Pressure Cooker Brisket Tacos

I make an oven-braised brisket about twice a year, for Passover and Rosh Hashanah. While I love the classic method, I've wanted to experiment with brisket a bit more. Brisket typically comes as a very large cut of several pounds which I cut into three pieces. We usually have one of these at each holiday and freeze them in the meantime. The other thing about brisket is that it takes a very long time to cook: over 4 hours with my usual method. As such, I wanted to use the Instant Pot for my first experiment. 

I've previously done both pulled chicken and pork (also with the Instant Pot) recipes for use with tacos, nachos, potatoes, and so on. Brisket is also perfect for this because it needs to be cooked low and slow. In just an hour on high pressure, the meat becomes fall-apart tender. This sort of dish is highly customizable to taste. I seasoned similarly to how I would do ground beef tacos, with the addition of a poblano chili and soy sauce for some extra depth. I also used some Mexican oregano here, which I recommend picking up at a Latin American market if you can find one. Some Asian stores also stock Mexican herbs and spices.

We used about 1/3 of the meat from this recipe for a few rounds of tacos and froze the rest for later in two quart bags. For the tacos themselves, I used corn tortillas (heat on both sides in a dry nonstick pan and keep in a tortilla warmer), cotija, corn salsa, and sour cream. Guacamole is a welcome addition if available. This recipe turned out well, especially for a first attempt. In my pulled pork recipe from three years ago, I discussed some apprehension I had coming up with Instant Pot recipes. I'm happy to report I've developed some good instincts for what's going to work in the pressure cooker. The most important tip I've learned is when using the sauté setting to brown meat, it is imperative to deglaze and fully clear anything stuck to the bottom before sealing. If the Instant Pot detects burning on the bottom, it will shut off, so be careful.

Curry Turnovers (咖喱酥)

Curry turnovers are a nostalgic favorite in our family. It was always a great treat when my grandparents showed up with a box of them. A discussion recently got started about reviving the tradition, so I thought it as good a time as any to give this one a go on the blog. I'm so glad I did, because they are just as tasty as I remember. They go by a few different names in Chinese, but the one I went with here, gali su, means "curry pastry."

As it turns out, they are a classic item in Cantonese dim sum and bakeries, with variants popular all over Asia. The good news is that unlike many dim sum items, they are easy to make. They work equally well with afternoon tea, as an appetizer, or a as a late-night snack. This recipe makes about 36 turnovers. We froze some of those (unbaked) for later. Leftovers already baked can be kept in the refrigerator and revived in the toaster oven. In making this version, I referenced several recipes I found online, including Woks of Life and Table for Two. 

Puff pastry variant

The recipe itself is flexible and forgiving. My research online showed that beef is by far the most common filling, but I know grandpa used pork just as often. I used my homemade Chinese pork stock, but whatever is on hand should work fine. For the seasoning, any curry powder is sufficient, as long as it isn't too hot. I added some turmeric for color. One detail I remember watching grandpa make it was that he added a seasoning packet from a package of ramen noodles. I honor this choice with a little MSG (Ajinomoto) for an umami boost. Premade pie dough is a great shortcut that doesn't compromise significantly on the end product. Turnovers can also be made with puff pastry for a flakier variation.

Ground Beef Rice Bowls

Several months ago, we tried a few different meal kit delivery services. We eventually decided they weren't a great fit for us, but I did get some ideas from them. One we really liked (from EveryPlate), was one they called "beef banh mi bowls," I guess so named for the cucumber and carrots often found in the famous sandwich. For me, they call to mind the rice bowl dishes often found in Vietnamese restaurants. I like how they combine a hot entrée with a salad all in one. This recipe is my own spin on the concept, loosely based on the meal kit.

The recipe here is pretty loose, and you can work with what's on hand. The beef could be swapped out for grilled chicken or pork. The crispy fresh vegetables provide a nice contrast with the meat and rice. Radishes could also be a good option. You could even go nuts and add a fried egg. I also like to drizzle some Japanese mayo on dishes like this. I certainly won't make any claims about Vietnamese authenticity here, but these rice bowls are worth a try. They're quick and easy and more than the sum of their parts.

Meatloaf

Community and church cookbooks are remarkable historical artifacts to those interested in the evolution of food and the preservation of our culinary heritage. As far as No Free Lunch is concerned, such books were instrumental in recreating party salad and klub. My grandmother, Irene Storey, was a pillar of her Twin Cities church and contributed numerous recipes to their cookbook. One of these was meatloaf. While it's not a dish I particularly remember her making, we had meatloaf somewhat regularly when I was a kid, and it was also in regular rotation at the business school cafeteria at Carnegie Mellon. It's safe to say it's a comfort food for many people all over the United States.

