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Authenticity, enemy of creativity

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    Authenticity, enemy of creativity

    "Art is either plagiarism or revolution." Paul Gauguin

    In Japan my wife and I took cooking lessons. The rest of the class was entirely 20-something females preparing for marriage. Our giggly classmates were eager to translate for us (as are many most hospitable Japanese people). The lesson for the day was kaiseki, a style of cooking that worships food beyond the normal reverence Japanese show for it. No culture applies artistry to food as do the Japanese.

    But kaiseki is something else. It is employed for special occasions and special guests. Extraordinary attention is paid to presentation, color, and balance showcasing the best, freshest ingredients. The core recipe might be something they cook any old day, but for kaiseki they pay extreme attention to detail. If a carrot is to be julienned, each sliver should be just the right thickness and length. Great care and thought goes into the aroma, flavor, taste, and textural relationships between dishes, and of course they are plated like sculptures. By taking such great care, the cook is expressing respect for the guest.

    The same can be said for the modernist chef who places microgreens on a plate with tweezers. The subject of much derision by many Americans, tweezer food is a form of kaiseki. It is how a western chef shows respect for the guest.

    American barbecue evolved in the South guided by enslaved peoples. It is the ultimate American peasant food, and I don’t mean that in a derogatory fashion. Every culture has notable peasant foods made from inexpensive common ingredients designed to fuel farm and factory workers. They are made with sausages, pasta, polenta, beans, rice, potatoes, and they include dishes that have become revered such as ratatouille, Mulligan stew, carbonara, barbecue ribs, and pulled pork.

    But American barbecue can use some artistry. Drive around the country and, despite some regional variations, barbecue restaurants and steakhouses feel like franchises. The food they churn out is delicious, but there is a boring sameness. For most of them barbecue remains traditional, tied to the past, tied to the South, and although the cooking equipment is modern, the menu has changed little. Barbecue has not evolved. And for you, this may be just fine, but for me? I crave variety. When I travel, the people I hook up with all ask me what I want to eat and my answer is "anything but barbecue." Been there done that, got stains on all my shirts.

    Judge a barbecue competition and the entries all look and taste pretty similar. Yes, most of them taste fantastic, but the taste profile is pretty compact and the scores reflect it. On the popular 1 through 9 scoring system most entries score 7, 8, or 9. Most of the cooks use practically the same techniques, spices, and sauces. The flavor profiles vary little. Gawd help you if you entered ribs smoked with dried herbs and finished with a hoisin-based sauce sprinkled with orange zest. The traditionalists would whine "this is not barbecue."

    This misguided concept of authenticity is a plague. Example: Pesto is a classic Genovese paste usually served on pasta. It is traditionally made of fresh basil leaves, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and salt. But I like to add a splash of lemon juice to brighten it. It really lifts the dish. But boy do I get hate mail for my recipe with this transgression! Heck, there is even a raging debate over what is authentic country music.

    Traditionalists need to wake up and look around. Traditions evolve. The times they are a changin’ and creativity and innovation are the driving forces behind almost everything.

    This insufferable devotion to authenticity has slid into the "cultural appropriation" debate. The one that accuses me of cultural envy if I sing hiphop because I’m not black, or wear cowboy boots in Chicago, or cook stir fry in a non-stick pan. Are tomatoes really traditional in Italian cuisine? Tomatoes came from Mexico, right?

    The odd thing is, if a pianist plays an up-tempo version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, nobody will come running down the aisle screaming that she has broken the law. Food snobs are plentiful and damnable.

    The thing is there is no such thing as authentic. Pick any dish from a restaurant menu in Beijing and ask 50 people around town how they cook it and you’ll get 50 recipes. I can assure you, barbecue served today in Kansas City tastes nothing like the father of KC barbecue, Henry Perry, cooked it in 1908.

