Pickles!

Half Sour Pickles



Half sour pickles are "fresh pack" style pickles that ferment very quickly and still maintain a crispy cucumber-like texture. The most important thing in this very simple process is picking out really high-quality fresh cucumbers. I usually go to the Memphis Farmers Market and look around to see who has the best looking crop. Once you've washed them, all you need do is place them in a salt-water brine with dill and pickling spices, and leave them in a cool dry place for 24 hours. Then, place them in the fridge for 2-5 hours and they are ready to go.



To make the brine, boil kosher salt in water and then let cool. I usually use 1/4 cup for 2 quarts of water.



While the brine cools place the pickles in a jar with dill, pickling spices, and 3-5 cloves of smashed garlic. Small cloves are generally more flavorful than large ones.



Once the brine is cool, add enough to each jar so that the pickles are fully submerged, then cap them.



If you like your pickles a little more fermented, you can leave them out of the fridge for 2 days and than leave them in the fridge for another 24 hours. I like mine a little less pickled and I am pretty impatient. Good luck.

Tofu Frittata and Chicken Sausage: a full day's cuisine

FOR BREAKFAST: Tofu Frittata with Mushrooms


A fritatta is a great simple way to make eggs for a few people at a time and is also considerably less anxiety provoking than trying to make a good omelet with a hangover (after it's in the oven, one has time to make coffee or bloody marys). Simply sautee your vegetables (mushrooms and scallions) and tofu in a little olive oil, beat some eggs (about 1-2 per person---and I usually do half eggwhites half whole eggs), pour in the eggs, wait until the sides firm up in the pan (*note: this requires cast iron) and bake it in the oven on 350 until the top is brown. I like to add a little feta or goat's cheese mid-way through the baking process. Garnish with some raw scallions and serve with whole wheat toast.


FOR DINNER: Grilled Italian Chicken Sausage with Roasted Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes and Sauteed Green Beans



(Hooray for the Farmer's Market!! Fresh fingerling potatoes and green beens from local organic growers!)

This is as easy as it looks. Start your charcoal and while you wait, go inside and throw your potatoes in a roasting pan with olive oil and rosemary, salt, and pepper and put them in the oven at 400 degrees. When your coals are ready, spread them out and close the cover on the grill to lower the heat and add the sausages. When the potatoes are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, take them out to let them cool and while the sausages finish, sautee the green beans in olive oil with garlic salt and black pepper.

4th of July Memphis Style BBQ

4th of July Memphis Style Pork BBQ



Since Moving to Memphis two years ago I have tried to make it a tradition to barbecue a pork shoulder for the 4th of July. This conquering of fire and flesh is a very labor intensive and time consuming process that requires patience and blind faith so I feel like I need some sort of event around which to center this dish. The first time I ever attempted to slow smoke a large piece of pork was not on the 4th of July and I had to use a weber grill instead of a real oil-drum barbecue grill (also called a Cajun Microwave, I'm told). That recipe was handed down to me by former Stax trumpet player named Micky Gregory, and was full of MSG and liquid smoke. That recipe served me well on three glorious Pork shoulders, but this year I wanted to try something a little more natural. Here's how it all went down:

I began on the night of the 3rd with a 9lb shoulder (also sometimes called a Boston Butt) and rubbed it down with spices. Some will tell you that all it takes is coating the thing in black pepper and throwing it on the pit, but I like to make it more interesting. I mixed mainly black pepper with a little chili powder, garlic powder, and salt then moved on to the baste marinade.



According to Micky Gregory the baste marinade is the most important part as it flavors as well as tenderizes the meat. So, taking the natural route I boiled up a chopped onion with one part Apple Cider Vinegar and 3 parts water, adding some beer, Worcester sauce, mustard and salt and pepper. I brought the ingredients to a boil and then simmered them for a couple hours then left them to sit over night. Remember that former Black Panther Bobby Seal says never to add anything sweet to a baste marinade.







I set my alarm for 5 AM and tried to get a few hours of sleep before waking up for the main event. 4 hours later I was up and ready, although a little slow-going initially. The first thing I did was strain the onions out of the baste marinade and soak my wood chips in water for 45 minutes. I prefer the small chips versus the big chunks because they absorb more water and make for thicker smoke. It's best not to let them soak longer than an hour before draining them as they should be moist, not wet, when you add them to the fire. For this shoulder, I settled on a mix of Apple Wood and Mesquite smoke. Some people argue that Mesquite is too strong a flavor for pork, so I did the majority of the smoking with the apple wood then switched to mesquite for the last few hours to add that extra bit of smoke flavor. Hickory also works well.



Next I stumbled out into the pre-dawn to get the fire started. I don't recommend match light coals as they burn too fast.



Once the coals caught I added the first layer of wood chips creating a beautifully thick haze of smoke. Depending on the length of your smoke time and size of your meat, you may have to add coals as the day goes on. It's best to soak them in lighter fluid ahead of time.



I quickly put the meat on in a roasting pan and injected the first round of baste marinade. I usually do a few internally and then baste the outside as well. The pan is optional but helpful when moving the meat to add more coals and keeping the meat away from direct heat during the initial smoking when the coals are a little hotter. I put the meat directly on the grill after adding the second round of coals.



Once the meat was on and the smoke was flowing, I shut the grill and let it fill up. The best way to keep the smoke flowing consistently throughout the day is to jostle the coals when you see the smoke start to thin. When that stops working, add more wood chips, and when that runs its course it's time to add more coals.



It was a particularly cool July 4th, but it did rain for about 15 minutes around noon. I enlisted a friend to help me drape a tarp over the grill. This tarp now smells a lot like barbecued pork.



After 6 hours standing by a hot grill in the Memphis summer, a cold beer and kiddie pool is in order. Just ask the folks in North Memphis.


After about 10 or 12 hours I wrapped the meat in foil and put it in the oven for the last couple of hours. The meat stops absorbing smoke flavor after about 6 hours and a couple of hours at an even 220 degrees can really help you get the desired consistency. Once the meat reaches 180 degrees, take it out and let it sit before pulling it apart or chopping it.



We pulled it apart by hand and served it on buns with sauce (the remainder of the baste marinade mixed with a half bottle of ketchup and some brown sugar).



Happy 4th of July!