Apparently a cookbook club is the thing to do. I am part of one that was recently started by one of my social friends.
Cover of the cookbook we cooked from this month.Cornbread.
Luckily the rules are not too strict (some clubs require evaluating the recipes and other rules. Read about how to set up here or if you don’t live in that area or want to find one to join, look at this site) at the Capital Cookbook Club. We get one cookbook to choose from, tell what recipe we are making, and then bring it to the meal on the agreed upon date.
The spread of bean salad, crab salad, peach glaze chicken, cornbread, potato salad, beans, and drinks. There were two desserts.
I do not like cooking anymore so I found a simple way to make a chicken dish. Others had made more effort. It was a lovely evening socializing while eating dinner. In honor of Juneteenth, we made recipes from Watermelon & Red Birds by Nicole A. Taylor, a James Beard winner.
Discussing barbecue or bbq can lead to arguments. There are strong opinions of what is true barbecue. Experts will tell you tales of smoke, heat, wood, water, fire, dry or wet, brine or no brine, cut, butt, baby back ribs, spare ribs, pork shoulder, brisket, beef ribs, East coast, Carolina, Florida… the terminology goes on and on. Plus now in the DC area, there is Korean and Salvadoran barbecue and all the fusions in between.
Barbecue is quintessentially American. The word comes from the native word barbacoa from the island of Hispaniola (today’s Haiti and Dominican Republic). The idea is that long slow applications of heat will improve tough cuts of meat. Everyone used to use all the parts of the animal and turn them into sausages etc. but here are the most famous types (for a good read, try this article) explained simply:
Carolina style is pork usually slow smoked for 12-20 hours, served pulled apart, tossed in a vinegar dressing, and served in a bun.
Memphis style is pork ribs (and shoulder) in a dry rub. The shoulder is pulled and served in a bun.
Top platter has chicken, Texan brisket, Memphis style pork, Carolina style pulled pork, sausage, and turkey.
Texas is all about beef. Brisket is the most famous type but there are also tri-tips. The best barbecue in the DC area is 2fifty.
Brisket can be as juicy as this but it is hard to find. This was at Rose’s Luxury years ago.
Kansas City was once the meat packing center of the US. The barbecue here is ribs with sauce.
Kansas style ribs on the upper left smothered in sauce, pulled pork, sauce, coleslaw, brisket, sausage, and wings. Fries in this style are a new fusion-y thing.
Apart from the meat, the sides are a big part of barbecue. I once had the best garlic coleslaw at a barbecue joint in Texas. I tried to buy the sauce but they said that it was only for eating in the restaurant. Darn.
Every year there are barbecue competitions and secrets about sauce, rub mix, and every other element are guarded in bank vaults.
If you are here on Memorial Day weekend, enjoy the smell of outdoor parties.
