Iron Chef Bradley VII Turn-In Thread

[Tenpoint5]

This is the Iron Chef Bradley VII Turn-In. Please post your Recipe, How you made it, What ingredients you used, and your Pictures of how you made it and a Finished product picture. Voting on the Entries received will be from the 4th thru the 8th of Oct. The voting will be in the form of a poll.
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM COMMENTING IN THIS THREAD until the voting is complete. You may post any comments in the ICB VII Smack Talk Thread.


AS A REMINDER FOR EVERYONE

Basic Iron Chef rules:

Be creative on your recipes.

It can be as simple as a new ABT or a recipe that would take a snooty waiter in a fancy-schmancy restaurant 10 minutes to describe.

At least 80% of the cook time must be done in the Bradley Smoker, grill or other outdoor cooking method. Up to 20% of the cook time can be done on the stove, oven.

Use any spices or pre-made BBQ sauces, or other goodies as you wish.

The recipe is not limited to just the 3 main ingredients. Your pantry is open and anything is fair game to be used in your recipe. As long as the meat and two other ingredients are in one dish. IE...one bite gets all three ingredients.

It can be breakfast, brunch, lunch, or supper, or midnight snack.

The Ingredients are:

BEANS (anything with bean in the name)

Sharp Cheese

Ribs

[Tiny Tim]

Okay, here we go.  Ingredient pic:



Recipe title:  Tiny's Mac & Cheese with Country Style Pork Ribs and Jelly Beans

Ingredients:  1 box uncooked macaroni, 1 jar cheese sauce, country style pork ribs, 2C pkg sharp cheddar cheese, watermelon jelly beans, lemon jelly beans.

My windows were open, so it felt like I was outside for the duration of this cook, and used the microwave, George Foreman Grill, and Oven.

Half of the macaroni cooked (Microwave with Fasta Pasta cooker):



One of the 4 ribs after grilling:



Rib meat cut and scattered on half the macaroni:



All pasta mixed with meat and sauce:



All ingredients together:



All ingredients mixed together after baking (except jelly beans, they're the garnish):



Money Shot:



Had a couple forkfulls with everything, including a couple jelly beans.  I thought it tasted pretty good, with a unique texture from the beans contrasting with that of the meat and the pasta.  I'd do it again, with or without the jelly beans.

[deb415611]

Bacon wrapped Tamale Stuffed Poblanos (Rib, Black Bean & Cheese filling)




Filling: 
4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 ½ cups shredded rib meat
½ cup black beans
1 tsp rub
2 T diced red bell pepper

Tamale mix:
3 cups masa
2 ½ cups chicken broth
8 oz lard or shortening
1 ½ tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
¾ tsp salt
½ cooked diced bacon (cooked on the traeger)
4 oz diced sharp cheddar cheese
Other ingredients:
12 poblano peppers (or the pepper of your choice)
Bacon for bacon weave (optional)

Smoke the ribs (or you could use any leftover meat)

Prepare the masa filling:
Combine the masa & chicken broth – let sit for approx 20 minutes

Cream the lard using whisk

Add the other ingredients to the masa mix and then add to the creamed lard

Mix the filling ingredients together:

Cut & core the peppers , put a layer of masa on bottom & sides of pepper,  add filing and then more masa on top of the filling


Bacon weave if desired

Onto the Traeger or in the Bradley – I cooked on the Traeger – 1 hour on smoke (~185) and then turned up to 375.   About 35 minutes for the ones without the bacon weave, about 15 minutes longer for the bacon weave


Enjoy

[punchlock]

I Present the Huevos Fattie Benedict

Huevos rancheros fattie, stuffed with sharp cheddar, banana pepper souffle, Elpaso rubbed apple smoked pulled rib meat, bratwurst sausage and refried beans. All sitting atop a 5 year aged sharp white cheddar hollandaise, fresh buttermilk biscuit and topped with tomatillo verde

Well this is most of the team assembled "some of the ingredients were camera shy and I couldn't convince them to get into the shot). You have here 5year old sharp white cheddar, two slabs of pork back ribs, hot yellow banana peppers, Old el Paso taco seasoning, Old el Paso refried beans, two pounds of bacon, two eggs and the shy ingredients were bratwurst sausage and heavy cream.


