Those carnitas look just right to me, Kenny, and thanks again for the thread. I made the beef daube with items I had on hand last week - clementine peel, jarred kalamata olives, and a quick rub of herbs de provence and coffee - and it turned even Jewel's Stockman and Dakota boneless chuck into some mighty fine eating.

Instead of cooking the root vegetables in a separate pot to mash, I just placed them on top of the roast (left whole and strung, rolled lightly in flour before searing, rather than cut into smaller pieces) wet from the colander with a drizzle of olive oil for the last 35 minutes at 325, and was able to get them al dente and absorbing some bouquet without affecting the consistency of the braising liquid for further reducing. They tasted almost healthful, compared to the tallow-soaked mush I grew up with, so my gratitude for the suggestion to keep those elements apart (I also stored them in a separate leftover container to allow my wife to select her own ratio of veggies to beef for lunches last week). Did you defat your reduction on the daube, and if so, what's your favorite method?

Next challenge for everyone: execute your braise using solar power alone. Ochen' sexy.

I just did the reverse: Took short ribs I'd braised (second batch in about a month, mmm), shredded some of them, then sauteed onion, garlic, jalapeno, added the meat and tomatoes and chowed until a little dry, a little salt, hot sauce (since the jalapeno was a wimp) and lime juice.

I was going for ropa vieja, but the meat was too tender to be ropy. Still delicious served with a little guacamole and pickled onions on flour tortillas.

Santander wrote:Those carnitas look just right to me,...

Thanks - they tasted great, though I admit that I prefer the much cheaper lamb from my local Lebanese butcher over the Pinn Oaks Wisconsin lamb I bought at Butcher & Larder. I'm probably in the minority here, as the "fancy" lamb had a very mild flavor with barely a hint of gaminess, and I know that's what many people look for. The Lebanese butcher lamb, by contrast, is intensely lamby and gamey indeed. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it.

Santander wrote:...beef daube...Did you defat your reduction on the daube, and if so, what's your favorite method?

Using a well-trimmed chuck roast, I don't think defatting is necessary. In fact I refrigerated the liquid leftovers separately from the meat, and on the next day there was barely an eighth of an inch of solid fat that had risen to the surface. If I used something fattier, I'd either refrigerate overnight or simply tilt the hot pot and remove as much as I can of the fat that migrates to to one side with a spoon. To be honest, I don't worry much about defatting. If there's a lot of fat in the sauce I serve more noodles, potatoes or rice.
I like your extra-pot-saving method of creating contorni to go with your meat, by the way.

JoelF wrote:I just did the reverse: Took short ribs I'd braised (second batch in about a month, mmm), shredded some of them, then sauteed onion, garlic, jalapeno, added the meat and tomatoes and chowed until a little dry, a little salt, hot sauce (since the jalapeno was a wimp) and lime juice.

I was going for ropa vieja, but the meat was too tender to be ropy. Still delicious served with a little guacamole and pickled onions on flour tortillas.

Sounds tasty. I like turning a leftover braise into a whole new dish too.

Were in that stretch of time when braising is beautiful.

I think beef and noodles would still qualify as sexy, in that blonde Amish girl next door type of way. This was my blizzard day dinner and she was oh so satisfying if I may say


Getting my meat good to go

I took a chuck roast and rubbed it with a Lipton onion soup dry mix pouch and then seared that in an oiled pot on both sides and removed it. I then threw in some celery, baby carrots and finely chopped shallots and cooked those for a few minutes. Once everything was seared I threw in a cup of red wine followed by a can of Dutchess Mushrooms with the juice and a large thing of beef broth and a can of chicken broth and lastly a can of condensed Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. I cooked it in the oven at 350 for five hours and then removed the fall apart roast and fished out the veggies. I let my meat cool down and then proceeded to shred it.


beef for "Beef & Noodles"

While that was happening I cooked down the liquid in the pot into a gravy. When the gravy was ready and the meat was shredded I cooked a bag of egg noodles and threw those along with some fresh sauteed mushrooms into the gravy followed by the beef.


Eating right on a frigid cold night

Da Beef,

Unless I overlooked something, you are missing an essential element to your beef and noodles: it should be served over mashed potatoes.

You have revealed yourself as a city slicker who worries about all those carbs.

At a Greater Midwest Foodways symposium, we served beef and noodles over mashed potatoes. Many immediately commented on the carbohydrate double-dose until they tried it. All those comfort foods in one dish: pot roast (effectively), egg noodles and mashed potatoes.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Da Beef,
At a Greater Midwest Foodways symposium, we served beef and noodles over mashed potatoes. Many immediately commented on the carbohydrate double-dose until they tried it. All those comfort foods in one dish: pot roast (effectively), egg noodles and mashed potatoes.
Regards,

Sounds good to me as long as the amount of gravy is increased as well.

Cathy2 wrote:Da Beef,

Unless I overlooked something, you are missing an essential element to your beef and noodles: it should be served over mashed potatoes.

You have revealed yourself as a city slicker who worries about all those carbs.

At a Greater Midwest Foodways symposium, we served beef and noodles over mashed potatoes. Many immediately commented on the carbohydrate double-dose until they tried it. All those comfort foods in one dish: pot roast (effectively), egg noodles and mashed potatoes.

Regards,

haha, I remember reading about that when you posted on it. That's the way my beef & noodles came from the Essenhaus in Middlebury, IN. It's funny because as I was getting everything ready in the early afternoon the day I made them I wrestled with myself on whether or not to go to the store and get the stuff needed for mashed so that they would be eaten the right way. After thinking about the streets and getting in and out of the car and then peeling and cooking the potatoes etc... being lazy won out. Maybe if I had the work ethic of an Amishman things would of been different

Hi,

You made do with what you had on hand, as any Amish man would do.

Regards,

After the cold spell we just came out of I have more photos of braised meats than I know what to do with. Some of the regular ones we've been making are:

Boeuf Bourguignon w/garlic and truffle oil mashed potatoes


Beef Shortribs with carmelized brussel sprouts and duck fat potatoes


Osso Bucco


I did a Mutton neck stew a few nights ago that I need to upload photos of, all in all a very good run of braising!

Did cassoulet for last night. Yum!

Attrill wrote:Boeuf Bourguignon w/garlic and truffle oil mashed potatoes


Beef Shortribs with carmelized brussel sprouts and duck fat potatoes

mercy....!

not sure how i missed these when you first posted, but these 2 dishes are frickin' impressive my friend.

kudos to you.

jimswside wrote:mercy....!

not sure how i missed these when you first posted, but these 2 dishes are frickin' impressive my friend.

kudos to you.

Thanks! The meat was awesome on both dishes, but the potatoes were also really nice. I've gotten pretty serious about mashed potatoes over the last couple years. The mashed for the Boeuf Bourguignon is really good, here's the basic recipe:

- Roast a head of garlic in foil w/truffle oil and sprigs of thyme for about 20-30 minutes at 350
- Peel roasted garlic and throw half of it into a pan with 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of whole milk. Add more truffle oil to taste.
- Heat that to just below simmering for about 15 minutes and then blend with a stick blender
- Boil a bunch of Russett Potatoes, then rice them and blend in the cream/butter/garlic mix to taste

It's a great accompaniment to almost any braised meat.

Attrill wrote:

jimswside wrote:mercy....!

not sure how i missed these when you first posted, but these 2 dishes are frickin' impressive my friend.

kudos to you.

Thanks! The meat was awesome on both dishes, but the potatoes were also really nice. I've gotten pretty serious about mashed potatoes over the last couple years. The mashed for the Boeuf Bourguignon is really good, here's the basic recipe:

- Roast a head of garlic in foil w/truffle oil and sprigs of thyme for about 20-30 minutes at 350
- Peel roasted garlic and throw half of it into a pan with 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of whole milk. Add more truffle oil to taste.
- Heat that to just below simmering for about 15 minutes and then blend with a stick blender
- Boil a bunch of Russett Potatoes, then rice them and blend in the cream/butter/garlic mix to taste

It's a great accompaniment to almost any braised meat.

thanks for the recipe, I do similar with smoked garlic.

the duck fat potatoes look ove the top in a good way.

applewood smoked, then rootbeer and honey braised pork belly.

Smoked these chunks of belly for 2 hours in the WSM, then braised them in the WSM for 5 hours, brushing with the pan juices(rootbeer, thyme, pork jus, sliced onion) ever 30 minutes or so... Fork tender, juicy, sweet, sticky, slightly smokey, nice...

Served over scratch dirty rice, and topped with a preserved peach half..





belly was not quite as good as Commanders Palaces version, but better than any preperation I have had in Chicago by a wide margin.

Holy smokes!!! That looks fantastic. What kinda meat did you use for your dirty rice? Chicken livers?

Seamus wrote:Holy smokes!!! That looks fantastic. What kinda meat did you use for your dirty rice? Chicken livers?

yes, chicken livers, and ground pork as the protein. Turned our really flavorfull.

15 hour Nihari at approximately hour 12 - at this point I put the marrow bones in. Put them in too early and the marrow will melt into the salan (gravy).



Three hours later, I strained and de-fatted the gravy (lots of rendered fat from well-marbled beef shanks), and served with globs of nalli (rendered marrow). The little guy sitting on top of beef shank hill? That's a nice, whole piece of gelatin-ized marrow. Each bowl was served, of course, with traditional accoutrement - sliced chilis, lime, coriander leaf and slivered ginger.



Better than Bombay or Delhi? Maybe not. Good enough to make my Pakistani-vegan friend spend the entire day demolishing that crockpot? Yessir.

I saw from the index that you were the last post in this thread and, before clicking on the actual thread to find out, I'd told myself, 'Hopefully Habibi is writing up a nihari here' .... sho nuff !! Looks great. Especially first thing in the morning. What do you use for spicing ? I am considering having a go at making my own mix - a long, but worthwhile journey - not that there's anything wrong with my aunt's custom-made batch she sends from Pakistan, but it might be fun trying to arrive at one's own, as well.

tatterdemalion wrote:I saw from the index that you were the last post in this thread and, before clicking on the actual thread to find out, I'd told myself, 'Hopefully Habibi is writing up a nihari here' .... sho nuff !! Looks great. Especially first thing in the morning. What do you use for spicing ? I am considering having a go at making my own mix - a long, but worthwhile journey - not that there's anything wrong with my aunt's custom-made batch she sends from Pakistan, but it might be fun trying to arrive at one's own, as well.

Looking back on these photos, not quite the sexiest thing on the world. The velvety, intensly aromatic and beefy gravy though? Tres sexy.

This was only my second time making Nihari from scratch. Last time I only cooked for about 8 hours. The extra 7 or so definitely improved the depth of the gravy (I needed the extra time anyway because I was working with a greater volume of meat, and a much heavier vessel).

I used the following spices (in addition to the usual ginger/garlic paste, onions, etc.) - whole garam masala, ginger powder, and fistfulls of Shan-brand Nihari Masala. I wanted to make my own Nihari masala but didn't have the time or gusto on this occassion. Also, I don't really have a recipe/blend - any advice?

I wish I had taken pictures of the entire cooking process, but again, I was kinda lazy and doing too many things at once. One day I'll do a full Nihari post.

I'm a little over beef (and meat in general) right now. When I do Nihari again, I will be experimenting with lamb shanks and/or tongue.

jimswside wrote:applewood smoked, then rootbeer and honey braised pork belly.

Dang....that's sexy and smokey! Killer combo dish. Remember this plate if you do some cook offs this year, for sure.

Nothing too fancy. Just some dark meat chicken braised on the stovetop for an hour with onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, white wine, stock and a parm rind. Along with the finished product.

It's hardly the season for braising, but I just watched one of the latest episodes of Top Chef Masters, during which Gail Simmons remarked in passing that Naomi had done a wonderful thing by recrisping the skin on chicken thighs after braising them. Since this step wasn't shown, just curious whether you Forum experts have insights. I've tried to keep skin crispy post-initial-browning by keeping the liquid level below the skin; intrigued by this re-crisp idea I am wondering whether you think it's best done 1). with a torch? 2). by taking the thighs out from the liquid and running them under the broiler? Or?? Thanks for the advice!

Braised pork belly 2 ways:

used a Ruhlman technique for braising pork belly(dude can cook). Braised in oj, seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, corriander, sliced onion and crushed garlic.

Did a 1# Duroc belly chunk for 5 hours, then refridgerated it in its cooking liquid, then sliced, and prepared 2 chunks on the WEber kettle, and 2 chunks in the Wok.



prefoil:



braise complete & transferred top a larger dish to cool::



after 6 hours in the fridge:



cubed:



grilled:



deep fried:




this duroc popped, liked the grilled and the deep fried equally. juicy to the extent you had to wash your face after eating it with your fingers.

damn, forgot about the belly a post up...

did some more pork belly this weekend. Poached the slices of belly in stock, some lemon juice, garlic, carrot, onion, mirin, fish sauce, etc. 2 hours on the stove, about enough of the poaching liquid to come up about 1/2 way in the belly. I let it cool, then wrapped tight in plastic overnight then cubed.



after the first run in the wok:



cooled and fried again:



in taco form:

Dang Jim, that is good looking!!

Bigos, not all that sexy but tasted great.

had a nice 2+ lb. chunk of skinless Duroc pork belly from Standard Market to do up. Slow braised in the oven in a little oj, topped with minced garlic, and onions as well as corriander, and kosher salt.

After almost 6 hours in the oven @ 250 degrees:





Once again cooled and wrapped in plastic, then compressed between (2) glass baking pans. Fat was almost milk like, meat was obviously tender:

Once totally chilled, easy to cube:



Double deep fried and eaten as pork belly poppers:

Cool idea to deep fry the pieces.

With the polar vortex about to take a firm hold, finding an excuse to dig into the pantry and keep the oven on 250 for 8 hours wasn't too hard.

Pureed a bunch of green onions, ginger, garlic, gochujang, sweetened black vinegar, and fish sauce in the food processor, tossed the mixture over 4 lbs of goat meat from Old World Market, into the oven, and that's it. Apartment already smelling great.

EDIT: kinda wish I was snacking on the pork belly taco right now.

AlekH wrote:With the polar vortex about to take a firm hold, finding an excuse to dig into the pantry and keep the oven on 250 for 8 hours wasn't too hard.

Pureed a bunch of green onions, ginger, garlic, gochujang, sweetened black vinegar, and fish sauce in the food processor, tossed the mixture over 4 lbs of goat meat from Old World Market, into the oven, and that's it. Apartment already smelling great.

EDIT: kinda wish I was snacking on the pork belly taco right now.

That sounds awesome ... I'm so worn out from shoveling I can't get my ass off the couch to make anything right now.