As a true American classic, there is tremendous variation in meatloaf recipes. For my version, I wanted to stay true to the structure of the fairly basic church version while incorporating ideas from more modern recipes. I consulted my usual group of online sources, including Kenji, Alton Brown, Adam Ragusea, and Elise Bauer. Typical meatloaf recipes do have a lot in common: about 2 pounds of meat, some kind of vegetables, and texture modifiers including eggs, breadcrumbs, and milk. Ketchup-based toppings are also a frequent addition. The unique features of this recipe, retained from the church cookbook, are the Worcestershire sauce and an additional egg not present in most I've seen. The main change I made is adding more vegetables and cooking them before folding into the meat. The classic meat blend consists of beef, pork, and veal, similar to a traditional meatball. As veal is hard to find these days, I did a 50/50 blend of beef and pork, which is also what I use for hotdish. There's a lot of room for experimentation with different meat blends. 

The cooking method also varies quite a bit from recipe to recipe. Adam Ragusea hand-forms the loaf. Elise Bauer bakes it in a loaf pan. Alton Brown uses the loaf pan to form the meatloaf, but flips it out for cooking. Kenji cooks it in the loaf pan for a while, then flips it out to finish. As the church cookbook is silent on this issue, I went with Alton's method. This allows us to get a nicely formed loaf while also maximizing surface area on which to spread the ketchup topping. I used a 9x5 inch silicone loaf pan (I think we got it at Aldi), and the meatloaf came out easily. A slightly smaller pan would also work fine, yielding a taller loaf. 

Since I had 4 pounds of meat, I made two meatloaves. I froze most of it after slicing, in preparation for busier times once classes start. The recipe given here is for one loaf, but the pictures show the doubled recipe. I made one with bacon on top and one without. The bacon adds some smokiness, but is definitely not necessary and makes the loaf a little tricky to cut. The end result of both was a tender, juicy meatloaf full of flavor. The only thing I would do differently is to put on more of the ketchup topping. There's also plenty of room for experimentation with different seasonings beyond this classic version. Mashed potatoes make a perfect accompaniment, which can be easily done on the stove while the meatloaf is in the oven. 

Sliced Beef with Broccoli (玉蘭炒牛肉)

Other than last week's braised spare ribs (a loose adaptation at best), it's been nearly 3 months since I've directly taken on a Pei Mei recipe. Today's dish is sliced beef with broccoli. The Chinese name is yulan chao niurou. This translates to "magnolia stir fried beef," yet another reference to a flower in the name of a dish. I assume this is a poetic flourish, but yu also means jade, which might refer to the green broccoli. Everything in this dish is pretty much classic Chinese, but it's notably one (like egg drop soup) that became a staple of American Chinese takeout. Ariel noted this was very similar to what she grew up eating.

Pei Mei's original recipe calls for gailan, a Chinese broccoli that has leaves at the ends. It's commonly found at Chinese stores, but as we have very limited access during the pandemic, I used regular "western" broccoli instead. Either way works, but if you do have access to gailan, it is delicious. For the beef, she calls for tenderloin (the Chinese just says tender beef), which I think is an odd choice. Since we are using the baking soda tenderizing technique and slicing it very thin, a tougher, more flavorful cut makes more sense. I use flank steak, which is widely available. I previously used the exact same tenderizing (sometimes called "velveting") in the beef chow fun recipe. My recipe roughly doubles Pei Mei's.

The sauce consists mostly of oyster sauce, which is an ingredient I haven't discussed before on the blog. It's another of the many umami-rich Chinese sauces and pastes, but instead of fermented beans, it's made from oysters. This makes it a relative of Hong Kong's famous XO sauce, which is made from scallops. I don't use it all that often, but it's good to have on hand for when it does come up. The sauce in this recipe is enough to coat everything, but is not meant to dominate the dish. The takeout style is definitely saucier, so take that into account if you want to go that route. Overall, this one comes together reasonably easily, and is a very satisfying meal. Additionally, swapping out the gailan for regular broccoli means everything can be found at an average Midwestern grocery store.

Jucy Lucy

The Jucy Lucy is a cheeseburger with the meat inside the patty, rather than on top. The dish originates in Minneapolis, with the specific establishment (and spelling) being a matter of some debate. As much as this blog tends to focus on international cuisine, I do especially enjoy celebrating foods of the American Midwest. Although the Jucy Lucy hails from my home state, I've only had the opportunity to taste one once, until now. What makes it unique from a normal cheeseburger is the cheese explosion you get when biting in. Since the cheese is concentrated in the center, it's a more heterogeneous experience, with some bites being much cheesier than others.

I did a bit of research, and there was quite a bit of variation in the amount of meat, cheese, and type of cheese used. American cheese is the classic choice, but I think there's room for experimentation. I went with a sharp cheddar (Wooden Shoe brand from Corsica, South Dakota). I used my standard size beef patty, which is 5 ounces (just under 1/3 pound) each. This was plenty big enough to accommodate the cheese. I used rendered bacon fat saved from BLTs to fry the burgers, but go with what you have. Toppings included our homegrown tomatoes.

One thing that really kicked up these burgers were the buns. We had originally planned to use store-bought buns, but ran out of them midweek making other sandwiches. Ariel made these delicious buns based on a recipe from King Arthur Flour, but with bread flour instead of all purpose, and whey replacing the water. I'm not sure how much of a difference the whey makes, but the breads she's been producing with it have been great. For a few of them, we tried sprinkling some everything bagel seasoning on top, which was a good addition.

