As a member of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program I recently received an email inviting bloggers to create a recipe using and/or pairing with one of New Belgium Brewery’s beers. In return New Belgium offered up a $50 stipend to those bloggers picked. I was thrilled when I received notification that I was one of the blogs that the folks over at New Belgium chose.

The hardest part to this whole assignment was choosing which of their beers to use to create my dish. Let’s face it, New Belgium Brewery has a number of really great beers from which to choose from. I was, originally all set to use their “1554,” one of my favorite beers, but on the day that I was planning out my recipe I ended up heading out to do some Ramp picking. For those reader’s who have been following me since last year, you’ll know that I am a huge ramp fan. For those of you unfamiliar with ramps, they are a wild “onion” that grows in early spring and has a taste somewhere between a leek, a scallion and garlic. They are one of the few foods I feel comfortable foraging for as they are pretty easy to identify and I don’t have to worry about poisoning someone with them.

Freshly picked ramps

But I digress; because of my ramp picking foray my whole recipe concept changed and I eventually decided on the Ranger IPA to highlight. American IPAs (India Pale Ales) can be difficult beers to cook with. They are great beers for pairing with food, especially spicy foods, but in cooking with them one has be careful or the bitterness, from the hops, can overwhelm a dish. Luckily Ranger IPA has a nice malty backbone to help balance out the bitterness of the beer.

While I hesitate to call this a “Moroccan” dish, its flavors where definitely influenced by the foods of Morocco and Northern Africa. The heat and spice of the dish holds up well to the high bitterness, while the shrimp does well with the citrus notes of the beer. The Ranger IPA is used as the base for the marinade and makes the perfect accompaniment to the finished dish.

Spicy Shrimp with Red Pepper Sauce
serves 4

Marinade
1 cup New Belgium Ranger IPA
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, zested
1 tsp. garlic chile paste (I used sambal)

Red Pepper Sauce
2 large red bell peppers
1 Tbs. whole coriander seed
1 Tbs. whole cumin seed
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled

32 each large shrimp
1/2 pound ramps (can substitute green onions)
2 lemons
1/2 cup chopped parsley
Couscous (your favorite brand)

Make the marinade by combining th beer, olive oil, lemon zest and garlic chile paste. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails intact. Pour marinade over the shrimp and allow to marinate for 2-4 hours.

Meanwhile, if you don’t have metal skewers, place 8 8″ bamboo skewers in water to soak. Roast the red peppers and remove skin and seeds. Place in a blender along with turmeric, cinnamon, olive oil, cayenne pepper and garlic. Quickly toast the coriander and cumin seed in a hot, dry saute pan over medium high heat. Add too the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Season with salt and chill until ready to use. Wash the ramps, remove the root ends and most of the leaves, which tend to burn on the grill. Cut the lemons in half. Once the shrimp have marinated, heat a grill to high. While the grill is heating skewer the shrimp, placing 4 shrimp on each skewer. Prepare the couscous per the package instructions. Drizzle the ramps with olive oil and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Grill until softened and just slightly charred. While the ramps are grilling, brush the cut sides of the lemon with olive oil and grill just until the cut side is lightly browned. Finally season the shrimp with salt and pepper and grill until done (approximately 3-4 minutes on each side depending on how hot your grill is and how big the shrimp are).

Stir in about 1/3 cup of chopped parsley into the couscous and divide among 4 plates. Arrange shrimp around couscous and top with grilled ramps. Drizzle the red pepper sauce over everything and garnish with the remaining parsley.

This past September my wife and I bought 1/2 a hog and I had promised to write about some of the things I did with the meat. Well, as usual for me, I did a few things, like make bacon, which you can read about here, but then didn’t write much about it after that. It’s not that we haven’t used any of the pork we got, it’s more the fact that I was too lazy to write about it, or didn’t think that the simple roasts we did were worth writing about. This past week I was determined to change that so Sunday was “Sausage Making Day” at the Martin household. With just under 10 pounds of pork trim, I figured that I would make 2 of my favorite fresh sausages, Spicy Italian and Mexican Chorizo. Someday I would like to do some dry cured sausage and salami, but in our current house that probably won’t happen unless I can convince my wife of the need for another refrigerator; one that holds beer in the summer and curing sausages in fall. I’m not going to hold my breath though.

