The Bar Towel

Had a small shoulder roast, so put it in the oven with some tomatoes and some Jacobite from last year. Thought the coriander would do well with pulled pork tacos.

Sneaked a couple ounces for myself. It's really a delicious beer, wish it would come back, but glad I got a few still from last year.

Now if I can just master making tortillas the was Grand Electric does.

Nice chunk of grass-fed beef blade steak, now braising in leftover Bordeaux (Lussac St Emilion, so mostly Merlot).

MAN this smells good!

Will probably strain the sauce, and let the meat chill to slice it & enjoy with the reduced sauce later.

Hey it's summer and we have to eat something. What are you guys grilling on gas or over coals? I tried my first top sirloin, kinda went well... smells fantastic cooked this way. Just pre-salted with pepper while it warmed up for an hour, 7 mins a side for 1.8 lbs steak. Mmmmm...

(Reminder to check your LP tank I almost ran out.)

I'm interested in trying one of those coal kettles. I grew up on BBQ that classic method but never tried doing it.

Belgian wrote:What are you guys grilling on gas or over coals?

Well I got a grass fed ribeye from Sanigans in Kensington market.

I googled the precautions to not over-cook grass-fed beef because it is not as marbled but certainly packs a wallop of beefy flavor. Stayed juicy at under three a side plus a long standing time off-grill. It remained succulent while having some of the 'chew' of this style beef.

Also brought home some grass-fed stewing beef to make some Carbonnade Flamande with Trois Pistoles. Yum!

Belgian wrote:Hey it's summer and we have to eat something. What are you guys grilling on gas or over coals? I tried my first top sirloin, kinda went well... smells fantastic cooked this way. Just pre-salted with pepper while it warmed up for an hour, 7 mins a side for 1.8 lbs steak. Mmmmm...

(Reminder to check your LP tank I almost ran out.)

I'm interested in trying one of those coal kettles. I grew up on BBQ that classic method but never tried doing it.

Charcoal exclusively here.

I recommend the weber one-touch gold. I like to use hardwood lump charcoal. Definitely get yourself a chimney starter (no nasty starter fluids, and it gets you up and running plenty fast).

It is great as a grill, and can be set up to do low and slow/smoking very easily.

On the LP Weber I grilled some Select Fine Foods Chorizo Sausage, absolutely wonderful with the right amount of crisping while juicy and just a touch fiery spice-wise! Amazing company (both Select and Weber are actually.)

The trick was to prick each casing a bunch of times, put them on a red hot grill and then leave only the middle and back burner left on medium (turn off the burner directly under to reduce fat flare-up.) About three flips and fifteen minutes from raw and she's a beaut!

The Carbonnade worked OK lthough I still think I prefer bison meat which is lean tender and flavorful.

tuqueboy wrote:a colleague of mine chucked a bison brisket, some onions, garlic and herbs into a slow cooker along with 2 bottles of brooklyn black chocolate stout and a little bit of stock. melt in your mouth.

I am enjoying a (presumably 2010) Brooklyn Chocolate Stout and it is absolutely glorious. It's like chocolate cake in a glass. What a cellar champ. If anyone has bottles of this (and what happened to Brooklyn in Ontario anyway?) I have to say the 2010 Choc Stout it is perfect right now, wish I had 12 more of them. Cheers!

Well, shit....this is an old thread dug up from the dead. I like it .
Just this week made a nice beef bourgounion with a Rioja(I know, not the traditional wine to use) that turned out awesome, plus the leftover wine was a delicious bargain, at ~13$.

As for the Brooklyn, yeah I agree. Only thing I know if that's still around is the lager(which I love the shit out of) but is hardly available anywhere.

Twice the past few weeks, made a Braised Beretta Farms Blade Pot Roast (<> 3 pounds), braising it in whatever red wine is around (acidic wines offer the main advantage, but a dash of sweet red sherry or ruby port can also add fruity weight to the flavor, and also oxidized styles like Tawny Port or Dry Oloroso Sherry can add a heady complexity.)

Easy dish to make and perfect winter food. Braise liquid is only 1/4 to 1/3 the height of the cut of meat since it cooks with convection / radiant heat. Cuts of meat like Blade / Shoulder have a lot of connective tissue (collagen) which melts away as gelatin over hours of slow cooking (adds a great consistency to the beefy sauce.)

Braises will of course work with beer like sweet stout and dark fruity BSAs (and/or stock, I rarely need add it.) Be sure to add a little acid like some Balsamic or other quality vinegar.
Many Belgian Sour styles should work as well. Lembeek style like Gueuze, or West Flanders style like Duchesse de Bourgogne would be perfect (DdB is even named for a famous wine stew region.) That beer will provide the bit of acid the dish needs.

Not cooking anything right now, but I did cook a 4 course meal for my wife for valentine's Day
Started off with a Roasted Strawberry Caprese Crostini, paired it with a Side Launch Dark Lager with it's roasty and malts overtones it contrasted perfectly with the sweetness flavors of the mozzarella.

2nd course was Asparagus soup with the Collingwood Brewery - Downhill Pale Ale
The distinct Citrus flavor didn't go as well as I thought it would, it overpowered the soup, none the less, still taste on their own

Main was a Prime Rib Steak sliced in thin slices with a Spearhead Brewing - Moroccan Brown Ale, the complex flavors of this beer was slightly over powering the prime rib.