brother’s beginner BBQ sauces

My brother made some pulled pork the last weekend and decided to compare a few different Carolina barbecue sauces. So, without any preamble, here are the recipes (with minor edits):

Carolina, mustard-style

• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 2 t (granulated) garlic
• 2 t salt
• 2 t pepper
• 1 t red pepper flakes
• 1/3 c lemon juice
• 1/4 c white vinegar
• 1/2 c apple cider
• 1 T worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 c molasses
• 2 c mustard

Carolina, western-style

• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1/4 c ketchup
• 2 c water
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 c worcestershire
• 2 T cider vinegar
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 t ground allspice
• 1 t salt
• 1 t black pepper

Carolina, eastern-style

• 1 c white vinegar
• 1 c cider vinegar
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 T red pepper flakes
• 1 T hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 t salt
• 1 t ground black pepper

The first two you put together, heat, and let simmer. For the vinegar sauce throw the ingredients in a jar and store in your fridge, shaking occasionally. The vinegar sauce was the easiest by far, but I think I actually liked the taste of it the most. My wife’s favorite was the tomato-based sauce.

Lexington BBQ sauce

according to Cook’s Illustrated:

• 1/2 c meat drippings, broth, or water
• 1 c cider vinegar
• 1/2 c ketchup
• 1/2 c water
• 1 tbs sugar
• 3/4 tsp table salt
• 3/4 tps red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

balsamic vinaigrette

This is the base of our balsamic vinaigrette. We’re working to expand our salad horizons, so someday we’ll make exciting variations.

• 1/3 c balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp dark brown sugar, optional*
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 c olive oil

steak night

Last November we ate steak. Of course, that’s not strange, considering how much steak we get from Juliana’s family. What made this steak special was that it was pan-seared as described by America’s Test Kitchen, not grilled on the BGE. Also, we made two sauces for it: teriyaki and butter-shallot. Both were rather tasty.

In summary:

• pan-seared filet mignon (NBR p 396-397)
• shallot-butter sauce (NBR 391-392); no parsley, a little bit of paprika, a little bit of rosemary, a little bit of mustard
• teriyaki (BRW p 360); used dry sherry and little sugar instead of sake

salmon broccoli salad and miso carrot sauce with ginger

I took some leftover grilled salmon and mixed it with Costco broccoli salad and miso carrot sauce with ginger (CEV, p 781-782). When making the sauce, I used half as much oil as the recipe calls for. I had this for lunch, and it was spectacular. I’m looking forward to making it again. (Though the scent of the sauce does stick to the lunch containers quite a bit…)

beef and broccoli salad with honey-garlic vinaigrette

I cut up leftover grilled steak, combined it with Costco’s broccoli salad, and dressed that with honey-garlic vinaigrette (CEV, p 763). Juliana had this for lunch a number of times and liked it a lot. As for myself, I wasn’t quite as much of a fan of the vinaigrette, but it was alright.

baked chickpeas with paneer and spinach

As I said I would, I used some fresh cheese (CEV, p 230-231) to make baked chickpeas with paneer and spinach (CEV, p 622-623). Bittman calls it a “glorified version of saag paneer”; I call it an “amazing dish to eat after playing ultimate on Friday”.

The dish is complicated as Bittman dishes go. In addition to the fresh cheese, I made spicy Indian tomato sauce (CEV, p 793), boiled spinach (CEV, p 239-240), and next time I’ll hopefully have made my own curry powder (India, BRW, p 592-594 or CEV, p 815-816). Even so, the preparation isn’t onerous; boiling spinach is trivial, and the cheese, powder, and sauce can be made ahead. (They may even be ingredients worth making regularly to have on-hand.)

note: Bittman has “non-glorified” versions of saag paneer in both The Best Recipes in the World (India, p 486) and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (p 360-361).

synopsis of the past month

Though I took a leave from posting, we didn’t take a leave from cooking. Foods we’ve prepared in the last few weeks include:

• blackberry jam
• blackberry cobbler (2x)
• corn on the cob
• roasted peppers (2x)
• biscuits
• steak w/ Peruvian seasoning
• Peruvian mayonnaise
• pineapple-coconut rice
• Mexican steak and mushroom stew
• caramelized onions
• hummus
• fried rice
• ganache-frosted brownies
• truffles
• huevos rancheros

Also, we had friends over and tried the ratafia that I started at the beginning of the summer. It was slightly thick, boozy, and tasted of peaches and honey—delicious! Finally, I have some plans for the future:

• use the rice cooker for grits and oatmeal
• make Bittman’s new no-knead bread recipe
• make a soaked cake
• to make something with butternut squash

Descriptions are below.

ranch dressing

Easy! I almost never have salad. When I do have salad, I almost always top it with a vinaigrette. I made parmesan ranch dressing (CEV, p 772), however, for guests coming over for steak, and I’ve decided that it’s one of those dishes that I’ll only make for others, because it’s just too tasty.

hogao

Hogao is a Colombian sauce. The version we make isn’t strictly traditional, but is fast, easy, and pretty tasty.

1 large onion, diced or pureed (or 2 medium onions)
2 medium tomatoes, diced or pureed (or 1 large tomato or 1 28 oz can tomatoes or …)
1 clove garlic, minced (or 2 cloves… or 3 cloves…)
salt to taste

We mix everything together, put it in a skillet, and cook until the excess water has boiled away. What we’re left with is a versatile condiment that goes well with steak, eggs, rice, arepas, and almost any other Colombian entree or side dish.