Author Archive

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH FENNEL AND PORK

Posted: October 31, 2023 in Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

Here’s one last entry for National Pork Month…

The original recipe for this white bean soup used bits of bacon. But it just so happened that I was planning on slow-cooking a pork shoulder in my smoker today. When the smoked pork met the white bean soup, it was a match made in pig heaven! (Of course, it would work with brisket or chicken as well…)

 

2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, finely chopped
1 smashed garlic clove
3 cans (15 1/2 oz.) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, 1 1/2 cups reserved
40 oz. veal bone broth (or chicken broth, if you prefer)
1/4 teaspoon bouquet garni
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Bacon fat and/or olive oil
A slab of slow-cooked smoked pork shoulder, pulled and shredded

 

In a large heavy saucepan, sauté the onion, fennel, and garlic in bacon fat or olive oil until they are tender, about 8 minutes.

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans, reserving 1 1/2 cups for later. Pour the beans in the saucepan.

Add the veal (or chicken) broth, the bouquet garni, and the salt and pepper.

Simmer for 15 minutes, then turn the heat off and let it cool for 15 minutes.

Puree the soup in batches in a blender, until smooth.

Return the soup to the pot and add the reserved beans. Heat for 10 minutes, and then taste it, adding more salt and pepper, if needed.

 

 

To serve, place a mound of the pork, cubed or pulled, in the center of a bowl. Pour the soup on top, and drizzle with a touch of extra virgin olive oil. Chopped scallions, or fresh chives, or parsley on top never hurt!

 

ASIAN-STYLE PORK CHUNX

Posted: October 28, 2023 in Uncategorized
0

These delicious “chunx” of pork are full of fantastic Asian flavors and go great with broccoli and rice…or just by themselves. Plus, I used inexpensive boneless pork sparerib meat, which saves a few bucks.

3 pounds boneless pork ribs
1/2 a large onion, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese chili garlic sauce
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup maple syrup
4 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

This recipe is similar to my Asian bacon recipe, only it uses a cheaper, easier to find, cut of pork: boneless sparerib meat. You can usually find packages of this meat in a 3-pound size at most supermarkets.

The rib meat is fatty, however, and often has some gristle. So I trim as much of that away as I can to keep the tasty bites tender. 

I cut the pork into 1-inch cubes, and toss them in a bowl with the diced onion. I add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and Chinese chili garlic sauce to the bowl and mix everything really well.

I will let the pork marinate for 2 hours at room temperature, remixing every half-hour or so. (If the pork needs to stay out longer, I put it in the refrigerator, bringing it back to room temperature when I’m ready to cook.)

I preheat the oven to 350°.

I line a baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil and place the pork and onion pieces on it in a single layer, reserving any leftover marinade for later.

I bake the pork and onions for 30 minutes.

While the pork is in the oven, I get a large pot and place the lemon zest, lemon juice, star anise, cinnamon sticks, maple syrup, and chicken broth in the pot. I bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.

After the pork and onions have cooked for 30 minutes, I remove them from the baking pan and place them in the pot, pouring in all the juices that might be in the baking pan. At this point, I can add any leftover marinade into the pot as well.

Bringing the heat under the pot back on high, I continue cooking until the liquid in the pot starts reducing. As it reduces, I turn the heat down as well, so I don’t burn any sugars in the pot. I stir the pork pieces once in a while.

Soon, the liquid will be reduced to a glaze. I keep tossing the pork in that glaze until it looks nice and shiny and gooey and sticky. And that’s when they’re ready!

Serve the pork chunks immediately!

NOT MY MAMA’S PORK CHOP

Posted: October 25, 2023 in Carnivore!, Food, frying, pork, Recipes
Tags: , , , ,
0

October is National Pork Month, and we still have a few days left…

Pork chops were a favorite of mine growing up, but my Mom cooked them only one way: breaded and fried in a pan full of oil. They were good, but they were greasy, and my Mom was not big on seasonings. And she cooked the hell out of it. It was time to improve on the original.

Using the best quality pork I can get, like heritage Berkshire pork, makes a real difference in flavor. It also matters to me that the animals are humanely treated while they’re on the farm. No factory-farmed meats.

 

chop 1

 

 

2 Berkshire pork chops
1 egg
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs (gluten-free works, too)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
olive oil

 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Set up 2 bowls. In one, crack and scramble the egg. In the other, combine the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, oregano, parsley, granulated garlic and granulated onion.

