[Category – Recipes]

Daybreak At The Shop

If you have been in the shop in the last month or so between the hours of 7:45am and 10am you might have noticed my propensity to play Stan Rogers quite loudly lately. As you may know, or may not, or may not care, I have a fondness for music. I would say I’m a bit of a pleasurist – that is, someone who likes things that make me feel good: namely music, food, drink, and good lovin’. I’m lucky that these things surround me all the time. And at the shop, music is a pretty big part of our day. At night the kids have anthems that signal the end of the day. Usually hip hop with lots of cuss words. In the morning, I’m usually looking for something inspirational, something that will get me revved up for the day that lies before me like an unopened book. And recently that has been courtesy of Mr. Stan Rogers.

Like many kids my age, I was exposed to a truckload of silly folk music by record-playin’ semi-hippy parents. I say silly because as a child of the seventies, and a teenager of the eighties/nineties, folk music wasn’t cool to listen to until Pearl Jam and Soundgarden opened for Neil Young (I lost my pants during a crowd-surfing adventure at that show – but I digress). My folks had a pretty extensive record collection, most of which my brother poached in the great “Chris Is Taking All Of Mom and Dad’s Records” event of the early 2000s, and we got to listen to a lot of Raffi, Anne Murray, Gordon Lightfoot, Beatles, and Huey Lewis and the News (ok, that was later) growing up. But of those, the artist that I listen to the most as an adult is Stan Rogers, hands down.

Stan Rogers’ music has the ability to make me feel connected to this country. I’m innately Canadian when I listen to Stan Rogers. And as an added bonus, no one can really give you grief for listening to him. My staff has been quick to tease me about my other indulgences, but I haven’t heard a peep about my current playlist. It’s like criticizing Margaret Atwood. “Handmaid’s Tale? Meh. Too wordy.” People just don’t do it.

Because of my culinary upbringing, I am never just satisfied with any one part of my job. Don’t get me wrong – I love what I do, but when I visit a farm and see how the animal lives, then get it into my shop and carve muscles apart, french the bones and tie the roasts, I can’t help but want to take it a step further. Cooking is a passion and will always be. Perhaps you will see something soon which allows me to play with fire again. When I butcher meat, I’m always thinking about how to cook it. And in the mornings, when I’m all alone in my wee shop, listening to Stan Rogers loudly with a side of beautiful pork in front of me, boning knife in hand, I’m thinking about how I can make my food more Canadian. This sounds as silly as my parents’ record collection, I know, but I have a sense of national pride in these small quiet moments. So with that said, here are dishes I have thought of cooking while listening to Stan Rogers’ songs. Please keep in mind these aren’t detailed recipes like others I’ve posted. Perhaps because when I think of them I’m too tired to be that organized.

The Mary Ellen Carter

- Pork Head Terrine

Brine the head overnight in salt, maple syrup, cloves, cinnamon, juniper, garlic and water. The next day poach it in a court bouillon (essentially a vegetable stock with white wine). Once cooked, cool in the liquid. Using your hands, strip all of the meat from the head. Slice the ears. Put every thing in a terrine mold and strain the liquid over the meat. Refrigerate. After it sets, unmold, and slice portions. Plate with a small salad of frisee dressed with grainy mustard. Serve with hot grilled bread and a pot of mayonnaise mixed with lots of chopped capers, gherkins, parsley, chives and mustard.

Working Joe

- Pork Shoulder Croquette

Braise pork shoulder with mirepoix, dark beer, mustard, maple syrup, rosemary, chicken stock. Cool. Strip off meat and place in mixing bowl. Add mayo, fresh breadcrumbs, chopped rosemary, and maple syrup. Form into cakes, dredge in flour, coat in egg wash and then breadcrumbs. Fry until golden and hot all the way through. Serve with pancakes. Because pancakes are delicious.

Barrett’s Privateers

Actually can’t work while listening to this song. Too much foot stompin’ and coffee drinkin’.

