Category Archives: Protein

Greek Style Turkey Meatloaf

May 22, 2012 By in Healthy Eating, Recipes, Turkey Tags: , , , 1 Comment

My body can’t handle two nights of weekend partying anymore.  So this past Friday night, I decided to stay in and experiment with meatloaf.  I know what your thinking, exhilarating!  Well. let. me. tell. you. It certainly was. This recipe test will now be a part of future ‘easy’ dinner nights! Give it a whirl.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1lb ground white meat turkey
  • 1/2 lb ground dark meat turkey
  • 1/3 c. chopped dill
  • 1 c. crumbled feta
  • 1/2 c. chopped onion, small dice
  • 1/2 c. chopped celery, small dice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 c. stuffing mix** optional,or add 2 slices of bread
  • 1 slice of sandwich bread, small cubed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350*F

To start, sweat the onions and celery in 1 tbsp of olive oil until tender, but not browned. Add garlic for the last 60 seconds and stir around.  Remove the pan from the heat and reserve while you prep the meatloaf.  In a large bowl combine the turkey meat, dill, eggs, bread, stuffing mix, salt, pepper, and celery/onion/garlic mix.  Mix together with hands, once incorporated add the feta and mix again. Bake in a loaf pan for45-55 minutes.

OR do one extra step and make a roulade with spinach. Turning this into a roulade makes for an extra special presentation and also adds some extra nutrients! Not to mention, color! Spread a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter, add the meatloaf and pat down to about 3/4″. Once you have a flat surface that’s roughly in the shape of a rectangle, start sprinkling a layer of drained, chopped spinach over the meat (buy a block of frozen spinach, drain, ring out the water and use).

Using the leverage of the plastic wrap, begin to tug the plastic on one side and roll up the meat end to end.  DO NOT Roll up with the plastic wrap inside:) Bake for 45-55 minutes uncovered, let rest for 5-10 minutes and serve with Tzatziki sauce for an extra Greek kick! (click for Tzatziki recipe).

** I had left over stuffing mix from thanksgiving laying around, so I added this instead for a hint of flavor not offered by the boring binder of sandwich bread. I combined it with one piece of sandwich bread to make sure the moisture stayed in the meatloaf. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, so I did both to be safe. Next time I will add just stuffing mix if I have it laying around still.

I hope you enjoy this healthy spin on meatloaf, thanks for reading, xo-G

Molecular Cooking; Beef Noodles.

May 17, 2012 By in Beef, Molecular Gastronomy, Pasta, Technique Tags: , , 1 Comment

Truly wacky, and mind bending, but totally fun and tasty.

I recently experimented with “beef noodles”.

It went a little something like this; “Chef, I’ve been working with beef now for 3 weeks in all sorts of ways, I want to change it up. Thinking about doing noodles out of meat, doable?”  Chef’s reply, “totally“… and so it began.

I started with a 6oz piece of beef shoulder that I had marinating in the walk in for over a week. It was scrap to me, so I thought best to try it out with this.  It was  simply marinated, salt, cracked pepper, a few lime wedges.

I rough chopped it and tossed into the food processor, pureed the heck out of it.

Next, I pushed it through a tamis into a bowl, cleared all the fat strings and discarded the waste.

With the remaining pulverized meat I sprinkled in Transglutiminase or “meat glue” to it.  Mushed it around with my hands (in gloves!) and repeated the process with another sprinkling.

Meat Glue used to create a checker board effect. Photo c/o http://ishadatar.wordpress.com

Lets take a time out to talk about what Meat Glue is: The scientific term, transglutiminase are a family of enzymes that catalyze the formation of a covalent bond between a free amine group (e.g., protein- or peptide-bound lysine) and the gamma-carboxamide group of protein- or peptide-boundglutamine.  Thanks Wikipedia.  In simpler terms it means that this magic powder can combine scraps of meat to make very nice looking cuts or specialty shapes.

I grabbed two 8×10 cryovac bags and evenly distributed the meat mixture to each, about 2.5 ounces in each bag.

I vacuum packed both bags in the cryovac to omit all the air.

Then, I patted the lumps down with my palm until I could run it through the flat rung of the pasta machine. I did this to get a flat, thin surface of the meat inside the bag.

