Raw Walnut Tacos

 

Raw Walnut Tacos

The Challenge

A few months ago, my co-worker texted me asking if I could give her some ideas for high-protein recipes (per instructions with her nutritionist), with the caveat of no meat, no tofu (but dairy is okay). My first question to her “what about nuts?” – and yes, luckily those were on the “do” list. So thus became my homework for the night.

Immediately I thought of giving her some no-cook/no-bake recipes since at the time of this text. It was mid-August and a squillion degrees outside so at least for me (living with no central air), I just had to give her a recipe that didn’t require an oven.

The Solution

So here is what I came up with!  Raw walnut tacos!  Yup, you heard me right.  And this can go vegan pretty quick if you don’t use any cheese, so feel free to play around with what you like! Don’t lose me now, people! The walnuts are so versatile because they have good protein and healthy fat. If you pulse them in a food processor with garlic (duh, because everything is better with gahhhlic), cumin, seasoned salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and my favorite – hot paprika, it morphs into a crumbled meat-like texture!

Raw Walnut Tacos Mix

Just scoop into a fresh Boston lettuce leaf, top with shredded cheese, sliced avocado, some sour cream, scallions, radish (for that crisp, slightly spicy crunch), cilantro and lime and maybe even some hot sauce drizzled on top and even add some pickled jalapenos, and you’ve got yourself the perfect little summer meal!

Just one thing to note, you can totally add salsa, but I didn’t want the taco getting too “wet”, since this was being served up in a lettuce leaf, but some fresh pico de gallo would be amazing.  If you have some fresh tomatoes, white onion and jalapeno, just dice them up, add some fresh lime juice and salt and you’re good to go.  Or go ahead and buy some store-bought (it’s okay, I won’t judge – we all use those handy-dandy shortcuts sometimes!). 🙂

I still can’t believe how easy this is – requires zero cooking – just assembling a few ingredients and BAM – a simple, healthy-ish dinner is served!

Giveaway

Before you check out the recipe, don’t forget to enter our giveaway for the cookbook Millennial Kosher by Chanie Apfelbaum of the amazing kosher food blog Busy In Brooklyn
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recipe

0 from 0 votes
Raw Walnut Tacos
Prep Time
15 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 
Servings: 4 tacos
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 1 cup whole, raw walnuts
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin, or I like avocado oil, for it's smooth and subtle taste
  • 1 dash hot paprika
  • 1 dash cumin
  • 1 dash seasoned salt
  • 1 dash freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 large Boston lettuce leaves, rinsed and dry
  • 1/4 cup shredded cheese Use whatever you have on hand - I used mozzarella and cheddar blend, but pepper jack would be amazing in this!
  • 4 tbsp sour cream
  • 2 scallions, chopped
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 2 radishes, sliced thin I used Easter egg radish that I found at Whole Foods, but any type will do!
  • 1 handful of cilantro, rinsed and chopped
  • 1 small handful of pickled jalapenos optional - but I like my tacos spicy!
  • 2 tbsp pico de gallo optional - but a nice fresh bright, burst of flavor!
  • 1 lime, halved
Instructions
  1. In a food processor, add the walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, hot paprika, seasoned salt, cumin and pepper.  

  2. Pulse a few times until it resembles ground beef

  3. Lay the Boston lettuce leaves on a platter.

  4. Top with the walnut "meat", cheese, radish, avocado, scallion, sour cream, pico de gallo (if using), cilantro (if using) and picked jalapenos (again, if using). 

  5. Finish with a squeeze of lime and serve with a nice cold beer!  Enjoy!

Curried Pumpkin Bisque

 

It’s official.  The temperature is dropping and the leaves are slowly turning their bright orange – but how do you know fall is REALLY here?  Well, of course, the aroma of pumpkin spice lattes filling the air like a thick cloud! Pumpkin spice lovers, rejoice!

And as we prepare for the festival of Sukkot that starts this evening, so what a perfect way to bring in the official first few days of fall with…you guessed it – PUMPKIN!  I know you may be rolling your eyes thinking “ugh, another pumpkin recipe?  Really?”  But this one is just slightly different.  Think of sweet and creamy pumpkin with a touch of heat and warm aromatic spices.  This is not your typical overly-sweetened pumpkin pie or pumpkin latte.  No, this is pumpkin kicked up a notch!

When I was in college, I became a little obsessed with making soups.  So much so that my roommate bought me a soup-only cookbook!  I think with the craziness of being a full-time college student and working jobs and internships that forced me to make easy dishes that I could make in huge batches and freeze for later.  I loved being able to make this in advance and have friends over for Shabbat dinner, serving up giant bowls of soup like this one, or my Mexican Tortilla Soup (that one was a bit hit).  And even better, anything that you can make in just one pot is always a win in my book.  And this soup would be great if you froze it to serve later.

Quick Tip

Here’s a quick freezer tip:  Add the soup in a plastic zip top bag and lay it flat in the freezer (labeled with the content and date, of course) – it makes it easier to store, versus a bulky container!

Fun fact!  Did you know that about 10 years ago, I started writing a cookbook?  Of course it was titled “Risky Veggie” but I decided to turn it into a blog (well, now technically it morphed into TWO blogs of course), but this soup is one of the recipes from that project – granted it’s been tweaked just slightly over the years.  And thank you to my very talented sister Avi, for taking this photo! Maybe one day I’ll get start up again on that cookbook… but in the meantime, here at Meat Your Vegetables, we’d like to wish everyone a chag sameach and Happy Sukkot!

0 from 0 votes
Curried Pumpkin Bisque
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr
 
Servings: 4 people
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1 white onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 tsp. salt Add more, to taste
  • 1/4 tsp. white pepper
  • 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, or coconut sugar Feel free to use any other sugar substitute, like "Swerve" or Stevia
  • 1/4 tsp. ginger
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. cloves
  • 1/4 tsp. allspice
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper Add more/less depending on how spicy you like it. Make sure to taste as you go along and adjust seasoning to how you like it!
  • 1/2 tsp. curry powder
  • 1/2 cup non-dairy milk (almond, coconut cream, cashew, oat) If making this dairy, feel free to add heavy cream instead
  • 1/2 cup vegetable stock Use store-bought or homemade - whatever you have on hand!
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice For some brightness
  • 1/4 cup chives, minced (optional) For garnish. Or, you can use popcorn!
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.

