Goat!! Taste like chicken. Oh and a Chicken recipe too
I got a hankering for a Persian dish called Tah-chin (Tahcheen) ba Morgh. It is a Persian chicken and rice dish that has a layer of crispy rice on the bottom. If I am going to be honest the reason I wanted it was for the crispy rice. This dish is tricky and can be difficult.
It is also pretty time consuming because you have to soak the rice for a couple of hours. You need time to make this.
I made this in my Bram clay pot. I love Bram. Oh lookie there. One of my idols is on the homepage. I love you Paula Wolfert (waving wildly).
Really tricky turning it over and having it come out in one piece. We didn't do bad for our first time.
So the verdict is that it absolutely had no taste. The rice wasn't crispy it was rubbery. I hated it. Why did I give you the recipe that I adapted then? Because I want you to go and try this dish on your own. I swear that it is a tasty dish and *I* just messed it up.
Lots of cooking has been going on. Let me tell you a little story of how we procured our goat. I wish I had stories of farms and local and frolic but I don't. I have stories of a seedy neighborhood in Worcester, MA and a Halal market. Imagine my excitement when I saw a small store front with a sign that said "CAMEL and GOAT MEAT" Camel! Dr. Food they have CAMEL. I want to make CAMEL. What does CAMEL taste like? Why am I using all caps for the word CAMEL? Well Dr. Food didn't stop and we didn't buy camel. So weeks go by and Dr. Food wins Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough's cookbook GOAT. The whole scenario changes. Dr. Food is all "Lets go get GOAT. I want GOAT. I want to cook GOAT this weekend. Goat Goat Goat. So being the exceptional wife that I am I said "Ok Dude. You have to take me to get Pho first though" So we went to get Pho and we schlepped back to the Halal market that said CAMEL and GOAT. The moment we opened the door I knew that we might have a bit of a problem. This market wasn't really a market. It was a shop with rice bags in the middle of it and men wearing traditional garb sitting on them. We walked in and there was a little boy at the cash register playing some kind of handheld game. The men were chatting. This all stopped when we entered. We walked around the market and I could hear clicking of tongues which to me signified the dissatisfaction of one of the men that we were there. We then asked what seemed to be the owner "Do you sell goat?" His face lit up and he took us to the back where he opened a deep freeze. He took out a bag and said 26.00. Dr. Food said we only need two pounds and the guy again said $26.00. Dr Food said "How much meat is there"? It ended up being 6lbs for 26 dollars so we made the deal and left. What no Camel? I wasn't about to get into that with the guy. We had a bag of goat and that would have to do.
Roasting chili's ensued.
Browning goat occurred.
Mole makings! No chocolate. I hate chocolate. I detest chocolate. I despise chocolate...ok ok, sorry. The recipe doesn't call for it anyhow.
The recipe did call for Plantains however. I like Plantains. I love Plantains. I adore Plan...ok nevermind.
Good color combo.
Someone was still waiting for something to fall on the ground.
Uh some Margarita's may have been happening with a Galantine snack. We were also pushing the Margarita's over the fence to the neighbors so the chipped in some better Tequila.
I might have drunk tweeted and even made a video of me singing "Mares Eat Oats and Does Eat Oats" for someone asked that I tape myself singing. Maybe I did that.
Dinner was fantastic.
Oh, one more thing...well maybe two more things.
We dug up our Plymouth potatoes that we grew.
I harvested my shiso. I even saved the seeds.
Ok, that is all. Carry on.
Tah-chin (Tahcheen) ba Morgh
Adapted from Persian-Recipes.com
Ingredients:
1 medium onion - chopped up
3 cups rice — rinse and then soak in water for at least 1-2 hours…add salt to the water
skinless/boneless chicken breast cut up
oil
turmeric
1 cup water
salt/pepper
1 cup yogurt
4 eggs
1 tablespoon liquid saffron (I put about 20 threads of saffron in about 1/4 of a cup of boiling water)
In a frying pan (that has a lid), saute the onion in oil until tender. Then add the chicken pieces and stir around. Add salt, pepper, and turmeric. Add the 1 cup water and place the lid on the pan, leave the stove on a medium-low heat. Allow the chicken to cook for 30-40 minutes. After the chicken is cooked, place the chicken pieces in a dish to cool. Then use a strainer to separate the onions from the chicken stock. Keep the chicken stock for later.
In a bowl of some sort mix together your yogurt, 3 eggs, salt, pepper, and some of the saffron. Once you do this, take a few tablespoons of the mix and put it in another small bowl, add the left over egg, a tablespoon of oil, a tablespoon of the chicken stock, and a little more saffron to it and stir. Place the second bowl in the fridge. Once your chicken is cool, place all the chicken pieces in the first bowl and coat it. Place the bowl in the refrigerator as well and allow the chicken to be marinaded for awhile. I only do this for an hour or so, but some people even make the chicken the night before and allow it to sit in the mix overnight.
When you are ready to make the rice you will place a pot on the stove and fill it half way with water. Once the water is brought to a boil add the rice (after pouring out the water covering the rice). When the rice is boiled and ready, drain the water (use a strainer).
Set the oven to a temperature of 350 °F. In an oven safe round dish (needs to be deep as well) pour some oil and coat the sides. Take 2 spatulas full (2 kafgir) of the rice and mix it with the small bowl of yogurt mix you previously had in the fridge. Now pour that rice into the oven dish and flatten it with the spatula. take out all your chicken pieces from the yogurt mix (previously placed in fridge) and place them on top of the rice/yogurt layer. Pour the remaining rice (white rice in strainer) over everything else in the oven dish and flatten with the spatula. Take the chicken broth left and add the remaining saffron to it (if you wish) and pour it over everything. Cover with foil and place in the oven for approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Tah-chin is almost ready. This last note is very important for making a good looking Tah-chin.
Note: When you want to flip it over place the serving dish on top and then slowly flip over. Wait a few minutes for the dish to cool before doing this. Also, if you find that the crust is stuck you may have to use a knife around the sides to make sure it comes loose.
Goat Mole Rojo
Goat: Meat, Milk, Cheese by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough
Red mole is not necessarily as complex as the black stuff—no chocolate and no blend of chiles—but it's also made with oregano and thyme for a more herbaceous finish.
1. Tear the chiles into large pieces, then cook them in a dry skillet set over medium heat until lightly browned and very aromatic. Transfer them to a large bowl, cover with boiling water, and set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat in a large Dutch or French oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 3 minutes.
3. Push the onion and garlic to the sides of the pot, then add the meat chunks in batches, browning them well in the residual fat. As they brown, transfer them to a plate and add more until all are nicely done.
4. Take the pot off the heat. Scoop out the onion and garlic and place them in a blender or in a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Drain the chiles in a colander set in the sink, then add them to the blender or food processor. Also add the Worcestershire sauce, thyme, oregano, cloves, pepper, and bay leaf. Blend or puree until smooth.
5. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons bacon fat in the pot set back over medium heat. Scrape the chile paste into it and fry for 3 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
6. Return the meat and any juices on the plate to the pot. Also add the broth and vinegar. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally; then cover, reduce the heat to very low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
7. Add the plantains to the pot and continue cooking, stirring once in a while, until the meat is falling-apart tender, 1 to 1-1/2 additional hours.
