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Food Thread: Please Read This Thread Whilst You Put A Knob Of Butter In The Pan

One of the joys of American BBQ is the delightful selection of radically different foods that come on one plate, or to be more accurate, one tray. Which is really the only way to eat! Is there any other style of food that just assumes that people want three kinds of meat and four different sides? Sure...Tapas is sort of the same thing, but it comes as individual dishes, not as one glorious, monstrous, delectable pile of all sorts of wonderful stuff.

I used to go to an old-style BBQ joint in Oakland, now sadly closed (not Oakland unfortunately) that was my go-to for late dining. Flint's Barbecue made the best sauce I have ever had, and they paired it with some top notch brisket, beef rib, pork ribs and smoked chicken (that could be dry on occasion). And the beef links were the best ever! I don't even remember the sides, although I have a vague recollection of beans. But the Four-Way Combo was the way to go, and the agony while you waited was what to leave off! But woe unto he who dawdled when it was his turn. 300 pound women with cleavers in their hands bellowing, "Next...I SAID NEXT!"

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The reason I am waxing poetic about Flints is that I am contemplating barbecuing a meat that I rarely see on BBQ menus...short plate ribs. Or, I guess, really long beef short ribs. I think the meat is spectacular, with an amazing amount of beautiful fat liberally distributed throughout the cut, and enough connective tissue for that unctuous mouth feel that comes when something is cooked low and slow for a very long time.

I have bought beef ribs from a good butcher and have asked him to leave a lot of meat on them, instead of doing what most butchers do and trim the roast close to the bone. That's good for the roast and bad for the ribs. But the roast is where the money is, so I sympathize.

This might be the best way to get great beef ribs without having to bribe the butcher or pay roast beef prices for beef ribs.

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Okay, I admit it. One reason I chose this recipe is because the photo is great and the lamb chops (those are loin chops) have the tail, which is the best part!

Another reason is that it is really weird. I am not sure I would use a great (and expensive) cut like a lamb loin chop in a stroganoff, but I would try it first with some pork chops to see whether it was worth the expense.

Lamb chop stroganoff

Plus, I am a sucker for Brit recipes. I love things like "use a knob of butter," or "whilst!"

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So, this is a bit of a shtick, and her technique needs work, but I do love the idea of almost doubling the surface area of a pork loin so more of it is exposed to some delicious herb rub or marinade. The bacon wrap is completely over the top and I will be trying that too.
Diva Q's Braided Smoked Pork Loin
The one thing I would change is to put the herb mixture under the bacon wrap. That way everything is kept nice and moist, the meat can soak up more of the flavor, and the bacon on the outside can get crispier.

Did I say "one thing?" I meant two things. Don't overcook it! Pork loin is not well marbled, so be careful not to dry it out. I would shoot for an internal temperature of no more than 140 degrees, and if I make this dish I will pull it at 136 degrees.

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Corpse Reviver #2

I used to make these a lot, and it is a very nice cocktail. Why I stopped is a mystery. But I promise to rectify that egregious error in my drinking repertoire.

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Lisa Douglas demonstrates an interesting bread recipe.
I think I tried that when I first started baking.

[Hat Tip: Weasel]

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Hmmm...."Basil Salt." It seems like quite a bit of work for something that can easily be duplicated with fresh basil, or frozen basil. Dried basil is beyond the pale however. I just don't think it tastes good compared to the fresh version.

Oh...frozen basil? Yeah...put all of your extra basil in the blender. Then portion it out and freeze it, protected from air! I know, that's a really complicated recipe, but you folks have been reading the Food Thread ^TM for years and have acquired skills you didn't know you had! Do it!

[Hat Tip: a reader who prefers to remain anonymous]

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Just send me oysters. Lots of oysters, and I will provide special dispensation for those without taste who insist upon maple syrup with their French Toast. And pork rib roasts from the front end of the pig where all the good and fatty meat lives, carrots that don't taste like stalky chalk, spare bottles of Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year Old Bourbon, an herb garden that actually produces herbs (but no basil!), well-marbled NY strip steaks and elk backstrap to: cbd dot aoshq at gmail dot com.

And don't think that the rest of you are off the hook with maple syrup and French Toast: I'm still watching you! And I am watching you perverts who shake Manhattans and keeping a list for the Burning Times.