The House Of Orange

- Sausage

Debone a quail and stuff it with a sausage flavored with Chinese Five Spice and Maple Syrup (I totally wonder where you can find a couple of those). Wrap the stuffed quail with bacon. Using a mandolin and a knife, cut potatoes to a size mimicking rice. Make a “risotto” with the potato, flavoured with wild mushrooms, leek, and bacon. Roast the stuffed quail and serve on top of the potato risotto.

White Squall

- Rib Chop

Salt, pepper and a grill. This song is sad as hell so I can’t think about much other than red-eyed Wiarton girls.

The Idiot

- Center Cut Pork Loin Chops

Season the chops well and fry in a hot pan until golden on each side. Remove from pan and rest. Lower the heat and add chopped shallots and garlic to the same pan and caramelize over a low heat. Deglaze with white wine. Throw a handful of chopped wild mushrooms to the pan. Sauté until cooked. Add chopped parsley and chives, a squeeze of lemon, and a dash of cream. Reheat the chops in the pan with everything else and, when hot, place the whole mess out onto a platter sided with buttery mashed potatos and a lemony green salad.

The Wreck Of The Athens Queen

- Pork Belly Confit

Render pork fat from the back. Portion the belly into squares about four inches by four inches. Score the skin. Cure the belly overnight with salt, sugar, garlic, thyme, rosemary, juniper and brandy. Next day, heat up the pork fat in a deep pot. Rinse the cure off of the pork belly. Put the belly in the fat and confit at 275˚F for about three hours or four. Cool in the fat. Reheat the belly in a hot oven (450˚F), skin side down so it gets crispy. Serve with cabbage braised in brandy and a shaved apple salad.

Northwest Passage

- Whole Roast Leg of Pork

Ok, so above all others, this is the quintessential Stan Rogers Canadian song. I think every Prime Minister since Trudeau has had to follow the footsteps of brave Kelso as a rite of passage before entering 24 Sussex. And the song seems to go on and on, much like the hard travels of the sailors who risked their lives in the north. So a long roast of fresh ham it is. Score the skin finely and rub in marinade of salt, thyme, garlic, shallots, green onions, sage, and mustard seed and then stud with cloves. Allow the ham to marinate overnight. Roast in a low oven (275˚F) until a meat thermometer reads 145˚F when injected into the fattest part of the leg. Rest before carving. Serve with roasted root vegetables or a tomato salad, depending on what time of year it is.

So there you go. That’s the kind of stuff I think about in the morning. For some reason I think these types of recipes to be indicative of Canadian cuisine. Which is 100% unfounded, but I dare say if you ate any of these dishes whilst looking out over the vastness that is Lake Huron from a deck, and someone in your party was strumming a pretty tune on an acoustic, AND you were enjoying a cold beer, you would feel pretty darn Canadian. Or like a hoser. (According to my wife.) I do want to point out that there’s not much reason why those particular songs inspire these recipes, other than the fact that certain tunes can put you into a certain headspace. Tom Waits is a genius at this. And so is Stan Rogers. You may not care for his music, and that’s fine, but it’s hard to deny the power this music holds over our dear nation. And that’s why I turn the volume up. I apologize in advance if you unexpectedly fall victim to the power of the Rogers.

Posted in Cooking, General, Recipes

Meat Candy

How many times has this happened to you? You’re planning on having people over for Super Bowl Party-Valentine’s Party-Oscar Party-May 24-Canada Day etc-etc-etc but you’re on a strict food budget. You only have enough cash for either meat snacks (of the chicken wings and meatball variety) or sugary treats (Timbits). Oh what a pickle!

Fear not! Avoid this calamity by doing what I do – make something that’s a little from column A, and a little from column B. Something so diabolically righteous it’s like the devil and God went on a date that went too far due to excessive drinking, then named their little guy Meat Candy! No one can turn down Meat Candy! Well, I guess a vegetarian can, but in my experience they usually carry around protein bars with them at all times for dietary emergencies such as this, so don’t feel bad. All of your meat-eating friends will love you and spread the word that you throw the best parties, even on a strict food budget.

