Category ArchiveEverywhere Once |

Beautiful Barbeque

by Brian on July 9, 2010 in Food & Drink

I don’t usually post pictures of my meat on the internet, but sometimes it looks so mouthwateringly tasty that I just have to share. I’m also celebrating something of an epiphany. And I have a confession to make. I don’t know how to barbeque. It is somewhat emasculating to admit, but I only cook a couple of things on the grill, and none of them qualify as traditional American barbeque (chicken tikka, fajitas, etc). Up until now, barbequed chicken was a matter of throwing some breasts on the grill and slathering them with store bought sauce. Shannon liked it well enough, but for me the results didn’t warrant even the minimal effort it required. Part of the problem is that we’ve spent our entire adult life living in a city. No backyard, no barbeque. But now, man-style cooking over open flame is de rigueur. So if I’m going to do it, I want to do it right. And I want it to be awesome.

What I’ve learned is that great barbeque isn’t about the sauce. It is about layering flavors. Store bought sauce can actually be very good, but if what is underneath is a piece of dry, tasteless carcass, then the whole thing ends up being a waste of time. But there isn’t just one secret to making great barbequed chicken, there are two . . . rub and mop. The rub (a blend of dry spices) forms the first layer of flavor. Brown sugar and paprika in equal parts (together with salt, garlic, onion powder and pepper for some kick) creates a sweet and smoky base that screams traditional barbeque. Rub the spices on to the chicken and let them soak in for several hours before grilling.

The “mop” sauce, however, is a revelation. Basting grilled meat with sugary barbeque sauce causes the outside to burn before the inside is done. But a vinegar-based, sugarless mixture of spices can be applied throughout the cooking process, keeping the meat juicy and adding another layer of flavor. Only in the last couple of minutes does the barbeque sauce come into play, getting seared into the meat right before it comes off the grill. The final product . . . mmmmmmmm, beautiful barbeque.

Barbeque Rub (makes enough for several meals)
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs paprika
1 tbs salt
2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne

Mop Sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp thyme

Barbeque Sauce – Stubb’s Spicy (or brand of your choice)

Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance

by Brian on June 25, 2010 in Food & Drink, New Hampshire

After the debacle in Boston, Shannon the Wise planned our next brewery stop so that it coincided not only with a tour, but also a buy one case and get the next case for half-off promotion; known in some quarters as four-for-three. Hooray!

The actual tour of Red Hook’s Portsmouth, NH, brewery was pretty standard fare; really nothing more than a perfunctory review of the beer making process and a quick look at the stainless steel brewing vats. It’s not exactly the theme park experience you get at the Heineken brewery in Amsterdam, but we didn’t go there for a Six Flags ride. We went to taste great beer. And on that front, Red Hook delivered. On tap was a golden ale, two pale ales (an IPA and an ESB) and a seasonal summer pilsner. All were terrific. I expected the ales to be good, but the pilsner surprised me with a little more malt than you usually get from a “summer brew.” Very tasty.

It was also nice to see Red Hook harkening back to the days when tasting rooms were run to distribute promotional samples rather than as profit centers. No tightly controlled pours here. Tour admission costs a single dollar. And had our guide simply filled our four ounce tasting glasses with each beer, we’d have sampled a full pint. A pretty good deal. But he didn’t just fill our glasses, he filled pitchers and let us have at them.

But it got even better for us. A well-placed question encouraged our pliable tour guide to pour a pitcher of the company’s current “brewer’s selection” beer (available only at the on-site pub); an oatmeal stout. It wasn’t planned, but it should have been. After the bitter hoppiness of the two pale ales, the stout hits you in the face with a sweet, chocolate, coffee flavor that goes down like liquid desert. What a way to finish the tasting.

That was the most fun I’ve had for a dollar since The Doll House in 1989.

Waste Not, Want Not

by Brian on June 6, 2010 in Food & Drink

Problem – Wednesday night’s beef & chimichurri recipe left us with extra mint. Thursday’s bourbon brined pork chops left us with nearly an entire bottle of bourbon.

Solution – Friday Mint Juleps!