Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (26 page)
Read Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans Online
Authors: Michelle Tam,Henry Fong
Tags: #Cookbooks; Food & Wine, #Cooking by Ingredient, #Natural Foods, #Special Diet, #Allergies, #Gluten Free, #Paleo, #Food Allergies, #Gluten-Free, #Healthy
CRISPY GIZZARD CONFIT
Sure, gizzards can be tough and chewy when cooked over high heat, but if you take the time to braise them slowly in duck fat and crisp them up in a skillet, you’ll be rewarded with tender, succulent nuggets. None of your dinner guests—or picky kids—will ever suspect that the meat they’re happily eating is offal.
| Makes 4 servings | 1 pound cleaned chicken gizzards |
| Hands-on time: 10 minutes | ¾ teaspoon kosher salt |
| Total time: 10 hours | 1 ½ cups duck fat |
| 3 garlic cloves , smashed and peeled | |
| 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns | |
| 4 sprigs fresh thyme |
DO THIS:
- S
eason the gizzards with salt. Place them in a covered container and refrigerate for
8
to
24
hours. - W
hen you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to
300
°F. Melt the duck fat in a small ovenproof pot over medium heat. Toss the garlic, peppercorns, and thyme into the pot. Once the fat is fragrant from the herbs and garlic, add the gizzards. Stir to submerge the gizzards, and bring to a simmer. - C
ut out a circle of parchment paper with the same diameter as the pot, and place it on top of the liquid. Cover with a lid and braise the gizzards in the oven for
2
hours or until fork-tender. - I
f desired, you can refrigerate the gizzards in the duck fat for up to a week. Just make sure you strain out the thyme, peppercorns, and garlic before storing because they’re hard to pick out of the solidified fat. But if you’re ready to eat, remove the gizzards from the fat and toss them into a skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the braised gizzards about
1
minute on each side, or until crispy. Transfer them to a plate and dig in.
C
rispy gizzards are the perfect topping for a bowl of quickly sauteed spinach.
MAKIN‘ BACON
It’s true: Paleo eaters can eat bacon. I’m not saying it should be the primary source of protein in your diet, but bacon’s not the menacing artery-clogger it’s been made out to be. So once again, we can enjoy unctuously mouth-filling slices of crunchy porkiness with our eggs or crumbled atop a salad. Hallelujah!
Of course, I know that Paleo doesn’t give me license to gorge on the stuff, and that it’s important to source my bacon from pastured pigs. That said, I can’t resist the chewy-crisp texture and indelibly smoky punch that bacon imparts to dishes. Then again, who can?
Here are my three favorite ways to cook bacon:
1. In a Microwave Oven
Microwaving bacon is easy: just sandwich a few slices between sheets of paper towel, stick ’em on a plate, and nuke for
2
to
3
minutes, checking frequently. Of course, if you consider microwave ovens to be mini Three Mile Islands, you’ll want to skip this method.
2. In a Skillet
Are you an old-school traditionalist? Arrange the bacon in a large, unheated cast iron skillet or griddle. Make sure the slices are in a single layer. Then, heat the pan and bacon together over medium heat. Cook for about
10
minutes before you flip the strips. Fry the bacon for another
5
to
10
minutes or until crispy, and then transfer the bacon onto paper towels or a wire rack. The only drawbacks? Skillet-fried bacon doesn’t always cook evenly, and it tends to shrink in size dramatically.
3. In an Oven
My favorite way to cook bacon is in the oven. Place a wire rack atop a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, and arrange the bacon slices on the rack in a single layer. Stick the tray on the middle rack of an unheated oven, and then set the oven to
400
°F. Bake for
20
minutes or until the bacon reaches your desired level of crispness. Watch the bacon carefully to make sure it doesn’t blacken and burn. Remove the bacon from the oven, and save the bacon drippings in a sealed container. The drippings will come in handy as a cooking fat, or as an ingredient for
Five-Minute Bacon Aïoli
.
BACON + GUACAMOLE SAMMIES