Meat Candy

You’ll need:

4 beef short ribs, cut crosswise about 1.5 inches thick

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced

1 knob of ginger, peeled and sliced

1 onion, peeled and sliced

1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 stalk of celery, roughly chopped

6 star anise

2 tablespoons Ssam Jang (Korean spicy bean paste)

2-3 cups of root beer

2 cups of chicken stock

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to season

1 cup shelled and roasted peanut

2 tablespoons green onion, sliced

Pre heat the oven to 325˚F. Lay the short ribs out on a cutting board and divide each into four or five even sized pieces. If you cut them into five, you’ll have to maneuver around one of the bones since there are only four of them, but you’ll figure that out. Properly season (like it’s snowing) the beef.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil and sear the beef. Remove the meat from the pot and add in the onion, garlic and ginger. Sweat these ingredients over a medium low heat until the onions are soft and caramelized – maybe ten minutes or so. Add the carrots, celery, star anise, and Ssam Jang and cook for another ten minutes. Deglaze the pot with the root beer and the chicken stock, and then put the beef back in the pot. The liquid should just cover the solid ingredients, if not add more root beer. Bring to a simmer before putting a lid on it and placing in the oven.

Braise for about two and a half to three hours, or until the bone easily slips out of the rib. Remove the meat from the pot and strain the braising liquid on top. Cool down before refrigerating overnight.

The next day, pick or scrape the solidified fat from the top of the braising liquid.

In a pan, heat the meat in the sauce a little, just to get them warm all the way through. This will make it easier to pop the bones out and discard them. So do that, then place the meat on a cutting board so you can cut the meat into evenly sized “bites”. Put the meat back into the pan with the sauce and simmer until the sauce reduces to a glaze, and the meat pieces are all shiny.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the kitchen, place the roasted peanuts in a food processor and pulse them until they are chunky. Or crush them with a hammer or whatever your food processor alternative is. Add in the green onions and salt and pulse a little more, until the whole mixture looks like very coarse breadcrumbs. Transfer the mix into a bowl.

Take your sticky, warm meat and roll it around in the peanut until well coated. This can be a messy job so I like to use a fork and spoon to keep my fingers from getting all syrupy. Place the finished meat candy bites on a clean plate. Serve immediately while they’re still warm.

These little bad boys taste like a Snickers, except with meat instead of nougat. And without the chocolate. And as a bonus, they pair excellently with wine, beer, AND cocktails. I know…amazing, right? So dig in cheapskate, your party going to be a smashing success!

Posted in General, Recipes

Is Fish Meat?

Finally! A subject that has some worth in this online rag.

People assume because I own and work in a butcher shop, I must not eat a lot of fish. False! X Buzzer! Not! I’m blessed to have a shop in a market that boasts FOUR fish shops within spitting distance of each other (sometimes I wonder if they do spit at each other), and more importantly, they are all extremely close to us. So it’s super easy for us to walk over from the shop and get some beauty catch of the day from any of our friends. I realize it’s not always so easy to do the same wherever you are, but even most grocery stores have a decent seafood counter now. It is best to acquaint yourself with Oceanwise, which is an aquatic conservation program out of the Vancouver Aquarium. Check out their website to find out what underwater critters you should be eating. They kind of know what they’re talking about, so I trust them. If you’re looking for a store that is Oceanwise certified and crazy good, check out our homeboys and homegirls over at Hooked in Leslieville. They also kind of know what they’re talking about. Fact.

So anyway, a couple of weeks ago I wrote about how I want to lose some, if not all, of my fat gut. I stopped drinking, which is great for my body but boring as all hell. I’m boxing again, which is a killer workout. (For the record, I don’t boxercise. I hit things and deke out punches. And do burpies and jump squats. And then I barf in my mouth a little.) And perhaps most importantly, I eat less. Not in the way that models eat less than regular folk because it’s their job. Just in a “I’m not going to eat that whole lobe of foie gras” type of eating less. One great way to reduce calories is by eating fish. A nice spot of fish after a long day of work makes me feel all clean inside, like I swallowed a loofah. Ok, not really…that actually sounds painful. Like I swallowed OxyClean? Oh, forget it…it just makes me feel lighter, ya dig?

