Beer Braised Corned Beef for a Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash

Well this is a first for A Wicked Scoff as I'm actually posting a slow cooker recipe. I don't have anything personal against slow cookers, but I just very rarely use mine. I see the value of them, and the whole set'em and forget'em philosophy, but I prefer being hands on in the kitchen. If I want to cook something low and slow, I like to brown it in my Dutch oven and cook it at 300 for 3-4 hours. As I'm finding out however slow cookers can be a indispensable kitchen tool especially if you are on a busy schedule such as working parents with a table full of hungry mouths that need feeding at the end of the day. After the success I had the other weekend with a slow cooker braised corned beef brisket, I'll be thinking up some new ways to utilize my slow cooker, which I no longer consider a wedding gift dust collector.

Deconstructed Corned Beef Hash Brunch

As you know, a couple of weeks ago was St. Patrick's Day, and to celebrate the holiday weekend, some friends and family came into town and we went out to a nearby Irish bar and restaurant for dinner and some live Irish music. We had a great time...a real scuff and a scoff! Since our guests were spending the night, I wanted to make a nice hearty brunch that would fit with the theme of the weekend as well as cure any ill effects from the night before. The plan was to make a deconstructed corned beef hash, whereby I would take the elements of traditional corned beef hash and serve them individually on the plate. People could eat them components as they liked, one by one, or all on the same forkful, thus reassembling the hash one bite at a time.

Since we would be getting home late I decided to cook the corned beef in the slow cooker and let it braise nice and slow overnight. I also cooked some cabbage in the pot with the brisket and to put a Newfoundland/Wicked Scoff spin on the whole thing, I added a bottle of Quid Vidi Brewing Company's award winning Eric's Red Cream Ale to the cooking liquid. The result was out of this world tender and flavorful corned beef. Move over bacon, this is my new breakfast meat staple! Also forget the alarm clock as the smells going through the house had everyone and feeling hungry bright and early.

I served the sliced corned beef along with some caramelized onions mixed with the braised cabbage, poached eggs, Habitant brand mustard pickles, rye bread toast and some homemade hash browns, seasoned with summer savory. Here are a few pictures of this delicious brunch, along with how I made the components and put it together.

Beer Braised Corned Beef Brisket

Beer Braised Corned Beef Brisket...in the slow cooker!
Add the following ingredients to your slow cooker. Set on LOW and cook for 7-8 hours. Remove from pot and let rest, covered with foil for about 15 minutes. To serve, cut thick slices against the grain.

• 1-4 pound corned beef brisket
• brisket seasoning pack f pickling spice
• 1 head of green cabbage, quartered
• 1 bottle of beer (Eric's Red Cream Ale), followed by 2 bottles of water
• 2 bay leaves

 Caramelized Onions with Cabbage

• 1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced fine
• 1 Tbsp each of oil and butter
• sliced braised cabbage

In a saute pan, heat the butter and oil over a medium heat. Add sliced onion, and cook in the butter and oil, siring occasionally for about15-20 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper. Once the onions have browned add the cooked cabbage, combine well and keep warm.

Savory Hash Browned Potatoes

Savory Hash Browns (serves 4-6)

• 6 medium potatoes, rough cut into 1 inch dice, washed and drained
• 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp dried summer savory
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Lawry's seasoning salt
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok pan. Add the diced potatoes, toss in the oil to coat and cook over a medium heat. I like to cover the pan and let the potatoes kind of steam/fry until they become tender, about 10-15 minutes (stir occasionally). Once the spuds become a little tender and can be easily pierced with a knife, remove the cover and amp up the heat to medium high. Here I season the potatoes with the seasoning salt and garlic powder and begin to crisp the hash browns. Once they are nearly cooked and are crispy all over I add the savory, pepper and taste for salt. That's it, they're ready for brunch.

Server the corned beef sliced along side the onions and cabbage, hash browns and your favorite style of eggs and toast. With some refreshing juice and good quality coffee and you'll be in brunch heaven.  Enjoy.

Robust Turkey Chili

Robust Turkey Chili

Who doesn't love chili? It's great any time of year, and especially now with cold snowy days outside, and the Super Bowl just around the corner. There are literally hundreds of variations on chili and here at A Wicked Scoff I myself like to mix it up and create my own chili variations. In an effort to make my first ground turkey chili, I created a recipe that made the dish unique when compared to the beefy chili I make. Besides going with chili, I wanted to give the dish some unique character. The road I went down was smoky and robust. For the smoky I exclusively used chipotle peppers, which are smoked jalapenos, and I also used chipotle powder in my spice blend. For the robust, I added a cup of good dark beer. I used a Robust Porter made by the Smuttynose Brewing Company out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Robust Porter is an award winning beer and with undertones of chocolate and coffee, I thought it would go excellent with the richness and aggressive seasoning of a chili. I was right. In the end product I doubt you could detect that there was beer in the chili, but the dish came out incredibly balanced with great depth of flavor.I owe that to the beer. Overall it was smoky, well seasoned and had the right amount of heat for me. It had good zing, but I didn't have to race for the sour cream after every bite. Try it like this and adjust the spice accordingly. Here's how I put it all together.

Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil

- 2 medium (or 1 large) yellow onion, medium dice
- 1 large green pepper, medium dice
- 1 pound of mushrooms, rough chopped
- 1 package of ground turkey (I used a 1.3 lb pack of 93% lean)
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- Chili spice mix (1 Tbsp each of chili powder and chipotle chili powder, 1 tsp each of paprika, salt and black pepper, and 2 tsp of ground cumin)
- 5 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
- 1 large 32oz can of crushed tomatoes (can use whole tomatoes)
- 1/2 bottle of chili sauce
- 1 cup of dark beer (such as Smuttynose Robust Porter)
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 can of kidney beans
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- green onion, sour cream, cheese and cilantro for topping

Directions:

In a large Dutch Oven or heavy bottomed pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion,  green pepper and mushrooms and saute until tender; about 4-5 minutes. Push the pepper and onions to the sides and add the ground turkey to the center. Allow the turkey to brown on one side and begin combining the meat and vegetables. Once it has cooked together for a couple minute and the turkey is browned, add the garlic, chipotles and spice mix. Add the tomatoes, chili sauce and beer and mix well. Bring to a simmer, cover and reduce heat to low. Stir the chili occasionally and cook for about 45 minutes. Add the drained and rinsed kidney and black beans, along with the chopped cilantro. Cook for an additional 15-30 minutes on low and serve.I served mine Cincinnati style, on top of spaghetti (whole grain thin spaghetti actually) with some light sour cream, reduced fat sharp cheddar, green onion, and more cilantro.Enjoy!

1892 Ale Beef and Barley Stew

This hearty and healthy beef and barley stew featuring this month's Beer of the Month" Quidi Vidi Brewing Company's 1892 Traditional Ale, is sure to satisfy. If you cannot find this variety, any dark ale will work great, such as Bass Ale. The preparation of the stew is easy, the secret is to cook it low and slow and let the starch fro the barley and the potatoes give it it's great consistency. Served with some crusty bread or rolls and paired with a glass of beer and your winter blues will melt away. Your taste buds will thank you.

1892 Traditional Ale Beef and Barley Stew

In a large dutch oven, heat over medium heat:
- 2 Tbsp light oil (canola or vegetable)

Add:
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 ribs celery, sliced thin
- 4 large carrots, sliced into thin rounds

Saute until vegetable become tender (about 5 minutes), and season with a dash of salt and pepper.
Remove from pot and reserve for later

While the veggies are cooking, prep your stew beef for the stew. Dry 2 lbs of stew beef with paper towels and cut into 1 inch pieces. Season the meat with a little Kosher salt and black pepper.

In the same pot, add:
- add 2 Tbsp of light oil and increase heat to medium  high
- gradually add the beef to the hot oil, and brown the beef in batches, as you do not want to steam the meat by adding too much at a time. Once the beef has been browned, make sure there is about 1-2 Tbsp of oil in the bottom of the pot. If not add a drop.

Now for the first thickening agent.

Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle 4 Tbsp of flour over the browned beef and stir well so all the flour gets mixed in. Cook for a couple of minutes to cook off some of the raw flour. Here comes the beer.

Add 1 bottle of ale and stir vigourously to scrape off all the browned bits.
Add 4 cups of beef stock (chicken will also be fine)
1 large can of peeled plum tomatoes
a dash of Worstershire Sauce

Bring to a boil and simmer on low for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes add:
- the cooked vegies
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 bay leaves
-1/2 cup of pearl barley
- 3 Russet potatoes, diced

Add 2-3 cups of hot water.

Cook on a simmer for another hour or so...until the beef is fork tender. For best results, cool completely in the fridge and reheat the next day!

Enjoy

Beer of the Month - January

This month's selection for The Wicked Scoff Beer of the Month is one of my favorite beers from Newfoundland, Quidi Vidi Brewing Company's 1892 Traditional Ale
http://www.quidividibrewery.ca/1892.php). I am fortunate enough to have a few of these babies left from my Newfoundland visit this summer, and there is no better time to enjoy one of these dark flavorful brews than on a cold winter's night after a hard day's work. And that's just what I'm going to do. In fact, since I have two bottles left, I'll have one to drink and I'll cook with the other one. I've been itching to make (and eat) a beef and barley soup or stew and this 1892 Traditional Ale will be the perfect additive to a rich and heart stew such as that.

