Category Archives: Recipes

10
Nov
Culinary Education, For Chefs, Holiday Seasonings, On Herbs, On Spices, Recipes

Exactly What IS Poultry Seasoning?

Posted on by Dan Lowry

From early fall and all throughout the winter, you’ll find one particular seasoning in high demand as menus tilt more towards roasts, in particular, roasts of the “bird” kind.

And not only the roasts, but in many cases, the stuffing, dressings and other side dishes that often accompany them.

Although Poultry Seasoning isn’t exactly a “seasonal” seasoning, for all intents and purposes, our expectation of what roasted poultry “taste”, just naturally coincides with the savory flavor of this popular blend of herbs and spices.

Especially at Thanksgiving.

Exactly what is Poultry Seasoning anyway?

To begin, it is of course a seasoning blend, and as such, is always open to interpretation as to not only what specific herbs and spices are used, but in what proportion. Much in the same way curry powder, chili powder or Italian seasoning blends are.

If you’re buying a pre-blended Poultry Seasoning, and find one that you particularly like, stick with it, because it’s quite possible that a different brand will not have the exact same blend formula.

The most common herbs used in this blend are: sage, thyme, marjoram and rosemary. The most common spices being: nutmeg and black pepper.

6 basic ingredients. That’s it.

Among the variations to this blend, are using oregano instead of marjoram, (they’re closely related), and, the use of ginger.

You’ll also occasionally see Poultry Seasoning with the add-ins of onion, garlic, parsley, red bell peppers, celery seed, ground coriander, allspice or savory. But again, it’s not all that common.

Of course, poultry (chicken, turkey, duck, squab, quail etc.), isn’t the only protein whose flavor is graced by this popular seasoning. Pork is another center of the plate meat that is closely associated with Poultry Seasoning, and it’s no coincidence that a bread or corn bread stuffing, seasoned with Poultry Seasoning, is a go-to accompaniment with both.

In addition, gravies and sauces which accompany both poultry and pork dishes are often lightly seasoned with this blend.

Another great use for Poultry Seasoning is as a seasoning in flours and batters used for fried chicken, and with roasted vegetables. You’re even seeing it more and more used in fish dishes and with tofu.

You don’t have to buy the pre-blended Poultry Seasoning. It’s quite easy to create your own, or, you can have the Red Goose Spice Company make one exactly to your specifications if your usage complies with our minimums.

How to Make Poultry Seasoning

Sage and thyme are THE 2 key ingredients in this blend, and as such, you want to be sure that BOTH of these herbs are fresh and full of flavor.

This recipe is a volume recipe, as such, if you are using rubbed sage instead of ground sage, or leaf thyme instead of ground thyme, you will need to use nearly twice as much, as it will be less compacted in your measurement container.

You should also consider blending it with a food processor to ensure that all of the particulates distribute throughout the blend equally.

If all of your ingredients are ground, then all you have to do is stir or toss them to give you an equal distribution.

Lastly, after creating your blend, you’ll want to store it in an air-tight container in a cool place, to extend its shelf life.

Poultry Seasoning Recipe

Makes approximately 6 cups

2 Cups        Ground Sage

1 ½ Cups           Ground Thyme

1 Cup          Ground Marjoram

¾ Cup         Ground Rosemary

1/3 Cup              Ground Nutmeg

1/3 Cup              Ground Black Pepper

As mentioned, you can substitute oregano for the marjoram. You can also consider customizing this recipe by adding onion powder, garlic powder or any one of the other herbs or spices we’ve mentioned.

Whether you purchase a finished blend, or create one of your very own, fall is a wonderful opportunity to revisit Poultry Seasoning, one of the most popular seasoning blends in a Chef’s repertoire.

The Red Goose Spice Company is a valuable resource for all of your seasoning needs, whatever the season, and whatever your recipe needs are.

24
Jun
Chicken Burgers, Grilling, Recipes, Turkey Burgers

Healthy Turkey & Chicken Burger Recipes for Your Summer Grill Menus

Posted on by Dan Lowry

Tracing the origins of the hamburger, leads you in so many different directions that it’s really hard to determine exactly who’s responsible and when or where it really happened.

Was it Delmonico’s in New York in 1834? Fletcher Davis in Texas or Charlie Nagreen in Wisconsin in 1885? Otto Kuase or Oscar Weber Bilby in Germany in1891.

And no doubt, anyone under 50 might just think it was Big Boy or the McDonald brothers.

In truth, the closest to a “modern-day” hamburger invention claim would have to be White Castle in 1921.

However, or where ever hamburgers were “invented”, they have since become THE most iconic American meal…ever.

Of course, everything evolves or, is reshaped to suit a new dining audience.

What began as a version of a chopped Salisbury steak somewhere, later became a burger on a bun, and then, beef patties became chicken and turkey burgers.

Today, even the meat itself is gone, in favor of a flavored vegetable protein.

Through all this change, after all this time, one thing the burger chains haven’t really capitalized on are turkey and chicken burgers.

Fried chicken on a bun, yes, in a BIG way.

But grilled chicken burgers on a bun. Nope, (unless you call a heavily-breaded deep-fried patty an actual burger.)

So, that leaves it up to the independents, and to Chef’s in restaurants, clubs, resorts or similar venues, to pick up the poultry torch and bring to America a truly outstanding turkey or chicken burger.

Flavorful, not bland. Juicy not dry. Not heavily breaded then deep-fried but rather, grilled or pan-seared.

There are challenges. Both turkey and chicken are pretty darn lean, which is good, and bad.

Good, because it’s one of their virtues is that they’re low fat and healthy, bad because it can make them dry and more difficult to form into a patty that actually holds its shape, and that doesn’t stick to the grill.

That however, can be overcome by hard-chilling your patties and using a vegetable spray on your grill before placing the patty on it.

Turkey and chicken burgers can be as simple as ground meat with salt and pepper, Unfortunately, they would likely be dry, lack flavor and, unless pan-seared, not hold their shape very well.

To solve that, you need to minimally do a few things.

  1. Start with a mixture of both white and dark meat which is patted dry. A small amount of clean turkey or chicken fat is ok.
  2. Grind it with a normal 1/8” die so that it will bind together when formed.
  3. Adding both egg and panko can assist in the binding and also add moisture.
  4. If grilled, it’s best for the patties to be minimally hard-chilled or frozen. If pan-seared, a fresh patty is preferred.

 

We’d like to share with you 2 delicious and very healthy recipes which go beyond the simple meat with seasonings.

Both of these recipes can be made with either ground turkey OR chicken.

Each recipe starts with 10 pounds of ground meat.

Turkey or Chicken Burgers with Zucchini and Ricotta

Makes about 4 dozen   8-ounce burgers

10 pounds        Ground Turkey or Chicken

2 ½ cups           Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese

¾ cup                Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 quarts             Shredded Zucchini (WELL SQUEEZED OF ALL OF ITS JUICES)

¾ cup                Minced Green Onion

1 tablespoon    Granulated Roast Garlic

2 teaspoons     Oregano, Dry

1 teaspoon       Thyme, Dry

2 tablespoons  Kosher Salt

2 teaspoons     Ground Black Pepper

3 extra-large     Eggs, Beaten

3 – 4 cups          Panko Bread Crumbs

In a large mixing bowl or machine with a paddle attachment, combine all ingredients and mix only until well combined.

Chill to allow the panko crumbs to absorb the juices and moisture from the mix. (Approximately 3 to 4 hours).

Patty, wrap well, and keep chilled or frozen

Greek Mediterranean Turkey or Chicken Burgers

Makes about 4 dozen   8-ounce burgers

10 pounds        Ground Turkey or Chicken

2 ½ cups           Feta Cheese, Crumbled

2 cups               Frozen Spinach, Thawed, Minced and SQUEEZED VERY DRY

1 cup                 Kalamata Olives, Pitted, Minced, Squeezed dry

1 ½ cups           Sun-Dried Tomato, Minced

1 ¼ cup             Green Onion, Minced

¼ cup                Roasted Garlic, Minced

1 tablespoon    Oregano, Dry

2 tablespoons  Fresh Rosemary, Minced

2 tablespoons  Kosher Salt

2 teaspoons     Ground Black Pepper

3 extra-large     Eggs, Beaten

3 – 4 cups          Panko Bread Crumbs

In a large mixing bowl or machine with a paddle attachment, combine all ingredients and mix only until well combined.

