Meat | The Slow Carb Foodie

April 10, 2011

Slow Carb Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

This recipe for stuffed mushrooms makes an awesome main course served with stir-fried veggies or great nibbles if you’re throwing a party. The recipe is made with ground pork, which I think works best, but for those who don’t eat pork, you could make it with ground chicken or turkey as well.

The recipe was inspired by a recipe in Jane Kennedy’s “OMG! I Can Eat That?” It was intended to be an appetizer done with shiitake mushrooms, but I had quite a few portabellas on hand that were in danger of going “off”, so improvise I did. If you’re making these mushrooms as a meal where each person will have their own, I’d stick with the portabellas. If you’re looking to create “finger food” for a party, the shiitakes would be great.

Serves 6

Ingredients- filling

6 Portabella mushrooms (or 24 shiitake mushrooms)
½ lb ground pork mince
4 green onions (or “spring onion”, in other parts of the world)
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 Tbs olive oil or macadamia nut oil

Ingredients- sauce

2 Tbs soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
Squeeze of lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F/200C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Prepare the mushrooms by cutting off the stems and placing them on a tray. If you’re using portabellas, you may want to scoop out the insides. I didn’t because I was feeling lazy, but you’ll notice that by leaving them in, you get some brown mushroom liquid sloshing around.
In a large bowl, combine the pork, green onions, garlic, chilli, white pepper and sea salt. Divide evenly into your mushroom cups.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place each mushroom, filled-side down, in the pan and cook for a few minutes until the tops turn golden. Turn and cook on the other side for two minutes.
While the mushrooms cook, make the dipping sauce by mixing soy sauce/tamari, sesame oil, chilli and lemon juice. Set aside.
Remove the mushrooms from the pan and transfer to the baking tray. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

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March 18, 2011

Bacon Cups – Slow Carb Party Food

These little bacon cups from Not Martha are absolutely adorable and look delicious. I have to confess, I haven’t made this recipe yet (we don’t have the “right” kind of bacon in Australia so I probably won’t make them until I make it back to the US.) Nonetheless, I want to share the recipe anyway knowing how hard it is to make Slow Carb Diet friendly food when you’re entertaining and want to appeal to a crowd.

Who doesn’t love bacon, right? With Easter is coming up in a few weeks, and I could even visualize popping a halved hard boiled egg inside making a cute little Easter basket.

If you do try out this recipe, please send me a comment and let me know how it is.

Here’s the link again:

http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2008/02/27/bacon-cups/

February 13, 2011

Slow Roasted Puerto Rican “Pernil” Pork Shoulder

I found this recipe in a roundup of NY Times “Minimalist” recipes. I cooked the pork a bit longer than the recommended 3 hours, and it was flavorful and tender, as expected from a cut of meat that cooks for hours over a low heat.

I served the pork over a roasted garlic and butter bean mash and raw cabbage slaw. The recipe made enough for my boyfriend and I have dinner plus a week’s worth of lunches for me.

The butter bean mash wasn’t much of a hit (hence no recipe), but the pork was a winner. Next time I’ll be trying a different side dish.

Slow Carb Pork Recipe — Slow Roasted Puerto Rican Pork over Garlic Butter Bean Mash

Ingredients

1 pork shoulder, 4 to 7 pounds (or use fresh ham)

4 or more cloves garlic, peeled

1 large onion, quartered

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil as needed

1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar

Lime wedges for serving.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.

2. Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.

3. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.

February 13, 2011

Homemade Slow Carb Sausage Patties

I haven’t been able to find any commercially available breakfast sausages in Australia that are Slow Carb friendly, so today I decided to make my own. It was quick, easy, and I like that I know exactly what when in them, which isn’t always the case when you go store-bought.

I used ground pork mince for these sausages, but feel free to use turkey, chicken or beef as well. You can also cook up a big batch of these to either freeze or refrigerate and reheat as needed throughout the week.

Ingredients

1 lb ground pork
1 ½ t salt
½ t white pepper
½ t garlic powder
½ t cayenne pepper
½ t fennel seeds
Sprinkle of dried red chilli flakes (if you like them spicier)

Directions

Thoroughly mix all spices into the meat
Form into patties
Brown patties in a skillet over medium heat.

Note: If your meat is pretty lean, you may want to add a bit of oil to the pan first.

February 10, 2011May 21, 2015

Slow Carb Walnut Crusted Pork Chops

This recipe was a favorite of mine long before the Slow Carb Diet. I originally found it in my mom’s Cooking Light magazine. It has been reposted here at myrecipes.com.

This is one of those healthy recipes that you actually forget is healthy. It’s always a crowd pleaser, and quite honestly, it’s so good that when I make it I forget I’m on a diet.

While nuts are considered an occasional treat on the Slow Carb Diet, you can still enjoy this meal guilt-free knowing walnuts are full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, lower cholesterol and tryglyceride levels, lower the risk of heart disease, combat depression and help with weight loss (plus some other benefits as well!)

I’m posting the recipe as is, but there are a few modifications I do that I’ll mention. I chose to create a Worcestershire substitute because of the high amount of sugar in the sauce, and I am being quite diligent about those little cheats. The devil is in the details, folks.

A few other notes: The bacon is nice, but totally unnecessary. If you don’t have it or don’t like it, just add a bit of oil to the pan to keep the chops from sticking. I often double the amount of walnuts and spices to make sure I have plenty of coating, but that’s just me. It’s not really necessary either. Regarding spices, sometimes I don’t even use sage as suggested. After some experimentation, I’ve discovered I prefer a mixture of half rosemary and half thyme instead of the sage.

