Mother of All Briskets M.O.A.B.

Well here we are back again with the Brisket.  I knew it wouldn’t be long before we tried this again, only to try and perfect what we’d done a few weeks back.  It was actually a friend of ours that prompted a second try. Thanks Gio, and after last night I don’t think we let you down.

I’ve dubbed this one the M.O.A.B. given the size of the cut and the overall work that’s gone into preparing this epic meal.  I’d also like to acknowledge the source of my new inspiration to make a real Texas style brisket and that would be “Meathead” on www.amazingribs.com – here is the post that I used along with my own modifications to master the beast known as brisket! The new modifications I made to this brisket include:

• Injecting the brisket with beef broth prior to smoking
• A drip pan with water and beef broth
• 90 minutes per pound rule 90 x 6.7/60 = 10.05 hours
• Internal temperature thermometer
• The Texas Crutch
• Texas Barbecue Juice for steeping and serving along side the brisket
• Spicy Drop Biscuits

Truth be told,most of this can be found in Meathead’s article/recipe and I can’t do it any justice by trying to put it in my own words.  I really appreciated the help on this one as the last time we attempted a brisket it was good, but this time it had to be incredible!  We had a real Foodie coming over last night!

With the M.O.A.B., all of the other facts remain the same, i.e. I purchased the brisket from The Butcher (thanks Pete!) and I used my very own 19 spice rub and let the brisket sit in the fridge for over 30 hours.  I used mesquite chunks with a fully loaded Big Green Egg and I worked on my patience again…that’s probably the toughest thing I’ve had to do. Here are a few shots from the two-day adventure:

        

Here are a few chronological shots…Zero, Two, Four, Six and 10 Hours…

     

To add a real zing to the brisket meal, here’s the recipe for the Texas BBQ Juice – don’t be fooled because of the lack of “thinknicity” – apparently in Texas they don’t dig on sticky sweet sauces like they do up North.  I’ve also included some of my variants as well:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon of butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup Tiger Beer (Singapore’s finest)
1/4 cup Heinz ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons A1 steak sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Chipotle sauce to taste (start with 2 teaspoons of sauce for mild heat)
2 cups beef stock

Mix all the dry spices together and set it aside.  In a pan, melt your butter and sweat your onions until they become translucent.  Add your garlic and pepper and stir it around for a couple of minutes.  Then add your spices and give it a proper mix, ensuring you get an even coating.  Cook for about a minute or two and then add your beer and stock.  Let that all simmer for 15-20 minutes and you’re done!  I made my juice yesterday and it tastes amazing after a night in the fridge!

OK, so the next few steps kind of went by like a blur.  Along with the sauce, my buddy Brett came over to make his famous slaw and I tried my luck at drop biscuits.  Result! All done and prepped, all we needed now was for the thermometer to hit 190-195 and the brisket could rest for about an hour.  I packed away the hunk ‘o meat into a towel then into the trusty Coleman cooler box.  Guests arrived, the wine was poured and soon we were ready for the unveiling of what can only be described as THE BEST BRISKET EVER!!!!

I used the carving technique as described on amazingribs.com and it worked really well.  Brisket muscle grain goes in different directions and if you follow his steps, you’ll chop up the best slices ever. Seriously, we’ve had good brisket but this one, by a mile, was the ultimate and worthy of the title “The Mother of All Briskets!”

Thanks Barbara, Michelle, Gio, Brett, Heather and Kalyna for the excellent company and thanks for the inspiration Meathead!

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Overall Heather Rating: 9.5/10

Authentic Beef Short Ribs

Hello once again from Sunny Singapore!  I wanted to set the record straight once and for all with regards to beef short ribs.  The post I had up on the blog months ago featured ribs that were not short ribs but spare ribs instead.  All beef but not short ribs which I’ve found out are quite tough to come by.  If you remember the awesome recipe for Beef Cheeks (click to see the post) you’ll find the exact recipe for short ribs.  The only difference I employed this time was to rub the ribs the night before.  These babies sat in the fridge for more than 30 hours before I smoked them and steeped them to perfection!

