Shepherd's Pie with Bison

Featured Ingredient:

I've been staring at that square package of bison for years.  (Not the same one, just every time I look in the organic, more expensive meat section at Stop & Shop it taunts me.)  I'm not too adventurous when it comes to meat.  I've tried ostrich in the past.  I ate boar and sweet breads (the thymus gland of a calf) in culinary school, so maybe I could handle this. It is funny that sweet breads are considered part of the "offal" family of cuisine. Take a second and think about what "offal" sounds like.

 I took the plunge and bought the ground bison meat.  Flavor and texture wise bison it wasn't much of a departure from ground beef.   I figure next time I'll make bison sliders and call them "buffalo chips."

The bison was an interesting twist on a very traditional dish of Shepherd's Pie.  This dish reminds me of the my childhood as it was 1 of the 5 dishes in my mother's evening meal rotation.  After she went back to work when I was 10, peeling the potatoes became one of my after school responsibilities, so they were ready when she came home.

In spite of the bison, this is not my mother's shepherd's pie. 
Serves 6

1 lb ground bison or ground beef
1 small onion chopped
2 large garlic cloves minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine (merlot)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup frozen mixed peas and carrots*

Peel potatoes and put them on to boil.

Brown beef in a large skillet and drain a a majority of the fat.  Remove to another plate.  In remaining fat add onion and saute until nearly translucent.  Add garlic and saute a couple of minutes until fragrant. Return bison to skillet and add thyme, marjoram, tomato paste, wine, broth, and worcestershire sauce, stir to combine. Add peas and carrots. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer, until beef mixture is slightly thickened and vegetables are tender - about 8 minutes.

1 lb russet potatoes, peeled, cut up and boiled until very tender
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup or more 2% milk as needed
Salt and Pepper to taste

When potatoes are cooked, add cream, butter and parmesan cheese and milk.  Mix and mash.  Add additional milk if needed to get a creamy, smooth, yet slightly stiff and spreadable consistency.  You should be able to stand a fork in it.

Put meat in bottom layer of baking dish and top with potatoes.

To Bake or Not to Bake:

Most Shepherd's Pie recipe recommend baking the dish 25 minutes at 350-400 degrees. I don't think this makes the dish taste any better. It forms a skin on the top potato layer and delays the time before you can dig into this comforting deliciousness.  If you want a nice presentation, throw it under the broiler for a few minutes - under close watch until lightly browned.  Otherwise when you spread the potatoes over the meat,  you are technically done.

Shepherd's Pie with Bison

*My mom used canned peas and carrots for her pie. Even though this blog is all about Uncanny Goodness, I feel canned peas and carrots produce an inferior final product for this particular application vs. the frozen vegetables. The tenderness of the frozen veggies holds up better during the cooking process.  You can still use canned veggies in a pinch.

Beef Ragout with Merlot and Root Vegetables

Featured Ingredients: Crushed Tomatoes, Beef Broth

4:00 p.m. is the witching hour. It's the time when I start to figure what am a going to make for dinner.  It's when I might hit the recipe books or internet looking for something deliciously different.   It's when I might make last minute dashes to the store to pick up any stray ingredients that are missing.  If the ultimate decision is some form of stew, I need to start on it around 4:45 p.m. in order to get it on the table by 6:30 p.m. By throwing just a few simple ingredients (which you may already have on hand) into your magic kettle you can transform them into a silky, delicious stew with not too much toil and trouble.
 
The great thing about a ragout, stew, pot-au-feu, daube or whatever you want to call it is that it can be unique every time depending on what you throw into it.  You just need to follow some basic guidelines to serve a group of 6 to 8. 
 
About 1.5 lbs meat
About 4 cups of liquid (broth, wine, vegetable juice)
About 5 1/2 cups of vegetables (potatoes are a must as the starch helps thicken the liquid)
Onion and Garlic (for flavoring/do not count as part of the vegetables)
Herbs of choice
Salt and Pepper
 
Below is my result  using this ratio. What do you think of my title? It sounds so much fancier than Beef Stew. The final dish yields a silky, luscious and creamy-like sauce that merits a better descriptor.

Beef Ragout with Merlot and Root Vegetables
 
olive oil as needed
2 tbsps all purpose flour
1.34 lbs of beef stew meat cut in 1 inch pieces
1 3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cup merlot wine
3 cups low-sodium beef broth (1 15 oz. can yields a little less than two cups - so would need two cans)
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/2 tsp oregano
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp salt
2 cups carrots sliced
1 cup parsnips sliced
2 cups potatoes in 1 inch pieces (russet not recommended as they break down to easily - all purpose, red, yukon work)
 

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 5.5 quart dutch oven over medium high heat.  Season beef and place into a plastic bag with the flour. "Shake it Up!"  In two batches sear beef on almost all sides.  I don't brown the meat all the way, as I find the fond or brown bits become black bits on the bottom of my dutch oven by the end of the second batch. Remove meat to separate plate. This is how brown I go:

Lower heat to medium, add additional oil if needed and sautee onion for about 3 minutes and garlic for another minute until soft and fragrant and starting to brown.  Remove to plate with meat.

