S3E8: Up In Smoke

The fellas gather up some of their best boys for a weekend on the water, no phones just high-end cocktails, great steaks and sides. Kayaks, fishin’ poles, canoes, cigars and all the things you need to pack for a real getaway from the world. Fire it up.

Watch the full episode

Recipes from this episode

Porky Old Fashioned

Shipwreck Wedge

Get Creamed Spinach

Heavy Metal Steak

Porky Old Fashioned

Yields: 1 cocktail
Prep Time: 45 minutes (plus resting time overnight)

One of the best things to pair with a phenomenal meal, especially a steak, is a cigar. Something that pairs really well with a cigar and a phenomenal meal? A killer bourbon cocktail. Call us old-fashioned, but the Old Fashioned is one of those libations that can’t be beat, so naturally, we set out to beat it. Some things just can’t be improved, so we pulled out the big guns. First, we use some toasted bourbon to add some complexity. Then we use some bacon grease to fat-wash the bourbon. After that, some candied bacon as a garnish with that luxurious Luxardo cherry, and we are off to the races, babe. Take your time with this one, making it and sippin’ it. This is one of those things you just wanna stay in the moment.

Ingredients:

2 oz fat-washed toasted bourbon, fat-washed (ingredients/directions below)
1 tsp simple syrup (ingredients/directions below)
3 dashes angostura bitters
1 strip of candied bacon for garnish (ingredients/directions below)
1 orange strip for garnish
1 luxardo cherry
1 large Ice cube

Ingredients for Fat-Washed Toasted Bourbon

1 750 ml of toasted barrel bourbon (we used Basil Hayden Toast, and Elijah Craig makes a nice one)
Bacon fat from one lb of cooked bacon

Ingredients for Candied Bacon

1 lb thick-cut bacon, cut in half (to better fit your rocks glass)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp maple syrup

Ingredients for Simple Syrup

1 C water
1 C sugar

Directions for Each Drink:

Fill a metal shaker with ice
Add the bourbon
Add the simple syrup
Add in the bitters
Shake vigorously
Throw a giant cube in the rocks glass
Strain the glorious booze over the cube
Garnish with a cherry, a strip of bacon, and an orange slice
Sip into something more comfortable, baby

Directions for Fat-Washed Toasted Bourbon

Cook the bacon, reserve the fat
Strain the fat through a fine mesh sieve, and get rid of any of the solids
Let it cool a little bit
In a clean plastic jar, combine the warm fat with the bourbon, and stir it
Seal the jar and let it sit at room temperature for 4-8 hours at least
After infusion, put the jar in the freezer for at least 2 hours, so that the fat solidifies and rises to the top
Take it out, and pluck out all the solid fat, discard it
Strain the bourbon through a coffee filter or cheesecloth to get any remaining fat out of it

Directions for Candied Bacon

Preheat your oven to 350
Line a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil
Place a wire rack on the baking sheet
In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, black pepper, and cayenne pepper
Coat each piece of bacon with the sugar mix
Put the bacon on the rack
Drizzle the syrup all over the bacon
Put the bacon in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the sugar is all caramelized on it
Take it out and let it cool, it stores for a few days

Directions for Simple Syrup

In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar and water over medium heat, stirring constantly until evenly mixed and the sugar no longer sits at the bottom of the pan
Let cool to room temp before using

Shipwreck Wedge

Yields:: 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes

A salad can be a good way to start a meal, and we are pretty proud of our Caesar dressing, to be honest. However, during a recent religious pilgrimage to the Mecca of Cajun and Creole cooking, we came across the finest salad we’ve ever had. James Beard-nominated Mason Hereford, owner of Turkey and the Wolf, gave us permission to share this beauty, and it is a wedge salad like you’ve never seen. Imagine a blue cheese dressing that’s a cross between the best blue cheese and the best buttermilk ranch you’ve ever had, and top it with slab bacon, everything bagel seasoning, and some fresh dill to keep this thing fresher than the Prince out in Bel-Air. This is incredibly easy to make and provides such a great salad; it might end up being the highlight of your whole meal. Yeah… It’s that good. It uses an Iceberg lettuce, maybe the baddest iceberg since the one that sank the Titanic, so get ready to wreck a great salad and celebrate your next meal in style.