So, thanks to Peter and Jack once again at The Butcher for hooking us up with some incredibly yummy looking beef short ribs. The blog will feature a photo essay instead…again, click the link above for beef cheeks to get all the details on how and what to do!

Cheers…Roman

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Overall Heather Rating: 7/10

Roasted Leg of Pork with Apple Gravy

Happy weekend to all of you!  Last night was a simple, stay at home kind of evening for all of us. Heather and I had no particular plans for dinner so we walked up to the market and looked at the on sale stuff and we found a leg of pork for $16 bucks.  Score! So what did we make?  Simple roast leg of pork with apple gravy. The recipe for this meal couldn’t be easier and it’s one of those types that if you’re a novice or beginner griller, your guests will love this one as it’s almost entirely fool-proof. It will make you look like a master chef!

Ingredients for the pork & apple gravy

• 1 – 1.5 kg of boneless leg of pork
• your favorite rub
• olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 ambrosia apples (from British Columbia!!!)
• 100 ml pure apple juice
• 100 ml chicken stock

Prepare your grill and set it up for indirect heat at 350 degrees F.  For those with an egg, that means a plate setter, for those without, no flame – just heat!  I threw in a few hickory chips for good measure as well as to give the pork a nice smokey flavour.

Bring your pork up to room temperature.  Give it a bit of a rinse, pat dry and then score the top layer of skin and fat with a super sharp knife.  This will produce the most incredible tasting crackling when done.  Now coat the leg evenly with olive oil.  Sprinkle some Kosher salt all over and then apply a nice coating of your favorite rub.  I had a bit left over so it worked out perfectly in terms of using it all up. Once you’ve coated everything and your grill us nice and hot, transfer the leg onto an oiled v-rack and place it on the grill.

     

Set your timer for 1.5 hours (as a minimum) and insert your trusty thermometer if you have one.  The ideal temperature for a pork roast like this is 170 degrees F, internal temp.  If you don’t have a thermometer, this roast was completely done at 1 hour and 45 minutes. Upon finishing the roast, wrap it in aluminium foil and a tea towel and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before you slice into it. I’ll warn you now, if you love crackling as much as we do….you’ll absolutely flip when you taste it once you’ve cut up the leg. Probably the best crackling I’ve ever had…no lie!

     

The apple gravy preparation was equally as easy.  Peel, core and dice your apples into small chunks and place it into a pan on the stove top.  Add to this the shallots, 100% apple juice and chicken stock and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the apples are nice and mushy.  Set aside the mixture and let it cool a bit before you squish it all through a strainer.  That’s it, now you have a wonderful gravy to go with your pork leg.

  

To add to all of this, Heather made an awesome strawberry/walnut salad with jam and balsamic dressing and mini potatoes in fresh oregano from the garden.  One final addition, a chilled bottle of Sauv Blanc to accompany a great, simple and incredibly tasty meal.

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

Beef Brisket Finally!

We’re throwing a Saturday night Southern-style feast at our place.  We’ve got a few great surprises in store for our guest including 8-9 hour smoked beef brisket , Southern baked beans, Brett’s famous biscuits, corn on the cob, potato salad and to top it off, Heather’s pecan pie. There’s so much to do and prepare, I had to start the blog entry well before we even stoked the fire!

For the brisket itself I wandered down the road to my buddies at “The Butcher” – As always, Peter and Jack were there with big smiles eagerly awaiting our stories and of course our next blog installment. For their part I can’t recommend these guys highly enough.  Meat is expensive in Singapore but quality meat is well worth it!  These guys are fantastic at what they do and most importantly, they treat their customers better than any other butcher I’ve ever gone to.  So guys… Ta, this brisket is going to be awesome!

The brisket itself is a five pounder with the fat cap on!

