Many recipes are too much work and I sometimes like to do almost nothing for a recipe. Call this an anti-recipe. A toasted Blueberry Bagel & Butter for breakfast, just 2 ingredients only.
My wife, Linda, does not like Blueberry Bagels, I don't know why - but I like them. There seems to be a controversy with sweetened Bagels like Cinnemon-Raisin and Blueberry. You can read about it here.
I had a memorable visit to a touted NYC bagel joint called Ess-a-Bagel. Boy are the bagels tasty and so may varieties and toppings. Check out my slideshow below.
I get my Bagels cheaply at my Ralphs Grocery Store in the bargain bin. Now they may be a few days to a week old, but when I toast them they are still soft and chewy in the middle and crusty on the outside.
Butter is expensive, but you only need a thin, small slice per toasted half.
I'm new to the Blueberry Bagel and I liked them at first bite. Now, I do think the typical use of onion and tomato is a slice topping too far, though.
I like them with cream cheese or butter. Anyway, in the video below is how I enjoy a toasted Blueberry Bagel with Butter.
Blueberry Bagel & Butter - VIDEOPlay it here. The video runs 1 minute, 10 seconds.
My latest recipe is a lighter version of Mexican-style Pork Carnitas. I often look for Pork Carnitas being slow-cooked by street vendors, like Leo's Taco Truck, in a Los Angeles alley or sidewalk. I just pull over and get in line for a luscious Carnitas taco after being on the town late at night. Hey, with my easy-to-make Mexican Cola Turkey Carnitas recipe, you can cut in line and have a taco or burrito anytime!
I flavor my Turkey Carnitas with orange and lemon juice, too. So make sure to reserve some of the simmering sauce to pour on the turkey meat just before serving.
I know there are some of my visitors who have dietary restrictions against pork products, so this recipe is for you. So all my Jewish and Muslim readers can now enjoy authentic L.A. street tacos, right at home.
For my recipe, I use two dark meat drumsticks, that weigh about a pound each. They are often on sale and as cheap as chicken. For extra-tender and juicy Turkey Carnitas, dark-leg meat is the way to go, you can use thigh meat or even turkey wings. For Turkey Carnitas during the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays, the sales are on full blast!
This recipe is made with a bottle of Mexican cola. You can use any cola really, but I would stay away from diet - what you are looking for is the cola flavor with real sugar sweetness. And use freshly squeezed, pasteurized, or frozen orange and lemon juice.
I use garlic powder and dried onion, but you can use fresh veggies if you like. I get my spices and dried herbs at the local Dollar Tree and 99c only Stores. So between dollar store spices and poultry sales that's a lot of dinero staying in your pockets!
Click on any photo to see larger.
I first noticed Turkey Carnitas in cafeteria-style heating bins in the deli section of my local Latin market. And they are not cheap at about $7 per pound, so I decided to just make some myself.
Latin market Turkey Carnitas
Theirs seems to be drier than my fresh-made, but that could be the result of hours under heating lamps - which do give Turkey Carnitas an extra crispy edge. To get that I just bake some cooked meat in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to get some crunchy bits.
I flavor Turkey Carnitas with typical spices and herbs thatPork Carnitas also use. The most important ones are cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Extra spices include thyme, bay leaf, and chopped or dried onion - so if you don't have those, it's okay to leave them out.
The trick is to slow-cook or braise the turkey legs in the water and/or broth for 2 to 3 hours until tender. With Pork Carnitas, pork shoulder is used which has fatty skin and marbling. They are slow-cooked in their rendered fat, for that luscious flavor.
My Turkey Carnitas are lean and mean since there is little fat in turkey legs. I do leave the skin on, but you could take it off. Since turkey is much more pungent than pork, this helps make up for the extra fatty flavor you get with typical Pork Carnitas. And two turkey legs will feed the whole family!
Flour and corn tortillas are cheap these days, too. All I do is add a little oil to a pan and heat them up for a minute - stack them on a plate and cover with a paper towel to keep warm.
You can use your favorite jar of salsa for your taco topping. If you like your tacos gringo-style then chop some tomato, and iceberg lettuce, and open a bag of shredded cheddar cheese. Or kick it up a notch and click on any of the following salsa names to get my homemade recipes: Roasted Salsa Verde (tomatillo,) Red Chili (2 dried types - but the same recipe,) Pico de Gallo, Mango, and anAvocado Crema.
