Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?

We tried this braised short ribs recipe the other night:

Source:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archive...hort_ribs.html

Ingredients:
10 short ribs (rib pieces cut into 3 to 4-inch, 10 to 12 cm, chunks)
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups (375ml) dark beer
10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons Chinese or Japanese rice vinegar
1 1/2 ounces (50g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used
Xocopili)
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 cup (250ml) hoisin sauce

We basically stuck closely to the above recipe, other than using some
home brewed Imperial Stout and 85% Lindt dark chocolate. Next time I may
try raw cacao powder instead of 'chocolate', as I always have it here on
hand rather than normal chocolate.

I quite liked the combination of flavours. The chocolate doesn't
dominate at all, nor does it taste strange in any way in combination
with the meat. I didn't know quite what to expect - but it was fine.
Might back off a little on the chili next time - got a bit too much
towards the end of the meal, otherwise I found it to be quite nice indeed.

Anyway, interested to hear your experiences, comments and/or recipe
suggestions using chocolate in savoury dishes...




--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:18:13 +1100, Jeßus > wrote:

> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
Nothing I'd recommend to make yourself. Mole is pretty common.
Dinuguan is called chocolate meat but it's really blood and spices.


--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

sf wrote:
> On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:18:13 +1100, > wrote:
>
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>>
> Nothing I'd recommend to make yourself. Mole is pretty common.
> Dinuguan is called chocolate meat but it's really blood and spices.

Mole Poblano sounds interesting, I think I saw this (or something very
similar) on a four part documentary about Willy Harcourt-Cooze (what an
unfortunate name...) and his attempt to market his high quality
processed cacao.

Just looked up Dinuguan. Sounds a lot /less/ interesting to me... I'm
not adverse eating blood, per se, but the recipe didn't exactly excite
me a great deal.

Thanks for the ideas - Mole sounds like it has possibilities.




--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

Jeà us > wrote:

>Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?

I have the following positive experiences:

Mole' sauce (with either beef, turkey, or I suppose chicken);
Bacon with chocolate.

It's all good....


Steve

Jeßus wrote:
> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?

I see someone's already mentioned mole, but I just thought I'd chime in
there, too! It's not too difficult to make, provided you go with a
simple type like mole coloradito or mole rojo. I made some a couple of
months ago and was really pleased with the results! I didn't have the
right chiles for either a proper coloradito or a proper rojo, but I had
the right ones to make a combo... so I did that! It still tasted better
than any jarred sort I've ever eaten. I used to think I didn't like the
stuff. heh.

Hm... not sure this will work, but I posted some photos to my Facebook
account:

<http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=134865&id=716241672&l=9391a113de>

It's private, but apparently that link should allow it to be seen by
anyone. The mole pictures are the last 6. The whole process did take
about 3 hours, but it made enough mole paste to make 5 or 6 meals for
two people. I've frozen the paste in serving-sized portions, so it's an
easy matter of making up the sauce now. Happy to share my mish-mash
recipe, if anyone's interested.

Jen

In article >,
Jeßus > wrote:

> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?

It is common in Mexican recipes and I always add it to chili, but just a
pinch (like using cinnamon) works in red Italian sauces too. Must be
bakers tho', not sweetened.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

In article >,
"Jen P." > wrote:

> Hm... not sure this will work, but I posted some photos to my Facebook
> account:
>
> <http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=134865&id=716241672&l=9391a113de>
>
> It's private, but apparently that link should allow it to be seen by
> anyone. The mole pictures are the last 6. The whole process did take
> about 3 hours, but it made enough mole paste to make 5 or 6 meals for
> two people. I've frozen the paste in serving-sized portions, so it's an
> easy matter of making up the sauce now. Happy to share my mish-mash
> recipe, if anyone's interested.
>
> Jen

I like the home made tortillas too. :-)
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

Omelet wrote:
> I like the home made tortillas too. :-)

Oh, good! The link worked.

Yeah - you can't get proper corn tortillas here without paying a
fortune, so I just buy the masa harina (also a fortune, but a better
deal!) and make my own. My dad gave me a chunky wooden tortilla
press for Christmas about 5 years ago. Best. Gift. Ever.

