It’s no secret that I love Dr. Pepper. I would even go so far as to call myself a complete soda aficionado. I like to think that as an adult I don’t drink as much soda as I did when I was a child but what can I say? It’s in my blood. No seriously. It’s in my blood. That’s right. My blood is carbonated. Haha. No, just kidding. If that was true then I’d be dead and this would really be a cool blog, then. Besides, my body heat would diffuse the bubbles before they hit the bloodstream.
But seriously, folks. Soda is another family culinary icon at our house. Remember George Bailey, that loveable banker who had many friends and helped many under-privileged people finance homes in Bailey Estates? His friends all called him Jimmy Stewart. (Papa Dollar, meet Mama Dollar. Wouldn’t that be nice if it were true?) In the movie, George worked the ice cream counter in front of a pharmacy. That was my grandfather and his brothers. They grew up working the counter, cooking the hamburgers and mixing the sodas by hand.
Growing up, every Saturday was Hamburger day. You could tell my grandfather still had the skills from his days at the pharmacy. Of course. there were always potato chips, Jell-O, salad, ice cream and, of course, two large ice chests full of soda. If memory serves me right, (it never does) I would eat two hamburgers, a handful of chips, lots of Jell-O and at least 4 cans of soda.
There’s not a whole lot that can’t be done with soda. I once took a pear, peeled it, cored it, cut it in half and soaked it overnight in a bowl of Sprite with a few drops of mint extract and green food coloring. The next day I let the pears drain and dipped them in some chocolate sauce. Once the chocolate set, I topped it with a scoop of mint-chocolate chip ice cream. Mmm.
One of the best examples of cooking with soda, however comes from none other than the Maestro, herself - Julia Child. I read somewhere (there’s that reliable memory again) that, while filming an episode of her famous, and very live, show, she did something that simply showed her coolness under pressure. They had gone to a commercial break, and one of the stage hands had gone onto the set to talk to Julia, taking with him his can of Pepsi. Towards the end of the break, the stage hand left, but forgot and left his Pepsi on the counter, in full view of the cameras. It wasn’t noticed until Julia was back on the air. She simply picked up the can and said, “Sometimes I like to add some Pepsi to the sauce and give it a nice sweetness,.” Or something like that. (And memory strikes out again. Rumor has it that if he doesn’t find his groove, Whitey’s gonna send him down to Triple-A).
Anyway, so imagine my joy when I discovered that someone, somewhere thinks like me. (wonder if she’s cute?) I saw an ad for Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce. I just had to have some. Unfortunately, this being Utah, I couldn’t find it anywhere. I even tried the Jell-O aisle. Then I thought, what am I doing? I’m a chef! I felt like Hermione Granger wondering how she’s going to light a fire when she doesn’t have a match. Like Ron told her, “Are you, or are you not, a WITCH!” Well, no. I’m not. I’d be a wizard. But you get my point.
So I experimented at least 3 times. Nothing. Just horrible messes. I finally gave in to what I knew was the problem. Ketchup. I can’t stand ketchup. I do everything I can to stay away from it. There’s so many different kinds of sauces and condiments out in the world, why waste good food on ketchup? But I was not having success with my Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce. I gave in. I had no choice. Plain tomato sauce just wasn’t cutting it. And wouldn’t you know it, ketchup saved the day. Well, saved the sauce anyway.
But I wasn’t quite satisfied. I had nothing to compare against my sauce. But I have such wonderful friends! One friend sent me a message saying she had seen the sauce at a particular supermarket. So there I went, and there it was in all its Dr. Pepper glory. (They also had A&W!) I bought a bottle and some country ribs. I get home and got cooking. I seasoned the ribs and got them nice and brown. I poured in a can of beef stock, covered and turned the heat to low. They’re simmering for an hour. Nice and tender. I dish it all up with potatoes and coleslaw, badda bing, badda boom, badda BBQ. I give everyone a sample of both mine and the bottled sauces. (Well, my brother doesn’t count really. He’ll eat anything…really) The consensus? No comparison. My sauce was best. Not that my sauce was spectacular or anything like that. It’s just that the bottled stuff wasn’t that good. It was too thick and too full of preservatives among other things.
So, here it is:
One 20 oz bottle Dr. Pepper (the new Cherry Dr. Pepper would work or even A&W)
½ C lemon juice
1 C ketchup
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
2 T dry chopped onions
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp dry basil
3 T Worcestershire sauce
2 T steak sauce (like A-1)
½ tsp liquid smoke
Combine everything together in a sauce pan. Slowly bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 30 minutes. If you like the sauce a little thicker you can add some corn starch mixed with a little water.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Paging Dr. Bubba
Ok. Either my plumbing is clogged or this world is moving WAY too fast. Didn’t we just celebrate New Years? I think I just barely finished digesting Christmas dinner and it’s already summer . Well, actually summer doesn’t officially arrive until Summer Solstice on June 21st, but where I’m from summer can start as early as the first week of April.
