Tag: main course
Black Forest Ham (Schwarzwaelder Schinken)
Black Forest Ham (Schwarzwaedler Schinken)
Authentic black forest ham is a long process of brining, smoking at a low temperature, and then dry curing; taking up to a couple of months. This is a much easier process that you can do at home that takes 18 days from brine to finish. Black forest ham gets it’s flavor from juniper berries and smoking with pine wood. It will take 60-90 minutes per lb until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.
Equipment
- large bin for brining
- Spice grinder
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 whole pork leg around 8lbs; shank removed; skinned and trimmed of excess fat
Ham Brine
- 1 1/2 gallons water
- 1 1/2 cups sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp pink curing salts
Ham Dry Rub
- 4 tbsp black peppercorns
- 4 tbsp juniper berries
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp marjoram
- 10 bay leaves
Wood Chips
- pine or hickory
Instructions
- Mix together the salt, brown sugar, and curing salts.
- Stir into the water in a large bin.
- Place the pork into the brine and brine for 2 weeks.
- After 2 weeks, remove the pork from the brine. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Add the dry rub ingredients to a spice grinder.
- Grind into a powder.
- Apply the dry rub to the pork. Allow to sit on a rack in the refrigerator for 4 days. Let rest at room temp for 2 hours before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the ham in the smoker.
- Smoke for 60-90 minutes per lb. until the internal temperature of the probe thermometer reads 150 degrees.
- Allow to rest for 30 minutes before serving.
Smoked Tri Tip
Smoked Tri Tip
I feel that tri tip is a lesser known cut to Americans and is greatly unappreciated. Tri tip is also known as bottom sirloin, as opposed to it’s more popular norther beef muscle, top sirloin. It is significantly richer in flavor from its high marbling fat content than top butt. In my personal opinion, tri tip is equally as tender as a ribeye, strip, and top sirloin. It’s definitely a lot cheaper then your higher end cuts.I purchased a really nice prime tri tip for smoking. This is a good cut to smoke medium rare, so this will take only about 2 hours in the smoker. I brined the tri tip for a day, then dry rubbed it with a blend of white and black peppercorns, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds. Once the desired internal temperature is reached, allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. I used the sliced tri tip for French dip sandwiches, but it can be eaten as just a regular steak.
Equipment
- gallon sized storage bag
- Spice grinder
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 whole tri tip 2 – 2 1/2lbs
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp whole fennel seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 4 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 bay leaves
Dry Rub
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp white peppercorns
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
Wood Chips
- oak or mesquite
Instructions
- Trim off any excess fat on your tri tip.
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Place the tri tip in a gallon sized storage bag. Pour in the brine. Brine in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- Take the tri tip out of the brine and pat dry. Grind all of the dry rub ingredients. Rub all over the tri tip and allow to rest in the refrigerator on a rack for 24 hours. Allow to rest at room temp for 2 hours before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Placd the tri tip in the smoker.
- Smoke until the internal temperature reaches 140 degrees with a probe thermometer; about 2 hours.
Hmong-Style Roasted Fish in Banana Leaves
Hmong-Style Roasted Fish in Banana Leaves
Usually when you see a recipe for a stuffed fish, you’ll see 3 slits cut into the flesh of the fish on both sides, then stuffed. This is completely different and quite a genius way to stuff a fish. Pockets are cut across entire spine of both sides of the fish so the herb stuffing flavors the entire fish’s flesh. After the fish is stuffed, it is wrapped in a banana leaf and foil, kind of like a papillote, then baked. You can also through this on a grill and cook for the same amount of time. You can use pretty much any type of whole fish. I used a whole tilapia, but snapper, porgy, or pompano are all suitable for this dish.
Equipment
- banana leaves
- foil
- food processor
Ingredients
- 1 whole tilapia (or any other whole fish) scaled, cleaned, and gutted
Herb Stuffing
- 2 tbsp lime leaves chopped
- 2 stalks lemongrass chopped
- 2 Thai chilies chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3/4 cup fresh dill chopped
- 3/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 3/4 cup green onions chopped
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp mushroom seasoning
Instructions
- Place all of the stuffing ingredients in a food processor.
- Pulse a few times until everything is evenly chopped.
- Cut deep pockets across both sides of the fish’s spine.
- Stuff each of the pockets with the herb stuffing, saving a 1/4 cup of the stuffing.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line the bottom of a baking sheet with foil. Lay the banana leave across the top.
- Place the fish in the center of the banana leaf. Cover the fish with the rest of the herb stuffing.
- Fold the banana leaf over the fish, tucking in the sides to seal.
- Cover with more foil, making sure all of the seams are sealed.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Take off the foil and the banana leaf.
- Bake for another 15 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