group picture


These are the pork back ribs rubbed with the taco seasoning and set to season for the night



Banana pepper souffle ingredients minus the heavy cream



Banana pepper all cleaned up and ready to meet souffle mixture



The filling is going in



All going for a ride in the Bradley for a smoke cook



Souffle all done and ready to be wrapped the fattie




The weave of course



the bratwurst stripped of it's casing




bratwurst and sharp cheddar



rolling out the bratwurst



bratwurst meets bacon "ahhh what a beautiful couple"



layer of refried beans



Pulled Elpaso rib meat and the hot banana pepper souffle make their debut along with a little shredded cheddar



All rolled up and ready for smoke




Baked some fresh buttermilk biscuits



One fatttie looking fantastic "if I do say so myself"



Well here is the money shot!

Huevos Fattie Benedict with a white cheddar hollandaise and tomatillo verde served on a fresh buttermilk biscuit




This tasted fantastic and I will definitely do it again. If your not voting for Punch your plain voting wrong!  ;D

[hal4uk]

"HICKORY SMOKED NACHOS"  ;D

Hickory smoked spare RIB meat, pulled from the bones...

Rib meat chopped, along with chopped yellow onion and garlic...

Rib meat, onions, and garlic, cooking down with black BEANS...
(Added ancho chili powder, cumin, smoked salt)

Home-made pepper jack cheese sauce...
(butter, flour, milk and shredded jack cheese with chopped jalapeno peppers)




Also made fresh pico de gallo... and fresh guacamole...
Assembled, with all the trimmings (inluding shredded SHARP cheddar)

[Caribou]

Smokey Cheddar Chimichangas Stuffed with Shredded Smoked Pork, Black Beans & Corn


Ingredients:

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
4 lbs of country style pork ribs
1 lime sliced
1 cup of chicken stock
1 onion diced
15 oz can of whole black beans, rinsed and drained
14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes w/green chiles, medium heat
4oz can of diced roasted green chiles
1 cup of frozen corn, defrosted
6 large jalapeno/cheddar wraps
Mexican-style sour cream
1 tsp salt
5 tsp Penzey's SW Seasoning (salt, ancho pepper, onion, garlic, black pepper,Mexican oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, chipotle and cilantro)
Canola oil for saute and frying


Cold smoke sharp cheddar cheese at least 10 days in advance to let the flavor mature.  I used 4 pucks of apple smoke.

Using 4 tsps of  Penzey's SW Seasoning, rub the pork ribs.  Wrap and let rest over night.

Smoke for 2 hrs of apple smoke at 220F in a preheated Bradley Smoker.

After smoking, place ribs in a foil roasting pan.  Add 1 cup chicken stock and place lime slices on top of the ribs.  

Cover the pan tightly with foil and return to smoker and cook at 220F until they are fall-apart tender.  I cooked mine for 7 hours.

Shred the rib meat.

Combine the black beans, diced tomatoes, defrosted corn in a heavy fry pan.  Add 1/2 salt and 1 tsp Penzey's SW Seasoning.  Heat to a low simmer on the grill.

Heat some oil in a heavy pan on the grill.  When hot add diced onion and cook until soft and slightly browned.  Add shredded pork (I used about 2 pounds of it) and the can of green chiles (with liquid) plus a 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook until the pork is warm and slightly browned.  (that's my assistant cooking ;) )

Remove everything from the heat because now we can build our chimicangas.

Heat each tortilla/wrap in the microwave for 10secs each before filling.  It makes them easier to fold tight.  Place a thick layer of Mexican-style sour cream in the wrap.

Add a layer of shredded pork.

Then a layer of the tomato/corn/bean mixture.

Top with grated smoked sharp cheddar.

Fold the top and bottom part of the wrap in about an inch then rolled the whole chimichanga up.  I built them 4 at a time because that was what I could fit in my pan at one time.

Heat 1/4 inch of canola oil over medium high heat on a grill side burner until it just starts to smoke.  Add the chimichangas and reduce the heat to medium.  Cook until nicely browned on each side.

