Bratwurst Meatballs

 So I'm on a roll today (a meaty one).  As I've mentioned before, I've been getting pork from PTB Farms (If you follow that link you should also check out their instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pinetroughfarm/ as Hailey posts great stories about life on the farm.  In addition to every pork cut you could imagine, they also sell sausage of many flavors including bratwurst.  Thought the bratwurst is tasty, it's not the same as my favorite bratwurst, which was also the first bratwurst I'd ever had.  When I was in graduate school in Texas, there was a local butcher that sold the best brats.  Legend had it that one of the chemistry professors at A&M missed Wisconsin brats when he moved to Texas and took his grandmother's recipe to Readfield's Meats and they ended up being one of their bestselling items, as well as the star of many a GSAC cookout (damn, they have a website now, and merch!  And David and I thought we were so fancy writing the newsletter on his first gen Apple Macintosh).  Anyhow, I've not really had brats like that since leaving Texas.  

A few weeks ago, I watched this video from Sohla El-Waylly on making meatballs.  Her "Sohla Off-Script" videos on Food52 are short and fun, and she teaches you a basic technique that you can take in many different directions.  When she said that "meatballs are just a hand-formed sausage" I had the idea to try a bratwurst meatball.  And it went pretty darn well.

Bratwurst Meatballs

Adapted from: https://food52.com/blog/26252-sohla-off-script-meatballs-guide and https://www.thepauperedchef.com/article/wisconsin-style-bratwurst

Ingredients

2 oz bread (sandwich bread, hamburger buns, etc)

½ cup whole milk

1 lb ground pork

2 tsp kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal)

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp ground marjoram (did not have so substituted a pinch of dried oregano, rubbed between my fingers to crush)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp dried ginger

12-oz beer (I used an amber ale)

1 large onion, sliced

1-2 tsp kosher salt

 

Directions

1.     Tear the bread into small pieces, ranging in size from small cornflakes to panko sized crumbs.  Mix with milk until everything is moistened and incorporated but still lumpy.  Let sit at least 5 minutes so all the starches are hydrated.

2.     Add the pork and the rest of the spices (through ginger) to the bread/milk mixture.  Mix in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment at medium speed for about 1 minute until the mixture is well combined and springy.  (if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the mixture with your hands for 3-5 minutes until it is well combined and springy). 

3.     Transfer the mixture to a container and refrigerate overnight (24 hours).

4.     To form meatballs, measure out ¼ cup portions of meat mixture onto a greased sheet pan (lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Wet your hands with cold water to help prevent sticking and roll each meatball in your palms to get a rounded shape. I got 11 meatballs with this mixture, but #11 was a little runty.

5.     Place the sliced onion, salt and beer in a 10” saute pan (you could also use a 5qt dutch oven).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

6.     Carefully place the meatballs in the poaching liquid, cover and simmer for 6 minutes.  Carefully turn the meatballs over, cover and simmer for 6 minutes.  Meatballs should be fully cooked at this point.

7.     To finish, grill meatballs over medium heat to heat through and get some grill marks on them.  Serve in a hot dog bun with mustard and sauerkraut and some of the onions from the poaching liquid.

 

fFformed and ready to poach:

 

 Served up with oven fries and homemade sauerkraut.

Lamb Barbacoa Tacos

 So I've mentioned that I have all this lamb in my freezer, and some of it is in cuts that you don't see too often at the grocery store, like lamb shoulder.  I've seen lamb shoulder chops occasionally, but never a whole shoulder at my local Harris-Teeter.  Lamb shoulder, like pork shoulder, takes well to braising, but when I've tried that with the chops I feel like I just get tiny bits of meat and lots of sharp bone fragments.  I found this recipe for Lamb Barbacoa and it came out great.  My shoulder was just under 2 lbs, but I made the recipe pretty much as written.  In addition to queso fresco and chopped avocado (tossed with lime juice, salt and pepper) I also served it with pickled red onions (from Smitten Kitchen - note that the recipe is part of a charred cauliflower taco recipe, I just quadrupled it) and this Cilantro Lime Slaw.

