarts of boing water and let cool to room temperature.

Once the brine has cooled down pour it over the short ribs and cure them for a couple of days in a zip lock bag.  The rule of thumb is it will take 7-10 days of curing for every vertical inch of meat on a slab of brisket. Short ribs cure faster because they are cut up into smaller pieces which means the brine can get at them and into them a lot easier than with a solid piece of brisket.

The longer you soak the ribs in the brine the saltier they are going to be when you take them out. It is a matter of taste but I usually rinse them and soak them in water for four hours to remove the excess salt before I smoke them.

The Pastrami Crust

2 tbsp coarse ground coriander seed
2 tbsp coarse ground black peppercorns
2 tbsp smoked hungarian paprika

Once the short ribs are cured it is time to season and smoke them. I briefly toast black peppercorns and coriander  seeds before grinding them before blending the mixture with smoked paprika. This creates the distinctive spicy crust that generously dusts the short ribs. I smoke them at 225 degrees over applewood for three hours.

I finish them in the oven by braising them in a mixture of a little water (1/2 inch) and some Dr. Pepper for another three hours at 300 degree's while covered in the oven. If you want a nice crispy crust on top take the foil off 30 minutes from the finish.

Short Rib Pastrami Reuben's

5 pounds pastrami style beef short ribs
Sliced rye bread
Swiss cheese
Sauerkraut with caraway seeds
Russian dressing
2 tbsp butter

Take them out of the oven and let them stand for around twenty minutes to cool off. Once cooled you can then start making sandwiches out of them. I find that each individual short rib is good for two very healthy sized sandwiches. I don't even slice it because it is so tender that it just breaks up on its own like pulled pork.

Butter the rye bread and begin grilling it with the swiss cheese on one side and russian dressing with steamed sauerkraut on the other. Add a healthy portion of the warm pastrami on the side with the sauerkraut and russian dressing and top with the slice of bread that has the melted cheese.

To make this sandwich really sing you need to make your own Russian dressing. It is different than the thousand island dressing you get in the stores. Just combine the ingredients as listed below and you are good to go!

Russian Dressing

1/2 cup mayonaise
2 tbsp chili sauce
1 tbsp pickle relish
1 tbsp horseradish
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp tabasco sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce

If you aren't a fan of rye bread try this with one of those La Brea Bakery torta's that you can get at Costco. I still butter and grill the Torta but I finish the sandwich in a panini press so that the outside is a crispy and buttery 360 of goodness!

I like serving these sandwiches with a little potato salad, cole slaw, or even just a handful of potato chips along side a kosher dill quarter. A nice hoppy beer such as a really cold IPA helps wash it down and compliment the flavors.

Pâté Forestier au Genièvre

On a recent trip to Napa Valley my wife and I sampled some great champagne and nibbled on some of the countries most celebrated Charcuterie. I commented to her that I could make it at home and promised to do it when we returned home from our trip.

She absolutely loves the taste of truffles (who doesn't) so I decided that Pâté Forestier au Genièvre would be a good one to make for her. The keys to making a great Pâté starts with the quality of the ingredients, patience, and diligence of the person making it to follow a few simple rules.

Rule #1 - Cut your meat up into chunks, salt it lightly, and partially freeze it before grinding it. If you do this you will come out with a much better texture.

Rule #2 - Toast your spices in a pan and grind them fresh. If you do this the aromatic flavors will just pop in any recipe that you do.

Rule #3 - Make the mix a day ahead and let the flavors develop before assembling and cooking.

Rule #4 - Fry up a dab of the mix the next day and give it a taste to test your seasonings. If it doesn't taste right adjust the seasonings.

Rule #5 - Use a meat thermometer to make sure that you finish at around 160 degrees. You want to make sure that the Pâté is smooth and doesn't crumble. If the temperature is too high all the fat will leave and you will end up with a dry and crumbly terrine.

All the course ground Pâté I make has the same base recipe. The difference between most of them is simply the garnish or what I like to call the money shot. This is where you really get a chance to shine and make things stand out.

Pâté Forestier au Genièvre 

"Course Ground Meats"

1 lb 2 oz Pork Belly
1/4 lb Ground Pork
1/4 lb Ground Veal
1/8 lb Ground Pancetta 

"The Wrapper"

12 slices Prosciutto

"The Binder"

2 Diced Shallots
6 Fresh Garlic Cloves
1/2 cup Diced Onion
1/4 cup Cognac
4 Chicken Livers
2 tbsp Port
1/4 Cup heavy cream
1 Egg 

"The Spices"

1 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tbsp Juniper Berries
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Coriander Seed
1/2 Stick Cinnamon Bark

1 tbsp Course Ground Pepper
2 tbsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Pink Salt 

"The Money Shot"

Truffle Salt
Mushrooms
Truffle Oil
1/2 cup toasted Walnuts
1 Tbsp Sherry

Cut the meat into chunks and partially freeze. Once meat is around 70% frozen grind it using the course blade.

Marinate chicken livers in cognac a minimum of three hours then combine in food processor with the garlic, shallots, onion, port, cream and egg to form the binder.

Toast Black Pepper, Juniper Berries, Coriander, Cinnamon Bark, and Cloves. Grind them fresh and combine with the Ginger, Nutmeg, Thyme, Salt, and Pink Salt to make the Pâté spice blend.

Combine the ground meat, binder, spices and blend together in a non reactive container. Refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend together

(I like making a dozen small individual terrines every time I make up a batch of this. We eat a couple and them vacuum pack and freeze the rest. It is great to have something homemade and elegant like that in your freezer that you can thaw out quickly and serve to guests.)

The next day you want to toast up half a cup of walnuts in a pan and then chop them up.

Next you saute your mushrooms with a little olive oil. Finish with sherry and truffle salt. Once the mixture cools add truffle oil to build the flavor. Mix mushrooms and walnuts with the forcemeats.

Line twelve mini loaf pans with plastic cling wrap. Drape the slice prosciutto lengthwise in each pan. Fill each pan with the mixture and wrap up with the prosciutto.

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Place the loaf pans in a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with boiling water until it reach half way up (water-bath) the mini loaf pans. Cover the roasting pan with foil and cook until the Pate reaches 135 degrees. At that point take off the foil and cook until it reaches a temperature of 160 degrees which allows the prosciutto to crisp up a bit.

Take it out of the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Take them out of the molds and remove any excess fat. Wrap tightly in cling wrap and refrigerate overnight while weighted down.

Spicy Chicken Fried Steak

Chicken Fried Steak isn't the most diet friendly menu item on the planet. I like it every once in awhile because it is very tasty, inexpensive, and fairly easy to make. I dress it up big time with country sausage gravy, biscuits, and smashed potatoes on the side. Sometimes I add a couple of Chipolte peppers with Adobo sauce to the gravy when I want to take it up a notch.

Spicy Chicken Fried Steak

3 pounds Cube Steak
1-1/2 cup Milk for the egg wash 
2 Cups Milk for the Gravy
2 Eggs
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Canola Oil
Cajun Seasoning
One tube of Bob Evans Hot Sausage
Chipolte pepper with Adobo sauce (Optional)
As much black pepper as you can stand
Salt

Start off by seasoning the cube steak with salt and a lot of black pepper. Let it rest for an hour or so. Combine flour, panko, bread crumbs, Cajun seasoning, and black pepper to make the breading.

Make your egg wash by whisking together two eggs and milk. Dip one piece of meat in the egg wash and then give it a dip in the flour/panko/bread crumb mixture followed by another dip in the egg wash followed by a final dip in the flour/panko/bread crumb mixture. Repeat the procedure until all the meat is breaded.

Heat up a skillet and fry up the sausage and set aside when finished reserving the oil to fry the steak in. Add Canola oil to sausage drippings and bring up to approximately 375 degrees. Fry the steak while trying not to overcrowd the pan. Drain the excess oil from them when finished by placing the steaks on paper towels


Now it is time to make your gravy.  Add 1/4 cup grease back to the pan. Allow grease to heat up.
Sprinkle 1/3 cup flour evenly over the grease. Using a whisk, mix flour with grease, creating a golden-brown paste. Keep cooking until it reaches a deep golden brown color.

Whisking constantly, pour in milk. Cook to thicken the gravy. Be prepared to add more milk if it becomes overly thick. Add sausage, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until gravy is smooth and thick.

Throw the steaks on a plate, smother the steaks and potatoes with country gravy, and have a decadent chow down.

Making Beef Jerky

Beef Jerky is really easy to make if you have a smoker or food dehydrator. I have been recently experimenting with it lately and have been pretty pleased with the results.

Top Round Beef Jerky

5 lbs - thinly sliced top round
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
2 teaspoons fine ground black pepper
1 tablespoon granulated onion or onion powder
2 teaspoons granulated or powdered garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 level teaspoon pink salt
1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar

Partially freeze the meat and thinly slice against the grain at approximately 1/4" thick. I use a meat slicer because that keeps everything uniform so it dries evenly in the dehydrator. Mix marinade and marinate/cure for at least 12 hours.

Dehydrate at 160 degree's until it is dry but not brittle. Drying time varies due to thickness of the meat, humidity in the air, and the type of dehydrator you are using. Once it has cooled you can either vacuum seal it or store it in a zip lock in the fridge.

The Best Hangtown Fry

The Hangtown Fry originated in the gold fields of California back in the 1850's. Legend has it that a miner struck it rich and went into a restaurant in Placerville, Ca and asked for the most expensive meal that they could make. The combination of fried oysters, eggs, bacon and cream was what they were able to come up with.

Our version isn't the original but I think you are going to like it a lot better even though you have to go through a couple of extra steps to assemble what is basically a frittata. We layer this dish in a way that doesn't allow any of the ingredients to overwhelm each other.

One pint extra small shucked oysters
1/2 lb of diced bacon
2 cups sliced mushroom
1 cup diced fried potato
1 cup diced onion
1 tbsp chopped garlic
3 cups fresh spinach
6 eggs
Tabasco
1/4 cup  whole cream
Nutmeg

1/4 cup butter

Oyster Breading

Buttermilk
Flour
Panko Bread Crumbs
Cornmeal
Salt and Pepper to taste

Soak the oysters overnight in buttermilk.

Preheat oven broiler to high.

Fry the bacon in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat until almost crisp. Remove the bacon and fry the potatoes until crisp with the onions and set aside with  the bacon. Dredge the oysters in a mixture of flour, panko, and corn meal and deep fry for 90 seconds and set aside.

Add the potatoes, onions, spinach, mushrooms, garlic to a hot pan. Saute for a few minutes in hot butter then whisk in the eggs, cream, tabasco, and nutmeg. Fold into the pan while stirring at medium heat in the same you would make an omelet.

Broil in oven until eggs are set than take out and top with fried oysters, bacon, and Parmesan cheese. Place the frittata back under the broiler to finish cooking.

Divide into 4 portions and serve hot.

Langostino's in Taso Cream Sauce over Fried Polenta

We recently have had access to some nicely priced large bags of cooked and frozen Langostino's at our local Costco. Langostino's are tasty little slipper lobsters that are excellent in stews, soups, and pasta dishes. If you don't have access to langostino's just substitute some shrimp or scallops.

This is a great dish that has multiple levels of flavors and texture that is really easy to make. If you serve this at a dinner party people are going to really freak out because this is really good and it looks really pretty on the plate.

Fresh Polenta is something I really love to eat. There are just so many ways you can go with it. In this dish we keep it pretty basic but add some texture and color with the sun dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, and garlic.

Langostino's in Taso Cream Sauce

1 lb langostino's
2 finely diced red peppers
1 small finely diced onion
2 stalks finely diced celery
1 tbsp crushed garlic
2 oz finely diced Taso Ham
1/4 cup butter
1 cup whole cream
Worcestershire sauce (to taste)
Cajun seasoning (to taste)

Dice celery, onions, peppers finely using a food processor. Melt butter in sauce pan and saute taso ham, crushed garlic, diced celery, onions, and red peppers until the onions are translucent. Add the Cajun seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Add cream and bring to temperature without boiling and add the langostino's.

Serve over homemade fried polenta....see below.

