ATIT Reheated: Cooking with Jack, part 11 — Roast turkey

By Jack Brummet

Buy a fresh, unprocessed turkey (they call them "natural").  Or if you have the $$$, get a free range or free range organic heritage bird (which can cost about three times what a natch turkey costs). Remove the neck and giblets (make some stock with them for your gravy or to add to the pan).

Brine:
Two gallons water (or substitute half a gallon of apple cider for part of this).
1 1/2 cups of kosher or sea salt
Two cups of brown sugar
six bay leaves, crumbled (fresh if you have a bay tree)
a handful of fresh rosemary, stripped from the vine
the peel of one orange, torn into smaller pieces (sure, squeeze the juice in too)
four cloves of garlic, minced or smashed
3 shallots, sliced or diced
a handful of peppercorns (3 tablespoons)
a handful of coriander seeds (say 3 tablespoons).
ten whole allspice, smashed with the flat side of a chef's knife

Put all the ingredients above into a pot. Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat.  Let it cool, and then put it into the freezer to get cold.

Brine the turkey for 36 hours.  This is enough for a 20 pound bird.  You can put all this into a brining or turkey cooking bag and then add the turkey. I don't quite get the bag thing. I have a lot of pots, and usually use a very large stainless steel pot.

36 hours later, remove the turkey and toss out the brine.  Give the turkey a good rinse, inside and out.

Don't salt the turkey (we already did that).  Stuff the cavity and vent very loosely with a mixture of onions, chopped whole lemons, rosemary, shallots and sage.  Whatever you like can go in there.  Add a cup and a half of stock to a roasting pan, and put the turkey on a rack (topping it up as it cooks).  Rub butter or olive oil over the skin.  Rub some more under the skin, and tuck bay leaves, sage and rosemary under the skin (which looks awesome as it cooks).

Crank the oven to 500.  When it hits 500, throw the turkey in.  In half an hour, turn it down to 350.  Turkey generally cooks at about 13 minutes per pound, or in about four and a quarter hours.  Start checking the temperature with a fast read thermometer at 3 1/2 hours.  When the temp in the center of the thigh hits 150-155, take the bird out and let it sit for 20 minutes.  It will rise to around 160 degrees.  Perfect.

Do not take a knife to it before that!  Carve and serve with all the wonderful side dishes.  Actually, I'm not a huge fan of most of them.  Except stuffing.  For me, the ideal Thanksgiving would be turkey, stuffing, a huge green salad, and a spoonful or two of fresh cranberry sauce: one bag cranberries, half a cup of sugar, one cinnamon stick, a couple of crushed clove berries, the juice of two oranges and two limes (and throw in their minced peels).  Cook ten minutes, until the cranberries pop.  Serve them at room temperature (not cold).   You can add ginger if you like (I have and it works), but it's perfectly fine like this,

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Cookin' with Jack: Fried Rice

By Jack Brummet

4 tbs peanut or other oil (Note: I think Canola has a nasty taste, but feel free)
6 Chinese sausages, sliced about 1/4" thick (or 1/2 lb. ham, or Chinese BBQ pork)
1 white onion diced (yellow or onion OK)
Salt and pepper
3 fat cloves garlic, finely minced
3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
5 scallions, thinly sliced on the bias, white and green separated
1 cup fresh (in the summer) or frozen peas
Half cup finely diced carrots
2-4 celery stalks sliced thin
A cup or cup and a half of peeled shrimp (raw, or use peeled tiny fresh cooked Oregon shrimp).
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 cups cold cooked long-grain rice (cooled overnight and grains separated by hand or with a utensil). About one cup per person.  Jasmine or Basmati works well too.
sesame oil to taste (2-3 teaspoons)
soy (tamari for GF) sauce - to taste, 2-4 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons of Mirin (optional but good)

Once you make it you'll have a sense of how to make it your own next time.  

Heat a wok or large heavy-bottomed cast iron skillet or wok to low heat.  Add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the beaten eggs. Cook until  just firm enough to lift out of the wok to cool.  You can do them like a pancake or like scrambled eggs with large curds,  Put it on a cutting board and chop it into small pieces.

Crank up the flame all the way.  After a couple of minutes, add a teaspoon or two of oil and stir fry the sausage for a couple of minutes on high heat.   Put in a bowl on the counter.

Add a little oil and the onions and celery to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes until onion is just sweated, stirring all the time.  Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and stir 30 seconds. Add peas and carrots . Cook until just defrosted (if frozen) but  leave them crisp.  Empty it all into the bowl of sausage.