Place an oven-proof pan on medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. Once the oil is hot, coat the pork chops in the egg wash and then coat them with the bread crumb mixture. Place the chops in the hot pan to brown and sear on one side. After a few minutes, flip the chops over in the pan and place the pan in the oven to finish cooking.

 

chop 2

Remember, good pork does not need to be cooked to death! A light pink to the meat is OK. You want to cook the meat to about 145 degrees, letting it rest for at least 3 minutes before serving.

 

 

 

BAKED RAVIOLI

Posted: October 21, 2023 in Uncategorized
0

Baked ziti, lasagna, and baked ravioli are all “cousins” …slightly different versions of basically the same dish. Yet each one is unique, and it’s fun to change them up when you’re in the mood for something gooey and cheesy.


I made this recipe recently, when my daughter invited some friends over, and they wanted to avoid meat. The extra layer of spinach makes it at least a tiny bit healthy! (I prefer fresh spinach over frozen, which I think tastes awful.)

Great having a fresh pasta shop in my own town!

I used fresh pasta for this dish (it came frozen and I thawed it), so no need to cook it ahead of baking. But you will have to cook dried pasta to a very chewy al dente stage if you choose to use it. (Not recommended for this recipe.)

1 lb. fresh or frozen raviolis (I used ravioli stuffed with burrata and spinach this time)
1 can (28 oz.) tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
2 cups fresh spinach, washed
1 1/2 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Thaw the raviolis, if frozen, by placing them on a baking sheet with non-stick foil. Cover them with plastic wrap to keep the moisture in to avoid cracking. (It’s not a big deal if they do.)

Preheat the oven to 400° .

Blend the tomatoes in a food processor or blender, then pour them into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper (to taste.)

Spread the spinach out in the bottom of a large baking pan. Take a ladle full of the sauce and mix it with the spinach to soften it and give it moisture.


Dunk the raviolis in the sauce, then lay them on top of the spinach, one by one. Then pour the sauce on top of the raviolis. (If you use tortellini, you can mix them right into the sauce, because they’re sturdy.)


Cover the raviolis evenly with the mozzarella, then with the Parmigiano Reggiano. Dust some dried oregano on top.

Bake until the cheese melts and turns golden, and the sauce is all bubbly. Let it cool a bit before serving.

“COPE” CHOPS: FEEDING HUNGRY DJs FOR ALMOST 4 DECADES!

Posted: October 18, 2023 in barbecue, CHARCOAL, Food, grilling, Recipes
Tags: , , , , ,
0

It’s National Pork Month!

It’s been years since I made this recipe, but it’s a good one that dates back to my early years in radio on Long Island.

“Cope” chops are the creation of my radio buddy, Marc Coppola, who can be heard from Cape Cod to California. Cope and I met at WBAB on Long Island back in the early 80’s. He had the afternoon drive shift, and I was on after him from 7 to midnight. After his show, Cope would remove a hibachi grill out of the trunk of his car, light some charcoal in the radio station parking lot, and he’d grill up the most amazing pork chops I’ve ever had. They were thin, but juicy and beautifully charred, with a wonderful saltiness. He called ’em “Cope chops,” and we’d eat them by the stack, wrapping the hot bone of the chop with a paper towel, and then just chowing down. It was a great memory, and one that I like to re-live by grilling Cope chops at home even today.

After four decades, I’m not sure if my Cope chop recipe is the same as the original, but they are damn good and incredibly easy to make.

Ironically, for this recipe, I don’t go all out and spend big money on thick, expensive pork chops. I want them thin, fatty and with the bone in. This is not a low-and-slow process: the secret to the success of these chops is to cook them hot and fast on a charcoal grill, sealing in the juices.

 

Thin-cut pork chops
Dry white wine (I use an unoaked inexpensive chardonnay; many Australian brands to choose from)
Lawry’s seasoned salt

Place the pork chops in a flat bowl, and pour the wine over the top, making sure you cover the chops. Let them marinate for at least an hour at room temperature, flipping them over halfway through so that all sides get covered by the wine.

Light a hot hardwood charcoal fire.

Pour off the wine from the chops and discard. Place the chops on the hot grill and season the top with the Lawry’s seasoned salt. Once they’ve charred nicely, flip the chops over and season the other side. Grill until the chops are cooked all the way through, but not dry. Serve immediately.

The proper way to eat a Cope chop: wrap the bone in a paper towel and chow down!

