The BBQ Grail

Was in Oakland the other day on business and when I stepped out of the office building I was in and saw the Everett & Jones BBQ Restaurant I knew where lunch was going to be. I’ve heard about Everett & Jones for years, but never made the trek out to try them. So I was pleased to see that I was right there.

Lots of hype. And the experience lived up to the hype.

I ordered the Brisket Plate with corn bread and greens. And all of it was fantastic. I made sure I ordered the sauce on the side so that I could check out the meat before I ate it. Nice smoke aroma, awesome bark and fantastic smoke ring. The brisket was moist, tender and not to fatty. It may have been the best restaurant brisket I’ve ever had.

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I just finished the last of the New Year’s Day Cornbread. And I got to thinking about just how good it was.

One of my favorite restaurants is Bandera in Sacramento. They make the most amazing cornbread. It isn’t often that I’ll go to a restaurant because of a side dish, but in the case of Bandera’s cornbread I am willing to make an exception.

I’ve been searching for a cornbread recipe that is close to Bandera’s for quite some time. I’ve tried many “scratch” recipes that just don’t cut it. I was amazed when I came across a recipe on the BBQ Brethren’s website that came closer than most. And it uses plain old, ordinary Jiffy corn muffin mix.

All I had to do was mix two boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix with a large can of creamed corn. Toss in a little sugar, a can of diced chilies and mix it all up.

Heat a cast iron skillet in the oven until hot. Add a couple tablespoons of butter and heat it until it just starts to smoke. Dump in the cornbread mix and bake it until a knife, inserted in the middle, comes out clean.

It doesn’t get much easier than that. Does it?

Today was a long day.

I cranked up the new UDS and had lots of problems getting the temperature regulated. Not really sure if I got it under control, but I have a good basis for the next time it’s used. Plan to try again this coming weekend.

The MOFO Brisket Chili came out fantastic.

I’ve been trying to find a recipe for cornbread that was close to Bandera restaurant and I think I may have come pretty close.

And the pastrami came out pretty darn good also.

All and all a great day.

Happy New Year Everyone!