While I do enjoy this beer quite a bit, and often ordered it on tap in the pubs back in St. John's, it was not always one I enjoyed. The very first time I had one was on a softball tournament. It was a hot, sunny Saturday afternoon and we had a break between games. We were playing in Argentia and there was not a beer store close to the ballfield. My buddy had a summer job working at Quidi Vidi Brewery (they were just up and running I believe) as his uncle is one of the co-founders. He had a case of 1892 sitting in his truck since the day before, and it was warm! Up until then I had little experience with dark European style beers, I was used to domestics like Labatts Blue and Molson Canadian (I know...shame on me). Anyways, lets just say that the 1892 was not a big hit amongst the crowd. They were piss warm and strongly flavoured. The only reason we drank them was because they were free, but it wasn't easy.

My palate for beers from around the world has matured somewhat since then, and really appreciate the bold flavor of 1892 Traditional Ale. The beer is brewed with two-row malt and a very generous amount of hops, giving it an amber colour and smooth finish. It is a very distinct beer for Newfoundland, and I am lucky enough to have found very similar tasting beers on tap around here. One of them is the Berkshire Brewing Company's "Steel Rail Ale". I will post my recipe for Beef and Barley Stew with Dark Ale in the coming days.



Cheers!

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup


One of the tastiest, most comforting soups I can think of is French Onion Soup. With bubbling Swiss cheese covering a rich, beefy broth full of caramelized onions, it really hits the spot. All too often however I get a really bad version of this classic soup at restaurants. Sometimes the broth is like brine, and way too salty. Other times there is no broth to speak of, just big soggy croutons underlying a bland mild cheese that is definitely not Swiss or Gruyere...or even an aged cheddar.

I know when I'm eating a really good French Onion Soup. The broth does not have to be homemade from scratch (although that would be an excellent bonus), but it can not be from a bouillon cube. The onions do have to be cooked low and slow to get the proper canalization, and there should be a je ne sais quois, a little extra depth of flavor in the broth. In classic versions of the recipe, this extra body usually comes from the addition of dry sherry or cognac, but I've also seen red wine added instead. To make this dish my own as I often like to do, I used beer...and not just any beer. I chose the straggler from my Saranac Beer Fall variety pack, the Bavarian Black Forest beer. The carmel malts and the dark creamy texture of the beer were the perfect compliment to the sweetness of the onions and the richness of the beef broth. The overall flavor of the soup was spectacular. I served the soup to my wife and she did not know there was beer in there, but knew there was a secret something extra providing complexity to the soup.

Here is my recipe....enough to fill 4 French Onion Soup crocks.

In a large, heavy bottomed pot or Dutch Oven, heat:
3 Tbsp butter and 3Tbsp olive oil over a medium-low heat

Add:
5 medium sized yellow onions, sliced thin.
Saute slowly for 15 minutes, making sure the onions do not burn.


Add:
2 cloves of garlic minced
A pinch of dried thyme and summer savory

Continue to slow cook the onions and garlic over a low-medium heat until the onions develop a brown color, about another 20 minutes.

Deglaze the pot by adding 1 cup of dark beer.

Increase the heat to high to cook off the alcohol and bring the mixture to a boil.

Add 4 cups of beef broth (carton/canned is fine...low sodium) and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

While the soup is simmering away, grate a pile of good Swiss of Gruyere cheese (classic) and cut 4 slices of fresh French bread. Toast the bread before assembling the soup.

Once the soup is cooked, taste for seasoning. Add some black pepper and salt as needed. Distribute the soup amongst 4 crocks, top each crock with a piece of the toasted bread, and top off with a small handful of the grated cheese. Place in a hot oven or under the broiler until the cheese is browning and bubbling.

Serve right away and enjoy.

Fall is here at last.

Fall is my favorite season, and it has most certainly arrived here in New England. The days are shorter and the days are a little more crisp. Hockey has started and leaves are turning the brilliant reds and oranges that New England is famous for. From a culinary perspective fall inspires me to cook the many fruits of the harvest, notably root vegetables, apples and squashes. These afford extremely well to warm hearty meals like soups, stews and roasted meats, as well as spiced desserts like apple crisp. This past week alone I've been out apple picking at one of many local orchards, enjoying my wife's apple crisp and making rich soups.

Another thing I have been doing with the onset of fall has been sampling some of the great autumn themed beers available. Not only are Octoberfest and Pumpkin Spice beers delicious seasonal brews, but they are also excellent to cook with.


My selection for beer of the month for October is actually a variety of beers, specially packed by the Mack Brewing Company's Saranac Beer, out of Utica New York (http://www.saranac.com/home/).

