Rabbit Ragu over Pasta

 This is more of a late fall /  early winter recipe, but one of my favorite dishes.  I recommend that a hearty pasta be used for the noodle, something like a pappardelle.  It is also really good over gnoki, or for those of you who wish to take this in a more redneck direction try it with mashed potatoes.   You can also use chicken thigh to sub out for the rabbit, or to bulk it up if you don't have all the rabbit this recipe requires.

Ingredients

.75 C olive oil

2 whole rabbits, cut into quarters

salt and pepper to taste

1 C flour

2C onions small dice

1C carrots small dice

1C celery small dice

2C red cooking wine

1 tsp crushed fresh garlic

28oz crushed caned tomatoes

2 ea bay leaves

3 sprig thyme

1 sprig rosemary

1tsp red pepper flakes

1 sprig fresh oregano

2 C chicken stock

  your favorite pasta

  Method

Pre-heat the oven to 325

Season the Rabbit pieces with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.

In a med to large oven safe casserole pan heat 3tbls of the olive oil on med high heat

Add the Rabbit to the pan and cook until golden brown approx 3-5minutes per side.

Remove Rabbit and set aside allowing excess oil to drain

Reduce heat to Med and add the chopped onions stirring with a wooden spoon until onions start to caramelize

Add the chopped carrots and cook until carrots start to caramelize, stirring frequently

Add the chopped celery and caramelize

Add the cooking wine reduce heat to med low and allow the wine to simmer until it has reduced by 75%

Add the garlic, crushed tomatoes, fresh herbs and red pepper flakes

Bring heat back up to med until sauce comes to a slow simmer and add the stock

Add the Rabbit pieces back to the pot, cover and place in the pre-heated oven for one hour

When time is up take the pot from the oven and remove lid

Using tongs carefully pull rabbit pieces out and pull the meat from the bones

Return the meat to the sauce

Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired

Serve over a bed of your favorite pasta

STEELHEAD

Again the early season warm weather has me tweaking out for some spring eats and today it is fresh Michigan Steelhead.  As with all my entries I have to put up a disclaimer / rant on the ingredient list and recipe to follow, so here it is.  If after reading this you find yourself in front of the fish counter at your local mega-mart, STOP turn around and go to the freezer section, get yourself some fresh-froze talipa fillets and a box of shake and bake and go home; if you can get to a proper fish market go there and get your fish.  But pleas try and avoid the over priced almost rancid fish of the mega-mart.  If you are lucky enough to have some left in your freezer at home pull it and thaw it, If you have just walked off the stream with a fresh fat one on your stringer may god bless you and everything you do for the rest of the day. 
Ok I have got that out of my system; now take all the seasonings you have in your spice rack and leave them where the are.  A Steelhead fillet should never be molested with things like lemon pepper, paprika, garlic salt,or worse yet lawerys seasoning.  The only things you are going to need are some butter, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Fish should taste like fish not McCormick spice factory. 

Ingredients

6 ea 6oz steelhead fillets with the skin on

4 Tbls whole unsalted butter

1 pinch each salt and pepper

Method

pre-heat a heavy gauge sautee pan on med-high heat

score the skin of the fillets

dollop 2 Tbls of the butter in the hot pan "butter should not smoke and burn but melt quickly"

place fillets skin side down in hot pan shake pan back and forth twice and let fish cook

season the flesh of the fish with the salt and pepper

after 3 minutes add the rest of the butter and using a spatula turn the fillets over to finish

aprox 2 minutes

remove the fillets from the pan and eat

and yes you can eat the skin I do its great

The season of the BBQ

Over the last several years almost every line cook, sous chef, and manager that I have worked with has requested a copy of my BBQ rub and Method.  I have always responded with "I will not give it to you but if you want to help me make it you can taste and take notes as we go."  Only a few ever did it.  But with spring upon us and an uncontrollable itch to fire up the grill, I have chosen to share the process with the world.  Ok now first things first, this process is for pork, more specifically Back Ribs; AKA Baby Back Ribs, Loin Back Ribs, or Canadian Back Ribs. This process can be modified, and adjusted for use with other cuts and other animals, (but for the first try lets keep is simple).  This process is also designed to do all the prep work and majority of the cooking days in advance, so that when company arrives you can produce some top notch BBQ in no time at all. (Special note, this recipe and method does not require sauce)



The Brine

yield 3 gal for use on 20 rack of ribs

1. bring to a soft boil 2 gal of water

2. add to boiling water the following ingredients and boil for 20 min

    2 bay leafs, 1c kosher salt, 2c granulated sugar, 10 cloves of garlic, small hand full peppercorns,

    2 lemons cut in half,

3. rapidly cool brine with 5pounds of ice, and place brine in cooler/freezer to bring temp down to below

    40 Degrees F

4. pour brine over ribs, cover and place in cooler and allow to soak for 24 hours

5. remove ribs form brine and allow to dry

The Rub

Yield 2 Gal (which you can save for later use)

1. 2# granulated sugar
2. 2# dark brown sugar
3. 2c iodized salt
4. .25c coarse grind black pepper
5. 3tbls dry dill
6. .5c chili powder
7. .5c paprika
8. .25c coriander
9. .25c cumin
10. .25c + 2tbls cardamon
11. 2tbls chipotle powder
12. 2tbls cayenne
13. 2tbls oregano
14. 1tbls curry powder
15. .5c corn starch
16. In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients until fully blended (rub should have a BBQ potato chip flavor)

The Method

Generously coat both sides of the ribs and place in a roasting pan on a roasting rack.  Cook ribs @ 210 for 10 hours then remove and cool to below 40 Degrees F.  After ribs are cool wrap each one individually in parchment paper and then foil and place in the freezer. 

The Re-Heat

Remove ribs from freezer and place on grill @ med low heat aprox 350 Degrees F, cook for 10 minutes on each side then remove wrapping and place back on grill for and additional 5 minutes per side .

the truth

I have started this blog as a requirement to enter a food competition, I'm not sure if I have any ambition to share my opinions or thoughts on life.  But if a few people want to follow it I can promise a few new recipes every once in a while to go with the seasons.

Troy

no more mallows

Smoked Sweet Potato Burger with Avocado slices, Yellow Tomato, and Paprika Aioli on a Toasted bun

Yield 6 portions

1.    8ea med sweet potatoes

2.    2 ea avocado

3.    6ea hamburger buns

4.    1 ea yellow tomatoes

5.    1tbls paprika

6.    1tsp water

7.    One quarter c heavy mayo

8.    4 ea egg yolks

9.    1c flour

10. 1c fine grind bread crumbs

11. 2tbls brown sugar

12. 1tsp fine chopped  fresh sage

13. Salt and black pepper to taste

14.  2tbls of whole unsalted butter

Preparation method for aioli

1.      In a clean and dry small mixing bowl add the water to the paprika a few drops at a time to form a paste

2.      Add mayonnaise to the paprika paste and using a rubber spatula mix until paste and mayo are fully combined, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper

Preparation method for burger

1.      Wash, dry, oil and season sweet potatoes

2.      Place sweet potatoes in a 200 degree smoker, set to low smoke and smoke for 2 hours; potatoes should feel more than half way cooked

3.      Remove potatoes from smoker, place in cooler and allow to fully cool

4.      Remove skin from all potatoes and discard

5.      Place 6 potatoes in food processor and blend until fully pureed

6.      Dice remaining potatoes into half inch cubes

7.      In large mixing bowl combine puree, flour, yolks, sugar, sage and mix fully

8.      Fold in diced potato

9.      Fold in bread crumbs until mixture becomes thick and stiff (like the consistency of cold peanut butter) taste and adjust flavor with salt and pepper

10.   Scoop out mixture and form into 6oz balls and space evenly on a lined baking pan

11.  Cover baking pan with plastic wrap and place in cooler for 45min

12.   Remove pan from cooler and press chilled potato mixture into patties aprox half an inch thick

13.  Melt one tbls of butter in a hot nonstick pan on med-high heat and place 3 patties into pan cooking until a good golden sear is formed (aprox 2-3 min) then flip and add the second tbls of butter,  repeating  cooking process

14.   Place sweet potato burger on a toasted bun and garnish with a slice of yellow tomato, avocado slices and a dollop of paprika aioli