Delicious Beer option for the fall- Dogfish Head PUNK!

I am sort of a purist.  I like my meat with salt and pepper; I like my pancakes with syrup and butter only; and I like my beer with hops and barley.  There are, however, a few instances in life where something comes along and knocks you on your ass.  Mirco-brewery genius, and fellow Muhlenberg College Mule, Sam Calagione has created something special at Dogfish Head Brewery.  For those of you who know beer and live in the greater Philadelphia/Wilmington, DE, Maryland area, I am preaching to the choir.  

There are several traditional, but exquisite, ales crafted by Sam and Dogfish Head.  His "60 Minute Ale" is the flagship.  The 60 Minute name comes from the length of time the wort is boiled while hops are added.  This long boil time accounts for the hoppy IPA taste.  There is also a 90 Minute Ale and a famously potent 120 Minute Ale, which hits the ABV (alcohol by volume) of 18.0%.  It is a real shot of life and a rare treat.  Two and thats it.  

But this is about an oldie but a goodie.  The Dogfish Head Punkin (this is a link) pumpkin flavored ale is fantastic.  It is everything you want in a specialty beer and nothing you don't.  The pumpkin is subtly fused with a smooth full-bodied brown ale.  There are clear hints of nutmeg and allspice, but I don't really taste the brown sugar.  It pairs incredible well with a little chocolate.  I never would have really thought of this, but I bought my wife some chocolates the other day, popped one in my mouth and opened one of these Punkin Ales.  The cocoa really brought out the flavors of the beer.  

All said and done, everything (well almost everything) Dogfish Head brewery creates works.  There are a few low points, but nothing worth even listing because I think everyone is entitled to a bias-free taste-test.  I suggest the 60 Minute Ale highly.  For something more hoppy, go to the 90 Minute.  If you are daring and want to spend the money, get a bottle of the 120 Minute Ale.  For those of you within an hour of Wilmington, DE, it is worth while to go to Total Wine and buy by the bottle.  (Sorry people in PA)  Also try the FANTASTIC Aprihop Ale, it is a hoppy fruit ale that is really enjoyable.  

Eat, Drink and Get Drunk.

My BBQ sauce

Upon the request of an avid reader, I am disclosing to the world the secret of my BBQ sauce.  I do this with great trepidation, but the avid reader is my mother- I would like to see you say no to her.  So, there is no real recipe in the traditional sense.  I think recipes are a good basis for a process that you, yourself, can perfect.  All I can give you is my process and let you create your own taste.  

So, I start with standard ketchup.  I know it seems pedestrian, but there is no other option.  To that I add a bevy of spices including the following in the order I add them and in descending quantity: chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, hot paprika, garlic powder, ground ginger, mustard powder, onion powder, fresh ground pepper, and only a dash of salt.  There will be enough salt from the other things added, so you don't need much more.  I do have one more secret, but it is a little...I don't know...remedial.  McCormick makes a roasted garlic and herb seasoning for chicken.  I add a dash of that for a little depth of flavor.  

Now, getting away from the store-bought ingredients, I stir the mixture of ketchup and spices together and let it simmer for a minute or two.  Now, it is always important to connect sauce with main dish.  When I slow-cook my ribs or pork shoulder, I place them in a roasting pan and fill the bottom pan with a mixture of apple cider vinegar and some of the dry-rub I put on the ribs.  So, a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar goes into the pot of BBQ sauce.  Also, in the dry-rub I add about a half of a cup of brown sugar for caramelization when I put the ribs on the grill.  So, into the pot goes brown sugar and white sugar.  Add all of these ingredients to taste, meaning add some, taste the sauce, and determine f you have added enough or need more.  You shouldn't be able to taste any one ingredient, but just the note of flavor the ingredient brings to the dish, or in this case, a sauce.  