After both bags were thin and even, I tossed them into the immersion circulator to sous vide over night at 131*F.

When I returned the next day, the meat had cooked through and had shrunk just a bit around the edges of the bag.

I removed the thin sheets very carefully and placed them on my cutting board. Using a pairing knife I cut the meat paper into 1cm strips, then reserved into a small metal bowl.

For service I gentle pan-fried a small handful of noodles and tossed them in a Thai chili sauce I had previously made.

Voila, beef noodles.

Technique: Sous Vide… What is it?

April 20, 2012 By in Molecular Gastronomy, Protein, Technique Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Sous Vide is magic.

It’s like a jacuzzi for meat.

What is sous vide [soo veed], really, you ask? Technically, according to www.epicurious.com it is “French for “under vacuum.”  Sous vide is a food-packaging technique pioneered in Europe whereby fresh ingredients are combined into various dishes, vacuum-packed in individual-portion pouches, cooked under a vacuum, then chilled. Sous vide  food is used most often by hotels, restaurants and caterers, though it’s expected to become increasingly available in supermarkets”

That is a boring definition. 

I would say that sous vide is the most exquisite way to cook a piece of meat. Picture this: You have 60 minutes left to live before the end of the world. Forget sex, calling your loved ones, or crossing off a bucket list item, you want to have your favorite last meal; perfectly cooked medium-rare, marinated steak on the grill. So succulent, juicy and flavorful, that you can die happy (am I projecting here?). Good thing, you miraculously have all the ingredients and equipment needed; a bad ass piece of beef, a really good marinade, a state of the art sous vide thermal immersion circulator, a vacuum sealer, and hot char-coaled grill.  We’re in business.

The sous vide method works like this: Steak, in a vacuum ready plastic bag. Marinade, poured in. Pouch, vacuumed. Sous vide in an immersion circulator, 125*F for 30 minutes.  Open bag, place on a high-heat hot grill, sear to perfection, 3 minutes. 7-10 minutes of rest.

Slice.

Eat.

Enlightenment.

59:59.

Death.

Ok, so it’s not really the end of the world, but forget 24 hours of marinating, or “overnight in the fridge for best results” With the help of one of these you can have a little end of the world, steak party for yourself.

Joking aside, using a sous vide method under vacuum pack eliminates most of the air, allowing whatever marinade or spices placed inside the bag to be absorbed by the meat and to lock in flavors normally lost when cooking.  Cooking in a water bath, or thermal immersion circulator, of constant temperature penetrates the protein from all angles and evenly cooks throughout. Overcooking is pretty much impossible considering the constant set temperature.

One disadvantage that can be easily fixed is the lack of a caramelized (maillard reaction) crust. Because the protein is being cooked so evenly and not over an extreme heat, there is no maillard reaction of the protein surface caramelizing.  One way to fix this is to sear  on a hot grill after sous vide cooking. This will give a juicy evenly cooked steak the crusty texture and char it deserves.

Lets not forget about vegetables! Using the sous vide method on vegetables also has its advantages.  This method will thoroughly cook  the veg while maintaining a firm to somewhat crisp texture, the cell walls do not get destroyed by high heat, and the gelantinization of starch in the vegetable can be achieved without over cooking!

There are a few food safety risks with using the sous vide method, in particular botulism. Duh duhn duhnnn. Don’t freak out! It’s not prevalent but like any other food safety and proper handling are important. To prevent this bacteria from happening always remember to pack food under vacuum pack below 38*F.  The means, don’t put a 45*F steak in the bag if its been on the counter for 8 hours thawing.  Time and Temperature safety- just like all other foods we handle. If you are cooking meat for a long duration, it must reach 135*F within 4 hours and be kept there in order to pasteurize the meat. For example, 48 hour short ribs.  Sound good huh.. tender delicious and botulism free if correctly heated!

Buying a sous vide machine will cost you a pretty penny ($400-$1000 +), but if you are an avid home cook and like exploring new cooking techniques this will not disappoint.  Also to learn more about this cooking technique, pick up a copy of Thomas Keller’s Under Pressure- you’ll be a pro in no time!

For accurate cooking times and temps here is a handy chart from TK; http://www.sousvidecooking.org/tag/thomas-keller/

Better-than-your-favorite-Asian-take-out: Pork Dumplings.