  2. Add the cumin seeds and toast for 1 minute, making sure not to burn.

  3. Add the onion, garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.

  4. Add the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, cayenne, curry powder, salt and pepper, and toast the spices for another 2 minutes.

  5. Add the pumpkin puree, vegetable stock (or you can use chicken stock, if you're making this for a fleishig meal), and light brown sugar . Taste the soup and adjust seasonings if needed.

  6. Simmer the soup for 45 minutes on low-medium until all of the flavors meld together.

  7. Using a handheld immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.  If you don't have an immersion blender, you can ladle the soup into a few batches into your blender - make sure not to fill your blender to the top, as you want some heat to escape.  

  8. Pour the soup back in the pot (if using a blender), and add the non-dairy milk (or heavy cream, if making a milchig meal) and lemon juice. 

  9. Ladle into bowls and garnish with freshly snipped chives, or sprinkle with parve popcorn!

My Mother’s Stuffed Cabbage

 

Stuffed CabbageThe weather begins to cool off this time of year, which also coincides with the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. On Sukkot, the tradition is to build a temporary dwelling outside (usually a hut without  heat or insulation), know as a sukkah. Many people eat all of their meals in the sukkah and some have the custom to sleep in the sukkah as well. This is when I often turn to hearty, long-cooked dishes.  These stick your ribs, soul warming dishes are some of my favorite comfort foods.  I have very fond memories of sitting in my parents sukkah on a chilly fall night and warming my bones with things like mushroom barley soup, roasted root vegetables (AKA tzimmis), and stuffed cabbage.  This time of year is particularly special for me as my lunar birthday falls out during sukkot, and my mother always tried to make some of my favorite dishes.

Stuffed Cabbage Recipe

The recipe for below is for my mothers stuffed cabbage.  While I do provide specific amounts, these are guesstimates as mother never really uses a recipe for it. Feel free to adjust the amount of the sweeteners (dark brown sugar, honey, and duck sauce) if you want it less sweet. Also, you can adjust the total amount of sauce if the pot you are cooking in is too small to handle it.  Note that I call I call for instant rice in this recipe, which I usually avoid, but here I use it as to ensure it cooks all the way through in the meat mixture.  Finally, do not skip the freezing and thawing step, believe me you will thank me later.

0 from 0 votes
Stuffed Cabbage
Stuffed Cabbage
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
Freeze/Thaw
4 d
Total Time
2 hrs 30 mins
 

This is a great traditional recipe I learned from my mother.  It is very sweet though, so feel free to leave out some of the sugar or honey if you want to cut back on the sweetness.  If you get lazy the sauce is also great for unstuffed cabbage or meatballs.  I call for instant rice, which I usually shy away from, but is necessary here to make sure it cooks all the way through.

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Eastern European, Jewish, Kosher, Polish, Russian
Keyword: cabbage
Servings: 12 Rolls
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
Cabbage Rolls
  • 3 lbs Ground Beef
  • 1 Cup Instant Rice
  • 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tbsp Onion Powder
  • Salt and Pepper To Taste
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1 Large Head of Green Cabbage Frozen, and thawed
Sauce
  • 87 oz Tomato Sauce 3 Large Cans
  • 1 Cup Ketchup
  • 1 Cup Duck Sauce
  • 1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Honey
  • Salt and Pepper To Taste
Special Equipement
  • Heavy Pot or Dutch Oven
  • Freezer
  • Kitchen Scale
Instructions
Cabbage Preparation
  1. About four days before you plan on making your stuffed cabbage, freeze the whole head for 3 days.  Then thaw for a day. This helps to break down the cell walls of the cabbage which softens it.

Filling
  1. Separate the leaves, trimming down any thick stalks.  If leaves are particularly large you can cut them in half, but I would wait and see how big you want to make your filling before doing this. 

  2. In a large mixing bowl combine the meat, eggs, rice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Use your hands, they are the best tools for the job.

  3. Grab a handful of the meat mixture.  Ideally use your kitchen scale and weight out a 1/4 lb of the mixture for each roll. Form a thick log and place it horizontally an inch or so from the the bottom of the cabbage leaf.

  4. Roll the cabbage leaf up, until the bottom of the leaf reaches the top of the meat.  The fold the sides over the ends of the meat and then continue to roll the cabbage leaf the rest of the way around the meat. Repeat until you have used all of the meat.  It should make about 12 rolls. Make sure they are rolled tight so they do not open when cooking.

Sauce
  1. Add the tomato sauce, sugar, honey, and duck sauce to a large heavy pot or dutch oven.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  2. Put the sauce over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir regularly to make sure the sauce does not burn.

  3. Carefully add the cabbage rolls to the sauce making sure the rolls stay intact.  Cook for about 2 hours, or until the leaves are tender.  Serve immediately, refrigerate for up to a week, or wrap tightly and freeze.  

What are some of your favorite recipes you learned from a parent or grandparent? Do you have any cold weather dishes you really enjoy? Let us know in the comments.

First Night of Rosh Hashanah 5779 Menu Retrospective and Zucchini Leek Soup Recipe

 

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year was last week.  The the first night I usually go all out and make a huge meal and invite a ton of guests.  There are many traditional food that are often eaten at this meal, each with a symbolic meaning to ensure a good new year.  Often these foods are eaten on their own but I prefer to incorporate them into composed dishes. Some of these foods include:

  • Apples dipped in honey for a sweet year
  • Pomegranates so our merits increase, as the seeds of the pomegranate
  • Carrots, beans, or fenugreek so that we should increase our merits
  • Beets that our adversaries should be removed
  • Fish that we should be fruitful and multiply
  • Fish or Lamb Head so we should get ahead in life (or literally that we should be as a head and not a tail)
  • Dates that our enemies be consumed
  • Leeks or cabbage that our enemies be decimated
  • Gourds so that our merits be proclaimed to G-d

