Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2 (24 page)

BOOK: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2
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RUB
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon ground sage
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
pepper
I boneless pork loin roast (3 to 4
pounds)
vegetable oil
SAUCE
2 15-ounce cans tomato puree
1 cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon liquid hickory smoke
I clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon coarse ground black
pepper
8 kaiser rolls
1. Make the marinated cabbage at least one day prior to building your sandwiches. Like coleslaw, this garnish needs some time to develop in the fridge. Combine the vinegar and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the cabbage, stir, cover the bowl and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the sandwiches.
2. Put the wood chips in a bowl and cover with water. Let the wood soak for at least I hour. Light the charcoal after it has been arranged around the inside edge of your grill. You don’t want coals directly under your pork. When the coals are hot, drain the water from the wood chips and sprinkle the chips over the top of the coals. You should now have smoke.
3. Combine the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and mix well.
4. Rub some vegetable oil over the surface of the pork roast. Sprinkle the rub over the entire surface of the roast.
5. Place the roast in the center of your grill and put the lid on. Let the pork cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the internal temperature of the roast reaches 170 degrees.
6. As the pork cooks, make the sauce by combining the ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Let the sauce simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, then cover and remove from heat. Set this aside until your pork is ready.
7. When the pork is done, remove it from the grill and let it sit to cool for 15 to 20 minutes or until you can handle it. Now you want to tear the meat along the grain, making bite-size strips of shredded pork.
8. Put the shredded pork into a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 cups of the sauce to the pan and stir Keep the rest of the sauce for later to serve on the side. Cook the pork for 15 minutes or until it is heated through.
9. Grill the faces of the rolls and stack about I cup of pork onto the bottom half of each roll. Add a rounded tablespoon of marinated cabbage on top of the pork, add a tablespoon or so of extra sauce on top of that, then cap off each sandwich with the top half of the roll. Serve with clones for the Hard Rock’s coleslaw (page 163) and baked beans (page 160) on the side, if desired.
• MAKES 8 SANDWICHES.
HOUSTON’S CHICAGO-STYLE SPINACH DIP
These days just about every casual dining chain has its version of this appetizer: spinach and artichoke hearts mixed with cheese and spices, served up hot with chips or crackers for dipping. Making the rounds over the years, I’ve tried many of them, and most formulas are nearly identical. That is, except for this one. Houston’s makes their spinach dip special by using a blend of sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano—the ultimate Parmesan cheese. Parmigiano-Reggiano is born in Italy and is usually aged nearly twice as long as other, more common Parmesan cheeses. That ingredient makes the big difference in this dip. So hunt down some of this special Parm at your well-stocked market or gourmet store, and you’ll find out why Houston’s spinach dip has been one of the most requested recipe clones at
TSR
Central.
One 12-ounce box frozen
chopped spinach, thawed
½ cup chopped canned artichoke
hearts (not marinated)
1 tablespoon chopped white onion
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cups shredded Monterey Jack
cheese
⅓ cup grated Parmigiano-
Reggiano cheese
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
ON THE SIDE
Corn tortilla chips
1. Mix together the spinach, chopped artichoke hearts, and onion in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then cut a small slit in the center of the wrap so that the steam can sneak out. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Keep spinach covered while you prepare the cream sauce.
2. Combine cream, sour cream, Jack cheese, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and garlic salt in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Heat this up slowly for about 10 minutes or until the sauce reaches a simmer and thickens. Just don’t let the mixture boil.
3. Add the spinach mixture to the sauce and continue to heat over medium/low. Cook for about 10 more minutes or until mixture reaches a thick dip-like consistency. Pour into a bowl and serve with tortilla chips for dipping (or crackers, bread, whatever you want).
• MAKES 2 CUPS.
HOUSTON’S HONEY-LIME VINAIGRETTE
This 38-unit casual dining chain may be small compared to many of the other chains whose food I’ve cloned, but Houston’s has a huge following of loyal customers throughout the country. I know this because for many years the restaurant sat at the top of my “most requested clones” list. I was finally ready to take on the challenge, but since there are no Houston’s where I live in Las Vegas, it required a road trip—this time to Orange County, California. A couple plane rides, a bit of driving, some walking and a stumble or two later, I had a cooler full of Houston’s goodies secured safely back at the underground lab. After a few hours of chopping and mixing this simple sweet-and-sour salad slather from Houston’s was cracked.
cup vegetable oil
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons Grey Poupon Dijon
mustard
I tablespoon chopped fresh
cilantro
2½ teaspoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 ½ teaspoons minced red bell
pepper
I teaspoon minced onion
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black
pepper
pinch salt
1. Combine all ingredients in a small glass or ceramic bowl. Stir well.
2. Heat dressing in the microwave on high for I to 1½ minutes or until mixture begins to bubble. Remove dressing from microwave and whisk for I minute. This will emulsify the dressing and it should begin to thicken as it cools.
3. Cover and chill for 2 hours before serving.
• MAKES I CUP.
HOUSTON’S COLESLAW
It’s not your typical coleslaw. The sweet pickle relish and green onion is a nice touch, and all that parsley really sets this dish apart from any other coleslaw I’ve tried. If you like coleslaw and you’ve never had this version at the restaurant, I encourage you to give this one a go.
¾ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
8 cups chopped green cabbage
(I head)
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup chopped green onion
(green part only)
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
½ teaspoon celery seed
1. Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Combine cabbage, parsley, green onion, and relish in a large bowl.
3. Pour the dressing over the cabbage and mix well. Add celery seed and mix, then cover the bowl and chill for at least 4 hours before munching out. Chilling the slaw overnight is even better
BOOK: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2
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