Canning: Meatloaf

Homecanned meatloaf reminds me of embutido

I was trying to free up some freezer space for this year's supply of beef for our family. As my followers know, our family sends homegrown chickens, pig and cow every year to the slaughterhouse. We then freeze them in our freezers (we have 4 freezers at home) and these will be our meat supply for a whole year (or more).

Sliced meatloaf can be reheated in the pan

Now that my sons are away most of the time because either they are in college or just graduated from college, we have been more slow in consuming these meats. So I end up with freezers still with lots of meat by the time the new batch arrives. Canning is a way for me to free up the space without throwing away anything. It also has the benefit of making ready-meals ahead of time, which my sons can bring with them to their dorm or apartment after visiting us. It is one way to get good quality meats to them; also lets them save some money (because grass-fed beef and pastured chickens/pork are pricey). This meatloaf recipe is actually one that I found on youtube, by a chef, who also sends some of her canned meats/meals to her college kids.

You can watch her video on how she prepared these. I provide here the summary of ingredients and instructions. I used the 1&1/2 pint Ball jars, and only 8 of them could fit in my pressure canner. I used the rest of the mixture as meatballs (cooked as sweet and sour).

If you are new to canning, this link is a great resource: "How Do I Can?"
I highly recommend learning the basic principles of canning first before you dive into canning meats. I also would suggest that you ease yourself into the canning world by doing simpler projects first like pickles and jams/jellies.

Ingredients:
10 lbs ground beef (aka, hamburg)
3 cloves garlic (do not be tempted to add more because raw garlic when pressure-canned can be overwhelming)
1/2 onion
2-3 T light brown sugar
1&1/4 tomato ketchup
1 plastic package of saltine crackers (buy a box of saltines and use one of the plastic packages inside)
1 T parsley
1 t yellow mustard (powder)
1 t pepper
2 t salt
8 eggs

Instructions:

Prepare your jars and lids and bands per instructions in the above link on canning principles.  Keep lids submerged in hot water to soften the rubber seal.

Combine everything in a bowl.

Mix all ingredients well

Pack tightly in clean jars. I like adding a little at a time and stomping to pack tightly.

I used a french rolling pin inside a plastic bread bag (so the wood does not touch the meat)

Leave about 1&1/4 inch headspace. Try to eliminate air pockets as much as you can.

About an inch and a quarter headspace

Wipe rims to make sure no pieces will get trapped between the lids and the rims. Apply the bands just finger tight. This will allow for air to escape but still help prevent liquid or pieces to get through. Too tight and you will prevent air to escape, hence, not creating vacuum. The air trapped may also pose a problem with microbes trapped that will not be heated enough to get killed.

Screw on the bands just finger-tight.

Place in the pressure canner with cold water. This is to prevent shock. Turn on the heat, close the canner tightly without the weight. Once steam escapes, time for 10 mins to help create vacuum in the canner. This allows for even heat distribution.
After 10 mins of steam escaping, you might notice that the gauge shows the pressure going up from 0. Put the weight on the "nipple" to help increase the pressure inside. Steam under pressure will create the right temperature necessary to kill the microbes inside the jars within the specified/recommended time frame.
Let pressure reach 10 psi before turning your heat down. On my gas stove, #4 setting keeps that pressure at this level. If I go down, the pressure might not be maintained. When that happens, the countdown begins anew.
Set timer with the pressure kept at 10 psi for 90 mins minimum.
Once done, turn off the heat and let cool down naturally. Do not remove the weight. I usually go to bed by this time then remove the jars the next day. I wait about 24 hours before testing for the seal. Look for jars that did not seal (the lids are still popped up instead of down); refrigerate these and consume within two weeks. (All of mine sealed properly.)
Test the seal by removing the bands then lifting the jars by the lids. The lid should not come off.

All lids are concave - sealed!

When ready to consume, the juice might have solidified and not allow for easy sliding of the meatloaf out of the jar. Reheat slightly in the microwave or hot water to melt the juice.

The meatloaf shrinks in size so it moves away from the glass jar walls.

