MEAT GRINDER

As I tickle the keyboards with composition, I am enjoying the most decadent meatloaf sandwich. Let’s rewind a couple of days and start with the gift. My sister-in-law “Shastina’ presented me with the most wonderful present of a meat grinder. She knows how to make me smile. This is a “Warring Pro Meat Grinder”. This model also has the capability to stuff sausage. It is one shiny, fancy machine. The Mad Meat Genius light bulb has lit. Let’s make some meatloaf.

This machine is very straight forward. One chooses one of three grinding plates (coarse, medium, fine) and assembles with blade. There is a forward and reverse switch.  That is all. The beautiful thing about this machine is; it will grind any meats you desire. Today we are grinding beef chuck and pork loin. We are using the coarse grind plate. It is good practice to partially freeze meat before grinding. This keeps the meat and fat firm to help not clog the plates. We sliced our meat into strips and let them sit in the Chilebrown Ice Cave for 45 minutes. This new grinder made fast work to transform the strips into future meatloaf. It was time to season.

Everybody has their favorite meatloaf recipe. Our loaf started with a mixture of pork loin and chuck. I made some fresh bread crumbs from some bread we had in the pantry. The bread was lightly toasted and then pulsed in a food processor. While the grinder was running a whole head of peeled garlic was run through.  Ms. Goofy went to our garden and snipped parsley, thyme, rosemary and oregano. This was washed and chopped.  Milk and eggs are the liquids to bind this mixture. We had a little cream left over so this was used instead of milk. Do not forget salt & pepper to season before forming the loaf. To gild the lily the loaf was crowned with bacon. This was all placed on a trivet in a black iron pan. It was baked in a covered bbq for an hour.  It smelled wonderful

This meatloaf was moist and flavorful. What fun to grind our own meat. We are guaranteed freshness and are able to control quality and proportions. Here is a big hug to my sister-in-law Shastina, for this wonderful gift. I am already anticipating this will be a freshly ground sliders kind of weekend. The wheels are turning for our future sausage endeavors.

ANGELO IBLETO

Angelo Ibleto is a character larger than life. Charismatic, generous, butcher extraordinaire and most important of all our friend. Our friend is the owner and proprietor of Angelo's Meats in Petaluma California.
We have known Angelo for over 20 years. We make it a point to visit Angelo as often as we can. A visit to his butcher shop is like hanging out with an old friend. He always loves to feed us with some of his delicious Italian food..His focaccia is to die for. When we depart we have a ice chest full of meat and a smile on our face. We would like to share a moment with Angelo.

 

MACHACA DON PEDRO

We are going to revisit and once again try the dish Carne Machaca. Machaca is a dried beef product that has been marinated, cooked, dried and shredded. Our last experience with Machaca the results were less than stellar. Salty, with a funky off putting odor was a little too much. Andres Jaramillo, President of ‘Don Pedro’s Meat’ offered us a sample of Machaca that he produced. He claims that his popular Machaca was made with lean beef, salt & pepper, slow cooked and dried. We took him up on his offer and will try this beloved Mexican dish again. I am bringing out a secret weapon this endeavor. Ray, my friend and accomplished Chef will be making us breakfast with our Machaca. He used to own the very popular Mexican restaurant ‘Margaritas’ in Martinez California. This should be a very tasty experiment.

When I walked into Ray’s kitchen the aromas were intoxicating. The smell of fresh tortillas on the grill and onions and peppers cooking made me swoon with anticipation. We were going to cook the Machaca with sautéed onions, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes and eggs. We cut open the package of Machaca and took a whiff. It was very pleasant smelling. It smelled of dried beef. It was chopped very finely almost to a powder consistency. We took a little pinch and gave it a try. It was tasty with a beefy flavor. It was on the salty side straight out of the package.

Ray sautéed the onions/tomato mixture until it was soft and fragrant. We then added the whole package of Machaca. We later found out that we only needed to use several tablespoons. The mixture was cooked for several minutes before we added beaten eggs. No additional salt was added. Several more minutes of cooking and our breakfast was ready. Home made fresh tortillas, salsa, a cheese & pasilla chile dish, refried beans and our star ‘Huevos con Macha’ lined our breakfast table. A tortilla was our canvas. The painting consisted of a scoop of our Machaca and egg mixture with a little dab of salsa.