Now let’s move onto the 19 spice rub (Colonel Sanders, eat your heart out!) Always, always, always make your own as the store-bought stuff is expensive and not nearly as much fun as making your own.  Here are the steps in creating your brisket rub:

• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoon basil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dill
• 1 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon anise seed
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt (additional)
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

I mixed up all this lovely stuff on Thursday afternoon and let it sit in my trusty rub dispenser.  It wasn’t until Friday that I poured the rub mix into my spice grinder and pummeled the mix into a fine powder.  This helped the rub adhere to the brisket really nicely and the smell was unlike any other rub I’ve put together.  I’m really looking forward to the result!  Check out these shots…

     

Once I coated the brisket entirely in this crazy rub I wrapped the brisket tightly in cling film and popped it in the fridge.  24 hours should let all that rub penetrate nice and deep into the tissue.

Onto the main event!  Remove your brisket from the fridge (after more than 24 hours) and let it get up to room temperature.  In Singapore, that doesn’t take long at all! Once done, unwrap that beauty and give it a good look as in the next one hour, it will transform into a piece of art!

Make sure your grill is up and running.  I filled the Egg all the way up to the top to avoid any chance of running out of fuel.  I also added a mixture of hickory and mesquite chips that had been soaking for about 2 hours.   Wooosh and we were lit and ready to go.  I let the fire settle down for about 40 minutes before we put the grid on.  At this point, you want direct heat, that is, right over the flame/heat at 275 degrees F.  Once everything was stabilized it was time to put the brisket down for her first half hour.  Before I did that though, I scored the fat cap in a nice criss-crossed design, this will help render the fat and it looks nice in the end.

     

First half hour and then flip the brisket for another 30 minutes.  Honestly, it looks good enough to tuck into just now but we must restrain!  After the hour is up, remove the brisket, dawn your heafty gloves and remove the grid.  Add your plate setter to create an indirect heat source then return the grid on top.  Adjust your baffles and bring the temperature down to a balmy 225 degrees F.  Return the brisket and set your timer for 6 hours!  Grab a beer and write a blog entry!

  

So about 4 1/2 hours into the slow cook my temperature started to creep up. I caught it at 300 degrees F and climbing.  Nothing had changed so I’m guessing that more of the lump charcoal had ignited or started to burn hotter.  Either way, I bled off some of the excess heat and now back down to 225 F for the remaining time left.  I’ve also got the cooler ready to host a wrapped and toweled brisket once it comes off the grill.

So fast forward a few hours and fill your house with guests.  The usual suspects like Barbara and Brett were here and our new pals De & Adam!  Thanks for coming over guys and being our guinea pigs! I pulled the covered brisket out of the cooler and onto the chopping board.  All eyes fixed on the target, it looked like a charred piece of wood more than a succulent brisket.  However, the knife cut effortlessly through the outer “bark” only to reveal tender, stringy, moist and juicy beef inside.  The rub was a huge success and though I personally think there are a few areas to improve upon, for a first time brisket, this was a 100% success!  To quote our southern brother from Oklahoma…”you nailed this one out of the park!”

     

Thanks for the beans, biscuits, potato salad, corn and all that wine.  Of course I can’t thank Heather enough for the BEST pecan pie ever. One day she’ll share that recipe.

Happy times!

PS – Morning after addition – I just cut up what was left of the brisket end and OMG, it’s incredible.  Kind of a mixture between brisket, jerky and a smoked pastrami – just plain beef love… We’re on to something here! Check out the shot of this yummy wee beastie!

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Overall Heather Rating: 7/10

Smoked Threadfin (Ikan Kurau) in Sake Sauce

Oooooh, got a good one here for you! Tonight we wanted to try something a bit different but healthy.  Whilst at the market today I purchased two threadfin fillets. I’ve never tried threadfin but my goodness, what a treat!  So with that in mind, here’s a very cool recipe for you to try.

Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of threadfin
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp white sesame seeds
• 1/4 tsp black sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup diced scallions

Sake Sauce:

• 3 cups shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup sake
• 1/2 cup light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp water

Other tools:

• Cedar plank for smoking and cooking on

Soak your cedar plank for at least an hour.  I had ours in the sink for about 5 hours but that’s only because I forgot it there.  As you prep everything else, combine your sesame seeds and sesame oil into a small metal bowl and place it aside.  Keeping it soaking for a while will produce and extraordinary taste once you serve the mixture on your fish.

The sake sauce is quite straight forward actually. Combine your mushrooms, stock, sake, soy sauce, ginger and garlic into a saucepan and simmer on low for about 15 minutes.  The initial taste will be super salty but wait, the magic has yet to happen!  Once your timer “bings”, add the rice wine vinegar and the honey stirring in well.  Again, return the sauce to a simmer and let it sit for another 15 minutes. Give it a stir once in a while too!

      

OK, almost there, now combine your cornstarch and water and mix it until its all dissolved and becomes a white milky liquid. Using a whisk, stir in your mixture and dont’ stop the stirrin’! You’ll soon have a slightly thickened sauce and you’re almost ready for the final bit.

Now, the fish! Place them on an oiled cedar plank and season nicely with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Make sure you get all the sides as threadfin is not a traditional fillet, it’s rather skinny and tall as you can see from the shots below. Fire up the grill ahead of time and get it to about 450 degrees F.  Place the plank along with the fish on it straight onto the grid for direct heat grilling.  You’ll leave the fish there for about 15 minutes or until the fish starts to turn a bit brown on the outside and super crazy tender on the inside.

      

Prepare a side of steamed white rice, pour a small glass of freezing cold sake (if there’s any left) and plate up your fish.  Cover it with a good heap of mushrooms and sauce and then add the sesame mixture.  Finally, sprinkle your scallions on top of it all and serve away!

Honestly, I think this was the BEST fish dish we’ve ever done.  Thanks to the lady at the fish market for another wonderful meal!

   

PS, today I’ve realized more than ever how much I love my family.  So today’s entry is dedicated to Heather, Alex and Kalyna, my three reasons for living and loving.  You are my life and no matter how mean other people can get, they can’t touch us!

Dad/Hubby 😉

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Overall Heather Rating: 8/10

Grilled Veal Chops with Rosemary & Lemon

STOP THE PRESSES!  We’ve got a new classic grilling recipe to share…veal chops marinated in olive oil, lemon and rosemary from the garden!

I went to the market today to prepare for tomorrow’s tandoori chicken dinner (which takes over 24 hours to marinate) and I happened to come across the special items section at the meat counter.  Just my luck, I picked up two MASSIVE veal chops for $16 – an absolute and utter (or udder) steal! I found a great little recipe for veal chops and wanted to share with you so here you go…this one is a definite MUST TRY!

• 2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 2 (1.25 inch thick) veal chops
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Combine first four ingredients in a lock top bag and season with Kosher salt and pepper to taste. Add the veal chops to the marinade, squish the bag around to ensure an even coating and allow to marinate for at least 3 hours or better yet overnight. I do want to try the overnight but sadly I only had 3 hours to spare this afternoon. Once you’re all marinated up, grill over glowing coals (or 500 F) for 8 minutes on each side for medium rare. Pull the chops off the grid and let them rest for about 4-5 minutes to redistribute all the juices and then serve.

To go along with the veal chops I also made up some white rice and an easy raspberry/spinach salad that goes something like this:

• 1 packet of fresh leafy spinach – 120 g
• 1 packet of Driscoll’s raspberries, split in two
• 1/2 a cup of walnuts, toasted and covered in melted brown sugar to crisp them up
• toss the salad and then make the dressing to put on your plated salad – don’t drizzle the bowl as you’ll wilt the spinach quickly.

The dressing goes like this:

• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp of granulated white sugar
• 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder

This was a great, inexpensive and fantastically flavoured meal! Honestly, a huge surprise and Heather’s first veal chop…thankfully done to perfection!

