by Joan Taylor -- the Opinionated Chef
Hello again from the Opinionated Cook! It's (always) time to barbecue, and this column deals with some traditional recipes, equipment, and techniques from the area where I grew up, the central coast of California. Of course, "barbecue" has a LOT of variations -- BBQ, Bar-b-q, barbeque, barbecue? Flames, coals, indirect heat, e.g., "pit"? Charcoal, oak/hickory/apple/whatever wood, propane? "Firestarter" or kindling? Covered/smoked or open? "Kettle", table-top grill, gas grill, sheet steel barbecue? Cook on a grill surface or on rods or on a spit? -- and regional passions do run high about what "barbecue" is and the RIGHT way to do it! But, I thought I'd like to share our "barbecue style" with you. Even if you don't have the same equipment or red oak, the recipes will work! As always, e-mail me if you have any questions or comments!
Some of my earliest memories are of Sunday barbecues with aunts, uncles and cousins at the county park and barbecues on the ranch that the men held at every opportunity! As a young child, I accompanied my father on his "field rounds" in the pickup. Times were a lot different then, and Dad's ideas of child care were quite casual; when he had a meeting or something that required that he not be hampered by a pre-schooler, I was left in the care of my "field nannies" -- long-time, trusted employees -- to play in the irrigation ditches, ride on the tractors, and go to the "barbacoas"-- beef, pork or lamb chunks, quarters or whole carcass roasting in a pit or on a spit over deep beds of oak coals. Somewhere there's a photo of a greasy-faced 4-year-old with a chunk of meat in one hand and a bottle of orange pop in the other -- Dad did draw the line at beer!
Central coast barbecue is also called "Santa Maria Style Barbecue"; these web sites will explain more about the origins of the tradition (as with most "traditions", there are some differences of opinion about the accuracy of all the information!) and provide more information and sources for "pinquito" beans:
NOTE: "Pinquito" beans are sometimes incorrectly referred to as "poquito" beans; I have no idea where this came from. "Poquito" means "a little bit" (amount, not size) in Spanish, and "pinquito" is a bean marketer's made-up-sort-of-sounds-like-Spanish word meaning "little pink beans".
Barbecue-- sirloin or "tri-tip" are the traditional choices -- is now cooked on steel rods or on the preferred (for about the last 50 years or so!) "barbecue" consisting of a heavy sheet steel "box" with wheels on one end for easier moving, a box/grill size of about 24" x 36" or larger, with a cooking grate of expanded mesh (sometimes of stainless steel, but this is much more expensive to fabricate) that is raised or lowered by a chain/pulley system. Meat, whether "chunked" on rods or as 3" steaks on the grate, is cooked over red oak coals. Many of these barbecues are made to individual order by local welders or shops; they're not cheap, but they will last for years if cared for and not allowed to rust out or burn through.
Here are some long-time family favorites:
"BARBECUE"
The traditional menu for central coast barbecue is steak, beans, potato salad, green salad, sweet french bread (cut in half lengthwise, toasted in the oven or on the barbecue, buttered with plain or garlic butter, then cut into about 2" pieces for easier sopping!), salsa, and dessert. This last is variable, but often is strawberry shortcake or ice cream. (The old Santa Maria Inn used to also serve macaroni and cheese as part of the menu; this isn't common anymore.)
Chicken and ribs are also popular to barbecue -- chicken is a good choice if you have a lot of people to feed; it's the mainstay of church and service club fund-raising barbecues! A chicken "recipe" is included for those who prefer it to beef.
"Barbecue" most often refers to steak, usually a "top block"; this is a whole top sirloin cut into 3" thick slabs. A "top block" can weigh about 9 - 20 pounds; 15 pounds is the average size. If this is to much for your group, ask the butcher to cut the number of 3" steaks you think you'l need; plan on about 1/2 pound per person, more if your group includes "good feeders".
