Tag: kosher salt

Syracuse Salt Potatoes – Lot’s Wife Would Have Loved These

Not only is this Syracuse salt potatoes recipe one of the most delicious ways to cook baby spuds, it’s also one of the most interesting. I generally don’t like when people watch me cook their food, you know, in case anything gets dropped (#5secondrule), but these are kind of fun to do in front of guests; just to see that look of shock in their eyes, as you dump in all that salt. Amazingly, only a small amount of salt gets inside the potatoes, and by “small amount,” I mean “perfect amount.”

This recipe really takes the guesswork out of seasoning. Of course, I could go into all the science behind why these don’t absorb too much salt, but that would mean having to learn it first, and then figure out how to explain it, which sounds like an awful lot of work. Instead, I’ll let my intrepid readers take wild guesses.

I mention in the video that these were invented by Irish salt miners, which is true, except I don’t think they used actual mines, but salt pools instead. Apparently digging is a lot harder than waiting for water to evaporate. Regardless, they used this abundant supply of salt to boil less-than-perfect quality new potatoes, and the rest is culinary history.

Regarding the amount of salt, I used a ratio of 1 cup of kosher salt to 5 cups of water. Believe it or not, this is actually less than traditionally used. Hey, we all don’t have salt factories in our backyards. A cup of the brand I use weighs about 6 ounces, which means if you’re using regular, fine table salt, you’ll need just over a half-cup to get the same amount of salt.

Anyway, other than having to sponge-up some salt speckles from the stovetop, this recipe is fast, easy, and truly unique. So, if you want to serve something this St. Paddy’s Day that truly celebrates Irish-American heritage, then I hope you give these salt potatoes a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 servings:

2 pounds of small new potatoes, scrubbed

5 cups of water

1 cup Kosher salt

melted butter

Christmas Hamlets – To Eat or Not to Eat Will Not Be a Question

I had been fantasizing for weeks about doing a whole,
home-cured ham for the holidays. I always get lots of requests for this kind of
thing, and was fully prepared to give it a go, but then a strange thing
happened, I heard the word “Hamlet.”

It was on TV, and completely unrelated to
cured pork, but for whatever reason the word made me think of cute little,
individually sized hams. That’s all it took, and off I went trying to figure out how
to make this thing happen. I knew I wanted a process that wouldn’t require the
pink curing salts used in commercially produced hams, not because they are
unhealthy, they’re not, but because it would be hard for some of you to find.

I’ve read things in the past about using celery’s naturally
occurring nitrates to accomplish the same thing, so that’s what I used, and as
you’ll hear me say several times in the video, I was thrilled with the results!
While not exactly like a classic city ham, this was very close. The firm, moist
texture was great, the salt level was spot on, and since we used loin instead
of leg, there’s even a little less fat.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to help much with questions about
how to do this with bigger or different cuts, as this was my first foray into
home-cured ham, so if you are going to attempt this, please go to a good
butcher to get the exact same size “chops” that I used. If you do, and follow
these simple steps, I think you will have a holiday meal “to die for.” Sorry, but you didn’t expect me to do this entire post without one forced reference to
the play, did you? Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 Hamlets:

4 thick-cut (10-12 oz) center cut, boneless pork loin
“chops”

For the brine:

1/2 cup *kosher salt plus 1 tablespoon

(*if using fine table salt, you’d only need barely 1/3 cup)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp finely ground black pepper

1 tsp allspice

1/2 ground cloves

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups boiling water to dissolve salt and sugar

3 celery stalks (about 2 cups chopped)

1/2 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

2 cups cold water to puree vegetables in blender, plus add
enough cold water to make 2 quarts total volume of brine

Brine for 48 hours before roasting

For the glaze:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

pinch of cayenne

whole cloves as needed

Roast at 325 degrees F. until an internal temp of 145
degrees F. is reached.

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Beef Barley Soup

A hearty bowl of soup made with carrots, celery, onions, lean beef and pearl barley.

When I was a kid, we had soup for dinner almost every night. Sometimes we had a bowl as a first course, and other times as a main dish. I wasn’t always very happy about this, because believe it or not I was a very picky kid. But when my Mom served Beef Barley, I never complained.

This soup is perfect for the cooler evenings as we head into Fall. It’s a one pot meal that’s really simple to make, but it takes a little over an hour for the meat to get tender, so keep that in mind if you’re pressed for time. The pressure cooker is perfect to speed this up, I’ve also included instructions if you own one.

I wasn’t sure what my toddler would think, but I fed it to her anyway and to my surprise she ate it. Leftovers only get better and make a great lunches; this also freezes great if you want to make freezer meals for the month. To make this soup gluten-free, you can sub the barley for quinoa.

Beef Barley Soup
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 5 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 7 pts • Points+: 8 pts
Calories: 336 • Fat: 11 g • Carbs: 27 g • Fiber: 6 g • Protein: 32 g • Sugar: 1.5 g
Sodium: 453 mg (using 1 tsp kosher salt)

Ingredients:

1 tsp oil
1-1/2 lbs lean beef round stew meat
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, chopped
6 cups water
1 – 2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup dry barley
fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat a large heavy pot or dutch oven on medium heat. Add oil and beef, season with a little salt and brown meat a few minutes.

When meat is browned, add carrots, onion, celery and garlic to the pot and give it a good stir.
Add water, salt and bay leaves and bring to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer covered over low heat until the meat is soft, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Add the barley, adjust the salt if needed and add fresh ground pepper. Simmer an additional 30-35, remove bay leaves and serve. Makes 7 1/2 cups.

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Pressure cooker instructions: Follow all the steps with the meat and carrots as instructed above, when you add the water and cover and lock the lid. Cook in the pressure cooker for about 30 minutes on medium low heat. Remove from heat and when the pressure cooker is cool enough to unlock the lid, remove and add barley. Cook an additional 30 minutes uncovered.