Remove and top with sour cream, guacamole, salsa...whatever you like.
Enjoy!
Carolyn

[Caneyscud]

Had a Bachelor Weekend - so was able to finally do a turn in for the ICB!  My wife doesn't understand me!  (that's for the sympathy vote)

What's it called:  Yummy

Confit of Beef Short Ribs with Chorizo/Cheddar Gnocchi

Main entree - Beef short ribs marinated in Worcestershire and soy sauces confitted in Olive Oil served atop a lacy (sharp) cheddar crisp
     (1st use of sharp cheddar)

Side Dish 1 - Chorizo/Sharp Cheddar Gnocchi (2nd use of sharp cheddar) topped with a sauce made of heavy cream infused with dried
     figs and coffee beans (1st use of beans) with beef base added. 

Side Dish 2 - Don't know what to call it except maybe Fried Haricots Verts "Raviolii"  (Haricots=beans, Verts=green so for you bean
     challenged individual (you know who you are) - they are green beans).

Garnish - Haricots Verts (fancy name for baby green beans) and a fan of red chili.

The Plate:


Obligatory main ingredient shot:


Marinated the short ribs for several hours and smoked in the Bradley for 1.5 hours.  Transferred to a SS bowl, submerged in olive oil and cooked (no smoke) for 3 more hours.  BTW - the Oil after this cook is terrific smoky tasting.


Gnocchi - boiled a russet potato - mashed then added egg yolk, cooked chorizo, sharp cheddar, and tiny diced red pepper.  Added flour to make a dough, then rolled into rope and cut off 1/2" lengths and added to boiling water until they floated.  Removed them and added to ice water to stop the cooking action. 




Sauce - Infused heavy cream with coffee beans and thinly sliced dried figs.  Strained out the coffee beans and figs, added a small amount of beef base, S&P and reduced a little.


Making Lacy Sharp Cheddar Crisps - easy, but have to be careful not to overcook or undercook!


Fried Haricot Verts Ravioli - Wonton skin, with blanched and trimmed Haricot Verts, moistened edges of wonton, applied top wonton skin and fried in a thin layer of oil in pan.  Sprinkled with Kosher salt.


Plating:

Lacy Sharp Cheddar Crisp


Added the Fried Ravioli


Added the Rib Confit and the Gnocchi


Completed dish
 

[Pachanga]

Tostadas Divorciados
Divorced Tostadas

Featuring

100% Bradley Cooking

Ribs Coated with a Beer Reduction

Blue Corn Tortillas made from Dried Corn Kernels

Sauces made from Dried Peppers and Fresh Hatch Chiles

The Secret to Frijoles Refritos

Bradley Rendered Lard

Divorced by Frijoles Refritos Negro, a blue corn tostada and a yellow corn tostada covering beans and cheese then covered with Carne con Chile Rojo and the other covered in Carne con Chile Verde with various trimmings.

Plating

Divide a blue corn tortilla tostada and a yellow corn tortilla tostada in half.  Garnish with purple and green lettuce.  Place queso fresco on the yellow tortilla and sharp cheddar on the blue corn.  Cover in hot beans to melt.

Cover with the matching half of the tostada and place a generous scoop of beans in the middle.

Fully Dressed Ultimate Tostadas Divorciados

Cover top tostada with Carne con Chile Rojo (Red Chile and Pork sauce) or Carne con Chile Verde (Green Chile and Pork Sauce).  Place a red and a green Hatch chile in the middle.  Sprinkle one side with Queso Fresco and one side with extra sharp cheddar.  Garnish with fresh sliced avocados and garden ripe tomatoes.  Mix pureed tomatillos with the green chile sauce and roasted pureed tomatoes with the red chile sauce for two salsas.  Add fresh garden jalapenos to the verde side and vine ripened sweet serranos to the rojo side.

Most respectable (and Not so respectable) Taqurias in Texas have a common breakfast item on the menu; Huevos Divorciados.    While the recipe may vary somewhat, it consists of two sunny side up eggs on a large plate.  The eggs are separated by a line of black beans and then one egg is covered by a red salsa as is common in Heuvos Rancheros; the other is under a layer of salsa verde (green salsa).  Divorced eggs is the ultimate dish for the man who cannot make up his mind.  Come to think, it kind of reminds you of why a man ends up divorced in the first place.

