It's all about the BBQ! Part II

After the Big Apple BBQ couple of weeks ago, I have been dying to try out some barbecue recipes.  So when I got a chance to visit my local farmers market this past weekend, I was looking for some ideas.  There I found some organic, grass-fed beef brisket and I was inspired as I remembered the outstanding Hill Country brisket I tasted at the BBQ last weekend.  The Texas-style barbecue beef briskets are traditionally smoked.  Since I don't have a smoker, I thought I should keep it simple and make it in the oven.  I also want to add some Asian flavors to the brisket and a quick no-fuss barbecue sauce.

Beef Brisket with Asian Flavors
4 1/2 lb fresh beef brisket (trimmed but leave about 1/4 inch of fat cap on top to keep the meat moist)
2 cups of beef stock or broth
1 bunch of scallions (cut each piece in half)
12 slices of fresh ginger root

Dry Rub
1/4 cup of Chinese five spice powder*
1/4 cup of cumin
2 tbsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of kosher salt
1/2 tbsp of fresh cracked pepper

Barbecue sauce
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/2 cup of Hoisin sauce*
1/4 cup of rice vinegar*
1 tbsp of Sriracha chili sauce*

*You can find these ingredients in Asian markets and may also find them in the Asian aisle of your local supermarket.

Combine the first three ingredients of the dry rub recipe thoroughly, and then generously rub the spices onto the beef brisket.  Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight.  Next day preheat oven to 350.  Before putting the brisket in the oven, season the brisket with salt and pepper.  Put the scallions and ginger on the bottom of the roasting pan, sit the brisket (fat side up) on top of the scallions and ginger slices.  Roast it for 1 hour until it starts to brown.  In the meantime, warm up the stock or broth.  After an hour of roasting, slowly add the warm stock to the pan until the bottom of the pan is covered with the liquid.  Then cover the brisket with foil and lower the heat to 250 and slowly roast it for another 4 hours.  Baste the brisket with the pan liquid every hour and add more liquid if needed.

To prepare the no-fuss barbecue sauce, combine all ingredients and cooked for 15 minute in low to moderately low heat until it thickens and combine well.
  
After roasting the brisket, take the foil off and put the brisket under the boiler for a few minutes to crisp up the fat on top.  This adds a smoky flavor to the spices but be careful not to put it under the boiler too long; otherwise it'll burn.  Take out the brisket then cover with foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing it thinly against the grain.  To slice against the grain means if the lines (fiber) of the meat are going one way then you should slice it the other way so you're cutting short of the fiber and the meat are more tender and less chewy.  You should use this technique for tougher cuts of meat such as flank steaks and rump roast.  The brisket can be eaten in a sandwich or by itself top with some barbecue sauce.

It was fun and delicious for my first attempt.  The crust of the brisket had a smoky five-spice flavor and the meat was fork-tenderly moist.  The no-fuss barbecue sauce had a balanced of sweetness, sourness and spiciness.  It definitely is an easy sauce to make, so make extra and keep it in the fridge so you can add it to your grill chicken and shrimp dishes or use it as a marinate!

It's all about the BBQ!

Once again, I attended the Big Apple BBQ this past weekend at Madison Square Park in NYC.  It's an awesome event especially if you are a barbecue lover.  Some of the best pit-masters in the country gathered in one spot where you can taste some of their best offerings.  I am not sure one can eat every single dish available in one day or one weekend.  I did my best to taste as many plates as possible and here are some of my favorites.

Hill Country's Beef Briskets and Cucumber Salad:  The beef was so tender and juicy.  There were layers of fat attached to the leaner pieces of meat that kept the meat nice and moist.  This was absolutely delicious, even though this is Texas BBQ, way to represent New York!

Big Bob Gibson's Pulled Pork Sandwich:  No wonder why Chris Lilly of Decatur, Alabama wins BBQ championships.  He definitely made one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I ever had.  The pork was juicy and full of flavor.  With the addition of its awarding-winning tomato-based championship red sauce, it was the perfect sandwich.

Jim 'N Nick's BBQ Homemade Smoked Sausage with Pimento Cheese and Saltines:  Representing Birmingham, Alabama, the only one who made sausage at the party and it didn't disappoint.  These were smoked then grilled so the casing has a snap to it.  It was great to stack the saltine with the pimento cheese and sausage together like an horderve.

