Pumpkin

Sous vide lamb backstrap

Posted by Gary

Hello dear reader

How are you this week? I had a fabulous week. Spiritually, personally, and professionally, it’s been a great week.

It’s been a weird week weather-wise in Canberra. Some days have been warmer than expected, and other days it’s been windy and cold. My gut is telling me we’re really into the autumn run and temperatures and humidity are about to plummet.

Sous vide lamb backstrap with pomegranate, mint, and coriander pumpkin mash plus curry roast cauliflower

Ingredients

  • Lamb backstrap (eye of the tenderloin)
  • Salt
  • White pepper
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Ground cardamom
  • Ground rosemary leaves
  • Ground nutmeg
  • Ground coriander seeds
  • Fresh coriander leaves
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Frozen pomegranate arils
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Sour cream
  • Vegetable oil
  • Olive oil
  • Cauliflower
  • Curry powder

Instructions

  1. Go to the supermarket or butcher and buy a piece of lambstrap.
  2. When you get home dry the surface of the meat with absorbent kitchen paper.
  3. In a small bowl or ramekin make a spice mix with the salt, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, rosemary leaves, nutmeg, and coriander seeds. I mix with chopsticks because I’m Asian. 😉
  4. Pour the spice mix onto a small tray and then season the meat by pressing the meat into the spice mix and cover the entire surface.
  5. Place the seasoned meat into a vacuum bag and vacuum slea the bag.
  6. Store the meat in the refrigerator for a few hours. Overnight storage would be better, but it’s not essential.
  7. When it’s time to cook, turn the oven on to 180 °C (fan forced).
  8. With a Chinese cleaver cut the pumpkin into chunks about the size of a squash ball or perhaps a little smaller.
  9. With a paring knife, trim the stalk of the cauliflower but don’t remove it. The stalk is good. There’s nothing wrong with a firm stalk, it’ll be fresh and good to eat. If the stalk is limp then it’s probably not very good and no amount of paring will help.
  10. Pour a little vegetable oil into the palm of your hand and rub your hands together and then rub each piece of pumpkin. Place the pumpkin onto a baking sheet.
  11. Pour some oil over the cauliflower. You’ll need more oil because of all the added surface area on the cauliflower. Rubbing it on with your hands will help but don’t be stingy with the oil.
  12. Sprinkle a generous amount of curry powder over the cauliflower and rub it on the cauliflower to smooth out any oily lumpy bits.
  13. Put the cauliflower on the baking tray next to the pumpkin chunks.
  14. Cook the vegetables until you can penetrate the pumpkin with the tip of a sharp paring knife and it slides in and out without any resistance. It should feel tight and not loose. Loose and sloppy means you’ve gone too far.
  15. Heat the water bath to 55 °C (131 °F) and cook the lamb for 40 minutes.
  16. Remove the lamb when it’s finished cooking.
  17. Remove the meat from the vacuum bag and dry the surface with absorbent kitchen paper.
  18. Heat a cast iron skillet and wipe the hot surface with some rice bran oil and sear the lamb.
  19. Let the meat rest while attending to the vegetables.
  20. Place the hot pumpkin into a bowl and mash them roughly with a fork.
  21. Mix through some sour cream to make the mash a little more creamy.
  22. Slice the meat to the thickness you desire.
  23. Smear the mash over the dinner plate and place the slices of lamb on one side of the mash. On the other side, garnish the mash with some roughly torn mint leaves and coriander leaves. Add some pomegranate arils which will add a lovely sweetness to the mash. I think pomegranate arils also add an amazing visual appeal. It’s almost sensual. I wish I had got some dried flower petals to add but I didn’t want to drive to Kingston to buy some.
  24. Place the roast cauliflower on the plate.
  25. I would use a decent steak knife with this meal rather than a standard dinner knife.
  26. Give thanks to the Lord.
  27. Enjoy the meal.

How was the meal?

This dish was inspired by my girlfriend. She loves pomegranate and last weekend we enjoyed a slow-roasted lamb rump served with a pomegranate and mint salad. That dish was superior to what I cooked tonight. The slow-roasting process produces firmer yet still tender flesh. It also had more flavour through the meat itself.

The seasoning I used was distinctive and I could taste it with each mouthful but I think I prefer last weekend’s rump over the backstrap.

All that said, this was still pretty good and I’ve sequestered half of it to the refrigerator for another meal.

Final thoughts

  • Do you like pemegranate arils in a dish?
  • How thick do you like to slice your meat?
  • How was your week?
Sous vide lamb backstrap with pomegranate, mint, and coriander pumpkin mash plus curry roast cauliflower
Sous vide lamb backstrap with pomegranate, mint, and coriander pumpkin mash plus curry roast cauliflower
Sous vide lamb backstrap with pomegranate, mint, and coriander pumpkin mash plus curry roast cauliflower

Pastry covered pressure cooker beef brisket and roast pumpkin

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Well, here we are. It’s the middle of January. The days are warm, and the lovely La Niña has kept me moist. Oh, La Niña, how I wish you’d stay forever. That said, I’m sure those experiencing destructive floods do not find La Niña attractive.

