BBQ Pulled Pork Tacos

We made tacos this afternoon, nothing complicated, but so so good.

Obviously barbecue pulled pork is smoked slowly for hours and is kind of an art, so I really have no idea how to do that. We don't have that kind of time anyway, nor do we have a meat smoker. So we used smoked pork shoulder that we found at Costco and decided to make tacos with it. On top of the BBQ pork is a slaw we put together with cabbage, red onion, carrot, cilantro, olive oil, lime, cumin, and salt and pepper. We used small white corn tortillas heated in the oven.

I can't even explain how good this was. It's fun when you're just trying to throw something together and you end up making something great. 

Bruschetta

We made some bruschetta recently and it was really good. This is literally the simplest thing to make that has ever existed, but I thought I'd share anyway.

Ingredients:

6 ripe roma tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper

fresh basil

fresh parmesan cheese

balsamic vinegar

good artisan bread

First chop the tomatoes into small cubes and put them in a bowl. Add 4 cloves of finely minced garlic and a teaspoon of olive oil. Add thinly sliced basil and salt and pepper. Allow for these ingredients to sit for a few minutes, the flavors will get better the longer they sit together. 

Lightly butter the bread slices and place them in the broiler until lightly crispy. Top the bread with the tomato mixture and plate. I like to shave fresh parmesan cheese over the top with a few drops of balsamic vinegar to finish. It's seriously so easy, but such a good appetizer. Mel and I made it for dinner one night this week and it was great.

Please try it out and let me know what you think.

PS. the best bruschetta ever is at Tuscany in Sugarhouse. They have a couple of different kinds; the green tomato with goat cheese is the best thing I've ever had.

I'm a fan...

If you love liquorice and have never tried Kookaburra Australian Style, then you don't quite know what you're missing. Put away the red vines and go buy a bag of this stuff. Best. Liquorice. Ever.

It's actually pretty hard to find, but is becoming more popular amongst grocery stores and gas stations. But beware of imitators; make sure you get Kookaburra "Old Fashion Red," it's strawberry and it's amazing. No road trip is complete without it.

Tips for Cooking a Delicious Steak

There are few things greater than a good steak. Think back and I'm sure you can remember

where you had your favorite steak. It was probably in your backyard with your dad, or at a 

fancy steakhouse somewhere. One of mine was on a Sunday afternoon with my mom. