Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A couple good articles

Do recipes make you a better cook? The link will take you to a very good article that covers that subject. I think he brings up a lot of interesting points. Recipes are of course both necessary and unnecessary. Just like maps, to borrow a bit from the article. I can get to Canada without a map. But if I want to go to a certain place within Canada, I need a map, or someone that can go with me and show me the way. I don't need a recipe for meatloaf. But if I want to make meatloaf just like the meatloaf you made last night, I need to know what you put in it. If I want to make Hammelman's Vermont sourdough bread, I better have a sourdough starter, a recipe, and the know-how to follow it. (See picture at top of page)

and,

An article that discusses the best kitchen tool of all. Your hands. He mentions watching his grandmother's hands as she worked in her kitchen. I too, remember with fondness watching the hands of my elders as they worked in the kitchen. Daddy's hands, which were used to all types of hard work with tools, as he expertly worked bread dough. Gran's hands, which had served her well in her nursing work, now filling boiled and halves egg whites with the yellow goodness for devilled eggs. Granny's hands, the hands that had started their cooking carrer at the tender age of seven, out of necessity, cutting up potatoes or okra to fry. Grandmoma and her biscuits... oh but thats another story.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Lardy, Lardy, this is easy!

The hardest part about making your own lard is not the making, but the getting. Of the pork fat. For myself, its a drive to Amarillo, to Edes Meats. Which is ok really because there's always a few other things I like to get while I'm there. Steaks, sausages, cheese, everything is good at Edes Meats. They make THE BEST jerky.

You will need a source of pork fat. Some people like to buy fat from certain areas of the animal to make lard for different things. I hear the fat from around the kidneys makes the best lard for pastries. But I'm not a pastry maker. So I'm not picky about what kind of pork fat it is. Just good clean pork fat.

By clean I mean free of meat. If there is meat still attached to the fat, you will want to trim it off.

I usually use about 8 pounds of pork fat on a lard making day. From Edes, it comes frozen. You will want to thaw it partially. But if its left a little icy, its much easier to work with.

You need room to work and a good sharp knife. An apron is a good idea. You are gonna get messy.

There are several ways to do this. I use the slow-cooker method. Its easy-peasy.

Seriously, if you have fried bacon, you can make lard. All you are doing it cooking the fat out. Liquifying it, just as you do when you fry bacon. Only we're letting a slow-cooker do all the work.

Cut the fat into cubes. I cut mine into about 1/2" cubes. Put them in the slow-cooker. This does take some time. And it is messy. But so worth it.

Cut, cut, cut, toss. Cut, cut, cut, toss. Until the cooker is full. You can actually heap it a bit, as long as you can get the lid on.

Turn on to low. Stir occasionally. Slowly but surely the fat will release its liquid goodness. It is done when the fat cubes are browned and crunchy. Guess what! You made crackins! And they're good! Dip them out with a slotted spoon into a paper-towel lined bowl. Snack on them!

Shut off the slow cooker and let the lard cool a bit, for safer handling.

I have some screw-top zip-lock containers that I just love! I use them to freeze my chicken stock in, and I use them to freeze my lard in. Fill your freezable containers to within 1/2" or so of the top, and freeze. (Keep one in the fridge, it keeps a long time) I like to write the date and LARD on a strip of masking tape on the lid.

As the lard cools, it turns white.

When you heat the lard to cook, as it gets hot, you will notice the characteristic lard smell. This smell only lasts a short while, is faint, and you will not taste it in the food. I cook with this stuff all the time. Your food wont taste "like lard."

It makes the flakiest pie crusts (crisco has nothing on lard in this respect) and it is healthy for you, despite what the diet dictocrats would have you believe. Much healthier than man made stuff like crisco and vegetable oils. And because you made it yourself, its healthier than the lard you buy at the store. To extend shelf-life, ie: make it more profitable, the store bought lard has been hydrogenated. Hydrogenation creates trans-fats.

Lard makes the best fried chicken. MMM hhhmmmmm

Lard (and butter) make the best biscuits!

So now you know! Making your own healthy lard is easy as pie! See your butcher about some pork fat today!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Southwestern Meatloaf

This is something a little different, but still very comforting, like meatloaf just is!

3/4 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 cup salsa
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove minced garlic
1 egg
1 T. chili powder
part of a small can of diced green chilis
dash cumin

Mix above together well, them mix in 1 1/2- 2 pounds hamburger. Place in loaf pan.

Bake in 400* oven for 1 hour, or until done. I like to take it out of the oven just as its about done and pour off the grease. At this time you can throw a little grated cheese on the top of it and pop it back in the oven until its melted.


Wednesday, February 22, 2012

great bisciits!

IMPORTANT EDIT:**
These biscuits are even better if you use only butter, the texture/consistency does not seem to be afftected, but the taste with using only butter is greatly enhanced!
.
Recently I wrote a post on my opinion of the different varieties of biscuits available.

Today, I will give you the recipe I have come to believe is about as near to perfect home-made biscuits as there is.

I'm pretty sure that if an English teacher would read that last sentence, it would have a lot of red marks all over it. Sorry.

Here's how you whoop up a batch of biscuits! You won't be needing a pastry blender. You sure don't need to get the food processor out!

Biscuits = SIMPLE!

You need a nice bowl. I use one that came from the second hand store and used to belong to an old mixer. The bowl made it to the second hand store, but the mixer did not. The bowl is heavy white glass and is wider than it is tall, which I like because it lets me get my hands in there to work the fat into the flour.

Set the oven to 425*

Pour one tablespoon less than 1 cup of milk into a cup. Add 1 T. white vinegar. Stir. Or, if you have it, you can just use 1 cup buttermilk, or you can use 1 cup milk or heavy cream, but I recommend the milk with vinegar, or the buttermilk. Set that aside.

Into your nice bowl, measure 2 cups all purpose flour, 1 heaping Tablespoon sugar, 2 heaping tablespoons baking powder, and 1/4 tsp. salt. (if using kosher salt, as I do, use a slightly heaping 1/4 tsp) Combine these ingredients with a wooden spoon, or the tablespoon you measured with, or just your hand.

Now you need about 1/4 cup COLD butter and 1/4 cup COLD LARD** SEE NOTE AT START OF POST!. If your lard is not cold, its not the end of the biscuit world, but it really is best to work in if its cold. If you home render your own lard, (which I will post instructions for soon) you should keep it in the fridge anyway.

Place the 2 types of fat into the bowl with the flour mixture. I like to cut the butter up and drop it all around into the flour. The lard I scoop small amounts at a time out of the container I have measured it in. (more red marks from the English teacher) Once all of the fat is in the bowl, begin working it into the flour with your fingers. You want to work it in fairly well, but you don't want the finished product to be real consistent looking. You don't want it to resemble "course meal". It will look a little like that, but some of the fat will still be in pea to almond sized pieces. But all of it will be coated with flour. The whole process shouldn't take but maybe a minute or two at the most.

Now pour your buttermilk type stuff into the flour. +++EDIT: NOTE: ONLY POUR IN ABOUT 3/4 CUP! You might not need the entire cup. +++ You can use a wooden spoon, to combine it. Combine it just until it will sort of hold together. I use the spoon only for a few stirs around the outside edge of the bowl. As soon as there's no liquid swirling around in there, I dump the whole mess out on the counter and gently work it quickly into a mass. Knead very little, just enough to get it together. When it will hold together, stop. Remember, you are not kneading bread dough. Light and gentle is the trick here.

You will likely need a dusting of flour on your counter-top. I don't use a rolling pin. I just pat the dough until its about 3/4" to 1" thick. Cut it with a biscuit cutter. Press the cutter down through the dough, but DO NOT TWIST THE CUTTER! That seals the edges of the dough. Place them close together but not touching, in a 9X13 sized pan.

If your oven is up to temp, put them in there. If not, wait until it is. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Mmmm, I can smell them!

Just a thought, these are great with gravy made from bacon drippings!


A couple of variations:


for dumplings make the dough as above, but reduce the sugar to about 1/2 tsp. Pat dough out, and cut with biscuit cutter. Drop the biscuits into gently boiling chicken stew or beef stew, whatever. Put a tight fitting lid on the pot and do not peek for 15 minutes. You can also add a bit of parsley to your dumpling dough. Chicken and dumpling method coming soon!

for shortcake, the kind you might eat with strawberries and whipped cream: I would add another Tablespoon or so of sugar, and cut them a little bigger. These really are better than angel food cake for strawberry shortcake, IMO.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Biscuit theory

If you want biscuits, you have several choices. You can have biscuit mix biscuits, whompin' (canned) biscuits, frozen biscuits, or you can make them from scratch yourself.

Of the store bought varieties, I personally like whompin' biscuits for taste. I am not a fan of dry biscuit mixes, for making biscuits or anything else for that matter. I soured on the taste of bisquick years ago.

Not that I consider whompin' biscuits to be really biscuits. They are good, don't get me wrong, but to me they are not really biscuits. Although I'm not quite sure what they really are. But they are good in a pinch when one wants something like biscuits. They are especially good fried. Peel the can, whomp in on the counter, separate the biscuit-like thingies, and fry them gently in a small amount of butter. Yummy.

I have had the frozen biscuits, and they are good, but I like to avoid some of the questionable ingredients in processed foods.

The good news: really good homemade biscuits are quick and easy!

One thing to remember when making biscuits is that you are doing the exact opposite thing as what you are doing when making bread, rolls, ect. When making bread you will be kneading the dough until its smooth as a babys bottom. You work the dough with your hands, and by the time you are done, every grain of flour in the dough is familiar with the lines on your hands.

With biscuits, you want to handle the dough as if you have an aversion to getting your hands dirty. Now you will get your hands dirty. If you're like me, you will have flour and dough from head to feet. But I'm just gifted that way. I only have to look at flour to have a fair amount of it in my hair. But its worth it.

Anyway, picture a ball of well kneaded bread dough sitting on the counter. Its smooth and elastic, ready to become a beautiful loaf of bread. It's very proud. Now lets add a mass of biscuit dough next to the bread dough in our mental picture. The bread dough would move away, if it could, to the far corner of the counter-top. The biscuit dough is ready to become biscuits, but you wouldn't know that at first glance. Its not smooth, its a shaggy mess, barely holding together. You could work it a little more, to make it smoother, but don't. Its ready to be biscuits!

But the bread dough need not feel so haughty. His beauty takes time and effort. The biscuit dough will be ready to go into the oven before the oven is ready to receive them!

Get that oven set to 425*! Biscuit recipe coming soon!