beef | Allison Cooks Alton's Good Eats

Posts Tagged ‘beef’

Episode 143 – “Tender is the Loin II”

Posted: July 3, 2020 in Season 9
Tags: alton brown, beef, blue cheese, carpaccio, cheese, cheesesteak, cumin, good eats, gorgonzola, meat, philly, raw, roast, sandwich, steak, stuffed, tenderloin

Well, it took a while, but I finally completed all of Alton’s recipes for an entire butchered beef tenderloin. In “Tender is the Loin I,” Alton showed how to butcher a whole tenderloin into cuts to be used in five different recipes. You cut the loin into four filets, a center cut roast, a head roast, a tip portion, and a chain.

Whole tenderloin.

Whole tenderloin cut into portions. Not seen: head roast.

In addition to the butchering in that first tenderloin episode, he also demonstrated a recipe for the filets from the tenderloin. As I mentioned before, for some reason, a cocktail episode aired in between the two tenderloin episodes, which was an odd decision. Here are the recipes for the remaining cuts from the beef tenderloin.

Center Cut Tenderloin Roast

The center cut roast from the tenderloin is used first in the second episode. This cut of meat should weigh 1 to 1 1/4 pounds. For this recipe, place 1 1/2 t Kosher salt, 1 1/2 t pepper, and 1 t cumin in a loaf pan.

Kosher salt, pepper, and cumin.

Set the roast in the spices and toss it around to coat on all sides. Let the roast sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to one hour.

Center cut roast placed in spices.

Center cut roast rolled in spices.

After resting, place a grill pan over high heat for five to seven minutes. Sprinkle the pan with Kosher salt, as this will make it easier to clean later. Sprinkle vegetable oil over the roast and turn it with tongs to coat. Place the roast at the front of the grill pan and gradually roll the roast from the front to the back of the pan, searing for about eight minutes total on all sides.

Salted grill pan.

Roast placed on salted grill pan.

Seared roast placed in metal pan.

Transfer the roast from the grill pan to a metal baking pan and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

Seared roast placed in metal pan.

While the roast sits, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place the roast back on the grill pan place it in the oven with a probe thermometer in its center. Cook the roast until the probe thermometer says 135 degrees.

Rested roast placed in 250 degree oven until reaching 135 degrees.

Roast after reaching 135 degrees in its center.

Remove the roast from the oven, wrap it in foil, and let it rest for 30 minutes before slicing.

Roast wrapped in foil for 30 minutes.

Alton’s center cut tenderloin roast.

This roast was so easy and was perfectly cooked. I typically use some sort of sauce with beef, but I found that this roast was flavorful enough on its own. The outside of the roast had a spice-filled crust, while the inside of the roast was juicy and tender. This is a roast you could easily make any day of the week and any meat-eater would certainly enjoy this.

Stuffed Roast

To follow the center cut roast, Alton prepped his recipe for the small head roast (1 to 1.5 lb) portion of the loin. I prepared this for dinner on Father’s Day. To begin, slice open the head roast, creating a pocket. Open the roast and place a few more slices internally, slicing it “like a book.” Brush the inside of the roast with olive oil and season it with Kosher salt and pepper.

Head roast split open, and more cuts added internally. Brushed with oil and seasoned with Kosher salt and pepper.

Sear the roast on both sides on a hot grill pan that has been sprinkled with Kosher salt. Let the roast rest for 15 minutes after searing.

Head roast on hot grill pan to sear.

Stuff the roast with three ounces of blue cheese, roll the roast up, and secure it with butcher’s twine.

Head roast after cooling.

Head roast stuffed with blue cheese.

Head roast stuffed with blue cheese, rolled, and tied.

Place a probe thermometer in the center of the roast and cook the roast in the oven at 450 degrees until the thermometer reaches 125 degrees.

Head roast in 450 degree oven until reaching 125 in the center.

Remove the roast from the oven, cover it with foil, and let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Head roast resting in foil for 15 minutes.

Head roast, ready to be sliced.

Alton’s stuffed tenderloin.

This was delicious, especially if you like blue cheese. As Alton said, the idea with this recipe was to put the sauce on the inside of the meat… and it works. The meat came out pink and juicy and the cheese was melting in the center. This is another fantastic roast recipe that requires very little effort and produces great results.

Carpaccio

I love carpaccio. Although the idea of raw meat may scare some people, I encourage you to give it a try. I had previously only had carpaccio in restaurants, and I likely would never have made it at home if were not for this project. To make Alton’s carpaccio, you will need a small tip portion from a beef tenderloin. Wrap the meat in plastic and place it in the freezer for two hours, or until it is quite firm.

Tenderloin tip wrapped in plastic and heading to freezer for 2 hours.

Leaving the plastic on, slice the meat as thinly as possible with a very sharp knife; I actually removed the plastic for slicing, as I found that the plastic really got in the way.

Slicing meat after freezing.

Spritz a counter top with water and place a layer of plastic wrap down. Spritz the top of the plastic and add the meat slices, overlapping them slightly to form a “disc of meat.” Spritz the meat again and fold the plastic over the top of the meat, sandwiching the meat between the plastic layers.

Sliced meat forming a disc on plastic wrap.

Meat topped with plastic.

Spritz the top layer of plastic one final time. Set a pie tin on top of the plastic and pound it with a mallet until the meat is very thin.

Tin placed on top of meat and mallet used to pound the meat.

Meat after pounding.

Remove the top layer of plastic and invert a plate on top of the meat. Slide your hand under the meat and invert the meat back onto the top of the plate.

Inverting meat onto plate.

Peel off the remaining plastic, leaving the meat on the plate. Chill the meat until eating.

Carpaccio, inverted onto plate.

To serve the carpaccio, dress it with good olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper, lemon juice, shaved Parmesan, and greens. I also added some capers for good measure.

Alton’s carpaccio.

I served the carpaccio with good crackers. I honestly did not think homemade carpaccio would measure up to what I’ve had in restaurants, but Alton’s carpaccio was just as good as anything I’ve eaten out. Now, of course, this was using high-quality beef. This would make a great appetizer to serve to guests, as it is really quite simple to prepare, but is a restaurant-quality dish. Great recipe!

Chain of Bull Cheese Steaks

The final recipe of the tenderloin recipes uses the “chain” part of the loin to make cheesesteak sandwiches. We ate these sandwiches just last night for dinner. I had frozen my chain and pulled it out to thaw a couple days ago. To make these sandwiches, trim the chain of any excess fat and place it between sheets of plastic wrap that have been spritzed with water.

The chain portion.

The chain portion placed in plastic.

Pound the meat with a mallet until it is even in thickness for its whole length.

The chain portion placed in plastic and pounded until thin.

Place the meat in a bowl and add olive oil, Kosher salt, and pepper. Toss the meat to coat.

Chain placed in bowl and seasoned with olive oil, Kosher salt, and pepper.

Heat a grill pan until it is hot and sear the meat on all sides for about eight minutes total.

Seared chain.

Remove the hot meat from the pan and wrap it tightly in foil. Add some additional olive oil to the grill pan and add one julienned onion. Cook the onion until is golden brown and soft.

Seared chain wrapped in foil to rest.

Onion added to oiled grill.

Finely chop the cooked meat and pack it onto hoagie rolls.

Chopped chain meat.

Top the meat with shredded Mimolette cheese and the warm onions. I could not find Mimolette cheese locally, so I opted for shredded Cheddar. And, we added a little bit of hot Giardiniera.

Alton’s cheese steak sandwich.

I know people are picky about their cheesesteak sandwiches, and I am a complete novice. All I can say is that the meat was very tender and the warm onions melted the cheese just enough to kind of bind everything together. I did appreciate the little punch of heat from the Giardiniera, so I would personally opt for that again, though some may view that as sacrilegious. I found this to be a really tasty sandwich. Is it a true Philly-style cheesesteak sandwich? Well, that’s a question for those more experienced than I.

Episode 141 – “Tender is the Loin I”

Posted: June 11, 2020 in Season 9
Tags: alton brown, beef, butcher, butterflied, cognac, filet, flambe, good eats, meat, pepper, poivre, protein, steak, steak au poivre, tenderloin

I’ve mentioned previously that my dear dad was a big Good Eats fan also, but he primarily watched for education. He would adopt a lot of Alton’s kitchen hacks along the way, and occasionally an episode would grab his attention enough that he would actually run to the store and try his hand at a recipe or two. Well, the 141st episode is one that got Dad really excited because it involves purchasing a whole beef tenderloin and butchering it at home into several cuts; as a surgeon, Dad was obviously proficient at such things, and he also really enjoyed learning new skills for himself. It’s also cheaper to do the butchering at home.

There is only one recipe in this episode, but prior to doing any cooking, Alton took to his demonstrations of butchering a tenderloin. When purchasing a whole tenderloin from a store such as Costco, you will want to look for a loin that has been peeled of extra fat and has the side muscle on. Apparently, this is called a PSMO (pronounced “pismo”) in the butchery world. It took a couple weeks for us to be able to find a whole tenderloin at Costco, as there was a bit of a meat shortage for a while, and when we did find one it was more expensive than normal.