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah Zucchini SoupMenu

Usually on Rosh Hashanah I make a centerpiece dish like beef short rib or rack of lamb, but I went little easy on myself this year as I have been so busy this summer and just went with a french roast.  Below is my menu, with a few less dishes than usual:

Fish Course: Pomegranate Glazed Salmon with Roasted Beet Slaw (and Fish Head)

Soup Course: Zucchini Leek Soup (Recipe Below)

Meat: Sous Vide and Smoked French Roast With Apple and Fig BBQ Sauce

Chicken: Apple Wood Smoked Chicken

Sides: Roasted Butternut Squash, Date Salad with Honey Lime Dressing, (brought by Rachel)

Beef Bacon Wrapped Dates

Apple and Date Challah Dressing (Or is it stuffing or kugel, IDK)

Honey Roasted Carrots and Sweet Potatoes (AKA Tzimmes)

Sticky Green Beans

Dessert:  Caramel Apple Bundt Cake (made by my wife using a recipe from the cookbook Something Sweet by very talented  Miriam Pascal of the blog Overtime Cook).

To be honest with you, no one touched the chicken and the dates were a bit of a hard sell. People seemed to like the salmon and the roast.  The soup and green beans were also a hit.  The salad, carrots and sweet potatoes, and dressing (stuffing/kugel) seem to have a fairly standard response.  And everyone always likes dessert.

What are some of your favorite Rosh Hashanah dishes? Is there a dish that you make every year or a special recipe that has been passed down for generation in your family? Let us know in the comments below.

0 from 0 votes
Rosh Hashanah Zucchini Soup
Zucchini Leek Soup
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 

A hearty soup that couldn't be easier.  Can be made with chicken stock, or vegetable broth if you want to keep it vegan.

Course: Appetizer, Soup
Cuisine: Kosher
Keyword: Soup
Servings: 10
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 8 Large Zucchinis
  • 64 oz Chicken Stock or Vegetable Broth Homemade would be ideal but 2 cartons of stock or broth will work
  • 3 Large Leeks Tough green parts removed, white and light green parts sliced and cleaned
  • 4 Medium Potatoes Peeled and chopped
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste
  • 1/4 lb Thinly Sliced Beef Fry or Bacon Optional
Special Equipment
  • Immersion (AKA Stick) Blender
Instructions
  1. Peel and slice 6 of the zucchini and all 4 of the potatoes. Slice the the peeled zucchinis, potatoes and 2 of the leeks in to 1/4" rounds. Reserve the other zucchinis and leek for later.  Make sure to clean the leeks thoroughly as they can be sandy. 

  2. Pour the chicken stock or vegetable broth in a large stock pot and add the sliced 4 potatoes, 6 zucchinis and 2 leeks.  Put over high heat and cook until the potatoes starting to break apart.

  3. Using the immersion blender, process until smooth.

  4. Slice the additional 2 zucchinis and the leeks in to 1/4" rounds and add to the soup.  Cook until the zucchini just start to soften. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  5. (Optional) Fry the beef fry or bacon in a pan or the oven until crispy.  Chop into small pieces and use to garnish the soup

 

Gluten-Free Honey Muffins & Ginger Maple Apple Chips For Rosh Hashanah

 

Happy Tuesday!  Hope ya’ll had a great Labor Day weekend! And what was I up to on the stormy last-official-summer day? Well since Rosh Hashanah starts this upcoming Sunday night, I thought I’d get my bake on!  On today’s menu – ginger maple apple chips and gluten-free honey muffins!  Even though I’m not eating many apples these days (too high in sugar and carbs for me), fear not because this recipe would be amazing with blueberries or strawberries!

Obviously, I HAD to do something with apples and honey this time around!  And this one is all about multi-tasking!  While the apple chips are baking low and slow (buckle up, because this takes some serious oven time) you can prep the muffin batter and let it set up in the fridge and bake it tomorrow, or later that day AND get stuff done around the house!  I’m all about making this easy and efficient for you!

I know I mention “easy” recipes quite often, but c’mon, making apples chips really isn’t too intimidating, is it?  All we’re doing here is slicing apples really thin, sprinkling on a concoction of ginger, maple extract, cinnamon and coconut oil and baking in the oven at 250F for 4 hours.  That’s it – just set a timer for the oven and you’re good to go. After a few hours, your house will smell like hot apple pie (way better than a scented candle, just trust me). 🙂

Apple Chips

Here are some tricks for getting the perfect crispy apple chips:  make sure you slice the apples thin.  The thicker the pieces, the longer they take to bake, so if you have a slicer, or mandolin, or you prefer to just slice thinly with your knife – any of those work fine, as long as they’re somewhat the same thickness, they’ll crisp up nicely together, if not, you may have to keep an eye on them so as not to burn the thinner ones. Also, make sure not to overcrowd your pan.  You want the apples to be on one single layer, so no overlapping here, otherwise they won’t crisp up.  Once your timer is up, turn off the oven and let them sit (I actually leave them in the oven overnight and in the morning, they are cool and perfectly crispy).

Honey Muffins

As for the muffins?  Well, just a few ingredients, mix in a bowl or whip up in a blender, scoop and bake.  1 bowl, minimal prep and you’re golden.  Well, honey golden, that is!  Keep in mind that coconut flour is super absorbent, so feel free to add in another 1/2 cup of water if the batter looks too dry, but the batter will be thick, so I like to use my hands to scoop our some and add it to the muffin pan. And one more thing on the coconut flour – I decided to use it instead of almond flour, as it’s a custom for some to omit nuts on Rosh Hashanah, since the gematria of “nut” is the same as “sin”.

Oh, and in case you’re also looking for an easy, yummy, hearty salad, perfect for any Rosh Hashanah meal, check out my Roasted butternut squash date salad with honey lime dressing – recipe here!

Wishing you all a Kesivah VaChasimah Tovah – for a happy, sweet, healthy and successful 5779 new year!

0 from 0 votes
GF honey muffins
Gluten-free Honey Muffins
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Total Time
40 mins
 
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 muffins
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tbsp. pomegranate vinegar Totally optional, but I love the sweet, tart note it brings to these muffins, and so perfect for Rosh Hashanah! I used the organic pomegranate vinegar from Trader Joe's.
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 dash cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup sugar, or sugar substitute I like using "Swerve"
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.