I’ll give you the recipe for the Chorizo in an upcoming post, so that leaves the Italian sausage for today. Sausage making is not difficult, although people seem to think that it is. The only hard part is stuffing the casings, but that is always optional. You can easily make sausage and leave as bulk pack, ready to be turned into sausage patties, meat balls, pizza topping, or crumbled up and used loose. At its most basic, sausage is nothing more than seasoned meat, most often pork although just about any meat can be turned into sausage, that has been run through a meat grinder, or finely chopped. That’s it…nothing more.

Of course, we can refine that a bit to get a better end product. Sausage relies heavily on its fat content. This not only brings moisture and and flavor to the sausage, but also helps to bind the sausage and adds to its mouth feel. Most sausages work on a ratio of 2 parts meat to 1 part fat. This is a rough estimation and your sausage won’t suffer if this ratio is not dead on, as long as it is in the ball park. Now you could get really anal about this and weigh out your lean meat and fat, making sure you have the exact right proportions or you can do it the easy way and just buy an untrimmed pork butt. This cut of meat naturally comes with just about the right proportions.

At one time sausage making was a way to preserve meat for a longer period of time, before the advent of refrigeration. Hogs were butchered in the fall not only because they were at their fattest then, but because the cool weather helped keep the meat longer. Salting and curing meats also helped stave off decay, allowing for longer storage. Today’s fresh sausages don’t really require so much salt as modern refrigeration takes over the role of preservation, but as with bacon, we have come to enjoy the saltiness of a good sausage so salt still plays a major role in flavoring. Beyond salt, flavoring options are virtually endless. Almost all herbs and spices are used in sausage making somewhere in the world, although garlic seems to play a prominent role in the vast majority of them.

One final word about sausage making. If you plan on stuffing sausages, please buy real casings. Some people might cringe at the thought of working with natural casings, but they really do provide the best texture and mouth feel. They are a little less forgiving than artifical casings but, in the end they aren’t that hard to work with.

Spicy Italian Sausage
makes approximately 16 4oz links

4 pounds Pork butt (or pork trim if you are doing your own butchering or cutting) about 70% lean and 30% fat
4 cloves garlic
4 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbs. black pepper, coarse ground
2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. sugar
2 Tbs. fennel seed
1 cup red wine

Lightly crack the fennel seeds, using either a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. Don’t grind it into a powder, but just slightly crack the fennel. Combine the fennel with the sugar, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt. Set aside. Cut the pork into 1 inch pieces, removing any heavy connective tissue or silverskin. Also as you are cutting through the large veins of fat look for, and remove, any glands. You can tell its a gland because it will be a dark tan color surrounded by the white of the fat. It also will have a slightly gelatinous look and texture to it. Remove any that you find as they can lend an off flavor to your sausage. Finely mince the garlic then mash it into a coarse paste with the side of your knife blade. Place pork in a large, nonreactive bowl then add the spices and the red wine. Mix well to evenly distribute the seasonings.

Cover with plastic wrap and all to marinate for, at least 2 hours, or overnight. About 1 hour before you are ready to grind your sausage, place all your grinding attachments into the freezer to chill. At this time you will also want to soak about 12-15 feet of natural casings. They usually come salt cured so we need to remove the salt and rehydrate them. Rinse the casings in fresh cold water for about 5 minutes then allow to sit, in fresh cold water, for about 30 minutes. Finally, just before using, open up one end of the casings, place over the faucet and run cold water through them. They are now ready to use. Set up your grinder using the coarse die. Oftentimes sausage is ground twice, once through a coarse die and then again through a smaller die. For this sausage which I like a little more rustic I only grind it once through the coarse die. Working with a handful of pork at a time, push the meat through the grinder, letting it fall into a bowl below.

Once the sausage has been ground gently mix it by hand to ensure that everything is evenly distributed. The sausage is now done and can be used as is, or you can continue on to stuffing.

