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Cook With Mack, Colorado Springs, CO (2026)

06/10/2024

After a couple of weeks' break, here comes Sausage Gravy! 😋

Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, this easy recipe is worth keeping around. 😉

Also a great place to learn how to make a roux. 👩‍🍳

Ingredients:

1 pound of your favorite breakfast sausage 🥓
Salt to taste🧂
1-2 cups of milk, preferably bathwater warm 🛁
1/4 cup flour 🌾
1/4 cup melted butter or sausage grease🧈
1 teaspoon of onion powder 🧅
1 teaspoon of garlic powder 🧄
1 teaspoon of sweet spicy paprika🌶️
1 teaspoon of thyme 🌿
1 teaspoon of pepper flakes for extra heat 🔥

Sausage prep:

Place sausage in a sauté pan and heat to medium-high. 🔥

Render sausage until fully cooked. 🥓

Mix in half of the dry spices. 🧂

Place on the side with a plate. 🍽️

Roux:

Melt butter in the same pan. 🧈

Pour in flour and begin stirring until everything combines and turns blonde. (Going any darker will mess up the color of the gravy, so be careful.) ⚠️

Weaving it all together:

Once the roux is blonde, slowly pour in the milk. 🥛

Once the gravy is thick to your liking, dump the remaining spices into the gravy; taste to make sure the spices are right for your palate. 😋

Pour in sausage, and you're done!! 🎉

Pour in milk slowly to prevent clumps. 🚫

05/19/2024

Caldo De Pollo 🍲

A simple chicken soup so good it'll hug your soul! This soup is particularly high in collagen and pectin, so it's great after a long day!

Ingredients:

8 cups of Chicken Stock🐔
One whole shredded or uncooked chicken, separated from the carcass
Half an Onion, diced🧅
4 Garlic Cloves, peeled🧄
2 Carrots, diced🥕
2 Celery Stalks, diced
1 Chayote, diced
1 Potato, peeled and diced
1 cup of cooked Corn 🌽
1/2 cup of Chopped Cilantro
Salt to taste

Weaving it Together:

Bring the stock to a boil and place the chicken, onion, and garlic in the pot. Simmer for 25 minutes.

Place the remaining vegetables (except the Corn and Cilantro) into the pot and simmer for another 25 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Throw in the Corn and Cilantro, turn off the heat, and cover for 5 minutes.

05/13/2024

Braised Short Rib! The dish you probably should have made for Mother's Day... 👩‍🍳❤️

This melt-in-your-mouth dish takes about 3 hours of cook time, so make sure you plan ahead. ⏰

**Ingredients:**

- 3 lbs of boneless short rib, cut into cubes 🥩
- 1 cup of diced onion 🧅
- 1/2 diced carrot 🥕
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed 🧄
- 1 can of peeled or crushed tomatoes (San Marzano works well here) 🍅
- 1 tsp oregano 🌿
- 1 tsp thyme 🌿
- 1 cup of Chianti 🍷
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste 🥫
- Your cooking oil of choice (I used the beef tallow I made not long ago) 🧈
- Salt and pepper to taste🧂

**Instructions:**

**The Beef:**

- Once cubed, pat dry and salt on all sides. Use the dry brine method to get an awesome crust. 🧂🥩
- Sear the beef on all sides and set aside. 🔥🥩

**The Base:**

- Sweat your onions and carrots, add salt and pepper, toss in the garlic and herbs, then mix in the tomato paste until everything is well mixed in. 🧅🥕🧄🌿🍅
- Pour in your wine and reduce for 30 seconds, then dump in the tomatoes. 🍷🍅

**Weaving it all Together:**

- Put the seared beef on top of the braising liquid, cover, and put it in an oven set at 300 degrees for 2 and a half to 3 hours, depending on how tender you want the beef.
- When done, shred the beef and serve on top of anything you wish! 🍴

Follow for more! 👨‍🍳

05/06/2024

How To Get an Epic Crust on Beef 🥩🔥

There are three things that must happen:

1. USE A HIGH SMOKE POINT FAT
2. USE A THICK BOTTOM PAN ON HIGH HEAT
3. MOST IMPORTANTLY, USE BEEF WITH A DRY AND TACKY SURFACE

Most people get the first two right, but the last one takes a bit of time, salt, and a raised rack. Let me show you the magic of Dry Brining.

To get a perfectly dry and tacky surface on beef, pat your prepared beef dry and put salt on all sides. The salt will release excess moisture from the surface and act as a seal for the inside of the beef. Eventually, the moisture on the surface will evaporate and create a dry and tacky surface perfect for getting a great crust.

Once the beef is salted, place it on the raised rack and let it dry brine for 12-24 hours, and you're done!

