Posted on

Pickled Red Onions

A number of years ago, I was in charge of the food for about 250 young people and their adult leaders at a church-sponsored youth conference. As we got close to the date of the conference, the conference chairman looked over the menu.

“Pickled onions?” he asked in disbelief. “The kids aren’t going to eat that!”

“Just trust me,” I replied.

He did. The pickled onions were a hit.

Pickled onions are sweet, sour, and crunchy. They bring a crispy bite of acid that complements fish tacos and smoky meats, nachos and burgers, salads and beans.  You just can’t go wrong. Serve them in a bowl at the table, and people will gobble them up.

Pickled Red Onions

  • 2 large red onions
  • 1 cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt

Slice the onions in half through the root end. Trim the ends of the onions, and slice the onions into 1/8 inch wide half-moon pieces.

Blanch the onion slices in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain the onions in a colander. Dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar in a heavy non-reactive pan. Return the onions to the brine, and add enough cold water to just cover the onions.

Bring the brine to a boil over high heat. Simmer the onions for 1 minute.

Transfer the onions and the brine to a large glass jar. Store the jar in the refrigerator. The onions will become crisp and turn bright pink as they cool. They are as beautiful as they are tasty.

Variations:

  • Different types of vinegar bring different flavors to the table, so feel free to experiment.
  • Add 2 tablespoons Mexican oregano and 2 bay leaves to the brine to vary the flavor.
  • Add 6 to 8 cloves of peeled garlic to the onions in the brine to bring a richness to the brine. (Garlic makes just about everything better.)
  • If you want to bring some heat to the onions, add jalapeno slices or red pepper flakes to the brine.
Posted on

Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce

Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce

My culinary journey has taken me down the pathway of barbecuing and grilling. My pellet smoker has become a critical part of my cooking equipment We’ve smoked our Thanksgiving turkey, ribs, pork shoulder, and more. And the brisket . . . mmmm, brisket . . . is out of this world.

But smoking meat is only part of the process. Great barbecue requires great sauce. So I’ve gathered recipes from the masters, made some adjustments of my own, and developed a repertoire of “go to” sauces that can put burgers, ribs, and brisket over the top with flavor.

Steven Raichlen is a master of barbecue. His book Barbecue Sauces, Rubs and Marinades outlines the critical components of a good barbecue sauce.

Base: While most barbecue sauces use some sort of a tomato base, you can make a great sauce with mustard, vinegar, beef or chicken stock, or even mayonnaise as the base.

Sweetener: Sugar, honey, molasses, jams, jellies, syrups, and soda provide a sweetness that helps counter the acidity of the vinegar or other souring agent.

Souring agent: Vinegar or sour juices give barbecue sauce its distinctive punch.

Seasonings: Every sauce needs a salty component to help meld the sweet and sour ingredients.  Soy sauce, Worchestershire, fish sauce, miso, olives, and others bring the needed saltiness.

Heat: Many sauces include a heat factor. Chile peppers, ginger, black and white pepper, cayenne, red pepper flakes, wasabi, mustard, horseradish, and more. Choose a heat index that resonates with your taste buds.

Aromatics: As Raichlen notes, “Aromatics give barbecue sauce its personality.” Onions, garlic, fresh peppers, herbs, spices, liquid smoke, and more. For my money, few things whet my palate as well as the smell of garlic and onion sauteeing in butter.

Enrichers: Butter, olive oil, lard, bacon, beef stock, and others help round out the flavor of your sauce.

I smoked some pork ribs this weekend and needed to make some sauce to go with the ribs.  This sauce is one of my favorites.

It uses ketchup as a base and Dr. Pepper as a wild card sweetener. I like to up the flavor a bit by using Cherry Dr. Pepper. It’s flavorful and surprisingly easy to make.

Sautee your aromatics in butter, then add the remaining ingredients and bring everything to a boil.  Stir the sauce occasionally to keep it from burning. But otherwise, it requires little attention. Once you try it, you’ll never buy your barbecue sauce again.

Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce

From Soaked, Slathered, and Seasoned

  • 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 3 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 12 oz. Cherry Dr. Pepper
  • ½ cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. Ancho chili powder
  • 1 tsp. fine ground white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Melt the butter in a heavy pan. Saute the onion and the garlic in the butter until translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and simmer until the flavors are well blended, which will take about 15 minutes. Continue cooking until the sauce begins to thicken, about 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if desired.

When it has cooled, blend the sauce in a blender until it is smooth. Store in the refrigerator.

Make about 5 cups.

Posted on

Grandparents Birthday Party

Photo by James Besser on Unsplash

When my mother passed away in November, I simultaneously became a 59 ½-year-old orphan and the oldest living member of my immediate family. It is sobering to think of my ongoing responsibilities to extended family members in this dual role.

I am the oldest of five siblings. My brother and I are the bookends of the brood, with 12 years and three sisters in between us. I call him my “favorite” brother; he (lovingly) refers to me as his “only” brother.

My father passed away before my brother’s two teenage sons were born, so they will know their grandfather only if we teach them about him. And they need to know the great heritage that he left them.

My father is the finest man I have ever known. He was kind, hard-working, and trustworthy. He behaved the same way in public as he did at home. I never saw him say or do anything inappropriate, nor did he ever raise his voice in anger. If I can be half as good a man as he was, my life will be a success.

And my mother was his equal. She was a writer, a poet, and a teacher, whose passion for perfection led her on a life-long quest for learning. But most of all, she had an unlimited capacity to love. If Mom decided that you were worth loving (and very few people were not worthy in her estimation), she would love your fervently and unceasingly.

My four siblings live within 15 minutes of our home. Nearly all of our children live within a stone’s throw as well, which means that we have regular opportunities to get together for extended family celebrations.

So we gathered together recently to celebrate my father’s (July 7) and mother’s (August 15) birthdays. We had 34 adults (my parents’ children and grandchildren) and 12 children (their great-grandchildren) present; we missed those who were not able to attend because of illness or distance.

And food! We had lots of food. I smoked nine racks of St. Louis style pork ribs, which we slathered with homemade cherry barbecue sauce. We made mac and cheese and served it with cornbread. Everyone else brought food to match our BBQ theme.

The only thing better than eating good food is eating good food with people you love. We laughed, loved, and ate until we could eat no more.

We may have started a new family tradition.

Smoked Pork Ribs

  • St. Louis style pork ribs
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup kosher salt
  • ¼ cup ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • Tart cherry juice

Remove the ribs from the refrigerator about one hour before you begin cooking so that they can come to room temperature. Heat your smoker to 250*.

Mix the brown sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika thoroughly. Pat the ribs dry with a paper towel. Remove the membrane on the bone side of the ribs. You may need to use pliers to get a grip on the membrane.

Season both sides of the ribs with liberal amounts of the rub. Put the ribs upright in a rib rack. Place the ribs into the smoker.

The ribs need to smoke about 5 to 6 hours. Check the ribs hourly to monitor their progress. Spray the ribs with tart cherry juice each hour to keep them moist and to infuse them with flavor. The ribs are done when they are dark brown and crusty, with the meat pulling back a bit from the tips of the bones.

Cherry BBQ Sauce

(Adapted from Steven Raichlen’s Best Ribs Ever)

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen sour cherries
  • 1 ½ cups tart cherry juice
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ½ cup cider vinegar
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • ¼ cup cherry preserves
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • Kosher salt and  ground pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook until they are translucent. Add the cherries and cook until the mixture is soft.

Add the cherry juice, and increase the heat to high. Let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced almost by half.

Reduce the heat to medium. Add the remaining ingredients. Let the sauce simmer for about 6 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool. Puree in a blender. Taste the sauce, and add additional salt and pepper if needed. Makes about 3 cups.