  2. Place cupcake liners in muffin tin and spray lightly with oil (I like using avocado oil because it has a very mild taste).

  3. Mix all ingredients and scoop into muffin tin.  The batter will be pretty thick (the coconut flour absorbs lots of liquid), but it's okay, that's what you want. 

  4. Optional:  drizzle some more honey on top of the muffins, OR, mix some honey, unsweetened shredded coconut and cinnamon and add on the top of the muffins as a streusel topping!

  5. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Let cool, and enjoy!

0 from 0 votes
Ginger Maple Apple Chips
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
Resting time
1 hr
Total Time
4 hrs 10 mins
 


Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 20 chips, approx.
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 2 apples, sliced thin
  • 1 tbsp. maple extract Use can use pure maple syrup if you have that handy
  • 1 dash cinnamon
  • 1 dash ginger
  • 1 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 250F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Add the apples slices in a large bowl and add in the maple extract, cinnamon, ginger and coconut oil.  

  3. Mix the spice mixture on each apple slice and place on baking sheet - be sure that there are no overlapping apple slices.

  4. Bake for 4 hours.  Once time is up, turn off oven and let sit for 1 hour or up to overnight.

Apple Wood Smoked Chicken Recipe and ThermoPro Thermometer Review

 
  1. Smoked ChickenDon’t Forget the Giveaway

Before we get all nerdy about thermometers and smoked chicken, don’t forget to enter our giveaway of the great new cookbook Millennial Kosher by Chani Apfelbaum of the great blog Busy In Brooklyn. It is coming to an end soon. The details are at the end of this post.

Do These Thermometers Measure Up?

When making a roasted or smoked chicken, a thermometer is probably one of the most important kitchen tools you can have.  Actually, a good thermometer is probably one of the best tools to have in the kitchen period. Generally I stick to digital models, as I find analog ones slow and imprecise.

There are many styles of thermometers but the two most common are what is often referred to as the instant read (that looks like a switch blade) and probe style. At the International Home + Housewares Show I has a great chat with the fine folks at ThermoPro* who sent me three thermometers to review.  I will review them from three standpoints: accuracy, ease of use, and overall quality for the price, with a score of 1-5, five being the highest.

TP-03 Digital Instant-Read Thermometer

Instant Read Thermometer For Smoked ChickenThe TP-03 is an instant read style thermometer that runs $11.79 on Amazon.  It seems fairly accurate and only a hair slower when compared to my Thermowroks Thermopen that sells for of six times as much.  It is fairly easy to use, with a button to pop out the probe and an on/off button on the front, and a button to switch between Fahrenheit and Celsius on the back.  Included in the package was a battery, which is always nice.

I do have to say that build quality does seem to be a bit low on this one, but for less than $12, what do you expect.  There is a bit of play on the rotating joint that swings the probe out.  Also, when not in use the probe rests in a slot on the of the body of the thermometer the feels like it would be a magnet for food particles and bacteria.
Ease of Use: 5
Accuracy: 4
Overall quality for the price: 3

 

TP-17 Digital Meat Thermometer

Dual Probe Thermometer For Smoked Chicken
The TP-17 is a dual probe style thermometer which is great if you are trying to cook multiple things at once or if you want to use one probe to measure your meat temperature and one one for the air temperature of your oven or smoker.  This unit does have a separate mode for measuring the air temperature inside of your oven or grill so you get a bit more accurate of a reading, although it uses the same style probe for meat and air temperatures which surprised me.  Many other manufactures use a different style probe for air temperature.  While it is nice that they for this unit you can use one style probe I am concerned that it may affect accuracy.

Another feature I like about this until is the fact that it has alarms for a both high and low temperatures.  This is great for those of you using charcoal or wood smokers.  I did find the control interface a bit clunky and I wish the upper bounds on the temperature range the unit can handle was bit higher for high heat grilling, but overall a decent buy for $25.
Ease of Use: 3
Accuracy: 4
Overall quality for the price: 4

TP-20 Digital Wireless Meat Thermometer

Wireless Dual Probe Thermometer For Smoked ChickenThe TP-20 Digital Wireless Meat Thermometer has a solid and comfortable feel. It has a specific mode to measure oven/smoker/barbecue air temperature using their standard probe and a high/low alarm similar to the TP-17 (see above).

The wireless functionality works well.  I was able to easy get a signal in the front of my house, over 40 feet from the smoker.  At $53 it is on higher end of the cost scale for mid grade thermometer.

Ease of Use: 4
Accuracy: 4
Overall quality for the price: 3

 

 

Overall I think the TheroPro line is a great budget buy.  While I love my Thermapen by ThermoWorks it is significantly more expensive than the TP-03.  I have used several other mid to low cost probe style thermometers over the years and the TP-17 and TP-20 work at least as well, if not better, than most of them.

I don’t currently own a high end probe style thermometer, like the ThermoWorks Smoke, so I can’t really tell you if it is worth paying the extra money. That being said, my birthday is coming up, and if you want send me a present I would be happy to review it for you :).

Nobody Calls Me Chicken

Now on to the food!  I consider smoked chicken the gateway drug of smoked meats.  Chicken is fairly cheap and cooks fairly quickly.  Now quickly is a relative term, we are still probably talking close to three hours at 250°F which is a lot shorter than a brisket that takes somewhere around ten hours.  That being said, for chicken you should be more concerned with temperature than time.  The USDA recommends chicken be cooked to 165°F, but I generally pull my chicken out at 160°F, as it continues to cook even after you take it out and should hit 165°F. This is known as carryover cooking.

Smoked Chicken Recipe

0 from 0 votes
Smoked Chicken
Apple Wood Smoked Chicken
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
3 hrs
Resting Time
15 mins
Total Time
3 hrs 10 mins
 

A super flavorful and easy smoked chicken recipe.  I call for spatchcocking the chicken to help it cook more evenly.  Standard oven instructions are also included. 

