Palo Santo Wood Beer Braised Baby Backs

Palo Santo Wood Beer Braised Baby Backs

Posted on by Jenny MacBeth

Update

It has been a busy and stressful fall for us. So busy that I haven’t had much time to cook. Kinda bums me out. I also have several new recipes I need to get posted. It takes a lot of time to keep up on a food blog. From photography to writing witty banters. As much as I love it, it’s been a low priority for me. Sad.

For the holidays, we head to our families for Christmas eve and Christmas day. No menu planning for me, but I have to bring something. I went hunting in my freezer and caught a few racks of ribs. I was thinking, “I don’t have the time to make this recipe, but ribs sound yummy. What can I do?”

I’m actually going to make a version of this in the slow cooker for Christmas. One would think that slow cooking would take longer, but this will cut the time in half. You will not need to marinade, use as many ingredients, or have as many steps. So why not just always make ribs in the slow cooker? Well, I still prefer the recipe below because I prefer dry ribs with a dipping sauce. If I had a grill, that would be the best way.

Let’s get started

Obviously, the full rack of ribs will not fit in your slow cooker. I’m going to cut three ribs together, and toss in the following ingredients.

2 Rack of Ribs, cut

1/2 Cup of dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon of Old Bay

1 medium onion, diced

1 bottle of dark beer

1/4 cup of honey

1/3 cup of Worcestershire

1/4 cup of white wine vinegar

Cook on high for about 4-5 hours, or until the meat is nice and tender (falling off the rack). That’s it!

I hope you enjoy your holidays. Peace to you and your family.

Original Post

In the past, the only way I’ve made baby back ribs is on an open campfire with just a little season salt and ground pepper. However, for Mother’s Day, I had to add a BBQ sauce for my favorite mother-in-law. Not a fan of BBQ, I had to really put my thoughts together on this recipe. Of course I wanted her to love it because it is for her after all, but I also wanted to enjoy the ribs. I’m cooking it after all.

Hmm. Where do I begin. The rub…

A mixture of spices make the world go round. I love the unique smells and flavors of each of them.

You can do this a few hours before, or at least one hour before cooking. Better still rub down your meat the night before and let it chill out in the refrigerator.

Rub Ingredients

1/2 Cup of dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon of ground cloves (I buy whole and ground myself. Makes me feel like a chef, I guess)

1 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon of green jalapeno seasoning

1 teaspoon of Old Bay

1 teaspoon of ground thyme

1 Tablespoon of chili powder

1 medium Mayan onion, grind in a blender for juices

Mix all of the above together.

Place a rack of ribs on a long piece of aluminum foil. Rub both side of the rack, making sure to cover the meat.

Take another long piece of foil and set it on top. Pinch and fold the layers together to seal. Place in the refrigerator over night or a few hours before cooking.

Time for the saucy stuff that makes you go yum…

Grab a beer, and make sure you get one for yourself.

Sauce Ingredients

I used Dogfish Head that is brewed in Palo Santo Wood.

Palo Santo means “holy tree,” and its wood has been used in South American wine-making communities. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood…

via Dogfish web site

But I’m a strong believer that beer makes sauces better, so try it with another malt beverage if you choose.

Add in…

1/4 cup of honey

Add in…

1/3 Cup of Worcestershire. I love Lea & Perrins. L & P is like Heinz is to ketchup. – Nothing better.

1/4 Cup of white wine vinegar

The remaining ingredients…

5 garlic cloves, chopped

6 green onions, finely chopped

1/4 Cup of dark brown sugar

1 Cup of Heinz ketchup (I’ll warn you now. Do not use anything but Heinz)

1/4 Cup of olive oil

1 Tablespoon of Chinese chili garlic sauce

Bring it all to a boil. Simmer over medium heat. Let it reduce and thicken for about five minutes. Set aside and cover.

Preheat your oven for 250. Take the ribs out of the refrigerator and open the foil. Pour 1/4 cup of cooked sauce over the top. Reseal and place racks in a roaster, or on a baking sheet. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Turn heat up to 275 and cook for another 1 to 1-1/2 more hours. or until ribs are tender and done.

Take the ribs out of the foil and place on a baking sheet to broil until skin becomes crispy.

Warm up the sauce and put into a serving dish.

Slice the racks into four rib bone portions. I always allow each guest to add their own sauce. The recipe makes just enough for dipping three racks of baby backs. If you like your ribs nice and sloppy, double the recipe.

Fantastic. I love how they smelled up our house. So moan-worthy.

The reason for this recipe was inspired by mom. A conversation with my mother-in-law prior to making these delicious ribs…

Me, “If you were on death row, what would be your last meal?” Mom, “Lasagne. Well, I like everything. Hmmm. Well. I don’t know. Oooo, I really like baby back ribs. Oh! And, I like shrimp scampi.” – Stay tuned for the shrimp scampi recipe.

What’s your favorite baby back rib recipe? Because this girl likes to eat.

