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Workshop Eatery's Chef Paul Shufelt claimed the chili smack down people's choice award at this past weekend's Devour the Rockies at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge. The food and film festival at the Fairmont JPL, which is a satellite event of the larger Devour in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, involves a heated chili cook off between five chefs.  This year, chef Shufelt took home the fan favourite award with his charred corn & chorizo chili. According to chef Shufelt, the thing about cooking chili, like many things in life, is that taste is subjective. What you may find spicy, he may find mild. Keep that in mind when cooking this and start by adding less of the peppers and spices until you are sure you are comfortable with the spice. This recipe isn’t meant to melt your face off, but it will provide a good heat and depth of flavour. Start slowly, let it cook down, and then adjust as you go. It’s far easier to add a little more heat than to try to take out a lot of heat. This pot of chili should be enough to feed 10-12 people.

What you’ll need…

Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 3-4 hours Special Tools: large braising pot 1.5 kg. fresh ground brisket 1 kg. fresh chorizo 4 tbsp. canola oil 1 ea. large onion, peeled, small diced 4 ea. cloves garlic, peeled, minced 1 tbsp. ground cumin 3 tbsp. smoked paprika 2 cups tomato paste 1 ea. large can, diced tomatoes (2.84lt can) 3 cups beef stock 150gr. chipotles in adobo sauce 3-4 ea. ancho peppers 1 cup packed brown sugar 1kg. cooked kidney beans, drained, rinsed 3 cups corn kernels salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a large braising pan to high heat. Without overcrowding the pan, begin to saute the meat, browning it evenly on all sides. Remove from the heat and drain off any excess fat.
2. Repeat until the beef and the chorizo is all sautéed.
3. Using the same large pan, add the oil, followed by the onions and garlic. Cook until translucent and tender, but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add the cumin and paprika and lightly toast. Add the tomato and stir to combine, let brown just slightly.
4. Deglaze with the beef stock and stir to combine. Add the diced tomatoes, juice and all. Now, add the beef and chorizo back to the pot and bring to a light simmer. Add some of the chipotle and ancho peppers, being careful not to overdo it too soon.
5. Rinse the beans and add them to the pot. Turn the heat down to low and let simmer for 3 to 4 hours, stirring regularly, tasting occasionally, adjusting the seasoning and spice slowly.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 475F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the corn out on the baking sheet. Place the corn in the centre of the oven and let roast until lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Once the corn is browned, add it to the chili and let cook until the flavours are homogenous and balanced, and the meat is melt in your mouth tender, adjust the seasoning to your liking

* Chef Paul Shufelt served his Devour the Rockies award-winning chili with grated Applewood smoked cheddar, lime & chive sour cream, and crumbled cornbread, but feel free to top it with your favourite fixings.

Chef Victor Hugo's mission is simple: bring traditional Mexican cuisine using fresh Alberta ingredients to the people of Edmonton. If you've been lucky enough to see chef Victor in a food demonstration, you know this charismatic chef is eager to share the flavours from his native country. He has proudly shared his passion for Alberta pork in his recipes as a repeat presenter on the Taste Alberta food stage at Porkapalooza, and while sharing his taco making secrets at Get Cooking. Chef Victor Hugo has added a bit more Canadian flavour to this taco recipe - this version of Maple & Orange Carnitas serves six:

What you’ll need…

Carnitas 2 kg Pork shoulder 1 orange, sliced 1/2 cup orange juice 1/3 cup maple syrup 1/3 L  cold water 8 garlic cloves 1 white onion 2 Tbsp salt 1/2 Tbsp black pepper Salsa Verde 6 Tomatillos 2 Garlic Cloves 1 Jalapeño 1 Tbsp salt Garnish and assembly 1/2 white onion, chopped 1 cup cilantro leafs 4 limes, cut into quarters 250 g Cheddar cheese, grated 18 corn tortillas

Directions:

For the Carnitas

1. Cut the pork shoulder in four parts place into an oven-safe pot or roasting pan.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients for a minute add use to marinate the meat. Cover with aluminum foil or a lid, and place in in the oven at 300 °f for 3 hours.
3. Remove the pan use shred the pork – it should be fork tender and pull apart easily. Add a little of the juices left in the roasting pan or pot to the pork mixture, reserving any leftover juices for the garnish (see below).