    "Authenticity? When I’m in Italy I want to taste real Italian food. But I’m in America, a melting pot of culture, so I think there is nothing wrong with melting some cuisines together." Wolfgang Puck

    Creativity, innovation, and originality is what makes a chef a culinary artist. Creativity makes food better.

    That sort of innovation turns me on when I am cooking and when I am eating. There are a handful, only a handful, but a growing handful, of pitmasters who have dared to break out of the mold. One is Bill Durney of Hometown Bar-B-Que in Redhook, NY. There is always something off the hook marvelous on the menu. How about some Jerk Baby Back Ribs garnished with crispy fried garlic and shallot slices, peanuts, and a hoisin based sauce? Or an incredibly juicy Oaxacan-Style Chicken Tacos, marinated and air chilled for five days, grilled over wood to 145°F, then marinated again, then grilled again, served with a salsa verde, and pickled onions? Just listen to how he does his Vietnamese Wings: Whole wings are smoked then fried, sauced and then the sauce is caramelized on the grill, and finally, garnished with toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, and sliced scallions. Not enough for you? Try the Fried Korean Ribs, Lamb Belly Banh Mi, and Pastrami Bacon. He says "I don’t do traditional regional barbecue styles. I do New York style barbecue. International." The traditionalists whine "this is not barbecue."

    Then there is Heirloom Market BBQ in Atlanta. Cody Taylor is a good ole boy from Knoxville and East Texas and his wife Jiyeon Lee is from Korea. They met in culinary school. Talk about fusion: They inject brisket with miso! They glaze ribs with gochujang chile paste! There’s kimchi slaw for the spicy pulled pork! They smoke tofu!

    In Houston, Don and Theo Nguyen say they draw from their Vietnamese roots, from Aaron Franklin’s book "Franklin Barbecue, A Meat Smoking Manifesto", from David Chang, and from AmazingRibs.com for inspiration for their Khoi Barbecue pop-ups. Khoi is Vietnamese for "smoke". Their menu changes often but features things like brisket pho (a rich noodle soup), Brisket bún bò Huế (another noodle soup redolent with lemongrass), beef rib ramen, beef rib panang curry, smoked chicken and rice with yuzukoshō (a chili paste with yuzu, a citrus), and a barbecue sauce with fish sauce hiding within. In an interview with Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly magazine, Don was asked why he bothered selling brisket, ribs, and sausage by the pound like so many other Texas BBQ joints when the Vietnamese specialties were enough to draw the crowds. "If you want to riff and play jazz and play blues, you gotta learn the basics," Don explained. In other words, to be an artist you must first master the craft.

    Jimmy Bannos of "The Purple Pig" in Chicago is producing flavors and combinations of novel ingredients woven together by flame and smoke to raves by mainstream restaurant critics if not the barbecue puristas. A typical menu might contain lamb ribs cooked sous vide and then smoked and then grilled with a Middle Easter spice blend. And grilled broccoli with an anchovy vinaigrette with roasted garlic and toasted breadcrumbs (so good we have a similar recipe on page ???).

    In California "BBQ Queen" Winnie Yee-Lakhani’s puts her char siu (Chinese barbecue) and brisket into puffy steamed bao buns and makes sausages spiked with galangal and lemongrass. And the authenticity sticklers whine "this is not barbecue."

    Of course all this is barbecue. Durney, Taylor, Lee, the Nguyen boys, Bannos, Yee-Lakhani, Brigit, and I are just pushing it in a new direction. To us, cooking is like jazz. You hear a lick and you take off with it.

    I hate to tell you this, but in recent years the barbecue world has grown a substantial population of snobs who are as insufferable as wine snobs. I do not make the comparison lightly. I spent 18 years in the wine world, many of them as the syndicated wine critic for the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, AOL in its heyday, and as an lecturer at Cornell University. Most wine lovers are down to earth, but there are plenty who will fire both barrels at you if you serve your reds too cold, too warm, too young, without sufficient breathing time, or from a screwcap bottle. Me? Serve me anything and I will enjoy it with a smile. The difference between a wino and a connoisseur? $20 a bottle.