This was dish was an outstanding success. It smelled heavenly. A deep rich beef flavor permeated our egg mixture. The level of salt was perfect and accented the other ingredients. Because this beef was chopped so finely it practically melted and became one with the eggs. The peppers and salsa was warming. This was a comforting breakfast. The fresh tortillas with Machaca eggs have made me a convert. Ray is one hell of a cook. Is it okay to take a siesta right after eating breakfast?

Don Pedro’s Meats is located in Southern California. They not only make Machaca but other Jerky’s, dried meats, chorizo and salsas. Thanks to Andres Jaramillo for introducing us to some great tasting Machaca.  Thanks to Chef Ray for being a great friend and cook.

Don Pedro’s Meat
725 E. Edna Place
Covina, Ca. 91723

PORTERHOUSE BEEF

It is Saturday night and Ms. Goofy and I have hunger that needs to be satisfied. Tonight's main attraction is a 20 ounce Porterhouse steak from the U.C. Davis Meat Labs. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare over a hot mesquite fire.

It will be accompanied by a green bean casserole cooked in our trusty black iron. This casserole will have beans from our garden, garlic from Lakeport,  bacon from Taylor's Sausage., and will be covered with a mountain of cheese from the Rumiano Cheese Company.

To top the evening we had a home made apple pie made with Gravestein apples from our backyard. Lookout couch because here I come.

GRILLED MEATLOAF

Grilled meatloaf is comfort food at the Chilebrown household. It is simple and easy to make. Cooking it in the Weber gives it a small kiss of smoke that puts this loaf over the top delicious. We cover this meat log with a weave of bacon. This is the only time we ever use mass produced store bought bacon. The bacon is mainly for decoration and to seal in all the meatloaf juices. The bacon covered meat loaf is cooked in our trusty black iron skillet. As Dr. Biggles recommends: Do not forget to use a trivet. The trivet allows the bacon and meat fat to drain away from our loaf.

Our meat loaf recipe varies from time to time. It all depends on what is available and if we have a specialty theme. Today's meat loaf was made from ground beef procured from U.C. Davis meat labs. This is some quality beef. It was about 1 1/2 pounds of 80 percent lean beef. Grated carrot, chopped garlic and red onion, finely chopped mushrooms, 3/4 cup of bread crumbs soaked in milk, and salt & pepper were the ingredients today. The ingredients were shaped into a small football shape and covered with our bacon weave. One hour of cooking time in a covered grill and it was time to eat.

One of the best things about meatloaf is the sandwiches the next day. This is comfort food that we love. I think I am going to have a sandwich.

CARNE MACHACA

We are bringing you a Mad Meat Genius first; dried beef. This was spotted at Las Montanas Supermarket. I saw it on the shelf and walked right by. I got to the next aisle and stopped dead in my tracks. Dried beef? I had to investigate. The clerk explained it was used with eggs for a breakfast dish. A small amount was purchased. Once home a little more digging on the World Wide Web produced information and recipes. Carne Machaca is a form of beef jerky. Meat is marinated, cooked, shredded and then dried. It is usually sautéed with salsa and eggs to make the filling for a spicy breakfast burrito.

We are home and opened our container of dried beef. Ms. Goofy and I both took a whiff. We both simultaneously exclaimed it smells like dog food. The odor was very off putting. In the name of research we continued. Chopped onion, tomato and a Serrano pepper were cooked in a little olive oil for several minutes. The dried beef was added and cooked for several more minutes. Eggs were added and cooked. This mixture was served with salsa and a tortilla.


The dried beef was on the salty side. A little chewy with beef flavor was the verdict. It tasted fine enough, but the smell was still in the back of our mind. This is an experiment that will not be repeated.

BACON WRAPPED BACON HOT DOGS

Bacon hot dogs from 4505 Meats, is a special dog stuffed with our favorite meat treat. When you bite into these meat tubes of tubular joy they have that familiar hot dog snap. The bacon flavor is sublime but the taste lets you know you are eating something special. How can we improve on these cured swine stuffed frankfurters? How about we wrap them in some home cured bacon and make our own hot dog rolls? That will be the ticket for today’s culinary ride on our lunch time meal.