-Jen

Jeßus wrote:

> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
> We tried this braised short ribs recipe the other night:
>
> Source:
> http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archive...hort_ribs.html
>
> Ingredients:
> 10 short ribs (rib pieces cut into 3 to 4-inch, 10 to 12 cm, chunks)
> Salt and freshly-ground pepper
> 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
> 1 1/2 cups (375ml) dark beer
> 10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
> 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
> 3 tablespoons Chinese or Japanese rice vinegar
> 1 1/2 ounces (50g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used
> Xocopili)
> 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
> 1 cup (250ml) hoisin sauce
>
> We basically stuck closely to the above recipe, other than using some home
> brewed Imperial Stout and 85% Lindt dark chocolate. Next time I may try
> raw cacao powder instead of 'chocolate', as I always have it here on hand
> rather than normal chocolate.
>
> I quite liked the combination of flavours. The chocolate doesn't dominate
> at all, nor does it taste strange in any way in combination with the meat.
> I didn't know quite what to expect - but it was fine.
> Might back off a little on the chili next time - got a bit too much
> towards the end of the meal, otherwise I found it to be quite nice indeed.
>
> Anyway, interested to hear your experiences, comments and/or recipe
> suggestions using chocolate in savoury dishes...

I think cocoa powder instead of chocolate would work just fine. Often in
making that particular substitution you have to worry about adding fat,
because chocolate has fat and cocoa powder doesn't. But in this case, the
ribs themselves contain all the fat you could ever want. It won't have sugar
to offset the bitterness, but that shouldn't be too great a problem, just
cut down the cocoa powder appropriately. If the chocolate was 75% cacao
(which I think qualifies as bittersweet), then you should only use a touch
over an ounce of cocoa powder in any case, to get an equivalent amount of
cacao in the dish.

The thing which leaped out at me about that recipe was the vinegar. It's a
very mild vinegar; I think I'd go for something more assertive. I'd probably
use sour orange juice and add a bit of orange zest just before serving.

Bob

In article >,
"Jen P." > wrote:

> Omelet wrote:
> > I like the home made tortillas too. :-)
>
> Oh, good! The link worked.
>
> Yeah - you can't get proper corn tortillas here without paying a
> fortune, so I just buy the masa harina (also a fortune, but a better
> deal!) and make my own. My dad gave me a chunky wooden tortilla
> press for Christmas about 5 years ago. Best. Gift. Ever.
>
> -Jen

I bought a tortilla press a little while ago to try to make rice flour
tortillas but have not gotten around to it.

And yes, the link worked fine for me and I don't even have a facebook
account. <g>
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

In article >,
"Bob Terwilliger" > wrote:

> The thing which leaped out at me about that recipe was the vinegar. It's a
> very mild vinegar; I think I'd go for something more assertive. I'd probably
> use sour orange juice and add a bit of orange zest just before serving.
>
> Bob

Balsamic vinegar might work too.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

On 3/2/2010 11:18 PM, Jeßus wrote:
> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
> We tried this braised short ribs recipe the other night:
>
> Source:
> http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archive...hort_ribs.html
snip
I followed the link, they look delicious! Gotta do!

--
regards, mike
piedmont, The Practical BBQ'r
http://sites.google.com/site/thepracticalbbqr/
(mawil55)

In article >,
Jeßus > wrote:

> Anyway, interested to hear your experiences, comments and/or recipe
> suggestions using chocolate in savoury dishes...

Look up some recipes for Mexican mole sauce for chicken€”chocolate is a
component.

Then there're the chocolate-dipped bacon pieces.


--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Bean soup with sausage and kale, 3-1-2010

In article >,
(Steve Pope) wrote:

> Jeà us > wrote:
>
> >Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
> >chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
> I have the following positive experiences:
>
> Mole' sauce (with either beef, turkey, or I suppose chicken);
> Bacon with chocolate.
>
> It's all good....
>
>
> Steve

Heh! The two I posted before I saw this. GMTA.


--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Bean soup with sausage and kale, 3-1-2010

On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:18:13 +1100, Jeßus > wrote:

>Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?