Return the pan to the heat and add 3 tablespoons of oil. When the wok is smoking, add the rice to the pan and use a wooden spoon to break up any clumps. Season with pepper and stir-fry the rice to coat evenly with oil. Stop stirring, and let the wok go for 30 second increments between tossing and stirring.  Add the mirin if using. Stir the rice again, breaking up any new clumps. Add the sesame oil to taste (at least two teaspoons-1 Tbs. I like a little more).

Add the shrimp, if using.  Stir for a minute.  Add soy sauce--about 4 TBS but taste it after 2, you may like it just like that).  Add in the chopped up eggs and contents of the bowl with sausage, herbs, vegies).  Stir and toss.  Add the scallion greens.  Add salt and pepper if it needs a touch more (the salt should be fine).  

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Cooking with Jack: Irish Stew for St. Patrick's Day

By Jack Brummet

• 2 1/2 lb. lean beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes** (Or better yet, 2 1/2 pounds lamb shoulder)
• [a lot of Irish Stew recipes use bacon, I don't, but feel free]
• 3 tablespoons oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons AP flour
• 1 teaspoons salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 healthy pinch cayenne or 1/2 tsp. Tabasco
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cups stout 
• 1 sprig fresh thyme (a teaspoon dried is OK)
• 2 1/2 cups carrot, cut in thirds
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1. Toss meat with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. 
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Dredge the beef in the flour.
3. Heat 2 TBS oil oil in a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add the beef, and brown on all sides. 
4. Add onions and garlic and lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Pour 1/2 cup of the beer into the pan, and as it begins to boil, use a wooden spoon to loosen the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. 
6. Pour in the other cup and a half of beer and add the thyme, and tomato paste. 
7. Lower heat to a slow simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes (stirring once in a while). 
8. Add the carrots and cook another half hour to 45 minutes.
9. Check seasoning and garnish with chopped parsley.
10. If you want, serve with boiled or roasted potatoes (don't cook them in the stew). 

**Note: With beef, use chuck. Other lean cuts like, say, sirloin, just don't break down right and you end up with these tight little nuggets rather than tender. chunks But your own chuck and cube it yourself rather than buy the unknown cut in generic supermarket "stew meat." For lamb, for the same reasons, use lamb shoulder.

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Cookin' with Jack, part 11: Roast Turkey

By Jack Brummet

Buy a fresh, unprocessed turkey (they call them "natural").  Or if you have the $$$, get a free range or free range organic heritage bird (which can cost about three times what a natch turkey costs). Remover the neck and giblets (make some stock with them for your gravy or to add to the pan).

Brine:
Two gallons water (or substitute half a gallon of apple cider for part of this).
1 1/2 cups of kosher or sea salt
Two cups of brown sugar
six bay leaves, crumbled (fresh if you have a bay tree)
a handful of fresh rosemary, stripped from the vine
the peel of one orange, torn into smaller pieces (sure, squeeze the juice in too)
four cloves of garlic, minced or smashed
3 shallots, sliced or diced
a handful of peppercorns (3 tablespoons)
a handful of coriander seeds (say 3 tablespoons).
ten whole allspice, smashed with the flat side of a chef's knife

Put all the ingredients above into a pot. Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat.  Let it cool, and then put it into the freezer to get cold.

Brine the turkey for 36 hours.  This is enough for a 20 pound bird.  You can put all this into a brining or turkey cooking bag and then add the turkey. I don't quite get the bag thing. I have a lot of pots, and usually use a very large stainless steel pot.

36 hours later, remove the turkey and toss out the brine.  Give the turkey a good rinse, inside and out.

Don't salt the turkey (we already did that).  Stuff the cavity and vent very loosely with a mixture of onions, chopped whole lemons, rosemary, shallots and sage.  Whatever you like can go in there.  Add a cup and a half of stock to a roasting pan, and put the turkey on a rack (topping it up as it cooks).  Rub butter or olive oil over the skin.  Rub some more under the skin, and tuck bay leaves, sage and rosemary under the skin (which looks awesome as it cooks).

Crank the oven to 500.  When it hits 500, throw the turkey in.  In half an hour, turn it down to 350.  Turkey generally cooks at about 13 minutes per pound, or in about four and a quarter hours.  Start checking the temperature with a fast read thermometer at 3 1/2 hours.  When the temp in the center of the thigh hits 150-155, take the bird out and let it sit for 20 minutes.  It will rise to around 160 degrees.  Perfect.

