Caucasian Curry

Caucasian Curry
Thursday, January 30, 2014

Duck Tongues. Two ways. Slow Simmer and Oven Braised


DUCK TONGUES !

OFFAL DELICIOUS


YES, ducks do have tongues
YES, people DO eat them and...
YES...i DID go there.

SUPER FUN STRANGE
yet quite delicious

now i see why these are considered a bar-snack or dim sum nibble in the Asian culture.  once you give in and try one you'll find yourself with a pile of 20 or so bones that you've sucked clean.  aside from the "odd-bits" factor, they are quite unique and fun to eat.  i would say it's most similar to a chicken tail or "the Pope's Nose" as my colorful 108 year old Grandmother used to call it.
SO HERE WE GO....i cooked them two ways.  1/2 pound was slowly simmered in an Asian flavored duck stock and 1/2 was marinaded in sweet, spicy soy, ginger, star anise... then braised in the oven.  i think the slow simmer worked best for cooking, but the sauce from the braise was delicious for dipping.
next time i think i will combine the two somehow or maybe i'll try Chichi' Wang's version over at "The Nasty bits"
NOTE...this is a very "Americanized" version of duck tongues.  i do not have a wok, a pantry full of fabulous Chinese ingredients or the proper skills to throw together an authentic Asian-style duck tongues recipe, so this is what i came up with...AND IT WORKED.  i will definitely be having these again SOON.



inflation has hit the duck tongues market.  i remember when i first saw these about 2-3 years ago.  i had no idea what to do with them so i never bought them...too bad.  had i known they were this much FUN i would have purchased a bundle.  i think they were about 5.00$ a pound...now they are 16.99$ a pound

1st...you must rinse

photo above is the cold water bath
2nd...you must do a short pre-boil
put about 7 thin slices of ginger in a pot of water, a good pinch of salt and enough water to totally cover the tongues.  bring the water to a boil and throw in the tongues.  let them boil for 2-3 minutes.  remove them, drain hot water and put them in a cold water bath to stop the cooking.

now you can cook them as you please.
I EXPERIMENTED 2 WAYS...


MARINADE then OVEN BRAISE
FOR THE MARINADE...
1/4 cup soy
1 large T minced ginger
2 star anise
3 T brown sugar
1/2 T sambal chili garlic sauce
splash of shauxing wine
1 small scallion sliced
put tongues in marinade for 30-40 minutes.
strain tongues from marinade and put in oven safe dish.  save the marinade, but it must be boiled if you intend to use it as a sauce.

i poured some "Soy Vay" Hoisin Garlic Sauce over the tongues with a few crushed garlic cloves, a drizzle of sesame oil and added just a bit of stock so there was enough liquid to braise, but NOT boil.
(photo above is before adding the stock)
i had this in the oven, covered,  at 320 F for about 1/2 hour.  checked it at 1/2 hour.  they were still a bit chewy so i lowered to 300 F and continued for another 1/2 hour.
the end result was delicious, but i found that these tongues shrank just a bit...they were not as plump as the slow simmer batch. (example below)
slow simmer on left...marinade/braise right
2nd cooking method...
SLOW SIMMER IN ASIAN DUCK STOCK

i was lucky enough to have some duck stock in my freezer.
find the recipe for Asian flavored duck stock HERE
i suppose you could use homemade chicken stock, but i wanted to get the full "duck" experience.
to the stock i added a couple of star anise, a few ginger pieces, a short stick of lemongrass (tied and slightly pounded), a little bit of garlic chili sauce and a chopped spring onion to the simmer.
bring to a boil and then to a very slow simmer.  check on them until they are done to your liking.  i wanted them fairly soft so they were in for about an hour.

they are delicious straight out of the pot.  serve with or without sauce, over noodles or deep fry to make them crispy good.  mine never made it to the fryer, but i will try this next time.
here's the weird part....
this is what you will find inside the duck tongue
the tip is flubbery and edible if cooked long enough, the flat part is hard cartilage and there is a pebble size bone at the very end.


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Friday, January 24, 2014

Spicy Mexican Braised Pig Snouts


NOSE to tail

i suppose you are only here if you are TRULY into nose to tail eating...OR if this purely fascinates or disgusts you.
maybe just a LOOKY-LOO ?

BUT think of it this way...

THAT WHOLE PIG GAVE UP IT'S LIFE FOR YOUR SLICE OF BACON.

we need to think out of the box...away from the "chop"
i know here in So California there isn't a lot of enthusiasm, but
i'm trying to do my part...
piece by piece


WARNING...PUT YOUR GAME FACE ON !

i'm pretty good with "odd-bits", but this was a doozy.
i hate to say it, but the pre-boil stinks.  ooo boy, it's bad.  i mean it smells like a "pig sty"
not to worry...only the pre-boil smells.  it will go away.
it's always important to do a "pre-boil".
this is a skinny-dip in boiling water for 10-15 minutes.  since these are some odd bits, maybe someone did not take care of them as they would a prized tenderloin, so you need to pre-boil to remove any impurities, contaminates and what-nots...
cover your bits with water and bring to a boil for about 10 minutes.  remove from pot and toss the water.  clean your pot and start fresh.
ALSO...if there are any hairs that might have been missed, you can shave those off with a cheap razor or singe them off, as i do, with a brulee torch.

