Co-op Thanksgiving... Before...

Compound Butter for the Smoked/Roasted Turkey 

 

1 stick Unsalted Butter, room temp

Grated peel of one Meyer lemon 

2 Tbsp minced mixed fresh herbs 

(I used marjoram. rosemary and lemon thyme)

3 Cloves Black Garlic http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/black-garlic-aged-Korean

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Take the turkey out of its wrapper and pat dry. Place on a rack set over a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Kosher or sea salt and return to the fridge overnight. In the morning, remove the turkey from the fridge to warm up for 2-3 hours. Put 3-4 cups of wood chips in a bowl of hot water. Meanwhile set up the grill to smoke the bird. I use my Weber Kettle grill by making a small fire on one side with lump charcoal. Once the coals are hot I remove the small grate so the coals fall to the bottom of the kettle. I put the large grate on and add 1 cup of the wet wood chips, and set the turkey on the cool side of the grill. Cover and allow to smoke for 10 minutes. After 10 mins check the bird to be sure it isn't burning. Flip the bird and continue to smoke for another 10-15 mins depending on how much smokiness you desire. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 375º. Remove the bird from the grill and put in a cast iron frypan or heavy bottomed roasting pan. Pop the turkey in the oven and roast normally. I tend to roast turkey for 20 minutes on a side before I flip it and roast another 20 mins. Roast until it reaches 160º-170º remembering that it will add another 10º after it comes out of the oven.

Ongoing Experiments in Fermentation (Now with Video)

Burned sugar and smoked salt
This was an accidental creation- I call it burned sugar/smoked salt (black salt for short) It resulted from an attempt to smoke salt and brown sugar on the grill after cooking dinner. I've done it a dozen times but this time the grill wasn't closed all the way so therefore it kept cooking. By the time we went to bed I could smell the delicious aroma of burning sugar. Running out in my PJs I rescued it off the grill, thinking it was a total waste (even the pan seemed trashed) But after getting back into to bed and thinking about it, I decided to try to save it. Remember, it smelled great. After a few days of effort, trying to dry the caramelized sugar I ran the chunks through the food processor with additional salt and a healthy dose of corn starch to absorb some water. It worked great. It tastes great. And I have a ton of it!

Umeboshi- Brine fermented plums
Utilizing my creation above, some whole red plums, and water I am attempting to create something approximating Umeboshi. Seems to be going well so far... We'll see...

Pineapple, Apple & Pear Vinegars
I used the peels and cores only + filtered water and brown sugar. I did goose the ferment with actively fermenting Riesling wine vinegar. The bubbles started very quickly, after maybe 8 hours or so. They all smell great!

Guava lemongrass vinegar
Combined whole, crushed pineapple guavas with filtered water, brown sugar, citric acid (to raise pH) and after one day added lemongrass syrup and the lemongrass used to flavor the syrup. Again I goosed the ferment with actively fermenting Riesling wine vinegar. This one is the biggest "risk" in that the process isn't described in Mary Carlin's new book, Mastering Fermentation! http://masteringfermentation.com/index.html

Mushroom ketchup
Another complete experiment. Here's what went into it:
2 cups dried Shiitake mushrooms
1 cup dried white mulberries
8 bay leaves whole
3 tsp black salt (see above)
1/2 whole nutmeg, broken into pieces
1 Tbsp shrimp paste
10 Allspice berries whole
2 tsp hot sauce. like Sriracha
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 cloves fermented garlic cloves
(more on this in the next post)
1/4 cup garlic brine

Ginger bug
Fresh Ginger
Whole Unrefined Cane Sugar
Filtered water

Peel the ginger and grate into a clean Mason jar. Add enough water to cover and add 1/4 cup of the sugar. Cover and allow to sit in a warm place overnight. Each day for the next 5 days, grate additional ginger, and add it with 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup sugar. By the end of the five days your ginger bug should be bubbling along happily (be careful because the CO2 will blow the top right off!). You can keep the Bug on the counter but will have to feed it every few days. Or keep it in the fridge in a sort of suspended animation. This resulting liquid is enjoyable in marinades, sauces or combined with sparkling water, a refreshing beverage!

