Andrew Mark Veety

A Super Bowl Brisket - Part 1

Its the afternoon before the Super Bowl, and while I don't have a dog in this fight, I am gearing up for the eating. For me, the menu for tomorrow's game has to include some barbeque, and for the game I'm making a smoked beef brisket with a jalapeno and peach barbeque sauce on the side for folks who would like to add it on their plate.

Preparation for this project began a full two days before the game with a visit to Legrand's in St. Louis. I've been really happy with the selection and the staff at Legrand's, but they really came though on my last visit. 

When I arrived I was sad to find only a few small briskets in the case which had been trimmed of all the fat needed to protect a brisket over a twelve to fourteen hour ride in a smoker. After some persistent questioning and arm twisting the butcher disappeared into the cooler and eventually emerged with a six pound choice cut brisket with a creamy fat cap about a quarter inch thick after initially telling me that the trimmed cuts were all he had.

I'm in no way upset with my recent experience at Legrand's, because I've come to expect an adventure with each visit to their shop. Conversations with the staff have an interview feel to them, almost like the butchers are trying to match a cut with a shopper, steering a person to the product that will give them the greatest chance of success. In my case I'd like to think that I earned this brisket that I can only assume was being held in reserve for their own smoker. 

As always - know thy butcher.

For this brisket, I created a rub of brown sugar, kosher salt, cracked pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ancho chili powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, powdered mustard and powdered ginger following a basic 8-3-1-1 ratio. 

I liberally covered each side of the brisket with the rub and planned on a thirty six hour rest in the fridge. This extended period of time allows the meat to absorb the salt and seasoning, brining it into the meat much like a brine. 

The term rub has a hint of personal interpretation to it, I know cooks who simply cover the meat with rub and then wrap and others who don gloves and rub the spices right into the meat. My method rests someplace in between, covering and then patting with a hand to prevent cross contamination of my prep surfaces.

After a rubdown, the brisket is wrapped in plastic wrap and then in foil to keep as much air away from the meat as possible. I also reserve the package of rubbed brisket to a cookie sheet, an additional precaution to prevent raw meat juices from contaminating my fridge.

With a 5:30 PM central kick off time, my plan is to get this brisket in the smoker around 3 AM on Sunday morning for a long day of low and slow heat provided by hickory and apple woods.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this Super Bowl brisket, I've got a mop and barbeque sauce to make before grabbing a few hours sleep.

Burgers On Air Force One

From National Geographic's upcoming TV series, On Board Air Force One, comes this fun clip of President Barack Obama ordering a burger and touring Air Force One for the first time.

His order? A medium-well burger with cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard, lettuce, and tomato — and a side of fries.

I wonder how that medium-well burger turned out, and why he had to ruin it with cheese.

Video courtesy of the National Geographic Channel

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza - Revisited

Recently I threw a pizza party with three different kinds of dough; a neo-Neapolitan like you would find in New York City and New Haven, a pizza bianca that is derived from the pizzas found in Rome and for the centerpiece a stuffed Chicago deep dish, filled with 4 kinds of pork. The goal was to make 6 pizzas in one night for 10 guests - and to see if I could make them say "please, no more pizza".

The last time I made a deep dish was Election Night 2008, using a cast iron skillet and my traditional neo-Neapolitan dough with some corn meal added for an "authentic" texture and taste. While that pie was indeed good, it did not turn out like I had planned. This time I spent several evenings reading though my cookbooks and searching the internet to plan a more appropriate outcome for this classic pizza.

In the end, I developed a dough based on the Chicago deep dish pizza dough in Peter Reinhart's book, "American Pie", with some minor changes:

14 oz unbleached bread flour

4 oz semolina flour

2/3 cup yellow corn meal

2 tbs sugar

2 1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

3 tbs vegetable shortening

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 room temp water

Instructions for a standing mixer using a dough hook:

1. Mix flours, corm meal, sugar, salt, shortening, oil, yeast and water at low speed for 5 minutes until the mixture forms a ball in your bowl. Rest 20 minutes.
2. Mix again on medium to medium high for 5 - 10 minutes depending on your mixer, until dough passes a windowpane test. 
3. Ball dough, brush with olive oil and reserve to a mixing bowl or large zip lock bag for at least 2 hours at room temp. (Unlike other doughs, a slow rise in the fridge will not help this dough).
4. Divide the dough in two after volume doubles and rest for another 20 minutes before assembling your pie.