March 6, 2012 By in Appetizers, Hors d'oeuvres, Pork, Protein, Recipes, Sauces Tags: , , , , 4 Comments

I love dumplings.

They are little presents full of happiness for your mouth and almost every culture has their version; pork, fish, beef, vegetables or sweets can be baked, fried, steamed, or boiled. What a versatile food! But when I think of dumplings, I think of Asian pork dumplings, my favorite.  Savory, spicy, and a tad sweet all in the same bite.  I didn’t realize until I started making them the other day that I’ve never actually had homemade dumplings; I usually just order them at restaurants. And lets be honest, they probably pull them from a cardboard box in the freezer.

I have this great little Sushi place a few blocks up from my apartment called Zen, and until the other day they had my all time favorite pork dumplings. Well Zen, I’ve found you out and I have an even better recipe. My dumplings have the same flavors, but with actual chunky ingredients, not a solidified ball of meat, which makes them a slam dunk.

Skip the take out tonight, and whip up these little pockets of love, you will thank me.

INGREDIENTS:

Blanching the Bok Choy:

  • 8 oz Bok Choy
  • 2 qts water
  • 2 tsp salt

In a small pot bring water and salt to a boil. Once a boil is reached, add bok choy stems and blanch until tender (about a minute).  Shock in cold water.  Next, add the bok choy leaves to the pot and blanch until wilted, about 30 seconds. (this will happen quickly so keep a close eye) Shock the leaves in cold water.  Remove the bok choy and pat dry on paper towl, set aside.

Making the filling:

  • 1 lb Lean Ground Pork
  • 2 egg whites, whipped until frothy
  • 2 oz soy sauce
  • 1 oz sake (optional)
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1.5 oz sesame oil
  • 1/2 cup Scallions, diced
  • 8 oz bok choy, diced
  • 2 tbsp Ginger, minced
  • 2 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp, pepper
  • 2 tsp, red pepper flakes

In a mixing bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy. Combine the pork and mix in the soy sauce, sake, sugar, sesame oil, and mix well together with hands or a fork.  (*Having a box of disposable kitchen gloves nearby is good for a project like this).  After the liquids are mixed, add the ginger, scallions, garlic, pepper, red pepper, and bok choy. The filling is now ready.

Why make pot sticker wrappers when you can buy them! No brainer. A package of gyoza wrappers contains 40-50 wrappers and will cost around $3. Boomski!

To start making the dumplings, line your work space with a piece of parchment paper, this will minimalize the gyoza wrappers from sticking to the bare counter.  Also, place a piece of parchment paper in a sheet tray, this is where you will place your ready-to-be-cooked bundles of tastiness.

Lay out 5 or so wrappers to start on your parchment lined work space. In the center of each dumpling add about a 1/2 tablespoon of filling. This will be trial and error.  I started off with a full tablespoon and quickly found out that the wrapper could not encase that much, but 1/2 tbsp was too little.  You’ll figure it out. Using a finger, dab in a small cup of water and run it along the edge of 1/2 of the gyoza wrapper, fold in half and secure the seams with a few good pinches, pressing the dough together.  Try to make sure to get most of the air out. Reserve on the parchment lined sheet tray and begin the process again with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Cooking the Dumplings:

Flash steam/boil them 4 or 5 at a time in a saute pan filled with about 3/4″ boiling water. This will take about 1-2 minutes.  Pull them from the water and let sit on a parchment lined sheet tray. In a second saute pan add enough cooking oil to coat the pan, around 1/2 inch and heat just until the oil begins to smoke. Make sure the dumplings are fairly dry before tossing in the hot oil.  Scorching hot oil and water do not get along.  Pan fry until golden brown on both sides and serve with my dumpling dipping sauce.

