RPI - Lamb: Lamb & Date Meatball Tagine

The Lowdown:

Every now and then something beautiful comes from a mistake. We've all had these moments, and we all love these moments. This meal was one of those moments. It started out as a disaster. Very rarely do I create something that I don't like. I'm not saying I'm a garbarator, but I like most foods and will eat just about anything (other than eggplant and durian). The meatballs.. well, I hate to admit it, but they were lacking something. Perhaps the dates made them too sweet (probably because I was too lazy to chop them up fine enough). Or perhaps it was the lack of spiciness. Either way, they were destined to be doomed. The countdown was on, and their fate was looking rather grim.

Then it came to me. Why not stew them in a tagine? They are all ready Moroccan spiced, so it made perfect sense.With the kick of the cayenne pepper, and the robust flavours of the tagine, the meatballs were much more well-rounded. Fear not; no food was wasted in the making of this blog, and I ate happily every after. Everyone loves a fairytale ending.

If I could change one thing about this, it would have been to remove the tomatoes and substitute them with something else. I'm not quite sure what, but although I enjoyed it, I found it to be a bit too similar to an odd pasta sauce. Oh well, live and learn.

The Playlist:

Meatballs
2 lbs Lamb, ground
1/2 cup Dates, finely chopped
1/2 Onion, finely chopped
1 Egg
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 tbsp Chickpea flour
1/2 tsp Coriander, ground
1/2 tsp Ginger, ground
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp White pepper
Pepper, to taste

Tagine
2 tbsp Oil or lard
5 Tomatoes, chopped
1 large Onion, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Dried apricots, halved
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 tsp Black pepper, fresh ground
2 tbsp Ginger, minced
1 tbsp Turmeric
2 tsp Cinnamon, ground
1 Cinnamon stick
2 tbsp Paprika, Spanish
2 cups Stock (beef or lamb)
1 tbsp Lemon juice

The Skinny:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.
2. In large mixing bowl: mix all ingredients together until everything is bound together. Roll into 8 - 12 balls, ensuring that they are firmly pressed together.
3. Place on a greased baking sheet and cook for 30-40 minutes.
4. In heavy pot: heat oil over medium-high and saute onions and garlic until translucent. Add tomatoes, cover, and simmer until tomatoes have lost their shape. Add remaining ingredients, turn heat down to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Remove meatbalss from the oven and put the desired amount into the tagine. Cover and allow to simmer for 1 hour.
6. Serve as a stew or with rice.

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 

Rippin' Another Blog: Ox Tail Soup

The Lowdown:

As a kid I always wondered what ox tail soup was. Using an actual ox tail seemed more like a tall tale. Of course, now I've realized that ox tail soup is actually made of ox tails. A suiting name I suppose. Really, what else could you call a soup that is made of ox tail other than ox tail soup?

Up until now, I've passed by ox tails everytime I went to the grocery store since time began. Of course time began approximately 10 years ago. I'm going to refer to this era as PP, or the post-parental era. It was the beginning of this era when I started figuring out that grocery shopping wasn't as much fun as it used to be. When you were young, you could sneak whatever you wanted into the cart. This of course was assuming you were sly enough to avoid detection. The only consequence was that pseudo feeling of guilt when you got busted at the checkout line. But in all seriousness, who could blame us? Count Chocula was in fact a food group back then. Well, maybe not for me. I was forced to eat Harvest Crunch because it had less sugar.

The years from 0 PP to 5 PP were tough years. Learning the ropes in the grocery store was a new skill that I had to acquire... Budgeting. Damn you budgeting! They were tough lessons indeed. I mean really, how much Mr. Noodle can you eat before your sick of it. Actually, I still love it, but still. However, things have changed for the better, and now during 9 PP I am finally going to tackle ox tail soup. Well, perhaps it took Noelle from The Joyful Table to teach this not so ol' dog a new trick.

The Playlist:

1 kg Ox tails

2 cups Red wine

2 Onions, quartered

3 stalks Celery, chopped

3 Carrots, chopped

2 tbsp Salt

3-5 Bay leaves

Pepper, to taste

Water

1/2 cup Barley (optional)

The Skinny:

1. Add all the ingredients, except barley, into a large pot and cover with enough water to fully submerge all the ingredients, then some. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling lower heat and simmer for 6-8 hours.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cooled, skim the layer of fat off of the surface then strain, saving the liquid broth and the ox tails. If desired, you may remove the meat from the ox tail bones. If not, put the ox tails back into the broth.
3. Add barley and reheat. Simmer until barley is cooked. Serve warm. 

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 

Hearty Paprika Lamb Stew (Lamb golyas)

The Lowdown:

Yup, it's official. The weather sucks. Really, after hearing about the east coast, I will not complain. On to the next point: the benefits of cold, wet, dreary, sunless, winters. Wow, that's definitely one way to make it seem like there are no benefits. But, as we all know, there are are few. I'm not going to get into the others, because they are not food related (ahem, keeping each other warm at night). Rather, not food related in a PG sense (fondue experiments?) The benefit I am referring to is, none other than, satisfying those cravings for warm, rich, savoury stews and soups. Slow cooked, low heat, well spiced, decadent aromas whafting from the kitchen goodness.

