The Recipe Thread

[OZZIE4DUKE]

While perusing the Duke vs. Kentucky thread on the DBR, I came upon my mother's recipe for brisket, so here it is!

Val's Brisket:
Have butcher cut off excess fat when you buy the meat.
Rinse with cold water
Take one package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and smear it over one side of meat.
Open another package and spread it over the other side.
Lay in pan fat side down.
Add water to pan until there is approx. 1/8 inch in pan
Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Cook at 350 for 3 hours.
Open carefully to avoid steam, stick fork into meat. If tender, remove from oven. If not tender, cook another 30 minutes and check again.
When done, open up and let steam out.
Take meat out of pan and put it in a container. We use a Tupperware type plastic container.
Add water to pan to make gravy - all that onion soup mix, meat drippings and bits and pieces of brisket make the gravy!
Pour a little gravy over the meat, cover it and place in the refrigerator overnight to cool. Put the rest of the gravy in a separate container and put that in the refrigerator too.
Slice the meat when cool. I use an electric slicer. Slices should be ~3/16" thick (no more than 1/4 "). You must slice the meat across the grain. If you slice it with the grain it will be tough and stringy - you won't like it and all your effort is wasted.
After slicing, put the meat back in a pan, pour the rest of the gravy over it, and heat in oven at 350 until hot.
Serve and enjoy!
We like white rice with the brisket. Be sure to pour the onion soup gravy over the rice too!

Enjoy!

[Sue71]

So I made some chicken tenders the other night. DID NOT put the oil down the drain- it's sitting in a glass jar that was headed for recycling. Now what do I do with it?

[wilson]

If you just throw it in the trash in a closed up container, it'll be fine. I always just dump mine in the yard somewhere.

[CameronBornAndBred]

If you just throw it in the trash in a closed up container, it'll be fine. I always just dump mine in the yard somewhere.

I toss mine in the woods. Sweetie Pie yells at me, but I guarantee you there are some happy wild critters around my house. I don't think this method would work well in your LA courtyard.

[Sue71]

If you just throw it in the trash in a closed up container, it'll be fine. I always just dump mine in the yard somewhere.

I toss mine in the woods. Sweetie Pie yells at me, but I guarantee you there are some happy wild critters around my house. I don't think this method would work well in your LA courtyard.

Well where I am now, that would equate to either the middle of the street or the middle of a fountain.

[wilson]

I made pulled pork the other night, and as ever, it was damn good. This is a great party recipe; it yields about 6 pounds at roughly 3 bucks a pound.

Recipe:

Get a pork shoulder or Boston Butt (it might also be labelled as a "picnic shoulder" or something similar). These cuts will generally be somewhere between 4 and 7 pounds. The ones at my local store are always right around 6 or 6.5 pounds, including a bone. You may or may not have a bone in yours; remember that if you do, it will up your cooking time a little. Happily, though, this is another of those recipes that's pretty hard to overcook, and that thrives on inexactness and "feel".

Trim any excess fat from the meat and rub the skin generously with the following spice mixture:

- 1/4 cup ground cumin
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (I usually toss in a bit extra for good measure)
- 1/2 cup paprika
- 2 tablespoons ground red pepper
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper
- a dash (or two) of ground cloves
- a dash (or two) of cinnamon

The above mix will probably leave you with extra. Cut the ingredients down if you like; the general proportions are the important thing.

After you rub your meat down, brown it on all sides on the stove top with a couple of tablespoons of oil (this can be kind of tricky, and you may have to just stand there and hold it up with a fork while, for instance, the ends are browning). Be sure to brown all sides; this seals the juices in. Don't worry if it gets a little black on a side or two; this will only add good flavor later.
Then cover with a lid or foil and bake it at 325 for 4-4.5 hours.
It's best to brown the shoulder in pot that's safe for both stove top and oven use, so you don't have to transfer the meat and sully two vessels, but it's not too much trouble to transfer if you don't have such a pot. If you have to switch vessels, be sure and transfer any drippings or juice into the pot.
About halfway through the cooking, pour a cup of apple cider vinegar slowly and evenly all over the top of your shoulder.