Mexican Pork Mole

Posted on by Jenny MacBeth

Do the Lambada if you like Mexican food. I love everything about the culture. – The dances, music, arts, and especially, the food. I tried my hand at a pork mole. Mole simply means sauce; a number of sauces.

Put on Santana, grab a Dos Equis and let’s get started…

You’ll Need:

1 Pork Tenderloin roast (cubed and unseasoned)

2 cups of onion, diced

2 Tablespoons of chili powder

1 Tablespoon of ground cumin

1 Tablespoon of cinnamon

1/2 cup of Dos Equis (drink the rest)

2 (14 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes

2 (4.5 oz.) cans of green chillies (fresh is best, but this will do)

1/2 cup of dark chocolate morsels

Splash of lime juice (fresh is best)

Cilantro, diced (garnish)

In a large pot, over medium heat spray in some olive oil. I use a Misto, or you can use PAM cooking spray. Brown your pork evenly for 10 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside.

In the same pot, add in your chopped onion and cook until slightly tender. Add in your chili powder, cumin and cinnamon. Let the ingredients do the Rumba for about a minute or two. Join in the dance by stirring often.

Time for the Salsa. Add in your diced tomatoes, beer, dark chocolate and chilies. Once those simmer for a minute or two, bring it to a slow grind over medium-low heat. Let the pork join the party and simmer until hot and tender.

Serve it over rice, or by itself. Finish it with a squirt of lime and sprinkle with cilantro to garnish. The next time I make this, I will use fresh chillies.

What’s your favorite Mexican Mole? Please share with us because this girl likes to eat.

Cha Cha!

Bluemoon Pulled Pork

Posted on by Jenny MacBeth

Sweet citrus. This was a lot of work; even using a slow cooker, but well worth it. I’m not much of a BBQ girl. Imagine that! It has to be really yummy BBQ for me to like it.

I did a little Internet search to find a qualifying pulled pork recipe. My inspiration came from Bobby Flay‘s Cuban Pulled Pork Tacos with Guava Glaze, Sour Orange Red Cabbage-Jicama Slaw and Chipotle Mayonnaise. That’s a mouth full. Check out his recipe. It’s awesome, but I’m not as talented as this man. Hell! I had to Google Jicama.

Of course I changed it a little bit. Actually, I changed it a lot, but the inspiration is still there. Thanks Bobby. Love. You.

Let’s get started. Grab two Bluemoons, and turn up the iTunes.

First, get a pork roast. Toss it in your warming crock pot. Take 1/2 cup of fresh oregano leaves, eight garlic cloves, 3/4 cup of EVOO, some sea salt and grind it together in a blender. Put it over the pork roast.

Looks like something from Untold ER Stories.

Add in a 12 ounce jar of red raspberry jam, 1/4 cup of Dijon, and 1/2 cup of Bluemoon pale ale. Add in a zest from one large orange. Squeeze in two small fresh limes, and lots of fresh ground pepper. Let it cook for about seven hours on low, or until the pork pulls apart nicely. My friend Monica told me to cook it while I slept. Great idea. Or, you can do this while you are at work, but I’m not a big fan of leaving appliances plugged in while I’m not home.

Next up…

Chipotle Mayonnaise. This is the cherry on top. Mix it in a grinder/blender two small chili peppers, squeeze in one fresh lime, and 3/4 cup of low-fat Hellmann’s mayo. I like it spicy, but this was not spicy enough. When I make this again, I’m going to use two more chili peppers. And, if that’s not hot enough, I’m going to add in hot sauce – Damn it!

Let the ingredients party together for a night or two.

Coleslaw topping. Bobby Flay, God love him, uses all kinds of fresh veges that I never knew existed. His job is cooking, but I worked the next day, so I did a little improv. Use two bags of coleslaw mix and add in a half of red onion. Done!

For the dressing I used one large fresh squeezed orange, two packets of Truvia, two tablespoons of honey, and lots of fresh ground pepper, and some sea salt. Toss it in a baggie for a few hours. It’s also good overnight, but can become wilted. Still good.

The bread. I used Tuscany style ‘Tear and Share’ bread from Giant Eagle. Oh My God! So, moan-worthy. It’s perfect for small sandwiches.

The finale…

Toast your bun, top with pork, slaw, mayo. Ah! Sweet pork.

For the calorie conscience, serve it in a whole wheat wrap.

As my ex-brother-in-law would say, “Good Groceries!”

Did you drink the second Bluemoon I told you to grab? Good for you! Grab another and drink and eat and be merry.

I served the leftovers to a few coworkers and they absolutely loved it. Thank my lucky stars because this took me two days. Whew!

If you try it, or if you do something different, let me know; because this girl likes to eat.

Thanks for reading.

Bacon, Egg and Smoked Gruyere Sandwich

Posted on by Jenny MacBeth

Who doesn’t love breakfast for dinner? I was craving a good bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. After work, I headed over to the grocer and saw, “Apple Smoked Gruyere.” Boy, did that pull me in. -Snatched it and tossed it in the cart without a second look.

This is such a simple sandwich, yet you can do so much with it. Everything taste delicious with bacon.

