BISON A LA MODE DE BOURGOGNE

Posted in Beef by sallybr

Living in Kansas we have access to excellent bison meat, in fact not too long ago the husband went to a farm near our town and brought home several packages of bison meat, some for stew, some ground. This is my adaptation of a French classic, some components will be missing to accommodate our food sensitivities. As usual, brown food is so tricky to get nice pictures, so trust me when I say this is delicious, perfect comfort food for the weather we are experiencing.

BISON A LA MODE DE BOURGOGNE
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

5 strips of thick bacon, cut in large pieces
several tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds bison stew meat, cut in pieces
salt and pepper to taste
4 large carrots, peeled, cut in 1/4 inch slices
2 shallots, diced
1 can diced tomatoes, drained (14.5 oz)
1 bouquet garni, made with parsley, thyme and bay leaves
1 bottle red wine
2 cups cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon butter
fresh parsley, minced

Sauce the bacon without any added fat, until golden brown and starting to get crispy. Remove pieces to a paper towel to drain excess fat. Take one tablespoon of bacon fat, add to a Dutch oven and add a little more olive oil. Season the bison meat with salt and pepper, and sautée in batches until it starts to get brown. Remove to a bowl, and add the bacon pieces to the bowl.

If needed, add more oil to the pan and sauté the carrots and shallots for 5 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes, the wine, and the bouquet garni. Deglaze the pan with a wooden spoon, then place the meat and bacon back. Season with a little more salt, cover the pan, and place in a 325 F oven for 3 hours. Check after 2 hours to make sure it is not getting too dry. If there is very little liquid, add water. Meat should be super tender at the end of cooking.

About 10 minutes before serving, saute the mushrooms in butter, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms to the bison stew, add fresh parsley and serve. Adjust seasoning if needed.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Bison is a fantastic type of meat, very flavorful but not excessively fatty. A little bit of bacon, is not only traditional, but needed when using such a lean meat, it does pump up the flavor. The amount of liquid might seem excessive (full bottle of wine!) but in fact I had to add quite a bit more water after 2 hours. If you are in our team, that is – heading to real cold weather – consider making a big batch. Comfort food at its best!

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2Jun2022

PORK WITH PRUNES, RE-VISITING A CLASSIC

Posted in Pork by sallybr

Years ago (2018, to be exact), I blogged on the classic version, and you can check it out here. Today, I offer you a variation using a leaner type of meat and the crockpot. Lately I’ve been exploring different uses for country style ribs, and this was a crowd-pleaser. Even if it was a crowd of two…

SLOW-COOKER PORK WITH PRUNES
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

2 packages of country-style pork ribs, boneless
(or amount enough to fully cover the bottom of your slow-cooker, some overlapping ok)
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup pitted prunes (or amount to taste)
1/2 cup pitted black olives
2 Tbsp capers
2 tbsp Herbes de Provence
2½ tsp sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup water
juice and zest of 1 lemon (or more to taste)
fresh parsley leaves to serve

Place all the ingredients except lemon juice, zest, and parsley in your slow cooker, distributing the pieces of meat with a little overlapping if necessary.

Cook on low for 7 hours. Remove the meat gently from the liquid that accumulates in the crockpot, transfer the liquid to a large skillet and reduce it by half or more, until slightly thick. Add the meat back to the skillet, and allow to simmer with the sauce for a few minutes.

Squirt the lemon juice, add the zest and parsley, and serve.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I’ve been on a roll with the country-style pork ribs lately. The crockpot performs miracles with this particular cut of meat, which can dry out easily. Just make sure to stop the cooking at 7 hours, so that the texture is not compromised. Once you open the crockpot, you will have excess liquid, that will be much improved by a little extra step to concentrate it. That is why in the picture you see the meat on a large non-stick frying pan. You can do this final concentrating step later, so the whole meal can be prepared a couple of days in advance, it will only get better.