Dark clouds over Lake Ginninderra
Lake Ginninderra

Last week I bought myself a couple of large lumps of beef, and I’ve been enjoying leftovers each day. I still have a good-sized chunk of brisket, and I wondered how to finish it off.

Beef Brisket Green peppercorn sauce
Beef Brisket Green peppercorn sauce

I haven’t been out most of today because of work, so I thought I’d put together some random things for dinner. I had store-bought puff pastry in the freezer, so I thought I’d wrap the brisket in the buttery goodness.

I massaged the brisket with mustard and coated it with pepper for extra flavour. I lined the pastry with some chopped onion and parsley. 

Ingredients

  • Leftover beef brisket which has been cooked in a pressure cooker
  • Parsley
  • Onion
  • Mustard
  • Black pepper
  • Puff pastry
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Rice bran oil
  • Marmalade
  • Rocket
  • Walnuts
  • Feta
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Instant gravy

Instructions

  1. Get all the refrigerated items out.
  2. Cut the pumpkin into chunks and massage with oil and marmalade.
  3. Put the pumpkin onto a baking sheet and put it into a moderate oven.
  4. Remove the pumpkin when a sharp probe can penetrate it easily and slide in and out of the flesh.
  5. Allow the pumpkin to cool.
  6. Rub the brisket with some mustard. It doesn’t really matter what type of mustard you use. The mustard is being used to bind the pepper to the meat. Mmm…mustard makes me want a pickled gherkin in my mouth.
  7. Grind some black peppercorns and spread them on a plate.
  8. Gently roll the meat in peppercorns and coat all the sides and the ends.
  9. Chop some parsley and onion together.
  10. Prepare the pastry as per the instructions for use.
  11. When the puff pastry is ready, line the surface with the parsley and onion and then wrap the pastry around the meat.
  12. Seal any gaps and brush the surface with melted butter and sprinkle some coarse salt over the buttered surface.
  13. Put the brisket into the oven and cook until the pastry is golden brown. 
  14. Pull the meat out and let it rest.
  15. While the beef is unlikely to be moist like a slow-cooked piece of brisket, it will be tender given it’s already been cooked in a pressure cooker.
  16. Add the pumpkin, crushed walnuts, feta, and rocket to a bowl. Douse with a little EVOO and season with some salt.
  17. Slice a nice thick slice of meat, add it to a plate, and pour gravy over it. Add the salad on the side.
  18. Give thanks to the Lord and inhale the meal.

Thoughts

The supermarket shelves are still a bit random. The last time I looked, there was no chicken, minced meat, and a scarcity of snags. Like last week, there were many good-sized pieces of beef and lamb ready for roasting or slow-cooking.

Leaving the current wave of COVID-19 caused by SARS-COV-2 Omicron Variant aside, life has been good. Work is busier than ever, and non-work life is going very well.

It’s good to be happy and being hopeful.

This meal was pretty good. The meat cut easily and on the tooth, it was tender yet firm enough to keep its body. The marmalade was fantastic on the pumpkin.

Final thoughts

  • How’s life for you?
  • Do you prefer your meat to be soft and moist or a bit firmer, chunkier, and better feeling between your teeth?
  • What’s the coming week hold for you?
  • Puff pastry Pressure cooker Beef brisket
  • Pastry covered pressure cooker beef brisket and roast pumpkin salad
  • Pastry covered pressure cooker beef brisket and roast pumpkin salad

Pressure Cooker Brisket

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I’ve never cooked brisket in a pressure cooker before. I’ve only ever done it in a slow cooker. 

If I can cook something in the slow cooker, why can’t I do something in the pressure cooker?

At first, I thought I might be my usual lazy self and dump the entire lump of meat into the autoclave and just let it rip. Then, I thought, since I’m in lockdown, why not be a little more creative.

So using a Japanese meat cleaver, because that’s how I roll, I cut the brisket into large bite-sized (if you’re greyhound) chunks and roll the beef in flour and then ‘brown’ the floured meat off.

To keep it authentically unhealthy, I used beef dripping in the skillet to brown the floured brisket.

During the next week, I will eat the leftover chunks of brisket for lockdown dinners.

Pressure cooker brisket with potato, pumpkin, and cauliflower.

Ingredients

  • Beef brisket (1 kilogram)
  • Flour
  • Beef dripping
  • Red wine (1 cup)
  • Beef stock (1 cup)
  • Potato (1)
  • Brown onion (1)
  • Barbecue sauce (½ cup)
  • Worcestershire sauce (¼ cup)
  • Pumpkin
  • Cauliflower

Instructions

  1. Sharpen the meat cleaver and think about Proverbs 27:17 (Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another). A sharp knife is a beautiful thing.
  2. Slice the brisket and dice the meat into large chunks.
  3. Put some flour into a bowl and coat the pieces of beef one at a time.
  4. Place the floured meat into a tray.
  5. Heat a skillet and add some beef dripping until it’s hot.
  6. Add the floured chunks of meat and brown the surfaces. Be careful not to overcrowd the skillet. You want the surface of the meat to fry and not steam.
  7. In the pressure cooker, add the beef, brown onion, spud, and all the flavouring ingredients from the list apart from the pumpkin and cauliflower. 
  8. Seal the pressure cooker and cook for 45 minutes.
  9. Rub some oil over the pumpkin and cauliflower and put them into a hot oven until you can penetrate each of them with a sharp paring knife and not feel any resistance.
  10. After the pressure cooker finishes, allow the pressure to equalise and open the lid.
  11. Remove the meat and place all of it into a container apart from a few chunks for dinner.
  12. Serve the brisket with cauliflower, pumpkin, and spud.
  13. Give thanks to the Lord and enjoy the meal while listening to a sermon podcast from a good preacher.