Upgrade: Ragù alla Bolognese

I've previously posted two recipes in the category of meat sauces: a quick one from all the way back in 2012 and a recreation of Dad's late '70s version in 2015. This time, I'm going back to the roots of the style. Ragù alla bolognese is perhaps the most famous of all meat sauces. The dish originates in the northern Italian city of Bologna. It's a classic with a long history, so I did quite a bit of research ahead of time. The version in The Silver Spoon (Il cucchiaio d'argento - sort of Italy's answer to The Joy of Cooking) is a very traditional and simple take: just mirepoix, ground meat, tomato paste, and water. Traditional bolognese lacks any garlic or herbs and has relatively little tomato content. This is contrary to how I typically construct a quick pasta sauce. Instead, bolognese is all about showcasing the meat, which it does very well. There is so much flavor here, I didn't find myself missing those familiar standbys. 

I also consulted some more modern interpretations, including those of Kenji, Marcella Hazan (Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking), and a few others I found online. I constructed my version to respect the traditional version as much as possible, so I am keeping herbs and tomatoes to a minimum and also leaving garlic out. At the same time, I am including some of the more common ingredients that show up recipes I have found. Pancetta is a common addition, which I have switched out for the more affordable and accessible regular bacon. White wine, milk, and chicken stock provide the cooking liquid. The cheese rinds are my personal addition to give a little flavor boost during cooking. 

I conceived of this recipe very much in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Using a full four pounds of meat, it produces a lot of sauce. I froze most of it in bags to pull out for easy meals later. In the spirit of corona cuisine, this recipe would be highly adaptable to adjustments in the specifics. For the meat, feel free to experiment with more pork or something more interesting, like lamb or bison. Traditionally, the pasta of choice is fresh tagliatelle, but that's going to have to wait for the upgrade to the upgrade. I used rigatoni, a choice Marcella Hazan calls "irreproachable." Good enough for me!

Steak Marchand de Vin

Bonne fête! It's that time of year again, when No Free Lunch celebrates Bastille Day with another French recipe. This time, I'm turning to the master, Jacques Pépin for inspiration. His book, Essential Pépin, is a treasure trove of ideas, most of which are quite accessible. This year's dish is a classic steak with a pan sauce, which hearkens back to my second recipe ever, though this is considerably more sophisticated. I even (unintentionally) used the same copper sauté pan, which is very effective for building a good sear on steaks and then developing a pan sauce.

Pépin translates the dish as "wine merchant steak," and describes it as a bistro dish. As I understand the term, a bistro is a small, informal establishment serving simpler and heartier food than a formal restaurant, originating in Paris. This is the kind of food that really appeals to me to try to replicate at home. "Pub grub" might be a good analogy in the British Isles, though bistro food tends to be a little more refined than that. This recipe is a reasonably close replication of Pépin's dish as written, though I've made a few adjustments to my own taste. For the meat, I've swapped out New York strips for some nicely marbled ribeyes I found at Walmart, of all places. I also increased the garlic and mushrooms, which is quite common practice in our house.

There are a few ingredients of note to talk about. Pépin calls for a "fruity, dry red wine," and suggests Beaujolais. I used La Granja Tempranillo Garnacha, an inexpensive Spanish wine from Trader Joe's. Quite appropriately for pandemic cooking, we realized we were out of Dijon mustard when the sauce was about half done. I used hot Chinese mustard instead, and then kicked up the acidity with a small squeeze of lemon juice. Do what works in these strange times! The last interesting addition is potato starch, which I recently used in fried calamari. Pépin briefly discusses his preference for potato starch over corn starch for thickening sauces. Although well-known in Kosher-for-Passover and Japanese cooking, it's not commonly seen elsewhere. It worked very well here, and I plan to experiment with it further.

Beef Chow Fun (乾炒牛河)

Beef chow fun is a famous Cantonese dish combining wide rice noodles with tender sliced beef. Several years ago, I posted a chicken chow fun recipe using the same noodles. While this is not exactly an "upgrade," this recipe improves upon it with a better marinade inspired by Pei-Mei, and a sauce to tie it all together. This is also a companion recipe to my chow mein recipe from a few weeks ago. Grandpa and grandma would often serve us both in one meal! The name qianchao niu he is interesting. The first part - qianchao means "dry fried," similar to dry-cooked string beans. I'm not sure of the history of this dish, but this name may suggest the beef was originally deep fried. The rest of the name refers to beef (niu) and the wide noodles (he fen) in the dish. I was very happy with how this turned out, but in retrospect, this recipe makes a lot of food. I would probably halve everything next time, but there's nothing wrong with having some leftovers. 

I took the recipe for the beef from "Sliced Beef with Broccoli" in Pei-Mei Volume II. She tosses the beef with some blanched gailan (Chinese broccoli) and a sauce. The beef is phenomenal on its own, and I would happily gobble it up with some rice. When I cook flank steak whole, I typically pan fry it to medium rare to avoid drying it out. Here, the thinly sliced beef is cooked through completely, yet remains super tender. The key is the marinade, which includes baking soda as a tenderizer. If you've never tried this technique before, it will amaze you.

