It’s been cool off and on for a few weeks up here in the Great White North, but the last few evenings have been downright chilly. Brisk enough to remind me that brainS and meat have spent much of the past year filling my mind with glorious Crock Pot ambitions. An uncluttered Sunday morning (rare with a newborn) provided ample opportunity to get after it…so I did.

Continue reading Crock Pot Brisket* Stew and Stone Imperial Black IPA →

brianS asked if I would help him out with a vegan green chili stew. I don't mind helping a brother out, but a vegan green chili stew is tantamount to sacrilege. I'll do my best, doc. First a little bit of background on one of New Mexico's finest culinary offerings: Hatch Green Chili. Green chilies are grown all over the world, heck even some green chilies grown in China are being sold as Hatch (boo on them), but the chilies grown in Hatch, NM are the best in the world. Cultivated for heat and appearance by the agriculture department at New Mexico State University these chilies are more science than nature, but boy are they delicious. For those of you up north you'll find little cans of diced, chopped, or whole chilies under the hatch label in grocery stores, but they pale in comparison to the real goods. Anaheim peppers work as a substitute, but tend to be a bit sweeter and less spicy than their Hatch / NM cousins.

To prep green chili for almost any application you'll need to flame roast them. I've done this several ways, but the traditional path is to roast them over a charcoal grill which imparts a delicious smokey flavor. Totally blacken the skin on all sides over a high heat from your gas burner or over a gas or charcoal grill, and throw the peppers into a plastic bag to let them steam their skins off. Once the peppers have cooled a bit shuck the skins and remove that veins and seeds from the pods. At this point you can do almost anything with them, such as stuff the peppers with queso, bread em (blue corn tortilla crust..../drool), and fry them up relleno style, or you can simply chop the peppers up and serve them naked over eggs, on top of burgers, or add them to your stew.

Green Chili Stew, done the meat and cheese way, you'll need:

Traditional green chili usually has pork as the protein base, but I've switched to chicken for a leaner meaner soup, and tomatoes - I feel that the acid level goes off the charts with tomatoes added, but it's your world.

a package of chicken legs, skin removed if you want to be healthy
12 Oz of chilies, cans will be mild (read: not a lick of spice) I usually incorporate a can of mild with 8 oz of the hot stuff - (every year they roast by the bushel, and I buy a whole which will last me about a year)
Potatoes - any kind will do, but the yellow ones cook so much nicer in liquid than a russet - the more the merrier
a medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
cumin, red chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
Corn Tortillas
cheddar cheese
64 ish oz of water, chicken stock, or a combination of both

Method:
Place the chicken legs in a large stock pot and cover with water, chicken stock, or a combo of both and crank up the heat to high. When I'm feeling like I want a really rich soup I use all stock as the cooking liquid, but you're essentially making stock by boiling the legs anyway so this is up to your taste preference. After the legs are cooked through, about 30 minutes, remove them to a bowl and put them in the fridge. Meanwhile, you've chopped up the onion, garlic, and potato into your favorite size and shape, and now it's time to add them to the stock with a hit of salt, pepper, cumin (more is better in my opinion), red chili (gives the final soup some real earthy notes, good for rounding out flavor) and the green chilies. Bring the liquid back up to a boil, cover and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender. Test the broth at this point, adjust seasoning as you see fit. While you're waiting for the potatoes to cook preheat your oven to 350. Spray both sides of the corn tortillas with cooking spray, salt the top side lightly, and bake on a tray, flipping once, until golden brown - about 15 minutes give or take. When the potatoes are done, remove the chicken from the fridge and shred off the bone. Your fingers will thank me for telling you to put the chicken in the fridge. Return the pot to a slow boil, and smash a few of the potatoes against the side of the pot. The starch you release will help thicken the broth.

Serve in deep bowls with a spoonful of sour cream, some shredded cheddar cheese, and tortillas crushed over the top. Nothing better in the winter.

Vegan version (Doc, I love you man...)

12 oz green chili
64 oz Veggie Stock
1 can of corn, or fire roasted corn off the cob ... or better yet hominy (This addition is great with the above recipe, btw)
a medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
cumin, red chili powder, salt and pepper to taste

Corn tortilla

The method remains largely the same here. I would suggest oven roasting the corn or hominy to caramelize some of the sugars to release the natural sweetness. Take half the caramelized corn or hominy and puree it until smooth, adding the remaining whole kernels just before serving.