NOTE: Some people use "tri-tip", but while this cut's flavor can be good, you better have your own teeth to eat it if it's not cooked carefully! Tri-tip can be tough and chewy, and if overcooked or cooked on too-hot a fire, it dries out and is stringy.
Cut 3" steaks from a top block; trim excess fat -- save a good piece to wipe down the grill before cooking! -- wipe meat with damp paper towels, and season with salt, garlic salt and pepper. Put the steaks into a large pan -- to carry them out to the barbecue and to hold them when done -- and when fire has burned down to coals and grate is HOT, adjust the grate to about 12" or so above the coals -- wipe grate with a piece of saved fat -- don't throw the fat into the fire or you'll get flare-ups -- and put the meat on. Cook about 20 minutes per side for medium-rare; cooking time will vary with the heat and distance from the coals. Turn the meat with tongs; don't stick a fork into the meat. If you get flare-ups, move the grate up a bit, and if the meat seems to be cooking too slowly, move the grate closer to the coals. Test "doneness" by making a small cut in one of the steaks. Steaks are best at medium-rare, but if your group likes their meat a little more done, cut a 2" steak from the block before hand and cook that for the "medium" bunch. Don't overcook the meat! When steaks are done, remove from the fire and put into the pan. Let stand a few minutes, then cut steaks across the grain into slices about 3/4" - 1" thick and serve from the pan so everybody can sop their bread!
LINGUICA
The smell of the wood smoke and barbecue makes everybody hungry, and those without useful work to do in getting the rest of the food ready, setting up the tables, watching the kids, or monitoring the "beverage" area, hang around and get in the way! Feed them with a few pounds of linguica -- Portuguese sausage -- or other sausage of your choice. Put sausages on one end of the grate (the grate has to be hot for these, too) before you put the meat on. When done, remove with tongs to a pan, and cut into small pieces. Put the pan on a table away from the barbecue -- takes the "hang-arounders" away -- until the steak is ready, anyway -- just like "decoying" yellowjackets with a piece of meat!
BEANS
Plan ahead; beans should be soaked for at least 6 hours or overnight, and after cooking, refrigerate the beans and let them "strike through" for a day; taste and adjust the seasonings before serving! "First-day" beans don't have much character!
3 cups of "pinquito" beans (You can also use regular-sized pink beans.)
8 slices of bacon
1 large onion or 2 medium onions
3-4 cloves of garlic (more if cloves are small)
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 ripe tomatoes
4-5 mild chiles, e.g., Anaheim/New Mexico (same chile, old/newer name) OR
1 large or 2 small red bell pepper(s)
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce (use a 12 oz. can if you want to)
About 3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar (in addition to the "soaking" vinegar)
About 1-2 tablespoon(s) sugar
Salt and pepper (DON"T ADD SALT until the end of cooking.)
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Pick over beans to get out all the little rocks and "ugly" beans. Wash beans in at least "two waters" -- put in a bowl, fill with water, swish around, then drain in a colander; repeat until water is clear. Put drained beans into a glass or stainless steel bowl, add about 1/4 cup of cider vinegar, then fill bowl with water to about 2" over "bean level". Soak overnight or for at least 6 hours; stir up once or twice if possible.
NOTE: If your water is chlorinated or otherwise bad-tasting, try using distilled drinking water -- available at any supermarket in gallon or larger containers -- for soaking/cooking the beans. You may be surprised at the difference this makes in any drinking or cooking use!
Use a large, heavy pot; the "recipe" needs about a 7-quart or larger pot. ( I use a 7-quart enameled cast iron Le Creuset pot for the "regular" amount of beans; this feeds about 15-20. Leftovers are good!)
Cut the bacon into 1/4" strips, chop the onion roughly -- you should have about 1 1/2 cups of onion -- chop the garlic finely, and char, sweat and peel the chiles or red pepper. (Rinse the chiles/rinse red pepper; leave chiles whole, but cut red peppers into "flat" quarters, and clean out the ribs and seeds. Lay chiles/peppers on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil and put under the broiler until the skin blisters/chars; you'll have to turn the chiles, but char only the skin side of the red peppers. Fold the foil up tightly around the peppers and let them "sweat" for about 10 minutes. Peel the red peppers and peel/seed the chiles and chop fairly finely. Peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes roughly.