Fried Polenta

1 cup yellow corn meal
4 cup water
2 tbsp butter
2 oz parmesan cheese
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1 tbsp crushed garlic
2 tbsp finely diced sun dried tomato
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Bring four cups of water to a boil and then slowly add one cup of corn meal slowly to the water while stirring constantly for the next 15 minutes to make sure that there are no lumps and that the corn mush reaches the right consistency.

At the end of the fifteen minutes stir the butter into the mush followed by the Parmesan, sun dried tomato's and caramelized onions which were prepared earlier. Mix it up and pout it into a pan that was treated with cooking spray so nothing sticks to it and refrigerate for around an hour until firm.

Cut the Polenta into squares and fry until crispy in olive oil.

Cioppino

Cioppino originated in San Francisco's traditionally Italian North Beach neighborhood.

Local legend suggests that the name of the seafood stew originated from the custom of "chipping in" ingredients into a boiling pot after a day out on the bay fishing to create a communal meal.

Cioppino is a real simple dish that anyone can make. The freshness of the seafood and the layering of the flavors in the broth are two key elements to pay attention to.

In this recipe I use clam juice as a substitute for fish stock. Either works fine in the dish. I just happen to have a lot of clam juice on hand at all times because we are such clam chowder fiends. How you actually finish this stew with the fresh seafood without overcooking it is a trick that is easily mastered which I will share with you below.

52 oz clam juice or fish stock
16 oz diced San Marzano plum tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup red wine
4 finely diced red and yellow sweet peppers
1 bunch diced celery
1 finely diced onion
2 oz chopped garlic
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp Italian spice
1 tbsp basil
Tabasco (to taste)
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp Olive oil

16 Steamer Clams
1/2 lb Bay Scallops
1/2 lb Langostinos
2 - 2 lb Dungeness Crabs
8 - U-15 prawns
16 Mussels

(Keep in mind that all the seafood ingredients can vary due to availability)

Finely dice the garlic, onion, celery, and red peppers in a food processor. Heat the olive oil in your pan and cook the vegetables until the onions become translucent. Add bay leaves, basil, italian spice, salt, and pepper to taste. Add the clam juice or fish stock. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and red wine. Bring to a boil and simmer for two hours which will allow the flavors to meld together

Once you are ready to serve add the mussels and clams to the broth and bring it to a boil. Continue boiling until the shells open. Reduce the temperature to a simmer and add the Langostino's and Prawns (make sure they are thawed). Cook them for approximately three minutes.

Prepare your eight serving bowls by dividing up the raw scallops and putting them into the bottom of the bowls.  Poor the steaming broth from the stew over the scallops and artistically divide the cooked seafood among the eight bowls. Scallops don't need a lot of heat or time so this insures that you and your guests are going to be eating perfectly cooked scallops.

Divide/cut your (cooked and cleaned) Dungeness crab into eight sections and hang it over the edge of the bowls with the legs sticking out and serve. The crab doesn't need much heat because it already cooked. Resist the temptation to dump it directly in the stew while cooking the mussels and clams. If you like it warm simply dip into the sauce as you eat it.

I like serving this with San Francisco sourdough garlic-butter toast points on the side.

Serves Eight

The Original Joe's Special

Joe's Special, Ukranian Joe's, Italian Joe's, Mexican Joe's, Portuguese Joe's, are all egg dishes that had their start in San Francisco back in the Gold Rush days. They are all a simple combination of eggs, butter, cream, cheese, and whatever type of tasty protein you happen to have around.

They are quick and simple to make which has made them a star attraction at places like Original Joe's in San Francisco and 13 Coins in Seattle where I worked in the kitchen on weekends thirty-five years ago during high school.  

The Original Joe's Special 

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds lean ground sir loin
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound fresh spinach
Shredded Parmesan cheese
Olive oil

Heat the olive oil and add the crumbled ground sirloin, chopped onions, and minced garlic. Cook until the beef is almost browned and the onions and garlic are tender. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they soften. Stir in spinach. Cook the mixture until just heated throughout. Add the beaten eggs and cook, stirring, until the eggs are firm but still tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the Parmessan cheese.

Ukranian Joe's

Serve garnished with sour cream on top after cooking

Italian Joe's

Substitute Italian sausage for ground beef


Mexican Joe's

Substitute chorizo sausage for ground beef
Substitute Mexican oregano for italian spices
Substitute Mexican cheeses for Parmesan
Substite cilantro for spinach


Portuguese Joe's

Substitute linguisa sausage for ground beef

Farmer Joe's

Substitute country sausage for ground beef
Add fried bacon
Add fried red potato

Hot Dish Madness - Cowboy Bean Casserole

Last spring I put together some lower calorie but tasty updates to traditional casseroles and hot dishes. Having everything pre measured and portioned out really helped us track the calories and lose weight.

I used to love this bean casserole when my Mom used to make this for us when we were kids. What I have done is fancied it up a bit to give it some different layers of flavor. Serve this with a salad and you have a pretty good meal.

People have been asking me for the recipes so it is time to get them posted as we move into the cooler part of the year.

Cowboy Bean Casserole  
  
28 oz Van Kamps Pork and Beans 
1 Can Red Beans
1 Can Black Beans
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
8 oz Smoked Sausage
8 oz Cooked and Drained Bacon
1 Medium Onion
1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix
1/2 Cup Ketchup
2 TBS Brown and Spicy Mustard
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup French's French Fried Onions      
  
Total Calories    3545
Calories Per Serving    295
Makes 12 Servings

Fry the smoked sausage and set aside. Brown the lean ground beef and set aside. Slice up the onion and fry it till it is translucent. Dice and fry the bacon until brown and set aside. Mix all the ingredients with the exception of the french fried onions and put into a 9 x12 casserole. Top with the French Fried Onions and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

If you want to save a few more calories and carbs you can substitute Splenda Brown Sugar for the regular Brown Sugar.

Enoy!

Crispy Hot German Potato Salad

I went to an Oktoberfest party last night at an old school German restaurant in Lake Zurich, Illinois called Fritzl's European Restaurant and Pub. It has the reputation of being one of the better German restaurants in the greater Chicagoland area.

