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A guide to the best barbecue sauce (and beer) for every meat

May 14, 2019Uncategorizedamerican, apple cider vinegar, barbecue beer, barbecue sauce, barbecue sauce recipe, barbecue sauce recipes, barbecue sauces, barbecue_sauce, bbq beer pairings, bbq chicken, bbq sauce, bbq sauce recipe, bbq sauce recipes, bbq sauces, beer, beer BBQ, beer sauce, beer with barbecue, BeerBQ, best bbq beer, best bbq beers, best bbq sauce, best bbq sauces, best beer sauce, black pepper, brown sugar, Carolina, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, chili peppers, chili powder, cider vinegar, dark brown, east nc, East North Carolina, eastern nc sauce, easy recipe, easy recipes, high fructose corn syrup, homemade barbecue sauce, homemade bbq sauce, homemade bbq sauce recipe, homemade bbq sauce recipes, homemade bbq sauces, hot sauce, kansas city, lemon juice, liquid smoke, liquid_smoke, maple syrup, medium sauce pan, medium saucepan, north carolina barbecue, north carolina bbq, north carolina sauce, onion powder, onion powders, pepper flake, pepper flakes, red pepper, slow cooker, St. Louis barbecue, St. Louis beer, sweet, sweet baby ray, sweet baby rays, sweetbabyray, sweets, tablespoon worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, tomato sauce, west sauce, western nc, western nc sauce, worcestershire sauceDennis Keohane

Ahhh! Barbecue sauce. A hot button culinary topic if there ever was one.

Fortunately, I’m a meat guy from the home of lobster and clam chowdah, so my loyalties with BBQ sauce aren’t regional and tend to be with whatever will make what I’m cooking taste amazing!

Here’s a breakdown of some of the fantastic barbecue sauces you can find throughout America. These are best when done following a homemade bbq sauce recipe, hundreds of which are online and you can experiment with. The best bbq sauces avoid high-fructose corn syrup-heavy ingredients for cayenne peppers, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. However, sometimes a little ketchup can be all you need to make the perfect sauce for any meat.

Alabama White Barbecue Sauce

The white barbecue sauce made famous at Big Bob Gibson’s Bar-B-Q in Northern Alabama is by far one for the more unique of the American BBQ sauces, but only because our national perception of the perfect sauce for BBQ chicken is shaped by the rows of dark brown Sweet Baby Ray’s bottles lining our grocery stores and the more midwestern and coastal influences of Kansas City, Memphis, and Carolina.

Honestly, mixing mayo and horseradish is phenomenal; Robert Gibson knew what he was doing 96 years ago when he invented the sauce.

Alabama White sauce is best for…

Grilled chicken or pork chops. Lightly flavored meat, some char from the grill, a creamy tangy sauce to dip into.

It is amazing paired with a summer ale, something with a creamy finish and citrus notes.

Memphis BBQ Sauce

Next, we go to the signature barbecue flavor of Memphis, Tennessee. Traditionally Memphis BBQ is dry rub only and often served with sauce on the side. Memphis sauce features lots of molasses and vinegar, and tomato-based, often by using tomato paste. This is all to say it’s certainly a familiar barbecue flavor but is often much thinner than your average BBQ sauce. 

Try Memphis BBQ sauce on…

Definitely smoked baby back ribs. Memphis BBQ is a great way to serve ribs if you want to avoid the mess of traditionally-sauced ribs. Memphis ribs are dry, the sauce is wet, and your fingers stay clean! Mostly…

The perfect beer for Memphis BBQ is definitely an IPA. With a light and refreshing taste but some bitter hoppy undertones, and IPA can bang heads with the smokey spicy bark on great ribs.

Texas Barbecue Sauce

Now to Texas. The Lone Star State is big, bold, spicy, and tangy; they also have great BBQ sauce. Featuring a tomato sauce base and a combination of garlic, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and lemon juice, Texas sauce using has some extra heat from cayenne peppers, chipotle peppers, or some other chili pepper.

Seriously, Texas sauce has immense flavor and purposefully so, Texas barbecue is magnificent.

Texas Barbecue sauce was made for…

Beef brisket. There is no choice but brisket. Beefy, bold, and fatty, the most flavorful of all meats is magical with the richest of all BBQ sauces.

As for a libation to go with the BBQ brisket, I’d go light here, mostly because I want room for more brisket. All the ranchers I’ve met drink Michelob Ultra like water. So judge if need be, but don’t knock it till you try it.

St. Louis Barbecue Sauce

Rolling into Missouri we have the home of the great St Louis ribs. Good pork tends to be sweet, and the classic St. Louis sauce is sweet to match. Sticky. Sweet. Tomato-based. Unlike most other American barbecue sauces, St. Louis prefers to hold the liquid smoke from their namesake sauce. If you’re gonna sauce your ribs, this is the way to do it.

Best use for St. Louis sauce…

St Louis ribs of course. But the flavors work great on really any fatty cut of BBQ pork.

And as for beer, the only choice is the St. Louis original, Budweiser, right?

Kansas City BBQ Sauce

Staying in Missouri, we next have the ubiquitous Kansas City style of sauce. This is closest to the universal BBQ sauce experience. Thick, sweet, smokey, and tomato-based, with ketchup as a key ingredient, Kansas City BBQ sauce is pretty much delicious on anything.

