Not Your Mother's Turkey Meatloaf

Meatloaf is such a weird food. You mush all these ingredients together and bake meat into a loaf. And yet, the results are usually very tasty - and in American food culture meatloaf is wildly popular. It is considered to be comfort food. My comfort runs along other lines, such as very hot Thai and Mexican food, or sushi. But, to each her own!

Now disregard this somewhat lopsided intro to meatloaf and read on to my version of a turkey meatloaf that is a little different. I think the result will blow your taste buds out of their torpor!

The turkey, though quite yummy when roasted whole, has little to offer in the flavor department when it is ground up. Therefore, to optimize deliciousness, we need to ADD some flavor.

Generally, meatloaf will  have fillers, such as bread and egg, to help it stick together. For this loaf, we are using no such things. Ground turkey, when cooked, tends to cling to itself, which will give you a good loaf.
Lastly, spinach is a big part of this recipe. You can use frozen spinach right out of the bag. For some reason it works.

Ingredients

1-1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey (not just breast)
1 pound of frozen spinach (IF you do thaw it, squeeze some of the liquid out before using)
1 large onion
3 cloves of fresh garlic OR 1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tbsp whole grain mustard (or any mustard you  happen to have)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (or soy if you don't have Worcestershire)
2 tsp Oregano - crushed in the palm of your hand
Lots of ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 380 F.

Choose a large bowl to mix your ingredients.

Chop the onion pretty fine. Peel and chop the garlic.Place the turkey meat into the bowl and add onion and garlic. Add mustard, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, lots of black pepper, and salt. Now squish it with your (clean) hands until it is fairly well incorporated.

Sprinkle the frozen spinach over the meat mass and squish some more. At this point your hands will get terribly cold, but don't despair. 

When the spinach is incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl and go wash your hands.

Very generously oil your pre-determined loaf pan - we're talking at least 3 tbsp of oil. Make sure the sides are oiled as well. There should be a puddle of oil in the bottom of the pan - don't be alarmed.

Now place the meat mass into the pan by piling it up along the center. Once all the meat is in the pan, and the oil is moving up the sides, you can smooth the top. I like to chunk the top up a bit with a fork. That creates nooks and crannies that brown deliciously.

Place the loaf pan into the 380 F oven for about 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 F and continue to cook for 45 minutes. A total of one  hour.

Your turkey meatloaf will be done if it has pulled away from the sides. There will be bubbling juice all around the perimeter and the top should be browned. Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to sit for about 15 minutes before cutting.

When you cut it while it is still hot, it can be slightly crumbly - delicious, nonetheless. Make sure to scoop up some of those juices!

You can cover and refrigerate the rest. Once cooled, the loaf slices well. It is incredibly good on sandwiches with tomato.

You can also make the same recipe into patties.

Follow the instructions until the hand washing part. With moist hands, form the meat mass into small patties - about 3" diameter. Heat a lot of olive oil in a pan over medium and carefully place the patties in the hot oil. Don't move them at all for about 8-10 minutes while they do their thing over medium heat. Then carefully turn and finish cooking on the other side. You'll get more browning, if course, than with the loaf.

These patties are fairly fragile while hot, but pull together when cold. Also delicious as a sandwich!

As always, I encourage you to get creative. This is a recipe I came up with and it works for me (and those to whom I've served  it).

Give it a try and let me know how it goes! This is a no-carb recipe, if that's how you roll.

Southern Cornbread

How to do it right!

You know what you like. I know what I like. And I like a hearty, crunchy, grainy, UN-sweet cornbread. Rustic. Toothsome. Therefore, when I made Brunswick Stew, I started looking for a decent corn bread recipe. Since my mother is not on this plane anymore, I couldn't ask her. But I drew upon my Alabama genes and this is what I came up with:

I have my momma's square iron skillet - ha! And it is actually designed for cornbread. If you don't have a square iron skillet, you can use a round one. If you don't have any iron skillet, you shouldn't be cooking. Wait - what?

Of course you have heard of using bacon grease in corn bread - and yes, that's yummy. But I came up with a slightly different slant. Not to say you can't use bacon grease, though!

Use coarse or stone ground cornmeal. Supposedly, Southerners only use white cornmeal, but frankly, I've never had white cornbread in my life. So just use the yellow, because otherwise it will look weird. OR... use BLUE cornmeal - yes! It's awesome, and apparently has some pretty nifty nutritional advantages (like non-GMO, no pesticides, etc.)

And finally, you will see I used semolina instead of flour. (If you are in the Daytona area, you can get it at Bravo Market in the Middle Eastern section) I have the medium grind semolina. If you get Bob's Red Mill, it will be fine grind, which is generally used for pasta. The fine stuff will be okay too, if you can't get medium. And in a pinch, you can just use the flour - but it won't be as awesome.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups coarse cornmeal
3 tbsp semolina
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda (make sure it is fresh)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp oil (I use olive)
1 egg
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Directions

Place butter and oil into your square or round skillet (and remember, no skillet... ) ;o) and place it in the hot oven.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir them around with a whisk.

Beat the egg in another bowl and then stir in the buttermilk.

When the butter in the skillet is browning (watch that it doesn't burn), take the skillet out of the oven. Swirl the fat around to grease the sides and pour the rest into the dry ingredients. Stir immediately - don't worry that it is clumpy.

Now add the egg/buttermilk mixture and fold it in with a fork. Stir only long enough to incorporate the wet with the dry.

Do not:

• Beat the batter
• Overmix the batter

Pour the perfectly mixed batter into the hot skillet and pop it in the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the cornbread is brown and pulling away from the sides.

