Cast Iron Cooking

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drSix

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Same process with the pork chops tonight. I've had a hell of a time cooking the meat here, and this seems to be the ticket. A hot ass griddle, cook half way, flip over and turn off the heat. Tender pork chops!

Next, will be my nemesis. Beef. A damn tender steak!
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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drSix said:
Same process with the pork chops tonight. I've had a hell of a time cooking the meat here, and this seems to be the ticket. A hot ass griddle, cook half way, flip over and turn off the heat. Tender pork chops!

Next, will be my nemesis. Beef. A damn tender steak!
Click to expand...

drSix, are you doing any marinating first? You'll be my hero if you manage a tender steak!
 
W

william webster

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Buy the skinny pork chops and pound them ( we had a beat your meat thread).

Schnitzel - pork not veal - is excellent in iron

Dredge thru seasoned flour (lots of salt), egg, and bread crumbs

Sizzle quickly each side...........

Try it, moist and tasty....
 
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PeterInBrat

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AlterEgo said:
drSix, are you doing any marinating first? You'll be my hero if you manage a tender steak!
Click to expand...

I use GOYO Mojo Crillolo marinate for pork overnight. Great stuff. Foreman grills are great for that. I usually do kebabs with pork tenderloin chunks.
 
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bigbird

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drSix said:
.....................Next, will be my nemesis. Beef. A damn tender steak!
Click to expand...

Get some grapeseed oil as it has a much higher smoking point. Crank that cast iron skillet up on super high flame. Just enough grapeseed oil to cover the pan. Two or three minutes on each side all depending on how you like your steak.
 
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PeterInBrat

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One of the problems is very few gas stoves in the DR have the flame you need to properly cook a steak at very high temp, and high temp is the key because it seals the moisture in. Even with cast iron, you need to have high heat to get a thick steak properly seared. One thing you can do is have a second cast iron pan you heat up and put it on top of the steak in another pan. I cook steaks/burgers until juice starts rising through to the top, then flip it. Once it starts to bleed again, it will be a perfect Med Rare. Anything over Medium and you're better off pounding the meat thinner with a flat pounder(I usually use the heel of my hand) so it cooks faster.
 
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PeterInBrat

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william webster said:
Beef in RD is problematic, I find... tough in all ways - to eat, to cook, u name it
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It's how they're raised.. They can barely forage enough to survive much less produce good meat. It's really sad to see so many cattle with ribs showing and the drought has made it worse.
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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william webster said:
Beef in RD is problematic, I find... tough in all ways - to eat, to cook, u name it
Click to expand...

The only way I've been able to eat it is guisado/stewed, or in a pressure cooker, but again in chunks. And, of course, as meatballs. My mother-in-law used to make 'ropa vieja', kind of shredded beef, which was pretty good too, but I've never made that.

I bought a flank steak at LaSirena, marinated it, BBQ'd it and sliced it thin. It was passable, but nothing like the flank steak in the US.
 
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PeterInBrat

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I used to make Beef Guisado out of whole Chuck or Round, depending what was on sale. Three hours of simmering breaks down the toughest meat, and the connective tissue turns into gelatin. I'd like to try it with Chivo sometime. In the DR, I'd used those sweet peppers that look like Scotch Bonnets. I wish I could get them in the US.

49911794f4d881b4af14c64735bc4b6e.jpg


Beef Filling

10-15# Whole Beef Chuck or Round,
cut into 1”-2" chunks
10 cloves Whole Garlic
1/4 C Cumin
1/4 C Salt
Large Can Roasted Peppers
1-2 pounds Sliced Onions(optional)


Put the beef in a large pot with the garlic, salt and cumin and cover with water. Bring to a low simmer for three or more hours. It takes a long time for the beef to break down.(3-4 hours) When beef falls apart easily, drain juice and shred beef by hand. Replace juice to level of beef. Puree the roasted peppers with the garlic and add in. About 5oz uncooked beef per person. Use leftovers in chili or for taco filling. Freezes well.
 
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william webster

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Chivo is excellent guisado..... we have it often.

It ain't cheap, that chivo..

I tried a rack of goat a while back, after reading that you could do it like lamb.
Not in RD , you can't...... tough as shoe leather.

They warned me, the locals....... I was deaf and dumb (the real dumb)
 
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PeterInBrat

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They have a small sweet pepper now that looks like colored jalapenos that are good. No latin stores around me at all. The canned roasted red peppers are good enough for a guisado and you've got the convenience factor.

I'm in the process of making "The Big Move" over the next year. Prob spending half my time here and half in the DR. It's only been about three weeks since I came back and I'm ready to book another flight, prob for a month. Got a nice GF in Higuey and things are moving fast.
 
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the gorgon

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PeterInBrat said:
They have a small sweet pepper now that looks like colored jalapenos that are good. No latin stores around me at all. The canned roasted red peppers are good enough for a guisado and you've got the convenience factor.

