Was taking inventory in the freezer, and ran across some rib tips that I'd cut down from full spares for earlier St. Louis style cook. I wanted something different or that I hadn't done in a long time, so I started looking around for ideas. Ran across an old, old recipe that I hadn't done in ages: Dr. Pepper ribs. Roots are in northern Texas, either around Dallas where DP was based pre-Snapple, or around Dublin, where the last bottler of DP who used cane sugar in their recipe was located until they violated their bottling agreement and had their license revoked. Literally a pilgrimage where people would come from all over the region to buy cane sugar DP, as it couldn't be had elsewhere once corn syrup was used by every other bottler anywhere. Interesting story--search "Dublin Dr. Pepper" if you want a little bit of history about it.
Anyway, recipes are typically oven or crock pot based, but I wanted them outside instead. Let all of them soak overnight in a can of DP, and then pulled them in the morning for a rub of salt, pepper, chile powder, dry mustard, cayenne, and allspice, and let them rest for a couple of hours. Also wanted something else that we could reheat over the week, so grabbed some Bavarian pre-cooked brats, apple & gouda brats, a chicken breast, and a couple of links of Andouille--more about the last 2 later.
The ribs call for a glaze to go on late in the process--DP, ketchup, mustard, garlic, molasses, cider vinegar, and molasses--so that all went onto a small saucepan to cook and reduce for about 30 minutes. Everybody else out on the RO for some smoke--about 250º for a few hours.
Pulled the chicken breast and the sausage after about 75 minutes, as I didn't want the sausages ripping and the chicken had another date anyway. The 4 at the top are the apple & gouda, the 4 at the bottom are the Bavarian pre-cooked, and the 2 on the outside are the Andouille.
Half of the bones got their glaze, and I did just some simple cubed Yukon spuds to go with them: EVOO, a little butter, garlic, and Perry's steak seasoning.
Rib tips were really good: it was an enjoyable change of pace from the regular dry rub/normal sauce mixtures, and good to get one out of the mothballs that we hadn't done in many years. You can use Coke or Pepsi, but I prefer DP over the regular colas instead. Bonus with these tips also is a lessened cook time: only took them about 3 hours start to finish. Another good reason to buy whole spares and trim them yourself for St. Louis: these little nuggets have some of the best meat on the rack.
So yesterday, I knew what I wanted to do with the Andouille and chicken breast: a spin on crawfish etouffee with all 3 being included. Started out with getting everybody chopped up and ready to go. Chicken, Andouille, and crawfish in one dish, holy trinity in another, and green onions at the ready.
Next was to get the "Louisiana napalm" ready. For those who have suffered the misfortune of a roux splashing on you, you know why it's referred to as such. Oil in a cast iron skillet until it begins to smoke, then flour is added and continuously whisked until the desired roux color is reached usually doesn't bode well for human skin. If there are any hints of black flecks in it, it gets tossed and the process begins anew, as even the slightest burn will render it useless. You can have roux that range from blonde to a dark brown which each will impart a different flavor: for this one, I wanted one on the darker side that would have a nuttier flavor.
Then the trinity was added to the roux for a minute or so, along with a tablespoon of the spice mix: salt, red/black/white pepper, thyme, gran garlic, & basil.
Brought some seafood stock to a boil, then added the roux/trinity mix to it and cooked for about 5 minutes or so, stirring all the while. Once that was ready, the crawfish/chicken/Andouille mix, along with the green onions and remaining spice blend, went in a butter bath and sauteed for a few minutes.
Then I added the stock mixture to the meats, and let simmer for about 5 more minutes. All ready to plate up with some brown rice and away we go!
Simply awesome: the smokiness of the Andouille and chicken added another layer to the crawfish, and I'd do it again in a New York minute. Note on brown rice: it used to frustrate the daylights out of me, as the bottom would burn, too wet,sticky, etc., until I found a way to do it perfectly every time. Measure out however much rice wanted, and rinse in a strainer/colander, and boil it uncovered for 30 minutes, making sure there's plenty of water that won't vaporize/absorb, and skimming off any foam that bubbles up. Drain the water out through the strainer/colander, and return the rice to the pot for 10 minutes covered without heat. Pull the lid and fluff, and perfect rice is had every time.
