Roast Beef, with garlic and herbs and black pepper on the outside, served with Yorkshire Pudding. Gravy on top, being the pan drippings and maybe a pinch of flour added as it's reduced.

Barbecued ribs, with just a rub and cooked in a smoker. And my friend's smoker has a 2nd level on it that he put(s) chicken on, so that on top of the rub it's basted in drippings from the ribs.
I don't get to Texas much, but they know how to cook meat.

Hamburgers with lettuce, pickles, sliced onion, fresh sliced tomato, a brown mustard (or a seed-style mustard - Pommery, par exemple (sp? It's been awhile) and/or a nice green habanero hot sauce. Marie Sharp's, perhaps, from Belize. And a little bit of mayo on the bun. Not so that you can see it from outside the sandwich, just a modicum, spread thin.

Monterey jack and roasted (hot) peppers on pan-fried tortilla.

Beer. Or a Margarita.

Grits are good as is or fried, with butter and freshly ground black pepper.

What in the hell is Yorkshire pudding? It's been mentioned so many times now, I must know.

I get the feeling that you foreigners call things pudding that aren't even remotely near to what real pudding is. Y'know, that creamy stuff that comes out of a Jell-O Instant Pudding box? That stuff that Bill Cosby invented?

Bread & milk together in the same container? Sounds like a car accident in the grocery store parking lot.

Yorkshire pudding is a popover in a baking dish, cooked in the drippings from the roast (on this side of the pond); The sides are puffy, with thin, crispy bits in the middle.

Not at all Jello(tm) pudding like, no...

If you've not had a popover, your first one should be had at the teahouse at Jordan Pond, in Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine. Especially tasty after a long hike, with tea or lemonade. Poke a hole in the top, slide in a pat of butter, turn it over a few times to spread it around inside, then a spot of jam to top it off.

Mmm...jam.

Jordan Pond is within 10 minutes drive of one of the best beaches anywhere, particularly for kids - Seal Harbor. A stream runs through the middle, with plenty of rocks in it for dam building. Spawned many an engineer, I'm sure, over the years. Good place for a beach read, too.

Generally I do this with a beef roast, but it can be adapted to just about any dark roasting meat. (Thanks, guys, I'm jonesing for roast leg of lamb now. Sans mint sauce, but dried cranberries, oooohhh yeah....)

Basically, the secret is to marinade the roast overnight, and since I do it by guesstimate (based on the size of the roast in question at the time), I can't provide exact quantities. I know I've got the recipe lurking around here somewhere in this mess though, so if you're by-the-book-cook and need the measurements, I can probably dig them up.

The basis of the marinade is simple. Equal parts soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Throw in a lot of garlic and ginger. What's a lot? The recipe calls for fresh, which is best, but if you can't get the ginger from your local produce section, powdered is fine, just double it. Garlic can now be had by the bottle, minced, or you can DIY if you don't want to know what they're using to retard the oxidation in the garlic-in-a-jar. Just watch your fingers. And wash them, too, or you'll smell like the back end of a pizzeria for days.

Anyway, back to the garlic and the ginger. My ratios are usually on the order of a tablespoon of ginger per cup of liquid (I said a lot, didn't I?) Garlic to taste, and depending on how much of a social life you want/have/need to divest yourself of.

Cut up one leek (substitute green onion if you have no leeks), add a tablespoon or so of both dried onion flakes and chili flakes, and a tablespoon or two of some prepared condiment (I usually employ teriyaki sauce, but have used mustard or honey on occasions where I had nothing else, and it worked out fine.), just as a binding agent, so the marinade will stick to the meat, and you can avoid a lot of repeated bastings.

Taste the marinade, and if it seems fairly evenly balanced, i.e., not too sweet/sour/runny/viscous, it's just right. Add a pinch of salt and pepper once you've got the marinade figured out.

Here's the important part: You have to marinade the roast overnight. You just have to. There's no way around it. The amount of liquid usually comes about halfway up the side of the roast, and the trick is to keep turning it, so that the meat is marinaded evenly. Every hour or so, usually.

