Honey Sriracha Meatballs

 

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 larges eggs
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• Cooked rice or quinoa (optional)
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 375 °F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

• Step 2

  In a large bowl, mix together ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, green onions, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Once combined, shape into about 1.5 -inch balls (roughly 40 meatballs ). Place on baking sheet , spaced well apart .

• Step 3

  Bake the meatballs for about 25 minutes , or until they are browned and cooked through.

• Step 4

  While the meatballs are in the oven, place sriracha, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat ; whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Once the sauce is boiling, reduce heat. Take 1 to 2 tablespoons of the sauce out of the saucepan and put in a small bowl. Add cornstarch and stir with a fork. Once combined, add the mixture back to the saucepan (to help sauce thicken ). Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes. When the meatballs are done, place them into the saucepan and toss to coat .

• Step 5

  Add 4 meatballs to a container with some rice or quinoa, if desired. Top with sesame seeds, if desired, and more green onions. Meatballs will keep, refrigerated, up to 4 days.

Collard Greens Ramen

 

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 1 (1 1/2-pound) bunch collard greens
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 bacon slices
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
• 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 pound smoked ham hocks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) bourbon or other whiskey
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 8 cups cold water
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce
• 12 ounces uncooked instant ramen noodles, cooked
• 4 large hard-cooked eggs, peeled and halved
• 8 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 teaspoons shichimi togarashi

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Using a sharp knife, remove stems from collard greens. Cut leaves into 2-inch squares (about 14 cups), and rinse in cold water.

• Step 2

  Heat olive oil in a 4-quart stockpot over medium. Add bacon; cook until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, reserving drippings in pot. Crumble bacon, and set aside.

• Step 3

  Add onions and garlic to hot drippings in pot, and cook over mediumv, stirring often, until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Add ham hocks, and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes, turning ham hocks every 45 seconds. Add bourbon and vinegar, and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits on bottom of pot, until liquid is reduced by half, about 30 seconds. Add 8 cups cold water; bring to a simmer.

• Step 4

  Add salt and pepper to soup. Add collards in large handfuls, stirring each addition until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes, before adding next handful. Return to a simmer; cover and cook until collards are tender, about 1 hour.

• Step 5

  Remove ham hocks; cool slightly. Pull meat from bones, and chop meat. Discard bones and skin.

• Step 6

  Divide soy sauce evenly among 4 serving bowls. Ladle 1 1/4 cups liquid from cooked collards into each bowl. Divide noodles evenly among 4 bowls, and stir noodles twice in broth to combine.

• Step 7

  Top bowls evenly with ham hock meat, collards, eggs, bacon, scallions, lime wedges, and shichimi togarashi.

White Cheddar and Bacon Risotto

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
• 2 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 bacon slices
• 1 ¼ cups diced onion
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• ½ cup dry white wine
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
• 3 ounces white cheddar cheese,shredded (3/4 cup)
• ¼ cup thinly sliced green onions

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Bring stock and thyme sprigs to a simmer in a saucepan over medium; keep warm over low.

• Step 2

  Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium for 4 minutes or until crisp. Remove from pan; crumble. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add rice; cook 1 minute, stirring to coat. Add wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. Stir in 1 1/2 cups stock; cook 4 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring frequently. Add 2 1/4 cups stock, 3/4 cup at a time, stirring frequently until each portion is absorbed before adding more. Reserve remaining 1/4 cup stock; discard thyme sprigs. Stir in salt and pepper.

• Step 3

  Stir in peas, chopped thyme, and cheese; cook 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat; stir in reserved 1/4 cup stock. Divide rice mixture among 4 bowls; top with green onions and bacon.

Drunken Chicken Soup

 

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 8 cups water
• 1 (750-ml) bottle Shaoxing wine or dry sherry (not cooking wine)
• 4 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and sliced (about 3/4 cup) (from 1 [7 1/2-inch] piece)
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 whole scallions
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1 (3 1/2-pound) whole chicken
• 1 pound kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
• 3 baby bok choy, trimmed and sliced (about 4 cups)
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• Ground Szechuan peppercorns, for serving (optional)

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Stir together 8 cups water, wine, ginger, sugar, whole scallions, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large Dutch oven. Remove giblets from chicken; reserve for another use, if desired. Add chicken to Dutch oven, and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion of thigh registers 165°F, about 1 hour and 30 minutes, skimming foam from surface of soup occasionally.

• Step 2

  Transfer chicken to a work surface; let cool slightly. Remove and discard ginger and whole scallions from broth, and add kohlrabi and mushrooms. Cover and cook over medium-low until kohlrabi is tender, about 30 minutes.

• Step 3

  Meanwhile, remove and discard skin from chicken; pull meat off bones. Discard bones. Shred meat into bite-size pieces.

