If you’re like me and you grill outdoors year ’round, this is for you. But in case of nasty weather, this works indoors as well.
I rarely order beef at a restaurant, because I can usually make a better steak at home. For one thing, I use humanely raised grass-fed beef, something few restaurants offer. And I can cook it for less than a third of the price of a steakhouse. Granted, most steakhouses dry-age their beef, a time-consuming process of taking slabs of beef and keeping them in a fridge for weeks until a certain amount of moisture is sucked out of the meat, intensifying the flavor. I’ve done that at home in my fridge, but it takes a lot of time and effort.
There is one steak that I couldn’t match for the longest time, and that was the Capital Grille’s bone-in Kona crusted dry-aged NY strip. I would have dreams about that steak! It was time to find a way to make something that would satisfy my craving for that amazing steak at home.
Looking at a variety of coffee rub recipes on-line, I started the slow and steady process of combining ingredients in just the right proportions, tasting as I went. What I came up with really accentuated the flavor of the beef I was cooking, better than I had imagined!
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground coffee (use your favorite)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Combine the ingredients, mixing well, and keep them in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.
The secret ingredients are the brown sugar and the cocoa. The brown sugar gives the steak a caramelized crust when cooking, and the cocoa rounds out the flavors and gives the beef an extra “umph!”
When using, sprinkle the seasoning liberally on both sides of the steak before cooking. When cooking indoors, I like to add bacon fat to a hot cast iron skillet, searing the steak on all sides, and then finishing it in the oven. But let’s face it: nothing beats the grill!
A side note : I’m going to a party today where I was asked to bring pulled pork. I used this rub on the pork shoulder, and it came out fantastic! It also works really well with chicken!
Whole red snapper. I almost always order a whole fish when I see it on the menu at a restaurant. But I’ve never tried cooking one at home until now. My fishmonger cleaned and scaled the fish, so I just rubbed it with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and put it on a sheet pan in a preheated 350° oven. I cooked it until the fish registered 140° on a thermometer. And in a pan on the stovetop, I made a variation of aglio olio: extra virgin olive oil, lots of chopped garlic, chopped parsley, and some scallions. Fried it up until the garlic was crispy and poured it on top of the fish.That may not look like ribs in the corner, but it’s a nice, fat, Berkshire pork rib with my homemade barbecue sauce. Smoked it with hickory for about five hours. Found some organic collards at Whole Foods, so I cooked them down, throwing leftover chicken parts into the pot, to give it some flavor. When it was time to serve, I reheated them, seasoning with salt and pepper. Kept it simple. And finally, what they call ‘fava” in Santorini, Greece. It’s actually yellow split peas that I boiled in a pot of water and chicken stock, with an onion thrown in. Cooked it all down until it became a porridge, and then I put it in the blender to whip it up. Served with capers.And let’s talk cocktails. I’ve been a fan of Vesper martinis forever, but I’m getting tired of Lile’s, and since I don’t use it that often, it goes bad in the fridge. Same thing with Cocchi Americano. (Those are the two fortified wines that most people will argue back-and-forth about when it comes to what belongs in a Vesper.) But I have more use for an excellent vermouth so my “faux” Vesper is three parts gin, one part vodka, and just a rinse of the glass with the vermouth. Twist of lemon.
I love these ribs. They’re one of the the first recipes I ever tried, and still one of my favorites. I’ll be making them again this weekend!
I like making these because you don’t need a grill or a smoker. They’re gooey, sweet and absolutely delicious!
¾ cup soy sauce 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
5 lbs. pork ribs Zest and juice of 1 lemon 2 whole star anise 2 cinnamon sticks (3”) 1/2 cup honey 4 cups chicken broth
Mix the soy sauce and the hoisin in a bowl, and set it aside. These are the marinade ingredients.
If the ribs are large, cut them into individual pieces. If they’re smaller, cluster 2 or 3 ribs together. Place them in a large pot. Cover them with water and bring it to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Drain the water.
Place the warm ribs on a baking sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil or with a rack and brush them with the marinade. Let them sit for 10 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the ribs on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
While the ribs are baking, start the sauce in a large non-stick pan or pot that will hold all the ribs: combine the lemon zest and juice, star anise, cinnamon sticks, honey and chicken broth. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.
When the ribs have finished baking, add them to the sauce pot and simmer on low (covered) for at least 15 minutes or until the rib meat is tender.
Turn the heat on high, uncover the pot and cook until the sauce is reduced to a glaze that coats the ribs. Be sure to reduce the heat as the sauce thickens or the sugars in the honey will burn! When the ribs are sticky and gooey, they’re ready.
