Week Thirty Nine – Sexy Salt Beef

This week’s recipe is something that I have been wanting to try for years. Sometime back Tom Parker Bowles did a version that looked immense and I knew that it was something that needed to be in my life, so when @mashtunaandMeow volunteered their recipe for my challenge I jumped at the chance.
So I assembled my ingredients and set about my task.
I put together the brine and brought it to a rolling boil. Once the salt had dissolved fully I turned off the heat and allowed the liquid to cool completely. This is essential as you don’t want any residual heat to cook the meat.

I then pierced the meat all over and placed it in a plastic bowl, and it must be plastic as a metal one can react with the brine and taint the meat.

After pouring the brine over the meat I weighed it down with a small plate making sure it was completely covered with the liquid.

Now for the hard part. The waiting game.
Daily I turned the meat in its spiced bath to ensure an even distribution of flavours across the meat.

And whilst God rested on the seventh day, for me it was time to cook my salt beef.

I prepared my pot with carrots, onions, leeks and a bouquet garni and washed off my meat.

I brought the water to a simmer and set my timer for three hours – everything comes to he who waits, apparently!!

Finally the alarm sounded and it was time to check on my creation.

What I was met with was a very tender, red, salty and very tasty piece of meat.
I had achieved the colour and perfect taste I was looking for, and to be really honest – I was proud of what I had produced.

As always what follows was the actual instructions I had, give it a go and let me know how you get on tagging your images #52weeksofeatingmytl

Si
@twohungrymen

Ingredients:

Brine:
300 grams sea salt
150 grams sugar
30grams Prague powder #1
Half bulb garlic crushed
Large knob of ginger, chopped roughly
1 cinnamon stick, crushed
Tbsp mustard seeds
Tbsp cracked black pepper
Tbsp Szechuan peppercorns
Tbsp cloves
Tsp chilli

Method:
Boil the brine ingredients with 1.5 litres of water, dissolving the salt, then leave to cool.

Pierce the meat all over to allow the flavours and salt to permeate the meat.

Pour your brisket into a plastic or ceramic bowl (don’t use aluminium as it can react with the meat)

Pour the brine over the meat, making sure that you cover the meat completely in liquid – if you are short, top up with a little more water and weigh down the meat with a plate to ensure it remain completely submerged in the water.

Cover the bowl in cling film and place in a constantly cool place, whether it be a garage or cellar, or a freakishly large or empty fridge.
Turn the meat daily so as to get the best coverage of flavours through the meat.

After about 5 – 7 days remove from the brine and rinse if needed – test the saltiness of the meat by lightly frying the a small sliver of meat. Depending on the taste you may need to rinse more than once.

The beef is simply simmered for around 3 hours with a bouquet garni and carrots, onions and leek (never on a hard boil as this will start to dry out the meat).

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Super Catch Up – weeks 35 to 38

So this week is a super catch up week – in total you have four recipes to try out, two main courses, a dessert and a tasty cookie.
This week’s post is a little different from the rest as I won’t be going into my usual detail of prep, cooking and eating – HOWEVER, I will be showing you my results at the end of each recipe.

As always the instructions that follow are those that I received from those who sent me the recipes, so give them a go and let me know how you got on tagging your images #52weeksofeatingmytl

Si
@twohungrymen

1. Super Sausages – courtesy of @GBsauce

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
6 good quality pork sausages
1 medium onion finely chopped
A dozen small fresh pickling onions or shallots, skins removed
1 fat carrot, finely diced
a couple of sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbs plain flour
250ml chicken stock, home made or ready made
2 tbsp Great British Tomato and Mustard Sauce
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
100ml British Beer (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
Potatoes of your choice / mashed with lots of butter is a good idea.
A good helping of Great British Proper Brown or Tomato and Mustard Sauce.

