Big Door Burger

Big Door Burger on Brioche Roll
This one comes from my buddy Mike at the Warehouse Bar and Grill in Savannah, GA.  I was there last week and had this unbelievable burger.  It was juicy and delicious.  The one that I had was topped with cheddar cheese, onion ring and barbecue sauce.  The one pictured above has goat cheese, arugula and a horseradish aioli.  Obviously, you can put whatever you want on it, but I will give you the recipe for the burgers and the rolls.

Burger:

• 5 lbs 80/20 Angus chuck roast ground to a medium grind
• 5 oz. Sweetwater 420 Pale Ale
• 3 oz. Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tbsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1 tbsp granulated garlic
• 1 tbsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and portion out to desired size.  Place each burger in individual bags and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.  Cook on flat top or in cast iron skillet do desired doneness.  Steam melt the cheese by pouring in an ounce or two of the beer and covering.  Serve on Brioche Roll (recipe follows).

Brioche Rolls:

• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp yeast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 cup warm skim milk
• 1 egg plus 1 for eggwash
• 1 tbsp melted butter

Mix all ingredients in a mixer with a dough hook until it forms a ball.  Roll in melted butter and set aside in a glass bowl covered with a dish towel for two hours.  Form into ten individual balls and place on parchment paper on a baking sheet. cover again and let rest for thirty minutes.  Brush the tops with the eggwash and cook in oven at 350 for 12 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Beer and Brisket Chili

After being entered in several Chili competitions over the last year or so, I decided to concoct this variation while at the beach with my family.  The brisket gives the chili a great texture.  The braising in the chili sauce allows it to still taste like chili and not texas style smoked brisket.  The italian sausage component was something I picked up from Vic the Chili Man during my last competition.  Enjoy!





Beer and Brisket Chili

1 lb. Hot Italian Sausage casing removed
1 5-6 lb Beef Brisket
16 oz. Oatmeal Stout Beer
4oz. brewed black coffee
1 medium onion
8 cloves Garlic
2 Habanero peppers
2 jalapeno peppers
3 28oz cans whole tomatoes blended
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of sugar
Kosher salt
Cracked Black Pepper
Granulated Garlic

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees
- In a dutch oven brown italian sausage until cooked thoroughly and remove to paper towel lined plate
- Season Brisket with salt, pepper, chili powder and garlic powder and rub into the meat.  Use reserved sausage fat and add olive oil as needed.  Sear brisket on all sides until well browned and remove from pan.
- Add onions and peppers (Chopped very fine) and sautee 8-10 minutes over medium heat and add salt and pepper
- Add garlic and sautee another 2-3 minutes
- Add beer to deglaze pan, scraping brown bits from bottom of cooking vessel
- Reduce liquid for about 8-10 minutes to allow alcohol to cook off.
- Add Coffee and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add tomatoes, spices, hot sauce and worsteshire sauce and bring to a simmer
- Add Sausage and Brisket back to sauce, cover and place in oven for four hours
- At this time, the brisket should be fork tender
- Skim fat off of the top, shred brisket and serve

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients
Flour, granulated garlic, salt and pepper to coat chicken
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
3/4 cup olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
10 to 12 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
3 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced into 1/2-inch strips
1 cup dry white wine
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chicken broth
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with their juice, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 to 3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Directions

Place the flour, granulated garlic, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and coat the chicken pieces, shaking off any excess. Heat the oil in a large saucepot over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken in batches and fry until golden brown on all sides. When all the chicken has been cooked, set it aside. Add the onions and peppers to the pan and cook until it turns golden brown. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until they release most of their liquid. Add the garlic and saute until the vegetables are soft, approximately 6 minutes.
Add the wine and let reduce for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt oregano and tomato paste. Return the chicken to the pot and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the fresh basil just before serving.
Serve over pasta or rice.

Beer Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients

8 boneless beef short ribs

1 spanish onion-julienned

10 cloves peeled garlic

1 C sherry vinegar

½ C Worcestershire sauce

2 C Nut Brown Ale

2 C veal stock

½ bunch thyme

6 branches fresh rosemary

3 fresh bay leaves

2 Star Anise

½ C honey

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Salt and Pepper Short Ribs and brown in a large dutch oven coated with olive oil