Substituting grapefruit for the lemon works really well. And I like to switch the honey for maple syrup!
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.
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.
Since it’s National Bourbon Day, let’s not just drink some bourbon…let’s cook with it!
This recipe uses a smoker. If you don’t have one, or just don’t want all the smoke, start with aper-heated oven at 250° and go from there.
5 lbs St Louis style pork ribs Salt and pepper
1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup bourbon (use whatever you have on hand) zest and juice of 1 lime zest and juice of 1 lemon zest and juice of 1 orange 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I use Maille) 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon chili oil
Season the ribs well with salt and pepper and cook in a smoker for 3 hours at 250°, using hickory chips.
While the ribs are smoking, combine the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan, bringing it to a boil, then lowering to medium heat and reducing the sauce by half until it thickens. Stir often, being careful not to let the honey foam up and spill over the top.
Pre-heat the oven at 250°.
Remove the ribs from the smoker and place them on a sheet pan that is lined with aluminum foil, with enough foil to wrap around the ribs. Brush the ribs on all sides with the sauce, stacking no more than 2 sets of ribs on top of each other, and then wrap them with foil.
Cook the ribs in the foil for 2 more hours, until tender.
As I’ve mentioned previously, I love the Kona-crusted NY strip at the Capital Grille, so much so that it inspired me to make a coffee rub of my own. I’ve been using it on steaks and burgers for years. But recently, I used it on a slow-smoked pork shoulder for the first time, and it was fantastic!
I used a smaller pork shoulder, about 6 lbs., and smoked it for about 12 hours. Obviously, if you use a larger hunka meat, you’ll need more time. I prefer a bone-in shoulder over boneless. I think it gives greater flavor.
Rubbed and ready to smoke!
My coffee rub is easy to make, and I usually make a lot of it at once, since it stores well.
3 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon Kosher salt 1 tablespoon ground coffee (use your favorite) 1 teaspoon granulated garlic 1 teaspoon granulated onion 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
I mix all the ingredients well, then rub generously on the pork shoulder before placing it a 250-degree smoker for about 12 hours. I use an electric smoker, which allows me to set the temperature and forget it, with the exception of occasionally adding hickory chips. I love just a hint of smokiness…I don’t want the rub to be overpowered by the smoke.
Perfectly smoked, with the bone easily sliding out of the shoulder.
The brown sugar in the coffee rub creates a beautiful crust on the meat, which goes really well with the pork and the barbecue sauce I make.
The barbecue sauce uses much-needed vinegar. It cuts through the rich fattiness of the pork, and is absolutely delicious.
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
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer until the flavors have blended, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temp. If you store it in an airtight container in the fridge, it’ll stay good for a few months.
A beautifully smoked pork shoulder, amazing barbecue sauce…what more do you need for an amazing pulled pork sandwich except a toasted brioche bun and perhaps some of my world-famous home fries on the side?
Inspired by the classic Chinese pork dish called Char Siu Pork, I decided to give it my own spin.
The original recipe calls for pork neck or collar, or pork shoulder…fattier cuts. I chose pieces of heritage Berkshire pork belly that I had already cured, but not smoked.
As with almost any recipe that calls for honey, I choose to use maple syrup instead.
And the classic Char Siu Pork uses food coloring, to give it that signature red-dyed look. I chose not to use food coloring.
The marinade is pretty straightforward, and I added a tweak or two of my own…
1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup hoisin sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon oil (I use avocado oil) 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 lbs. pork belly (in this case, it is already cured)
Cut the pork belly into manageable pieces, placing them in a large freezer bag.
Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl, mixing well, then add it to the bag with the pork belly. Seal the bag tightly, and squish it around, to make sure the marinade covers all surfaces of the pork.
Marinating needs to be for at least 4 hours, but overnight in the fridge is even better. Place the freezer bag with the pork on a sheet pan or in a bowl, to avoid any accidental spillage in the fridge.
About an hour or two before cooking, remove the pork from the fridge, to bring it to room temperature.
Pre-heat the oven to 325°.
Remove the pork from the marinade, and place it on a rack. Roast it for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining marinade into a saucepan. Bring it to a simmer over medium-high heat, and cook for 2 minutes until it’s syrupy, being careful not to burn the sugars. Remove it from the heat. (Do not taste the marinade before doing this, since it touched raw pork!)
After the pork has roasted for 30 minutes, take it out of the oven, and brush it with the marinade. Flip it over and brush it again, then return it to the oven for another 30 minutes.
