Tag: oil

Chuck Steak with Potatoes, Arugula, and Chili Oil

Since creating Shady Morels, my approach was always to spare you my personal life story as much as possible, and focus on what really matters — the food.

Now is no time to deviate, so I won’t go into details regarding the lengthy period of time spanning my last post to this one. I will say that my passion for creating food has only increased exponentially; I create something new almost every day, and I’m excited to share some of this with you.

Going forward, you’ll be seeing photos taken with a new lens (Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro), which results in a 96mm equivalent when using our Canon EOS camera.

I’m also going to significantly pare down the recipe instructions. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably viewing this to gain inspiration for dinner, but not necessarily to follow verbatim. I’ll give you the basic ingredients, maybe explain why certain things work together, and briefly go over the preparation concept.

Without further adieu, here is the food.

Ingredients:

For the braised chuck steak:

Some great quality chuck steak, like 63 Acres

Quartered onion, and peeled whole garlic

White wine

For the garnish:

Small potatoes, I used siegliende

Arugula

Garlic, along with some herbs like thyme, oregano, or rosemary

Smokey chili oil, which is simply muddled fresh red chili, garlic, salt, and pimenton

Vibrant green oil for plating

Method: 

Chuck steak is seasoned with salt and pepper, seared, then braised (covered) at 315 degrees Fahrenheit with the onion and garlic for a minimum of two hours. During the last 15 minutes, I take off the lid and broil on high to develop a nice crust.

Potatoes are parboiled, then “smashed” and sautéed. Finished with herbs and garlic, and tossed with arugula off the heat.

For plating:

I arranged the potatoes and arugula in a pile in the center of the plate, dappled on some of the smokey chili oil, then topped with the braised chuck roast. As a finishing touch, I did a swirl of vibrant green oil followed by the chili oil to achieve a nice visual contrast.

Why this works: 

It’s ramped up meat and potatoes, with some brightness derived from the arugula and vibrant green oil, and contrasted by the smokey chili oil. The chili and arugula is a particularly good pairing in my opinion.

I prefer beef braised with just onion, garlic, and white wine or chicken stock – rather than the typical mirepoix and red wine approach. I find the result is more true to the flavour of the beef, and lends itself well to more interesting derivations from the braised beef. More on this later!

Enjoy with a nice bottle of red, this one was enjoyed with a 2016 Francis Ford Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

Mayonnaise

If you’ve never made real mayonnaise before, your life is about to change. It’s actually an insult to mayonnaise that we call the store bought, processed, fallout-proof oil emulsification by the same name. Real mayonnaise is extremely easy to make after you understand the process, and all the ingredients can usually be found in any fridge and pantry. Variations on the base recipe are endless, and opens up a whole new world of sauces. To suggest a few variations on the base product: garlic and lemon (aioli), reduced red wine, smoked paprika (serve with jamon and manchego croquettas), wasabi, and of course sriracha. I’ve even heard of fish roe mayonnaise, but I have yet to try it. 

This is the start of mayonnaise. Egg yolk, diijon mustard, and salt. There’s only one more ingredient past this point, but technique is the important thing. 

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 To make, you’ll need the following (makes about 1/2 cup of mayo):

1 egg yolk

1/2 tbsp of diijon mustard

pinch of salt

Oil, vegetable oil for a light mayonnaise, olive oil for a richer, more flavorful mayo

Directions:

1. Place egg yolk, mustard, and salt into a bowl or pestle and mortar. Mix gently with a fork or whisk to incorporate. 

2. Here is the crucial part. Add the oil in a small stream (think hourglass stream) and whisk with egg yolk mixture regularly, but not too rapidly. Too little oil is will not be an issue, too much and your mayonnaise will break. Continue to add the oil in a steady stream until the emulsification sets, then you can increase the rate at which you’re adding oil. Continue adding oil and whisking continuously until the desired firmness has been reached. If too firm, add some lemon juice to reduce the viscosity. 

3. Your mayonnaise is complete, now is the time to enjoy as is, or create a variation with whatever flavor combinations you can think of. 

Enjoy!