This recipe uses mostly pantry staples and easily found ingredients. The noodles can sometimes be hard to find, though. Rice noodles come in many shapes and sizes. I previously used the super-thin kind for minced "pigeon" lettuce cups. Medium-width rice noodles are used for pad thai. The widest rice, called shahe fen (sometimes transliterated ho fun), are essential to this dish. Part of the problem is that this usually doesn't appear on the package and, unless you know the Chinese word (沙河粉), you'll have to eyeball it. Although dark soy sauce is not typically added at the end of stir frying like it is here, it's essential to achieving the signature brown look for the noodles. Classic beef chow fun usually has mung bean sprouts, which are tragically not sold in Vermillion. I included napa and onion instead, which also makes this into more of a complete meal.

Upgrade: White Macaroni Hotdish

Hotdish is one of the iconic dishes of the Upper Midwest, particularly associated with Minnesota. Church cookbooks are full of them, and many families have their own house recipes. My family has two, both macaroni-based styles, which we refer to as "red" and "white." This also gives you a convenient wine pairing. The red kind uses tomato soup, and comes from my maternal grandmother. The white kind, which was one of my earliest posts, comes from my paternal grandparents. Although we lost all three of them in the last few years, their legacy lives on through traditions like these. Today, I'm revisiting the white hotdish to how I make it now, a better version than could muster at the tender age of 23. To this day, it is still one of my top comfort foods, and I'll be making it for years to come.

There is a lot of variation in what can go in a hotdish. In Molly on the Range, Molly Yeh gives a four-part breakdown of creamed soup, vegetables, meat, and starch. Yet, with the exception of starch (I think), all of these are negotiable. Her own tater tot hotdish eschews the soup for a homemade mix of milk and stock, while my family's red hotdish uses tomato soup. I've even winged it with just canned tomatoes. My original recipe for this hotdish had no vegetables (just mushrooms), though I now include onions. You could easily replace the meat with more mushrooms to make a vegetarian version. Starches vary greatly, and can include pasta, rice, wild rice, potatoes, or even crushed crackers. The starch component is what holds the dish together and turns a soupy mess into a hotdish. Thinking about this basic formula, shepherd's pie might be the proto-hotdish. The Jewish noodle kugel, Italian lasagna, and Greek pastitsio are certainly cousins, at the very least.

The biggest difference between this version and my original is the scale. This recipe is designed to use a full one-pound box of macaroni, which I wouldn't have done back when I lived alone. With two of us, I like making it bigger so we can have leftovers for a few days of quick lunches. Although I've scaled up the overall size, I've left the amount of meat at one pound of mixed beef and pork, which corrects the overly meaty balance. Adding onions and more mushrooms gives the whole thing a little more variation. For the topping, I use a mixture of grated Swiss and Parmesan and some breadcrumbs for a little crunch. The Swiss is just a basic supermarket block, as the subtlety of gruyère is kind of lost on this dish. That said, I still prefer real Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano for this, which will give you a little nuttiness. Cooking at a high temperature for 45 minutes leads to a soft interior and crisp crust.

Let's talk about the soup. I had actually meant to get this post out several weeks ago, but messed up the recipe by not using enough soup. This hotdish should be creamy and gooey, and the macaroni should be well-coated before baking. I found a giant 26 oz. can, which is about what you need to adequately coat the full pound of pasta here. A regular-sized can then forms the base for the topping, making for a total of 36.5 oz. of soup. I'm not sure the full can was needed at the end, but it doesn't hurt and I wasn't going to save a half can of soup. If you only have three regular cans instead, the total amount will be 31.5 oz. This leaves about a half can for the topping, which should work fine.

Upgrade: Steak au Poivre

Steak au poivre is a special dish for No Free Lunch, as it was the post that started my tradition of doing a classic French dish every Bastille Day. Simple but delicious, it's a classic for a reason. My original recipe holds up very well, so this Upgrade is more of a refinement than an overhaul. There, I suggested using "your favorite cut" of beef, so I've done just that, with a nicely marbled ribeye. I typically make one to split for the two of us. Roasted red potatoes and Ariel's homemade challah were excellent accompaniments. 

Other than swapping the top sirloin for the more luxurious ribeye, I've made a few small adjustments. Most importantly, I used half black and half green peppercorns. This cuts the spiciness, but leaves enough to cut through the rich sauce. I've also used shallot instead of onion, which is the more traditional choice for pan sauces. I never used to bother with shallots, but I've come to appreciate their subtlety. Finally, I had some cream on hand, so I used that in place of half and half. 

Upgrade: Guinness Stew

I've recently found myself thinking about the earliest days of No Free Lunch. I was 23, in my second semester of grad school, and I didn't really know what I was doing. I had only been seriously trying to cook for myself for about a year and a half at that point, but I did my best. These days, I'm blogging with an enthusiasm I haven't felt since those heady days in 2012. Going back through my old recipes, there's a lot of room for improvement with all I've learned in the last 8 years. Thus begins a new semi-regular feature: No Free Lunch Upgrades. I'm going to recreate some of my old favorites, maintaining the overall structure of the dishes, but upgrading them with better technique and ingredients.

