In 3rd Annual Valentine’s Day Recipe Bonanza, Coast Packing Offers Dishes Aimed at Helping Couples Fall Back in Love with Animal Fats

Music may be the food of love, but actual food isn’t far behind.

Coast Packing Company, the West’s largest supplier of healthy animal fat shortenings, today unwrapped its third annual Valentine’s Day “romantic recipe” offering, serving up a trio of courses designed to warm hearts and soothe palates.

“This Valentine’s Day, we’re reminding consumers to fall back in love with animal fats, as so many already have,” said Eric R. Gustafson, CEO of the 97-year-old company.  “While your local café is certainly a natural place to mark the occasion, this year, consider preparing something special for your partner in your own kitchen – and use this remarkable sample menu as your guide.  Consumers increasingly are choosing to avoid industrially-produced partially hydrogenated fats in favor of animal fat shortenings, which have the benefit of being authentic, traditional and flavorful.  Whether you use lard or beef tallow, that someone in your life is certain to taste the difference.”

With appreciation to Christine Byrne at BuzzFeed, Food & Wine and Roxy’s Kitchen, Coast extends warm Valentine’s Day wishes to couples everywhere.  The recipes follow:

Cook the Perfect Steak for Your Valentine

(https://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/how-to-sear-the-perfect-steak-for-your-valentine)

Many people prefer filet mignon for its elegance; it’s less fatty but still tender and delicious.  The filet mignon comes from the beef tenderloin, which, true to its name, is the most tender part of the cow.  Once you’ve procured your steak, you will need kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, oil/fat (for cooking), a bunch of fresh thyme, and butter (to finish) plus a 12-inch cast iron skillet, tongs, a meat thermometer, a spoon, a cutting board, and a very sharp chef’s knife.  If you want to go all out, cooking steak in lard (pork fat) or tallow (beef fat) — both of which have high smoke points and great, meaty flavor — will result in the best steak you’ve ever had.

Forty-five minutes before cooking, take your steak out of the fridge and dry it thoroughly with paper towels.  Excess moisture on your steak makes it nearly impossible to get a nice, dark crust on the outside of the meat.  Then season it with lots of kosher salt, and some pepper. Seasoning your meat 45 minutes in advance intensifies the flavor and draws some of the moisture out. This is a good thing, since a drier surface area means that a better crust will develop. Let your seasoned steak sit out at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Letting your steak return to room temperature will lead to faster, more even cooking.

When you’re ready to cook (about 20 minutes before you’re ready to eat), put your cast iron skillet on a burner over high heat.

Directions:

• Dry your steak again with paper towels.
• Add about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to the pan.
• Get it ripping hot before you even think about putting the steak in. Your pan is hot enough when the oil starts to just barely smoke. Use tongs to place your steak(s) in the pan, working away from yourself.
• Keeping the heat super high, let your steak cook for 2 minutes without touching it.
• After 2 minutes, flip your steak and start to brown the other side.
• Continue to flip every 2 minutes until your steak reaches an internal temperature of 120°F (rare).  For filet mignon, there are more than two sides (the top, the bottom, and the edges), so it’s a little more complicated.
• For the first 2 minutes, sear one flat side of the steak. For the next 2 minutes, sear the other flat side. Then, turn the steak onto its side and sear the edges, rotating every 2 minutes until the steak is cooked.
• Cooked this way, a 2-inch-thick, 8-ounce filet mignon will reach 120°F in about 8 minutes.
• To check the temperature of your steak, stick a meat thermometer in, diagonally, so that the tip of the thermometer is in the middle of the steak.
• When your steak is at 120°F, it’s time to start basting.

To baste: Turn your heat down to medium, and add 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter to the pan.  Let the butter melt and just barely start to bubble, then add about 5 sprigs of thyme.  Then, baste the steak by spooning the melted butter over the top of it, repeatedly. After a minute, flip the steak and keep basting. Check the temperature of your steak again. It’s done when it’s at 130°F (the low end of medium-rare).  Now put your steak on the cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, your steak is ready to be sliced.  Slice your steak against the grain.  Cut slices half an inch thick, using a single downward stroke for each slice.  Transfer your meat to a serving platter or plate.  If desired, pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan over the sliced steak.