That's what I've got, doc. You can do something similar with squash, and I'd probably reach for a tomato in this instance.

Oh, pork, how I love you, let me count the ways.

Dr. Chop told me that I needed to get back on the pork bandwagon, and as Strategery suggested last week this time of year calls out for good, old fashioned, roasts, stews and braises. Tonight, I went with an apple cider braised pork shoulder with caramelized onions, wilted kale (with bacon(!)), and roasted sweet potatoes. I'm really a fan of pork fat. Which is probably a problem for my waistline, but, what the hell, I'd rather eat well and die young than grow old and have culinary regrets.

You'll need:

A pork shoulder roast - 3-4 lbs (ish) bone in preferable.
3/4 cup unfiltered apple cider
1 large yellow onion sliced
2 cloves garlic
a tablespoon or so of oil
spice rub of your choice, I go with 1 part salt, 1 part black pepper, 1 part red chili powder, 1 part brown sugar, 1 part cumin, garlic powder to taste

You can do this in a dutch oven, but I prefer to do the heavy lifting in the crock pot. Rub the meat with spice mixture the night before you intend to cook. Remove excess fat and pierce the roast in several places. Slice the garlic into slivers and place them into the holes you have pierced into the roast. Add the oil to a pan over medium high heat, and brown the roast on all sides. As you brown the last side add the sliced onions to the pan. Once the onion has softened and is turning transparent dump the whole works into the crock pot and add the apple cider. Cook on medium / low for 3-5 hours until the bone falls out and the meat shreds without effort. Once the meat is done I defat the pan juice, shred the roast, and crisp it up in the cast iron skillet adding the pan juice at the last minute to loosen the fond from the bottom of the pan. [edit] I had way more sauce than I expected. After removing the fat I added the sauce to the pan and had to reduce by boiling, not really a problem, just thought you should know.

Slice up a couple pieces of bacon, fry the bits and remove once they are done to your crispiness taste, and drain all but about a tablespoon of the fat from the pan. Wilt the kale over medium high heat by adding half the bunch and tossing in the bacon fat, and the other second half with a splash of water when the first half is nearly wilted. Cook till the whole mess looks like it's done, and then add the bacon bits back into the pan. [edit] this is the first time I've tried to wilt kale, and let me tell you... This is one hardy green. I needed way more heat than I though necessary and a fair bit more water than the swiss chard, just fyi

Slice up the sweet potato and place them in a roasting pan. I prefer my sweet potato on the savory side, so I season them with chili powder, black pepper, and salt, but you can also do this on the sweet side with a little brown sugar (or sugar in the raw) or honey (although, typing this out makes me slightly enraged, just do it the savory way). I add a bit of the pan sauce and bacon fat to them, toss, and roast them at 400˚ until they're done.

Doc, enough aesthetic for you?

I'm off the pork kick for at least one post. I've been searching for a recipe that will deliver bold, complex flavors without too many ingredients and too much prep, and while searching for a rye bread recipe I stumbled across the Smitten Kitchen. Deb Perelman's site is a fascinating read with a huge variety of recipes covering everything from light fare to the most rich and decadent food ever created. Her recipe for braised beef spare ribs is certainly one of the outliers on the rich and decadent end of the graph. This dish has it all. Tender meat braised in a rich sauce, oven roasting, swiss chard (if you go whole hog), and smashed potatoes to soak up the pan sauce. Seriously, one of the most excellent meals that I have ever cooked for myself. You'll need:

6 beef short ribs, about 14 to 16 ounces each (ask for 3 bone center-cut) - I used one package of ribs which contained 4 small to medium sized bone in ribs
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon thyme leaves, and 4 whole sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
3 dozen small pearl onions
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced celery
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups port - I didn't have any port, I substituted apple cider (the unfiltered kind) to great effect
2 1/2 cups hearty red wine
6 cups beef or veal stock - I didn't have any beef stock either, so I used some home made chicken stock
4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
2 bunches Swiss chard, cleaned, center ribs removed - I used the red stuff (Doc, how's that for aesthetics?)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
The day before you'll need to sprinkle the ribs with the thyme and black pepper rubbing the spices into the meat with your hands. Before cooking the ribs you'll want to allow the ribs to come up to room temperature by letting them sit on your counter for 30 or so minutes giver or take. Preheat the oven to 425˚, toss the pearl onions in 2 tbs of olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and a tsp of thyme, and spread them out onto a baking sheet. Roast the onions for ~ 15 ish minuets, until tender. Remove the onions and turn the oven down to 325˚.

Sprinkle a healthy amount of salt over the meaty side of the ribs after they've warmed up to room temp. In a dutch oven, or heavy frying pan, heat 3 tbs olive oil over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers and is nearly smoking add the ribs. This is one of the more important steps. Brown the meat on all sides, don't be impatient, and don't crowd the pan with too many ribs. After they're browned transfer the ribs to a plate and let rest. Return the dutch oven to medium heat and add the onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs. Cook the veggies for a few minutes, stirring often, until the onion begins to caramelize. Add the port, wine, and balsamic to the pan and increase the heat to high. Bring the works to a boil stirring and scraping up any browned bits of fond on the bottom of the pan, and reduce the volume of liquid by half. Add the stock and return to a boil. Place the ribs into the dutch oven, they should be nearly completely submerged, bone side up with the parsley sprigs nestled between the ribs. Cover the pot and place in the oven. These should cook for anywhere between 2.5 and 3 hours, mine were done in about 2 1/4 hours, but I left them in the braise a bit longer for good measure. The meat is done when a knife is easily inserted, or when the bone falls out and the meat shreds itself. Let the ribs rest for a few minutes before transferring them to a baking sheet. Increase the oven temp to 400˚, and roast the ribs for 10-15 minutes. You're looking to add a crispy texture to add a dimension to the overall eating experience. I was nervous about braising these all day and then burning the crap out of them at the last minute. They'll look pretty black, but, trust me, there's more than enough fat to self baste these things. Strain the braising liquid, removing the veggies, into a sauce pan, and skim the fat from the juices. You can boil to reduce the sauce, or serve it as is. I chose to reduce the sauce by almost more than half, and still had more than enough for both of our meals plus left overs.

I left the stalks intact on my chard as that's never bothered me before, it's more of a texture preference than anything else. Heat up 3 tbs of olive oil in a pan over medium high heat and stir in the pearl onions. Add half of the chard and stir frequently cooking until the leaves wilt. Add the remaining half with a splash of water, a quarter teaspoon of salt, and a dash of black pepper and cook until the leaves are all wilted and tender.

Plate the ribs on top of the chard and spoon the pan sauce liberally over the whole works. Serve this with some smashed potatoes to soak up the sauce and you won't be disappointed.

Seriously, I loved this dish, and I think it would be a killer way to braise a brisket.

Okay, yeah I know, I know, the pig again. What can I say? Today's recipe once again comes from Mr. Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I'm grilling up a curry mustard pork loin with a little smoke added in for kicks. When I first pushed on CarterHayes to post his mustard recipe it wasn't for this dish, but in hindsight I think that some homemade mustard would have been better than the Dijon I used. Mr. Bittman suggests that the pork loin isn't the most flavorful cut you can get, but I respectfully disagree. Yes, the tenderloin is less fatty and prone to burning, but if you keep your eyes on the prize this cut will hold it's own against any of the more 'porky' selections. This is one of the simplest recipes in Bittman's book, and I'm looking forward to having leftovers, you'll need:

A pork loin roast (I went with a tenderloin two pack about 2 1/4 lbs worth)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or some of the good homemade stuff)
2 tablespoons Hot Curry powder
salt and black pepper to taste
a beer to drink while you're grilling

Mix the dijon, curry powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. This should end up being a pretty thick paste. Rub this paste all over the meat anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours before you grill. Fire up the grill, open a bottle of whatever beer you have on hand. I suggest a Torpedo or Silver Anniversary Ale because the spicy hoppiness should pair pretty well with the nostril singeing spicy pork. If you're planning on smoking this roast, soak a handful of apple, or other hardwood, chips in water for 30 minutes to an hour before you grill. Keep the charcoal off to one side as you'll want to sear the meat over high heat, and then move to a cool spot for indirect grilling / smoking. Keep a close eye on these as they cook, you'll want to remove the tenderloin from the grill when you reach an internal temperature of 150˚ to 155˚. Cover with foil and let rest 10 minutes before you slice thin. Serve with starch and vegetable of your choice. I'm going with smashed yellow potatoes, sauteed green beans, and a small green leaf salad.