photo before going in oven

WHAT YOU'LL NEED....
2-3 snouts
3/4-1 lb. of pork shoulder cut into large pieces
1-2 large white onion, sliced thick
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/2 small can chipotle in adobo sauce.
approx. 2 cups of homemade stock...i used turkey/chicken
cumin, coriander, mexican oregano, chili powder, pepper corns, fresh ground pepper and salt
liberally sprinkle your seasonings all over and inside the cavity of the snout and meat....
NOTE...there are no exact measurements here, just use your judgement.
pre-boil the snouts as mentioned above.
add thick sliced onions to the bottom of dutch oven.  i always use cast iron enamel.  stuff the inside of the snout with the chunks of pork shoulder.  arrange snouts as you wish.  i did it this way so the main part of the snout would not be submerged in the stock.  stick your crushed garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves and chipotle peppers and adobo sauce evenly throughout.  i used about 1/2 a can...the broth was SPICY!

put in a 320 oven for the first hour.  take it out and check it.  lower heat to 300 F for another hour.  at this point i used a baster to remove some of the stock/juices.  (save this extra broth, you might need to add some back in.)  i wanted a braise, NOT a boil.  the onions will release a lot of juice.  you want the top part of your goodies showing so they will get a nice brown, golden roasty look (as shown below).
baste a few times when you do your peeking.   ALSO, make sure there is still some liquid in the bottom.  i think for the last hour i left the lid "ajar".  put back in the oven for approximately 1 more hour, but check it again in 1/2 hour.  baste again.  they should be very fork tender, but not falling apart and disintegrating.
NOTE...if you really are interested and would like a little more info, please leave a comment with your questions.

this is what it looks like after approx.  3 hours.

straight out of the oven these are quite delicious.
IMAGINE PORK BELLY ON STEROIDS
melt in your mouth fatty gelatinous skin with a fine layer of meat  and chunks of "confit-style" pork shoulder cooked inside the fatty nose.  it's very hard to describe, but definitely a nose-to-tailers delight.

PERFECT FOR STREET TACOS...
cut into bite size pieces and sear in a hot skillet
a little chopped white onion and cilantro
a squeeze of fresh lime with some pickled jalapeno.
wrap in a fresh corn tortilla


when in DOUBT...
make a TERRINE de SNOUT

i had no idea what on earth i was gonna do with 3 huge pig snouts.  there's no way anyone in this house would join me and as you can see they do not shrink much in the cooking.  i ended up making 2 small "Terrine de Snout" (gave one away) and froze a whole snout in the spicy viscous broth for future use.  if serving cold, your terrine might need more salt.  cold terrines usually need extra flavor.  do a taste test.  remember to put the tip of the snout down first if you want the shock value presentation shown in photos.
IF YOUR GOING TO MAKE A "SNOUT TERRINE" YOU BETTER MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A SNOUT TERRINE!
keep the shoulder meat tucked into the snout cavity and press the larger pieces of extra snout in and around the main piece.  pour a little broth into the terrine and press down to eliminate overflow.  put something flat over the top and weight it down.  i use a brick covered in tinfoil and a baggie.  put this in the fridge until it is set.  serve cold in thin slices with charcuterie OR cut off what you want and sear in a pan (it will break apart, but who cares?).  add to noodles, make tacos,  add to soup, fry it up and make snout chicharones?

ANYWAY YOU TRY IT WILL DEFINITELY BE EXPERIENCE...
GO AHEAD...I DARE YA
CROSS THIS ONE OFF YOUR BUCKET LIST!

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Sunday, January 19, 2014

The "Billionaire Burger", Foie Gras, Francois Payard and The Cosmopolitan


THE BILLIONAIRE BURGER
from Holstein's at THE COSMOPOLITAN

Kobe beef, a healthy slab O' FOIS GRAS sliding off gruyere cheese and onion marmalade.
oh...did i mention the TRUFFLE mayonnaise ?...

NEED I SAY MORE ?


a side of FOIE GRAS

from  STK, at the Cosmopolitan
i suggest you get a side of FOIE GRAS on anything you order...
and get one TO-GO ! i did

it's illegal in California so i had it EVERY DAY...

i ordered the 7oz filet medallion...beautiful, like "butta"
with a side of foie gras, of course, and asparagus with orange-jalapeno sauce.
too bad i didn't have room for the soy glazed pork belly, the apple glazed kurobuta double pork chop or the foie & waffles.
next time...

absolute chocolate heaven
definitely worth a trip over to Caesar's Palace
YES, it was as good as it looks

Payard's Flourless Chocolate Cookie
 crunchy meringue on the outside with chewy dark chocolate walnut brownie inside.
i have made these many times (recipe HERE with a 2nd version HERE), but nothing was like having the real thing.  i must admit...mine are not  THIS good.



PARIS !... ROME ! ... FLORENCE ?
no...just another adventurous day in Vegas

HOLSTEIN'S...party of ONE please...

my "solo" GET-AWAY
clean, crisp, modern chic, comfortable, surprisingly quiet, spectacular AND DELICIOUS !
"A ROOM WITH A VIEW"
i lucked out with some help from fabulous people and got a huge room with 2 plasmas, a kitchenette, Asian style bath and private balcony...
the Asian style bath was an absolute treat after a long day of walking and shopping
the Bellagio fountain show right outside my balcony
beautiful spa and fitness rooms...
a must after all the indulgent food adventures.

and finally, remember that "To-Go" side O' FOIE GRAS ?...
my farewell Sunday brunch...1/2 kobe burger (i couldn't possibly eat the whole thing), butter lettuce and popcorn.  i'll take these "left-overs" any day.
popcorn on a burger, yum...who knew?

AND the other 1/2 of that chocolate treat.
not a great photo, but you can see the oozing deliciousness on the inside.  YUM!

just ONE more day, just one more burger, one more trip to Payard's
AND... another side of foie.  please

okay...here's another shot of that burger and perfectly seared plump foie gras !
You have read this article review / vacation with the title January 2014. You can bookmark this page URL https://caucasiancurry.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-burger-foie-gras-francois-payard.html. Thanks!