The dough should roll very easily without tearing. For the first step, I took the first rolled ball and lined the inside of a spring form pan which I had brushed with olive oil. Next I layered on mozzarella cheese, spicy sausage, sweet sausage, bacon and salami. The sausages and bacon were precooked a few hours before building this pie.

Next take the second rolled dough ball and lay it over the first layer. At this point I trimmed the dough with a pair of scissors and folded the outside layer onto itself making a rim for the second layer, pinching the dough back into itself to create a seal. I vented this layer by poking the dough with a fork to let steam escape.

I picked up an interesting fact in my research about the Chicago style pizza - many pizzerias don't make a pizza sauce for their pies, instead they used crushed or diced tomatoes from a can. In this case I used two 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes (with most of the liquid drained off) mixed with several stems worth of chopped fresh oregano. The "sauce" is then layered in over the dough.

The last step is to top the sauce with additional cheese. In this case I used a mixture of parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano and montasio cheeses. All of these cheeses are rather hard and withstood the long cook time. If you use a softer cheese, I would recommend topping your pie after cooking is half done.

While I had told folks I was aiming for a nine pound pie, I "only" managed 5 pounds, 2 ounces. 

This pie cooked at 375 degrees for almost 70 minutes. Halfway though cooking I covered the pie with foil to keep the crust from burning. I let the pie cool on a rack for 15 minutes before removing the spring form.

The end product - a perfect Chicago style stuffed deep dish pizza, the cornerstone pie at a pizza party that included these great pies:

On the left we have a pizza bianca fresh from the oven topped with heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella, parmigiano reggiano, pecorino romano and montasio cheeses. On the right we have the beautiful failure of the night, a New Haven style clam pizza. 

Everyone at the party was apprehensive about trying an east coast clam pie, but I assured them that it was fantastic. I even made my own herb oil to top the pie with. Unfortunately I seasoned each layer of this pie with French gray sea salt, turning this anticipated pie into the monster from the salty, briny deep. Oh well, it was beautiful on the outside, even if it tasted like a salt lick on the inside. You learn.

Pies not pictured were a Hawaiian pizza with pineapple and barbecued baby back rib meat and an apple, potato and leek pie. Both were delicious but somehow missed photographs. I can only assume we we were all to drunk off pizza to notice that the photography has stopped.

I hope this inspires you to host your own pizza party, I know I can't wait for my next one.

Caldo de Res

On new year's day a friend brought over Caldo de Res, a delicious soup filled with a rich beef broth, vegetables and fork tender cuts of beef short ribs. Paired with fresh lime juice on corn tortillas, Caldo de Res is a perfect pairing for both the hangover of the previous nights festivities and for the cold weather outside.

To make Caldo de Res, take beef shank or ribs with the bone in, cut into large chunks and season with salt and pepper. Brown the beef along with some onions, then add beef stock and tomato. Bring to a boil, then back off the heat and simmer for an hour or until the beef is fork tender.

Next quarter potatoes and ears of corn and add to the soup along with carrots and chhayote or zucchini. Add fresh cilantro to taste, water to cover the ingredients and bring the soup back to a boil.

Once a boil is reached, back off the heat again and simmer for 20 minutes, then add a head of cabbage which has been halved and then halved again. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Serve with corn tortillas which have been rubbed with the juice of a lime. Not knowing exactly how to approach this soup I added some beef and vegetables to the tortilla, wrapped up it like a taco and then dunked the whole thing into the broth to soak up the juice before eating. While it might not have been the "correct way", it was an amazing combo, especially the combination of lime juice and tortilla.

Many thanks to Rowdy Zamora for introducing me to this outstanding dish, I can't wait to try it again.

Pam's Chicago Style Dogs & More

I had actually heard about Pam's Chicago Style Dogs & More before ever going there. While I didn't know know its name, it was described to me by my wife's obstetrician. We were visiting the doctor and I was discussing how we could make changes to our diet to make sure both Mom and Baby were getting the nutrition and vitamins they needed throughout the pregnancy. 