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 2 tbsp ginger, finely minced

Let me know how yours turn out! Thanks for reading- xo, G

A pig’s tail…from head to hoof

February 27, 2012 By in Pork, Protein, Restaurant Reviews Tags: , , 6 Comments

This story begins with the few clicks of a mouse in a land called twitter, a far off cyber-realm where people share ideas, connect, promote, and exchange information.  Had I not been sitting in a nail salon, obsessing over Facebook, instagram and twitter simultaneously (yes I’ll admit it) while waiting for my pearly polish to dry, I might not have ever seen this tweet “@themightyrib: Boston foodies…if you’re interested in details about attending a Pig Roast @CitizensPub in the near future, pls DM me. Organizing a group”.  Without regard to my polish, I instantly replied and was greeted moments later by a friendly message from Kevin (@themightyrib) that I was in.  Awesome. Finally a dinner crew that will get down and dirty with some odd bits, and maybe a few people I can learn from. A couple of days later he got back to me with the date of Sunday Feb 26@2pm.  Juuuusst Great, iPhone calendar says I have a ski weekend planned, but what the heck, its been a bare bones winter so far.  The Pig wins.

6 weeks of anticipation led to this…

13 foodies

From all backgrounds

and  all walks of life

strangers to each other

came together with one common goal

…to eat. drink. and eat some more.  Did I just write a haiku or something?  anyway…

I am a carnivore and I have no qualms about it.  I like meat, I believe in meat, and our bodies were designed to digest it. I dig the veggies/vegans/pesca’s too and I am not trying to piss you off. However there is something special about nose to tail eating.  I know it’s becoming a little gimmicky but in concept and to actually be a part of it, is something sort of special.

I mean, we had a moment to bond with the little bugger. The chef brought him out in all his baked, crispy golden skin, ready to be hacked apart, glory.

We got to see the before, so that we could appreciate the after.

Whole Hog, 26lbs of goodness

After everyone arrived and beers had been served, we started with a nice 1st round of raw bar appetizers; clams, shrimp, and oysters.  Couldn’t think of a better way to start off a pig roast, if I do say so myself.

Oysters and Clams

For sides we were surprised with tarragon roasted beets, fried green tomatoes, and truffle oil sweet potatoes.

Gorgeous Beets

Killer Green Tomatoes

And it begins…

Pig Pickin'

Shoulders and Butt

My first plate

Crispy Pig Skin.. doesn't get much better! Pork Candy

Since this was brunch after all, the chef informed us that he had stuffed the pigs belly with chorizo, eggs, spinach, apples, onions, carrots, celery, potatoes and various aromatic herbs and spices.  It was fantastic and the flavors ran throughout the tender meat.

More Pig!

Stuffed.

After fully pigging out, the drinks started flowin’, and the bourbon punch started giving us a warm feeling in our tummys… liquid courage was building and the main event was upon us.

Bourbon Lemon Tea Punch; deadly yet delicious

Offal; the nasty bits and odd parts. The grande silver platter arrived and I was excited, curious and a little grossed out all at the same time, but hey!  This is what I came for.  When else does one experience something like this?  I don’t think I’ll ever be on fear factor getting yelled at by Joe Rogan,  I sure as sh*t am not eating or preparing this stuff at school, and my usual dinners out with friends don’t get this interesting, so I’m going for it.

Brains, Eyes, Cheek, Tongue

Eyeball is interesting.  If it wasn’t for the bourbon tea plus some random foodie peer pressure I might not have done it, so it was a perfect combo.  With a few meaty parts of the head fat still attached I popped the sucker and chewed only slightly.  Tasted like pork, a little oily, and then an odd viscous feel on my tongue. I immediately grabbed for my beer and swallowed.  It wasn’t terrible, but I am glad to have just had the one.  First and last eyeball consumption I hope.

Pig Eye... not sure if it's the right or left

With that, followed brain on toast with a little kosher salt.  Comparative to an oily pate with a liver aftertaste. Not delicious.

Brain shmere. Brown strings are blood lines or brain veins. yuck

And finally, pig tongue- actually incredible!  Tasted similar to roast beef. If you ever have a chance, try it! Any normal meat eater would like it.

Tongue is just to the lower right of the snout

Look at Carol “I’ll try anything once” Glagola, eatin’ her brain toast like it ain’t no thang! She dug right in. You GO girl.

This was a perfect Sunday afternoon. I met a lot of cool people, heard some interesting stories, shared some laughs, ate some weird sh*t, and got cultured on nose to tail eating. If you want to do something out of the ordinary, sip on whisky, and have some good banter, head over to the Citizen Public House.

The…

End.

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