Music: Whatever the Skating Queens at GG Park Have Blasting
Beverage: Iced tea (not sweet) or a glass of Domaine de Pajot Quatre Cepages
The weekends are my big cooking days -- I try to ensure that we are loaded up with fare to take us through at least Wednesday. In warm weather, weekend cooking means grilling and smoking.
If I'm grilling, I always have a mess of vegetables to throw on the fire in addition to the meat. (And it would be a poor excuse for a grill without meat, in my view.) Last weekend, the eight ball zucchini from Happy Boy Farms called to me. I sliced them into half-inch rounds and tossed them in olive oil with quartered red spring onions and some early girl tomatoes. I completed my grill-to-be with sea salt and a few grinds of fresh white pepper. I kept meaning to add fresh mint to the finished vegetables but never got around to it. If you try it, let me know how it worked.
I used to grill vegetables in a foil pie pan with holes punched into it, but then I saw a stainless steel grill tray that I had to have. I love it because it doesn't have useless flared edges that take up valuable grill real estate without adding more space for food. In other words, you want a tray with straight sides, or as close thereto as possible. I usually start the vegetables before the meat, because they require less attention and can sometimes take longer to get a good brown on them. Keep the vegetables in the fridge for a summer salad, or for an omelette with goat cheese.
A word about grilling: Try to avoid briquettes. I have read impassioned defenses of briquettes from smokers, but briquettes don't smell good and they don't make your food taste good. Use lump hardwood and a chimney starter. Lately, I have been using Frontier Hardwood Charcoal, which smells wonderful and actually imparts a very nice smoky taste to the food without any additional effort on my part. Don't anybody tell me anything bad about Frontier (like it's made from used tires). Then I'd have to switch, and I don't want to.
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could you opine on duck fat when you have a chance. i want to make your pork chop / rice dish but i need duck fat. i guess i have to cook a duck? how would i do that? then what? please help...
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking, Amy. We are spoiled here in SF, and can buy duck fat at specialty stores, for example, Boulette's Larder. I have rendered my own duck fat, however, and it is beautiful to behold. Take a whole duck, or some breasts, and cut the excess fat off. There is lots of fat on a duck, so don't be shy. I threw the fat in a saute pan on low heat. Some recipes call for added water, but a low heat worked fine for me. Render the fat down (put another way, crisp up the skin), and then strain through wet cheesecloth into a clean jar. The fat will be beautifully golden and clear, and will keep in the refrigerator for a long while. I like to fry Sunday morning eggs in duck fat, and duck fat is the best for roasted potatoes. Peel, halve, and bring the potatoes to a boil. Let boil for two minutes, then drain and let cool. Preheat your oven to 425, and throw two tbsp duck fat into a gratin pan. When the oil is hot but not smoking, pull out of the oven and carefully add the potatoes to the fat. Sprinkle with salt and white pepper. The potatoes will take about 30-40 minutes, and will brown up beautifully. Enjoy with gravy or other pan sauce, or sprinkle with citrus salt before serving (zest of 1 lemon or half orange, crushed with Maldon sea salt). Please note that duck fat has a fairly low smoke point, so I don't recommend it for frying chicken, unless you want a really smoky kitchen. Of course, pan sear the duck breasts or, if roasting a whole duck, use a wooden skewer to poke holes through the fat but not into the skin. Add whole trimmed beets and roughed-up parboiled potatoes, a la Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, to roast along with the whole duck. Enjoy!
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