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: BBQ
Keyword: BBQ, Chicken, Smoked
Servings: 4 people
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 1 Whole Chicken
  • 1 Stick Unsalted Margarine or butter if you don't keep kosher
  • Granulated Garlic
  • Granulated Onion
  • Paprika smoked if you have it
  • Ground Sage
  • Kosher Salt
  • Black Pepper
Special Equipment
  • 1 Smoker
  • 12 Chunks Apple Wood or the equivalent volume of wood chips if that is what your smoker takes
  • Charcoal/Wood/Propane/Electricity to power your smoker
Instructions
Compound "Butter"
  1. Remove your butter or margarine from the refrigerator and let it soften for about a half hour. Slice the margarine into pats and add to a large mixing bowl along with the granulated garlic, granulated onion, paprika, and ground sage.

  2. Using a stiff spatula or a large wooden spoon mix until the spices are completely integrated.

Preparing the Chicken
  1. Using a heavy chef's knife or a pair of poultry shears, remove the backbone from the chicken by cutting down both sides, leaving as much of rib bones intact as possible. This is known as spatchcocking.

  2. Turn the chicken over and press down on the breast to flatten it out.

  3. Loosen the skin on the breast and thigh by sliding your finger between it and the meat. 

  4. Insert as much of the compound butter between the meat and skin as you can, pressing down on the skin to spread out the butter.

  5. Season the outside of the chicken on all sides with salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking Instructions-Smoker
  1. Fire up your smoker to about 250°F and add about a third of your wood.  Add additional wood about every hour.

  2. Cook your chicken on the rack until it reaches 160°F in the center of the breast. This will take roughly 3 hours but keep an eye on it.  Ideally use a wireless probe thermometer that will let you know once you have hit your desired temperature.

  3. Remove from the chicken from the smoker, allow to rest for 15 minutes, cut in to quarters, and serve immediately

Cooking Instructions-Oven
  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

  2. Cook your chicken on a foil lined sheet pan until it reaches 160°F in the center of the breast. Roughly 1 hour but keep an eye on it. Ideally use a wireless probe thermometer that will let you know once you have hit your desired temperature.

  3. Remove from the chicken from the oven, allow to rest for 15 minutes, Cut into quarters, and serve immediately

a Rafflecopter giveaway
*While we did not receive any direct compensation for this review, I was provided the thermometers free of charge by ThermoPro.  ThermoPro also donated 10 thermometers to the Chicago Kosher BBQ Competition which we helped organize. We also receive compensation if you purchase any of the above items via the links to Amazon provided.

Indian night pop-up event!

 

Well folks, it’s been a few weeks since Daniel and I tackled our first ever #Meatyourvegetables pop-up food event and the Indian food was a HUGE success and a big hit overall!

First off, we have to thank the incredible people at Congregation Ezras Israel in West Rogers Park for their help in getting this event planned in only 5 weeks! Becky Goldberg – we literally could not have done this without your vision, your patience, and your incredible hard work so THANK YOU!  Thank you also to Zevy Ashkenazy, Randie Chubin, Josh Troppe, Gila Wallach and her son Adiv (for expediting and helping us make extra mango lassi!!), Zev Goldberg, Samantha Lavenda (for helping in the kitchen) and of course, thank you to Rabbi Falk! We felt so welcome at Ezras and G-d willing, we’ll do many more of these pop-ups in the future!

So, let’s start at the beginning, shall we?  Like I said…FIVE weeks and this event hit the ground running.  Lots of meetings, emails, and even our test prep (check out our earlier posts on our test prep!).  The Thursday night before the event was the big shopping spree at Restaurant Depot.  It’s amazing how many cans of chickpeas and 20 lb. bags of rice I can fit in my trunk!

Fast forward to Saturday night and the fun really begins.  Chopping veggies (thank you Josh for your speedy knife skills), roasting chickpeas, fermenting pickles, and stirring up some fresh mango lassi (who doesn’t love a mango yogurt smoothie, with cardamom and ginger, ya?  It is so refreshing)!  Two hours of prep done and back at it tomorrow.

Sunday – the big day!  8:30 a.m. bright and early.  GIANT pots of rice and lentils on the stove top.  And when I say giant, I mean, cooking-for-200-people giant! As those cooked away, time to make the eggplant!  Lots of cumin seeds toasting, eggplant and okra cooking down and garam masala added to the lentils until it became mushy (yup, the recipe calls for “mushy lentils”)!  By this time, the kitchen smells heavenly – warm, aromatic spices, sweet and savory – garlic, ginger, and cumin.  Yum!

Before we knew what hit us, we had 4 large foil pans of each dish.  And to re-cap, here’s what we made!

  • Roasted chickpeas – crispy chickpeas roasted with olive oil and spiced with seasoned salt and paprika (the perfect snack food!)
  • Seasoned Basmati rice – long grain white rice cooked with cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods and black peppercorns
  • Tark Dal – slow-cooked yellow lentils, sauteed garlic and onion seasoned with cumin seeds, turmeric, and garam masala, garnished with fresh parsley
  • Veggie Biryani – Basmati rice with mushrooms and water chestnuts, lightly seasoned with turmeric and garnished with fresh parsley
  • Matar Paneer – Fresh firm cheese and peas with roasted red peppers in a tomato sauce with cumin, coriander and turmeric
  • Baingan Bharta – Smokey eggplant and okra in a stewed tomato sauce with cumin seeds, turmeric and coriander, garnished with fresh parsley
  • Red (hot) and green (mild) sauces on the side – to amp up the volume on any dish!
  • Indian spice blend!  A homemade blend of green cardamom pods, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon
  • Mango Lassi – Mango, yogurt smoothie seasoned with ginger and cardamom

The doors opened at 5 pm and the rush of hungry folks rushed into the room towards the buffet tables.  Food was being served, and we could hear the collected “mmmm’s” coming from around the room.  Every time I peeked into the full social hall, I got lots of thumbs up and lots of mid-bite OMG-this-is-so-good comments.  Feeling good so far!

Next came time for the food demo!  I must admit, even though we had rehearsed this part previously, we were a bit rushed because trying to expedite in the kitchen was a little crazy – it just seemed that all of the food needed to be replenished all at the same time! But through the hustle and bustle, we demo’d both the Indian spice mixture and the quick pickle (utilizing the spice mixture – how multi-purpose of us, right?).  Click here to watch our live food demo!