Argentina Vineyard Dinner-

Sneak peak recipe: Faina – Garbanzo Flatbread

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups garbanzo bean flour
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups water
 
Fainá is a nutty, peppery flatbread (related to the italian flatbread farinata) made with garbanzo bean
(chickpea) flour. It makes a great appetizer, (especially with toppings), but it's most often served as an accompaniment to pizza. In fact, topping a slice pizza with a piece of fainá is a very common practice in both Argentina and Uruguay, where fainá is hugely popular. When pizza and fainá are paired this way it's called pizza a caballo (horseback pizza). Fainá is very quick and easy to make, and you can find garbanzo bean flour (gluten free) at many natural food stores. In a medium bowl, whisk the garbanzo bean flour together with the salt, 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, the Parmesan cheese, and a generous amount of ground black pepper. Whisk in 1 3/4 cups of water until the mixture is well blended. Set batter aside for about a half hour, to let the garbanzo flour absorb some of the water.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. When it is hot, place the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a 12 inch pizza pan. Heat the pan in the oven until very hot. Gradually stir remaining water into the batter mixture until it is thin enough to pour. Remove the hot pizza pan from oven, and immediately pour the batter into the pan. The batter should make a thin (about 1/4 inch) layer. Place the pan back in the oven and bake until fainá is golden and crispy (about 8-10 minutes). Cut the faina into pieces and serve.

Here are additional images of the many, many empanadas:

BONUS Recipes!! Three Rice Salads...

I began making cold rice salads many years ago to go with Summer meals. Rice Salads make great alternatives to either potato or pasta salads. Easy to make ahead, and healthy, these should be a part of every kitchen. They work wonderfully with cookouts and also for more formal sit down meals during the hot weather. These were created for the International Day of Peace festivities at the Center for Living Peace this year. Enjoy!

Korean Black Rice Salad
1 cup Forbidden Black Rice
2-3 cups water
pinch of salt

3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp sesame oil
1Tbsp Gochujang (Korean chili bean paste)
3 tsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and rice. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Check after 15 minutes. You may need extra water because the black rice is a whole grain like brown rice so will take extra time to cook through. Once the rice is tender (about 20-25 minutes) but not mushy, remove from heat and leave covered for 15 minutes. Place rice in a large bowl and begin the dressing.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the warm rice. Allow to cool and serve at room temperature.


http://www.lotusfoods.com/Organic-Forbidden-Rice/p/LOT-10260&c=LotusFoods@Organic

Vietnamese Jade Pearl Green Rice Salad
1 cup Jade Pearl Rice
2 cups water
pinch of salt

2 cups diced green mango
   (regular mangoes that haven't reached the soft ripe stage)
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Fish sauce
2 Tbsp Sriracha hot sauce
3 Tbsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 bunches cilantro, chopped

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and rice. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Check after 15 minutes. Once the rice is tender (about 20-25 minutes) but not mushy, remove from heat and leave covered for 15 minutes. Place rice in a large bowl and begin the dressing.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the warm rice. Allow to cool and serve at room temperature.
http://www.lotusfoods.com/Organic-Jade-Pearl-Rice/p/LOT-00360&c=LotusFoods@Organic

Sweet Sushi Rice Salad
1 cup sushi rice
2 cups water
pinch of salt

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar, dissolved in vinegar

2 cups diced green honey dew or orange cantaloupe
2 cups red grapes, cut in half
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp grated ginger

Bring water to a boil. Add salt and rice. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Check after 15 minutes. Once the rice is tender (about 20-25 minutes) but not mushy, remove from heat. Pour the rice seasoning over hot rice and stir well. Leave covered for 15 minutes. Place rice in a large bowl and begin the dressing.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the warm rice. Allow to cool and serve at room temperature.

¡Tapas! Final menu and images...

Tortilla Espanola

Chicken and Ham Croquetas with Smoked Pimenton Aioli

Butternut & Blue Cheese Croquetas

Chickpea Fritters with Squid & Pickled Onion

Meatballs in Fig Sauce

Gambas al ajillo

A Wonderful Night!!

Tapas! Spanish Vineyard Dinner begins and a note about pork

Planning is underway for next week's Spanish Vineyard dinner. We will be making and enjoying both traditional and non-traditional Tapas. The most popular legend, of course, is that tapas evolved as free nibbles in the Sherry bars of southern Spain. Others credit this King or that King. More practically they acted as a convenient "top" to keep the wine flies out of your glass. Though no longer free, tapas today consist of a wide and creative variety of small dishes, typically eaten after work with a glass of cold Fino. They serve as a much needed bridge from the usually large lunch (+ siesta!) and the very, very late dinner time (10 pm or later!) Regardless of how accurate the legends are, tapas are a wonderful and delicious culinary tradition even if they aren't really a true reflection of Spanish cuisine in general.