Guinness stew was my fourth-ever recipe, and represented an important step in the development of how I cook and write about cooking. It's my Goldfinger, if you will. The basic recipe is actually pretty good, and I didn't change it too much. Instead of generic "stew meat," I use a chuck roast and break it down myself. This has the advantage of full control over the size of the pieces and selection of a well-marbled piece. Instead of beef bouillon, I use chicken stock, pumped up with some tomato paste and soy sauce to add complexity. The last change is removing the potatoes from the actual stew and serving with mashed potatoes instead.

The Duane Purvis All American

As of writing this post, we are a few weeks into the COVID-19 crisis. For me, this has included moving my classes online, which has left me as busy as ever without leaving the house. Even as cabin fever sets in, cooking and blogging are pleasures still available to us in these strange times. I have a few more posts planned as Passover arrives next week, so stay tuned!

We recently found ourselves reminiscing about the West Lafayette days. The Triple XXX restaurant, located a short walk down the hill from my old office in the Krannert Building, has been a Purdue icon for nearly 100 years. The restaurant came to wider attention from an early appearance on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. 

The Duane Purvis All American (like many menu items, named for a Purdue football star) is arguably the most famous offering at Triple XXX. It's a classic diner cheeseburger with one unusual addition: peanut butter. It sounds strange, but for some reason, it just works. The hot hamburger on top the peanut butter turns it into a bit of a mess, but a delightful one. I've done my best to recreate the burger based on my recollection and the restaurant's online menu. Although Guy Fieri didn't enjoy his Duane Purvis All American, I certainly do. As they say in West Lafayette, "don't be nervous, try the Purvis!"

Braised Chuck Roast with Parsnips

Braised meats are something of a passion of mine, which was amplified in the cold of winter this year. That being said, a good pot roast is just as good as summer rolls around. I've recently become a big fan of beef chuck. It's inexpensive, versatile, and actually quite forgiving. Compared with brisket, chuck has a lot more marbling, keeping it moist as it cooks. This summer, we are trying out a new (to us) CSA program and have ended up with an abundance of root vegetables. This turned out to be a good way to use our parsnips, although I have also made it with potatoes instead.

My recipe is loosely based on Kenji's "All-American Pot Roast" from The Food Lab book. As with many of his recipes, there's a lot going on there that on a typical day, I don't always feel like doing. My personal spin is to boost the flavor by combining both styles of Chinese soy sauces (light and dark). As usual, I used Pearl River Bridge, which can be found in most Asian grocery stores. 

Ingredients

• 2 lb. chuck roast
• 1/2 lb. onion, sliced (about 2 small or 1 large onion)
• 1/2 lb. carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 Tbs. flour
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 Tbs. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp. dry oregano
• 1 - 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 lb. parsnips
• Vegetable oil (can also use bacon fat)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F with rack in the middle position.

Heat some oil in a dutch oven or heavy saute pan on medium-high heat. If you want to kick it up a bit, you can use bacon fat here. Season the roast all over with kosher salt and black pepper. Sear the roast on all sides (including the edges) until well browned. Set aside.

Roast after browning

Add more oil as needed and turn the heat down to medium. Cook the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic with a bit of salt for a few minutes. Add flour and stir to incorporate, cooking a few more minutes.

Deglaze with red wine, stir well, and bring to a boil. Let the wine reduce a few minutes. Add the soy sauce, bay leaf, and oregano. Nestle the roast back in and top up with chicken stock. Bring to a boil and transfer to the oven. Cover with a lid slightly ajar. 

Ready for the oven

Cook for 2 hours, checking once to flip the meat over. While the roast cooks, peel the parsnips and cut into one inch chunks. Add the parsnips, cover, and cook one more hour.

If preparing ahead, let everything cool then chill in the refrigerator overnight. This will allow the grease to congeal to be easily removed. If not preparing ahead, remove the meat to a cutting board and skim the liquid as best you can. 

Meat after braising

Begin reducing the braising liquid on the stove. While this is happening, slice the roast. When the liquid has reduced to your desired consistency, return the meat to the pan. Turn the heat off and let stand for 20 minutes before serving. The roast goes well with crusty bread.

Braised Brisket for Rosh Hashanah

Tonight was the start of Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish new year. We usually have brisket twice a year, the other occasion being Passover. Ariel's always used the same family recipe, and it's been no secret that I'm not really a fan. While I do think ketchup has some interesting and tasty applications (see lovers' shrimp and sweet and sour pork), it just doesn't work for me in brisket. This time, though, I was asked to make the brisket. While I certainly respect tradition, I was excited to strike out on my own. 

Although I had an overall flavor profile in mind, I had never cooked this cut before, so I did some research ahead of time (Daniel Gritzer's article and accompanying recipe was a helpful resource). Brisket is unique in that it is both tough with connective tissue, but also is quite lean, a combination that requires care. The consensus seems to be that all of the cooking must be at low heat and covered. 

I wasn't originally going to blog this one, but it turned out so well that I thought it worth a short post. Because of this, the recipe is not as precise as usual. This is one dish where precision isn't particularly important, and I didn't measure at all. I went for a classic slow-cooked beef style and it ended up tender but still moist with a very deep, flavorful sauce. Our holiday meal also included matzo ball soup, challah, and the traditional apples and honey.

