Cumin Lamb Stir-Fry

My favorite Chinese restaurant in the area is owned by people from Chengdu, in the Szechuan province. It has opened my eyes to the variety in Chinese food, bringing in ingredients like homemade pickled bamboo, the increasingly present and always numbing Szechuan peppercorn, and the use of lamb, often with cumin. The first time I had lamb in a stir-fry was at P.F. Chang's, which shouldn't even really count, but it at least helped me realize that Chinese food shouldn't always just be about what sauce you want your chicken or beef swimming in. Savory, wild, and bursting with a rustic flavor that had nothing to do with General Tso or his counterparts, Pork Lo Mein and Wonton Soup, Chinese lamb dishes point out that there's something familiar and "country" about this part of China. So when I saw this cumin lamb stir-fry recipe on the NYT website, I was immediately ready to make it, and went out in search of lamb that same day.  

Naturally, this was a disaster. Somehow, despite watching Melissa Clark's video and following it verbatim, her magic did not translate into my kitchen. The resultant dish tasted almost right, but lacked body, and was a choking hazard when I just threw in a bunch of cilantro because it didn't call for chopping anything. So I had to modify the process to suit the average cook's home stove, which by no means can handle cooking a full pound of meat properly in one go. The second attempt was notably different, with properly seared and juicy lamb, and no choking hazards. It was every bit as good as food from the Szechuan restaurant, and if metering one's oil usage carefully, I would say it's probably more healthy as well. A definite win against the evils of professional recipes made in professional kitchens by people who can be snobby on a professional level.

Peruvian Chicken (Pollo a la Brasa)

If you haven't had it, Peruvian chicken is one of those hidden gems in the fast food world.  For some reason, we have a ton of different Peruvian chicken restaurants in my town; I'm told it's because we had a lot of Peruvian people come over here from a ministry exchange, and they set up shop all over town.  The history of the dish actually originates with two Swiss-Peruvians who decided to reinvent the rotisserie machine in the 1940s, and this dish took off to the point where it is now one of Peru's national culinary specialties.  The chicken is slow-roasted after being coated with a marinade, usually containing garlic, cumin, and vinegar, but with other ingredients differing somewhat based on where you look.  It is also traditionally served with flavorful spicy sauces such as aji verde, a green chile sauce.

I found this recipe in an old Food Network cookbook, and adapted it with two things in mind - I didn't have a large chicken, and I definitely didn't have a rotisserie.  Instead, I used the same exact recipe with two Cornish game hens, which ended up working out great.  I was amazed that the flavors were so close to those of the restaurant, especially since the cooking method is so different.  Granted, the skin lacked a little of the char flavor and crispy texture that you can't achieve without spinning it over an open flame for a while, but for a homemade version, I'd say this was pretty close for using no special equipment.

A more excellent mix of herbs and seasonings there never was.  Neglect the lime, that's not supposed to be in there.

Pollo Asado con Mojo

If you ever worry that you've lost your mojo, do not worry - there's a way to get it back.  Mojo, after all, is more than a magical charm bag used in hoodoo, it's also a delicious Cuban sauce.  Wikipedia defines mojo (pronounced "mo-ho") as: 

"...the name, or abbreviated name, of several types of sauces, varying in spiciness, that originated in the Canary Islands. It is predominantly either a red (most common), green or orange sauce.... In Cuban cooking mojo applies to any sauce that is made with garlic, olive oil and a citrus juice, traditionally sour orange juice. It is commonly used to flavor the cassava tuber and is also used to marinate roast pork. "

I learned about mojo from my old boss, who was Cuban.  He taught me how to make it to go over yuca, which turned a bland starchy tuber into delicious garlicky exotica.  It's typically the same few core ingredients - garlic, oil, cumin, and a tart citrus juice - conventionally bitter orange, but since this is hard to find usually just orange and lime juice.  And while I've never used it for roast pork, I have used it with roasted chicken in a recipe from the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook (highly recommended, by the way).  So I'm no stranger to this stuff, and have made it a few different ways.  But I wanted to try something a little safer than the last time I made it, which involved heating up a bunch of oil and then adding orange juice, leading to many burns and much less arm hair at the end.  This recipe had some similarities to that, but seemed more appropriate for a Memorial Day cookout and safer to boot, so I gave it a shot.  It did not disappoint, and I came away without permanent scarring.