Do not take a knife to it before that!  Carve and serve with all the wonderful side dishes.  Actually, I'm not a huge fan of most of them.  Except stuffing.  For me, the ideal Thanksgiving would be turkey, stuffing, a huge green salad, and a spoonful or two of fresh cranberry sauce: one bag cranberries, half a cup of sugar, one cinnamon stick, a couple of crushed clove berries, the juice of two oranges and two limes (and throw in their minced peels).  Cook ten minutes, until the cranberries pop.  Serve them at room temperature (not cold).   You can add ginger if you like (I have and it works), but it's perfectly fine like this,

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Cookin' with Jack #8: Cioppino

By Jack Brummet, Soup Ed.

Jack's Cioppino

(Serves 6-8; you can easily double or triple it)

3 tablespoons olive oil (many recipes use butter; I don't)
1 large fennel bulb, halved & thinly sliced, tough outer leaves removed
1 onion, rough chopped
3 large shallots, chopped
2 teaspoons salt (at least maybe more--let your taste buds be the guide)
some fresh ground pepper
4 fat garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups dry white wine, and pour a tumbler for yourself
5 cups fish stock (If you buy whole raw shrimp, boil their shells and tails in a cup and a half of water.  I also often use clam nectar or clam base.  Both is good)

1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes, (I was thinking of trying a habanero instead.  Or just mince a bird pepper, or hot chilies, or use a few shakes of Tabasco or Sri Racha. 
2 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried, or fresh, oregano
chopped parsley
dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 pound manila clams, scrubbed
1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 pounds firm-fleshed fish fillet.  I use fresh Puget Sound Rockfish (aka "snapper") or fresh (and for a few months each year, frozen), Alaska Sockeye.  (I have considered also trying smoked Salmom too).
Optional:  In the northwest, buy Dungeness Crab and toss a handful on top at the end.
Optional: Squid, added at the very end, cooked maybe 1 minute--flash cooking in oliv e oil keeps it tender
Optional: Scallops.  Split in half, in the very last 2 minutes before serving. 
Optional: Fat chunks of Maine Lobster
Optional: garnish with some preserved lemon

Heat oil in a big pot over medium heat. Add fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until onion is translucent.  Add garlic and your pepper or chili and saute two minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and tomatoes with their juices, and the wine, fish stock, and the herbs. Cover and simmer slow for 30 minutes.

Add Worcestershire (a teaspoon or so) and the clams (or mussels).  Cook until the clams begin to open, about 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open.  This only takes a couple of minutes.  Remove from heat!  This is key.  Don't overcook the fish.  Error on the side of under-done!  Remember the fish will be sitting in hot stock. 

Season with salt if needed and add chopped parsley and optional preserved lemon.  Ladle into bowls.  Serve with sturdy bread (in SF it's always sourdough), for dipping, and a delicious red wine (Cotes du Rhone, Rioja, a Bordeaux, or even a great Cabernet). 

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Cooking with Jack No. 7: Muskrat Casserole

By Jack Brummet

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Cooking with Jack, Part 5 - Limoncello (lemon zest liqueur)

By Jack Brummet

Limoncello (lemon zest liqueur)

15 lemons (organic if possible/affordable), well scrubbed
2 750ml 100 proof vodka
4 cups cane sugar
5 cups water


1. Carefully zest the lemons, leaving no/very little white pith on the peel.  Pour one bottle of vodka in a large jar or ceramic container and add the peel as it is zested.  Freeze the juice or use it in something!
 
2.  Let sit for at least ten days and up to a month in a cool dark place.

3.  Combine the sugar and water and bring to a boil.  Cook about 5 minutes until the syrup thickens.  Allow to cool.

4.  Add to the limoncello mixture with the second bottle of vodka.  Allow to rest for another 30 days or more.

5.  Strain using a fine sieve or cheesecloth and bottle.  Keep one bottle handy in your freezer.  Serve it cold and straight, on the rocks, or in a cocktail with seltzer and bitters.  People also use it on ice cream and in other desserts.

