Crockpot Brisket

Whenever I am a pinch, I always yank out my trusty Crockpot. I love to prep something in the morning and come home to a great smelling house. I seem to like this recipe a lot as it is rather easy.

1) Cut 2 onions into rings. Put some on the bottom of a 6 quart Crockpot. Next, put in a brisket flat, 2-3 pounds is ideal for a family of 4. Put some of the onion rings on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and what else your heart desires.

2) I add about 1/2 - 1 C of liquid around the brisket (not on top). Guinness, other non-hoppy beer or beef broth works well here. If you want to add carrots or celery on the side to flavor your gravy, sure.. go ahead!

3) 10 Hours Low. When you come home, it should be rather tender. If not, you can always cook a bit longer or blast it in the oven.

Serve with a nice starch and some veggies. Make a gravy out of the liquid in the pot.

Eat. Drink. Savor.

My Ragu Bolognese

Ah, the meat sauce, the Sunday Gravy… So many variations and so much debate over what is a proper Ragu Bolognese. In fact, there is an official designation protected by the Italian Academy of Cuisine. Well, this is America and we often stretch things, don’t we? You can even play around with my play around of a recipe. I suggest that this sauce is a great way to use up extra scraps of meat and bones that you have lying around. Here goes!

1) Make a sofrito or mirepoix which is 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks and 1-2 onions, diced. Cook slowly in a fat of your choice, I like to use diced pancetta or bacon. Make sure it is soft and translucent. Add a small can of tomato paste and cook for a few minutes.

2) Add 1-2 cups of wine, and cook down a bit to concentrate. Now add 1-2 pounds of meat. Most people will use ground beef or a meatloaf mix here. Cook down a bit to where there is little liquid left in the pot. What about seasonings? I omit the salt and pepper until the end as I want to make a determination then.

3) Add 2 28oz cans of San Marzano or plum, whole and peeled tomatoes to the pot. I use a potato masher to crush them a bit. My secret ingredient is to add a few beef bones and 1-2 cups of beef or chicken stock.

4) Simmer uncovered for about 2-4 hours. The longer the better, TRUST ME!!! The sauce will concentrate beautifully over that time. Serve with penne, ziti or shorter pastas.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

My Meat Lasagna - A lighter version

Please review my Base Meat Lasagna recipe for reference. I modified that recipe to take the super heaviness out of the dish. Please experiment! Cooking is about trying stuff to see if it sticks (pun intended). In this recipe, I made the pasta sheets, so fresh pasta vs. commercial boxed dry. My pasta was 50/50 semolina to 00 flour with 5 eggs and some water. Also, I don’t precook my pasta sheets. Here we go!

1) Spread about 2 C. of Ragu’ Bolognese sauce on the bottom of a deep roasting pan. Lay pasta sheets side by side on top of the sauce. Try not to overlap as you want those layers of sauce and meat and cheese to intermingle and bubble up during cooking.

2) Here is the key to keeping the dish light vs. heavy: there is no need to build out a inch of sauce, cheese etc. for each layer.

3) Here is the order of battle:

1 ladle of Bolognese sauce dotted or dribble over the layer of pasta (have 4-6 cups on hand)

1 ladle of Bechamel sauce (look for my base recipe) dotted or dribbled over the Bolognese (have 4 cups on hand)

Spread little pieces of Mozzarella over the Bechamel sauce. I slice Mozzarella and tear tiny pieces (2 balls of Mozzarella on hand)

Grate some Parmesan and Pecorino Romano on this layer. (Blocks of cheese, fresh tastes so much better)

4) Repeat until you run out of fillings, pasta or sauce or room in the roasting pan. I typically have about 4-6 layers when I am all said and done.

5) Put in a 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. You can put foil on but you don’t need to cook much here as you have fresh pasta. For 10-20 minutes, crank up the heat a bit to add some crust for those how love those crunchy corners. Once done, let cool 10 minutes minimum prior to cutting and serving. Put a ladle full of Bolognese sauce on each portion and maybe a dash of cheese.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

My Base Meat Lasagna

My Italian cuisine and cooking skills are evolving. I am not of Italian descent and only have been exposed to this great food through friends. I have worked with this recipe of Emeril’s over the years. When I would cook food for our family vacations ahead of time, I wanted something that could be frozen and make plenty of leftovers. I also wanted a recipe where I didn’t have to precook the noodles. Warning! Some Italians will scoff at the use of ricotta here.. so be warned.. I will have another version up without it. This recipe yields 12-16 servings depending on your guests. Here is my version after many modifications.

1) In a bowl, mix 1 1/2 C. ricotta, 6 ounces grated Provolone, Mozzarella and Pecorino-Romano, an egg, 1/4 C. half/half (or milk), 1 TBSP minced basil/thyme/oregano, 1-2 TBSP chopped garlic. In reserve, have 1 1/2 lb of grated Parmesan and a package of lasagna noodles ready.

2) Meat Sauce. You can make your own but for ease of use, buy quality pasta sauce with meat. If you want to jack it up, brown a pound of meat (beef/pork/lamb etc.) I’d have enough sauce for about 6-8 cups. If you have extra, you can use it elsewhere.

3) Assembly. In a deep baking dish/lasagna pan, spread about 2 cups of sauce on the bottom. Sprinkle a quarter of the parmesan on. Cover this layer with dried lasagna noodles. Repeat. You’ll likely have 3-4 layers. The last layer is sauce unless you want it to be cheese but it may burn, so watch it.

4) Cook in a 350 degree oven 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool about 10 minutes, minimum before serving.

Nosh Options: You can add more cheese into the mixture but it may be overkill. For the meat sauce, you can do a meatloaf mix for the meat. A homemade Ragu’ Bolognese is highly recommended for tremendous flavor.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Stuffed Peppers

When I was just starting to cook and single, I would make stuffed peppers. They were easy, could be made ahead of time and were filling. Over the years, I migrated away from them as I tried other things and the kids didn’t like peppers as much. I love this recipe because you can experiment to your hearts content. Also you can make the filling ahead of time and stuffing/cooking the peppers another time. The filling is where the flavor resides and is important to make it to your liking. This recipes serves 6-8.

1) Heat the oven to 400 degrees. 4 Large Red, Green or Yellow Bell Peppers. Here is your choice, cut the peppers lengthwise or crosswise. I like both. With cross, you can add more filling but run the issue of them possibly tipping over. Lengthwise is easier to eat and to remove the ribs/seeds of the pepper. Also, the filling isn’t as compacted. Put cut peppers in a baking dish.

2) Filling. Ok, here is where the fun starts. In a skillet, 2 TBSPs of olive oil, heat. Add 1-2 minced shallots for a few minutes to soften, add 3 garlic cloves, minced. For spice, add some (1-2 TSP) red pepper flakes and cook for a minute. Add a total of 1 pound of meat; I use ground beef and pork. You can use turkey or chicken too. Brown meat for 3-5 minutes until no longer pink. I like adding a dash of either Worcestershire or soy sauce as well.

3) Deglaze the skillet with 1/2 C. wine/broth/port etc.. Scrape off any cooked bits off the skillet. Now add 14 oz of diced tomatoes or for fun, sun-dried tomatoes, salt/pepper and bring to boil. Off heat, add 1/4 C. grated cheese, I prefer Parmesan and 2 TBSP minced parsley. Add 1 cup of cooked rice, I love pearl couscous here. Mix ingredients in skillet well.

4) Fill up the peppers. Pour 1/4 C. of liquid in the baking dish (use vermouth/wine/beer/stock). Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 35 -40 minutes until you can poke a knife into the peppers with no resistance. Spoon any juices on top of the peppers. Sprinkle the peppers with a healthy dose of grated cheese. I like Gruyere (Swiss) here. Put back in the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. Cool peppers for 5 minutes and serve.

