Tag: Meat

Try a Terrine Tonight! Duck, Pork and Hazelnut Terrine

Duck and Hazelnut Terrine

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Time in Oven 2 hours
Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Servings 1 Terrine

Ingredients
  

  • 2 duck breasts
  • 1 set duck giblets (organs from 1 whole duck)
  • 450 g ground pork
  • 2 garlic cloves (peeled and shredded)
  • 10 peppercorns
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 2 shallots (peeled and minced)
  • 1/2 cup whole hazelnuts
  • 1 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 1 egg
  • 3 Tbsps panko crumbs
  • 3 Tbsps sour cherry preserves
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsps duck fat
  • 2 Tbsps cognac (or other brandy)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF/205ºC. Separate skin from the duck breasts. Lay the skins along the bottom of the terrine mold/loaf tin.
  • Add the ducks breasts, giblets and pork to a food processor and pulse until mostly broken down and mixed, leave some of the pieces of meat intact.
  • Using a mortar and pestle, grind the peppercorns, mustard seeds and cloves together.
  • Mix together the meat mixture, spices, garlic, shallots, parsley, egg, panko crumbs, salt, duck fat, and cognac. Fold in the hazelnuts and cherry preserves. Spoon this mixture over the skins in the terrine mold, press it down and smooth out. Cover with foil, place in a water bath in the oven and bake for 1 hour.
  • Turn off oven, but leave terrine in the oven for 2 hours without opening the door. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Slice the terrine and serve with crusty bread. Remaining terrine can be re-covered and stored in the fridge.
Keyword Duck, Duck Breast, Duck Giblets, Hazelnut, Pork

And now for the details…

I am sure I am not the only one, but I have been dreaming and reminiscing of travelling a LOT lately. One of the ways I have been trying to feed my travel bug is through food. I have been doing this a number of ways, like finding new and imported foods (I tried Spanish Lomo for the first time that I got from our local Italian grocer, soooo yummy), getting takeaway from different restaurants (for those in Calgary, I would be remiss to not recommend Bar Von Der Fels, UNA Pizza or Myung Ga), and the last way I have been feeding my travel bug is through trying to recreate foods that we have had when we have been travelling. That last case is where this recipe came from. I was reminiscing of our trip to France several years ago; in particular the spread we would set up for ourselves in the late morning from the goodies we picked up at the local marchés. One of the items I fell in love with there were the terrines. There would be a selection of different terrines, and could including a wide variety of meats, like duck, pork or rabbit. I would simply tell the vendor how thick of a slice I would like and they would cut off the generous slab of terrine and wrap it in thick butcher paper, and hand it over for us to take home. We would pick up baguettes on the way back to where we were staying and then have the terrine with the fresh, crusty bread and a generous dollop of mustard. Oh boy. I am drooling.

If you have never had a terrine before and are looking at the ingredients and thinking “this looks a lot like a meatloaf”… yep! Think of a terrine as a cousin to the traditional North American meatloaf. After all, they are both meat dishes made in a loaf pan and baked in the oven. But the terrine differs in a few ways, one of them being the type of meat used. Terrines often use a mix of different meats, and often use organ meat. In this case, we are using duck and pork, which leaves the delicacy in flavour profile to allow the spices and nuts to also shine. Another way that the terrine often differs is in the fat content. The terrine is usually higher in fat, which is one of the reason why it has some spreadability when smushing it over a piece of crusty bread, or scooping it up with crackers. In our case, we are getting some of the fat content from the pork, but also from the duck skin and the duck fat that is being added to the mix. Finally, terrines are usually served cold or at room temperature. I like to serve it on a plate with other delicious charcuterie bits with mustard and fresh bread, trying to mimic the experience we had (which seems so long ago) in France.

So let’s get to making this thing.

First things first: preheat the oven! Always a good first step, so we do not get to the end of preparation, and then need to wait for the oven to catch up. We are going surprisingly high heat here, 400ºF/205ºC.

Next step, let’s get to the ingredients. The good news: since we have a decent amount of fat here, there is no need to grease the pan! We start by separating the duck skin from the duck breast. The easiest way to do this is to start at an end that the skin is already “floppy” off the meat. You should be able to pinch the meat with one hand, and pinch the skin in the other and start to pull them apart. There will be some connective tissue, so when it starts to pull at the skin a bit too much and you see the skin tearing, use a small knife and cut through the piece connecting the skin to the meat, and then continue to pull apart. Place the skins in your loaf pan and spread them out so they are covering most of the bottom of the pan.

The next step will be to get our spices ready. If you have a spice grinder, feel free to use that, I have an ol’ fashioned mortar and pestle, so that is what I went with. Grind the mustard seeds, peppercorns and cloves until mostly broken down, but leaving a couple little chunks. I feel they add some character and make the dish a bit more charmingly unrefined.

Our next step is to get the meat ready. I got my pork ground so I did not have to mess with a grinder. For the duck, I threw the giblets and duck breasts all together in a food processor and gave them a few whirs to break them down mostly, but leaving a few chunky bits, to try and get that coarse element to the terrine.

The last step is to mix all the ingredients together. I left the hazelnuts and cherry preserves for last, and mixed everything else quite well with my hands. Then, I folded the nuts and preserves in so the preserves did not fully mix in with the rest and you could get occasional bites where the cherries shone through. Pout the entire mixture into the pan over the skins, and press it down.

Finally, it is time to cover the loaf with foil and place in the oven. We will be placing it into a water bath, or bain-marie, to keep the cooking consistent. Place the loaf pan in a larger pan, and fill the outer pan with boiling water until it comes at least halfway up the pan with the terrine. Make sure you do not overfill, we do not want water coming into the terrine pan! Bake the terrine for one hour, then, NO PEEKING, turn off the oven and let the terrine rest for another two hours without opening the oven door.

If you want to go really traditional, this last step is for you! Take the terrine out of the oven, and place a heavy weight directly onto the meat while it cools to room temperature. Some terrine pans have the press included, but there are other DIY options. You could use another loaf pan that is the same size, placing it on top and adding in some weight. You could wrap some cardboard in tin foil and put the weight on top. Or, I have even seen a suggestion to use a brick! What to use as the weight? You could use canned goods, literal hand weights or anything you can find that weighs a few pounds (Julia Child recommends up to 5 pounds!) and you can balance on top of the terrine and press while it cools. The purpose of this step is to compress the terrine as it cools to keep it from forming air bubbles, contracting, and losing its consistency.

Once the terrine has cooled, you can either cut it right out of the pan (this is what we did, no dinner parties for us right now, so let’s just eat!) or flip the terrine onto a plate to serve.

Happy eating

BBQ Pork Ribs in the Instant Pot

Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs

Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 1 rack of ribs

Ingredients
  

  • 1 rack St. Louis style or spare pork ribs (membrane removed)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 Tbsps chilli powder
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp hickory smoke powder (optional if hard to find)
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsps sugar
  • 1 cup beer (alternatives: pineapple juice, cola or chicken broth)
  • 1.5 cups BBQ sauce

Instructions
 

  • Mix together all the herbs, spices with the salt, cornstarch and sugar. Rub this powder into the ribs. Set the rack into the Instant Pot, pour the beer into the bottom. Roll the ribs into a spiral and set onto the rack of the pot, bones vertical. Close and seal, cooking on "Meat" setting for 25 minutes. Remove and slather with BBQ sauce and either place on high temp grill or under a broiler for 3-5 minutes per side to caramelize. Serve with extra sauce.
Keyword BBQ, Grill, Meat, Pork, Ribs

And now for the details…

Okay, so this is another one of those recipes that almost seems too easy to share. The Instant Pot has changed my life when it comes to cooking ribs. Remember that previous method of boiling or baking the ribs for several hours to try and get them tender? NO MORE! The Instant Pot makes this SO EASY, and so fast, that ribs on a weekday are not only a possibility, but a preferred option because of how simple it makes your evening meal.

If you want to make these even faster, you can do what I do and mix up a large batch of the rub and store it in a Tupperware container, so you can even skip measuring out spices when it’s time to make these.

Speaking of the rub, that’s where we start out recipe. In a bowl (or Tupperware), mix together the garlic powder, chilli powder, cumin, oregano, chipotle powder, hickory smoke powder, salt, cornstarch and sugar. If you cannot find hickory smoke powder, just skip that part. I know it took me a long time to hunt it down, and I’ve been treating that stuff like it’s powdered gold. Again, you double, triple, quadruple, or more the amount of those measurements, and just have the rest sitting in a container for the next time you make the ribs.

Next, it’s time to get those ribs ready for cooking! Before you rub everything in, tear off the membrane, also known as the silver skin, on the back of the ribs. It’s not the end of world if you forget this step, but the ribs will have this membrane on them when you eat, and it’s a little chewy and ropy. There are plenty of videos and info out there showing you how to do this, I found this video has great info on how and why to remove the membrane (skip to 1:30 to see the technique ;P).