    Likewise, barbecue snobs oppress their neighbors when they are invited over for a barbecue and it turns out to be hamburgers and hot dogs, not brisket. "This is not barbecue" they whine. Then there are the charcoal snobs who put down people cooking on gas grills with "you might as well be cooking indoors." I’ve got news for you, the vast majority of modern ribjoints use gas for heat and wood for flavor, and it is pretty hard to find a great steakhouse that isn’t using a gas grill or broiler.

    "Unless you invented fire you didn’t invent barbecue and you don’t own it." Mike Mills, BBQ Hall of Famer

    Let’s take a deep breath and shred a few of their shibboleths and set ourselves free, because the recipes herein are barbecue freedom on a plate.

    The snobs love to say there is a big difference between barbecue and grilling. When asked they usually explain that grilling is high temp cooking. But what is high temp? Anything over 300°F? So 299°F is barbecue and 301°F is grilling? I dare you to tell BBQ Hall of Famer Myron Mixon and the scores of other champions who cook their briskets at 325°F or higher that it isn’t barbecue. Instead of talking about the differences between "grilling" and "barbecue", they should be talking about the differences between "indirect convection heat cooking" and "direct radiant energy cooking." Kinda boring but far more accurate. Keep reading and we will get there.

    I’ll tell you what’s authentic: Digging a hole in the ground, filling it with logs, burning them down to embers, covering the hole with a grid of green saplings, and throwing a whole animal on them. Definitely not the steel tubes that the traditionalists cook on. I am sure that when the first steel pits were introduced knuckle draggers whined "that’s not barbecue."

    They say true barbecue is an American invention. So Chinese restaurant barbecue isn’t real barbecue because it is rarely smoked? Hello! They’ve been doing this in China with and without smoke long before humans set forth in North America. And at the time of this writing, the most avid BBQ fanatics are the ones who enter competitions, and at the time of this writing, the hot technique for chicken is to poach or braise thighs in aluminum pans with margarine and barbecue sauce, and when it comes to pork ribs, pork butt, and beef brisket, they wrap them all in aluminum foil after a few hours of smoking, braising them for much of their cook. These creative techniques create wonderful food, but are clearly not traditional barbecue.

    "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert

    They think barbecue was invented in the US. But Homo erectus was probably the first of our ancestors to discover cooking in Africa, and for sure she didn’t use Weber smokers. Chef David Chang of Momofuku and many other superb restaurants said on his Netflix series "Ugly Delicious" that "It’s not that I hate authenticity, it’s that I hate that people want this singular thing that is authentic." Amen brother!

    Finally, I ask you, what is more authentic than expressing yourself and your creativity?
    Last edited by Meathead; February 14, 2022, 10:06 AM.

    #2
    This was very refreshing, thank you.

    My mantra has always been, "The food either tastes good, or it doesn’t. How you got it there is irrelevant."

    Comment


    • 58limited
      58limited commented
      Editing a comment
      Good words

    • Meathead
      Meathead commented
      Editing a comment
      Love it!

    #3
    This is a great write up. I love traditional BBQ and in Texas the BBQ scene has exploded. While I enjoy this I also appreciate that it is the same food, different location.

    Some local friends, both Vietnamese and Caucasian, began telling me about Don and Theo Nguyen a couple of years ago. When they described the food to me I thought: "This is the future of BBQ!"

    Many of the younger pitmasters, while still serving traditional meats, are now being creative with the side dishes and sausages - in Texas these were usually a not-really-that-good afterthought. Brett's Backyard in Rockdale is one example of this new thinking (the Pico de Gallo Sausage is amazing as is their Tater Tot casserole), 1701 in Beaumont is starting to experiment with sides too - just had their new green beans: a little sweetness with a spicy kick.