This will then make it easy to slide the meat out.

Slides out of the jar if you melt the juice first

You can eat right out of the jar or pan-fry to reheat brown the outside.

Tips: Store these in a dark, cool, dry room. Do not bother to reapply the bands. This will help you spot the bad ones easier because if you improperly have canned this and the Botulinum bacteria survived and thrives inside the jar (because of anaerobic and high pH conditions), they will create gas (no more vacuum), which will push the lid out. However, once you open a good jar and have leftovers, place the lid back on. Consume the leftovers within two weeks.

Canning: Beef Lengua

Beef lengua preserved in their broth

Every fall, we have a whole cow slaughtered for a fresh supply of beef. My SIL/BIL also sell beef to friends. So every year, I have a supply also of the less desirables -- oxtail, suet/tallow (which I can use to make soap), beef liver, and beef tongue.

What do I do when the freezer is still not quite empty, with the prospect of being filled with the new batch of meats? My solution is simple: Canning.

So, I had four beef tongue to pre-cook before the final recipe. I have always found out that the best way to prepare beef (especially the tough meats) is prolonged cooking, including slowcooking. Another way is to pressure can. But I cannot wait for a get-together of Filipinos to prepare the lengua the way Filipinos usually like them, like with mushrooms or as estofado. So the best way to deal with them NOW is to can them, much in the same way as I would boil them first.

Please take note that this is my first time, and as such, was a learning opportunity for me to homecan my lenguas. In no way am I saying this is how you should do it, but you can learn from my experience if you too want to homecan yung beef lengua. Advantages: Pre-cooked beef lengua in can/jars will allow you to just prepare the sauce while roasting or pan-frying the slices in butter then pour the sauce over the slices...easy-peasy.

But I had to peel off those white covering of the tongue. And this can only be achieved by pre-cooking. Instead of boiling them for hours, I chose to pressure cook, This is my first time to use my pressure canner to pressure cook, and the instructions from the manual states to bring the pressure up to 15 psi and cook the meat. This is my first time to can lengua, and so I tried to follow a pressure cooking method to be able to "skin" the tongue. I found one on youtube, where he used an electric pressure cooker to cook the tongue for one hour and peel. The inside meat was still reddish.

Broth to cook includes garlic, peppercorn, onions, bay leaves, Italian-type of herbs, sea salt (about 1/2 T per quart of water). I used Presto pressure-cooker/canner to cook this at 15 psi for one hour.

So I pressure cooked my 4 tongues at 15 psi for one hour. I probably should have done it only for 20 mins to par-cook, but I was not sure whether that was enough to peel off the skin. But when mine was done, it was too done. Easy to peel but also the meat tended to just separate into fibers. Next time I do this again, I will try the pressure cook only for 20 mins.

I had to freeze for several hours before slicing, to make it easier to retain shape while slicing, since the meat was soooo tender!

*

After peeling (which was very easy) and freezing for about 3 hours, they were ready to slice.

Then I reheated the  broth, and placed slices in the hot quart jars. I poured enough of the broth into the jars to leave about 1 to 1-1/2 inch headspace. I had 4 quarts. I had enough water to reach about 1 inch to 2 inches up the sides of the jars, then placed the lid on, boiled and vented for 10 mins before applying the weight (I used the All-American Pressure Canner which has weighted gauge). Had the pressure go up to 15 psi, then timed for 90 mins per instructions from the USDA guidelines for canning meat chunks in broth via hot pack. I let the canner cool down before I took the jars out.

I am guessing the meats will be almost ready to deteriorate once I cook them into something like lengua in mushroom sauce, so I will just brush them with oil, roast for a few mins to brown, while preparing the sauce separately then pouring onto the slices of meat.

I love having all these opportunities to learn about preserving these select meat/offals that we consider delicacies.

For more info on canning meat chunks, please click this link.

To learn more about pressure canning, click this link on using the pressure canner.

The Dairy Chronicle: Compound Butters (Marrow-Herb Butter)

Marrow-Herb Butter

Before you start bashing me with comments that make you look like a doofus, just like one of the comments below, please educate yourself first and avoid thinking that your belief is the only valid belief on earth.

