THE UNDISPUTED KING OF TEXAS BEEF
I learned to cook brisket from a man with one thumb. Actually it was half a thumb. Three quarters if you count the bony protuberance at the end of it. The other one was intact, but his brisket thumb had been pulled off by a mule. Or bitten off in a bar fight . Or sacrificed in disgrace after a brief ...
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IT’S LIKE BACON, ONLY MORE DRAMATIC AND WITH EXTRA SYLLABLES
There’s something really outstanding about a pig’s belly. The short of it is probably that it’s outstanding because it’s mostly pork fat, which in and of itself is an inarguable point of greatness. The longer answer though, is a study in versatility. Cured and smoked, pork belly makes bacon, ...
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CHARCUTEPALOOZA CHALLENGE #7: THE ART OF MAKING HOT DOGS, IN WHICH I BATTLE A DEAD POSSUM
A brief primer: I am a writer at an ad agency. That means I’m one of the people who makes up and writes the TV ads, billboards and magazine pages that people do their best to ignore. I work with a variety of clients, and over the years, the people I’ve written ads for have included a few food and/or ...
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SUMMER’S BEST DESSERT: GRILLED FARMSTAND PEACHES
There are certain flavors that seem to live within summer air. Certain things that on a good day, away from any landfills or traffic, you can almost taste on the breeze. For me, peaches have always been one of them. To bite into a ripe peach at its peak is to taste the memory of the best summer you ...
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THAT’S COLDBEER, ONE WORD
Some places have seasons. Central Texas has a phenomenon: a relentless, stultifying six month slog that someone named “summer” in a cruel act of understatement. The heat’s oppressiveness is matched only by it’s trollish cousin humidity and the two combine to create something a clever friend ...
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CHARCUTEPALOOZA CHALLENGE #6: THIS LITTLE PIGGY AVOIDED THE GRINDER (THIS TIME)
Charcutepalooza’s June challenge brings us to stuffing. Which, if you’re used to making encased sausages, shouldn’t be that much of a challenge. But for myself, the stickier part of the assignment was to build a poultry forcemeat to stuff into it. In other words, a bird sausage. Now, I realize ...
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YES… BUT DOES YOUR PINT COME WITH BACON?
There are few great absolutes in life. The undeniable worth of a quality bar snack is one of them. A good bar snack is what you might call an intangible—it makes the beer taste better, the time spent seem more fulfilling and the shelled peanut appear to be something worth the effort of an oyster. ...
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