Pan Fried Salmon

Salmon is touted as a fish containing healthy fats in quantities not found in most other sources of protein.  I just see it as a tasty fish that you can use in many ways.  This is about my preferred way of preparing it.

I don't remember where I found the idea for this as it was over 10 years ago.  I've not been able to find it since then so I can't give credit where's it due.  Oh well.  One of the problems I have with most pan fried salmon recipes is the fact that they use marinades and lots of ingredients that mask the flavor of the salmon.  I know that's what most chefs do but I'm not a chef and I believe that many times treating a primary ingredient simply is the best way to go.  All it takes to make this salmon and have crispy skin is 4 ingredients, a skillet, and just a little bit of time.

The first step is to let the salmon warm up to close to room temperature and dry all sides.  I know most videos and TV chefs use paper towels but a regular towel will work and it what I usually use.

Salmon fillets dried and ready to go.

Step two is to smear some of the softened butter on the skin side and then sprinkle salt on that side.

Coated with butter and ready for the skillet.

Step three is put your skillet on an eye set at medium to medium-high and let it get hot.  When it is hot, put the salmon in the skillet skin side down.  Don't touch it until the cook line is about halfway up the side of the fillet.

Step four, season the flesh side with salt and pepper.

Seasoned on the flesh side and almost ready to flip.

Step five is flip the salmon once the cook line is about halfway up the side of the fillet.  Leave it until the cook lines meet or almost meet depending on how done you like your salmon.

Note the nicely done crispy skin.  Fillets almost done.

Step six is serve and enjoy.

An excellent supper

The supper we had this evening was the pan fried salmon fillet, carrots sautéed in butter, and a broccoli and rice dish made with a homemade cream of mushroom soup.  Basically it is a broccoli and rice casserole just using homemade ingredients so use your favorite recipe.

An alternative way of serving is to make a pan sauce to pour over the salmon.  Using the butter and juices left in the skillet, add 1/4 - 1/3 cup of whiskey and let it cook down and slightly thicken.  Spoon the sauce over the salmon and enjoy.

Give this method of cooking salmon a try and see how you like it.  Let me know what you think.

Uncle T



Pork Belly Soup

Is there anything so glorious as the pig?  OK, maybe not so glorious while they are running around as a pig can be quite contrary.  However, once they are converted into pork, they are indeed glorious.  The old saying that the only thing you can't use on a pig is the oink is very true.


Most people now days are only familiar with pork chops, ham, bacon, and maybe pork shoulder for pulled pork.  While fresh pork belly is gaining popularity with chefs most people are still not using it.  There is always a fair bit left after I square up the belly to cure for bacon.  That trim gets used to make some very flavorful meals. 


Yesterday was a dreary drookit day and the good wife was in a mood for soup to drive out the chill.  She'd had the fire going most of the day and even I was wishing I'd brought a heavier jacket when I left work.  Of course, good soup takes time and we had errands to run before it could be started but the pressure cooker made up for the late start.


I used pork broth from the freezer for this soup but I've never seen pork broth available commercially.  I think beef or chicken broth would work just fine with beef being slightly more preferred.  My broths are cooked down to be fairly strong so as to save freezer space since you can always add water.  I used about 3 cups worth of frozen pork broth and added 4 cups of water and still had a rich flavorful broth as the soup base.


One other item you won't have on hand is Uncle T's Pork and Poultry Seasoning.  A good substitute would be to make up some quatre épices to season the pork belly.