My cheap$kate recipe is easy to make, just turkey legs and a few spices and herbs that are slow-cooked so all you need is a little patience, and the payoff is big time. And I use dried herbs and spices, so you don't even have to chop anything. Hey, if you don't like sugary cola then leave that out too!
So if you're looking for a dish to serve at your next taco party then try out my Mexican Cola Turkey Carnitas. Let your guests do all the work and build their own. Just set out some chopped onion, cilantro, and your fave salsa, oh, and kick it up a notch with some sliced avocado.
2 Turkey Legs - about 2 to 3 pounds total. Okay to use thighs or wings. Use a turkey breast too, although it's a bit drier to my taste.
1 Mexican Cola - 12 ounces. Okay to use any bottle or can of your favorite cola.
Orange Juice - 1/2 cup store-bought, frozen, or fresh-squeezed.
Lemon Juice - juice of 1 whole lemon.
Oregano - 1 teaspoon dried or fresh.
Dried Onion - 1 tablespoon. Okay to use a 1/2 chopped onion.
Dried Garlic - 1 tablespoon. Okay to use fresh chopped garlic.
1 Bay Leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Directions
Add turkey legs to a large pan or pot, over medium heat. I leave the skin on. It renders very little fat, but it's okay if you want to remove it.
Pour in orange juice and Mexican cola (or a regular cola.)
Sprinkle on the dried oregano, onion, and garlic.
Salt and pepper to taste, or about 1/4 teaspoon salt and half teaspoon pepper.
Add the juice of a lemon or lime.
On your stovetop, bring the cooking pot to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce heat to a low simmer and cook covered for 2 - 3 hours until meat separates easily with a fork.
You are cooking the Turkey Carnitas so the broth reduces and intensifies and the meat becomes flavorful.
Check every hour or so, and add water, orange juice, or Cola, if it cooks out, but it's okay for the liquid to reduce by half for an intense "pot liquor" to drizzle over the finished Mexican Cola Turkey Carnitas.
Rotate the meat a couple times during simmering so all sides evenly cook through.
Done when meat is fall-apart tender. Use a fork to see how easily turkey flakes off the bone.
Traditionally Carnitas are chopped or shredded and piled into flour or corn tortillas. When you peel turkey from the bone, look for small fine bones and chewy cartilage to remove.
For serving, just take turkey pieces and chop them into small 1/4-inch pieces. You could also do the "pulled pork" method of using 2 forks to pull the tender chunks apart to shred.
Drizzle on some of the "pot liquor" or broth if you are storing the Cola Turkey Carnitas to serve later. Or if you are keeping it warm in the oven, make sure to drizzle on plenty, so cooked meat stays moist.
The above method is the easiest way to make Carnitas. Outdoor sidewalk vendors cook it similarly in a large pot or pan filled with pork shoulder and thick skin, intestines, tongue, and other parts, slow cooking for hours in the rendered fat and broth. And when you order, the cook just plucks out a hunk of meat and chops it into small pieces to pile on a warmed corn tortilla. The main difference here is way less fat and grease!
You can top Cola Turkey Carnitas Tacos with my Pico de Gallo (recipe here,) or simply with chopped onion and cilantro. Go Americano with your favorite salsa, iceberg lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheddar cheese.
For a Cola Turkey Carnitas Burrito, add some of my Mom's Mexican Rice (recipe here) with a heated can of pinto beans or my Homemade Mexican-style Pinto Beansalong with the above-mentioned chopped veggies. If you have a favorite salsa then use that...and don't forget the hot sauce!
Roasting for Crispy Bits
This is a lean way. Just add the larger chunks of tender braised turkey to a roasting pan and bake for about 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
To keep the Turkey Carnitas extra moist add some of the broth to the roasting pan, just enough to barely cover the bottom.
You just want to lightly brown some of the turkey pieces for crunch. Don't worry about all the small boiled bits, just add them to the larger roasted pieces and chop them up altogether.
St. Patrick's Day is the time to dress in green and put on your yarmulke? That's if you're combining the cuisines of the Emerald Isle and the Promised Land. And you'll feel like you've found that leprechaun pot o' gold at the end of the Western Wall when you try my luscious Jewish recipes using Irish Corned Beef, that's now on sale this week, just like the loaded deli classic Corned Beef Sandwich pictured below.