Remove the pork from the oven, and brush it again with the marinade, returning it to the oven for 20 more minutes.
If the pork looks like it’s charring too quickly, cover it with foil.
At this point, measure the temperature of the pork. It should be 165°. The meat should be tender, but not falling apart, and it should be caramelized and sticky from the marinade. Let it rest 10 minutes before slicing it.
Let’s face it: there are few foods as magical as bacon. Add bacon to just about any dish you’re preparing, and it elevates it to incredible new heights of flavor. The BLT is possibly the greatest food combination ever invented: just a few simple, fresh ingredients, when placed together, transforming into one of the greatest sandwiches on planet Earth.
BLT wraps: home-cured and smoked bacon, local farmstead romaine, home garden tomatoes, always Hellman’s mayo.
If I’m buying bacon, I go on-line to Burger’s Smokehouse, a family run business in Missouri that has made great bacon for decades. The prices are good, and they include shipping. (smokehouse.com) I buy in quantity and freeze what I don’t need right away. My favorite is the thick-sliced country bacon “steaks.”
But nothings beats making your own.
Bacon comes from the pork belly, and they’re easy to find in any good butcher shop. But to get something a notch above, I’ll buy a heritage breed, like Berkshire pork, from Heritage Pork International. (heritagepork.com) I follow the simple curing techniques outlined in “Charcuterie,” a great book written by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.
To cure bacon, all you really need is salt and sugar, and what they in the curing biz call “pink salt,” which is not to be confused with salt that happens to be pink, like Himalayan salt you would find in a gourmet store. Pink curing salt is bright pink to let you know that it’s a special salt that should only be used in small quantities for curing. The reason is: nitrites. Nitrites delay the spoilage of the meat, and help keep the flavors of spices and smoke. They also keep the meat nice and pink instead of an unappetizing gray. That’s good. However, nitrites can break down into nitrosamines, which have been known to cause cancer in lab animals. But let’s face it: you would need to eat a ton of cured meat to really worry about this. (I buy uncured deli meats and hot dogs at the supermarket, because processed meats are a different story. But since I know exactly what goes into my own bacon, I’m not worried about the level of nitrites.)
To make the basic dry cure:
1/2 lb. kosher salt (I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt) 1/2 cup light brown sugar or turbinado sugar 1 oz. pink curing salt
Mix the ingredients well. An important note: all salts do not all weigh the same, so go by the weight and not a cup measurement. (Morton’s Kosher salt, for example, is heavier than Diamond Crystal.) I keep this basic dry cure stored in my pantry, ready to use when I need it.
When it’s time to be makin’ the bacon, I combine this dry cure with other ingredients to make my bacon rub.
My bacon rub:
1/2 cup basic dry cure 1/2 cup brown sugar or turbinado sugar 1 tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper 1 tablespoon granulated garlic 1 tablespoon granulated onion
Mix these ingredients well (yes, there’s quite a bit of sugar there, but I like my bacon a little sweet!) Rub it generously all over the pork belly.
I have a large plastic container with a lid that fits one average (4-lb.) slab of pork belly perfectly. I place the belly inside it, put the lid on, and place the container in the fridge. (Sometimes, I’ll season the belly and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap before putting it in the container. Optional.) The pork belly stays there for at least a couple of weeks, maybe three. I flip the belly every few days. You’ll see that the salt will draw moisture out of the meat and form a gooey brine. This brine will continue to cure your pork belly, so leave it in there. Just flip it, put the lid back on the container, and back in the fridge.
In two or three weeks, you’ll be able to tell the pork belly has cured because it feels firm. Wash the brine off the meat well with cold water, and pat it dry with paper towels. Place the belly in the fridge for an hour or so and it will develop a tackiness to the touch. This is a thin layer of proteins known as a pelicle, and it helps the smoke stick to the meat.
Now it’s time to cook. You can simply cook the pork belly (without smoking it) at 200° for about 2 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 160°. This isn’t bacon…it’s pancetta. Or you can simply slice it and fry it up in a pan. (Also delicious.) But it’s the smoke that makes it bacon.
Smoking foods can be a challenge to many, so a great alternative to the traditional charcoal smoker is an electric one. It allows you to control the exact temperature inside the smoker without checking on it constantly (a real luxury when you’re slow smoking brisket or pork shoulder for many hours), and it offers a tray where you place your wood chips or pellets to give your food that authentic smoky flavor.
My electric smoker has a digital readout, which allows me to set an exact temperature. I smoke my pork belly at 250° for 2 hours, using hickory chips. (I’m not a fan of applewood, the other commonly used smoking wood for bacon.)