CANTONESE DUCK

Posted: October 15, 2023 in Carnivore!, Food, Recipes
Tags: , , , , ,
0

This is basically my Cantonese chicken recipe, which I based on my love of Peking duck. But, for whatever reason, I never tried this recipe on duck before. Last year, I went home to Long Island, and I stopped by one of the great food stores of my life: Miloski’s Poultry Farm in Calverton, NY.

I’ve been coming to Miloski’s since I was a kid. My Dad would buy his ducks there and Grandpa Miloski, the guy that started it all, would serve us. Over the years, grandpa made way for his son, and now the son is retired and the grandson has taken over the business. All along the way, one thing hasn’t changed: the excellent quality of their product.

My uncle, Antanas, passed away years ago, but when it came to being a true foodie, this guy put all others to shame. Besides being the only hunter in our family (my first taste of venison was at his table) he had several huge freezers in the basement of his Richmond Hill, Queens, home. He would drive to Miloski’s and buy dozens of ducks at a time, and bring them home to freeze. Very often, after I finished Lithuanian school on a Saturday, my uncle would invite our family over for dinner, and we’d all sit around a massive table where several ducks would be cooked and served, along with all the fixings. That’s just a taste of my Miloski memories.

I try to stop at Miloski’s every time I pass through. I bring cash, because Miloski’s doesn’t take credit cards! I have a long ride home, first on the Cross Sound Ferry from Orient Point to New London, CT…and then an hour-and-a-half on the highway from there. I always bring a cooler and I buy a bag of ice along the way.

Miloski’s sells all kinds of exotic meats, like wild boar and ostrich. But I go for their delicious kielbasa, pierogis, and now: duck!

1 whole duck, thawed, about 5 lbs.
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Remove all the giblets from the bird and cook them up for your dog, like I do for my buddy, Fellow. (Leave out anything with bones, of course.)

Rub the soy sauce first all over the duck. (It will absorb the flavors better if you do it before you rub the bird with the oil.) Then rub the peanut oil all over the duck.

Rubbed and ready to go in the oven!

Combine the Chinese five spice, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Season the entire bird, including inside the cavity, with this mixture.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the duck in a pan lined with aluminum foil (cleanup will be easier.)

Reduce the oven temperature to 250 once you put the duck in the oven, and then cook it low and slow for up to 4 hours…or more. You want that fat to melt away, leaving delicious tender duck meat behind, with a crispy skin.

You might even need to pour off some duck fat after cooking for a couple of hours. Depending on the duck, sometimes the bird releases a lot of fat!

Meanwhile, combine the hoisin sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl. When the duck is about 15 minutes away from being done (skin is crisp, juices run clear), brush it with the hoisin/sesame oil mixture. Cook it another 15 minutes until the bird has a nice dark glaze.

Let the duck rest about 15 minutes before carving.

Perfectly delicious!

Can you get salmonella from duck? In a word: depends! It used to be that salmonella was only found in the intestinal tracts of chickens. But because ducks are often raised in areas where chickens live, cross-contamination is very possible. Even if the birds live totally separate lives, cross-contamination can also happen in slaughterhouses. So…despite the fact that many say you can eat duck meat that’s pink, I prefer not to. I’ll tell you this: there’s quite a bit of fat in an average duck, so even if you cook the bird to medium-well, it will be delicious and juicy….and the skin will be fantastically crispy. Be safe!

PORK CHOPS WITH CRISPY FENNEL

Posted: October 13, 2023 in barbecue, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, garden, grilling, pork, Recipes, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
1

Inspired by a garden full of fennel and my fanatical love for all things pork, this recipe just happened. I use Berkshire heritage pork when possible, a far tastier and healthier choice over standard pork you find in a supermarket.

pork chop fennel

4 Berkshire pork chops
4 tablespoons finely chopped fennel bulb
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
3 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
extra fennel bulb and fennel fronds
extra olive oil, salt and pepper for sauteing

Combine the chopped fennel, sage, garlic, salt, black pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well and spread it all over the pork chops. Let them stand for an hour at room temperature.

Light a hot grill. Grill the pork chops until they’re done…with quality pork, that does not mean cook it to death! (An internal temperature of 160 is the way to go.)

Chop the extra fennel bulb into thin strips about an inch long. Remove the fennel fronds from their stems. Saute the bulb strips in olive oil, salt and pepper until they are almost crisp. Toss in the fennel fronds and cook until the fronds and bulb strips are crisp.

Serve the pork chops with crispy fennel and fronds on top.

