Beer Cooler Sous Vide Steak

So obviously I read the Serious Eats article and had to try it out.  It worked out pretty well actually, very easy to do.  I started with a Prime Dry Aged Rib eye.  I popped that in the cooler with 140 degree water for about 45 minutes.  Water seemed to have dropped about 5 degrees when I took it out, but I was not very precise with my temperature readings either time. Then I hit it on a screaming hot cast iron skillet with some oil and butter for a minute or two on each side.  I served it with some barley, compound butter, and asparagus.

Verdict:  Damn fine steak, the texture was among the best I've ever had, very tender/unctuous, I used my fork to cut it, also the fat was very enjoyable because of this.  I had a clean beefy flavor, but left a little bit to be desired- I was missing that nice char on the outside.  Next time I will user a thicker steak as I think it will allow a little longer char without over cooking.  I might try a different char method next time.  Maybe using the chimney full of charcoal with the grill grate right on top, ya know, from Good Eats when he sears tuna that way.

Burgers

Title says it all.  Picked up a nice fatty piece of chuck from the butcher, ground it fresh, cast iron skillet, american cheese, sauted onions and peppers, burger sauce, lettuce tomato.  Oven fries.  Straight up chuck makes a great burger... it prolly won't win any best burger contests, but you could do much worse.  Enjoy the burger porn.  Bobcat Chow!

Happy New Year

Contrary to what some people thought was possible, I got up at 7:30am after Jimmy's wedding (great time by the way) and New Year's festivities to start the day off right.  Cooked a 8lb Boston Butt and 5lb Brisket. 

I got them from a local butcher down the road from me.  Thanks to a little research from Urban found out they get all local, never frozen to animals and it looks like a pretty good find.  Here is their website:
http://mosleysmeatmarket.com/Mosleys_Meat_Market/Welcome.html

I will be back soon I am sure.

I decided to go with one round of charcoal first thing for some flavor then on to just smoke....used hickory this time.  One thing to note, if you are gonna use the charcoal with the electric smoker you need to rig a little stand above the heating element so it doesn't overheat and short out your outlet...I will be making one this winter for the spring...

On to the food, I just did a simple dry rub the day before of:

Salt
Sugar
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Fresh Ground Pepper
Cayenne
Chili Powder
Dry Mustard

I put the food on at 8:15am, let it get open smoke for about 5 hours then covered them in foil to lock in some moisture.  The Brisket got a total of 8 hours and the Boston Butt got 10 hours and I don't know if I would change much...it was pretty good.  5 hours was plenty of time to incorporate a good smoke flavor but not overwhelming and as you can see a great crust on the meat that locked in some moist tender pork. 






To top it all off Urban made a quick homemade BBQ sauce which was great. 

Texas Red - Chili Con Carne

Made some chili from my new bon appetit magazine subscription (thanks James and Maria). Although my senses were impaired because of a sinus infection, it still tasted pretty damn good. Romer can vouch for me, he ate some while we made our latest batch of beer. It needed a little more heat, perhaps a hotter chili would have helped. I also made Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread muffins (looks better than they tasted) Simpkins, this will help you get rid of all of those dried chilis in your pantry.....


Ingredients
•4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
•4 pounds well-trimmed boneless beef chuck (from about 5 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
•2 medium onions, chopped
•1 head of garlic (about 15 cloves), peeled, chopped
•1/2 cup ground ancho chiles
•2 tablespoons ground cumin
•1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
•1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•1 12-ounce bottle dark beer
•1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
•2 teaspoons dried oregano
•2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
•2 tablespoons tomato paste
•3 tablespoons masa (corn tortilla mix)
•Coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
•Chopped green and/or red onion
•Chopped fresh cilantro
•Diced fresh tomatoes (optional)
•Sour cream (optional)
•ingredient info


Preparation

•Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add 1/3 of beef; sprinkle with salt. Cook until browned, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer beef to large bowl. Repeat 2 more times with 2 tablespoons oil and beef.
•Reduce heat to medium. Add 1 tablespoon oil and onions. Sauté until soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir 2 minutes. Add ground anchos, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beer; stir 1 minute, scraping up browned bits. Return beef and juices to pot. Add tomatoes with juice, 2 cups water, oregano, and 2 teaspoons coarse salt. Bring chili to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly ajar, and simmer gently until beef is just tender, 13/4 to 2 hours. Cool 1 hour, then chill uncovered until cold. Cover; chill overnight.
•Spoon fat from chili. Bring chili to simmer over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste. Sprinkle masa over; stir to blend. Simmer uncovered until thickened and beef is very tender, stirring often, and adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls if too thick, about 30 minutes.
•Divide chili among bowls. Top with garnishes and serve.


Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/02/chili_con_carne#ixzz1CfWPzYZr

Beef and Noodles

I made some pretty good beef and noodles last Sunday. The meat was really tender and fell apart. The more I put food in the crock pot I realize it never steers you wrong.

Ingredients for 4-6 servings:

2 lbs of beef (whatever is on sale at your store), cubed

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 chopped onion (red or white)

Salt

Pepper

Fresh Parsley

Olive oil

Cayenne pepper

Beef broth

Mushrooms (optional)

Green onions

Whipping cream (1 pint)

2 tablespoons of butter

Flour

Spicy Mustard

Rosemary

Egg Noodles

Sour Cream

First, I cubed about 2 lbs of beef (round, shoulder, whatever you want to use) and added salt, pepper, cayenne, fresh parsley, garlic, chopped onion and a little olive oil and let it sit overnight.

After it marinated overnight, add to crock pot with enough beef stock to cover the meat (I also use the leftover broth from other dishes and freeze it until I want it again). Add the mushrooms if you want them in the dish. Cook on low for 6 hours or until the meat is tender and falls apart with a fork.

Cook your egg noodles, al dente (we used about half the bag but adjust based on how many people you are cooking for).

In a pan melt: 2 tablespoons of butter, add a 1-2 ladles of beef broth from the crock pot and about half to three quarters of the whipping cream (depending on how much sauce you want). Stir in rosemary, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon of spicy mustard and bring up to a boil to thicken. If you need to thicken a little more add a spoonful of flour and whisk.

Drain the beef broth from the crock pot (freeze it if you want to use again, which I recommend). Combine the beef, noodles and cream sauce in the crock pot, cook for a few minutes to thicken and combine and serve. Add a little sour cream and chopped green onion to each bowl and serve.

Mexican Pot Roast Tacos

Mexican Pot Roast Tacos are awesome! This is the second time I've used this recipe for tacos. They come out delicious every time. Used my own spice mix from some random dried chiles I had laying around (toasted in the oven and ground with my spice mixer), and I fried my own taco shells, which is a must for delicious tacos. The meat just fell apart after 3 hours of braising. Served it with shredded cabbage and T.J.'s authentic salsa. The side is a mexican corn and black bean salad. I fried the corn in my cast iron skillet with some of the extra spice mix to blacken it up a little bit. Very tasty stuff.

MEXICAN POT ROAST TACOS

Ingredients:
• 2 pounds beef shoulder
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, (recommended: San Marzano)
• 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 bay leaves
• Vegetable oil, for deep frying
• 6 fresh medium corn tortillas
• Kosher salt
• 3 cups finely shredded white cabbage

Season all sides of the beef with a fair amount of salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven, or other heavy pot that has a tight cover, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over moderately high heat. Add the garlic and the beef to the pot, browning the meat on all sides, taking the time to get a nice crust on the outside. Add the onion and allow to lightly brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, plus 1 tomato can of water, spices, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer with a lid for 3 hours until the meat is fork tender. Let meat cool in the liquid. Shred meat and set aside.

Heat a large pot of oil over medium heat. When oil reaches 350 degrees F, fry the corn tortillas 1 at a time. Place the tortilla in the oil and wait about 30 seconds. Then use the handle of a wooden spoon to press down into the center of the tortilla and fold it in the middle. Hold down for a few seconds waiting for the tortilla to form into taco shell and then drain on paper towels. Season with salt.

Serve with shredded cabbage, salsa, guacamole, or whatever toppings you like on your tacos.

Braised Short Ribs

Got this from "Chuck's Day Off" on cooking channel. I didn't realize the pic was so bad until I had eaten my meal, so apologies for that. I'm not sure I've ever had beef short ribs, but they were very good. The red wine sauce was easy to make and I'm sure it would work with a pork shoulder or chicken thighs too. Braising is awesome.

Ingredients:

Braised Short Ribs
3 large onions, coarsely chopped
3 to 4 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
4 large carrots, peeled, trimmed and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 beets, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
3 heads garlic, cut in half
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
6 beef short ribs
Coarse salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Canola oil
2 (750 ml) bottles red table wine
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar
Handful peppercorns
1 to 2 tablespoons butter, a nub


Process:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the onion, celery, carrots, beets and garlic. Add the rosemary, thyme, star anise, and cinnamon stick, and set aside.

Cut the ribs between the bones, and trim all the excess outer fat. Season the ribs well with coarse salt. Dredge in flour until well coated.

In a large Dutch oven or wide soup pot on high heat, pour in enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the ribs to the hot oil, and sear the ribs so they are browned well on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the ribs, and set aside.

In the same pan, transfer all the vegetables from the bowl, and stir to caramelize, and pick up all the brown bits. Add the meat back into the pot. Pour the wine over top. Ensure all is covered with the liquid and if not, top up with water.