This "12 beers a falling" variety pack features six wonderful beers great for fall refreshment (http://www.saranac.com/page/12-beers-a-falling). Included in the variety pack are the seasonally available Octoberfest and Pumpkin Ale, in addition to their IPA, Irish Red Ale, the Bavarian Black Forest, and the Carmel Porter. Each is distinctively excellent. I actually made a French Onion Soup last night with the Black Forest beer that was very tasty. This coming weekend I will be using the Pumpkin Ale in a butternut squash soup recipe I'm deveoping, and lastly the Octoberfest will be part of my brined and roasted pork rib roast for this coming Sunday. All of these recipies will be posted in the coming days.

In the meantime, enjoy the cool, crisp refreshing fall air. Get outdoors and hike in the woods, and prepare your firewood for winter. Work up and appetite, quench your thirst with a cold ale or warm mulled apple cider, and fill your belly with a hearty bowl of soup or stew.

Beer Battered Onion Rings with Spicy Dip

One of my favorite guilty pleasures is onion rings. To utilize the beer of the month, India Beer, in a recipe, I wanted to share one of my favorites for deep fried, beer battered onion rings. These onion rings serve up crisp and lite, with a savory batter covering the tender sweet onions. I serve them up with a spicy chipotle chili-lime mayo.

My inspiration for these bad boys came from one of my favorite places to get "pub grub" in St. John's, Newfoundland...Greensleeves on George Street. In my opinion, Greensleeves serves up the best onion rings around, and I love their spice tossed chicken wings too. The onion rings there have a batter that is almost orange in color, a result of adding what I believe is their chicken wing seasoning to the batter. The flavor is unique, and to me, tastes like a combination of seasoned salt with a dash of curry powder. Here's my version.


Beer Battered Onion Rings

For deep frying, you will need either a deep fryer, or a deep, heavy bottomed pot with a thermometer. If using the latter, extra caution needs to be taken as the oil can overheat and ignite. Cook over a med to medium heat, and keep a watchful eye on your temperature. Never try this after getting home with a buzz on from the bar!

The Onions

Peel and remove the ends from two large Vidalia onions (or other sweet onion).
Slice onions into rings about 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick, and separate the rings (save the tiny inner pieces for a later use)
Add the rings to a large bowl add soak in water or milk

Make the batter

The Batter

In a bowl, combine with a whisk:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp seasoned salt (such as Lawry's)
Dash of cayenne pepper
Whisk dry ingredients to incorporate well, and slowly add
about 1 cup of cold India Beer (or other lager beer)

My trick for proper thickness of the batter is to dip my fingers in, watch the batter drip off until I see my fingers through the batter. A two second count is ideal (3 seconds for battering fish).

The Onion Rings

Preheat the oil (vegetable or canola oil works great) to 375 degrees (you'll need at least 4 inches of oil)
Pour some extra flour into a third bowl and set up an assemble line, as you'll need to fry the rings in small batches.

Pick a few rings out of the milk at a time, dredge in the flour and shake off the excess, and add to the batter. Let the excess batter drip away and slowly add to the hot oil one at a time. Using chop sticks (or similar device), keep the rings separated, and use the sticks to flip once brown on one side. Try not to over crowd the pot/fryer. When onion rings are golden brown all over, remove from the oil and let drain on a wire rack over a baking sheet. Season immediately with kosher salt or seasoned salt, and keep in a warm oven. Continue cooking the rest of the rings. Rings should cook in 3-4 minutes.

Chipotle Chili-Lime Mayo

In a small food processor or using a hand immersion blender, combine until smooth;
1 cup of mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
juice and zest of one lime
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder

Great for dipping the onion rings in. Refrigerate unused mayo and use on your favorite sandwich, wrap or burger!

Enjoy.

Beer of the Month - India Beer

I enjoy drinking and sampling different kinds of beer...and wherever I travel, I like to sample local microbrews and regional beers. I also enjoy cooking with different styles of beer, as the ingredients in beer can add great complexity, depth of flavour and richness to numerous dishes.

For June's beer of the month I have selected my favorite "macro-brew" from the great province of Newfoundland. The beer is India Beer, and as you can see in the picture, has a wonderful image of the famed Newfoundland Dog on the label. While only available in Newfoundland, India Beer is not a microbrew, as it is produced by Molson as one of their many "regional" beers. With that being said, India has a taste and character that separates it from other macrobrews such as Mosson Canadian, Labatt Blue, Budweiser, etc. Also, it should be noted that India, is not an india pale ale (IPA) style of beer, it is a lager, or more specifically a golden lager. IPAs are much hoppier and strongly flavoured than your lagers. India on the other hand, is much lighter on the pallette. It has a rich golden colour, darker than many mainstream of the same variety, and there are undertones of hops and corn, with a slight pungent aroma. India is also well suited for the Newfoundland beer drinker. It is not so lite that it is bland and watery, yet it is not so heavy as to limit you to drinking 5 or 6. On a hot June afternoon after a day of trouting or playing softball, there's nothing better than enjoying a twelve pack of icy cold India Beer!