Stuffed Roast Beef Mariposa

This week, I’m happy to post Stuffed Roast Beef Mariposa, my version of an easy (but delicious) stuffed roast. “Mariposa” being the very beautiful Spanish word for butterfly, the name derives from the preparation method, which includes butterflying your roast and filling it with a mix of peppers, onions, garlic and bacon. If you’ve never butterflied a roast before, fear not: an explanation, included photos, is included. (As an added bonus, I’ve also included a tutorial video for tying a “butcher’s knot” when you tie up the roast before placing it in the oven.)

In the photo above, you’ll see I served the roast with honey slaw and corn on the cob with herbed butter substitute. (To make herbed butter, simply combine ¼ cup of butter substitute (or, if you prefer, butter) with ½ tablespoon of your favorite dried herb.)

This recipe is used a 2-1/2 pound roast and makes 5 – 6 servings.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Butterfly your roast as follows:

• Place the roast on a cutting surface.

• About 1/3 of the way from the top, form a flap by making a cut from right to left, but stop when you have about 1/2” left.

• Turn the roast over and around so that the uncut 2/3 is on top and the cut 1/3 is on the bottom. The uncut part of the first cut should now be on the lower left side of the roast. About 1/3 down from what is now the top of the roast, form another flap by making a cut similar to the first one, stopping when about ½” is left uncut.

• Open the two flaps like the pages of a book and even out the surface of the roast by pounding the uncut “hinges” with the heel of your hand.

In a sauté pan, make the filling by combining 5 cloves garlic, minced; 1-1/2 cup diced peppers (multi-color); 2 ounces diced turkey bacon, and ½ cup diced sweet onion and sautéing the mixture until it is tender but not soft. (It’s going to cook more in the oven later.)

Spread the filling evenly over the butterflied roast.

Roll up the roast as tight as possible. (If any filling falls out – and I tend to overstuff things anyway, so some filling probably will come out - it’s ok; you can save any extra filling and use it to top the beef when you’re serving it later.)

Using kitchen twine, tie the roast at about 2” intervals to hold it closed. You can use any knot that works for you, but many professionals use a “butcher’s knot.” Don’t know how to tie a butcher’s knot? Here’s a tutorial to show you how easy it is. (The total run time is a little over 4 minutes.)

Grind 1 teaspoon each of dried rosemary, dried oregano, dried thyme, and dried red pepper flakes, along with ½ teaspoon of kosher salt in a spice grinder. (If you don’t have a spice grinder, it’s easy to make one from a small, inexpensive electric coffee grinder. First, get a small, inexpensive electric coffee grinder. Then, get a Sharpie or other permanent black marker. Use the Sharpie to cross out the word “coffee” on the box the grinder came in, and write in the word “spice” just above it. You’ve now made your own spice grinder. Just remember to put the cover back on the marker when you’re finished.) Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the ground spices to form a wet rub paste.

Apply the wet rub paste over the entire surface of the tied roast, including the bottom. Place the beef in a roasting pan, and put in the oven till it is the desired doneness. (The internal temperature should be 150 degrees for medium rare, 160 degrees for medium, or 165 degrees for medium-well.) I have found a remote reading thermometer, the kind in which the probe stays in the meat while it roasts, and the temperature reads out on the part that attaches to the outside of the oven, to be invaluable for cooking to the proper doneness, but any method that works for you is ok too.

After the desired internal temperature has been reached, remove the roast from the oven and let it rest on a cutting surface for about 20 minutes, and then cut it into 1-1/2” thick pieces and serve topped with gravy, sauce, etc.

You’re now all set to serve a delicious meal that work equally well hot, warm or cold. Not to mention to impress your guests with your butterflying and knot tying skills!

As always, if you prefer a cookbook style, notebook-ready version of this or any other recipe from the Kissing the Cook site, just say the word, send me your e-mail address, and it will be yours.

See you next week! Till then, stay well, keep it about the food, practice those knots, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)

Stuffed Porcupines

Hopefully, no one reading this will be disappointed to find that enjoying stuffed porcupines does not require stalking small game with a shotgun in some deserted wooded area. The stuffed porcupines to which this week’s entry refers are actually tasty cheese-stuffed rice-infused meatballs from the American south.

 

Though this version takes a few liberties with the original, the origin of this recipe is a wonderful treasure with which I was fortunate to be entrusted: a decades-old notebook of recipes kept by my wife’s grandmother back in Meridian, a small town just outside Waco in the sovereign nation of Texas. Written in pencil on the blissfully food-stained pages of a Waco School System tablet notebook, the recipes have authentic warmth that is not taught in any institute of higher culinary learning or on any cable network. These are more than instructions for preparing a certain dish; each is a doorway leading back many years and across hundreds of miles, to the kind of place you know existed in color but that you think of in black-and-white anyway. A place where today’s eager cook gets to mix and measure in joyful earnest alongside people conventional wisdom foolishly says have been gone a long time.

This is the first of what will be several recipes from my wife’s “Grandma Texas.” It is a great pleasure to share them, and an even greater privilege to cook them.

To make about 14 one-and-a-half-inch meatballs, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. While it’s preheating, cut about a 2 ounce block of sharp cheddar cheese into ½” cubes, and set the cubes aside. (You’ll need one cube per meatball.) Then, get a large bowl and prepare the meat for the meatballs by combining (by hand) 1 pound of ground turkey (maximum 90% lean), 1/3 cup uncooked rice, 1 egg-substitute egg, 2 tablespoons of diced shallots, ¾ teaspoon dried thyme, a pinch of dried sage, 1 teaspoon of salt, and some fresh ground black pepper. Mix the ingredients thoroughly but don’t overwork the mixture.

Divide the mixture into 1-1/2” diameter meatballs, stuff each with a ½” cube of sharp cheddar cheese, and close. (See the stuffing method below.) Bake the meatballs on a parchment-covered baking sheet for about 50 minutes.

Stuffing method: Flatten each meatball, press a cheese cube into the center, and bring the sides of the flattened meatball up around the cube. Smooth the ball with your fingertips, and roll them gently in your palms to make them round again. Repeat for each meatball.

While the meatballs are baking, heat in a large saucepan 2-quarts of V-8 juice combined with 2 teaspoons of chili powder. (The liquid should be deep enough to cover the meatballs when added.) After baking the meatballs, add them to the liquid, cover, bring back to a boil, and then lower to a simmer for about 10 minutes. After that, set the meatballs aside while you use the liquid to make the sauce as described below.

To make the sauce, separate 1 cup of the hot liquid and add ½ cup of all-purpose flour to it, mixing until combined and there are no clumps of flour. (I know we’re all usually taught to do this with cold liquid. I did it with the hot liquid, and it worked. Go figure.) Add 1 large chopped pepper to the liquid in the pot, bring it back to a boil, stir in the flour mixture, and cook to the desired sauce thickness. (I recommend cooking it down to half.)

Now all you need to do is top the meatballs with the sauce and some grated cheddar cheese, serve it up, and accept the gratitude of a well-fed family or guests! (I’ve found this is especially good served over rice mixed with finely-diced green or red bell pepper and seasoned with Adobo.)

In the photo, you’ll see the porcupines and rice being served with green bean bundles wrapped in turkey bacon. These are from a Paula Deen recipe you’ll find on the Food Network web site.

Enjoy this delicious – and very special – dish. As always, if you’d like a notebook-ready cookbook-style version of this recipe, just let me know and I’ll send it along.

That’s it for this week, y’all. Till next time, stay well, keep it about the food, and always remember to kiss the cook. ;-)