6 Recipes to Up Your Summer Hosting Game

Try these tasty dishes from restaurants participating in the Brewery & The Beast festival this Sunday, July 29th

From pork pasta to pork belly, Bourbon barbecue sauce to confit turkey wings and more, these meat-centric dishes from some of the city’s top chefs will impress your guests this season.

 

1. Guanciale Orecchiette

by Pasqual Stufano, head butcher, Two Rivers Specialty Meats

Ingredients

• 1? cups orecchiette (little ears) or your favourite short pasta
• 6 oz/170 g or approximately ¾ cups guanciale or pancetta, diced into ½-inch pieces
• 1 cup mushrooms (shitake, crimini or even button mushrooms work), sliced
• 1 cup Brussels sprout leafs
• Parmesan (for garnish)
• ? cup Italian parsley, chopped
• ¼ cup white wine (optional)
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Core the Brussels sprouts and discard the tough outer leaves. Gently peel away the remaining leaves and cut the centre in half. Set aside.
2. Rinse and dry mushrooms. Slice and set aside.
3. Chop parsley and store in fridge until needed. Cover with damp paper towel.
4. Dice guanciale or pancetta.
5. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling add 1½ tbsp of salt per 1 lb of pasta to the water.
6. While the pasta water is coming to a boil, add guanciale or pancetta to a cold skillet or heavy-bottom pot and gently increase heat. Allow the fat to render down from the meat, essentially frying the meat in its own fat. Be careful not to burn. Once meat is browned and crispy, remove from pan and set aside.
7. Add mushrooms to the same skillet frying gently in the remaining fat from the guanciale. Once the mushrooms are browned and caramelized, season lightly with salt.
8. Drain any excess fat from the skillet. Add cooked guanciale, Brussels sprouts and wine, if using. Let wine reduce by ?.
9. Drain pasta. (Pro tip: reserve a tablespoon of pasta water and add to the mix of guanciale, mushrooms and Brussels sprouts.)
10. Add pasta and parsley to the guanciale and vegetables. Combine well. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
11. Transfer into two bowls and garnish generously with finely grated Parmesan cheese and fresh cracked black pepper.

 

2. Bourbon BBQ Sauce

by Chef Doug Stephen, Merchant’s Workshop

This sauce is great for glazing for on a rack of ribs or desired protein on the BBQ.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp cayenne
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp Mexican chili powder 
• 1 tbsp dehydrated thyme
• 2 cups yellow mustard
• 1 cup ketchup
• ½ cup cider vinegar
• ½ cup Wild Turkey bourbon
• ¼ cup salt (adjust to taste)

Instructions

1. Cook onions and garlic in the canola oil on low to medium heat until soft and almost translucent (about 5 to 10 minutes).
2. Toast dry spices with the onions and garlic by adding to the pot and stirring frequently for approximately 5 minutes—this will smell amazing!
3. Deglaze with cider vinegar and bourbon. This process of adding the vinegar and bourbon helps to pick up any of the bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
4. Add the remainder of the wet ingredients—as well as the sugar and salt—and stir until it is all the same consistency.  Cook on low for about 30 minutes to allow all of the flavours to infuse.  
5. Allow to cool and then purée in a blender.
6. This sauce will keep for up to two weeks.

 

3. Pork Belly with Tasty Paste and Pickled Red Cabbage

by Alessandro Vianello, development chef, Gooseneck Hospitality, Wildebeest

Serves 4 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb pork belly
• Salt and pepper to taste

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Place the pork belly into the oven and roast for about 2½ hours until tender and crisp.
3. Cool and slice the meat into thick strips.
4. Plate the pork belly and garnish with tasty paste and pickled cabbage (recipes below).

Tasty Paste

• 4 cloves black garlic
• ½ medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 oz dark beer
• 2 oz miso paste
• 8 crimini mushrooms
• 2 anchovy fillets (optional)
• 2 oz soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp canola oil

 Instructions

1. In a small pot, caramelize the sliced onions with the canola oil on low heat until dark brown.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. Deglaze with the beer.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and purée in a blender until smooth. 

Pickled Red Cabbage

• ½ head red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Bring the sugar, water, vinegar and salt to a boil.
2. Pour the hot pickling liquid over the cabbage and let it sit for about 2 hours.

 

4. Confit Turkey Wings

by Bryan Satterford, chef and Co-Owner, Juke Fried Chicken, Ribs & Cocktail Bar

These tasty turkey wings can either be deep-fried as they are described below or grilled before being tossed with Nuoc Cham vinaigrette and pickled chilies.

