Braised Spare Ribs with Pasta

It's great to be back to No Free Lunch! I'll mainly blame my absence on a particularly busy time at work, plus caring for a baby at home. The other reason is that we've had to go dairy and soy free, at least for the time being. This threw a huge wrench in the works for my cooking, as long time readers will know my love for both cheese and various fermented soy bean products. This has left me in a bit of a rut, cooking-wise, and a lot of our old standbys have gone out the window. Recently, I've developed this dairy and soy free braised spare ribs recipe. It's loosely inspired by Mark Bittman's simple braised ribs recipes featured his book, Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix. This is where I got the idea to have ribs with pasta. It's a winning combination, and I don't miss the dairy too much here.

Adding some umami-rich ingredients to braises is an idea that's been floating around the internet for a while (Kenji was an early proponent on Serious Eats). Soy sauce and parmesan rinds are usually my go-to choices, exemplified by my chicken and mushroom pasta from a few years ago. Although soy sauce isn't in that recipe, I have subsequently included some mushroom-flavored dark soy sauce. Since we've had to give up both soy and dairy, I've turned to tomato paste and anchovies for this recipe. I also love some acidity in this type of dish, and include the usual splash of vinegar. If you don't have to omit dairy, I couldn't fault adding some grated parmesan at the table, but we did not do that, of course.

The other benefit of braised ribs is that they are an ideal food for a baby! We have been introducing Shayna to food using baby-led weaning, where we let her explore food on her own rather than feeding her purees. Early on, babies need food with a long shape to grab onto, and ribs provide this with a built-in handle. She's taken to them like a star!

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.

"Matchos" with Shredded Chicken

Every Passover, we try to shake up the tired old menu a little. This has yielded some pretty great results in the past, with scotch eggs being the most enduring favorite. Last year, we tried making a "matzo pizza." It was okay, but with all the wet sauce on the matzos, it ended up a little too soft. That gave me the idea to try making matzo nachos, which I'm calling "matchos." The result was pretty delicious, and I'd recommend giving this a try for something a little different at the end of Passover.

The topping for the matchos is a shredded chicken similar to what we put in the kolaches back in December. For a Jewish twist, I sautéed in schmaltz (I made a big batch at the beginning of the week), but you can certainly use olive oil or vegetable oil. The sauce is thickened with potato starch to keep things "KFP." If you really want to go nuts, use some leftover brisket as the topping, but I went with a more traditionally nacho flavor profile. The matchos only use about half of the chicken. It freezes well, so it can be saved for tacos or regular nachos once Passover is done.

For the cheese, I used cheddar, but almost anything that melts well will work. I would probably use a little more next time, but this is what I had. We rounded out the topping with sour cream, guacamole, and diced onions, but those are all just suggestions. I made my own guacamole, but if you have some from the store and make the chicken ahead, the dish comes together pretty quickly. If nothing else, I'm inspired to make nachos with actual chips sometime soon.

Pork Shoulder Stew

Braising is one of the best ways to get great value out of inexpensive cuts of meat. Beef chuck and chicken leg quarters are great for this, but my favorite is the ever-versatile pork shoulder. I've gone a few different directions with this over the years, from a Mexican-style pulled pork to the Chinese hongshao style. This time, braised the pork in the classic French way, with a mirepoix base, white wine, mustard, and herbs. It's the kind of thing I imagine might be eaten in the French countryside, but given I haven't actually been there, I'm probably just blowing smoke. "Authentic" or not, this dish was very easy to put together, has phenomenal flavor, and is made completely from basic, staple ingredients.

I broke down the pork shoulder (a Boston butt from Sam's Club) in my usual way, ending up with a bit of fat saved, four pounds of strips for char siu, and the two pounds of pork chunks and bone for this recipe. I usually save the bones to make pork stock, but since I just made some a few days ago, I decided to throw the bone into the stew. The bone typically has some extra meat on it, which I never let go to waste. This also helps to infuse the braising liquid with even more flavor.

The recipe itself is pretty loose, and I'm confident there are many variations that would work. I had a very large onion (about a pound) and carrots and celery adding up to about 10 ounces, but use what's available. From this base recipe, one could easily add some smoked meats, like bacon or sausage. More vegetables, such as tomato or cabbage, would be interesting additions. I always like some kind of starch with a stew. We had mashed potatoes, but crusty bread, egg noodles, rice, or just boiled potatoes would all do nicely. Whatever the choices, a hearty stew like this is a perfect dinner for a chilly February. 

Spanish Chicken Stew

Braised chicken has become one of my favorite things to cook and eat in recent years. It's pretty hard to mess up, and produces great results for a low cost and mostly inactive cooking time. Recent examples have included a Chinese and a French version, as well as one that sprang from entirely my own brain. I planned out this chicken stew to emulate a Spanish flavor profile, using paprika, chorizo, and sherry vinegar. I don't know if this is something that would actually be made in Spain, but it turned out well. The paprika and chorizo give it a hint of heat and the vinegar lends a subtle, tangy acidity. 

The chicken is the central ingredient here, and I used three leg quarters, which I split apart into legs and thighs for more even cooking. A sharp knife should go easily through the tendon. Leg quarters are one of my top three cuts for braising, along with pork shoulder and beef chuck. They are very economical. Locally, we can get a 10 pound bag for just a few dollars. These particular quarters were quite roughly butchered (probably a reason for the low price), each with a piece of the backbone still attached. I put in the time to take the backbones off, which I froze to be made into stock later. In these crazy times, I found this simple task quite mentally therapeutic. Taking off the backbones also improves the presentation of the thighs.

The chorizo used here is the Spanish variety, which is a firm, cured sausage flavored with paprika. It can be eaten as-is, or as an accent ingredient as I've done here. This differs from Mexican-style chorizo, which is a fresh sausage that is great in tacos or quesadillas, but not appropriate here. I also continue to experiment with potato starch as a thickener, which has been working quite well. It's definitely become a staple in my kitchen for both thickening and breading. I went with roasted potatoes to accompany the stew, but you could definitely use mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.