Brown the bacon in the big pot; remove. Drain all but about 3-4 tablespoons bacon grease from the pot, add the onion, garlic, chiles/peppers, and saute until limp and onion is light brown. Add the bacon back in, then add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT beans. Stir up to get all the good stuff off the bottom of the pot, then add in beans. Cover with water -- about 2" over bean level -- bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours or so -- stir up once in a while and add a little water if necessary, and watch to see that the beans don't stick or burn; you can't repair burned beans! -- until beans are tender but not mushy. Now add salt to taste and adjust the other seasonings; depending on the age of the beans, the acidity of the tomatoes and a buch of other "chemistry stuff", the proportions and amounts of sugar/vinegar/salt will vary, as will the cooking times, especially if you live at high altitudes. (I expect that you already know that!)
Cool beans, refrigerate until the next day, then re-heat, correct seasonings and serve hot. Put salsa over your top block and beans, and dig in!
SALSA
It's true that some folks do use canned tomatoes and canned chiles and green onions to make their salsa, but this is nothing like the "real thing" made with fresh ingredients. (Of course, if the only tomatoes you can get are rock-hard and tasteless, then canned tomatoes are a definite improvement!)
Adding cilantro to salsa is definitely a matter of taste; people either love it or hate it, and I'm one of the latter. I well remember my first taste of "Chinese parsley" in the salsa when I was an exchange student in Mexico; spitting it out was not an option, but I sure wanted to!
5-6 ripe tomatoes
4-5 jalapeño or serrano chiles
4-5 Anaheim/New Mexico or other mild chiles (adjust proportions of hot/mild depending on your group's "heat" preferences.)
1 red onion
4-5 cloves garlic
Juice of 2 limes (use fresh lemon juice if you don't have fresh limes; don't use bottled stuff!)
A little red wine vinegar/sugar/salt and pepper to taste; see preparation instructions.
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Peel, core, take some of the seeds out and chop the tomatoes into about 3/4" pieces. Char, sweat, skin the chiles; remove the veins and seeds, then chop finely. (If you have sensitive skin, use thin latex or vinyl gloves when working with the chiles, and remember not to rub your eyes when they water from the chiles or onion! You'll do that one time only!) Peel and chop the onion and garlic cloves finely. Mix tomatoes, chiles, onions and garlic together, then add about 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, the lime juice, a little sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Let stand for about an hour before serving; taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
BARBECUED CHICKEN
When barbecuing chicken for a larger number of people -- and if you have grill room -- it's usually more economical to buy chicken halves and cut them into serving quarters after cooking. Chicken should be cooked more slowly than beef, of course, but it still requires a good bed of coals. Raise the grate to about 15"-16" (more or less) so as not to cook chicken too fast, and turn frequently while cooking. Half-raw chicken is nasty -- and dangerous! -- so make sure it's cooked through but not burned or dried out. Brining the chicken helps it cook up juicy and flavorful; the improvement is worth the trouble unless you're doing chicken for a big crowd. Use any clean container(s) -- not aluminum -- that will hold the chicken parts covered with the brine. "Small" amounts of chicken can be brined in zip-lock bags; these are easy to refrigerate and can be thrown away after use. Please remember to wash (with soap) hands, utensils, and surfaces often when working with any poultry! (Or any food, for that matter!)
