Tag: BBQ

Stick To Your Ribs

For years, I’ve resisted the lure of corn ribs. Despite the fact that they were everywhere I turned, plastered over Instagram and Pinterest, playing on an endless loop in TikTok videos, it wasn’t hard. The whole concept was a turn off. Who really wants corn that eats like ribs, with all that sticky, messy sauce coating your fingers as much as the food? In age and wisdom, I’ve come to realize two simple truths:

  1. I need to take myself less seriously.
  2. Being messy and playful is the whole point.

The reason why it took off as a food trend is exactly why I couldn’t stand the idea to begin with, which is more of a personal failing than a dig on the social media complex. Yes, some of the appeal is novelty, like most “stunt food,” but it goes deeper than aesthetics. If you let yourself get dirty, digging in with both hands and throwing caution to the wind, you might just enjoy it.

Besides that, the technique yields effortlessly tender-crisp fresh corn with beautifully charred, lightly caramelized edges.

If BBQ isn’t your bag, there are plenty of alternative seasonings to consider for corn ribs:

To be honest, no further garnishes need apply. A touch of green scallion is nice for color and a gentle hint of allium flavor, but you can happily take those corn ribs from the kitchen to the table as is. When you want to pull out all the stops, that’s far from the only choice. Dipping sauce on the side is always welcome for a cooling contrast too.

More tasty toppings for your corn ribs includes:

An air fryer makes easy work of this recipe without heating up the whole house, but it’s a snap to toss into a conventional oven as well. Double, triple, or quadruple as needed to feed a crowd; the formula is flexible and infinitely scalable like that.

If you’re going to serve corn this summer, you might as well have fun with it. Stop worrying and learn to love the mess.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)5 Comments

Hot Dog Summer

Here in Texas, the land of barbecue, few cuts are more prized than the burnt ends. They may sounds like the rejects, lowest of the low brow, but anyone worth their sauce knows that these elusive morsels hold the most intense flavor. Smoky, caramelized, crunchy yet tender, they’re darkly lacquered with spices and sugar after hours in the pit. They’re richly fatty, sticky and sweet, incredibly umami; all the taste sensations needed like light up your brain like a Christmas tree.

Burnt ends have been a particular fascination for me since moving to the Lone Star State. Everyone is enamored with them, willing to shell out ungodly sums of money for such meager portions, and yet I haven’t seen a single meatless alternative. Given the rising economic and environmental impact of this kind of indulgence, such an omission is downright shocking. Still, I couldn’t quite see an easy conversion in my mind.

That was, until I came across hot dog burnt ends. This is a parallel trend running as a proposed “poor man’s” solution to the beefy barbecue hit. That was just the opening I needed, so I took that concept and ran with it.

Vegan Hot Dog Burnt Ends are the perfect solution for plant-based and omnivorous eaters alike. They’re so deeply burnished in dark and savory caramel, you’d never know there’s no animal meat involved. Serve them as snacks, appetizers, or starters at your next party, and I guarantee they’ll be the talk of the town. Perhaps even best of all, while traditional burnt ends take hours to smoke, slow cooking over a wood fire, vegan hot dogs come fully-cooked and ready to eat. You just need to put the finishing touches on them in the oven, no grill or smoker required.

Keys to success:

  1. Line your pan with aluminum foil or use a disposable pan. Seriously, you do not want to scrape the caramelized gunk out of your favorite baking dish when this is all over. Speaking from personal experience, it sticks tenaciously and terribly.
  2. Select meatless dogs that already have a subtle smoky flavor. That lets us skip the smoking step traditionally done in a barbecue pit or grill. My favorites are Field Roast Signature Stadium Dogs and Upton’s Naturals Updog. Alternately, add 1/2 teaspoon of liquid smoke to your marinade to make up for it with a different brand.
  3. Score your dogs thoroughly. Those slits let all the spices soak in, while creating lots of additional surface area and edges to get extra crispy.

How to make it a meal:

Although these two-bite party-starters are perfect for casual munching, you could easily make them the star of your next dinner. Great ideas for accompaniments include…

Most importantly, consider doubling the recipe. These babies go fast; I promise you won’t have any leftovers even if you triple it.

Finally, I get the irresistible appeal of burnt ends. They’re not just for brisket anymore.

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Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments

The Revolution Will Not Be Carnivorized

There’s a tremendous, unfathomable difference between barbeque sauce and real-deal barbeque, period. Having been repulsed by the sticky sugar syrups laced with all manner of offending spices and artificial flavors, I had written off the entire genre for the better part of my young life. BBQ Revolution, a humble trailer based on Manor Road, is most definitely serving up the genuine article, and has changed the way I think about barbeque altogether.

Possessing intense smoke flavors completely unlike those found bottled and stored in your local mega-mart, each bite of protein is a transportive experience. You can taste the full depth of the fire, the kiss of the flames caressing the blend of mesquite and pecans responsible for the resulting rich nuances, infusing their essence into those toothsome meatless morsels. The whole campfire might as well be roaring right at the table, and I swear it’s even possible to taste the glow of the embers as the sauces linger and slowly burn down. Sweetness is the most subtle seasoning of all, applied as a careful finishing touch much like one might regard salt, to balance out those rich nuances built over so many hours of smoking.

Side dishes undeniably play second fiddle to these stellar attractions, as well they should, but that’s not to say that any are left wanting. Creamy, not gooey nor particularly saucy, the subtly peppered mac and cheese is another revelation. Soft noodles readily surrender themselves into the comforting melange. Potato salad is delivered in the form of a slightly chunky mash, bearing the light twang of vinegar. Attention has clearly been paid even to the lowly, pale slivers of white onion. Appearing for all the world to be merely sad bits of garnish, they are in fact fabulously crunchy accompaniments, surprisingly not the least bit sharp or harsh. They were almost overlooked and left behind in all my excitement- what a terrible mistake that would have been.

If there was just one opportunity to eat out in Austin, I would have to recommend that BBQ Revolution be the destination of choice. No one else, near or far, is creating vegan food of any similar sort. The only difficulty is getting there before the hungry hordes descend; it’s not uncommon to arrive well within their narrow window of open hours, only to find that dreaded “sold out” sign already plastered over the menu board. Come early and come often; your perseverance will be rewarded, because there’s no other way to get these essential Texan eats.

Hannah (BitterSweet)7 Comments