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13Nov2021

TURKEY-BISON JALAPENO CHILI

Posted in Beef, Poultry by sallybr

This was made in a pressure cooker, but if you don’t own one, no problem. Follow my modifications for a stove-top version. I often make chili exclusively with ground turkey but this version with 50% bison won our seal of approval. Not that much additional fat, but definitely a more complex flavor.

TURKEY-BISON JALAPENO CHILI
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 jalapeños, minced (remove seeds for less heat)
2 large sweet potatoes, diced
1 pound ground chicken
1 pound ground bison meat
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or other red pepper of your choice)
1 can (28 ounce) whole tomatoes
garnishes of your choice

Heat the olive oil in the pressure cooker. Sautee the shallot, bell pepper and jalapeños with a little salt and pepper. When fragrant, add the two kinds of meat and saute for a few minutes. Add all other ingredients, close the pressure cooker and bring to full pressure.

Reduce heat, cook for 25 minutes. Release the pressure quickly according to the method recommended for your pan. Simmer the chili gently for a few more minutes and serve. Adjust consistency with water or by reducing it further. Serve with toppings of your choice. If making in a regular pan, simmer gently for 1 hour, adding more liquid if needed during cooking.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: As you may know, we cook with leftovers in mind, and chili is one of the perfect recipes to enjoy in subsequent days, it gets better and better. Bison meat is widely available where we live, but any ground beef will work, although the fat amount will be higher with most other cuts. We love the mixture of the two types of meat. If you have pickled jalapeños hanging around, they are a nice topping idea also. We used guacamole and yogurt seasoned with salt and lime juice.

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28Mar2019

ANOTHER TWISTED SISTER OF THE SHEPHERD’S PIE

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Gastronomic heresy alert: I am calling Shepherd’s Pie a concoction made with ground turkey and cauliflower topping. And what’s even worse, I’ve committed this sin before an I am doing it all over again, without a hint of shame. This preparation is filling but moderately so. It won’t let you go into a state of total lethargy once you move away from the table. It is also low in carbs and saturated fat, in case you worry about those details. I used a trick quite popular in keto-type recipes to give ground turkey a more pleasant texture upon cooking. It involves baking soda and a few minutes of your time. Absolutely worth it. Read on the comments for full explanation on the baking soda trick.

TURKEY SHEPHERD’S PIE
(adapted from several sources)

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 head cauliflower, core removed, florets cut in pieces
½ cup water
Salt and pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 pound 93 percent lean ground turkey
¼ teaspoon baking soda
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 tablespoon harissa
¾ cup homemade or low-sodium chicken broth
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan until ver hot. Add cauliflower and cook until softened and beginning to brown. Pour 1/2 cup water, season with salt and pepper, cover and cook until the cauliflower is fully tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, and process until smooth. Add the egg and paprika, and process a few more seconds. Reserve.

Prepare the ground turkey: in a bowl, add the meat, one tablespoon water, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and baking soda, mixing everything together. Set aside for 15 minutes. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Make sure to use a skillet that can go under the broiler. Add mushrooms and celery and cook until no liquid remains. Stir in harissa and cook for a few more minutes.

Add broth, carrots, and Herbes de Provence, and bring to a simmer. Add the turkey meat, breaking it up with a fork. Cover and cook until turkey is cooked through, about 10 minutes, stirring and breaking up the meat every few minutes. Whisk cornstarch and the 2 tablespoons water together in small bowl, then stir mixture into filling and continue to simmer until thickened, about 1 minute. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Pat the meat mixture to make it leveled, and spread the cauliflower puree all over the surface. If you like, use tines of fork to make a pattern of ridges on the surface. Place skillet under the broiler and broil for about 10 minutes, if necessary move the pan around to get homogenous color on the surface. Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Quite often ground turkey develops a dry, unpleasant texture when cooked, unless you use alternative methods such as pressure cooking, or the crock pot low and slow for a long time. The addition of baking soda changes everything, by raising the pH. This has two benefits: it reduces the interaction between protein molecules in the meat (by a mild denaturing effect) and accelerates browning. Since the proteins are not able to interact with each other very efficiently, they acquire a more tender texture. It is important to not overdo it. You don’t want the meat to get all mushy, it is a delicate balance. In other words, don’t add the baking soda and walk away for a couple of hours.

