I made this yesterday and it is fucking awesome: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/165334/slow-cooker-barbecue-beef-sandwiches" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/165334/sl ... sandwiches</a> I threw in about tablespoon more chilli than the recipe asked for as i like my spice, turned out great.
I'm moving to a new place in a few weeks. Among other amenities, I will have a proper, large deck, and will need a suitable barbecue to furnish it. I'm thinking of a Big Green Egg (likely the medium size), but I'm open to other suggestions. I'm looking for the following characteristics: -charcoal -can smoke or grill (i.e. very high and low temperatures) -can accomodate a wok -I'd prefer a cast iron grill Beyond that, I'm a single guy who will at most have a few friends over, so I don't need something terribly huge. Any recommendations?
If you can get a egg at a good price they certainly are a good cooker, a big steel keg is another good option. Kamodo Joes are good as well. Primo makes great ceramic cookers as well, all of the above are pricey though. Personally I would get a Weber performer and build a UDS or buy a Pit Barrel Cooker and put the rest of the money you have left over towards something else.
I'll second the Primo cookers. The Primo Jr. is almost as large as the large Egg, and the shape is easier to smoke shoulders, ribs and such. I think you'll find limits to the medium egg. Of course, you can also buy a Weber kettle grill and a Weber Smokey Mountain for less money and do the same stuff. It all depends on what you want. I have cooked on all of the above (Egg, Primo, Weber Kettle, Weber SM) and the ceramic cookers really are the most versatile and economical. Charcoal is a hidden cost when you get down to it and ceramics burn a lot, lot less. Don't get sucked into the idea that a cheap offset smoker is the way to go unless you really, really like tending a fire. If you opt for gas, I cannot help you in any way.
Okra is one of the more polarizing vegetables in the culinary world. While some people swear by the fried version of it, others complain that it's slimy. Personally, I've always thought fried okra was a blander version of the much less popular way of baking it. Anytime I've had fried okra, you could substitute most any vegetable and it would taste the same- like batter. No batter or breadcrumbs, just canola oil, kosher salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper. Bake at 300 degrees for at least 30 minutes, and up to an hour depending on your texture preference. The slime is cellulose breakdown and you can bake okra til it's crispy, it just takes time. To the BBQ fans out there, okra is like a pork shoulder- it has a dense internal structure that tenderizes over long periods of low heat. It takes some time, but it's worth it.
Here's the details on the ribs I barbecued yesterday. It was the first time I'd tried doing them on the grill so a few things I will do differently next time but they turned out really well. I first trimmed the ribs and ended up with three pieces. I did a dry rub with equal parts seasoned salt, brown sugar, garlic powder, and spicy cajun powder about 12 hours before grilling. Then four hours before grilling I coated the ribs in spicy brown mustard and the dry rub again. I made a baste with equal parts apple cider vinegar, olive oil, brown sugar, and a touch of honey warmed up on the stove. I basted once every half hour after the first hour. I put two bricks in the grill against the kettle so they formed a triangle to fill with coals and a pie tin filled with water and apple cider vinegar on the other side. I also kept an oven thermometer on the grate to help regulate the temperature but it sucked because A. I had to lift the cover to check the temp and that lost a lot of heat every time. B. It was covered in grill juice after four hours and barely readable. For smoke flavor I had thumb-sized chunks of cherry and hickory wood, and small chips of apple and maple wood. I soaked the larger chunks in water prior to lighting the grill and added a handful of small chips plus one or two large chunks to the coals every time I lifted the cover. I cooked the ribs for about five hours and the trimmings and venison bratwurst for three and a half. They were just right. The rub turned out to be a little intense, but in turn the ribs didn't need any sauce. Next time I will use a probe thermometer I can read with the grill covered and maybe try a different rub. The smoke flavor was great as far as I'm concerned. Spoiler
I've owned mine for 7 years and wouldn't trade it for any other the $4000 stainless units (DCS, Wolf, Fire Magic etc) Unless you are REALLY stressed for space, get the large. You'd be amazed at how much cooking area those extra 3" give ya. Plus, it'll hold 3 racks of baby backs flat where the medium won't.
Big Green Eggs are not cheap, require special charcoal, and crack rendering them useless if/when they fall over. It's a ceramic charcoal bbq, you could do the same thing with two large terra cotta flower pots and save yourself several hundred dollars.