Those who have been following my posts on fb (as Manang Kusinera) know how I lost weight since I started my Harcombe Diet-turned into-High Fat Low Carb diet.  And now that my body has healed from all the symptoms I had prior (which was an unexpected outcome when all I wanted was to lose weight, which I also achieved effortlessly), I have turned into a real-foodie...well, almost, as I still use some sugar and flour from time to time, although much less than before. And I have developed my own theory that, as long as I eat gut-friendly and immunity-boosting foods (probiotics such as raw milk, raw butter, fermented veggies and fermented dairy), I can balance out the ill-effects of gut-destroying foods (like sugar and wheat/flour). And if I do start experiencing symptoms of inflammation again after reintroducing some of these pro-inflammatory foods, I stop immediately and revert back to the HFLC diet.

Hibachi-Inspired Beef Sirloin Teriyaki

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Beef Sirloin Teriyaki

I was again faced with the dilemma of "what's for dinner" decision-making. I was thinking of using up some of out steaks and took out a pack of NY sirloin from the freezer to thaw. I looked in the fridge and saw the different Asian sauces/marinades I had there, and chose to use the teriyaki. I decided to cook them not quite Hibachi-style but with all the flavors that we loved when we visited the highly entertaining chefs of a Hibachi restaurant in NH.

Hubby's comment: "This dinner is excellent!"

Stuffed Shells with Pasta Sauce

After I canned spaghetti sauce without meat, I noted that there were two containers of cocktail tomatoes that I got from Backyard Farms during their Open House which I forgot to include in the batch for processing. And so I thought I'd make a sauce out of it and use it for our meal the next day.  There was probably about 2 lb of them. And just like how I made my spaghetti sauce, I roasted them then strained and boiled until reduced to half the original volume. Meanwhile, I chopped 3 cloves garlic, 2 medium onions, and a stalk of celery. I sauteed these in some (home-canned and -rendered leaf) lard, then added the tomato sauce, some salt and pepper to taste, basil and oregano to taste. I also boiled a whole box of jumbo macaroni shells (I should have boiled only half of it because I ended up with a lot of leftover shells.) until al dente, then rinsed right away with cold water to stop cooking.

My son's hands were shaking
when he took the photo

Then I mixed 1 lb pre-cooked ground beef (only added salt and pepper to it then I let it cool down) with 8 oz softened cream cheese, 1 egg, chopped red and green bell peppers (half each), salt and pepper to taste. I used a big cookie scoop to stuff the macaroni shells with this mixture.

Close up

I pre-heated the oven to 350°F. I placed a thin layer of the pasta sauce on a 9x13 pan the placed a layer of stuffed shells on top. I spooned some more pasta sauce atop the shells, and baked this for 30 minutes, adding grated cheddar cheese right after taking out of the oven. I served this with garlic toasted bread and Parmesan cheese on the side.

Hit with everyone!

Beef Sesame Ginger Stir-Fry

Beef Sesame Ginger Stir-Fry

Hubby: Hmmm...this is really good!  Did this recipe come from that White House Chef book?
Me: Yes. You like it? I thought you don't care much for soy sauce-marinated meats.
Hubby: Well, this is really good.  It melts in your mouth. I already like that guy. Will you serve this for our dinner on Thursday with Linda?
Me: Absolutely!

Well, that White House Chef we were talking about was Ariel de Guzman, originally a Filipino US Navy.

This was the first recipe I got from his book although I tweaked some because I used 2 pounds of beef rather than 1.5 pounds, and I added ginger. And it was a hit! I had all ingredients in my pantry (or refrigerator in the case of sesame seeds.