I'm in the process of making "The Big Move" over the next year. Prob spending half my time here and half in the DR. It's only been about three weeks since I came back and I'm ready to book another flight, prob for a month. Got a nice GF in Higuey and things are moving fast.
Click to expand...

got me a half pound packet of AC Leggs Old Plantation breakfasr sausage seasoning blend. it received rave reviews on Amazon, but it is inedible. it would be better to just buy a half a pound of salt. amazingly, all the reviews were raves, so i am convinced that they are done by paid reviewers who have never used the product. the rest went out with the garbage today.

if you know of a good blend, please tell me...
 
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PeterInBrat

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A half pound would be for quite a bit of sausage, I think for 25 pounds. How much pork did you use it for? It's the same stuff they use for supermarkets. They also have Italian Hot and Sweet Sausage. They have several breakfast sausage styles and I think the #10 is the most popular. Be sure to let it sit overnight before cooking it. Fat content is also important. The 3-2-1 rule of sausage is to use 3 pounds lean pork to 2 pounds fat to 1 pound ice.

The other company I order from is SausageMaker.com. I use their Landjager seasoning for dried meat sticks. I just did another batch of 3 pounds of sirloin which was 28 sticks. I use a LEM Jerky cannon to fill the casings, let them sit overnight, the hang them in the oven to get them over 165. Then they last a month in theory, but they never last that long. A two pound tub of seasoning for 50# was about $10 and then dry casings were another $10. They end up costing a bit less than a buck for every 2oz stick, or about half the price of buying them and I can do my own recipes.

http://www.sausagemaker.com/Default.asp

Generic Poultry seasoning is very close to a breakfast sausage blend without the salt. Mostly Sage. I can get Leggs here for about $4 a half pound. I'm going to give it a try.

I love this guy.. He always sounds like he's just about drooling while he's talking about making the snacks. What I do is measure out enough casings for four sticks, tie a knot in the middle then fill from the knot on both side halfway. Then I flatten it out enough to get two sticks per side and twist into four links.

[video=youtube;ewI1tQq5CZ8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewI1tQq5CZ8&list=PLr36gmrmHXjsj_P3LudZzqvobqtlaLzeg&index=4[/video]

Also, when you make sausage, you have to kneed it long enough to encapsulate the fat with a protein layer. You kneed it until it's sticky, then add in the seasoning. Try to keep it cold the whole time.
 
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PeterInBrat

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Here's another guy making Landjager. In German, but you get the idea..

[video=youtube;xRNk6xGmDuA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRNk6xGmDuA&list=PLr36gmrmHXjsj_P3LudZzqvobqtlaLzeg&index=3[/video]
 
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the gorgon

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PeterInBrat said:
A half pound would be for quite a bit of sausage, I think for 25 pounds. How much pork did you use it for? It's the same stuff they use for supermarkets. They also have Italian Hot and Sweet Sausage. They have several breakfast sausage styles and I think the #10 is the most popular. Be sure to let it sit overnight before cooking it. Fat content is also important. The 3-2-1 rule of sausage is to use 3 pounds lean pork to 2 pounds fat to 1 pound ice.

The other company I order from is SausageMaker.com. I use their Landjager seasoning for dried meat sticks. I just did another batch of 3 pounds of sirloin which was 28 sticks. I use a LEM Jerky cannon to fill the casings, let them sit overnight, the hang them in the oven to get them over 165. Then they last a month in theory, but they never last that long. A two pound tub of seasoning for 50# was about $10 and then dry casings were another $10. They end up costing a bit less than a buck for every 2oz stick, or about half the price of buying them and I can do my own recipes.

http://www.sausagemaker.com/Default.asp

Generic Poultry seasoning is very close to a breakfast sausage blend without the salt. Mostly Sage. I can get Leggs here for about $4 a half pound. I'm going to give it a try.

I love this guy.. He always sounds like he's just about drooling while he's talking about making the snacks. What I do is measure out enough casings for four sticks, tie a knot in the middle then fill from the knot on both side halfway. Then I flatten it out enough to get two sticks per side and twist into four links.

[video=youtube;ewI1tQq5CZ8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewI1tQq5CZ8&list=PLr36gmrmHXjsj_P3LudZzqvobqtlaLzeg&index=4[/video]

Also, when you make sausage, you have to kneed it long enough to encapsulate the fat with a protein layer. You kneed it until it's sticky, then add in the seasoning. Try to keep it cold the whole time.
Click to expand...

just got me a pound of rubbed sage today. i am going to make my own blend. Legg is just not cutting it. i use i tbsp per pound of meat, with a quarter cup of ice water , and it is just to salty.
 
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PeterInBrat

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Somewhere I have a link to several hundred sausage recipes... right now I'm happy with the meat sticks. Sooner or later, I get my own grinder and a smoker.
 
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jd426

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Very much enjoying this Thread...thanks for the video links also Peter In Brat.
 
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