I like traditional Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage and it's easy enough to make, but for the money, I like my Corned Beef between 2 slices of rye and topped with a cabbage Coleslaw, Jewish deli-style. So just keep on reading to see my tasty recipes below for Deli Corned Beef and Homemade Pastrami.
Easy Corned Beef Recipe - VIDEO
If you didn't notice, this week is the time for cheap hunks of Corned Beef -- starting at $1.69 per pound! I usually clear out my freezer for this St. Patrick's Day beef celebration and stock up on a few Corned Beef briskets. They freeze well and I like to smoke them during my patio summer cookouts.
Traditional Irish Corned Beef and Cabbage is easy to make. Boil the whole Corned Beef brisket for about 3 to 4 hours until the meat is tender. Next, remove the corned beef and cook chopped cabbage, carrot and potatoes in the salty broth. I like to dump half the brine/broth as it's very salty and replace it with regular water. When the veggies are tender, return the corned beef to the pot to reheat. That's it, just pile on your plate a thick slice of Corned Beef with tender veggies. Check out my video below.
Our most famous deli in Los Angeles is Canter's Deli on Fairfax Boulevard. They are especially known for Pastrami and Corned Beef Sandwiches.
For their 60th Anniversary at this location, they served Corned Beef on Rye Sandwiches for 60 cents! If you don't believe me, then just watch the video below as proof positive.
Canter's 60c Corned Beef Sandwich- VIDEO
Last summer I threw a Pastrami Sandwich Party that featured a Reuben and Rachel Sandwich. What takes these sammies over the top is that they are grilled in butter on rye bread grilled with melty Swiss Cheese...sooo gooood.
A Reuben Sandwich is stacked with Pastrami or Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut, and Russian Dressing (of course you can substitute with mustard.) Sour to the nth degree, Sauerkraut ignites smoky Pastrami and pungent Swiss Cheese on Rye Bread into an explosive flavor bomb.
Reuben Sandwich- VIDEO
A Rachel Sandwich is toasted the same as a Reuben but substitutes Sauerkraut with Coleslaw. Both sandwiches share Russian Dressing, which is easy enough to make - just a mix of mayo and ketchup.
Rachel Sandwich- VIDEO
And if you have any meaty leftovers then add them to a caloric breakfast scramble of Eggs and Pastrami or Corned Beef (my recipe is a click away here.)
Now, if you really want the wildest use of leftover Pastrami then go no further than the next video, on the making of an Oki Dog.
It is basically a Burrito with hot dogs, cheese, chili, and pastrami. Yes, it's a cholesterolic artery-clogging tortilla-wrapped depth charge that will literally take your breath away. Just watch the video below to see it being assembled (and click here to read its Japanese origin story.)
Oki Dog with Pastrami - VIDEO
In my Homemade Pastrami Recipe Videolink here, I show you how to brine a beef brisket in the refrigerator for a week. But if you buy a package of Corned Beef, you can skip that stage and go right to cooking it like in the video below.
So keep scrolling down to see my Corned Beef and Pastrami recipes (you can also click here to see more Pastrami Recipe photos and text.)
Keep an eye out for that yarmulke-wearing leprechaun with a tzitzit under his green jacket. If you catch him to make sure one of your 3 wishes is one of my delish dishes.
This St. Patty's Day post is all about the beef. So stock up on Corned Beef and get to cooking. You can be sure that the Blarney Chef is not full of it this time - these are some of my best and favorite recipes.
Easy Homemade Deli Pastrami - VIDEO
Play it here. Video runs 2 minutes 42 seconds.
Ingredients for Corned Beef and Cabbage
1 corned beef - I use cheap point-cut corned beef on sale. They usually weigh 3 to 5 pounds. You can follow package directions for cooking corned beef.
1 whole cabbage - chopped. They have a tough root stem you can remove, but it will tenderize. I only remove if it's discolored brown and extra tough.
1 carrot chopped - You can add another carrot or two, depending on the size. Sometimes I like more veggies.
2 red potatoes chopped - You can boil red potatoes whole, but they will take an extra half hour to cook. Okay to use white or russet potatoes. Also, add more potato if you like.
Water to cover corned beef - When corned beef is cooked, taste broth for saltiness, if too much then replace half the broth with freshwater and taste again.
