Oh yeah, well Pho you! (October Daring Cooks)

Pho, pronounced fuh, is one of my favorites. A traditional Vietnamese noodle soup with all those great condiments that send it over the top in flavor.

Let’s get the fineprint out of the way.

The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.

Actually that isn’t the whole truth. I chose to do the beef version from scratch and that recipe is located here.

So to keep things short and sweet I will give only the “cliff notes” here.

Start by parboiling some beef knuckle or marrow bones. Parboiling and then rinsing makes a clearer stock possible by removing most of the impurities.

Just a quick 10 minutes under boil and then rinse and clean out your pot to start the process over. This time add in your toasted spices, star anise, coriander seed, fennel seed, cinnamon, and cardomom all wrapped in a sachet.

The next oh so important step in the broth preparation is charring of the ginger and onions. The charring adds a complexity to the stock that is absolutely crucial to the dish.

So for the stock it is the charred ginger and onion, the toasted spices, some brown sugar, about a 1/4 cup of fish sauce, and the par-boiled marrow bones. Let them come to a slow simmer. I like to only put part of the pot over the heat so that a raft develops on the opposite side. After about 3 hours of slow simmering, I added in a well seared pot roast that had been seasoned simply with salt and pepper.

Not only does this richen the stock, but it also provides and excellent addition to the finished soup. Let the roast finish to tender in the stock for about 90 more minutes. This is what it looks like after almost 5 hours and lots of skimming.

And now after straining through paper towels and de-fatting.

That was the hardest part of the whole process. Everything else is fairly quick and simple. I tasted the broth to check and took the opportunity to add more salt.

I did decide to cook my rice noodles in the stock. I wanted to add more flavor to relatively plain tasting noodles. It worked. Also gave them just a little color. I was afraid that it would cloud the stock but it didn’t. Well at first it did but then it cleared again. Use the time it takes to cook the noodles to ready your condiments.

Here we have the thin sliced pot roast, thin sliced ribeye, basil, mint, cilantro, red onion, bean sprouts, and finely chopped Thai chiles. I ended up chopping up the herbs for serving.

Make a bowl with what you like. I like lots of everything.

Now add in some sambal oelek (chile garlic sauce), hoisin sauce, and as much of the boiling beef broth as you care for. Viola!

 

Now for the second part of the challenge. Dessert. We were asked to prepare a deep fried sweet wonton. Immediately upon reading the dessert portion of the challenge a sick and twisted idea popped into my head. I have decided to call it the “Dead Elvis”.

Simple as can be. On a wonton wrapper spread a bit of your favorite peanut butter, top with some bananna slices, and a bit of cooked bacon.

Wet the edges with eggwash and then top with another wonton. I used a fork to crimp the edges.

Now gently deep fry in 360F oil. I splashed oil on to the top while frying and then flipped and did the same on the second side.

Elvis was definitely on to something here. I am not much for sweets but this was so good. Crispy, salty, creamy, and sweet. A great mix for an unusual dessert.

 

A little work and then a little bit of cooking

Life is good. Seriously. Sometimes a man has to stop for a minute and look around. Recognize the terrain around him for what it is, and fully appreciate the good things.

Last week I worked on a job with some wonderful people. In my business, crews come and go. They whisk into town, spread around some money and are gone without another word. That is fine. Sometimes though you are able to make friends. A quick rapport is struck between professionals of like mind. The job becomes that much more enjoyable.

I took a few photos.

(r to l) Per, Ariel, Michelle, Carrie, Lesley, Laura, me, Bill, Randy, and Eric. John of course is taking the photo.

A good attitude is contagious. John is ever the optimist.

Carrie and Michele mugging for the camera in the Alpenglow.

Eric and Bill have had their job stolen by all this amazing light.

On the last morning of shooting we ended up at the toe of the Knik Glacier. Like I said before, life is good.

No matter how much fun a job is, they are almost always exhausting. We worked from before sunrise to well after sunset. With a shoot window straddling the Autumnal Equinox, that meant at least 14-15 hour days. So when the job was finished, I was looking to relax and spend a little time finding my center in the kitchen.

I purchased some beef bones for a recipe that I will blog on later. They looked so good that I had to pull out a couple to use for a little snack while I used the rest for stock. Roasted bone marrow is one of those recipes that I have been wanting to try for some time. While looking around I came across this recipe from My Madison Bistro.

I did what I could to duplicate her efforts given my time and ingredient limitations. Mine were soaked in 3 changes of saltwater over about 4 hours. I also didn’t have any ancho chile powder so I used toasted New Mexico Red chiles ground up in the spice grinder. The rinsed bones were dried and then topped with salt, pepper, chile powder, and brown sugar.

Roast in a pre-heated 425F oven for about 15-20 minutes. I eyeballed these a few times and pulled out before the sugar went black.

I like the color the chile powder and the caramelized sugar give to the normally bland grey bone marrow. Didn’t have any baquette so I toasted up some 7 grain. It really is that simple.

The sweet/spicy combination is outstanding. That mixes with a rich buttery saltiness that only dead cow can produce. If you ever have access to marrow bones, you have to try this. I can’t help but point out that this is a 3 star caliber appetizer with less than 4 ingredients ( not counting s&p ). Not all gourmet food is complicated.

Quiet, I Am Hunting Vegans (September Daring Cooks)

Actually this month I was hunting for delicious Vegan examples of a traditional Indian treat called dosas. Debyi from Healthy Vegan Kitchen threw down the guantlet for this month’s Daring Cooks challenge. This was going to be a challenge in several ways. Not just a cooking/recipe challenge, but also a challenge to my cooking and food philosophy. The following paragraph is what got my hackles up.

“Requirements: Must be free of animal products, this will be a challenge for you “regular” cooks out there, but its worth it. So that means, no cows milk, butter, meat, poultry, fish, chicken/beef broth, etc. This dish is also 99% oil free, using only what you need to keep the dosas from sticking (I used a quick spritz of cooking spray on the first dosa only), which isn’t too bad with a nonstick pan. You can use a different filling/sauce if you like, but it must be free of animal products.”