Pappy's Smokehouse's St. Louis Style Ribs:  These ribs were finger-licking good.  These St. Louis Style ribs were smoked slow and low.  These ribs are not served with a sauce. They are made with a base-rub of brown sugar and they were outstanding!

These are only a few of my personal favorites, and I can't wait until next June to do this all over again.  In the meantime, I hope to test my own barbecue recipe and share it with you soon!

Farmers Market

This past Saturday was the opening day of my local farmers market.  It is now opened every Saturday for the summer months rather than once every month.  To support its grand opening for the season, I visited the market and found some great ingredients to inspire me to make my next dish.

I picked up some beautiful oyster mushrooms.  I also bought some skate wing fillets at Pura Vida Fishery at the market.  I later went into the city to meet friends and went to Dean and Deluca market down in Soho where I surprisingly found some Fiddlehead Ferns.  Fiddlehead Ferns are young unfurled ostrich ferns that are still curled in a tight spiral.  These vegetables are usually available only a few weeks in May.  The reason why it's called "Fiddlehead" is because the shape of this vegetable resembles the end of a violin.  I have been looking to get my hands on these elusive spring vegetables in Union Square Greenmarket for the last month, but every time I get there, they are sold out of them.  I thought I could make something with the skate and oyster mushrooms I got earlier at the farmers market.  So let the recipe testing begins...

Skate with Fiddlehead Ferns, Oyster Mushroom and Pineapple Herb Pesto - Serves two
Skate
2 skate wing fillets (approx. 6 oz each)
Salt and pepper to season
Flour to dredge
3 tbsp of olive oil
Juice of 1/2 of a lime

Fiddlehead Ferns and Oyster Mushrooms
1/2 pound of fiddlehead ferns (if you can't find this, you can substitute with asparagus)
1/2 pound of oyster mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
2 gloves of garlic (slightly crushed)
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

Pineapple Herb Pesto
1/4 cup of fresh parsley
1/4 cup of fresh basil
2 tbsp of fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup of fresh pineapple (rough cut to small pieces)
2-3 tbsp of lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
Zest of 1 lime
1/4 to 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

To start, make the sauce ahead of time so it has time to marinate all the ingredients together.  Combine all the herbs, pineapple, lime zest and juice in the food processor and process until ingredients are finely chopped. Slowly add the olive oil while puree the rest of the ingredients until thickens and combined, add salt and pepper to adjust seasoning and set aside.

Wash the fiddlehead ferns in water and rinse a few times and be sure to trim off any dry ends.  Bring two quarts of water to boil, add enough salt to taste like salt water (this will add flavor to the vegetables).  Add fiddlehead to water, let it boil for 2-3 minutes, set up a bowl of ice water.  Drain the ferns then immediately shock the vegetables by adding to ice water to keep them from cooking and turning color.  Drain and set aside.  Heat a small pan medium to high heat, add the garlic to let it infuse the flavor in the oil without burning, add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, saute the mushroom until they release its moisture (2-3 minutes) and then add the ferns, season again with a pinch of salt and pepper, add a little oil if necessary as the mushrooms made absorb some of the oil, saute the vegetables for another 2 minutes and keep warm.

Press paper towel onto the skate fillets and dry them to make sure there's no excess moisture before dredging in flour.  Season each fillet with salt and pepper.  Put a pinch of salt in the flour so it is also seasoned.  Dredge the fillets with flour and shake off excess.  Heat a large pan in medium to high heat, add the oil and heat the oil until hot but not smoking.  Then carefully add each fillet to the pan and use a spatula to gently press down the fillets in the pan to be sure the fillets are laying flat and that they are cooking evenly.  Cook the fillets until golden brown (about 4-5 minutes) on the first side.  Once you see the first side is cooked and almost cooked through to the side that's facing up (you'll see the edges start to brown), gently flip over to the other side and cook for another 2 minutes.  Once the fillets are done, splash some lime juice on top.  To plate, place the sauce on the bottom or on the side of the dish, then add the fish and toss the vegetables on top.

Skate has become one of my favorite fish because of its sweet, mild shellfish-like taste.  The pineapple herb pesto gives a great flavor and add acidity to the skate.  By pan frying the skate, it adds a crisp texture.  The fern is sweet with a hint of bitterness.  It's always nice to see all the ingredients come together in a dish.  Now that the market is open on a regular basis, I hope to find more inspirational ingredients to test more dishes.