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA

Posted: October 10, 2023 in chicken, Food, frying, Italian, Recipes, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

After making a batch of this for my daughter this week, I got a bunch of requests for the recipe. So here we go!

Chicken parmigiana, much like pizza, is a bit more difficult to make than you might think. Sure, there’s plenty of crappy chicken parm out there, made with processed frozen chicken cutlets, bad sauce and cheap cheese. But to make a really fantastic, mind-blowing chicken parm, that takes a little practice!

The key to this recipe is simple: don’t skimp on the quality ingredients. And my recipe makes a lot. Trust me: you will want leftovers.

The recipes for my Italian bread crumbs and my “Don’t Call It Gravy” tomato sauce are at the bottom.

 

Gooey, cheesy, orgasmic.

Gooey, cheesy, orgasmic.

 

 

6 Chicken breasts, the best quality you can get your hands on
Italian bread crumb seasoning (see recipe below)
3 eggs
vegetable oil for frying
“Don’t Call It Gravy” tomato sauce (see recipe below)
Fresh mozzarella cheese
oregano

Thaw the chicken breasts. Lay them flat on a cutting board, and you’ll see where the chicken tender is on the side of the breast. Cut the tender off and set aside, leaving the breast which is thinner at one end and thicker at the other. Slice the breast in half lengthwise at the thicker end, keeping the knife level, so that you wind up with 2 pieces of breast meat that are the same thickness, but one will be a longer piece (the bottom) and one about half its size (the top part you sliced off.) Do this with all the breasts.

By slicing the breasts lengthwise into evenly thick pieces, it will take the same amount of time for them to cook. (I prefer not to pound the hell out of the chicken breasts until they’re flat as a pancake.)

Pour the vegetable oil into a large frying pan. (I like to use corn oil or grapeseed oil.) Next to the pan, set up two bowls: one with my Italian bread crumb seasoning (recipe below) and in the other: crack the eggs and whisk them.

Now it’s your standard breading procedure: chicken meat in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, coating well. Shake off the excess and place carefully in the pan of olive oil when the oil comes to temperature (about 350) for frying.

Fry the chicken in the oil until it’s golden brown. You want it cooked all the way through, but not overcooked. Place the fried chicken pieces on a wire rack to drain the oil. Do this with all the chicken. The fried chicken at this point is delicious all by itself: chop it and use it in a salad, or make a chicken sandwich. (By the way, if there’s breading left over, use it on the chicken tenders you cut off, and fry them up. My daughter gets these instead of store-bought chicken tenders, and she loves them.)

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Ladle out enough sauce (recipe below) to create a thin layer on the bottom of the baking sheet. Place the fried chicken breasts on top of the sauce. Cover the breasts with more sauce, then place shredded mozzarella on top. Sprinkle the top with a little oregano.

 

Place the baking sheet in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake until the cheese has melted and just starts to brown. Serve it with pasta.

 

MY “DON’T CALL IT GRAVY” TOMATO SAUCE

It’s not hard to make a good tomato sauce. But it takes a little work to make an amazing tomato sauce. Honed from a recipe handed down by a friend-of-a-friend’s Italian grandma, it is one very important part in two of my favorite Italian comfort food recipes: my meatballs…and my chicken parmigiana recipe.

 

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
10 cups ground and peeled tomatoes…or 3 cans (28 oz.) tomatoes (real San Marzanos preferred)
2 teaspoons each: dried oregano, basil and parsley
3/4 teaspoon each anise seed and fennel seed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 small can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar, optional

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onions. Cook until onions are translucent, then add the garlic. Stir for about 10 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and cook until the orange foam disappears, stirring frequently.

Add the oregano, basil, parsley, anise seed, fennel seed, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Add the tomato paste, stirring well. Let the sauce just come to a boil (which helps the paste thicken the sauce), then reduce it to a simmer, and cook uncovered for at least an hour, stirring constantly, until the sauce reaches the consistency you like.

 

MY ITALIAN BREAD CRUMB SEASONING

This is the one part of the recipe (other than the optional pasta) that keeps this dish from being gluten-free. So I use gluten-free breadcrumbs, even if I don’t need to. I buy a loaf of Udi’s frozen gluten-free bread, toast the slices, and them put them in a food processor. I dare you to tell the difference between these and breadcrumbs with gluten!

 

1 Udi’s loaf, toasted and ground into breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Combine all the ingredients well.

