BBQ Wings with Braised Greens and Cole Slaw
Collard Greens, Lacinato Kale, Savoy Cabbage, Leeks… These are just some of the things I had lingering in my fridge from my last delivery from Basis “Good Food to You”. Since you can click the link and check them out, I won’t say too much on the subject except that it’s kind of a cross between a CSA and a grocery delivery service that only delivers sustainably raised fully traceable goods, including milk, dairy, and meats. They do not yet deliver to Eastern Queens, but lucky for me I work (and pretty much spend most of my waking hours) in Brooklyn. The produce bag is always a surprise mix of seasonal items, some familiar and some more unusual. I signed on as a way to challenge myself to use ingredients that I may have never encountered before. One week I received Japanese Purple Sweet Potatoes, which were such a revelation I had to order some for the restaurant and worked them into a special with Salmon and Blood Oranges.
But I digress.
Yesterday, I had to find a way to make use of the greens and cabbage I had before they wilted. Braised Southern Style Greens and Cole Slaw seemed like logical (and delicious) ways to make use of this wonderful produce. BBQ Chicken wings and Three-cheese mac n cheese rounded out the meal. For the greens I consulted James Beard’s American Cookery. His recipe calls for Collard, Dandelion, and Mustard greens, but I had Collard Greens and Lacinato Kale. His recipe called for ham, but I had a couple chunks of pork belly and a bit of bacon in the freezer instead. Isn’t seasonal regional cooking all about adapting cooking techniques to the ingredients available to you anyway?
So sorry folks, but I don’t have recipes to share in this post. Instead here are the techniques:
Basic Braised Greens
Hearty bitter Greens such as Collards, Dandelion and Mustard, with tough stems and veins lend themselves very nicely to braising (and pork). The method is simple. Trim, chop and thoroughly wash your greens. Do not dry, but set aside. In a large saucepan, brown diced bacon or whatever pork product you choose to use. If you are using lean meat, you will need to use some oil or fat. (If you do chose to use ham or some other already cooked meat, skip this step and just add it at the end instead). Add the wet greens to the hot pan of meat and fat, and wilt until they turn bright green (see photo above). Add a splash of vinegar (or lemon juice) and some water to the pan, not to cover but just enough to form a puddle at the bottom of the pan and keep the greens from scorching as they cook. Season the whole lot generously with salt and reduce the heat so the liquid is barely simmering. Cook gently until the stems of the greens are just tender (this may take a while if they are thick), tossing them from time to time and adding water as needed. Oh, and when I say season generously, I mean generously. It’s the salt and vinegar that takes the bitterness out of the greens. I also like to add a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes to the greens as they cook for a little bit of heat.
Basic Cole Slaw
When I make cole slaw, I like to wilt the cabbage first by salting it and letting it weep. This draws out extra moisture so the cole slaw doesn’t taste so crunchy and raw. To do this, cut, core, and thinly slice the leaves of a head of cabbage. Toss the cabbage in some salt and set in a non-reactive colander to drain for about an hour or so. After it has wilted slightly, rinse the cabbage and drain well. To make the cole slaw, add shredded or finely diced red onion and if desired, shredded carrot. Mix everything with enough mayonnaise to coat, and add vinegar or lemon juice, salt, and sugar (or honey) to taste. Flavorings you might choose to add could be dijon mustard, toasted celery seed, or even some chili paste or siracha (it complements mayo like you wouldn’t believe). Refrigerate and let the flavors meld for a couple hours before serving. You may need to freshen it up with a little lemon juice or vinegar before serving.
Basic Barbecue Sauce
Here is an easy formula for a basic barbecue sauce: 1 part molasses, 1 part ketchup, 1 part vinegar. Just heat the mixture up in a saucepan until the vinegar reduces and the sauce is the right consistency. To that, you can add whatever flavorings you wish: a splash of Tobasco or Frank’s Hot Sauce for heat, bourbon, Triple Sec, or some other kind of liquor, hoisin or soy, for an Asian spin, Chipotle peppers for a little Latin kick, horseradish, cocoa, or instant coffee just to name a few. On this particular evening, I didn’t even bother with reducing the sauce. I just marinated the chicken wings in the BBQ mixture and put the whole lot in a Pyrex dish in the oven at about 375 degrees, brushing the wings with the pan drippings as they cooked. By the time the wings were cooked most of the vinegar had evaporated and left a thick delicious mess in the bottom of the pan. I just tossed the wings around a bit before arranging them on the plate and pouring the sauce from the pan over them. By the way my BBQ flavoring of choice this evening? Chili Sambal.
The Disclaimer
Okay, so here’s the thing about using method over recipes: A lot of it is trial and error, but rule #1 is you must taste everything as you go along (except of course raw chicken and the like). You need to use some judgment and make adjustments along the way as needed. For instance, if you decide to take the lazy way out like I did with my chicken wings, and there’s too much space in the pan, you may end up with a black charred crust in the bottom of that pan before your chicken is cooked. Then by all means mix some warm water into the pan before you reach the charred black crust stage! Oh, and rule #2? Where there is room for experimentation, there is also room for much error. On this occasion all went as planned, but that is not always the case. Eh, so sometimes things that seem like a good idea don’t always work out on the first try. In those cases, if I can figure out what not to do the next time, at least I’ve learned something.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Getting Ready for St. Patrick’s Day
Okay friends, if you’re going to cure your own brisket for St. Patrick’s day Corned Beef and Cabbage, you need to start TODAY. That baby needs at least 5 days of salt-curing before even going into the pot. I may not be of Irish descent, but one of the great things about growing up in New York is that no matter where your parents are from, having Corned Beef on St. Patrick’s day (or any day of the year for that matter) can be just as close to your heart as Roast Pork on Chinese New Year. I’m drooling already, just thinking of Reuben sandwiches and fresh corned beef hash I’m going to make from the leftovers. Even though it’s one of my favorite foods, this is the first time I’ve ever made Corned Beef (yeah, you boil it for a really long time, not rocket science) let alone cured my own brisket. So I started curing a brisket earlier this week for a test run.
Corned beef is basically a brisket that has been preserved in salt (and spices). Incidentally, pastrami is simply corned beef that has been smoked. As with most foods that originated out of necessity (before refrigeration and refrigerated transport of course) we still continue this tradition for love of the the unique flavor and texture that salt-curing imparts. The tradition of having corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day is apparently of American origin. According to the history channel, Irish Americans in the late 1800′s substituted corned beef for the bacon that would have been traditional to their homeland.
For my maiden voyage into making Corned Beef and Cabbage, I went to my most reliable source – America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (Go straight to recipes). I used their recipes for both the cure and the cook and true to their word, it was practically foolproof and had really great flavor. Oh, by the way I didn’t have plain paprika on hand, so I used smoked paprika, which added just a hint of smokiness. One of the things about home-curing your brisket, of course, is being able to control the seasoning – a longer cure will result in a more flavorful brisket but too long a cure and it will be overly salty. I went with a 5 day cure myself and after taking the cured brisket out of the ziplock bag, you could even feel the difference. I was fortunate enough to find a thicker well-marbled point cut brisket (as opposed to the thinner and leaner flat cut that is more widely available). After curing, the once supple bright red piece of organic Whole-Foods, locally raised brisket had released most of it’s moisture and was firmer, almost leathery. This was a good sign of course.
As directed I simmered that sucker for 3 hours after which the recipe says a fork should slide easily into the center of the meat. Hmm. not quite. It probably could have gone longer, since it would take much longer to overcook the brisket to the point that it would fall apart, but I thought a little resistance was better for slicing – and it was fine. It sliced really nicely across the grain and the flavor was spot on.
By the way, the recipe calls for a 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 lb. brisket, but between curing and cooking, there is a lot of shrinkage, so it’s actually not as much meat as it sounds like. Oh, and don’t worry if your home-cured corned beef is not as pink as store bought – you won’t miss those nasty nitrates and nitrites that are sometimes commercially added to preserve color.
SOURCE: Adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
YIELD: Approximately 8 servings
INGREDIENTS:
for the cure:
1/2 c. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. cracked black peppercorns
1 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. paprika (or try smoked paprika)
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 lb. beef brisket, trimmed
for cooking:
3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns
1 Tbsp. whole mustard seeds
. Water
1-1/2 lbs. baby red or baby yukon gold potatoes
1-1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
1 2 lb. head of cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
Spicy deli-style mustard, for serving (I prefer Koscuisko brand for it’s sharp horseradish-y flavor)
PROCEDURE:
1. Cure the brisket. Mix all the salt and spices together in a small bowl. Spear the brisket 30 times on each side with a meat fork or metal skewer. Rub each side evenly with the salt mixture then place it in a ziplock bag, forcing out as much air as possible. Put the brisket on a rimmed baking sheet and cover with a second one. Tape or tie the whole thing together and weigh it down with two bricks or large cans. Refrigerate, weighted, for 5 to 7 days. Rinse and pat the meat dry before cooking.
2. To cook the brisket, add the corned beef, bay leaves, peppercorns, and mustard seeds in a large dutch oven or pot and cover by a 1/2 inch of water. Simmer for 2-3 hours until a fork slides easily into the center of the meat.
3. Transfer the meat and 1 cup of liquid to a baking dish and keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you cook the vegetables. Add the potatoes and carrots to the cooking liquid left in the pot and simmer until they begin to soften (10 minute). Then add the cabbage and simmer 10-15 minutes more or until all the vegetables are cooked.
4. To serve, remove the meat from the liquid and slice against the grain. Arrange the meat on a platter with the cooked vegetables and moisten with additional cooking liquid. Serve with spicy mustard on the side.
Note: Spearing and weighting down the brisket are essential steps for proper curing. I tried this once forgetting these steps and the cure didn’t take so the brisket became rancid. Not pretty nor edible.
Link to Recipe Only Page: Home Cured Corned Beef & Cabbage