Set up your stuffer, per the manufacturer’s directions. While I would love to have a stand alone stuffer, that’s not going to happen anytime soon so I use my Kitchenaid and the sausage stuffer attachments. Lightly oil the stuffer tube then slip the casing over the tube, feeding it on until only about 2 inches are hanging off. Many recipes will then tell you to tie a knot in the end, but I find I get a large air bubble so I leave it open for now. With one hand, feed the sausage into the hopper. With the other hand gently guide the sausage as it is being extruded into the casing.

This process can be a little tricky so it may help to have a second person; one to feed the hopper and the other to guide the casing. Eventually, it becomes easier and I usually do it by myself. As the sausage is extruded and starts fill the casings, you want to guide the casing off of the stuffer. The sausage should fill out the casing, but not tightly. If you stuff the sausage too tightly you won’t have room to twist the links and the casings will explode. You also want to avoid any large air bubbles. Continue stuffing the casings until you have used up all of the sausage. Once that it done, tie a knot in one end of the casing, tight against the meat. Measure out about 5 inches of sausage then gently pinch and twist, making 2 rotations towards you. Measure another 4-5 inches and repeat, this time twisting away from you. Continue doing this, alternating between twisting towards and away from you. Once you get to the end, tie another knot again tight against the meat. Don’t worry, if you rupture the casing as you are making your links. Just remove some meat, cut the casing and tie it off at the point, starting again where you left off. I have made a good amount of sausage and still, rupture a casing now and then.

Put the sausage into the fridge, uncovered for about 2-3 hours to dry out the casings slightly, then package and either freeze for future use or use up in the next 4-5 days.

I have a weakness for pickles. It doesn’t matter what kind: sweet, sour, dill, garlic, spicy, it doesn’t matter to me. Nor am I picky about what vegetables to pickle though I am most partial to cucumbers, the “traditional” pickle, green beans and mushrooms. The only think I demand from a good pickle, especially a cucumber pickle is that it be crispy.

A few weekends ago we headed down to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, one of my favorite summer time activities. We have a great time each time we go and spend a lot of time eating and drinking our way through the festival. Dotted throughout the faire are pickle sellers selling giant pickles. You can’t go wrong for $1.50 and I usually really like them, but this year the pickle I bought was soft and mushy on the inside, and although the flavor was really good, I couldn’t get past that softness. Pickles should be crisp and there is just something wrong with a soft pickle in my opinion.

Of course, I’ve had more than my fair share of pickles that have failed on this point. Hopefully this year’s batch of fermented pickles won’t suffer from this common malady. Luckily, I have one full proof recipe that makes crisp pickles every time. It’s a recipe for refrigerator pickles that my parents have used since I can remember. I’m not sure where it came from originally.

While the upside to this recipe is that it always produces nice, thin, crisp pickles, the downside is that because the jars are not processed and sealed they must be refrigerated at all times and should be eaten within a few months (most extension offices will tell you that refrigerator pickles should be consumed within 2 months, but I have often eaten them at 4-6 months old – they never last longer than that no matter how big a batch I’ve made).

When making pickles it is important to use the proper type of cucumber. Those large, waxy skinned that are sold at most supermarkets are not good for pickle making. No matter what you do, they will always end up soft and mushy. Look for the smaller, bumpy skinned variety. They often go under the name Kirby cucumbers. Pickles will be at their best if the cucumbers have been freshly picked or are no more than a few days old. Make sure to use only unblemished cucumbers in pickle making. Save any bruised ones or ones with small amounts of mold for slicing and using on salads.

While I really like my family’s recipe, this time I decided to change it up just a bit. I left out the turmeric that is in the original and added some fresh jalapenos. I wanted a spicy pickle this time around, and to be honest I left the turmeric out because I was out and was too lazy to go to the store to pick some up. While I like the subtle flavor the turmeric lends to these pickles, they also tasted fine without it.

Since no cooking is involved this is a great, hot August day pickling activity. No stoves or pots of boiling water to heat up the kitchen and house!