Next we’ll take that rub and… well… rub… it into the rack of ribs (if you’re storing extra, make sure to set that aside so that you don’t cross-contaminate the spare rub with those ribby fingies). Get right in there and massage the rub into the meat on both sides. To save on using extra dishes, I actually do this right on the packaging the ribs came in 😛

Next, it’s time to cook! Pour the beer into the bottom of the Instant Pot. If you’re not a fan or don’t want to cook with alcohol, you can replace the beer with juice (I recommend pineapple, but orange or apple would work too), broth, or even cola or root beer.

Next, curl the ribs into a spiral and place them so the bones are vertical in the pot. In my case, unfortunately the rack was cut in half in order to fit the packaging, so I just kinda half-circled them around the outside of the pot. I have tried doubling the recipe, and a spiralled double rack JUST fits into the pot. Cover the pot up and set the lid to “Sealed” position. We are going to pressure cook these on the “Meat” setting for 25 minutes.

Once you have that set, we wait. You basically have 25 minutes of your life back. So many options on what to do here. You could make some pretty impressive sides to go with those ribs. OR. You could kick up your heels and enjoy the rest of the can of beer, since there’s more that 1 cup in a can 😉

Once the ribs are done, unseal the lid and let the pressure come back down, then open up that lid and expose the gloriousness that is the cooked ribs. Lay them on a tray and slather them with your favourite BBQ sauce (both sides).

Now you have two options here: you can either finish these off on the grill or in the oven. On the grill, set your heat to medium-high, or in the oven, set your broiler to medium-hi. Either place the ribs right on the grill or under the broiler, and cook them for a few minutes on either side, just long enough to get some darkened, caramelized bits.

Remove from the heat, and either serve up directly with your extra BBQ sauce on the side, or slather on a bit more sauce just before serving.

Happy eating.

Easy Dinner: Portobello Mushroom Stuffed with Merguez Lamb

Merguez Lamb Stuffed Portobello Caps

Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Course
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g ground lamb (18 oz)
  • 1 tsp ground fennel
  • 2 Tbsps paprika
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 dash allspice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 4 portobello mushrooms caps
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil
  • 1 large bocconcini (or 24 mini; sliced)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425ºF/220ºC. Place parchment paper on a small cookie sheet. Mix together the spices until completely blended. Brush the outside of the mushroom caps with the olive oil. Mix the meat, spices and eggs together. Lay the pieces of cheese out onto the mushroom caps. Place the meat over the cheese. Cook the mushrooms caps for 18-20 minutes, or until the lamb is cooked to 165ºF/75ºC. Serve.
Keyword Cheese, Lamb, Meat, Mushrooms

And now for the details…

Double digits in the quarantine challenge! I am now at day 10 of 14 of the daily recipe challenge.

Today’s recipe was brought to you by the same friends who I cooked yesterday’s meal with. They added a few “mystery ingredients” to the groceries they delivered to the house. One of those ingredients were portobello mushrooms. I happened to have some ground lamb in the freezer, and I thought that a Merguez flavoured stuffing for portobello mushrooms would be an awfully delicious option!

Let’s get to cooking.

Start by preheating your oven to 425ºF/220ºC.

Next, we move on to mixing the spices. I had whole fennel seeds, so I needed to grind them down. I used a mortar and pestle, and ground them until they were almost a powder. Mix this powder with the rest of the spices, salt, and pepper, until they are mixed together thoroughly.

Next, we will get the mushroom caps ready to go. Wash the outsides of the caps, and remove the stem, if there is one. Brush to outside of the cap with olive oil. We do this to help prevent the mushroom from drying out too much when they are baking. Lay the mushroom caps onto a small baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.

Next, we prepare the filling. Sprinkle the spice mix over the ground lamb, and add the egg. Mix these all together very well. I find using my hands works best for this. Get right in there and squish everything all together.

Next, lay the pieces of bocconcini into the mushroom caps in a single layer. If you have larger bocconcini, feel free to use that. But again… quarantine.

Next, split the meat into four equal parts, and press the meat into the mushrooms caps. Once you have pressed the meat in, use the back end of a knife, and push a little cross into the meat. This helps to make the sections of meat smaller, which is going to help even out the cooking when it goes into the oven.

Place the tray into the oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until the meat registers at 165ºF or 75ºC.

Remove from the oven, serve immediately.

Happy eating.