This recipe can be assembled all the way and kept in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, place it covered in a low oven to warm up, then uncover and run under the broiler. Leftovers are superb, and as usual, they showed up as my lunch two more times that week.

Note added after publication: a dear friend of mine from UK brought to my attention that a lesser sin would have been to call this a Twisted Sister of the Cottage Pie, as that at least involves other kinds of meat, whereas the Shepherd is always made with ground lamb. So there you go, a bit more culinary trivia for us all. I will keep my title, since one sister was already out there… (wink, wink)

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27Feb2019

BOUILLABAISSE FOR A CHILLY EVENING

Posted in Seafood, Soups by sallybr

Bouillabaisse is a classic Mediterranean dish. Not to brag or sound like a pain-in-the-butt snob, but I once enjoyed a bowl in a wonderful restaurant in Nice. One of those unforgettable meals in which the setting, the company, the food, all conspired together to make you feel on top of the world. Or close enough. Where we live we have access to the very best beef you can dream of, but seafood? Not so much. So I realize that calling my humble seafood concoction “Bouillabaisse” is a bit of a stretch. The fish was previously frozen, same goes for the shrimp. I know that nowadays the frozen stuff is processed almost immediately upon fishing, but still… Cooking seafood in the middle of the country always seems a bit strange. However, I must say we were very pleased by how tasty it turned out. Not the same as sitting down for a beautiful meal in Nice, but… being at home with the fire-place going, and the three pups all cozy near us has its charm also.

A SIMPLE BOUILLABAISSE
(adapted from several sources)

3 pounds of mild fish, cut into large pieces (I used cod and red snapper)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and de-veined
1 pound clams
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions (I omitted)
1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 tsp salt or more to taste
1 cup shrimp stock (made with shrimp shells, lemon and onions)
1 cup clam juice (store-bought)
fresh thyme
orange zest and a bit of juice
parsley leaves, minced

Make the shrimp stock. In a sauce pan, add the shells, cover with water, juice of half a lemon and half an onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain, reserve the liquid to use in the bouillabaisse. In a small bowl, mix a couple of tablespoons of the shrimp stock with the strands of saffron, rubbing them between your fingers to release the oils. Reserve.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and fennel. Stir to coat the vegetables with the olive oil. Cook on medium heat until softened and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Do not let it brown. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, the saffron infused shrimp stock, salt, orange zest and juice. Simmer gently for 10 more minutes.

Add the pieces of fish, the shrimp, the reserved shrimp stock and the clam juice. Bring to a gentle boil, add parsley, simmer covered for 5 minutes. Add the clams, cook for 10 minutes or so until they open and are cooked through. Keep the heat at a very gentle level. Remove bay leaf before serving, adjust seasoning. Wonderful with a nice piece of sourdough bread.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Traditionally, Bouillabaisse is served with a rouille on top. Think of a sauce made from hearty bread, olive oil, and other tasty suspects. I omitted, we had a slice of sourdough with it instead. I added a generous squirt of lemon juice to my bowl, it’s something I find myself doing so often, it always seem to make the food shine a bit brighter. If you want to simplify things even further, you can use just clam juice and water as the cooking liquid, but making shrimp stock is so simple, and it does intensify the seafood flavor in the soup. If you can find sea bass, definitely use it. It is the best fish, in my opinion, but as you can imagine, not easy to find in our neck of the woods. And when we do find it, we must be ready to shell some serious cash for it.

The smell as this soup-stew cooks is something! The main thing to pay attention to is not to overcook the delicate seafood, and keep the heat at a very gentle simmer, because shrimp in particular tends to toughen up easily. I had considered cooking the shrimp sous-vide separately and just add it to the soup when serving, but ended up going the more traditional route. If you have a sous-vide gadget, keep in mind that it makes absolutely perfect shrimp, with a texture you cannot get any other way.