PULLED PORK: A LABOR OF LOVE

Posted: October 7, 2023 in barbecue, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, pork, Recipes, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

It’s #NationalPorkMonth! Time to get piggish!

Few slabs of meat are as amazing as a pork butt or shoulder, rubbed with a special dry rub, then slow-smoked for 8 hours (or more), pulled and slathered with amazing barbecue sauce. It takes time, but it’s not really that hard to do.

 

My electric smoker allows me to set the time and temp and walk away.

Here’s how I do it…

First, I get a hunka pork. The kind of pig I get matters to me, so I buy a heritage breed, like Berkshire (also known as Kurobuta), from a farm that raises them humanely. I’m willing to pay the extra bucks.

But going to a supermarket or butcher shop for pork is what most people do. The names of the cuts of meat can be a bit confusing. Despite its name, pork butt is not from the back-end of the pig.  (The term “butt” referred to the barrel the meat was stored in when the only method of preservation was salting the meat and storing it in barrels.)

The pork butt is actually the shoulder of the pig. The pork shoulder picnic is a lower cut of the same area. These cuts can also go by the names: Boston shoulder roast, Boston butt, Boston roast, shoulder butt, pork shoulder picnic, and shoulder-blade roast. Whatever the name, these are all nicely marbled hunks of meat that usually weigh in anywhere from 6 to 8 lbs, are easy to find, and are rather inexpensive. Barbecue fanatics claim the bone-in pork butt is more flavorful, but if boneless is all you can find, that’ll work, too.

Once I’ve got my slab of pork, I remove the skin if it has any. I want my pork rub to make contact directly with the meat, so I always remove the tough skin. No skin? No problem. But leave the fat on!

Now I need to season it. I’ve found that a simple rub is the best way to go for the sauce I’m going to use later.

 

After 8 hours in the smoker, the rub makes a crust on the meat that is just fantastic!

 

BASIC DRY RUB

1/4 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup black pepper (freshly ground is best)
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons granulated onion

Place all the ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake it up to blend.

Once I’ve made the rub, I generously sprinkle it all over the pork, and rub it in really well. Ideally, I let the pork shoulder sit in the fridge for 24 hours before smoking, bringing it out an hour beforehand to have it come up to room temperature.

I have a digital smoker at home, which allows me to set the temperature to cook and smoke my pork butt. I place the pork butt on a rack, put a drip pan with water underneath it to catch the grease, and set the smoker for 250 degrees. I cook the pork at 250 for 8 to 10 hours, depending on the size of the meat, adding hickory chips to the smoker every few hours. The marbled fat in the pork butt slowly melts over time and the pork becomes incredibly tender and flavorful.

I remove the pork butt from the smoker and let it rest, covered with aluminum foil, for at least 20 minutes before pulling it apart with a couple of forks, or chopping it up with a cleaver.

While the pork is cooking and smoking, there’s plenty of time to make two other very important parts of this recipe: a vinegar-based barbecue sauce, and the cole slaw.

 

Slaw on the side or on the sandwich…up to you!

 

BARBECUE SAUCE

2 cups ketchup
3/4 cup water
6 tablespoons cider vinegar
6 tablespoons white vinegar
6 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool it to room temp. If you store it in an airtight container in the fridge, it’ll stay good for several weeks.

 

 

COLE SLAW

My unusual cole slaw recipe uses an interesting ingredient: pickle juice! Just a splash of juice from your favorite jar of pickles is all you need.

1 package of cole slaw veggies
splash of pickle juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise (more to taste)
teaspoon celery seed (not salt)
salt and pepper

There are no real specific measurements for cole slaw, because I’ve found that some people like it dry, others wet…some peppery, some not. Play around with it and make it your own. I prefer a more mayonnaise-y cole slaw, and usually err on the wet side.

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Cover it with plastic wrap and chill. When ready to use, re-mix it, and taste for seasoning before using. Letting it sit overnight before serving is best.

 

OK…time to make that sandwich!

You can either go Carolina style and place the cole slaw right on top of the pulled pork in the bun, or simply serve the slaw on the side. No rules!

Whether you go through all these steps yourself or not, it’s nice to appreciate a labor of love that is worth every bit of time and trouble invested in it.

MAKE YOUR OWN COCKTAIL ONIONS

Posted: October 4, 2023 in brining, Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, MARTINI, mixology, Recipes
Tags: , , , ,
0

I love onions! Raw, sautéed, caramelized, yellow, Spanish, Bermuda, Vidalia, Texas Sweets, scallion, pearl, Crimini, Walla Walla…they can do no wrong. In fact, my family gave me the Lithuanian nickname: “Ponas Svogūnas.” (“Mr. Onion.”)

