Steak “Auld Reekie” over Crispy Tatties & Neeps

So hold on a second here! We’ve still got a couple of days til we get to Burns Night. For all of you folks who missed my last posting (it’s still up so you could just take a peek now…) Sunday January 25th is the birthday of Robert Burns, the National Poet of Scotland. On that night folks throughout the world will remember him and celebrate with a Burns Night Supper. I just gave you a great Scottish dessert recipe (Dundee Cake with Hot Whisky Marmalade…take a look…you know you want to…) and I just couldn’t resist throwing another recipe into the mix this year – Steak Auld Reekie over Crispy Tatties & Neeps. I’m just imagining the big question mark a lot of you must have hovering over your faces right now. Anything “old reekie” doesn’t sound very appetizing huh? And what the heck is “tatties & neeps” right?!!  So let me explain.  Reek is the Scots word for smoke, not for something horribly stinky as you might have imagined. Auld Reekie was the nickname given to Edinburgh back in the day when it was full of smoke from all of the open coal fires burning in the city. Steak Auld Reekie is not then some putrified filet, but it is rather a classic Victorian dish of fried steaks with a cream and smoked cheese sauce. Get it….smoked cheese gives the dish that lovely smoky taste which is reminiscent of smoky old Edinburgh from back in the day. And of course it has a bit of Scotch whisky thrown in for good measure.

Now Tatties & Neeps are simply Potatoes and Turnips (also known as Swede or Rutabaga). Haggis with Tatties & Neeps are the quintessential dishes served at a traditional Burns Night Supper. The Tatties & Neeps in that case are prepared similar to chunky, roughly mashed potatoes. Since I was not going to be serving Haggis (I actually like it…) but Steak Auld Reekie I decided to do a variation on the traditional Tatties & Neeps. I grated the potatoes and swede, formed them into a panko crusted pancake and fried them to a crispy golden brown. Now I made the pancakes fairly large, 5″ – 6″,  so that I could serve the steaks and sauce on top of them. However, you could make smaller sized patties if you wanted to serve them as a side dish, perhaps with a little dollop of sour cream and Coleman’s mustard.

I will warn you, the whole process of making the Crispy Tatties & Neeps was messy. It is really challenging to work with those raw pancakes and I also found it difficult to just leave them be once I had gotten them into the frying pan. I wanted to keep poking at them and checking the bottom. Don’t do it! They need 5 minutes undisturbed! Fooling with them simply makes them fall to pieces and you’ll end up with a pan of hash browns, which I guess isn’t really a bad thing at all, but likely not what you’re going for here. Of course it’s always nice to have an escape route should kitchen disaster strike…”Yeah…we’re having Steak Auld Reekie and Tatties & Neeps Hash!” So this Sunday don’t forget Scotland’s favourite son. I’ll leave you with a little snippet of a toast written to Rabbie Burns by Stewart Archibald of Ballater, Scotland:

His name still ranks amongst the best fae the bonnie Scottish shores, His words they still work wonders and open mony doors, So as we gather here the nicht lets toast the Ayrshire man, Fa maks us friens thru troubled times in far flung foreign lands. Pit doon yir fags, get on yir feet and raise yir gless up high, Let’s toast and hope his name lives on, till a’ the seas rin dry.

“RABBIE BURNS”

Steak Auld Reekie with Crispy Tatties & Neeps

• Servings: 4
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Steak Auld Reekie from:  Rampant Scotland: Traditional Scottish Recipes

Fried Tattie & Neeps inspired by: Epicurious

Steak Auld Reekie

Ingredients:

• Four 8 oz (250 g) fillets of Aberdeen Angus Steak
• 4 Tablespoons Scotch Whisky
• 13 fluid ounces (350g) heavy cream
• 4 oz. (125 grams) grated smoked cheese
• 1 oz. (25 g) butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Grill or pan fry the steaks to your preference and keep warm. Pour whisky into a pan (the same one if you are pan frying a sauce pan if you are grilling) and flambé. Add cream and grated cheese and bring to the simmering point. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce has been reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the butter. When ready to serve, place steaks on top of Crispy Tatties & Neeps panackes and pour sauce over the steaks.

Crispy Tatties & Neeps

Ingredients:

• 1 large russet potato, washed and peeled
• 1 yellow turnip or rutabaga
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 cup Panko
• olive oil for frying
• sour cream and spicy mustard

Directions:

Grate potato and turnip. This can be done by hand or with a food processor. (Lazy me choses the processor every time). In medium bowl combine grated potato and turnip with onions, chives and egg. Mix together.