A good bowl of Pork Belly Soup

Pork Belly Soup


1 lb pork belly
6 - 8 cups broth
3 medium potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
1 1/2 cups carrots, chopped 1/2 inch
1 cup barley
1 - 2 Tbs salt
2 tsp pepper
1.5 tsp roasted ground cumin
1.5 Tbs Uncle T's Pork and Poultry Seasoning
3 bay leaves


Cut the pork belly into small bite size pieces and season with Uncle T's Pork and Poultry Seasoning, or with salt and quatre épices.  Brown the pork belly either in the pressure cooker or a skillet.  Put the broth, potatoes, and carrots in the pressure cooker.  Taste the broth and season to taste with salt, pepper, and roasted cumin.  Remember the potatoes will need a bit of seasoning.  Add the barley and browned pork belly to the pressure cooker and stir to thoroughly mix.  Drop in the bay leaves.  Put the lid on the pressure cooker and set the pressure cook timer for 15 minutes.  After the timer goes off, let it sit for 10 minutes before venting the pressure according to your cookers instructions.  It won't hurt to let the pressure to go down naturally.  Serve and enjoy.


I think this would have been even better with some fresh crusty bread but I didn't have time since we had those errands to run.  As it was, it was rich warm and definitely drove the chill away.


Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Spaetzle and Sauerkraut Soup

What a way to combine some of our favorite things.  This came about because of a statement by the good wife.  After finding a container of leftover spaetzle in the refrigerator while putting up leftover spaetzle from supper she told me to make soup to use it up.  Her wish is my command.


I've been trying to use more of our fermented food as part of meals or in recipes.  Yes, I know cooking with them kills the probiotics but sometimes it's about the flavor.  Besides, the improved nutritional benefit is still there and that is good enough.  Since the weather is cooling and since sauerkraut and spaetzle go together well it seemed natural.


I started searching for recipes for soups containing these and couldn't find any with them together.  The spaetzle soups tended be chicken with spaetzle and the occasional recipe with pork or mushrooms.  All the sauerkraut soup recipes had either white beans, potatoes, or both along with a meat that was usually sausage.  So, as frequently happens, I went my own way and started planning.


In the end, this tasty soup ended up containing homemade spaetzle, home fermented sauerkraut, homemade pork broth, and homemade mettwurst.   I chose the mettwurst because it is a good spicy sausage that pairs well with sauerkraut on the plate and I figured it would do the same in the soup.  The soup was made in the electric pressure cooker using a combination of different settings.

A full pot of soup.  The pressure cooker has a 6 quart capacity.

OK, I know most people won't go to the extent of growing cabbage and making their own sauerkraut.  That's OK.  I would suggest buying kraut that comes in a bag in the cooler section of the store rather than the canned variety.  The bagged kraut has much better flavor and crunch


Spaetzle and Sauerkraut Soup


1 lb smoked sausage (mettwurst, kielbasa, etc)
3 - 4 cups cooked spaetzle
1.5 - 2 lbs sauerkraut, drained
1 cup diced carrots
2 cups diced potatoes
6 cups broth
1/2 - 1 Tbs salt*
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 Tbs garlic powder


Put the broth in a large pot and bring to a simmer.  Add the diced carrots and potatoes along with the spices and cook until tender.  I set the pressure cooker for 5 minutes.  Once they are tender, stir in the spaetzle and sauerkraut and let them get warm.  Slice the smoked sausage into 3/8 inch/1 cm pieces and add to the soup and stir.  Let the whole pot simmer for 30 minutes for the flavors to come together.  Serve with a good crusty bread.  Makes 6 servings.


*This will be variable depending on your broth.  My homemade broth didn't have any salt so both it and the potatoes need the salt.  Commercially produced broth has varying levels of salt so adjust to taste.  Don't forget the kraut will have some salt as well.

A bowl of filling tasty goodness

As with many soups and stews it was better the 2nd night and will probably be even better on the 3rd night.  This is a filling nutritious soups perfect for cooler weather.


If you make this soup let me know what you think.


Uncle T

Fun with Fermentation - Giardiniera

Giardiniera is an Italian/Italian American relish of pickled vegetables typically done in either vinegar or oil.  It can be found in hot or mild varieties.  Depending on where you are seems to determine how it is used.  The Italian version is eaten as an antipasto or with a salad.  In the US, it also gets used as toppings for Italian beef or sausage sandwiches in Chicago.  Some people even use it in pasta.