Bacon and hot dogs are usually cured. My bacon was cured with a combination of pink salt, salt and sugar. This pink salt does have nitrates and nitrites that inhibit the growth of bacteria. “4505 Meats” proudly advertises that these hot dogs are uncured. This is a little misleading because they are cured with celery juice powder. This is a natural way to deliver nitrates and nitrites. They are still cured. What about the bacon inside the hot dogs? I just had to get that off my chest. They still are mighty tasty! The hot dog rolls are our English muffin recipe that is cooked on our stove top griddle. The bacon was sliced very thin and secured to our dogs with tooth picks. A quick sear on the flat top and we were in business.


Some of our new favorite sauerkraut from ‘Farmhouse Culture’ was served with this bacon on bacon dog treat. Some habanero flavored mustard from ‘Mustard Seed Farms’ put this dish over the top. Home made rolls, cured and “uncured” meat, sauerkraut, and habanero mustard is the way we like to spice up our lunch. It was:
' Lip-smacking
'Whip-crackin
'Paddywhackin
'Knickaknackin
'Silabawhackin
'Scalawhackin
'Crackerjackin' give the dog a bone good.

RED OAK

Santa Maria style barbeque is a cooking style that is unique and famous for grilling over coals of red oak wood. Red oak is a fragrant wood that imparts its own special flavor. Tri-tip is usually the meat of choice for this style of barbeque. We have acquired some chunks of red oak from ‘John’s Wood’ and a tri-tip from the ‘U.C. Davis Meat Lab’. We will give our version of this cooking style. Traditionally a fire of red oak wood is burned down to coals. Charcoal and red oak chunks will replicate this process. A medium charcoal fire was built and the wood chunks were placed on top. The grill cover was used to keep the wood from burning.

Our trip-tip was marinated in our special rub for several hours. A mixed grill of home grown delicata, gray zucchini squash and marinated portabella mushrooms will be a good canvas for the smoke of the red oak. The smoke from the red oak has a beautiful bouquet of sweet smelling smoke. This is my kind of air freshener. In no time at all we had a Santa Maria meal to enjoy. We threw in an artichoke and enjoyed a meal flavored with sweet red oak smoke. I think they are on to something in Santa Maria.

BERBERE

Larry from ‘Peppahead’, my hot sauce guru asked me if I liked Berbere. I honestly did not even know what Berbere was. Berbere is an ‘Ethiopian’ blend of spices used in dishes and to season meat. Larry suggested I use some on some lamb. Here is another ingredient that Chilebrown is not familiar with. Lamb and Berbere spice will be another culinary adventure to experience. Here is what Larry has to say about his Berbere spice;

“Berbere is the fantastic seasoning of Ethiopia and Eritrea, with many regional variations. It is prepared as a dry spice for seasoning as well as a sauce. It is pungent and fragrant with a unique a flavor. Excellent for stews, grilling or baking seafood and meats. This blend is spicy, but you can kick it up with a hot chile such as African Bird pepper. Use the sauce for seasoning and marinades. The perfect BBQ sauce.”


Some cute little lamb loin chops from ‘Anderson Ranches' were picked up from the farmers market. These chops were dusted with Berbere spice. They were grilled on a hot mesquite fire until they were cooked medium rare. Tender and tasty with a unique spicy tang was the verdict. Berbere spice on its own is not hot in the heat department. There are spices that I am not overly familiar with in this blend. (allspice, fenugreek, cloves and several others) This was a unique flavor that I will have fun experimenting with on some other meats. I also loved our cute little lamb chops. Lamb will definitely make a return visit to the grill.

Peppahead

CROSS RIB ROAST

“Cross Rib’ roast, not to be mistaken with the “Standing Rib’ roast, will be cooked on the barbeque fire today. This is an inexpensive cut of beef that if cooked correctly will be tasty and tender. You will need to follow several easy directions to achieve delicious results. Our roast today was procured at our local “Wally Mart” for only several dollars. This is one economical cut of beef.

Our roast was rubbed with some spices (rub) and left to marinade for several hours. Here is a not so secret way to cook this roast. Bank 25 lit coals on each side of your barbeque kettle. Place a drip pan in the center in between the coal banks to catch dripping fat. Place a thermometer in center of meat. Place the roast on the barbeque grate over the drip pan in between the two banks of coals and put the lid on. This is called indirect cooking. Cook until internal temperature of the roast hits 125 degrees. (It is very important that when you hit this temperature of 125 degrees that you stop, because there will be carry over cooking when you let the roast rest.) This is the hard part. You need to let this roast rest for at least 15 minutes to let all the juices redistribute thoroughly. Slice into thin slabs of meaty delight.

