Rubs

I've been working on some dry rubs for grilling season. Here is one that I think is closest to primetime:

2 parts ground coffee
2 parts fresh ground black pepper
1.5 parts salt
1 part brown sugar
1 part cumin
Cayenne pepper to taste

I've tried this on pork tenderloin, flank steak, and chicken and been happy with the results. This is best on a grill because a little smoke wakes this up. I'm still experimenting with marinade times, but longer is often better.

http://www.diena.lv/lat/multimediji/dienatv/dzive/video-martins-sirmais-gatavo-svaigu-sieru-un-salatus

This will be my project for the next EOW gathering.

Easy Strawberry Jam

I was still 20 feet away from the stand when I knew that strawberries had arrived with a vengeance at the Bloomingdale farmer's market. There were only about a dozen quarts of red goodness left, but had out-perfumed the nearby flower stand and staked an olfactory claim to nearly half of the block-long market. It wasn't long before my bag was 2 pounds heavier.

I am not much a strawberry enthusiast, and I soon realized that consuming that many strawberries before they went bad would be nearly impossible. I decided to look for an easy recipe for jam. Here is what I did:

1) The recipe said to hull 2 pounds of strawberries. I am not exactly sure what that means, but I think it involved paring knife surgery on each berry. It was Monday night and I wasn't in the mood for that level of patience so I just cut the tops off.

2) Crush the strawberries. I just used my hands to do this and it was pretty fun. It also really lets you control how lumpy the jam will be.

3) Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice (about 1 big lemon) and 4 cups of white sugar and stir. Honestly, you could probably get by with 3 cups of sugar, particularly if the berries are already fresh and sweet.

4) Pour mixture into a saucepan and dissolve sugar over low heat. Once the mixture is no longer grainy, crank up the heat and boil it. The juice should get to 22o degrees. Use a candy thermometer if you have one. I found the last few degrees to be a challenge for some reason.

5) Once at 220, turn down the heat to maintain that temp and put a small sample of the mixture on a cold plate. Run your finger through it and if it stays apart, then you are most likely going to have the right consistency. I just read about this tip, so I don't know yet whether it is true.

6) Turn off the heat and pour jam into warm, sterilized jars. To sterilize, fully wash the jars of any major junk and then use a no-rinse sterilizer (these are available at brewing supply stores). Just follow the instructions on the sterilizer. In a pinch, Josh or I probably have enough to share.

7) Seal and refrigerate.

UPDATE:  Just tried the jam with a little fresh ricotta and bread and it was delicious and just the right consistency.  I'll definitely be doing this one again and freezing it for the winter.

Croissants c/o DCist

A rather involved but tasty-looking approach to croissants.

http://dcist.com/2009/06/croissants_get_the_butter.php#comments

This leads me to think we should consider having some EOWC meetings during the brunch hour, to bring DIY to the AM. And yes, a good bloody mary counts as DIY.

Other blog/newsletter suggestions?

Is there a way to aggregate a list of members' favorite DIY/cooking/culinary blogs and newsletters?

ie: my friend Mike's blog from the DC Homebrewer's club

Beef Jerky Recipe

OK - I finished the beef jerky last night...and then promptly ate nearly all of it with a friend. It only takes two days to make, so I will bring a batch to the next meeting. Here's the recipe (again from my fabulous new DIY cooking book):

Ingredients
1 lb. Top sirloin or flank steak
2 tblsp. Soy sauce
2 tblsp. Brown sugar
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. Crushed red pepper (optional)
1 tsp. Crushed black pepper (optional)

Directions
1. Go to the supermarket and get either 1 pound of top sirloin or flank steak. Try to get your butcher to slice it into 1/8"-1/4" slices against the grain. When they tell you that they won't do it, bring it home and throw it in the freezer for 30 minutes, which will make it easier to cut yourself.

How to Cut Beef Against Grain -- powered by ExpertVillage.com

2. After you've sliced the beef, lay it out between two kitchen towels to soak out as much liquid as you can. Then, with the beef still between the towels, tenderize it with anything you have available.

3. Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, kosher salt (and red and black pepper if desired) in a large bowl and then toss the beef slices around in it with your hands, making sure to cover all of the meat.

4. Place the slices as flat as possible on a rack (like the one from your grill or oven) and place the rack on top of a baking sheet with aluminum foil on it. Put the whole thing in your refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 24 hours.

5. Preheat your oven to 150 degrees. If, like most modern ones, your oven only goes down to 170 degrees, that's ok.

6. Put the beef tray in the oven for 3-5 hours, checking on it after 3 hours. If you put the beef in the oven at 170 degrees, keep the door ajar with a wooden spoon while it is drying. The beef should not be raw, but slightly stringy when you pull it apart.

7. Curse yourself for only having made 1 pound of beef jerky.

Notes: I found the beef jerky to be a bit salty. I know that beef jerky is supposed to be salty, but I wonder if I should have used a little bit less salt or if the soy sauce I used was some weird organic crap from Whole Foods. Anyway, would be interested in hearing what people think if they make this.

Field Trip: Rusticos

As I mentioned to some of you, I recently mentioned the EOWC to Frank Morales, the owner of Rusticos, while buying a loaf of his beer bread. The guy is a total class act. He generously (and I hope seriously) offered to allow us to come down to Rusticos to learn how he makes bread and, as a bonus, to meet with the guy who makes his charcuterie. For those of you who don't know, Rusticos is an Alexandria restaurant that focuses on simple, delicious, and local food and a staggering array of beer. They will be opening a DC branch on 14th and P in the old Dakota Cowgirl location. When we spoke 2 weeks ago, Frank indicated that they'd be cooking there in a month or so.

So, I'll get back to him because I would sure as hell like to learn to bake bread and dry meat from an expert. Before I get back to him, though, I'd like to gauge interest. Can I get a show of hands?

Homemade Butter Recipe

Recipe taken from this book.

1. Get yourself a mason jar, some heavy cream, and some kosher salt (optional).

2. Insert heavy cream (1 cup) into mason jar and close top tightly.

3. Shake hell out of mason jar for 30 minutes, pausing every so often to pour off the buttermilk as it separates from the curds that will become your butter (the buttermilk can be saved and used for something else).

4. Scoop remaining junk (your butter) out of mason jar and place it in a smaller container. The butter should still be pretty loose in consistency.

5. If you prefer salted butter, add one teaspoon of kosher salt to the butter and mix it in with a spoon. Note: Salted butter will keep longer when refrigerated.

6. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

Share!

Post your misadventures in food DIY in the form of reciplogues (food travelogues) -- especially the items you brought to an EOWC meeting.  Make sure to add recipe as a label, please.

The Cured Pork Loin

Let me start by saying that I shamelessly copied most of the steps from this site. Here is what I did.

1. Wandered aimlessly through Safeway looking for curing salt for about 20 minutes. Turns out it is in the "We Don't Sell That" aisle. I then spent an additional 10 minutes mulling the relative benefits of salt with iodine versus without. Since I had no idea what the implications were of the choice, I decided to go with the one in the red canister. I can't remember which that is now.
   
2. Unpacked, washed, and dried one pork tenderloin.
   
3. Dropped the tenderloin into a plastic freezer bag with a half cup of salt and a tablespoon of brown sugar and mixed it up well.
4. Let this sit in fridge overnight...at least 24 hours or so. The result is a pretty unpleasant looking tenderloin floating in swamp of salt turned pinkish by pig blood and water. When I do this again, I am going to figure out how to elevate the pork so it stays off this horrific looking shit.
5. Removed the loin from the salt, washed it again, rubbed it generously with brandy The recipe calls for cognac and I am sure that is better. I got confused in the liquor store and asked for brandy by accident. Brandy is much cheaper anyway.
6. Rolled the pork loin in Herbes de Provence. I'd probably skip the HDP and go with another spice blend or nothing at all. In the end, I don't think they added much.
7. Mummified the loin in cheese cloth and tied it inexpertly with kitchen string. This was another area of potential improvement for future attempts. My trussing folded the semi-pliable loin and really detracted from the sausagey linear look I was going for.
8. Let sit until the loin had a little give but wasn't overly hard. These were the official instructions.
   
9. Stress over the inexactness of the recipe and bacteriapocalypse unleased by an incorrect guess at doneness. Try a slice when you are not having guests and have no where to be.
10. In the end, I thought this was slightly saltier and uglier than my prom date - which is saying a lot. I'd make it again with some changes. I am just happy no one died.
    

Local CSA

I am especially interested in the raw milk CSA for our next attempts at butter and cheese. Anyone with me?

http://www.princeofpetworth.com/2009/05/community-supported-agriculture-csas-coming-to-dc/#comments

The End is Well Nigh

Thanks to everyone that was able to make it to the first ever End of the World Club meeting. Food included farm fresh pecans, brownies, cookies, homemade butter, sourdough baguettes and a boule that proved that the funk is in the air in DC, hummus, two types of tapenade, cured pork loin, fresh italian sausage, pizza dough, guajillo salsa, sangria, 4 types of homebrew (Dortmunder, Russian Imperial Stout, Pilsner, and a Maibock) and homemade lavandar honey ice cream. That is pretty damn impressive for a first outing.