Pollo asado con mojo, with homemade cole slaw and agua fresca de pepino.  And a little flag - Memorial Day for the win.

Mojo Roast Chicken (Pollo Asado)
Adapted lightly from Allrecipes

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
•  3 tablespoons lime juice 
• 3 tablespoons orange juice 
• 1 (6 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until very hot.  While the oil heats, mash the cumin, salt, oregano, and garlic together into a paste in a heat-proof bowl; whisk the hot oil into the paste.  Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
 

Crush up your whole cumin - don't use the powdered stuff.  Toast them first for maximum flavor.

Whisk the herbs and hot oil together in a heatproof bowl

Mojo is the perfect combination of aromatic infused oil and tart citrus - use bitter orange if you can find it, or orange and lime if you can't

Add the lime juice and orange juice; stir.  And don't use that nasty lime juice from a bottle, or I will come find you and give you the look of eternal shaming.  Place the chicken in a large sealable bag; pour the marinade over the chicken and shake to assure an even coating. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, up to overnight.

Marinate the chicken for a few hours at least, to break down the fibers with the acidic mojo sauce

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), or grill over low / indirect heat.  Arrange the marinated chicken in a roasting pan if baking.  Bake / grill chicken in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour.  If grilling, take the reserved marinade and boil in a small saucepan to sanitize, then bring down and baste over the chicken periodically.  An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

Grill over low heat, basting regularly

This recipe goes great with plantains, rice, fries, yuca, or traditional American picnic sides just the same.

Spicy Poblano Burgers with Chipotle Cream and Pickled Red Onions

Well, after an overly long hiatus, I'm back.  Life is good, thanks for asking.  I mean, how bad could it be, considering that I was finally able to make a crazy hamburger recipe without my good friend and former housemate lamenting "why would you ever put something in a burger besides salt and pepper?!"  Because it's awesome, that's why.

Show me potato salad!

Tonight's post liberates and modifies a burger recipe from Cooking Light, wherein ground beef is augmented with spices and a roasted chile pepper.  To top it off, it calls for a chipotle cream, as well as pickled red onions.  For those of you who haven't had either of these things, a) I weep for you, and b) you need to try them.  Chipotle peppers, being jalapenos that have been smoked and either dried or preserved in a spicy sauce called adobo, are more than just the namesake of your favorite mission-style burrito.  They are also a small piece of heaven, and make for an incredible flavored mayonnaise that's very easy to whip up at home.  And pickled red onions are a garnish traditionally served in Latin cuisine, with a slight bit of tang and a crisp, refreshing bite.  The idea of throwing these things on a burger sounded too good to pass up, and I assure you, the combination is fairly impressive when you're done.

The chipotle - a smoked / dried jalapeno.  And you thought it was some kind of crazy mystery pepper!

Pickled red onions.  I use my own recipe, which is easy and fast, and requires about 4 things you have around the kitchen.

The recipe calls for roasted poblanos in the burger meat.  This is a simple process that can go horribly if you don't follow the directions.  Let's walk through the process quickly:

1. Take your peppers and char them over an open flame.  Do not bake them, don't put them in a pan and sear them.  Char them, over a gas burner, on a grill, or in a broiler.  Turn them regularly, to make sure they are well blackened.
2. Take the still hot peppers and put them in a bag.  You're trying to get the skin off, which you don't want to eat.  To do this, you want the steam coming from the peppers to work its way throughout the membrane keeping the skin attached, so that even the non-charred bits give up their fight and let go.  Translation: place in a sealed plastic zip-top bag, and let the peppers sit for 15 minutes.
3. Peel the skin off.  Try to get as much as possible removed, or the final product will both look and feel weird.

The mostly charred peppers.  I used cubanelle, because I'm lazy and couldn't find poblanos.  About the same heat level and flavor in a pinch.

The peppers, after steaming in a ziploc bag.

Look, the skin comes right off in sheets!

If you're lucky, you can get most of the skin off in one pull.

The finished product, peeled, seeds removed, and sliced open.

