Making Herbal Rub Mixtures for Grilling

This was originally posted on the Supporting Artist Blog back in June 2013.  That Blog is now gone so I thought I would share the recipes here, in case you missed them back then.  For details on What Meat Rubs are and how to use them see this previous post - What is an Herbal Meat Rub?

With Father’s day right around the corner, I thought I would share a few ways to make some great blends of herbs to use for grilling everything from beef and chicken to fish and vegetables.

The Backyard Patch makes several Grilling Rubs and Marinade Mixes.

Two of the blends are nice and spicy for those who like a robust meat rub:

N’OrleansSecret - This blend will add some punch to everyday dishes and makes a great meat rub for grilling as well as a way to zip up your ketchup for burgers.  Just try 1 Tbls. N’orleans Secret in a cup of tomato ketchup for a spicy summer condiment. 

Four Spice Meat Rub - A nod to the fact that when barbequing the need for a stronger flavor that will hold up to fire is sometimes required,  we created this spice blend (with a few herbs) that can be used as a meat rub.  You can also use it to create a wonderful warm BBQ sauce.  Blend 1 tablespoon Backyard Patch Four Spice Meat Rub with 1 cup ketchup or tomato sauce and a bit of salt to taste, then warm in a sauce pan and serve hot.

For a sweeter rub try Mint Meat Rub - this blend with cinnamon and allspice is flavored with mint leaves to make a perfect pairing with pork.  Rub the blend into a pork roast and broil or grill until the internal temperature is 145 degrees.

If you want to craft your own rubs and seasoning, here are a few blends to try.  At the bottom of the post are a couple of recipes to go with these blends.

Bay Blend for Meat and Poultry
3 parts powdered bay leaf
2 parts rubbed sage
2 parts dried savory
1 part dried marjoram
1 part dried thyme
1 part dried basil
1 part dried rosemary
½ part garlic powder
½ part onion powder

Mix all ingredients. Store in lidded container. Rub into meat or poultry before roasting or broiling, or grilling.

No Salt Seasoning Mix

Good sprinkled on eggs, meat or chicken.  Use 1 to 2 Tbls. as a meat rub.  Blend with butter or margarine over fresh steamed vegetables.   You can even combine 1 Tbls. of the blend with 2/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup vinegar for a tangy salad dressing.

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. basil, crumbled

1 tsp. marjoram

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. granulated garlic

½ tsp. thyme, crumbled

½ tsp celery seed

½ tsp parsley, crumbled

½ tsp curry powder (optional)

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid; shake well.

Peppered Lavender Beef Rub

1 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoons whole white peppercorns
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender flowers

Pinch of savory
 

In a small spice or coffee grinder, coarsely grind the black peppercorns, white peppercorns, fennel seeds, thyme, and lavender flowers; rub mixture all over the meat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight (preferably).

This is good on a tenderloin roast, rolled roast, steaks or even pounded Round steak.  Just sear the meat then broil or crock pot cook it until fully cooked.  The recipe amount is calculated for a 3 to 4 pound roast

Fish & Poultry Rub

2 parts sorrel

1 part lemon balm

 ½ part thyme

This blend can also be made with fresh ingredients.  Just finely mince the fresh herbs using the same proportions add to a bit of olive oil and spread on your fish or chicken like a paste.  When using dry herbs combine ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid.  Use as a rub or stuff the cavity before poaching or baking.  Use about 1/3 less on you fish or poultry when using dry versus fresh herbs in this mixture.

Blackening Rub

4 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. black pepper

1.2 tsp. cayenne pepper (adjust for personal taste)

2 tsp. garlic granules

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp dried thyme

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt (optional)

Combine the dry ingredients in a screw-top jar, using more cayenne if a hotter mix is required; shake well

Recipe to try

Blackened Chicken

6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts

8 Tbls butter, melted

A generous portion of  Blackening Rub.

Pound the chicken breasts lightly until thinner and of an even thickness. Heat barbecue or cast-iron skillet or grill pan for about 10 minutes, until very hot.

Dip the chicken into melted butter and sprinkle the spice mixture on both sides. Cook the chicken for about 2 minutes on each side, until a black crust forms and the chicken is cooked through. (This cooking process will create a lot of smoke and is best done outdoors. Have a strong exhaust fan operating if cooking indoors.)

Pork Roast with Horseradish & Herbs

Serves 8

1  2-pound lean boneless pork rib roast or loin roast, all visible fat removed

1 teaspoon prepared horseradish

2 Tsp. Backyard Patch Butter N Cheese Herb Mix

Preheat oven to 350° F. Place pork roast in a shallow baking pan. Rub horseradish over the surface of meat. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over roast. Place roast, uncovered, in oven. Cook about 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer registers 160°F. Let stand 5 minutes. Slice to serve.

