Mastering the Grill_ The Owner's Manual for Outdoor Cooking - Andrew Schloss [276]
TIMING
Prep: 5 minutes
GETTING CREATIVE
• To make Sweet Lime-Cilantro Butter, add ½ teaspoon brown sugar along with the lime zest and juice.
* * *
GOOD WITH
Seafood: shrimp, scallops, any fish
Poultry: chicken, turkey, game hen
Meat: lamb, pork, veal
INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 1/3 CUP)
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 clove garlic, minced
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the butter and garlic in a small skillet until the garlic sizzles; stir in the lime zest and juice and heat to boiling.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro, salt, and pepper.
3. Serve warm as a dip or table sauce.
Salsa Butter
What is salsa but a jar of lightly cooked, already chopped vegetables? To turn it into a super-rich sauce for grilled meat, boil away the liquid and replace it with butter. The butter gives the salsa a velvety texture, and the piquant character of the salsa balances the butter’s richness.
TIMING
Prep: 5 minutes
GETTING CREATIVE
• For the salsa, use Fire-Roasted Tomatillo Salsa or its variation, Grilled Tomato Salsa (both on page 277).
* * *
GOOD WITH
Seafood: shrimp, scallops, salmon, any white-fleshed fish
Poultry: chicken, turkey, game hen
Meat: lamb, pork, veal
INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS)
1½ cups salsa, any heat level
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
DIRECTIONS
1. Bring the salsa to a boil in a small saucepan or skillet, and cook until most of the liquid is gone.
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until the sauce is smooth. Serve warm as a dip or sauce.
Plum Ketchup
It used to be that there were scores of ketchups in the American larder: mushroom ketchup, oyster ketchup, and ketchups made from every kind of fruit imaginable. Since ketchup originally was an Indian condiment akin to chutney, fruit ketchups don’t seem far-fetched. Use this one made from plums as you would tomato ketchup. Think of it as the reemergence of an extinct culinary species.
TIMING
Prep: 5 minutes
* * *
GOOD WITH
Seafood: salmon or any other dark-fleshed fish
Poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, goose
Meat: lamb, beef, pork
INGREDIENTS (MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP)
½ cup plum preserves, preferably damson plums
6 pitted prunes, finely chopped, or ¼ cup jarred prune paste (lekvar)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated peeled gingerroot
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon tamarind paste or concentrate, or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat until the ingredients have blended.
2. Use as a dip or condiment or as directed in a recipe; can be stored in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
Preserved Lemon Relish
Preserved lemons are one of the indispensable ingredients in Moroccan cooking. They are wonderfully aromatic and are one of the only ways you ever get to use whole lemons in a recipe. Both the preserved lemons and this relish made from them will keep for a month or more in the refrigerator. If you can’t find preserved lemons at your local food store, they are easy to make (see sidebar), but they take weeks to cure. You can order several brands of jarred preserved lemons from www.mustaphas.com and other online sources.
TIMING
Prep: 5 minutes
MAKING YOUR OWN PRESERVED LEMONS
If you can’t find preserved lemons in a local market, you can make them yourself.
Makes 1 quart
10 lemons, scrubbed clean Kosher salt
Fresh lemon juice, as needed
1. Cut the tips off the ends of the lemons. Slice into quarters lengthwise, leaving the slices attached at one end. Pack the lemons with as much salt as they will hold.
2. Put the lemons in a sterilized wide-mouth quart jar, packing them in as tightly as