The post Smoked Brisket appeared first on Opine Away.

The post Apricot Cake appeared first on Opine Away.

The post Yazdi Pita / Bread appeared first on Opine Away.

Batter:

• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup flex seed meal
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Black pepper
• Hot pepper
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbs melted butter
• 2 eggs

Filling:

• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 lb thinly cut beef
• Some more sesame

And let’s make it:

• Separate eggs
• Mix all dough ingredients but egg whites. Let stand  for 20-30 minutes. It should be thick but not a paste (still running, slow….).
• Meanwhile whip egg whites until stable foam.
• Fold wipes egg whites into batter.
• microwave half of the chopped onion and the meat for one minute.
• Grease a small pan with butter. Pour half the dough into pan, bang the pan gently to flatten the batter.
• Drop evenly the microwaved meat and onion over the batter, leaving whatever liquid was extracted in the bowl.
• Pour gently the rest of the batter over meat/onion to cover it. Spread gently to even out.
• Spread some sesame on top. Mix rest of onion with liquids in bowl from microwave, and spread evenly on top of the sesame.
• Bake for an hour on 375F.
• Let cool a bit before cutting.

The post Bakearoo appeared first on Opine Away.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 10 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp vinegar

 

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together everything (but the chicken…).
2. Add the chicken thighs , making sure they are coated well, massage them with some love.
3. Optional – Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to overnight.
4. Preheat your smoker to 225°F.
5. Place the chicken thighs on the smoker grates, skin side up.
6. Smoke the chicken thighs for 2 to 2.5 hours.
7. Remove the chicken thighs from the smoker and let them rest for 10 minutes before serving.

 

The post Smoked Chicken Thighs appeared first on Opine Away.

 

Ingredients:

 

• 1 picnic cut pork shoulder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp white pepper
• 1/4 tsp  cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp  garlic powder
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp  allspice
• 1/4 tsp  Chinese five spice
• 1 tbsp ground mustard
• 5 TBLS maple syrup
• 1 tbsp molasses

 Directions:

 

1. Mix all ingredients (but pork of course…) together in a bowl.
2. Rub the seasoning mixture paste onto the pork shoulder, making sure to coat all sides, and inside any flaps.
3. Place the pork shoulder skin side up in a smoker.
4. Place a deep disposable aluminum baking pan under the shoulder to collect fat and juices. This will keep the smoker cleaner, and the fat and juices can be used for anything.
5. Smoke at 225°F for 10 hours.
6. Remove the pork shoulder from the smoker and let it rest for 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving. Sounds simple but not tasting it right away is not easy
7. Be careful when removing the aluminum pan as the fat is hot and heavy.

 

In a picnic cut you get different types of meat, skin, fat and bone. The skin will be crispy, you can separate and cut it with a heavy cleaver. If you’re going for shredded pork, mix the “bark (the outside of the meat that got most spices and smoke) with the different types of meat and fat. You can dig some bone marrow, or cook the bones for a broth. 

 

The post Smoked Picnic Cut Pork Shoulder appeared first on Opine Away.

for the brine, desolve a cup of sugar, and a cup of salt in boiling two cups of water. Add bay leaves, black pepper corn, hot chilly, any herbs you like, i also added a couple teaspoons of curing salt to help kill any bacteria. Add a gallon of cold water and some ice to cool it off. place the flatten turkey and brine in a big deep pan skin side up, doesn’t have to be completely submerged, but at least half way. cover with plastic wrap for 24 hours. Discard brine, drain and dry bird with paper towels, then roast or smoke 325f (169c) until mid breast temp is 165-170f (75c). Take out and let rest. 15lb turkey will take 3 hours or so to roast or smoke.

The post A bird’s last flight appeared first on Opine Away.

I’m a sucker for beef on sale. I went to Walmart for something and saw beef cheek on sale, so I had to get it as I never cooked any myself. It was an excellent decision if I must say!

Get your pressure cooker ready and a couple of hours, or at least 4 hours in a regular pot.

• Beef Cheek (mine was about 2.5lb)
• 6-7 garlic cloves in big chunks
• Olive oil
• Butter
• 2-3 large onions chopped big
• 1-2 shallots chopped medium
• Carrots chopped big
• Celery chopped medium
• Baby Bella mushrooms chopped
• 2 cups of cheap red wine
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red hot pepper
• Allspice (not too much)
• 2 bay leaves

Rub the meat with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and butter in the pressure cooker or pot, add garlic for a minute or too until starts to get Golden Brown (I like that song).

Add the meat and “seal”, should have a bit of a crust all over.

Take out the meat and add onions, carrots and celery and toss in the pot a bit until gets a bit brownish here and there.