This dish came to mind when I first read the Iron Chef ingredients.  While I have never heard of Tostadas Divorciados and I think this is an original dish, this is my take on how Divorced Tostadas should be.

A tostada is not just a Tex-Mex dish.  It has its humble beginning in Mexico, where stale tortillas were fried in lard on a cast iron comal.  The crisp tortilla was commonly covered in refried beans and then topped with other tidbits left over from previous meals.  It was quick and easy for madresita and at the same time an enjoyable make your own meal that was filling and got rid of any leftovers in a society where nothing went to waste.

My Tostada Divorciados vision is of the ultimate tostada divided in half, separated by frijoles refritos negro (refried black beans) and also used as base layer.  Subsequent layers of each half would include ingredients of opposing tastes and colors.  A yellow corn tortilla would be opposed by a blue corn tortilla, tomatoes would be matched by avocados, white salty queso fresco would be countered by extra sharp cheddar, green jalapenos would be opposite a sweet vine ripened serrano, purple leaf lettuce would be matched by green lettuce.

The star of the show would be Bradley smoked country style cut pork ribs covered in Mexican spices and mopped with a beer reduction. The ribs are pulled in the middle of the fat and collagen melting process, cut into bite sized chunks, then reintroduced into the Bradley smoker covered in either a green chile sauce made with Hatch chiles or a rich red sauce made form New Mexico dried chiles, Chile de Arbol and Anchos.  This will finish the melting and tenderization process, allowing the juices to blend with the sauces.

One of my self imposed goals in Iron Chef Bradley contests is to attempt to cook everything in the Bradley to increase my knowledge of its capabilities.  While it was not the best use of time and opening and closing the Bradley door often greatly prolonged the cooking process, everything was indeed cooked in the Bradley.  

So take off the cowboy hat, put on your sombrero, grab a drink and join me in the journey.  I present for the first time anywhere – Tostadas Divorciados cooked 100 % in the Bradley.  Recipes, methods and photos follow.

Competition ingredients are Country Style Pork Ribs, Black Beans (above), and Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese in photo below.

Competition and Supplemental ingredients.  Extra Sharp Cheddar,  Fresh Mexican Cheese, Fresh cilantro, Pasilla chile, Ancho Chile, Garden grown jalapeños and red serranos, dried yellow dent corn, dried blue dent corn, Mexican oregano, whole cumin, garlic, roasted hatch chiles, tomatoes, avacados and garden blend lettuce.

Additional supplemental ingredients.  Pickling Lime to prepare dried corn for nixtamal, homemade chicken stock,

sweet yellow onions.

One of the best cooking beers ever.  Used as a beer reduction to coat the ribs and also in the frijoles.

Tortillas de Masa de Maíz (Corn Tortillas from dried ground corn kernels)

If you do not want to be hooked, never try this in the first place.  Nearly all packaged corn tortillas in the states are made with Masa de "Masa Harina": Corn Dough from Packaged Masa Harina Mix.  This makes an acceptable tortilla that we are used to.  In Mexico, even in small villages, a local vendor specializes in making Nixtamal.  This is dent corn (not sweet corn) that has been limed overnignt to remove the outer hull and as a by product releases the niacin in the corn for use in the human body.  Early morning through noon, Mexican women can be seen walking down the street precariously balancing on their heads a container covered with a cloth.  They are on their way to or from the Nixtamal vendor.  Their cargo is fresh ground masa.  It is a daily ritual because of the short shelf life of masa but is well worth the trouble.

Here is an interesting article for those who want to know more.

How Mexico's iconic flatbread went industrial and lost its flavor  

http://www.grist.org/article/masa

The tortillas made in this dish are Masa de Maíz: Corn  Dough from dent corn that has gone through the nixtamalization process, then ground into masa.

Nixtamal: Corn that has been heated and soaked in lime to remove skin
1 pound dried corn kernels, approximately 2 cups
6 cups water
1/2-ounce slaked lime or pickling lime (commonly called cal), approximately 2 tablespoons
Rinse the corn under cool water; drain and set aside.



