Archive for March, 2007

Interesting class.  70 people attended.  It got off to a slow start as we got through introductions and had some students from the meat lab come in and explain scientifically how the smoke ring is formed.  Then it got going.  There were presentations on brisket, ribs, chicken and pork shoulder.  The presentations on how to properly trim a brisket and cut down spares to St. Louis style was very, very good.

What I gained from the course was knowing how to now make burnt ends from the point of the brisket and how to get a good slab of ribs from the spares.  Some rib techniques in the foiling phase were quite interesting with the use of Parkay margarine and brown sugar.  Also learned more about competition.

What I was disappointed in  was the lack of details around competitions.  There were several references to the way the food prep was in relation to competitions but there wasn’t any real explanation of the competitions.  A BBQ panel was to be available at the end but they had all left by the time we finished.

The Market at Jordan Creek just opened so I stopped in after seeing a special about the dry aged beef on the news. The photo shows the temperature controlled area. The steaks are aged like 21 days. You can also get your own rack and age in there which is cheaper than a per steak cost. The prime steaks that are not aged sell for about $20+/pd. Not since Vegas a few years ago had I had an aged steak so probably won’t be getting one anytime soon. As far as the store. Hit or miss on prices. Baby backs were $4.97/pd which isn’t too bad. They also sell Boar’s Head deli meat which my buddy Sergio from NY says is awesome.