Help with Rhubarb pie..

[jpinmaryland]

We made this dessert out of rhubarb w/ bread, it's sort of like a bread pudding, you had lots of sugar, chopped up bread, eggs, milk, vanilla, raisens and bake it.

The rhubarb came out blah, it was more sour than sweet. The rest of the bread was good though.

My wife thinks that the problem came when we defrosted the frozen rhubarb, we defrosted for a day or so, all this moisture came out of it and it sort of soaked the rhubarb. She thinks if we had cooked it right out of freezer w/ minimal defrost it may have been all right.

THoughts? How to use frozen rhubarb? Any special recipes? Thx.

 

[Alix]

Hmmm. You have me thinking now.

I use a lot of frozen rhubarb. I never defrost it and I don't have any issues with it. I make pie mostly, and I think that adding a fair bit of flour to the rhubarb is the way to go. It glues all the fruit together and makes it a paste. I also make a lot of rhubarb crisp and the frozen stuff works fine for that too.

Maybe you just need to use it for different things. I have never used it in bread before. For the full "zing" you probably should use fresh. If you are using frozen and want to add some flavour, maybe a tbsp of lemon juice would perk things up?

Good luck. I have lots of rhubarb recipes if you want some. Just let me know.

 

[jpinmaryland]

thats helpful. So just use it frozen? Makes sense, at least my wife thinks so.

Can you post 2 or 3 of your favorite recipes?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Rhubarb is much like celery in both texture and anatomy. It is a long stalk with fibers running the length of it. These fibers branch off into capillaries that carry water to the rest of the stalk and leaves. Rubarb is full of water.

As water is frozen, it expands and bursts the cellular walls of the plant. That's why the rhubarb "leaks" its water into the bowl. When you add it to breads or pudding, the starches absorb much of that liquid.

To get good flavored rhubarb. place fresh stalks in sugar water and let rest in the fridge fo a a day or two. The stalks will be crisp, and sweeter. ready for use in whatever recipe you want.

Rhubarb, no matter how you cook it, will become somewhat mushy in texture. It's best used in crisps, pies, etc, with other fruits like strawberry, or apple. It's also good when made into a preserve. The tartness is tempered by sugar.

Hope this helps.

 

[kansasgirl]

Fabulous recipes. I grew up in Kansas where fresh rhubarb is really easy to get - my grandmother had a giant patch of it, so we always had something with rhubarb on the table.

I agree with other posts - no need to defrost the rhubarb before using it. Adding a bit of tapioca to any rhubarb recipe helps to soak up some of the additional liquid and makes for a firmer product.

Rhubarb Custard Bars
Crust:
2 c AP flour
1/4 c sugar
1 c cold butter
1.In a bowl combine the flour and sugar; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into a greased 13x9 in baking pan. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.
Filling:
2 c sugar
7 tb AP flour
1 c whipping cream
3 eggs, beaten
5 c Rhubarb, fresh or frozen, thawed and drained, chopped finely
1.Combine sugar and flour in a bowl. Whisk in cream and eggs. Stir in the rhubarb. Pour over crust. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes or until custard is set. Cool.
Topping:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 ts vanilla
1 c whipping cream, whipped
1.Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth; fold in whipped cream. Spread over top. Cover and chill. Cut into bars. Store in the refrigerator.

Pork Tenderloin with Rhubarb Chutney
Chutney:
3/4 c Dark brown sugar, packed
1/3 c Apple cider vinegar
2 tb Water
1 tb Minced, peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 ts Grated lemon peel
1 Cinnamon stick
2 c Fresh rhubarb, in 1/2 in pieces
1/2 c Dried currants (can also use raisins)

2 lb Pork tenderloin (2, 1 lb tenderloins)
1 tb Oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1.Bring first 6 ingredients to boil in heavy medium saucepan over high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.
2.Increase heat to medium-high. Add rhubarb and currants, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently until rhubarb is tender, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm before using.
3.Prepare grill with medium-high heat. Rub pork with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill pork until just done, but not overcooked - meat should still be pink on the inside. Grilling time is about 20 mins - turm meat occassionally with tongs for even cooking.
4.Using tongs, transfer pork to a cutting board, and let pork rest 10 minutes. Cut pork into 1/2-inch slices and serve with warmed chutney.

 

[Alix]

I only have time for one recipe but it is a fan favourite.

Rhubarb Muffins

1/2 c sour cream
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup diced rhubarb
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda

Mix sour cream, oil and egg and set aside. Put other ingredients together in another bowl and toss the rhubarb around a bit to get coated. Then pour into the sour cream mixture and stir until moistened. Place in muffin tins and top with:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter (melted)

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.