They make a fine schnitzel and have a decent German potato salad. I have always liked the traditional tangy flavor of a Hot German Potato Salad. It is a pretty old school dish whose recipe traditionally revolves around potato, onion, bacon, mustard, and vinegar.

Anyway some genius that was sitting at the bar ordered his hot German potato salad grilled/fried on the flat top. It looked great when it hit the table and it inspired this recipe which updates an old favorite. Texture and the layering of flavors is what makes this one a little different than any other one you have had.

My father was a true potato salad aficionado. He was an engineer and engineers are typically pretty precise people. He made a precise traditional mustard potato salad which remains the very best I have ever had in my life. Nothing comes close to it and the thing that made it special was the texture.

He always said what made his so good was how he controlled cooking and cooling times which resulted in the perfectly textured potato. He also precisely controlled the size and crispiness of the Walla Walla Sweet Onions, sweet pickles, and boiled eggs. Everything was the uniform perfect size so every ingredient worked exceptionally well with the other.

I use the same principles of potato salad preciseness as my father with what I call the Crispy Hot German Potato Salad. I like to serve this with grilled sausages and sauerkraut...Lederhosen optional!

2 1/2 lb Yukon Gold Potato
1/2 lb Bacon
1 Medium Red Onion
1/4 Cup Crushed Garlic
1/8 Cup Chopped Chives or Scallions
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
Paprika to taste
Fresh Dill
1/8 Cup Stone Ground Mustard
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the Yukon Gold Potato's and refrigerate overnight. Slice the cold potato's into 1/4 inch rounds and set aside. Dice the bacon into 1/2 inch slices and fry it in a cast iron frying pan until crisp and set aside. Fry the onions and the garlic in a trace amount of the bacon grease until translucent and set aside. Fry potato rounds in the olive oil until reasonably crispy on both sides.

Combine red onion, garlic, chives, bacon, cider vinegar, and the stone ground mustard and toss with potato's and return to the frying pan for a final crisping on both sides. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with paprika, chives, and fresh dill.

Root Beer Short Ribs

Root Beer Short Ribs are all the rage these days. They are hearty, easy to make, economical, and quirky enough even to impress everyone at your next dinner party. I like to serve them over smashed red potato's with something green on the side such as steamed green beans, asparagus, or brussel sprouts.

Make sure you use a good quality cane sugar based root beer. No matter where you are in the country there is a fantastic boutique root beer. A couple of examples readily available in the Chicago area would be IBC, Stewarts, Goose Island, or Sprecher.

What makes this recipe different is kicking it up a notch with smoked chipolte powder and adding some richness by adding demi-glace while finishing the sauce.

4-1/2 pounds beef short ribs
Sea salt and pepper
Garlic powder
2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1" wedges
1 bunch celery, cut into 1-1/2" pieces
12 baby carrots, cut into 1-1/2" pieces
8 sliced garlic cloves
10 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 bay leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 whole star anise
1 teaspoon smoked chipolte powder
One 1.5 package of demi-glace gold
3-1/2 cups beef broth
2 cups root beer

Preheat oven to 275^o F. Season ribs generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In an 8-quart Dutch oven, heat oil to high. In batches, brown ribs on all sides, about 20 minutes total. Transfer ribs to a plate and pour off all but 2 Tablespoons fat from pot.

Add onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, rosemary, cumin, smoked chipolte pepper, and star anise. Cook until the onions are soft which usually takes about five minutes.

Return the ribs to the pot and add broth and root beer. Bring to a rapid simmer, cover, and place pot in oven. Cook until meat can be easily pierced with the tip of a pairing knife, about 3 hours. With a slotted spoon, transfer ribs to a large straight-sided skillet; discard solids by pouring/straining liquid through a sieve or strianer. Skim off fat from cooking liquid. If you have time, place liquid in the refrigerator for a little while, making it easier to discard the fat that will accumulate on top.

Add demi-glace gold to strained liquid. Boil liquid and ribs over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by half which takes about 20-30 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on it and move the sauce around to add a glaze to the ribs.

Smashed Garlic-Bacon-Onion Red Potato's

8 medium red potatoes
1/4 cup chopped garlic
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
4 strips chopped bacon
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Cover the taters with cold water in a 3- to 4-qt pot and add 1 tbsp salt. Boil until almost tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain potatoes. Transfer to a baking sheet and lightly crush to about 3/4 inch thick with a potato masher, keeping potatoes intact as much as possible.

Finely chop four strips of bacon. Fry bacon in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until it light brown and remove. Reserve the oil and add garlic and onions to the skillet and cook till translucent and remove. Add potato's to skillet and top with the onions, garlic, and bacon then lower heat to medium-low and cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 20 minutes total. Serve sprinkled with cheese. Season generously with pepper.

Serves 6-8

Cajun Cornbread Stuffing

I've been making this recipe for around ten years and I always get requests for the recipe after thanksgiving. It isn't very complicated or fancy but it hits the spot

One Box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
One Egg
Milk
One Can Niblet Corn
Cayenne Pepper
Chopped Onions
Chopped Celery
Chopped Sweet Bell Pepper
Chopped Jalapeno
Diced and Fried Andouille Sausage
Chicken Stock
Cajun Seasoning

Directions

Follow the directions on the box of the Jiffy Mix and bake your corn bread using the egg and the milk. Add some cayenne pepper to the mixture to spice it up.

Dice and fry the andouille sausage. Dice and saute the trinity of onions, peppers, and celery along with the andouille till they are translucent. If you like it a little hotter add a diced jalapeno to the mix.

Break up the cooled cornbread and mix with onion, pepper, celery, andouille ,corn, and chicken broth. Season with Cajun seasoning to taste.

Toss it in the oven and bake approximately 40 minutes at 375.

The Art of Making Mostarda

Mostarda is an ancient Italian condiment that probably had its start as a way of preserving fresh fruit throughout the year. It is is very tough to find in the United States outside of a few specialty stores which import it directly from Italy.

I tried it for the first time in Chicago at a restaurant called Folia in the West Loop. The owner imports it directly from the town he was born in on Amalfi Coast. I tried it with cheese and salumi and was blown away by the way it complimented the cheeses and meats. The essence of the mustard and the sweetness of the fruit gives this condiment the definition of agrodolce.