Cheers,

Roman

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

Tandoori Chicken (recipe included)

Hi everyone…I was looking back at the blog last night to get a sense of how much we’ve put on (both on the blog and around the waistline!) and I came across our recipe for Tandoori chicken only to notice that I hadn’t posted the ingredients or process.  So, here goes: Tandoori Chicken on the Big Green Asian Egg!

• 1 cup plain yoghurt (not the light stuff…go full fat!)
• 1/4 cup of freshly squeezed lime juice (approx. 4-5 limes)
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro or in our case Chinese parsley
• 6 cloves crushed garlic
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp red curry paste (I use mild and then crank up the heat with chili peppers and cayenne pepper)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 chili pepper (I removed the seeds but if you want more heat, keep them in)
• 2 tbs peanut oil
• 1 chicken, skinned and quartered
• red and yellow natural food colouring for that tandoori look (and be super careful as I was a dork and smashed a bottle of the red and what a mess – my leg and hands will be red for weeks!)

The marinade is simple – combine all the above ingredients into a food processor bowl and pulse the contents with a steel blade for about half a minute. Prepare your chicken by removing all the skin and excess fat.  Score a few lines into the meat and place your quarters into a large lock top bag.

Pour the marinade in, coating your chicken thoroughly, then remove as much of the air out of the bag as possible.  Place the bag into a bowl and back into the fridge for 24-30 hours!  When tomorrow comes, remove the chicken and disgard the marinade. Get the grill up to 500 F (260 C) with your platesetter in and legs up, set for indirect cooking. Place the chicken quarters on a lightly oiled grid and grill for 30 minutes or if you’re using a thermometer, make sure it reaches about 165F (74C).

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Overall Heather Rating: 6/10

Canada Day Maple Ribs

Koo loo koo koo, koo koo koo koooooo….

Good day eh and welcome to this, the Canada Day blog entry dedicated to every hoser known the world over!

We’ve been invited to our pals Gio & Michelle’s for a Canada Day barbecue and as good neighbours, I offered to bring along a few ribs to share with the occasional caesar and cold brew from back home.

The ribs are a take on the traditional and classic Big Green Asian Egg FFRs (Fred Flintstone Ribs) with a twist! Instead of using honey during the steeping stage, I’ve used good old, 100% Canadian Maple Syrup! The recipe and timing is identical to the FFRs and of course the ribs themselves come from our favorite provider of swine…the Pig Lady!

As a refresher, here are the steps:

Phase 1:

• Get your ribs to room temperature – we had two racks totaling 2kg
• Prepare your rib rub and coat each side of the rib slabs as well as in between the ribs (top and bottom)
• Set your grill at 275 F with the plate setter in place for indirect cooking as well as a drip pan and rib rack.
• Place the ribs on the rack for 2 hour

    

   Phase 2:

• Place your ribs into individual aluminium foil packs or use a tin container like I did for both racks.
• Coat the bottom of the container with brown sugar and then drizzle on a good helping of 100% pure maple syrup.
• Put your ribs in the container, meat side down and then coast the tops of the ribs with brown sugar and maple syrup.
• Pour in two cups of Apple cider, for today’s ribs I used 2009 vintage “Merrydown” medium cider (alc 7.5% vol per 750 ml)
• Lastly, tightly wrap the top of the tin container with aluminium foil and make a steaming pocket for the next 1 hour and 40 minutes

    

Phase 3:

• Lower your temperature to about 200-225 F at this point – no need to kill the ribs with too much heat.
• Remove your slabs from the container, and place them meat side up on the grid.  Slather your homemade KC sauce on once side of the slab and close the lid for 20 minutes.
• Flip the ribs and coat the slab and close the lid for another 20 minutes.
• At this point, the rib meat will be ready to fall off the bone.  Try to keep the racks intact and set them aside wrapped in foil to cool down.
• When you’re ready to serve…slice them up with a sharp knife and you’re good to go!

    

Phase 4:

• Head off to your pals’ place and enjoy the ribs!
• Open a cold beer
• Toast the Queen and the Prime Minister

Happy Canada Day!

Roman

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Overall Heather Rating: 10/10