2. Remove and set aside

3. Add onions and saute with salt and pepper for about ten minutes

4. Add whole garlic cloves and continue to saute for about 2 more minutes

5. Add beer and deglaze the bottom of the dutch oven and allow to reduce for about five minutes

6. Add the sherry vinegar and continue cooking for five more minutes

7. Add veal stock and remaining ingredients except the honey

8. Return the meat to the pot and bring to a simmer

9. Cover and place in oven for 2 hours

10. Remove cover and return to oven for 40 more minutes

11. Remove meat and place to the side.

12. Strain the sauce and return to pot

13. Add honey and allow to reduce for about 20 minutes over medium heat

14. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve

Coq Au Vin

Yesterday was Easter Sunday and after a lovely church service with my beautiful wife and two sons, we came home and I began to prepare this elegant dish with my son Joe.  We had my mother-in-law, Patricia and her gentleman friend, Bob over and it turned out very well.  It was a lot of work but well worth it.  If you want to impress some guests and have some time on your hands, this is a good choice.  I made some fresh tagliatelle pasta and tossed it in brown butter.  The recipe is as follows:

Coq au Vin

Ingredients:

1/4 pound pancetta
4 1/2 to 5 lbs of chicken, cut into 8 pieces, legs, thighs, and breasts with bone and skin on
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
All purpose flour for dredging (about 1/2 a cup)
Olive Oil

2 parsnips, roughly chopped into large pieces

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped into large pieces
1 large yellow onion (about 8 oz.), roughly chopped into large pieces
2 carrots, roughly chopped into large pieces

1 can tomato paste

1 can whole tomatoes, pureed
½ cup brandy
One 750-ml bottle Pinot Noir
6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1 bay leaf

3 branches of fresh rosemary left whole
4 sprigs of fresh thyme left whole
Flat-leaf parsley
2 cups chicken stock

The garnish
10 oz. pearl onions

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound fresh button mushrooms rinsed and left whole
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350

1. Place the pancetta in a cold, large Dutch oven or other heavy lidded braising pot, set over medium heat, and cook the bacon, stirring often with a slotted spoon, until well browned and crisp on the outside but with some softness inside, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. 2. Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

3. Rinse the chicken pieces with cool water and pat dry with paper towels. Season on all sides with salt and pepper . Spread the flour in a wide shallow dish (a pie plate works well), and dredge half the chicken pieces one at a time, pacing each one in the flour, turning to coat both sides, and then lifting and patting lightly to shake off any excess.

4. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the rendered pancetta fat in the pot and place over medium-high heat. Ease in the dredged pieces of chicken, skin side down, without crowding.  Continue to brown the chicken until it is golden brown, turning with tongs.

5. Remove the chicken and set aside.  Add the onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, and garlic and sauté for 7-10 minutes over medium heat or until they begin to soften and are flecked with brown, about five minutes.

6.  Add the brandy and deglaze pan with it scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and allow to reduce for about five minutes.

7. Add the wine and allow the alcohol to cook off and the liquid to reduce about ten minutes or so.

8. Add the tomato paste and stir to smear the paste through the vegetables. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and rosemary raise the heat to high, and bring to a simmer.

Stir in the reserved pancetta and add the chicken pieces back to the dutch oven and bring to a boil. Cover and place in oven for 1 hour.  Uncover and continue to braise for about 10 minutes.

 Meanwhile, while the chicken braises, cook the garnish. Sauté onions and mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat with salt and pepper until they are soft.

Remove from oven and gently remove chicken pieces and set aside.  Strain the liquid and leave behind all vegetables and herbs.  Skim the fat from the top and place back over the stovetop over medium heat.  Melt two tbs butter and whisk with 2 tbs sifted flour and whisk together.  Whisk mixture into sauce and reduce by about 50 percent.

Arrange chicken pieces on a platter and ladle some of the gravy over the top.  Toss the onions and mushrooms in some of the gravy and serve on the side.   Bon Appétit!

Lee’s Award Winning Chili

Ingredients

3lbs Shaved RibeyeSteak
3lbs Ground beef 80% lean

1 lgYellow Onion

6 cloves Garlic

2 Jalapeno peppers

½ can chipotle peppers

2 Habanero peppers

1 Can of Spicy Rotel

4Cans Whole Tomatoes (Blended)

2 cans Black Beans

3 TbsChili Powder

1 tsp Paprika

1 TbsCumin

3Bay Leaves

1 tsp crushed red pepper

Salt and Pepper to taste

Process

Chop onions and peppers and saute in oil over medium heat for about ten minutes with chili powder, salt and pepper.

Add in garlic and continue to saute for 2-3 more minutes

Meanwhile brown the beef in a separate pan with a little chili powder

Set meat aside and drain partially (about 50%)

Add tomatoes and beef and bring to a simmer

Add remaining spices and reduce heat

Simmer for one hour and add beans

Continue to simmer on low heat for three hours

Remove bay leaves and serve