Category: Meat

North African Lamb Stew

Meat, Soups & Stews

Serves 6–8

Ingredients

[one_half padding=”0 30px 0 0″]

  • 3 pounds of boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1½” cubes
  • 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 chopped onions
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1½ teaspoons whole coriander seed (or ground)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed (or ground)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3 Tbsp flour
  • 2 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
  • 14.5 oz (1 can) diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup dried apricots cut in half
  • 15.5 oz (1 can) cooked chickpeas, rinsed
  • ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
  • Salt and pepper

[/one_half][one_half_last]
lamb-stew-bow
[/one_half_last]

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300° with the rack in the middle
  2. Toast cumin and coriander seeds in a pan and then grind and mix with cinnamon
  3. Dry the lamb with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper
  4. Brown the meat on each side in two batches in a heavy dutch oven on high-heat with 1 Tbs of oil per batch; reserve the meat and any juices in a bowl
  5. Add last Tbsp of oil to pot with medium-high heat and cook the onions until softened
  6. Stir in aromatics (garlic and ground spices) and let bloom for 30–60 seconds; add flour and stir until mixed
  7. Deglaze the pot with chicken broth scraping up the fond
  8. Add tomatoes with their juice, apricots, and browned lamb with any released juices and bring to a simmer
  9. Add pot to the oven and cook for about 90 minutes until the lamb is tender
  10. Remove pot from oven and place on stove top on low heat; add chickpeas; taste and adjust final seasoning
  11. Stir in cilantro before serving

Adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Perfect Juicy Grilled Sausages

Meat

The secret to perfect sausages on the grill is to poach them in beer first. When you cook them all the way on a grill you loose all the good juicy fat by the time they are safe to eat. You’ll need an instant-read digital thermometer and some extra prep time in the kitchen but the results are worth it and it will make the grill time much faster.

Directions

  1. Put the raw sausages in a large sauce pan or small pot and cover with at least a half inch of flavorful beer.
  2. Bring to a gentle simmer and let cook until the internal temperature of the sausages reaches a safe point to eat: 145°F for pork, 165°F for chicken
  3. Take the sausages out of the beer and refrigerate if you’re not using them immediately
  4. Finish by browning them on the grill until warm and caramelized

Good places to buy hand-made gourmet sausage:

Photo by Phil and Pam Gradwell via Flickr used with CC Attribution license

Galbi Marinade

Meat, Sauces, Marinades & Rubs

Galbi is Korean barbecued beef short ribs. Marinate the meat overnight to allow the acid from the pear and sugar to tenderize the meat. The meat will be so tender you can put on a good char and cook it medium.

Serves 4, enough for 2 lbs meat, flanken short ribs are preferable.

  • 4 scallions, finely sliced
  • ½ onion, finely chopped
  • 1 asian pear, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup dark soy sauce
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp sake or mirin (rice wine)
  • 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Photo by Stacey Shintani via Flickr used with CC Attribution, Non Commercial, Share Alike license

Sloppy Joe’s

Meat

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 red bell peppers, seeded and cut into small dice
  • 2 medium yellow onions, small dice
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • ½ tsp cayenne
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • 28-ounce can of tomato sauce
  • ½ cup water
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
  • ½ tsp xatan gum (optional)
  • 6 to 8 hamburger buns

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the peppers, onion, and garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add the tomato paste, stir to combine, and cook until the raw flavor has cooked out, about 1 minute.
  3. Increase the heat to medium high, add the ground beef, and cook, breaking the meat into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until it’s just cooked through and no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
  4. Add the cayenne, paprika, cumin, and measured salt, stir to coat the meat and vegetables, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  5. Add the tomato sauce, water, vinegar, Worcestershire, and brown sugar, stir to combine, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the flavors meld and the mixture thickens, about 30 minutes. If mixture hasn’t thickened enough after 30 minutes powder Xatan gum can be added as needed (about ½ to 1 tsp).
  6. Serve warm on fluffy hamburger buns.

Adapted from Chow. Photo by Casey Bisson via Flickr used with CC Attribution, Non Commercial, Share Alike license

Jamaican Oxtail Stew

Meat, Soups & Stews

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds oxtails, cut into segments by a butcher
  • 1 cup butter beans, or a 10.5-ounce can butter beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 Spanish onions, peeled and chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
  • 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, whole
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 12 allspice berries
  • 1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Season oxtails aggressively with salt and pepper. Heat a large Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Add brown sugar to pot and melt, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it darkens and starts to smoke — about six minutes. When sugar is nearly black, add 2 tablespoons boiling water. (It will splatter.) Stir to mix.
  2. Add the oxtails to the pot, working in batches, stirring each time to cover them with blackened sugar, then allowing them to cook, turning occasionally, until they are well browned. Remove oxtails to a bowl and keep warm.
  3. Add half of the onions, garlic and ginger to the pot, along with the pepper, the thyme, the allspice and a third of the scallions, and stir to combine. Allow to cook until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
  4. Return the oxtails to the pot along with any accumulated juices and put water into the pot so that the oxtails are almost submerged. Bring to a simmer and then cook, covered, approximately 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add remaining onions, garlic and ginger to the pot, along with another third of the scallions. Add sugar, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine and continue to cook until the meat is yielding and loose on the bone, approximately one hour longer. Remove approximately one cup of liquid from pot and place in a small bowl. Add flour to this liquid and stir to combine, working out any lumps with the back of a spoon. Add this slurry to the pot along with ketchup, then stir to combine and allow to cook a further 15 minutes or so. Remove Scotch bonnet pepper and thyme stems. Fold butter beans into the stew and allow these to heat through. Scatter remaining scallions over the top. Serve with white rice or rice and peas.

From NY Times Recipe, adapted from Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill. Photo by Kirk K via Flickr used with CC Attribution, Non Commercial, No Derivatives license

Latin Spice Rub

Meat, Sauces, Marinades & Rubs

Great for grilling flavorful cuts of meat that don’t require a long cooking time: flank steak, skirt steak, pork, chicken legs, and oily fish.

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbsp. cup cumin seeds
  • 2 Tbsp. chili powder
  • 2 tsp. coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 1 Tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds.
  2. Combine and grind all ingredients in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.