Barbecue

Best Dang Smokerless Smoked Brisket Ever

/ Ren

Best Dang Smokerless Smoked Brisket Ever

Best Damn Smokerless Smoked BrisketBrisket is a pitmaster’s mainstay. But let’s face it, even at the best places, it’s often the least interesting option on the menu—dry, bland, blah. Tired of the ho-hum stuff (and never willing to shy away from a challenge), our kitchen crew set out to make a better brisket, with juicy, smoky meat and a sticky, satisfying bark. Just to up the ante, they decided to develop it without the aid of a smoker, instead testing recipes indoors and using liquid smoke and nitrites to evoke a smoky flavor and signature pink ring at the edge of the meat—both hallmarks of first-rate ’cue.

This recipe calls for one of our favorite secret ingredients, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, a gluten-free, non-GMO certified soy sauce alternative.. Liquid Aminos 16 oz. 16 Ounces

The upshot for you, hungry meat fiends: the best dang barbecue brisket you’ll ever make. What’s more, you can make it in the climate-controlled comfort of your own kitchen. You don’t need a smoker, and you don’t need a lot of space. Heck, you don’t even have to have any prior barbecuing experience to make this thing happen. What you do need: a few easy-to-find ingredients and a big ol’ hunk of meat. Grab some carnivorous buddies—you’re gonna want to show this one off.

Get the recipe at chefsteps.com

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/smokerless-smoked-brisket

BBQ Oysters

/ Ren

Fresh, plump oysters from the Texas gulf are carefully scrubbed and briefly shocked in iced salt water before being grilled over a wood fire (cup side down, about 8 minutes cooking time depending on size).  Quickly and carefully opened so as not to lose the precious liquid inside, then given a shot of tangy BBQ sauce and a little crumbled bleu cheese.  Back on the grill for a minute or two, seasoned with a little sea salt & freshly-ground pepper and served piping hot..

BBQ Oysters

“Corpus Christi gave birth to a tall Texas tale adding to the state’s oyster lore. As the story goes, Texas Rangers chased a band of marauding Indians onto a beach jutting into the bay. Knowing the Indians were surrounded by water and couldn’t escape the Rangers decided to camp until morning. When the sun rose, the beach was empty. All they found were footprints leading into the water.

Some say the story marked the discovery of Reef Road, a series of oyster shell beds between Corpus Christi and Nueces bays. Reef Road could be crossed by horse wagon at low tide, and for years locals used the submerged route to cut travel time between Nueces and San Patricio counties. Meanwhile, other enterprising Texans were reaping a harvest that would develop into the country’s second-leading oyster industry. By 1890, four years before the Grand Opera hall opened in romantic Galveston, oystermen harvested more than 2 million pounds of meat. Fourteen years later, as Galveston rebuilt from the devastating hurricane of 1900, the figure had climbed to a record-breaking 3.5 million pounds.”  –texasoysters.org


Pan-seared Pork Tenderloin with Chili-Cherry BBQ Sauce

/ Ren

Local (Richardson Farms via Greenling), pastured pork tenderloin fillets are rubbed with a mixture of toasted cumin & coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, garlic and salt, then pan-seared in mesquite-smoked bacon fat.  Served with a BBQ sauce made with red wine vinegar-deglazed pan drippings, crushed dark cherries, stock, tomato paste, chili molido, bay and onions..

 

Pan-seared Pork Tenderloin with Chili-Cherry BBQ Sauce

 

“The origins of both the activity of barbecue cooking and the word itself are somewhat obscure. Most etymologists believe that barbecue derives ultimately from the word barabicu found in the language of both the Timucua of Florida and the Taíno people of the Caribbean, which then entered European languages in the form barbacoa. The word translates as “sacred fire pit.”

“The precise origin of barbecue sauce is unclear.  Some trace it to the end of the 15th century, when Christopher Columbus brought a sauce back from Hispaniola, while others place it at the formation of the first American colonies in the 17th century.  References to the substance start occurring in both English and French literature over the next two hundred years.”