Cooking Sauce for BBQ

Use this to slather chicken or pork particularly before cooking. Let set for an hour to best absorb the flavors into the meat. The low sugar content makes it harder to burn, but not impossible.

Note that this is not the type of BBQ sauce that is used after cooking. It needs to cook on the meat to taste good. You can put some of that kind of BBQ Sauce on when you serve it.

Combine in the blender and liquefy the following until no chunks remain. Set aside to use soon:

• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup bourbon (I use Jim Beam)
• 8 shots of espresso OR 10 grams of finely ground coffee
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 4 large cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 6 oz (by weight) tamarind paste (seedless)
• 4-8 raw habanero peppers with seeds and stems removed

Grind the following spices to a fine powder:

• 2 Tbsp whole black pepper
• 2 Tbsp whole white pepper
• 2 tsp whole cumin

Heat this oil a 4 qt saucepan (or larger):

• 3 Tbsp coconut oil (we'll use more of the coconut oil below) (or use Olive oil)

When hot add these and cook about 90 seconds until it smells wonderful and the tomato changes color:

• 3 Tbsp of tomato paste (taken from the cans used below)
• 1 Tbsp anchovie paste

Add the pepper and cumin that we ground to powder above.
Stir to intensify the flavors (30 seconds)

Add these to the saucepan:

• 1 cup red wine (or water)
• The contents of the blender prepared above

Bring to a simmer and then add

• The rest of 2 - 12 oz cans of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (added to that above) (or Olive oil)
• 3 Tbsp powdered yellow mustard
• 3 Tbsp Worcestershire powder
• 2 Tbsp Hickory Smoke powder
• 2 tsp salt

Stir and simmer for 20 min. Thin as needed with:

• 2-3 cups water

Remove and seal in jars. Keep refrigerated until used. Will keep longer than you think.

Sichuan Peppercorn Marinade for Chicken

This is a marinade for chicken with those zesty Szechuan peppercorns. They aren't actually pepper in that they come from plants totally unrelated to those plants that supply black peppercorns.

Grind the following in spice grinder (I have a spare coffee grinder I use for spices)

• 2 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns
• 5 whole allspice berries
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 2 cloves garlic (whole but peeled)

Add into a bowl and stir together with the following

• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil

Use unfrozen chicken pieces (or strips) that have been dried with paper towels. Coat the chicken with the marinade and let set 1 hour.

Grill normally. (If I use a thermometer, I go to 155 degrees F. It comes up to 165 internally after resting 5 min. The US government recommends 165 degrees F as the safe temperature for poultry.)

White Bread Plus

As a wedding gift, I got a copy of "The Joy of Cooking" many years ago. This recipe has served well for decades in this house.

To the side here is a photo of the original recipe from the old book which is for 3 loaves:

My version (without a big mixer to use) for 1 loaf

Combine in a measuring cup

• 1 pkg yeast, 
• 1/2 c. Warm water
• Large pinch flour 
• 1 T. sugar 

and allow to proof, which means sit in a warmish place. (Until foamy, approx. 20 minutes.)

In a large bowl combine and stir

• 3/4 cups warm water
• ¼ cup melted lard or shortening (or butter but, if salted, reduce salt to 1/2 tsp)
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 each large egg, beaten
• Yeast/water mixture

Stir in by batches 

• 3 cups flour

Stir in flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and can be handled.

Turn out on a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and pliable, about 5-10 minutes .

Shape into a ball and place into a mixing bowl. Spray with canned canola oil. Turn dough over and spray other side, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
(Approx. 1-1 1/2 hours for rapid rise yeast, 2 hours or so for standard yeast.) Punch dough down, turn it over in the bowl, and optionally allow to rise again until almost doubled in size. Single rising is ok. Double rising is for the obsessive among us. 

Punch down and form a loaf. Place in a well-greased bread pan. Cover with saran wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. 

Start in a cold oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. 

Remove bread from pan and thump bottom with finger. You should get a hollow sound indicating it is done. Or check the internal temperature, it should be 200 degrees. 

Cool slightly before cutting. 

Store in foil or plastic bag (if there is any left).

