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Ingredients that grow well together commonly go well together on a plate. Peanuts, coconuts, citrus, ginger, chilli and cocoa all grow in our garden in the Caribbean and this recipe uses all of them in a superb twist on a classic chocolate-chilli combination. You can also make this using chicken or pork instead of beef.
600g beef fillet or flank steak, cut into 8-9cm-long, 2cm-thick strips
1 or 2 tablespoons Spiced Chilli Chocolate Glaze
Lime wedges, to serve
50ml sunflower oil
Makes 16 skewers
1 or 2 teaspoons finely chopped shallots
1 teaspoon finely grated garlic
2 teaspoons brown sugar
70g smooth peanut butter
30ml sunflower oil
25g freshly grated coconut
30ml coconut milk
70g smooth peanut butter
For the marinade
½ teaspoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon caster sugar
70g smooth peanut butter
80ml water
2 teaspoons hot chilli sauce
1 or 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
½ teaspoon sesame oil
For the satay sauce
1.
You'll need 16 x 25-30cm bamboo skewers, soaked in water to prevent burning.2.
Blend all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processor. Place the meat in a large bowl and cover it with the marinade, turning the meat over to coat it. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 12 hours.3.
To make the satay sauce, blend all the ingredients together until smooth. If the sauce is thicker than you'd like, add a little more water.4.
When ready to cook, preheat your barbecue or grill to high. Thread a strip of meat on to each skewer, using its full length. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side. (Chicken and pork should be cooked for a minute or so longer until cooked through.) While the meat is still hot, brush it on all sides with the Spiced Chilli Chocolate Glaze. Do not put the skewers back on the heat or the chocolate will burn.5.
Serve alongside a small dipping pot of the satay sauce, lime wedges and a fresh green salad.
Notes to help you get the most out of your cocoa and chocolate.
Depending on the kind of cocoa you use, how much you use and how you use it, cocoa and chocolate will have a different effect on the taste and experience of your dishes. In each of our recipes, we’ll tell you how much influence it will have, in our cocoa notes:
Low – a subtle hint, playing a bass note in the harmony of flavours.
Medium – a rich interplay of cocoa with other leading ingredients.
High – cocoa starring role.
The Character of Cocoa
The flavour of cocoa and the chocolate it produces varies depending on where the cocoa is grown. Different growing regions have different personalities, each pairing well with other ingredients.
Madagascar, Vietnam
Fruit-led flavours, refreshing in the mouth – perfect with fruits, dark meats and game.
Saint Lucia, Trinidad, Java
Complex and multi-layered flavours jostling for position. Goes with pork, chicken and wines.
Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador
Roasted flavours, led by mellow notes of roasted nuts. Ideal with fish, eggs and desserts.
Demystifying Cocoa Percentages
The percentages used on chocolate labels can sometimes seem a bit confusing. A 40% milk chocolate, for example, is not made with 40% milk. The percentage always refers to the amount of cocoa used in the recipe, and the rest will either be all sugar (darks) or milk and sugar (milks/whites).
You’ll find higher percentages in dark chocolate recipes, with less in milk, and least in white. Surprisingly, one of the UK’s most famous dark chocolates contains just 39% cocoa, and its milk counterpart only 23%. That means the largest ingredient overall is sugar. We believe this is wrong. We always prefer to use more cocoa in our chocolate for an authentic and satisfying cocoa hit. We put 40 – 70% cocoa in our milk and Supermilk chocolate, and 70-100% in our dark.
Our white chocolate has a much higher cocoa percentage than average, at 36%.
Sugar only costs a tenth of the price of even the cheapest cocoa beans, so it’s no wonder that it is tempting for low – quality makers to use so much of it. But in the world of fine chocolate, deciding on whether to use, say 73% or 75% cocoa in a recipe is the chocolatier’s choice and depends on the quality, character and flavour profile of the bean harvest. In many ways, deciding the cocoa percentage is like deciding the alcohol level in a good wine.
How To Melt Your Chocolate
In a Bain-Marie (recommended)
This traditional method offers a great deal of control. Put your chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn’t actually touch the hot water (or it can burn the chocolate). Heat in the steam for about 2 minutes until fully melted, stirring occasionally.
In a Microwave
Put your chocolate in the microwave on high power for a total of 40-50 seconds, but only in 10 second bursts, stirring in between to ensure it doesn’t burn. Stop when fully melted.
Essential Cocoa Nib Know-How
Knowing how to extract the best flavours from your cocoa nibs is essential to many of our recipes. It’s easy to buy cocoa nibs these days, but they can be of variable quality. Follow our tips below to make sure you get the most flavour possible from your nibs.
Awakening your Nibs
Often your nibs will have a silver grey hue to them as they have oxidised around the outside. This is harmless, but we recommend you grind them vigorously in a pestle and mortar for 30 seconds. You’ll see the nibs turn a gorgeous mahogany brown, their amazing flavour and aroma awoken at the same time.
Soak them in Water
After awakening, the nibs may still be hard and flinty. Soak them in a little hot water (just enough to cover them) for about 20 minutes which will soften them, the soaking liquid can be set aside as a flavoursome stock.
Storing your Nibs
Just like coffee, roasted nibs should be kept in an airtight container. If you are able to source ‘just roasted’ nibs or have made your own, you can freeze them in an airtight container until needed, retaining maximum flavour.
Cacao-Spiced Beef Satay
A superb twist on a classic chocolate-chilli combination. You can also make this using chicken or pork instead of beef.
- preparation time: 750 mins
- cooking time: 20-30 mins
- makes: 16
Details
https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/cacao-spiced-beef-satay.htmlDELIVERY INFORMATION
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