Wilted lettuce, beef bread rolls – Stuffed stir-fry rolls?
I know that I was right to be a little nervous. The above picture proves that it was easy to tear.
I know I was only slightly disappointed when these came out of the oven looking way uglier than they did when they went in.
And last but not least, I know that even though I don’t know the exact ingredients or ratios, that this is the kind of dish that you can make using whatever you have leftover in the fridge. I would use up stir-fry leftovers especially because the onions and peppers would already be prepared and wouldn’t lose too much by being cooked more.
Non-Standard Meat and Poultry Options (Guest post)
While a perfectly cooked steak or tender barbecue chicken never gets old, it can be fun to bring new cuts of old favorites and alternative meat and poultry options into your kitchen. The following list comprises meat and poultry options that are often overlooked, but that offer a fantastic, flavorful alternative to my favorite meats. They are excellent with basic seasoning, in hearty stews or winter soups, or in deli sandwiches. I hope they whet your palate and inspire you.
Pork butt, which is often known as Boston Butt, is an excellent cut for making stew. Contrary to what its name might suggest, pork butt is actually derived from the hog shoulder. It often includes the upper arm, the shoulder blade, and connective tissue around the neck. Although it is slightly tough, pork butt can add a robust flavor to most dishes. It makes for excellent sausages and can be ground into patties for breakfast dishes. Pork butt is also often used to make a rich lard, which makes pork butt a rather versatile piece of meat.
Ostrich is, unfortunately, an overlooked type of poultry. Yet, ostrich is an exceptional choice if you are looking for non-standard poultry selections. It is a prime choice for individuals looking for leaner, healthier, nutrient-rich meat. Ostrich contains fewer calories than its feathered, more popular counterparts, chicken and turkey, and less than one-third the fat of the average chicken. A red meat with an unusually rich texture, ostrich can be included in any dish that calls for beef or lamb. Ostrich is tender, succulent, and rich with iron and essential omega-3 fats. If you are interested in changing up your breakfast or burger routing, ostrich can be easily crafted into a delicious patty.
If you enjoy lamb, rack of lamb is a cut that you absolutely must try. Rack of lamb begins at the lamb saddle and carries its way to the eye muscle. If you prefer a leaner cut, rack of lamb comes in three varieties. A frenched cut is one in which the fat between the bones is carefully removed while a capoffed cut removes the largest chunk of fat from the cut. A fully denuded cut, in which all fat throughout the cut is removed, might seem too lean, but lamb’s full flavor ensures that, with or without fat, the rack of lack is a mouth-watering choice. Rack of lamb may be sautéed, roasted, or braised and incorporated into a larger dish.
Finally, if you can find a good wagyu brisket for sale, this delicious meat offers an unexpected treat. Layered with a substantive cap of fat, the brisket is incredibly rich with buttery flavor and is an essential for any serious smoke-pit connoisseur. The marbled folds of this brisket lends itself to its uniquely abundant flavor. Many recipes suggest cooking wagyu brisket for at least 12 hours in a smoke pit to bring out its full flavor. Among barbecue and smoke pit meats, wagyu brisket is truly a delicacy.
In the end, there’s never an end to the amount of quirky options we have at our culinary disposal. If you think there’s another great option that I missed, please feel free to let me know in the comments.
Ralph Venkirk is a lifelong fan of the culinary arts. Nothing makes him happier than serving something that his friends have never seen before. When he’s not cooking, Ralph enjoys trying a new beer while watching his favorite sports teams.
Giant Halloween pumpkin burger – Trick or treat?
It’s both a Halloween trick and a treat, no?
The girls love burgers, so I thought it’d be a blast to make an extra large one. It was Fall of 2009 and it was probably one of the first times I went on a true pumpkin kick. I was loving “look alikes” at the time, too, so it just fit, don’t you think?
Anyway, I’ll leave you with the pictures. Details of how I made it are at the bottom.
“Bun” – Carve the pumpkin in half. By “carve,” what I really mean is that I had to fight with it and a butcher knife until I finally won. It was close, though. This isn’t the same as being able to slice off the top for a jack-o-lantern or throwing a pumpkin to bust it into chunks. Trying to get it perfectly even down the middle was a pain in the butt. Ugh. Worth every minute, though. The pumpkin seeds were turned into fake sesame seeds by gluing them on top to look like a real burger bun.
Meat – A mix of beef and turkey so that it wasn’t as greasy as pure beef would’ve been. That meant I could get a full patty to hold together instead of it breaking apart. I cooked it on a large round cookie sheet and let it cool just slightly before sliding it onto the ‘bun.’
Toppings – Tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, cheese…. nothing special here. The cheese was left in small slices and not spread across the entire thing so that it made it easy to serve individual burgers after we deconstructed it.
Serving – I cut it into jagged squares-ish, based loosely around the cheese and tomato slices fell and let each person reconstruct their own burger on a regular bun. Then they could add their own condiments and trade toppings they don’t like to other people before eating. You could easily toss them in a toaster oven to melt the cheese more or add the cheese to the whole patty before putting the burger together in the first place. I wasn’t sure how well it would hold my first time, though.
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