The awesome thing about braising (or cooking in general) is that after you understand the process, you can adjust and experiment with the flavour profiles however you want. Sometimes I'll braise something with a curry base, or with a hot homemade bbq base, or whatever else I have available or I'm in the mood for.
With feral hog quarters I put them in the crock pot overnight with a few good bottles of rootbeer along with spices and chipotle peppers, the acid in the rootbeer breaks the connective tissue down and adds some very good flavor. The meat falls off the bones.
Acid is the key. Whether it comes in the form of balsamic vinegar, wine, tomatoes (garden cocktail), etc., that + time + low heat is magical... it'll transform the shittiest piece of meat into food for the gods.
Pineapple is a very special case, and is really, REALLY good and breaking down that connective tissue in meat. As in almost too good at it. Know how the roof of your mouth gets all fucked up when you eat a lot of pineapple? That's caused by bromelain... and pineapples are full of it. DETAILS HERE
I screwed up a small batch of venison and pork bratwurst last year with pineapple. Split a big basix mix batch up into four parts to further spice up and some turned into a jalapeno-pineapple mix with fresh chopped fruit and peppers. The test patty was amazing but once it had been stuffed in the casings for a few hours they turned into mush. Even the casings were falling apart. I was so confused because the other brats were just fine. So yeah, pineapple breaks down meat really well.
I made something that was very close to this and damn it was good. I highly recommend this one. I swapped the ketchup for 6 oz of tomato paste and it was spectacular. Thanks
Someone asked a few weeks ago for gumbo, but the weather wasn't right. But now its less than 70, so here you go: Spoiler FYI- Not shown is the couple of hours I spent peeling shrimp and making stock. But anyway- Weeeeeeee!
Hi folks, does anyone have an absolutely baller recipe for homemade Mac & Cheese? I grew up on KD so I don't really know what mac and cheese SHOULD taste like, but I want to make it. Hook a girl up.
I've tried and love both of these: Alton Brown: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alto ... ecipe.html Jamie Oliver: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/past ... -n-cheese/ I also add a little bit of cayenne pepper to each of them, so little that it's barely noticeable.
Does that Alton Brown taste like straight mustard with a full tablespoon? Mustard, like cumin, tends to drown every other flavor if not used sparingly.
Mac and Cheese huh? Try something a little different, tastes heavenly, better than most mac and cheese recipes. http://gardenandgun.com/blog/macaroni-pie
Noodles, cheese, milk. Cook the noodles. Pour half of them into a soufflé dish. (t doesn't have to be a soufflé dish, but you want depth rather than surface area.) Salt and pepper the noodles, put about half the cheese on top, top off with the rest of the noodles and more cheese to cover. Fill the dish about halfway with milk. Bake at 350 until the milk is absorbed. 45 minutes, give or take, depending on how much milk. If the cheese gets browner than you want, cover it. It's stupidly easy and you avoid a cream sauce.
What's this business about breadcrumbs on top of mac and cheese? This is foreign to me. What's the point of it?
Crunchiness. Same reason you put it on top of a casserole, or "fork" the top of a shepherd's pie. It's a nice contrast to the melted cheesy goodness.
This recipe is ridiculously quick and easy to make and delicious. Because of that it is my go to mac and cheese recipe: http://www.prettykittenskitchen.com/200 ... heese.html I'll make a batch and my daughter will have the regular version and I will do the truffle mac version for myself. http://www.prettykittenskitchen.com/201 ... e-mac.html
So, I made that Alton Brown version. Pretty good. The husband approved of all but the breadcrumb topping. He didn't like the crunchy aspect. I was rather indifferent to it. I think, in future, I'll just throw a layer of cheese on top and let it bubble away.
Lazy Asshole Black Bean Soup Crockpot on high 2 cans of black beans, juice included 1 can corn, drained 1 can diced tomatoes 1 cup salsa. Or more. I don't care. Half of an onion chopped. Or more. That's what I had in the fridge. a few stalks of celery, chopped 2-3lbs of chicken, still frozen. Peel/scrape/use chisel to remove packaging. Drop it in a skillet on high to sorta brown one side, flip the brick over and do the other side. Put everything in the crock pot. Plop the chicken brick on top. I seasoned with some Nu Salt (potassium salt--less salty than regular table salt), oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic powder. Let it cook all day. Eat it when you get some from work. It's pretty good with brown rice. Brought to you by this lazy asshole.