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04/29/2024

Beef Tallow! 🥩

Ever wonder what to do with beef fat trimmings? Render it in a pot with some water, and the remains are an epic cooking oil, perfect for searing steaks or anything you wish. 🍳

Oddly enough, since beef tallow is minimally processed, it is an incredible vessel for nutrients to latch onto and can make food more bioavailable. Plus, it holds up quite well in the freezer and will stay great for up to a year. ❄️

Here's how to make it! It'll take about 45 minutes, so make sure you have some time on your hands. ⏳

Get a saucepan and dump your trimmings in.

Pour in a cup of water and bring it to a simmer. The water will eventually evaporate. 💦

Right when it starts to fry, quickly pour in a half cup of water and repeat the process. This repeated process helps ensure the fat melts off the beef trimmings more effectively without burning anything.

The beef will then begin to fry and will eventually start to bubble like bacon does. 🥓

Once the beef trimmings are deeply browned and crispy, strain the beef fat into a cup. Let the tallow cool down for 5 minutes and strain again through a coffee filter or cheesecloth.

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04/22/2024

Crispy Wings!! Without the Fryer! 🍗🔥

This foolproof wing recipe is easy to prep and can be leveled up with your favorite rubs and/or sauces. 😋

If you're having a party, make sure to do the dry brine part the night before - it needs to work its magic overnight. ⏰

The secret to crispy wings without a fryer is a dry surface to allow the Maillard reaction to happen (that's the process of food browning and crisping up once enough water has evaporated).

**Dry Brine:**

- 2 lbs of air-chilled chicken wings (less messy to work with), patted dry
- 2 tsp of salt
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- 2 tsp of cornstarch

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and evenly mix them with the wings. Place the wings on a cooling rack and put them in the fridge overnight (or at least 12 hours). ❄️

**Weaving it all together:**

Once the dry brine is done, take the wings out and place them on a clean baking sheet with a rack.

There are three main ways to cook the wings:

1. Smoke (I used a hickory pellet blend) them at 225°F for 90 minutes, then crank it up to 450°F for 15 minutes until the wings hit 180°F (that's when the collagen of the chicken will break down enough to be fall-off-the-bone). ♨️

2. Bake them at 450°F for 20 minutes, flip the wings, then cook for 10 more minutes. The magic number for the internal temperature is 180°F.

3. Same as above, except cook in an air fryer at 425°F.

Once the chicken is done, let it rest for 5 minutes, then coat it in your sauce of choice. If you're using a dry rub, use a touch of oil or melted butter before applying the rub to the wings.🍗

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04/14/2024

Picadillo!** 🌶️🍅

This Latin one-pot dish is perfect for all sorts of dishes, including mixing it with rice, tacos, burritos, or just by itself! 😋

Total cook time: 45 minutes. ⏰

**The Beef Base:**

- 2 lbs of ground 85/15 beef 🥩
- 1 cubed russet potato 🥔
- 2 tsp of cumin seeds 🌱
- Salt to taste 🧂
- 1 to 2 cans of Hatch green chilis 🌶️

**Salsa:**

- 1 to 2 jalapeños 🌶️
- 5 Roma tomatoes 🍅
- 1/2 of a medium white onion 🧅
- 3 cloves of garlic 🧄
- 1/4 cup of cilantro 🌿
- 2 tsp of Salt 🧂

**Weaving it all Together**

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, lightly oil the pot and brown the beef until most of the moisture is removed and it begins to fry and crisp up. Throw in the garlic and green chilis and mix in.

Throw in the potatoes, mix in, and cook for 2 minutes.

Pour in the salsa, mix in, cover with a lid, and cook for 30 minutes on medium-low heat.

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04/08/2024

**Bell Pepper Chicken** 🌶️🫑🍗

A perfect one-pot meal for lunches for the week or an easy dinner!

**Ingredients:**

- 2 lb of chicken thighs
- 1 diced red and green bell pepper
- 1/2 of a diced onion
- 1 tsp of onion powder
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- As much red pepper flakes as you like 🔥
- 1 tsp of smoked paprika
- 1 tsp of tarragon
- 1 tsp of thyme
- 2 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of black pepper
- 1 cup of chicken stock

**The Chicken:**

- Combine chicken and spices in a bowl and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours, up to overnight.
- Brown on a hot braising pan or skillet until browned on both sides, then set aside. Don't worry if it's not cooked through as it will finish in the oven.

**Peppers and Onions:**

- Sauté peppers and onions with salt and pepper until caramelized.

**Weaving it Together**

Once the peppers and onions are ready, pour in the stock and top the pan with the chicken. Bake at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.

Set chicken aside and skim excess fat from pepper sauce. Blend pepper sauce until it has a smooth consistency and pour on top of chicken. Serve with your favorite vegetables and starch! I made mine with couscous and sautéed zucchini and yellow squash.