Ox Tail Taco with Pico de Gallo 2-3 pounds oxtails Chicken broth Adobo Sauce 1/3 onion diced small 3 cloves garlic diced small 1 celery stalk diced small 1/2 carrot diced small 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp black pepper 1 tsp chili powder 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp salt 1 tsp adobe seasoning 1 tblsp liquid smoke 1 tblsp honey Pico De Gallo: 2 medium tomatoes 1/3-1/2 red onion 3 cloves garlic 1 small jalapeno Juice of 1 lime cilantro Dice it all, mix together. Season with salt/pepper. To braise the ox: Trim of excess fat, then salt and pepper the oxtails. Sear in canola oil in large pot on medium high heat until brown on both sides. Take out of pot. In same pot with all the fat and fond, add the diced vegetables. cook until soft, translucent, not burned. Deglaze with at least 2 cups of broth. Get all the fond off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Throw a fat glob of adobo in, the seasonings, add the oxtails back. Cover them almost entirely with more broth if needed. Put the lid on. Simmer for 3 full hours. Shred the meat. Add to a corn tortilla with a thick sliver of sour cream, the pico, a dash of vinegary hot sauce. Ox tail is f'n awesome for braising. Super meaty flavor and the fat cooks right into them, making them very unctuous. I threw together that cooking liquid with as many "taco type things" just to infuse the meat with enough flavor. Worked out pretty well without killing the beefy flavor. Let me rephrase, this is the best taco I have ever made. I like using pico as a salsa because it's herbaceous, fresh, and clean. Not overpowering at all.
I have a total food boner right now. First of all, make your own cream cheese frosting, because the shit in the can is shit. Second of all....nope, that's it. Real frosting, shitty, dry cake mix, and baker's chocolate. Sploosh.
Sick of the same old hot sauces? Order a case of gochujang, a fermented Korean red pepper paste from the Gods. It's a savory flavor + heat and one could eat it by the spoonful.
I like gochujang in bi bim bap sauce format. Thin it down a little with water, add a splash of soy sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil and a little sugar and it's amazing. A bowl of rice + fried egg + bap sauce = <3333
Does anyone have a good winter drink recipe they can recommend? I'm having a bunch of people, mostly women (sweet tooth? teeth? toothes?) over to mine before heading out for cocktails, and it's bitterly cold here. I'd like to serve something warm that will take the edge off life - I was thinking about mulled wine but have never tried it. I need something I can serve en mass to 20 odd people without too much prep time per drink. Anyone got any ideas? Personally I tend to drink warm cognac, but since basically none of them drink brown spirits, that's out.
Something that is simple and tasty for people with a sweet tooth is hot chocolate with the whipped cream flavored vodka in it. Hot chocolate is really easy to make, too - milk, sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder.
Mulled wine is delicious, very easy to make (as simple as wine + oranges + spices), and the house will smell awesome too. I highly recommend giving it a try.
I dropped you a rep about German Punsch. Let me tell you honkeys something, the Germans know better than anyone how to make hot punch. Look how efficiently they devastated Europe. Of course the savage huns know how to party. <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feuerzangenbowle" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feuerzangenbowle</a> Here's another: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.food.com/recipe/gluehwein-german-hot-wine-punch-48713" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.food.com/recipe/gluehwein-ge ... unch-48713</a>
Mulled wine is great because you can make it however you like. It's like winter sangria. I typically use vodka or brandy instead of rum, and I like to add a little ginger and black peppercorns to spice it up. Tea infusers (those little mesh balls) work really well if you dont want bits of the spices in your wine.
Agreed. My wife is from Germany and we definitely consume this regularly in the winter. It's one of the things I look forward to when we go to Germany at Christmas time... That and Nutella crepes. They also have packets that you can put into red/white wines and then simmer in a pot on the stove. I'll dig some up when I get home and post the name of them.
I'd only suggest making just enough for everyone. My brother's girlfriend made a batch when I was living in Shanghai with him around Christmas. It's all festive and smells great and the idea of it seems awesome at the time. We each probably had two glasses a piece and had a shit ton left over. Like a mentioned in the drunk thread about ciders, you can't drink it in large quantities without getting an upset stomach. We didn't want to throw it all out and it sat in our fridge for weeks because no one wanted anymore eventually the smell of the spices just made me nuances.