The common ingredients used for tapas are usually more economical cuts of meat (almost always pork, more on that in a minute), seafood and preserved products like olives, anchovies, etc.
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A note on the incredible amount of pork eaten in Spain: It is literally everywhere. Entire shops are devoted to Jamon, with hundreds of hams hanging from the ceiling. Even regular supermarkets carry 5 or 6 different types of Jamon. This tradition developed for a very real and serious reason, according to The Cambridge World History of Food:

"Spanish enthusiasm for pig meat stems in part from pork’s past importance as a symbol of cultural identity. Because Moors and Jews did not eat it, Christians saw the meat as more than simple nutrition. In sixteenth-century Spain, pork eating was an acid test faced by Spanish Moriscos and Marranos who publicly claimed conversion to Christianity. Conspicuous pork avoidance could result in an appearance before the tribunals of the Inquisition."
     —The Cambridge World History of Food (www.cambridge.org/us/books/kiple/hogs.htm) 

So you have to eat your pork! As my readers (both of you?) already know, fortunately for me,  I am already a huge pork fan! So the Inquisition will have to find another reason to come after me (shouldn't be too difficult)

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Bacon /// Bacon /// Bacon Wrap up

Last night's Bacon class was a success and there are new converts to the 'Make it yourself" gospel that I am trying to "preach." Sorry if this gets a bit strong for "just" a cooking site, but I have two bees in my bonnet this morning...

First, a word of explanation on why I teach classes like bacon making and cocktail bitter making: yes, there are folks who should probably eat less bacon and other fatty meats and, of course, drink less (myself included.) However one of the best arguments for making it yourself, aside from the very positive aspects of understanding how your food is made and customizing it to your tastes, is that the quality is so much higher than the factory produced crap out there that you are satisfied with less. There will always people who have the time and inclination to be offended by a wholesome cooking class being offered at a center that focuses on bringing people together in a myriad of ways. In my experience few things work better than sharing a meal around a common table. Food as medicine, the the theory of magic "good" foods vs. bad "evil" foods has always driven me nearly around the bend. There are no magic bullets out there, folks. When you make it yourself, you know what you are putting in your body. Rather than bacon pumped full of water (which you pay the same per pound price for as the meat) and god-knows-what-else, yours contains a very few ingredients, all of which are natural and safe...

This leads quickly to the other bee... the Nitrite issue. Much of this concern has very little science to back it up. Again the fat in the bacon is much worse for you than the small, small amount of nitrates left in the finished bacon. There are more nitrates in a kale salad than your Sunday morning bacon. I could ramble on about this but I will give you a quote from cookbook author and food expert, Michael Ruhlman,

"The fact is, most nitrate we consume comes from vegetables. Nitrate we consume coverts to nitrite in our body, which is a anti-microbial agent in our guts. Sodium nitrite in bacon cures the bacon (more info in my safety concerns for charcutepaloozians) and then converts to nitric oxide, so, while I’m not chemist, I have heard others suggest that you’re not actually consuming any nitrite by the time the bacon gets to you.  Again, almost all the nitrate and nitrite in your body comes from veggies.  It’s an anti-oxidant.  Studies are coming out now saying it’s good for the heart.
A study in the Journal of Food Protection put it this way: “Since 93% of ingested nitrite comes from normal metabolic sources, if nitrite caused cancers or was a reproductive toxicant, it would imply that humans have a major design flaw.”

Read the full post here. http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/ It is very enlightening.

Morning after breakfast...

On to the Smoker!!

After seven days (the meat should feel firm ), take it out, rinse off all the seasonings under cold water and soak in fresh cold water for 6 hours or overnight. This helps to remove the extra salt but doesn’t remove the flavor from the cure. Drain the meat and pat it dry. If possible allow it to rest for 24 hours in the fridge on a cooling rack for better airflow. This helps the smoke really adhere to the meat.

Next mix up the dry rub for the cooking process. I like to add this to reinforce the flavors and add a gorgeous crust to the finished bacon. It’s important to be very careful with adding salt to this mix or it will be too salty. Spread the dry rub on a cookie sheet (with sides) and dredge the meat. The cookie sheet makes a great transport to the grill.