Add merlot, bring to boil and reduce by half.  I'm not a drinker so these are great for cooking.  I don't have to waste a whole bottle. Each bottle equals about 1 cup of wine. It adds better flavor than the cooking wines you find in your grocery stores.  As the cardinal rule is do not cook with something you would not drink by itself.

Return meat, onion and garlic to dutch oven and add broth, tomatoes, herbs, and salt.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a lower simmer.  Simmer for an hour.  Be sure to check after a few minutes to make sure that your ragout isn't rapidly boiling and adjust temperatures so that it stays at a slow and steady simmer.

Cut up remaining vegetables and set aside.  Keep potatoes in cold water.

After 1 hour add remaining vegetables and bring to a boil again, then reduce to a low simmer.  Simmer until vegetables are tender about a 1/2 hour.



Beef Ragout with Merlot and Root Vegetables

I cook stew on my range top vs. the oven. The great thing about one pot meal like this is although they take some time to develop the flavor you don't have to babysit it much and can clean up and multi-task in the meantime.  This leaves the oven free if you want to bake some biscuits to go with the stew or even a pie using prepared crust. If you have more time, have two ovens, or aren't baking anything else you can put the dutch oven in your bigger oven at 350F and simmer for the hour.  Then add the vegetables and continue for another 1/2 hour. 

 
 
 

Chicken Fried Steak with Creamy Beef Gravy

Featured Ingredients: Evaporated Milk, Beef Broth

I participated in a webinar the other day sponsored by the IACP (Institute of Culinary Professionals) on 10 things every food writer should know.  I could stand to learn more than 10 things but I thought it would be a good start.  The guest speaker was Dorothy Kalins the founder of Saveur Magazine.  One of the topics discussed was about honoring and glorifying the home cook vs the rock star chef.  Simply put, the home cook prepares meals differently than a chef does.  The knife skills may be more rustic, the ingredients are familiar, but the flavors can be just as good and the meal a lot more comforting.  We can all stand to benefit from home cooking, by selecting our own ingredients, limiting the amount of fat used and thus controlling our and our family's calorie intake.  OK, this recipe doesn't necessarily qualify as calorie conscious, but I have a family of naturally thin active men, with high metabolisms so they don't care. It does however qualify as down home cooking.

On that note, this meal doesn't get any more down home.  It originates from the Southern United States and is the epitome of comfort food.  It looks like a chicken cutlet but under that crispy coating is a steak in disguise.  Ramp up the level of comfort and serve this with a luscious latte-colored gravy and some silky mashed potatoes.  And if you really want to increase the carb factor, add some country biscuits.

For this recipe I opted for my 12 inch big-ass deep skillet...

Chicken Fried Steak

1.25 lbs cubed steak (you can buy this already prepared in the store)
Salt and Pepper or All Purpose Seasoning like Adobo
1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
3 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil (enough to coat bottom the skillet and come up a little up the sides - you don't want to submerge the steaks)

Heat oil to 375F over medium heat
Heat oven to 250F.  This will keep the steaks warm when you prepare the gravy. Put in a rack over a large sheet pan or a broiler pan so any of the excess fat can drain.

Season steaks:

Dredge meat in flour.  You can pat the flour into the meat a little to  help it stick. Dip in eggs and dredge in the flour again.

Add meat in batches to pan, be sure not to overcrowd pan or that reduces the temperature of the oil too fast and your meat absorbs more oil.  I had two larger pieces and four smaller pieces.  I cooked the two larger pieces first then cooked the four smaller pieces.

Cook for about 3 minutes and turn when steaks start to "bleed".  You only want to turn the steaks one time. Cook another 3 minutes or so, until juices start to look clear. NOTE: Frying eats up a lot of salt and seasonings. So season the steaks with a little salt and pepper when they come out of the pan. Place in oven to keep warm. 

Creamy Beef Gravy

1/4 cup of pan drippings
3 tbsps flour
1 12oz. can of Evaporated Milk
1 cup Beef Broth
Salt and Pepper

When steaks are cooked.  Remove all but 1/4 cup of pan drippings.  Over low-medium heat, add 3 tbsps of flour and whisk, to incorporate drippings and flour.  Add evaporated milk and beef broth and continue whisking until mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon.  The fancy French term is "nappe" - like "Nap-Ay".  Pour over steak and whatever other accompanying carb you have on the plate.

Chicken Fried Steak with Creamy Beef Gravy