Mostarda can be made many ways but it typically has the same base which consists of fresh, or dried fruit, sugar, and either Mustard Essence, or powdered mustard diluted in white wine, or white wine vinegar. For me mustard essence is the only way to go.

Mustard Essence is difficult to obtain in the United States but it can be purchased while in Italy from a chemist/pharmacist. Mustard essence or the essential oil of mustard is a volatile irritant which can be highly toxic if used incorrectly. It is sold in small vials and measured out precisely with an eye dropper when used as a flavoring. A little of this stuff goes a long way. Mustard Essence is a clear concentrated liquid which won't cloud the simple syrup the fruit is steeped in over a four day period of time.

What do I use Mostarda on?

Traditionally Italians used it as a way to spice up boiled meats. It goes very well with a braised or boiled meats such as beef brisket. It also works well with roasted pork loin and porchetta.

Mostarda makes an impressive and easy appetizer when served drizzled over various cheeses which was the way it was originally introduced to me. Your guests have never had anything like it before and they are either going to love it or hate it.

(This recipe was updated 11/22/17)

Ingredients

10 lb Fresh Fruit
5 lb Sugar
Mustard Essence
Fresh Orange Juice

Step One - Select and prepare the fruit

The most magnificent Mostardo is made using whole pieces of fruit. So I usually look for fruit that would look good suspended in the jar by the syrup. Apples, pears, peaches, apricots, kiwi's, tangerines, oranges, mandarins, limes, cherries, quinces, cranberries, strawberries, mangoes, are a few of the choices you can use to make great Mostardo.

I also sometimes add walnuts or hazelnuts to the mixture to add a crunch texture to contrast with the soft fruit. Don't be afraid to experiment with different types of combination's. I sometimes add thinly sliced Jalapeno's to the mixture to kick up a little heat. Some folks might be inclined to add some red chili pepper flakes too.

The first step is to peel and core the fresh fruit. Apples and pears are favorite ingredients which can be sliced in halves or quarters. Berries can be added whole.

When I do limes and oranges I leave the peels on but select varieties with a very thin skin and slice them extremely thin using a mandolin. I like to use mandarin oranges whole because they are visually pleasing and easy to peel.

I've recently experimented with a combination fresh and dried fruits. I really like texture and quality of the product with some dry fruit added to the mix. Pineapple, mango, papaya, kiwi, and figs are dried fruit that work well. They plump up during the process as they absorb moisture from the fresh fruit. Adding a few glazed cherries to the mix is a nice visual option.

Step Two - Steeping the Fruit

Once you have your fruit prepared and loaded into a bowl you then add 1/2 pound of sugar per pound of of fresh fruit to the top of the mixture. Pour four cups of fresh orange juice over the top. You then let it sit uncovered for 24 hours giving it a turn or two to mix the ingredients along the way.

Step Three - Concentrating the Syrup

After 24 hours the juice in the fruit begins to be replaced by the sugar it is absorbing. All the sugar should now be dissolved. Empty the mixture into a colander to drain it into a sauce pan. Return the fruit mixture to its bowl. Heat the syrup until it starts to boil and reduce for five minutes. Once that is done return the syrup to the bowl where the fruit is residing. Let the mixture sit for another 24 hours once again giving it a turn or two.

Step Four - Concentrate the Syrup again

Repeat step three and let rest for another 24 hours. You should be noticing that your fruit is beginning to shrink which is natural because the sugar is leaching the liquid from the fruit.

Step Five - Concentrate the Syrup again

Repeat step four and let rest for another 24 hours.

Step Six - Concentrate the Syrup one last time

Once again repeat step five but this time we are going to prepare to season and can the mixture.

Step Seven - Sterilize and Pack the jars

Sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water for fifteen minutes. I prefer to use pint jars when making Mostarda. Add the fruit pieces to your jars and fill to the top. Try to be artful in how you arrange and divvy up the fruit. Mostardo just isn't a condiment in Italy it is a work of art.

Step Eight - Season with Mustard Essence

Remove four ounces of the reserved syrup and add approximately 20-30 drops. Be careful to avoid contact any skin contact with this stuff and make sure that you don't get a sniff of it. After adding the fruit pour it in, and then add hot concentrated syrup to cover, tapping the jar repeatedly to dislodge air bubbles as you fill. (Safety note: I use protective gloves, goggles, and a gas mask while handing mustard essence.)


Step Nine - Canning and Storing

Cover the jars, wipe them clean, and put them on a cool dark shelf in your pantry. The Mostarda will be ready in 2 week's time. It is not necessary to heat seal the jars. The sugar content is high enough to prohibit the formation of bacteria.

Rebuilding the Weber Gas Grill

I bought my Weber Genesis Silver B Gas Grill back in 2001 and it has served me well over the past decade. I purchased the triple burner grill at Home Depot for around $500 so you could say that after a decade that it has payed enough dividends to be worthy of replacement with a new shiny stainless steel version. The cost for purchasing what I would like to buy in a new Weber would be around $900 plus tax.

If I went a different direction and did a Kalamazoo or something in that category the cost can be as much as $4000. You would definitely have the coolest grill on the block but that was more expensive than my first new car back in 1976!

To be honest I really hadn't taken really good care of the grill over the years. I never bought a cover for it so it was exposed to the elements constantly. The simple act of buying a cover probably would have extended the life of the grill at least another five years but I just never got around to parting with the extra fifty bucks to make that happen.

When the original cast iron cooking grates needed to be replaced I replaced them with porcelain cast iron cooking grates which also rusted out after around four years. Same thing with the flavorizer bars which were replaced at the same time.

This winter during a snow storm I went out on the deck and lifted the lid of the venerable old relic and the hinge broke off of the cast aluminum cooking box signaling the end of its useful life. When the first warm day came around I went out to examine the grill and came to the conclusion that everything except the cart was pretty much rusted out and needed to be replaced.