When ready to begin cutting, rinse the whole tenderloin under water and let it drain in the sink for a few minutes.

Whole beef tenderloin.

Place the loin on a long cutting board (I had to overlap two boards) with the vertebral/rough side down and the wide end away from you. If there is a large white membrane visible on the top of the meat, tear/peel/cut the membrane away to expose the tenderloin underneath. My tenderloin did not have much of this membrane.

Next, you will notice that the meat is composed of three distinct portions – the long tenderloin in the center and two additional muscles that are attached. The long thin muscle on the side of the tenderloin will come off next; it is easiest to do this by cutting from the thin end to the wide end. Once removed, set this “chain” muscle aside. This meat will be used to make Philly cheesesteak sandwiches in the next tenderloin episode.

Whole beef tenderloin. You can see the chain muscle running along the top and the small head muscle at the bottom of the wide end of the loin.

Here, the chain has been removed – to be used later for cheesesteak sandwiches. The head muscle will be cut off next – you can see it starting to separate now.

Flip the tenderloin over and remove any excess fat, shaving it off with a sharp knife running toward you. Your loin will have some silver skin on it, which is the tough, shimmery band of connective tissue that is inedible. If you have a boning knife, insert its tip under the band of silver skin, perpendicular to the loin, and lift the silver skin up. Place your finger under the silver skin and pull it tight as you slide the knife away from you to remove the silver skin. Discard all of the silver skin.

Since you have now removed the “chain” muscle from the loin, you will notice that you now have the main tenderloin and a small muscle that attaches to the wide end of the loin. Remove this small “head” muscle, setting it aside. This muscle will be used to make a stuffed tenderloin roast in the next tenderloin episode.

To portion the remaining meat, you will want to use a long slicing knife. Alton prefers to use a Granton knife, which has a long dimpled blade. I don’t have a Granton knife, so I used my sharpest chef’s knife. Without sawing through the meat, slice off the tip portion of the narrow end of the loin. Set this piece aside to make beef carpaccio later. Still working from the narrow end of the loin, use a ruler to cut a three-inch portion; this will be a butterflied filet because it is cut from a skinnier part of the tenderloin. To butterfly this piece, cut it almost all the way through at its center and fold it open to bring the sides together – you should now have a filet that is about 1.5 inches thick. The cut sides will now form the flat top of the filet.

Butterflied filet at the top and other filet below.

Next, cut three more filets, each 1.5 inches thick. We’ll get to cooking the filets soon here.

Butchered tenderloin. Top left is chain muscle for cheesesteak sandwiches. Below that is a portion that will be used for a stuffed roast. Then there are the four filets (the top one is the butterflied one), and the small piece of meat in the upper right corner is for carpaccio.

You should be left with a remaining center hunk of tenderloin that is about 1-1.5 pounds. This piece will also be used later in the next tenderloin episode to make a center cut tenderloin roast.

Butchered tenderloin. The meat in the upper left is the head muscle that is for a stuffed roast.

Butchered tenderloin. The meat in the upper left is the head muscle that is for a stuffed roast. Below that is meat for carpaccio. The meat at the top of the picture is the chain for cheesteaks. Below that is a center cut roast. Then you have the four filets.

At this point, if you plan to use the meat soon, you can double wrap it in plastic and store it in your refrigerator. For longer storage, vacuum seal the meat and stick it in the freezer.

Steak au Poivre

After portioning that entire tenderloin, this episode only provides a recipe for the four filet portions of the loin. The remaining cuts of meat will be used in the second tenderloin episode, which, oddly, is not the next episode. Instead, there is a cocktail episode that separates the two tenderloin episodes. It seems really silly to me that the two tenderloin episodes didn’t air back-to-back since the second episode is a continuation of the first. So, yeah, I froze most of the meat I cut from my tenderloin. The filets, though, I did not freeze, but rather used to make Alton’s steak au poivre. I only cooked two filets, though, instead of four. For four filets, you want to first grind 2 T of black pepper; you want this pepper to be very coarsely ground. If your pepper mill doesn’t do a very coarse grind, place the whole peppercorns in a pie tin, top them with a towel, and crush them with a mallet. Season your four room temperature filets with Kosher salt on both sides.

Filets (the right filet is the larger butterflied one) seasoned with Kosher salt.

Then, press the filets into the ground pepper on both the top and bottom sides.

Filets (the right filet is the larger butterflied one) seasoned with Kosher salt and pressed into coarse black pepper.

Place a 10″ skillet (NOT non-stick) over medium-high heat, adding 1 T butter and 1 t olive oil (not extra virgin).

Butter and olive oil in pan.

When the fat just starts to color and you see a tiny bit of smoke, add the steaks to the pan, cooking them for four minutes per side for medium rare. I did not do the best job with butterflying my one filet, so it ended up being considerably larger than my other three filets. Since Ted likes his steak a little less cooked than I do, I figured I would cook the larger one for Ted simultaneously with a smaller filet for me, and they would be done around the same time.

Filets in pan for four minutes on each side.

Steaks, flipped to the other side.

Transfer the steaks to a warm plate on a heating pad and cover them with foil.

Filets after cooking for four minutes per side. Transferred to plate on heating pad.

Filets after cooking for four minutes per side. Transferred to plate on heating pad and covered with foil.

Pour any remaining fat out of the pan (my pan had none), leaving the solids. Set the pan over high heat.

Pan after removing steaks.

Turn the burner OFF and add 1/3 C of Cognac to the pan. Use a lighter to carefully ignite the alcohol.

Cognac added to pan and ignited.

When the flames have dissipated, place the pan back over medium heat and scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan with a whisk. Add 1 C heavy cream, bringing it to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the sauce over low heat until it has thickened to your desired consistency. Taste the sauce and adjust for seasoning with Kosher salt and pepper. Stir in 1/2 to 1 t additional Cognac.

Pan after flames have dissipated.

Cream added to the pan.

Add the warm steaks back to the pan and turn them to coat with the sauce.

Steaks added back to the pan with the sauce.

Steak after coating with the sauce.

Serve the steaks immediately.

Alton’s steak au poivre.

I don’t cook steaks often, and I always really worry about overcooking them, especially when they are good cuts of meat. I cooked my steaks for four minutes on each side and they ended up being a bit underdone, unfortunately. I chose to use a pan of my parents’ that I really am not familiar with, so maybe I should have gone with my cast iron instead? I think an extra minute of cooking on each side would probably have worked very well in the pan I used. The pepper crust on the meat was fantastic and the meat almost melted in your mouth. The sauce was rich without being heavy, and the Cognac gave the sauce a little sweetness to contrast with the heat of the black pepper. This really was quite delicious. If only I had cooked my steaks just a tiny bit longer…

Episode 136 – “Great Balls of Meat”

Posted: March 28, 2020 in Season 9
Tags: alton brown, beef, dinner, good eats, gravy, ground beef, ground lamb, ground pork, lamb, meat, meatball, pork, protein, Swedish

My dad’s funeral was a year ago yesterday, and I can’t help but imagine what he’d be saying in these crazy times. Hell, if he had died this year, would we even be allowed to have a funeral? If he were here, I would probably be steering him toward Alton’s live YouTube cooking videos he’s been doing alongside his wife. These videos are sort of like the “Pantry Raid” series within Good Eats, as Alton and his wife raid their pantry to assemble a dinner on a particular evening during our quarantine. We have sort of been cooking in a similar manner; for tonight, I decided to feed my sourdough starter, so I’m also making sourdough pizza crust that we’ll top with some frozen sauce and whatever toppings we have on-hand.

If you happen to have meat you need/want to use up, the recipes from the 136th episode of Good Eats could be suitable to make during this time. Both of the recipes in this episode are for meatballs and make enough to serve a family, likely with some leftovers. For the two of us, we were able to get at least two dinners out of both of these recipes.

Baked Meatballs

Alton’s baked meatballs are best mixed one day prior to eating, though you can get by with making them an hour before serving. Place the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl: 1/2 pound ground lamb, 1/2 pound ground pork, 1/2 pound ground beef, 1/2 t red pepper flakes, 1 1/2 t dried parsley, 1 1/2 t dried basil, 1 t garlic powder, 1 t Kosher salt, 1/2 C grated Parmesan, 1 egg, 1/4 C bread crumbs, and 5 ounces of frozen spinach that has been thawed/squeezed.

Ground lamb, ground pork, ground beef, red pepper flakes, dried parsley, dried basil, garlic powder, Kosher salted, grated Parmesan, an egg, thawed frozen spinach, and bread crumbs in mixing bowl.

Using gloved hands, use your fingertips to thoroughly mix all of the ingredients. Refrigerate the meat mixture for 1-24 hours.

Meatball mixture after tossing with gloved hands.

Meatball mixture after chilling for a day.