One of my pet peeves is picky eaters. Another is people saying they are allergic to something that they really aren’t. Yet another is militant vegans trying to force their opinions on me. So right off the bat I am having trouble with this challenge. I decided at some point though that I would just shut my mouth and do the challenge according to the rules laid out by our hostess. (For me that was like walking on water.)

Dosa are a thin crepe like traditional Indian food that can be filled with or topped with just about anything. To fulfill the vegan requirements I went with a quick first attempt using a batter of AP flour, whole wheat flour, coconut milk, water, baking powder, curry powder, and salt. It is a very simple batter that you just add enough flour to get a consistency exactly like a pancake batter.

Heat up a cast iron skillet and coat with just a tiny bit of oil. I used olive oil and wiped the pan with a paper towel. Originally I did this just to fulfill challenge requirements of using very little oil. In the end though it turned out to be the very best technique for starting the dosa. Add a full ladel of your batter into the skillet and spread around with the bottom of your ladel much like you would do when saucing a pizza.

Let it cook until the edges start to turn golden brown and release easily from the skillet. Then flip.

Not bad for the first ever dosa in my life.

For the vegan version I went with a filling of Aloo Gobi that I found on About.com. This is a wonderful resource when it comes to traditional and authentic foods from around the world. Basically the aloo gobi is a potato and cauliflower curry.

In my opinion, with vegan and vegetarian cooking you have to season everything. Without fat and flavorful proteins you must take every opportunity to add flavor.

While hunting around for ideas I came upon another food blogger that has some really well done recipes. Visually appealing as well as flavorful in the execution. Check out No Recipes to find the recipe for this coriander chutney. Look around on my blog for my take on a No Recipes version of Tacos al Pastor and an amazing Salsa Verde.

This is cumin seed, mustard seed, fresh cilantro leaves, onion, grated coconut, serrano chiles, lemon juice, and salt.

Now to put it all together.

On this first attempt I was very happy with the slight sweetness that the coconut milk added to the dosa. It paired well with the spiciness of the aloo gobi. The chutney though didn’t match this dish well. I loved it’s flavor by itself but just not matched with the dosa and filling I chose. Too strong of a citrus flavor and maybe not enough coconut.

Now that I have fulfilled the VEGAN portion of this experiment, on to the real cooking. Up until I read the vegan restrictions on this challenge, my mind was reeling with all the possibilities. Countless fillings and toppings were at my fingertips. Paneer was high on the list but excluded from vegan recipes. Well now I was going to cook it my way.

PART II

After much thought and research online I came up with a mix of North and South Indian cuisine. A traditional dosa batter made from rice, lentils, and fenugreek that is soaked overnight, blended and then fermented for one more night. That would be filled with a chilli paneer and topped with gunpowder chutney and a cucumber mint raita.

I got started on making paneer from scratch. Way easier than you would think. I took a 1/2 gallon of whole milk and put it on a medium low heat. Here was a chance to add more flavor. I spiced the milk with dried cilantro, red chile flakes, and cumin seed.

Stir often while the milk is coming to temp. When it starts to boil, add in the juice of about 1 lemon while stirring. If you have enough acid the milk will start to separate almost immediately.

Now pour this into a collander lined with a linen towel or lots of cheesecloth. Allow the whey to drain off leaving only your fresh cheese curds.

Allow to cool. I didn’t. When cool enough to handle, wrap the towel around the cheese and twist the top so as to form a ball of cheese and to help force out more of the liquid. Some might recommend rinsing the curds to get rid of any overly strong lemon flavor. I tasted the cheese and liked the flavor as is. Use your own taste as your guide.

I twisted up the towel and then weighted it in the collander with a cast iron skillet.

Now while that was drying I got started on a unique dry chutney that seemed a perfect fit for my ultimate vegetarian dosa. Gunpowder Chutney has many variations, like almost every Indian recipe I have come across. I am also not experienced with all the different types of lentils so this is just my version and makes no claims of authenticity. Start by toasting red and green lentils in a dry pan. They start like this.

They end up like this.

I was really surprised at the nutty aroma they started giving up. Buzz these up in a spice grinder. Now dry roast in the same pan some red chiles.

When pan toasting spices, nuts, or anything else let your nose guide your hand. When you start to smell your ingredient, it is probably ready to either shake the pan to mix or pull off the heat. Do not allow any ingredient to char. These are also ground up in a spice grinder. This process was repeated with mustard seeds. Everything was ground up and set aside. It makes a spicy/nutty topping that I will be using often in the future.

Let’s take a look at the cheese.

I had read that paneer was easy to make. Let me just say that as a first time cheese maker, this really felt good looking at such a wonderfully flavored and technically correct fresh cheese from scratch.

Now for the chilli paneer. First you need some chiles. I went with some bananna, pasilla, serrano, and red bell. I thought this mix would give the dish a mix of sweet, peppery, and heat that would go well with the creaminess of the paneer.

Everything starts with some ghee, cumin seed, garlic, grated ginger, and the sliced serranos in a hot skillet.

After a couple of minutes toss in some coriander powder. That is coriander seeds that are ground fine. I also added some curry powder, a small chopped onion, and a bit of the gunpowder chutney. Then added in just a bit of water to help you cook the spices without burning them.

Now add in some chile garlic sauce ( my all time favorite condiment ). Stir and then let most of the liquid cook out. Then toss in the rest of your chiles. Cook until the peppers just start to soften. You should still have lots of bright colors. Now add in your paneer that has been roughly chopped into cubes and cook for just a few minutes.

I tasted and reseasoned at this point with kosher salt, pepper, and more of the gunpowder chutney.

While the chilli paneer was cooking I whipped up a simple cucumber mint raita. It is just brunoise of cucumber, finely chopped mint, plain yogurt, and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Now for the dosa. Your fermented batter should look alive. It reminded me of an active flour/water poolish. Lots of bubbles and the thing was trying to rise out of it’s container. Again just dump a ladel full of the batter into a hot, lightly oiled cast iron skillet. I used just a tiny bit of ghee this time. Spread the batter around to make the dosa as thin and large as your skills and skillet allow.

Flip when the dosa wants to release. It is much like fish on a grill this way. When it is ready to be flipped it will be easy to slip a spatula underneath. If you are rushing the process you will tear the dosa. Be patient and pay close attention.

