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″
A couple months ago the local Winco grocery store had whole beef tenderloins on sale for $3.99 a pound. I was a little skeptical of beef tenderloin at that price, but the meat looked pretty decent so I bought one of the cryopaks. I took it home and immediately cut one up and grilled some tenderloin to test the quality. It was good enough that I went back to the store and bought four more. So the freezer has plenty of nice tender beef in it.
Grilled beef tenderloin tacos was on the menu tonight. I picked up some great tortillas at the local Bel Air grocery store. These great tortillas from La Tortilla Factory in Santa Rosa have a fantastic flavor. The green chili tortillas, which oddly enough aren’t listed on the companies website, have just enough green chili flavor to enhance the meat without overpowering everything else. The combination of corn and wheat gluten gave the tortillas a nice texture. They grilled/heated up great on the grill grates of my Weber kettle. Unlike most commercially produced tortillas these are “hand made style” and are thick enough that you don’t need two tortillas to hold your taco fillings.
Continue reading Tenderloin tacos and a brew!
I would be willing to bet hamburgers are near the top of the list of food items when grilling newbies light their first grills. I know for me that was the case and for the past 35 years or so I have been seeking the perfect hamburger.
There is nothing more All-American than the hamburger in my book. There has got to be a good reason hamburgers are found at family reunions, picnics, tailgate parties and the like. It’s because they just scream friends and good times.
In my book there isn’t much you can do to improve upon the hamburger. So when I got the chance to give August Kitchen’s J-Burger seasoning I took it. Most “hamburger” seasonings are dry spice type seasonings. As you’ll see this is far from the case with this product.
Continue reading J-Burger Seasoning from August Kitchen
I recently had a chance to receive an example of an amazing use of MOINK Balls from Phubar one of my friends ffrom the Dutch BBQ Association. His MOINK Ball pie is a great example of MOINK ingenuity.
Phubar started with a layer of Endive Stampot. Stampot is a traditional Dutch dish made with potatoes mashed with one or more additional vegetables. A layer of Parmeggiano-Reggiano covers the Stampot.
Continue reading Phubar MOINK Ball Pie
I wanted smoked short ribs and the rest of the family wanted beef with roasted potatoes for dinner tonight. I had to come up with a compromise so I decided to smoke the ribs for a couple of hours while we were at church and then toss them in a dutch oven with some potatoes and carrots at a low temp for the afternoon.
The first thing I needed to do was trim some of the fat and "silver skin" off the short ribs. Normally I wouldn't bother trimming some of the fat off because they would be on the smoker long enough to render the most of it out. But since they were only going to be on the smoker for three hours I figured it would be best to trim it.
Continue reading Smoked & Roasted Short Ribs
The history of the MOINK Ball along with the original recipe has been posted on Char-Broil’s “Sizzle On The Grill” website. Check it out!
Sizzle On The Grill
Who would have thought…
I was in Winco Supermarkets recently and came across Filet Mignon/Beef Tenderloins on sale for $3.99 per pound. It’s probably needless to mention that I was very skeptical that I could get a good piece of Filet Mignon for that price. I bought a couple of the whole cryos and cut them into medallions
Continue reading … Filets on the Pig Grill!
NOTE: Since publishing this I have come to learn that what I cooked was not “Plate” short ribs. I asked the butcher for Plate Short Ribs. I was very specific. He assured me the Beef Chuck Short Ribs and Plate Short Ribs were one and the same cut of meat. They are not. This
Continue reading … Plate Short Ribs: Oh So Meaty!
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.