Thinking about flavor profile, we now have salt, acid (vinegar), sweet (sugar), and bitter (mustard powder and other spices).  This is the makings of a very nice, rich and deep BBQ sauce.  Please do some trial and error and post your results.  Your preferred taste will probably be different from mine, so adjust amounts as you like.  Be careful with the vinegar however- it is easily overdone.  Enjoy.

When To Season Meat- Lamb

For the Labor day weekend, I decided to have a family cook-out at our new house.  Knowing that I was having both of our (My wife and I) families, I knew I would have to have a healthy dose of meat.  My wife's family is known for expressing love through copious amounts of animal carcass and creamy french cheese.  My family often just prepares food for 25 people when there are only 10 coming over.  So, to make both families proud, I put together the following dishes:

1) Hand-cut coleslaw with homemade dressing; 2) Potato salad with fingerling white, red, Japanese Purple Sweet, and fingerling sweet potatoes, celery, and egg; 3) Arugula salad with shaved Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly boiled red beets (blot them totally dry so they don't bleed into the salad), with a dressing of red apple balsamic vinegar and black truffle oil; 4) 2 racks of pork ribs- one baby back and one spare, dry rubbed the night before, slow roasted in the oven, basted once with homemade BBQ sauce, then finished on the charcoal grill, see here, for a nice crispy, smokey finish (recipe and method forthcoming); 5) Two racks of New Zealand lamb; 6) homemade chocolate chip and pecan cookies or peanut butter Heath Bar cookies (100% my wife); 6) Of course you need a few hot dogs an bratwursts for the fillers; 7) 14 ears of corn that never really made it to the table because everyone was so full.  There was also contributions from family including macaroni salad, pies, ect.  

But this post is about the Lamb.  It was clear that the racks, seasoned 8 hours before cooking, were by far better than others I have cooked that were seasoned earlier.  I did not even bother with the 4 hour or 1 hour season because of the fat content on the top-side of the racks.  There was a nice thick, dense layer of fat that, when I began to cook them on the VERY hot grill, melted into the rest of the meat and made the taste incredible.  I did not get any pictures of the meal, but I can assure you that Lamb is best seasoned at LEAST 6 hours before cooking.  Season very liberally with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  My sister-in-law asked me if I used anything else because the taste seemed different, but that was all- just salt and pepper.  

One tip, however, for seasoning racks of Lamb.  When seasoning the top layer of fat, just when you think you have seasoned it enough, season it again.  It takes a lot of salt to season that dense of a layer of fat.  Also, when you cook the rack, the fat will render and run into the coals.   That is flavor leaving the final product, so you have to make sure that enough remains.  You might also want to season in stages.  Season once, then come back to it a few hours later and throw another fresh layer of S&P on the meat.  

So, go get some Lamb and don't forget to wrap the frenched bones in tin foil BEFORE you put the meat on the grill.  Otherwise you will loose some bones to the heat like I did (I forgot and tried to wrap them after a few minutes on the grill- ouch).  Also, don't forget to let the meat sit for about 5-10 minutes before cutting.  130-135 degrees on the thickest part of the meat for a nice medium-rare to medium, so take the meat off the grill at 125 or 128 and let the carry-over cooking do the rest.  

Fall Food is Coming

I know everyone loves summer for the hot temps, beach (or if from Jersey, shore) weekends, and fresh produce.  I have to admit that I love tomato season too.  But there is a time of year that is unequivocal to me, and that is autumn.   I am not trying to rush it, but the smell of falling leaves and charcoal grills, the taste of butternut squash puree with rosemary and thyme roasted pork tenderloin topped with stone roasted apple and pear chutney...I could go on and on.  Not to mention football season, tailgating, pumpkin beer, Octoberfest beers, big bold red wines that you have let sit all spring and summer, aged scotch... here I go again.  

That should suffice to say that my blog will be pushing out a post or two a day in the fall.  So stay tuned and get ready for some killer recipes, great events, and reviews of the best fall drinks.