Side note: Did you know that Bacon, Egg and Cheese has its own Wikipedia? It’s a popular food group.

A Cast Iron skillet is the secret ingredient to making yummy eggs and bacon. I love the bubbly-crispy edges you get around the egg white. It’s perfect every time.

For my bacon, I love apple smoked, or peppered, thick-cut bacon. I like all bacon, but I seem to buy those two flavors the most. I must be sucked into the marketing gimmick of “Apple Smoked.” It just sounds so heavenly, right?

You can make your sandwich anyway you want. Top it with all your favorites, but this is what I did.

For the bread I used leftover Pain de Campagne from the weekend. Whatever you use, make sure it’s nice and crusty. – A rustic bread helps make a plain sandwich gourmet.

Instead of lettuce, I used basil leaves and chopped up some chives. Using fresh herbs also helps make a plain sandwich pop.

And, the obvious…Bacon, eggs and grated Gruyere. – I just love saying Gruyere. I’m a big cheese fan, but this cheese is one of my all-time favorites. It melts so well, especially, freshly grated on top of the egg.

Just look at the edges of the egg start to bubble and get crispy. Moan-worthy.

Toast your bread and lightly butter. I used a normal toaster, but you can butter the bread and toss in the skillet, or even grill it.

Layer on your basil, tomato, bacon, egg and sprinkle with chives. Add your ‘cherry on top’ the grated Gruyere. Done!

This is dinner and not breakfast, right? I’d pair this Apple Smoked sandwich with a cold Woodchuck Cider. It has a light apple flavor that’s just the thing to wash it down. Enjoy!

How do you like your bacon, egg and cheese? Please share because this girl likes to eat.

Thanks for reading.

Meatloaf Twist

Posted on by Jenny MacBeth

A few months ago, I was watching Rachel Ray make a fabulous cob meatloaf. She finished it off with wrapping it in bacon. Since I love my meatloaf recipe, I simply stole the bacon idea, and added it to mine. It’s a great addition.

Try it!

serve the stuffed banana pepper as a meal or appetizer

Corona ‘Hot Stuff’ed Banana Peppers

Posted on by Jenny MacBeth

It was a co-worker’s Birthday, and he just loves my stuffed banana peppers. I thought I would make him a batch. A prepared dish can make the best gifts. Sure a sparkling bobble is nice, but homemade is by far my favorite gift of all. It warms me to know that someone took the time to create me something from their heart.

This is my sister, Deena’s recipe only I add in lemon juice, beer, and use sweet and hot sausage. The lemon brightens the flavor, and instead of using all hot sausage, I mix half and half with Italian sweet sausage. I also use my own homemade tomato sauce (see Alternative to Canning Tomato Sauce recipe).

You’re going to need three Coronas to help put out the heat.

You’ll Need

1-1/2 pounds of ground hot Italian sausage (If you like it hot, only use hot sausage and increase to 3 pounds)
1-1/2 pounds of sweet Italian sausage
2 cups of Italian bread crumbs
3 eggs
6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1.5 teaspoons of lemon juice
1 cup of sweet onion, diced
10 banana peppers
3 cups of tomato sauce
1 cup of Corona
2 (6.67 oz.) packages of Provolone cheese (about 16-20 slices)

Let’s get started…

Mixing

With your hands mix together both the sausages, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic, lemon juice, and onion.

Cutting

Before we start cutting, grab your beer. I have a funny side story to tell you about the above picture.

Glen wasn’t home to help take photos. I needed both hands to cut the banana pepper, and I wanted to demonstrate it for you. How could I possibly do that? After a few head scratches, I took my iPhone and placed it on a shelf overlooking my counters with the camera side down. Since the screen only recognizes human fingers, I had to figure out a way to take a picture without using my hands. I then took a rubber spatula and put the handle side in my mouth. With the rubber side, I pushed on the camera button on the screen. It wouldn’t work at first but soon discovered if you rub the camera icon from one side to the other, it will snap one off. I wish I had a picture of me. I’m a little crazy. Ha!

Okay, back to the recipe.

Slice the stem off of each banana pepper and discard. Using a small paring knife, cut around the vein and pull out the seeds as shown in picture above. Rinse peppers in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. To help alleviate the fumes in your eyes, nose, and throat, cut it under cold water.

Stuffing

Hold the banana pepper in your fist at the top to help it from splitting. Carefully poke mixture in each pepper using one finger to help push it down. Don’t force it. It’s okay if it doesn’t make it to the bottom.

Once stuffed, add a ball at the top with mixture around the edges. The reason I do this is because I can not get the mixture all the way to the bottom of the pepper. It helps make it meatier.

Cooking

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a 4-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Place your stuffed peppers in the dish. Stop drinking and mix your Corona and tomato sauce together. Pour over your hot stuffed peppers. Cover with foil and bake for one hour.

Reduce oven to 350 degrees, layer the Provolone on top, and bake uncovered for additional 15 minutes.

Done! Serve at a tailgate party or gift to a friend.

Tip: After handling banana peppers, wash your hands in lemon juice, soap and water. This will keep your hands from burning.