After chilling, portion the meat into 1.5 ounce portions, placing them on a parchment-lined sheet pan (Alton used a disher for this, but I just used my hands and my scale). When all of the meat has been portioned, roll the meat into balls with gloved hands.

Meat portioned into 1.5 ounce portions and shaped into balls.

Place 1/4 C of bread crumbs in a ramekin or small bowl and add a meatball, shaking the ramekin to roll the ball in the crumbs. Place the bread crumb-coated meatball back on the baking sheet and continue this process until all of the meatballs have been coated in crumbs.

Rolling meatballs in bread crumbs.

Set your oven to preheat to 400 degrees and place the meatballs in miniature muffin tin cups.

Crumb-coated meatballs placed in mini muffin tins to bake.

Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes.

Meatballs after baking.

Alton recommends serving his meatballs alongside pasta that has been tossed with olive oil, fresh herbs, and Parmesan, so that is how we enjoyed our meatballs.

Alton’s baked meatballs served over pasta with olive oil, fresh herbs, and Parmesan.

These meatballs are excellent. The combination of meats results in meatballs that are extra flavorful and not overly dense; I like the subtle gamey flavor that comes from the lamb. Rolling the meatballs in the breadcrumbs gives the meatballs a little extra crunch, as opposed to just adding the breadcrumbs as a filler. Normally, when cooking meatballs on a baking sheet, they sit in puddles of fat and end up with flat bottoms. Baking the meatballs in the mini muffin tins is genius because the meatballs sit above the fat as it drains away, and the meatballs retain a perfectly round shape. I plan to use mini muffin tins whenever I make baked meatballs in the future. This is one of those simple, classic recipes that Alton has just made better.

Swedish Meatballs

I recall my mom making Swedish meatballs sometimes when my parents would host parties. My parents had an old chafing dish that I’m sure belonged to one of their mothers, and which now resides in our basement. My mom would set out a small dish of toothpicks with those decorative cellophane curls on one end, and guests would stab and nibble to their heart’s content. My mom’s Swedish meatballs were pretty darn delicious, and I’m guessing her recipe may have come from The Joy of Cooking, though I’ll have to ask her to be sure. My brother happened to give me a new copy of The Joy of Cooking for Christmas (I also have my parents’ old versions), so I compared their recipe to that of Alton, and I can attest that they are incredibly similar. In this time of social distancing, why not whip up a batch of these meatballs to enjoy alongside a “quarantini” or three? It is, after all, the weekend.

To make Alton’s Swedish meatballs, tear two pieces of white sandwich bread into chunks and place them in a bowl. Pour 1/4 C of milk over the milk and toss to coat. Set the bread aside to soak.

Sweat 1/2 C of onion in 1 T clarified butter (Alton explained how to clarify butter in his mushroom episode), adding a pinch of Kosher salt. Next, put 3/4 pound ground chuck in the bowl of a stand mixer, along with 3/4 pound ground pork, the milk-soaked bread from earlier, the onion, two egg yolks, 1 t Kosher salt, 1/2 t pepper, 1/4 t nutmeg, and 1/4 t allspice.

Ground chuck, ground pork, soaked bread, sauteed onion, egg yolks, Kosher salt, pepper, nutmeg, and allspice in bowl of stand mixer.

Using the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on medium for two minutes.

Paddle attachment to beat meatball mixture for two minutes.

Meat mixture after beating for 2 minutes.

Using a scale, portion the meat into one ounce portions, rolling them lightly with gloved hands and placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Meat portioned into 1 oz balls.

If you have an electric skillet, set the skillet to 250 degrees and add 2 T clarified butter. If you do not have an electric skillet (I don’t), you can use a large skillet over medium heat. Either way, add the meatballs to the pan, turning them often with tongs until they are cooked through, which should take 7-10 minutes; you may need to do this in batches.

Meatballs browning in clarified butter.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked meatballs to an oven-proof casserole dish. Cover the dish and place it in a warm oven while you make the sauce.

Cooked meatballs transferred to casserole dish to keep warm in oven.

Sift 1/4 C flour over the juices in the pan and stir it in. Add 3 C beef broth and 1/4 C heavy cream, and increase the heat. Bring the liquid to a simmer and continue to let the sauce simmer until it has thickened, keeping in mind that the sauce will thicken more as it cools.

Flour, beef broth, and cream added to pan juices.

Sauce simmering to thicken.

When the sauce has reached your desired consistency, add the warm meatballs back to the sauce.

Meatballs added back to sauce.

Place the meatballs and sauce in a chafing dish if you plan to serve them over a long period. Of course, if you do not have a chafing dish, Alton has you covered with a method of making your own. First, set down three strips of shelf liner, forming a triangle shape. Next, place a brick on top of each piece of shelf liner, forming a triangle of bricks. Place a fuel can in the center of the brick triangle and place a second layer of bricks on top of the first; the second triangle should face the opposite direction of the first triangle. Light the fuel can and place a water-filled cake pan on top. Place a pie plate full of Swedish meatballs so it nests in the water, and you have a chafing dish. We ate these meatballs as our dinner for a couple nights, eating them with some side dishes.

Alton’s Swedish meatballs.

While this recipe did remind me a great deal of my mom’s, I wish I had cooked the sauce a little longer, as my sauce was a little thinner than I would have preferred. Still, the sauce was very rich from the pan juices and the cream, and the nutmeg and allspice in the meatballs gave hints of warmth and spice . Swedish meatballs are not the prettiest food, but they are rich little morsels and a great contribution to any potluck… or quarantine happy hour.

Episode 134 – “Pantry Raid V: Good Wine Gone Bad”

Posted: February 28, 2020 in Season 9
Tags: alton brown, beef, bottom round, entree, gingersnap, good eats, grilled, lettuce, marinade, protein, roast, romaine, salad, sauerbraten, vinegar

This was a fun episode for me to do, as vinegar was the star of the show. For as long as I can remember, I have loved all things vinegar-based. I absolutely loved to arrive at my grandparents’ house in Baltimore because my grandma always had a bag or two of Utz Salt and Vinegar potato chips waiting for me. I was also the weird kid in elementary school whose mom would pack pickled eggs in her lunch. I had discovered pickled eggs at our local Blimpie, and my mom and I would each get two eggs with a basket of pretzels. To this day, I still love pickled eggs, but, as Alton would say, “That’s another blog.”

Grilled Romaine

An interesting grilled romaine salad is first in this episode. The night before you want to serve this salad, place a metal loaf pan in your freezer and add 1/2 C red wine vinegar. Let the vinegar freeze overnight. This will be enough vinegar for four servings. When you are ready to prep the salad, cut the bottom off of two hears of romaine lettuce and slice them in half lengthwise.

Romaine hearts, halved lengthwise.

You will also need 1 C of finely grated Parmesan, 1 T olive oil, and black pepper. Spray a griddle pan with nonstick spray and preheat it over medium-high heat. Brush the cut sides of the romaine hearts with olive oil and generously grind pepper on top.

Romaine hearts, halved lengthwise, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with black pepper.

Place the grated Parmesan in a long, shallow baking dish and dip/press the oiled sides of the romaine into the cheese.

Grated Parmesan in baking dish.

Romaine hearts after dipping/pressing into grated Parmesan.

Place the romaine hearts, cheese side down, on the preheated griddle and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and crispy.

Romaine hearts placed cheese side down on lubed pan.

Remove the lettuce from the hot pan. Alton tells you here to place the grilled lettuce (cheese side up) on ice, as you want the lettuce to have a dichotomy of temperatures; I did not find this to be necessary as the non-grilled side of the lettuce was still cool after such a short cooking period. Remove your frozen vinegar from the freezer and scrape it with a fork to “fluff” it up. Sprinkle the frozen vinegar on top of the warm cheese and serve immediately.

Grilled Romaine topped with flaked frozen vinegar.

Alton recommends picking up the whole salad and eating it like a hot dog. This recipe is good and bad. The recipe is flawed when it comes to the application of the cheese to the lettuce, as the cheese does not adhere well when you apply it to the oiled lettuce, and most of the cheese sticks to the pan when you cook it. Ted suggested making Alton’s Parmesan crisps from episode 113, molding them over the top of the grilled lettuce. Otherwise, you could place the cheesy lettuce under the broiler for a couple minutes. Either way, Alton’s technique in this recipe just really does not work well. That being said, the salad itself was fun to eat, as I really liked the contrasting flavors and temperatures. The frozen vinegar is super intense, packing a real zing of flavor, and its contrast with the warm cheese and lettuce is interesting to the palate. Technique flaws aside, this was just a fun recipe to try out.

Sauerbraten

The Sauerbraten recipe in this episode was the one I was super excited to make. Why? Until a few years ago, my parents lived two hours from me. We visited them regularly and my mom would always make some stellar food. For years she told me she wanted to make Sauerbraten for Ted and me, but she never ended up doing it before she was unable to cook. Although I did not get to eat Sauerbraten with my mom, this was my chance to finally try Sauerbraten, and to talk to my mom about the recipe. Sauerbraten translates to “sour beef,” and this is a recipe that, although simple, requires a few days. First up, combine in a large saucepan: 2 C water, 1 C cider vinegar, 1 C red wine vinegar, 1 chopped medium onion, 1 large chopped carrot, 1 T plus 1 t Kosher salt, 1/2 t pepper, 2 bay leaves, 6 whole cloves, 12 juniper berries, and 1 t mustard seed.

