Hot and Spicy Food Recipes:
Meat Main Dishes

Musamun Beef Curry
Curry Paste
Chef Terry’s Spicy Pork Quesadillas
Mike Rodman’s Chili Verde Burritos
Spicy Shredded Beef Burritos
Mike Rodman’s Chili with Chorizo Sausage
Pork Tostadas
Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

Musamun Beef Curry

Serve with steamed or a pilaf style rice on the side.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon Curry Paste (recipe follows)
3/4 pound beef top round, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 russet potato, large, cut into 1 inch dice
1 onion, sliced
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 Pequin chile peppers, chopped
1/2 cup peanuts, roasted

Preparation:

Heat the oil and the curry paste in a heavy skillet until the paste bubbles. Add the beef, potato, onion, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar and chile peppers. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes over high heat. Reduce the heat and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Serve immediately. Sprinkle with roasted peanuts.

Curry Paste

It's fun to make your own curry paste, but if you don't have time, you can buy some in the Oriental section of your supermarket. Put a little in at a time until it's right.

Ingredients:

20 Ancho chile peppers, dried, seeded
1 stalk lemon grass, coarsely chopped
1 cup shallots, thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger root, coarsely chopped
1 lime, zested
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
1-tablespoon coriander seeds
1-teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons peanut oil

Preparation:

Make sure that the seeds have been removed from the chile peppers. Soak the peppers in hot water for 10 minutes. Remove the peppers from the water and drain them. Coarsely chop the peppers and combine them with all of the remaining ingredients. Place them in a shallow roasting pan and bake them for 20 minutes at 350°F. Allow the mixture to cool for 5 minutes and process in food processor until smooth.

Store the paste in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Chef Terry’s Spicy Pork Quesadillas

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 pound lean ground pork
1/4 cup diced onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 10 inch flour tortillas
4 tablespoons grated Monterey Jack cheese or 4 tablespoons grated Cheddar cheese

Preparation:

In a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook pork with onion and garlic until browned, drain off any drippings and remove to large bowl.

Stir cumin, oregano, jalapeño and cilantro into pork mixture.

Clean out skillet by wiping with paper towel and heat over medium-high heat. Place one tortilla in skillet, top with half of the pork mixture, spreading evenly and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons cheese.

Top with another tortilla and cook on one side until nicely browned (about 2-3 minutes), pressing down occasionally on top tortilla.

Turn and brown on other side, remove to cutting board and cut into 8 wedges.

Repeat process to make 8 more quesadilla wedges.

Serve with salsa

Note: You can substitute ground chicken in this recipe.

Mike Rodman’s Chili Verde Burritos

Makes 10 burritos

Ingredients:

3 pounds lean pork, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1-2/3 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup liquid from coarse purée (see directions)

Coarse purée:

1 pound tomatillos
2 medium onions
3 jalapeños, stems removed
8 cloves garlic
2 4.5-ounce cans of chopped green chiles
1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin

10 large tortillas

Preparation:

After cutting the pork, you’ll need to soften the tomatillos, so they’ll purée easier. Peel off the outer leaf and discard; put in boiling water for 3 minutes; drain in colander; then put tomatillos in a bowl of cold water (to keep them from continuing to cook).

Separately pulse in a mini-food processor: the softened tomatillos, onion, jalapeños and garlic. (I never used a blender for this and I’m afraid it would nearly liquefy the contents. So if you don’t have a food processor, mince by hand.) Don’t liquefy any of the items -- just pulse it enough to be finely chopped.

As you finish with each ingredient, put it in a mixing bowl. After all four items have been chopped, add the canned chiles and cilantro. Mix well and drain through a colander, catching the juices in another bowl.

Save 1/3 cup of the juices that drain out and discard the rest. Return coarse purée to its own mixing bowl and stir-in the cumin.

Brown pork in Dutch oven or stockpot (I use a 5-qt. cast-iron Dutch oven that works great). Drain; return to pot and add chicken stock and 1/3 cup of the purée liquid. Simmer pork in liquid for 1 hour. (Can be made ahead, to this point.) Add coarse purée and simmer for another 20 minutes. Serve in large tortillas, using slotted spoon for filling and a regular spoon to spread liquid on top.

As a side dish, I recommend either Mexican rice or refried beans.

Mike Rodman is a free-lance writer who lives on Beaver Lake in Northwest Arkansas, where he also fishes, cooks and listens to his stereo.

Spicy Shredded Beef Burritos

Makes 10-12 servings

Ingredients:

4-1/2 pound bone-in chuck roast
7 ounce can diced green chiles
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounce can tomatoes
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Preparation:

Place chuck roast on a sheet of aluminum foil, approximately 12 inches x 25 inches. Mix together green chilies, chili powder, oregano and minced garlic. Spread this mixture on the roast and seal the foil all around.

Place in a roaster and bake at 300°F. for 4 to 4-1/2 hours. The roast should be very tender and fall apart. Discard the bone and fat.

Transfer the drippings to a large pan and stir in the canned tomatoes and shredded beef. Mix well and heat through. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Serve on flour tortillas topped with your choice of condiments, including tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Mike Rodman’s Chili with Chorizo Sausage

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1-1/2 pounds chili meat (stew meat cut into thin pieces)
2 large onions, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, diced (optional)
1/2 pound chorizo sausage, casings removed and meat separated
1/4 cup Mrs. Renfro's green salsa (high-powered jalapeño sauce)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans (optional)
6 green onions, sliced (with tops)
1 bunch fresh chopped cilantro

Preparation:

Cook the chili meat, onions, garlic and bell pepper (if using) in a 5-qt. saucepan or Dutch oven, over medium heat, until beef is browned; drain and set aside

Brown chorizo sausage (do not drain) and then add the drained meat mixture. Stir in remainder of ingredients, except beans, green onions and cilantro. Bring to a boil; reduce heat.

Cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Stir in beans (if using), green onions and cilantro. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes or until desired thickness, stirring occasionally.

Pork Tostadas

Makes 2 servings

More of a concept than an actual recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons corn oil
4 pork chops, less than an inch thick
corn meal for dredging
1/2 cup refried beans
3/4 to 1 cup of your favorite red chili
1 cup cheddar or jack cheese

Garnish for "tostadas":

shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
diced red onion
sliced black olive
sour cream
guacamole
more shredded cheese
salsa

Preparation:

Take each pork chop and place it between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound it out with the flat side of a meat hammer to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Continue with each chop.

Dredge the flattened chops in corn meal. Heat oil in 12 inch sauté pan and sear on both sides, approximately 2 to 3 minutes each side. Remember your chop is very thin and will only take a short time to cook. Place on a plate until all the pieces are done.

Top the pork "tortilla" with refried beans, a little chili and some cheddar cheese and place in an oven that has been preheated to 350°F just until the cheese melts and the chili and beans are heated through, approximately 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove to warm plates. Have all the toppings ready and allow your guests to garnish their "tostada" as they wish.

Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1/2 pound finely ground beef
1/2 pound finely ground pork
1/3 cup finely chopped onions
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup tomato sauce
2 chipotle peppers, canned in adobo sauce, stemmed and chopped
2 tablespoons chipotle sauce (from canned chilies)
1/2 cup beef broth

Preparation:

Meatballs:

Combine all the meatball ingredients, except the oil, and mix well. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Brown the meatballs in the oil, remove and keep warm.

Sauce:

To make the sauce, add the oil to the pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce is thickened.

Place the sauce in a blender or food processor and purée until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan, add the meatballs, and heat through.