Firehouse Recipes

By+Area Firefighters

Firehouse chefs can prepare a gourmet meal, but their most popular dishes are easy to make and able to be pulled off the stove in case they have to respond to a call in the middle of preparation. Here are a few originals they wanted to share.

Shrimp Boil

2lbs shrimp (raw unpeeled)
2lbs smoked sausage
5lbs potatoes
3 large onions
8 ears of corn
1 lb carrots
2 bay leaves
4 oz Old Bay Seasoning
3oz Zatarans Shrimp Boil Seasonings
Hot Sauce to preference
10 quarts chicken broth
4 quarts water
 
Boil broth and water with seasonings and hot sauce
Add quartered potatoes, carrots, corn cut in halves, onions
Add sausage and bay leaves
Cook until potatoes and carrots are fork tender
Add shrimp for 3-4 minutes until pink
Strain and serve with your favorite type of bread
 
- Provided by Clay Fire Territory Engineer Jason Hacker

Green Bean Casserole

3lbs frozen Green Beans, thawed
2 large cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
Milk to fill 1 of soup cans
3oz red pepper
3 large cans fried onions
 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Mix ingredients together and cover
Cook 30 to 40 minutes

- Provided by Clay Fire Territory Engineer Jason Hacker

Biscuits and Gravy**

6 lbs sausage (3 lbs hot and 3 lbs country style)
2 sticks butter
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ gallons milk
2 Tbsp Red pepper flakes
Black pepper
2 Tbsp ”LB Jamerson” Ham flavoring
Hot sauce

Pre-packaged biscuits from frozen or refrigerated section of grocery store

Brown sausage in large skillet on medium heat
Add butter and let mixture cook for 5-8 minutes
Gradually add about half of flour, then cook for 5 minutes
Prepare biscuits and place in oven

Add the rest of flour and cook for another 10 minutes

Make sure flour taste is cooked out of mixture, then slowly begin to add milk (do not add all the milk at once, as you want to keep the temperature of the dish consistent)

Add red pepper flakes & ham flavoring

Add hot sauce and pepper to taste

- Provided by Elkhart Firefighter Nick Hintz

**NOTE: This recipe is scaled to feed 12 people. Firefighter Hintz usually uses ½ lb of meat for each person.

Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches**

10 lbs whole pork loin or pork tenderloin, cut into 1 ½ inch thick steaks
2 boxes saltine crackers
12 eggs
1 cup milk
6 cups flour
¼ cup season salt
1/8 cup pepper
1/8 cup garlic powder
1/8 cup paprika

Mix flour and all seasonings together in 8 x 10 pan

Grind 8 packages of saltine crackers in food processor

Beat eggs and milk in large bowl

Pound pork steaks to about 2mm thick in a circle shape

Coat both sides of meat in pan mixture, then dip coated meat into egg mixture

Coat both sides with cracker mixture

Deep fry tenderloin at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes – 4 minutes on each side

Let meat rest about 10 minutes, then serve on onion bun with home made french fries

- Provided by Elkhart Firefighter Nick Hintz

**NOTE: This recipe is scaled to feed 10 people. Firefighter Hintz usually uses ½ lb of meat for each person.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Meat Balls**

5 lbs ground Italian sausage (2 1/2 lbs hot and 2 1/2 lbs mild)
2 garlic bulbs
1 parsley bunch
8oz shredded mozzarella cheese
16oz Italian bread crumbs
2 large yellow onions, diced and divided
2 green peppers
2 red peppers
2 packages fresh mushrooms
2 lbs of breakfast sausage (links), diced
2 29oz cans diced tomatoes
2 29oz cans of whole tomatoes
2 29oz cans of tomato sauce
1 8oz can of tomato paste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sauce
Dice garlic, red onion, green peppers, mushrooms and onions

Place 2 oz EVOO and 1/3 of garlic into large pot

Cook on medium heat 3-5 minutes

Add vegetables (reserve 2/3 of onions for later use) and sweat in EVOO for 5-7 minutes

Add diced sausage links, whole tomatoes and diced tomatoes to pot, then reduce heat to low

Add Italian seasoning and tomato sauce

Let simmer 4-5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.

Meatballs

Mix meat, 1/3 of onions, chopped parsley, mozzarella, 1/3 of garlic and 5 eggs in large bowl

Add bread crumbs to thicken meat mixture

After reaching desired thickness, begin to roll meatballs to 1 ½ “ in diameter

Place in cast iron skillet over medium heat to brown sides

Enjoy with sauce and your favorite noodles

- Provided by Elkhart Firefighter Nick Hintz

**NOTE: This recipe is scaled to feed 10 people. Firefighter Hintz usually uses ½ lb of meat for each person.

Oriental Pork

4 lbs pork butt or shoulder
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp garlic

Mix lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and garlic together in bowl

Stir well and let sit in refrigerator overnight

Place roast in crock pot or roaster oven

Pour sauce mixture over and around roast

Cover and cook on “low” or temperature control 250 for 7-8 hours or until meat is easily pulled apart with two forks

After pulling pork, put back in crock pot with juices until ready to serve

Serve with white rice or vegetable fried rice

• Provided by South Bend Engine 1 – Captain Russ Buysse, Firefighter Mike Szucs, Firefighter Brian McLaughlin, and Firefighter Ryan Kakalia

Italian Beef

5 lbs Beef Shoulder Roast
1 soup can size Beef broth
1 packet Italian Salad Dressing powder
1 tall jar Hot Pepperoncini or Giardiniara peppers
1 8 oz bag Mozzarella cheese
1 bag (8) Italian buns

Water

Trim fat from roast and place in large crock pot, set on “low” (if using a roaster with temperature select option, turn it to 250)

Pour beef broth onto roast

Add just enough water to cover bottom of roaster about ½ “ to 1” deep

Pour half of salad dressing powder on/around roast

Add up to 1/3 of peppers and 1/2 the juice from pepper jar to roaster (depending on your preference)

Cover and let cook approximately 4 hours

Add more peppers/juice if you prefer, then cover and cook 3-4 more hours

Shred meat with two forks on a cutting board then place back into roaster until ready to serve

Pile high on Italian bun then top with mozzarella cheese

Eat the peppers too, if you can handle it!

- Provided by South Bend Engine 1 – Captain Russ Buysse, Firefighter Mike Szucs, Firefighter Brian McLaughlin, and Firefighter Ryan Kakalia