Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Lamb Meatballs

I did not make shepherd's pie for St. Patrick's Day, so I ended up with a pound of lamb mince (that's British for ground) in my fridge. I felt like doing something completely different with it and made these greek inspired lamb meatballs.

Ingredients:

1/2 C unseasoned bread crumbs
2 sprigs thyme leaves
1 sprig of rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 oz shredded pecorino romano cheese
1/2 oz dried shiitake mushrooms
1lb of ground lamb

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.

Combine everything except the lamb in the carafe of your blender or food processor, and blend into a fine powder. Thoroughly mix your seasoning powder into the lamb and form the mixture into 1.5 inch or golf ball sized meatballs.

Space the meatballs out about an inch apart on a greased baking sheet and bake for 18 minutes or until the meatballs reach and internal temp of 160.

I recommend serving with fettuccine, wilted baby spinach, shredded pecorino romano, extra virgin olive oil, and fresh ground black pepper. Pro tip: after I drained the pasta, I quickly added the olive oil and spinach. The olive oil kept the pasta from sticking and the residual heat wilted the spinach perfectly.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Far Cry 5 Montana Burger

Far Cry 5 came out recently, and to celebrate this great game, I decided to create my Montana Burger. What is Montana known for? Game burgers! This bison burger is packed with sweet and savory umami flavor and is excellent paired with my maple glazed bacon.

Ingredients:

2 large white onions
½ C demerara or light brown sugar
1 lb ground bison
2 tsp salt (divided)
2 tbsp oil (divided)
¼ C ketchup
2 tbsp maple syrup
sesame seed bun
mayo
maple glazed bacon
cheddar cheese

Directions:

Slice the onions into medium slices. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a saute pan over medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onions and 1 tbsp of salt and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions have significantly darkened, about 10-15 minutes. Once the onions have reached the level of brown that you like for sauteed onions, turn the heat off and add the sugar. Stir constantly and allow the reserved heat to caramelize the sugar onto the onions. Remove from the pan so they do not burn.

While the onions are cooking, form the ground bison into 4 patties and lightly salt each with a ¼ tsp of salt. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a cast iron skillet until the oil is shimmering. Sear the burgers, about 3-5 minutes on each side, until an instant read thermometer reads 155 internal or until juices run clear. Let the burgers rest for 5 minutes.

Mix together the ketchup and maple syrup and, once the burgers are rested, brush the glaze onto the paties.

To serve, I toasted my sesame seed buns on one side under the broiler with a thick slice of cheddar cheese on the top slice. I then put a thin spread of mayo on the bottom, and added 4 half slices of my maple bacon, topped with a generous heap of caramelized onions, the glazed patty, and then the top bun with the melted cheese. And, since Far Cry 5 is a bit of  a violent game, I finished the whole thing off by stabbing it with a steak knife.