These looked good but I wanted to make them better. I took a little ghee and brushed on the cooked dosa. Then flipped them back over and cooked them to a crispy and golden brown. I was going for more of a crispy barely foldable dosa as compared to a pancake type dosa/idlis. Texture is a big factor for me when enjoying food and a crunchiness would help me enjoy this vegetarian meal.

Assembly time. Easy enough. This time I filled the dosa and then carefully folded them back on themselves. Put the seam side down on the plate. Top with gunpowder chutney, your cucumber mint raita, and finally a little cilantro for freshness and color.

As much as I dragged my feet and pounded my fists about a Vegan challenge, this turned out really well. I think that Indians have figured out how to eat meatless much better than people in the rest of the world. Nothing in this meal is trying to be something else. No tofurkey, bean sausage, or anything else imitation. The second, vegetarian version was something I will probably make again.

I actually pride myself on being somewhat a caveman. Killing an animal and cooking it over an open fire is a spiritual thing for me. That being said, those that choose a vegetarian or vegan diet for religious reasons have my respect.

Thank you Debyi for a very interesting challenge. Not only did you challenge my kitchen skills but also my thinking in many ways. Every single month, Daring Cooks teaches me something new. Most of the time it has very little to do with the recipe.

 

Mystery Meat for Dinner =)

What do you do when confronted with this?

I knew where the package came from but what was inside was going to be a surprise. Having butchered a few game animals myself, coming across a package with a big fat smiley face on it was definitely promising. I figured it was elk. Having had a couple other packages from the same source labled as elk burger. Could it be? Let’s take a look.

Still not sure but it does look promising to me.

Now we are getting somewhere. It sure does look like medallions of backstrap to me. Very lean trimmed across the grain like all steaks. bright red and clean baby. This is Robert’s fat ass grin. =)

So knowing what I was looking at, I decided on a very simple preparation. When confronted with top quality ingredients, a cook has to let go of ego and just don’t fuck up the ingredient. That means just prepare things simply so that your rockstar ingredients can shine. I mean really, how often do you come across elk backstrap steaks?

I went for the marinade that I almost always use for top quality game steaks. Olive oil, kosher salt, fresh cracked 4 peppercorn blend, balsamic vinegar, and some chopped garlic.

These still had a little frost in them from thawing. So I just left them on the counter in the marinade to come up to room temperature for about an hour.

In the meantime I felt it was neccessary to dust off the charcoal grill and fire it up. All summer I have succumbed to the conveinence of my propane grill. In the immortal words of Hank Hill “taste the meat, not the heat”. Well that is kind of catchy but for such a treat I thought the extra effort of firing up the Weber kettle was called for. I washed off some sweet potatoes and then rubbed them in butter and seasoned simply with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. These were wrapped in foil and slow baked on the grill for about an hour.

Now for the steaks. I admit at this point that I was a little out of practice on the charcoal grill. The potatoes were cooked toward the outside edges of the grill while the charcoal fire was piled in the center. They were cooked with the lid on and all the vents wide open in a very clean grill ( no ash at all in the bottom ). I should have pulled the lid off for just a couple of minutes to supercharge the coals before putting on the steaks. I didn’t. So no super sexy grill marks. Dang it!

I did however leave the top off after realizing my error and the steaks did git a bit of color. Not much because they weren’t on the heat long. These cuts are basically filet mignon. Hardly any fat or any marbling. That fact is exaggerated in wild game. So cooking these beyond rare in my opinion is a cardinal sin. If you were at my house and asked for yours to be cooked even medium, you would be asked to leave. You think I am kidding?

Pull off when very rare. Serve everything as simply as possible. Again I say, let your cook’s ego get out of the damn way. I went with the simplest veg I could find, organic heirloom tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper.

I put some  butter, salt, and pepper on the sweet potatoes.

And the star of the show.

Bloody rare dead animal. Give me mystery meat like this every time.

Over the past several years of blogging, my cooking has come a long way. Complicated labor intensive recipes have graced  the pages of several different blogs. Very French things like a 2 day demi glace, stocks from scratch, the Skate with Traditional Flavors Powdered from Daring Cooks, even guest appearances on others blogs with three day marinated fish have all made appearances. I think it took me figuring out complicated recipes like that to be confident enough to perform simple food like this. It is the thing I respect most in chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Marco Pierre White.

Let the ingredients speak for themselves.

Tacos al Pastor

If you have read just a few of my blogs, you already know my affinity for the swine. Well recently I came across a great blog called No Recipes that has a very inventive and delicious looking take on a Mexican classic, Tacos al Pastor. So as I sit here watching No Reservations, I thought I would share my take on this no recipe.

 

I got started with the marinade. It utilizes fresh pineapple to tenderize and sweeten the pork butt.

Take about a cup of the pineapple, a sweet onion, garlic, a couple of chipotles in adobo, some cinnamon, oregano, salt, pepper, vinegar, and paprika and put in a bowl. To that add in a couple ancho chiles and a couple New Mexico red chiles that have been rehydrated in water with a bay leaf.

 

 Pull out the bay leaf and add the peppers to the other goodies. I hit with an immersion blender until fairly smooth.

I accidentally bought a bone in pork butt. So I boned it and then tossed in the freezer. After about 45 minutes it becomes a lot easier to slice. I sliced from the fat cap down in slices about 1/2 inch thick. Well as close to that as possible. Now take those pieces and slather each and everyone with some of the marinade. Then restack and tie together like a normal roast. The blog linked above suggests not slicing all the way through the roast but this works too.

Tie it up nice and tight so the thing will stay together. Let marinate in the fridge for about an hour.

While that was sitting, I got to work on the salsa verde. On a grill or  in your broiler, char up a sweet onion, some pasilla, jalapeno, and tomatillos.

Almost forgot the garlic. I put about 5 cloves in some foil and roasted those too. When everything cools off enough to handle, scrape off the worst of the char but not all. Then add in some lime juice and a handful of cilantro before buzzing with the immersion blender.

Lets put the pork on the grill. I use indirect heat on high at first. After 30 minutes I turn the grill down to medium and top the pork with some more of that delicious fresh pineapple.

