Beef Cheeks

Youngest daughter really like these! So much that she requested them for her birthday dinner.

5 pounds beef cheeks, cleaned

1 (750-ml) bottle Rioja

2 1/2 cups finely chopped onions, divided

1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery, divided

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh rosemary, divided

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1/2 cup olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, divided

1 cup finely chopped carrots

1 tablespoon tomato paste

4 cups beef broth or rich chicken stock

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 sprig fresh oregano

Using a very sharp knife, trim the extra fat and the tough silverskin from the beef cheeks. You should have approximately 3 pounds of cleaned meat remaining.

Transfer the cheeks to a large nonreactive bowl or casserole and add 2 cups Rioja, 1/2 cup onion, 1/2 cup celery, 1/2 tablespoon garlic, bay leaves, 1 sprig rosemary and the black peppercorns. Stir gently to blend and make sure that the meat is covered by the wine, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or at least 8 hours.

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

In a large, oven proof Dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup oil over high heat until almost smoking. Remove meat from the marinade, pat dry and season on both sides with some of the salt and pepper. Brown the meat in the oil, in batches if necessary, until well browned on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining 1/4 cup oil and add remaining onion, celery and rosemary to the pan along with the carrots. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize. Add the remaining garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes. Strain the marinade and add to the pan along with the remaining red wine. Bring to a boil and reduce by about 1/2. Add the beef broth, Italian Essence, red pepper flakes, paprika and the herbs. Stir well. Cover tightly and place in the oven. Cook for 3 hours or until the cheeks are very tender. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. This is what it looks like before going into the oven.

Serve over grits.

BBQ Duck Confit with Corn Crepes

This is a combination of recipes.

First, make the duck confit.

When you are ready to use the duck confit, take some out of the refrigerator (duck confit can last months in the refrigerator). Place it in a low temperature oven to melt the fat down. Then strain the fat capturing the meat, bones and skin.

The duck fat can be kept for using again or for pan frying veggies, etc.

The meat pieces should be drained well before being used, removing as much fat as practicable.

The skin can be fried up in a pan for a snack.

The bones can be kept in the freezer for the next time stock needs to be made.

Here's my countertop during this process. The duck meat is on the paper towel. I then pressed more paper towel on top soaking up as much fat as practicable. The meat then went in the sauce pan. You can also see the strainer and the ball jar used to collect the duck fat.

Now, take the BBQ Sauce  and pour some into the sauce pan with the duck meat and heat it all up.

Meantime, make the corn crepes.

Then, place a crepe on a plate and place some of the duck meat with the BBQ sauce in the crepe and roll it up. Here is a serving.

Here's the plate with some of the trimings. The crepe goes well with sour cream (not shown), cilantro, and guacamole. Coleslaw is a great side. I made a sweet and sour coleslaw for this plate, along with blackeyed peas (cooked in chicken stock, minced onion that was sweated in duck fat, and smoked pig neck) and sauerkraut.

Enjoy!

Cream of Spinach Soup

 

½ cup of chopped onions

2 Tb butter

2 lbs fresh spinach

5 cups chicken stock

½ cup white rice

A big pinch of nutmeg

Salt

Pepper

½ cup heavy cream

2 egg yolks

Lemon juice

Another 4 Tb of soft butter

Cook the onions slowly in butter (sweat them) for around 9 minutes, until tender but not browned.

Wash the spinach thoroughly and blanch in boiling water for about 1-1/2 minutes. Drain and get out as much water as possible using a spinner and squeeze it dry.

Stir the spinach into the onions.

Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the spinach from scorching.

Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Stir in the rice.

Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Simmer partially covered for 25 minutes until the rice is tender.

Using a wire whip, blend the cream and egg yolks in a big bowl.

Puree about 2 cups of the spinach mixture.

Dribble the pureed 2 cups into the cream and egg yolk mixture, beating constantly.

Puree the rest of the spinach mixture and add to the cream/yolk mixture, stirring it in.

Pour into jars and let it rest at least overnight.

Can then reheat, almost to a simmer.

Remove from heat, correct seasoning, add lemon juice and stir in the soft 4 Tb of butter, one tablespoon at a time.

Serve right away!

Corn Crepes

 

2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing pan

½ cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed

¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

½ cup small diced, cored and seeded red bell pepper

¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts

2 cloves garlic, sliced

½ cup whole milk

2 large eggs

½ cup all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the corn, season with a little salt, and allow to sweat.

 

Stir in the bell pepper, scallions, and garlic and continue to sweat for 2 to 3 minutes.

 

Transfer the softened vegetables to the bowl of a food processor. 

Add the milk, eggs, flour, oil, and ¼ teaspoon salt to the food processor and pulse until smooth. 

Let rest for 30 minutes, and if possible, cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours.

Once ready to make the crepes, lightly coat a 7 or 8-inch sauté pan over medium heat with a little bit of oil or duck fat. Ladle in about 2 Tablespoons of batter and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Cook it until it's slightly browned. Flip the crepe and continue cooking for another minute until it's just cooked through. Transfer the crepe to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter, stacking them on top of the other. You should have 4 to 6 crepes.

Duck Confit

 8 duck legs and thighs (can find these at an Asian food market)

3 Tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted and crushed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 minced shallot

4 bay leaves, crumbled

1 quart (4 cups) duck fat, melted

Rinse the duck legs and thighs and pat dry. Lay them in a marinating tray or into a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag.

Mix together the salt, sugar, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, garlic, shallot, and bay leaves in a small bowl. Add the mixture to the duck pieces and coating them well. Close the bag and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, flipping it once or twice a day.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Remove the legs and thighs from the container/bag, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry.

Put them in a 4-quart Dutch oven or other suitable pot in a single layer, skin side down, and cover them with the fat.

Cover the pot and put the pot in the oven and cook for 8 to 10 hours.

Remove the pot from the oven. Here's the duck after cooking. 

Place duck in suitable container for storage.

Strain fat over duck and ensure that duck is well covered.

Allow the duck to cool in the fat. Refrigerate in the fat until ready to use, at least 1 month.

When ready to use, remove duck piece or the amount of duck you want to use. Heat to melt the fat off and then remove the duck pieces and pat dry with paper towel. Skin may be stripped off and fried crispy for a snack. Reserve the fat to use for next time or to sauté vegetables.