The smoke of the fire adds such a wonderful dimension to beef. Medium rare was the beautiful results of proper cooking. This tender and juicy roast could have been sliced with a butter knife. One of the best things about this meal is the anticipation of sandwiches for the next day. Oh my!

FIVE STAR MEAT MARINADE

A local entrepreneur Burt Amaral has taken his Portuguese Grandmothers secret meat marinade recipe and bottled it for you and me. It is an all purpose marinade and can be used for chicken, pork, beef and fish. This meat marinade is all natural and boasts;
• No msg
• No sugar
• No carbs
• No preservatives
• No oils or fats

The million dollar question is will something that is so healthy taste good? We soon shall see. Today’s menu will consist of some chicken thighs and pork shoulder steaks that have been marinated in Five Star Meat Marinade for 24 hours and grilled. Today’s grill will also include some asparagus and artichokes. The artichokes were parboiled in salted and lemon infused water. They were then sliced in half and marinated in garlic, olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

  A smoking hot mesquite fire was our fuel to flavor and cook our proteins. The grill grate was given a healthy swab of oil to make sure nothing would stick and produce grill marks. This cook was fast and furious. Smoke was bellowing and sparks were flying while our dinner was grilling. The end result was one good looking platter of grilled meat and vegetables.

This was one tasty meal. I am going to refer you to Peppers and More for the results and the complete review.(Complete Review Here) Burt Amaral has his Five Star Marinade available by mail order. If you are located in the East Bay, Encinal Market in Alameda carries it.

Five Star Meat Marinde

TEXAS de BRAZIL

Meat on Meat and a salad bar on steroids. This is what we experienced at our Birthday/Anniversary dinner at ‘Texas de Brazil’ in Las Vegas, Nevada. We took a detour on our way back from our meat judging at Lake Havasu. Las Vegas is destination to practice all of your vices. Mad Meat Genius has a frailty for a good steak. A colleague from work highly recommended ‘Texas de Brazil’, a Brazilian steak house. How could I pass up a new steak house? We made our reservations a couple of months in advance to take part at this popular meat palace of indulgence.

We arrived at our dinner celebration by a yellow checkered vehicle. A couple of (non bacon) martini’s loosened up our taste receptacles. We have been anticipating this dinner experience for awhile. The aroma of this restaurant is of roasted meats. It is comforting and most inviting, teasing us of the meat extravaganza to come.

Once we were seated our waitress gave us instructions. One first needs to take a trip to the salad bar. I am not sure you can call it a salad bar in the ‘Sizzler’ sense. This is a food station with very high end ingredients. Once back at your table you have a little disc that is colored red on one side and green on the other. Green means bring the ‘Meat Gaucho Servers” on and red means stop. Simple enough are these instructions.

This is a salad bar on steroids. Prosciutto, peppered salami, smoked salmon, crab sushi rolls, a wheel of Parmesan, asparagus, roasted red and green peppers a designer list of imported and domestic olive oils, salad greens, stuffed artichoke hearts and a whole bevy of deluxe ingredients are yours for the grazing. I thought it would be prudent to go light on this display of indulgence to prepare for the meat flurry to come.



The “Gaucho’s” have their special pantalones to identify that they are meat servers. They also carry swords full of meat and very sharp knives. You are equipped with some tongs to help out the Gaucho when he slices some meat. Turn your disc over to green and watch the Gaucho’s flock. The Gaucho’s come to your table and will give you a slice or piece of meat that they are wielding. Are you ready for this? The Brazilian house specialty is marinated sirloin steak. filet mignon, bacon wrapped meats, sausage, lamb, skirt steak, pork and beef ribs, and so many more meats are bombarded to your table. I could not even see Ms. Goofy over her plate that was piled high of assorted  meats. We had to flip over our card to red so we could eat our way to seeing each other again.

Oh mang! This was so very, very wonderful. This is a destination restaurant. Come to Texas de Brazil; be prepared to experience a dream meat experience. What a celebration!

Texas de Brazil

BURNT ENDS

What are Burnt Ends? How come, on the West Coast nobody cooks this delicious barbeque dish? The ‘Point’ end of a brisket is cooked to the temperature of one hundred and ninety degrees in your favorite smoker. This roast is rested and then sliced in to cubes of meat joy. A little more rub is added to the meat and it is put back into the smoker. Barbeque sauce is added and cooked a little longer to finish this meat candy.

