Cooking with coffee

Coffee desserts -- tiramisu, coffee ice cream, mocha tortes -- come to mind immediately when Americans think about adding coffee to food, but the country's beloved hot beverage can add complex flavors and depth to savory dishes.

If done correctly, says Joan Nielsen, who wrote "The Great Coffee Book" with her husband, Timothy J. Castle, "you shouldn't be aware of a coffee taste. Your reaction should be, 'Ooh, this is a deep, dark, nice sauce. What's in here?'

"What coffee should add is an inscrutable richness and subtlety to certain foods."

She discovered a dearth of savory recipes made with coffee -- unless you count the cowboy and Southern favorite red-eye gravy, a sauce made with strong brewed coffee, country ham drippings, salt and pepper and traditionally served with a ham slice and grits.

"I remember my Irish grandmother in Indianapolis -- she drank strong coffee all day -- and then throwing it in the pot roast pot," Nielsen says.

Red-eye gravy is, like a complex red wine, something for which you develop a taste -- or dislike -- outright, says Jenny Robie, souse hef at Halo Cafe on the South Side.

A North Carolina native, Robie and executive chef Chet Garland have employed the basic concept of red-eye gravy for menu specials with good results.

"We rendered sausage, then added flour to the drippings to make a roux," Robie says. "We cooked the roux until it darkened to light brown, then we deglazed the pan with coffee. I think we added some cream, too, for depth."

The gravy was served over country-fried trout and accompanied with collards and mashed potatoes. The sauce also works well with country-fried steak, she says.

At Steelhead Brasserie & Wine Bar at Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, Downtown, executive chef Donato Coluccio features a "Bourbon Street" burger, a pepper-crusted open-faced double patty of meat with onion rings and Jim Bean Red-Eye Mushroom Gravy.

Kate Heyhoe, author of "Kate's Global Kitchen," a feature on the Global Gourmet web site, says she considers coffee "as a seasoning." Coffee offers aromatics and an unusual but pleasant note to savory dishes.

Southerners like to add coffee to barbecue sauce to lend a "smoky flavor," Heyhoe says, adding that using coffee in savory dishes must be judicious, so they "won't taste like coffee at all."

"Powerful foods" are the choice for pairing with coffee in a main dish or gravy, such as beef, lamb, pork, game and chicken thighs, Heyhoe says, along with tomato sauces, red chillies, sweet spices (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, anise, ginger), fruits (oranges, apricots, raisins, pears) and nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, pecans).

Also on her list are pumpkin or sesame seeds, whole-grain flours (wheat, rye and buckwheat), meaty mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and Asian condiments (soy sauce, hoisin sauce and oyster sauce).

Red wine -- coffee's complex cousin -- also mingles nicely, she says.

Nielsen says that coffee can be added to a recipe as a liquid, finely ground or instant granules. She prefers the liquid route for savory dishes. Finely ground coffee or instant granules are more suitable as an ingredient in rubs and in sweet dishes.

"When you use coffee in a rub, the meat cooks so quickly that the ground coffee doesn't have time to get bitter," she says. "And the granules dissolve quickly, so there's no gritty taste in something like a syrup or fudge."

Heyhoe, who predicts that coffee cookery might become popular here as a result of the "Starbucking of America," says that home cooks will have to determine the strength of the liquid coffee they use in their favorite recipes. Strongly brewed coffee at double-strength is good with red meats. Milder coffee complements fowl and fruit.

It's much like choosing a wine for cooking -- consider the bean or blend's flavors, whether they be fruity, dusky, acid, mellow, spicy or sweet, she says, allowing for contrast or to support other flavors in a recipe.

What foods might enterprising cooks avoid?

"My husband made a coffee-flavored sauce for scallops," says Nielsen. "It was horrible. I could have told him it wouldn't work."

Red-Eye Gravy

Craig Claiborne, the late food critic of The New York Times, was a French-trained chef, but he never forgot his Mississippi roots. In his book, "Craig Claiborne's Southern Cooking", he offered this recipe for the Southern breakfast staple called red-eye gravy:

"Red-eye gravy, to those unaccustomed to the nobler things in life, requires first a good, well-cured country ham. Smithfield and genuine Virginia hams are ideal for this. Take a slice of uncooked ham with most or much of the fat left on. Fry the ham in its own fat until nicely browned on both sides. When it is cooked, transfer the ham to a warm platter and add boiling black coffee to the skillet, scraping to dissolve the particles that cling to the bottom and sides. That is red-eye gravy, which you pour over the ham and serve."

"The name 'red-eye gravy' (sometimes referred to as 'red-ham gravy') derives from the fact that a circle or oval of liquid fat with a slightly reddish cast will form on the surface of the gravy when it is reduced. This is the 'eye' of the name."