Don't be alarmed if your gleaming, healthy pink roast starts to turn an alarming shade of Reticulan grey; that's the vinegar, working its acidic majesty on the tissues of the meat, which will literally fall off your fork after it's been cooked.

Cook the roast in the marinade, and use the cooked-down marinade/roast drippings to make a sauce (can't properly call it gravy) afterwards.

You people should feel properly honoured; I don't give out my secret classified Garlic Roast Beef recipe to just anyone, you know.....Just don't come crying to me when you don't know what to do with all these people you've bent to your will......

Yelena

The best way to take out the smell of garlic from your hands is to use either lots of cold water of a bit of alcohol in a kitchen paper towel. With hot water you help the skin absorb it, with long term consequences.

The French use a metallic soap bar, who has long term life and works by solid chemical principles, but it is not easy to find outside France.

You could always use a garlic press, but I prefer to crush the garlic in a mortar, with parsley or pepper.

José

quote:

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Originally posted by JRE:
The French use a metallic soap bar, who has long term life and works by solid chemical principles, but it is not easy to find outside France.

---

Actually, it's widely available in the U.S. as well, sold under the brand name CedarFresh. I've got one by my kitchen sink and it works wonders.

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"Twice you burned your life's work; once to start a new life, once just to start a fire." --John Roderick, NEW GIRL

The marinade is olive oil, garlic, fresh parsley, some fresh rosemary and plenty of lemon juice.

Leave the lamb in the mixture overnight, then barbecue. Pour the marinade over the lamb as it cooks.

Serve with a green salad and crusty bread. And either a decent cabernet or a chilled ale.

...And if you don't want to shell out whatever they're charging for a hunk of stainless steel shaped like a bar of soap, use the flat side of your stainless steel chef knife. I use a stainless steel Chinese chef knife a lot, so I use that. It's bigger and covers more surface area. Just rub your fingers toward the edge and try not to cut yourself. If you have a stainless steel sink, you can rub your hands on the sink too.

It's amazing. Works for garlic and onions, any type.

For garlic and onion breath I suppose you could take a small piece of stainless steel and suck on it for a while like a lozenge. I've never tried it, it sounds too weird. But it might work.

While cream gravy might be abhorrent to some, I come from a long line of mennonites, and eating farmer sausage and home-made noodles with cream gravy was always a treat. Follow it up with some Maus (fruit soup and how do i do an umlaut?) and you're set. I'm not sure of the precise ingredients of cream gravy. Milk, flour, and various spices im sure. May or may not contain an egg. Will have to ask Mom later I suppose. Anyway, that's my take on it. And if you don't know what a Mennonite is, think Amish only with power. Or something.

Like BatAmish and SuperAmish and SpiderAmish?

quote:

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Originally posted by doggo:
For garlic and onion breath I suppose you could take a small piece of stainless steel and suck on it for a while like a lozenge. I've never tried it, it sounds too weird. But it might work.

---

I don't think it would work. I understand that the sulphur compounds are in your blood stream.

However, I imagined somone walking out of a hardware store with a little brown paper sack full of stainless steel washers. He opens the bag, pops a washer into his mouth, and offers one to his friend.

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There is no sig.

More like modernized Amish with electricity, which we here also call power. But they speak Low German. And they don't live on colonies so much anymore. That's what the Hutterites do.

Mayo on fish?! Barf out! Like, gag me with a spoon!

grilled fish: lemon and pepper

fried fish: ketchup and/or tartar sauce depending on mood.

But BOILED fish, with mayo? Man that's too gross to even think about.

Alphonse(Mephesto)

A typical fish dish at home was fresh hake, the whole clean fish, dropped in boiling water for five minutes. Drain and serve. With your portion you spend another five minutes taking out all the skin and bone, ending up with this mound of glistening white meat. And you drown it in olive oil and egg mayonnaisse. Or in special days, we would add fried tomato sauce (home made with tomatoes, onions and garlic) and make a "Spanish flag".

It is good both cold and warm. Summer and winter.

