Wednesday, December 31, 2008

London Broil (one more for 2008)

London Broil
By: Ryan M. Greer

Marinade & Ingredients:
This will make enough for 5lbs of Flank steak
1 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
¾ Cup Soy sauce
¼ Cup Worcester sauce
2 Tbsp Dry mustard
1½ tsp Rosemary (picked & fresh)
1 Tbsp Coarse black pepper (add to taste)
¼ Cup Wine Vinegar
1½ tsp Dry Parsley
2 Tbsp Chopped Garlic
½ Cup Lemon Juice

Protein:
Flank Steak

Instructions:
Step one:
Rub in coarse pepper into meat and set back into refrigerator
Step two:
Mix all ingredients above “except for the coarse black pepper” into a large mixing bowl.
Step three:
Place individual pieces of flank steak into a large zip-lock bag, do not double stack or
marinade will not be penetrate all sides of the meat.
Step four:
Pour in Marinade until the meat is covered well.
Step five:
Marinade in refrigerator for 24 hours, turn meat every couple of hours.

Cooking:
This should only be grilled. I recommend a very hot grill if possible. Desired cooking
temp for the meat should be Med-rare, or internal temperature of 130-140 degrees. Cut meat against the grain on a bias cut, cuts should be around 1/4 inch thick.


Enjoy,

Ryan M. Greer

Ginger BBQ Sauce

Ginger BBQ Sauce:
By: Ryan M. Greer


Ingredients:
2 lbs Rough chopped ginger (skin & all)
1 Gal Dashi Broth (use powder mix that will make 1gal of liquid)
2 Cups Corn Starch
4 Cups Oyster Sauce
2 Cups Raspberry Puree
1 Cup Apricot Preserves
1 #5can Hoisin sauce
1 #10can Mandarin Oranges
2 Cups Sweet soy sauce
1 Quart Rice wine vinegar
1 Quart Apple cider vinegar
2 Cups Honey
24 oz Pineapple juice


Prepare:
Heat all ingredients (***Minus Corn Starch) for 30 minutes in large stock pot, The last 5 minutes fold in corn starch slurry, remove from hear and then blend with bermixer or (industrial Immersion Handheld Blender), If you scale this recipe down you could use a table top blender or food processor. Then strain with fine mesh colander. Discard any lumps or chucks of ginger.

Consistency:
Batch should be slightly sticky and thick like honey.

Notes:
This recipe will make way more than you need. I have used this in restaurants so you might want to scale this down a bit. Apply sauce to ribs or chicken while grilling. I recommend only using this as a finishing sauce for the last 5 minuets of cooking. Keep a close eye on food because of the sugar content will burn your food quickly. Safer method would be to take food off of the grill and transfer to a sheet-pan, glaze meat and then finish in a 350 degree oven.

***Note!!!: #5can = 58oz. or 7-1/2 cups, and #10can = 110oz. or 13 cups.

Enjoy,

Ryan M. Greer

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Pho day 2 @ the house

So like I said in the previous post, I was going to make some Phở at the house. Well on my way home I picked of a whole roasted chicken at the local market. It seems that I end up at the market just about every day for some item. I normally look for “Manager Specials”; they are great options for same day cooking. “Manager special” are those marked down items for quick sell. Example, day old bread, dairy that will expire in 3days, ect… So I picked up a “Manager Special” roasted chicken for $2.50 and some Celery for a $1.00.

At home, I always first inventory items needed to prepare the meal prior to cooking. This is just in case I need to go back to the market. Items needed to make Pho; basil, fresh bean sprouts, fresh jalapenos, Protein of choice, stock, onion, and rice noodles (I always have most of these in the refrigerator) You may not have these items ready at hand so make a list.

I will skip the stock making techniques I used to make my stock (made about 1gal. You can make your own or just buy a pre-made stock at the local market. If you would like to make your own here is a list of items you would need to make a basic Chicken stock. I know that Pho is normally made with a beef stock, but chicken was on sale. At the restaurant I like to eat at I normally get the #9 or "Pho Dac Biet with - rare steak, well done flank, brisket, tendon & tripe.

· 4 - 5 Pounds Raw Chicken with Bones
· 2 Medium Carrots, peeled and cut into 2" pieces
· 1 Celery Stalk, cut into 2" pieces, leaves removed
· 1 Large Yellow Onion, peeled and quartered
· 3 Cloves Garlic, peeled
· 1 Tablespoon Black Peppercorns
· 1 Small Bunch Parsley (with stems), washed
· 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
· Cold Water, to cover

So If you would like a chicken Pho you would need to pick your bird clean of meat, take off any chicken skin, this will make your pho greasy. Heat up stock to just about boiling temperature. While stock is heating up Julian cut your onions and place them into the stock. I like to add celery to my Pho stock; it gives it another texture and replaces the tarragon leaves. Tarragon leaves are not something you can always find fresh in your local market. In a second bowl heat your water for noodles. In the sink have a large ice water bath bowl ready for noodles when they done cooking. After noodles are cooked place them into the ice bath and let them cool.

At the table I usually have fresh basil, jalapenos, and bean sprouts. These items you will add to your pho as you are eating. I normally set these out just before stock has come to temp. When every thing is set-up, I typically crank the heat up on the stock so it starts to boil.

Now you are ready to serve, (large bowl is needed) with tongs pull out desired amount of noodles and place into bowl. Then add chicken and pour broth into bowl. If you have used one large yellow onion there should be plenty of onion in with your stock when you pour it in. There is no need to heat up chicken unless it has just come out of the refrigerator. The stock is plenty hot.

At the table add desired amounts of fresh basil, jalapenos, and bean sprouts (I will warn you that adding to many jalapenos will really open up your sinus and make your nose runny. I also like to pour in a little hoisin sauce.

This is a fairly cheep meal to prepare; I believe it cost me just under $20 dollars to make, and left me with left-overs for the next 2days for lunches at work.

Enjoy,

Ryan M. Greer

Thursday, November 20, 2008

It was Phở and it was going to be lunch :(


Well on a cold day like we had today in Colorado, soup is always on the menu. Since yesterday, all I could think about was eating Phở for lunch. For the people out there that do no know what Phở is, here is a simple description.

Phở a traditional Vietnamese soup that consist of thinly sliced meat and rice-noodle. Phở is served with a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth or chicken broth, with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations featuring tendon,tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, or other chicken organs. The dish is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions, coriander leaves or (long coriander),Thai basil, lime wedges, and fresh bean sprouts.

Well long story short, the place was packed and no where to sit. So I had to settle on a very bad BBQ at a place next door, and gave me the idea to create a blog about food.

So I have decided to make some Phở tonight. It can be cheap and easy to make. This soup will knock out a common cold quickly, but tends to leave you sniffing and blowing your nose as you are finished. Tomorrow I will add the recipe that I created with what I had in the kitchen.
Enjoy,
Ryan M. Greer