So that’s it, folks!  All in all, a fantastic event, with lots of satisfied and no-longer-hungry patrons.

Thanks again for everyone’s support for this awesome albeit busy adventure and stay tuned for more events coming up in the near future!

Check out some photo highlights from the event!

 

 

Matar Paneer Practice for Our Indian Pop Up Night and a Cookbook Giveaway

 

Indian Matar PaneerFolks, we are in the period known as “The Nine Days“.  Historically it is a time of mourning for the Jewish people, and traditionally many of us do not eatINDIAN POP UP meat. We used this as an opportunity to do a test cook for our upcoming Indian pop up night at Ezras Israel Synagogue. Please join us on Sunday the 29th of July for this culinary adventure.  Rachel and I spent pretty much the whole day this past Sunday shopping and cooking. We made a rice dish, an eggplant dish, a paneer (Indian firm cheese), and a lentil dish. Below is the recipe for the paneer dish and Rachel also posted a recipe for the eggplant dish: Baingan Bharta an Indian Eggplant Dip and Cookbook Giveaway

Before we get to the recipe, a tip to all our readers: be sure to check out our cookbook giveaway at the bottom of this post.

Kosher paneer can often be found in Costco, but unfortunately mine did not have it in stock. I ended up finding it at my local Restaurant Depot, in 5 pound blocks. I realize that might be a large amount for most people, as this recipe calls for a third of a pound for 4 servings.  Doing some quick math, 5 pounds would make about 60 portions.

Matar Paneer roughly translates to: peas with cheese. I put my own spin on this Indian classic by adding roasted red peppers for some sweetness and color.  If you don’t like peas, a common variation on this recipe uses spinach instead of peas. The Paneer cheese I was able to get my hands was extremely firm and does not melt. It also could use some help in the flavor department.  In those ways it is very similar to tofu.  For those reasons I suggest cutting the paneer in fairly small cubes and marinating it for at least an hour to overcome some of the blandness and soften it up a bit.

0 from 0 votes
Indian Matar Paneer
Matar Paneer With Roasted Red Peppers
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

A twist on a vegetarian North Indian classic. Great as a main dish or a side. It can be ready in about 15 minutes in case you have a surprise vegetarian guest, using things that can be kept in your freezer and pantry. 

Course: Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, vegetarian
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 1/3 lb Paneer Cheese About a cup
  • 2 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 1 tsp Whole Cumin Seed
  • 1 tsp Fenugreek Leaves
  • 2 Cups Crushed Tomatoes
  • 3 Cloves Garlic chopped
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Turmic
  • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1/2 Cup Water
  • 1 1/2 Cups Frozen Peas
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper
  • 1 Pinch Sugar
  • Kosher Salt To Taste
  • 1 Sliced Green Chile Pepper Jalapeno will work (optional)
  • 1 Handful Cilantro
Instructions
  1. Turn your oven broiler on high and put the red pepper (on a lined sheet pan) in until the skin starts to blister, turning to make make sure you get some color on all sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Remove the top and the seeds and slice into strips.

  2. Dice the cheese in to 1/2" cubes and marinate it in 1/2 the crushed tomatoes and the chopped garlic.

  3. Add 1/2 the olive oil to a heavy saute pan and place over high heat. Add the paneer to the hot pan. Cook on each side until it starts to brown, about one minute per side. Remove the cheese from pan to a plate lined with a paper towel.

  4. Turn the heat down to medium and add the rest of the oil to the pan along with cumin seeds and fenugreek. Once the cumin begins to darken, add the water, the rest of the crushed tomatoes, turmeric, and coriander to the pan and simmer for five minutes.

  5. Add the peas, pepper strips, and the optional jalapeno to the pan and saute until they just begin to soften. Season with the salt and sugar.

  6. Turn off the pan and add in the paneer, and mix it into the vegetables.  Move to a serving bowl, top with the cilantro, and serve immediately.

We are also running a give away for the next few weeks.  Enter for your chance to win a copy of the incredibly popular (and beautiful) new cookbook Millennial Kosher by Chanie Apfelbaum of the excellent blog Busy in Brooklyn. I can honestly say Chanie is one of my favorite kosher food bloggers out there.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Baingan Bharta – Indian Eggplant Dip!

 

I’ve been on a MAJOR okra kick right now, which works well in this Indian classic. You’re probably thinking, “wait, isn’t this an eggplant dish”.  And you’d be right.  But first let me back up and profess my new found love for okra first.

I know okra gets a bad rap – that weird, slimy texture is not to appealing to a lot of people and unless you’re a gumbo aficionado, most people just aren’t on the okra train. To be honest, I had okra for the first time only a few years ago (I know, for a vegetarian, you’d think I’d have tasted every vegetable on the face of the earth, but we just didn’t grow up with it at all)!  Granted what I had was the fried okra with garlic aoli at Milts BBQ for the Perplexed, here in Chicago, but honestly, what can you fry that ISN’T good?  But I was searching for a low-carb “chip” alternative that wasn’t zucchini.

All I do is slice the okra down the middle, trim the tops, drizzle with avocado oil and sprinkle a ton of spices (just anything I have on hand – onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, hot paprika, rosemary, really…anything goes) and roast at 425F for about 20 minutes and you get crispy, crunchy and not-at-all-slimy okra chips!  Ahh, my mouth is drooling already just thinking about these!  Dipped in spicy guac, it’s the perfect snack food for me!

So what better way to incorporate my new favorite ingredient than into some Indian food! And no, this dish is primary accented with peas, not okra, with eggplant as the star of the show, but isn’t the fun of cooking to make it your own and experiment?  After all, okra is a common staple in Indian cuisine!

So, here we are in – in the midst of “the 9 days” before Tisha B’Av, which means it’s time to be meat-free (and that’s every day, in my world).  And while some are cooking up a dairy-lovers paradise in their kitchen, Daniel and I wanted to mix it up a bit and bring a warming, yummy vegan Indian dish to you!  And speaking of Indian food…this recipe is a sneak peek to what you’ll get at our upcoming Pop-Up food event on July 29th, 2018!

In case you missed it, Daniel and I will be doing the cooking and food demos for the first International food pop-up at EzrasINDIAN POP UP Israel!  You can register for the event here!

This may sound intimidating but not to worry, we’ll go through it together!  Though hard to pronounce, this Indian eggplant dish called “Baingan Bharta”  (BANG-IN, BARTA) is similar to baba ghanoush so it’s a perfect appetizer to make for a party, Shabbat meal or even a picnic, since it’s mayo-free!

This chunky dip would be great served with naan (Indian flatbread), pita, crackers or simply scooped up with some warm challah!  The warm aromatic spices will make your kitchen smell like a spice market! And if you’re not a fan of okra, just substitute the traditional peas in this dish, or frozen spinach instead (just make sure to squeeze out all of the water if you’re using frozen spinach, otherwise you’ll end up with a super watery dish)!  Also, if you love spicy food like me, feel free to add in some diced green chilies – but if you prefer it mild, then this recipe is perfect for you!

Hope you can join us at the Indian popup food event!

In the meantime, happy cooking everyone!

0 from 0 votes
Indian Baingan Bharta
Baingan Bharta
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
45 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
 
Servings: 4 people
Author: Rachel Katzman
Ingredients
  • 1 eggplant
  • 2 tbsp olive oil + extra
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 white onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
  • 1 cup can of petite diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 cup okra, sliced
  • 1 handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp salt + extra
  • 1/2 lemon or lime, sliced
Instructions
  1. To make the roasted eggplant:  Pre-heat oven to 425F.  Coat the eggplant with a bit of oil and salt and pierce all over with a fork.  Roast for 30 minutes, or until blistered and a bit charred (but not burnt). 

  2. Remove the stalk of the eggplant and scoop out the flesh into a bowl.  Using a fork, mash it well and place it to the side.

  3. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the cumin seeds, coriander and turmeric and cook for about 30 seconds until the spices get a bit darkened and warm and fragrant.  Add the onion and ginger garlic paste and cook for about 8 minutes.  (if you don't have ginger garlic paste - you can easily make your own:  just add some freshly peeled ginger and garlic in a blender with some olive oil and puree until a paste forms.  If you don't have fresh, just sub 1 tsp ground ginger and 2 cloves of garlic, minced). 

  4. Add the petite diced tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes.

  5. Slice the okra in small pieces and add to the pan.  Cook for another 5 minutes until the okra is tender and a little crispy.  

  6. Add the eggplant to the pan and cook for another 4-5 minutes until the eggplant has warmed through with the spices and tomato, onion mixture. 

  7. Scoop the dip into a big bowl, drizzle with some more olive oil, squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice and top with fresh parsley. Garnish with more lemon or lime slices. 

  8. Serve hot with fresh naan bread, pita, or gluten-free crackers!

Smoke on the Water: Organizing a BBQ Competition In the Rain and Award Winning Ribs

 

Hang on folks because this one is a bit long (at least for my posts). If you like BBQ I promise it is worth it.  If you make it to the end your patience will be rewarded with an award-winning rib recipe (or you could just scroll down to the recipe, I won’t tell).

Back Where (Kosher Competitive) BBQ (In Chicago) All Began

What you may or may not know is that Rachel and I have a competitive kosher BBQ team called 5 Dudes and a Vegetarian.  Here is a little history how that came to be. In 2014, I competed in my first kosher BBQ competition at Anshe Emet Synagogue in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. I assembled a team, developed some recipes, watched some YouTube videos, and came up with a plan.

Kosher BBQ Competitions KCBS Style5 Dudes and a Vegetarian

I am going to pause here and provide a little background on the format of kosher BBQ competitions established by the Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS):

Teams compete in four categories, chicken, beef ribs, turkey, and brisket. They are judged by six judges on taste, tenderness, and presentation. Judges score entries on a scale of 2-9, with the lowest judge’s score dropped. The scores are then tallied and the winners are announced. In order to keep everything kosher the competition provides all of the equipment, meat, and ingredients.  Usually, there is prep time Thursday night or Friday morning ahead of the event. At this point meat, ingredients, and utensils are given out and access to a kosher kitchen is provided.  The event swings in to full gear Saturday night, where the teams are provided a smoker and a grill, and start cooking, drinking, and having an all around good time.  The teams pit-masters tend their fires throughout the night until it is time to turn their hard work in to the judges.

Now back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Prep was on Friday afternoon at Milt’s BBQ for the Perplexed, who was co-hosting the event.  My teammates and I spent a good few hours blending a myriad of spices, trimming meats, and simmering sauces.  We had a different rub and sauce for each meat, which I have since learned is definitely NOT the way to go, but that is a story for another time.  There were close to 20 teams, which made for some close quarters, while working on little 4-top restaurant tables.   While this wasn’t ideal it did make for great camaraderie between the teams.

If I had to pick the thing I like the most about competing in kosher BBQ competitions, it is relationships I have developed over the years with other teams.  I have met a lot of awesome people and made some great friends.  I want to call out one specific person who I met on my BBQ odyssey, Mendel Segal. Mendel Segal, currently the pit-master at Backyard BBQ and Brew in Surfside, FL, was helping organize the event.  At the time he was the executive director of the Vaad Hakashruth of Kansas City, and is responsible for bringing competitive BBQ to the kosher world.  He has encouraged me to indulge my BBQ obsession, and guided me along the way.

Time to Kick the Tires and Light the Fires

Now let’s fast forward about thirty hours. We showed up Saturday night at Anshe Emet  to cook (and drink) through the night. To be honest, despite all of the planning and research I had done, I made lots of rookie mistakes, but again that is a story for another time. The weather was perfect, the crowd was great, and a good time was had all around. To be honest I don’t remember how we did in three of the four categories, but we did take home a third place trophy for our BBQ Baked Beans (this was early on, so they did beans instead of turkey).

From there on I was officially hooked. Since then we have competed in kosher competitions in Kansas City and St. Louis.  This year we are hoping to compete in Dallas, Boca Raton, and Phoenix.  The Chicago competition lasted one more year and then fizzled out, that is until this year.

Bringing BBQ Back to the Windy City

I was determined to bring kosher competition BBQ back to Chicago (and compete in it at the same time), but I knew I could not do it alone.  I reached out to the organizers of the Greater Chicago Jewish Festival.  Back in 2014 their event was the week after the Chicago Kosher BBQ Competition.  Their event has been running for decades. They have large outdoor event logistics down to a science. When I approached the organizers about incorporating the Kosher BBQ Competition in to the Jewish Festival they were very excited about it.

BBQ SmokersTo be honest, I don’t know how I could have done it with them.  The festival took care of the fundraising and logistics such as tents, lighting, water, refrigeration, and port-o-potties.  I was also able to obtain ten smokers and ten grills from the organizers of the original Chicago Kosher BBQ Competition. That helped us over the major hurdle of finding equipment, but at the same time that became our maximum number of teams.

Help! I Need Somebody, Help!

Having someone else worrying about logistics freed me up to concentrate on the BBQ competition and its culinary related tasks. One thing I learned the hard way is that putting on a BBQ competition is way more work than you could possibly imagine. Only attempt this if it is truly your passion.  If you just think it will be something fun to do, or if you are on the fence, do not attempt it.  Also, get trusted help, and more of it than you think you need.  Even with the help of the fine folks from the Greater Chicago Jewish Festival and some occasional help from friends* this was still way more work than I expected.

Below is just a small list of things I needed to attend to:

Building a website (www.chicagokosherbbqcompetition.com)

Promoting the event on social media

Registering teams

Purchasing equipment

Buying ingredients

Ordering meat

Coordinating with KCBS

Coordinating with the festival

and so much more…..

One day I’ll write a book about organizing a BBQ competition but suffice it to say it is a lot of work.

Who’BBQ Prepll Stop the Rain

While most things went fairly smoothly, but there were some minor issues and one big one. Prep went well Thursday night and the logistics came together nicely on Friday.  The teams arrived fairly promptly on Saturday night and started cooking. All was going well until about 3:00 AM when it started raining buckets.  Luckily we were under a tent, but we definitely were not on high ground and the tent flooded.  It rained on and off through the night and the next morning, leaving the grounds a muddy mess.

As I stated earlier, the greatest thing about competition BBQ are the relationships you make.  When you have less than ideal conditions, like crummy weather, it serves to strengthen those relationships.  Teams help each other out and everyone just tries to laugh it off together. My team was in the area that was flooded the worst and the team next to us went out of their way to help us move our smoker out of the mud.  To be honest, most of the cooking was a bit of a blur but the overall camaraderie really did make an impression on me.BBQ Rain

At the end of the day my team took home a first place trophy for our ribs (see recipe below), and third overall.  I would be happy with those results at any competition. The fact that I spent most of my energy organizing the event and not competing, made those results that much sweeter.

Check out Rachel’s take on the competition here: 2018 Chicago Kosher BBQ Competition!

BBQ Ribs Trophy

*Thank you to  Robert Feiger, Ryan Gottesman, and Elliott Fliegelman for all your help with the manual labor. Thanks to Debbie and Dennis Burg for the use of you power washer. Thanks to Eli “Moose” Greenberg for help with the refrigeration situation. Thanks to all the teams for coming out and staying even when the weather got rough. Thanks to the fine folks of the Greater Chicago Jewish Festival for welcoming us in to their event. Finally, thanks to Steven Weinberger for everything.

 

 

 

 

4.5 from 2 votes
BBQ Beef Ribs
Award Winning Ribs with Pomegranate BBQ Sauce
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
4 hrs
Coal Lighting
15 mins
Total Time
4 hrs 5 mins
 

This is my award winning rib recipe that took first place in the 2018 Chicago Kosher BBQ competition. The recipe includes instructions for cooking on a smoker or in an oven.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: BBQ
Keyword: BBQ
Servings: 5 Bones
Author: Daniel Peikes
Ingredients
  • 1 Rack Beef Back Ribs 5 Bones
  • 2 Cups Apple Juice In a spray bottle
Spice Rub
  • 1/2 Cup Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Granulated Galic
  • 1/4 Cup Granulated Onion
  • 1/4 Cup Paprika Smoked if you have it
  • 1/4 Cup Celery Seed
Pomegranate BBQ Sauce
  • 2 Cups Ketchup
  • 1/2 Cup Pomegranate Molasses
  • 1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Honey
  • 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinager
  • 1/2 Cup Spice Rub
  • 1/2 Cup Apple Juice
Optional Special Equipment if You are Smoking Your Ribs
  • 1 Smoker
  • 2 Logs Apple Wood For flavor
  • 2 Logs Cherry Wood For flavor
  • Charcoal/Propane/Electricity/Wood For fueling your smoker
Instructions
Spice Rub
  1. Add the kosher salt, pepper, granulated garlic, granulated onion, paprika and celery seed to a large mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Reserve a 1/2 cup of the spice rub for the sauce.

Rib Preparation
  1. Start by removing the membrane from the back of the ribs.  This isn't 100% necessary but makes for a more tender rib and allows for better smoke penetration, if you decide to smoke the ribs. Then trim any loose bits of meat and fat as they will just burn during cooking.

  2. Sprinkle the ribs liberally with the spice rub on both sides.

Smoking Instructions
  1. If you are going to smoke the ribs, fire up your smoker to 250°F and put in a log each of apple and cherry wood. Place the ribs on the rack concave side down. 

  2. After about an hour add the other 2 logs. If you see spots on the ribs that start to look dry spray with the apple juice.

  3. Cook until the tender, about 3 hours. A skewer should slide through the meat with almost no resistance.

Oven Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to to 250°F and the put the ribs on a foil lined sheet pan.

  2. Bake until the tender, about 3 hours. A skewer should slide through the meat with almost no resistance.

Pomegranate BBQ Sauce
  1. Add the ketchup, pomegranate molasses, brown sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar, apple juice, and spice rub to a medium pot. Place the pot over medium heat and simmer, stirring constantly until all the solids are are dissolved.

  2. Lightly brush the ribs with the sauce and place back on the smoker or in the oven  for 5 minutes to set the sauce.  Slice and serve immediately.