What is interesting is that now, I would have loved to cook there. It was a BBQ place after all and I love taking dead flesh and throwing it on fire (I'm going to use it till I'm dead). The "if I knew now, what I didn't know then" saying is in full effect, and I would love to share with you some of the things I have learned, because sharing is caring.
Brining -
Ever get a beautiful center cut pork chop, season that bad boy to perfection, toss it on an open flame, place it on a plate, cut into it for that first bite . . . sawdust, tumbleweed. Dry as dirt, tough to eat. If you served this to other people, you have to watch as everyone around you chews for a very long time, unable to say "this is good," for fear of choking to death. Brining helps meat keep its tenderness on the grill. What's also neat, is that there is no real formula for it. Whatever protein you choose, there is a brine for it.
Pork Chops (realsimple.com)What you need:
4 pork chops (or else you are just drinking brine)
3 cups of water
1/4 cup kosher salt (or sea salt)
1/4 cup brown sugar (how come you dance so good)
2 cups of ice cubes
Stir the water, salt and brown sugar together in a large bowl until it dissolves. Place the ice in and get the temp to about 50 degrees or lower. Take the chops and place them in a plastic ziplock bag, pour the brine over it. Stick the swimming pork in the fridge, let it enjoy the water for 2-5 hours. Done. You can add any herb you want, you can use stock or broth instead of water or a combination of the two. There are hundreds upon hundreds of different brines to choose from and even more flavor combinations. After done, however, make sure you rinse the meat to get the excess off, pat dry, you're ready for some grilling. Go to realsimple.com for more brining ideas.
Searing -
Whether you are grilling out, slow-cooking, pan frying, searing is important. It does one job, keeps the juices in. If you season a protein, the last thing you want is the herbs and spices to be left behind in the vessel you are cooking them in. Searing creates a crust, therefore, contains the flavor and preserves the tenderness of the meat. Whenever I cook anything on the grill, I picture myself as a chef at a 2-star diner (aim low, work from there) and put cross hatches on the food. It creates the illusion of professionalism and hides the fact that the food is undercooked or terrible. Kidding, it just looks cool. Fire that grill up on high, it should look like the 7th layer of hell, a little demon will tell you when it's ready. Place the meat at an angle, not perpendicular, not vertical, but the other one. Listen to the sizzle for two minutes then reverse the angle, another two minutes. Take the meat off, and lower the heat to a normal non-hell temperature for the rest of the cooking process. Let the meat cook on the non artistic side of the meat the rest of the way through. Follow your cooking guides on whether you want it burnt, thin sliver of pink, pink/reddish with some juice, or moo. Do the two things above, do not do the things below. . .
1. Drink too much - Love to, have to cook with a libation at my side. At first, this seems like the only way to cook, but then a line gets crossed and your food goes with it. The glass of wine you are holding (or bottle) will be just fine when you are finished with the cuisine, take it too far, and FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!
2. Oversalt - Every cooking show I've ever seen stresses the importance of seasoning your food. It is important, but less sometimes is more. Try to use Kosher or Sea salt for cooking, its better than the Morton chicas' offering.
3. Voting for Trump - Anyone who fails at selling steaks does not get my vote. That and the fact he is a racist dickturd. (this is as much politics as your going to get on this blog, the term dickturd is patent pending).
4. Chopping while listening to hair metal - it hurts.
Top two, good, bottom four bad. That's cooking analysis folks.
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