This is one of those foods that can basically be used/eaten however you wish and it will be good.  The good wife likes it and has been wanting some.  OK, the good wife likes just about any pickled vegetable but that's beside the point.  Since lacto-fermentation is a form of pickling I thought it would be a good thing to make some rather than buy a jar.


I went to the condiment aisle to look at some jars of giardiniera to see exactly what was in the commercial varieties.  The only thing they had that I didn't use was olives.  We could have bought some olives to add but I wasn't sure how or if they would affect the fermentation so we did without.


Since we will eat it out of the jar or as a component of a charcuterie and cheese meal I chose to cut the vegetables in good sized chunks.  If we want to top a sandwich with is we can chop it up some more.  What I ended up using made two quarts.


Lacto-fermented Giardiniera


1 head cauliflower
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 stalks celery
3 medium carrots
1 head garlic, optional
2 - 4 hot peppers, optional
4 tsp salt, non-iodized
4 cups water, non-clorinated


Boil enough water to fill the quart jars and let them sit until ready to pack the vegetables in.  Separate the cauliflower into bite sized florets and place in a large bowl.  Cut the bell peppers into 3/8 inch x 2 inch strips and add to the bowl.  Cut the celery into 3/8 - 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl.  Cut the carrot on the diagonal into 3/8 - 1/2 inch pieces and add to the bowl.  Slice the peppers, if using and add to the bowl.  Separate and peel the garlic cloves and set aside.  Thoroughly mix the contents of the bowl.  Dump the hot water out of the quart jars.  Start putting the vegetable mixture in each jar adding the garlic cloves to equally distribute. Pack them tight and leave space at the top.  Mix the salt and water to make your brine and fill to the rim.  Put the lid on but don't crank it down hard, fermentation gas and some liquid needs to be able to escape.  Put jars in a pan to catch overflow and put in a warm place in your house while keeping them out of direct sunlight.  In 7 - 14 days, temperature and taste depending, you'll have some tasty fermented giardiniera.  This batch was good at 12 days.

Quart jars of vegetables ready to start fermenting

Once the desired level of flavor is reached, tightly cap the jars and put them in the refrigerator.  Putting them in the refrigerator will slow/stop the ferment and will help maintain the texture of the vegetables.  These will not be super crunchy but you can possibly help preserve some of the crispness by adding some tannin to the mix in the form of oak or grape leaves.  I didn't bother with that and the peppers ended up pretty soft.


The vegetables need to stay submerged during the entire ferment else you run the risk of mold development.  If they are tight packed they may stay submerged on their own.  If not use a weight of some sort to keep them under the brine.  In my gallon jars of sour kraut I use a ziplock bag filled with the brine to keep the cabbage submerged.


Some people call for 1 Tbs salt to 2 cups water which is slightly more salt than I use.  I find, with softer vegetables anyway, that the end result is a bit too salty to my taste.  The primary purpose of the salt is inhibit undesirable bacteria until the lactobacillus has taken off. 


One of the side effects of pickling garlic this way is that it can turn blue or green.  This is perfectly normal and it is safe to eat.  The color change is just a chemical reaction between a couple of enzymes found in garlic or between one of those and the salt.  There may be no color change at all.  If there are no bad spots on the garlic and you don't bruise it when peeling you have a better chance of it staying its natural color.  I had to cut out small bad spots on a few cloves so I got some blue garlic.


In addition to being tasty, lacto-fermented foods are high in probiotic bacteria which we all need.  Supposedly, these bacteria have a whole host of benefits that range from helping your skin look good to weight loss.  They do help keep your digestive tract healthy by maintaining a large variety of microorganisms in your gut.


If you don't like this mix, that's OK.  Select the vegetable/vegetables you like at start fermenting.  You'll get some tasty food and if you share you get to tell them you made it.  Give them a try and let me know how you like them.


Uncle T

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