From he
<http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=18 73141>
Or:
http://tinyurl.com/dmxbch

Photo: Kan Kanbayashi
Pulled-Pork Tacos

2 cups store-bought salsa, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Kosher salt
1 2 1/2-pound boneless pork butt or shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
18 corn tortillas
1/2 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 lime, cut into wedges

In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the salsa, chili powder,
oregano, cocoa, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the pork and turn to coat.

Cook, covered, until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily, on
high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350° F. Stack the
tortillas, wrap them in foil, and bake until warm, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, using 2 forks, shred the pork and stir into the cooking
liquid. Serve with the tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, lime, and
extra salsa.

Tip: When using a slow cooker, resist the urge to lift the lid until
the dish has cooked the minimum amount of time specified in the
recipe. Each peek allows heat to escape and can increase cooking time
by as much as a half hour.

"sf" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:18:13 +1100, Jeßus > wrote:
>
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>>
> Nothing I'd recommend to make yourself. Mole is pretty common.


Mole is pretty frigging boring, IMHO.

Jill

On Wed, 3 Mar 2010 14:42:35 -0500, "jmcquown" > wrote:

>Mole is pretty frigging boring, IMHO.

Agreed -- except at Topolobampo. I have no idea what Rick Bayless does, but it's
magical.

-- Larry

On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:55:53 +0000, "Jen P." >
wrote:

> Happy to share my mish-mash recipe, if anyone's interested.

I'm always interested! Please post the recipe in a new thread, that
way it's not buried. TIA

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

pltrgyst > wrote:

> "jmcquown" > wrote:

>>Mole is pretty frigging boring, IMHO.

>Agreed -- except at Topolobampo. I have no idea what Rick Bayless does,
>but it's magical.

It is, but there are plenty of other people who can do it well.
Just off the top of my head, Red Iguana in Salt Lake, and Juan's Place
in Berkeley. I'm sure there are many many more.

If a Mexican restaurant has boring mole', this is probably a
sign they are pouring it out of a can or jar produced in a factory,
and such a restaurant is almost certainly deficient in
other respects as well.

BTW it is not too difficult to make at home. You can even
vastly simplify any standard mole' poblano recipe and come up with
a good result. The key factors of success for a mole' poblano
are using pasilla chile powder and chocolate of sufficient
quality, and having these ingredients along with the sugar
ingredient in a correct ratio to give a pleasing result.
You may consider a little cinnamon essential too.

Steve

On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:12:53 -0500, pltrgyst >
wrote:

> On Wed, 3 Mar 2010 14:42:35 -0500, "jmcquown" > wrote:
>
> >Mole is pretty frigging boring, IMHO.
>
> Agreed -- except at Topolobampo. I have no idea what Rick Bayless does, but it's
> magical.
>
I don't think mole is boring at all, but I don't eat it in
restaurants. I eat it when someone has made it at home. I've tried
but I can't duplicate it, even with a recipe written by the person
whose mole I was in love with.


--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

sf > wrote:

>On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:12:53 -0500, pltrgyst >

>> On Wed, 3 Mar 2010 14:42:35 -0500, "jmcquown" > wrote:

>>>Mole is pretty frigging boring, IMHO.

>> Agreed -- except at Topolobampo. I have no idea what Rick Bayless
>does, but it's
>> magical.

>I don't think mole is boring at all, but I don't eat it in
>restaurants. I eat it when someone has made it at home. I've tried
>but I can't duplicate it, even with a recipe written by the person
>whose mole I was in love with.

Are you trying to duplicate flavor, texture, or both?

IMO gwtting the right flavor for a mole' poblano is reasonably do-able,
getting a desired texture a little less so. (The crumbled tortilla
ingredient being one approach here, but they must be good,
fresh tortillas.)

But if the mole' is going in a burrito, as opposed to say on enchiladas,
the texture is less important.

This has been a favorite way to consume leftover holiday
turkey... mole' burritos.


Steve

On Wed, 3 Mar 2010 20:44:51 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
Pope) wrote:

> Are you trying to duplicate flavor, texture, or both?
>
Everything, but especially the flavor. I'm a mole failure. It would
have been good mole if I didn't know what I was trying to duplicate
tasted like, but I didn't do it.