I love having seasons. Right now we are on the verge of crossing over from BBQ season to crock pot season. A true man would probably say that the mighty BBQ supercedes the conventional rules of cooking seasons. Therefore, being a true man, I'm going to say it; "the mighty BBQ supercedes the conventional rules of cooking seasons. Now hear me roar." Now that we've got that out of the way, I also love crock pot season -- and that's no crock. I love sneaking "tasters" throughout the day, knowing full well that it hasn't reached its potential. Enjoying the warth and heartiness it provides, but knowing that it's only going to get better. Or if it tastes horrible, scrap it while nobody's looking and order in pizza. Genius.

 

The Playlist:

2 lbs Lamb, 1" cubes
4 tbsp Lard (Goose fat or bacon fat will do)
2 tbsp Flour
2 Onions, chopped
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Parsnips, chopped
4 Tomatoes, chopped 
2 cups Red Wine
3 cups Beef stock
4 tbsp Smoked paprika
Pepper, a generous amount
2 Bay leaves
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1-2 cup(s) Sour cream
Salt, to taste

The Playlist:

1. In large heavy pot: heat lard until spattering, then add lamb and brown on each side. While lamb is browning add flour & pepper and mix quickly to ensure no clumps form. Add onions and garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
2. To pot: remaining ingredients, with the exception of the sour cream. Turn heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 2 - 3 hours.
3. Remove from heat and add the sour cream. Serve warm. 

Stay Rad -h
Featured on: Premeditated Leftovers, 33 Shades of Green, Chef in Training, Food Renegade, 
  


 

Bag-Free Brisket (Scratch Made)

The Lowdown:

If corned beef reminds you of some log shaped piece of meat in a bag, you're not alone. With fond memories, I pass by it every time I'm hunting and foraging in the grocery store. I don't remember the last time I had corned beef, but I do recall loving it. That fall apart texture. The aroma. The grip-you-by-the-balls flavour. All things that I appreciate in a meal.

But how many of you have actually made one yourselves? I sure know I haven't. Part of the problem -- that damn curing salt (Prague powder #2 or pink curing salt). I live in Victoria, BC which is by no means a small town. However, finding that salt proved to be a killer. I searched for weeks, going to specialty butchers, delis, grocery stores, markets, and meat shops. Nothing. Then I got the brilliant idea to search online. In the true spirit of difficulty, I couldn't find a place that would ship to Canada. Then, I did. But they had issues dealing with my visa. For the love of everything holy, why can't I buy this damn salt! It's like it's the international salt of mystery. Double-0 Salt, with the dastardly plan of preventing people from making cured meats.

Obviously, since I'm writing this post, you know I've somehow got my grubbly little mitts on some. Let me take you back... way back. So two days ago I was complaining (and by this I mean ranting out of control) about this predicament with a friend, the GM of Smoken Bones, when his chef, who I've become friends with, over heard me. With a simple gesture of his hand, he vanished with a puff of smoke and reappeared moments later with the secret ingredient. No, not eye of newt, a porcupine quill, or old man's beard. It was the Double-0 Salt that has eluded me all these tiresome weeks. Okay, he's not a magician per se, so he didn't really vanish with a puff of smoke. However, he did get me the salt and he is a mastermind when it comes to smoking meats, cheeses, and just about anything else. Warning! Warning! Shameless plug alert! If you're ever in this part of the world check out Smoken Bones.

Back to the mission at hand. I now had the salt of curing in my possession. Fast forward 12 days. The brine has done its magic. The brisket is either ready to be smoked (to make Montreal smoked meat) or boiled to make a traditional brisket dinner. Decisions decisions.

The Lowdown:

3 lbs Beef brisket

1/4 cup Sea salt

2 tbsp Pink curing salt (Prague Powder #2)

Water

2 tbsp Coriander*

5 whole Chili peppers, dried*

2 tbsp Peppercorns, whole*

6 Bay leaves, dried*

2 tsp Cumin, whole*

1 Cinnamon stick, crushed*

1 tsp Clove, whole*

1 Cardamom pod, whole*

1 tbsp Mustard seed*

1 tsp Allspice, whole*

*These ingredients can be skipped if you are choosing to use store bought pickling spice.

The Lowdown:

1. Place the beef brisket into a sealable container that is large enough to house the brisket, then add pickling spice ingredients, salt, curing salt, and enough water to entirely cover the brisket, and then some (I used approximately 4 cups).
2. Place in a refrigerator for 7-12 days to allow the pickling spices to ramp up the brisket's flavour.
3. Remove the brisket from the brine, and allow to soak in regular water for 20-30 minutes to get all the excess salt out of it.
4. Dump out the soaking water and refill the pot so that 3/4 of the brisket is covered by water. Optional, add a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, some mustard seed, some peppercorns, and some all spice to the water (this will really make the brisket a knockout).
5. Cover, bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours. Remove from water and serve warm.
6. Enjoy.

Featured on: Chef in Training, 33 Shades of Green, Premeditated Leftovers, Spain in Iowa, Food Renegade, Lady Behind the Curtain,

Stay Rad - h