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Cookin' with Jack No. 2 - U.S. Senate Bean Soup

By Jack Brummet, Cooking Editor

• 2 cups dried navy beans
• two quarts water (or chicken or ham stock)
• 1+ pound smoked ham hocks or shanks
• 1 TBS Olive Oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
• [optional: a touch of cayenne, a couple cashes of Tabasco or habanero sauce]
• 1 medium potato peeled and quartered
• 3 stalks chopped celery
• 2 carrots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Bay leaf
• some form of heat: not much: cayenne, tabasco, habanero in the sauce for a while
• fresh ground pepper/salt
• handful chopped Italian parsley  

Chop the onions, garlic, celery, carrots and sweat them for a couple of minutes in olive oil in a soup pot.   Wash the navy beans and add to the vegetables with the pot with the water. Add the bay leaf and ham hocks and simmer 2- 21/2 hours in a covered pot, stirring occasionally.  Add the peeled, quartered potato for the last half hour.

Remove ham hocks and set aside to cool. Dice meat and return to soup. Add the optional chili or hot sauce.  Before serving, bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Add parsley.  You can serve it as is, or blend the soup to a creamy consistency.

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In the kitchen with Jack: Harira

By Jack Brummet

I first had this soup in Morocco in 1982.  It's one of the world's great soups.  My rendition is not necessarily 100% faithful, but it's close, and very tasty.  You can easily make it vegetarian by leaving out the lamb, vegan by leaving out the lamb and eggs, and gluten-free by substituting rice for the vermicelli.

Jack's Harira

 1+ pound cubed lamb meat (chicken OK too) 

 2 cloves garlic, crushed

 1 teaspoon ground turmeric (I sometimes add a little saffron too)

 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or 2-3 sticks of cinnamon)

 2 tsp.cumin

 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, or better yet a few hearty gratings of fresh ginger

 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or a doze of your favorite chilis or Tabasco)

 2 tablespoons olive oil

 3/4 cup chopped celery

 1 onion, chopped

 1 red onion, chopped

 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes

 7 cups water

 3/4 cup green lentils (French De Puy are the best, but any green or brown lentil works)

 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained (better: soak and cook the dried ones)

 4 ounces vermicelli pasta, or thin spaghetti, or rice (Basmati or short grain) for GF folk

 2 eggs, beaten

 1 lemon, juiced (note: if you have access to preserved lemons, chop one up and add it...it's a great addition)

1. Place the olive oil, lamb, turmeric, garlic, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cayenne, butter, celery, onion, and cilantro into a large soup pot over a low heat. Stir frequently for 5 minutes. Pour tomatoes (reserve juice) into the mixture and let simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Pour tomato juice, 7 cups water, and the lentils into the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Let soup simmer, covered, for 2 hours.

3. About 10 minutes before serving turn the heat to medium-high, place chickpeas and noodles into the soup, let cook about 10 minutes (until noodles are al dente). Stir in lemon and eggs, let eggs cook 1 minute. Add some freshly chopped parsley and cilantro.

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Red Beans & Rice

Since it's been about three years since we posted a recipe, I guess it's time. . .  /jack

jack's red beans and rice

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried small red beans, rinsed and sorted over (don't use kidney beans...they're lame)
• a hearty splash of olive oil 
• 1 chopped bell pepper
• 2 quarts water
• 6 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow or white onions
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon salt  (maybe a little more) + freshly ground black pepper
• 1 chopped chipotle in adobo, or red pepper flakes, tabasco, habanero sauce, etc.
• 2 or 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons crushed fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1/2 pound or more smoked sausage, sliced into 1/3" thick rounds
• cooked white rice (say 3-5 cups)
• chopped green onions for garnishing

Directions

• Sort the beans, cover them in a pot with water 3" over the beans. Soak all day or overnight.  Drain and set aside.  Or do a quick soak if you're in a hurry or a bad planner..
• In a large (preferably cast iron dutch oven) pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
• Add ham hocks and cook for 3 minutes.
• Add the onions, celery and peppers, salt pepper, chipotle, and cook  until the vegetables are soft (3 min).
• Add the sausage, bay leaves, thyme, and cook, stirring, to brown the sausage and ham hocks.
• Add the garlic. Cook for 1 minute (don't brown it...sweat it).
• Add the beans and water, stir, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring every few minutes, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken (1 1/2 to 2 hours).  Add water if necessary.
• Mash about 1/2 a cup of beans in the pot with the back of a wooden spoon.  Check for seasoning. 
• Serve over rice and garnish with green onions (no cheese or sour cream...it's great straight!). 
• Put out Tabasco and other hot sauces, maybe some chopped jalapenos, and plenty of beer.

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