Smother Kansas City sauce on…

The most beefy-tasty meats like sirloin steaks, chuck steaks, the cowboy cuts, or brisket burnt ends. All these cuts have to have enough beefy flavor to marry well with such a rich sauce.

I’d lean towards hops again for a beer to go with St. Louis barbecue ribs. You want something to cut the richness, definitely a hoppy lager. Sam Adams is a personal fave, but maybe I’m biased, having grown up not far from their headquarters in Boston.

South Carolina Barbecue Sauce

Moving into the Carolinas is where flavor and consistency get really interesting. In South Carolina, we leave the tomato-based sauces behind for mustard, vinegar, as well as ground black pepper, garlic, and other spices. This sauce is spicy, super tangy, and has a dash of sweetness. It is amazing on smoked pork matching well with the rich meat with incredible brightness.

South Carolina sauce should drench…

Pulled pork. It’s how I was taught by a Deep South chef, and goshdarnit, if it ain’t still the best choice on tender, smoked pork.

Beer? Again, let’s match with a craft IPA. I’m looking for citrus, maybe even some tropical notes. Something fruity to add sweetness as a counterpoint the tanginess of the sauce, so a cloudy New England-Style IPA is perfect. I like local favorite Night Shift based in Everett, MA, which has an amazing choice of varieties.

Eastern North Carolina BBQ Sauce

Into eastern North Carolina we go, where we encounter perhaps the simplest of all BBQ sauces. Basically, this style is just vinegar and spices like cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes. It’s a sauce that works well with anything grilled or smoked and really lets the meat speak for itself.

Use Eastern NC sauce with…

Pork chops, grilled chicken, dressing for a chicken salad, and any lighter meats that can use a tangy boost.

Best with a lighter beer, I’d go with a pale lager or pilsner. Make sure it is full-bodied enough to add some richness but light enough not to overwhelm.

Western North Carolina BBQ Sauce

They take BBQ sauce very seriously in the Carolinas. It is, after all, thought to be the birthplace of American BBQ. And so, in western North Carolina we find a second variety. This one is similar to its eastern cousin, but with the addition of some tomato for flavor.

Good luck arguing which sauce is better with anyone from the Tarheel State. Fortunately for me, I get to pick and choose my loyalties…

I can’t get enough Western Carolina sauce on…

Some of the richer cuts of light meat like chicken thighs, pork sirloin, and country-style ribs The tomato adds a bit of sweet acidity to this sauce that helps those more flavorful cuts.

Pair with a wheat beer — like an Allagash — that adds a bit of muted sweetness with a barely there tanginess. A real compliment to the Lexington Piedmont style sauce.

An easy Bulgogi Beef Skillet recipe from Paleohacks

April 15, 2019Uncategorizedasian, Asian pear, asian pears, beef bulgogi, black pepper, brown sugar, bulgogi marinade, bulgogi marinades, bulgogi recipe, bulgogi recipes, bulgogi sauce, cast iron, cast iron skillet, cut of beef, fire meat, flank steak, garlic cloves, gluten free, grass fed beef, grass-fed, green onion, green onions, ground black pepper, high heat, korean, korean bbq, korean bbq beef, korean beef, korean bulgogi, korean cooking, korean dish, korean dishes, korean food, korean foods, koreanbul-gogi, kosher salt, large skillet, main dish, main dishes, medium-high heat, pork bulgogi, Recipe, rib eye, ribeye, ribeye steak, rice wine, sesame oil, sesame seed, sesame seeds, short rib, short ribs, shortrib, shortribs, side dish, side dishes, skirt steak, soy sauce, soy sauces, stir-fries, stir-fry, stove-top, stovetop, thin slices, vegetable oilDennis Keohane

If you’re craving takeout, try this easy, one skillet beef bulgogi recipe from our friends at Paleohacks for sweet and spicy flavor with zero soy, MSG, or preservatives!

Bulgogi is a popular Korean recipe that translates literally to “fire meat.” Super thin slices of strip steaks, sirloin steak, or ribeye are marinated in spices until tender, then grilled or pan-fried. The result is a sticky, crispy, and slightly spicy recipe that can be turned into a complete meal with a side of cauliflower rice or stir-fried veggie noodles.

The unique marinade includes ripe, grated Asian pear for sweetness, texture, and tang. The acidity in the pear also helps to tenderize the meat. If you can’t find Asian pears, a traditional pear will work just fine. To add a subtle spice to the marinade, use gochugaru, the bright red Korean red pepper. This powder is less spicy than cayenne and creates a balanced heat that lets the other flavors shine through.

Coconut sugar stands in for brown sugar, adding sweetness and helping to crisp the steak for delicious texture. Finally, toasted sesame oil adds nutty aroma while ginger, garlic, and coconut aminos add even more flavor and dimension.

To make the bulgogi, mix all the ingredients for the marinade together, add to the sliced beef, and refrigerate for at least two hours. Then, grease a medium skillet with avocado oil—not olive oil. Avocado oil has a high smoke heat point that can withstand high cooking temperatures without burning. Cook the steak about two minutes per side, in two batches.

To serve, top the hot steak slices with sesame seeds and scallions, and enjoy!

If you’re craving more takeout recipes but don’t feel like cooking, check out one of these 13 totally Paleo meal delivery options!

