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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Beef Commercial, With Dried Boletes

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hot beef commercial with leccinum gravy_-8

Childhood food memories, everyone has some, those dishes that take you back in time. A hot beef commercial is one of mine.

It reminds me of being a kid, about waist high on my Father. My dad and I would make trips back and forth to Willmar Minnesota from Grove City where the family farm is, and where he still harvests an impressive amount of corn and soybeans.

Our trips into town varied. Maybe we were going to church on Sunday, picking up some lumber at the yard, or some spare parts from a hardware store. Sometimes, we’d stop at a little diner called Hillcrest right outside of New London, to grab a bite to eat.

Hillcrest is a working man’s joint. It’s perched on the top of a hill, and it’s the spitting image of your textbook truckstop/diner, looking like a lighthouse, a trucker’s beacon. They even advertise on their website that they have an extra large parking lot for overnight stays, which is pretty endearing.

The menu, from what I remember is your typical truck-stop fare: breakfast, lunch and dinner, a couple pies and desserts. There was pretty much only one thing my dad and I ever ordered when we ate though: hot beef commercials.

braised sirloin for hot beef commercial

I used a sirloin, but any cheap braising cut, like chuck, is fine.

If you’ve not familiar, here’s the jist: You take some un-toasted bread, top it with a scoop of mashed potatoes, some hunks of cooked beef, and smother the whole shebang in beef gravy. It’s simple, and pretty much the ultimate nap time food.

Heck, after poking around a little bit I even found an entire blog dedicated only to roast beef commercials (It’s awesome), as well as a note or two mentioning it as a special served at the Chatterbox Cafe in Lake Wobegon, Minnesota- a fun town I used to visit about every Sunday around dinner time.

As for the how it got it’s name, account vary, but one that has held weight with me is that the beef commercial was a favorite of traveling “commercial people”, a.k.a. salesman.

The reason this has been on my mind is that I’ve been talking on and off with two friends of mine: a husband/wife-professional food photography and styling duo. They’re a crazy talented team, but beyond that, I’m silent, for now.

mis en place for hot beef commercial with leccinum gravy

Plating mis en place

My friends asked me to contribute some recipes to an upcoming book involving Minnesota Cuisine. It took all of about two minutes to jot down some fun, Midwest style recipes. On the top of the list was a sexy version of the old beef commercial I used to eat with Dad.

I didn’t want to change it much, it’s still mashed potatoes, toast and gravy. The gravy is the secret though, it’s imbued with an unsung hero of the boletus family, hot cousin of porcini, and a mushroom I only really use dried: Leccinums.

Leccinums are an under-appreciated mushroom, which is easy to understand after you eat some fresh-they’re very mild. This changes when they’re dried though, their flavor gets concentrated, and rich.

You should know that some people have experienced gastric upset when eating orange cap leccinums. I haven’t ever had ill effects if the mushrooms are dried first, but it could be possible-just a heads up.

leccinum mushrooms birch bolete edible minnesota

The largest here was over a ft tall.

The hot beef commercial turned out really, really good. After I cleaned the plate I got the same fuzzy feeling you get after Thanksgiving dinner, and then I went to sleep.

Dad, when the cookbook gets published, I’ll make this for you.

hot beef commercial with leccinum gravy_-8

hot beef commercial with leccinum gravy_-8
Print Recipe
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Hot Beef Commercial, with Dried Bolete Gravy 

Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time2 hrs
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Boletes, Leccinum, Roast Beef Commercial
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 12 ounce cut of braising beef, like chuck
  • 1/2 cup basic mashed russet potatoes recipe follows
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp all purpose flour
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 3 cups beef stock preferably homemade
  • Fresh chives cut 1/2 in, to garnish
  • 1/2 ounce dried leccinums or other boletes (about 1 cup using a dry measure)
  • 2 slices of plain white bread cut into circles with a ring mold or glass
  • 3 tbsp grapeseed lard, or other high smoke point oil, for searing

Instructions

  • Cover the Leccinums with the stock in a container and rehydrate. Agitate the leccinums to remove any dirt or debris, then remove them, strain the liquid, and recombine the two. Preheat the oven to 275. Heat the oil in a cast iron or similar heavy pan and when it's smoking, season the beef liberally with salt and pepper and brown deeply on each side, about 4-5 minutes per side. Discard the oil from the pan, then deglaze the pan with the stock and mushroom mixture, scraping up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Place the beef in a baking dish with a lid, cover with the mushrooms and stock, and cook, covered in the oven for 2.5 hours, or until the beef is very tender and gives easily when pierced.
  • When the beef is done, remove it from the pan, tear into large 1in chunks, and keep warm.
  • Knead the butter and flour together until they form a smooth mass (you are making buerre manie here). Place the mushroom-stock mixture in wide pan and heat. When the stock is bubbling, whisk in the kneaded flour and butter until completely dissolved. Continue heating the mixture until thickened, then double check the seasoning and reserve. Add a tbsp or two of water and whisk if it becomes too thick.
  • To plate the dish, on the middle of two pre-heated dinner plates, put a round of white bread. Top the bread with a scoop (I made a quinelle) of 1/2 cup mashed potatoes. Top each mound of mashed potatoes with the 1/2 of the reserved beef, then spoon on the leccinum gravy.

Basic Mashed Russet Potatoes

Yield: About 4 dinner sized portions, depending on appetite

  • 1lb russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
  • Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup cream or milk
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • Water, as needed

Method

  1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Season the water to taste with salt. (It’s easier to season the water with salt to taste when it’s warm since the salt dissolves quicker, which will prevent oversalting).
  2. Cook the potatoes for 10-15 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Do not over cook the potatoes or they will become watery.
  3. Remove the potatoes and drain in a colander. Pass the potatoes through a ricer, then stir in the butter and cream. Keep the potatoes warm, and covered until needed.
hot beef commercial with leccinum gravy_-8

This is about the time when you start to get sleepy

Related

Previous Post: « Herb Gnocchi with Cockscombs and Red Chanterelles
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sue/the view from great island

    November 11, 2014 at 1:54 pm

    I’ve never heard of this but it does sound, as you say, like the ultimate comfy dish…and those mushrooms are stunning!

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      November 11, 2014 at 4:06 pm

      Yeah those particular leccinums were….gigantic, I had never seen them so large.

      Reply
  2. Tom Dufresne

    November 11, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    Hey Al, we will furnish some great Montana beef for some of those “commercials”. Maybe some extra for your Dad.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      November 11, 2014 at 4:05 pm

      Consider it done!

      Reply
  3. Dave Britton

    November 13, 2014 at 2:03 pm

    Love open-face Roast Beef sandwiches. The first test of the diner providing it? — the gravy. If that’s good, the rest almost always follows.

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      November 16, 2014 at 10:30 pm

      Very true Dave. So often it seems just a little part of a dish can make or break it.

      Reply
  4. sean w

    March 27, 2022 at 9:46 am

    Any adjustments to this recipe if using dried european porcini?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      March 27, 2022 at 11:30 am

      Use a combination of dried porcini and fresh mushrooms as dried European porcini are crazy strong.

      Reply

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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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