Top Recipes in 2016

I posted more than 100 different recipes in 2016.  In late 2016 I started to sort and organize my immense collection of recipes (it fills 4 filing cabinet drawers,) so in 2017 we will be sharing even more from that enormous collection.  These are the top 10 recipes from my posts last year.  I thought I would gather them together so if you missed them, you can see what others are enjoying as well.

This year we will continue to dig into our stash of recipes and post one at least every weekend with more shared in the Herb of the Week posts too!

Here is a countdown of the top 10:

#10 In November 2016 I posted Five herbs of holiday wellness with a set of recipes in in and it ranks among the highest of the year, even though it was not posted until November.

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/11/five-herbs-of-holiday-wellness.html

#9 Spices must have been popular in 2016 because this post for Herb and Spice Day with recipes was also among the top 10 in 2016

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2015/06/8-herbs-and-spices-for-herb-and-spice.html

Appetizers were very popular this year.  The 2 most clicked were

#8 A hummus recipe

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/04/basic-hummus-weekend-recipe.html

#7 Muffalata Salsa

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/08/mushroom-muffalatta-salsa-weekend-recipe.html

Chicken was a popular ingredient this year and this recipe was among the more visited.

#6 Chicken with Pineapple Sage

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/10/pineapple-sage-and-marjoram-chicken.html

#5 Crockpot Chicken

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/01/crock-pot-sweet-garlic-chicken-weekend.html

#4 The most popular single recipe in 2016 was Charcoal Grilled Chicken

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2015/03/charcoal-grilled-chicken-weekend-recipe.html

#3 And one popular recipe was not to be eaten but to be enjoyed, this bath salt blend was first posted in June as one of our Bath Blends of the month.

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/05/relaxing-herbal-bath-mixture-bath.html

#2 This Punch was the second most popular recipe

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/06/weekend-recipe-tea-champagne-punch.html

#1 The top recipe with the most visits was my tribute to Dr. Seuss with a Ham and Green Herb Paste recipe!

http://backyardpatch.blogspot.com/2016/03/happy-birthday-dr-seuss.html

National Indian Pudding Day

Do not let the name fool you.  This is not a Native American dish.  It does, however, seems appropriate to hold this day in mid November, as we approach Thanksgiving. With Native Americans and the foods they introduced the starving settlers to very much a part of the first Thanksgiving feast, this dish made with cornmeal is a perfect complement.  It is slightly possible these puddings were served, and enjoyed, at that first Thanksgiving.

Early colonists brought with them to America a fondness for British “hasty pudding,” a dish made by boiling wheat flour in water or milk until it thickened into porridge. Since wheat flour was scarce in the New World, settlers adapted by using native cornmeal, dubbed “indian flour,” and flavoring the resulting mush to be either sweet (with maple syrup or molasses) or savory (with drippings or salted meat). In time, Indian pudding evolved into a dish that was resoundingly sweet, with lots of molasses and additional ingredients such as butter, cinnamon, ginger, eggs, and sometimes even raisins or nuts. Recipes for Indian pudding began appearing in cookery books in the late 1700s.

Indian puddings are as diverse as the population making them.  Generally, they include molasses and cornmeal. Apples were often an ingredient, or raisins, and they were usually baked.

Make sure to enjoy your American heritage, and a dish or bowl of Indian pudding, as you celebrate National Indian Pudding Day.  These days they generally a baked custard with milk, butter, molasses, eggs, spices, and cornmeal. The name is likely derived from the cornmeal, which was known as indian meal way back when, not from the American Indians.

Now served as a dessert it is rather unappetizing looking as it is a lumpy brown mush.  But served with a bit of vanilla ice cream, it can be a great holiday pleaser. I looked for the oldest version I could find and this one adapted from a book published in 1980 called An Olde Concord Christmas, may be the best tasting and closest to the authentic New England tradition.

New England Indian Pudding

6 cups of milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup molasses

3 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 cup golden raisins (optional)

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250°F. Scald the milk and butter in a large double boiler. Or heat the milk and butter for 5 or 6 minutes on high heat in the microwave, until it is boiling, then transfer it to a pot on the stove. Keep hot on medium heat.

In a separate bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, and salt; stir in molasses. Thin the mixture with about 1/2 cup of scalded milk, a few tablespoons at a time, then gradually add the mixture back to the large pot of scalded milk. Cook, stirring until thickened.