Water, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, Kosher salt, pepper, bay leaves, cloves, juniper berries, and mustard seed in a saucepan.

Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, decrease the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Set this liquid aside to cool until it is just slightly warm to the touch.

Vinegar mixture being brought to a boil.

Vinegar mixture, after simmering for 10 minutes.

While the vinegar mixture cools rub a 3 1/2- 4 pound bottom round with 1 T vegetable oil and sprinkle Kosher salt liberally over the meat.

Bottom round, rubbed with oil and sprinkled with Kosher salt.

Sear the meat in a hot pan on all sides, using tongs to flip it. Once all the sides of the meat are browned, place the meat inside the marinade and let it sit at room temperature for an hour. Alton placed his meat directly into his saucepan, but my saucepan was not large enough to accommodate my roast. Instead, I transferred my meat and my marinade to a large plastic container. Regardless of what vessel you use, you want the meat to be as submerged as possible.

Meat, searing in a hot pan.

Seared beef placed in a large container.

Cooled marinade poured over beef.

Place the meat into the refrigerator and leave it for 3-5 days (preferably five). If your meat is not completely submerged in the marinade, flip the meat over once per day. After five days have passed, remove the meat from the marinade and whisk 1/3 C sugar into the marinade. If your marinade is not already in an oven-safe vessel, transfer it to one now.

Meat after marinading for five days.

Meat removed from liquid and liquid poured into Dutch oven.

Sugar added to marinade.

Add the meat back to the marinade, place a lid on the pot, and place it in a 325 degree oven for four hours, or until the meat is tender.

Meat added back to marinade and placed in the oven for four hours.

Meat after cooking for four hours.

After cooking, remove the meat from the liquid, keeping it warm; I tented my meat under foil. Strain the cooking liquid, discarding the solids. At this point, you can add 1/2 C raisins, but I did as Alton did and opted to leave them out. Place the strained liquid over medium-high heat and whisk in five ounces of gingersnap crumbs (a food processor works best for this).

Cooking liquid.

Crushed gingersnaps.

Cooking liquid, strained into saucier.

Gingersnaps added to liquid and cooked until thickened.

Whisk the sauce until it has thickened and serve it over the sliced beef.

Alton’s Sauerbraten.

Alternatively, you can shred the meat and serve it on Kaiser rolls with the sauce, though this is not a traditional presentation. Sauerbraten is certainly not a pretty dish, but it does have a great deal of flavor. The meat is falling apart by the end of the cooking and has quite a pronounced vinegar flavor, which is interesting. The sauce is pretty rich and is a mixture of sweet and sour flavors. I actually found that the sauce could easily overwhelm the meat, so I used only a little bit of sauce. We ate this for dinner two nights, serving it slice the first night and as sandwiches for the second night, and we liked it both ways. Mom said this recipe was very similar to hers, as her recipe also used gingersnaps to thicken the sauce. This is a very easy German recipe that is fun to make at home, and I’m so glad I finally got to try Sauerbraten

Episode 129 – “Urban Preservation II: The Jerky”

Posted: August 27, 2019 in Season 9
Tags: alton brown, beef, camping, dehydrated, dinner, dried, flank steak, good eats, jerky, marinade, marinated, meat, pasta, protein, sauce, snack, tomato

We sat down last night and watched the first two new episodes of Good Eats: The Return. I was really happy with the episodes, as they seemed to maintain the original character of the show, while in a more modern setting. It was a little hard for me to watch the new episodes since my dad is no longer here; he was super excited when I told him last year that new episodes were on the horizon. We surely would have been chatting on the phone today about Alton’s newest recipes.

I have realized that I think I sometimes put off writing for this project because it does always remind me that my dad is not here. I shared my love of Good Eats, and food in general, more with him than with anyone else. I think, though, that it is time for me to alter my mindset, and view each part of this project as an ode to Dad. He would have wanted me to continue on with vigor, so it’s time to hold myself to it.

In other news, I am officially 34 weeks pregnant, and things will soon be very busy and different in our house. I feel much of the time like a beached whale, so I am fast approaching the point of being ready for the baby to be out. A few more weeks of baking are good though, I know. Speaking of baking, onto the food…

Beef Jerky

I love when this project leads me to make things I have never attempted before, and this episode’s beef jerky was just that. Alton’s jerky uses 1.5-2 pounds of flank steak, which you will want to place in a plastic bag in the freezer until it is almost solid.

Flank steak before freezing.

Once the beef is nearly solid, use a Santoku or chef’s knife to cut the meat into thin strips along the grain; don’t worry if some of the strips are larger than others – just follow the natural grain of the meat.

Flank steak after freezing.

Strips of flank steak, cut along the grain.

Place the meat strips in a large plastic bag and add the following ingredients: 2/3 C soy sauce, 2/3 C Worcestershire sauce, 1 T honey, 2 t black pepper, 2 t onion powder, 1 t red pepper flakes, and 1 t liquid smoke (I combined my marinade ingredients in a liquid measuring cup first).

Marinade ingredients: soy sauce, liquid smoke, honey, onion powder, pepper, red pepper flakes, and Worcestershire sauce.

Honey being added to soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, onion powder, red pepper flakes, and liquid smoke.

Meat strips placed in a large plastic bag.

Marinade poured over meat.

Seal the bag, and massage the bag with your hands, working the marinade thoroughly into the meat. Place the meat in the refrigerator for three to six hours.

Marinade massaged into beef, and placed in the refrigerator for 3-6 hours.

After marinating, drain the meat, discarding the excess marinade.

Beef after marinating.

Beef drained after marinating.

Pat the meat dry with paper towels.

Beef patted dry.

Now it is time to dry the beef. To dry the beef Alton’s way, place the meat strips on the ridges of clean furnace filters, stacking the filters on top of each other, and placing a final clean filter on top. Using a bungee cord, strap the filters to a box fan. Turn the fan on, and allow the meat to dry until jerky-like, which Alton says should take 8-12 hours. Rather than buying a bunch of new supplies, I opted to use my mom’s old food dehydrator, following the manufacturer’s instructions for jerky.

Beef strips placed in dehydrator.

I found that my jerky was done after about 13 hours of drying, and that was with a temperature of 145 degrees, so I have to imagine that Alton’s cool air method of drying would take considerably longer.

Beef strips placed in dehydrator, and temperature set for 145.

Jerky after drying for about 13 hours.

Alton’s beef jerky.

The marinade for this jerky is amazing, and produced maybe the most flavor-packed jerky I have ever tasted. Some of the jerky strips that had more fat were a little more on the chewy side, so I liked the leaner ones better. With being pregnant, they tell you that you should avoid eating dried meat, so I only tasted the jerky (this is probably overkill). I do plan to make more of this jerky once I am not pregnant, as we both really liked it and it is much cheaper than purchasing commercial jerky. I recommend this recipe for sure.

Jerky Tomato Sauce

Aside from snacking on jerky, you can also use it as an ingredient, as Alton did in his tomato sauce. Jerky was, afterall, made originally as a means of preservation. Alton made his sauce on a camping stove in a tent, and you surely could make this in camping circumstances, but I made it for a regular weeknight meal. To make his sauce, use kitchen shears to cut 3-4 ounces of your homemade jerky into small pieces.

Four ounces of homemade jerky.

Four ounces of homemade jerky, cut into small pieces.

Place the jerky pieces in a bowl and pour 1+ C of boiling water over them, setting the jerky aside.

Boiling water poured over chopped jerky.

Next, heat a medium saucier or skillet over medium heat, adding 1 T vegetable oil, 1/2 C chopped onion, 1/2 C chopped green bell pepper, and a pinch of Kosher salt. Let the vegetables sweat for 4-5 minutes, or until soft.

Vegetable oil, onion, green bell pepper, and Kosher salt in a medium saucier.

Add two cloves of minced garlic to the pan, cooking for two more minutes.

Two cloves of garlic added to the softened veggies.

Add the jerky and its soaking liquid, a 14.5 ounce can of chopped tomatoes, and 1/4 C heavy cream.

Jerky and soaking liquid added to the pan.

Tomatoes in the pan.

Tomatoes in the pan, along with heavy cream.

Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring. Sprinkle in some dried parsley (I used fresh), and simmer the sauce until it has reduced to your desired consistency.

Heat increased and bringing the sauce to a boil.

Chopped parsley added.

Serve the jerky sauce over pasta, rice, or biscuits. I served Alton’s jerky sauce over pasta, adding some freshly grated Parmesan.

Reduced sauce served over pasta.