Paleohacks’ Korean-style BBQ Bulgogi Beef Skillet

Prep time- 10 minutes

Cook time- 10 minutes

Chill time- 4 hours

Total time- 4 hours, 20 minutes

Serves- 4

Tools

Mixing bowl

Skillet

Tongs

Ingredients

For the Marinade

1/3 cup grated Asian pear, peeled

1 T Korean red pepper (or chili powder)

1 T coconut sugar

1 T lime juice

2 T toasted sesame oil

2 T coconut aminos

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t sea salt

For the Steak:

2 10-oz strip steaks, thinly sliced

1 t avocado oil

1/2 t sesame seeds, for serving

1/4 cup chopped green onion, for serving

Directions

1. Combine ingredients for marinade in a mixing bowl and stir well.

2. Add steak slices and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.

3. Grease a skillet with avocado oil and heat over medium-high heat for a few minutes. When hot, use tongs to add half of the marinated steak strips and cook for 2 minutes. Flip and cook an additional 2 minutes.

4. Transfer steak to a bowl and repeat with remaining strips.

5. Serve the beef bulgogi hot garnished with sesame seeds and green onion.

The ultimate guide to smoking meat at home

July 27, 2018Outside the Boxamerican, americans, barbecue sauce, barbecue sauces, beef brisket, black pepper, Boston butt, brining, brown sugar, charcoal grill, charcoal grills, charcoal smoker, charcoal smokers, chimney starter, cook time, cook times, electric smoker, electric smokers, fire box, firebox, gas grill, gas grills, hot coals, hot smoked, hotsmoked, indirect heat, internal temperature, internal temperatures, kosher salt, low temperature, low temperatures, lump charcoal, meat smoking, meat thermometer, meat thermometers, moisten, pellet smoker, pellet smokers, pork butt, pork butts, pork ribs, pork shoulder, right wood, rub recipe, rub recipes, slow cooking process, smoke meat, smoke meats, smoked meat, smoked meats, smokemeat, smoking basics, smoking meat, smoking meats, smoking process, smoking processes, smoking time, smoking times, smoky flavor, smoky flavors, spare ribs, spareribs, weber, webers, wood chip, wood chips, wood chunk, wood chunks, wood pelletsDennis Keohane

Smoking meat is a prehistoric culinary art. In the past, the technique was used to preserve protein-rich foods. Smoking dehydrates meat and imparts antibacterial properties that keep it from spoiling quickly. While our ancestors used the method to preserve red meat and fish, today smoking is used for all kinds of meat — not just as a preservation method — and the enhanced flavor makes it quite the delicacy.

We’re most familiar with smoked meats in the form of barbecue: When meat is treated to the low and slow treatment in a smoker, connective tissues and collagen within the meat break down, resulting in ultra-flavorful, ultra-tender food. Top that off with the bevy of barbecue sauces we’ve invented — vinegar-based, sweet, thick and tangy, you name it — and you’re in heaven.

This guide delves into the ins and outs of smoking meat at home — from equipment to wood chips to the best cuts of meat to smoke.

Equipment

There are several fancy smoker options, from pellet smokers to vertical electric smokers to offset smokers for the true meat smoking aficionado. These smokers are specially designed for applying indirect heat at steady low temperatures, and most cost several hundreds of dollars. While cooking with a Traeger wood pellet grill can be amazing, if you’re a novice who’s not ready to invest too heavily into smoking equipment, have no fear.

Everyday gas grills and charcoal grills can be manipulated to smoke meat with just a little effort.

Gas grills can be tricky to use as smokers, as they’re designed to cook meat over direct heat at high temperatures — the opposite of smoking, which is low, indirect heat over a long period of time.

With a little patience, however, a gas grill will smoke your meat. You’ll need to build an indirect heat zone and a direct heat zone within your grill, making sure to keep your meat in the indirect zone. Experiment with your burners until you’re able to bring the internal temperature to around 250°F which you can check with a meat thermometer (for most cuts of meat, anyway).

You’ll need a smoke box to hold your — soaked and drained — wood chips. Newer gas grills sometimes come with a built-in metal smoker box, but you can also purchase a heavy duty metal smoker box or make an inexpensive one at home by placing the wood chips in a foil pan, covering it with heavy-duty aluminum foil, and adding slits with a knife.

It’s a good idea to set up a drip pan to collect the drippings of your meat. Also, be sure to add a small amount of liquid to the drip pan — like water, apple juice, or beer — to add moisture and keep the drippings from drying out. Don’t set the pan directly on top of the burners, but rather on a grate, with another grate above for the meat.

As for a kettle or charcoal grill, like a traditional Weber, things are a little simpler. Remove the cooking grate from your grill and place the drip pan on one side. Remember to fill it with some liquid. Next, pile up your coals or lump charcoal on the opposite side of the grill.

Once the coals are white hot, you can add your wood and then smoke your meat over the drip pan. While you’ll occasionally need to open the grill to add more coal or wood, try not to disturb the smoking process.

Cuts of Meat

In truth, you can smoke pretty much any kind of meat or seafood. Poultry, red meat, pork, fish are all fair game — game meat, like venison, is also great when smoked.

But, if you’re looking for meats that respond really well to the smoker, you’ll actually want to aim low, rather than high. Low-cost, tougher cuts of meat tenderize when smoked low and slow.