Temper the eggs by slowly adding a half cup of the hot milk cornmeal mixture to the beaten eggs, whisking constantly. Add the egg mixture back in with the hot milk cornmeal mixture, stir to combine.

Stir in the sugar and spices, until smooth. At this point, if the mixture is clumpy, you can run it through a blender to smooth it out. Stir in the raisins (optional).

Pour into a 2 1/2 quart shallow casserole dish. Bake for 2 hours at 250°F.

Allow the pudding to cool about an hour to be at its best. It should be reheated to warm temperature if it has been chilled. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Weekend Recipe -Banana Bread Oatmeal

I have been experimenting with Carrot Cake Jam (trust me when it jells right, I will post the recipe!) so when I located this version of a favorite breakfast of mine, I was just so on board.  

Twice a month I teach a licensing class for the State of Illinois.  The class is 20 hours and runs from 7:30 AM to 6:30 PM.  It is a long couple days for both my students and myself.  I am not a big fan of breakfast, at least making it myself. So when I found this quick microwave recipe that was both nutritious and a wonderful collection of morning flavors, I was hooked.  Try it -- You'll like it!

Banana Bread Oatmeal 

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup water or milk (I use milk for the extra calcium and creaminess)

3/4 tablespoon brown sugar

1 large, ripe banana mashed

Toppings:

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon (I use Cinnful Dessert Blend from the Backyard Patch!!)

Sprinkle of ground nutmeg

Pinch of salt (optional)

Low-fat vanilla yogurt (optional)

Pecan halves (optional)

Banana slices (optional)

Directions:

Combine oats, liquid, and spices in microwaveable bowl. Microwave for 2-3 minutes, stir and add more liquid if necessary. Then, while oats are still hot, stir in mashed banana. Top with a dollop of low-fat vanilla yogurt, banana slices, pecans, and extra spices if desired.

Bath Recipe of the month - Sunflower Soak

Cooler weather brings heated homes which results in dry and irritated skin. This recipe will help you soothe away itches and rejuvenate you.  The seasonal scents will help bring out your holiday spirit.

All you need to make this is a food grinder or food processor.  You can whip this up in a few minutes.  Sunflower seed powder can go rancid, so do not blend up too much in advance.

SUNFLOWER SOAK   

Yield: 4 ounces, enough for one bath

1/4 cup shelled, raw unsalted or roasted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup oatmeal

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vitamin E oil

In a coffee grinder or food processor, grind sunflower seeds and oatmeal until you have a smooth

powder the consistency of whole-grain flour. Stir in spices and vitamin E oil and mix well. Store

mixture in an airtight container. 

To use: Pour bath soak into a warm tub of water and stir well to mix. Moisturize your skin after bathing with some sunflower oil or a rich cream.

Spiced Cider Time

This month for the Featured Product on the website, I chose my Print Cookbooks which will soon be going digital, instead of my favorites for October – Spiced Cider Blends or Cinnful Dessert Blend. 

However, that did not stop me from thinking about what to do with these great blends, so I decided to send my musings out in a blog post.

Spiced Cider or Mulled Spice Blends

Spice Tea Latte

Do you enjoy Chai or spiced tea drinks in the fall?  Try this – Place about 1 Tbls. of Spiced Cider blend in a tea ball infuser and place it in 2 cups steamed milk for about 5 minutes. Add this spiced milk to cups of freshly brewed hot black or green tea for a quick chai-like seasonal flair.  To add decadence top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

You can also make this for a group by placing a Mulled Cider Spice bag into 4 to 6 cups of milk and warm gently on the stove for 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove the bag and use the milk in coffee or tea.

Cinnful Dessert Blend

Grand Pumpkin Cookies

A Butter cookie is quick and easy to begin with.  Make it even more special with seasonal panache with Cinnful Dessert Blend.  Make a Cinnful  Spiced Sugar by combining ½ cup of confectioners’ sugar with 1 teaspoon of Cinnful Dessert Blend. Next, make your favorite butter cookie or sugar cookie recipe and lightly dust the top of the cookies with Cinnful Spiced Sugar before or after baking.

Butter Cookies

1/2 cup(s) butter

1 cup(s) sugar

1 egg(s)

1 1/2 cup(s) flour, all-purpose

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until combined. Add egg; beat until combined. Beat in flour, baking powder, and salt. Divide dough in half.  Shape each half of the dough into a 12-inch-long rope. Wrap and freeze about 4 hours or until firm.  Preheat oven to 325°F. Unwrap dough; carefully slice the frozen dough into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place the slices, cut sides up, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use your Cinnful Spiced Sugar sprinkle here.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets; cool on a wire rack.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast or Pancakes

My husband is always looking to make breakfast a treat and when I showed him this idea we have been enjoying a bit of pumpkin-y goodness in the morning.  Stir ½ teaspoon of Cinnful Dessertblend into every 2 cups of French toast custard (egg-milk mixture) or 2 cups of pancake batter before cooking.  For great pumpkin taste add 2 Tbls of pumpkin puree to the batters as well. (You can also dust these with the Cinnful Spiced Sugar!)

Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Now candied Sweet Potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple, but this is faster and can make a perfect dinner addition.  Bake sweet potatoes until they’re nearly done; then slice halfway through each and add a sprinkling of Cinnful DessertBlend and a drizzle of honey or caramel sauce. Continue baking until the potatoes are done.

Zucchini Spice Bread - Weekend recipe

What do you do with all the Zucchini you start having this time of year?  Well I have a few recipes you can try.  We will start with a traditional Zucchini Bread with a spicy twist.

Zucchini Spice Bread

Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup canola oil, plus more for the pan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

pinch ground cloves

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces), coarsely grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° F. Oil an 8V2-by-4V2-inch loaf pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the

flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, light brown and granulated sugars, eggs, and vanilla; mix

in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined (do not overmix).

3. Spread the batter In the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes

out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Anise Seed - Herb of the Week

To go with our theme of growing from seed, this week’s                

            Herb of the Week is Anise (Pimpinella anisum)

Also called aniseed, this is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia. Its flavor has similarities with some other spices, such as star anise, fennel and licorice.

Anise plant sometimes called anise seed is an herbaceous annual plant that will to 3 ft tall. The leaves at the base of the plant are simple, 1/2 to 2 inches long and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on the stems are feathery pinnate, divided into numerous leaves. The seeds of the Anise plant are what give Greek liqueur ouzo is oomph as well as create a flavoring for licorice candy.  Anise has two types of leaves.  A small round toothed leaf when it is young, somewhat like flat-leaf parsley, but mature plant leaves are almost fern-like.  In the middle of summer (when it starts to get hot) anise will produce umbels of tiny-off-white flowers which will mature into grayish brown seeds that have a wonderful licorice like flavor.

Anise originated from Greece, Crete and Egypt. The Ebers Papyrus, a famous Egyptian medical manuscript dating back to 1500 a. c., lists anise as a medicinal plant. The Greeks considered anise a medicine, and the Romans favored its use in many seasonings and sauces. The old herbals had nru.ch to say about anise. They claimed that anise was both a stimu1ant and a relaxant; that it was an aromatic, diaphoretic and tonic; and that it was helpful fur lung and stomach troubles. Today, anise is still used as a home remedy: Anethole, the oil of anise, is used in modem cough mixtures, to help stomach ailments and to help relieve asthma and bronchitis. According to Pliny the Elder, anise was used as a cure for sleeplessness, chewed with alexanders and a little honey in the morning to freshen the breath, and, when mixed with wine, as a remedy for asp bites. Anise is a food plant for the larvae of some butterflies and moths.

Growing Anise

This annual plant is best grown from seed.  In zones 5 to 7 you can sow seeds directly in the garden in spring once the soil and air are warm.  In colder climates you can start them indoors.  In the south sow the seed in fall.  In all cases plant them ¼ to ½ inch deep and thin the seedlings to 8 inches apart.  They do have a weak stem so closer together is okay too.  They prefer full sun in a light, fast-draining soil that is worked deep and soft.  Kind of a picky plant, in hot humid weather it will die back or bolt and it does not like windy conditions or weed competitors either.

The first leaves of anise are round and toothed, but later leaves are deeply lobed. The flowers, which appear later, are white, delicate and 1acy, like those of Queen Anne's lace. Outdoors, anise grows up to 2 feet. Indoors, it seldom reaches more than 1 foot. Anise is a herbaceous annual plant growing to 3 feet or more tall.

Start the seeds in peat pellets or make your own paper pots (see my blog on how to make them), sowing thickly. Anise seeds germinate in one week. The seedlings do not transplant well, so thin them out to one per pot when they are a few inches tall. After the seedlings have three sets of leaves, transplant them. Place each pot in a 4-inch pot and place in bright sun to grow indoors.  Anise plants grow best in light, fertile, well drained soil.  If sowing outdoors, the seeds should be planted as soon as the ground warms up in spring. Because the plants have a taproot, they do not transplant well after being established, so they should be started either in their final location or transplanted while the seedlings are still small.

Uses of Anise

The seeds are the most commonly used part of anise plant.  They are easy to store and are great in the winter steamed with root vegetables like turnips, parsnips and carrots.  They are also a great companion to cabbage.  The natural sweetness makes them a good accompaniment to fruits, in muffins and cookies.  The fresh leaves lend a nice flavor to salads, sauces and soups.  It is used as a breath freshener after meals, which means you can use it well in desserts or after dinner teas.  It is purported to help with bloating, wind and the restoration of equilibrium when taken as tea.

The seeds, which have a distinctive licorice flavor, are used in bread, pastries, candies and liqueurs, such as anisette, Pemod and ouzo. In India, they are used in some curries and also chewed after meals to sweeten the breath and cure indigestion. The French enjoy the leaves with cooked carrots. You can also add them to salads and stews.

Anise is sweet and very aromatic, distinguished by its characteristic flavor.  The seeds, whole or powdered, are used in a wide variety of regional and ethnic confectioneries, including the black jelly bean, British aniseed balls, Australian humbugs, New Zealand aniseed wheels, Italian pizzelle, German Pfeffernusse and Springerle, Austrian Anisbogen, Netherland muisjes, Norwegian knotts, New Mexican Bizcochitos, and Peruvian picarones. It is a key ingredient in Mexican atole de anis or champurrado, which is similar to hot chocolate, and it is taken as a digestive after meals in India. Anise is also used in the Vietnamese noodle soup Pho.

The medicinal uses include the phytoestrogen anethole, which is also found in fennel.  This makes it a good treatment for menstrual cramps.  John Gerard in “The Great Herball,” one of the early herbals, suggested its use as a way to prevent gas.  There were some reports of using the essential oil has reportedly been used as an insecticide against head-lice and mites. Anise seed infusion made by pouring 1 cup of boiling water over 1 tablespoon anise seed and sweeten with honey has been used to treat smoker's cough. In the Middle East, water is boiled with about a tablespoon of aniseed per teacup to make a special hot tea called yansoon. This tea is given to mothers in Egypt when they are nursing.

Recipes

Anise Seed Marinated Seafood

1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon anise seed
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound large scallops

Mix orange juice, oil, anise seed, garlic salt, ginger and pepper in small bowl.
Place seafood in large resealable plastic bag and add marinade; turn to coat seafood.

Refrigerate 30 minutes. Remove seafood from bag and discard marinade.
Thread shrimp and scallops onto skewers.

Grill over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until shrimp turns pink and scallops are
cooked through. Serve with Honey Ginger Dipping Sauce (recipe follows).

Honey Ginger Dipping Sauce:
Mix 3/4 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons each honey, soy sauce and
sliced green onions, and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.

Mexican Sugar Cookies

By: Bea Ramirez (on allrecipes.com)

2 1/2 cups shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon anise seed, ground

2 eggs

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Beat shortening until light and fluffy. Add one cup sugar, and anise seed. Mix until creamy. Add eggs and mix well. Add flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, salt and orange juice. Mix well.  Knead dough until smooth. On lightly floured surface, roll to 1/2 inch thick. Cut using cookie cutter into different shapes. Bake until light brown, 5 - 8 minutes. Roll cookies in mixture of 1 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon while still warm.

Beef Pho (Vietnamese Soup)

5 pounds beef knuckle, with meat

2 pounds beef oxtail

1 white (daikon) radish, sliced

2 onions, chopped

2 Tbls. aniseseed

1/2 cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 slice fresh ginger root

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 1/2 pounds dried flat rice noodles

1/2 pound frozen beef sirloin

TOPPINGS:

sriracha hot pepper sauce

hoisin sauce

thinly sliced onion

chopped fresh cilantro

bean sprouts (mung beans)

sweet Thai basil

thinly sliced green onion

limes, quartered

Place the beef knuckle in a very large (9 quart or more) pot. Season with salt, and fill pot with 2 gallons of water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 2 hours Skim fat from the surface of the soup, and add the oxtail, radish and onions. Tie the anise pods, cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns and ginger in a cheesecloth or place in a spice bag; add to the soup. Stir in sugar, salt and fish sauce. Simmer over medium-low heat for at least 4 more hours (the longer, the better). At the end of cooking, taste, and add salt as needed. Strain broth, and return to the pot to keep at a simmer. Discard spices and bones. Reserve meat from the beef knuckle for other uses if desired. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Soak the rice noodles in water for about 20 minutes, then cook in boiling water until soft, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Slice the frozen beef paper thin. The meat must be thin enough to cook instantly. Place some noodles into each bowl, and top with a few raw beef slices. Ladle boiling broth over the beef and noodles in the bowl. Serve with hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce on the side. Set onion, cilantro, bean sprouts, basil, green onions, and lime out at the table for individuals to add toppings to their liking.