Indonesian-Java Marinade

Kate Heyhoe of Kate's Global Kitchen, has this recipe for a meat marinade featuring brewed coffee. "Wine and food pairing often begins by selecting a wine from the same region where a dish's main ingredients come from, such as the cheese or meats," she writes. "Using this same approach, I mixed a Java coffee bean with ingredients commonly found in Indonesian cooking: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, soy sauce, onion and garlic. In lieu of Indonesian palm sugar, I substituted dark brown sugar and added Chinese black vinegar. The smokiness of the vinegar reinforces the deep smoky flavor of the coffee, as does a hot charcoal grill."

Chinese black vinegar can be purchased in Asian supermarkets and natural foods stores. If you cannot find it, substitute another vinegar. A 50-50 mix of balsamic and red wine vinegars works well.

1 cup strong coffee, preferably brewed from Java beans
1/2 medium onion, chunked
1/4 cup Chinese black vinegar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
1 (2- to 3-pound) beef London Broil, flank or top round steak

Combine the coffee, onion, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and crushed red pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend or process until the onion and garlic are pureed.

Lightly score the beef steak on both sides in a crisscross pattern. Marinate the steak with the coffee mixture for at least 8 hours, or overnight, turning occasionally.

Grill or broil as desired.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups marinade.

Beef Stew with Coffee

This recipe was developed by Thayer Wine, food writer for The Tennessean in Nashville, Tenn. She writes, "Coffee provides an undertone of earthy flavors in a beef stew or in other long-simmered meat dishes, including chili."

2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 quart low-sodium, fat-free beef broth
3 large carrots, sliced
2 tablespoons instant espresso granules
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon sorghum molasses
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves

Trim the beef of gristle and most of the visible fat. Cut into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle with flour, kosher salt and black pepper. Toss to mix well.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil with the butter in a heavy 5-quart Dutch oven. When the butter foam subsides, add half of the floured beef. Saute for about 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the pan.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the rest of the beef and the onions; saute until the meat is browned and onions are slightly softened, for about 2 minutes.

Return the reserved beef to the pan and add the beef broth, stirring to remove browned bits from the sides and bottom of the pan. Stir in the sliced carrots, espresso granules, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, thyme and bay leaves. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender, for about 2 hours.

Makes 6 servings.

Pork Tenderloin with Coffee Rub

Food writer Thayer Wine also developed this recipe, writing that "instant coffee granules come in handy when you need only a little bit of coffee taste. Use it as you would pepper or other powdered seasoning."

1 1/4 pounds pork tenderloin
1 tablespoon espresso granules
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large clove garlic, grated
1 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon olive oil

Trim the pork of all fat and gristle. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the espresso granules, salt, cumin, coriander, cardamom, cayenne, garlic, ginger and lemon zest into a paste. Rub the paste all over the tenderloin. Place it in a glass or other nonreactive dish, such as stainless steel, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Prepare a charcoal grill, allowing the coals to burn down to a gray ash, or heat a gas grill. (The pork also can be cooked in a stove-top grill pan or in the oven at 325 degrees.)

Drizzle olive oil all over the pork tenderloin and place it on clean, oiled grates. Cook, covered, over medium heat for 10 minutes. Turn and continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer reads 155 degrees, for about 10 to 15 minutes. Allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes before carving.

Makes 4 servings.

Crispy Chicken Wings with a Quick Mole Sauce

Joan Nielsen, co-author of "The Great Coffee Book" took a traditional Mexican mole sauce, made with chocolate, and added coffee not only for flavor, but as a thinning agent.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
3 whole cloves
1 (1-inch) piece cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons New Mexico Chile powder or other hot red chile powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
1 stale corn tortilla or slice of stale bread, toasted and torn in pieces
1 can (16 ounces) crushed tomatoes in juice, undrained
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup freshly brewed strong coffee
3 to 3 1/2 pounds chicken wings, cut in half, tips discarded if desired
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To make the mole sauce: In a small heavy skillet over medium heat, toast 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, the coriander seeds, anise seeds, cloves and cinnamon stick until fragrant and turning dark, for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Let cool.

Place the seed mixture in a rotary blade grinder (such as a coffee grinder). Grind to a powder -- hold the top of the grinder and shake vigorously to evenly distribute the ingredients. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the Chile powder, cocoa and brown sugar.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the onion and garlic and saute until softened, for about 3 minutes. Add the raisins and cook until plump. Add the spice and Chile pepper mixture, stirring to mix well. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place the onion mixture, almonds, tortilla and tomatoes in a blender and blend until very smooth. Pour into a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in the chicken broth and simmer the mole sauce, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes. It should be thick and smooth. Just before serving, stir in the coffee.

The sauce can be prepared and refrigerated for as long as a day. Warm over low heat before serving.

To make the chicken wings: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and pat the wings dry, season with salt and pepper and place in a large roasting pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Drain the wings on absorbent paper to remove excess fat.

To serve, place the wings on a platter and pour the mole sauce over them. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

Makes 8 to 12 appetizer servings.