We liked this sauce more than I thought we would, to be honest. I initially thought this would be just another tomato sauce, but the jerky really did add a lot of flavor, making a sauce that was fairly interesting and with some added meaty flavor. I still don’t know that I would go out of my way to make this again, but for a convenience meal it was really quite good. Should you happen to find yourself with some extra jerky lying around, this is certainly a good use for it.

Episode 128 – “Dis-Kabob-Ulated”

Posted: July 31, 2019 in Season 9
Tags: alton brown, beef, dessert, fruit, good eats, grill, kabob, kebab, lime, marinade, meat, pineapple, sirloin, skewer, spicy, syrup, vanilla

Recent happenings have caused me to fall way behind on this blog, which actually provides a great distraction at times. After feeling “off” a couple weeks ago, I ended up having various tests done, which led to a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia last week, which can be a life-threatening pregnancy complication. I am currently 30 weeks pregnant, and I am being tested/monitored weekly, with a goal of taking the pregnancy to 37 weeks before delivery. It all depends on how my body handles things in the coming weeks, but I am unfortunately facing the reality that I will be delivering this baby early; it is just a question of how early.

I made the recipes in this episode quite a while ago actually, but am only now sitting down to finally write. My newest lab results should be in today or tomorrow, so I am trying to distract myself in the meantime. Since this is sort of a summery episode, I figured I’d better get on it while the warm weather is still here! The recipes from this episode are great to make on a hot evening because they are both grilling recipes and thus won’t heat up the house.

Spicy Beef Kebabs

First up, Alton makes beef kebabs in this episode. You will want your meat to sit in the marinade for 2-4 hours before grilling, so be sure to allow adequate time for marination. To make the marinade, combine 3 cloves of garlic, 2 t smoked paprika, 1/2 t turmeric, 1 t cumin, 1 t Kosher, 1/2 t pepper, and 1/3 C red wine vinegar in the bowl of a food processor.

Ingredients for the marinade: three cloves, smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, Kosher salt, and pepper.

Ingredients for the marinade: three cloves, smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin, Kosher salt, pepper, and red wine vinegar.

Process the marinade until smooth, and then drizzle in 1/2 C olive oil with the machine running.

Drizzling olive oil into the marinade.

Alton’s beef skewer marinade.

For these skewers, Alton recommends using boneless beef sirloin, of which you will need about 1.5 pounds.

Boneless beef sirloin.

Cut the meat into two-inch cubes, place the cubes in a large plastic bag, and pour in the marinade. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and toss the meat to coat thoroughly.

Boneless beef sirloin, cubed.

Marinade poured over beef cubes.

Place the meat in the refrigerator to marinate for 2-4 hours. Before threading his meat onto skewers, Alton likes to pre-arrange his meat on a sheet pan, placing cubes of similar sizes on the same skewers for even cooking.

Beef after marinating for several hours. Pieces of meat arranged such that pieces of similar size go on the same skewer.

Once your meat is sorted, thread the meat onto metal grilling skewers, placing about five or six pieces on each skewer; leave about a half inch of space between the meat cubes.

Beef cubes threaded onto metal skewers.

To grill the skewers, first be sure that your grill grates are pretty clean and preheat your gas grill to medium-high. Place the skewers on the grill, rotating them every two minutes for a total cook time of eight to 12 minutes. For this cut of beef, Alton prefers his meat to be cooked to medium doneness, which should take about 12 minutes.

Skewers on the grill.

Skewers, rotating every two minutes.

Alton’s beef skewers, cooked and ready to rest in foil.

The beef from Alton’s skewers.

When done grilling, wrap the hot skewers in foil and let them rest for a few minutes before eating. To cook the skewers on a charcoal grill, remove the grate and place four bricks around the center mound of charcoal. Rest the skewers on the bricks, suspending the meat above the hot charcoal. I cooked my skewers for the full twelve minutes recommended by Alton, and I thought the meat was a tad bit chewy. The marinade for this recipe was excellent, however, and made the meat super flavorful. I could see using this marinade for a variety of meat preparations. This recipe made for a quick, easy, flavorful meal. My only gripe was that the meat was a little bit too chewy, so I might try cooking the meat a little less next time.

Vanilla Lime Pineapple Skewers

If you are looking for a side dish for your beef kebabs, or for a dessert to follow, Alton has you covered with his pineapple skewers. Begin by splitting a vanilla bean in half and scraping out the seeds/pulp. Reserve the bean. Place 1 C dark brown sugar, 1/2 C lime juice, a pinch of Kosher salt, and the vanilla pulp/pod in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.

A vanilla bean.

Dark brown sugar, lime juice, Kosher salt, and vanilla bean.

Whisk the mixture until the brown sugar dissolves. Once dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to steep for two hours. After steeping, remove the vanilla pod and discard it.

Whisked until the sugar dissolved.

Syrup, set aside to steep.

Cooled syrup after removing vanilla bean.

Transfer the cooled syrup to a plastic squeeze bottle. Next, prepare your pineapple by cutting the top and bottom off of the fruit. Stand the fruit on one end and cut the pineapple into quarters. Lay the pineapple quarters down and cut them in half, creating eighths. Cut the core off of each eighth of pineapple, discarding it. Finally, use a sharp knife to fillet the pineapple off of its skin.

Pineapple cut into eighths.

Thread each eighth of pineapple onto a metal grilling skewer, squirt them with the vanilla syrup, and grill them for four minutes per side, for a total of 12 minutes. As you grill the fruit, squirt it occasionally with the vanilla syrup.

Pineapple threaded onto skewers.

Vanilla syrup squirted onto pineapple.

Horrible photograph, but grilling the pineapple for four minutes on each side.

Alton’s grilled pineapple.

Serve the pineapple warm. This was a fun, summery dessert that was easy to prepare. The pineapple softened and became sweeter, and its flavor was complimented nicely by the flavors in the syrup. The lime juice added a nice tartness to an otherwise very sweet syrup. You could certainly use this syrup on other fruits also, or you could simply take Alton’s suggestion and eat the syrup over ice cream. Either way, the syrup is a multitasker!

Special 3 – “Eat this Rock!”

Posted: June 16, 2019 in Specials
Tags: alton brown, beef, cabbage, caraway, Christmas, crustacean, fermented, fingerling, good eats, herb, holiday, meat, potatoes, protein, roasted, salt, sauerkraut, seafood, shrimp, side dish, special, tenderloin, vegetables

Seeing as I am now between seasons eight and nine of Good Eats, I figured this was a good time to do one of the special episodes. It’s hard to believe that I last did a special episode over two years ago! This special was fun for me to do because it was an episode I had never seen before and all four of the recipes were super intriguing. I can say that I have definitely left this episode with some recipes that I will be bookmarking for long-term use/memory, so read on if you want to discover some great food.

Salt Roasted Shrimp

Shrimp are not my favorite protein, but I was still excited about trying this cooking method. The recipe begins with placing two pounds of rock salt in a 9×13″ metal pan. Place two more pounds of rock salt in a metal bowl.

Four pounds of rock salt split between two vessels.

Place the two vessels of salt in a cold oven and set the oven to preheat to 400 degrees. When the oven hits 400, let it continue to heat for an additional 15 minutes.

Four pounds of rock salt split between two vessels, and stuck in a cold oven to preheat to 400.

Once the 15 minutes are up, place a pound of jumbo shrimp on the surface of the salt in the 9×13″ pan and pour the hot salt from the bowl over the top of the shrimp. Smooth the salt over the top of the shrimp and place them back in the oven for 7-8 minutes, or until pink and opaque.

Shrimp placed on top of hot salt in 9x13" pan.

Shrimp placed on top of hot salt in 9×13″ pan.

Shrimp placed on top of hot salt in 9x13" pan, and remaining hot salt poured over top.

Shrimp placed on top of hot salt in 9×13″ pan, and remaining hot salt poured over top.

Shrimp after roasting in salt for 7-8 minutes.

Alton’s salt roasted shrimp.

To rinse off the salt, you can dip the shrimp quickly in white wine. First off, this is about the easiest method of cooking shrimp I’ve ever tried, and I thought the flavor of the shrimp was very positively accentuated by the salt. These shrimp had a sweetness that reminded me more of crab than shrimp, and I really liked it. For whatever reason, my shrimp were extremely difficult to peel, and I don’t know why that was. I really do want to try this method again because these were some of my favorite shrimp I have had, as far as flavor is concerned. The salt did season the shrimp, but not overly so, and I did not even try Alton’s wine rinse step post-cooking. If anyone has a theory as to why my shrimp were so difficult to peel, I’d love to hear it. Aside from the peeling difficulty, this was a fantastic recipe!

Perfect Fingerling Potatoes

I think we have all had potatoes cooked in myriad ways, but I have to say that Alton’s recipe here was a new one for me. For this recipe, place 1 1/4 pounds of Kosher or rock salt in a large pot with two quarts of water and two pounds of fingerling potatoes.

1 1/4 pounds of Kosher salt

1 1/4 pounds of Kosher salt, 2 quarts of water, and 2 pounds of fingerling potatoes.