  Lamb Barbacoa Tacos

• 3 –5 lb lamb shoulder ( mine was bone-in, just under 2 lbs)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• one large onion, sliced
• one orange, sliced
• 3 bay leaves
  

Marinade

•     2 dried ancho chilies -stems removed, seeds removed. No need to rehydrate.
•     1 chipotle pepper (from a can)  
•     4–6 cloves garlic
•     2  cups  water
•     Juice from one orange
•     2 tablespoons cumin  seeds
•     2 tablespoon whole coriander
•     1 tablespoon chili powder
•     2 tablespoons dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
•     2 teaspoons kosher salt (I used Diamond Crystal)
•     1 teaspoon cinnamon
•     1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
•     1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. Score the fat on the lamb.  Generously season all sides of the lamb shoulder with salt.  Set aside while you make the marinade.
3. To make the marinade, de-stem the dried chilies, break them in half and discard the seeds ( you don’t need to remove every single one, a few strays are OK). Break the chilies apart into smaller pieces and add to the blender (dry) with the remaining ingredients.  Blend until very smooth, for a full minute. (Note: I toasted the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry pan briefly before I added them to the blender)
4. Heat a dutch oven to medium-high heat and add oil. Sear the salted lamb shoulder, patiently browning each side to create a deep colored crust.
5. Once all sides are seared, remove dutch oven from heat. Nestle the onion and orange slices all around the lamb shoulder along with bay leaves. Pour the marinade over top and shake the pan to get the marinade to the bottom.
6. Cover tightly and bake in a 325F oven for 3½-4 ½ hours (mine was done in 3.5 hours)
7. Roast is done when meat pulls apart easily.  Pull the meat off the bones and discard the bones along with any large chunks of fat.  Shred lamb and place into a serving dish. Strain the remaining marinade and pour over the meat keeping to keep it moist (I didn't get very much here!). (Note: I parked this in the fridge overnight and we had it the next day.  I heated it up on the stove before making tacos.)

Cilantro Lime Slaw

•     3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used Fage 2%)
•     1/4 cup mayonnaise (Hellman's Light)
  
•     1/2 cup tightly-packed fresh cilantro
•     1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lime juice
•     1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
•     1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
•     1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
•     3 green onions (just the green parts) -I think I subbed some garlic scapes here -’tis the season
•     2 garlic cloves
•     (optional) 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, stemmed and cored (I used a few good shakes of Tapatio)
• 8 cups shredded cabbage (could also use a bag of coleslaw mix)

Directions

1. Combine the Greek yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt, black pepper, green onions, garlic and jalapeño (if using) in a blender or food processor*.  Pulse briefly a few times until the mixtures is combined.
2. Place the cole slaw mix in a large mixing bowl.  Drizzle the sauce on top of the cole slaw, then toss until the mixture is evenly combined.  Season with extra pepper and/or lime juice if needed.
3. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

Some pics!  With and without slaw:

 

 

Kefta (Lamb meatballs)

 So there's no Guilford College CSA this summer, but we do have a weekly farmer's market (4-6pm every Tuesday at the Guilford College Farm - check it out!).  However, while I don't have a CSA challenge this summer, I do have a another challenge, the whole lamb from Enno Farm that's currently stuffed in my freezer, along with the remains of a 1/4 of a pig from PTB Farm last December.  So this year's challenge is much more meaty, but there will be vegetables included!

I had posted my first recipe with lamb chops a couple of weeks ago, and I'll need to branch out into the different cuts in my freezer.  I commonly make lamb burgers and top the with  tzatziki (I'll post that soon) but I thought it would be fun to branch out a bit with the ground lamb so I decided to try these Kefta and Zuchinni Kabobs from Smitten Kitchen.  I made them pretty much as written, except that I used 2% Greek yogurt to make the sauce, and a lonely hamburger bun I had around for the bread.  The meatballs I threaded onto soaked wooden skewers as suggested, but the zucchini I put on these cool double skewers that are great for grilling because whatever you stick on them doesn't spin around!  However, they were a little too small for these petite scant 1 tbs meatballs.  I found I couldn't turn them over on the grill without the meatballs trying to pull off the skewer so I just kind of eased them over with a spatula.  No in-process pictures, but a nice shot of the final platter before we had dinner:

 

Note: I had tried to post this a few weeks ago, but Blogger was mysteriously not letting photos upload.

Lamb and potatoes

 So it's been a minute...

Lots of stuff has happened since last I posted, but I'll leave that alone for now.  

I was fortunate enough to buy a lamb from my friend Angela King of the Wake Forest University Chemistry Department and Enno Farm in Stokes County NC.  Today I pulled out a random selection of chops and seasoned them up w/ salt, pepper, fresh rosemary and garlic.  