Directions for Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned Beef is a thick and tough piece of meat, so you need to low boil it for about 3 to 4 hours until tender. Time will vary depending on the size of the whole Corned Beef. Mine was about 4 pounds. Cheaper cuts of Corned Beef can be fatty, is so it's okay to trim off some of the fat.
You can follow Corned Beef package cooking directions. Usually, you cover Corned Beef with water, about 5 cups worth. Most times you have a small packet of spices and herb included, so open and empty the contents into the water.
In a large pot, bring the Corned Beef in water to a boil, lower to a low simmer or low boil and cover the pot. Cook about 3 to 4 hours. Check on the pot every hour or so to make sure liquid does not cook out, and add more water if needed. It's okay if the liquid cooks out by half, this will make an intense broth for the veggies.
After about 3 hours you can chop the cabbage, carrot, and potatoes.
When the Corned Beef is done, remove it and set it aside. Taste the broth to see how salty it is. More than likely it's too salty, so pour out half the broth and add an equal amount of freshwater. Now taste to see if the broth is milder. Repeat this step if necessary to reach your desired flavor.
Once the broth meets your tastes, then add the chopped veggies. Bring to a low simmer, cover the pot and cook veggies for about 20 minutes.
If you like crunchy cabbage, then cook carrot and potato first, about 15 minutes, then add chopped cabbage. Cook until cabbage reaches desired crunchiness, usually 10 minutes or so.
Finally, return the cooked Corned Beef to the pot with veggies and let it reheat for about 5 minutes.
This is a one-pot meal, so just slice off hunks of Corned Beef and serve with the cooked veggies.
When slicing the Corned Beef for sandwiches make sure to cut across the grain of the meat. Of course, you'll want to try out a slice to see how yummy it is. Notice the lean meat and its rosy color inside.
For a Deli-style Corned Beef Sandwich just add mustard to rye bread. Layer on your favorite cheese, corned beef, and coleslaw. From a 2.67 pound of corned beef brisket, I made 3 sandwiches. I served them to my ex-NYC neighbor Deb and she raved about how delicious it was. I hope you will like it too!
Directions for Cooking Easy Pastrami Recipe
Remove corned beef from the package and follow the cooking directions.
Typically you add corned beef to a large pot with a cover and fill it with water to just above the meat. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low simmer, cover and simmer for at least 3 hours. Check on it from time to time to make sure the water doesn't cook out (the water can cook out by a third, that's okay, as the meat will continue to steam.)
When finished boiling, remove the meat and set it to drain. Make a dry rub to coat the meat for smoking. Mix the pepper and coriander and coat all sides of the brisket.
Dry Rub Ingredients for Smoking
1 tablespoon ground coriander - they are the tan brown seeds in the herb package that normally comes with corned beef. You can sometimes find ground coriander in grocery spice racks, too.
2 tablespoons of ground black pepper - okay to use less. Sometimes black pepper can overpower everything, but I like my pastrami that way.
Wood chips for smoking the pastrami in a BBQ grill -- about 4 cups.
Now time to smoke it. You mainly need an outdoor grill with a cover. I have a 2-burner gas grill. The object is to smoke the meat with indirect heat. That is, place the meat as far away from the flame as possible. The meat is already cooked, so you just want to smoke it at this stage. If you have a simple outdoor charcoal bbq grill then build a fire way off to one side.
The flame is under a pan of wood chips. You could even loosely wrap a large handful of chips in aluminum foil and place them over hot coals or a gas flame.
Depending on how large and hot the flame source is, the wood chips should start smoking in a couple of minutes. When the smoke starts, place the boiled brisket as far away from the flame as possible and cover the grill tightly.
Check every 10 minutes or so and replace the wood chips with fresh ones as they cook away if needed. I smoked my pastrami for an hour. Even a half-hour of smoking will give the Corned Beef great flavor and create a crunchy crusted Pastrami.
In the hour of smoking, I had to replace the blackened wood chips a couple of times. The meat will still heat up and brown, even away from the heat.
If you are using a coal-burning grill your smoking time may be shorter, as they often burn hotter than a more controllable gas grill (about half an hour of smoking?) The length of time it takes for the wood chips to stop smoking is all the time you really need.
After the pastrami is smoked, place it on a cutting board, slice across the grain, and make a big fat Pastrami Sandwich - your way!