I stir-fried them in batches and then used the mini-wok that I mistakenly ordered (I imagined it
was larger, but I was surprised that it looked more like a bowl) to keep it warm (kept atop the warmer on my stove, covered with the lid). Isn't this cute?

stainless steel mini wok kept it warm

For the beef cut, I used two pounds of "cube steak." (Cube steak is a cut of beef, usually top round or top sirloin, tenderized by fierce pounding with a meat mallet, or use of an electric tenderizer. Many professional cooks insist that regular tenderizing mallets cause too much mashing to produce a proper cube steak, and insist on either using specialized cube steak machines, or manually applying a set of sharp pointed rods to pierce the meat in every direction. This is the most common cut of meat used for chicken fried steak.- from wikipedia_.) I cut the steaks into strips. The result reminded me so much of tapa, although with a touch of Korean/Chinese/Malaysian (whatever!) taste.

whatta super supper!!!

Well, when hubby specifically requests that a certain dish be served to our guests (we will also have my in-laws and another friend that afternoon), then he really likes it so much that he wants to show off my cooking skills. :)


Sesame ginger Beef Stir-Fry
Adapted from:
Ingredients:

2 lbs cube steak, cut in strips

For marinade:

2 tsp white sugar
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1&1/2 tbsp sesame oil
2 thumb-size ginger, peeled and sliced

For cooking:

2-3 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil for each batch stir-fried (I was using a medium sized nonstick pan)
3 garlic cloves, cut thinly
1 thumb-size ginger, cut in strips

Instructions:

In a bowl, blend the marinade ingredients well. Toss the beef strips to coat. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

On medium heat, dry-roast the sesame seeds until lightly browned and aromatic. Place in a small bowl and set aside.

Increase the heat to high, add vegetable oil and stir-fry the garlic and ginger until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.

By small batches, stir-fry beef until glossy dark-brown in color (beef will turn light brown first then release it's juice and simmer; just continue stir-frying until all juice has evaporated).

In a container kept warm (in an oven or over the warming stovetop), place the cooked batches of beef.

Add more oil to the skillet or wok and stir-fry the next batch.

When all beef is cooked, stir in the fried ginger and garlic. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and salad.

Update 4/27/2011:

When I served this for the intended gathering at home, it was a big hit amongst my in-laws and our visitor.

I took some leftover to work the next day, and our unit sec smelled the aroma and got intrigued. I let her taste one piece, and immediately she asked for the recipe. I brought the recipe on Easter Sunday, and told her about the tweaks I made, then she immediately re-typed the whole recipe, made several copies, and distributed them amongst our co-workers, swearing by how good it tasted (and she does not even like ginger, but never detected it in my recipe.).

So there, guaranteed to wow your American friends (there is no question that this will wow Asian friends)!

Maple-Garlic Beef Short Ribs

I made this for supper tonight, using the exact same ingredients as the maple-garlic chicken, and the same method except that I used pressure cooker. (I added two slices of sirloin steaks for hubby because he does not like ribs -- "too much work for so little meat"). My MIL recently gave me two quartz of maple syrup, and one quart is almost out now, with some sediments forming at the bottom. We usually do not use this part of maple syrup for pancakes, but I hate throwing it away, so cooking or baking with it is the best way to use it up.

We loved the effect just as much as we did with the chicken.

Ingredients:
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup soy sauce
3-5 lb beef short ribs
cornstarch-water mixture (probably 1/2 cup water + 3 heaping tbsp cornstarch)

Instructions:
Mix all the sauce ingredients. Place beef ribs in pressure cooker. Pour the sauce. Close lid and turn oven on high. Once pressure gets high, simmer for 45 minutes.
Release pressure. Turn oven to low broil. Place beef ribs on baking sheet. Broil 1-2 minutes to dry up the surface. Meanwhile, make sauce thicker using cornstarch-water mixture (Sauce should be boiling briskly, then pour the CW mixture in slow stream while stirring).
Baste beef ribs with sauce and broil two minutes. Do this two times on one side then flip over and do this again twice. Basting and broiling gives the glazed effect (the sugar content caramelizes under the high heat and gives that beautiful highly-appealing sheen).
Place remaining sauce in a gravy boat. Serve with the beef ribs. Garnish with snips of chives as desired. Serve over plain rice or mashed potatoes with boiled veggies.

