JP McMahon Talks Meat And Keeping A Business Going In A Pandemic

JP McMahon is the master of meat.

The Restaurateur and Chef from Galway should probably be knighted for his services to meat - Sir Loin maybe?

He joined Weekend Breakfast as the final participant in our Food Month for January.

WARNING: Grab a napkin before you listen. Be prepared to drool.

All the recipes mentioned are below:

RECIPE 1 Beef cheek, barley, onions

Ingredients

For the beef cheeks

• 2 beef cheeks
• 2 carrots, whole
• 1 onion, halved
• 450ml stout
• Sea salt

For the barley and onions

• 2 onion, halved, skin on
• 200g barley
• Butter
• Sea salt

To garnish

• 1 apple
• 100ml apple juice

Method

1. To braise the beef cheek: salt and brown in a large frying pan with the carrots and onions. Baste with some butter. Transfer to an oven proof dish and discard an excess fat. Pour the stout over the cheek. Cover with water or beef stock or water until the cheek is completely submerged. Wrap the dish in tin foil and place in a 120°C oven for 5 hours.
2. Strain the sauce from the cheek and reduce by half for a nice gravy.
3. Cook the barley in some water until soft. Sieve and reserve. When serving mount with some butter and season.
4. Place the onion on a dry pan and blacken until soft to touch. Peel into little pieces, keeping the lobes intact. Remove any large charred pieces.
5. Slice the apples thinly on a mandolin cover with some apple juice. If you have a vacuum-pace, seal apples with juice.
6. To serve, spoon the barley over the plate. Add the charred onions. Slice the beef cheek and lay near the onions. Place some apple slices on top of the beef and garnish with some jus. Decorate with some baby leaves.

Recipe 2 - Lamb, Cauliflower, Nori

Ingredients

• 1 leg of lamb
• 5g milled nori
• Rapeseed oil
• Sea salt

For the cauliflower purée

• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 125g unsalted butter
• 500ml milk
• Sea salt

Method

1. For the leg of lamb: rub the leg with the oil and season with the salt. Place in a 160˚C preheated oven until the core temperature of the lamb is at the desired temperature (50˚C – rare, 60˚ - medium, 70˚C – well done)
2. In a large pot, add the cauliflower, butter and the milk. Cover with a cart-touche. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until soft. Strain the milk from the cauliflower and reserve. Blend until smooth, using as much warm milk as required to achieve a smooth consistency. Season to taste.
3. If you want you can dry some cauliflowers florets in a 65°C oven for a few hours. These thin florets will make a lovely garnish.
4. Remove the lamb from the oven and rest for 10 minutes. Place on a warm plate with the cauliflower purée.

Recipe 3 - Roast Whole Chicken, (sherry, honey, dried fruit, couscous)

This whole chicken recipe has Moroccan origins. It is a great way of keeping the chicken moist throughout the cooking.  You can omit the couscous if you like and start from number 5. Stuff the chicken with a lemon, a head of garlic, and some rosemary. If you want to use olive oil instead of butter, you can! Furthermore, white wine or cider will also do the job. The best way to cook a whole chicken is to cook it slowly at low temperature for longer and then turn up the oven at the end to achieve the maillard reaction. You can brine you chicken (8% brine solution) overnight for a more complex flavour as the brine will help keep the chicken juicy and moist. Brine breaks down the protein and makes for softer meat.

A note on cooking time

At 180°C you chicken will most likely cook in less than an hour. However, if you want you can lower your chicken to 160°C or even 140°C, the chicken will take between 1.5 and 2 hours. The slower cooking process helps to keep the chicken nice and moist. Remember, the longer, slower and lower your cook large birds, the better they will taste. Finally, remember to season the chicken before cooking as the salt will help draw out and amplify the flavour of the chicken. IF you want nice crispy skin you can cook the chicken at 220°C for the last 15 minutes.

Ingredients

• 50g raisins
• 100g couscous
• 200ml boiling water
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 50g butter
• 25g flaked almonds
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 whole chicken
• 500ml manzanilla sherry (or white wine)
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper (optional)

Method

1. Mix the raisins and the dry couscous and add boiling water. Cover and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.
2. Sweat the onion in half the butter and add to the couscous.
3. Toast the almonds and add to the couscous with the cinnamon and the honey
4. Stuff the chicken and place in a casserole dish.
5. Rub the remaining butter over the chicken and season with sea salt and black pepper.
6. Cook for 30 minutes in a 160°C oven, and then pour over half the sherry. Cook for a further 30 mins, basting occasionally. After 1 hour, pour the rest of the sherry over the chicken and cook for a further 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 65°C. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
7. Serve with some yogurt and some crisp green salad

 

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We've had The Daly Dish talking about Food Diarys and Air Fryers, Lilly Higgins told us how to make food fun with kids and top Food Nutritionist Orla Walsh telling us the diet to make us happier.

All can be found here