Pasta with Ragù (Meat Sauce)

Pasta with Ragù (Meat Sauce)

Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 5 garlic cloves (peeled and chopped)
  • 1 small onion (peeled and chopped)
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil
  • 900 g ground meat (beef, pork, elk, bison, turkey or chicken)
  • 1/2 cup red wine
  • 150 ml tomato paste (5.5 oz)
  • 800 ml canned tomatoes (27 oz)
  • 1/2 cup beef broth
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 dash ground nutmeg
  • 1 dash dried oregano
  • 4 cups dried pasta
  • 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
  • salt and white pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Add the olive oil to a large heavy-bottomed pot and heat on medium high. Add onion and garlic, sautéing until onions have softened and garlic is fragrant. Add the meat to the pot, and sauté, breaking the meat apart as it cooks. Add wine, cook until the liquid is gone. Add tomato paste and stir, mixing completely. Add the dash of oregano and nutmeg. Add beef broth, milk, and tomatoes and stir well. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Add the parmesan cheese, stirring in until fully melted. Cook pasta in a pot of boiling water. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and add to the sauce, allow it to cook down further. Drain pasta. Mix the pasta with the sauce. Serve.
Keyword Beef, Meat, Pasta, Sauce, Tomatoes

And now for the details…

Hi-yo folks! Here we are in day 6 of 14; almost halfway through quarantine and still making use of our generous friend’s grocery drop-off from last Monday, as well as our, thankfully, well-stocked freezer and pantry. We are starting to run low on fresh produce, though, now that almost a week has gone by. Luckily for us, another couple friends of ours have already stepped up and offered to go out tomorrow to top us up for the rest of our isolation period! We are feeling incredibly blessed by the support team we have at home, whether it’s in surprise gift drop-offs on our doorstep (we got fresh bread and cheese dropped by a friend this weekend, and a gag gift from other friends of a Kraft pizza kit), the full-on grocery deliveries, or the regular check-ins via phone or social media (or even on this blog! Lookin’ at you auntie ;D), we have been so lucky to have such a kickass group of family and friends. Now for a small ask: if you know of someone who is lacking this support network and needs some help during these times, reach out (but don’t touch!) to see if you can help in any way. Maybe it’s picking up a few extra groceries when you are buying your own, providing a social connection (while maintaining physical distance!), or running an errand that they cannot do themselves. We’re all on Team People, let’s take care of each other.

Let’s get to cooking.

We start by chopping the onion and garlic. Heat a large pot to medium-high, and add the olive oil, then add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is soft and the garlic is fragrant.

Next, you will add the meat to the pot. For this recipe, I had both ground beef and ground elk in the freezer. But you could use any mix and match of ground meat for your recipe, depending on your taste preferences, or what you have available. As the meat cooks, break it apart with a wooden spoon, so you end up with small pieces of meat. Once the meat has mostly cooked, add the red wine, and allow it to cook down until the liquid is almost completely gone.

Add the tomato paste, and just a dash of nutmeg and oregano (a small pinch of each). Stir to mix completely, cooking for about five minutes, allowing any liquid to be cooked off. Add the beef broth and tomatoes, and stir together. Then add the milk and stir completely.

Reduce the heat down medium, and allow the sauce to cook down, stirring occasionally to prevent any stickage (that’s a word, right?) to the bottom of the pot. Cook the sauce for around 20-30 minutes, or until the sauce has become very thick.

Cook the pasta in heavily salted water until al dente. For the batch that I made, I used Mafalda Corta, which is kinda like smaller lasagna noodles that have been cut into pieces. Feel free to use whatever pasta you have available. Fusilli, rigatoni, farfalle, pappardelle, you choose! The biggest thing to remember: save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water after it is done cooking, and add it to the sauce before you drain the pasta. This addition of starch from the water will help to thicken the sauce further as you cook it down, and will allow the sauce to better stick to your noodles.

Fun fact that has worked well for me since I discovered it: keep a wooden spoon in the pasta and water as it cooks to help prevent the water from boiling over.

Reduce the pasta sauce back down after the addition of pasta water and add the parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper the sauce to your taste. Avoid adding salt before this, as both the pasta water and the parmesan will add a certain amount of saltiness, and you may not want to add any more.

Finally, once everything has cooked and the pasta is drained, mixed the pasta and sauce together, and serve, maybe with a bit of additional parmesan on top.

Happy eating.

