Crushed Ice Catering

Recipe of the Month

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Louisville Recipe of the Month: Bourbon Bacon Jam

bourbon bacon jam recipe
By an act of Congress in 2007, September was declared National Bourbon Heritage Month, but for us Kentuckians, this is a celebration practiced year round. To pay our respects to our state’s coveted spirit, we asked Crushed Ice Catering‘s executive chef, Laurence Agnew, to serve up a creative bourbon inspired recipe. Much to our delight, his solution was a sweet and savory creation that will most certainly earn a place in your arsenal of culinary staples Bourbon Bacon Jam.
This Bourbon Bacon Jam recipe is a perfect addition to keep in the fridge. It makes for a flavorful addition to morning waffles, gives a tasteful twist to the classic grilled cheese, and makes as a great topping for beef, chicken, or pork!

Bourbon Bacon Jam

Ingredients
  • 3/4 pound bacon cut into inch slices then cut in half
  • 1 large shallot minced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
  • 4 Tablespoon Kentucky Sorghum
  • 1/2 cup bourbon 
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt depending on your bacon
Instructions
  1. In a medium skillet, cook bacon, stirring occasionally, until done and on the verge of crispy, approximately 10 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  2. Add garlic and shallot directly to the same skillet with rendered bacon fat. Soften for approximately 4-5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a medium sauce pan. Add drained bacon and remaining ingredients, stir well. Simmer on low heat for 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Liquids should evaporate leaving you with a sticky bacon jam fit for any dish.

Give your taste buds my best,

Morgan Blake

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Recipe of the Month – Beer Batter for Fish

ALMOST as vital as green beer, Beer Battered Fish and Chips is next up on the list. Be inspired this St. Patrick’s Day with Chef Agnew’s Beer Batter for Fish!

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  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups cornstarch
  • Two 12-ounce beer (ale, larger or dark beer if preferred )
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup all purpose flour or cornstarch for dredging
  • For the Batter: Whisk together flour, cornstarch, beer, egg, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Make sure there are no lumps. Cover bowl and place in fridge for at least 20 minutes, and up to 3 hours before batter will be used.
  • Tips:
  •  Batter should be the consistency of heavy cream, don’t be afraid of trial and error
  • Dredging : Always pat dry fish fillets or other items you may be frying before dredging into all purpose flour or cornstarch. Also tap off excess dredging flour before dipping into batter.
Frying Oil and Temperature:
Optimal temperatures should range from 360-380 degrees Fahrenheit
Safflower or Peanut Oils are great for frying for higher smoke points.
If your looking for more flavor focused oils try lard or beef tallow.
Draining: When removing fried fish or any fried item for that matter, it’s been to place on an oven rack or grate as to allow the crispy coating to cool without trapping steam underneath to cause the coating to get soggy.
Paper towels will drain the fat from the fish but can still trap steam causing excess moisture on the coating.
If you are going to season with salt or other spices do so immediately after removing from fryer onto draining rack.
Lastly don’t over crowd your fryer with too much at one time. Overcrowding will cause a steep decrease in temperature and cause crispy fish to be greasy.
Pour yourself a Guinness and give Chef Agnew’s Recipe a shot! You won’t be disappointed.
May the winds of fortune sail you,
May you sail a gentle sea.
May it always be the other guy
who says, “this drink’s on me.” 

Cheers!

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November Recipe of the Month: Brined Turkey

Thanksgiving is a week away and we want to help you make your Turkey the star of the day with our Recipe of the Month!

Turkey Brine

Ingredients:
1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen or fresh young turkey
For the brine:
1 1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 tablespoon chopped candied ginger or fresh ginger
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 each star anise
1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
2 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions

  1. 2 to 3 days before roasting:
  2. Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
  3. Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
  4. The night before you’d like to eat:
  5. Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
  6. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
  7. Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
  8. Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
  9. Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at The Ice House and Crushed Ice Catering! We are thankful for being able to continuously do what we love, and for all of our clients!

 

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Octoer Recipe of the Month: Pumpkin, Leek and Epazote Soup

Crushed Ice Catering’s Recipe of the Month for October brings fall fun to your table with a Pumpkin, Leek, and Epazote Soup.  This creative pumpkin soup recipe brings a twist by using a Mexican herb called Epazote.  Epazote is an herb that is used in Mexican Cooking and even medicinal purposes. The herb holds a slightly tangy flavor and comes across similar to Oregano or Fennel and in this recipe it rounds out the flavor and provides a nice crisp finish to your harvest season soup.  Epazote is best used fresh, but if you can only find dried, you should reduce your amount to one half of what is asked for when fresh.  You can usually find Epazote in Mexican grocery stores or specialty stores (whole foods, for example).  Rick Bayless views Epazote as an essential herb for cooking Mexican foods.

 

Pumpkin, leek and Epazote soup
Photograph of an Epazote leaf from: www.sunsetgarden.com

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

Spice Mix:

  • 1 1/2 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger

 

  • 1 Pie Pumpkin
  • 2 0z Fresh Epazote (picked from stems and rough chopped)
  • 3 Cups Water
  • 1 Leek

 

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Quarter pumpkin, remove seeds, cover flesh in spice mix (Flesh is the inside portion of the pumpkin that is softest. Leave the outside on to help hold flesh together while cooking).
  3. Place 1 oz. of butter on each quarter and place in oven for 2 hours or until pumpkin flesh is soft.
  4. Mince half Leek (white portion only) and lightly brown in remaining butter (separate and set aside both the leek and butter).
  5. Remove flesh from pumpkin, add to blender, and lightly pulse. Work in batches if necessary adding water, leaks, Epazote, and butter until smooth. Add all components together in saucepan over stove top. Heat and salt to taste.

As an extra bonus, how cute did this decor turn out from an event at The Ice House this weekend?! We love the fall additions made to our beautiful home for the weekend!

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The Ice House Louisville, Kentucky