Super Bowl Pretzel-Bun Sliders

This is what I will be serving up during tomorrow's Super Bowl. Little juicy burgers made from ground short ribs, served up on heavenly and unbelievably chewy pretzel rolls. I'll have a platter of slider fixings (onions, pickles, condiments, etc)...paired up with Kettle Chips seasoned with sea salt and black pepper.

First, let's talk about the meat. The meat needs to have lots of fat...at least 25% or more. If you try to make a slider out of lean ground beef....you'd be better off grilling up some cardboard instead. So I like  beef short rib meat the best. Great beef flavor and lots of fat. And because I grind it myself in a food processor, I can cook it to medium rare if I like. You can't do that with store-bought ground beef which is made with a cornucopia of body parts from many different animals.

When you grind your own, you are in total control of the hygiene. In fact, the meat that you grind yourself is even edible raw (known as steak tartare...a favorite of mine). Any ground meat you buy from a store must be cooked to 160º according to the food nazis working for Uncle Sam. So just grind it yourself. It's healthier. You'll get a higher fat content. And your slider will taste so much better.

Because you are using such high quality meat, you don't need much in the way of seasonings. Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Toss in a slice of cheese for those that want cheese sliders and you are all set. And while, I suppose, any dinner roll would do...I am making an urgent appeal to those of you who aspire to the finer things in life, such as matching shoes, please use a pretzel bun. As the name implies, they are made with the same dough as soft pretzels and they are to stinking die for. I buy mine at Costco.

Because these sliders are of such high quality and taste, it really doesn't matter how you cook them. You can grill them if you'd like. But they cook up so fast that I prefer to fry them on a griddle. That's the easiest way to get a quick char on both sides. If you don't have a griddle, fry them up in a non-stick pan. This recipe makes 16 sliders.


Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 lbs coarsely ground short ribs, rolled into 2-ounce balls, then formed into 1/2" thick patties
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
16 pretzel buns, sliced


Directions*

1. Set griddle or stove-top to medium heat (approximately 350º). Add vegetable oil to your griddle or non-stick pan. Spread with a paper towel. 
2. Increase heat to high until oil is shimmering. Place patties on griddle. Season patties with salt and pepper.
3. Cook without moving for 1 minute**, then flip patties over. Season again with salt and pepper and put a splash of Worcestershire sauce on each. Top with cheese here if you are making cheese sliders.
4. Remove patties after 1 minute of cooking on side 2. Transfer patties to buns and serve.

*Note: If you are cooking for a crowd, the cooking is so fast that it is impossible for a cook to do it all. Therefore, I would assign 5 people to the task. The first person cooks the patties. The second person does the salting. The third person does the peppering. The fourth person does the Worcestershire sauce and the fifth person handles the cheese.

**These cooking times are for medium rare sliders. If you want your sliders medium, cook the patties for 1 1/2 minutes per side.

Pairing: An ice cold beer!

Smoky Roasted Mushrooms

I am addicted to roasted mushrooms.  Every time I go out to eat and order a steak, I order a big side of roasted mushrooms...cooked in butter and dusted with parsley. Mushrooms are often grouped with vegetables and while they have many of the nutritional attributes of produce, they also have a lot of nutritional values normally associated with meat.

Mushrooms are very low in calories. Heck, a cupful of mushrooms is only 21 calories. They are hearty and filling...a perfect low-energy-density food. They are a great source of B vitamins and probably the most mineral intense food you will find in the produce aisle. Check out the minerals found in mushrooms:

• Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant to protect body cells from damage and is an essential mineral for the immune system.
• Ergothioneine is a natural antioxidant that protects the body's cells.
• Copper helps to make red blood cells and contributes to healthy nerves and bones.
• Potassium is an essential mineral which helps control blood pressure. It also contributes to sustaining the nervous and muscular systems in our bodies.

Obviously, mushrooms are very good for you. They taste great. And they are so stinking easy to prepare at home....just 5 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes in the oven. No slicing....just roast them whole. And they go with everything. Especially with a nice grilled steak! 

For this recipe, any mushroom will do. My personal preference is to use baby bellas or white button mushrooms...or a mix of both. And it has to be smoked paprika. Regular paprika will not give you the smoky taste critical to this recipe.