For example, try Boston butt — or simply pork butt as it’s also simply called — for sumptuous pulled pork. Be sure to rub your pork butt amply with your desired spices — we like this smoky coffee rub recipe. Other pork options include ribs, like this brown sugar rub and mustard barbeque sauce-laced recipe. You can also smoke sausages for a complex, savory flavor.

While you can smoke leaner cuts like pork loin, it’s not ideal, as it responds better to grilling or roasting than smoking.

Beef brisket is the king of smoked meat, and the perfect cut when it comes to smoked beef. Give this smoked brisket with citrus marinade a whirl. But one thing to remember is not to smoke steaks—seriously, a simple grill or hot skillet is a better bet.

Poultry like whole chickens and turkeys turn out great in the smoker. You can also smoke chicken leg quarters if you’re not feeling up to the whole chicken yet. Here are some pecan smoked chicken wings for a super simple smoked recipe.

Wood Chips and Chunks

Not all wood is created equal when it comes to smoking meat. For one, you should never use any old wood you chopped down in your backyard — it’s potentially toxic. Never fear, though, there are plenty of other woods to experiment with as you smoke meat

While wood chips are sold more readily in most grocery stores and hardware stores, they tend to ignite quickly and burn out quite fast. This is not ideal for smoking low and slow. Wood chunks, on the other hand, burn for hours in a smoker. They do take a bit longer to ignite, but if you’re smoking meat, you’ve probably already committed the time.

If you use wood chips, be sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes before using. This will ensure they burn long enough to impart some flavor to the food.

What about the many varieties of wood? Getting the smoky flavor you want requires choosing the right wood.

Consider them on a scale of mild to intense. Fruity woods, like apple, peach, cherry, and pear, are light and sweet. They pair well with poultry, fish, and pork. Hickory, maple, pecan, and oak are stronger, but not overwhelming. Beef, game, and pork all go well with these woods. Mesquite is the most intense wood—it’s best used in moderation and with red meat.

Once you’ve mastered smoking with one wood, feel free to experiment with mixing woods for different flavors.

Now, you’re equipped with everything you need to know to get started on smoking meat. Get cooking!

Bacon is our jam – The history of the most delicious breakfast meat with a special bacon jam recipe

June 19, 2018Uncategorizedbacon fat, bacon grease, bacon jam, bacon jam recipe, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, brown sugar, cast iron, cloves garlic, cook bacon, cut bacon, dark brown sugar, food processor, fried egg, garlic cloves, grilled cheese, homemade bacon, large skillet, maple bacon, maple syrup, medium heat, medium-high heat, olive oil, paper towel-lined plate, paper towels, room temperature, salty, sliced bacon, sweet onion, total time, turkey bacon, yummyDennis Keohane

Check out an amazing bacon jam recipe at the bottom of this post from our Head ButcherBox Chef.

Bacon has been around for a long time. In fact, the earliest recorded examples of the cut date back to 1,500 B.C. The fatty back or belly of pork was popular with the Greeks and Roman, the latter who cooked it with figs and flavored with pepper.

Breakfast meat history

What we know as bacon today is not precisely what has been traditionally known as bacon or bacoun. In much of Europe, the word bacon was used as a synonym for all pork. The word bacon and its earlier form bacoun were derived from French, German, and Teutonic versions for “back.”

The form of salt-cured and sliced bacon we know in America today is much different from its earlier forms and is known as “streaky” bacon in the United Kingdom.

Bacon became a common dish in England starting in the 17th century. According to the Oxford Companion of Food, bacon, especially smoked bacon and extra-fatty bacon was a staple for almost everyone except the very poor across the British Isles. In fact, many families would keep their bacon in a prominent place in the home as a point of pride. For centuries, Bacon grease was a common cooking fat, which remained true until the mid-twentieth century when bacon fat was replaced by olive oil, vegetable oil, and other fats not derived from meat.

Modern bacon

Today, Wiltshire in England remains one of the world’s bacon-producing centers; Wiltshire has been the center of the bacon universe since John Harris set up the first large-scale bacon curing business there in the 1770s.

The modern, American version of bacon was an innovation of butcher and manufacturing. At the turn twentieth century, the meat industry moved away from salt-curing and smoking bacon, and found it more affordable to sugar-brine pork belly at a large scale. Before 1915, bacon was still sold as a solid hunk of meat — usually four pounds — and people cut bacon into smaller pieces in the home.

Until the 1960s, bacon maintained its reputation as being a “country” cut of pork, a holdover from its English peasant popularity. As wet-cured, pre-sliced bacon became easier to package, it appeared more readily in stores and — due to its sweet and salty flavor — found its ways to the breakfast plates of many Americans as the perfect companion to fried eggs.

You can even make homemade bacon jam these days

These days, you can find bacon beyond the morning breakfast table as the cut of pork has spiked in popularity over the past two decades.

There is dark brown sugar candied bacon, maple bacon, applewood smoked bacon, turkey bacon, and even, shockingly, meatless veggie bacon.

These days, you can find bacon cheeseburgers almost anywhere someone is making burgers, and it is especially useful — to add some fatty flavor — to lead cuts of beef like filet mignon. Bacon appears everywhere from donuts to ice cream to cocktails — in the form of sweet bacon candy — and can even be made into a form of bacon jam.

Our Head ButcherBox Chef, Yankel Polak, has devised an ingenious bacon jam recipe that he thinks is best used when added to a cheeseburger. It could also be added to grilled cheese or mixed in with roasted and mashed potatoes, pasta, or scrambled eggs.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Without further ado, here is Chef Yankel’s famous burger recipe featuring his own unique homemade bacon jam recipe featuring maple syrup, brown sugar, coffee, and Guinness.

Chef Yankel’s “Epic Burger With 15 Ingredient Homemade Bacon Jam”

Total time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Prep time: 60 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

4 ButcherBox Burgers or ButcherBox Ground Beef molded into 6oz burger patties

Bacon Jam

1 pack (10 oz) ButcherBox Bacon, roughly chopped
½ onion, diced
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ tsp cayenne
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ c bourbon
3 Tbsp cold brew coffee
3 Tbsp Guinness
3 Tbsp sherry vinegar
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
¼ c maple syrup
¼ c ketchup

Onion Rings

1 red onion, sliced and separated
1 c buttermilk
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp chipotle powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 c cornstarch
2 c peanut oil

Truffle Mayo

½ c mayonnaise
2 Tbsp truffle puree (or truffle oil)
salt and black pepper to taste

Fixins

salt and black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp ghee
4 thick slices sharp yellow cheddar
4 leaves butter lettuce
4 large tomato slices
4 sesame hamburger buns

Directions:

1. Place bacon in a cold Dutch oven on medium heat (starting cold renders the fat better). Cook bacon until crispy, then drain half the bacon fat. Keep the other half in the pan.

2. Add onions to bacon and sauté. Once onions are translucent, add nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne, garlic cloves, and brown sugar. Stir until sugar has melted.

3. Add bourbon, coffee, Guinness, sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and maple syrup. Simmer on medium heat until liquid is reduced by half.

4. Remove from heat and let cool at room temperature for 5 min. Place mixture in food processor, add ketchup and pulse to a chunky jammy texture. Refrigerate for up to 30 days or freeze up to 6 months.

5. Soak red onion slices in buttermilk for 30 min.

6. Preheat peanut oil to 350°F.

7. Mix cornstarch, kosher salt, smoked paprika, chipotle powder and garlic powder.

8. Coat onion slices evenly with the spice mix and fry gently for 2 min or until golden brown. Let rest on a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil.

9. Mix mayo, truffle puree and salt and black pepper. Refrigerate until needed.

10. Bring burgers to room temperature and season both sides with salt and pepper.

11. Preheat a large skillet (preferably cast-iron skillet) and add 2 Tbsp ghee. Once the ghee is hot, sear burgers for 3 min on one side. Flip burgers, place cheddar on the burger and sear the other side for three more min or until desired doneness.

12. Spread truffle mayo liberally on both sides of the bun. Place lettuce leaf down first (to protect the bun from burger juices), followed by tomato.

13. Place burger on top of tomato followed by a healthy dollop of bacon jam. Top with onion rings and close that baby up! Be sure to let us know how it went!

6 of our favorite bacon recipes you need in your life right now

June 6, 2018Uncategorizedapple, bacon cheddar, bacon cheeseburger, bacon jam, bacon makes, bacon ranch, bacon recipes, blt, bourbon bacon, brown sugar, california, cheddar cheese, cook bacon, crisp bacon, crispy bacon, easy recipe, grilled cheese, maple bacon, maple syrup, mashed potatoes, pork chops, smoky baconDennis Keohane

We are very passionate about bacon here at ButcherBox. So much so, it is sometimes all we think about.

We love crisp bacon in all manner of form and function, as a side dish or a main dish: In a cheddar cheese omelet, featured on a bacon cheeseburger, in a delish BLT, wrapped around a steak, wrapped inside a chicken breast, smashed into in grilled cheese, mixed into mashed potatoes, in a salad — maybe a California Cobb or in bacon ranch dressing — maple bacon, apple bacon, bourbon bacon…any type of crispy bacon makes us swoon.

We have experimented and devised a number of ways to cook bacon.

Many of the recipes that we use over and over again — with delicious results every time — are developed by our own Head ButcherBox Chef, Yankel Polak.

We have also discovered some amazing bacon recipes created by some friends of ButcherBox.

Here are our favorite bacon recipes at the moment:

Chef Yankel’s Candied Bacon
Bacon candy! This amazing recipe allows you to easily make bacon that you can serve and eat as a standalone dish. This savory treat is enhanced by the addition of maple syrup, sriracha, and brown sugar flavors. Trendy, high-class cocktail bars and restaurants are replacing their bar peanuts with candy bacon more and more. But you don’t have to go out to enjoy this amazing take on bacon. Grab a baking sheet and in 16 minutes and 6 easy steps, you can have Chef Yankel’s “Perfect Candied Bacon” for yourself.
Bacon-wrapped Filet
What’s better than a juicy filet mignon? Why a filet wrapped in bacon of course. Chef Yankel has a great recipe for a luxurious dinner — made all the better with our grass-fed ButcherBox beef — featuring bacon-wrapped filets. His “Bacon Wrapped Filet with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes and Mushroom Red Wine Sauce” is the perfect dinner for two.
Bacon-stuffed Pork Chops
The folks at Smoked n’ Grilled have concocted a pork masterpiece: The “Bacon-and-Asiago-stuffed Pork Chops” recipe is simple and packed with rich flavor. Use our ButcherBox heritage-breed pork chops and our thick, smoky bacon, and you cannot go wrong with this dish.
The Ultimate Bacon Cheeseburger
Chef Yankel loves to talk about this time working at a restaurant that catered to the late-night service industry crowd. During the late night hours with a dining room packed with chefs, line cooks, and bartenders, Chef Yankel would experiment with different ways to make that quintessential American food, the cheeseburger, just a little bit better. The fruits of his labors resulted in this amazing, bacon-heavy recipe for his unique bacon cheeseburger with this recipe: “ButcherBox Bacon Burger with Chipotle-Lime Mayo.”
Bacon and Sausage Patties
Kristen Boehmer at Living Loving Paleo has done the unimaginable. She has created the perfect recipe for combining all of our favorite breakfast flavors: Bacon, sausage, and maple. Check out her easy recipe for “Maple Bacon Sausage Patties,” and thank us later.
Bacon and Swiss Quiche The best way to cook breakfast in the morning is to prepare it the night before. Chef Yankel’s “Bacon and Swiss Quiche,” is an easy recipe to get ahead of the game while hosting a big brunch or just lazily heading into Sunday morning.

