Kickin in the afterburners in the morning... another SHC ramble

[schrodinger_hated_cats]

So I set out to make pico de gallo yesterday evening so I could use up some tomatoes that were rapidly going south (heh, no pun intended!). Had the tomatoes, and gathered some nice fat jalapenos and some cilantro from the garden, chopped up some "honion"... started to chop the tomatoes, only to have them turn to juice on the cutting board. This is not conducive to making nice chunky pico as I like it, damn. Then I set to chopping the peppers. I love hot peppers as y'all probably figured out from previous posts, and I was looking forward to a nice spicy jap. Ahhh!!! What a rip! These japs were TAME, no heat at all! I've had bell peppers that were more exciting!

What to do, what to do? Plan B... turn the tomatoes into salsa and just grab some small, green habaneros for some heat. I mean, the habs are green, they can't be THAT hot... can they??

WOOT! WOOT! WOOT!

Uhhh... yeah, they were toasty-- and they weren't even full grown yet. SWEET! Remember, though-- these aren't standard habaneros. They are Red Savinas, the record holder for the hottest pepper until 2007... aren't they pretty?

(Really, they are gorgeous as they go through their ripening cycle, changing from green to yellow/orange/coral/some unearthly neon-red-orange that's just stunning, before turning fire-engine red. Fabulous even as an ornamental if you can't handle the heat!)

Okay, so I made a very crude salsa... didn't even bother to peel or seed the tomatoes or the peppers, except for the habaneros. Hell, the jalapeno seeds were small and immature anyway, and the tomatoes were just way too gooey to fuck with too much. So, the salsa has texture. That's a nice way of saying that it's seedy as hell... but oh well. Sauteed the onions and the cilantro, threw them into the now-mashed tomatoes, added lime juice, the minced green habanero and japs and other seasonings and simmered it for a while, then put it in the fridge and let it all sit overnight.

Okay-- to the point: I just made some scrambled eggs and tortillas, and I used the salsa to flavor them up. Took a bite... WOW. HOT damn! I'm awake now! That's some gooood shit!

Am I the only crazy nut here who likes hot salsa first thing in the morning?? :laugh:

 

[Archibald Nixon]

Didn't we used to have a fairly popular cooking thread around here somewhere?

 

[missmanners]

not a foodie thread


mm

 

[schrodinger_hated_cats]

So I'm a foodie?

Well, you may be right there... :laugh:

Hey, I love good food and I love to cook. Nowadays, the house specialty is "Food Stamp Gourmet"... gee, I know just the person to have join this thread if I can pull him away from the ghey circle jerk over at Troll Valhalla long enough (actually it wouldn't be me, since I haven't been over to that dive in over a month)

Hey Aquehonga, tell FatBasted to get his ass over here-- this thread has his name written all over it! op2:

 

[schrodinger_hated_cats]

Ahhh... yet another use for those Red Savs.

From the warped and twisted mind of schrodinger_hated_cats, I present yet another original recipe. Enjoy!!

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SLOW COOKED SMOKEHAUS BRISKET (Note: all ingredient proportions are very approximate and to taste!)

3 lbs. flat-cut beef brisket
2 bottles Shiner Smokehaus beer (* not widely available-- see sub instructions)
2 cups ketchup
1/4 c. yellow mustard
1/4-1/2 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
"several tablespoons" molasses
2 tablespoons Louisiana-style hot sauce
generous dash soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. white vinegar
chili powder
few dashes fresh-ground black pepper
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons liquid smoke
2-3 Red Savina habaneros (or 4-6 regular orange habs... smaller and not quite as hot), minced very fine.

If you can't find Shiner Smokehaus beer in your area, use a dark lager or bock style of beer instead and add 1-2 teaspoons of liquid smoke to make the marinade

DIRECTIONS: Pierce the brisket lightly with a fork and marinate for at least 24 hours in the fridge, using one bottle of the beer in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Turn the meat every 4-6 hours, or as often as you remember. The next day or when ready to cook, pour off the beer marinade, pat the meat as dry as possible, and place it fat-side up in a crock pot/slow cooker. Cook on high for one hour to lightly sear the meat. Combine the second beer and all other ingredients to make the sauce, using a blender or electric mixer. Pour just enough sauce over the meat to cover it, and turn the heat to LOW. Let cook 8-10 hours on LOW heat.

Meanwhile, slowly cook the remaining sauce on the stove over low heat for about an hour, until the sauce simmers. Be sure to stir it frequently to prevent sticking-- after all, there is molasses and brown sugar that can caramelize. This is your side sauce.

After the meat has slow-cooked all day, remove it and some of the pot juices from the slow cooker. The meat should fall apart and be extremely tender. If you've never eaten brisket before, it will look "stringy", but after long cooking, it will be "TENDER".

Now, you can eat this concoction "now" in all its fatty, greasy glory (delicious!), or even better-- put it up in the fridge with the pot juices. The fat will harden on the top of the juices and you can easily spoon it off in the morning. I usually eat this brisket the next day. Just spoon off the fat, heat the meat and pan juices in the oven to serving temperature, and serve with the leftover sauce that you cooked up yesterday. Yes, you will probably have extra side sauce after you have eaten up all the brisket. This is a regular barbeque sauce that also works great on pork or chicken as well as beef.