Entries from September 30th, 2011

Hatch Chile Chicken Sausages

7

30.9.11

The idea of chicken sausages seemed like an abomination. Tasteless, dry, and unnecessary. But Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s chicken sausage recipe from Charcuterie converted me. Using all thigh meat and adding enough lard to the poultry mixture is the secret to keeping chicken sausages pleasantly moist and snappy.

Now I’m creating my own sausage recipes. Two friends gave me a very thoughtful birthday present— a combination meat grinder and stuffer. It was a fitting gift after making sausages with a funnel and surviving. My first creative sausage venture, inspired by Hatch chile season, was a success.

Hatch Chile Chicken Sausage adapted from Michael Ruhlman & Brian Polcyn’s Tomato & Basil Chicken Sausage in Charcuterie

  • 3 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cubed
  • 1 1/2 pounds pork belly, diced into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 3/4 cup chopped, roasted Hatch chiles
  • 1/4 cup tequila
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 10 feet hog casings

1. Combine the meat, fat, salt, pepper, garlic, cilantro, chiles and mix together. Refrigerate until ready to grind.

2. Using the grinder, thoroughly grind the mixture into a bowl.

3. With a sturdy wooden spoon, mix the ground meat until it is uniform in appearance. Add the tequila and oil and mix until it is distributed evenly.

4. Stuff the sausage into the casings and twist into about 8-inch links. Refrigerate or freeze.

You can bake or sautée these sausages, but they’re best grilled. Grill them slowly over indirect heat because hot flames can make natural casings burst. You can also poke holes in the sausages to relieve some of the pressure, but you risk losing some flavor when the drippings fall through the grate.

Anyone can use this recipe as an outline for creating unique sausages. Favorite dishes from restaurants or cooked at home are always good inspiration for experimentation. What do you think would be some good flavor combinations for chicken sausages?

7 comments categories: Charcutepalooza, Charcuterie, Chicken, Grilling, Meat, Pork, Poulty, Sausage, Vegetables

Homemade Crème Fraiche

2

26.9.11

I make crème fraiche whenever there’s leftover buttermilk on hand. It’s mind-numbingly easy. I pour about a cup of heavy cream into a jar, stir in a small glug of buttermilk, and let the mixture sit on my counter for 12 to 36 hours. It gets thicker and more sour the longer it sits out. Since it is a naturally cultured product, the flavor and texture are a little different each time.

So what is crème fraiche exactly? It’s heavy cream that has been transformed by the addition of a bacterial culture. The French like it so much because it doesn’t curdle when boiled, unlike American sour cream. So it’s an ideal thickener for soups and sauces. This crème fraiche will keep for at least 10 days in the refrigerator.

For those of you who are hesitant to leave fermenting dairy products on your counter, here’s a reliable (but overly fussy) recipe from Julia Child.

Crème Fraiche from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, Louisette Berthole, Simone Beck

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp commercial buttermilk
  • 1 cup whipping cream

Stir the buttermilk into the cream and heat to lukewarm- not over 85 degrees. Pour the mixture into a loosely covered jar and let it stand at a temperature of not over 85 degrees nor under 60 degrees until it has thickened. This will take 5 to 8 hours on a hot day, 24 to 36 hours at a low temperature. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.

No matter which approach you take, making crème fraiche is a fun food science experiment. It doesn’t always have to come out of a little pink Vermont Butter & Creamery container.

2 comments categories: Dairy, Dessert, Fat, French

Rustic Chicken Liver Mousse with Pistachios

1

14.9.11

Liver isn’t my favorite thing, but it can be delicious when combined with lots of creamy dairy products. Adding some booze doesn’t hurt either. The chicken liver mousse I made for this month’s Charcutepalooza challenge combines these elements. The video below about the Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn really inspired me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFVyLvYnJ-s]

I watched them make their chicken liver mousse over and over, and it made me hate myself for not eating there when I lived in New York. I was transfixed by the kitchen staff pouring molten pâté mix into the Ball jar to set. When a customer orders one, you just grab it from the fridge, unscrew the lid, and place it on the wooden board beside its accoutrements.  It was all so ingenious and…rustic. And its absurd if you think about it because this restaurant is right next to the Brooklyn Bridge in the middle of DUMBO. Pretty much the opposite of rustic. It’s an overused branding scheme for sure, but it works on me. I like that aesthetic.

Of course, I couldn’t find a recipe for this particular chicken liver mousse. So I watched the video and scoured the internet for hints. Here is the recipe I came up with:

Rustic Chicken Live Mousse with Pistachios

  • 1 lb. chicken livers (pasture-raised is best, mine were from Smith & Smith Farms)
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 medium shallots, sliced
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
  • pinch of cinnamon
  • pinch of allspice
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup pistachios, toasted and salted

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, taking care not to burn it. Add the shallots and cook for about 5 minutes, until they just start to brown. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the chicken livers, the spices (excluding the vanilla), and a large pinch of salt. Cook the liver for about 5 minutes until they are just pink in the middle. Next add the brandy and cook for 3-5 minutes more until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the skillet from heat.

Assemble your food processor and dump the liver mixture into the bowl. With the blade of the processor running, add the cream in a thin stream. Finally stir in the vanilla and taste for more salt. Now you can pass the mixture through a fine sieve to make it extra smooth, or be lazy like me and just pour it into the jars. Cover with the pistachios and place in the refrigerator overnight to set.

Even Dustin, who eats whole heads of raw garlic in one sitting, described this mousse as “strongly flavored,” so I might have gone overboard in the aromatic spices department. We still really enjoyed it with a sparkling rosé, pickled vegetables from the last ATXSwappers event, and two cheeses from Twig Farm, my fave American producer at the moment. I was sure to place the jar on our own rustic wooden board so I could unscrew the cap and admire how beautifully it contrasted with the green pistachios.

1 comment categories: Charcutepalooza, Charcuterie, Chicken, Dairy, Offal, Poulty, Uncategorized

Figs on a Plate

0

08.9.11

David Chang, chef/owner of the Momofuku restaurant empire, famously declared “…every restaurant in San Francisco is just serving figs on a plate. Do something with your food.” He pissed off lots of people, but there is some truth to his statement. Sometimes the “farm-to-table” thing isn’t enough for me. When I go out to eat, I want fresh, local ingredients, but I also want something different. I want to be challenged. I can make simple farm-to-table food “highlighting the quality ingredients” at home, thanks.

In honor of David Chang, whose food is inspiring and imaginative, here’s my version of figs on a plate. I bet you could find something similar in various San Francisco restaurants.

I love to stuff figs with soft cheese and grill them. I’ve had lots of figs to experiment with this summer thanks to my tree in the backyard. Using a paring knife, I slice an “X” into the bottom of each fig and stuff it with goat cheese mixed with rosemary, thyme, and cracked black pepper. When made with Pure Luck chevre and herbs from my garden, it’s truly a locavore’s treat that even Alice Waters would approve of. (Side note: no one should ever pay for rosemary in Austin)

I skewer the fruits and put them on the grill on medium high heat so that the outside of the fruit gets  blackened and caramelized, and the cheese gets warm and oozey. Don’t be scared, the cheese never seems to slip out. I’ve also experiment with a mix of blue cheese, cream cheese, and honey, and it was just as outstanding.

0 comments categories: Cheese, Grilling

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