With a Big Mixer

Ingredients don't change. Just the instructions of what you do. And its easier.

1. Prepare the yeast mixture as above.
2. Melt the lard/shortening/butter in a small glass bowl in the microwave
3. Put it into the mixer's bowl
4. Use a regular mixing paddle at this point
5. Add the other ingredients in the 2nd list above and turn on the mixer, lowest speed, until everything is thoroughly mixed.
6. Add half the flour a cup at a time 
7. Change to the dough hook and run at the lowest speed some more
8. Add the rest of the flour a cup at a time.
9. When the dough is mixed to the point that there is no flour left, run the mixer for 3 minutes more in place of kneading.
10. Stop the mixer. Leave the hook embedded in the dough.
11. Spray oil over the top surface. No need to turn the dough over.
12. Let the dough do its first rise in the mixer bowl. It will double in size.
13. Turn the mixer back on low. This will push down the dough and knead it some more.
14. At this point, remove the dough and form a loaf.
15. The rest is the same as above.

Note: Updated 22 Mar 2020 to fix typo in amount of flour and reword some errors that said it makes more than 1 loaf of break.

Prime Rib

This works for 3-4 bone prime rib roasts. It works for 9 bone roasts. Perhaps for other ones as well. I have tested with 6-9 lb roasts and that monster 26 lb one. Expect about 1 lb of uncooked prime rib with bones for each adult to eat.

Prepare the roast starting up to 4 days ahead:

1. Thaw if frozen. (This may take up to 3 days.)
2. Remove any wrapping from the roast.
3. Salt liberally on all sides. 
4. Put it in a pan with airspace on all sides. This means it must sit on a rack in a pan with space on the sides.
5. Leave in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 days.

Several hours before time to cook

1. Put 2 sticks of butter on the counter to soften

When it’s time to begin cooking, prepare by mixing these thoroughly.

• 2 sticks (1/2 lb) soft butter
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh Rosemary (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp chopped garlic

Dust off any loose salt, dry off the meat and then slather the roast on all sides with the butter mixture. 

No need to preheat the oven but it doesn't hurt. Set it to 220° F.

The roast should be in a roasting pan, lifted up off the pan so it can cook on all sizes.

Cook for several hours until the internal temperature as measured by an instant thermometer measures 135 degrees F. This will result in medium rare. (141 will make it more medium) Do not attempt to cook by timing. You spent $50-$100 dollars on the meat. Add $10 more for a digital, instant read thermometer.

At the right temperature, remove the roast from the oven and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes at a minimum. Its fine to let it sit for up to 3 hours to time the meat for the rest of the food. (Also any late guests don’t cause a problem)

Preheat the oven to 500° F or more. Make sure the oven is thoroughly hot and put the roast back in for 10-12 minutes. It should be sizzling on the surface. (A gas grill can be used.) Do not put the meat in before it’s fully 500°.

Remove it from the oven and immediately slice and serve.

Posole Variation with Chile Pods

I happened upon this recipe when I was feeling lazy. I'm adding it here for Scott to consider cooking in a hotel room with no prep time and a crock pot. If I was Scott, and if I were doing this, I'd ziploc up the spices. I would cut up the pork and freeze it together with onions. I'd probably buy frozen onions but chopping my own would be more economical. I'd need a can opener for the hominy and, maybe, the chicken broth.

Add the following to a crock pot:

• 1-2 lb pork (pork loin cut in 1" cubes OR cheap pork chops with the meat cut in bits and bones added OR ham hocks OR pork neck bones -- smoked or fresh)
• 3 dried New Mexico red chile pods (remove stem and seeds without being obsessive)
• 3 cloves garlic (peel but leave whole)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp whole cumin (a little less if powdered)
• 1/4 tsp mexican oregano (any oregano will do)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped onion (frozen is convenient, sauted is ok)
• 4 cups chicken broth (or chicken base/boullion with water)
• Additional water if needed to cover everything.
• Do Not Add Salt (pork may be salty. broth may be salty. taste and salt at the end)

Cook on high for 6 hours or until the meat falls apart. If the meat is frozen when you start it will take longer.