Serve immediately with butter and cane sugar syrup, maple syrup, honey, Lyle's Golden Syrup, or molasses! Yum Yum Yum!

Brunswick Stew

Brunswick Stew – An Exploratory Adventure of Taste

I had Brunswick stew once in my life. It was at my friend Jane’s house, and I completely loved it. Mind you, this was many years ago, but I never forgot the orgy of flavors that unfolded in my mouth.

Fast forward to 2014. I was going to have a house concert with a country singer. What better food to cook for 16 people than something Southern? Brunswick stew popped into my head!

And so began my quest for a good recipe. I Googled “Brunswick Stew” and found all sorts of strange recipes that required several bottles of barbeque sauce, pre-cooked, shredded pork, and other processed foods. This sounded nothing like the stew I had enjoyed years earlier. In fact, it sounded pretty horrible.

Just don't do it.

 

The afore-mentioned Jane was then so kind to send me her recipe, which had been passed down from her grandmother. They are all from Alabama – so bingo! Simultaneously, I received a recipe from a friend’s friend in San Francisco, which apparently was also from the days of yore. Now I had something to work with!

After perusing both recipes (both of which were more suggestions than actual recipes, which is fine with me, since I never follow a recipe anyway), I came up with my own version. Now mind you, I don’t know if I committed some horrible fallacy by southern standards when I added celery, or seasoned the broth – but the end result was pretty damn tasty, and therefore I will share it here with you!

First let me say that the meat choice is pretty much up to you. I’ll tell you what I used, but you can also add beef, or – if you want to explore your deeper southern roots - more exotic meats, such as possum, coon, squirrel, and so forth. 

Also let me mention, you cannot (I mean CAN NOT) make a little bit of this stew. Prepare to either feed the masses or to have Brunswick stew until all eternity.

You will need a very large pot. And no matter how big your pot is, you’ll still wish you had an even bigger one. I used a menudo pot, which holds just under 4 gallons. It wasn’t big enough – but it worked-ish. You can use a huge stock pot or two large pots - though that is a pain.

Finally – make this stew ahead. It definitely improves with age and reheating. 

Ingredients

5 pounds chicken leg quarters

2-3 pounds pork butt

2-3 pounds turkey legs

4 bay leaves

1 tbsp pepper corns

1 tbsp celery seed

4 tbsp salt

5 pounds potatoes

3 pounds onions

8 ribs of celery

2 large cans tomatoes (whole or diced)

1 large can (or two small) tomato paste

1 large bottle of Worcestershire sauce

3 green bell peppers

5-10 jalapeno peppers

1 lb. bag of frozen Lima beans

2 lb. bag of frozen corn

4 cans of creamed corn

Salt and pepper to taste

Hot sauce

Directions 

1. Place all your meats into the giant pot and cover with water. Add bay leaves, pepper corns, celery seeds, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer until meat is done and tender – about 1 hour.

2. Remove the meat and let it rest until it is cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, strain the broth into various containers and discard the solids (pepper corns, bay leaves…). The fat will rise to the top of the broth. With a shallow spoon, skim off some of the fat and discard.

3. De-bone and skin the cooked meats. Shred the chicken and turkey with your fingers. Cut the pork in small cubes. You don’t have to get too precise about it since the cooking process will further dissolve the meats.

4. Add about 2+ gallons of broth back to the (washed) pot. You can always add more later if it is too thick. Use the remaining broth for soup – or whatever. It freezes well. The broth should be well salted at this point. If it tastes a bit too salty, don’t freak out – it will be absorbed by the gazillion ingredients you’re about to add.

5. Peel and dice the potatoes. Peel and dice the onion. Wash, trim and dice the celery. Bring the broth to a boil and add the vegetables. Let them simmer for about 30 minutes; stir occasionally. 

6. Meanwhile, core and dice the bell and jalapeno peppers (cut the jalapenos into smaller dice). When the potatoes are just about cooked, add 2 cans of tomatoes, ½ bottle of Worcestershire sauce, and the peppers. Stir and bring back up to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

7. Add your diced and shredded meats and stir to combine. At this point you want to taste what’s going on in the pot. You might want to add some more Worcestershire sauce and/or salt. But be conservative, since there is more to come!

8. Once the meat is simmering and you’ve tasted your fledgling stew, add the tomato paste. You can put the tomato paste in a bowl and loosen it up with some broth so it will integrate better. Stir it in really well – this might take a while.

The stew will now get thicker. It should have a good tang from all those tomatoes and the Worcestershire sauce.

This is the point at which you can stop. In fact, you should stop. Let the stew cool and then refrigerate overnight (if you can get the giant pot into your fridge).

Note – my pot was completely full at this stage, so I removed about ½ gallon of stew and reserved it in a container for later use. 

 To continue…

Heat the stew to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the stew is bubbly, add frozen the Lima beans and frozen corn, stirring well. Keep heating over medium heat. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Taste the stew and add salt, more Worcestershire sauce, and ½ bottle of hot sauce (optional). In the end, you’ll probably use the entire large bottle of Worcestershire sauce.

Now stir in the 4 cans of cream-style corn. Stir stir stir! The creamed corn is going to totally transform the stew and pull it together. Bring everything back up to a simmer, taste, adjust, and serve!

I let people add their own hot sauce instead of putting it IN the stew. 

This will keep in the fridge for about a week and in the freezer for about a month. If you reheat it, do so slowly. 

This is best served with Southern Corn Bread - drenched in butter and syrup.