Add the cocoa powder, brown sugar and peppercorns, and bring to a boil, cover with a lid or foil, and place in the oven until the meat is fork tender, about 3 hours. Remove the ribs to a platter, and strain out the solids to use for something else.

Boil the cooking liquid in a wide shallow pan until it is reduced by half. It will be richer, more flavorful and thicker. Add a nub of butter at the end for sheen and flavor.

Steak Pics: Before and After

That's a thick ass steak!

135 degrees = medium rare. I had to finish it in the oven.

Meat sweats!

Adjetivo Lucia (Mexican Juicy Lucy)

I was feeling a little hungry and I've been catching up on my DVRd episodes of Man vs. Food. On a recent episode Adam travels to Minnesota (pit stop on the way to BWCA Jeff?) and eats a burger called the Juicy Lucy. Basically its two burgers with american cheese in the middle. Oooey Gooey Heaven. I put a Mexican twist on my "Lucia".

Ingredients (per burger):

1/2 lb ground beef
1 Slice of Pepper Jack Cheese for topping
Cheese for filling*
1 Roasted Pablano Pepper
sliced tomato
1/4 cup of sour cream
1 tbsp mexican hot sauce
English muffin (nooks and crannies + juices = good)
salt and pepper to taste
beer for drinking

*The original is made with a kraft single for its melting ability, but I chose a Sargento shredded Mexican blend consisting of monterey jack, cheddar, queso quesadilla, and asadero cheese.

Process:

Preheat grill (or infrared burner if you are a big baller like Jeff) Divide meat into two 4oz. thin patties. Place shredded cheese on bottom patty and lay top patty and pinch edges to form somewhat of a beef ravioli. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Throw pablano on the grill with the burger, 4-5 min per side. While burger cooks, mix sour cream and hotsauce. Flip burger and turn the pablano until well charred. With a minute left put pepper jack cheese on the burger to melt and toast the bun. Place pablano in a zip top bag while you assemble the burger, wait on the bun to toast, and open a beer. (steaming the pablano helps the skin be easily peeled). The burger is layerd as follows: bottom of muffin, sour cream sauce, burger, pepper jack, pablano, tomato slice, more sour cream sauce, top bun. Smile and enjoy.



MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!

Steak Fajita Salad

Steak Fajita Salad

Whipped up this little ditty a couple weeks ago. It started out as just a basic idea and morphed into something pretty delicious. I’ve also been using spice paste a lot instead of marinating. Here’s what the salad consisted of.

– Strip Steak that was rubbed with spice paste and grilled.

– Grilled red pepper and onion

– Romaine and Iceberg lettuce

– Grated carrot

– Jeff’s famous Habanero Tomatilo salsa (see below)

– Goat Cheese

– Sour Cream

– Homemade chipotle-lime ranch. (see below)

– Some Tortilla chips

– Cilantro

– Fresh squeeze of lime

– I think that’s it.

Habanero Tomatilo Salsa

4- Vine ripe tomatoes

2- Tomatilos

½ Habanero pepper, seeds removed.

½ Small red onion

1- Garlic Clove

Juice of half a lime

Handful of cilantro

Salt and pepper

(Sometimes I add some pineapple or mango too)

Chop, combine, enjoy.

Chipotle-Lime Ranch

Get ready for this groundbreaking recipe…

Some Ranch dressing

½ teaspoon of adobo sauce

Squeeze of lime

Salt

Boom- Chipotle-Lime Ranch

Burger Time

Burger Goodness

Hard to beat a good burger. I like mine thin and cooked in a hot pan, more surface area to get all nice nice. I use a 3-1 ration of 80/20 Chuck to 90/10 Sirloin mixed together. Chuck is definitely the way to go as far as a nice burger, but the sirloin adds a little in the flavor department. I get about 6 thin burgers from a pound and a third of total ground beef. I season the outside liberally with salt and pepper and just a touch of garlic powder. I get my pan just about as hot as I can get it and about 3-5 minutes a side should do it. American cheese is my favorite burger cheese. It melts nicely and doesn’t over power the burger. Brown up the bun a little in the burger pan and BOOM- Burger. Don’t forget those kosher pickles and oven fries. And go for a double if you’re crazy. I’m crazy. Word.

Beef Carpaccio

After finding out we were hosting a wine and cheese party last night, I decided I needed to add a little more protein at the party. While thinking of what meats I could provide, I thought back to all the Good Eats episodes I've seen and decided to try something I've never attempted; Beef Carpaccio. Now some people might debate if this actually counts as "cooking", as there is no real cooking involved, but I decided if I also posted the recipe for my favorite vinaigrette, it would count as an entry on this blog. As a side note, raw beef is awesome and I now love arugula.

