Grilled Ketchup
: food, May 18 2025 ▶
If you do not have a charcoal BBQ - do not bother!
Else - the ingredients:
- 4 red peppers or paprika
- 4 small or 3 med-sized onions (do not use big ones)
- (optional) 1 chilli pepper
- 4 tea spoons (tsp) sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- one can (400ml) of peeled tomatoes
Preparation:
- charcoal-grill the red peppers, onions and chilli until char-black (but not burned) so you can peel them easily, onions need ~10 mins more. Do not worry if the outer layer of the onion is completely burned, it is fine.
- put all the grilled vegetables in a metal pot. The steam inside will help with peeling.
- let them cool down and peel everything so no charred skin remain
- put all ingredients in a blender and give them a good "stir"
- (optional) If you have prepared a big amount and/or you want to keep if for longer, bring the mixture to a bubbly boil and let it cool. It will last several weeks in the fridge.
You can use this sauce for everything - pork, poultry, fish, concrete, plastic, you name it...
Versatile asian sauce
: food, April 29 2025 ▶
Looking for a proper way to cook eggplant (was utter failure at the end), I have stumbled on a asian sauce recipe, which I heavily modified to make this wonderful, all-purpose, wonderful sauce.
It goes well with vegetables, poultry, fish.
1 chilli, finely chopped.
3-4 dices ginger, finely chopped.
Saute them for 2 mins in 3tsp sunflower oil.
Add 6-8 pressed garlic cloves.
Add 1/2 tsp dry ground coriander.
Saute another minute or two, just do not burn the garlic.
Dry-bake 2 tsp sesame seeds until golden brown, careful not to burn it!
Put them to the garlic/sunflower/chili/ginger mixture.
Add the following:
2tsp sugar
2tsp sesame seed oil
3tsp vinegar
5tsp light soy sauce
5tsp oyster sauce
Use chopper or other type of mixer to combine all.
Enjoy.
Redutska lukanka
: food, February 23 2025 ▶
The original recipe is called "redutski babek", but to outline the difference between chopped vs. minced meat, and several other variations in the spices, I changed the name. The key ingredient is the leek. Do not be alarmed by the quantity - the result is amazing.
All reference values are for 1kg of meat.
Ingredients:
- pork neck 30%, pork leg 70%
- salt, 50-50% regular and nitrite, total of 22g
- sugar 5g
- ground cumin - 5g
- oregano - 3g
- ground black pepper - 1.5g
- the green parts of the leek - 50g
- starter culture (optional)
- sausage casings - 50mm
Preparation:
- use the 8mm or 10mm mincer disk to grind the meat
- mix it with the spices and let it rest for 24-36hours
- mix again and start filling it in the casings (I used the same mincer disk)
- put some label on 2-3 reference pieces with the date and the weight
- on day 3 and 6 press down each piece between wooden boards overnight
- dry till 50% weight loss
Dried meat v2
: food, December 15 2024 ▶
Improved, refined and more precise version, without any shenanigans.
The meat:
- Any pork as long as you can cut it on ~25x10x5cm (plus/minus) clean slabs - no membranes, veins, threads.
For curing (per kilogram meat):
- 13g regular salt
- 13g curing salt
- 2g sugar
- 3-4 crushed juniper berries
- 2g fenugreek
- 1g cumin
- 1g black pepper
- 1g saltpeter (potassium nitrate, E252, optional)
- starter culture (optional, the package should contain info on the dosage, usually 0.5g/kg meat)
Rub the spices, let it rest for 8 days in a bag in the fridge.
Every 2 days "massage" the meat.
At the end rinse and pat-dry.
Then press it down for 24 hours.
For drying:
- 4g savory (grind it first to fine powder)
- 4g sweet paprika
- 2g fenugreek
- 2g garlic powder
- 2g cayenne pepper
Rub the spices and hang the meat with a thread in a ventilated area.
On 1-2 pieces put a note to show the date and the weight so you have a reference point.
When it loses ~50% weight, it is ready.
Mine got that after 3 weeks at 10-15C, 60% humidity.
The optimal conditions should be 13C, 75% humidity.
Gornooryahovski Sudzhuk
: food, December 01 2024 ▶
A friend of mine gave me the recipe to be put in the "hall of fame" - soon to be tested on premise. What you need:
- Tender beef (rib lifter)
- salt (22g/kilo)
- sugar (1g/kilo)
- potassium nitrate a.k.a. saltpeter(1g/kilo)
- ground black pepper (2.5g/kilo)
- ground cumin (2g/kilo)
- sausage casing of your choice
Preparation:
- Cut the meat in large pieces, put it in a deep bowl and add the salt
- Mix well and leave it to rest for 24h in the fridge
- Remove the liquid and transfer the meat to anoter bowl
- Add the sugar, saltpeter, pepper and cumin, mix
- Use the large-hole gitter of the meat grinder to grind the meat
- Mix well and put it in the fridge for another 24h
- Use smaller gitter to grind the meat one more time, mix again
- Fill the casings at 45cm lenght, use string to tie the ends
- Use a needle to make several holes in each casing
- Slightly press the sausages to remove excess air
- Hang them in a cool, dry place
- On the third day (and every 5 days after) use a rolling pin to flatten the sausages
- Edible after 25 days