Afternoon snack
Holy Smokes. Can you say, “marbling?”
40-day aged Cote De Boeuf. Grilled.
1-Throw some steak spice on and let the marbling do the rest of the heavy lifting for you in the flavour department.
2-Sear on medium-high for 3 mins a side.
3-Cook on low-medium heat for 10 mins a side.
“Set it. Don’t forget.” That’s a pricey piece of meat.
The best part is you get to eat a piece of meat that looks like it’s from the Flintstones.
Roncesvalles Snack: smoked beef tongue, Lithuanian dark rye bread, homemade pickles, fresh farmers cheese. Later on… Pierogies!
Thanksgiving Turkey Take Down!!
This ain’t your mama’s turkey. It’s got so much flavour, it’ll send you back to her crying like a tiny little, bland, baby: “Mama, gimme more flavour!!!”.
Don’t worry, Hancooks will take care of you. Come on over and buckle up - we’re talking turkey!
Brine Time:
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup coarse sea salt
pepper corns
dry Riesling (don’t be shy)
sage, thyme, rosemary,bay leaves
garlic
red onion
whole orange, squeezed in, including rinds
chicken stock and water
Bring it a to a boil and then reduce to room temp. Cover your bird for minimum 16 hours and then rinse it, thoroughly.
Then: Drench a double layer of cheese cloth in melted butter and white wine. Wrap it around the bird and cook it at 325. After an hour or so, when the cheese cloths is dried out, start basting the bird every 20-30 minutes. For stuffed bird, cook until inner thigh is 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take out the bird. The cheese cloth peels back like an old man getting into a bath. Perfecto! The skin is golden brown and the meat is melt in your mouth, juicy and flavourful.
Side dishes to follow in the next post.
Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the Hickory-Smoked See Salt!
No dry rub is complete without smoked sea salt of some kind. I recommend this brand from Washington State, Durango Hickory Smoked Salt by Artisan.
I’ve been using on everything to give it that extra pop in your mouth. POW. I’ve also use it when I smoked a whole chicken, pulling out some of the natural flavours in the hickory wood chips.You can put it in a dry rub (pictured) or a brine, which I recommend..
Hancook’s Buckle-Up Brine:
chicken stock
molasses
maple syrup
spoon or 2 of hickory smoked sea salt
squeeze in a whole lemon, then throw in the rind too
cracked pepper
garlic
dried mustard & union
ab-lib as need
Bring it all to a boil then chill until room temp. Put the bird in for 3-4 hours and don’t rinse it.
Soak hickory woods chips for 2+ hours. On one half of BBQ, place wood chips in aluminum foil or cast iron smoker directly on flame, below the grill. Cover most BBQ ventilation holes with aluminum foil.
Butter-fly the brined bird and place on the other half of the BBQ with no direct heat. Cover and smoked for approx. 3 hours. It will be the smokiest and most flavourful chicken of your life.
Side salad pictured: baby red kale, beets and yellow beans from Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market.
Meat sourced, as usual, from Sanagan’s Meat Locker.
Wakey, Wakey - Eggs n’ No Bakey?
You’re shit out of meat and want a killer breakfast. Fear not. Grab whatever veggies are kicking around the ice box and fry ‘em up with butter, paprika, chilies or cayenne. Transfer the veggies into a bowl. Beat up a few eggs with some H20. Grease up the pan with loads of butter. Pour the eggs into the pan at med-high heat, keeping the edges from sticking to the pan. Shake the eggs around so they cook evenly. Poke a few holes in them so that uncooked parts seep through. Fire your sautéed veggies and grated cheese on top of the eggs and fold the omelet. Boomshakalaka - yer done.