While cooking, depending on the pork, you may want to spoon off the accumulated oil off the top of the crock pot. Stir afterwards. This is not crucial but you may want less fat.

When done, add:

• 1 large can hominy (the hispanic brands are firmer. If not, yellow is better than white)

It just depends on your crock pot. Once the posole is hot, you can eat it. (For shorter cooking time, microwave the hominy before you put it in.

Here is another posole recipe that takes longer to cook and has a different vibe.

http://flatlandfood.blogspot.com/2011/11/posole-variation.html

Turkey Tips for Convection Oven

Rules of thumb for cooking turkey in my convection oven. Yours may be different.

Thawing a Frozen Turkey

• Remove the turkey from the freezer
• Put it in the refrigerator.
• Temperature in a working refrigerator should be in the 30's F
• Allow time for thawing = 5 hours per pound
• Remove turkey from refrigerator and let set at room temperature (about 70 degrees) for at least 2 hours before cooking.
• NOTE: You can remove it from the package, remove the neck and giblets and season at any time but be sure to cover the turkey if this is done before the 2 hours is complete.

Cooking times below assume the turkey is completely thawed, dried, seasoned, etc.

Home Convection Oven

• calculate total cooking time = 9 minutes per pound
• preheat to 400 degrees F - first 20 minutes
• reduce to 350 degrees F - cook for the rest of time you calculated
• measure internal temperature with instant read thermometer
• remove when it reaches 155 degrees F measured at the center of the meat masses (breast, thigh)
• let set for 20 minutes
• during that time, sometime, the internal temperature will rise 10 degrees F reaching the USDA suggested temperature of 165 degrees F for safe cooking of poultry.
• if you doubt it has reached this safe temperature, measure it while setting OR don't remove it until it reaches 165 degrees F.

WARNING: This is a "recipe" and does not suggest you should avoid generally suggest safety rules for dealing with poultry. Don't let it get warm for too long. Don't undercook it and eat it. I suggest you Google "poultry cooking safety tips" for more indepth info on the subject.

Chicken Soup

I've got sick Sunday evening. Missed work Monday and really wanted some chicken soup. Does it make you feel better? Well, when your head is totally stuffed up and your throat hurts, yes.

Remember, its soup. So put anything you like in it. I left out potatoes and pasta since I'm not in the mood for carbs when I'm sick. I added spinach because I had it in the refrigerator. Experiment!

Put the following in a sauce pan:

• 3 T onion - slice angled across the grain very thin to get half round strips
• 2 garlic cloves - peel and cut in half
• 1 small carrot chopped
• 1 T olive oil

Saute over medium heat until about the onion is about ready to brown.

You can prepare the chicken either in a hot skillet or under a broiler (or even on the grill).

• 1 chicken breast - no bones, browned, cut into 1 cm cubes (1/2 inch)

Meanwhile, when the onion is ready, add these to the saucepan and turn to high:

• 2 c water
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon or chicken base
• 1/2 tsp beef base
• 1 bay leave
• 12 whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp celery flakes (unless you have fresh celery leaves for the bundle)
• pinch of ground black pepper
• pinch of sugar
• (optional) 4 sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
• a bundle of fresh herbs (see below)

Bring to a boil, add the chicken when browned but simmer for 15 minutes. You will probably need to reduce heat to medium to keep it simmering. You may need to add water or white wine.

Make the bundle of fresh herbs by tying some fresh herbs with a string into a little bundle just long enough to fit into the sauce pan. I used these but I'm nto sure it much matters. You can substitute dried spices but be careful not to overdo it. 

Tie these fresh spices into the bundle and submerse in the soup as shown in the photo:

• basil
• oregano
• sage
• tarragon
• fennil fronds
• mint

I'm not sure it much matters but you will have to experiment with whatever you like. I don't like it with rosemary.

After the soup has simmered for 15 minutes, taste it and add

• (optional) 1/2 c chopped spinach
• salt to taste

Remove the bundle of spices and serve.

Enough for 2 servings. Which is perfect for lunch and dinner when you are feeling sick.