Food

Rolled Lamb Loin Roast

Lamb is a delicate but rewarding meat; while a lot can go wrong when cooking it, when you get it right it’s an unforgettable experience. US Wellness Meats recently sent me one of their rack of lamb split loin roasts, and honestly, it was a little intimidating. Not only is this one of the most tender parts of the lamb, it needed some initial carving/butchering as well. Since one of my goals of this site is to make cooking less intimidating, I was happy to have the opportunity to demystify this formidable cut of beast.

I went with a French-inspired preparation of the dish. I carved the rack into a rolled loin roast, and used the leftover bone pieces to make an on-the-spot broth while the roast marinated. This broth then served as a base for my mint/parsley/mustard sauce.

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Salisbury Steak

NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.

Growing up with the Standard American Diet (otherwise known as SAD), I became accustomed to certain tastes. One of my favorite random meals was Salisbury steak TV dinners – something about that squishy meat and savory broth really hit the spot for me. So I decided to re-create this dish, but instead of squishy, breadcrumb-filled beef, I used some of the best ground beef I’ve ever tasted – US Wellness Meats’ 75% lean ground beef (by the way, their 25lb. bulk pack is on sale until 10PM CST on Saturday, March 3rd!). It tasted just as good as it looks.

Interestingly enough, Salisbury steak was first developed in the late 19th century by Dr. J H Salisbury as a low-carb, weight-loss dish. Similar dishes are popular worldwide, especially in Japan (hanbāgu steak) and Russian (котлета).

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Lemon and Dill Smoked Chicken

For Thanksgiving last year, I roasted/smoked our turkey. It turned out so crispy and delicious that lately I’ve been smoking our chickens using the same method. This recipe isn’t terribly different from that turkey post, but I wanted to make sure it had its own dedicated post so that visitors can quickly find it.

I did a little experimenting and found that the combination of lemon and dill – traditionally used in baked salmon – creates a tangy, fresh tasting bird. Because I smoked this chicken during our January Whole30 Challenge, I tried rubbing clarified butter all over the chicken instead of regular butter – I found it easy to work with (the butter quickly became solid again once in contact with the chicken skin), and it produced a golden protective outer “shell” around the chicken, leaving the meat inside perfectly succulent.

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Paleo Barbecue Sauce

NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.

We make ribs at the house pretty often, so much so that we seem to always be buying BBQ sauce. Although I like the taste of the all-natural (and unfortunately-named) Bone Suckin’ Sauce, I’ve been wanting to make my own sauce for a while.

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Gluten Free Chicken Lasagna

One of the more unique elements of my December giveaway was that I promised to make the winner a gluten-free variation of any traditional dish they wanted. The winner, Mandy from The Yard, requested a gluten-free chicken lasagna, and I was definitely up for the challenge. Little did I know how much of a challenge it would be!

From the outset, I wanted to make a creamy, spinach-based lasagna like you’d find in Northern Italy, since it would go really well with chicken. The trouble came with the rest of the ingredients – how much cream do I use? What cheese will work best? And how long do I cook it? After several unsuccessful attempts, I feel like a chicken lasagna expert in what NOT to do. For example, don’t use ricotta cheese, because it makes the dish too rich. Also, you don’t need as much cream as you’d think, and you need to thicken the cream with hard cheese to keep it from bubbling over while baking. You also need to soak the no-boil noodles in hot water before cooking (despite the manufacturer warning you AGAINST doing that) in order to get the perfect consistency without overcooking your spinach. Lastly, mozzarella cheese works best on a top layer, creating a pizza-like upper crust.

After a good amount of trial and error, I’m proud to say that I’ve got a unique and delicious chicken lasagna recipe that is just about the tastiest thing I’ve ever made. Fair warning: this is a dairy-intensive dish, with butter, cream, and four different types of cheese!

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Grilled Plantains

During the month of January, my wife and I did the Whole30 challenge. The challenge is very similar to our current diet, but without any dairy, white potatoes, white rice, or sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. I felt great all month, but I did struggle with maintaining my weight (I’m a pretty skinny guy). In order to keep up a good amount of carbs, I spent a lot of time eating carb-heavy foods like sweet potatoes, parsnips, sun-dried tomatoes, squash, and plantains.

Of all of those foods, grilled plantains may have been my favorite. They were dead simple to make, and have distinct tastes depending on how ripe the fruits are. Green plantains have a dry, starchy texture and mild taste, while yellow and black plantains are sweeter and less starchy. While fried plantain chips seem to be the standard way to eat plantains in the Paleo world, I wanted to try out grilled plantains (admittedly, it was because I was grilling a lot anyway and I figured, why dirty another dish?).

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Traditional-cut Korean Short Ribs (Wang Galbi/Kalbi)

NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.

Although flanken-cut short ribs (sometimes called L.A. or English cut ribs) are more commonly found in Korean restaurants today, every so often you’ll find that a chef that prepares kalbi (galbi, 갈비) in the traditional way – by using a full length of rib that’s filleted in layers. This traditional cut is called wang galbi/kalbi, which is literally translated as “king ribs”.

My most recent box of goodies from US Wellness Meats included a package of their delicious beef short ribs. This beautiful one-pound rack was the perfect opportunity to make some “king ribs” of my own.

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Sweet Potato Poi (Poi ‘Uala)

NOTE: An updated version of this recipe appears in my cookbook, The Ancestral Table.

Poi is a Polynesian staple food, typically made with mashed taro root. However, it’s a little-known fact that the Hawaiian people also made poi from sweet potato and breadfruit. Given the fact that taro root is relatively hard to come by here in Maryland, we regularly make sweet potato poi to stave off our Hawaiian-food cravings. To bring in a little extra island flavor, I add a little coconut milk to the poi, which gives it a taste similar to haupia (a Hawaiian coconut dessert). Its creamy texture and sweet taste are perfect accompaniments to my kalua pig recipe.

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Honey and Citrus Glazed Ham

Ham seems like a simple hunk of meat. All you have to do is buy a cured, pre-sliced ham and warm it up in the oven. Unfortunately, while this is the easiest (and most common) way to get some ham in your belly, it’s not the healthiest option. Your everyday pre-cooked ham is loaded with sugar and nitrates.

I’ve been meaning to tackle an uncured ham for a while, so imagine my delight when US Wellness Meats asked me to write up a recipe for their petite ham. This smoked ham is both sugar and nitrate free, using compassionate certified pork. Its size is also perfect for our family of three – 2.5 lbs of porcine goodness. There was plenty for us to eat, and a good amount of leftovers to boot. For those of you using a cured and/or a spiral-cut ham, don’t worry – this recipe works just fine for them as well.

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Kalbi, Illustrated by Alex Boake

Yesterday I posted my own recipe for one of Alex Boake’s awesome illustrations. I was really happy with the results.

Additionally, I’ve got a little secret: in writing up one of her creations, I secretly coerced her into making an illustration of one of my recipes. She decided to take on my kalbi recipe, and her piece is probably the coolest thing on the entire internet right now. Head over to her blog to check out her post about my recipe.