    I was sitting in the local brew pub the other night talking with friends and I mentioned that right now is one of the best times to be alive because of the craft beverage movement and all that has happened in the culinary world over the last 20 years or so. We are eating and drinking better than ever before in my opinion.
    Last edited by 58limited; February 12, 2022, 10:55 AM. Reason: words, they be hard

    Comment


    • Meathead
      Meathead commented
      Editing a comment
      Couldn't agree more!

    • Mosca
      Mosca commented
      Editing a comment
      But you know what else? Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, I could pick from maybe a dozen imports, and with a little luck nothing would be skunked, and I could drink some good beer. Every now and then my sister brought us some Anchor Steam.

      Now I stand in front of a wall of beers, and there is paralysis by analysis. And I have no idea what is good relative to what I know I like! So, I grab the porter I know, or the ale or lager or stout. I don’t want to have to choose from two dozen hazy IPAs!

    • 58limited
      58limited commented
      Editing a comment
      What is nice about my local store is that they break open 6 packs and sell individual beers. I can try several new ones and not invest in an entire 6 pack of each.

    #4
    Great article MH. Much as I Love traditional what we call bbq's, I find myself quite often longing for something more or vastly different.
    Hopefully we all can throw caution to the wind and fearlessly start experimenting with our Q's.
    Never know who here may discover the next best bbq dish

    Happy experimenting all.

    Comment


      #5
      Next to bust "tradition", beans in chili. 😎
      Great piece Meathead!

      Comment


      • texastweeter
        texastweeter commented
        Editing a comment
        ...

      • Mr. Bones
        Mr. Bones commented
        Editing a comment
        Bwaahaahaahaa LOL OMFG!!!!

      #6
      Meathead. We have seen a bit of evolution here in the Kansas City area.
      First with Jack Stack Fiorella which somewhat elevated the typical BBQ "joints" in our area. They did it mainly by catering to a different clientele. A bit more money, a bit of a different atmosphere, and a tweak to the traditional, BBQ joint menu. I believe they were the first in the area to offer an actual wine list.
      Our latest step up is Q39. Kind of the same changes from a traditional "joint". Tweak the menu, elevate the atmosphere, offer a complete bar service menu with bartenders as good as any in any real drinking establishment.

      I do like an occasional visit to either just for a tweak in traditional BBQ. My Husband is a traditionalist though and much prefers old school BBQ which he maintains is still able to be found in a small local "joint" he loves. $1 beer on Friday and Saturday, Ribs and fries with some excellent burnt ends. The pitmaster LOVES to talk BBQ and will brag on the versatility of his Southern Pride pit. His ribs truly are some of the best I have ever eaten.


      Comment


      #7
      Say what you want, but crushed up Cap'n Crunch doesn't belong on sushi, no mater what anyone says.

      Comment


      • ItsAllGoneToTheDogs
        ItsAllGoneToTheDogs commented
        Editing a comment
        what about fruity pebbles though? Or pop rocks

      • lemayp
        lemayp commented
        Editing a comment
        Have you tried it in chili? But no beans... 😁

      • Meathead
        Meathead commented
        Editing a comment
        See comment below

      #8
      Thank you. I wish there was more variety as well. The last KCBS comp a friend who is also a chef wanted to cook something outside the box. He made the most amazing Korean BBQ chicken. The KCBS judges comment card was how exceptional it was for taste, texture, smoke, etc.., but they ripped us on the points for it not being BBQ.

      Comment


      • Debra
        Debra commented
        Editing a comment
        @tstalafuse
        You kind of nailed the reason I resist being mandated what makes food award winning or supposedly the best.
        My preferred taste is not necessarily what others dictate to me. It is what I like and my family wants me to cook.

      • Meathead
        Meathead commented
        Editing a comment
        That is why I don't compete. I entered one competition with an Asian rib and was slaughtered. Then I judged several events and learned why.

      • tstalafuse
        tstalafuse commented
        Editing a comment
        Meathead , I agree. I only do the comps as a way to lure my brother and a couple of friends away for a guy's weekend a few times a year as we aren't serious competitors. However, it would be nice to be recognized for really good Q regardless and as something that isn't stuck in a tired old mold.

      #9
      Originally posted by FireMan View Post
      Next to bust "tradition", beans in chili. 😎
      Great piece Meathead!
      Can I write about a thing coming full circle, using this as an example?

      Chili has changed so much over the years. People love to continue the beans/no beans thing, but I don’t think anyone really cares any more. People put ANYTHING in chili anymore. Coffee, chocolate, whiskey, corn, star anise, whatever. But the basics are the same: ground (or cubed) beef, onions, garlic, chili power, often tomatoes and bell peppers and beans.

      Do you know what NOBODY makes anymore? Chili. Not as in, beef, onions, tomatoes, garlic, chili powder, etc. But this:
      • â–¢ 6 Ancho peppers, dried, (Use 2 per lb of meat for a mild chili, can use up to 4 chilis per lb of meat)
      • â–¢ 3 lbs chuck roast
      • â–¢ 4 cloves garlic , minced
      • â–¢ ½ tsp dried oregano
      • â–¢ ½ tsp ground cumin
      • â–¢ 3 tsp salt
      • â–¢ 1-2 cups beef broth, if needed
      • â–¢ 2 tbsp masa harina

      It’s cubed meat with garlic and peppers. And it is freakin DELICIOUS. BUT. Is it BETTER? Of course not! In fact, I’ll even say that chili has gotten so far from its origins that this is the one that is different.


      But there is another thing that is really, really fascinating about a recipe like this, and it’s one worth finding out for yourself, if you have the inclination. Make this. Eat it. Understand it, which isn’t hard, really. It is so simple. Then, make it again. But this time… dice up an onion and cook it with the beef, and see how an onion changes it. The difference is dramatic! Not better or worse, just different. Then do the same, but with some jalapeños. Same thing, it won’t be the same as the original. Then, do the onion and the jalapeños. (For me, that is the sweet spot. That is where I can’t stop eating it.)

      And then it is easy to see how chili evolved so quickly. I imagine a camp chef who got the original "from the last guy", and she had some onions and peppers and tossed them in, and everyone raved. Then the next time there were some tomatoes, and everyone raved. The evolution is so obvious, and it’s based on what works. One time there wasn’t enough meat, so she stretched it with beans, and… well no one complained too much. (We have to keep the tradition of arguing over beans alive. That is part of the canon.) Each evolution brought chili closer and closer to what American moms and dads make on Big Game Sunday: ground beef, onions, garlic, tomatoes, chili powder. Because that’s… that’s what chili is.

      Getting fuller circle, then, and bringing this back to barbecue as we make it at home: when I make bbq at home, I make it traditionally, as in, what I expect, and what my guests and family expect. That means KC ribs and sauce, Texas brisket, traditional pulled pork with sweet sauce, etc. Just like all my cheeseburgers are California style (LTMO and something pickled). Given more choices than I have time to exercise, I go with what I know. And for HOME COOKING, I think this is okay. For example, I’m not going to make cherry chipotle ribs. I might eat them at your house, or order them at a restaurant, but I’m not going to make them. They’re probably really good. But I’m not going to invest $100 and an afternoon in them. My skin in this game is that everyone is going to want it to taste like they expect it to taste.

      And if you think about this further, that is what pretty much brought ALL of us here to Amazing Ribs, isn’t it? We wanted barbecue (and really ALL food) to taste like we expected it to, and we either weren’t getting that, or wanted to get it right first try. And now that I have it, I haven’t really branched out too much. I’ve tried a couple other rib recipes: Tuscan style, and bacon wrapped. But otherwise, ribs at my house are Last Meal Ribs. I do some things differently, but it’s pretty much ribs. They might be different from your ribs, but you’ll recognize them.