Puto Pao/Cua Pao

I am not really sure what this is called. The first time I tasted what seemed like puto with filling like that of siopao, it was when a sister-in-law brought some from Laguna. I loved it then. She said it was called cuapao. The shape was rectangular.

With previous browsing on the net, some called it puto pao. The cua pao search I made led me to a photo that did not look like what my ex-SIL brought. So, I don't know what this is really called. But simply put, that pao that I had then from SIL is basically puto with siopao filling. Period.

Now, with my easy method of making puto from boxed white cake mix (and I recently bought a pint of pure pasteurized egg whites), I made some puto pao (or cua pao?). After my kids loved them paos, I thought I should have a set of rectangular or square silicone muffin cups. So I bought a set of square and triangular. Next time I make puto pao again, I will use the square ones(they are larger too than the typical muffin cup shape). We already tried them with brownies and once the brownies were cool enough, they were easy to remove from the silicone cups.

I used leftover beef pares for filling (note: the beef pares link will lead you to my blog post which had a very old unappealing photo of my beef pares, which does not do justice to how scrumptious this dish is, so please do not be discouraged. It has been a tried and tested and loved recipe by several of my readers, and a favorite special beef roast recipe in my household that even my in-laws love it). I chopped the meat roughly, mixed that with the sauce, adjusted the sauce with thickener (cornstarch-water mix), salt, sugar, pepper as necessary. Then I chilled the mixture prior to making the puto pao. The chilling enables me to shape the filling into disks which I could lay flat over half of the puto batter before I top with the other half.

I get the water boiling even before I start preparing the batter. I use any white cake mix in my pantry, with the required egg whites and oil, then mix thoroughly with a hand mixer until batter looks fluffy. I place about a teaspoon at the bottom of the muffin paper liner, then carefully top with flattened filling (I measure using cooking scoop), then finally add another teaspoon or so of white cake mix batter, or enough to cover sides and top of the filling (I avoid adding too much). The slide show has some photos with sliced cheese on top, or plain, or some puto pao with the filling on top only (I experimented to place the filling on top, expecting it to sink to the middle while steaming, but it did not).

The result got my kids excited, they had these for snacks that night, and saved some for the next morning for their breakfast.

As expected, hubby only ate the plain puto. :(

Frenchie Minute Steaks (or Frenchie Beef Lengua)

Frenchie Minute Steak 

Minute steaks are very thin cuts of beef sirloin or round, so thin that you can cook each side for one minute and it is done.

I cooked this for the first time just googling french onion soup with beef and got the idea to add frenchies, basing on my husband's favorite beef dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse, Chop Steak. While not exactly the same, my husband excitedly exclaimed that they look and tasted almost the same. Chop steak is "ground beef, seasoned, grilled and smothered with sautéed mushrooms, red wine Bordelaise sauce and crisp onion straws." This dish quickly became a favorite in my household. It is so good, that I decided to make my beef lengua last Pinoy Christmas Party the same way.



Ingredients:
1 lb minute steaks
1 small can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms
2 envelopes Lipton Recipe Secret Onion soup mix*
1-1/2 cup red wine (or water)
Frenchies french fried onions for topping.

*Note: If you are using the Campbell's french onion soup, use only 3/4 cup red wine/water.


Instructions:
Prepare the french onion soup as directed in the package, except use red wine (or plain water if you don't have red wine) for the liquid. Double the amount of red wine (or water) to allow for evaporation during pressure cooking. (alternative: Campbell's French Onion Soup)
Drain and sautee mushrooms. Set aside.
A few pieces at a time, brown each side of the minute steaks and set aside on the same platter you placed the mushrooms on.
Place back everything in the pot and add the soup mixture (or campbell's french onion soup with red wine/water). Let boil.
Cover. Pressure cook for 10 minutes (if you are using thicker slices like in stir-fries, you can extend to 15 minutes).
Stir and place on a platter.
Sprinkle with Frenchies fried french fried onions and serve with mashed potatoes or plain rice.