Ingredients

2 pounds whole mushrooms

4 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425º.
2. Toss mushrooms in olive oil and salt and pepper until fully coated.
3. Spread on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 30 minutes.
4. Remove mushrooms from oven and place them in a mixing bowl. Add paprika, 1 tablespoon of parsley and butter to bowl. Toss thoroughly to mix.
5. Remove mushrooms from bowl with a spoon and serve. Dust mushrooms with remaining parsley.

Wine pairing: Petite Sirah

Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant to protect body cells from damage that might lead to heart disease, some cancers and other diseases of aging2. It also has been found to be important for the immune system and fertility in men3. Many foods of animal origin and grains are good sources of selenium, but mushrooms are among the richest sources of selenium in the produce aisle and provide 8-22 mcg per serving4. This is good news for vegetarians, whose sources of selenium are limited. - See more at: http://mushroominfo.com/benefits/#sthash.Jh2sun1Z.dpuf

Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant to protect body cells from damage that might lead to heart disease, some cancers and other diseases of aging2. It also has been found to be important for the immune system and fertility in men3. Many foods of animal origin and grains are good sources of selenium, but mushrooms are among the richest sources of selenium in the produce aisle and provide 8-22 mcg per serving4. This is good news for vegetarians, whose sources of selenium are limited. - See more at: http://mushroominfo.com/benefits/#sthash.Jh2sun1Z.dpuf

Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant to protect body cells from damage that might lead to heart disease, some cancers and other diseases of aging2. It also has been found to be important for the immune system and fertility in men3. Many foods of animal origin and grains are good sources of selenium, but mushrooms are among the richest sources of selenium in the produce aisle and provide 8-22 mcg per serving4. This is good news for vegetarians, whose sources of selenium are limited. - See more at: http://mushroominfo.com/benefits/#sthash.Jh2sun1Z.dpuf

Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant to protect body cells from damage that might lead to heart disease, some cancers and other diseases of aging2. It also has been found to be important for the immune system and fertility in men3. Many foods of animal origin and grains are good sources of selenium, but mushrooms are among the richest sources of selenium in the produce aisle and provide 8-22 mcg per serving4. This is good news for vegetarians, whose sources of selenium are limited. - See more at: http://mushroominfo.com/benefits/#sthash.Jh2sun1Z.dpuf

Balsamic Flank Steak

I'm a huge fan of flank steak. No other inexpensive cut has the big, beefy taste I love so well. It's incredibly lean. The only trick to flank steak is that you have to cut it across the grain (like the picture above). If you don't, you'll be in for a difficult chew.

Flank steaks are very uniform. They weigh about 1 1/2 pounds and are about 3/4 of an inch thick. That uniformity makes them very easy to cook. You can grill it...pan sear it...or toss it under the broiler. The timing is always the same no matter how you cook it up: 5 minutes a side for medium rare.

While the taste is extraordinary with just a little salt and pepper, I like to compensate for the lack of any fat in the meat by using a marinade. The marinade featured here is one I picked up from the good folks at Weber Grills. And I'm here to tell you it's delicious.

I like the steak by itself with a salad on the side. If you want to take it a little further, get some ciabatta rolls. Sauté some bell pepper and onion strips until they are caramelized. Slice up the flank steak and make yourself some "Super Bowl" quality sandwiches.


INGREDIENTS
1 flank steak

For the Marinade
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon kosher Salt
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper


DIRECTIONS

1. In a large zip lock bag, combine the marinade ingredients. Add steak, squeeze air out of bag and seal tightly. Marinate for four hours in the fridge, turning occaisionally.
2. If pan searing, pre-heat pan over high heat. If broiling, pre-heat broiler. If grilling, prepare grill for direct cooking over high heat.
3. Remove steak from bag. Discard marinade and pat steak dry.
4. For medium rare, cook steak for 5 minutes on each side.
5. Remove steak from heat and tent with foil. Let steak rest for 5-10 minutes. Then slice and serve.

Wine pairing: Argentine Malbec

Oven Roasted, Coffee-Rubbed Baby Back Ribs

A Cure for Winter

Baby back ribs are a little slice of heaven that often get overlooked when the thermometer is well below zero. Who wants to go out and tend a grill or smoker with a 25-below wind chill? Not I. But I know that oven roasted ribs are every bit as good as the ones I make in my smoker. I've been making them for years in my oven with just ribs, mustard and Famous Dave's Rib Rub: http://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2011/03/oven-roasted-baby-back-ribs.html

For those of you with grills and smokers, you will already know how to cook up baby backs on your weapon of choice. But today's recipe is for the folks that want to stay warm and sip some Zinfandel by the fire while dinner is slow roasting in the oven...and bring a little taste of summer to the month of January.