So with that in mind, here’s a nice, light fish dish that also allows me to play with comparative studies of flavours and ingredients. I quite enjoy implementing a couple of ingredients on a plate, but with different cooking methods. In this case: celery and peanuts. You’ll see what I mean.

Seared Tilapia with Peanut-Braised Celery and a Roasted Peanut and Celery Salsa

For the tilapia:

Two fillets of tilapia…duh. Get the farmed stuff from the USA – it’s a safer bet than from anywhere else. I bisected mine for smaller portions (about 3 oz each).

Salt and pepper

One tablespoon of olive oil

On a plate, season the tilapia with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Heat a pan over medium high heat. Sear the tilapia for about three or four minutes a side, or until it’s golden on the outside and just flaky throughout. Take it out of the pan and let it rest.

For the braised celery:

Four stalks of celery, each cut in half width-wise

One tablespoon of peanut butter

One teaspoon of sriracha

One clove of garlic, peeled and sliced

Two tablespoons of green onions, thinly sliced

Two tablespoons of cilantro, finely sliced

One cup of chicken stock

One teaspoon of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Wash and peel the celery. If you don’t peel the outside of the celery, it’ll be all stringy and gross when you cut into it post-braise. Ugh. In a small pot, sauté the celery and garlic in olive oil for a couple of minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock, peanut butter, and sriracha, then turn the heat down to simmer the celery for twenty minutes. Add the herbs for the last two minutes of cooking. Turn off the heat and set-aside until plating.

For the salsa:

Two tablespoons of shelled peanuts, roasted in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat

One stalk of celery, washed and finely diced

Half a green pepper, finely diced

Two tablespoons of green onions, thinly sliced

Two tablespoons of cilantro, finely sliced

Juice and zest of a half lime

Juice and zest of one lemon

One teaspoon of Vietnamese fish sauce (you can skip this, but please don’t)

Salt and pepper

Mix everything together and set aside until ready to use.

To plate:

Put four pieces of braised celery in the center of a plate. Lay the seared fish on top. Spoon the salsa on top of that. Spoon a bit of the braising liquid around the fish. Done.

Yummo!

So, the title of this blog is a question. The answer is no, fish is fish. Silly. But both fish and meat are delicious, and I recommend eating both with reckless abandon, unless of course you can’t fit into your sexy-pants (you know the ones). If your goal is to be able to fit through a doorway, you should go on the Biggest Loser. If your goal is to eat a tasty dinner that sits around 243 or so calories, eat stuff like this. Your insides will love you.

Posted in Recipes

Quick’n Chicken (aka Fake’n Bake)

A regular customer came into the shop recently looking for something to cook for dinner. An easy enough chore, I figured, because there were one million cuts of meat on offer, all of which could be cooked in at least two million ways. I took a cursory glance through my display window and immediately ten things jumped out at me. Braised oxtail; pan-fried smoked pork chops and cabbage; chicken and dumplings; the list went on. She didn’t see it that way.

“I’ll take two smoked pork hocks and a chicken,” she said, seeming defeated. She looked at me. “You know, I’m really sick of the dishes I cook. I want more ideas.” I didn’t know what to say. ”You know, I need a class or something where I could learn new dishes. Like a cooking class.”

I looked at her and thought, ‘what kind of person buys smoked pork hocks and thinks her cooking is boring?’ And then I thought, ‘hey, I wonder if Mika at The Good Egg is teaching any classes on that topic?’ And THEN I thought, ‘hey, it’s bloggin’ time!’

I remember going to my sister’s house six or so years ago for dinner. It was an easy meal; she was just fixing something up casually, an after work thing. We had pasta with sausage and peppers. It was very tasty, but what got me was that she introduced it by saying it was one of “her dishes”. As in, a dish she had in her repertoire. I was a snobby little shit of a restaurant cook and scoffed at the idea of not being able to cook with intuition, knowing what’s in season and riffing on what’s available in the cupboard. I probably said something like, “hey you should really expand your culinary horizons.”