While you're cooking, make your vinegar sauce (this is proper barbecue we're making here, folks):

- 6 oz. apple cider vinegar
- 6 oz. white or white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I like kind of a lot)
- a few shakes of hot sauce, to taste

Put all of the above in a bottle or Mason jar and give it all a good shake. The longer you steep it all, the more your sauce's flavors will develop.

Check your shoulder at four hours' cooking time. If the meat kind of "crumbles" when you stick a meat fork in and give it a twist, it's ready...it should feel very tender. Transfer it to a bowl, shake in 3 oz. or so of your vinegar sauce, and skim off half a dozen or so tablespoons of the pan juices from your cooking vessel. I also like to squeeze in a few ounces of "regular" bbq sauce (KC Masterpiece or whatever). Your shoulder will be easy to shred with two big forks. Shred/stir it and get all of your juices and sauce evenly distributed, and you're good to go. I'll assume you all know how to properly serve and consume barbecue (for those of you who don't, it's on a lightly-toasted bun with a thin layer of sweet coleslaw, a shake of vinegar sauce, and five dill pickle chips).

[wilson]

I forgot to mention that my preceding barbecue recipe also does really well in a crock pot. Brown it normally on the stove, and then stick it in your crock pot and adjust the cooking time according to the conversion chart they give you (there are also plenty of those kind of charts online). If memory serves me, I've generally done it for 6 or 7 hours on high, or 12-14 on low. I once made 20 lbs. of barbecue, all in the crock pot, in three stages, and I cooked overnight in the crock pot.

[TNTDevil]

YO! With regards to the disposal of cooking oil...

First, if you've only used it once- DON'T DISCARD! Let it cool and pour it through a mesh strainer lined with a paper towel and then back into it's original container.

If you're using any high smoke-point oil (Peanut, Canola, Corn) it will last several uses (more than 10) before it needs to be discarded.

Once it's time... pour it into a container, preferably recylcable, find your nearest restaurant that fries food (any Chinese or chicken place) and drive around back. There you will find a oil collector. Dump you old oil in this device. It gets recycled (into animal feed), the restaurant gets a credit and the environment goes unharmed.

Peace out!
Tree-hugger

[Sue71]

YO! With regards to the disposal of cooking oil...

First, if you've only used it once- DON'T DISCARD! Let it cool and pour it through a mesh strainer lined with a paper towel and then back into it's original container.

If you're using any high smoke-point oil (Peanut, Canola, Corn) it will last several uses (more than 10) before it needs to be discarded.

Once it's time... pour it into a container, preferably recylcable, find your nearest restaurant that fries food (any Chinese or chicken place) and drive around back. There you will find a oil collector. Dump you old oil in this device. It gets recycled (into animal feed), the restaurant gets a credit and the environment goes unharmed.

Peace out!
Tree-hugger

Ok, it's a combination of vegetable + canola... does it have to be refrigerated or something? I didn't strain it... haven't tossed it yet, obviously.

[bjornolf]

My in-laws used to dump all that stuff, including anything that would go in a garbage disposal (apple cores etc.) over the fence. Their neighbors, also her brother, had cows that would munch on all that stuff.

[CameronBornAndBred]

- 1/4 cup ground cumin
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (I usually toss in a bit extra for good measure)
- 1/2 cup paprika
- 2 tablespoons ground red pepper
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/4 cup fresh ground black pepper
- a dash (or two) of ground cloves
- a dash (or two) of cinnamon

The above mix will probably leave you with extra. Cut the ingredients down if you like; the general proportions are the important thing.

I will take an empty spice bottle/shaker and keep whatever is left over until my next barbecuing. Saves you from having to make it a second and third time.