Bring the whole pot to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are tender enough to pierce with the tip of a sharp paring knife, which took about 20 minutes for my potatoes. Be aware that smaller potatoes will cook faster.

Potatoes, brought to a boil and cooked until tender.

Transfer the cooked potatoes to a rack over a sheet pan. Once all of the potatoes have cooked, serve them with butter and chives.

Cooked potatoes cooling on a rack and forming a salty crust.

Alton’s fingerling potatoes with chives, pepper, and butter.

These potatoes are like a fun science experiment because they transform during cooking, and form a sparkly salt crust as they cool. The insides of the potatoes are perfectly cooked, while the outsides provide the perfect amount of salty seasoning. These are fun, easy, and delicious!

Sauerkraut

I find fermented food fascinating, and the idea of making my own sauerkraut was super exciting to me. Keep in mind that this recipe takes a full month, including the fermentation time. This starts with chopping five pounds of green cabbage and placing the cabbage in a large bowl.

Ready to chop 5 pounds of cabbage.

Add 3 T pickling salt to the cabbage, along with 1 T juniper berries and 2 t caraway seeds. Toss everything together with clean hands. Let the cabbage sit for 10 minutes.

5 pounds of chopped cabbage.

Pickling salt, caraway seeds, and juniper berries added to cabbage.

Cabbage tossed with salt and spices and left to sit for 10 minutes.

Pack the cabbage and any accumulating liquid into a tall plastic container, packing it down.

Cabbage packed into a plastic container.

Alton likes to use a tall plastic container designed for holding a loaf of bread. You want to keep the cabbage free from air, so place some type of lid on the surface of the cabbage. Next, place a weight on top of the lid (Alton uses a mason jar full of water). I read some of the online reviews of this recipe and used ziplock bags full of water, as they also help to form an airtight seal. A layer of plastic wrap also seems to help to keep air out.

Weighing the sauerkraut down with bags of water.

Store the sauerkraut at 65-70 degrees for four weeks. Be sure to check the sauerkraut every couple days and discard any scum from the surface. Alton says you really only need to be concerned about dark-colored mold, and ammonia-like smell, or lots of active bubbling; if you see any of these things, it’s time to start over. Otherwise, your sauerkraut will gradually secrete more liquid, turn yellow, and start to smell sour.

Sauerkraut gradually fermenting over time.

I was out of town for part of my sauerkraut’s fermentation, so I arrived home to sauerkraut that was ready to eat.

Sauerkraut after four weeks of fermentation.

We opted to eat our sauerkraut on bratwursts with mustard, and I was highly impressed.

Sauerkraut served on brats with mustard.

This homemade sauerkraut has much more texture than any you can buy in the store, which I really appreciate. I also really like the pops of spice you get from the caraway seeds and juniper berries, and it has just the right amount of tang. We still have some sauerkraut in our refrigerator right now, as this recipe makes a pretty large amount. Add this one to the list of fun things to try in your spare time, as it really requires almost no effort!

Beef Tenderloin in Salt Crust

Since it’s Father’s Day, it only seems appropriate that this next recipe is one I would love to be able to share with my dad. I’m pretty sure my dad never saw this Good Eats salt episode because he would have jumped all over trying Alton’s beef tenderloin recipe. My dad was always one to test a recipe before trying it for a holiday or occasion, and he likely would have invited me to his house for his test run. Beef tenderloin is always a special occasion meal for us, as it is a pricey cut of meat, but last week we had a delicious tenderloin simply for the sake of this project. For Alton’s tenderloin, you first need to make a salt-based dough. To do this, place 5 C flour, 3 C Kosher salt, 3 T pepper, 1/4 C chopped fresh parsley/thyme/sage, and a mixture of 5 egg whites with 1 1/2 C water in a bowl.

Flour, Kosher salt, pepper, and fresh herbs.

Flour, Kosher salt, pepper, fresh herbs, and a mixture of egg whites and water.

Egg whites and water added to flour/salt mixture.

Use a potato masher to loosely combine the dough, and then mix the dough with your hands until it is smooth and uniform. Place the dough in a plastic bag and let it sit at room temperature for 4-24 hours; according to Alton, if you try to use the dough immediately, it will be a crumbly mess. I opted to make my dough a full 24 hours ahead of time.

Dough after kneading.

Dough in a plastic bag to rest for 4-24 hours.

After your dough has rested, roll the dough to a large rectangle that is 3/16″ thick. You can trim the edges with a pizza cutter to make the dough into a nice rectangle.

Dough after 24 hours.

Next, coat a 6-7 pound beef tenderloin (my tenderloin was in the 3-4 pound range) with ~1 T olive oil and sear the meat until it is browned on all sides; Alton likes to use an electric griddle to sear, but I just used a large skillet.

My 3-4 pound beef tenderloin, brushed with olive oil and ready to be seared.

Searing my beef tenderloin.

Let the tenderloin rest until it is cool to the touch, which took about 20 minutes for my beef.

Letting the seared meat rest until cool to the touch.

Sprinkle the center of your salt dough rectangle with an additional 1/4 C of chopped fresh parsley, thyme, and/or sage, and place your cooled tenderloin on top of the herbs.

Dough rolled into a large rectangle and sprinkled with more fresh herbs.

Cooled tenderloin placed on top of salt dough and herbs.

Fold the dough up over the tenderloin crimping the edges together to create a sealed package. You do not want the dough to be super tight on the meat. Trim the ends of the dough and crimp them up also, and seal any holes with extra dough. Transfer the wrapped tenderloin to a sheet pan and insert a probe thermometer into the center of the beef. My dough stuck to my countertop a bit, so I had to do some mending.

Wrapping the tenderloin in the salt dough.

My wrapped beef tenderloin.

Tenderloin in the oven until it reaches 125 degrees.

Put the beef in a 400 degree oven, letting it cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 125 degrees. Once at 125 degrees, remove the beef from the oven and let it rest for 30-60 minutes.

Tenderloin removed from the oven at 125 degrees.

After resting, slice the meat with a serrated knife and pull the tenderloin out of the salt dough, discarding the dough. Serve the meat immediately.

Tenderloin after resting for 15 minutes.

Alton’s beef tenderloin.

In the episode, Alton appeared to let his tenderloin rest for a full hour, which will result in over-cooked meat. Since the meat is still in its dough envelope, its temperature continues to rise quite quickly after removal from the oven, so I cut my meat after a mere 15 minute rest, and it honestly would have been better a few minutes earlier. Next time, I will probably pull the meat from the oven at 120 degrees, and let it rest until its temperature hits 135-140. I did use a smaller tenderloin than what Alton used and my tenderloin was done after 45 minutes in the oven, so this is a pretty fast cooking method. Aside from those notes, this recipe is awesome. There is a reason Alton stated at the end of this episode that this was his favorite Good Eats beef recipe. I already hope/plan to make this for the next holiday we host, as it is easy, quick, and delicious. The meat comes out of the dough perfectly tender and seasoned to perfection. Seriously, if you want a special beef recipe, make this one. I only wish I could make this for my dad.

Episode 110 – “The Big Chili”

Posted: October 25, 2018 in Season 8
Tags: alton brown, ancho, arbol, beef, cascabel, chile, chili, chili con carne, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, good eats, lamb, meat, peppers, pork, pressure cooker, seasoning, spice

When I began this project, I had to purchase the first couple seasons of Good Eats through Amazon. Shortly after beginning this blog, I set our DVR to record any and all episodes that were airing, building a stockpile. I currently have 135 episodes recorded. Needless to say, I had a little bit of a panic yesterday morning when I discovered that the clock on our DVR was stuck at 2:41 and it was emitting an odd whirring sound. Oh, and the DVR refused to power off. Thankfully, it rebooted just fine after being unplugged for a few minutes. Whew!

Episode 110 is very seasonally appropriate, as chili, to me, is perfect for fall and winter. I got a kick out of this episode because Alton played the role of a cowboy, and remained in character for the duration of the show; I cannot recall another episode in which he did this.

AB’s Chili Powder

If you want to make good chili, you have to start with great chili powder. Thankfully, Alton has a chili powder recipe that you can whip up easily at home. His chili powder starts with three types of dried chiles: ancho chiles, cascabel chiles, and arbol chiles. While I had no trouble finding the ancho and arbol chiles at my regular grocery store, I had to take a trip to our local Mexican grocery store to find the dried cascabels. For a batch of chili powder, you will need three of each type of chile.

Ancho chiles, arbol chiles, and cascabel chiles.

Using scissors, cut the tops off the dried peppers, shaking out the seeds and discarding them; you don’t want the seeds because they add bitterness. Use the scissors to cut the chiles into strips; you can do this straight into a large skillet.

Chiles cut into strips and placed in skillet.

Add 2 T cumin seeds to the pan, setting the pan over medium-high heat. Roast the peppers and cumin seeds until they are fragrant and the cumin seeds begin to pop.

Cumin seeds added to dried chiles.

Chiles and cumin seeds after toasting.