José

"fried fish: ketchup and/or tartar sauce depending on mood."

Ah, but what is tartar sauce? Mayonaise, sweet relish, and some lemon juice. Perhaps some black pepper or cayenne.

So what ARE the best cuts of steak, Shadoth? And we are agreed on the radiant heat, but does one grill or griddle?

[And RobW: just to further appall you, Steak+Eggs - that's two eggs, over easy, no ketchup - is a brunchtime staple of The Sentinel...]

T-bone for top taste and grillability, definitely. Additionally, nothing beats gnawing at the T in question to get the juiciest and best-tasting part of the cowflesh. Yes, I am a barbarian at heart, why do you ask?

Blade steak only for marinating long and baking slow in the oven.

Sirloin is ostensibly a choice cut of meat, but every time I have it, invariably the phrase "Tastes like hamburger!" comes to me....

For the "cheap, but eats like a restaurant-style meal" steak, eye round seems to be the best, for me. Or was that inside round? I gotta check those labels, I forget....

Yelena

I thought this topic would certainly touch on oysters raw or cooked. I'll take mine raw on the half shell at Felix's just off Bourbon Street in New Orleans with a Dixie Beer.

And you say grits? Best grits are at any Waffle House. Prediction: Now that the South has unleashed Krspy Kreme donuts on the rest of the civilized world I predict that Waffle House will be our next major export of calories, fat and carbohydrates.

And now a recipe. Shrimp and grits from a fine restaurant in Oxford, Mississippi.

City Grocery Shrimp and Grits

Grits:
1-cup quick-cook grits
4 Tbs. Unsalted butter
¾ cup extra-sharp white cheddar
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 ½ Tbs paprika
1 tsp Tabasco
Salt and pepper to taste

Shrimp
2 cups chopped smoked bacon
3 Tbs olive oil
1 ½ lbs. 26-30 count shrimp
Salt and black pepper to taste
3 tsp minced garlic
3 cups sliced white mushrooms
3 tbs white wine
2 Tbs lemon juice
2 cups sliced scallions

Cook grits according to instructions on package. As grits are finishing, whisk in butter, cheddar, Parmesan, cayenne, paprika and Tabasco. After all ingredients are incorporated, season with salt and pepper. Keep warm until shrimp are ready.

Cook bacon until it begins to brown; remove from heat, strain and reserve bacon grease and bacon bits.

Heat a large skillet until very hot, and add olive oil and 2 tbs bacon fat. As oil begins to smoke, toss in shrimp to cover bottom of pan. Before stirring, season with salt and pepper. Stir until shrimp begin to turn pink all over (let pan return to original hot temperature). Stir in minced garlic and bacon bits, being careful not to burn garlic. Toss in mushrooms, and coat with oil briefly.

Add lemon juice and wine; stir for 30 seconds or until everything is well coated. Assuming that this is ready to be served, toss in sliced scallions and stir for about 30 seconds. (If these hold too long before serving, they will begin to turn brown and loose their crunch).

Serve over cheese grits.

Ok, I'm feeling the need to add a little balance
to this thread.

First, let my tack my standard up for y'all to see.

I'm pretty much a raw person. I don't mind a little
condiment now and again, I just don't want it to
wash out the food that I'm eating. Casseroles and
other heavily drowned food make me a little sad. I
want to taste the primary ingredients. They usually
have a whole lot going for them.

Ok, now I've been noticing that this thread has been
a little too heavy on the meat.

But, because I don't have a lot of time to type up
a whole bunch of vegetarian recipes, here are a
couple links.

A previous thread with recipes.
Mega Veggie Burritos -- these things are GOOD.

[edit]
Ok Ok, grits aren't meat. Whilst I don't often eat
grits, I do occasionally eat polenta.

Here's some info on grits for those who were not sure what they are:

All About Grits

For those who are interested in the word origins
The word grits comes from the Old English. "grytt", for "bran", but the Old English "greot" also meant something ground. Some cookbooks refer to grits as hominy because of regional preference for the name. Americans have been using the term "grits" since at least the end of the 18th century.