Tasty Traditions
Please your crowd with a trio of tried-and-true recipes that these featured LBM dealers offer at their customer events.
Texas Chile
Courtesy of John Bradberry, CEO of Chase Lumber Co., Denver
Bradberry says this recipe is prepared outdoors in a turkey fryer. A very large, restaurant-grade kettle or pot would also do the trick.
Serves 20 to 25
5 large yellow onions, chopped coarsely
3 heads of garlic cloves, separated, peeled, and chopped
8 Jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
2 cups olive oil
5 pounds hamburger meat
4 quarts chicken broth
5 standard-size cans pinto beans
5 large cans tomato sauce
10 tablespoons each ground cumin, garlic powder, black
pepper, salt, and onion powder
1 bottle chili powder (preferably Gebharts)
1/2 bottle Louisiana Hot Sauce
Heat olive oil over high heat. Add onions, peppers, cilantro and garlic and cook until translucent.
Add the hamburger meat, cooking over high heat until browned. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low and simmer slowly for 1 hour.
Moose Chop Suey
Courtesy of Darryl Raven, sales manager at Rufus Deering Lumber, Portland, Maine
Moose meat is very lean and falls apart when cooked. It’s one of the healthier red meats.
Serves 20 to 25
3 pounds macaroni
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, diced
4 pounds ground moose or beef
1 or 2 green or red peppers, chopped (optional)
5 to 6 14.5-ounce cans stewed tomatoes
2 26-ounce (family-size) cans tomato soup
2 teaspoons seasoned salt or salt-free seasoning
Garlic cloves to taste, peeled and chopped
Black pepper to taste
Cook macaroni in a large pot according to maker’s instructions. Keep warm.
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, peppers, and garlic, and cook until soft and tender, about 8 minutes.
Add the meat and cook until well browned. Add stewed tomatoes, tomato soup, seasoned salt, pepper, and whatever else you may like, to taste. Cook over medium heat until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the sauce to the macaroni, stir to mix. For a soupier consistency, add another can of tomato soup. Serve with fresh bread.
Fresh Grilled Salmon
Courtesy of Randy Bridwell, assistant branch manager at the Lois Drive store, Spenard Builders Supply, Anchorage, Alaska
Start with a fresh king salmon filet, deboned but not skinned. Cut into pieces two inches wide. Rub all sides with olive oil, season top and bottom with salt (preferably French sea salt) and fresh ground pepper.
Take a cast-iron flat griddle (Bridwell uses one made by Lodge) and put it on the barbecue with the smooth side up. Be sure barbecue is set on high.
Put on the salmon filets skin down, and close the grill for about two minutes. Open the grill, flip the salmon, and brown about one to two minutes.
Flip the salmon again to finish, about two to three minutes. Salmon is done when it springs back to a light touch.