The doctor listened to me drone on about organic vegetables and grass fed bison from Whole Foods and when I was done said, "I was just in another room with a lady who was telling me about the deep fried Twinkie she had for lunch, you guys are eating fine."

I think it goes without saying the good doctor has yet to discover this site. 

Anyway, a few weeks later I wandered into a small hot dog shop on the eastern section of The Loop to try what the River Front Times readers voted "Best Hot Dog in St. Louis - 2008". I was welcomed by the friendly staff and began the lengthly process of dissecting the menu, which includes a dozen or so hot dogs, and then page after page of "more". 

Arriving at the end of the menu I discovered that I had indeed found the restaurant our doctor had been talking about - an extensive deep fried list of treats that went beyond the fried Twinkie to include Zingers, Ding Dogs, cupcakes and muffins.

However, it is the selection of dogs that brought me to Pam's, not desert. With the help of a few strong stomached friends we managed to work our way though half of the hot dog choices:

Pam's Chicago Style Dog

You can't highlight Chicago in your name of your business (especially in St. Louis) without bringing the goods when it comes to your signature hot dog. The Chicago style dog is as one would expect - a steamed poppy-seeded bun with a Vienna beef hot dog hidden under a bright neon relish, yellow mustard, onions, tomato, celery salt, sport peppers and a pickle spear. The dog itself is true to style and quite tasty, save the tomato which seemed bland, soft and flavorless.

Pam's New York Dog

Much like the New York style dog at Woofies, the New York Dog at Pam's is a midwestern interpretation, or better yet a homage to the east coast dog. However, it is far from the real thing. The New York dog at Pam's is a Vienna Beef dog topped with a brown mustard, sauerkraut and a spicy giardiniera. The addition of giardiniera is a nice touch, but has more to do with Chicago style Italian beef sandwiches and antipasto than a dog from New York. 

Warren's Maxwell Street Polish Sausage

Paying respect to Maxwell Street in Chicago, the Polish Sausage at Pam's tasted like a slice of home to this grandson of Polish immigrants. Featuring a Vienna beef sausage that lives in the sweet spot between a natural cased hot dog and a Polish kielbasa, this dog is topped with yellow mustard, grilled onions and sport peppers. As I enjoy the play of sauerkraut and kielbasa, I had it added as a final touch. Smaczny!

Hot Dogs With Ketchup

Above you'll notice two hot dogs, naked, barren, dressed only in ketchup. To my knowledge, one was a Vienna Beef dog and the other was Pam's Turkey Dog. The menu at Pam's states "Turkey Dog - Served Chicago Style unless you request otherwise". I can only assume that is what happened here. Very sad.

Slaw Dog

The slaw dog at Pam's is a Vienna beef hot dog topped with chili, yellow mustard, onion and a creamy cole slaw. For me, this variation on a southern dog is much closer to the original than the New York dog. The chili is loose meat in a spicy sauce that pairs nicely with the slaw. 

The Pamirito

Saving the most interesting for last we have The Pamirito. Pam's takes a Vienna beef dog and wraps it in a tortilla. The pair are then submerged into the deep frier until its brown and crispy. The fried roll is then topped with onion, tomato, cheese and chili to make the only knife and fork dog that we ran into on the menu. The Pamirito is a treat on par with the Slinger as an example of St. Louis required eating.

You'll notice that I didn't end up getting desert on either of my two recent visits to Pam's. I'll have to run five miles and get an all clear from my primary care physician before my next visit, because that's the only way I'll ever get a chance to experience a deep fried cupcake.

Opinion: Recommended

6016 Delmar Blvd.

St. Louis, Missouri

Hunger In The New Year

A lot of people are thinking about plans for the upcoming year this weekend. Ann Shotwell knows a lot about planning, though for her, it's more week-to-week. She runs a hot meal program three Wednesday nights a month out of Morningstar Baptist Church on Cleveland's east side. It's a low income neighborhood hit hard by foreclosures. One-hundred and fifty people or more show up for the meal, and Mrs. Shotwell gets most of the food for it by shopping at Cleveland's food bank.

From Weekend America (01.03.09) - Audio Begins at 2:46 and runs to 7:29 (of 53:00)