Add everything else including the meat. Add water till almost covered . Close pressure cooker, bring to a boil (i.e. when pressure valve starts to release steam), lower flame and cook for a couple of hours on medium-low. Regular pot, boil for 5 minutes then cook covered for 4 hours on medium-low.

Let cool a bit so you can open the pot. Take out the meat (carefully, it will want to fall apart).

Mix well a tablespoon of flour with half a cop of cold water. Add to the pot and bring to a boil. Let cook for another minute. This thickens the sauce.

Serve and enjoy.

The post Being Cheeky with Beef Cheek appeared first on Opine Away.

DSS – Devil’s Silk Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp tahini paste
• 1tsp Gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 1 pinch salt

Mix all well together. That’s it.

If it feels a bit heavy add a little more water. Will get thicker after a bit / refrigerating.

You can adjust spiciness with more/less Gochujang.

Yes, it’s silky.

The post DSS – Devil’s Silk Sauce appeared first on Opine Away.

It’s a South African dried meat. It’s much softer (if done right) than beef jerky and more of a pure meat flavor. I sometimes use it as bacon, though it is not smoked (I guess you can make smoked Biltong too, if you use cold smoking). It is a way to preserve meat, and though I keep it refrigerated when done, it can be kept uncut at room temperature cold dry conditions as well, and will stay good for a while.

Since Thompson Gazelle and Gnu meat is usually not on sale in my local Stop & Shop, I get big chunks of the cheapest meat on sale, and it comes out pretty amazing. I also don’t mind some fat on the cut (not too much).

It’s really simple to make. I modified it a bit to my taste, and I’m sure there are a million variations anyways, but I kept the basic flavors.

Quantities are for 2lb meat. Multiply accordingly. I find the type of meat is not that important once you use the baking soda – if you get a real good tender piece of meat. Traditionally it is made with a top rump cut (called silverside in SA). You can use the same recipe or variations of it for pretty much anything (chicken, any other meat, even fish). I would include the baking soda only when using tougher cuts of beef, and skip it when using anything else.

The cuts I use are about 1.5″-2″ (4cm-5cm) thick. I wouldn’t use anything thicker than that. Thinner will dry faster and more uniform, which you might like better or not, it’s a personal preference. I leave the cuts whole, so the cuts are about 9″x6″x2″, but anything goes.

You will need to either use a dehydrator or a fan to move air around it. It does not need heat to dry, just airflow (minimal heat is fine, with a dehydrator you turn the thermostat to the point the fan just starts turning, so the lowest temperature possible).

Ingredients

• 2lb meat 2″ thick (or less)
• 1.5 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbls sugar (brown or white)
• 1.5 tbsp coriander seed powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Pinch of red hot pepper, adjust quantity to taste (optional)
• 1 tsp beet powder (optional)
• 1 tsp baking soda (only for tougher beef cuts)
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Mix in a ziploc bag all the dry ingredients and mix well.

Place the meat in the bag, close it and shake well/work it so the meat is covered with the spice mix.

Add the apple cider vinegar to the bag, mix well. It will bubble and “inflate” the bag a bit because of the baking soda if used, give it a minute and it will stop. Remove as much air as possible from the bag, seal it and place in the fridge overnight (a couple of days is fine too, don’t feel pressure, but five it at least one day).

After curing is done, take meat out of the bag and place on a plate or tray, and discard the bag with whatever is in it. Let the meat drip liquids out on the plate but do not pat dry it, you want the spices to stay on it. Discard any liquids from plate, flip the meat over and let it stand for a minute and discard any additional liquids.

Now for the drying – if using a dehydrator, place meat as high as possible (least are flow) and turn the dehydrator on the lowest temperature possible (you don’t need any heat at all) buy turning it to the point the fan just starts turning.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can hang the meat anywhere with a tray underneath, and have a fan 5-6 feet away on low, or closer but pointed a bit to the side of the meat, you want airflow but not too much.

I dry it in the dehydrator for 3 days for 2″ thick large cuts. Time depends on temperature, humidity, airflow and the thickness of the meat.

Checking for readiness is by pushing on the center of the meat, it needs to start feeling firm. This is also a personal preference, some like dryer biltong, some like it softer. Personally I like it soft in the middle, it gives it a nice contract between the tough outside and the soft inside. Practice makes perfect. Give it at least a couple of days of drying, but it can be anywhere from two to even seven days.

When you decided you can’t wait anymore and it’s ready, enjoy, I keep it in the fridge in a ziploc so it can stay for longer and doesn’t dry out anymore. It doesn’t stay there for too long though…. I cut it real thin and eat it as is, use it for cooking, fry it with eggs like a better leaner bacon…

• Using whole coriander seeds, roasting them, and them grinding yourself with whole black pepper corn will enhance the flavors.

The post Biltong appeared first on Opine Away.