Trim excess skin, fat, "gubbins" off chicken parts/halves/whatever, rinse and put in a big pot or container (or zip-locks) of brine: 1/2 cup each salt and sugar to 2 gallons of water. Brine parts (thighs, legs, breasts, etc.) for about an hour or so; brine halves for 2 hours or a little more. Remove from brine, rinse, pat dry with paper towels, and arrange, skin side down, on a hot grate previously wiped down with a little cooking oil on a rag. Cook slowly -- small parts will obviously cook faster -- and turn frequently. Baste ("mop") on both sides a few times during the last 20-25 minutes or so of cooking time. Boil up --boil gently for 2-3 minutes -- any left-over basting mixture and pour this over the chicken in the serving pan.
BBG Chicken Baste (Beer, Butter, Garlic)
(This amount of baste will do for about 3 chickens' worth of halves, quarters or parts; multiply the recipe if necessary.)
12 oz. bottle or can of beer; open this the night before so it's FLAT when you use it! (I use Sierra Nevada or a dark Mexican beer; use whatever you like.)
1 cube butter (if using unsalted butter, use a little more salt than the 1/2 teaspoon called for)
5-6 cloves garlic
Juice of one lemon
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
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Put butter into a Pyrex measuring cup and microwave on low just until almost melted. Put the garlic through a press, add to butter, then pour in beer. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and stir up.
You can buy a cotton "dishmop" at Wal*Mart or wherever; these work well to baste the chicken -- lightly "mopping" keeps more of the baste on the chicken and less in the fire! I use an old wooden spoon, take pieces of clean cotton sheeting -- you probably have some old sheets in the rag bag! -- tear or cut the sheeting in three or more strips about 6" wide and about 12" long. Then cut "fringe" of about 1" wide on the long sides of the strips, up to a couple of inches of the "top" of the strip. Wrap the strips, fringes hanging down, tightly around the end of the wooden spoon (or piece of dowel or whatever) -- wetting the strips helps to get them tight on the spoon -- and secure the whole deal tightly with a rubber band. Throw the "mop" part away after use.
MAMA'S STRAWBERRY (OR PEACH) ICE CREAM
This is "ice cream freezer" ice cream; the recipe makes about a gallon. Follow the instructions that come with your freezer -- the electric ones make easier work, but if you use a hand-crank model, be sure to get reliable "turning help" by promising that whoever does the most work gets to lick the dasher! Be sure to allow a few hours for the ice cream to "ripen" after freezing, and remind the "ice cream makers" not to drain the ice/salt slush from the freezer bucket onto the lawn!
1 quart whole milk (use part of this milk to make cornstarch "slurry" and dissolve gelatin)
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with a little milk
2 envelopes Knox gelatin dissolved in 1/2 cup milk
4 beaten eggs
1 pint whipping cream (if possible, use "old-fashioned" whipping cream, not the ultra-pasteurized stuff )
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract if using peaches.
4 cups (about 2 boxes) strawberries or peaches (about 6)
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Wash strawberries/wash and peel peaches. Put half the strawberries or peaches into a bowl and mash lightly; a potato masher works well. Cut the rest of the strawberries into halves (if berries are small) or quarters. Cut the rest of the peaches into about 3/4" chunks.
Combine milk, sugar and salt in a heavy pan and bring to a simmer. Stir in cornstarch slurry and eggs and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until the mixture coats a spoon; don't let the mixture stick or burn. Take off the heat and add gelatin-soaked-in-milk; stir until the gelatin mixture is completely dissolved; little gelatin "beads" don't enhance the finished product! Add vanilla (and almond extract if using peaches). Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until "syrupy", then beat mixture until fluffy. Add the whipping cream and fruit and pour into the ice cream freezer. Freeze, then remove the freezer lid, take out the dasher, scrape this down with a rubber spatula -- leave enough for licking! -- and put the lid back on. You can put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the freezing container before you put the lid back on; this helps keep salt water from getting into the ice cream! Put the freezer in the shade, cover with a gunny sack -- or old towel or whatever -- and let stand to ripen for a few hours. Rinse off the freezing container lid with clear water before opening so that no salt gets into the ice cream.
Time to get that fire going! Remember not to trust any skinny cooks! Until next time.....