      So. It all comes down to, how do things change? And my answer is, they change organically. And in the world today, those ideas come from the top, and filter to the bottom. (They could come from the bottom, but then they would have to flow horizontally, and they won’t flow very far. That would be evolution, and that takes time and has fits and starts and dead ends etc.) And they have to taste better. As in, "I’m going to add onions and jalapeños to that chili, because EVERYONE likes it better that way." And let’s be frank, it has to be easy and cost effective. If I see a new recipe and I have to go get lemon grass, then I’m not doing it.

      Some of us will be arbiters of change. And some of us will become acceptors of change, and proselytizers of that change. But it won’t change without everyone on board. It has to fit.
      Last edited by Mosca; February 12, 2022, 10:59 AM.

      Comment


      • Meathead
        Meathead commented
        Editing a comment
        I put tiny cubes of carrots in my Chili con Carne for sweetness and crunch and get constant criticism. https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...ili-con-carne/

      • Mosca
        Mosca commented
        Editing a comment
        Meathead That’s one of those things I tried and didn’t work for me. That, and celery was kind of on the edge. It was like which Holy Trinity, I had to pick one, no overlap (except onions are in both). And I tried mushrooms and they were out of place, too. For me. I’ve added corn, and black olives. I tried green olives, they were okay but I wouldn’t do it again.

      • HogOEye
        HogOEye commented
        Editing a comment
        Well said Mosca. You are a clear thinker.

      #10
      I am neutral on this hill, neither dead nor alive. I am in Miami FL, so just about EVERYTHING is "fusion" here, except of course for our electric power. The closest restaurant to me is called "Finka" and it is a fusion of Peruvian and Korean food. So you can get "Korean" wok noodles, but with "vaca frita" complete with the spices used heavily in the Caribbean but not so much in Korea. My wife is from Nicaragua, so my "BBQ" often has garnishes like chimichurri. But not Argentina chimichurri, Nicaraguan chimichurri. Lots of garlic and parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper, and some people add more spices. We do not. I am sure competition judges would have a stroke, almost like fuddy duddies in Nashville when Johnny Cash showed up with a drummer and a mariachi band to record a hit song. I also brought in some smoked salmon for a pot luck staff meeting. My version of smoked salmon involves garlic powder, something I am sure is not on "traditional" smoked salmon. But also a maple syrup glaze, which is very much a thing. Anyhow there was none left, so everyone must have liked it. Next time I am thinking of pork ribs, because someone else brought some but they were done IN AN OVEN! A blasphemy before the eyes of the Lord. Assuming pork itself is not a blasphemy, but I say it isn't. Anyhow I can show em how it is supposed to be, complete with your "Kansas City BBQ sauce" recipe that I add stuff to so it fits in better with my locality. We like things a bit spicier, but not too hot. We are also overly obsessed with things like mango and lime juice (which can be used instead of vinegar to add acidity, but not always and usually not on a 1 to 1 basis). I also throw in at least a cup of barrel aged whiskey and let the fun juice simmer out. People think I drink the stuff, so they keep giving me bottles. I do consume it, only not by drinking it. Anyhow last sauce batch featured Chivas 12 year. I also use Grand Mariner as a "secret ingredient" and let the fun juice simmer out. Nobody ever guesses what it is, but Cuban food uses "sour oranges" all the time, so people think that is what it is. BZZZZZ! Close, but not quite.

      But then there is "comfort food". I tend to be more traditional there. Do not mess with my mac and cheese for example. I will accept some additions, such as bacon. But what I am really expecting is a basic cheddar cheese sauce with macaroni. No truffle oil. No " Asian flare". Nothing to "kick it up". Same for meatloaf. I am sure you can put all kinds of stuff in it, and that is fine - but understand it is not meatloaf anymore.

      So it really depends.