When making this chili powder, your kitchen will smell amazing from the toasted chiles and cumin seeds! Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the chiles/seeds to cool. While the chiles cool, combine 2 T garlic powder, 1 t smoked paprika, and 1 T dried oregano in a blender.

Garlic powder, smoked paprika, and dried oregano in blender carafe.

Add the cooled chile/cumin mixture to the blender and blend the mixture to a fine powder. Be sure to let the powder settle for a couple minutes before removing the lid of the blender.

Dried chiles and cumin seeds added to blender.

Blended chili powder.

Alton’s chili powder.

The finished chili powder is very fragrant and honestly made my mouth water. It has a rich, deep aroma that far surpasses that of store-bought chili powder. Use Alton’s chili powder in any recipe calling for chili powder, such as his chili recipe below.

Pressure Cooker Chili

Alton uses his homemade chili powder to make his version of chili. Yes, Alton uses a pressure cooker to make his chili, but he also gives instructions in the episode for how to adapt this recipe if you do not have a pressure cooker.

Ingredients for Alton’s chili: beer, tomato paste, tortilla chips, chipotles and adobo sauce, salsa, cumin, and chili powder.

Three pounds of stew meat go into this chili, and Alton prefers a blend of beef, lamb, and pork. I could not find lamb stew meat at my store, so I used half beef and half pork. Heat a pressure cooker over high heat until hot.

Heating the pressure cooker.

While the pot heats up, put the stew meat in a large bowl with 1 1/2 t Kosher salt, and toss to coat.

Three pounds of stew meat being tossed with Kosher salt.

Add 2 t peanut oil to the meat, and toss again to coat.

Three pounds of stew meat being tossed with Kosher salt and peanut oil.

Brown the meat in the hot pot, removing it after browning; you will want to do this in three batches, so the pan does not get overcrowded.

Browning stew meat in batches.

When all the meat has been browned, put the empty pot back on the heat and add 12 ounces of medium-bodied beer (I used one of Alton’s beers), scraping to deglaze the pan.

Pot after browning meat.

Beer added to deglaze the pot.

Add 1 T tomato paste to the beer, along with 1 T chili powder, 1 t ground cumin, 3 big handfuls of crumbled tortilla chips, 16 ounces salsa, 2 chopped canned chipotles, 1 T adobo sauce from the chipotles, and the 3 pounds of browned meat.

Tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and tortilla chips added to beer.

Salsa, chipotles, and Adobo sauce added.

Meat added to chili.

Put the lid on the cooker and bring it up to low pressure. Maintain low pressure for 25 minutes before releasing the pressure and serving.

Lid put on pressure cooker.

Chili after cooking for 25 minutes.

Alton thinks this chili is perfect as it stands, requiring no extra toppings, so I served it his way. I served my chili with a slice of cornbread on the side.

A bowl of Alton’s chili.

Oh, and for those who do not have a pressure cooker, you can make Alton’s chili in a Dutch oven, letting the chili cook, covered, in a 350-degree oven for 6-24 hours. The flavor of Alton’s chili is pretty fantastic, having just the right amount of heat. The flavor from the toasted chiles blends beautifully with the saltiness of the chips, the sweetness of the tomato paste, and the freshness of the salsa. I found that the beef stew meat was more tender than the pork stew meat, which was slightly chewy. Perhaps a little longer cook would tenderize the pork more. I happen to love lamb, so I wish I could have added some of that to my chili. I also happen to really like beans in my chili, so I would probably opt to add them next time, but that’s really a matter of personal preference. This chili is super flavorful, and if you happen to have a pressure cooker, you get the flavor of a long simmer with a very short cook time. The true hero of this recipe, though, is the homemade chili powder.

Episode 107 – “Flat is Beautiful II”

Posted: October 12, 2018 in Season 8
Tags: alton brown, beef, Butter, caper, chicken, dinner, fried, good eats, kiev, lemon, meat, paillard, piccata, poultry, tenderloin, turkey

Alton Brown fans probably know that he is going to back on our TVs starting Monday. He is going to revisit Good Eats, revamping the old recipes he is unhappy with, and adding new methods, techniques, and information. I am anxious to see which recipes he chooses to alter, as there have certainly been some less than perfect recipes along the way. Of course, there have also been some fantastic recipes that have become mainstays in our house. Now, back to my personal assessments of Alton’s original Good Eats.

Beef Paillard

Alton’s beef paillard calls for a good cut of meat, namely beef tenderloin. To serve four people, he calls for a pound of beef. Since it was just the two of us, I had the butcher cut us a couple steaks from the tenderloin, rather than buying a larger cut of tenderloin. Prior to cooking, place your meat in the freezer for two to three hours, as this will make it easier to cut thin slices. When your meat has chilled, remove it from the freezer and slice it into thin slices; Alton used an electric knife for this, but I used a sharp chef’s knife.

Beef tenderloin, after freezing for two hours.

Place the slices of beef between sheets of plastic wrap, spritzing the beef and the plastic with water (this decreases friction and prevents tearing of the meat and plastic). Pound the meat until it is very thin – probably about 1/8-inch thick.

Sliced beef tenderloin spritzed with water and placed between sheets of plastic wrap.

Pounded beef tenderloin.

When all of your meat slices have been pounded, heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat for a few minutes.

Paillards of beef tenderloin.

Cast iron skillet, heating over medium heat.

While the skillet heats, brush both sides of the meat slices with vegetable oil and sprinkle them with pepper and Kosher salt.

Paillards of beef tenderloin, brushed with vegetable oil and seasoned with pepper and Kosher salt.

Once the skillet is hot, invert the pan and brush the back of the skillet with vegetable oil. Place the beef paillards on the inverted skillet and they should begin sizzling immediately. Alton said his beef took about 10 seconds per side, but I would say that mine took about 30 seconds per side. I would err on the side of caution here, as you really do not want to overcook the beef.

Inverted cast iron skillet.

Paillards added to oiled skillet.

Paillards, flipped after cooking on one side.

Transfer the beef slices to plates, drizzle them with olive oil, and garnish them with some capers, shaved Parmesan, and greens.

Alton’s beef paillards with olive oil, capers, greens, and shaved Parmesan.

With this recipe, my biggest concern was that I would overcook my beef, but it turned out perfectly. The meat was amazingly tender and seemed to melt in your mouth. And, Alton’s garnishes of olive oil, Parmesan, capers, and greens were spot-on, complimenting the flavor of the beef without overpowering it. The salty nuttiness of the Parmesan, along with the tang of the capers was just perfect with the fruitiness of the olive oil. The best part of this recipe is that it is worthy of a special occasion, yet you can put it together in a very short period of time. This is a recipe that, in my opinion, needs no revamping.

Turkey Piccata

While I had previously eaten chicken piccata (piccata means “sharp”), I had never before had a version with turkey. Alton’s recipe calls for a whole turkey breast, which, surprisingly, was just impossible for me to find. I had to settle for some pre-sliced turkey breast, as that was all I could find after going to numerous stores. If you are able to find a whole turkey breast, slice it into half-inch slices. Place the slices between sheets of plastic wrap, spritz them with water, and pound them until they are twice their original size.

Slice of turkey placed between sheets of plastic wrap.

Season the top sides of your pounded slices of turkey with Kosher salt and pepper, and place them, seasoned sides down, in a pie plate of flour. Season the second sides of your slices of turkey and coat them also with flour, shaking off any excess.

Pounded turkey, seasoned with Kosher salt and pepper.

Turkey slice, seasoned side down, in flour.

Second side of turkey seasoned with Kosher salt and pepper.

Next, heat 4 T unsalted butter and 2 T olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high.

Butter and olive oil in skillet.

Melted butter with olive oil.

When the butter has melted, add the floured turkey slices to the pan, cooking them until golden (about two minutes per side).

Seasoned/floured turkey added to skillet.

Flipped turkey slices.

Move the cooked turkey slices to a foil packet and keep them warm in a 200 degree oven while you make the sauce.

Cooked turkey transferred to foil packet.

To the pan in which you cooked your turkey, add 2 T chopped shallots, cooking for about a minute.

Shallots added to the pan.

Add 1/2 C white wine and 1/3 C fresh lemon juice to the pan, allowing it to simmer for two to three minutes.

Wine and lemon juice added to the pan.

Finally, whisk 2 T butter into the sauce.

Butter, stirred into the sauce.

Spoon the sauce over the warm turkey slices, garnishing with parsley, capers, and peppercorns, if desired.

Capers added to finish the sauce.

Turkey piccata.

I had mixed feelings about this recipe because I found the sauce to be tangy and delightful, but my turkey was tough. I see that Alton tells you to cook the turkey for only one minute per side in the online recipe, but he cooked his turkey for two minutes per side in the episode, which seemed to be too long. I also think my turkey piccata would likely have been better if I could have found a whole turkey breast and sliced it just prior to cooking. I’m tempted to give this one another try because the sauce was smooth, buttery, and full of lemon tang. I would recommend opting for chicken if a whole turkey breast is unavailable.

