A Special Guest
This week I am delighted to have a special guest blogger sharing one of his amazing creations with us!
Mr Keith “Kitoi” Taylor. He has one of the most intriguing recipe blogs I have come across in a long time!
As you might have noticed I am a huge fan of traditional cooking and organ meats, because of the innumerable nutritional benefits they bring.
This week mr Kitoi brings us a classic Philipino Balbacua recipe modified to fit our lifestyle!
Kitoi and the Balbacua Recipe
I began cooking in my early teens, taught by my mom and grandmothers. I learned southern cooking from my dad’s side, Filipino from my mother’s. At age 48 I decided to make a change in my eating habits, away from the inflammatory SAD. Grains and seed oils were removed. Within 30 days my allergies and asthma got better. I reintroduced the grains and mysymptoms returned. Removed them and symptoms disappeared again. My allergy to nuts has not changed, they will still send me to the hospital.
After a couple months I replaced CAFO meats with pastured. That began my experimenting with offal, bone broths and rendering lard/tallow. I’m not into creating dishes from thin air so I adjust current and family recipes to fit my eating style. Asian cooking is my favorite. In addition to cooking I do pottery, gardening and photography.
2013 I created a blog, Kitoi’s Ancestral Kitchen and Facebook page.
http://kitoikitchen.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KitoiKitchen
This dish is an old family recipe from the Philippines. The breadcrumbs/flour were removed and seed oil replaced with lard.
Get your pastured specialty meats here: Us Wellness Meats
Balbacua- 2lb oxtail
- 2 pig's feet
- ¼ cup lard
- 2 in piece of ginger, sliced
- 1 head garlic, chopped
- 6 bay leaves
- 8 star anise
- 1 onion wedged
- 2 tbsp Hawaiian salt
- 2 cup bone broth
- Water to cover in the slowcooker
- 300g liver spread (*recipe below)
- 8 chili peppers sliced
- ¼c annatto powder
- ½c coconut vinegar
- 2c fried peanuts crushed (optional)
- Salt, pepper to taste
Liver spread- ½lb beef liver
- ¼c lard
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 head garlic chopped
- ⅔ cup coconut or white vinegar
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Heat lard in cast iron skillet.
- Sear oxtails and feet.
- Add all ingredients to slow cooker set to low.
- Pour in enough water to cover.
- Cook for 4hrs or until bones can be removed easily.
- Let cool.
- Remove bones, bay leaves and star anise.
- Cut skin, tendons and beef into bite size pieces.
- Return to heat.
- Add remaining ingredients, simmer till the desired thickness is reached.
- Taste for salt and pepper.
- I simmer longer to reduce by at least a ⅓, prefer it more like a stew rather than a soup. Also threw in a sliced up pig ear that lonely in the fridge.
- Serve over cauli-rice, bok choy or your favorite veggie
Liver spread- Pulse liver in food processor until chopped into a fine paste, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
- Heat lard in cast iron skillet.
- Add in onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add in liver paste and stir to combine, cook 5min.
- Add in vinegar, reduce heat to a simmer.
- Cook until thickened, about 5-15 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Let cool and serve or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
