Let's cook: dressings and marinades

I used to marinate hamburger patties with Worchester - I guess that's what the word means. Any, I'd splash some on when I froze a bunch of patties, and it would kind of infiltrate the meat before it froze. Then I found out Worchestershire sauce was made with crushed anchovies. I threw the bottle out in disgust.

Someday, I'll have to tell you how to make a quick and easy spaghetti sauce.

Snarls at Roger's defamation of anchovies (I'm making pasta with clam/butter/garlic/anchovy/slight chile/rosemary sauce as we speak).

Sorry, I make things up as I go along, but I don't add sugar to dressings or marinades. Or maybe I might have once in twenty years or so. But - I'm not very interested in bbq, just like I'm not interested in boston baked beans (my heritage). I turned off of sweet for the most part - I eat those when other people serve them. Except when I like sweet in some desserts.

I'll scour around on links I might have saved.

Marco makes the best soft tacos. I will have to ask him what he uses to marinate the meat, usually it marinates overnight in the fridge. Best taco’s I’ve ever had!

Mrs F makes a very nice mirin , vinegar and toasted sesame seed marinade for chicken and pork strips (she makes a special satay that has a sweet sesame taste accompanying the meats flavor)

My fiance is a Chef, we love Japanese and use Mirin as well with Pork Belly, by placing the pork belly on top of celery, onions and carrots chopped as you would for roasts, placing the pork belly on the top with salt sprinkled and then pour in the Mirin.. Cooking it fast for 15 minutes and then slow heat for an hour or so...

I don't know if Miso is available where some of you are? But, dry roasting sesame seeds and then crushing them up adding that to 2 tablespoons of Miso and 1 tablespoon of soy, 1 of mirin and mixing it through cooked green beans is great also..

I didn't know worchester was made from anchovies -- that probably explains why I like it so much! A hamburger wouldn't be a hamburger without a healthy dose.

I find that for Asian foods that sweet/spicy thing works so good, that's why there is so much sugar and so much chilli paste in the marinades. All that sugar caramelizes when you grill it -- so yummy.

I'll look forward to seeing what you come up with!

I've been working on my marinade for asada so I'll be looking forward to hearing what he uses.

Now that you know better, you can just drizzle on a little A-1 Sauce and slap it around a little, and then let it soak in on a platter or something. A little more expensive, but excellent results.

I use vinegar, sesame seeds and a few other things in my pork marinade but mirin is a new term for me. I'm going to look for it!

My recipe uses sesame oil too which gives a nice flavor to pork.

There's that word again -- mirin!

Where does one buy it? I looked it up -- do you have to buy it from a liquor store?

I can get miso at the Asian supermarket. That green bean recipe sounds divine!

Most Asian stores carry Mirin, well here in Australia... The miso paste on it's own is way strong, but mixed through the beans, absolutely divine

is a pork belly the same as our bacon? We call it slab bacon . Souds neat with the julienes of celery oion and carrot. I spent half a week looking for a juliene gizmo last year and its a little hand held thing. Julieig makes any vegetable a deicacy.

I will get some miso(we have an interational grocery donw i DElaware and we make pilgimages there when we need something special) be it Mexican, Cuban Japanese, Chinese or Thai.
I dont think there are any native Canadian sauces

mirin is sweet but with some complexity

I've used these recipes in the past for marinade inspiration:


MARINADE FOR SHISH KEBAB

Ingredients :
1 1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp. dry mustard
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tbsp. freshly ground pepper

Preparation :
Place all ingredients in an electric blender or food processor with steel blade and blend about 1 minute. Keep refrigerated until ready to use. Pour this marinade over cubed meat for several hours before arranging meat on skewers.

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Mint and Lemon Roast Lamb
Serves 6-8
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 1 to 2 hours

Ingredients

2lb leg of lamb
2 lemons
3 garlic cloves
4 tbsp mint, chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the gravy:
2 rounded tsp plain flour
290ml/1/2 pint vegetable stock
150ml/1/4 pint red wine
2 tsp mustard (English or Dijon)
1 tbsp red currant or cranberry jelly