Chill to allow the panko crumbs to absorb the juices and moisture from the mix. (Approximately 3 to 4 hours).

Patty, wrap well, and keep chilled or frozen

We hope that you’ll find these 2 unique burger recipes to complement your summer grill menus and continue the tradition of burger excellence which began somewhere a long time ago.

Even poultry burgers can use a great grilling seasoning and the Red Goose Spice Company has an enormous selection to choose from, including some perfectly suited for your beef burgers and steaks.

Give us a call and let us help you select the perfect spices and spice blends to help you showcase your summer grilling creations this season.

19
Apr
Culinary Education, For Chefs, Recipes

Chilaquiles Rojos con Pollo

Posted on by Dan Lowry

Chilaquiles are, at their essence, a very simple dish of corn tortilla chips covered (or tossed) with a spiced tomato sauce (or enchilada sauce), then topped with a queso fresco cheese. The dish is usually accompanied with black beans.

This version is a casserole style and adds chicken, onions, peppers and black beans. The cheese is a shredded Monerey Jack/ Cheddar style similar to what is often called a “Mexican” blend.

Chilaquies Rojo con Pollo

Makes 1- Full Steam Table Pan 2 ½” Deep Casserole or 20 to 24 Portions

As needed                   Vegetable Spray

¼ cup                           Olive Oil

2 large                         Sweet Onions

4  medium                   Bell Peppers, Green or Red

To taste                       Salt & Pepper

2 – 10 oz cans             Black Beans, Rinsed & Drained

1 cup                           Cilantro, Chopped

4 – 14 oz bags             Corn Tortilla Chips

2 ½  quarts                  Red Enchilada Sauce (Homemade or Canned)

5 pounds                     Pulled, Cooked Chicken Meat (From 4 Rotisserie Chickens)

3 pounds                     Monterey Jack / Cheddar Cheese, Shredded

 

Sauté the sliced onions and peppers in the olive oil until golden in color then season with salt & pepper.

Spray a full-size steam table pan 2 ½” deep, generously with vegetable spray.

Ladle 2+ cups of the enchilada sauce over the corn tortilla chips and spread evenly.

Lay down the first layer of broken tortilla chips. Cover the bottom completely.

Sprinkle half of the caramelized onion & peppers over chips and sauce.

Sprinkle half of the black beans over the onions and peppers.

Sprinkle half of the pulled, cooked chicken meat evenly over the black beans.

Sprinkle half of the chopped cilantro over the chicken.

Sprinkle 1/3rd of the shredded cheeses evenly over the chicken then a cup of the enchilada sauce over the cheese.

Repeat steps 3 through 9 once again.

Finish with a full layer of broken tortilla chips followed by 2+ full cups of enchilada sauce and the last 1/3 of the cheese.

Place into a 325 F. oven uncovered and bake for approximately 35 to 45 minutes.

Allow to rest 15 minutes and serve.

Note: To ensure that the bottom of the casserole does not burn, it is best to double pan or, to place the steam table pan on a sheet pan and add some water to the sheet pan.

18
Apr
Culinary Education, Festivals, For Chefs, Recipes

Are America’s Favorite Mexican Foods Really Mexican?

Posted on by Dan Lowry

Taco Bell, Qdoba, Chipotle’s, On the Border, Moe’s and all the independents…

One thing is quite obvious.

Aside from pizza, Mexican / Southwest / Tex-Mex / Hispanic foods favorites are THEmost home-delivered meals, coast to coast.

Ask any Uber Eats or Door Dasher.

American’s just LOVE Mexican cuisine.

Or, is it really Mexican?

And, did we really think it was?

Does it really matter?

French Fries aren’t French, (they’re from Belgium), and the list of foods that don’tactually come from the countries that we think they come from, is a mile long (or a kilometer).

As we approach this year’s Cinco de Mayo, many America’s choose to celebrate the occasion by enjoying one of their favorite “Mexican” foods.

Ironically, even our understanding of the Cinco de Mayo celebration is a bit misplaced.

Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, is actually a relatively minor holiday in Mexico.

