Leftouts: Make Hash

Make hash. Not the kind of hash you get in Amsterdam. It's a simple skillet dish you can make if you have left over roast (either pork or beef). It's super simple and great for breakfast with a fried egg and may some ketchup.

Pork roast and potato hash

Here's how to make an easy hash.

• Add a couple teaspoons of olive oil to hot cast iron skillet.
• Dice a potato or two depending on how hungry you are to 1/4" cubes and add to skillet.
• Salt and pepper to taste. You can also add a little onion powder and/or garlic powder or chile powder.
• Let potatoes start to fry and get crusty on medium heat. Turning only occasionally.
• pick apart and shred your left over roast while potatoes cook
• When potatoes start to get crusty on all sides after turning a few times, add the shredded roast in about equal amount to potatoes. You may need to add a splash of oil. I add the solids at bottom of roast dish.
• Let all of it start to fry together and get crunchy.
• Get a 1/4 cup water and the lid to the skillet in your hand.
• Pour the water over the hash and cover immediately. Let steam for a couple more minutes.

Eat it alone or serve with a topping like sour cream, cheese, chopped onions, ketchup, salsa or pesto - or top with a fried egg.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Poached Pear

Pears are one of my favorite fruits. I tend to overbuy at the farmer's market. So I like to switch it up - it's especially good to use these before they start to get too soft, but might be firm any more.

Poached Pear

I don't have a recipe, just a method.

1. LIQUID
You need some liquid to simmer the pear in. I fill a small sauce pan with water a juice of a lemon or lime. You can also use, white wine, cranberry juice, apple juice or orange juice.

2. SPICES
Add some spice. You can use a combination of anything aromatic and makes you think of the holidays. I like to use vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg. I add just a pinch of salt too.

3. SIMMER
Peel your pear with a peeler. Keep stem intact. Simmer pear for 15-20 minutes until tender. Remove and let cool for several minutes.

4. SYRUP
Meanwhile make a syrup to top it. You can use any kind of juice. I like to do 1 part juice,  1 part sugar  - maybe a splash of gran marnier, whisky, scotch or rum. Simmer and reduce to half amount.

5. SERVE IT UP
Once the pear is cool, cut it in half. Cut into slices about 1/4" thick. Place in shallow dish. Pour syrup over top. Add a crunchy topping. I used coconut cookies in this case. Things like chopped nuts and cereal would work just as well.

Enjoy!

Leftouts: Making Beef Broth

I try to use all of my resources to their full potential - even all my leftouts. After Christmas I had some leftover prime rib bones with alot of meat and fatty tissue still attached to the bone. I decided to make a beef broth. It was fairly simple. There really is no "recipe" you can do it all to taste, say with bone, a carrot, couple green onions and couple cloves of garlic. Just reduce the ingredients accordingly and to taste. Anything goes.

From this process you will yield three products for future use: Beef Broth, Beef Tallow and Beef Meat.

1. I took a large stock pot and filled it with water (about 8 cups) and set it on high.

Use leftover prime rib bones to make beef broth. 

2. I then added:

• Leftover Prime Rib bones with meat and fat on bone
• 1 carrot cut into 3 pieces
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 4 green onions cut into thirds
• 
  
• 2 tsp thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1 tsp fresh ground green pepper

3. Bring all ingredients to a boil. This takes about 15 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for an hour and a half.

5. Add two more cups of water. Salt and pepper some more. 

Bring all ingredients to boil and reduce to simmer

6. Simmer until meat falls off the bone. About another hour. Just keep checking on it.

Remove and discard bones, carrot pieces and onion.

7. Remove from heat. Remove and discard the bones, carrot pieces and any large chunks of fat. You probably wont see much left of the garlic and onion. After they cook this long, they basically dissolve.

Strain broth from meat

8. Have a large bowl with a strainer ready. Empty and strain stockpot with remaining beef broth and beef pieces. Set aside strained meat pieces. Remove large pieces of fat and carrots in the meat mixture and reserve the meat for later use.

Set meat aside and refrigerate broth for about an hour.

9. Refrigerate bowl with broth for about an hour until it "sets". You will see a white solid layer form on top of the broth. 

White solid layer of "tallow" will form on top.

10. After solid layer forms on top of broth, remove from fridge. This solid white layer you are seeing is the fat (which when was raw was called "suet") now solidified into a "tallow". You will save this part to use later.

Gently remove top layer with fork.

Take a fork down the edge of the bowl and gently separate the solid layer from the layer below by slowly lifting it up. Do this slow and be careful to try to keep it in one piece and it will be less messy. Remove this piece and set aside on a piece of foil. 

11. Below the fat layer you will see a gelatinous brown liquid. This is your broth base. Put in airtight container and freeze for future use or use immediately to make soup.

You now have three resources from this process to use:

Broth base - use immediately or freeze for future use. Gently heat on low and add a little water until mixture returns completely to a liquid. You can use this for a base to make delicious soups.

Beef Meat - use immediately or freeze for future use. This meat is great for taquitos, tacos and pasta sauces.

Beef Tallow (Fat) - freeze this fat to use for the future. To use, gently reheat in a skillet. Use beef suet to make refried beans, fat base for gravy or to fry french fries.

Enjoy your new cooking resources!