Sweet and Sticky Soy Pork Bites

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Sweet and Sticky Soy Pork Bites

Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pork tenderloin (cut into 1" pieces)
  • 2 Tbsps olive oil
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger (peeled and shredded)
  • 2 garlic cloves (shredded)
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 2 Tbsps soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp chilli oil
  • 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the pork tenderloin pieces, and sauté until they have been browned. Set aside.
  • Whisk together the rest of the ingredients and add to the pan. Cook for approximately 4 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce.
  • Add the pork back to the pan, and stir, allowing the sauce to reduce further and stick to the pork pieces. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat and serve.
Keyword Honey, Pork, Soy Sauce

And now for the details…

Into day four of my 14 day quarantine challenge. And pretty much all the ingredients for this recipe came from my fridge/freezer and pantry, except the green onions I used on top for garnish.

Something I have come to be very grateful about during this quarantine is that I had built up a decent stock of supplies in my pantry, fridge, and freezer, and have been able to make use these of during this time.

As far was what are “necessities” and what to have readily available, it will depend so much on what you like to cook normally, how often you cook (i.e. how quickly the different items will be used up), and how much space you have available. There are plenty of articles out there the will give you plenty of ideas and inspiration on the essentials; I would say read through some of these and find what works for you. Keep track of what you tend to use over and over again, and make sure you stock up on those items!

Let’s get to cooking..

We start with cooking the pork tenderloin pieces. Dry them on some paper towels, and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large pan on medium-high heat.

Cook the pork pieces until they have just browned . They will be slightly undercooked, and that’s a-ok, since we will be adding them back to the heat in a little while. For now, remove them to a plate or dish and set aside.

Whisk together the other ingredients, and add them to the already hot pan. Allow the sauce to come to a boil and continue cooking for another four minutes or so, it will reduce and thicken.

Next, add the pork pieces back into the sauce and stir so the pieces are fully coated with the sauce, continue to stir and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the pork pieces are fully cooked and the sauce has reduced and is sticking to all pieces of pork.

Transfer the meat and sauce to a serving dish. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds and green onions for garnish. Serve and enjoy!

Happy eating.

Savoury Steak Bites with Sriracha Mayonnaise

Savoury Steak Bites with Sriracha Mayo

Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Appetizer, Main Course

Ingredients
  

  • .2-.25 kg beef steak (7-9oz; tenderloin, striploin, ribeye or sirloin)
  • 2 Tbsps chilli powder
  • 1 tsp chipotle powder
  • 1 Tbsp cumin
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 Tbsps sriracha sauce (or hot sauce, masala chilli, or similar)

Instructions
 

  • Mix the spices and cornstarch together. Toss the steak pieces in the powder mixture until fully coated.
  • Heat the oil in medium-high heat pan until hot, add the steak bites. Turn regularly until desired level of doneness and outsides are browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Mix together the hot sauce and mayonnaise.  Serve the steak bites with the hot mayonnaise.
Keyword Spices, Steak

And now for the details…

I must admit, I do not think I could become a vegetarian. Meat is just too delicious. I joke around that I am a protein-aholic. And yes, I realize I can find protein sources outside of meats and fish, but when really craving a filling, umami-rich, toothy bite, what could provide this better than a bite of savoury steak? The outside crisp, salty and spicy, the inside soft and juicy. I’m salivating just typing about it, and it’s 8am on a Saturday morning…

These steak bites come together quite quickly, and are great for either entertaining, or as a quick meat option for your evening meal. The best part is that because they are already cut down into smaller bites, they seem to go a longer way. With some veggies on the side, one steak was more than enough for both me and the hubby for dinner, which is usually our largest meal of the day.

To get started, let’s cut the steak into bite-sized chunks, about 1 to 2″ big. Mix all the spices and cornstarch together. I do this in a ziplock bag, in preparation of the next step. Next, add your precut steak pieces into the bag, close it up, and shake until all the steak bites are evenly coated with the powder mixture.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Wait until the oil has gotten hot enough. You can test this by adding a couple of drops of water to the pan. When the water pops, the pan is ready for you steak bites. Add them to the pan in one layer, leaving a bit of spacing between the pieces. We are doing this so that we get a nice crispy outside on the bites, otherwise, they may start to steam instead, leaving us with a soggy, moist (yeah, I said it) outside. Turn the pieces regularly, until the insides are to your desired level of doneness (here is a handy guide for the temperatures to aim for), and the outsides are looking crisp and browned.

Remove the bites from the pan and let them sit to the side for a moment or two.

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and sriracha (or hot sauce of choice) until fully mixed. Serve the steak bites with the spicy mayonnaise for dipping.

Happy eating.