PREPARATION METHOD

Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan and fry the sausages gently for 10 minutes, turning now and again, until nicely browned all over.
Transfer the sausages to a flameproof oven dish and roast in the oven at 180°C/350°F for 20 minutes to cook through. Do not discard the lovely sausage juices in the frying pan.
Add the onions, carrot and celery to the same non-stick frying pan and cook them gently over a medium to low heat for 10 minutes until they soften nicely in the porky juices.
Crush the garlic into the pan and continue to cook gently for a further 2–3 minutes, it’s important not to burn the garlic.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, stir and cook gently before pouring in the Beer, or chicken stock. Let it reduce and thicken before adding more stock. This way you can control the thickness of your gravy.
Stir in the Great British Tomato and Mustard Sauce, brown sugar and herbs and leave to simmer very gently for 20 minutes, stir from time to time until you have a nice,slightly thick and warming gravy.
Finally add the onions and gravy to the flameproof oven dish and cook for a further 10 minutes in the oven. This allows the flavour of the sausages and gravy to develop in this truly fine and rewarding casserole. A classy dish for a mid week or any winters evening meal.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with a good helping of Great British Proper Brown Sauce or Tomato and Mustard Sauce.

2. Cheeky Chicken Koftas, courtesy of @Mrs_PeeJay

Marinade Ingredients
2 tablespoons yogurt (any sort of plain yogurt)
6 garlic cloves crushed
2 teaspoons of crushed / grated ginger (about a thumb sized piece)
2 green chillis chopped up finely
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon madras paste (Pathaks is the one which we use) – If you can’t get this just add half a tsp extra of all the above powders
1 tablespoon of oil (vegetable or olive)

Other
400g chicken mince
1 onion finely chopped
1 onion sliced (optional)
some Fresh Coriander
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all the marinade ingredients together and then add the mince and mix together – leave this to rest for at least 30 minutes in the fridge (you can leave it for longer if you have the time)

When you are ready to cook add the finely chopped onion and coriander and season the mix to taste.

You can then use this to make a variety of different things including kebabs and meatballs or even burgers !

Just form it into kofta shapes (about golf ball size) and fry off in a pan until cooked to your liking – this usually takes about 7 – 10 mins – I tend to brown in a pan and then put into a baking tray filled with sliced onions and finish off the cooking in the oven (usually about 15 mins depending on the size)

You can also make long sheekh style kebabs and put them on skewers for the BBQ.

3. Perfect Pavlova courtesy of @kpooley80
For the pavlova meringue itself you will need.

6 Large egg whites

300 grams caster sugar

1 teaspoon of balsamic or red wine vinegar

For the topping you will need

500ml double cream

500 grams raspberries (or any summery fruit you like really)

Method

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees C and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Beat the egg whites until you get them to satiny peaks and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue forms stiff shiny peaks. Add the teaspoon of vinegar now. I used red wine vinegar, but either is nice.

Mound the gorgeous meringue onto the baking tray in swirls until it’s about 8-9 inches wide, but don’t forget it will spread slightly when it cooks. Make sure you leave a little dip in the middle to put all the cream in, but equally make sure the meringue remains thick enough to go mallowy in the middle…..

Put in the oven and turn it down immediately to 150 degrees C and cook for 1 hour to 1 and a half hours. You will know when it’s ready as it will look crisp around the edges and dry on top (this is the vinegar!), but when you prod the middle, this is where the mallow should be all soft and gooey!!! The trick now is to turn the oven off and open the door a little and let the meringue cool completely. It will crack, but this is normal. It adds to its sexiness!

When you’re ready, carefully peel off the paper and place the meringue onto a serving platter/stand. Whisk the cream until thick and soft and pile it onto the meringue. Keep it rough and ready. If you want to be a little more extravagant, add some fresh vanilla pod seeds or proper vanilla extract to the cream…. Pile on your fruit. I drizzled mine with fresh passion fruit juice for an extra kick and freshness.

This didn’t go especially well for me, I followed the recipe perfectly but I couldn’t get the meringue to stiffen post sugar – I can only think that the bowl was greasy or some yolk got in – either will have this effect.

Make sure all your bowls and utensils are freshly washed before use, do not get any yolk in the egg whites – but if it still won’t firm up line a shallow roasting tin with parchment paper and pour the mixture in to cook.

4. Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies courtesy of @AmityUK

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Parchment paper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together peanut butter and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in chocolate morsels.

2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

3. Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets on a wire rack 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, and let cool 15 minutes.

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