Beef Tallow Potatoes with Spicy Paprika

(https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/beef-tallow-potatoes-spicy-paprika, June 2018)

From Food & Wine: “Chef Norberto Piattoni of Brooklyn’s Mettā knows the way to our hearts, and it involves cooking potatoes in beef fat (and French fry connoisseurs swear by its superior flavor).  A blend of paprika, chili powder, and vinegar coats every crackly crevice of the fingerling potatoes here.  You can ask your butcher for the beef fat trimmings of prime cuts like ribs and brisket.”

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds fingerling potatoes
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
• 6 ounces beef fat trimmings
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Directions:

• Step 1 – Preheat oven to 500°F. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, and add water to cover by 1 inch.  Season with 1 tablespoon salt, and bring 
to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain potatoes and let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Step 2 – While potatoes cool, place beef fat in a small saucepan; cook over medium-low, stirring often, until rendered to about 1/2 cup melted fat, 15 to 20 minutes. Pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl; discard solids.
• Step 3 – Arrange potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet. Place a second rimmed baking sheet on potatoes, rimmed side up, and press down gently to crush potatoes without breaking them apart.  Drizzle potatoes with half of the melted beef fat; turn potatoes to coat.
• Step 4 – Roast potatoes in preheated oven until bottoms are golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and drizzle with remaining melted beef fat; turn potatoes to coat. Return to oven, and roast at 500°F until crispy and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Step 5 – Transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar, chili powder, garlic powder, hot paprika, sweet paprika, onion powder, and remaining 1 tablespoon salt; toss to combine. Place potatoes on a platter, and top with chives.

Active Time

• 30 min

Total Time

• 1 hr 15 min

Yield

• Serves: 8

Lard Cookies: “Fursecuri cu Untura”

https://www.roxyskitchen.com/lard-cookies-fursecuri-cu-untura.html

“This is a very basic and old recipe that I know from my mom.  She always used lard for these cookies but you can use butter as a substitute. The texture will be a little different though (sandier when using lard), and the taste as well. You might think that lard is just fat and not good for you but it’s actually healthier than butter.  Lard is great in pie crusts as well; it adds a great flavor and gives the crust a nice flaky texture.”

Ingredients:

• 200 g lard (or butter) – about 7 oz.
• 200 g (1 cup) sugar  (add a little less sugar if using butter since butter is sort of sweet, lard is not)
• 440 g (4 cups) flour
• 2 pouches vanilla sugar (18 g)
• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 250 ml milk
• Zest from a lemon
• 2 eggs
• 100 g Turkish delight (lokum)
• Icing sugar for dusting

Directions:

• In a small bowl combine dry yeast with 1 tablespoon of sugar and some lukewarm milk. Mix for 1 minute to dissolve the yeast and let it rest for 5-7 minutes in a warm place.
• In a large bowl place the white flour and make a hole in the center.  Add the lard, eggs, sugar, vanilla sugar and lemon zest. Pour the yeast and the remaining lukewarm milk mixture over flour.
• Mix to incorporate all ingredients with a spoon. Then knead with your hands or (using a stand mixer) for about 15 minutes, until dough will not stick to your hands.
• Dough will be soft and maybe a little sticky.  Use a cookie press or cookie cutters in whatever shape you prefer.  Or make the dough a little softer so it will be easier to shape the cookies using the press.
• For the flower-shaped cookies I cut tiny pieces of Turkish delight and placed one in the middle of each cookie.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Place the cookies about 1-1.5 cm apart (about .6 of an inch) in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and dust the cookies with icing sugar.

Time:  95 min (Prep: 80 min.; Cook: 15 min. per batch)
Yield:  ~100 cookies

About Coast Packing Company

Now marking its 100th year in business, Coast Packing Company (www.coastpacking.com), a closely held corporation, is the number one supplier of animal fat shortenings – particularly lard and beef tallow — in the Western United States. The company sells to major manufacturers, distributors, retailers, smaller food service operations and leading bakeries. The company participates actively in diverse ethnic markets – from Hispanic retail chains, with its VIVA brand, to various Asian specialty markets. Based in Vernon, Calif., Coast Packing Company is regional, national and, increasingly, global. In some cases, supplier relationships are multigenerational, extending back 50 years and more. Coast is a founding member of the Healthy Fats Coalition (https://www.healthyfatscoalition.org/).

For more information about Coast Packing Company, visit: www.coastpacking.com. Follow us via social media on Facebook at www.facebook.com/coastpackingco, Twitter @coastpackingco and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/coastpackingco.