Firehouse Chefs Corner: Welcome to the Firehouse Chefs Corner

Let me welcome all of you in the Firehouse^® media family to the Firehouse Chefs Corner. As a career firefighter and a trained chef, I envisioned the concept for Firehouse Chefs 20 years ago. Firehouse Chefs is comprised of a gourmet food truck in Los Angeles, a catering business, a spice and food product label, a fitness/wellness division and a media division that includes a TV show concept. The premise is to show the community we serve the lighter side of what we do across the country through our meals and kitchen table time.

Meals across America’s firehouses have evolved much like today’s diverse workforce. This diversity has created an interesting dynamic in firehouse kitchens by exposing our firefighters to new dishes, different cultural roots and the associated customs. It is easy to see the benefit that food alone has done to broaden our horizons and learn more about our fellow firefighters and ultimately about the public that we serve.

Please join us as we share recipes, firehouse kitchen history, nutrition, wellness/fitness tips and the camaraderie that needs to stay alive in our firehouse kitchens. Our team encourages you to share your recipes and crew pictures for inclusion in future columns. We will provide fresh content and useful kitchen tips that are sure to aid the rookie firefighter to the senior “jake.” Contact me at [email protected].

Making better choices

As a fire captain, chef and a certified personal trainer, I feel that I have an obligation to help promote better food and nutrition choices to firefighters. I also believe in moderation and that it is OK to partake in eating some comfort food now and than.

Balance is the key to an overall healthy lifestyle and as long as you are eating healthy food options on a daily basis it is OK to have that occasional juicy burger. Firehouse Chefs will thrive to be a resource to firefighters and show how to cook or use fruits, vegetables and other crucial foods in recipes. The fire service is not immune to the growing rise in heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Firefighters need to hear choices and also relevant information that they can process and incorporate in their daily routines. Firehouse Chefs Corner will introduce new food choices, products and features.

What would the fire service be without a little healthy competition from time to time, just to see what’s cooking from East to West and North to South? We will strive to cover fitness/wellness tips to keep you informed about healthy food choices, nutritional information, various workouts and overall lifestyle changes that will benefit all of us and reduce our already high risk in several disease and injury categories.

In this month’s Firehouse Chefs Corner, I am sharing my recipe for carne asada tortas. Tortas are Mexican sandwiches and can be made with beef, chicken, pork, seafood or even veggies as the filler. Tortas are very popular in firehouses across the Southwest and beyond. This will be a delicious and messy addition to your firehouse kitchen’s recipe box.

CARNE ASADA TORTAS

(MEXICAN STEAK SANDWICHES)

Serves: 4-6

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Total time: 35-40 minutes

Tortas are a delicious Mexican sandwich that can be made with steak, chicken, or pork. Here is my steak version of the sandwich. A torta is a meal by itself, and it’s also great with grilled seasonal veggies, Spanish rice and beans or a small side salad. Especially delicious with salsa and two of my signature pepper-based dishes: chipotle guacamole and chipotle sour cream.

4 lbs. whole pieces of beef flap meat

2 cups soy sauce

2 cups orange juice

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

3 limes, juiced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

4-6 tablespoons hot sauce (more if you like it spicy!)

Salt and cracked black pepper

3 cups refried beans (canned or homemade)

1 head of lettuce, rinsed and cut into strips (taco-style)

4 tomatoes, sliced

2 cups cheese shredded: jack, cheddar, queso fresco (Mexican cheese) and/or cotija – any alone, or in combination

4-6 bolillos (Mexican bread), sliced in half horizontally

1. In a large bowl or large Ziploc bag, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, onion, garlic, lime juice, and the spices. Add the meat to the marinade and marinate in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

2. Pull meat from the refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature an additional 15 minutes prior to grilling.

3. Grill the meat on each side for 3-5 minutes – flap meat is a thin cut, so watch the meat and check often for desired doneness.

4. Once the meat is grilled, allow it to rest for 10 minutes to lock in all of the juices. Cut into thin strips against the grain.

5. Butter the bolillos and warm them on the grill, being mindful not to let them burn. 6. To make the sandwich, place the meat and add beans, steak, cheese, lettuce and tomato.