Heat oil in a skillet. Form tennis ball sized portions of the potato/turnip mixture, using an ice cream scoop and then compact it a bit more with you hands. Transfer potato turnip ball to one hand and with the other grab some of the panko. Place the potato/turnip ball on top of the held panko. With your recently freed hand grab more panko and press down over the top of the potato/turnip ball. Gently place it in frying pan. Push down on ball with a spatula to flatten into a 5″ – 6″ pancake. Now here is what might be the hard part for some of you folks. Don’t touch it for about 5 minutes. Once the 5 minutes has passed and it is golden brown on bottom, turn pancake over and cook for about 5 minutes. Transfer to ovenproof platter and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining portions.

Enjoy!

Steak Auld Reekie with Crispy Tatties & Neeps brought to you by: Runcible Eats (www.leaandjay.com)

Bacon Wrapped Guinness & Cheddar Meatloaf

So here I go…wrapping more things up in bacon. Yup…you’ve got my number by now. One might think that if I’m not drowning it in booze, I’m wrapping it in bacon! And this wonderful St. Patrick’s Day offering of Bacon Wrapped Guinness & Cheddar Meatloaf allows me to do both! That’s right, I’ve taken that old comfort food standard, meatloaf, and added some smooth, malty Guinness Stout and Irish cheddar into the mix and wrapped it all up in bacon.

I didn’t think meatloaf could get any better, but I was wrong! I must admit, I’ve had some dreadful, tired old dry meatloaf in the past. And serving meatloaf did go out of fashion for a while. Though recently I’ve noticed it has made a comeback. I’m happy to say that I’ve been seeing it featured on the menus of several hot and trendy restaurants. But I’m not nearly as happy to see it as my husband is. He loves meatloaf and once he spies it on a menu, you pretty much can guess what he will be dining on that evening.

So he was beyond happy when this amazing meatloaf meal showed up right on our own table. The beef and pork mixture is very tender, the earthy Guinness infused mushrooms are perfection and well…then there is the bacon. It is amazing! Not only does it infuse the meat with wonderful salty, bacon-y brilliance but it also serves to keep it very moist and juicy. No chance of dry meatloaf here! The original recipe called for a sweet Guinness-y glaze as well. I chose not to add it because we aren’t really into putting a sweet glaze onto our meatloaf. Sometimes even the standard ketchup is a bit too much for us. We don’t want one thing to interfere with the flavour of all of that meaty bacon-y goodness, so we left it out. But I know there are plenty of ya’ll  out there that do have a sweet-tooth and would love to glaze it up, so I’ve included the recipe for it here. For us that glaze seemed a bit like gilding the lily!

Well folks, there you have it…beef and pork, wrapped in more pork and infused with Guinness. Served up with a big old helping of mashed potatoes and washed down with a pint or two…or so…You can’t go wrong with this Bacon Wrapped Guinness & Cheddar Meatloaf for your St. Patrick’s Day feast!

Bacon Wrapped Guinness & Cheddar Meatloaf

recipe adapted from: Galley Gourmet

yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

For the Glaze: (Glaze optional – I did not use it)

• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) stout beer, such as Guinness extra stout
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons honey

For the Meatloaf

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 8 ounces Portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 cup (8 ounces) stout beer, such as Guinness extra stout
• 4 ounces quality white bread (about 2 slices of white bread), roughly torn
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 2 extra large eggs
• 3 ounces Kerrygold Reserve Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 12 ounces sliced bacon, about 12 strips

Directions:

For the Glaze
In a medium saucepan, bring the stout, brown sugar and honey to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool; set half the mixture aside.  Reserve remaining glaze for another use.

For the Meatloaf
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat.  Add the onion and saute until softened and just beginning to brown, about 6-8 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened. Add stout and simmer briskly until almost dry, about 4-5 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl and let cool until just warm.

In a shallow dish, soak the bread in the milk, tossing once, until soggy but not falling apart, about 5-7 minutes; set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, add beef, pork, and soaked bread and process until well-combined, about 10 (1-second) pulses.  Transfer meat mixture to bowl with cooled onions/mushroom mixture.  Add eggs, cheese, parsley, Worcestershire, salt and pepper; mix with hands until thoroughly combined.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, then a sheet of parchment paper.  Transfer the meat mixture to the sheet and form into a 9×5-inch rectangular loaf.  Drape the meatloaf with slightly overlapping strips of bacon, tucking the ends under the loaf. Brush the top of the meatloaf with half of the glaze (if you are using the glaze).

Bake until an instant read thermometer registers 160° F in the center of the meatloaf, about 45-50 minutes.