> IMO gwtting the right flavor for a mole' poblano is reasonably do-able,
> getting a desired texture a little less so. (The crumbled tortilla
> ingredient being one approach here, but they must be good,
> fresh tortillas.)
>
> But if the mole' is going in a burrito, as opposed to say on enchiladas,
> the texture is less important.
>
> This has been a favorite way to consume leftover holiday
> turkey... mole' burritos.

I think I need some hands on experience making mole with someone who
knows how.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Larry wrote:

>> Mole is pretty frigging boring, IMHO.
>
> Agreed -- except at Topolobampo. I have no idea what Rick Bayless does,
> but it's magical.

I recently read the black mole recipe in _Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen_.
It's got a couple very unusual steps, including shaking seeds out of roasted
dried Oaxacan chiles, putting those seeds into a dry skillet with a torn-up
flour tortilla, and cooking until completely blackened.

Bob

Ranee wrote:

> The only meat with chocolate I have ever liked is mole. Other than
> that, they tend to be rather nauseating to me.

Chocolate (or cocoa powder) is good as a flavoring with octopus, or with a
firm white fish like grouper or turbot. I also thought the Lebovitz recipe
for braised short ribs sounded pretty good; I might try it one of these
days.

Bob

In article >,
sf > wrote:

> On Wed, 3 Mar 2010 20:44:51 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
> Pope) wrote:
>
> > Are you trying to duplicate flavor, texture, or both?
> >
> Everything, but especially the flavor. I'm a mole failure. It would
> have been good mole if I didn't know what I was trying to duplicate
> tasted like, but I didn't do it.
>
> > IMO gwtting the right flavor for a mole' poblano is reasonably do-able,
> > getting a desired texture a little less so. (The crumbled tortilla
> > ingredient being one approach here, but they must be good,
> > fresh tortillas.)
> >
> > But if the mole' is going in a burrito, as opposed to say on enchiladas,
> > the texture is less important.
> >
> > This has been a favorite way to consume leftover holiday
> > turkey... mole' burritos.
>
> I think I need some hands on experience making mole with someone who
> knows how.

Koko. :-)
She did post that series awhile back. I think it's still on her Blog.
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:42:17 -0600, Omelet >
wrote:

> In article >,
> sf > wrote:
>
<snip>
> >
> > I think I need some hands on experience making mole with someone who
> > knows how.
>
> Koko. :-)
> She did post that series awhile back. I think it's still on her Blog.

Hmm. Hands on? I don't recall being in her kitchen and making it
with her.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Very unusually it is necessary to try
____________________
generic online pharmacy
generic pharmacy

In article >,
sf > wrote:

> On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:42:17 -0600, Omelet >
> wrote:
>
> > In article >,
> > sf > wrote:
> >
> <snip>
> > >
> > > I think I need some hands on experience making mole with someone who
> > > knows how.
> >
> > Koko. :-)
> > She did post that series awhile back. I think it's still on her Blog.
>
> Hmm. Hands on? I don't recall being in her kitchen and making it
> with her.

<lol> You could always do a road trip! She did do a good job with her
picture series tho'. :-)
--
Peace! Om

"Human nature seems to be to control other people until they put their foot down."
--Steve Rothstein

Web Albums: <http://picasaweb.google.com/OMPOmelet>

Subscribe:

"Steve Pope" > wrote in message
...
> pltrgyst > wrote:
>
>> "jmcquown" > wrote:
>
>>>Mole is pretty frigging boring, IMHO.
>
>>Agreed -- except at Topolobampo. I have no idea what Rick Bayless does,
>>but it's magical.
>
> It is, but there are plenty of other people who can do it well.
> Just off the top of my head, Red Iguana in Salt Lake, and Juan's Place
> in Berkeley. I'm sure there are many many more.
>
> If a Mexican restaurant has boring mole', this is probably a
> sign they are pouring it out of a can or jar produced in a factory,
> and such a restaurant is almost certainly deficient in
> other respects as well.
>
> BTW it is not too difficult to make at home. You can even
> vastly simplify any standard mole' poblano recipe and come up with
> a good result. The key factors of success for a mole' poblano
> are using pasilla chile powder and chocolate of sufficient
> quality, and having these ingredients along with the sugar
> ingredient in a correct ratio to give a pleasing result.
> You may consider a little cinnamon essential too.
>
> Steve


The place I ate the "bland" mole was this:

http://www.gomemphis.com/news/2009/j...dorns-comfort/

And their menu:

http://delimexicana.com/menu2/print/

They had very good food but it was a tad too magazine-like. Mini soft corn
tacos. Heh. I had to eat four of them before I felt like I had eaten
anything. And I'm not someone who eats a lot.

