Home-Style Cooking in the Steel City
April 5, 2010
•Jud Chapman
•Pittsburgh
• 0 Comments
Home-Style Cooking in the Steel City
Pittsburgh is known for its steel industry, its football, and its unique take on cuisine. In the following article you will find some great recipes for cooking up fantastic dishes Steel City style. From steak, to pierogies to favorite snacks for Steelers fans, we’ve got a number of great ideas that will leave you and your guests salivating for more.
“Pittsburgh Rare” Steak
As legend has it, Pittsburgh steelworkers used to bring uncooked pieces of meat with them to work in their lunch pails. When the whistle blew for lunch time, they would hold the raw meat up to a slab of hot metal, searing the outside around a red, rare core. This gave rise to the phrase “Pittsburgh Rare” or “Black and Blue” steak. The following recipe is for a great Pittsburgh Rare steak (no steel factory necessary!).
Ingredients
Porterhouse, Strip or other high quality cut of steak approximately 1 ¼” thick
Salt and Pepper
Preparation
Trim excess fat from the steak and season with salt and pepper. Marinate for four hours, if desired. Grill on high heat, or cook in a really, really hot cast iron pan, turning occasionally, until inside temperature reaches 125 degrees and outside is well browned and slightly charred around the edges. The trick here is the very high heat! It should be practically charred on the outside (black), while the center remains cold and rare (blue).
Jalapeño Pierogie Filling
This recipe adds a little spice to a classic dish. Pierogies have eastern European roots, and were introduced to American cuisine with the influx of immigrants in the 19th century. Generally a fairly plain potato dumpling, this recipe makes Pierogies with zip that everyone is sure to enjoy.
Ingredients
2 ½ pounds of potatoes, washed and peeled
1 Tablespoon Salt
¼ Cup Butter
1 Large Onion, Chopped (Sweet Onions are particularly good)
2 Tablespoons chopped Jalapeños
Preparation
Add potatoes to a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a tablespoon of salt, bring to a rolling boil, and cook until potatoes are soft. While the potatoes are boiling, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Incorporate onion and the jalapeños and sauté until soft and translucent. Drain the potatoes and mash them, adding a little milk or cream if the potatoes are extremely dry (the potatoes should be thick, though). Add the cooked onion and jalapeno and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Continue mashing until blended. Let filling cool. Use 1 tablespoon to fill each pierogie.
Pittsburgh-Style Football Party Snacks
The perfect football party means food, and a lot of it. You'll want plenty of appetizers on hand, such as nachos and wings (things that are easy to eat while keeping your eyes on the game). Half-time buffet-style food is ideal, but stick with a simple menu so that you can enjoy the game, even while hosting.
What first comes to mind when planning a Steelers-style party? For most die-hard Pittsburghers it’s kielbasa, pierogies and Isaly's chipped ham barbeque. These dishes are easy to prepare and serve, with little to clean up, and they do an excellent job of pleasing the meat and potato fans. Haluski, a dish of homemade dumpling noodles and sweet cabbage, and Buffalo Chicken Wings are also popular with Pittsburgh fans.
Have Fun and Improvise
As with all cooking, make sure to have fun and improvise with your recipes. The best part is, now you can cook Pittsburgh-style, no matter where you call home.
This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh. Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh offers culinary arts, pâtisserie and baking, and hospitality & restaurant management training programs in Pittsburgh, PA. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit http://www.Chefs.edu/Pittsburgh for more information.
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