I went to the Weber website soon after that looking for a new grill when I noticed that the cooking box and the lid had a lifetime guarantee and that got me thinking. Sure there are fancier grills out there but this unit had always worked perfectly for me around 99.9% of the time. It cooked steaks extremely well and it was big enough to handle most of the gatherings at our home. If I was going to buy a new grill it was going to be approximately the same size so why not see what it would cost to rebuild the existing grill since most of the cart and the thermoplastic trim pieces were in decent shape.

I called Weber and they sent me a new lid and cooking box out to me at no cost under the guarantee. I then ordered new stainless steel burner tubes, slide-out bottom tray, catch pan holder, warming rack, warm up basket, stainless cooking grates, stainless flavorizer bars, control panel, burner control knobs, and a new left frame to replace a part of the cart which had rusted out pretty good.

The amazing thing about Weber is you can buy a grill from them a decade or more ago and they still have the part you need in stock to keep your grill running and looking like new. Weber is very loyal to their customer base and when you give them a call they treat you extremely well.

The total cost for all the parts to restore the grill was slightly under $300 and I now have a gas grill that looks just like new and is actually better than it was when I bought it a decade ago because of all the stainless steel parts on the inside.

There are a lot of fancy grills on the market these days. One of the more interesting innovations are infrared ceramic burners. Since the patent rights have expired on this innovation almost every company out there has come out with some version of it for their grills.

The advantage of the ceramic burner is the heat that it can put out. You can definitely achieve a Ruth Chris or Morton's type of char on your steaks with one of these units. You don't have a lot of warm up time with these burners either. Your turn them on and you are pretty much ready to go.

I have friends that have them and the problem is they burn way too hot for my liking. If all you do is steaks maybe that is OK...but if you like to do other things lower and slower on your gas grill and it has a 100% ceramic burner configuration it can be real problem.

I think that if you go that direction you should purchase a hybrid so you have a charring station powered by the ceramic burner and old fashioned burner tubes for more controllable temperature in the majority of the grill.

Weber for some reason hasn't jumped on the ceramic bandwagon. They do have some higher priced models with a high temp char station but they haven't bought in yet as far as ceramic burners go.

My steaks on my Weber Gas Grill just happen to be fantastically charged anyway without the use of a ceramic burner...so I didn't really feel the need to take it to the next level by going that direction.

Getting back to rebuilding the grill. First of all it is a bit of a messy job. Make sure you buy some WD-40 and spray all the bolts, screws, washers, and nuts the night before you attempt to take the old grill apart. You will find the job will go a lot quicker if you follow that one simple step.

Taking it all apart took around an hour and putting it all back together was a little quicker. Weber has manuals online for all their grills no matter how old they are so if you just follow the directions you should have no problem. Another thing that they do which is neat is that they send directions which each replacement part that you order.

The bottom line on all this is there are a lot of different directions you can go when it comes to purchasing a new gas grill. I endorse Weber for the simple fact that twenty years from now they are still going to be around with the parts and advise you need to keep your grill working like new.

Weber is the most popular brand of grills and barbecues in the world and there is a reason for that. They are a family owned American company located in the suburbs of Chicago that treats their employees and customers like family. They build quality products and they stand behind them. I guess that is why I will always have a Weber on my deck or patio.

I plan to also purchase a Green Egg in few weeks. If you haven't been to a demonstration of what this type of grill can do you really need to check it out. We considered buying a pizza oven this year but the rep over at the BBQ store swore that the Green Egg would do just as good a job with Pizza and bread plus we could smoke and grill in it too!

He said he hated to talk himself out of selling a wood fired pizza oven that runs around $3500 but he said the Green Egg for around $1000 with all the bells and whistles was a much better investment. The money I saved by simply rebuilding the Weber will go toward the purchase of the Green Egg.

I do smoke a lot of ribs and brisket during the summer. I have always used a cheap Brinkman bullet type water smoker with very good results. The one thing I don't like about the unit is it is messy. I have had both the charcoal and electric versions. I prefer the electric because you are just burning wood chips and not charcoal which cuts down on the creosote plus keeps a more even temperature.

Switching to the Green Egg for my smoking needs will represent a change in technique because it does not require water or restocking the unit with wood chips. You pretty much set it up once, leave it alone, and open it up ater a set time. I have tasted ribs and brisket done on the Green Egg and they are just as good as ones done in the little water smoker. Once we get the hang of it I will report back on how it is working.

Cassoulet My Way

It is winter out here in the Midwest and we all turn to comfort foods this time of year. One of my favorites is Cassoulet which is a French dish which simply means Caserole in English. There are a lot of ways of making this dish in France. Every region has a different version but the Gascony and Toulouse regions seem to be the most accepted versions. Simply put this is a bean casserole with some incredible ingredients which take more than a few steps and authentic ingredients to faithfully reproduce.

My mom made a great bean casserole when I was a kid that consisted of hamburger, Liptons onion soup, ketchup, brown sugar, pork and beans, plus a few other odds and ends such as dry mustard that resulted in what my father used to call white trash cassoulet. I still love it today but true Cassoulet is a once a year treat we make for the New Year.

Simply put authentic Cassoulet is the best bean casserole you have ever had in your entire life but it takes a little time and money to put together which makes it a great traditional choice for the holidays and special occasions when it is cold outside.

Cassoulet My Way

Two Pounds Dry French Tarbais Beans (You can also use Cannellini Beans, Great Northern Beans, or Flageolet Beans.)

Chopped Onion
Chopped Carrots
Chopped Celery
Crushed Garlic Cloves
Bay Leaf
Thyme
Parsley

2 Smoked Ham Hocks
8 Confited Duck Duck Legs (Make them yourself or get them pre-made from Grimaud Farms or D'Artagnan.)
1 Pound French Garlic Sausage (Available fresh from D'Artagnan or make your own see below.)
1 Pound Duck and Armangac Sausage (Available from D'Artagnan or Sweet Italian can also be used.)
12 Ounces Smoked Duck Breast
1 Lb Ounce French Pancetta (Bacon works just as well)
2 Tbs Tomato Paste
8 oz Lb Plum Tomato
8 0z Lb Duck and Veal Demi Glace (You can also use chicken broth)
White Wine
Salt
Paprika
Cayenne
Pepper
Two Cups Bread Crumbs
Duck Fat (You could use rendered Pork Fat if you wish but you can get Duck fat inexpensively from Grimaud Farms. Duck fat is the real deal.)

