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September 6, 2007
Chef Dez Cooks Up a Shane Yellowbird-inspired Cowboy Feast

CHEF DEZ ON COOKING - Food for Shane Yellowbird

SHANE'S "PICK-UP" CAJUN STEAK BANNOCK

One of the most successful new music stars hitting the country scene is Alberta's own Shane Yellowbird. Taken to many rodeos as a child, Shane, who is Cree, grew up with cowboy in his blood. He is now living the part as a Canadian celebrity in the music industry, and is tied with George Canyon for five 2007 CCMA nominations. This is only his debut album so we know there is going to be more fantastic music coming from this budding musician.

A couple of months ago, Shane found the time to call me so we could chat about gearing a recipe towards his number one single, Pick-up Truck. After getting caught up on life with each other we immediately turned the conversation towards food. "This is going to be tough" Shane starts, "I eat everything... I'm not a picky person."

I saw things in a different perspective and was very relieved that it wasn't going to be a challenge to discover some of his favourite foods. "I grew up pretty poor" he admits, "and we ate a lot of wild meat like buffalo and duck. Being native, we also ate a lot of bannock and stuff like that. I love perogies, I love chili, and steak... oh, I love steak," he confesses. "I'm still a growing boy, I love to eat. Put anything in front of me and it's gone into my stomach!"

I inquired further by wanting to know if there was a common denominator in what he ordered off of restaurant menus. "I order a lot of Cajun blackened chicken. I love that so much. The only thing I can think about right now what I don't like is black olives... any kind of olives actually. I just don't like them. But I could name a million things (that I like), I just eat anything, you know.

With this information in hand, I set off to the test kitchen. Since Shane had left the options wide open for me, I wanted to write a recipe that would not only recognize his Cree Indian heritage, but also the cowboy in him. It would also have to reflect his hit single Pick-up Truck. The result? Bannock stuffed with Cajun blackened steak and grilled red onions that one can "pick up" and eat like a sandwich.

Traditional bannock is usually made with lard, so in order to make it a bit more health conscious, I wrote my recipe with vegetable oil instead. Fats that are liquid at room temperature are always healthier for you than fats that are solid. Also, in order to make the bannock into a sandwich, I found it worked better to roll the dough flat before grilling, so it could be folded over the meat.
If you have never made bannock before, don't be afraid of trying this recipe. It is a very quick dough to make since there is no rising time, as a yeast-leavened dough would require. Grilling it on a BBQ helps to give it the traditional flame-licked taste it would have when grilled over an open fire. It is a very popular bread to make while camping because of the small number of easily transportable ingredients and simple preparation.

Shane, I hope you enjoy this recipe, and find that it accurately reflects you, your tastes and a bit of your heritage. I wish you the best of luck and success and look forward to getting together with you to share a couple of these sandwiches together.

Shane's "Pick-Up" Cajun Steak Bannock
Recipe created by Chef Dez/Gordon Desormeaux www.chefdez.com
"This recipe is enough for 3 large sandwiches - conveniently the same number of people that fit in a single cab Chevy truck!"

Bannock
3 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 cup & 2 tbsp water

Filling
¼ (one quarter) cup paprika
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp ground dried oregano
2 tsp salt
½ (one half) - 1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 - 800g-900g beef flank steak
2 red onions, sliced thick
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
4 tbsp melted butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp finely chopped parsley

1. For the bannock, mix the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Add the oil and the water and mix with a spoon until it just starts coming together.
2. Turn out onto a counter and knead by hand for approximately 7 minutes until smooth and elastic, dusting with flour when needed to prevent it from being too sticky.
3. Preheat grill/BBQ over high heat.
4. Divide the dough into three equal portions. Roll out each portion to just under one quarter inch thick, in a large oval shape.
5. Turn the heat down to medium or medium/high and grill each bannock for approximately 3 to 5 minutes per side until golden and slightly charred. Move and check frequently to ensure it doesn't burn. Set aside when complete.
6. In a small bowl, combine the paprika, pepper, oregano, salt, and cayenne. Liberally coat the steak with this mixture.
7. Grill the flank steak for approximately 5 - 7 minutes per side, with the lid open, over medium-high heat for medium-rare to medium doneness - depending on the thickness of the steak.
8. Let the steak rest on a cutting board for 2 - 3 minutes before slicing to help retain the juiciness of the meat.
9. While the steak is resting, grill the onion slices until cooked.
10. In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, garlic and parsley.
11. Once the steak has rested, slice the steak across the grain into thin strips.
12. Assemble the sandwiches by filling each of the three bannocks with equal portions of steak and red onion slices and drizzle with the garlic butter mixture. Close up the sandwiches and serve.

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