Ingredients

• One piece beef brisket (mine was about 2 lb. - on the small side, but you can easily scale this up)
• 4 carrots, sliced into small chunks
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 1/2 medium yellow onions, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 14.5 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
• Chicken stock, as needed
• Splash of dark soy sauce
• Splash of light soy sauce
• 1 Tbs dijon mustard
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary (can substitute dried)
• A few sprigs fresh parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• Flour or Wondra for thickening
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

A good choice of cooking vessel is needed. The optimal choice is something we can use to brown on the stovetop, cover, then transfer to the oven. A lid is helpful, but foil can be used. A large dutch oven or saute pan that can fit your brisket works well. 

Ahead of time, prepare the vegetables as listed. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Heat some oil in the pan, enough to cover the bottom. Pat the brisket dry and salt and pepper both sides. With the pan very hot, sear the brisket on both sides for a few minutes until well browned. Do your best to ensure good pan contact for an even sear. Set the brisket aside. 

Next, saute the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Add a little salt and pepper. If your pan is large enough, this can all be done at once. When the vegetables have softened, deglaze with wine. Let this cook down a little. While that is happening, transfer the tomatoes to a bowl and smash them up with your hands. Add to the pan. Return the brisket to the pan and add enough chicken stock to mostly cover the meat. Add soy sauce, mustard, and herbs. Stir these in.

Cover the pan and transfer to the oven. Let cook for about 3 1/2 hours, though this may vary depending on the size of the brisket. I flipped it over halfway through. 

Once the slow-cooking is complete, take the brisket out and let stand about 30 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or spider to remove the vegetables. Set these aside in a bowl. While the brisket is resting, reduce the sauce on the stove. Add a thickening agent to your taste. Whisking Wondra into the sauce works well, though you can also use a flour slurry. Taste the sauce and add salt and/or pepper to taste. I only needed a bit of pepper at this point. Turn off the burner and leave the pan there.

The brisket at serving

Thinly slice the brisket across the grain. Return the brisket slices and the vegetables to the sauce. Mix together to coat the meat, cover, and let stand for 30 more minutes before serving.

Notes

If you want to adjust this dish for Passover, a few substitutions or omissions need to be made. Specifically, the more processed ingredients won't work, as soy sauce contains wheat and mustard contains corn syrup. I like soy sauce in a braised or marinated dish (my usual mix of dark and light) for the color and savory flavor, but I don't think omitting them would break the dish. One could also use dry mustard in place of dijon mustard. Of course, flour as a thickening agent needs to be replaced by something like potato starch. 

Tacos for the Busy Weeknight

I've written before about certain dishes that can be adapted to whatever ingredients you happen to have -- fried rice, frittata, hotdish, and so forth. Tacos are another versatile food that can use just about anything. That being said, the classic version is good, too, and the ground beef taco is as much an American favorite as, well, General Tso's Chicken. 

One great thing to have come out of No Free Lunch is that I now have a convenient repository of recipes, which I refer to often. The chicken kebabs from last summer are one I go back to a lot. Whenever we make tacos, Ariel always makes me cook the meat because I won't let her buy taco seasoning packets. Every time, I explain that it's not that complicated and the taco-ey aroma is really just cumin. I end up cooking the meat anyway. Well, now there is a recipe and we can all taco!

This is the part where I usually talk about exotic ingredients, but sometimes you don't need any. One of the great things about this recipe is that other than the beef, all the ingredients are things I always have in my kitchen, and you should, too!

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef (leaner is better; I used 90% lean)
• 3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
• Pinch black pepper
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes, with juice
• Vegetable oil

Instructions

Heat oil in medium frying pan on medium heat, stirring frequently. Saute onion for a few minutes, until slightly softened. Turn heat to medium high and cook until onions are lightly browned. Add beef, garlic, and all spices and herbs. Break up the beef and stir thoroughly to distribute seasonings. Cook until all beef is browned. If using fattier beef, you may want to drain some of the grease here. Stir in tomatoes and cook a few more minutes.

Serve with warm tortillas, lime wedges, and your choice of accompaniments.

Sam's Spaghetti

Happy Halloween and a happy birthday to my father, Sam. Today, I am pleased to present one of his original creations, a historical recipe from his younger days. In the late 1970s, he was working in his first job out of college. His colleague, Dan, asked if he had a spaghetti sauce recipe, and he came up with something on the fly, and likely forgot all about it. Soon after, both he and Dan had moved on from the company. Decades later, they reconnected, and he learned that "Sam's spaghetti," as it was now known, had become a beloved family tradition. To this day, Dan's (now adult) sons still ask for it.

The sauce itself is quite thick, and a deep red. Using tomato paste is an interesting choice, and gives the sauce a real intensity compared with my usual sauces with crushed tomato as a base (see beef ragù and fettuccine in tomato sauce). This sauce is certainly of the "old school" of Italian-American cookery, but continues to be delicious nearly forty years after its inception.