1. Soak beans in a 4-qt. bowl in 7 1⁄2 cups water overnight. Heat 2 tbsp. Duck fat in a 6-qt. pot over medium-high heat. Add half the garlic, onions, and carrots and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add ham hocks along with beans and the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer beans until tender, about 1 1⁄2 hours.

2. Transfer ham hocks to a plate; let cool. Pull off meat; discard skin, bone, and gristle. Chop meat; add to beans. Set aside.

3. Heat 2 tbsp. Duck fat in a 5-qt. dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic, onions, and carrots; cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Fry bacon or Pancetta Tie together oregano, thyme, and bay leaves with twine; add to pan with tomatoes; cook until liquid thickens, 8–10 minutes.

Add wine; reduce by half. Add demi-glace; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, uncovered, until liquid has thickened, about 1 hour. Discard herbs; set dutch oven aside.

4. Brown sausages in the fat, about 8 minutes. Sear Garlic Sausage and Slice Smoked Duck Breast.

5. Heat oven to 300 degree's. Mix beans and and all ingredients stew in Caserole. Cover with bread crumbs; drizzle with remaining duck fat. Bake uncovered for three hours. Raise oven temperature to 500 degrees and cook crust till golden.

6. Sear Confited Duck Legs in tbsp in Duck Fat until Crispy. Serve with Duck Legs on the side of the crispy Cassoulet.

Cassoulet is heavy so serve with a light salad, marinated olives, and toasty French Bread. you could also do some potato wedges fried in Duck fat on the side if you wish.

Bon Appetit!

Home Made French Garlic Sausage

3-lb medium ground pork butt
3-tsp sugar
2-lb medium ground beef chuck
2-tsp white pepper
1 1/2-tbsp salt
10-cloves pressed garlic
4-tbsp liquid smoke

Combine all ingredients, mix well & stuff into hog casing.

Smoked Duck Breast

Remove the bone and skin from the duck breast halves. Rinse well.

Brine

1/2 quart of Apple cider
1 Cup Armangac
1/4 cup Kosher salt
1 bay leaf, crushed
1 clove of garlic
Cracked Peppercorns

Mix the ingredients, making sure the salt is completely dissolved. This will be enough brine for up to 1 and 1/2 pounds of duck breast halves. Soak the duck in the brine at least two hours, and overnight if possible.

After brining, give the duck a quick rinse and then pat dry with paper towels. Coat each breast half with melted Duck fat or bacon grease.

Place the duck breasts into a 225 degree Fahrenheit meat smoker for one or two hours, depending on the size of the breast sections. Use a small amount of apple, cherry, or pear wood for the smoke.

Duck is ideally eaten medium rare, but if you prefer well done, take them out when the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees.

They can be eaten right away or vaccum packed and frozen for later use.

Duck Confit

Years ago I was in the South of France on an incentive trip where I had lunch in a medieval castle. The medieval city was great but the Duck we had at lunch was the best meal I have ever eaten in my entire life.

The friend who was with me asked me I could you make it at home and I said sure not certain what the heck we had actually eaten. I experimented with some roasted duck legs which turned out not so good but never dreamed that the dish I had eaten had actually been cooked for around eight hours in rendered Duck fat.

A number of year later I was at a restaurant called La Toque in Napa Valley and ordered Pork Confit and the light bulb went on. The tasty dish I had in France was Duck Confit and that was confirmed by the chef who instructed me on how to make it and other confited meats in the classical French manner.

You may might not like Duck (probably because you never have had properly prepared Duck) but if you like bacon you are just going to love Duck Confit. The similarities between the Duck and Bacon are fat. They are both rich in it. If you know how to master Duck fat you slide up a couple of levels in the cooking chain because it just may be one of the most delectable things out there.

Duck Confit is actually a very simple dish which takes some time in the oven coupled with the right ingredients. The most important ingredient is rendered Duck fat. You can render your own or buy it from a place like Grimaud Farms who will send it to you via UPS within two days at a very reasonable price. You could also use simple lard but why use that then you can buy the real thing inexpensively and continue to re-use it after some straining?

Duck Confit

Eight Plump Duck Legs with Thighs
Kosher Salt
Garlic Cloves
Shallots
Rosemary
Black Peppercorns
Juniper Berries
Bay Leaves
Thyme
Lemon Zest
Rendered Duck Fat or Lard

The key here is to take the Duck legs with thighs attached and season them to taste with the above for around 36 hours in a plastic bag in your fridge. What you are doing at this stage is curing and seasoning the Duck. Make sure you use only dry herbs.

Confiting is simply an age old way of preserving meat. Duck Confit can last for six months in the fridge if you follow these simple steps.

After the 36 hour curing period arrange the legs in an enameled cast iron (Le Creuset) pan. Dry the legs off and and completely cover the legs with rendered Duck fat and bake at 200 degree's for eight hours in your oven.

Take them out of the oven and allow then too cool. Cover them with the restrained Duck fat. Make sure you have at least a one inch layer of fat on top of the legs. Store in a canning jar or whatever container you wish. The Duck will continue to cure over time and only get better but you can eat it right away if you wish.

I like to eat mine over greens with marinated olives on the side as an accompaniment. I also use it as one of mine ingredients in Cassoulet which will be the next recipe coming up on the blog. We have it every New Years.

If you are eating it alone I recommend that you heat up a cast iron skillet to around 350 degrees and fry the Duck skin side down until crispy and serve over greens. Ww are talking about really good eating here!

Render your own Duck Fat? Simple just roast a Duck or two for Dinner!

Duck is tricky if you don't know what you are doing. It just isn't as simple to cook as chicken but if you follow a few easy steps you can master this fowl which is much tastier than plain old storw bought chicken.

It is pretty simple to render your own duck fat. All you do is buy a whole duck or two from the butcher. Duck usually comes frozen which is fine because like all poultry it freezes well. You can either butcher the Duck yourself or have your butcher do it for you in advance. Make sure you thaw the Duck slowly in cold running water.

