Monday, November 2, 2015

Skirt Steak Improvised Roladen

This is a variation of a recipe taught to me by my Aunt in Germany.



Ingredients
Skirt steak - remember that the better quality you buy the better the outcome. I bought from Fresh Market but also have used from Giant Foods before.
Pickles Spears- I bought a home brand made by a fella that uses his mothers recipe from New Jersey (Whole foods.)
Bacon - a few slices of the thickest you can find. I used apple-wood smoked.
Salami - dried that you can cut into thin spears matching the pickles.
Olive Oil - I used lemon infused but any will do
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Yellow Mustard
Mushrooms
Beef Broth
Red Wine

Pound the Skirt Steak with a meat pounder until it is even thinner than it comes from the market. While pounding try and stretch the sides making the strip as wide as you can without breaking the meat apart. I also use the knobbed side of the pounder to help break up the tendons.

Cut the steak into pieces that can be filled with the ingredients and then rolled closed like a burrito. This took some creative layout of the thinner pieces of steak in order to use all of it without waste.

Slice the pickle and salami lengthwise into strips that can be set closer to one side of the meat square. Add a strip or part of a strip of the bacon the pickle and salami and then roll the whole thing closed like a burrito. Either tie it closed with cooking string or pin it closed with toothpicks.

Heat up Olive oil and some butter in a frying pan and when hot add the meat. Sear the meat well on all sides with some mustard drizzled on each piece. Once well seared add the mushrooms and give them just enough time to start to saute before adding the Beef Broth and some red wine.

Bring to a bubble for 5 or 10 minutes and then cover and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes.

Serve with Red Cabbage (See GF Recipe in this blog soon)


What I check on food labels

The obvious thing is to look for the Gluten Free wording, however...

Depending on the severity of your allergy you may sometimes get away with reading the ingredients and making some assumptions. A few years back the FDA changed the labeling laws to require compound ingredients to have their make up listed in parentheses in line with the rest of the ingredients. So for example if the label used to say Caramel it must now say Caramel (sugar, etc..).

Keep in mind that there are always two issues with the labels. One is the ingredients but the other is the processing or handling of the food. If something that is made with gluten free ingredients is processed in a facility that also processes wheat for example, then there is always the possibility of cross over contamination. Many companies wont label an other wise gluten free item as gluten free for this reason.