Recipe: (Almost Great) Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Oh yeah…this is (almost) it. The perfect chocolate chip cookie is within my grasp…if only I can make it sugar-free, but there’s something marvelous in the chemistry of brown sugar + white sugar that results in the texture and taste of an awesome chocolate chip cookie. Sugar-free sweeteners just can’t compare, not to mention they can’t nail down the molecular magic that comes from using real sugar.

After poring over tests, photos and baking instructions in the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Guide and tweaking King Arthur’s gluten free recipe, I’ve come up with this list of ingredients and baking guidelines that is repeat baking-worthy, even if it doesn’t provide instant gratification (u

The Fried Onion Experiment Part 2

For the second fried onion experiment, I dabbled in a little potato starch, a potato starch/baking soda mix, and used coconut oil as a frying medium.

Also Texas sweet yellow onions and a batch of pre-cooked chicken gizzards would be objects to be dredged, egg-washed and fried up for testing.

Results: potato starch = bad for solo coating. It was clear that as soon as the potato-coated onion ring hit the oil that it wasn’t going to develop the crisp exterior that I aimed for. The potato simply began to flake away, almost like pastry bits, and never formed the crunchy shell I hoped for.

The potato starch/baking soda mix also had no effect on the final fried onion, neither puffy or crisp as I had predicted. Because of this, I relegated the potato starch as the first dredge in a 3-step process, with tapioca starch becoming the final dredge prior to the hot oil drop.

The outcome was similar to last week’s experiment with deep frying with tapioca sta

Recipe: Smoked BBQ Ribs

It’s no secret that we’re in love with smoking on the Big Green Egg. And with our handy ThermoWorks gear, (i.e. DOT and Thermapen Mk4 both in screamin’ Green) smoking and grilling to temperature has gotten a whole lot more accurate.

So when I spotted a post on ThermoWorks blog about competition style BBQ ribs, I just had to put our BGE to work reproducing those delicious BBQ pork ribs.

We sourced our pork ribs from two vendors: our local Kroger grocery store (for back loin ribs) and a butcher shop, Matador Meats, in Plano (for St Louis cut ribs).

I applied our cajun-style dry spice rub to the ribs and refrigerated until we were ready for meat to hit the grill.

Here’s a reprint of my Cajun/Blackening Spice recipe:

  • 2-3 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons chili powde

The Fried Onion Experiment Part 1

Labor Day holiday weekend ended a five-day fast, followed by another 2 weeks of unrepentant feasting, with a couple days of fasting scattered in between. During this time, I spent a lot of hours in the kitchen testing recipes. If you’ve been on my Instagram feed, you’ve seen the outcomes of two weekends’ worth of BBQ: smoked “American” Wagyu brisket, pork belly burnt ends, and BBQ pork ribs (St Louis cut from Matador Meat & Wine and Back Loin from Kroger’s in-house brand). Not to mention the prime (Matador) and A-wagyu (A Bar N) ribeyes we grilled up in the intervening period.

Of course, the add-ons to these main dishes are generally what makes an entire meal complete and wholly satisfying. In my household, it’s usually some vegetable side dish (brussel sprouts, broccoli

Recipe: Smoked Glazed Pork Belly (aka Pork Belly Burnt Ends)

The Labor Day weekend is summer’s last bow before fall arrives, and the holiday is usually marked with backyard cookouts across the US, involving grills and smokers.

My household planned on staying home during the weekend, spending some intimate time with the Big Green Egg XL…and I wanted to do something different with pork belly from my usual crispy smoked roast pork. I wanted something sweet, smoky…and spicy a la Sichuan style. And of course I’d heard of pork belly burnt ends so…

This here hunk of smoked pork belly with crisped skin…

…went back into the BGE with a generous applic