You know that feeling you have when you remember something stupid you once said and wished you could take it back? Yeah, well…

This post will be the first in a series of recipes you can make after work easily, quickly, and deliciously. If you have kids, these are recipes that should appeal to them. If you don’t have kids, you should go out and enjoy yourself. Or make one of these recipes and invite people over. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up making a family with someone you invited over for dinner!

A quick note: I don’t apologize for the fancy plating. You should know that’s how I roll, so just deal.

Quick’n Chicken…aka Fake’n Bake

Okay, so as far as easy recipes go, this is pretty much super basic. Everyone likes Shake’n Bake™, and anyone who says different is either a liar or an alien from Planet Bad Stuff (also known as Uranus). I just prefer making my own seasoned breadcrumbs. Also, I have found that a packet of Shake’n Bake™ usually doesn’t go the distance. As it turns out, I prefer a lot of breadcrumbs on my chicken. You can use a different hot sauce in this recipe, or if you have wussy kids you can use ketchup or BBQ sauce, but let’s face it, Frank’s Red Hot is the best. In the words of that old lady on the commercial, I put that s#!t on everything. Okay, maybe not everything, but as hot sauces go it’s one of my tops.

So first off: the ingredients for the chicken.

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (butchers LOOOVE taking the skin and bones off of chicken breasts. As the shop’s good friend James says, “it shows off the butcher’s skill.” Uh huh.)

2 good dashes of hot sauce (as mentioned earlier, I like Frank’s. So what.)

2 cups or so of breadcrumbs (you could make your own with stale bread, or buy some from a decent bakery)

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely

3 or so tbsp of sliced green onions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line a baking sheet with a piece of aluminum foil. Mix the garlic, green onion, and hot sauce with the chicken breast until well coated. Season the breadcrumbs with salt and pepper. Toss the chicken in the breadcrumbs until well coated. Place the chicken breasts on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for thirty minutes, or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165˚F.

Now on its own, this chicken is delicious. Of course, I like to add a little sauce or something to it just because, so here is a delicious sauce made from ingredients I just had in my fridge. I should point out that when I made this dish we hardly had anything in the fridge…pretty piss poor actually, but I do always try to make the best out of a little.

So for the sauce you’ll need:

4 tbsp of cottage cheese (or sour cream or plain yogurt, or something similar that might be in your fridge)

3 or four gherkins, chopped up

1 tbsp of capers, chopped up

2 dashes of Worcestershire

2 green olives, pitted and chopped

1 good squeeze of lemon juice

1 tbsp of green onions, chopped up

Mix all of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste. You’ll notice it is kind of thick, just add a tbsp or two of tap water to thin it out a little.

Of course you can’t serve just protein and sauce…you’ll need a little sump’n sump’n to go along side of this deliciousness. As I said, my cupboards were kind of bare, so I improvised with what little I had and made a slaw out of it.

I took these things:

4 carrots

1 apple

half a green pepper

2 tbsp toasted hazelnuts

1 squeeze of lemon juice

And, by using a mandolin I got in Chinatown, I made this.

Obviously, I seasoned it with salt and pepper.

And then I put it all together on a plate like this:

So pretty.

Now, there are obvious variations on this basic recipe. I like to do a classic breading a lot of the time (first dredging the chicken in flour, then an egg wash, before the seasoned hot sauce and breadcrumbs). This will give the chicken an even crispier crust. I also like to cut the chicken into strips and eat it as fingers or in a wrap. Instead of this type of sauce I’ll puree the cottage cheese with blue cheese for a classic wing dip-style sauce. I also like warm sautéed mushrooms with this, or at least some mashed potatoes. So many options. So many variations. So much deliciousness.

I know this was pretty simple, but I have to say, now that I work days and need to have food on the table within a certain amount of time (you know, before Law and Order: SVU comes on) I love to make stuff that doesn’t take a lot of effort. I apologize to everyone, including my sister, whom I may have patronized for their simple, reliable recipes back in my pretentious cook days. I’m too old and tired for that now. Viva la Easy!

Posted in General, Recipes

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[Category – Recipes]

Daybreak At The Shop

Meat Candy

Is Fish Meat?

Quick’n Chicken (aka Fake’n Bake)