Ingredients
8 to 10 ounces beef tenderloin (I bought a 1/2 lb prime fillet Mignon)
4 handfuls arugula
Your favorite vinaigrette (see below)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Shaved Parmesan
Directions
Wrap the tenderloin in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, unwrap the tenderloin and thinly slice the beef into approximately into 1/8 to 1/4-inch pieces. Lay out sheets of plastic wrap and place each slice onto the plastic. Place in a circular fashion, so when you pound the meat, it will form one thin disc. Top with another piece of plastic and gently pound the meat with a meat mallet until paper thin. Repeat until all of the meat is sliced and pounded. Divide the meat evenly among 4 chilled plates. Serve with greens tossed with vinaigrette, salt, pepper, Parmesan and a drizzle of Olive Oil.


Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar (red wine vinegar also works)
1 T lemon juice
1 T honey
1 T Dijon mustard
1.5 t Worcestershire sauce (or the pick-a-peppa sauce from my rootbeer wing recipe)
1 small clove of garlic
1/2 t dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except oil in a bowl and start whisking. Slowly stream in oil until emulsified. (store in fridge for up to 10 days.)

Valentine's Day Turf and Surf

I am now an official "culinary blogger" as Urban would call it. After being harrassed from fellow bloggers this weekend for not posting food, I decided to post our Valentines day meal. I made bacon wrapped filets with homemade sushi and chocolate covered rasberries with peanut butter, toffee, or whip cream fillings.

Since we have about a foot of snow grilling was out of the question, I seared the filets in a pan with purified butter and garlic cloves. To finish I put them in the broiler on high for a couple of minutes until they had a nice pink center.

The sushi was my first experiment with preparing it myself. Overall it was a success, but I will need more practice with the "rolling" of the sushi. We went the traditional route with a combination of Ahi, Mahi Mahi, seedless cucumbers, cream cheese, and avocado.

Chili Con Carne, aka Best Chili Ever

Chili Con Carne:

Seriously, best chili I have ever had. I made it a couple weekends ago, so I don’t have any pictures. But no joke, I now truly believe it is impossible to cook a better chili than this recipe produces. Toasting the whole chili pods in the oven and grinding them in your coffee grinder (spice grinder if you have a separate one) is a must. As a side note of caution, don't try and substitute chicken stock for the water. You will only mask the fresh chili flavor and be bombarded by me with angry emails reminding you of this warning. Also, with all the chili pods and fresh jalepenos, I thought it was going to be crazy spicy. Much to my surprise, the chili could have used more heat. Next time I make it I’m going to use all the seeds from the jalepeno (versus seeding half of them) or mix in some serranos, other hotter peppers, pinch of cayenne, or hot pepper sauce. I served it with sour cream and diced onions with cornbread as a side.

3 ancho chili pods (about ½ ounce), toasted and ground (see note)
3 New Mexico chili pods (about 3.4 ounce), toasted and ground (see note)
2 tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2 teaspoons dried oregano
7 ½ cups water
4 pounds beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt to taste
8 ounces bacon (about 8 slices), cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 medium onion, minced
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
4 to 5 jalepeno chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Ground Black Pepper

Note: Toasting/Grinding Chilis – place chilis on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven until fragrant and puffed (about 6 mins). Cool, stem and seed, tearing the pods into pieces. Place the pieces in a spice grinder and process until powdery, 30 to 45 seconds.

1. Mix the chili powders that you ground with the cumin, and oregano in a small bowl and stir in ½ cup of the water to form a thick paste; set aside. Toss beef cubes with 2 teaspoons salt; set aside.
2. Fry the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat to render fat and get bacon crispy. Remove bacon w/ slotted spoon to paper towel-lined plate. Pour out all but 2 teaspoons of the fat from the pot into a bowl and set it aside. Increase heat to med-high and start sautéing the meat in batches until well browned on all sides, and add reserve bacon fat as needed. (remember, no one likes it when you overcrowd the pan) Set browned meat aside.
3. Reduce heat to medium and add 3 tablespoons of bacon fat. Saute onion until softened (5 to 6 mins). Add garlic and jalepeno chiles and sauté until fragrant (1 min). Add the chili paste mixture and sauté until fragrant (2 to 3 mins). Add the reserved bacon and browned beef, the crushed tomatoes, lime juice, and remaining 7 cups of water. Bring to a simmer. Continue to cook at a steady simmer until the meat is tender and the juices are dark, rich, and starting to thicken, about 2 hours.
4. Mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl to form a smooth paste. Increase the heat to medium, stir in the paste, and simmer until thickened (5 to 10 mins). Adjust the seasoning generously with salt and pepper to taste. Serve!