For the Salsa Verde

1. Add two cups of water to a medium pot and put on the stove over high heat until boiling.
2. Add the tomatillos and jalapeño pepper and cook for 5 minutes. remove from the water and add them to a blender with the other ingredients grind for one minute.

For the Garnish and assembly

1. Grind the cilantro leaves in 1/2 cup of the reserved roasting juice from the pork (see above) with the coriander leaves, until the mixture is thick.
2. Using a skillet over high heat, warm each tortilla for 30 seconds per side.
3. In a non stick frying pan over medium high heat, add some cheese (12 g approximately) and place the tortilla on top. Cook for 45 seconds,and remove with the help of a spatula.
4. Flip the tortilla so the cheese is facing up. Top with carnita mix, onions and cilantro. Serve alongside salsa verde and a lime. Enjoy!

 

  When Cafe Linnea's chef Kelsey Johnson wanted to learn more about butchery, she spent a summer at ACME Meat Market in Edmonton enhancing her skills. Today, the custom mustard sausages she serves at the restaurant are so popular they're available not just on the menu - but also for take away. While stuffing sausages can seem intimidating to some, at her Christmas in November session at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, Kelsey showed how grinding and seasoning custom sausages at home can be simple and rewarding. For those who don't have all the equipment or the time to make their custom minced meat blends at home, Cafe Linnea sells Kelsey's handmade custom mustard sausages for takeaway.

What you’ll need…

[caption id="attachment_76628" align="alignright" width="195"] Cafe Linnea's chef Kelsey Johnson[/caption] Makes approx. 16 sausages or sausage patties 2 kg pork meat (about 25% fat content) 32 g salt 10 g ground mustard seeds 10 g whole mustard seeds 14 g garlic, chopped 2 g cayenne 12 g brown sugar 3 g caraway seeds

Directions:

Dice the pork meat and fat into pieces that will fit into your grinder attachment. Keeping both the meat and the equipment as cold as possible (Kelsey likes to partially freeze the diced meat in one layer on a tray as well as fully freeze the equipment attachments to keep meat and equipment as cold as possible), grind all the pork and double grind about 1⁄3 of the mixture again. Add all your spices and a splash of water to help incorporate everything and mix very well until the mixture feels tacky on your hands. Now you are ready to either fry up your mixture loose, form into patties, or stuff your sausage casing with it. You can always play around with the spice mix too and really customize your sausage mix to your liking using this recipe as a rough template. If you have a Cuisinart Sausage Making attachment, Cuisinart recommends:

1. If you have purchased dry casings, they must be soaked in cold water or a mixture of 2 cups water and 1 tablespoon of vinegar until they become soft and pliable.
2. Soak for approximately 1 hour, changing water 3 times to rinse salt off.
3. Place custom sausage meat in the die-cast hopper and turn the unit on. Push the meat into the die-cast hopper opening with pusher until the mixture appears at the end of the sausage attachment. Turn the unit off and tie a knot at the end of the 2-inch casing overhang.
4. Turn unit on and feed the meat into the diecast hopper opening until all the meat have been used or the casing is approximately 2 inches from being completely full.
5. Turn unit off, remove the end of the casing from the sausage attachment, and tie a knot in the open end of the casing. If air bubbles have formed, use a knife or needle to burst.
6. Sausages can be made to the desired length by twisting the casing at intervals. NOTE: To avoid over-stretching and splitting the casing, do not make the sausages too thick. The meat mixture will expand slightly during cooking. Keep casing moist; water frequently by dipping the sausage casing into a bowl of water or vinegar