Thursday, March 31, 2016

Deli Style Roast Beef

There are many things that people eat on a daily basis that they buy for the convenience factor.  Sliced deli meat is one of these things.  After all, you just go to the counter and order how much you want and the deli worker plops it on the slicer and in a couple of minutes you have a package of sliced deli meat.  I'll admit, we do that at times also.  Some deli meats are just too time consuming to make or even I don't have the proper equipment to easily make it.


A week or so ago, we were at the local big box store and they were giving samples of two of their deli meats and two cheeses.  The good wife sampled the roast beef with provolone and I had the roast beef with swiss cheese.  That got the good wife in the mood for some roast beef to have for sandwiches or to the side with some cottage cheese for her lunches.  I agreed and we stepped over to the deli counter and started looking.


Besides the price, deli meats have extra stuff added to them that wouldn't be added at home to enhance the color, the shelf life, and the flavor.  Given those conditions I suggested we get a beef roast from the meat case and I'd make her the sandwich meat.  It's been a bit since I'd done that so she had forgotten about it.  At the meat case I found a nice 13.5 lb bottom outside beef roast, the biceps femoris for the food science geeks like me.  The other option was a eye of round roast which I've done with good results.


The next day, I pulled the roast out of the refrigerator and got ready to make the deli meat.  I washed and dried it then sliced away the fat from the roast and cleaned up a bit of membrane from the other side of the roast.  I cut a bit off the ends to make sure the size was fairly uniform from end to end.


After the roast was trimmed to my satisfaction, I placed it on a rack in a sheet tray.  Then I rub the roast all over with oil, use the oil of your choice, then sprinkled generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.


I prefer to let it rest for a bit to get closer to room temperature but I didn't do that this time.  This is not like cooking a steak so I don't think starting to cook while it was still cool affected the outcome.


Put the roast on the middle rack of a 500F oven for 20 minutes.  Then lower the temperature to 300F and cook for another 30 minutes.  Depending on the size of your roast this should have you pretty close for rare.  This time is dead on if you use the eye of round roast. 
Fresh From the Oven
Internal Temperatures for Doneness


Rare                                  
125F
Medium Rare                    
135F
Medium
145F
Medium Well                    
155F
Well Done
165F


I used the thermometer I use for smoking to keep an eye on the temperature.  Once the roast is out of the oven cover it with a tent of aluminum foil for 30 minutes.  I pulled the roast out when it reached 118F knowing the temperature would keep rising, carry over, for a bit as it rested.  Carry over is usually between 5 - 10 degrees.  For a large roast like this I usually figure on 10 degrees.  I pulled the thermometer probe out so I don't know for sure but this roast probably ended up around 128F.
Nice Medium Rare Roast Beef
Once the roast was cooled a bit I cut it to check the flavor.  The half slice for the good wife ended up as a couple of slices.  Yes, I sampled just as much as she did.  I then wrapped it in aluminum foil and put it in the refrigerator to completely chill to be easier to slice.
The Good Wife Sneaking a Sample
 The next afternoon, I cut the roast in half for ease of handling and got busy with the slicer.  In no time at all I had a tray full of thinly sliced beef roast.  After trimming the roast and cutting off the ends to even up the size and then cooking we ended up with 7.65 lbs of deli sliced roast beef.  Between the sampling after the roast was done and what I sampled while slicing there is at least 8 oz. unaccounted for.  That is probably all accounted for in the fat I trimmed prior to seasoning.

For storage, I packaged the meat in 8.5 - 8.75 oz vacuum sealed packages.  That's enough for several sandwiches.


Making your own sandwich meat is the way to go for sure.  The main benefit is that there is nothing but natural ingredients.  You also get to tailor the flavor profile to suit your tastes rather than being stuck with what the deli carries.  You can do the same with turkey breast though I tend to do turkey on the smoker.


Give this a try and I'm sure you'll prefer this to store bought.  If you make it, let me know what you think.


Uncle T







Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Smoked Leg of Lamb with Brussels Sprout and Kale Salad

Easter was this past weekend and for the first time in many years, the boy was able to be with us.  He drove down early Sunday morning and brought the grandpups.  We went to church and came home for a big Easter dinner.  We had a good visit before they returned home.


When talking about Easter weekend a few weeks back, the good wife stated that she'd like to have lamb.  I had picked up a boneless leg of lamb on sale a while back so I just had to pull it from the freezer.  Normally, when I do lamb I leave the boneless leg open and grill it though I have been known to put some mint leaves and feta cheese on it and roll it back up to grill.  Grilling like this is fairly quick and yields good results but I wanted to smoke it.


I prepped the lamb after breakfast before I got dressed for church.  I cut off the netting and opened the leg and did a bit of trimming.  This meant cutting out some large chunks of fat and trimming some silver skin off one of the muscles.  After it was trimmed to my satisfaction, I poured olive oil on it and rubbed it all over then seasoned it with Uncle T's spice mix #2.  I then rolled it up tightly and tied it in place.  Once it was tied I repeated the oiling and seasoning.  The lamb ended up resting with seasoning blend on for about 3 hours before going into the smoker.
Boneless Leg of Lamb Fresh From the Smoker
Smoking the lamb was done in the Weber kettle grill rather than the Weber smoker because it was raining and it was easier to set up the grill for indirect cooking/smoking and to manage it than getting the smoker up and running would be.  The lamb was smoked with a combination of rosemary branches and cherry wood.  I pulled it when it reached 125F internal and let carry over finish it while the rest of the meal was completed.  You can't beat medium rare lamb.
Smoked Leg of Lamb
I also made a variant of the Brussels sprout salad I'd made on the good wife's birthday.  For this salad I used kale from the garden and store bought Brussels sprouts.  Everything else was the same.  Texture wise it was a bit chewier thanks to the kale.  There was also just a slightly noticeable difference between using store bought Brussels sprouts versus fresh from the garden.  It was still an excellent salad though.
Brussels Sprout and Kale Salad
The good wife also wanted asparagus with the meal so naturally I made it happen.  The asparagus was cut into pieces, about 2 inches, then put in the skillet used to cook the bacon for the salad.  There was only about 1 Tbs of bacon grease plus the brown bits from frying the bacon.  Once the asparagus was cooked I sprinkled on some grated parmesan cheese and tossed it.  Once the parmesan browned a bit some more was sprinkled on top and it was removed from the heat.
My Plate
We also had parmesan roasted potatoes and the good wife made deviled eggs and a plate of pickled okra and pickled beets.   Both the okra and beets came from our garden and the good wife canned them.  I didn't think to take pictures until most of the eggs were gone so I failed to document the good wife's handiwork.


For some reason, most Americans seem resistant to trying lamb.  If you are one of those people, I urge you to give it a try.  You can find boneless leg of lamb at many stores at prices comparable to beef prices.  Just remove most of the fat since lamb fat doesn't get melty and tasty like beef or pork fat.  Lamb fat also has a high melting point so it will get hard and coat your mouth at a temperature at which beef or pork would still be soft and flavorful.  So, trim the fat then season the lamb and smoke it.  I'm sure you'll be pleased with the taste.


I hope you'll give lamb a try along with these other dishes.  It's spring so asparagus is cheap again, get some and enjoy.  If you try the lamb or the salad, let me know what you think.  Remember, have fun in the kitchen.


Uncle T

Friday, March 25, 2016

Kolbasz, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mushrooms, and Roasted Beets and Carrots

I've detailed how I like to make my own sausages and cured meats.  Of course making them means I get to eat them.  While I try not to, I still end up sticking with a couple of tried and true combinations for meals to utilize them.  When I get to pair a sausage I made with something that came from our garden then things are even better.


This past fall was the second time I'd tried my hand at raising Brussels sprouts.  We finally got some this spring.  I think the key, at least in our area, is to plant them in the fall and hope they over winter well.  Since we had a very mild winter this year the Brussels sprouts did well.  The first picking yielded 18 lovely sprouts.  I already knew I would be making Brussels sprouts with bacon and mushrooms but I hadn't decided on anything else.
Brussels sprouts fresh from the garden
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Mushrooms


18 Brussels sprouts
1/2 lb bacon, cut in 1/2 inch lardon
8 oz sliced mushrooms
salt
pepper


Trim the Brussels sprouts and slice in half.  Steam until almost done, about 3 minutes.  Fry bacon in skillet until desired doneness and remove from skillet.  Use bacon grease to cook the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper.  When the mushrooms are halfway done, add the Brussels sprouts to the skillet cut side down.  Cook until the mushrooms are done and the cut side of the sprouts has gotten some color.  Add the bacon back to the skillet and stir/shake to get everything combined.  Leave on the heat long enough to reheat the bacon.  Serve and enjoy.


Kolbasz, Brussels sprouts with bacon and mushrooms, and roasted beets and carrots
As fate would have it, we were in a small local shop that usually has a table near the checkout full of wines that are only $7.50 that we usually take a look at.  For a good cooking wine or just an every day table wine you don't have to get a high priced wine.  Save the high priced stuff for special occasions.  One  of the wines was a Hungarian red wine with the name Bull's Blood.  The name intrigued me so I had a look at the label.  It said it was good with grilled meats and spicy foods.  A light went off as I thought about the kolbasz I had made a few weeks ago.  Surely a Hungarian wine would go well with a Hungarian style sausage.  That settled the protein part of the meal to go with the Brussels sprouts.


Roasted beets was something I'd been wanting to try so this seemed like a good opportunity.  The good wife has liked beets as long as I've known her, whether they were canned or pickled.  I'd never cared for them.  I started growing them because she wanted them for making pickled beets.  I'm a fan of the home canned beets.  I'd also sliced beets and grilled them with good results.  I just hadn't oven roasted any.  This past fall I'd planted a mix of seeds to try different varieties, alas, they didn't produce as well as the Detroit Reds had.  That said, I did have a golden beet and a red and white beet that had gotten to a decent size.  I used them to try roasted beets and added some carrots from the store as we'd finished the ones we'd grown.


Roasted Beets and Carrots


2 - 3 beets
2 - 3 medium carrots
olive oil
salt
pepper


Cut the beets and carrots into cubes of the same size.  Put in bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Put on baking sheet and put in 425F oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and toss then return to oven for another 15 minutes.  The beets and carrots should be tender and slightly caramelized.


I put a small rack on the baking sheet and put the kolbasz in with the beets and carrots for the last 15 minutes.  This reheated the kolbasz and crisped the casing up nicely.  Not surprising at all is the fact that a Hungarian red wine paired well with a Hungarian style sausage.\


I hope you try at least one of these at some point.  They are all easily done and quite tasty.  Let me know what you think of them.


Uncle T

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Lasagna with Brussels Sprout and Endive Salad

Way back in the time when I was dating my good wife, I decided to cook for her.  I like to say that my cooking sealed the deal to win her over.  On that occasion, I fixed lasagna, garlic bread, and a lemon ice box pie.   The lasagna recipe I used was one I'd gotten from my mother, I don't know where she got it.  It has evolved over the years as I tend to cook it according to how I want it to taste.


Last week was the good wife's birthday and she requested the lasagna for her birthday supper.  She also wanted fresh hot bread and a salad.  In the end, I also ended up making cupcakes to go with the meal since cupcakes are easier to share with friends and neighbors.  The cupcakes will be a separate post.


Before I get into the recipes, I'll give a word of warning.  We are not Italian and if you want to take exception to the recipe just know, I'm not going to change it.  If you  think it should be a certain way, start your own blog.  That was brought on by reading too many complaining comments on other blogs. 


For the salad, I had to come up with something different because the good wife wanted something other than the usual mixed greens with additions.  I got to looking in my garden at what was left from the fall planting that could be used for a salad.  What I had was Brussels sprouts, endive, and kale.  I went with the Brussels sprouts and endive which I'm sure you figured out from the title.  Since the Brussels sprouts are raw, this is a good way for people to try them since many that don't like  them are put off by the smell of them cooking.  Since they are thinly sliced, they'd never know they were Brussels sprouts unless you tell them.  I dressed it with a lemon vinaigrette.  I also don't use the standard proportions for a vinaigrette.
Brussels Sprout and Endive Salad
Brussels Sprout and Endive Salad


14 Brussels sprouts
1 small head of endive
6 - 8 slices of bacon, cooked
1/3 cup almonds


Thinly slice the Brussels sprouts and place in a large bowl.  Cut the endive leaves from the ribs and slice to the same width as the Brussels sprouts and add to the bowl.  You want to end up with equal amounts of the Brussels sprouts and the endive.  Chop or crumble the bacon according to how done you cooked it and add to the bowl.  Run the almonds through the chopper until they are small chunks and add to the bowl.  Toss the contents to mix well.  Just before serving add the lemon vinaigrette.  Serves 4.


Lemon Vinaigrette


1 lemon
olive oil
1 pinch kosher salt
1 - 1.5 tsp mustard, which ever you have on hand


Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small jar.  Pour in olive oil until you have twice as much olive oil as lemon juice.  Add a healthy pinch of kosher salt and the mustard.  Put the cap on the jar and shake to combine.  Pour over salad and toss until you get the salad coated without it dripping off.


Lasagna


1 lb hot Italian sausage
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/3 bottle of Merlot or red wine of your choice
6 - 8 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced small
2+ tsp salt
2+ tsp pepper
3+ Tbs Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
12 oz cottage cheese
2 eggs
fresh pasta sheets or dried lasagna noodles
shredded mozzarella cheese


I package my hot Italian sausage as bulk but if you have linked sausage remove the casing.  Brown the sausage in a pot making sure to break it up into small pieces.  Remove the sausage from the pot.  Add the garlic and onion to the sausage grease and sautee until the onion is translucent then add the tomatoes and tomato paste.  Stir to combine.  Add  the 2 tsp salt and pepper and the 3 Tbs Italian seasoning and stir.  Taste and adjust if desired.  Stir in the wine and bay leaves and return the sausage to the pot.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover.  The longer you let it simmer the better it gets. 


In a small bowl, combine the cottage cheese and the eggs.


Make the fresh pasta sheets or prepared lasagna noodles according to package directions.


Spoon a little of the meat sauce onto the bottom of the pan.  Lay down a layer of pasta sheets/lasagna noodles being sure to over lap well.  Spoon half of cottage cheese and egg mixture onto pasta and spread evenly.  Top this with a good layer of the shredded mozzarella cheese.  Pour in half the meat sauce.  Repeat the layering process.  Bake for 45 minutes in a 375F oven until bubbly.  I used a glass pan this time so it took a bit longer.  Let it sit for 10 minutes then cut and serve.
Lasagna hot from the oven
The bread was made using the same recipe I've adapted from a technique/recipe from Artisan Bread with Steve.  Most of his recipes vary a bit depending on the type loaf but I found one that I can tweak a bit to serve for several different uses.
Hot crusty bread
The good wife enjoyed her birthday supper and the boy declared the salad the 2nd best he'd ever had.  The best he said came from a restaurant and was as much about the presentation as the actual salad.  The flavor from Brussels sprouts and endive only a few hours from the garden was out of this world.  I'm making a variant of this salad using kale and store bought Brussels sprouts for Easter dinner to see what difference we can taste.  We also determined that it had been close to 5 years since I've made lasagna.  I'll have to make sure to keep it further up in the rotation.
Time to dig in
I hope you give one or both of these a try.  I think you'll like them both.  If  you try them, let me know what  you think.  Remember, have fun in the kitchen.


Uncle T

Corned Beef for Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day in the US is far different than it is in Ireland as I understand it.  Here in the US it seems to have devolved to encompass three things, parades, green beer, and eating corned beef and cabbage.  The Irish view the day as a time for reflection and time to get together with family. 


The good wife and I both have a bit of Irish genetics according to the DNA results but that is about as far as our Irishness goes.  We did enjoy going to the Saint Patrick's Day parade when we were stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX.  San Antonio has one of the largest parades in the country and is something to see.  After the parade was a day of entertainment by various musical and dance groups at the amphitheater on the River Walk.  We've not made it to the local Saint Patrick's Day parade since we know it will not compare to the one in San Antonio.


I don't know what to say about green beer other than, NO.  I mean, if you want to drink something to connect with Ireland why not drink a pint of Guinness?  The last number I heard was that there would be 13 million pints of Guinness drunk on Saint Patrick's Day.  That certainly makes more sense than green beer.  If a Guinness isn't your thing, rest assured that Ireland produces other beer styles that should suit any taste and many are readily available in the US.


Now for the corned beef.  Even today, with Ireland making its mark in the Foodie scene, beef is not a big deal.  The Irish are more about pork and lamb, not to mention seafood.  I did run across a mention of corned beef in Ireland from long ago and it was in the list of things served to a high ranking man as a means to impress him.  Beef just wasn't consumed much since so when a cow was finally slaughtered it most likely went to the well to do folks. 


Corned beef became an American Irish thing during the great Irish immigration periods into the US.  It was procured from Jewish delis and was inexpensive and when served with cabbage and potatoes provided a cheap filling meal.  Usually brisket is the cut of choice for making corned beef but any part can be used.  From such humble beginnings do some fine traditions spring.


Most corned beef in the US is sold in the weeks leading up to Saint Patrick's Day unless it is found at the deli counter to be sliced for sandwiches.  Yes, I know there are Jewish delis in New York that are famous for their corned beef sandwiches but I'm talking about corned beef as the cornerstone of a large meal.  While commercially produced corned beef is better than nothing, you are at the mercy of their recipe and whatever spice blend they include to cook with it.  Much better flavor and control can be had be making it yourself.


The corned beef I made for this year was made using a 5 lb chuck roast.  I used the brine recipe out of Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.  Most everything used in the brine is likely in your house already or is readily available.  The only specialty item is the pink salt, aka sodium nitrite, and it can be found at some specialty stores though I get mine from Butcher and Packer.  The beef sits in the brine for 5 days in the refrigerator and you have corned beef.  Here is the curing recipe from Michael Ruhlman's blog, Curing Corned Beef.


In the interest of time, I cooked mine in the pressure cooker this year.  We had a meeting to go to so couldn't take the time to slow cook it.  I had the good wife dump the brine and replace it with plain water to alleviate some of the saltiness about mid-morning.  After I got home, I dumped that water and put the corned beef in the pressure cooker.  I added water to just cover the meat and added 20 grams of my homemade pickling spice.  The pickling spice was based on the one in Charcuterie.  40 minutes of pressure cooking later we had hot corned beef.
Corned Beef, Cabbage, Roasted Potatoes
The cabbage was easy to do.  I put an onion, quartered then sliced, in a hot skillet with 3 Tbs of butter and let the onion cook while I sliced the cabbage.  Once the cabbage was sliced I laid it on top of the onion in the skillet then added 1 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid from the corned beef.  After the cabbage had steamed a bit I stirred it all around to get the onion and cabbage mixed together and made sure all the cabbage had time in the cooking liquid.  No need to add salt or pepper because there was plenty of flavor from the butter, onion, and corned beef cooking liquid.
Cabbage ready to plate
Since potatoes are the usual thing to go with corned beef and cabbage, I decided to go with roasted potatoes.  These were just cubed, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put in a 425F oven for 20 minutes.  After the 20 minutes the potatoes were tossed/stirred about the pan and back in the oven for another 15 minutes.


So, with the exception of the time required to brine the beef, this was a quick easy tasty meal.  It's definitely worthy of being used more than one day a year.  Besides, the corned beef you don't eat with the meal can be sliced and made into sandwiches or some variation.  I'll have a separate post about a variation to a corned beef sandwich.


I encourage you to try to make your own corned beef and just taste the difference.   Visit Chef Ruhlman's blog and make the corned beef and then look around for other things to try.  If you make your own, let me know how it turns out.


Uncle T