Nosh Options: TONS!! The filling and cheeses are where you can omit/add or tinker with. You can make a mini meatloaf mix as your filling.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Filet Mignon

If you ever was curious on what to do with the broiler setting for your oven and the broiler pan you inherited with the oven, here you go!! This is so simple and fast. Even my wife, who loathes medium rare doneness on steaks, loves this recipe. Again, if you want to splurge on steak but don’t want the 50 ouncer, this is a great option.

Since it won’t take too long, let’s get your oven rack on the highest setting. Turn your oven on Broil; it will take some time to preheat.

1) Put a little olive oil on 2, 8 ounce, 1 inch thick filet mignons. If you can’t find this, ask the butcher. Or if you are feeling adventurous, buy a whole beef tenderloin and portion it out. You can freeze the rest for another time.

2) Sprinkle with salt and pepper and other savory seasonings that you prefer. Wrap one piece of bacon around each filet and use a toothpick to keep it in place. The bacon has 2 purposes, one is for flavor with the fat but the other is a little protection as filet is rather lean and can dry out easily.

3) Put the steaks on the broiler pan and broil 5 -7 minutes. Flip over. Cook 5-7 minutes. For safety, I’d use an instant read thermometer after 5 minutes. Cook to 130 for medium rare, higher for more doneness

4) I always make a compound butter to put on the top of the steaks after it comes out of the oven and is resting. The butter will melt as it rests. My favorite is a blue cheese and sage butter. Other options for toppings are sauteed mushrooms, onions or gravy.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Making your own Corned Beef

Instead of buying that salt-laced commercial corned beef, try making it yourself. As with most of my posted recipes, it lends itself to experimentation. There is one special ingredient that will have to be pre-ordered and that is Curing Salt or InstaCure #1. This will protect you from harmful bacteria while the beef brines and for future preservation, the nasty one called botulism . This curing salt is 93.75% salt (sodium chloride) and 6.25% nitrite. This recipe is courtesy of Ruhlman & Polcyn, Charcuterie and is my base.

1) 5 pounds of beef brisket, preferably the flat portion as corned beef is best on the leaner side.

2) In a large pot on low heat, dissolve 1 gallon of water with 2 cups of kosher salt, 1/2 C sugar, 1 oz. Curing Salt #1, 3 garlic cloves minced, 2 TBSP pickling spice. Let brine cool completely. Put brisket in pot and make sure it stays submerged (upside plate works). Keep in fridge and let it sit for a minimum of 5 days.

3) After brining time, rinse off brisket and cook according to your recipe. I like to keep a portion and make pastrami (smoked corned beef).

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Brisket Burnt Ends

I really call these Beef Brownies because they are so decadent. From time to time, I will buy a whole brisket, which is made up of two muscles, the point (muscle) and flat (muscle). I will portion out the brisket into 2-3 pound sizes and use accordingly. For most of us, the flat or a cut of the flat is what is sold in stores. You seldom see the point sold separately. I like buying the whole as each muscle has a different flavor and moisture profile.

Now, if you are fortunate to find or procure a whole brisket, portion out the point muscle. The point sits on top of the flat and is separated by connective tissue and membrane. The point has the most fat and connective tissues and in my view, the best flavor.

Cook the brisket as you normally would, low and slow or a braise. For traditionalists, a whole brisket would be cooked and the point is closer to the heat source or flame. The point has the most fat and that needs to be rendered out and by its closeness protects the flat from drying out. The point will have some crispy parts when it is all cooked.

Once you have the brisket cooked tender and you have let it rest for a while (1 hour if you braise, longer if you grilled/smoked it) to redistribute the liquid equally in the meat, slice the point against the grain into even size squares, like brownies. Put in a pan with some of your favorite sauce or liquid, cover with foil and cook in a 250 degree oven for an hour and a half. You are now entering heaven!!! The little squares of meat will be packed with flavor and the tenderness is off the charts.

Eat.Drink.Savor.