Place the water and the lime into a 3 1/2 to 4-quart, non-reactive stockpot (seen on bottom shelf of Bradley), set over medium-low heat, and stir to combine. Add the corn and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Make sure that it takes at least 30 to 45 minutes to come to a boil. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from the heat, cover, and allow to sit at room temperature overnight. Do not refrigerate.

After an overnight soak the corn skins will be dissolved and easily removed.

Drain finished the corn in a large colander and rinse under lukewarm water for 5 to 6 minutes while rubbing the corn kernels between your fingers in order to remove the outer coating. Place the corn into a large bowl, cover with lukewarm water, and allow to soak for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, rinse, and repeat. Use the nixtamal immediately to make masa dough for tortillas.

Dry corn well.  Pulse in a food processor or use a corn grinder.  Add a pinch of sea salt during the process to taste.  Some articles proport that masa cannot be ground fine enough in a food processor to produce tortillas.  It is true that you must have a powerful processor and the corn must not have excess water on the exterior to process well.  However, if these two conditions are met, my experience is that a food processor will produce a grind similar to double grinding in a hand crank corn grinder which is the traditional home method.

Ground blue corn.  This needs to be a little finer.  When
finely ground add water a teaspoon full at a time to produce
a dry dough.

Ground yellow corn dough

Blue corn dough ball ready to be pressed  After testing several materials, the tried and true Mexican method of using the thin plastic grocery bags as liners is indeed the best choice (cheap also).  If the masa is too wet it will never separate cleanly from the liner.

Pressed dough ball

Initial cooking of the blue corn tortilla on the heat shield in the Bradley.  Comal Temperature is 400 degrees.  Do not worry about a rustic look.  These are handmade tortillas, not machine perfect.  The taste is unbelievably better.

Turning the tortilla into a tostada by frying in lard.  The Bradley will fry by placing the comal on the heat deflector to achieve high heat.  Fry until crisp.

Frijoles  - Beans

Soak the beans overnight, drain, rinse and sort well, looking for foreign material.

Add all bean ingredients.  Place the beans underneath the
pork to capture drippings.  Simmer until soft.

Ingredients
1 Lb dried pinto beans or black beans
eight slices bacon cut in four pieces per slice
4 Cloves fresh minced Garlic (preferably sautéed or caramelized add 6)
½ Tbs chili powder
½ Tbs Ground Ancho, New Mexico Ground Chili,  Pasilla  or double chili powder
pinch of Epozote or Epozote tea (optional)
½ minced sweet yellow onion caramelized
1/4  bottle of dark  beer
1 Tbs molasses (add sugar to taste near finishing)
Fresh cracked pepper (1 to 2 teaspoon) and sea salt to taste
28 oz Chicken Stock or Broth to just cover (preferably homemade or low sodium Swansons) (finish with Beer)

Frijoles Refritos  (Refried Beans)

The secret to fantastic refried beans is homemade lard.  If the term lard scares you, use bacon grease (still scared), use butter (sigh, still scared), use canola oil or olive oil.

Preheat a cast iron skillet to very hot.  Add three or four table spoons of lard,  throw in garlic and onions.  Caramelize.  (alternately add pre caramelized onions and garlic).  Add precooked very soft beans.  Add green chiles to desired level.  Fry the beans in the oil until they start to break up.  You can assist this with a fork.  Add additional lard to keep the beans creamy and moist.

Homemade Lard

Did you ever wonder why you couldn't duplicate that special flavor from your favorite taquria?  Making your own lard is the only way to go.  The canned stuff you buy at the store is tasteless and unhealthy.  Homemade lard has no transfats and is not hydrogenated.  Lard is made from pork fat.  I recommend calling the store a day ahead and ask them to save their pork scrapes.  Not all grocery stores cut their own pork and they cannot help you but keep trying until you find one that cuts their own pork.  Tell them that you want fat to render lard.  It is not worth messing with if you have less than 10 pounds of fat.