Marinade time: Minimum 4 hours (preferably overnight)
Prep time: 2 to 4 hours
Cook time to serve: 20 minutes
Makes: approximately 16 pieces

INGREDIENTS

• 2 kg turkey wings, with wingette and drumette split (about 8 whole wings or 16 pieces in total)
• 2 litres duck fat or canola oil (enough to cover when frying)
• Rice flour (to dredge)
• Mint, torn and Thai basil
• Peanuts, toasted and crushed
• Sesame seeds, toasted

Marinade

• 1½ tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 28 ml tamari
• 40 ml fish sauce
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped ginger
• 5 tbsp turmeric
• 5 tbsp ground coriander
• 5 tbsp Thai yellow curry powder
• 5 tbsp chilli flakes
• 5 tbsp Szechuan peppercorn
• 5 tbsp mustard seed

Instructions

1. With a mortar and pestle, crush the marinade spices until they are a fine powder.
2. Add garlic, ginger, sugar and salt to the spices and work it to make a fine paste.
3. Stir in the tamari and fish sauce and set aside for later use.
4. Rub the marinade evenly on the wings and allow to sit for a minimum of four hours, preferably overnight.
5. After marinating, rinse the wings with cold water and pat dry.
6. Place wings in a large, high-sided, oven-proof pot and cover with the oil or duck far, whichever you are using.
7. Place the pot in a 300°F oven and cook slowly (confit) until wings are tender but still hold their shape.
8. Allow pot to cool to room temperature before removing the wings from the oil.
9. Chill wings fully in the fridge before frying.
10. Heat canola oil to 350°F using either a counter-top deep fryer or a high-sided pot on the stove.
11. Dredge the confit turkey wings in the rice flour, being sure to cover them evenly.
12. Tap off the excess flour and drop into the hot oil, a few wings at a time, making sure not overload your pot.
13. Allow the wings to fry until they become golden and the center is hot, about 4-5 minutes.
14. Remove the wings from the fryer and place on a rack to allow the excess oil to drip off.

Nouc Cham Vinaigrette Ingredients

• ½ cup fish sauce
• ½ cup Rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp tamari
• 1 Thai chili, minced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

Instructions

1. Place rice wine vinegar, sugar, Thai chili and garlic in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add fish sauce and tamari.
3. Allow sauce to steep and cool before using.

Pickled Chilies

You can use any hot peppers you like for garnishing the turkey wings. Some good medium-heat options are jalapeños, serrano peppers, bird’s eye chilis or Fresno chilis.

• ½ cup chilis, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 35 ml water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Bring vinegar, water, sugar and salt mixture to a boil and pour over sliced chilis.
2. Cover container and allow to come to room temperature on the counter before refrigerating.

 

5. Gy?tan—Japanese-style grilled beef tongue, yuzu kosho, sweet onion and garlic soy sauce 

by Ken Nakano, executive chef of Market by Jean-Georges and Shangri-La Hotel

Ingredients

• Beef tongue
• Salt

Instructions

1. Trim, peel and cut 15 1-cm slices from the centre portion of the tongue, 
2. Score each slice with a cross hatch pattern. 
3. Sprinkle with salt.
4. Grill the beef tongue slices quickly over very hot charcoal.
5. Brush with garlic soy sauce and serve with sweet onions and yuzu kosho (recipes below)

GARLIC SOY SAUCE Ingredients

• 100 ml Japanese soy sauce 
• 60 ml sake
• 25 ml water
• 15 ml rice wine vinegar
• 15 ml salt
• 60 ml sugar
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 thin slice of ginger
• Black pepper to taste
• 35 ml toasted sesame seeds 

1. Place ingredients in a saucepan and gently bring to a boil, simmer very gently 5 minutes.

GARNISH

1. 1 large sweet onion
2. Shave the sweet onion, rinse quickly with ice water then drain.
3. Combine with 50 ml of garlic soy sauce sauce and let marinade 10 min. 
4. Garnish with sesame seeds and 50 ml yuzu kosho (can be purchased from Japanese food store)

 

6. Cabbage Slaw

By Chef Jeff Koop, Mamie Taylor’s

Ingredients

• 1 head green cabbage, thinly shredded
• 1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 10 red radishes, thinly sliced
• 8 green onions, thinly sliced 

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients with 5 tablespoons slaw dressing (recipe below) and a pinch of salt.
2. Toss until fully dressed.

Cumin Lime Dressing

• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients excepts canola oil until combined.
2. In a slow stream, whisk in canola oil until fully emulsified.