( 4 servings)

Ingredients

Pork: 4 (8-ounce) bone-in center-cut pork chops, trimmed
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (*very high in sugar – try this replacement!)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup walnuts, finely ground
1 bacon slice
1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

1. To prepare pork, place chops in a shallow dish; drizzle evenly with Worcestershire. Combine salt, sage, and black pepper in a small bowl. Reserve 3/4 teaspoon salt mixture. Add walnuts to remaining salt mixture; toss well. Press walnut mixture onto both sides of pork chops. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Cook bacon slice in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add pork chops to drippings in pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth to pan. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 6 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove pork from pan.

January 31, 2011

Slow Carb Steak Marinade

When it comes to steak, I could eat filet mignon with nothing but salt and pepper cooked medium rare every single day and be a happy lady. But, it’s summer in Australia and that means it’s BBQ season. Here ‘s a simple marinade you can make with items you likely have sitting in your pantry right now.

Ingredients

½ cup dry red wine
3 teaspoons wheat-free tamari
Fresh ground pepper
¼ t oregano
1lb cut of lean steak (I prefer flank steak or skirt steak for this recipe)

Directions

In a shallow dish, combine the wine, tamari, a pinch of fresh ground pepper and oregano.
Add the steak and coat both sides with marinade.
Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally.
When you’re ready to cook, remove the steak and discard extra marinade.
Cook on the grill to medium rare. Slice thinly across the grain and serve.

Note: This steak can also be done indoors using the broiler. Coat a broiler rack pan with olive oil cooking spray and cook about 4-6 minutes per side (depending on how well done you like your steak.) 4 minutes is normally medium rare.

January 20, 2011

Rich and Decadent Slow Carb Lamb Chops with Mushrooms and Herbs

In case you haven’t guessed yet, I love lamb. It’s not as common or cheap in the US as it is in Australia, and Tim doesn’t specifically address eating lamb in his book, but a reasonably lean cut of lamb is likely comparable to eating a lean cut of beef.

This great meal for a special occasion or entertaining when you want to pretend you aren’t on a diet, this recipe is “lick the plate” delicious. Seriously, I’ve had guests ask me if it’d be rude for them to lick their plates!

I initially started making this recipe because I wanted to find a way to use all the fresh herbs I was growing on my balcony. Fresh is always best and more flavorful, but you can certainly used dried as well.

Rich and Decadent Slow Carb Lamb Chops with Mushrooms and Herbs

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

6 -8 lamb chops (lamb bbq chops)
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 cups sliced mushrooms
1 Tbs finely chopped rosemary
1 Tbs finely chopped parsley
1 Tbs finely chopped thyme
2 Tbs butter or ghee
1 Tbs macadamia nut oil
1 cup dry red wine

Directions

If there’s a lot of visible fat on the edges, you can cut it off, but I usually leave a bit of marbling in the middle. Perfectly OK for Slow Carbing.
Season the chops well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a large frying pan on medium-high. When quite hot, put in the chops and sear them on both sides till golden brown. Remove the chops to a warm plate.
Reduce the heat to low, and remove any excess fat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until caramelized a bit. Increase the heat to medium, and add the mushrooms. Sauté for until golden brown – about 5 minutes.
Put the chops back in the pan, pour on the red wine, and sprinkle on the rosemary, parsley and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce has thickened a bit. You may need to turn the heat up a bit to get the sauce to thicken. Stir in the butter.
Serve chops covered with mushrooms and sauce alongside a simple vegetable, such as green beans or a green salad.

January 18, 2011

Slow-Cooked Slow Carb Garlic Roasted Lamb

Shoulder is a great alternative to a traditional fatty leg of lamb roast. The shoulder is an often overlooked cut of meat because it tends to be tough, but when you slow cook it, it’s nice and tender. If there was a bone, this meat would be falling-off-the-bone-tender.

An added bonus – due to the unpopularity of the cut, it’s usually much cheaper than a leg or other cuts. I’d suggest cooking up a 2lb+ roast and keeping the leftovers in the fridge for fast leftover meals.

Slow-Cooked Garlic Roasted Lamb

(Makes about 6 servings)

Ingredients

2 lb lamb shoulder (boneless is preferred)
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Olive oil
1-2 whole bulbs garlic
2-3 sprigs rosemary
White wine (just a splash!)
1.5 c chicken stock

—

Directions

Preheat oven to 450F. Score the skin of the meat about 1 inch apart. Place the roast in a large roasting pan. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Cut the garlic bulb(s) in half and place under the lamb to prop it up. This will serve as a “rack” to allow the fat to drip off the lamb. Poke the rosemary sprigs on top of the lamb, and cover the pan with foil.
Place the pan in the oven and immediately turn the heat down to 320F. Set the timer for 4 hours and leave alone.
After 4 hours, remove the foil from the lamb and turn the oven up to 425F. Roast for another 20 minutes so that the skin gets nice and crispy. Take the lamb out of the oven, and place on a platter. Cover with foil and rest for 15 minutes.
Pour out most of the oil from the pan, and squeeze the cooked garlic cloves out onto the platter. Add a splash of white wine and chicken stock to the remaining drippings and stir well. Let the sauce bubble well, and don’t let it evaporate too much. About 5-6 minutes.
Pull the lamb apart and drizzle the sauce over it. Serve.