It was a beer-centric Easter. Big shock, eh?
Our tradition over the past few years has been to host the family - whoever can come - at our house for the big meal and festivities. Lately, this has dropped down to just my in-laws...
When it comes to food, they are probably my most critical audience (excluding the boys, whose taste preferences change seemingly week-to-week). This is not a problem (they have always liked everything I've ever made), but it is major consideration. The centerpiece of my Easter meal has become a home-cured ham.
My recipe has evolved over the years, beginning with a recipe that I found calling for a lot of dried dark fruits, salt, and tawny port. Then I discovered beer brine (thank you Sean Paxton at www.homebrewchef.com)! Note that at no stage did I actually smoke my pork (if you really miss that smokiness - which is often an additive rather than a process - you can either smoke your ham after it is brined, or use a beer that utilizes smoked malt like rauchbier or smoked porter) but technically speaking, ham is cured leg of pork...
This year, I forgot to buy my Dijon mustard (a critical ingredient in the "crust" of my ham). This forced another evolution this year (the recipe has stayed mostly the same the last couple of times)... I made a dry mixture of brown sugar, dry mustard powder, paprika, garlic powder, paprika, and savory instead of the usual mustard crust. And I opted for "slow and low" - 250* for 6 hours (covered for the first 5 hours).
Wow! The meat was the most tender ever! And it has spectacular flavor...
Here was our menu:
• Brined Mustard-Savory Ham (home-cured) w/ Gravy
• Scratch-made 3-Cheese Red Potatoes au Gratin
• Mashed Mixed Root Vegetables (3 types if sweet potatoes/yams, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips...)
• Steamed, Sautéed Basil Brussels' Sprouts and Kohlrabi
I accompanied my flavorful meal with a 750ml of Brasserie DuPont Vielle Provision - THE Saison.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Hops 2013
All the signs are pointing to spring here in the PNW!
Last year I repotted my hops into larger pots (fear of commitment keeps mefrom planting them in the ground!). I think this was at least part of the reason for my reduced yield - in 2011, I got several pounds of hops, but not even a pound in 2012, despite adding several new varieties. I am hopeful that I might return to higher yields this year!
When folks (homebrew shops, hop farms) start talking about selling rhizomes each year, I start checking my pots... Two weeks ago, I started to see things other than weeds starting to poke their green heads up! So, this past weekend, I weeded the pots (no small task!), and heaped done fertilizer and compost onto each family of new bines... Some of them were already close to 6" tall and looking to grab onto something!
Tomorrow, the plan is to string my twine. Fifteen feet of fun! By now, all of them should be getting talk enough to train to the twine... A few wraps clockwise will get them headed in the right direction! Depending on just how talk they are, I might also be able to leaf them up a bit as well...
Last year I repotted my hops into larger pots (fear of commitment keeps mefrom planting them in the ground!). I think this was at least part of the reason for my reduced yield - in 2011, I got several pounds of hops, but not even a pound in 2012, despite adding several new varieties. I am hopeful that I might return to higher yields this year!
When folks (homebrew shops, hop farms) start talking about selling rhizomes each year, I start checking my pots... Two weeks ago, I started to see things other than weeds starting to poke their green heads up! So, this past weekend, I weeded the pots (no small task!), and heaped done fertilizer and compost onto each family of new bines... Some of them were already close to 6" tall and looking to grab onto something!
Tomorrow, the plan is to string my twine. Fifteen feet of fun! By now, all of them should be getting talk enough to train to the twine... A few wraps clockwise will get them headed in the right direction! Depending on just how talk they are, I might also be able to leaf them up a bit as well...
Monday, March 25, 2013
Stout Stew
I received several requests for this recipe...
I will start with the unadulterated recipe:
2 T oil
2 large onions, halved then sliced thin
2 c carrots, chopped coarsely
1/2 c celery, chopped (I like to use the inner portion, including the lovage)
2-3 c potatoes, chopped in 1" cubes
4-5 T flour
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t salt or seasoned salt
1 t black pepper, ground
2-3 lb beef (suitable for braising - chuck, brisket, plate, etc.), cubed
2 c (16fl oz) Stout (I use homebrew ;-), but Guiness works great - American Stouts are more hoppy, and don't work quite as well, in my opinion)
2 bay leaves
1 t dried thyme (or 1 T chopped fresh)
This can be done in the oven (325°), in a dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot, or in the crock pot.
1) Place the flour, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl or plastic bag - mix thoroughly. Toss beef cubes to coat. You can save any leftover seasoned flour to thicken the stew if you prefer it that way.