They do shop for fresh ingredients every day, and I like that. But I'm
still not impressed by mole.

Jill

On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:13:57 -0800, sf > wrote:

>On Wed, 3 Mar 2010 20:44:51 +0000 (UTC), (Steve
>Pope) wrote:
>
>> Are you trying to duplicate flavor, texture, or both?
>>
>Everything, but especially the flavor. I'm a mole failure. It would
>have been good mole if I didn't know what I was trying to duplicate
>tasted like, but I didn't do it.
>
>> IMO gwtting the right flavor for a mole' poblano is reasonably do-able,
>> getting a desired texture a little less so. (The crumbled tortilla
>> ingredient being one approach here, but they must be good,
>> fresh tortillas.)
>>
>> But if the mole' is going in a burrito, as opposed to say on enchiladas,
>> the texture is less important.
>>
>> This has been a favorite way to consume leftover holiday
>> turkey... mole' burritos.
>
>I think I need some hands on experience making mole with someone who
>knows how.

Here is my first attempt at making mole. It's really, really good.
http://kokoscorner.typepad.com/mycor...tyle_Mole.html

I usually double the recipe and freeze the extra since it's not a
quick fix recipe.

koko
--

There is no love more sincere than the love of food
George Bernard Shaw
www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 02/20/10

"denisa" > wrote in message
...
>
> Very unusually it is necessary to try



It's usually very *necessary* to block foodbanter.com

On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:28:59 -0800, koko > wrote:

> Here is my first attempt at making mole. It's really, really good.
> http://kokoscorner.typepad.com/mycor...tyle_Mole.html

Thanks
>
> I usually double the recipe and freeze the extra since it's not a
> quick fix recipe.

That's an understatement!

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

Steve Pope wrote:
> Jeà > wrote:
>
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
> I have the following positive experiences:
>
> Mole' sauce (with either beef, turkey, or I suppose chicken);
> Bacon with chocolate.
>
> It's all good....

Although I've only tried the one recipe thus far (and not being Mole as
such), I think it would go with any kind of meat.
I like the bacon idea, thanks.

--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

Jen P. wrote:
> Jeßus wrote:
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had
>> combining chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular
>> dishes?
>
> I see someone's already mentioned mole, but I just thought I'd chime in
> there, too! It's not too difficult to make, provided you go with a
> simple type like mole coloradito or mole rojo. I made some a couple of
> months ago and was really pleased with the results! I didn't have the
> right chiles for either a proper coloradito or a proper rojo, but I had
> the right ones to make a combo... so I did that! It still tasted better
> than any jarred sort I've ever eaten. I used to think I didn't like the
> stuff. heh.
>
> Hm... not sure this will work, but I posted some photos to my Facebook
> account:
>
> <http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=134865&id=716241672&l=9391a113de>
>
> It's private, but apparently that link should allow it to be seen by
> anyone. The mole pictures are the last 6. The whole process did take
> about 3 hours, but it made enough mole paste to make 5 or 6 meals for
> two people. I've frozen the paste in serving-sized portions, so it's an
> easy matter of making up the sauce now. Happy to share my mish-mash
> recipe, if anyone's interested.

Wouldn't mind seeing your recipe if you have the time Jen - and yes,
could see your pics no problem at all, looks pretty good to me.

Thanks



--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

Omelet wrote:
> In >,
> > wrote:
>
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
> It is common in Mexican recipes and I always add it to chili, but just a
> pinch (like using cinnamon) works in red Italian sauces too. Must be
> bakers tho', not sweetened.

I guess I qualify as a chocoholic... what am I saying - I AM a chocoholic.
And yet paradoxically, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, which is one
reason why I tend to use raw cacao powder (which just for clarification
is _not_ cocoa). I like the idea of adding chocolate to red Italian
sauces, I can see that working rather well, thanks.