      Comment


      • Troutman
        Troutman commented
        Editing a comment
        It’s funny one of my old favorite ways of cooking pork ribs is to braise them in the oven with apple juice combined with collard greens. Delicious!!! You could say in a way I sometimes boil my ribs !!! 😂

      #11
      Good read MH and a sentiment I’ve written about and sought after here in Texas as well. To be honest I’m getting a little bored with traditional bbq. Same 3-4 proteins along with slaw, beans and potato salad. I more or less grew up with it but found myself going less and opting rather to eat Mexican, for instance, where they have menus that are pages long. Or Asian where menus resemble telephone books. It’s about variety for me and my clan.

      I’ve been doing some interviews with local and Statewide pitmasters here in Texas and almost all the younger ones have come to your conclusion long ago. Several of them site monetary reasons. Brisket slices as I write this is selling at about $30-32/pound. They literally lose money even at that outrageous price. Some go back to their roots and have learned how to stretch their products through combining and reinterpreting dishes like pulled pork tacos or brisket enchiladas.

      Blood Brothers here in Houston have drawn from their Vietnamese roots and do a mean smoked pork belly bahn mi sandwich. Or Edgar Cervantez of Black Bean in Sequin who does a Sunday morning tostada with two eggs, beans and a healthy slice of brisket as another example of a revolving Tex-Mex traditional bbq inspired brunch menu.

      Out of financial necessity, an over abundance of competition (approximately 3000 bbq joints in the Lone Star state alone), supply chain and inflationary pressures on raw product, and finally culinary boredom there is a growing movement to change and expand what we have come to expect out of traditional barbecue. More full service restaurants, perhaps wait staffs and the addition of a bar are where many are taking their restaurants.

      I think your article is not only well written MH but touches an itch that is slowly but surely driving a steady movement to revolutionize what bbq can be and surely will become. I’ve tried in my cooking to do the same.

      Comment


      • Meathead
        Meathead commented
        Editing a comment
        YES! Bored! I tasted an incredibly well made wagyu brisket yesterday and my response was "Ho hum."

      #12
      Viva la revolución!

      Fully 90% th time, I cook what I growed up with: Traditional Southern Comfort Foods... YUM!!! No Harm, No Foul!

      But every time is different, dependin on what I has available, at th time...

      100% th time? I looky what I has on hand in th pantry, icebox, etc., an pull a Hail Mary outta my Wazoo...

      THAT'S How I was learned to cook, from a Bee-yoo-tee-full Mama, an a Cantankerous ol Grandma(Make what'cha got stretch enough to feed 14-15 mouths, an have some leftovers...)

      (Reach inta yer arse, an produce an rabbit..., IOW)

      Ain't skeered, me, none, to add / delete some personal touches into any receipt, don't keer me none if'n it might be Meathead 's, or any others on God's Green Earth...

      I humbly submit; I aint no accreditated Culinary Expert, nor edjumicated Chef of any grade...

      But I can cook, some, y'all...

      (One Monkey Don't Stop No Show!)
      Last edited by Mr. Bones; February 13, 2022, 07:19 AM. Reason: +i

      Comment


        #13
        Bravo. A thoughtful message, eloquently expressed.

        Comment


          #14
          It might be with the current rate of inflation, and the price of ANY kind of food or protein that we will soon have to rediscover the origin of simple, humble BBQ as well as getting by on much much less in general.
          Just another hurdle in life but I'm wondering how many of us are up for the changes that seem to be coming our way?
          I grew up in a meat and potatoes world where Sunday chicken dinners were a special event. My children were raised very differently. An ordinary day of food for them would have been almost beyond my imagination when I was growing up. We ALWAYS ate very well but it was always very very simple food to the point of being boring. Not sure boring will be accepted again.
          Last edited by Debra; February 12, 2022, 02:03 PM.

          Comment


            #15
            Eat what taste good and makes you happy. If it makes you really happy replicate it at home.

            Comment


            • Huskee
              Huskee commented
              Editing a comment
              Amen!

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