I let this go for about 3 1/2 hours at something like 325F. Basically just let it slowly roast until internal temp reaches 160F.

I also went for making tortillas from scratch. 2 cups masa harina, some salt, and about 1 1/4 cup of warm water. Kneed by hand until it all comes nicely together. Then wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for an hour.

Divide in into 16 equal pieces. Roll into balls and then individually roll out between two pieces of plastic. Or you could use a tortilla press.

Carefully seperate them from the plastic and dry fry in a cast iron skillet for about the time it takes to roll out another one. Flip once and then put them in a dish covered by a towel while you finish the rest.

When your roast is done, pull it off the grill, cover with foil, and allow to rest.

Then pull off some chunks and cut up into smaller chunks. Reheat some tortillas just until they start getting a little color. Top with the pork, some sweet onion, fresh cilantro, and some of that amazing salsa verde.

These are some truly amazing tacos. Very balanced with fresh, smoky, sweet, and a spicy finish that really hit the spot. Be sure to check out No Recipes because this isn’t the only great meal over there.

Rice with Squid (August Daring Cooks)

For some time now I have been a fan of Jose’ Andres. I was first turned on to him by a friend and have been watching his show, Made in Spain, on PBS ever since. Imagine my surprise upon seeing the August challenge reveal by Olga of a wonderfully chosen recipe by Jose’. The recipe is a Catalan version of Arroz con Sepia, or Rice with Cuttlefish.

After much reading online and watching several videos of this and similar recipes being cooked, I got started on the foundation of many a Catalan recipe, the Sofregit. Also known as sofrito in many a Latin country. There are literally thousands of recipes for a base sauce such as this. I wanted to add as much flavor here as possible while still staying true to the authentic Catalan style. Making in advance and allowing to age was mentioned in the Daring Cooks discussion threads and seemed one more way of achieving a richer and fuller flavor.

I started with Walla Walla sweet onions and slowly caramelized them over very low heat in a bit of olive oil. Stir often and don’t be in a hurry. Slowly they will take on more and more color.

Pour off the extra oil and to this I added in roasted red bell pepper and a half a head of roasted garlic.

Now the recipe calls for fresh tomatoes, but only very rarely do good tomatoes make it to the markets of Anchorage. I have taken to using Muir Glen whole canned tomatoes in many sauces and am always pleased with the results. So I added a 28oz can of those that I hand crushed. To this I added a couple bay leaves, some fresh thyme, a bit of cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Let cook over medium heat and stir often. The liquid from the tomatoes will slowly cook out. At a magical moment the sofregit will stop boiling and start frying. Now it is very important to stir often so as to prevent anything from sticking and scorching.

This process gives the sauce a deep burgundy color and thickness that seems to match Jose’s from the TV show. His seemed almost like a marmalade of tomato and caramelized onion. I think mine came very close to that. It was so good that I ate some on grilled focaccia for dinner that night. The rest was set aside for a few days in the fridge to age.

On the day of the actual meal I headed out to New Sagaya Midtown to shop for fish and for a cuttlefish substitute. The fish was easy enough. I have used many a snapper in the past to make fish stock. Even used it to make another Spainish dish very similar to paella called fideua. So pink snapper, head on shrimp, and fresh squid made it into the basket.

The snapper was scaled for me at the fish counter. I fileted it myself and set those back in the fridge for later.

The head and carcass ended up in a pot with some shrimp heads and shells and a couple turns of olive oil. I saved the shrimp meat for another meal.

Sautee until just a little color is left on the bottom of the pot. Then deglaze with white wine. I used this delicious Pinot Gris from Oregon.

Cook off most of the wine and then add in your other goodies. I added some leek, shallots, garlic, parsley, fennel stems, fennel fronds, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.

Cover with water and bring to a slow simmer. Do not boil! A wonderful trick when making stocks to keep them clear is to only put half the pot over the heat. A beautiful raft will develop on top that can be skimmed to get rid of any scum. After about 30-40 minutes, take off the heat and strain. I first strain in a collander and then again through a collander lined with cheesecloth or a paper towel. You will be left with a beautiful golden clear liquid that tastes like it needs salt. So add some.

In a strange bit of synchronicity, almost the very next day PBS aired a show called Kings of Camouflage about you guessed it, cuttlefish. These are truly some very unique creatures. I kept wondering during the entire show “how do they taste”.

Well try as I might, no cuttlefish was to be found. So I went with fresh whole squid. These are usually available around this time of year and are caught off the coast of Southern California. Delicious little creatures and the best substitute I could find.

Cleaning these are fairly straight forward. Pull the head and tentacles away from the body. Put a finger inside the body and scrape out any remaining guts and the pieces of cartilege that makeup a squid’s skeleton. Gently peel off the skin from the body. I usually start at the little wings. It peels away easily from there. Then go back to the head/tentacle section and cut away the tentacles. This leaves only a very small piece of squid that is not used.

I cut the bodies into rings. Set aside your cleaned bodies and tentacles.

Now for the  artichokes. I am not a big artichoke fan. I imagine that if I lived in California and could get them often that would change. They always seemed like such a pain in the ass for very little reward. I had told myself that I was going to stay as true to the spirit of the challenge as possible. Our host had reccommended fresh over canned and that made sense to me. So many canned vegetables taste more of tin than anything else. So I started breaking down my fresh artichokes.

Not the best examples but I do live in Alaska. Google is a better source of information on how to break these down. Short version is cut off top, use spoon to cut out the choke, peel off big leaves, peel down to heart and along stem to reveal the creamy flesh of the artichoke heart. As soon as you get done toss into lemon water to keep from browning. The hearts were cut into eighths.

Next was the mushrooms. I cut up a bunch of oyster mushrooms.

Finally, time to start the actual cooking. A paella pan would be appropriate here but I don’t have one. I do have a really cool copper and stainless skillet that will work just fine. Let it get hot and add in a few turns of olive oil. Add in your squid and a couple of bay leaves. The squid gives off alot of water. I turned up the heat and allowed all of that to cook off.