There's my gastro weekend in a nutshell: hope your school made it to the tournament, good luck, and let the madness begin!!
Anyway, recipes are typically oven or crock pot based, but I wanted them outside instead. Let all of them soak overnight in a can of DP, and then pulled them in the morning for a rub of salt, pepper, chile powder, dry mustard, cayenne, and allspice, and let them rest for a couple of hours. Also wanted something else that we could reheat over the week, so grabbed some Bavarian pre-cooked brats, apple & gouda brats, a chicken breast, and a couple of links of Andouille--more about the last 2 later.
The ribs call for a glaze to go on late in the process--DP, ketchup, mustard, garlic, molasses, cider vinegar, and molasses--so that all went onto a small saucepan to cook and reduce for about 30 minutes. Everybody else out on the RO for some smoke--about 250º for a few hours.
Pulled the chicken breast and the sausage after about 75 minutes, as I didn't want the sausages ripping and the chicken had another date anyway. The 4 at the top are the apple & gouda, the 4 at the bottom are the Bavarian pre-cooked, and the 2 on the outside are the Andouille.
Half of the bones got their glaze, and I did just some simple cubed Yukon spuds to go with them: EVOO, a little butter, garlic, and Perry's steak seasoning.
Rib tips were really good: it was an enjoyable change of pace from the regular dry rub/normal sauce mixtures, and good to get one out of the mothballs that we hadn't done in many years. You can use Coke or Pepsi, but I prefer DP over the regular colas instead. Bonus with these tips also is a lessened cook time: only took them about 3 hours start to finish. Another good reason to buy whole spares and trim them yourself for St. Louis: these little nuggets have some of the best meat on the rack.
So yesterday, I knew what I wanted to do with the Andouille and chicken breast: a spin on crawfish etouffee with all 3 being included. Started out with getting everybody chopped up and ready to go. Chicken, Andouille, and crawfish in one dish, holy trinity in another, and green onions at the ready.
Next was to get the "Louisiana napalm" ready. For those who have suffered the misfortune of a roux splashing on you, you know why it's referred to as such. Oil in a cast iron skillet until it begins to smoke, then flour is added and continuously whisked until the desired roux color is reached usually doesn't bode well for human skin. If there are any hints of black flecks in it, it gets tossed and the process begins anew, as even the slightest burn will render it useless. You can have roux that range from blonde to a dark brown which each will impart a different flavor: for this one, I wanted one on the darker side that would have a nuttier flavor.
Then the trinity was added to the roux for a minute or so, along with a tablespoon of the spice mix: salt, red/black/white pepper, thyme, gran garlic, & basil.
Brought some seafood stock to a boil, then added the roux/trinity mix to it and cooked for about 5 minutes or so, stirring all the while. Once that was ready, the crawfish/chicken/Andouille mix, along with the green onions and remaining spice blend, went in a butter bath and sauteed for a few minutes.
Then I added the stock mixture to the meats, and let simmer for about 5 more minutes. All ready to plate up with some brown rice and away we go!
Simply awesome: the smokiness of the Andouille and chicken added another layer to the crawfish, and I'd do it again in a New York minute. Note on brown rice: it used to frustrate the daylights out of me, as the bottom would burn, too wet,sticky, etc., until I found a way to do it perfectly every time. Measure out however much rice wanted, and rinse in a strainer/colander, and boil it uncovered for 30 minutes, making sure there's plenty of water that won't vaporize/absorb, and skimming off any foam that bubbles up. Drain the water out through the strainer/colander, and return the rice to the pot for 10 minutes covered without heat. Pull the lid and fluff, and perfect rice is had every time.
There's my gastro weekend in a nutshell: hope your school made it to the tournament, good luck, and let the madness begin!!
