Recipes

INGREDIENTS
14-ounce piece lean salt pork or 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

3 marrow bones

1 ½ pounds beef stew meat (rump or shoulder), cut into 2-inch pieces

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 onions, chopped

2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped

2 small parsnips, peeled and sliced

2 cups fresh or frozen baby limabeans

1 cup fresh or frozen green beans

2 cups fresh or frozen okra, sliced thin

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

1 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Generous pinch sugar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Ingredients

3 pounds short ribs, bone-in

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups liquid, such as beer, wine, or broth
2 to 4 sprigs fresh herbs, such as rosemary or thyme

Equipment
Pastry or basting brush
Deep Dutch oven OR deep sauté pan with a lid
Tongs

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Salt and pepper the meat: Heat the oven to 325°F. Brush each short rib with vegetable oil, then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

2. Sear the short ribs: Heat a deep, wide Dutch oven or sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the short ribs in one layer, leaving room between each (work in batches if necessary). Now would be a good moment to turn on your hood vent or fan, if you have one! Sear the short ribs without moving for several minutes on each side, letting them brown deeply. Use tongs to turn and sear all sides. This will take about 15 minutes total.

3. Cook the onions: Turn the heat down to medium and add the onion and garlic around the browned short ribs. Let the onions sweat for about 5 minutes or until they soften.

4. Add liquid: Add the liquid — beer, wine, or broth — and bring to a simmer.

5. Bake in the oven: After the liquid comes to a simmer, add the herb sprigs, then cover the pan tightly. Put the covered pan in the oven. (Alternately, this is the point where you can transfer to the slow cooker for 8 hours on LOW, or continue cooking on very low heat on the stovetop.) Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is very tender and coming away from the bone.

6. Rest the meat: When the meat is done, rest in a covered pan for 20 minutes before serving. Serve by gently tugging the chunks of meat away from the bone and spooning the saucy onions over top.

7. OPTIONAL STEP — Refrigerate overnight: While short ribs can be served immediately, they are a very fatty cut, which makes the dish very rich and even greasy. I prefer to refrigerate them overnight and then scrape away the hardened layer of fat from the top before serving. They will also improve in flavor and tenderness while resting overnight.

8. Reheat: To reheat, cover and warm over low heat on the stove for 15 to 20 minutes.

RECIPE NOTES

• Slow Cooker Instructions: To cook in the slow cooker, progress through step 4, then transfer the meat, onions, and liquid to a slow cooker insert. Cook on LOW for 8 hours.

• Stovetop Instructions: Instead of transferring the pan to the oven, you can also cook the short ribs on the stovetop. Keep the pan covered and cook over low heat for 2 to 3 hours, checking liquid levels intermittently and making sure the bottom isn’t scorching.

• More Flavor Variations: This is of course just the most basic method. You can get creative by using a stronger spice rub, different kinds of beer (I like the slight bitterness an IPA provides) or red wine, or sherry. You can use soy sauce and mirin with Chinese five-spice; you could go Spanish with smoked paprika and Rioja.

Cooking spray

8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

3/4 cup (1/4-inch) diagonally cut celery

1/2 cup (1/4-inch) diagonally cut carrot

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

3 parsley sprigs

1 bay leaf

3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

2.25 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup 1% low-fat milk

Preparation

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add celery and next 5 ingredients (through bay leaf) to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute. Add broth to pan; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, chopped parsley, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk, stirring just until moist. Spoon by heaping teaspoonfuls into broth mixture; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until dumplings are done. Discard parsley sprigs and bay leaf.

1 whole cut-up chicken ( can also use only leg-quarters, thighs or drumsticks)
½ cup fresh lemon juice
2 whole heads of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp good sea salt

Grease a 9 X 13 baking pan with coconut oil, lard, or olive oil.

Arrange rinsed chicken pieces in the pan.

Pour lemon juice over, then olive oil, and sprinkle with chopped garlic, oregano and salt.

Cover with foil or a lid, and roast in 350 degree oven for an hour.

Uncover and continue roasting, about 30-45 minutes, until chicken browned.

If you add cubed potatoes to the pan and “dress” them just as you did the chicken, you’ll get WONDERFUL crispy, tasty potatoes.

Better make a lot!

Start with chicken, turkey, beef, or venison bones (the more, the better and you can mix them)

Add 1 medium to large onion 2 ribs of celery

A fist of garlic (totally worth the work!)

Add salt, seasoned salt, fresh pepper if you wish

A splash of raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar – this will allow important minerals trapped in the bones to release into the solution

Enough filtered water to cover the bones

Bring the contents to a simmer slowly in order to get the best benefit from the combined ingredients.

Use a large spoon and remove any scum that rises to the top as your stock is starting to simmer

Add water as it evaporates shut off the heat when you go to bed and then start it back up in the morning….it will still be hot when you wake up.

Simmer for a second full day

Remove from the heat for the night

Stir the contents well and then strain through a colander into a bowl or pan that pours well and empty your stock pot

Pour your finished stock into Mason jars or freezer bags and freeze

Beef Shank Osso Buco

Serves 6-8 people.

4.5 hours to cook (3 hours in oven & approx. 1.5 to prepare)

8 Beef shanks – 1 ½-2 in. thick

Salt

Pepper

Flour for dredging

2 Tbs. butter

¼ cup good olive oil

3 ¼ in. thick slices pancetta

2 cups onion finely chopped

1 cup carrots finely chopped

1 cup celery finely chopped

8 cloves garlic minced

1-28oz can diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups Chianti or other simple red wine

3 cups beef stock

1 bunch torn basil leaves

2 medium bay leaves

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Finely chop the onion, carrots and celery and mince garlic. Dice pancetta into small cubes. Season beef shanks with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour. In a non-stick fry pan, over medium high heat and working in batches, brown the beef in the oil and butter until the shanks are golden. Remove shanks and put in a large dutch oven.

In the same fry pan, sauté cubed pancetta until rendered down and crispy. Remove cracklings with slotted spoon and add to shanks in dutch oven. Quickly add the onion, carrots and celery to fry pan and sauté over medium high heat until veggies are tender adding garlic just before done.

Add canned tomatoes and continue cooking until tomatoes are soft. Add torn basil, bay leaves and generous amount of ground pepper.

Then add wine and turn up heat slightly to reduce the liquids. Pour contents of fry pan into dutch oven and pour 2 cups beef broth over ingredients. Gently move beef shanks to allow sauce to meld. Put covered pot in 350 degree heated oven. Check pot after 1 ¼ hours and add an additional cup beef broth. Turn oven down to 325 if sauce is boiling too rapidly. With a sharp tonged fork, check beef for tenderness and continue cooking for an additional 1 to 1 ½ hours until done. (Finished Osso Buco) *** Do not worry if bones become separated from meat. For some, bone marrow is a delicacy. Served with desired side dish (mashed potatoes, rice or polenta).