This version is slightly edited from the one provided by Dan. The original uses "3 mushrooms," but I brought this up a little to use an 8 oz. package. I used my own mixture of herbs rather than the recommended Italian seasoning, which I do not have. Finally, it can be useful to save a little pasta water to thin the sauce to your desired consistency.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 12 oz. tomato paste (1 large can)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
• 1 bay leaf
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cooked pasta (reserve some of the cooking water)

Instructions

In a large saute pan, heat a bit of olive oil on medium high heat. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until softened. Remove from pan and set aside.

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Add to the pan with the garlic. Add more oil if needed. Turn heat up to high and cook until the beef is browned. Deglaze the pan with wine. Add tomato paste, water, and herbs. Return the mushrooms and onion to the pan. Mix well and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. This will be just enough time to prepare the pasta. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as desired. If the sauce is too thick, mix in a splash of the pasta water. Serve with grated parmesan.

Steamed Beef with Spicy Rice Powder (粉蒸牛肉)

Fenzheng niurou, translated as "powder steamed beef" (one of the more intuitive translations we've seen so far), hails from the western province of Sichuan. I am still quite a novice when it comes to the various regional cuisines of China, but I'm pleased to say traveling the provinces with Peimei has certainly broadened my knowledge. After dad spotted boxes of spicy rice powder (discussed below) in the Chinese store, I had to give this one a go. He seemed very familiar with the dish, but I don't recall ever eating it before, so we're off into terra incognita with this one. I was immensely pleased with the results. As one of the pictures later shows, the beef goes in fairly dry and emerges as a deep, rich stew, I think in large part due to fat and connective tissue breaking down. I was amazed by how tender the beef was and how well the flavors developed and blended in just 30 minutes of cooking time. 

The unusual ingredient here is the spicy rice powder. This is really a misnomer, as I really wouldn't describe it as a powder, but more like broken up rice. I used prepackaged rice powder. Preparing the powder involves toasting rice with star anise and Sichuan peppercorns, then crushing the rice up. This then becomes a quasi-breading for the beef. Note that the above photo was made with only 1.75 oz of rice powder (one box), but I would double that, as the recipe suggests.

Hot bean paste and Sichuan peppercorn, the staple Sichuan ingredients make their return here, after their first appearance in mapo doufu. These two combine give western Chinese dishes their distinctive heat and aroma. Unlike most of her recipes, Peimei is completely vague on the cut, asking only for "beef" (I did check the Chinese recipe, and it is equally vague). I went with chuck for its good flavor and utility in stews and braises, and this worked out very well. Interestingly, I bought the meat as "western ribs" or "country ribs" -- mostly boneless shoulder cuts of meat sliced into strips, so it was quick to break these down into the slices I needed. Pork country ribs are, by the way, my favorite cut to make char siu.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb beef chuck
• 3.5 oz (100 g) spicy rice powder
• 2 green onions
• Sichuan peppercorn powder to taste (optional)

Marinade

• 1 1/2 Tbs minced ginger
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 2 Tbs hot bean paste (doubanjiang -- see Exotic Ingredients)
• 4 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 Tbs Shaoxing wine or dry amontillado
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 c vegetable oil

Instructions

Cut beef across the grain into thin slices, 1 to 1 1/2 inches across. Combine the beef and all marinade ingredients in an airtight bag and let stand in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Spread out the rice powder on a plate and dredge each slice of beef on both sides. 

Steam the beef for 30 minutes. If you have small, shallow bowls that can fit inside a bamboo steamer, then use those. I did not have bowls that fit, so I put the beef in a 10 x 10 inch cake dish and set this inside a wok with boiling water below, then covered with a lid. Whatever your strategy, you need the steam to be trapped over the beef. 

Once the beef is done cooking, add the remaining green onions and dust with peppercorn powder, if desired. Mix together and serve. I served with rice and Chinese vegetables.

Commentary

I made minimal changes to the original recipe. The main thing was that I swapped out star anise for the more readily available five spice powder in the marinade. Other than that, I played with the marinade proportions a little. Peimei also calls for an entire cup of rice powder per 3/4 lb. beef, which seems absurd to me.

As a final note, it's worth mentioning that the way my version turned into a deep and delicious stew does not seem to be universal. The photo in the cookbook looks a lot dryer, as well as others I saw on the internet. 

Carbonade Flamande

No Free Lunch has recently passed two great milestones: the three-year anniversary of my first post and 10,000 views. I am always amazed by how many views the blog continues to get, even through the long period of hibernation, so whether you are a long-time reader or first-time visitor, I appreciate you stopping by! As one of my earliest posts, just a few days short of 3 years ago, was my recipe for Guinness Stew, it seems appropriate to mark the occasion with another beer-based beef stew.

Carbonade flamande, known as stoverij in Flemish, is a traditional Belgian dish that I have been wanting to feature for a while now, and there is no better time than this cold and snowy January. I scoured the internet for recipes, and came up with this one. Carbonade has three main ingredients: beef, onions, and beer. Other than those three things, the recipes vary quite a bit, but most emphasize the sweet-and-sour aspect of the dish. As such, I have made sure to include both brown sugar and cider vinegar. My version also has carrots. Although they are not a "core" ingredient, they add some color, some variety, and some more sweetness. As with many slow cooked dishes which probably have roots in "peasant food" (cassoulet would be another), I try not to get too hung up on what is or is not traditional. The spirit of this style of food is to use what is available to create something more than the sum of its relatively humble parts.

