Beef Baked in a Barrel
Submitted by catonl
Showstopping ground beef flambeed with brandy, mixed with pineapple and mandarin oranges, then baked inside hollowed-out pineapple shells. A retro dinner party centerpiece that earns its 5-star rating.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
55 minCOOK
35 minREADY
90 minThis is the kind of recipe that made dinner parties in the ‘60s and ‘70s legendary, and honestly, it still brings the drama.
Ground beef is browned with garlic, onions, and ginger, then flambeed with coffee brandy right in the skillet. Once the flames die down, diced fresh pineapple, mandarin orange segments, and a splash of orange liqueur fold in.
The whole mixture gets packed into hollowed-out pineapple “barrels” and baked until everything melds together.
Garnish each plate with pimiento-stuffed mushroom caps, spoon the filling over rice, and watch your guests lose their minds.
Chef Tips
- When hollowing the pineapples, leave a solid ¾ inch of fruit on the walls so the shells hold their shape in the oven.
- Warm the brandy gently before igniting. Cold brandy won’t flame properly. And keep your face back.
- Stand the pineapple barrels upright in a foil-lined pan so they don’t tip during baking.
- This is a fantastic recipe for entertaining. Prep the filling ahead and stuff the pineapples just before baking.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut tops from pineapples.
With a sharp knife, hollow out fruit, leaving about ¾ inch pineapple on sides and bottom.
(Be careful not to cut through outside shells.) Dice 1 cup pineapple.
(Use remainder for salad or dessert) Cook onions and garlic in cooking fat in large frying-pan 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add ground beef, salt, ginger, seasoned salt and pepper.
Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until ground beef begins to brown.
Warm brandy in small pan over low heat, ignite and pour over beef mixture, lifting pan from heat and shaking until flame dies.
Continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat; add 1 cup diced pineapple, orange segments and mandarine liquer, stirring carefully to mix.
Fill pineapple shells (barrels) with beef and fruit mixture.
Place filled fruit upright in foil lined pan.
Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees F.) for 35 minutes. Meanwhile remove stems from mushrooms, slightly hollowing out caps.
Cook caps in butter in small frying-pan about 3 minutes.
Curl up each pimiento strip and place in mushroom cap.
To serve, set both “Barrels” on warm plater, spoon beef mixture over rice on individual dinner plates and garnish each serving with 3 stuffed mushroom caps.
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