Meats/8 recipes

A quick warm comfort food, can be served with chips.

Round-up beef for a crowd, slow-braised round steak strips in a sweet-tangy ketchup, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Feeds 20 with chuck-wagon flair, served over noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Baked Italian sausage and mozzarella pasta casserole scaled to feed 150 people. Layered with corkscrew pasta, mushrooms, and spaghetti sauce across eight 6-quart pans.

Slow-roasted beef brisket braised in barbecue sauce until fork-tender, thinly sliced, and piled high on buns. Feeds 50 hungry guests with just 4 simple ingredients.

Backyard booyah, the giant slow-simmered meat-and-vegetable stew of the Upper Midwest. Beef, soup bones, and chicken cooked until they fall off the bone, then loaded with vegetables in a kettle.

A large batch cured German style sausage from scratch.

Mango chutney with brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, coriander, and cayenne. A quick-cook Indian condiment that improves with age. Makes 8 cups for pairing with curries and grilled meats.

I changed it up a bit by using both a red and green pepper and a can of stewed tomatoes. I cooked on low for a full 8 hours which made the meat extremely tender.

Chinese marinated beef skewers with hoisin, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, and pineapple chunks. Overnight marinade builds deep flavor for broiling or grilling.

Italian meat sauce mix is a bulk-batch freezer sauce: hot Italian sausage and ground beef slow-simmered for 8 hours with tomato puree, basil, and hidden broccoli and cauliflower florets. Makes 8 pints to stash.

Slow cooker spaghetti meat sauce with blended vegetables hidden in the base. Ground beef, canned tomatoes, carrots, and onions simmer 8-10 hours for a deep, rich, thick sauce.

Slow cooker chicken and pork cubes marinated in red wine, beef stock, tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary. Set it, forget it, and come home to fork-tender meat after 6 to 8 hours.

Honey-glazed smoked turkey with a butter, wine, honey, and cinnamon glaze injected into the meat and brushed on the skin. Water-smoked 6 to 8 hours for deep flavor.

Hands-off crockpot stuffed peppers with seasoned beef meatloaf filling, spaghetti sauce, and 6-8 hours of slow cooking for tender peppers and juicy meat.

Tart green mango, fresh lemongrass, and red chili slices create a bright Southeast Asian salsa that cuts through rich grilled meats and seafood in just 8 minutes.

Baked trout smothered in a rich Creole-style Marguery sauce made with shrimp, crab meat, mushrooms, egg yolks, butter, and oyster liqueur. A New Orleans classic that serves 8.