Brine it for at least two hours in a mixture of 1/2 cup Kosher Salt, 15 black peppercorns, one bunch fresh thyme, 4 smashed garlic cloves, and an acidic juice such as pineapple or orange or even a blend of the two. Juniper Berries are also a good thing to add if you want.

Butchering a Duck is easy if you have poultry shears. Simply cut up on both sides of the back bone to seperate the duck in two. Snip off the wings. Reserve the back and wings for making your own demi glace or broth for use later. Seperate the breast from the the thigh and leg portions by making a semi circular cut and you are finished.

The next step is scoring the breasts three ways lengthwise and across with a sharp knife. Set up a steamer and bring it to boil. Add the breast and thigh portions to a colander and steam for 45 minutes.

In the meantime set your oven to 475 degree's and heat up a cast iron frying pan to the same temperature. Place the leg pieces skin side down in the pan and place in the oven for 10 minutes. Add the breast after that and cook for an additional 7 minutes before removing from the oven.

You should have some very tasty and crispy Duck which is great served with some potato wedges fried in Duck fat. Most importantly make sure to skim and save the Duck fat for future uses. Freeze and it will be ready any time you need to use it.

Thanksgiving 2009

We have twenty people coming over for dinner this year and we are doing two 16-18 lb turkeys and an 8 lb breast to cook. We are smoking one of the turkeys and it will take around 12 hours to do that. We are using the Char-Broil infrared fryer to do the other turkey and the breast.

The Char-Broil Infrared Fryer is great because you can safely cook a Turkey outside at a rate of around of only nine minutes per pound which frees up a lot of time and most importantly otven space. If you don't have one of these you have to get one. They turn out absolutely perfect Turkeys plus you can use them for a variety of different things.

I inject and dry rub all my turkeys. I find they turn out a lot moister and flavorful that way. If you have an injector it is pretty easy to make your own different mixtures. Here are a few

Smoked Turkey

I usually use an Apple Wood or a blend of Apple and Cherry for the right blend of sweetness. I have some friends who swear by Grape Wood which is actually pretty easy to find if you live by a vineyard. Pop by a vineyard during thinning season load up the car take it home and chop it up if you have a chipper.

I have been using a little red electric Brinkman water smoker for years. I prefer it over charcoal because it is easier to control the heat and you get pure smoke without any of the creosote you might get from briquet's.

I put cheap red wine, water, aromatics such as sage, rosemary, and thyme in the water pan. I also stuff the in the cavity with aromatics and place them under the skin along with rub and some butter. Butter keeps everything moist and adds good flavor.

Smoked Turkeys take around 30-40 minutes per pound depending on the temperature of the smoker and the local weather. Make sure you use a meat thermometer. It can get cold around Thanksgiving in Chicago so with a 16 lb or bigger turkey it still isn't up to 165 degrees even after 12 hours. I just throw it into our gas grill to bring it up to safe temperature in a roasting with a little water to develop some steam finish it off.

Smoked Turkey Injection Liquid

This is an absolutely original Smoked Turkey injection liquid which has worked well for us. What this does in combination with a 24 hour molasses brine is produce a sweet smoked turkey with ham like qualities.

One Cube Butter
Jack Daniels Whiskey
Brown Sugar
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Powdered Sage
Powdered Thyme
Powdered Ginger

Smoked Turkey Rub

Onion Powder
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt
White Pepper
Powdered Ginger
Powdered Sage

Fried Turkey Injection Liquid

This is your basic Cajun Injection. Nothing really new here unlike above but it is the perfect way to reproduce the flavors of a Cajun fried turkey when using the infrared fryer.Another thing we do in the fryer is take a large Heineken keg can and fill it full of aromatics and stick it in the butt of Turkey.

One Cube Butter
Beer
Chicken Broth
Kosher Salt
White Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Tabasco Sauce
Powdered Sage
Powdered Thyme

Fried Turkey Rub

You could just use Tony Chacherie's Creole seasoning rather than blending your own.


Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Dried Oregano
Dried Basil
Dried Thyme
Black Pepper
White Pepper
Celery Seed
Cayenne Pepper
Paprika
Kosher Salt

Savory Turkey Injection

This one turned out pretty good in fact people liked the seasoning blend for this turkey the best this Thanksgiving among the Fried Turkeys.

One Cube Butter
Chicken Broth
Kosher Salt
Worcestershire Sauce
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Ground Bay Leaf
Ground Thyme
Ground Sage

Savory Turkey Rub

Kosher Salt
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Powdered Thyme
Powdered Sage
Black Pepper
White Pepper

Andouille Corn Bread Stuffing

Making stuffing isn't the easiest process for our family because one of the kids has severe food allergies. That means everything we do has to be made from scratch including all the spice blends due to fears of cross contamination.

We make the Corn Bread ourselves muffin style with Jiffy Corn Bread mix. Using muffins rather than loaves gives us more cruch surface area to work with. We slice the muffins into cubes and dry them out in an oven over 18 hours at 175 degrees. Getting the bed bone dry rather than stale is the key to great stuffing. For this large batch we used three boxes of muffin mix to make the muffins.

Fry the sausage with the spice blend till browned. Add Onions, Celery, and Peppers and saute till onions are clear.

Melt the butter, add chicken broth, and two eggs which are scrambled in. Mix everything together in a foil turkey roaster pan and roast in the oven.

Fresh Cubed Corn Bread (Dried till bone dry)
Aidelle's Cajun Andouille Sausage (12 Links Diced)
Can of Corn Kernels (12 Ounce Can)
Diced Onions (6 cups)
Diced Red and Yellow Peppers (6 Cups)
Diced Celery (6 Cups)
Diced Jalapeno (2 small)
Tony Chacherie's Creole Seasoning (To taste)
Fresh Parsley
Three Cubes of Butter
Chicken Stock (you determine the amount depending on how moist or dry you like your stuffing)
Eggs (two)

Fall is here

Fall is here and that means football season is upon us. I have to apologize for not posting more often on the blog but I will be adding recipes to it on a regular basis.

One thing we did get done this past summer was canning. We canned salsa, marinara, dilly beans, dixie relish, chutney, and mustard pickles in August. I will have the recipes up on the blog for all those tasty items over the next few days.