Final thoughts

The brisket tasted pretty good. It had a good mouthfeel and flavour. Cooking the meat in a pressure cooker was pretty easy. I think setting and forgetting in a slow cooker would be just as good.

What’s happened this week?

The biggest news is that Canberra went into COVID-19 lockdown. We have cases linked with the outbreak in Sydney, which has now spread across many regions in New South Wales.

The saddest news was reading about the death of my favourite teacher at school. If you have Facebook, you can read what I wrote here. I am pretty sad about the death of Mr Stephenson; he was a fantastic teacher. Good teachers are what we need for our young people.

If you want to connect with me on Facebook, feel free to send me a friend request. 

The best things this week included dinner with friends from church and reconnecting with an old friend. 

Stay safe, friends.

  • Beef brisket
  • Brisket sliced with a meat cleaver
  • Brisket sliced and cubed with a meat cleaver
  • Floured cubes of brisket
  • Beef dripping
  • Beef brisket frying in beef dripping
  • Beef brisket frying in beef dripping
  • Browned beef brisket
  • Roast Pumpkin
  • Pressure cooker brisket with potato, pumpkin, and cauliflower.
  • Pressure cooker brisket with potato, pumpkin, and cauliflower.

Beef short rib fingers and lentils with roast Tabasco flavoured pumpkin and cauliflower, smothered with gravy

Posted by Gary

Good evening dear readers.

It was a busy day with work, so I sat at my table while the slow cooker did its thing.

Coles Beef short rib fingers

Ingredients

  • Beef short rib fingers
  • Lentils
  • Beef stock
  • Red wine
  • Barbecue sauce
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Cauliflower
  • Pumpkin
  • Tabasco sauce
  • Instant gravy

Instructions

  1. In the slow cooker, add the lentils, red wine, beef stock, a good squirt of the Worcestershire sauce, and a few good squirts of the barbecue sauce.
  2. Cook for 8 hours.
  3. Place the pumpkin and cauliflower onto a baking sheet and rub olive oil over each.
  4. Squirt Tabasco sauce over the pumpkin and cauliflower.
  5. Cook the cauliflower and pumpkin in a hot oven for 45 minutes until a sharp paring knife penetrates both vegetables with no resistance.
  6. Plate up the beef on a dinner plate, add a few spoonfuls of the lentils, and then add the pumpkin and cauliflower on the plate.
  7. Serve with instant gravy.

Final thoughts

  • How are you going?
  • What do you think I’ll do with the leftover beef and lentils?
  • Coles Beef short rib fingers
  • Pumpkin and cauliflower ready for roasting
  • Beef short rib fingers out of the slow cooker
  • Beef short rib fingers and lentils with roast Tabasco flavoured pumpkin and cauliflower. Smothered with gravy.
  • Beef short rib fingers and lentils with roast Tabasco flavoured pumpkin and cauliflower. Smothered with gravy.
  • Beef short rib fingers and lentils with roast Tabasco flavoured pumpkin and cauliflower. Smothered with gravy.
  • Beef short rib fingers and lentils with roast Tabasco flavoured pumpkin and cauliflower. Smothered with gravy.
  • Beef short rib fingers and lentils with roast Tabasco flavoured pumpkin and cauliflower. Smothered with gravy.
  • Beef short rib fingers and lentils with roast Tabasco flavoured pumpkin and cauliflower. Smothered with gravy.

Lamb rack roast and roast pumpkin

Posted by Gary
Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.

Ingredients

  • Lamb rack
  • Kent pumpkin
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Sesame oil
  • Olive oil
  • Chilean spice rub

Instructions

  1. Dice a kent pumpkin and, in a mixing bowl, rub the pumpkin with some olive oil, salt, sugar, sesame oil, and Chilean spice rub.
  2. Spread the pumpkin on a baking sheet and put it into a moderate oven for about 45 to 50 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle salt, sugar, and Chilean spice rub onto the fat of the lamb rack roast.
  4. Cook in a moderate oven until the internal temperature reaches 55 °C.
  5. Allow the lamb rack roast to rest for about 10 minutes.
  6. Carve the roast and plate up with the pumpkin.
  • Lamb rack roast
  • Chilean Spice Blend Mapuche Spice
  • Lamb Rack Roast—Uncooked
  • Lamb Rack Roast—Cooked
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Lamb rack roast with roast pumpkin and gravy.
  • Meatermade Lamb Rack Roast Graph