This recipe is courtesy of Mason Hereford and the great folks from Turkey and the Wolf in New Orleans. Check them out, you won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp everything bagel seasoning (you can buy this pre-made, we make our own sometimes, it is ¼ C sesame seeds, ¼ C poppy seeds, ¼ C dried minced garlic, ¼ C dried minced onions, heated over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, then spread on a plate to cool
1 lb. slab bacon, cut into ½ inch cubes, fried and set aside
2 heads iceberg lettuce, chopped into wedges
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 C homemade chunky blue cheese dressing (see below for

ingredients/directions)

2 C cherry tomatoes, halved
Splash of a good extra virgin olive oil
Juice from ½ a lemon
Small handful of fresh, torn dill sprigs

Ingredients for Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing

10 oz (or 1 ¼ C) of blue cheese crumbles
1 C Mayo (Mason says to use Duke’s, so that’s what we used here)
½ C Sour cream
¼ C Buttermilk
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 ½ tsp hot sauce (like Tabasco)
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 ¼ tsp onion powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp celery salt
½ tsp celery seed
Kosher salt to taste

Directions:

Smack the lettuce heads’ stems side down on the counter, and remove the bottom stems
Cut each wedge in half or ¼’s, so they are equal size
Sprinkle salt and pepper onto each wedge
In a small mixing bowl, toss the halved cherry tomatoes into olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper
Pour the dressing over the wedges
Shake the everything bagel seasoning over everything
Garnish liberally with the bacon and tomatoes
Sprinkle the dill all over the wedge, and…
Take a bite of an incredible salad

Directions for Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing

In a large glass mixing bowl, mix everything together
Take a taste, and if you need to add more salt or lemon juice, go for it (This will stay in your fridge for a week)

Get Creamed Spinach

Yields: 6 servings
Total time: 25 minutes

There are a lot of classic sides for a great steak, and we love ‘em all, ‘taters, mac n’ cheese, you name it. One of the best? Creamed spinach. That creamy, dreamy goodness brings out every flavor in that steak, and it’s pretty easy to make a great one, too. This one uses a few cheeses, and the spinach flavor shines through, too. Popeye himself would be jealous of this beauty. Savory, comforting, and a complex flavor profile round out any celebratory meal and is just plain a side worth celebrating itself. Besides, can you think of a better way to get your veggies?

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh spinach
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 medium vidalia onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 C heavy whipping cream
4 oz room temperature cream cheese
1 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
½ C shredded provolone cheese
Pinch nutmeg
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Boil a pot of water, and cook the spinach for 1 minute
Drain and rinse the spinach, rinse it under cold water
Chop up that spinach
Take a medium pot, and melt the butter, sauteing the onion until it starts to brown a little, at least 5 minutes
Lower the heat to medium or lower, and add in the garlic, cook for another minute or so
Stir in the heavy cream
Stir in the parm and provolone and the nutmeg
Keep heating and stirring until the cheese melts, breaking it up with your spoon
Stir in the spinach until it’s really mixed in, and if it feels too thick, add in another splash of cream
Season generously with salt and pepper
Get creamed

Heavy Metal Steak

Yields: 2 steaks
Prep Time: 40 Minutes (plus resting time for steak at 30 minutes, and an hour of fridge time for the butter)

Imagine being able to make the absolutely perfect steak. Now imagine being able to do it without using a grill... Don't worry. We got you. This recipe allows you to create restaurant-quality, grade A steak, topped with a supremely gourmet compound butter. Odds are good that if you make this dish for someone, they're going to ask if you've ever worked in a steakhouse, and then suggest you open your own restaurant. The best part? This isn't difficult to do! We lay out the steps to make the perfect medium rare steak (we use ribeye, but you can use filet mignon or any cut) with a butter that will require nothing else to impress your date, wife, husband, lawyers, fans, kids, whoever. It doesn't matter. All this steak does is win, win, win, so put those hands up for a dish that is hands down a championship meal. This is super quality steakhouse-level meat, done right in your own kitchen.

Ingredients:

Ingredients

Paprika and rosemary compound butter (ingredients/directions below)
2 Two-inch thick ribeyes
Cast iron skillet (this is necessary for this dish; using a pan that can go from stovetop to oven can work, but not as well)
2 tsp salt
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp of salted butter

Ingredients for Rosemary Compound Butter

1 stick of room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 Tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary (or 2 Tbsp of dried rosemary)
1 tsp of smoked paprika
1/2 tsp of table salt
Parchment paper

Directions:

Heavily salt each side of the steak, and you can add a little pepper if you like
Let the steaks sit out in the kitchen for at least 30 minutes before starting to cook
Preheat oven to 415 degrees
Add your butter to the cast iron skillet, put it on your stovetop, and heat it to high, getting the skillet really, really hot
Place the steaks in the pan, with space between them, and sear for 2 minutes straight
Flip the steaks, and sear for an additional 2 minutes
With oven gloves on, move the skillet into the oven, 4 minutes for rare (recommended), 5 for medium rare (still awesome), Medium 6-7 minutes (ehhhh…), or 8 for medium well (ummm…)
Remove from the oven, put slices of the compound butter on the meat, and put a piece of tinfoil over the steaks and let sit for 5 minutes
..it’s about to get real

Directions for Rosemary Compound Butter

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, rosemary, and smoked paprika, and mix with a spoon or a hand mixer
Roll the butter into a log on the parchment paper
Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours before using (can stay in the fridge for a while if you want to make it in advance)