If you have a smoker or a grill, you can smoke the bacon. I use my Weber kettle grill and it works beautifully. Build a small fire with hardwood lump charcoal. When it starts to glow stir the coals so they sit deep in the grill. If you have a small grate in your grill place it TOP of the burning coals. Carefully place the tinfoil packet or the soaked woodchip on the grate,  replace the grill grate and put the bacon on keeping it away from the hottest direct heat. Cover the grill with the vents open, and let smoke for 30 minutes, checking after 15 minutes. Turn and repeat. Check the internal temperature, it should be 150º. If it isn’t and you are happy with the level of smokiness, you can cook the bacon in a 200º oven until its done.

Let it cool and refrigerate it until you’re ready to cook it. 

But I know. You won’t be able to wait. 

So cut off a piece and cook it. Taste it, savor it. 

Congratulations! It’s bacon!

Breakfast Bacon Varieties... Including Beef Bacon

My Breakfast Bacon uses the regular dry cure with addition of additional brown sugar and blackstrap molasses. For the October 10th class I am experimenting with both pork belly and beef shortribs.. I have tried the beef bacon before but it turned out too salty, though it was remarkably bacon-like. 

I cut the ribs off (save them OF COURSE! Never throw out flavor!! Great for stock, soup, etc...). Then dredged in the cure, and into the bag with extra sugar and molasses. The meat is a little thinner than a usual pork belly so I'll cure it for only 4 or 5 days.

Here's what the finished beef bacon looked like the first time... (the photo color is a bit too red...)

Bacon Varieties...

For my "Bacon, Bacon, Bacon" class, I've decided on Sicilian and Moroccan as the two "regional flavors." Of course not much bacon is consumed in Morocco, but the spices (tumeric, garlic, sumac, za'atar, and Marrakech Moroccan Spice from Savory Spice (www.savoryspiceshop.com/blends/marr.html) are so good with grilled or smoked meats.

For the Sicilian I used garlic, oregano, dried onion, orange peel and my foraged fennel pollen. I'll do a fennel pollen foraging post later in the year. It's one of my favorite parts of living in SoCal.

New Cooking Class Blog!

After not updating my other food blog (justlookingforonegoodmeal.blogspot.com/) for ages and my inability to get a website up I thought I'd take this route. I will be documenting my adventures in the kitchen and classroom. Should be fun!

Pork-a-polooza

Today's activities included curing 10 lbs of pork belly for my next "Bacon, Bacon, Bacon" class on October 10th at the Center for Living Peace in Irvine, CA (www.goodhappens.org). I also rendered lard and ground up the remaining bits into Asian Pork patties (recipe to follow)
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I started with one whole (really a half) pork belly.

I cut it in quarters and squared of the ends.

Dry Cure
2 ounces kosher salt
(1/4 cup Morton or Diamond Crystal)
2 teaspoons pink curing salt #1
4 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar or honey powder or maple sugar

Mix the ingredients together in a large enough pan to hold the belly. Dredge the meat in the cure mixture and shake off the extra. Put your belly in the zip-top bag, close the bag and massage it all over to rub the cure into the meat. Discard the leftover cure.

I'm still working on the flavor profiles I'm going with for the class, so stay tuned!

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 With the trimmings, I cut off all the meat and carefully cut out a couple of glands (grey vs pink). Yes, this is a little gross but necessary—besides you're already cutting up a belly...

The meat was added to some chunks of fat to be ground for Asian Pork Patties.

Asian Pork Patties
2 parts pork
1 part pork fat
2 large garlic cloves
4" piece of ginger peeled
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp Cambodian Lemongrass Curry (from Savory Spice: www.savoryspiceshop.com/blends/cambod.html)


Chill all the grinder parts, and the pork in the freezer until very cold. It will help the fat not smear in the grinder. Grind the pork and fat with the largest plate. Then grind the ginger and garlic. Mix the ground meat and seasonings by hand and then regrind the mix on the smaller plate. Stir in soy and curry powder. Form into patties. Fry until cooked through and browned. Serve with sushi or sticky rice.

I added a quick sauce of Siracha, Kewpie Mayo, soy sauce and a pinch of the Cambodian curry powder.

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My final project was to render the lard from the remaining scraps and the extra package of trimmings and fat I picked up with my Pork Belly. I cut the pieces into chunks, left the skin on and added a couple of cups of water. I started it on the stove top then put it in a low oven (180º-200º) for as few hours.