Note: If you are going to use beef lengua, prepare the lengua first (pressure cook for 30 minutes then peel off the white coating, then slice at 1/2-inch thickness. These will now be the substitute for minutes steaks.

How to Cook the Perfect Steak: Sous Vide Cooking

I don't remember how I stumbled upon a blog post by an American guy who shared what he did to produce a perfectly (and fully!) cooked steak that is medium rare (in appearance), tender and juicy. I can't even remember the blog, but it got me reading more into sous vide cooking.

As I read and learned more about the technique, and the very few affordable choices of home cooks, I set out to get the equipment I needed to add to my existing kitchen gadgets to take the plunge and see for myself. I chose the least expensive one: a PID thermostat coupled with my 6-qt slow cooker.

I was determined to learn this method because my husband is a steak eater (as much as I am a fried fish eater).

I have often wondered how restaurants always would come up with tender and juicy steaks even when very well done (as how my hubby always likes his steaks). At home we have our homegrown, grass-fed beef. While it sounds ideal and romantic, grass-fed beef are not exactly as great as those in the restaurants. Flavor is superb and the meat is really lean, and whatever bit of fat left is the good stuff, having had grass instead of grain providing the building material for the fatty acids. But consistency sucks -- tough and stringy -- what with all the freedom our beef had in their life span, and the lack of hormones. Not wanting to waste a lot of steaks this year as I did last year (I gave away a lot of unused steaks because I was getting discouraged), my readings on sous vide cooking gave me hope. Now I can see this household running out of steaks before the next year's supply comes. It seems like this was the way to cook steaks "very well done" without drying it up.

For this post, I used T-bone steaks, which already partly has tenderloin. Although I used 140 deg F (which gave the appearance of medium rare), I was explaining to hubby and kids about the technique (hubby was particularly intrigued with my PID temp controller and the seemingly elaborate and unusual setup), discussing about killing of pathogens at such temp for several hours of cooking, so that psychologically he was primed to see reddish middle of this fully cooked steak. I did brown the steaks in butter for a period long enough to make it as brown as possible without drying. However, I noticed that the longer the cut meat was exposed to air (and oxygen), the redder it got at the middle (a result of oxidation). Good thing I assured everyone already that that was fully cooked. With their concerns answered, they were reassured and pacified, and we all ate the steaks and savored the goodness...they were indeed excellent!

The next batch of steaks I cooked at 170 deg F. This time they were really brown...and tender and juicy.

So if you are interested, there is a sous vide cooker meant for home cooks at a whopping price of $449. Or, if you already have a good sized slow cooker, and are willing to invest on a PID temperature controller available in ebay for $156, here's how I prepared my first sous vide cooked steaks.

1. Thaw the steaks.

2. Season with salt and pepper (or spices...avoid fresh garlic as this can be over powering. If you want garlic flavor, use powder.)

3. Vacuum pack the steaks (I used food saver. Their plastic bags are food grade and are ok for low temp simmering.)

4. Place a spacer on each steaks (I used the lids for canning).

5. Stack the steaks inside the slow cooker and fill with water (spacer ensures the warm water bathes each steak all around).

6. Submerge the temperature sensor.

7. Cover the slow cooker, plug it to the PID temp controller, turn it on low setting, plug the PID into power supply, and set the PID thermostat to desired temp (see Table 2.3).

7. Allow at least two hours for the water in the slow cooker to reach the desired temperature according to Table 2.2 here. Then add the cooking time per recommendation in Table 2.3 if cooking thawed meat, or Table 2.4 if cooking frozen. Take note that this is the minimum time to ensure safety.I cooked mine for a total of 6 hours from turning on the unit.

8. Remove from pouches and wipe with paper towels.

9. Briefly pan-fry in butter (longer if you want it more brown).

10. Serve immediately.

More readings avaialable here in a downloadable pdf format.

HOW TO USE THE PID THERMOSTAT:

Make sure you are using a slow cooker or rice cooker that has manual controls instead of electronic.

Plug the cooker into the PID unit. Plug the PID into the power supply.

Turn on the slow cooker on low setting, place the sensor in the water in the slow cooker. Plug the PID into power supply.