Bellies in the smoker. A water bath underneath to catch any grease drippage.A couple of hours later: beautiful bacon!
The reward is so worth the effort. Just remember that you still need to cook the bacon before you can eat it. Don’t eat it straight out of the smoker. That first slice you cut off your bacon and toss in a pan to lightly fry for a few moments will be the best bite you’ve ever had in your life!
I recently received this wonderful gift from my buddy, Dr. Chezwick. I’ll be using the same techniques that I would for a regular slab of bacon, only I’ll cure it for less time, since it weighs less, and is thinner. I’m thinking it will be delicious!
Yeah, it’s cold outside. But sometimes, only ribs will do.
The classic “Adams Ribs” episode of M*A*S*H is one of my favorites. Hawkeye’s speech about the city of Chicago said it all: “Chicago. Hog butcher for the world. Toolmaker. Stacker of wheat. Player with railroads and the nation’s freight handler. Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders. Sandberg knew, Radar. Spareribber for the universe! Maker of meat on a bone! The home of the pigsicle! Give me your tired, your poor… your cole slaw.”
There’s a million ways to make great pork ribs….and only a few ways to really ruin them. So, yeah, here’s another rib recipe. But it’s good.
I like using Berkshire pork St. Louis style ribs. They’re fattier than beef ribs, so I don’t have to worry as much about them drying out. I always remove the skin on the back of the ribs before rubbing them down with my spice rub.
Rubbed-down ribs. I let them sit for an hour at room temp before smoking.
8 to 10 lbs. pork ribs
spice rub (see below)
barbecue sauce (see below)
Spice rub
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon salt (I like using fine sea salt)
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon celery seed (not celery salt)
1 tablespoon granulated onion
Combine all the spice rub ingredients. I like to grind the celery seed in a spice grinder before mixing with the others, so that I don’t get crunchy bits.
If the pork rib slabs are long, cut them in half so they’re easier to work with (and so they fit in the smoker!)
Rub the ribs with the spice rub, and place them in a 250° oven or smoker. Place a pan of water underneath to keep them moist and to catch any grease that drips down. I use an electric smoker, so during those 3 hours of cooking, I add hickory chips once an hour.
After 3 hours of smoking with hickory chips. I place one rack on top of another, brushing them with sauce, then wrapping them in foil.
While the ribs are cooking, it’s time to make the barbecue sauce. I like a citrus-based, sweeter sauce, and this time, I had some mandarin oranges in the kitchen. But you can easily substitute regular oranges, lemons, limes or even grapefruit for this recipe.
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mandarin orange juice (or other citrus juice)
zest of 2 mandarin oranges (or other citrus)
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I like Frank’s Red Hot)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Brushed with sauce before wrapping in foil for the last 2 hours of cooking.
Remove the ribs from the smoker, place them individually on a piece of aluminum foil, and brush them with the barbecue sauce on all sides. Wrap them completely with the foil and place them on a baking sheet in a pre-heated 250° oven. Cook for 2 hours more.
Why cut them into individual ribs when you know you’re going to eat the rack anyway?
I was in the supermarket the other day, and a pack of pork chops called to me as I walked by the meat department. I hadn’t had pork chops in ages, and it was time to try something new with them.
The balsamic vinegar used in this recipe is not the crazy expensive stuff. It’s the bottle you probably already have in your kitchen cabinet that costs about nine bucks.
This recipe works with thick or thin pork chops, your choice.
The cool thing about this recipe is that you make it all in one pan, and on the stovetop.
4 or 5 bone-in pork chops olive oil Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper 2 teaspoons dried thyme 1 large Spanish onion, diced 2 large cloves of garlic, minced 2 cups chicken broth (homemade is always best) 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard 5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 6 tablespoons brown sugar 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Season the pork chops with the salt, pepper and thyme.
Add some olive oil to a large pan, and when it’s hot, sear the pork chops on both sides until they’re nice and brown.
Remove the pork chops from the pan and set them aside. Pour out the fat in the pan, add a touch of olive oil, and put it back on the heat. Add the onions, sautéing them for about 10 minutes until they’ve softened, and then add the garlic. Sauté a minute more.
Add the chicken broth, Dijon, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.
Return the pork chops back to the pan, nestling them down into the sauce. Add any of the juices that may have collected when you set the chops aside.
Bring the pan to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover the pan. Let it cook for 45 to 60 minutes. I like to flip the chops about halfway through the cooking process.
To serve, remove the chops from the pan, and smother them with the sauce! You may want to reduce or thicken the sauce a bit, but I like it just the way it is!