We all thought the burgers were great, although I would have cooked them slightly more rare on a better grill.  Regardless, the tart chipotle cream, the slightly sweet, slightly sour pickled onions, and the savory burger come together in what I thought was a well-rehearsed symphony of flavors.  Make sure you are sitting when you eat the hamburger, and please, remember to eat responsibly.

The recipe calls for making a few subassemblies, which need to be prepared in a certain order to get the flavors and consistency correct.  I will outline the recipe in the order in which you must complete everything for maximum awesomeness.  Besides changing the order of the recipe, I replaced white bread and milk with panko crumbs, which gives the burger just a bit more body and a less mushy meatloaf-y texture.

Spicy Poblano Burgers with Pickled Red Onions and Chipotle Cream

Adapted from Cooking Light, July 2010

• 2 poblano chiles
• 1 oz panko crumbs
• 3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 pound ground sirloin (I used 90/10 chuck)

• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1 tbsp minced shallots
• 1 tsp fresh lime juice
• 1 (7-oz) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (you will just need 1 chile)
• 4 (1.5-oz) hamburger buns, toasted

• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp dried oregano

First, get the pickled onions pickling.  You can do this a day ahead, but a few hours is better than nothing. Most importantly, slice your onions thinly and uniformly.  For this, I use a mandoline, also referred to in my kitchen as 'the finger slicer'.  This medieval torture instrument is valuable not only for injuring yourself, but also for making precisely sliced foods.  Observe:

The mandoline - observe nature's cruelest mistake

I recommend using the finger guard, unless you have excellent medical insurance

These perfectly sliced onions were created in about 10 seconds total.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes and salt, heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add onions and dried oregano. When mixture is cool pour into a quart container. You may need to add a bit of water just to cover. (If you have time, keep at room temperature for about 6 hours, then place in the refrigerator).

Next, prepare the chipotle cream.  Combine the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons cilantro, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in sour cream, shallots, and juice. Remove 1 chipotle pepper and 2 teaspoons adobo sauce from can; reserve remaining chipotle peppers and adobo sauce for another use. Chop chile. Stir chopped chipotle and 2 teaspoons adobo sauce into sour cream mixture.  Set aside and allow flavors to combine.

Now you can get the poblano peppers roasted.   Preheat broiler, or use a gas / charcoal grill.  Either grill, turning frequently, or place poblano chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet, and broil for 8 minutes or until blackened, turning after 6 minutes. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel chiles, and discard the seeds and membranes. Finely chop.

Now, prepare your spices.  Naturally, you use whole spices, right?  What's that, you don't?  Well, throw out your spices, because they are undoubtedly bland and gross.  Instead, go to a latin market and pick up fresh coriander (the seeds of the cilantro plant) and cumin (the seeds of some other plant), and grind up fresh as needed.  I specifically purchased a coffee mill that I use just for latin spices, which would produce some of the worst coffee ever at this point, but which does an excellent job at making fresh ground spice.

Grind your spices fresh for the best flavor

Combine panko, poblano chile, 1 1/2 tablespoons cilantro, cumin, coriander, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and beef, tossing gently to combine. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, gently shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.  Make sure to shape the burgers thin and wide, so that they won't contract into a sphere when cooked.  A trick I learned on Food TV - press a small indentation in the center of each patty, which helps prevent this 'burger bulge' and results in a completely flat burger after cooking.  Cover and chill until ready to grill.   Also, if you're going to the trouble of making this recipe, shell out for decent buns.  A burger that takes this long to make deserves to be on bread without preservatives, that doesn't cost 25 cents, has some flavor, and won't turn to complete paste if looked at incorrectly.  Like a good CEO, burger buns should have some integrity.

Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes or until grill marks appear. Carefully flip patties; grill an additional 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.  Don't be that person that squishes the burger with your spatula - yes, it sounds great, but all you're doing is wringing the flavor and moisture out of the burger, along with potentially cross-contaminating your cooked burger implement with raw beef bits.

I try to make the burgers wide, so they don't shrivel up into small burger balls that are gross when you get them to a bun.

Place 1 patty on bottom half of each bun; top each serving with 3 tablespoons chipotle cream and 1 tablespoon Pickled Red Onions.  Serve with whatever sides you like, and enjoy your hard work - you earned it.

Chipotle pickled red onion roasted pepper burger