I was a bit concerned that the squid would be super tough. It is one of those foods that should be cooked for 2 minutes or 2 hours. Trusting in our challenge host I forged ahead. When the water was gone from the squid I tossed in the artichoke hearts, and mushrooms. The mushrooms gave off a bit of liquid as well. Let them actually caramelize a bit before stirring.

Then when everything has taken on some color, deglaze with some more of that great white wine.

Be sure to loosen all the bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Before all the wine has cooked out, add in several heeping spoonfuls of sofregit.

Stir to incorporate and then add in your stock. I was going to be using about 1 1/2 cups of medium grain rice so I added in twice that amount of stock plus a little more because this dish is cooked uncovered. So about 3 1/2 cups of fish stock. Now toss in about $5 worth of saffron threads. At this point I also tossed in small chunks of the snapper filets.

 

I was surprised by how so little of the saffron added so much color. Much of the red is from the sofregit but the orange undertone is all from the saffron. Let this come to a simmer and then add  in your rice.

Some of the other Daring Cooks used sushi rice or even arborio rice but neither of these seemed appropriate for a dish very similar to paella. Both of those seem way too starchy to me. I was unable to find Calaspara or Montsant. So I went with a medium grain that would not give off so much starch and would still be firm and separate when finished. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes and then let rest with the heat cut off for another 5.

I have purposefully avoided mentioning the allioli that is supposed to accompany this dish. Many times I have made aioli from scratch and thought this Catalan version would be no problem. Not sure what happened but for the life of me I was unable to get a proper emulsion. Actually it was probably due to my rushing the process. Anyway, I ended up with a broken allioli of roasted garlic. Can I call it De-Constructed and act like it is better than the real thing?

I plated simply making sure to get lots of squid, some chunks of snapper, and some artichokes. Dressed it up a bit with some of the sofregit that had been warmed, some of the “allioli”, and a bit of green onion.

I resisted adding sausage or other stronger flavors so as to get the true flavor of the dish suggested by Jose’. The squid turned out wonderful. Not tough at all but also not mush. It had some bite but was tender as well. The broken allioli was very tasty and added so much to the dish. Overall I think I got the “balance” of the dish on my very first try. Not something that happens everytime.

Thanks Olga for a wonderful challenge. Be sure to check out the other Daring Cooks versions of this dish. You might get a more narrowed list by googling “Daring Cooks August”.

A Cuban Pig in Alaska is Cooked

Updated 8/3/09 Scroll down for second attempt.

Let me first say that any success I had with this undertaking is due in large part to these guys, “Three Guys from Miami“. Their time tested method for slow cooking a pig is simple to recreate. So to them I say Thank You.

Now on to the show. Really that is what it became, a slowly sizzling, wonderful savory smelling, feast for the eyes and belly.

Prep begins the day before. Since this was my first, I had to buy blocks and build the roasting grates. To give you an idea on cost,  I spent $2.39/block on 36 blocks. Then used about $16 worth of rebar. I also used some steel fence wire and fence posts that my Uncle Joe had on the property. I also bought a 1000 ft roll of aluminum foil. If you had to buy everything, it would price out at around $150. All of these items except for the foil can be used over and over. WARNING! DO NOT USE ANY GALVANIZED METAL TO COOK ON!

Find a level spot in the yard or on a gravel or cement pad. Stack the blocks 2 wide by 4 long and 3 courses tall. This is one block shorter than the Miami Guys suggest. I went with my instincts. I foiled the ground and the first two courses of blocks but I feel this was probably unnecessary.

This was taken the next morning while getting the fire started.

Next comes the pig. We bought a beautiful 85 pounder from a local butcher, Echo Lake Meats. Make sure that the butcher thaws the animal for you. Something this big takes 3-4 days to thaw out so it is something best done under very controlled conditions. Find a table big enough to work on and start on butterflying the pig. I used a small hatchet and a hammer to bust through the spine and head. Be careful not to cut through the skin. When you are close you can just push down on both sides to split the animal apart. Brad was nice enough to give me a hand with this part.

I went with a mojo style marinade of dried oregano, orange/pineapple juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. I ended up using two whole heads of garlic, a handful of oregano, and about 1 1/2 cups of the juice.

Lather up the pig on the belly side. I cut slits into the butts and shoulders. Next time I will also remove the membrane covering the ribs.

This was wrapped back up in the bag and then covered with a sheet of plastic. I then put ice in ziploc bags and covered the top of the animal. A cool garage works really well for storing everything overnight.

Now on to cocktails and some horseshoes.

I have a habit of staying up way too late around the campfire when at my Uncle’s. The next morning came early and I was anxious to check on things. So around 6:45am I was out of bed and gathering the last of my materials. 60 lbs of charcoal, lighter fluid, work gloves, aluminum foil, rocks, etc… Basically just busying myself until everyone else got up. This is what an early morning at my Uncle’s house looks like.

Rain was a concern but not predicted until later in the day. Besides I had access to an ”EZUP” portable tent that would fit right over the top of the pit. Around 8:30am I started the fire. I put a whole 20lb bag in the center and doused it good with lighter fluid. About 30 minutes later when the coals were nice and hot, using a shovel I moved a pile to each corner. Two large drip pans were put in the center to catch the rendered fat and cut down any flare ups.  Then we bundled up the pig in the cooking racks top and bottom and wired the racks together. Put the whole thing on the fire skin side down.

Cover the whole top with foil. Looking back, I realize that the fire was a little too hot at this point. With experience comes knowledge. After about an hour, I added more charcoal to the corners by pulling back the foil and feeding the briquettes through the grate. Already at this point the pig is sizzling. Then again add charcoal another hour later. The estimate for cooking time was around 5 hours but that was with a 4 block tall cooker. At two hours I pulled the foil back and checked with a thermometer and found it was nearly done. 

Notice how it has even started cooking on top. That foil really keeps the heat in. Time to flip. This is definitely a two person job. With the pig and the rack, you are talking about at least a hundred pounds. Be careful. I don’t have a photo but either end got a little black from the hot fire when I first put the pig on.

I added just a bit of charcoal to each corner and then put more foil on to cover. Another hour and time to check. 165F at the back legs. Easily done. 3 hours instead of five was a bit of a surprise. We flipped again to keep the moisture in the pig. Notice how evenly cooked this side is.