• Step 4

  Stir shredded chicken, bok choy, and sesame oil into soup. Cover and cook until chicken is heated through and bok choy is crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in sliced scallions and remaining 2 tablespoons salt. Ladle soup into bowls, and serve with ground Szechuan peppercorns, if using.

Suggested Pairing

Dry amontillad

Smoked Pork Butts

 

Preparing your BBQ for cooking

I always inject pork butts. This helps get moisture and flavor on the inside of the meat that Dry Rub alone cannot accomplish. You can get a cheap injector at the grocery store and it will get the job done.

I use a mixture of:

• 1 cup Apple Juice
• 1 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Salt
• 1 TBS Soy Sauce
• 1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

This injection is enough to use for two 8-10lb Boston butts.

Place the meat in an aluminum pan and begin injecting. Insert the injection needle into the meat and press down on the plunger. Dont pull the needle all of the way out of the injection site. Instead, go in at a different angle and inject again.

I do this 3 times at each injection site and move it around the entire butt. There will be some injection that seeps out. This is normal.

Once you get the butts injected, place them in a large zip-lock bag, pour any injection that seeped out over the butt, and place in a refrigerator or on ice. You want the butt to marinate for at least 4 hours. (Overnight is preferred).

Take the butt out of the zip-lock bag and place on a working surface. Drain it completely and pat dry with paper towel and let it come up to room temp for about 30 - 45 minutes.

The next step is to apply a good quality dry rub

First, coat the butt with a couple of tablespoons of plain ole yellow mustard. This will create a means for the rub to stick to the meat. Then liberally sprinkle the dry rub over the meat and gently massage it into the meat.

Proper Smoke Technique

Get your smoker up to proper temperature. I cook butts at 225 degrees and use seasoned Cherry Wood chunks for the smoke.

The length of cooking can be a little tricky to figure out, but a good rule of thumb is 1 to 1 (hours of smoke per lb of meat). But I like to always have a meat thermometer handy and strictly go by internal temperature. You are shooting for an internal temperature of 195 degrees for perfect pulled pork.

Once you have your butt on the smoker, its time to make your mop. The mop consists of a mixture of:

• 16 oz Vegetable Oil
• 16 oz Cider Vinegar
• 32 oz water
• 1 cup of dry rub
• 2 TBS Worcestershire
• 2 TBS Soy Sauce

Whisk all of these ingredients together. (I use very hot water to dissolve the dry rub).

Mop this baste on the butts after 2 hours of smoking. Then mop again after every 2 hours.

After 6 hours of smoke and basting, check the internal temperature. It should be around 165 degrees. At this point you have enough smoke now its time to get them tender.

The Tenderization Process

You want to remove the butts from the smoker and wrap them in aluminum foil. Place the aluminum foil on the work surface, sit the butt on the aluminum foil, mop the butt with baste and reapply a light dusting of the dry rub. Wrap the butt up tight in the aluminum foil and place it back on the smoker.

It is helpful to use a digital meat thermometer with a probe to monitor your internal temperature the entire cooking time. This is one piece of equipment that is extremely useful, and it keeps you from having to constantly open up the door to check with a manual thermometer.

And if you are constantly opening the door, then your meat will not achieve the proper tenderness. Every time the temperature in your smoker drops, your meat begins to lock back up resulting in a product that is tough. You have to keep the temperature steady to keep the meat cooking. This is exactly why they say, If youre looking, youre not cooking.

If you have a thermometer with a probe, place it inside the meat (careful not to get it against the bone or youll get a false reading) and wrap the aluminum foil around the butt. Place the meat back on the smoker and continue cooking.

Your meat has enough smoke, so adding more wood to the fire is not necessary at this point. Now you are simply rendering the tough connective tissue of the butt and producing tender, mouth watering meat.

The butt needs to go to 195 degrees internal and this will take some time.

Typically, it will hit a plateau or stall at about 175 and will sit there for what feels like an eternity. It is important to keep a constant pit temperature during this process. Dont open the smoker door and dont unwrap the butt - not for any reason - no exceptions! This is the method will produce the best BBQ youve ever cooked and it is what wins contest.

The Final Steps

Once the butt has climbed to an internal temperature of 195 degrees you are ready to pull it off the smoker.

BUT BE CAREFUL. it will be extremely hot and there will be a lot of au just that has cooked out of the meat. Transferring the butt to an aluminum pan will make this process easier and allows you to catch the liquid.

Open the aluminum foil very carefully and allow some of the steam to escape. Drain off as much liquid as possible from the butt, re-rap it in aluminum foil and place it in a dry cooler for resting. It will keep hot for up to 4 hours.