Werewolf Chow - Episode 11

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR CAMPAIGN 3 EPISODE 11 AHEAD

TRAVIS: (groans) I look up at Ira, and I'll start to make my way around to the right.
MATT: Over here?
TRAVIS: Yeah. Keep going, keep going. Just opening it up so that if anybody wanted to flank on the other side, they could. As I walk, I look up at him and I say: Boy, I bet you think you're real scary. You think Gurge has a gift. (grunts) (growls)
ASHLEY: Oh, there it is! There it is!
MARISHA: Oh!
TRAVIS: Wait 'til you get a load of (ferociously) me! (wolf howl) (yelling)
TRAVIS: My shoulder pops out--
LIAM: Is this real?
TRAVIS: My back cracks.
LIAM: (screams) Yes!
TRAVIS: (grunts)
ASHLEY: (shouts) Let's go! (cheering)
TRAVIS: (roars)
ASHLEY: Oh, look it! (cheering) (clapping) (cheering)
ASHLEY: Yes! (laughter)
LIAM: Oh yes!
SAM: He's a tiny werewolf!
LIAM: He's a terrier!
ASHLEY: I fucking knew it! Yes!
LIAM: Wow!
LAURA: Oh my god!
SAM: Blood Hunter?
LIAM: Wow!
LAURA: Whoa.
ASHLEY: Look at him!
LIAM: Yes!
TRAVIS: Order of the Lupe.
LIAM: Boy.
ASHLEY: Yes!
TRAVIS: You see these claws start to crawl out of his fingers, and as they do, the blood drips out of them and fire comes off of them and he goes: (low growl) I lied. And swipes right into Ira. (cheering) (clapping)

Campaign 3 Episode 11, "Chasing Nightmares," January 20, 2022
Thanks to critrole.fandom.com for the transcript from the episode shown above.

Werewolf Chow - Garlic Butter Steak Bites

I'm going to go back to eating squirrels

Oh, Travis. This man is now responsible for, what some might say, are the two biggest twists of this campaign so far, and it's only episode 11! (For the other big twist, go see my recipe for Bertrand Bell's Usual.) I had the idea for this recipe at least a week before this reveal, but it was more for Gurge. Little did I know... 

This was my favorite part of the most recent episode of campaign 3. I know a lot of cool stuff happened, but for me, nothing beat this, so I decided to honor it with a recipe. I knew I couldn't cook up squirrels (well I could but unless you're playing really old Oregon trail games, where are you gonna get that meat?). So I did just a little research to figure out what, according to lore, werewolves eat. Turns out they'll eat whatever they can find, human included, but not necessarily preferred. I figured a werewolf could take out a cow. And then, as a tribute to the first 3 episodes of Vox Machina coming out on Amazon... let's just say we had to do something to keep those Vampires away. 

(For those asking "what about a recipe for the battle royal?" I am sticking to the main campaign, at this time, for recipe inspiration, but I reserve the right to change my mind about that whenever. Instead, on the off weeks, I go back and do recipes that I had ideas for but had to skip. You can go check out my off-week recipe for Dorian's Double Nat 20 Bacon Jam Session, if you are interested!) I had a great time with this recipe. My partner picked out the steak and honestly, it was really easy to put together. 

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds of steak cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 5 to 8 cloves of garlic (I used 8)

In regards to the steak, you're looking for something with a good amount of marbling, if you can manage it. I think I made this with sirloin, but really almost anything you consider "steak," will count. You do want it to be at least an inch thick so that when you cut it you get cubes and not strips or slices.

Directions

1. Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot add in your steak bites and add salt and pepper. If you don't have a very large skillet you can work in batches. Cook the steak for about 4-5 minutes string every minute or so. If you see any red on the steak, try to get that down onto the pan. 
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and slide the steak to one side of the pan. Melt the butter on the other side and cook the garlic for about 1 minute, until it starts to get a little brown. Then stir the steak bites, butter, and garlic together.
3. Once coated, let it cook for about 2-3 more minutes to let the flavors incorporate and let the steak bites get a little more color on them. 
4. Remove from pan. Garnish with parsley if desired, add salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy!

   

   

Tips, Suggestions, and Substitutions

Tips & Suggestions

• It might work to take the steak bites out of the pan while you're melting the butter and cooking the garlic, but I liked doing it with everything still in the pan. I also have a large enough skillet for this to work, and I realize that isn't everyone. 
• I cooked it a little bit longer at the end because I really wanted the steaks to develop the sear from being in the butter in the pan. I think they came out about medium-well. If you like your steak rarer you might want to cook them a shorter amount of time at the end, just know that the outside might not have the sear.

Substitutions

• I would avoid substituting things in this recipe. This is not a healthy recipe by any stretch, but it's kind of not supposed to be? Don't overthink it.
• However, if you do find that you're lacking in garlic you can likely dice up a shallot to add to the garlic you do have.
• If picking out a steak at the market isn't your strong suit, I highly recommend checking out the source recipe below as it has several options of kinds of steak that might work for this recipe.

In Conclusion...

This was another hit. But are we surprised? It's steak, butter, and garlic. It's going to be hard for it to not taste good. But I really did appreciate how easy it was as well. I usually am worried when it comes to making steak as I think I'll screw it up, but cutting into smaller pieces and coating it in buttery garlic goodness took a lot of that stress off of me. I expect I'll make this again (though probably not on a regular basis as meat prices right now are not low). We served it with some fried potatoes and a side salad, and had enough for leftovers between two people!

This recipe came from the Forked Spoon food blog. I changed almost nothing about this recipe because it was so straightforward, and I didn't think it needed much adjustment. The only thing I did was take out the extra pepper and added more garlic. If you decide to make this recipe, I super hope you'll let me know what you think! I thought it turned out great, but I'm always interested in variations and suggestions for improvement. That being said, if you have any questions or suggestions, or just wanna say hi, all of that can go in the comments below. And, as always, you can follow me on Pinterest or Twitter, if you enjoy those sites. I'm hoping to be adding more sites to the lineup too, so if you don't hang around there, stay tuned for more options! Thanks for visiting, and don't forget to love each other. Is it Thursday, yet?

And the small man is a werewolf.

Original character art by Hannah at @agarthanguide on Twitter.