Ingredients:
15 lbs pork fat

The  good news is that the Bradley provides the perfect environment in which to produce lard.  Preheat the Bradley to 200 degrees.  Cut the fat into one inch cubes.  Spread the fat out in a large roaster pan or a stock pot with a lid.  Place in oven for 2 or 3 hours.  Stir periodically.  Occasionally pour the fat through cheese cloth or a funnel and filter used for straining oil.  Continue to cook until all of the fat has been rendered.  Put the fat into clean jars and freeze until ready to use.  You will end up with something that looks like pure white Vegetable shortening but with a flavor out of this world.  Lard will keep for several months in the freezer.  Use this treat in biscuits, tortillas, tamales, carnitas, refried beans, and other dishes for a whole new level of flavor.  

Bonus: The crispy leftover cracklin' like pieces are addictive.  If you have any left after grazing on them, they can be frozen and used as further flavoring in other dishes.

Adobo Chile Rojo - Red Chile Sauce Marinade

Place stemmed and seeded Anchos, Pasillas, and chile de Arbol in cast iron skillet covered with homemade chicken stock.  Simmer for ten minutes.

Add caramelized garlic and onions.  Blend well in a blender.  Add more chicken stock as necessary to blend.

A food mill will separate fine skin and seeds from the paste.

Run mixture through a food mill to produce a  creamy paste.
Add pureed tomatoes to taste. Mix well and pour over pork.

Adobo Chile Verde - Green Chile Marinating Sauce

Peel several roasted Hatch Chiles.  The skin of a properly roasted chile will slip off easily.

A peel and a chile.  The chile will be meaty and flavorful.

Add caramelized garlic and onions.  Add an equal amount of tomatillas.  Blend and pour over pork.

Ribs Mexicana

Season the ribs with sea salt, pepper, Mexican oregano, and whole cumin.

Smoke until the outside browns and firms up.

One Beer Reduced in the Bradley on the Heat Shield

Cover in a beer reduction for moisture,color and flavor.  Place back in the Bradley for further cooking.



Pull the ribs at 170 internal temperature and cut into chunks.  By pulling before the fat and collagen melt, this flavor will trickle into your sauce.



Cover 1/2 in red chile sauce and 1/2 in green chile sauce.  Finish by simmering in the Bradley until fall apart tender.  Add more heated sauce occasionally to keep moist.

What I Learned

It was an interesting and educational process.  While I achieved my goal of 100% Bradley cooking, it was certainly not a prudent use of time.  Opening and closing the Bradley door prolonged the cook dramatically.  Continual addition of cold ingredients did the same.  The photos do not show the platters full of onions, garlic and tomatoes that were necessary to brew up these concoctions.  I did learn the upper limit temperatures achievable in the Bradley.  I was able to get 415 degrees on a cast iron skillet placed directly on the heat deflector.  Removing the water bowl drastically raises the heat factor.  This was certainly enough to fry a tostada.

I was also able to learn better where the optimum levels were for different ingredients and the effects of moving items around.  I did use the heat deflector level to bring the beans up to temperature as well as reducing the beer.  I now have an additional cooking shelf that can come in handy.  I would not regularly cook using all of these methods but I will use some of them.  

All in all, it was worth the time to learn more about the Bradley.  I will be a better smoker for my efforts.

Once again, the Bradley produced an outstanding meal.  

A real Winner.

I hope you enjoyed the pachanga and the smoke.  

Pachanga

[Tenpoint5]

Tiny Tim


deb415611


Punchlock


hal4uk


Caribou


Caneyscud


Pachanga

[Tenpoint5]

Congratulations PACHANGA you are the Winner of ICB VII !!!

I want to thank everyone that participated in this ICB. These have been some of the best entries I have seen entered yet. Well done everyone!!

The first and Second Place winning recipes will be placed on the recipe site for future use. Just allow some time for Habenaro Smoker to accomplish this process. Thanks Habs.

[Caribou]

Congratulations Pachanga!
You earned it...homemade tortillas, from your own ground corn...WOW!
Carolyn

[punchlock]

Congrats Pachanga!

A well executed and presented dish.

[ArnieM]

Congratulations Pachanga.  Really nice plate.  Also, congrats to all of the other entrants.  Some great looking dishes there.

[Ka Honu]

Cool beans (so to speak).

[KevinG]

Congrats Pachanga! About time we knocked the girls off the throne.  ;D