- 6 oz. apple cider vinegar
- 6 oz. white or white wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- crushed red pepper flakes to taste (I like kind of a lot)
- a few shakes of hot sauce, to taste

Put all of the above in a bottle or Mason jar and give it all a good shake. The longer you steep it all, the more your sauce's flavors will develop.

I have a 1/2 gallon plastic container that I keep my sauce in. It won't go bad, and as you say the longer you have it the better it gets.

[wilson]

*Snip*
I will take an empty spice bottle/shaker and keep whatever is left over until my next barbecuing. Saves you from having to make it a second and third time.

*Snip*
I have a 1/2 gallon plastic container that I keep my sauce in. It won't go bad, and as you say the longer you have it the better it gets.

What he said.

[TNTDevil]

YO! With regards to the disposal of cooking oil...

First, if you've only used it once- DON'T DISCARD! Let it cool and pour it through a mesh strainer lined with a paper towel and then back into it's original container.

If you're using any high smoke-point oil (Peanut, Canola, Corn) it will last several uses (more than 10) before it needs to be discarded.

Once it's time... pour it into a container, preferably recylcable, find your nearest restaurant that fries food (any Chinese or chicken place) and drive around back. There you will find a oil collector. Dump you old oil in this device. It gets recycled (into animal feed), the restaurant gets a credit and the environment goes unharmed.

Peace out!
Tree-hugger

Ok, it's a combination of vegetable + canola... does it have to be refrigerated or something? I didn't strain it... haven't tossed it yet, obviously.

Nope, just store it in a container that can be sealed (Jar, plastic jug, etc. and set it in your pantry (or whereever), away from heat and light.

[devildeac]

So I made some chicken tenders the other night. DID NOT put the oil down the drain- it's sitting in a glass jar that was headed for recycling. Now what do I do with it?

Use it as body lotion. I've heard colchar and wilson really get hot over women who smell like fried chicken...

:roll: :lol:

[captmojo]

My in-laws used to dump all that stuff, including anything that would go in a garbage disposal (apple cores etc.) over the fence. Their neighbors, also her brother, had cows that would munch on all that stuff.

This gives the cow patties that wonderful "shine" we all know and love.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm going with TNTdevil's suggestion on the fried chicken tonight and prespiced it before the breading. In fact, the breading is pretty plain, so it will be a great test. I did boil the chicken before frying, like I usually do. I did that about 5 hours ago; after the boil I let the chicken sit in a spice marinade (very light on the liquid) while my ribs marinated as well. Dinner ready in 5 minutes, so the jury will not be out long.

[captmojo]

I'm going with TNTdevil's suggestion on the fried chicken tonight and prespiced it before the breading. In fact, the breading is pretty plain, so it will be a great test. I did boil the chicken before frying, like I usually do. I did that about 5 hours ago; after the boil I let the chicken sit in a spice marinade (very light on the liquid) while my ribs marinated as well. Dinner ready in 5 minutes, so the jury will not be out long.

If I may jump in, I boil that bird too. I boil it in beer! Lovely.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

"It has come to my attention that this has taken a turn too silly!"

I like your DBR signature better - the one about the 5th beer being your favorite!

[CameronBornAndBred]

I'm going with TNTdevil's suggestion on the fried chicken tonight and prespiced it before the breading. In fact, the breading is pretty plain, so it will be a great test. I did boil the chicken before frying, like I usually do. I did that about 5 hours ago; after the boil I let the chicken sit in a spice marinade (very light on the liquid) while my ribs marinated as well. Dinner ready in 5 minutes, so the jury will not be out long.

The chicken was way tasty.

[captmojo]

"It has come to my attention that this has taken a turn too silly!"

I like your DBR signature better - the one about the 5th beer being your favorite!

...but it doesn't fit the "Colonel"

I tried to find a picture of the "Colonel" in his tutu. Alas, I was not successful.

I don't have a recipe for broiled colonel.
Next play.