Photo Courtesy of www.offalgood.com
I originally wrote this article for Smoke Signals Magazine, an online publication of The BBQ Brethren, it is reprinted here with their permission.
Turning something many Americans would easily refer to as awful into meals that San Francisco tourists and residents alike flock to eat is what Chef Chris Cosentino is all about. Chef Cosentino has taken the art of cooking offal to a place most American chefs have shied away from.
According to Chef Cosentino’s website offal is described as “those parts of a meat animal which are used as food but which are not skeletal muscle. The term literally means “off fall”, or the pieces which fall from a carcass when it is butchered. Originally the word applied principally to the entrails. It now covers insides including the HEART, LIVER, and LUNGS (collectively known as the pluck), all abdominal organs and extremities: TAILS, FEET, and HEAD including BRAINS and TONGUE. In the USA the expressions “organ meats” or “variety meats” are used instead.” (www.offalgood.com)
Chef Cosentino’s interest stems from a desire to feature peasant cuisine of Italy, “so much of it is based on offal. When I slaughtered my first animal, I was amazed at how much meat was thrown away. From that moment on, I made it my mission to educate myself about how to cook and use every part of the animal. By doing this I am able to preserve and resurrect old techniques before they are gone.”
“These parts are only thrown away in the USA; every other country in the world eats them. Using every part is simply the right thing to do. When an animal gives its life for food, it’s important to do it justice by serving all of it. Moreover, each cut is beautiful in texture and flavor in its own special way, so why not enjoy all of them,” Chef Cosentino continues on why he gets a certain satisfaction out of making tasty eats from parts of animals most people would throw out.
Continue reading Chris Cosentino: The Life of an Offal Chef
When your smoker is outside, and you’re inside, having a wireless remote thermometer can be a fantastic convenience. Over the years I’ve used a variety of different makes and models. And quite frankly none of them ever performed very well. A week doesn’t go by that someone doesn’t ask about what wireless remote thermomete they should by. My answer is always the same, save your money they’re all garbage.
It didn’t matter how expensive or how cheap they were they just didn’t work right. Either they performed poorly from the very start or they didn’t work for very long. If it wasn’t lousey reception between the sending unit and the receiving unit it was probes that failed after only a couple of uses.
I had pretty much given up any hope of finding a wireless remote read thermometer that would function correctly for any length of time. That is until I got a chance to try out the Grill-Right Wireless Talking BBQ Thermometer from Red Envelope. There’s a chance this wireless thermometer may actually perform as advertised.
It’s about getting down and dirty. You’ve got to get hands-on, get stuck in and extract the most from the food in the most primal way. Use your hands to crush and combine the fresh herbs, garlic and spices. Massage the marinade into the meat, and press the seasonings in with your hands instead of using a brush. I show you how to improvise and impart the best flavors possible with using something as simple as a bunch of mixed fresh herbs tied to a wooden dowel with twine. Discard the roasting rack and other exotic equipment — you won’t need it. Sometimes restraint can be difficult, but even if you are limited by your ingredients, it doesn’t mean you’re limited in the flavors you can produce. — Adam Perry Lang in the Introduction to BBQ 25.
I’m not sure I have a BBQ idol, but if I did it would be Adam Perry Lang (APL). Over the last couple of years no single person has influenced me more in my BBQ techniques than APL.
I can remember one of the biggest “I’ve just got to do that” moments was after watching an episode of the Food Network’s “Th Best Thing I Ever Ate.” Today I can’t remember who the host of that particular segment was, but I do remember they were raving about the smoke beef ribs at APL’s restaurant in New York City.
Continue reading Adam Perry Lang’s “BBQ 25″
Last week I got a tweet asking if I had ever eaten at “Baby Blues BBQ” in San Francisco. Since I hadn’t, I figured it was as good a time as any to venture over the Bay Bridge with my BBQ Buddy “Landarc” and give it a try. As we drove down Mission we had high hopes. Some of the best BBQ joints are in the more colorful parts of town. And Baby Blues BBQ is in one of the most colorful areas of one of the most colorful cities on Earth.
Upon finding the address I thought we might have a winner. The restaurant is located in an old Rexall Drugstore. As you can tell from the picture signage is at a minimum. Normally this would be a good sign. A BBQ restaurant that can make itself known without garish signs has got to be good. Right? Well not necessarily. Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, you shouldn’t judge a BBQ restaurant by it’s exterior. Looks can be deceiving.
Continue reading I’m Singing The Blues After Lunch Today
It took a lot for me to venture into Burger King to eat the new ribs they have been advertising. Of all the fast food restaurants on Earth, Burger King is my least favorite. I can’t stand the Whopper and that Burger “King” guy just plain creeps me out. So, going into Burger King
Continue reading … Burger King Ribs! Yes I Actually Ate Them
Let me just cut to the chase. Jim ‘N Nick’s was everything, and I do mean everything, I want in a restaurant. Great atmosphere, great service and most importantly outstanding food. And what is most astounding is that this is a chain restaurant. The meal we ate last night more than made up for the nightmare of a meal we had the previous evening.
The meal came with with baskets of these cheese biscuits/rolls. Eating one of these was impossible so we inhaled a couple baskets of them. Eating one of these biscuits made the meal better than the previous nights whole meal.
Continue reading Memphis In May #5: Jim ‘N Nick’s Is What I Needed
I have to admit when Char-Broil first contacted me to come out to Memphis In May and do some cooking demonstrations one of the first thoughts I had was that someone was going to pay me to fly out and eat at Interstate Bar-B-Q.
For a BBQ enthusiast there are a select group of “famous” restaurants that are must eat ats. And for me Interstate Bar-B-Q was high on my list. And as hard as it is for me to say I’ve got to admit that it may have been one of the biggest BBQ disappointments I’ve ever had.
There are a variety of negative reasons why I don’t eat in BBQ restaurants very often. And I don’t think Interstate BBQ missed a single reason. Everything I dislike about most BBQ restaurants was encapulated in one meal.
Go figure…who would have thought that one of America’s most celebrated BBQ establishments was my first Memphis In May disappointment. Dang, I’m sad writing this. I so wanted a good BBQ experience and I didn’t get it. Continue reading Memphis In May #2: My First Memphis Disappointment