Of course at this point everyone near the fire was sticking their fingers in to grab juicy still sizzling bits of perfectly tender pork.

Now this is where I really started to worry. Some of the party wouldn’t be home from fishing until 7pm. It was only 12 noon. So I stopped adding charcoal and covered up the pig again with foil. You may or may not believe this but I swear it is the truth. Around 7pm the rest of dinner was finally ready. It was a busy weekend for everyone and so things kept getting pushed back. Let me just say that I was stressed thinking the pig would be cold, or dry, or inedible.

It was none of the above. We pulled off the foil for the last time to find a still very hot, juicy, and wonderfully aromatic whole hog just ready to be devoured. We took off the top rack and then flipped onto a small camping table. It nearly broke in half. After all that effort the pig almost fell on the ground. Lets just say the dogs started circling. We quickly went for another table and made all right with the world.

Notice that the feet are gone. We had a bunch of happy dogs. The skin was pulled off and set aside. Of course I went for a golden and perfectly crispy piece from the belly. Every thing was pulled off the bone. An 85lb pig filled 4 heaping hotel pans with juicy and delicious roast pork. It was SOOOO good. Everyone would walk by the table for a taste because they just couldn’t resist.

Lessons learned. Scrap the foil on the blocks and ground. Also let the fire burn way down before you put the pig on. Even though the head and ass look blackened, the meat under that charred skin was still moist and perfect. Be prepared to share the leftovers. The whole next day people ate pulled pork sandwiches with a Kansas City style BBQ sauce. That still left 2 hotel pans worth of leftovers for everyone to share.

Everything turned out so well that I have been asked to do it again in just under two weeks. My good friend Mike is celebrating what must be his 60th ( haha just kidding ). What better way to celebrate a big event? This is one of those things people used to do a lot. Block parties, weddings, 4th of July, etc… It is the kind of thing that brings friends new and old back to your door.

Who has fond memories of attending pig roasts as a kid?

8/3/09 Update

My good friend Mike was celebrating his 45th birthday this past Saturday. After discussing the success of the first pig roast, Mike, his wife JJ, and I decided to do another.

This time JJ put together a delicious marinade that I highly recommend.

• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 24 ounces beer
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 4 tablespoons achiote paste
• 4 tablespoons Tabasco
• 3 tablespoons red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin

It provides a level of spice that is a very good match to the richness of slow roasted pork. This time I did remove the membrane covering the ribs to allow penetration of the marinade and the smoke flavors.

Pay close attention to just how the coals are scraped to each corner. Keeping the heat tight in the corners provides for indirect heat and cuts down on flareups. I was also more attentive to placing drip pans to completely cover the underside of the pig. This also keeps the heat indirect and cuts down on flareups. Every once in a while you might still get a little flame. I used a cup of water to carefully douse the flames.

As before, cover the pit tight with foil. This time I put a couple of pieces of hickory in each corner for more smoke. This helps you judge the heat of the fire as well. Lots of smoke means the fire is ok. When it slows way down it usually means it is time to add charcoal and hickory.

Start skin side down. Flip after about 2 1/2 hours. Baste with more marinade. Add charcoal and hickory chips.

This is another important tip. After anothr 2 hours I felt the pig was done. The thermometer was reading 140F at the rump. Then we got a second thermometer and what do you know, 165F. I usually travel with two analog meat thermometers and am not a fan of the digital ones. Count this as one more lesson learned.

Now is the time to finish off the skin side. Carefully hold the pig aside. Pull out the drip pans. Spread the coals evenly over the whole floor of the pit. This was kind of bypassed the first time around because of the pig being done too early. Don’t skip this part. This is the polish that will set your pig apart from other’s.

The blistering of the skin makes otherwise very hard skin into super crunchy, almost fried pork rinds. Most of the skin was eaten just by those standing around as I started cutting the pig apart. This 75lb animal fed 27 hungry adults with 6gallon ziplocs of roast pork leftover.

Like with all cooking, you get better with practice. This roast, I was very deliberate about the details. Taking extra time to dig out the pit, getting the coals just right, adding the hickory, perfectly centering the pig over the drip pans, and crisping the skin all payed off with a pig that everyone enjoyed. Total cooking time ended up right at 5 hours.

Cook Inlet Dinosaur (July Daring Cooks)

Two months ago I joined the Daring Cooks. Now I am like a little crackhead jonesing for a fix every month come the 17th. That is the reveal date for the following month’s challenge. Well last month was one hell of a surprise. Sketchy from Sketchy’s Kitchen came up with a doozy, skate with traditional flavors powdered. This is a Grant Achatz recipe from the Alinea cookbook. Molecular cuisine in only my second month as a Daring Cook, you gotta love it.

Well the first hurdle was finding skate. That turned out to be the most fun. The very weekend following our reveal date, I was headed to Cook Inlet for some halibut fishing with my cousin Greg. We decided to launch out of Ninilchik (yes that is an actual town/beach) as opposed to our normal fishing grounds.

It turned out to be a flat calm day. We headed Southwest from the beach for about 15 minutes and dropped anchor in about 90 feet of water. The first hole was really slow. Just a couple of bites and no fish to speak of. So before we burned up all of our slack water, we moved another 10 or so minutes to the Southwest. While moving we spotted a large group of humpback whales at least a couple thousand yards to our North. Thinking this was a good sign, we quickly dropped anchor and got to fishing. The tide slowed to nothing and the bite was on. Nothing big but we started catching some halibut, a couple angle tooth flounder, even a pollack. Greg was the first to catch a skate.

Well I was not going to let an oppurtunity like this go by. This guy went right into the fish cooler for the challenge. Throughout the day we ended up pulling in 3-4 more skate and all were bigger than this. Not knowing if I was going to like it, only the first one was kept.

As the fishing continued, that group of whales starting getting closer. They would surprise you with their distinctive deep blows upon surfacing. Here is a video I took while on an ocean kayak expedition in Southeast Alaska that will give you an idea of that sound.

 

At one point two whales were frolicking within 20-30 yards of the boat and headed right at us. One went under and the other veered to the stern. I think I pooped a little on that pass. The whales know that you are there. I have also never had any kind of bumping or anything crazy like that, but let me just say, this time it was a little too close for comfort.

