Mesquite Meat Recipes
Mesquite meal can be used as either flour or a spice. As flour, it is used in combination with other flours, as it has no gluten. As a spice, sprinkle generously to flavor steaks, roasts, chicken, pork and fish, then grill, fry, broil or add to turkey burgers or hamburgers. Also great in vegetable stir-fries, scrambled eggs, biscuits, breads, soups, even ice cream. Using mesquite with other foods helps to lower the glycemic load of high carb foods. What this means is you don’t get hungry so fast, it reduces the amount of sugar that is stored as fat, prevents blood sugar spikes, and it helps to liven up recipes that might need a little pizzazz.
Mesquite Stuffing for turkey (recipe by Gary Nabhan & Patty West)
10 cups dry bread cubes
1 t. oregano
½ c. mesquite meal
2 c. chopped celery
1 lb. elk or grass-fed sausage
2 chopped apples
½ c. butter
2 t. dried, crushed rosemary
4 c. chopped onions
1 c. dried cranberries
3 t. poultry seasoning
1 1/3 c. stock
If using sausage, saute in a large skillet until brown. Remove sausage and excess oil. Melt butter and sauté onions, apples and celery until soft. Add spices and cranberries and cooked sausage. Mix all with bread cubes and mesquite meal. Add stock until stuffing is moist.
Stir Fry
½ lb. chicken or turkey breast cuts in cubes
2 T. sesame oil
½ c. yellow squash
1 medium onion, sliced thin
½ c. mushrooms sliced
½ bell pepper diced
½ c. zucchini, julienne
1 c. celery cut thin diagonally
1 c. broccoli flowerets
2 oz. mesquite meal
1 c. carrot julienned
Salt & Pepper or soy sauce to taste
Cook chicken and set aside. Saute onion, bell pepper and celery until browned. Add remaining veggies and continue to sauté until cooked but broccoli still bright green. Return chicken to veggies, sprinkle with mesquite meal to thicken juices and season to taste with salt and pepper or soy sauce.
Peruvian Scramble
2 large eggs
¼ t. garlic minced
¼ c. each diced onion & bell pepper
1T. olive oil
1 t. Peruvian mesquite meal
salt & pepper to taste
Saute veggies in oil. Add garlic. Beat eggs w. meal. Add to veggies and stir constantly until done.
MESQUITE SALMON
2 lbs. salmon (inch thick)
½ t. black pepper
2 t. mesquite meal
¼ t. salt
2 T. olive oil
½ t. granulated garlic
Preheat grill or broiler. Rub oil onto salmon. Sprinkle with salt, garlic and mesquite meal. Cook approx. 6 mins. per side. Garnish with black pepper.
Mesquite Shake & Bake Coating for Chicken
¾ c. unbleached flour
1 t. paprika
¼ c. mesquite meal
½ t. dried oregano crushed
2 t. salt
½ t. thyme
1 t. pepper
½ t. garlic power
½ c cracker crumbs
In a jar, shake together all the ingredients until evenly mixed. This mixture is enough to coat six pounds of chicken. If using 3 pounds of chicken, reserve half of mixture in jar and place half in a plastic bag. Moisten the chicken pieces with milk or water. Place pieces, one at a time, in bag and shake until coated. Bake on greased shallow pan at 350 F for 45- 60 mins.
SPICY SONORAN MEATLOAF
1 lb ground beef
3/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 cup mesquite meal
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell peppers
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp sweet basil
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Chiltepin peppers, crushed (optional)
Additional tomato sauce for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl place meat, bread crumbs, eggs, and mesquite meal and mix together. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Form meat mixture into a log shape about 3-inches in diameter and 8 to 10 inches long. Wrap meat tightly in aluminum foil and place into oven on a casserole dish or baking pan. Cook for 45 minutes or until pressure on meatloaf feels firm. Carefully open one end of aluminum and drain of juices. Slide meatloaf out of foil wrap. Cut plastic wrap open on one end and slid meatloaf out onto your casserole or baking pan. Pour tomato sauce over top of meatloaf and return to the oven for 10 more minutes, then serve.
Chicken Mole (thanks to Carlos Nagel)
2 lbs. chicken breasts
2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
¼ c. veg oil
1 t. honey
1 T. sesame seeds
¼ t. white wine vinegar
1/3 c. chopped almonds
1 t. cumin + ½ c. mild red chile powder
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ c. mesquite meal
1 clove garlic minced
1 c. chicken broth
Directions for Mole: Saute onion and garlic in large pan in oil and set aside. Brown chicken breasts on both sides. Roast seeds and almonds in dry pan. Mix mesquite meal with 1/3 broth then add rest of broth. Cook and stir until sauce thickens. Combine seeds with onion mixture and rest of ingredients, stirring to blend. Blend sauce with chile mixture and pour over chicken breasts in baking dish. Bake at 350 F. for one hour.
Recipes Adapted from the following Cookbooks:
Cocina de Vega Mesquite Products, for mesquite meal & bean pods for grilling instead of charcoal.
Mesquite Meal Recipes by the San Pedro Mesquite Company.
Arizona Sustainable Agriculture, August 2007. For more information e-mail
valerie.mccaffrey@bajaaz.org.