2) Heat oil in a heavy pan. Add onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until onions clear (about 5 minutes). Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon and place in your crock pot or dutch oven.
3) Add the beef to the sauteing pot and brown over medium-high heat. Remove the meat and add it to the crock pot or dutch oven (sprinkle with that leftover flour if you like a thicker stew).
4) Add the stout, bay leaves, and thyme. Top off with water just to cover the contents of the pot, if necessary. Cover and cook (325° oven for 2 - 2-1/4 hours; crock pot low: 8hrs, medium: 4-6 hours). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
A nice (and traditional Irish pub) touch if you are cooking it in the oven is to top the stew with dumplings (I use a buttermilk biscuit recipe, with added herbs) for the last 30 minutes (you can remove the lid to brown them if you like for the last few minutes).
So, not satisfied with an already excellent recipe, I started experimenting a bit. Lately, I have been using cocoa/ancho chile rubbed brisket in this recipe, and foregoing the browning step (because the brisket is already cooked). The ancho chiles add a subtle note, and the cocoa complements the stout amazingly well! I use the following recipe from Sean Paxton (The Homewbrew Chef):
http://www.homebrewchef.com/SmokedBeefBrisketwithChocolateAnchoRub.html
If you can't smoke this, or don't want to smoke it, you can cook it in a slow oven very nicely as well (this actually works best for the stout stew). I cook it on a broiler pan, or other metal baking pan, at 250° until the internal temperature hits 165°. Sometimes I use a beer brine (http://www.homebrewchef.com/PorkBrineRecipe.html) before doing the rub and smoking/slow roasting... This can be cooked, then frozen for later use. (This recipe works great for pulled pork if you use a small butt and make the stout BBQ sauce!)
I will start with the unadulterated recipe:
2 T oil
2 large onions, halved then sliced thin
2 c carrots, chopped coarsely
1/2 c celery, chopped (I like to use the inner portion, including the lovage)
2-3 c potatoes, chopped in 1" cubes
4-5 T flour
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t salt or seasoned salt
1 t black pepper, ground
2-3 lb beef (suitable for braising - chuck, brisket, plate, etc.), cubed
2 c (16fl oz) Stout (I use homebrew ;-), but Guiness works great - American Stouts are more hoppy, and don't work quite as well, in my opinion)
2 bay leaves
1 t dried thyme (or 1 T chopped fresh)
This can be done in the oven (325°), in a dutch oven or heavy oven-safe pot, or in the crock pot.
1) Place the flour, thyme, salt, and pepper in a bowl or plastic bag - mix thoroughly. Toss beef cubes to coat. You can save any leftover seasoned flour to thicken the stew if you prefer it that way.
2) Heat oil in a heavy pan. Add onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until onions clear (about 5 minutes). Remove the veggies with a slotted spoon and place in your crock pot or dutch oven.
3) Add the beef to the sauteing pot and brown over medium-high heat. Remove the meat and add it to the crock pot or dutch oven (sprinkle with that leftover flour if you like a thicker stew).
4) Add the stout, bay leaves, and thyme. Top off with water just to cover the contents of the pot, if necessary. Cover and cook (325° oven for 2 - 2-1/4 hours; crock pot low: 8hrs, medium: 4-6 hours). Season to taste with salt and pepper.
A nice (and traditional Irish pub) touch if you are cooking it in the oven is to top the stew with dumplings (I use a buttermilk biscuit recipe, with added herbs) for the last 30 minutes (you can remove the lid to brown them if you like for the last few minutes).
So, not satisfied with an already excellent recipe, I started experimenting a bit. Lately, I have been using cocoa/ancho chile rubbed brisket in this recipe, and foregoing the browning step (because the brisket is already cooked). The ancho chiles add a subtle note, and the cocoa complements the stout amazingly well! I use the following recipe from Sean Paxton (The Homewbrew Chef):
http://www.homebrewchef.com/SmokedBeefBrisketwithChocolateAnchoRub.html
If you can't smoke this, or don't want to smoke it, you can cook it in a slow oven very nicely as well (this actually works best for the stout stew). I cook it on a broiler pan, or other metal baking pan, at 250° until the internal temperature hits 165°. Sometimes I use a beer brine (http://www.homebrewchef.com/PorkBrineRecipe.html) before doing the rub and smoking/slow roasting... This can be cooked, then frozen for later use. (This recipe works great for pulled pork if you use a small butt and make the stout BBQ sauce!)
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