They're in a plastic bag b/c I cooked them sous vide for 2 hours at 127°F before I plopped them on the grill for a couple of minutes on each side. I tried sous vide b/c I was scared to death to overcook these babies and sous vide lets you get it up to temp and then finish on the grill, about 2 minutes per side.  It worked out great.

To accompany I made "Crash Potatoes" which I got from the Pioneer Woman's web site but that I'm sure she didn't invent.  Happy accident here, I put them on at 450°F for the first 20 min on convection, I did realize it but it made them very crispy and delicious.  I used Yukon Gold potatoes from a lovely bag obtained at Harris Teeter.  No paremsan, but a big sprinkle of chopped fresh rosemary was yummy.

Lastly the sauce.  This is a version of chimichurri I got from the "Sauced" column on Serious Eats, one of my favorite places to get recipes (note I put in all the ingredients in order, but the vinegar and oil I just throw the food processor at the end with the rest of the ingredients). I've also made this chimichurri with carrot tops! (added in 2024 - the recipe for chimichurri has changed on Serious Eats, but here's the original on the "Meatwave") All in all, I think it came out pretty great.  There was a cesear salad to go along with it, but it's not pictured. 

Pizza and greens

Pizza with greens is one of they ways I use up the avalanche of greens that hit us in the spring in the CSA.  I make "salad pizza", Kale Pizza and Spinach Pizza pretty regularly in those early weeks of the CSA.  As the greens slow down in the heat of the summer to make way for squash, tomatoes, eggplant, okra and peppers, I don't make it as much, or make pizza with other toppings from the CSA.  But hands down, I really think that pizza is one of the best ways to turn a mountain of greens into something delicious (pasta is a close second).  This week I was surprised w/a bunch of rainbow chard in the box, and while I've got a go-to pasta I make with chard, I wondered if I could give it the pizza treatment. It turned out pretty well! The only downside compared to the recipes linked above is that I had to cook the chard for a bit before it went on the pizza, so, pans to wash.  I might try this with bacon instead of pancetta next time chard appears in my box.  For the dough I use a recipe from Mark Bittmann that comes together fast in the food processor and freezes well.  I've recently adapted it to use a sourdough starter rather than yeast, in light of the fact that I haven't seen yeast at my local Harris Teeter since March!  I'll post that later, but until then both Trader Joes and Harris Teeter will happily sell you a ball of pizza dough, andthose also freeze well.

Chard Pizza (adapted from this recipe for White Pizza with Chard and Caramelized Onions, plus all the other pizza recipes linked above!)

Ingredients

• 1 ball pizza dough (12-16 oz Note: My recipe makes 2 12-oz balls, what you buy at the store is usually 1 lb)
• 4 oz pancetta, chopped
• 1 bunch rainbow or swiss chard, stems cut off and discard and leaves roughly chopped ( usually roll up a few and cut them crosswise into strips about 1" wide)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 onion, cut in half through the root and thinly sliced crosswise
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thin
• 1-2 tbs olive oil 
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 3 oz shredded gruyere 
• 2 oz shredded mozzarella (you could sub all mozzarella if you don't have gruyere)  

Directions 

• Preheat oven to 500°F (preferably with pizza stone, if you don't have one you could use a baking sheet, adjust cooking time as necessary)
• Heat a 10-12" skillet over medium heat, add chopped pancetta and 1/2 cup water.  As the water heats it will help render some of the fat out of the pancetta, and then as the water evaporates the pancetta can continue to crisp up in the rendered fat. Once the pancetta is lightly browned, remove it from the pan and drain on a paper towel, leaving the fat in the skillet.
• Drain all but 1-2 tsp fat from the pan (reserve the rest), add chard and minced garlic and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until wilted, remove from pan.
• Add 1-2 tsp reserved fat (or olive oil) to the pan, add sliced onions, reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 20-25 minutes until onions are tender and caramelized (Note: if all the moisture evaporates and the onions start to stick or burn, you can add a little water).
• Place sliced garlic in a small microwave safe bowl, add 2 tbs of olive oil and microwave for 30 seconds.
• Roll out pizza dough into a circle, place on parchment paper on top of pizza peel.
• Brush pizza dough with garlic oil (you don't need to use all of it!), fish out pieces of garlic from the oil and sprinkle them over the dough.  Sprinkle the red pepper flakes over the dough.
• Spread cheeses evenly over dough
• Spread 1/2 crisped pancetta over dough (you could use all of it, this was just all I wanted)
• Spread cooked chard over dough, then onions.
• Slide pizza w/ parchment onto pizza stone.  Bake 5 minutes.
• Remove parchment paper (pizza will now be sitting directly on stone).  Bake another 5-7 minutes until crust is lightly browned.
• Slice and eat!

