Tag Archives: warlords of draenor

sturgeon stew [sturgeon bourdeto]

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1

blog_sturgeonstew_title

I’ll admit that I am a horrible fisher in World of Warcraft. Since I started so incredibly late, my fishing skills are insanely sub-par. I basically can only catch the dinky little fish. However, on the rare occasion when I can catch a normal sized fish, it’s pretty exciting.

blog_sturgeonstew_fishing

AWW YEAH, NOW I ONLY HAVE TO CATCH 9 MORE OF THESE INSTEAD OF 19 MORE SO I CAN COMPLETE THIS GARRISON DAILY! 

I’ve been trying to simultaneously level up my fishing and cooking, so I’ve been spending a lot of time sitting in my garrison next to a roaring fire.

blog_sturgeonstew_garrison

When I first stared cooking in WoW, I thought that Sturgeon Stew looked amazing and I had to recreate it somehow. So, I did some research and looked around at my local grocery stores for a fish that would vaguely replicate the appearance of the actual in-game item.

However, I honestly didn’t expect that I would find sturgeon at my local grocery store…

blog_sturgeonstew_sturgeonBut lo and behold, there it was! STURGEON!

If you can’t find sturgeon, you can substitute another fish such as swordfish or cod.

Since the Sturgeon Stew in game has a reddish broth, I decided to create a tomato-based soup. This is similar to a bourdeto, which is basically a Greek fish stew similar to the Italian cioppino.

Let’s get cooking!

UNIT COMPOSITION

blog_sturgeonstew_ingredients

  1. salt
  2. pepper
  3. 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  4. 1 cup of white wine
  5. 2 cups of fish stock
  6. 2 bay leaves
  7. 1/2 onion, roughly chopped
  8. 5 sprigs of basil, roughly sliced
  9. 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  10. 4 red potatoes, quartered
  11. 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
  12. 1/3 lb of dandelion greens
  13. 1 1/2 lbs of sturgeon, deboned

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this dish is roughly 30 minutes. Cook time is about 45 minutes. This makes about 4 servings.

OPENING

  1. Set a large pot to high heat.
  2. Once the pot is up to temperature, add in your olive oil and sautee your garlic and onions.blog_sturgeonstew_prep
  3. Reduce to medium heat and add in your tomatoes and basil.
  4. Stir the ingredients gently and allow the vegetables to sweat.

MID GAME

  1. Add in your white wine and fish stock.
  2. Add in your bay leaf and stir.blog_sturgeonstew_broth
  3. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Add in your chopped potatoes.
  5. Let this cook for about 30 minutes.

LATE GAME

  1. After about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft, add in your sturgeon.
  2. Gently ladle liquid over the sturgeon.
  3. Add in your dandelion greens.
  4. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for ~15 more minutes.
  5. Remove your 2 bay leaves.
  6. Eat!

blog_sturgeonstew_done

So my goal was to try to make the stew look exactly like the in-game item. I think I got pretty close?

I didn’t actually serve the dish like that though. I’M A LIAR! I cut the sturgeon into more manageable pieces:

blog_sturgeonstew_done2

GG WP!

I’m sure if you sit there and eat this sturgeon stew for at least 10 seconds, you’ll gain some sort of haste buff… or at least, you’ll feel well fed for a while.

braised riverbeast [red wine braised lamb shanks]

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blog_braisedriverbeast_title

There’s nothing better than coming to your garrison from a long raid and enjoying a hearty home cooked meal. Even before I started playing WoW, I was always fascinated by the robust recipe options offered throughout the game. Choosing to level up the cooking profession was definitely a no-brainer for me  because of my interest of mercilessly killing virtual wildlife and throwing their meat over a roaring flame. MEAT GOOD.

blog_braisedriverbeast_ingame

LOOK AT ALL THIS POTENTIAL MEAT!

 I guess that it’s fitting that I rolled as a hunter in this game.

blog_braisedriverbeast_butcher

Appropriate title: the Butcher

Since my local butcher doesn’t offer River Beast, I had to choose a substitute. I decided to go with lamb as my meat of choice. I personally love lamb and its slight gamy flavor. If you’re not a fan of lamb, feel free to use beef. You may have to adjust the cook time and quantity of liquid since typically larger than lamb shanks.

There’s something special about red wine and red meat. That enchanting aroma that gently wafts through your home as the meat slowly cooks in a bath comprised of its own fatty juices and wine is just magical... Excuse me while I get a bucket for all of this drool.

UNIT COMPOSITION

blog_braisedriverbeast_ingredients

  1. salt
  2. pepper
  3. 6 cloves of garlic
  4. 1/2 tablespoon of butter
  5. 1 cup of red wine
  6. 1/2 cup of beef stock
  7. 2 lbs of lamb shank, french trimmed (~4 lamb shanks)
  8. 2 carrots, sliced
  9. 3 parsnips, sliced
  10. OPTIONAL: parsley

BUILD ORDER

Prep time for this is about 25 minutes, or up to 45 minutes if you plan to french trim your lamb shanks. Cook time is ~1 hour, 45 minutes. This makes 4 servings.

Just to note, french trimming is completely optional! It’s really only for presentation purposes.

If you’re going to french trim your lamb shanks on your own, you’re going to want a very sharp paring knife. Here’s a tutorial I used.

Basically, you’ll want to make an incision around bone at the very end of the shank. Then, cut into the meat, and remove about 1″ of it. Scrape off any excess fat/tendon away from the bone until it’s fairly clean. When cooking, the meat will slide down from the bone.

OPENING

  1. Season your lamb with salt and pepper.
  2. Put a pan on high heat and add in your butter.
  3. Sear the lamb for about 30 seconds each side, or until brown.
  4. Place lamb in a large baking dish. Pour in your red wine and stock. You should have enough liquid to cover 3/4 of the lamb shanks.blog_braisedriverbeast_prep

MID GAME

  1. Preheat your oven to 350° F.
  2. Place your garlic in the baking dish.
  3. Place the entire baking dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour.

LATE GAME

  1. After an hour, flip over the lamb shanks.
  2. Add in your chopped vegetables and continue baking for the remaining 45 minutes.blog_braisedriverbeast_cooking1
  3. Remove from the oven and plate the lamb shanks and vegetables.blog_braisedriverbeast_cooked
  4. Pour the remaining liquid into a pan and reduce on high heat for about 5 minutes.
  5. Drizzle the reduced red wine sauce over the lamb. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the plate.
  6. Eat!

blog_braisedriverbeast_done

I took some photos of the lamb shank without the vegetables since I wanted to replicate what it looks like in-game:

blog_braisedriverbeast_wowheadImage from WoWhead

 But, to have a balance meal, you need to throw in some vegetables!

blog_braisedriverbeast_done2

GG WP!

Hopefully this dish has satisfied your Draenor cuisine cravings for now. Until next time, happy hunting!