It isn’t Mexico’s celebration of its independence from Spain, but rather the Mexican army’s May 5, 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War.

Mexico’s actually Independence Day, September 16th, is known as, 16 de Septiembre, which doesn’t have quite the same ring now does it?

Getting back to the food we associate with Mexico, while most of our favorites have their roots in Mexico, it probably comes as no surprise that American’s adapted much of Mexico’s “cultural cuisine” to suit our own tastes.

Many of these recipes came from Mexican’s themselves who immigrated to the U.S. southern states and cooked versions of their ancestral dishes with locally available ingredients.

All the while, adapting to the local tastes.

In some cases, it was the spices, the wraps (tortillas de harina), the combination of ingredients, or the maybe cooking methods.

Like the “original” pizzas from Naples, Italy, or the pasta that we also borrowed from Italy, (that in turn Italy borrowed from China centuries before), things evolve so fast in the food world that while we might give homage to its origins, we might not even recognize it.

Even if it could be delivered across centuries of time to eventually arrive at our front door, via door dash.

But for this exercise, let’s look at those iconic dishes that you’d be hard pressed to find in Mexico in the version that we enjoy them here in the states.

Here, they’re called Tex-Mex.

Before we begin down that trail, it’s understood that nearly anyplace in Mexico where there are American tourists, you’ll likely find hotels, resorts and restaurants who are catering to Americans who want American “style” Mexican cuisine.

Some tourists, never even leave their all-inclusives.

So sorry, Cancun may not actually count, unless you get off the island and into Ciudad de Cancun, the city, or, if you’re lucky enough to have a truly authentic Mexican Chef on your property.

Having said this, here are some examples of our American / Mexican favorites.

Hard Shell Tacos… You will find the smaller, soft flour tortillas or hand-made corn ones in Mexico, usually with braised meats, shredded cabbage, tomatoes and salsa but not the hard ones like we have in the states with ground beef. And generally, not the same fillings either. Most native Mexicans can’t understand our affection for these crunchy, hard to eat shells.

Burritos…The Burrito you enjoy for $5.99 is a completely an American invention. We like things super-sized with lots of wrap, not so much filling. We got it with Burritos. You can find a Burrito of sorts, in Mexico. You may not recognize it however.

Chimichangas… Well, if Burritos are an American food invention, where do you think a deep-fried Burrito fits in to this equation. Yep, it’s believed to have its origins in Arizona.

Fajitas…The quintessential Tex-Mex contribution to our food world. The sights, sounds, smells and unmistakable taste of seared or charred beef skirt steak on a hot oval skillet is 100% delicious and 100% American.

Loaded Nachos… You’ll certainly find fried corn tortilla chips tomato salsa, guacamole and the white, queso fondido cheese dip in Mexico.

What you won’t find in an authentic Mexican restaurant is a platter of chips buried under an avalanche of seasoned ground beef, yellow cheese sauce (Velveeta or otherwise), and all the toppings we typically associate with this American bar-food favorite.

Chili con Carne… One of the first Tex-Mex foods to originate “North of the Border”. It’s introduction of cumin, which was not typically used in Mexican cuisine, combined with ground beef, tomatoes and chilis made this iconic dish truly different.

Historically, similar dishes were made in the Canary Islands and Morocco so this wasn’t a completely “off the wall” invention.

In fact, it became so popular in Texas that it was known locally as a “bowl of red”. It was even the featured dish at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 at the San Antonio Chili Stand and then eventually made the official state food of Texas in 1977.

Want to learn more about Chili? Check out a recent Red Goose Blog on White Bean and Chicken Chili and another one of our Blogs on the difference between Light and Dark Chili Powders.

 

With Cinco de Mayo right around the corner, if you’re looking for a new recipe to add to your Mexican or Tex-Mex repertoire, enjoy our recipe for Chilaquiles Rojos con Pollo.

Chilaquiles is typically a breakfast dish and it can be made with either green chiles (verde) or red (rojos).

It can also be made in a very simple way by tossing corn tortilla chips in sauce and plating with queso fresca and a black bean type stew, or, by making the recipe into more of a baked casserole similar to an enchilada style.

We’ll share with you this modern adaptation that we think you will really enjoy.