34 Ingredient BBQ Sauce

Intimating isn't it? 30 plus ingredients in just one sauce. It's a rather complex, spicy, sweet, fulfilling bbq sauce. It's hard to recreate the original flavor because when you're in the middle of cooking and taste testing you think that it needs more of an ingredient. I'm still trying to perfect it but this recipe gets the idea across.

I separate them into dry and wet ingredients and sometimes the dry crosses over to the wet because of the stage at which you add it. Also with this sauce temperature is a big deal because boiling it makes the sauce thicken as well as release flavors and then simmering it makes it meld even better.

Dry:
onion powder
garlic powder
turmeric
celery salt
garlic salt
cumin
brown sugar
salt and pepper
paprika
smoked paprika
sweet paprika
chili powder
white sugar
cayenne pepper
curry powder
chili powder
powdered ginger

Wet:
water
mustard (djion works best)
white vinegar
apple cider vinegar
red wine vinegar
balsmic vinegar
pineapple juice
ketchup
liquid smoke
worschstershire sauce
honey
soy sauce
lemon & lime juice
housin sauce
tomato paste
tomato sauce
ginger (in the tube)

Add all the wet ingredients first (and the sugars), bring to a boil, lower to a simmer. Then add each of the dry ingredients one at a time stirring each time and continue to simmer for at least two hours.

Sorry the picture is blurry. Will update with a newer picture next time I make this recipe.

Beef Pot Roast

So one of my favorite crock pot recipes is pot roast. I have been making this recipe for about a year now and thought it would be nice to share it. I adapted this version from an oven pot roast recipe: Garlic-Herb Crusted Beef Roast.

I still use the same flavor profile, just changed the avenue for which the roast is cooked.

A note on beef roasts:
sirloin roast: shreds
bottom round: slices
round rump roast: used for Italian beef recipes

Ingredients:
1 beef bottom round (around 3-4 pounds)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
dried basil
dried thyme
dried parsley
(seasonings: enough to make a rub out of it)
beef base (about 3 tablespoons)
3-4 cups of water (enough to almost submerge the roast)

Put seasonings all around roast and place fat side down in crock pot. Fill with water and beef base mixed in. 
Set the crock pot on high and cook for about 5 hours. Half way through cut it up and throw it back in the liquid. About 30 minutes to when its done you can add carrots and potatoes if you wish.
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These first set of pictures is from attempt one from January of this year.

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This next set is from the last one I made yesterday:

Springfield, Illinois Horseshoe

I am originally from Springfield, Illinois. The signature dish of Springfield is the famous Horseshoe. What is a Horseshoe you ask? It's a two pieces of bread, hamburger patty, cheese sauce, and fries layered. 
There are lots of different variations of Horseshoes all around town depending on where you are eating. I even heard that our local Steak n Shake diner has their own version of it.

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives did an episode where they featured Charlie Parkers Diner from Springfield, IL and their horseshoes. Diners, Drive-in's and Dives

Here is some history on the Horseshoe:

The original Horseshoe Sandwich was served on a sizzling metal plate (known as the Anvil). Two thick-cut slices of bread were toasted and added to the plate. Then a thick slice of ham, shaped like a horseshoe, was added, to it a Welsh rarebit cheese sauce made of white sharp cheddar, and then just before serving, fresh-made French fries were added as the (nails) in the horseshoe. The secret to this sandwich is the delicious cheese sauce.
Today's sandwiches now offer either a thick fried ham steak or two large hamburger patties, and the cheese sauce is poured over the fries.
The name of the sandwich comes from the shape of the ham with the fries representing the horseshoe nails, and the heated steak platter as the anvil. If you order a Pony Shoe Sandwich, it is the same thing, but a smaller or half a Horseshoe portion (usually one slice of toast).
The "Horseshoe" or variations of it soon became a popular item in many Springfield restaurants. Today, every restaurant and chef serving this sandwich, seems to have his or her own secret cheese sauce recipe.
The sandwich was created in the late 1920s by chef Joe Schweska at a Leland Hotel in Springfield, Illinois located on the corner of Sixth and Capitol (now an office building). The Leland Hotel, the leading hotel of Springfield, was built in 1867, and has housed hundreds of prominent Americans. The structure is five stories high and contained 235 rooms.

  You can find out more here: What's Cooking America 

The secret is in the cheese sauce. You can use any kind of french fries, bread and any kind of meat you wish for the base. 

You layer it as such: 
Bread (usually toasted)
Hamburger on top of bread
French fries (better when homemade)
Cheese sauce (recipe below)  

Top Secret Cheese Sauce: 

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

(or equal parts of each depending on how much you're making)
1 cup milk
Half a container of velveeta cheese (you can use sharp cheddar too)
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
black pepper (or to taste) (optional)
secrets: dash of nutmeg, dash of smoked paprika, and some Worcestershire sauce.

Now you'll have a taste of something unique to my hometown! 

Brined & Baked Whole Chicken

I was watching Alton Brown from the foodnetwork bake a whole turkey after he soaked it in brine.
I thought to myself, "This looks easy and it makes sense."
Here is the recipe: Roast Turkey

So I tweaked it for a whole chicken:

Brine:
5 quarts of cold water
1/4 cup table salt
1/2 brown sugar

(add any aromatics you wish)

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Dissolve and bring to a boil then cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.
Brine the chicken one hour per pound
Bake 350 degrees for 30minutes per pound.

I added compound butter under the skin and on the skin.
Softened butter with salt, pepper and Italian Seasonings.

I would suggest adding potatoes and carrots to help soak out the juices and fats that the chicken releases.

 Toasted bread

 A complete meal: