Korean Inspired Pork Belly

One of the side effects of processing my own meat is left over odds and ends.  In Uncle T's kitchen nothing goes unused.  Most odds and ends get cut up for stew meat and some get ground.  Pork belly is unique in that the parts cut off to square the belly for bacon have a high percentage of fat.  The amount of fat is too much to use for stew meat and the pieces are too odd shaped for most pork belly recipes.

What happens in my kitchen is that much of the fat is cut off the belly pieces and gets frozen for later use in venison sausage.  The remaining lean and fat gets cut into bite size pieces for this recipe or one similar.  I came on this because I had to buy some pork belly slices from the Asian store to get some pork fat to use in making blood sausage.  I cut the lean out, seasoned it, and did a quick fry in a small skillet and was blown away by the flavor.

If you are in the mood for some Korean inspired food then this meal is for you.

Korean Inspired Pork Belly

1 lb pork belly
1/4 - 1/2 cup coarse Korean pepper powder (Gochugaru)
salt
2 Tbs sesame oil

Cut pork belly into bite size pieces and spread on a plate.  Sprinkle with salt, a couple of good pinches, and the Gochugaru according to desired spiciness level.  Mix the meat to ensure even coating.  Heat the sesame oil in a skillet.  When hot add the seasoned pork belly.  Stirring often, quick fry the pork belly until done.  Serve and enjoy.

Seasoned pork belly ready to fry

We tend to do this for a simple meal and serve it with rice and Kimchi.  Since I make my own Kimchi, (posted 9 July 15) we always have some on hand.  This meal can be on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Pork belly with rice and Kimchi

I know this is a short post but you can't really elaborate on simple goodness.  Give pork belly a try.  If you don't want the spiciness of Korean pepper then used your preferred spice blend.  Due to the popularity of bacon green pork bellies now cost a bit more than they used to but they are still a good treat on the supper table.

Uncle T

Boeuf Bourguignon

In my experience, this is one of the most talked about dishes done by Julia Child.  I can remember hearing about it for years.  I wasn't into classic French cookery enough to worry about it and we were never at any restaurant where it was served.  Fast forward to a couple of years ago and my good wife brings in the movie, Julie and Julia.  If you are not familiar with this movie, it is the story of a woman that sets a goal of cooking her way through Julia Child's book the Art of French Cookery with flashbacks to Julia Child's life. Boeuf Bourguignon is portrayed by Julie as a challenge she is not ready to accept until later in the movie.  Indeed, her first attempt is a dismal failure.  In the end, she makes a great Boeuf Bourguignon.  The movie is worth watching if for nothing else than to learn more about Julia Child's life.

A few months ago, I bought a beef chuck roll and processed it into roasts of various sizes, some stew meat, and some chuck eye steaks.  Then, about a month ago, we were at a wine tasting featuring French wines.  One of those sampled was a nice Burgundy and the wheels started turning.  We bought that bottle and labeled it as being specifically for Boeuf Bourguignon.

During the recent holiday I decided that supper that night should be the Boeuf Bourguignon.  I used a combination of Julia Child's techniques and modern techniques.  A Google search of recipes will show that most modern recipes throw everything together and then serve it after cooking.  Basically a beef stew by a different name.  The classic technique involves removing the meat and straining the remaining stuff to be left with a smooth rich broth.  The beef and bacon lardons are added back to the broth and pearl onions and mushrooms are stirred in and you're ready to serve.  That's the quick and dirty version anyway.

I had a package of peppered bacon ends from slicing some bacon a while back so I cut them into match sticks rather than lardons and it was removed with the seasoning vegetables.  The herb bundle came from my herb garden.  To reduce cooking time, I cut the meat into 1 inch cubes rather than the 2 inch cubes Julia Child calls for.  So, the recipe as follows is how I did it.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Boeuf Bourguignon

2 - 3 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
6 - 8 oz bacon, chunk is best
1 lb carrots
1 medium/large white onion
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 lb baby bella mushrooms
10 oz pearl onions
1 bottle Burgundy wine
1 container beef broth
Herb bundle containing Parsley, Basil, Bay leaves, Thyme
2 - 4 cloves garlic
2/3 cup Brandy, divided
flour
vegetable oil
3 Tbs butter
salt
pepper

It is best to get everything ready before you turn the stove on.  The fancy term is mise en place.  Dice the onion and two of the carrots to a fine dice and put in a bowl together.  Cut the stems from the mushrooms and put the diced stems in with the onion and carrots.  Slice the garlic and add to the bowl.  Cube the chuck roast and spread out on a tray.  Cut the bacon into either matchsticks (modern) or lardons (classical) and put in a separate bowl.  Cut the remaining carrots into 1 inch slices.  Now you're ready.

Pre-heat the oven to 375 F.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the cubed beef.  Sprinkle beef with flour and toss to coat adding more flour if necessary.  Put your Dutch oven on the stove with the bottom coated with oil and turn on Med-High heat.  Start browning the beef being sure not to crowd it.  Brown at least two sides and remove to a plate.  It took 5 batches to get mine done.  There should be a good layer of fond on the bottom of the pot.  After the beef is done, add the bacon to the pot.  Let it cook till it's brown and has rendered its fat.  For the classical approach, remove the lardons to the plate with the beef.  For the modern approach, add the diced vegetables to the pot with the bacon.  Cook and stir until the onions start to turn translucent.  Stir in the tomato paste.  Add 1/3 cup Brandy and allow the alcohol to cook off.

Now the fun begins.  Add the beef, and bacon if using the classical approach, back to the pot.  Add the sliced carrots on top.  Pour in the bottle of Burgundy.  Add beef broth until the meat and carrots are covered.  Bring the whole to a boil then turn off the stove.  Put the herb bundle in the middle of the pot and put the lid on.  Put pot in the oven and cook for 2 hours.  During this time, prep the pearl onions by cutting off the ends and removing the dry outer skin.  Prep the mushrooms by cutting them in quarters.

After 2 hours, check the beef.  If it is fork tender, and 1 inch dice should be, remove the pot from the oven.  Remove the beef and carrots to a plate.  Pour the rest through a strainer and catch the gravy in a pot.  Wash the cooked vegetables in the strainer with beef broth till all the good gravy is in the pot.  You should end up with about 2 1/2 cups in the pot.  Put the pot on the stove and bring to a simmer.

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the pearl onions and try to get them evenly browned all around.  You just need a hint of golden color.  Remove the onions to a bowl.  Add the mushrooms to the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  They will soak up the butter.  Let them cook until they start to brown then shake the skillet to turn them.  Add the remaining 1/3 cup Brandy to the skillet and let the alcohol burn off.  If you want to get fancy you can burn it off to make it go faster.  Just don't burn down the kitchen.

Now, add the beef and carrots back to the original pot.  Pour the gravy over the beef and carrots.  If the gravy is too thin, thicken with a bit of corn starch and water before you pour it in.  Add the pearl onions and mushrooms.  Stir to combine and bring everything to a simmer.  Remove from heat and serve. 

Notes:
Next time I'll reserve some of the wine and use more beef broth at the beginning.  The reserved wine would then be added at the end to have a more pronounced flavor.

The chunks of carrot are a modern addition.

A rich tasty supper

We had hot crusty bread with it.  It can also be served with noodle, potatoes, or rice.

A good enameled cast iron Dutch oven works very well.

Enameled cast iron Dutch oven.  This one was a thrift store find.

If you can't find a good Burgundy wine then use Pinot Noir as they are from the same grape.


It is a fair bit of work but the results are well worth it.  My total time was about 3 hours compared to the 6 or 7 required for the completely classical preparation.  I hope you give this a try.  I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Uncle T

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

Who doesn't like some fresh hot bread?  While we like fresh bread I don't fix it that often because it is such a temptation to mow through the batch at one sitting.  There are, however, some meals that almost require bread.  Pasta is one such meal.

My jalapeno peppers have been very productive this year, as they usually are.  Over the past two weeks,  I've picked 11 pounds of jalapenos from 6 plants.  My good wife canned 18 half pints of jalapeno jelly last weekend.  I fired up the  smoker this weekend and smoked and dried a bunch of jalapenos for chipotles.  They'll be cooked into some adobo sauce to rehydrate and then get canned.  I've still got quite a few jalapenos in the basket and more will be ready to pick come Friday.  This past Saturday, our son and his fiance went to their local farmer's market and ended up buying a loaf of jalapeno cheese bread.

The thought of jalapeno cheese bread got my good wife drooling and thinking it would be a way to use up some jalapenos.  I asked what she wanted to accompany the jalapeno cheese bread she paused then said "Pasta!"  That resulted in one of our favorite pasta meals, spaghetti with pancetta and mushrooms.

A fine meal, full of flavor

The jalapeno cheese bread is a variation on a no knead recipe.  I did this for a couple of reasons.  First and foremost is that the no knead recipe produces good bread.  The other reason is that the recipes I found that were specifically for jalapeno cheese bread all took a long time.  The no knead method is less than 3 hours.

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

3 1/2 cups bread flour
13 ounces warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast (also called bread machine yeast)
1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
5 - 6 jalapeno peppers, sliced

Put the yeast and salt into a large mixing bowl.  Add the warm water and stir to make sure they are well combined.  Add the flour, cheese, and jalapeno peppers to the bowl.  Using the handle of a spoon, stir to combine all the ingredients.  Once all the ingredients are well combined, cover with plastic and let rise for 90 minutes.  In the oven with the light on is a good place to let it rise.  After the 90 minutes, use the spoon handle and start pulling and degasing the dough.  Sprinkle a little extra flour around the sides of the bowl and over top of the dough ball and give is a quick couple of rolls.  This should have the dough ball lightly coated so it doesn't stick to the bowl.  Dump dough ball onto a lightly floured work surface.  Divide the dough into 2 pieces.  Flour the cut surface of the dough then gently roll out into a slightly elongated loaf.  Cover the two loaves with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.  Roll each loaf into a longer loaf, about 14 inches and place on parchment paper covered baking sheet.  Cover with the towel and let rise for 30 minutes.  Bake loaves in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Let rest at least 10 minutes after removing from the oven before slicing.

Fresh from the oven

Some of the peppers I cut in half lengthways before slicing and others were just sliced.  I did about half each way.  I left the seeds and ribs in the jalapenos.  As a result, some bites just had the flavor of the jalapeno and others had a bit of heat to go with the flavor.  If you don't want the heat just remove the seeds and ribs of the jalapenos.

Nice interior, but I cut it too soon and squished it a bit.

This could also be baked in a skillet for one large domed loaf.  To do this, lightly spray the skillet with non-stick and put the ball of dough directly into the skillet after rolling and coating in flour.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

In case you're wondering about the pasta dish, it is simple to throw together.  This makes enough for two good servings and a smaller serving left over for one lunch the next day.  Half a recipe of fresh spaghetti, probably 3 servings of dry spaghetti, cooked to al dente.  Dice 4 ounces of pancetta and sautee until lightly browned and remove from the skillet.  Slice 8 ounces of mushrooms and sautee them in the grease rendered from the pancetta, season with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.  Add the pancetta back to the skillet and stir to combine.  Remove the noodles from the water and put in the skillet.  Add some of the pasta water to the skillet and then stir to combine the noodles with the pancetta mushroom mixture.  The pasta water will cook away when everything is done.  Sprinkle on 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese and mix well.  Serve and enjoy.

I hope you give both of these recipes a try.  I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Uncle T 

Fried Green Tomatoes

Another summer dish and Southern delicacy, Fried Green Tomatoes.  I fixed the last batch last night because the season is ending and I picked the last of the tomatoes off the vines.  I did this because I needed the space for the fall garden and I wanted one last meal with Fried Green Tomatoes.

Time for a bit of an Uncle T rant.  Fried Green Tomatoes are made from unripe tomatoes of whatever variety you are growing.  I get aggravated every time I hear some TV chef say they are a special breed of tomato that stays green.  Not in the South they're not.  Chefs always try to over complicate things, especially regional comfort foods.  They need to stop.  Country folks aren't going to waste space to grow a green tomato just for frying.

If you don't know the greatness of a crunchy tart Fried Green Tomato you need experience it.  They will elevate any meal to heights of greatness.  Yes, I'm that confident about them.  They are simple to make and the reward is more than worth it.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Green Tomatoes, 1 per person
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
flour
corn meal
oil

Slice the tomatoes 1/2 inch thick.  Dredge the tomato slices in the flour.  Dip them in egg wash made from the egg and milk.  Remove from the egg wash and dredge in corn meal.  Set on rack to set while you do the rest of the tomato slices.  Heat oil in a skillet until hot, using just enough oil to cover the skillet bottom about 1/8 inch.  Put the tomatoes in the hot oil and cook until golden then flip and cook the other side till golden.  Remove from oil to the rack or onto paper towels to drain.

Coated and ready to fry

Hot from the skillet

I keep seasoned flour and seasoned corn meal in ziploc bags in the freezer.  The flour is seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.  The corn meal has salt and garlic powder.  These are what I use for the dredging.  Another staple of Southern cooking is bacon grease.  Every old school Southern cook has a container of bacon grease somewhere in the kitchen.  For some extra flavor, use bacon grease instead of oil to fry the tomato slices.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Boiled Okra and pan fried Skirt Steak

As you see, there is no need to try to complicate this.  Get some green tomatoes, either from your own garden or from a farmer's market, and embrace the culinary pleasure of Fried Green Tomatoes.

Uncle T

Smoked Jalapeno Bombs

Why call them Jalapeno Bombs?  Well, they have more kick than Jalapeno Poppers since there is no cheese to mitigate the heat and I figure that will get the attention of the folks at NSA and they need recipes also.  OK, so it's mostly because they have more kick than a popper.

The beauty of mine is that I grow the peppers and they are hotter than most store bought peppers and I make the hot Italian sausage that goes in them.  For this application I still buy commercially prepared bacon.  These also reheat well so I make quite a few.

Jalapeno Bombs with Tomato Pie

These Jalapeno Bombs pair well with mac & cheese, french fries, onion rings, and we even had them with tomato pie.  They have also been the side dish for smoked ribs on occasion.  They are even good just by themselves with a bit of crusty bread.

Jalapeno Bombs with Beer Battered Onion Rings

Jalapeno Bombs with 3 Cheese Rigatoni and Cheese

For the hot Italian sausage, use which ever sausage you like best.  I make my own sausage.  I  have a couple of good recipes but as often as not I'll use a ready made seasoning mix from Butcher and Packer, http://www.butcher-packer.com/.  Butcher and Packer have just about everything you could want to processing meat or making sausage.  I get my natural casings from them as well as the seasoning mix and high melting temperature cheese so I can make smoked sausages with cheese.  While their mix has good flavor, I usually add some extra pepper flakes from peppers I've grown and dried.  You know, for that extra boost.

Usually, this will take about 16 Jalapenos since I'll use a whole package of my sausage and I pack it in 1 lb units.

Smoked Jalapeno Bombs

Jalapeno peppers
hot Italian sausage
bacon, thick sliced, cut in half

Slice the Jalapenos in half lengthwise.  Be sure to cut the stem in half as well.  Using a spoon, clean out the seeds and the ribs from the pepper halves.  Scoop a bit of sausage with the spoon and fill the pepper half so it is slightly rounded.  Wrap a piece of bacon around the pepper half.  Smoke for at least one hour in the smoke of your choice.  Enjoy.

Notes:  If your skin is sensitive to the capsaicin be sure to wear gloves and avoid touching your eyes or face.  The heat of a pepper is primarily in the seeds and ribs.  If you want a bit more heat, like I do, just leave a bit of the rib in the pepper.

If you start your bacon wrap with the end just hanging over the side of the pepper half, it should wrap around to overhang at the front and not require a toothpick to keep it on. If you want more bacon or have longer peppers then use the whole slice of bacon.

Jalapenos fresh from the garden

A work in progress

Jalapeno Bombs fresh from the smoker

Jalapeno Bombs with Fried Okra and Parmesan Roasted Smashed Potatoes

As you can see, these Jalapeno Bombs are a versatile dish.  They are a regular feature at our house during the summer while our Jalapeno plants are producing.  I hope you give these a try.  You'll not be disappointed.

Uncle T

Three Cheese Ravioli with Shrimp in Butter Garlic Sauce

We usually don't eat bread with meals.  The main exception is when we do pasta.  I know, all the health nuts will freak out over the dual sources of those evil carbohydrates.  Then again, I doubt any of those types will be reading about my food.  All that said, we had a loaf of fresh bread left over after eating the Fettuccine last week.  It sat there in the fridge demanding to be used well.

I finally succumbed to the need to finish off the bread and decided on another pasta dish.  Then the question became, what pasta dish?  My good wife had asked for my next batch of ravioli be cheese ravioli so this was the chance.

Deciding on cheese ravioli was the easy part.  Then came other questions that needed answers.  What cheeses should I use?  What kind of sauce, if any, should I use?  What should accompany the ravioli?  See, one thing leads to another.  In the end, I used what I had on hand with the exception of Ricotta cheese.  The cheese mixture was Ricotta cheese, Mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.  The sauce was a butter garlic sauce.  Sauteed shrimp would be the accompaniment along with the bread.

Making ravioli is a time consuming process but it is well worth it.  The main reason is that you know what is in it and can tailor the stuffing mixture to suit your tastes.  I have the little ravioli form, there is a link in the Tools and Gadgets post, that helps make them more uniform but it is not a requirement for home made ravioli.  If you don't have a ravioli form, just lay out the bottom sheet of pasta dough, add small mounds of stuffing at least an inch apart, lay the top sheet of pasta dough down, and press into the individual ravioli.

Ready for the top layer of dough

Three Cheese Ravioli

Pasta dough
1 cup Ricotta cheese
3/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 T minced Basil
1 tsp mince Thyme
salt
pepper

The pasta dough is my standard recipe.  Combine 2 cups flour, 3 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp olive oil.  Once they come together knead the dough until it is smooth.  Wrap in plastic and let sit for 20 minutes before working.  While the dough is resting, add the cheeses to a bowl and mix well.  Stir in the Basil and Thyme.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If using a pasta press, roll out the sheets to desired thickness, I go to 5.  Use a ravioli form or the countertop method to make your ravioli.  To cook the ravioli, put it in well salted boiling water.  When it floats it is done.

Using the ravioli form I have this recipe will make about 36 ravioli.  I had enough filling for another couple of ravioli so I just snacked on it while doing everything else.

Fresh ravioli ready to cook

Start the shrimp cooking then put the ravioli into the boiling water. When the ravioli is done either drain in a colander or use a slotted spoon to get them out of the water and into a bowl. Toss with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking.  Then finish according to the Shrimp in Butter Garlic Sauce recipe.

Shrimp in Butter Garlic Sauce

1 - 1.5 lb shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 stick butter
6 - 8 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup white wine
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning

Leaving the tail on the shrimp is personal preference but I remove the tails prior to cooking.  Sprinkle salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning over the shrimp to suit your taste.  Melt all but 2 T of the butter in a skillet.  Add the shrimp and sautee until done.  Remove from the skillet leaving the melted butter.  Add the remaining butter and let it melt.  Add the white wine, stir, then burn off the alcohol.  Add the minced garlic and sautee for a minute or two, don't let it brown.  Add the ravioli to the skillet and toss to coat.  Return the shrimp to the skillet and stir to mix in with the ravioli.  Serve and enjoy.

A plate full of goodness

If you don't want to burn off the alcohol in the wine you can just let it evaporate naturally.  It will just take an extra minute or two.  I like to play with fire so I burn it off. 

This meal comes together quickly once the ravioli is made.  If you use ready made ravioli then this would be a super quick evening meal.  Whether you make your own ravioli or use fresh ravioli from the store I hope you'll give this recipe a try.  I think you'll like it.

Uncle T

Pepperoni and Mushroom Pizza Fettuccine

Yeah, I know, the title is a bit strange.  If you've read much of what I've written you've probably figured out that I do strange fairly well at times.  This is one of them.  On the upside, it is quite tasty.

Previously I detailed making pepperoni and slicing and packaging it.  When using a slicer there are always mis-cuts, trailing pieces, and ends to deal with.  These ends and pieces were diced and packaged for use when I thought of something to do with them.  I was initially thinking of just using them on a pizza but then a craving for some pasta came over me.  I had the diced pepperoni, mushrooms, and some left over marinara sauce in the refrigerator so the pizza fettuccine was born.

Pepperoni and Mushroom Pizza Fettuccine

6 oz diced pepperoni
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
marinara sauce
Fettuccine

Put the diced pepperoni in a skillet and fry until slightly crispy.  Remove from skillet.  Add a bit of olive oil to the pepperoni grease and cook the mushrooms to desired doneness.  Remove from skillet.  When the fettuccine is done, take it out of the water and put into the skillet.  Once all the fettuccine is in the skillet add the pepperoni and mushrooms.  Toss with tongs to mix.  Add the marinara sauce and mix.  Serve and enjoy.

As you see, there is no measurement for the marinara sauce.  That is so you use as much as you wish.  We like just a bit of sauce on our pizza and did this the same way so it would be another layer of flavor rather than being the main flavor.  This is not a terribly inventive recipe to my mind but I've not found anything quite like it doing a quick search online.  Everything I've come across uses half and half with cheese to make a creamy cheese sauce.  To me that defeats the purpose of letting each flavor shine. 

The boy is living with us for a bit until he closes on his new house and had one complaint about this dish.  His complaint was how was he supposed to go back to box pasta after eating fresh.  I offered to give him the pasta dough recipe I use.

Naturally, eating pasta meant I had to make some bread to go along with it.  I used the baguette recipe from Artisanbreadwithstev, found here, https://youtu.be/QBX9S5klgN8.  I wanted a larger loaf so I just divided the dough in half rather than into thirds.  The recipes from this guy that I've made have all turned out well and have been tasty.  Since it only takes about  2 1/2 hours from start to finish you should try it.  It'll be fresh, hot, and won't have the unpronounceable ingredients found in bread from the store.

A plate full of goodness

OK, this post is not as long or involved as some but brevity at times has a quality all its own.  The take away from this one is to do something different with your ingredients.  You don't always have to fix things in the usual manner.  Obviously I'm not concerned with pasta purists or traditionalists.  Have fun in the kitchen and make good food.  Give it a shot.

Uncle T