Brisket and especially the point end are not easy to find on the West Coast. A brisket consists of two distinct areas of the flat and the point. The point end of brisket has more fat that equals flavor. This cut of meat is a staple in Texas and the Midwest. Ms. Goofy and I discovered Burnt Ends on our “Strange and Wonderful trip to Kansas for the ‘American Royal Barbeque Championship. All barbeque restaurants in Kansas served burnt ends. We were hooked and had to recreate this dish at home.
  A combination of maple and apple wood was our smoking material. We started the cooking process the night before. It took 14 hours to bring this baby to temperature. When we took it out of the smoker I almost fainted right there because it smelled so dang good. It was cut into cubes and some more of my favorite rub was added. It was sauced and cooked an hour longer. Patience is very difficult when you smell the aroma emitting from the cooking vessel.

Meat Candy is all she wrote. These little meat pillows are smoky, oh so tender and satisfying. The edge of these cubes are caramelized with flavor that has to be experienced.. This dish will be added to the memorable meals of our culinary memory banks. Ah! Who needs a green egg anyway?

PIGS IN A BLANKET

'Pigs in a Blanket' bring back fond memories of cooking with the family. You would have to whack the tube of dough against the counter. Wrap the wienies, pop in the oven, and wait for the smell to grab your senses. It was time to bring back some of those memories with a new Chilebrown twist. Instead of using the 'Dough-Boy' tube, we will make some crescent rolls from scratch. The 'Pizza-Que' will be the source of heat to cook these blanket cured pork cylinders of love. Instead of traditional wieners, some bacon hot dogs from '4505 Meats' will be our meat base.

• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water 
• 1/4 cup sugar (white, brown, or honey)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
•  1/2 cup shortening
•  4 cups all-purpose flour (1 cup whole wheat & 3 cups white bread flour is what I used)
•  1/4 cup butter, melted

Proof the yeast in warm water. Cut shortening into flour. Add rest of ingredients and knead until dough is pliable. Cover with damp towel and let rise for 1 1/2 hour or until doubled. Punch down and roll out on to floured surface. Cut into triangles that will fit your dogs. Roll dough around dog let proof for another 20 minutes. Brush melted butter on top of dough. Cook in 400 degree oven for approx 14 minutes or until brown.

We stocked our Weber with some hardwood charcoal. Once the fire was lit we place the Pizza-Que in place and let it heat thoroughly.Once the temperature was reached the rolls were placed in our oven. In no time at all we could smell crescent rolls baking. Oh my, Ms. Goofy began to drool and I got the mustard and smoked jalapeno sauerkraut ready. These hot dog rolls were so good. They did not taste the same as my recollections but they are creating new wonderful taste sensations.

BURNT ENDINGS

Burnt ends are the  point end of a brisket that have been cooked to the stage of being  covered in a dark flavorful bark. They have been referred to as meat candy.We cooked with brisket today but the results were not sweet meat chunks, but more like charcoal. We attempted to make a meat pie using leftover brisket and vegetables. This pie was covered with a simple pie crust. The wood fired oven was stoked and the pie was cooked in a excessive high level of heat.

The ingredients of this pie was a melody of beautiful parts. Some smoky leftover brisket, carrots, potato's, and mushrooms. were place in a aluminum pan with a splash of water. It was covered with foil and cooked in the oven for 10 minutes. The high heat steamed the vegetables perfectly. Chopped meat and seasonings were added to the vegetables. Some cream of mushroom soup was added to this mixture. The filling was covered with a simple pie crust.

The wood fired oven is a fun tool. I have been guilty in the past of using to high a level of heat.There is a calming effect building a fire and watching it burn. I need to be patient and let the heat come down from 900 degrees. Maybe it is the heat of my passion of burning desire to cook some great meals. Any way, the crust burned almost immediately. The meal was not a total loss. We just removed the crust and enjoyed the filling. Sometimes burnt endings are okay!

TRI-TIP

Tri-Tip is not my favorite cut of meat. It was on sale for the Memorial Weekend. Barbeque beef is nothing to be taken lightly with out a grain of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Cooked correctly you have one meat Extravaganza!

Check out my new grill thermometer!