Chef's Tips
Matt Mytr, personal chef and owner of Stove Monkeys, a culinary-themed clothing company, offers his suggestions for innovative, seasonal dinner themes. This week's theme: Barbecue"Barbeque is all about slow cooking. When searching for recipes, refer tones that require four t10 hours of cook time, depending on your meat selection. Seasoning is very important suse a dry rub or wet rub. Most stores have prepared dry and wet rubs ready for use. Here are some innovative twists on the traditional barbecue that will delight your guests!
American Barbecue
The staple of the American barbecue is hamburgers. Rather than purchase the pre-made, frozen patties, make your own. Visit your local butcher and ask for an 80/20 blend of ground beef and form your own patties. Be creative and add aromatics such as onion, celery, hot peppers, shallots, and herbs tenhance the flavor. Avoid traditional buns - try sourdough, challah or pretzel-style buns from a local bakery. Most bakeries will have a twist on the traditional bun.
A hamburger is not complete without its partner - french fries. Try making your own fries or experiment with different seasonings and flavors on frozen, pre-packaged fries. Rosemary, garlic, crushed red pepper, freshly ground black pepper and chili pepper transform ordinary french fries intsomething truly unique. If you are making your own fries, consider using different kinds of potatoes like sweet potatoes, blue or purple potatoes.
French fries are not the only perfect partner thamburgers. If you're feeling creative, try a potatsalad with a sweet mustard vinaigrette. If low-carb is what you're after, try grilling summer yellow and green squash and tossing with a light lemon vinaigrette. For more tasty suggestions on the American barbecue, refer tthese great cookooks:
Latin Barbecue
When I was the Executive Chef of Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar, we ran a promotion featuring a Latin Barbecue. Tme, barbecue is more of a technique and I enjoyed fusing some other flavors in this new approach. Here are some of my favorite main dishes:
Tex-Cuban Braised Briskett
Memphis-Jerk Spareribs
PuertRican Pig Roast
Fresh Citrus Ceviche
Some tasty accompaniments:
Fried Sweet Plantains
Chips with Fresh Guacamole
Baked Corn Bread
Pickled Vegetables
Coconut-MangRice
For more great recipes, check out this recommended cookbook:
"Douglas Rodriguez's Latin Flavors on the Grill"
Italian Barbecue
A chef friend of mine hosts Italian Barbecues at his popular restaurant in San Francisc. Sfar, they has been a huge hit. Tachieve the right flavor, use slow braised meats with extra virgin olive oil and whole fresh herbs. Utilize the herbs whole as a smoking component for the meats. Grilled flat breads are a great addition tthe Italian barbecue. Tmake, use pizza dough and roll out like you would a pizza. Instead of the traditional sauces and toppings, consider using the following ingredients:
Goat cheese with fig and thyme
Fresh ricotta with prosciuttand oven roasted tomatoes
Pestwith arugula and shredded chicken
Tomatsauce with fresh mozzarella, pickled garlic and basil
Place on grill and roast until warm.
Another great side dish is vegetables wrapped in prosciutt, speck or pancetta. Use summer squashes, especially eggplant, and wrap with raw prosciutt, speck or pancetta. Season with oil, salt and pepper and throw on the grill until � cooked. Splash a little lemon vinaigrette on top and enjoy. Other great additions tyour Italian barbecue include grilled whole stone fruits (peaches, apricots, etc.) and marinated whole fish and octopus.
For more great recipes, check out this recommended cookbook: "MariBatali - Italian Grill Cookbook"