Now on to the dirty work. I just cut off the wings and froze until I had the opportunity to filet.

I feel the need to stress this part, these things are downright creepy. Their skin feels like sandpaper. Long after they are dead, the wingtips will flutter. They have a line of spikes/bumps down their spine. I kept getting the heebee jeebeez while cutting it up. They are definitely not like any fish I have ever cleaned. Prehistoric is the first word that comes to mind.

Alinea at Home provided lots of help on this one, along with Sketchy’s challenge post.  My interpretation of the recipe is something like this.

1. beurre monte poached skate topped with banana and browned cream powders
2. beurre monte poached green beans
3. banana slices
4. caper powder
5. onion powder
6. simple syrup poached lemon peel powder
7. parsley/cilantro powder

Now back at home I got started on the powders. I went with oven drying at 170F. All of my powders were dried on parchment paper, over a wire rack, over a cookie sheet. The herbs were poached and shocked in ice water. Then towel dried before dehydrating.

Then lemon peels were triple poached in simple syrup ( I took that to mean quickly dipping in the boiling simple syrup 3 times). Everything was chopped to a small uniform size to facilitate even drying.

After drying, I thoroughly ground in a spice/coffee grinder. Then passed everything through a fine mesh strainer.

Starting bottom left in the tupperware (clockwise): ‘brown butter’ toasted banana(I used dehydrated banana chips from the store) and dehydrated milk, lemon peel,  shitake mushroom, and red onion

Starting at the bottom in white ramekins(clockwise): parsley, caper, sage, and basil

I made a couple of extra powders to play with later. The process of making the powders was fairly straightforward. It seemed a little overwhelming the first time I read through  the challenge recipe but it really wasn’t. Just a few minutes of prep and then the oven does most of the work.

Now for the meal. As with any meal, get your mis en place all ready. That means have everything chopped, fileted, whisked, etc…. before you start the meal in earnest. The green beans were finely sliced and I fileted across the grain of the skate wing.

I quickly made the beurre monte by boiling a very small amount of water ( about 1/8 cup) and then whisking into that cold butter (3 sticks). It makes an emulsion if done properly. This is then doubled by whisking in warm water. Not too hot or your emulsion can break. Mine worked the very first time.

Divide the beurre monte, 1/4 for the beans and the remaining for the fish.

In the fish portion I added several Tbsp of green peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves.

 The beans take about 7-8 minutes after the sauce is warm. The directions say cook all the water out of the sauce but that results in overcooked beans in my opinion. Just keep an eye on them and pull out with a slotted spoon when ready.

For the first attempt I decided on replacing the banana with something more savory. Not that I don’t enjoy bananas, it just didn’t seem like the fish dish matched well with that flavor. I still may try that combo but for now the bananas were nixed. I went with slices of potato browned gently in butter and olive oil.

After giving the beans a head start I put the skate pieces into the warmed, not boiling, beurre monte. About 2 minutes on the first side and then flip. I turned off the heat and let it go about another minute.

Here is the first attempt. Be sure to season everything at this point. Salt and pepper are a must.

Plating was beans, potato, then the skate topped withthe ‘brown butter’ powder. On the side was the lemon, onion, parsley, and caper powders arranged in a swirl pattern. I was very happy with the skate itself. The beurre poaching adds lots of richness and keeps everything deliciously moist. I loved how the skate looked like the bleached out spine of a long dead creature. It kind of communicated in the final dish some of my very first impressions of the live fish.

However I think on this attempt, the potatoes were sliced too thick and the beans were just a little past perfect. Most would think they were fine but I wanted everything in this meal to be perfect. Daring Cooks are a talented bunch and I can’t just say “that should be good enough”. Besides, I have one more skate wing in freezer and plenty of powders to play with.

So 3-4 days later I had worked up a new plan with just a few changes. I had consulted “The Flavor Bible” to see what it thought about skate. Eric Ripert is referenced recommending sage with skate. Other chefs also like mushroom pairings with the skate. Hence the above extra powders of shitake and sage.

This time I cut the skate with the grain of the meat. It makes for a different presentation. I also switched out the potato with cooked, set, then pan fried slices of polenta.

Sometimes I forget just how much I love polenta cooked this way.

 Plating this time was very simple. I wanted the fish to be center stage and not overshadowed by the powders. The fish is the star and the powders should be thought of as just a sauce or condiment. I also kept the powders seperate so that each could be sampled individually or combined to taste.

This is not a dish I would have found by myself. It was surprising how the powders affected the enjoyment of the other items. They are not dry at all. The flavors are strong and make your mouth water providing a rush of flavor that was unexpected. I probably won’t cook this again but I have definitely taken from this recipe many lessons. Just last night I used the beurre monte poaching method on halibut for a version of Poor Mans Lobster that was much better than the same dish poached in court buillon. The powders are also a new tool in my cooking arsenal. Thank you for that Sketchy.

While you are here, check out some of my other posts. Also check back soon because more cooking is in store. A cuban style pig and lots of fishing are all on tap for the weekend.

Grilled Sockeye Tacos

July 11, 2009

 I find myself just approaching peak dipnetting season on the Kenai river. You see, in Alaska, we are given “special” rights as residents. One of the most important of those rights is access to subsistence fisheries. Over the last couple of days I have found myself studying closely historical fish count numbers. My plan is set to attack on July 19-21. Those days are set aside for me to catch, clean, and process up to 25 sockeye salmon. Get out of my way.

In anticipation of such a bountiful harvest, it is time to clean out the freezer. You see, I haven’t finished all of last years Reds. Just a few have been hanging out at the back of the freezer, covered by new purchases and shoved to the back. Well I went digging and will not let any go to waste. This is what a properly cared for and vaccum sealed Kenai River red looks like after one year in my freezer.

My philosophy when dealing with such a top notch ingredient is to just not mess it up. Get out of the the way of your own ego and let the ingredient show itself. In respect of that philosophy, these filets were seasoned with olive oil, kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper, caper powder, and lemon peel powder.

The powders are made by slowly dehydrating first the capers and then lemon peel poached in simple syrup. These are then ground in a spice grinder.   