Ingredients

• 3 lb beef, cut into 1-2 inch chunks (see notes below)
• 3 onions
• 2 carrots
• 3 Tbs flour
• 1 1/2 cups (one 12 oz bottle) ale (see below for discussion)
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbs mustard
• 2-3 bay leaves
• Dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• Vegetable oil

The beef I used here was a big package of pre-cut "beef for stew" from Sam's Club. Any inexpensive cut should do. In the sources I found, there was a wide variety of beer recommendations. As with wine, I would stick with the old rule of "only cook with what you would drink." That said, it does feel like kind of a waste to toss a bottle Trappist ale into a stew. At the same time, you do want something with a good, strong flavor to impart to the stew. Sticking to the Belgian theme, I went with a Summit Abbey Ale. This is a strong, Belgian-style ale that I had something of a windfall of a few years ago, and have been "aging" ever since. My point here is that you should go with what you like. On the same note, I probably should have used a more authentic mustard, but Dijon is what I had, so that's what went in, at the risk of veering into boeuf bourguignon territory.

Instructions

Ideally, we will use just one pot for the whole process, so choose something you are comfortable searing meat in, but that will also be big enough to simmer the stew. A dutch oven or a copper stew pan (as pictured here) does nicely. Copper pans are useful for getting just the right amount of sticking from the meat, as well.

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Patience is the key to browning the meat. Work in batches, searing the beef pieces in the pot with a little oil. Resist the temptation to speed things up by cramming more pieces in -- the browning will be more successful if you don't crowd them. I found the sweet spot to brown well, but not burn was halfway between medium-high and high heat. Sear one side, then flip, sear the other, and set aside. Quite a bit of fond will form on the bottom of the pan, and that's a good thing.

While the beef is cooking, you can prepare the vegetables. Slice the onions into strips. Peel the carrots and cut them up. I went for bigger pieces, cutting the carrots into 3-4 segments, and then halving or quartering these pieces, depending on thickness.

When all the beef is done and set aside, turn the heat down to medium and add some more oil. Cook the carrots and onions for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. These should be well softened. Add the flour, and stir to coat. [In the interest of full disclosure, I forgot this last step, and added the flour after the stock and beer, making sure to mix it into a paste with water. This worked out fine.]

Ready to simmer

Pour in the stock and beer, then scrape up any bits left stuck to the pan. Add brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, bay leaves, and a good dusting of thyme. Stir everything together. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low and simmer, covered, for 2 1/2 hours. By this point, the beef should be fall-apart tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the stew with the starch of your choice. Potatoes, french fries, noodles, or rice are good options. You can't go wrong with a piece of crusty bread, either.

Steak au Poivre

Bonjour and a happy Bastille Day to you all, my dear readers. 223 years ago today, a Parisian mob stormed the Bastille in search of the stores of gunpowder held within, kicking off the French Revolution. Today, we celebrate with a delicious steak dinner. A few hours ago, I was looking on Wikipedia at the list of French dishes and found the steak au poivre. I started reading what it was and immediately got very hungry. The basic idea is a pan seared steak encrusted with peppercorns with a pan sauce of cognac and cream.

My recipe is based somewhat off a combination of The Joy of Cooking and my fellow bowtie enthusiast Alton Brown. The departure I took from the traditional method is that I used half and half instead of full cream to cut the richness a little. The flavors in this dish come together beautifully. The peppercorn crust cuts through the sauce just enough to assert itself. The traditional cut used is a filet mignon, but for those who aren't huge fans of that, use your favorite cut, or whatever you have on hand. I used top sirloin, and it came out very nicely.

Ingredients

• 1 steak, your favorite cut
• 1 tbs black peppercorns
• Salt
• 1 tbs butter
• Dash of olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup cognac
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• A few leaves of flat leaf parsley, chopped

Instructions

Cut excess fat from the steak. Salt both sides of the steak as you normally would. Using a mortar and pestle, crush up the peppercorns. They should be coarsely crushed, with much bigger pieces than would come out if you used a pepper mill. Rub both sides liberally with the peppercorns.

Heat the butter and just a little olive oil in a saute pan on high heat. To get a good sear, we want the pan nice and hot. Lay your steak in the pan and cook for 4 minutes. Turn it over and cook another 4 minutes. You should generally leave it alone during each cooking period. Remove from pan and set aside to rest. Cooking the steak in this way will give you a beautiful pink-red interior. Do not overcook the steak, okay?

Add the onions to the pan and saute briefly, a minute or less. Deglaze the pan with cognac and reduce by about half. Add beef stock and half and half, bring to a boil, and reduce again by at least half, until desired thickness is reached. While you are doing this, add the mustard and mix it in.

Remove the sauce from heat. Add the parsley and mix in. You can salt the sauce to taste, but I didn't find it necessary. Spoon the sauce over the steak and enjoy! I had some simply roasted red potatoes on the side and a glass of 2010 North Point Petite Sirah. And for those wondering, it was arguably no 1904 Clos de Bèze, but it was quite delightful.