Spicy Refrigerator Pickles

2 quarts pickling cucumbers, thinly sliced
1-2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2-4 jalapenos, thinly sliced (depending on the heat level you want)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. pickling salt
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Pack cucumbers, jalapenos and onions into a nonreactive jar (glass, stainless or a crock). Mix together the remaining ingredients and pour over cukes making sure all the vegetables are submerged. Place in refrigerator and allow to mature for at least 1 week. During the first 3 days, occasionally invert the jar to make sure that all the vegetables are getting covered with the pickling solution. After 1 week start to taste the pickles. While they are ready in 1 week, I usually allow 2 full weeks before I break into them. Keep refrigerated.

I’ve been having fun playing with my new food dehydrator, thanks to Chef Talk. I don’t know that the infatuation will last but it is fun right now, and, at the very least, I think it is something that I will pull out occasionally and play around with, even if it never becomes a “vital” appliance in my kitchen.

This weekend I got a chance to play around with making jerky, and I have to say, I was rather pleased with the results. It sure beats out most of the big name brand jerkys out there and is a heck of a lot less expensive than buying any of those “gourmet” jerkys you see at fairs and festivals. I made both a Spicy Asian jerky, marinating it in soy sauce accented with Chinese 5 spice powder and Siracha (a spicy chile garlic sauce). I also made a Southwestern Chipotle Lime jerky, using ground chipotles to add a nice light smoky accent to the jerky. Of course you can always smoke your jerky before drying it in the dehydrator. I can be smoked afterwards but the meat will take up more smoke, more readily if you smoke it while still raw.

A couple of things to remember, if you are making jerky. First off you will yield about 1/4-1/3, by weight, of the original amount of meat you purchased due to the drying process so purchase accordingly. Secondly, it’s very important to remove as much outer fat as possible and choose meat with as little interior marbling as possible as the fat as a tendency to go rancid sometimes. For longer term storage I suggest placing in the refrigerator. I did not use any curing salts (nitrates or nitrites) in the making of these jerkys so long term storage, at room temp might be problematic. I wouldn’t worry about leaving it out for a day or 2 but for longer storage, play it safe and refrigerate.

Spicy Asian Jerky

1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice powder
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp. Sriracha (chile garlic paste)
1 lb. lean beef (I used an Inside Roast roast)

Chipotle Lime Jerky

1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. lime juice
1 lb. lean beef (see note above)

For each recipe, combine all the ingredients except the beef. Slice the beef so it is approximately 1/4″ thick then into strips about 1 1/2″ wide. Toss the beef in to the marinade and mix to coat. Because the Chipotle marinade is more of a paste you will really need to work at getting it distributed evenly. Tightly cover and allow to marinate for 10-12 hours in the refrigerator, stirring it every few hours.

Spicy Asian Jerky in marinade

Chipotle Lime Jerky marinating

Place meat in dehydrator, blotting off excess moisture from the Asian Jerky. Dry following the manufacturer’s directions. You will want to dry somewhere between 140F and 160F.

Drying time will be anywhere from 3 1/2 to 10 hours, depending on several factors, but if you made sure to cut your meat 1/4″ thick it should take 3 1/2 – 5 hours. To test for doneness remove 1 piece of jerky and let it cool to room temperature. It should crack along the grain when bent but it shouldn’t break apart. When done remove to a cooling rack, blot off any excess fat that rendered out and allow to cool completely before packing it way.

Well, winter has finally arrived here in Wisconsin, and it has arrived with a vengeance, if you can believe the forecast for the next few days. We are expecting 1 to 2 inches of snow today, and possibly 10-13 inches on Tuesday and Wednesday! Time to pull out the winter jacket, gloves, hats and boots. I guess that also means that I’ll need to pull out the shovels.

In anticipation of our first big snow, I made up a big pot of chili, my first of the season. I’m a little late as I usually have made a couple of batches by the time December rolls around, but I never got around to making up a batch this Fall. But with the impending blizzard, and the thought of having to spend a good amount of time shoveling out, I figured now was the time to get a big old pot full of soul warming chili going.

I have a number of recipes for chili, each distinct from the the others in various ways. Some contain beer, others contain whiskey, while others do without any form of alcohol. Most contain tomatoes and beans though a few do not. Some are thickened with corn tortillas or masa harina, while others are thinner and more soup like. Another thing I like to do is add both dried and fresh chiles to my chili as I feel it gives a more complex flavor to the heat. I rarely make the same kind twice in a row and allow my whims to dictate how the chili will turn out. In fact, I hate to say that I have a number or “recipes” for chili, as they are more of a general guideline, that I follow, than anything else.

Yes, I know that last paragraph contained two ingredients that make any chili purist shudder; tomatoes and beans. Okay, I understand, “traditional” chili does not contain these 2 ingredients, but I never claimed that what I make is a historically accurate rendition of the true “chili con carne,” containing only meat, chiles, onions, seasonings, and water. I’m fine with the addition of tomatoes and beans to my chili, but I do draw the line at the addition of pasta, especially spaghetti. Chili with pasta seems to a favorite up here in Wisconsin, but I just don’t understand it, nor do I want to. It’s just wrong!

The recipe I offer up today is a pretty straight forward chili without a lot of complicating flavors, and while it does contain tomatoes and beans, I think that good Texan would still find it comforting and tasty.

Chili

3-4 each Dried Guajillo peppers
2 cups Water
4 pounds Beef, rump roast, cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 each Onions, large, diced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2-6 each Jalapenos, seeded and roughly chopped (the amount depends on how hot you like your chili)
1 can (6oz.) Tomato paste
2 cans (14.5oz. each) Diced or Chopped Tomatoes
1 cup Water
1/2 tsp. Dried Oregano
1 1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin
2 tsp. Chili powder
2 cans (15.5oz. each) Kidney Beans, drained
Salt
Pepper

Roughly tear up the guajillo peppers, discarding the seeds. Place in a pot with the 1 1/2 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand, at least, 10 minutes longer. Meanwhile season the meat with salt and pepper and in a large pot brown it, in oil, over high heat. This will need to be done in at least 4-5 batches so as to not cool down the pan too much by overcrowding. This is one of the most important steps that most people fail at when making any kind of stew (which chili essentially is) or braised dish. Take the time to get a nice dark sear on the meat.

Remove each batch of meat from pan as it browns and give the pan a minute to heat up again before adding the next batch. After all the meat is done add the onions, garlic and jalapenos to the pan and saute until the onions start to wilt, scraping up any of the meat juices that have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Meanwhile puree the guajillos and water in a blender until smooth. Add the pepper puree to the onions and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the can of tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly so that it doesn’t burn. Add the 1 cup of water along with the diced tomatoes and stir until the tomato paste dissolves into the liquid. Add the spices.

Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure the chili doesn’t burn. After 2 hours, add the kidney beans, cover again and simmer 30 minutes longer. Once the 30 minutes are up remove the cover and allow to continue to cook until the meat is tender and you have achieved the desired consistency. I like this chili rather thick so I let the liquid reduce down considerably. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve as you like. Personally, I like mine with a side of tortilla chips, though my wife likes to top hers with minced onions, sour cream and shredded cheese.

I don’t know why I don’t prepare artichokes more often. Every time I make them I swear I am going to start eating them more often, but usually don’t get around to making them again for 5 or 6 months or more. It’s not that they are difficult to prepare. Sure they can be a little time consuming if you want to grill them as in the recipe below, but they can also be made without much fuss. Just peel the stems, pop off a few of the outer leaves then simmer them in acidulated water until tender. It’s then up to the diner to do the work of peeling off the leaves, one by one, and scraping away the “meat” at the bottom of the leaf. It’s messy, but a fun, interactive meal. This is the way my wife usually prepares them, then sits down to eat a couple, as her entire meal, dipping each leaf into mayo before eating. While I am perfectly happy eating artichokes this way, I was in the mood to do something a little more. I wanted to “jazz” them up a bit and since I hadn’t done much grilling lately that was the obvious choice.

The recipe contains a range for the crushed red pepper. Using only 1/2 tsp. will result in artichokes that are only mildly annoyed, 1 tsp. will result in making them rather perturbed, 2 tsp. will give you angry artichokes and 1 Tbsp.+ are going to make them pretty damned pissed. I’ll let you decide which kind you want to deal with. (continue reading…)