 

 These can go in the fridge and wait until everything else is ready.

Now is the time to start on your corn and black bean relish/salsa/salad or whatever you want to call it. Being born in Illinois makes me somewhat an expert on corn. At least enough of an expert to know that paying $1.29/ear is straight up highway robbery. Seriously, WTF, I live in Alaska, not on the moon? I remember stopping at a friend’s field on the way home from Dad’s work. Grabbing what we needed and not only was it free but you might get a bushel of squash or green beans to go along with the corn. That being said, I broke down and bought my first ear of corn in a very long time. The husks were gently peeled back and the silk removed. I buttered the corn and seasoned with kosher salt and pepper.  

 This goes on the grill along with red bell, pasilla, and jalapeno peppers.  

 You know the deal. Get a good char on the pepper skins, cover, and refrigerate. Just long enough to allow easy handling while seperating the skin from the flesh of your peppers. Then carefully slice the roasted/charred corn off of the cob and feed the cob to your way too old begging dog (he is now almost 14 and so I spoil him way more than I should).

The pepper flesh gets chopped and added to the corn along with chopped red onion, green onion, a large diced tomato, cilantro, 1 can of well rinsed black beans, 3 cloves garlic, and the juice of 1/2 lime. This was all seasoned with some fresh ground red New Mexico dried chile, kosher salt, and pepper. I left all of these ingredients warm. Especially the tomatoes. We get crap for tomatoes up here so I have to “cure” them at home. During the summer months I take store bought tomatoes and sit them in the window to absorb as much sunlight as possible. They are most flavorful while still warmed by the evening sun.  

 After tasting this, I seriously thought about just stopping there and eating only the black bean salsa with some chips. It is really that good.

The salmon was already prepped so I decided to just get on with it. On a well oiled and pre-heated grill, place your salmon pieces flesh side down. I let them go about 2-3 minutes and then flipped.   

I will say this as many times as I feel neccesary, overcooking fish (or good beef for that matter) is a sin. After flipping I let these go for just about a minute with the skin side down. They are still soft to the touch. See that fat just starting to ooze out the sides? MMmmmmmmm!

I tossed on some flour tortillas when I flipped the fish and allowed them to warm on both sides. About 30 seconds on each side. Now take them back inside and assemble you dinner.

On the warm tortillas go your skinned pieces of salmon, grated pepper jack cheese, the black bean and corn salsa, slices of fresh avocado, and just a little bit of sour cream.     

 I have made many, many fish tacos. These were my very best. Everything seemed to just add to every other ingredient. The spicyness, creaminess, crunch, smoke, and fresh flavors combined in a balanced mix that I am thankful to have documented. Too many times I let the alchemical mix fade out of my memory.

Not bad for year old fish.

Smoked Halibut Quesadillas

How did you spend your 4th of July? I am lucky enough to have a fish killing cousin that invited me along to kill some ‘butts. Halibut that is. We drove down to the Kenai peninsula Thursday night and turned in early. Leave time Friday morning was 5:30am. We had to get an early start so that we could make the 7:20am low slack water out of Whiskey Gulch. It was a beautiful sunrise that day.

You have to get up real early to see a sunrise in Alaska in July, or stay up really late. We ended up fishing both Friday and Saturday. The fish weren’t all that big but we did limit out both days. Here is L.T. catching her first ever halibut.

Getting the boat off the beach is always a challenge. This time though my cousin Greg’s wife’s family were having their extra long weekend party at Whiskey Gulch beach. They have all the toys that make launching and recovering boats from the beach nice and easy. (Thanks Big Tim)

Greg and I have come to the conclusion that his boat makes my truck look cooler and vice versa.

Time to clean the fish. Tim and I getting our filet on.

Now for the cooking part. Greg came up with the brilliant idea of smoking all of the tail pieces. When you cut up halibut filets the tail pieces are always thinner and will overcook in the same time that others are just getting done. So finding a delicious use for them was a great idea in my opinion. I put together a quick brine of 1 cup kosher salt, 1 cup white sugar, and 1 cup soy sauce mixed in with 1/2 gallon of water. I use hot water to dissolve the sugar and salt and then mix in cold water. Let the fish soak in the brine refrigerated overnight.

The next day rinse the fish thoroughly. Then put on your smokers racks to dry. The best way is to air dry in a cool place for about an hour. Put everything in the smoker along with some alder chips. I use a “Big Chief” electric smoker for all my fish. They are super cheap and work amazingly well.

Each load of alder chips will last about 45 minutes. I only put in 2 loads of chips and then let the fish go without for another 30 minutes. That adds up to about 2 hours total in the smoker. Take the racks out and allow to cool. Most of this was vacuum packed and frozen for later but it was just too delicious to not sample some as soon as possible.

So tonight I decided on something that doesn’t take the oven ’cause it is freaking hot outside. Quesadillas with pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, and sour cream on the side seemed like a fitting showcase for the fish.

The pico is an old standby. One tomato, 1/2 a red onion, 3 green onions, 3 cloves garlic, 2 jalapeno, a handful of cilantro, lime juice, and some salt and pepper. Dice everything fine and that is it.

Next is the guacamole. I chop up the avocado in small chunks. Then add in some of the pico, 1/8 cup sour cream, and this time I used some fresh ground New Mexico red chiles. Stir it up and set aside.

Now for the kicker. Way back in the day, my ex-girlfriend’s cousin used to hang out with us all the time. She would come over for dinner at least twice a week. Well she liked quesadillas and so for Christmas one year she bought me an honest to god quesadilla maker. That was like 17 years ago and although I am not with the same girl, I do still have the quesadilla maker.

I used whole wheat tortillas. Put down some of the fish and then top with grated pepper jack cheese and another tortilla. Let the thing get all crispy on the outside and melty on the inside. (Did that sound like a Taco Bell commercial?)

Cut em up and enjoy!

This is actually the second little treat I have made using the smoked halibut. Today’s lunch was a sandwich with a smoked halibut salad (mayo, dill relish, and the fish), tomato, lettuce, avocado, and toasted 7 grain bread. Still coming up with more ways to use this amazing fish.

Thanks again Greg