Now that you are armed with the greatest bacon recipes, all you need to do is get your hands on some smoky bacon.

For your grilling pleasure – Asian marinades and cooking styles to use this summer

May 11, 2018Uncategorizedasian marinade, brown sugar, chicken breasts, chicken thighs, fish sauce, fresh ginger, garlic cloves, green onions, hoisin sauce, hot chili sauce, minced garlic, pork chops, pork tenderloin, rice vinegar, rice wine vinegar, secret ingredient, sesame oil, sesame seeds, simple marinade, soy sauceDennis Keohane

People have been marinating meat for a long time. The word “marinade” is derived from the Latin term for seawater, aqua marina, a language evolution that is connected to the long-used practice of brining meat. Brining involves salt or saltwater and was primarily used to preserve meat so that it would last longer. It is also believed that brining was used to add flavor to poultry, fish and other meats.

While brining has been used in areas close to the sea, like areas bordering the Mediterranean, the process of marination is a global phenomenon. Whether done to add flavor or to tenderize meat, most marinades and meat sauces contain some acidic or enzymatic ingredients such as lemon juice, red wine, vinegar, ginger or fruits.

Southeast Asian marinades are sweet and savory, due to their propensity to include soy, ginger, and fruits. Marinades that come from tropical islands tend to rely heavier on fruits like pineapple and papaya, while marinades in western Asia rely more heavily on curry, a combination of turmeric, fresh ginger, chilis, and cumin.

Marinades and sauces of Asia — heavy on the soy

Soy sauce marinades

Many Asian marinades are sweet and savory, and, at times, spicy. Some of the more popular marinades from Asia are sauces used as condiments or added after cooking. A large number of marinades and sauces that derive from Asia are made from soybeans or their byproducts.

Soy sauce was first made in China and is believed to have first been created almost 2,000 years ago. Soy sauce is also derived from soybeans. It is fermented soybeans with grains, some salt/brine, and even mold cultures like Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae. Although it originated in China, the use of soy sauce spread rapidly across southeast Asia and eventually made its way to Europe.

In Chinese cuisine, there are many different types of soy sauce that can be used in dishes featuring vegetables, pork, chicken, beef or fish. It is one of the most commonly used “spices” in food originating in China. In Japanese culture, soy sauce is prominent in what is known as the teriyaki style of cooking, which involves grilling or broiling glazed foods with the namesake teriyaki sauce that is a combination of soy sauce, sugar, and sake or mirin. Teriyaki-style and the simple marinade used for cooking is great with some chicken breasts (thinned of course), steaks, or pork tenderloin.

For other marinades, soy sauce is combined with sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onions, ginger, and sometimes fish sauce or hot chili sauce.

Soy sauce is not the secret ingredient for Chinese and Japanese cuisines only; its use is widespread across southeast Asia and is even a key ingredient in many traditional Hawaiian dishes.

Beyond China and Japan, soy sauce is used to marinate beef — with brown sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, and freshly ground black pepper — for Korean barbecue. In Indonesia and the Philippines, soy sauce is most commonly mixed with brown sugar and sometimes molasses and used as a marinade.

Soy sauce is used in marinades outside of Asia, as many steakhouses use soy sauce in some of their steak marinades across Europe and America.

Hoisin

Hoisin is a sweet and salty Chinese sauce is most often added as a glaze after cooking. Most commonly made with some combination of vinegar, soybeans, fennel seeds, red chilis, and minced garlic, it is used primarily as a dipping sauce or glaze. However, hoisin is also used in stir-frys and as a barbecue sauce.

As a marinade, Hoisin sauce is best for pork chops or fried or grilled chicken thighs or tenders. Some chefs experimenting with hoisin have combined it with fresh garlic cloves, chilis, and some sugar for a pre-cooking marinade for steak tips, tougher steaks like skirt steak, and even rib-eye.

Interestingly, the word hoisin is Chinese for “seafood,” yet it contains no fish and is used on other meats like pork, duck, and beef more prevalently than seafood. Fish sauce, which is very salty like soy sauce, is a completely different Chinese condiment.

Indian-inspired flavor

Heading west, you find fewer beef marinades and more sauces used for fish and chicken. One major reason for this is the influence of Hinduism — which prohibits eating cattle — in countries like India. Chicken dishes that derive from India, such as tikka masala and tandoori chicken, rely on marinades that combine a range of different spices with yogurt. Both tikka masala and tandoori are marinated in a yogurt-based sauce that can include ginger, chilis, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, minced garlic, and sometimes coconut and cinnamon.

These foods that rely on what are known as “curry” marinades or sauces are most often used on chicken or fish. However, because of religious beliefs, the eating of meat is forbidden in some circles, and so this popular sauce is also used in vegetable dishes.

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean marinades

In Mediterranean Asia, the shawarma cooking style is one of the most popular ways to cook meat like chicken, beef, turkey, or lamb. The meat for shawarma usually is marinated in spices similar to Indian cuisines; they use a marinade or rub that is some combination of turmeric, cayenne, garlic, cumin, paprika, and olive oil.

Once marinated, the meat is packed onto a spit and then grilled over a long period of time, such as an entire day. This style of cooking eventually gained popularity in Mediterranean Europe; if you’ve ever eaten a Greek gyro or kebab, you’ve had the meat cooked shawarma-style and combined with a yogurt-based sauce and fresh vegetables.

Interestingly, the shawarma method of cooking is also connected to Latin American cuisine. Al pastor — a popular Mexican pork dish used in tacos — is supposed to be cooked on a spit and is prepared in a shawarma-like marinade that often adds pineapple. How did that happen? Lebanese refugees who arrived in Mexico in the twentieth century combined the cuisine of their home with the fruit and spice influences they discovered in Latin America.

Try out an Asian marinade

Now that you have a whole plethora of different flavors to try with your grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and heritage-breed pork this summer., it’s time to make like a true chef and get to mixing these amazing marinades together. Whether you let them marinate for an hour or an entire day, once you pull your Asian-influenced meat off the grill, you’ll thank us.

Check out some of our favorite recipes and cooking methods from ButcherBox Head Chef Yankel Polak for a deeper dive into Asian marinades.

Bacon candy – A sweet meat treat for brunch, snack, or cocktail hour

May 4, 2018Uncategorizedbacon, bacon candy, bacon lover, bacon recipe, bacon slices, bacon strips, brown sugar, candied bacon, chili powder, cocktail party, cook, easy recipes, ground black pepper, Halloween, maple syrup, meat history, pig candy, pure maple syrup, taste buds, thick-cut bacon, ultimate cocktail partyDennis Keohane

Like most everyone who enjoys a treat now and then, we here at ButcherBox have a bit of a sweet tooth.

It might be a bit odd to hand out candied bacon — or pig candy as it’s known in different parts of the country — to the kiddos who come to your door on Halloween. And some people might think it strange to keep some sweet candied bacon strips in the refrigerator. But here, you are among bacon lovers.

We don’t judge. We also know our taste buds don’t care if they are treated to thick-cut bacon with eggs for breakfast or at a sugar-laced version at a cocktail party in the evening.

Which is what makes bacon candy so fantastic.

The rise of candied bacon

So let’s dig into the sweet and savory dish that is bacon candy.

These days, the traditional breakfast meat has developed a bit of a cultish following. Bacon is everywhere from the Bacon and Beer festival in Boston — which sells out very quickly each year and has expanded nationally — to bacon-themed food trucks to a featured role at almost any Bloody Mary-heavy brunch.

More and more, bacon is breaking out on its own as a singular dish, most often as bacon candy. Stop into any hip (or hipster, if you see it that way) restaurant, and you might find a glass filled with candied bacon adorning the bar.

The flavor of bacon candy combines the already savory taste of bacon and adds brown sugar or pure maple syrup and maybe a touch of chili powder. The fact that it can sit out at room temperature for hours or be kept chilled for weeks makes bacon candy the perfect snack food.

This phenomenon isn’t just occurring at trend-setting locales either; you are as likely to find candied bacon replacing the usual bowl of mixed nuts everywhere from your local steakhouse to a high-end hotel bar.

Bacon candy springs from the cocktail party circuit

So how did this trend start?

According to author Fred Thomspon, who chronicles all sorts of bacon-themed culinary delights in his cookbook “Bacon,” the history of this delicious snack is a bit of a mystery.

Bacon candy is believed to have first gained popularity in Washington, D.C.’s party circuit. But Thompson speculates that pig candy was most likely an import to the nation’s capital brought from the kitchen of an unknown Southern hostess.

The rise in the treat’s current popularity as bar food is linked, by a number of different people, to a small wine bar in California. According to lore, Lou’s on Vine in Hollywood began offering their take on pig candy to patrons as an alternative snack, and the buzz — and bacon — spread from there.

How to cook bacon candy

After all this talk of sweet bacon, you might be wondering how you can make it on your own. Worry not, the recipe is quite simple. Many candied bacon recipes call for baking the pork with a garnish of light brown sugar and/or maple syrup.

Twists on the dish include adding some spices, like ground black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes or chili powder to create the ultimate cocktail party snack, brunch side, or anytime food.

Check out the video below of ButcherBox Head Chef Yankel Polak making some bacon candy with maple syrup, sriracha, brown sugar, ground black pepper, and coconut aminos:

Here is another great bacon candy recipe that is one of the more popular recipes found at AllRecipes. It is made even better using ButcherBox bacon that comes from heritage-breed pigs.

Bacon Candy Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Ground black pepper to taste

1 pound ButcherBox bacon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix brown sugar, rice vinegar, maple syrup and ground black pepper in a small bowl.