Anyway, I should know this because that’s the day after my birthday (hint, hint). Yes, I’m a spring baby, barely. My mom tells me that I was born so fast the doctor didn’t believe I was on the way. So, I was born in the hallway around 10 at night. I think it’s because I wanted to be born a Spring baby, which is weird because I love summer.
No school. Everyday is a Saturday (which only works if you’re a kid). Swimming in pools and lakes (You can tell when someone is a native of Arizona because they‘re amazed that a river has water!). Drinking up gallons of lemonade (of all different flavors, of course), and more importantly - NO SNOW! Ok, so that’s not the most important thing about summer, but it works for me. Actually, the most important thing about summer is Barbeques.
I’m not talking about hamburgers and hot dogs, either. I’m talking about juicy, succulent, mouth-watering, smoke infused, sizzling heaven. Many indeed claim it as their religion. They brave near frigid weather in the stadium parking lots in the fall, or scorching backyard heat in the summer. They’ll fire up the grill for grandma’s Christmas fruitcake if they felt it would help. Others take it to the other extreme. They’re the ones who have everything to an exact science. The heat has to be exactly right, the meat marinated just long enough, and the grill is never cleaned to insure the perfect seasoning. And then there are the grillers in the middle - the religious scientists. Or the scientific religion. The Scien-gion. Naw, I’m just kidding.
But seriously. The religious BBQ fanatics usually hail from the North. I call them Packer fans. They don’t care what you grill as long as it’s grilled. Usually sausages - bratwursts and the like. The scientists come from the South. I call them Dr. Bubbas. And like real scientists with real science degrees, BBQ recipes vary depending on the region and it’s not uncommon to find the formulas closely guarded secrets.
To the rest of the country, BBQ is as BBQ does. We don’t care. Just throw some meat on the grill, slap some sauce from a bottle on it and there ya go. Packer and Bubba would never think of putting salmon on the grill and yet in Seattle it’s as common as buying a new umbrella because the last one wore out after fifty straight days of rain.
What we in the west associate with BBQ, particularly the sauce, is actually more of a Texas style BBQ, or what I call Generic Dr. Bubba. Compared to sauces from other regions, there’s really not a whole lot to it. There’s also Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Carolinas, Deep South, just to name a region or two.Each region has its own style, its own signature. Even Santa Maria, California has it’s own style.
Many of the sauces have similarities which sometimes makes it hard to distinguish the different regions. For example, Memphis, Kansas City and the Carolinas all use a lot of mustard compared to others. But Memphis is more sweet while Kansas City is more tangy and the Carolinas don’t use tomatoes at all. Also, Memphis, Kansas City and St. Louis are more about the ribs while the Carolinas and Deep South are more about slow smoked pulled pork. Whew! It’s kind of convolutedly complex. (is that even a word?)
For you recipe hounds, I’ve included several BBQ sauce recipes -
Generic Dr. Bubba BBQ Sauce
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium-sized)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar1 quart tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tablespoon Liquid BBQ Smoke
1/4 cup bourbon (optional)
In a large sauce pan, sauté the onions in a little olive oil. Add the garlic and mustard and sweat forjust a minute until nice and aromatic. Add the next four ingredients, mix well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for about 1 hour. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for another hour. Strain well. Pour into an airtight container and chill.
This next one is my favorite. It’s meant specifically for pulled pork. You can do pulled pork easily in the oven. Season a pork roast (about 2-3 lbs) with any rub you like. Rap it tightly twice with plastic wrap and twice with foil so there are no seams. Don’t worry the plastic won’t melt. Then roast it for at least 3 hours at 250° F. Shred it finely with a pair of forks.
Carolina BBQ Glaze
2 cups molasses
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon crushed chili
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1 teaspoon pepper
Mix the ingredients well in a large saucepan. Bring just to a boil and remove from the heat. Mix with the pulled pork and let sit for 15 minutes or so. Put some pork on a bun and top with coleslaw.
This sauce is the quintessential Carolina sauce. Brush it on your ribs while they’re on the grill, toss your chicken wings in it or dunk you fried chicken.
Carolina Moppin’ Sauce
1 C mustard
¼ C honey
½ C molasses
¼ C cider vinegar
¼ tsp each thyme, oregano and black pepper
Dash of Cayenne pepper
2 T Olive oil
All you need to do is whisk everything together in a bowl. You could even try using Dijon mustard.
So here’s hoping you have a great BBQ season! As for me…I’m going to see if I can decipher the Dr. Bubba code.
Anyway, I should know this because that’s the day after my birthday (hint, hint). Yes, I’m a spring baby, barely. My mom tells me that I was born so fast the doctor didn’t believe I was on the way. So, I was born in the hallway around 10 at night. I think it’s because I wanted to be born a Spring baby, which is weird because I love summer.
No school. Everyday is a Saturday (which only works if you’re a kid). Swimming in pools and lakes (You can tell when someone is a native of Arizona because they‘re amazed that a river has water!). Drinking up gallons of lemonade (of all different flavors, of course), and more importantly - NO SNOW! Ok, so that’s not the most important thing about summer, but it works for me. Actually, the most important thing about summer is Barbeques.
I’m not talking about hamburgers and hot dogs, either. I’m talking about juicy, succulent, mouth-watering, smoke infused, sizzling heaven. Many indeed claim it as their religion. They brave near frigid weather in the stadium parking lots in the fall, or scorching backyard heat in the summer. They’ll fire up the grill for grandma’s Christmas fruitcake if they felt it would help. Others take it to the other extreme. They’re the ones who have everything to an exact science. The heat has to be exactly right, the meat marinated just long enough, and the grill is never cleaned to insure the perfect seasoning. And then there are the grillers in the middle - the religious scientists. Or the scientific religion. The Scien-gion. Naw, I’m just kidding.
But seriously. The religious BBQ fanatics usually hail from the North. I call them Packer fans. They don’t care what you grill as long as it’s grilled. Usually sausages - bratwursts and the like. The scientists come from the South. I call them Dr. Bubbas. And like real scientists with real science degrees, BBQ recipes vary depending on the region and it’s not uncommon to find the formulas closely guarded secrets.
To the rest of the country, BBQ is as BBQ does. We don’t care. Just throw some meat on the grill, slap some sauce from a bottle on it and there ya go. Packer and Bubba would never think of putting salmon on the grill and yet in Seattle it’s as common as buying a new umbrella because the last one wore out after fifty straight days of rain.
What we in the west associate with BBQ, particularly the sauce, is actually more of a Texas style BBQ, or what I call Generic Dr. Bubba. Compared to sauces from other regions, there’s really not a whole lot to it. There’s also Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Carolinas, Deep South, just to name a region or two.Each region has its own style, its own signature. Even Santa Maria, California has it’s own style.
Many of the sauces have similarities which sometimes makes it hard to distinguish the different regions. For example, Memphis, Kansas City and the Carolinas all use a lot of mustard compared to others. But Memphis is more sweet while Kansas City is more tangy and the Carolinas don’t use tomatoes at all. Also, Memphis, Kansas City and St. Louis are more about the ribs while the Carolinas and Deep South are more about slow smoked pulled pork. Whew! It’s kind of convolutedly complex. (is that even a word?)
For you recipe hounds, I’ve included several BBQ sauce recipes -
Generic Dr. Bubba BBQ Sauce
1 cup chopped onion (1 medium-sized)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup cider vinegar1 quart tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tablespoon Liquid BBQ Smoke
1/4 cup bourbon (optional)
In a large sauce pan, sauté the onions in a little olive oil. Add the garlic and mustard and sweat forjust a minute until nice and aromatic. Add the next four ingredients, mix well. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for about 1 hour. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for another hour. Strain well. Pour into an airtight container and chill.
This next one is my favorite. It’s meant specifically for pulled pork. You can do pulled pork easily in the oven. Season a pork roast (about 2-3 lbs) with any rub you like. Rap it tightly twice with plastic wrap and twice with foil so there are no seams. Don’t worry the plastic won’t melt. Then roast it for at least 3 hours at 250° F. Shred it finely with a pair of forks.
Carolina BBQ Glaze
2 cups molasses
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon crushed chili
2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1 teaspoon pepper
Mix the ingredients well in a large saucepan. Bring just to a boil and remove from the heat. Mix with the pulled pork and let sit for 15 minutes or so. Put some pork on a bun and top with coleslaw.
This sauce is the quintessential Carolina sauce. Brush it on your ribs while they’re on the grill, toss your chicken wings in it or dunk you fried chicken.
Carolina Moppin’ Sauce
1 C mustard
¼ C honey
½ C molasses
¼ C cider vinegar
¼ tsp each thyme, oregano and black pepper
Dash of Cayenne pepper
2 T Olive oil
All you need to do is whisk everything together in a bowl. You could even try using Dijon mustard.
So here’s hoping you have a great BBQ season! As for me…I’m going to see if I can decipher the Dr. Bubba code.
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