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03/31/2024

🦞 Risotto!

One of my Wife's favorites, this Risotto is quite easy to make and is perfect for an in home date for two.

Ingredients:

Two 4-8 oz Lobster Tails, the heavier, the better!

🍚1 cup of Aborrio Rice

Your favorite veggies, optional. I used a bag of frozen mixed vegetables here.

🧅Half a Medium Onion, roughly chopped

🥕One to Two Carrots, roughly chopped

2 Stalks of Celery, roughly chopped

1 tsp of Thyme

🧄2 Cloves of Garlic, grated

🧄2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled

🧅1 Shallot, minced

🥂 1/2 cup of White Wine, parted

🧈 2 tb of butter

🫒1 tb of Olive Oil

Salt, Pepper, and gratted Parmesean to taste

🦞 stock

In a stock pot, heavily salt and bring to a boil, drop in the lobster (defrosted), and boil for 5 minutes.

Take out lobster tail, extract meat, dice up as large or small as you want and set in the fridge until the end. Make sure to keep lobster water as that is the base of the stock

In the same pot, sweat the celery, carrot, and onion, mix in garlic and Thyme until fragrant, splash 4 tb of white wine and reduce to half.

Pour in 4 cups lobster water and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes. Once time has past, strain and set aside under a low flame.

Weaving it all Together:

Melt butter in a Braising Pan under medium high heat, throw shallots and garlic to sweat.

Throw in Abborio rice, mix around until lightly toasted

Pour rest of wine into mix, reduce to 1/2

Pour one ladel of stock, mix into rice, and stir occasionally to avoid sticking.

Once nearly all of the stock is absorbed, repeat the ladel process until the rice is cooked through and slight creamy. (You do not need to constantly stir the rice, just stir to prevent from sticking and incorporate the rice starch to make a sauce)

Saute and veggies you want and mix in.

Once everything is done, grate as much Parmesean Cheese as your heart desire and mix in until incorporated.

To finish the dish, take the lobster tail meat and heat up with melted butter, place heated tail meat on top of Risotto.

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03/25/2024

Sun Dried Tomato and Chicken Arrabiata!

This Spicy tomato sauce takes about 10 minutes to make and is absolutely epic. This does require a lot of Sun Dried Tomato so you may need to head to Costco or Sam's Club for a good deal.

Ingredients:

A box of Pasta of your choice
3 Cups of Sun Dried Tomato
4 Garlic Cloves
2 tsp of Oregano
As much Red Pepper Flake your heart desires
1-2 Cups of Chopped Chicken
1 Cup of Spinach

Weaving it Together:

Start by cooking your pasta per the package instructions

While the Pasta is cooking, blend the tomatoes and spices until everything becomes a paste, pour in a little bit of Olive Oil from the tomatoes to make the blending easier

In a pan, start heating up the tomato mix until you can hear it bubbling, mix in the Chicken and Spinich. Once the pasta is done pour about 1 Tb of pasta water to make the "sauce" more cohesive. Toss in pasta and your done! Top off with Parmesean Cheese.

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03/18/2024

Butter Curry!

An awesome concoction of spices and a holy amount of butter and tomatoes, this Indian Comfort Food is perfect for anyone looking for big flavor and an excuse to crash on the couch.

You can mix any protein as you wish. Most folks will do this with this Chicken but I choose to use Ground Yak from a local ranch.

Protein:

2lbs of the protein of your choice
1 Tsp of Salt
1 Tb of Garam Masala
1 tsp of Paprika or Kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp of Garlic Powder
1 tsp of Onion Powder
Enough Avocado Oil to help mix ingredients

Mix in until everything is well incorporated. Brown in pan until browned. Set aside until Curry is ready

The Curry:

2 lbs of your favorite Tomatoes

1 Whole Onion, Yellow or Red work best for this

3 Cloves of Garlic

As much Hot Chilies as you want, I did 3 Serranos

The same mix of spices minus the garlic and onion powder

Fenugreek to Taste

3 TB of Half and Half

One Stick of Butter (parted), that's right, one stick!

Salt to Taste, make sure to use small pinches while cooking and not all at one

Weaving it all together

After protein is browned, melt some butter in the same pan and begin sautéing the onions until golden

Mix in Serranos and Garlic and cook until fragrant

Mix in dry spices, mix until everything is combined like a paste

Throw in tomatoes and mix in, cook for about 15 minutes, a ground meat masher helps spread up the process

Blend with immersion blender

Strain

Throw in the remaining butter, the half and half, then mix

Mix protein and garnish with Cilantro or Parsley if you think Cilantro tastes like soap...like my wife does, 😉

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Cook With Mack

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