Some pics!
The chard:

So, ok, I'm terrible at taking photos while cooking, but at least I remembered the final product:

Cool as a cucumber

So it's hotter (and humider) than heck outside, so here's a nice cool recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen, Takeout-Style Sesame Noodles with Cucumber.  Cold noodles are heaven when it's a furnace outside. I added some cold poached chicken for some extra protein, and the recipe made enough for dinner for two and at least two lunches for me.  I made it pretty much as written, but made a few mods:

1. I did not have Chinese sesame paste so used regular tahini
2. I did not have Chinese rice vinegar so I used regular rice wine vinegar (unseasoned).  I want to find the Chinese rice vinegar as I've read it has a stronger taste - Super G here I come!
3. I added Thai basil to the mint and cilantro suggested for the chopped fresh herbs garnish.  I could have added even more.  
4. As I mentioned above, I added about 3 oz of cold poached chicken, sliced to each serving.  You could also use shredded leftover rotisserie chicken.  I bet some cold boiled/poached shrimp would be good too.

I used the same "rice sticks" Deb describes in her post (like what you might use for pad thai) which I've always struggled with cooking - they're either underdone or overdone and stuck together in a gluey ball.  I think I found a method that works well for me:  Place the rice sticks in a large bowl.  Bring enough water to boil to cover the rice sticks, and pour over.  Let the rice sticks soak 8-10 minutes, testing starting at 7 minutes or so for doneness.  Once they're done, drain the water and rinse w/ cold water to cool.  I even threw a couple of ice cubes in there to help cool down the noodles faster. Perfect and  I didn't even need to add the extra sesame oil to keep them from sticking.

I bet this would be good with soba noodles too!

Penne with Prosciutto, Tomatoes and Zucchini

This week the tomatoes continued, but we are now starting to see some summer squash as well.  This weeks' CSA bag had:

• 1 bunch carrots
• 1 lb cucumber
• 3 small peppers
• 2 lbs beets <--- this is a project I need to work on!
• 1 lb zuchinni (I got two small green and one medium yellow)
• 2 jalapeños
• 1/2 lb tiny tomatillos
• 1 bunch cilantro (check out the last post)
• 1 basil plant
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes

I wanted to make dinner last night using items in the bag and in the house, I settled on combining and modifying slightly two different recipes, one called "Penne with Prosciutto, Tomatoes and Zucchini" from a blog called "Jo Cooks" and the other called "Cherry Tomato Pasta With Proscuitto and Asiago" from Cooking Light.  Here's what I used:

Ingredients (serves 2 generously)

• 6 oz penne pasta
• 3 oz proscuitto, roughly chopped (6 slices)
• 1 tbs olive oil
• one onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 medium zucchinni, quartered lengthwise and sliced (I used the two tiny green ones I got)
• 12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
• kosher salt to taste (about 1/4 tsp)
• ground pepper to taste
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 oz parmesan cheese, grated
• handful fresh basil, chopped

 Instructions:

•  Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and reserve
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Add prosciutto; cook 3 minutes or until crisp. Remove prosciutto from pan, reserving fat. Place crisped proscuitto on a paper towel lined plate to absorb fat.  If there is not at least 2 tsp of fat left in the pan, add 2 tsp olive oil.
• Add onion, sauté 4 minutes until softened
• Add zucchini, garlic, and pepper, cook 1 minute. 
• Add tomatoes and salt; cook 3 minutes.
• Stir in pasta and vinegar; cook 30 seconds. 
• Remove pan from heat; stir in chopped basil
• Divide pasta mixture among 2 bowls; top with prosciutto and sprinkle the parmesan over the two bowls. 
• Sprinkle with additional chopped basil 

This was pretty good, but next time I make it I might replace the proscuitto with sweet Italian sausage.

Some pics!
Line up your ingredients:

Saute those veggies:

Forgot to take pics of adding the tomatoes, but here it is plated up: