Remember that time you waited all day for your “low and
slow” beef brisket to finish cooking, and once it finally did, it was dry? It
left you disappointed, disillusioned, and wondering what went wrong. Well, I
won’t bore you with all the scientific, easy-to-Google details, but basically
meat can “stall” during long, low-heat methods, and never reach the proper
internal temperature to fully release all the succulent goodness.
If you really nail it, the results can be amazing, and I’ve
gotten lucky a few times on the smoker, but this significantly faster method is
much less risky. Unless you really overcook it, you shouldn’t have to worry
about dry meat, and you can instead worry about other things, like whether you
cooked enough meat. By the way, I'm not sure if they invented it, but I adapted
this from something I saw watching an America's Test Kitchen rerun, so if you
have issues, please contact them.
Speaking of enough meat, if you decide to use a whole
brisket, this method will work as shown, but you’ll probably need to give it a
little more time at the end to ensure it’s fork tender. Or not, but there’s
only one way to find out, so have your poking fork handy, and use as needed.
Whether you’re looking for a brisket recipe for Passover, or you’re simply
interested in moister meat in less time, I really hope you give this easy,
baked brisket recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 portions Easy Baked Beef Brisket:
(Adapted from America's Test Kitchen)
3 pound beef brisket (the flat half of a full brisket)
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
For the gravy/braising liquid:
2 tablespoons butter, oil, or rendered fat
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 cup apple juice or cider
- Bake at 325 F. for 1 1/2 hours, then reduce oven to 250 F.,
and cook for about 2 hours 15 minutes, or until fork tender.
Lamb borek is stunning to look at, and even more enjoyable
to eat, which is all thanks to, believe it or not, intentionally soggy dough.
This is something I didn’t grasp the first time I made it, and I just brushed melted
butter between the layers, hoping for something really crispy, and flaky, which
in Phylloland is standard operating procedure. However, since my dough was not
made flexible by the egg/yogurt/butter wash we used here, it basically exploded in like seven
spots when I tried to roll it up. Lesson learned.
Besides moisturizing the phyllo, this magic mixture also
adds flavor, thanks to the tangy yogurt; and the melted butter helps create a
fairly crispy exterior as well. So, while we don’t want to fully saturate the
sheets, a light brushing really does wonders. If you use a 9 or 10 inch round
pan like I did, three rolls should work out nicely, but this technique will
work no matter what you bake it on. You can also skip the spiral effect, and
keep them straight, or bend them into any other shape.
You’ll need a package of phyllo that provides at least 12 decent
sheets, and I really hope yours is better than the tragic box I bought.
However, as bad as mine was, it still worked out quite nicely, so I’m not exactly
sure why I’m complaining. Anyway, whether you make the recipe as listed, or
tweak the filling to your tastes, I really do hope you give this lamb borek
recipe a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 6 large portions:
(for one 9-10 inch round baking dish)
1 package frozen phyllo (filo) dough
2 teaspoons sesame seeds for the top, optional
For the lamb filling (you’ll have some leftover):
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 pounds ground lamb
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons currants
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
For the egg/yogurt/butter wash:
1 large egg
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon melted butter
For the yogurt sauce:
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons very finely sliced mint leaves
lemon juice to taste
1 crushed garlic clove, optional
enough water to achieve desired texture
pinch of salt and cayenne
- Bake at 400 F. for 35-40 minutes, or until browned and
crisp.
Note: Save any extra phyllo, since the filling recipe above makes
extra, and you can fold up some smaller, triangular boreks if you want.
These easy to make soufflé pancakes use the same basic
technique as their extremely trendy Japanese cousins, but are much easier,
don’t require a mold, and actually taste like pancakes. Of course, these won’t
garner the same love on Instagram, but hey, what we sacrifice in verticality,
we more than make up for in less hot air.
The fully inflated version just isn’t dense enough to
satisfy me as a pancake, and mostly makes me want to bake actual soufflés. By
the way, no matter what pancake recipe you like best, if it has eggs in it, you
can do the same thing with the whites, and it almost always improves the
texture.
I joked about putting hot pancakes on cold plates in the video,
but in the restaurant business, this is no laughing matter. It’s one way you
can tell whether pros or amateurs are running the place. At home, I usually
just turn my oven to the lowest setting, and warm the plates in there, ideally
next to some bacon.
Running them under hot water also works, as does zapping
them in the microwave for 20 seconds. Regardless of the plate’s temperature
beneath them, or what you top these with, I really do hope you give them a try
soon. Enjoy!
Makes 4 large or 6 smaller Soufflé Pancakes:
2 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter
pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon self-rising flour (see note below)
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons butter for cooking Note: To make your own self-rising flour (2 cups worth): Sift together 2 cups all-purpose flour, with 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1 teaspoon fine salt.
This amazing Hawaiian comfort food classic is made by
topping rice with a fried burger, which is then smothered with a rich, brown
gravy, and finished with a fried egg. Seriously, how did it take until 1949 for
someone to think of this combination? And, once they did, why exactly did they
name it, “crazy mucus,” which is what this actually translates to.
I’ll let you read all about that here, but disturbing names
aside, this really is a cheap, filling bowl of goodness, that can be adapted in
all sorts of ways. The beef patty is standard, but spam is also used, as is
roast pork, and even seafood.
I like the classic burger best, although as I mentioned in
video, I do recommend using a thinner patty, around 4 ounces, which will make
this easier to eat, as well as provide a better beef-to-rice-to-gravy ratio. I
had a pound of meat and decided to make two portions, but in hindsight I should
have saved half for something else.
Of course, you’re having a pretty good week when you’re
complaining that your burger was too thick for your loco moco. Anyway, I hope
you had a great week as well, and that you give this fast, and very satisfying Hawaiian
classic a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 2 portions:
1 teaspoon unsalted butter for cooking the burger
2 ground beef patties (4 to 6 ounces is ideal)
salt, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne to taste
2 tablespoons minced green onions (white/light parts)
2 cup cooked white rice
2 fried egg
sliced green onions to garnish
For the gravy:
1 1/2 cups high-quality beef broth
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
few drops of sesame oil, optional
2 teaspoons ketchup
2 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch (or a little more if you want a
thicker sauce)