I also love vodka martinis! So if I’m going to buy a top shelf vodka like Stoli Elit or Chopin, I’m not going to ruin it with jarred cocktail onions, brined with cheap vermouth, found in the bar mixers section of my local supermarket. Who knows how long those nasty things have been sitting on the shelf?

No, I’m going to make my own cocktail onions to enjoy a proper Gibson!

The Gibson martini is simply one with onions instead of olives, and the story of its origin is somewhat unclear. According to one story, it was invented by Charles Dana Gibson, who created the popular Gibson Girl illustrations. Supposedly, he challenged Charley Connolly, the bartender of the private club, The Players, in New York City, to improve on a martini. Connolly simply substituted an onion for the olive and named it after Gibson.

Another story claims a man named Gibson dropped an onion in his water-filled martini glass to differentiate between his own drink and that of his colleagues, who were imbibing heavily.

Some stories about the Gibson don’t even mention an onion. (?)

And yet another story, now considered the more probable one, is that the Gibson martini was invented at the Bohemian Club in San Francisco in the 1890’s by Walter D. K. Gibson. There is documentation as early as 1898 to back that up.

Whatever story you want to believe, the Gibson martini was originally made with gin, not vodka, but that’s strictly a personal preference–and I don’t use any vermouth. (I think the biggest injustice you can do to high-quality vodka is ruin it with low-quality vermouth. But that rule applies to any alcohol and any mixer. It’s only as good as its worst ingredient–and that includes the ice!)

 

 

My first attempt at homemade cocktail onions was not a success. I bought pearl onions and did what the package instructions said: I dropped them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then moved them to ice water to let them cool. Then a gentle squeeze on one end of the onion would make it pop right out of its skin. Easy, right?

Well, it didn’t work out that way. For one thing, the onions got soft…not what I wanted. I had to cut one end of the bulb with a knife. And even then, when I squeezed the onion, the part that popped out was about half the size of the original onion…there was a lot of waste.

 

 

After brining, they tasted OK, but they never had that crisp bite I wanted. They were mushy. I realized that boiling was not the way to go.

 

A lot of waste.

 

I knew there had to be a better way. Then I discovered already peeled pearl onions at Whole Foods. I have to be honest…I won’t use any other onions now. They’re big, plump, and exactly what I want. Some might say they’re too big…but I don’t have a problem with that.

 

Sure, these are much larger than the onions you find in a jar. But tell me how that’s a problem!

 

1 lb. pearl onions, peeled, ends cut off
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2  cups water
3/4 cup sugar (I like turbinado sugar)
10 peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt (per quart-sized Mason jar)
2 cloves garlic

Combine the white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, and peppercorns in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring it to a boil, making sure the sugar dissolves completely. Remove it from the heat.

 

 

Slice the ends off the onions.

I’ve found that if I allow the brining liquid to get inside the onions, especially these larger ones, they’ll get tastier faster…and who doesn’t want that? So I take a thin metal or bamboo barbecue skewer and push it through the center of the top of the onions, all the way through the center of the bottom of the onions. Now there’s a little “tunnel” for that brine to get in, and it can work its magic from the inside out!

Not skewering the onions simply means it’ll take longer for that brine to seep in…but that’s perfectly fine if you want a not-so-briny onion.

 

 

In a quart-sized Mason jar, add the teaspoon of salt and garlic cloves. Pour a little of the hot vinegar liquid in the Mason jar to dissolve the salt. Add the onions to the jar, as tightly as you can, then fill the jar to the top with the vinegar liquid.

Screw the top of the jar on tightly, and turn it upside-down a couple of times to mix everything together. If it looks like the level of the liquid has gone down a bit, open the jar and top it off with the vinegar liquid, then re-seal it.

Let the jar cool to room temperature, then move it to the fridge. You can use the onions as soon as the craving hits you, but they’ll taste better if you give them a few days to a week.

 

 

OK…so if after reading this, you just don’t want to go through the whole process of making your own cocktail onions, there is one product that I just recently discovered that does the trick: Aunt Nellie’s. You can find them in the jarred veggie section of just about any supermarket, next to pickled beets and things like that. It’s a milder brine, and so the onions taste quite good. No nasty cheap vermouth to ruin your good martini.

 

Older Entries
Newer Entries