Remove the meatloaf from the oven.  Place the oven rack 6 inches from the broiler element and preheat the broiler.  Brush the remaining glaze over the meatloaf (if you are glazing) and broil until the bacon is browned and crisped, about 2-3 minutes, checking and rotating to make sure the glaze doesn’t scorch.  Using two large spatulas, carefully transfer the meatloaf to a cutting board and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.  Cut into 3/4 to 1-inch thick slices.

Enjoy!

Smithwick’s Beef & Cheddar Pies

Mmmmm….meat pies! I know lots of folks out there get real worked up about sweet, dessert-type pies. But around here, we’re all about the savoury meat pie. And we pretty much swoon for any type of meat pie whether it be pot pies, pasties or empanadas. We love them all. As if you couldn’t tell. Just look back at my recipe archive and you’ll find quite a few. But I’ve got to let you guys in on a secret…so far these are our favourites! I don’t think I’m supposed to pick a favourite. It’s sort of like parents not having a favourite kid (or should I say not “admitting” to it). Well, just don’t tell the other pies, but this Smithwick’s Beef & Cheddar Pie recipe can do no wrong in our eyes.

Now I will say that these pies do take a bit of planning to get them done properly. You should allow yourself two days. I suppose you could throw them together in just one day. But why would you want to put all that pressure on yourself. With a wee bit of planning ahead, you’ll be much less stressed and have superior tasting pies.

So, here’s the plan of action I recommend. Day one – make the beef and ale filling. First step is browning the beef. Browning not only gives the meat a much more appealing colour, but it also boosts the flavour. This is followed by a long cooking time. You just let that browned beef simmer away with all of those spices and that Smithwick’s Ale broth for a good 3 -4 hours.

Not only will the beef be incredibly tender, but all those flavours will have time to come together and really intensify. If you are in a rush at this time you can move right along to making the crust and assembling the pies, but if you can wait, that beef filling will taste much better after an overnight rest in the refrigerator. And just think, your work is done for the day – on the pie front anyway. You should kick back and have a pint or two.

And as for that crust… well, that was the huge surprize for me in this recipe. Whenever I have made a shortcrust in the past, I have had to cut chilled butter into a flour mixture, add liquid – in my favourite recipe a mixture of vodka and water, form the dough – handling it ever so gingerly – and then let it chill in the fridge for at least an hour, if not overnight. This recipe introduced me to a new way of making pie crust and I must say I am absolutely loving it. It is much less fussy. You just melt butter in a bit of water, add some flour until a dough forms and there you have it. How easy is that! You roll it out and bake it right away. No waiting time. Done in a jiffy! And the crust is just perfect for these pies, buttery and tender yet substantial enough that you can pick a pie up and move it around without it completely crumbling into a heap.

I was able to make eight of these little pies with this recipe, which fed the husband and I for four meals. I served them up with a lovely green salad on the side and we never got tired of them. And once you make them and taste that tender beef in a tangy sauce, spiked with gooey sharp cheddar, all wrapped in a buttery pastry crust, I think you’ll see why they hold the most-favoured pie status with us. Comfort food at its best!

Smithwick’s Beef & Cheddar Pies

recipe adapted from: Mel’s Creative Corner

yield: Eight 4 – 5″ pies

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil plus more for browning beef
• 2 1/2 lbs. of beef brisket, cut into 2-3 inch pieces ( beef chuck will work fine as well)
• Salt
• Ground pepper
• Flour for dusting
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 stalks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 cups of Smithwick’s Ale, roughly 12oz bottle (or your favourite craft beer ale can be sub’ed in)
• 1 cup of beef stock
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper 
  
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• 6 sprigs of Thyme
• 4 ounces Irish Cheddar, grated

Pastry:

This recipe makes enough pastry for eight of the 4- 5″ pies. 

• 3 sticks of butter
• 1 1/3 cups of water
• 5 cups of flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• sea salt, for sprinkling over top

Directions:

Heat oil in large dutch oven, sprinkle beef with salt and pepper, dust with flour and cook, in batches, 3-4 minutes each side and set aside

Heat oil  and sauté onions, celery until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste, beer, vinegar, beef stock, sugar and spices to pan. Bring to a boil. Add beef back to pan.

Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and cook for 3 -4 hours or until tender.

Remove beef to shred and then return to pan.

For pastry and pie assembly:

Place butter and water into a sauce pan over high heat and bring to a boil

Remove from heat, stir in flour and salt until smooth dough forms. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Roll out pastry dough (roughly ¼ inch thick) and line your pie pans, make sure you save enough dough for later to cover the pies. Divide beef among the dishes. Top with grated cheddar.

Roll out remaining dough to cover pies. Make sure to adhere the pie crust together by pressing a fork along the side of the pie dish.

Cut a small slit on the top of the pies

Brush the top of the pies with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 400°F  for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!