--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> Jeßus wrote:
>
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>>
>> We tried this braised short ribs recipe the other night:
>>
>> Source:
>> http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archive...hort_ribs.html
>>
>> Ingredients:
>> 10 short ribs (rib pieces cut into 3 to 4-inch, 10 to 12 cm, chunks)
>> Salt and freshly-ground pepper
>> 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
>> 1 1/2 cups (375ml) dark beer
>> 10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
>> 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
>> 3 tablespoons Chinese or Japanese rice vinegar
>> 1 1/2 ounces (50g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used
>> Xocopili)
>> 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
>> 1 cup (250ml) hoisin sauce
>>
>> We basically stuck closely to the above recipe, other than using some home
>> brewed Imperial Stout and 85% Lindt dark chocolate. Next time I may try
>> raw cacao powder instead of 'chocolate', as I always have it here on hand
>> rather than normal chocolate.
>>
>> I quite liked the combination of flavours. The chocolate doesn't dominate
>> at all, nor does it taste strange in any way in combination with the meat.
>> I didn't know quite what to expect - but it was fine.
>> Might back off a little on the chili next time - got a bit too much
>> towards the end of the meal, otherwise I found it to be quite nice indeed.
>>
>> Anyway, interested to hear your experiences, comments and/or recipe
>> suggestions using chocolate in savoury dishes...
>
> I think cocoa powder instead of chocolate would work just fine. Often in
> making that particular substitution you have to worry about adding fat,
> because chocolate has fat and cocoa powder doesn't. But in this case, the
> ribs themselves contain all the fat you could ever want.

As you say, the ribs supply all the fat required and I doubt I'd miss
the sugar at all.
For any other dish lacking fat - perhaps some cocoa butter?

> It won't have sugar
> to offset the bitterness, but that shouldn't be too great a problem, just
> cut down the cocoa powder appropriately. If the chocolate was 75% cacao
> (which I think qualifies as bittersweet), then you should only use a touch
> over an ounce of cocoa powder in any case, to get an equivalent amount of
> cacao in the dish.
>
> The thing which leaped out at me about that recipe was the vinegar. It's a
> very mild vinegar; I think I'd go for something more assertive. I'd probably
> use sour orange juice and add a bit of orange zest just before serving.

You know, I think you're onto something there Bob. A stronger type of
vinegar (or your OJ idea) certainly would do no harm at all and in fact
should give it a complementary flavour counterpoint.



--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

piedmont wrote:
> On 3/2/2010 11:18 PM, Jeßus wrote:
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>>
>> We tried this braised short ribs recipe the other night:
>>
>> Source:
>> http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archive...hort_ribs.html
> snip
> I followed the link, they look delicious! Gotta do!

Well worth trying if, like me, you've never had anything similar before


--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In >,
> > wrote:
>
>> Anyway, interested to hear your experiences, comments and/or recipe
>> suggestions using chocolate in savoury dishes...
>
> Look up some recipes for Mexican mole sauce for chicken€”chocolate is a
> component.
>
> Then there're the chocolate-dipped bacon pieces.

Yum to both suggestions. I might well try a chicken based recipe next time.
I've looked at a few Mole recipes... I have no intention of attempting
to produce an 'authentic' Mole as it would be practically impossible to
do where I am. But I'm sure I can make a satisfactory version of my own.
Thanks for the suggestions.


--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

Ranée at Arabian Knits wrote:
> In >,
> > wrote:
>
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
> The only meat with chocolate I have ever liked is mole. Other than
> that, they tend to be rather nauseating to me.

Do you otherwise like chocolate?




--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

Lou Decruss wrote:
> On Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:18:13 +1100, > wrote:
>
>> Interested to hear what (if any) experiences you may have had combining
>> chocolate with meat - and if so, recommend any particular dishes?
>
>
> From he
> <http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=18 73141>
> Or:
> http://tinyurl.com/dmxbch
>
> Photo: Kan Kanbayashi
> Pulled-Pork Tacos

<snip>

Sounds pretty good Lou, many thanks.
The g/f hates cilantro... me, I love the stuff!
OTOH she really loves pork, so I'm thinking I could simply not mention
the cilantro and see if she notices it or not.
I'd love to prove to her that her dislike of cilantro is greatly
exaggerated




--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw