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.

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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. 

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Sometime things just work out the way they should.

It was snowing the whole day (it’s early afternoon, should stop soon) and I’m home. I made myself a veggie/beef/biltong kung pao which came out really good (maybe I’ll recreate and document sometime), and then made myself coffee for dessert – but as it was brewing, I felt like something sweet with it and had nothing.

My son left his Magic-Bullet container to dry on the countertop before he left to work, so I figured let’s use that. I had no patience for reading recipes or spending much time on it, so I just made something up quickly from flavors I like, and…it came out irresistible.

And read on the recipe below, I mean, it really came out REALLY GOOD, like, can’t stop eating it good. Double or triple the quantities if you want it to last more than 3.6 minutes or if someone else will try and share it with you.

This will make 8 cookies.

For the dough:

• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar (if you like it sweeter make it 1.5)
• 1/3 cup water hot water (tap hot, 100f/40c is perfect).
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup mixes nuts (I used almonds, walnuts, coconut and was perfect)
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter (soft, room temperature best)
• A few drops of vanilla extract and or coconut extract (I’d say optional for both).
• pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup white flour

The Cute Top

• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1.5 tbsp coco powder
• 1 tsp butter (room temperature best)
• 1 tsp water

The instruction are for using a Magic-Bullet , if you do not have one, or make a bigger batch, a handheld immersion blender or a food processor will work great.

1. Heat oven or toaster oven to 350f/175c, and while it heats up:
2. Place yeast, sugar and water in bullet container. Stir by hand a little and let stand for a minute, yeast should start bubbling a bit.
3. Add the rest of the dough ingredients except for the flour and let the bullet stir it for a bit, chopping the nuts and mixing everything. Add about half the flour and keep blending for a few minutes until well mixed and uniform, add the rest of the flour , and blend some more. You might need to shake the bullet a few times to make it blend or finish mixing with a spoon. 
4. Place a parchment paper/cooking sheet on a flat cooking pan. Scoop one tablespoon for each cookie, and empty it using a teaspoon onto the sheet spacing them so centers are about 3″/8cm apart to leave enough space to expand. They will flatten out a bit when you do this, the dough is soft. Quantities above should make 8 cookies, and you’ll have just a bit dough left in the bullet (by design…).
5. Don’t clean the bullet! Add all the Cute Top ingredients to the bullet. Place in microwave for 15 seconds to soften it. Stir with a spoon or butter knife (you don’t want to scratch the container, it’s your son’s Magic-Bullet!).
6. Scoop one teaspoon and place in the center on top of each cookie. You can push it down a bit for psychological comfort but you don’t really have to. If you want it more fancy, dip a measuring teaspoon in water and create a dimple in the dough and then place the Cute Top in it. 
7. Place in the middle (height-wise) of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Take out and force yourself not to taste it until it cooled a bit so you don’t burn your mouth.

After one bite, please imagine you’re  are an adult with self controlled and
A. Do not eat all the cookies at once.
B. Don’t hide them from your son.
C. Share with whomever you want, you can always make more , it’s like 20 minutes total.

Oh, while it’s in the oven clean everything up, it’s only like 4 items total you have to wash, and hot water will make it easy to clean.

Now, 15 pushups please to make you feel like you burnt some of these calories you just consumed. Each one is about 100 calories. Worth it!

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• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 Persian lemons
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tspn black pepper
• 1 tspn roasted coriander seeds
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Pinch hot pepper 
• 3 chicken breasts cut to 6 half thickness pieces
• Olive oil
• Chopped dill (or cilantro or parsley) for serving

Cut Persian lemons in half and boil covered for 30 minutes. Squeeze lemons in water to extract their goodness. 
Mix everything but chicken, olive oil and dill. Mix and let stand for 5 minutes to let cool down to no more than a warmish temp.

Add chicken and let marinade for at least a couple of hours. Overnight covered in the fridge even better.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan, take out chicken and let drip so it’s not too wet, and fry for 3-4 minutes each side until browned. Strain marinade into pan to deglaze, let boil, cover and let simmer covered for 8-10 minutes, flipping the chicken in the middle.

That’s it! Serve with the pan sauce and chopped herb of your choice, fancy rice which I’m sure I’ll describe someday soon. Or anything else you like!

The post Persio-Caribbean Chicken appeared first on Opine Away.

So here’s what you need:

• Cheap meat. get something with fat in it. Any beef cut will do.
• Onion
• Garlic
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Mason jars

Quantities are whatever you want, by whatever amount of meat you use. Here goes.

Cut the meat to pieces you can fit in the mason jars. add some salt and pepper (not too much) and mix it to be pretty even over the meat pieces.

Cut the onion to half rings.

Place some onion pieces at the bottom of a jar (half an inch or so) and two-three garlic cloves on top. then fill the rest of the jar with meat and tightly seal the jar with its cover. Repeat with more jars until you run out of meat. I usually make 3-4 jars in a batch.

Place the jars in a big/deep enough pot to contain them (if the jars are a bit taller than the pot that’s fine too if you can place a cover on the pot). Fill the pot with cold water to the top. It’s important to start with cold water to let the jars heat gradually.

Bring to a boil with high flame, then lower to end-high and let boil for 10-15 minutes. Cover, lower the flame, and let cook for at least 4-5 hours. 8 hours is even better, can be overnight.

Turn off and let cool (an hour or so).

What you get is sealed jars full of cooked meat. Closed they can last for a very long time, months and even years, even not refrigerated, as long as they are unopened and sealed.

The fat will be separated and form a layer at the top. The meat is tender and flavorful, and can be made into anything – I make a great Beef Stroganoff with it, chili, mix it with rice, Sloppy Joe etc. I use the onion and garlic from the bottom with stuff I cook.

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My version is made with chicken thighs, and is relatively simple – marinate for at least an hour in lemon juice (at least three lemons), thyme, a little oregano, salt, black pepper, garlic and hot pepper. Then place in an oven pan, herbs on the bottom, chicken on top with all the marinade juices, put some butter on top of the chicken, some more salt and pepper, cook for 40 min on 450f, then broil for 20 minutes. Sometimes I do a quick version on the stove, crisp the chicken first with a little butter and olive oil then add the lemon juice and spices and cook covered for 10 minutes, then uncover and reduce the sauce a bit. Either way I really like it…

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