3. Place bacon slices on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet.

4. Cook in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn slices and bake another 5 minutes.

5. Remove bacon and brush both sides with brown sugar mixture. Return bacon to the oven and bake another 5 minutes. Repeat basting every 5 minutes until bacon is browned and crisp, a total cooking time of about 35 minutes.

6. Let sit on a cooling or wire rack at room temperature.

After letting it rest, eat and enjoy the sweet, bacon goodness!

Make a great chicken, pork, or grass-fed steak marinade for a mouthwatering meal

May 1, 2018Uncategorizedadvice, balsamic vinegar, best steak marinade, black pepper, brown sugar, Chef Yankel, chicken, cook, cooking secrets, delicious steak, dijon mustard, flank steak, fresh lemon juice, freshly ground, garlic powder, good marinade, good steak, grilled steak, grilling steaks, healthy eating, juicy steak, lemon juice, Marinade, Marinate, marinate steak, Marinating, minced garlic, new york, olive oil, Pork, ribeye steaks, room temperature, rosemary, soy sauce, steak, steak marinade, steak marinade recipe, strip steak, tender steaks, tougher cuts, worcestershire sauceDennis Keohane

Quality chicken, pork, and beef can often be thrown directly on the grill without any seasoning — or with just a pinch of kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper — and taste amazing. But, an excellent homemade steak marinade — for instance — can take your meat to the next level.

Many steaks can be immensely improved with a little kitchen creativity and some minced garlic or soy sauce. This is especially true of skirt steak, flank steak, and similar tougher cuts with lots of connective tissues.

But if you really want to pack flavor into a grass-fed, grass-finished steak or some pasture-raised, heritage-breed pork or free-range chicken, a little knowledge of how marinades work and which flavor combinations are best can make a standard weeknight meal into a savory, memorable culinary experience.

Is it necessary to marinate steak, pork, or chicken?

Why marinate, you ask? Marinating before grilling is an excellent way to add additional flavors and to get more tender meat.

Marinades work well because of the natural attributes of beef, chicken, and pork, according to Head ButcherBox Chef Yankel Polak. “The longer you leave a protein in a marinade the more flavor it should absorb,” he explains, “and, what’s more, marinating will tenderize a tougher cut of meat.”

The problem is that, in reality, most marinades only penetrate about 2 millimeters deep. “And, get this,” Chef Yankel says, “it all happens in the first few seconds.”

So, while many people think that marinating meat for extended periods of time, or even overnight, is the key to having meat with fantastic flavor, that’s not actually the case. “While there is nothing wrong with preparing your ingredients the day before, remember that a good marinade only needs minimal contact with your protein to do everything it’s supposed to do,” according to Chef Yankel.

A good marinade enhances flavors

While there are many options for chicken or steak marinades, you can pull right off the shelf of your grocery store to have a pretty good meal, making your own marinades is healthier and leads to more flavorful pork chops or a nice juicy steak.

If you can, try to keep the marinades as natural as possible. It would be foolish to take a nice cut of grass-fed steak or heritage-breed pork and then douse it with some combination of corn syrup and lab-made additives.

Keep in mind that different cuts and types of meat have different flavor profiles. Some flavors will work best with, say, a flank steak more so than a ribeye, and vice versa.

“Think about the item you are cooking, whether that’s chicken, beef, or pork, and use ingredients in your marinade that will complement the flavor,” Chef Yankel says.

Flavor profiles for each type of meat

According to our chef, the best complementary flavor profiles are citrus for chicken, sweet flavors for pork, and marinades that are rich and savory for beef, especially grilled steaks.

This is why lime and lemon juices go great with other spices in chicken marinades; pineapple, brown sugar, and maple are great to have in pork marinades; and balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, and mushroom flavors work well as steak marinades.

“While they don’t alter the internal structure of the meat,” Chef Yankel adds, “acidic elements in marinades will certainly give you that extra punch of flavor — the ‘wow’ factor that accompanies that first bite.”

Some flavors that can’t be made from scratch — unless you have time to ferment malt vinegar, molasses, anchovies, and tamarind extract for 18 months. So it is okay to mix some natural ingredients like rosemary or fresh lemon juice with a good soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce.

Using a homemade marinade on your grass-fed steak can change a mundane meal into something otherworldly. Experiment and you might discover unexpected flavor combinations that work wonders for your palate.

And, to save you some precious time, now you also know that you don’t even have to marinate for too long to get those flavorful benefits.

Watch Chef Yankel break down his favorite marinades for chicken, pork, and beef here. In the video below check out an easy steak marinade — that has very little prep time —featuring garlic, cilantro, lime zest and olive oil. According to Yankel, that’s all you need for a delicious steak every time.

Also, here is Chef Yankel’s favorite one-hour steak marinade recipe for grilling New York strip steaks:

3 limes, both zest and juice
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 head of minced garlic
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup chives, chopped
4 tablespoons tarragon, chopped
4 tablespoons dill, chopped
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients in small bowl. Mix well and coat steaks thoroughly.
Allow steaks to marinate in a refrigerator at least one hour, then bring steaks to room temperature before cooking.
Grill the strip steaks over charcoal or an open flame for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until internal temperature reads 120°F. Rest steak 8 minutes before serving.

You can find more recipes here. Happy eating!