Chicken Kiev

Chicken Kiev is something I remember my mom making once or twice. She viewed it as a special occasion dish, as her mother served it to her father’s business clients who came to dinner. Chicken Kiev is actually of French, rather than Russian, origin, but was brought to Russia by the French in the 18th century. I remember my mom sometimes being frustrated with her Chicken Kiev because the filling would leak out during cooking. Having never made it before, I was hoping Alton’s recipe would keep my filling intact. This is a recipe that you will want to start at least two hours prior to serving, or even the night prior. The first step of this recipe is making a compound butter by combining a stick of softened unsalted butter, 1 t dried parsley (I used fresh, so I used twice as much), 1 t dried tarragon, 1 t Kosher salt, and 1/4 t pepper in a stand mixer.

Butter, parsley, dried tarragon, Kosher salt, and pepper.

Place the compound butter on wax paper, roll it into a log, and place it in the refrigerator to firm.

Compound butter transferred to wax paper.

Compound butter rolled into a log.

After the butter has firmed up, place a chicken breast between pieces of plastic wrap, spritzing the chicken and plastic with water.

Chicken breast in spritzed plastic.

Pound the chicken until it is thin enough to roll. Chicken breasts are fairly thick, so it is tedious to get the chicken thin. Place a couple slices of compound butter in the center of the pounded chicken, along with 1 T panko bread crumbs.

Pounded chicken topped with compound butter and panko bread crumbs.

Roll the chicken over the butter and bread crumbs by folding the longest edge of chicken over the filling and then folding in the ends. Continue rolling the chicken, using the plastic to help you roll and keeping the ends tucked inside. Wrap the rolled chicken tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours, or overnight.

Rolled chicken.

When ready to cook your chicken, roll the chicken in a pie plate containing two eggs beaten with 1 t water.

Chilled chicken being rolled in egg wash.

Next, roll the chicken in a plate of panko bread crumbs.

Chicken rolling in panko after egg wash.

Breaded chicken.

Put a half-inch of vegetable oil in a large skillet and heat it to 375 degrees. Once hot, add the breaded chicken rolls to the pan, cooking for 4-5 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Breaded chicken in hot oil.

Chicken cooking in oil.

Transfer the cooked chicken to a rack, letting it rest for five minutes.

Chicken resting after cooking.

I found that my chicken took considerably longer than 10 minutes to reach 165 degrees inside. You do get some carryover cooking, so I think it is best to pull the chicken from the oil when the internal temperature hits 158-160. Otherwise, your chicken may be slightly overcooked by the time you cut into it.

Alton’s Chicken Kiev.

We were pretty happy with Alton’s Chicken Kiev. His method for rolling the chicken worked well, and kept the filling intact for the most part (my one roll split a little bit). It is easier to roll the chicken if you get it really thin, so try to get it as thin as possible before filling/rolling. Also, don’t skimp on the chilling time for the rolled chicken, as the chicken really needs that time to maintain its shape. The panko bread crumbs gave Alton’s chicken a really great crispy crust, and the filling of the chicken had lots of anise-like flavor from the tarragon. I do wish that the compound butter would have melted a bit more, though. I just wouldn’t cook the chicken all the way to 165, as my chicken was just a tad overcooked. My mom can’t really cook anymore because of her Parkinson’s, but I think she likely would have adopted Alton’s Chicken Kiev recipe as her go-to.

Episode 99 – “The Man Food Show”

Posted: May 1, 2018 in Season 7
Tags: alton brown, beef, burger, chuck, corn dog, fried, fried food, good eats, hamburger, hot dog, man food, meat, slider

In this episode of Good Eats, Alton tackles a couple of “man food” recipes. What exactly is man food? Well, judging from the two recipes in this episode, I take it that man food is either composed of meat, deep-fried, or both. This girl was certainly happy to give Alton’s manly recipes a try.

Corn Dogs

While I can truly appreciate a good hot dog (especially a Chicago dog), corn dogs have never really done much for me; it comes down to the corn batter. Typical corn dog batter is chewy, dense, and overly sweet. I was hopeful that Alton could improve upon the carnival classic with his recipe. To make his corn dogs, pour a gallon of peanut oil in a deep fryer (or in a Dutch oven if you are like me and don’t have a deep fryer), heating it to 375 degrees.

Peanut oil, heating to 375.

While the oil heats, combine the dry ingredients for the batter in a large bowl: 1 C cornmeal, 1/4 t baking soda, 1 t baking powder, 1/2 t cayenne pepper, 2 t Kosher salt, and 1 C flour.

Cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and Kosher salt.

Cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and Kosher salt, along with flour.

Combined dry ingredients for batter.

In a second bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: 2 T minced/seeded jalapeno, 1/3 C grated onion, 8.5 ounces of canned creamed corn, and 1 1/2 C buttermilk.

Jalapeno and grated onion.

Jalapeno, grated onion, and creamed corn.

Buttermilk

Buttermilk added to other wet ingredients.

Combined wet ingredients.

Note #1: This recipe makes a lot of batter. I halved the recipe, made five corn dogs, and still had a lot of batter remaining. Note #2: You can complete the recipe through this step ahead of time, but you cannot move onto the next step until you are ready to cook.

Dry ingredients on the left and wet ingredients on the right, waiting to be combined once ready to cook.

Once ready to cook, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Pour the batter into a pint glass and set it aside for 10 minutes.

Wet ingredients added to dry ingredients.

Corn dog batter.

Corn dog batter, poured in a pint glass and left to sit for 10 minutes.

While the batter rests, you can prepare your hot dogs (Alton prefers all-beef hot dogs). To prep the dogs, insert unseparated chopsticks or thick wooden skewers into your hot dogs, and roll the hot dogs in cornstarch, using your hand to remove any excess; you want a very thin coating of cornstarch.

Beef hot dogs with skewers inserted.

Rolling hot dogs in cornstarch.

Cornstarch-coated hot dogs.

Dip each hot dog into the pint glass of batter and then into the hot oil.

Dipping cornstarch-coated hot dogs in corn batter.

Corn dogs frying.

Alton says it will take four to five minutes to fry the corn dogs, but I found that my dogs were golden and crispy in about two minutes. Remove the corn dogs and place them on a rack. Serve the corn dogs with mustard and/or ketchup.

Alton’s corn dogs.

These corn dogs were absolutely the best corn dogs I have ever had, and I will make them again. The batter was light, crispy, and slightly spicy, and the hot dogs remained juicy. The batter really reminded me of Alton’s batter for fish and chips, which I also loved. I highly recommend these, as they are very easy to prepare and take very little time, aside from heating the oil. Whether you already love corn dogs, or are skeptical that you could love corn dogs, these will be the best corn dogs of your life.

Mini Man Burgers

Since my husband is from the midwest, I’ve long heard how White Castle is the classic place to get sliders, and I have even visited a White Castle once or twice. I was interested to see what Ted would think of Alton’s take on sliders. To make proper sliders, Alton recommends using an electric griddle. We don’t have a true electric griddle, but we do have a panini press that has griddle plates, so I used that. Set your griddle temperature to 350 degrees and preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Wrap your slider buns in foil and place them in the warm oven while you prep the meat.

Slider buns to heat in the oven.

Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper, placing a pound of ground chuck (20% fat) on top.

Meat placed on parchment-lined pan.

Top the meat with a layer of plastic wrap and use a bottle to roll the meat until it fills the bottom of the pan.

Plastic wrap placed on top of meat.

Rolling the meat with a bottle.

Meat, rolled to fill the pan.

To season the meat, combine 1/2 t onion powder, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/2 t black pepper, and 1/2 t Kosher salt, and sprinkle it all over the surface of the meat.

Onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and Kosher salt.

Rolled meat, sprinkled with seasoning.

Next, use the parchment paper to fold the meat in half onto itself, pressing it together with your fingers.

Seasoned meat folded in half, using parchment.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the meat into eight equal rectangles, and cook the patties on the preheated griddle for two to three minutes per side.

Meat, cut into 8 rectangles.

Patties on the griddle.

While the meat cooks, spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on your warm burger buns, as this will keep the buns from getting soggy.

Heated bun spread with mayo.

Transfer the cooked burgers to the buns and serve with condiments. We ate our sliders with oven fries on the side, and I opted to put cheese and mustard on mine.

An Alton slider with fries.

An Alton slider with cheese and mustard.

Alton’s sliders were pretty darn tasty, with the patties being very well-seasoned, juicy, and flavorful. There’s also something kind of fun about eating sliders since they’re so small, don’t you think? Ted thought these sliders were a good representation of the real midwestern thing. Would he have them again? You betcha.

	Jane Ormrod on Episode 141 – “Ten…
	allisonchauvin on Episode 148 – “Beh…
	harolds1943 on Episode 148 – “Beh…
	How to Dehydrate Mus… on Episode 119 – “Myt…
	Episode 148 –… on Episode 78 – “Cass…

Allison Cooks Alton's Good Eats

Blog Stats

Previous Posts

Pages

Recent Comments

Recent Posts