October Favorites

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​A Favorite Ingredient

Fish sauce is a recent addition to my pantry of flavorings.   I use canned anchovies for flavoring, but end up wasting the rest of the fishes in the can for recipes that call for just one anchovy.  This sauce will add the flavor of one anchovy with a teaspoon of convenient fluid, and store the opened bottle in the refrigerator.

Did you know the yummy, savory, “umami” flavor of A1 Steak Sauce and Worcestershire Sauce is anchovies?  Look at the list of ingredients.  Yes, both those sauces are fish sauces, along with other ingredients.
 
Anchovies, when cooked in some oil and mashed, lose their “fishiness” and take on a buttery, meaty flavor that ramps up recipes like Pasta Puttanesca.   It’s also the flavoring in Caesar Salad. 

Try putting a shake (has a shaker lid) of this sauce to any recipe that you want to add a meaty flavor to.   Are you making Shrimp and Grits?  Shake a little into the cooking grits, and a little into the Shrimp mixture.  Try it with your salad dressings and dips.
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This is “Red Boat” brand fish sauce, recommended by America’s Test Kitchen, Cook’s Illustrated. 

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Recipe: Mushroom Sauce

1 box sliced baby bella mushrooms, roughly chopped
Butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 cup wine
Fish sauce
A1 Steak Sauce

Put mushrooms in medium hot skillet with no butter or salt, yet.  Let them sear and lose moisture until they look drier and smaller,  then add red wine, which should bring up the “fond” in the bottom of the skillet. Add a quarter cup of the steak sauce, the garlic and a couple of pats of butter.  Cook and reduce by almost half, add one full teaspoon of fish sauce. 

​A Favorite Tool

You’ve just bought a thick Rib Eye Prime steak from the glass case at Ingles.  $18.98 a pound, for a special occasion.  If you ruin it, or if the steak doesn’t live up to it’s potential, that’s when the price of this thermometer (around eighty bucks) won’t seem so high.   The ability to quickly, easily take the temperature of meat will assure the best results.
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If you spring for a digital thermometer, I strongly recommend a probe Thermapen  as pictured.  This was the thermometer used in a week-long class of cheesemaking at the John Campbell Folk School.  It is known for being the most reliable and long-lasting.  Cheesemaking demands constant accuracy in temperature.

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Recipe:  Rib Eye Steak, medium rare

1 pound prime rib eye steak, 2 inches thick
Salt, pepper, butter, one teaspoon sugar

A few hours ahead of time, take the steak out of the refrigerator, salt heavily and wrap in a couple of paper towels.  Let sit on a plate at room temperature.  If the towels get too wet, change them.

Heat oven to 350.  Wipe the steaks dry (the towel will take most of the salt with it), put on pepper and a little more salt.

Using a cookie sheet with a wire rack, place the steak in the middle so air can circulate underneath.  Put a pat of butter on the top of the steak. Take temperature before putting steak in oven.  After ten minutes, start checking the steak at 5 minute intervals.  Put a little butter on top each time you check.

Place a large cast-iron skillet on stove.  When steak is between 120-130 degrees remove from oven and let sit.  Heat the skillet until it makes a small amount of butter sizzle.  Sprinkle half of the sugar on top of the steak, with tongs place steak  sugar side down on the skillet.  Sprinkle rest of sugar on the other side.
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The sugar will carmelize and make for a nice, brown, quick sear, which will only will be about 20 seconds for each side.
You baked your steak!  Now, butter it again, let it rest for ten minutes with foil tent.  With a sharp knife, slice the steaks into about eight slices, and notice how beautifully pink it is.  You may never grill a steak again.  I learned to make steak this way from Cook’s Illustrated.

This is very good with my Mushroom sauce recipe