Method

To prepare: wipe the lamb with kitchen paper, then make about 10 large deep cuts in the flesh with a large sharp knife. Grate the rind and squeeze the juice of one and a half lemons, and finely chop the garlic.
Mix the lemon rind and juice, garlic, mint, oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
Put the lamb in a large food bag (a pedal bin liner is ideal). Pour the mint and lemon mixture into the bag, then rub it into the lamb through the bag. This will save your hands getting messy.
Loosely fold the end of the bag over, and put the lamb in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight if more convenient.
To finish:
Put the lamb in a roasting tin and pour over any remaining marinade from the bag. Add 3 tbsp of water to the roasting tin to help stop the juices burning.
Thinly slice the remaining half a lemon, then cut each slice in half.
Fold the slices in half again and firmly push into the cuts in the meat.
Roast the lamb for 1-11/4 hours for moist pink meat. If you prefer it more cooked, roast for a further 15-25 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a warm serving platter and cover tightly with foil. Leave to rest for 15 minutes while you make the gravy.
Set the roasting tin on the hob over a medium heat. Spoon off any excess fat, then stir the flour into the pan juices, stirring well until it forms a paste.
Gradually stir in the stock, then the wine, stirring all the time until thickened and smooth. Stir in the mustard and jelly and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
To carve the lamb: steady the joint with a carving fork or large fork.
Make the first cut vertically, about halfway down the joint. Cut until you reach the bone. Cut slices either side of this first cut to give you neat slices of meat.
When you have removed all the meat from the top of the leg, turn it over and carve horizontally from the base.

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CACOILA

5 lbs. blade meat

MARINADE:

1 c. white wine
2 garlic cloves, diced
1 lg. onion, diced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp. chopped red pepper
1 1/2 tbsp. paprika
2 goya season packets (adobo)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 c. oil

Wash blade meat. Prepare marinade; let blade meat soak in marinade overnight.
In large pot put oil, meat, and marinade; cook on high, stirring often, for 1 hour 30 minutes or until meat is very tender. You can make sandwiches or serve with roast potatoes and rice and Portuguese rolls. Serves 6.
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Iskender Kebab

2 lbs lamb, cubes
4 large onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
olive oil
2 round pita breads
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 large tomatoes
2 cups plain plain yogurt
4 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons butter
salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
4 large chili peppers

1. First make the marinade for the meat.
2. Place onions in a food processor and process till liquid, discard any remaining onion pulp.
3. Mix salt, pepper, olive oil, and onion juice in a bowl.
4. Add diced or cubed lamb pieces and marinade overnight or for 24 hours.
5. Place marinaded lamb pieces onto a skewer and cook on grill, basting with more marinade until brown and tender all over, approximately 10-15 minutes.
6. While the meat is cooking you can prepare the Iskender plate.
7. Warm pita on the grill on both sides and keep warm.
8. When everything is ready then slice the pita into squares, divide into 4 portions and place as a layer on each plate.
9. Crush garlic with the salt and add into yogurt, mix well, add extra salt to taste.
10. Spoon onto the pita squares just before adding hot lamb kebabs.
11. Cut tomatoes in half and grill slowly until hot, don't overcook, as they will become too soft and soggy.
12. Repeat with the chilli peppers.
13. Mix tomato puree with olive oil and pepper and heat in a small saucepan, add salt to taste, and drizzle over kebabs as it is the meat sauce.
14. Garnish with the grilled tomatoes and chili peppers, and sprigs of fresh dark green parsley or mint.
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Applebee's Tequila Lime Chicken

Marinade
1 cup water
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon mesquite liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup. tequila

4 chicken breast fillets

I'm not sure farmerman, I don't think so... but you can tell me..

I agree, juliene vegetables are fantastic, but here, you are laying the pork belly on top of a bunch of veg, so that the heat is not directly getting to it, it kind of ends up soft and melts in your mouth that way... But, now you've added another idea, juliene veg on top

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I will try to find the miso dish and post it seeing as I've learnt how to post pictures now

Well it appeared I was full of ****. Mirin is just sake with sugar in it. I guess the "complexity" came from the other stuff my wife uses to sauce it up.

Bet it did But, adding a bit of seseme oil, does wonder too

Can't up-load the miso picture but I'll go for the recipe, your wife is a good cook from the sounds of it.

Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup white miso
2 tablespoons ponzu sauce (see cook;s notes)
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds + seeds to garnish
1 teaspoon dark Asian sesame oil
3 tablespoons mirin or cooking sake

Directions:
1) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add beans and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until beans are crisp but tender. Transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking and set color. Drain when cooled.
2) Place rice vinegar, miso, ponzu sauce, ginger, sugar, sesame seeds, sesame oil and mirin in the jar of an electric blender; process until smooth.
3) Transfer beans to a mixing bowl. Drizzle with sauce; toss gently and taste for seasoning. Drain again. Mound beans in a bowl or on a platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve at room temperature. Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from The Ethnic Paris Cookbook.

Cook's Notes: Ponzu sauce is usually available in the Asian food section of large grocery stores. If you cannot find it, use 1 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon lemon juice as an emergency replacement.
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I don't usually add Ginger but I'll try that now