Set the temperature and time (including the two hours to get the water up to the desired temp).

PID thermostat will beep when time is up.

So if you are interested in sous vide cooking, the equipment you need (if you are not getting the above mentioned sous vide cooker) are:

- a large capacity rice cooker or slow cooker with manual controls

- PID temperature controller

- vacuum sealer (I have Food Saver) and bags

Grilled Stuffed Squids & Cuttlefish

I had several bags of frozen cleaned squids and cuttlefish, and had been meaning to have grilled squids, but I have always wanted some meat stuffing in it. Especially so after I saw Panlasang Pinoy's post about it.

Well, I had some plain cooked ground beef (as in S&P add-ons only) that was leftover from two times (both times were prepared fresh as he does not like eating leftovers) of serving my hubby one of his fave meals: ground beef, boiled potatoes and brocolli. I thought I'd use that as filling, but I added veggies (finely chopped 1 carrot, 2 celery stalks and 1 onion plus garlic powder) for additional flavor, and added a beaten egg to hold them together as they cook. I used toothpicks for the cuttlefish because it had a cut on one side.

I used several pre-heated sizzling plates sprayed with some oil, cooked the squids and cuttlefish about 2 mins on each side, then just combined them all on one when cooked. They turned out moist and soft and chewy, not at all rubbery dry.

Some squids had no filling because I ran out.
Grilled seafood always satisfies my Filipino palate, and those of my boys. We ate them with fried rice prepared with leftover pork tocino cut into small pieces. I never bothered to offer this to hubby, as he is so grossed out by tentacles and is not crazy over seafood in general anyway.

Beef Mechado

Beef Mechado on  bed of rice

What's the differece between beef mechado and kaldereta? Different people have tried to describe the two. I have my own, too, but first, the similarities: beef chunks (or roast), garlic, onions, bell peppers, tomato sauce, bay leaves, peppercorn, potatoes, carrots.

Now for the differences:
Kaldereta - add liver paste or sausage (or if I had it, Reno liver spread), and cheese. Other optional add ons usually include black olives.

Mechado - add soy sauce and vinegar (others use only soy sauce), and snap beens (aka Baguio beans) (plus I added celery here)

The two definitely differ in taste, but both are awesome! And hubby likes 'em both! They are very American-friendly Filipino dishes, and my kids love bringing them to school for lunch, though they never care to learn what they are called aside from "beef stew."

Ingredients:
2 lbs stew meat (beef cut in chunks)
3 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup diced bell peppers (green and red)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I actually used 2 tbsp of Tamari soy sauce and then regular soy sauce to make up 1/4 cup total)
1/4 cup (red wine) vinegar
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns (appoximate)
salt to taste (I used about 1 tsp kosher)
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
1 big or 3 small potatoes, cubed
1 big carrot, cubed (I did not have any at the time)
2 cups snap beans

Instructions:
I made use of pressure cooker for this, since I wanted to be able to cook this up quickly in time for supper. We were busy during the earlier part of the day working out in the garden.


Heat the pressure cooker empty on medium high for about 3 minutes. Add oil, saute the garlic, onions, celery, and bell peppers. Add the beef, and saute until brown. This will results to beef sweating and will put out about 1/2 cup of liquid. Sprinkle salt and stir. Add the tomato sauce, vinegar and soy sauce. Stir and close the lid. Pressure-cook as directed by your manufacturer for 15 minutes (starting to count the minutes once the pressure valve pops up; don't forget to switch to low heat enough to maintain a steady gentle steam coming out of the lid). Meanwhile, cut the potatoes and carrots into cubes. Microwave for about 2-3 minutes to partially cook. Once 15 minutes are up, add the potatoes and carrots and stir. Close the lid tightly (do not set to pressure cook; just keep tight) and cook for 3 minutes; add snap beans, stir, cover tight again and turn off heat. By the end of this cooking, the sauce has thickened enough, thanks to potatoes and all the flavors have blended wonderfully. Serve as topping for fried rice (if you are Pinoy) or with bread/biscuit (if you are a Westerner). I served it with biscuit to hubby (quick enough to prepare compared to bread).

(Cooking style will vary with regular pot. You may have to add water to prevent drying up. Of course, cooking time for beef will also vary and may reach 45 minutes to an hour to cook this cut until tender. You, the cook, will just have to grope your way into cooking the rest of the ingredients. Potatoes and carrots added together will probably take 15 minutes (or you may add the carrots 5 minutes later), then snap beans will require 2 minutes or so depending on how cooked you want it.)

Hamburger

I was looking at the searches made by readers of this foodblog, and one of them is hamburger. I did not realize until then that I have not posted a recipe here for hamburgers, and I have been serving hamburgers to my family (and my kids' friends when they come over) every summer, whether they are grilled indoors or outdoors. Indoors, sometimes I use George Foreman grill (cooks for 4-5 minutes each) for very informal one-at-a-time serving (sometimes I ask them to cook and assemble their own). Or I might make use of the big cast-iron grill/griddle to use on stovetop (cooks for 8-10 minutes total). Outdoors, I use a cheapo charcoal grill (much like when we made barbecues back in the Philippines).

These hamburgers I made on a rainy gloomy day, because the previous hot and sunny day I was working, and was too lazy tired to cook when I came home. Hence, the use of indoor grill. I guess it is too early to conclude that summer is here.

Tips: The use of plastic (these are open type sandwich bags) facilitates ease of removing the patties, plus you don't have to wash the press after use. The milk and breadcrumbs help retain moisture and hold the patty together. Also, if you don't have grill/griddle yet and plan to get one, the Lodge cast-iron one has very good reviews on amazon. I personally have Nordic ware, which has never been nonstick despite its claim, plus it warps even on medium heat. After about 5 years, I am ready to ditch it and do myself a favor by getting Lodge.

UPDATE as of 6-11-09:
I made hamburgers (and I also prepped hotdogs) for Patrick's graduation party held at home (other parents dropped off cakes, sodas and chips, cut up fruits and veggies, dips and salsas). Two of the parents stayed for a while for chaperoning (kids dipped in the cold swimming pool for a while then played outdoors before finally coming in the house to play video games/wii music). One of the two mothers said, "These are the best tasting hamburgers I have ever had!" seconded by the other. I was beaming...hehe! I just went by my taste buds in trying this recipe, and it has been received well in my family, including my husband. When I told my sister about it, she asked if I had done something special with it. None really...but as an afterthought, maybe it was the grass-fed beef that made the difference.

Ingredients: (amounts of seasonings approximate)
2 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsbp milk
1/8 cup ketchup
1/8 cup A1 steak sauce
2 tsp mustard
(optional) 1 tsp (or few drops) worcesterchire sauce (L&P classic thick)
hamburger buns

Add-ons:
pickle relish
ketchup
sliced cheese
thinly sliced vidalia onions
sliced tomatoes
bread n butter pickles (homemade)
lettuce

Instructions:

Mix everything together. Form into patties. Let stand for at least 10 minutes for flavors to be absorbed.

At the same time, heat up stovetop grill on med low (#4 to #5) for about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the vidalia onions and tomatoes. Have the pre-washed lettuce ready (I buy a whole head, that way, it remains fresh longer in the fridge, compared to already shredded lettuce that comes in a bag). Bring these and everything else to the table.

Once grill is ready, spray with olive oil. Place patties and cook uncovered for 4 minutes. Turn over and cover. Turn heat to low (#2-3) and cook an additional 4-6 minutes. Check if juices run clear (this sometimes pool on top of patties if there are dips). If juices run clear, they are done.

Remove patties and transfer to plate (optional to top them with sliced cheese so that cheese melts with the heat). Keep warm. Warm up the buns on the grill for about 1-2 minutes. Enjoy your hamburger with your fave add-ons (everything for me and my boys; hubby likes only with cheese and ketchup). Hubby said, "It was delicious!" There were 4 of us eating at the time (my stepd was not with us). My younger boy had a second helping.