Root Beer Bourbon Glaze

This recipe comes from one of my favorite chef's. Emeril Lagasse. I have a hard time watching his show, but he has some really good recipes out there. This one needed a couple of tweaks to make work (Sorry Emeril), but is delicious on various meats. I've used this on ribs (as the original recipe calls for), chicken, pork chops and shrimp. All of them, were great and have gotten numerous compliments.

Glaze:
1 (12-ounce) cans root beer
4 tablespoons hot pepper jelly
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 teaspoon Caribbean Pick-A-Peppa sauce
1 stick cinnamon
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 teaspoons bitters (recommended: Angostura)
1 cup bourbon
1 cup sugar

Dry Rub:
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock

Directions
To make the glaze, place all of the ingredients for the glaze in a wide bottom pan, and cook over medium-high heat. Bring the contents of the pot to a boil, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture has come to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and allow the mixture to reduce to a glaze consistency, about 25 to 30 minutes longer. Remove the glaze from the stove and strain though a fine mesh strainer. Reserve and keep warm, until ready to use.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the kosher salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir well to incorporate, and use 1 tablespoon of the spice rub to cover each of the ribs. Rub the mixture into the meat and allow it to sit undisturbed for at least 20 minutes.

Depending on the meat you are using, there are different steps to follow. If using pork ribs or bone-in chicken follow the steps below:
Preheat oven to 275*. Rub meat down with dry rub. Place in baking pan and add 1/2 c chicken stock. Cover pan with aluminum foil and cook for 2 - 2 1/2 hrs. Remove from oven, and place on a plate. Heat grill to med-high heat. Place meat on the grill and baste with glaze.

For all other cuts of meat, heat grill to med-high heat, add meat and baste with glaze, and cook until done.


For all other meats

Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks over Ginger-Soy Noodles

A couple of weeks ago my husband took a trip to go tuna fishing off the coast of Hatteras Island, NC. He had a great time, and came home with 80 lbs of fresh from the sea tuna. What does someone do with 80 lbs of tuna. Why slice it up and give most of it away. However that still leaves a good amount of meat left over. Well of course there is the obvious shashmi. Mix up a little wasabi paste, mix with soy sauce, and just dip the tender raw strips, and enjoy. Now I would be happy with never making it any other way. What could be more perfect? No cooking, dinner done in about 30 seconds flat. However, I don't think my family would let me get away with that everyday. So I came up with this. This is actually an accumulation of several recipes, adjusted to meet our tastes. It actually was really good, and even my pickiest eater the 3 year old, tore this meal up, and asked for more.


Tuna Steaks


3 Tuna Steaks (sushi grade)
1 tbsp Dark Sesame Oil
1/4 c Soy Sauce (Low Sodium)
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root
2 cloves minced garlic
2 scallions (thinly sliced, diagonally)
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix together, in a large plastic bag, the oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, lemon juice and green onions, leaving a couple of tablespoons of the onions
out for garnish. Add the tuna steaks and marinade
in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.


Ginger Soy Noodles
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp Minced garlic
2 tbsp Minced fresh ginger
1 Serrano pepper (seeded and minced)
1/2 ts Minced lemon zest
1/2 c Rice wine vinegar
1/3 c Reduced-salt soy sauce
1/2 c Chicken stock
2 ts Sugar
1 lb Soba or somen noodles
1/2 c Diagonally-sliced scallions

Add the oil to a small saucepan and saute the garlic and ginger over medium heat until they just begin to color. Add the Serrano pepper, lemon zest, vinegar, soy sauce, stock and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce slightly. Remove from the heat and set aside. Keep warm. Cook the noodles in lightly salted boiling water until just al dente, according to package directions.

Drain and toss with half of the ginger-soy sauce mixture and the scallions.

In a large pan, spray with non-stick spray, and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Remove steaks from the marinade and sear steaks for 1-1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and slice in 1/4" slices.

Serve the tuna steaks on a bed of noodles drizzled with the remaining ginger-soy sauce and sprinkle with remaining green onions