There are two things that make this recipe extraordinary. First is the coffee rub. Make sure you use a dark roast coffee as this will provide the most contrast to the brown sugar and the sweet pork meat. The second thing that makes this recipe extraordinary is the homemade Coffee BBQ Sauce. You will use it to brush on the ribs during cooking and then to dip your cooked ribs in while you are eating. This wonderful cure for winter was created by Jamie Purviance and it serves four.


INGREDIENTS

2 meaty racks of baby back ribs

For the Rub
2 tablespoons ground dark roast coffee
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Coffee BBQ Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups minced yellow onion
3/4 cup strong brewed coffee (preferably dark roast)
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon mustard powder


DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Combine rub ingredients. Season racks of ribs all over with the rub.
3. Place the ribs on a rack over a rimmed cooking sheet and cook for 2 hours.
4. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cooked until softened and starting to brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened and reduced to about 1 1/2 cups (approximately 16 minutes). Remove from heat. (Leave sauce as is or, if you prefer it smooth, use a blender to puree the sauce.)
5. After 2 hours, remove ribs from oven and brush both sides with the sauce. Return ribs to oven and cook for another 30 minutes.
6. Remove ribs from oven and cut the racks between the bones into individual ribs. Serve with remaining sauce.

Wine pairing: A nice big, fruity California Zinfandel

Sous Vide Strip Steak

Imagine a world where every time you cooked a steak it would be a perfect medium rare. Exactly and precisely 131º at the center of the meat, every time. Not 127º or 135º, but an absolute perfect 131º every time. Thanks to my girlfriend's Christmas gift to me, I have entered that world.

That world is made possible by sous vide cooking. It's pronounced "soo veed" and it means "under vacuum". Here's today's recipe in a nutshell: You put the steak in a vacuum bag and then cook it in a water bath at 131º for one hour. Pull the steak out of the bag and sear on each side for 1 minute...then season and serve.

Sous vide used to be the sole domain of high end restaurants, largely because the the equipment cost thousands of dollars to install. A few years back a few consumer models popped up, but they were close to $1,000. In the last few years a few models have been popping up that are very affordable and user friendly. The model I got is made by Anova and it's available on Amazon for just $199. (http://www.amazon.com/Anova-Sous-Vide-Immersion-Circulator/dp/B00GT753W8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420301087&sr=8-1&keywords=anova+sous+vide)

It couldn't be any simpler to operate. You simply clamp it to the side of a tall pot, fill with water and then set the time and temperature. Steaks, fish, eggs, vegetables, poultry.......all are cooked to an exact and precise temperature every time. There's no overcooking....no under-cooking....every meal is cooked to the perfect, absolute temperature. Throw out your meat thermometers...they are rendered obsolete by sous vide cooking.

My one piece of advice would be to always sear any meat/poultry/seafood for one minute per side after cooking sous vide. You can pan-sear or grill, it makes no difference. The food will benefit from the resulting maillard reaction and the sear will give it a little structure. Also, I would suggest you serve all sous vide dishes on warmed plates as sous vide cooked-dishes tend to lose their heat more quickly than conventionally cooked dishes.

If you're just starting out, I'd recommend Grace Lee's cookbook. (http://www.amazon.com/Codlo-Sous-Vide-Guide-Recipes-sous-vide/dp/1494981327/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420301340&sr=8-1&keywords=grace+lee%2C+sous+vide). It  will give you a good command of the basics and some really good recipes to begin your sous vide journey. This recipe serves two.


Ingredients
Two,  8-ounce New York Strip Steaks, about 1 1/2 inches thick
1 vacuum bag


Directions

1. Clamp sous vide cooker to a tall pot and fill water to designated level.
2. Adjust temperature for desired doneness: 122º for rare; 131º for medium rare; 140º for medium; 158º for well done.
3. Seal steaks in vacuum bag and insert into water when the correct water temperature is reached.
4. After 1 hour, remove steaks from bag. Sear on each side for 1 minute. Then season and serve.

Wine pairing: Cabernet Sauvignon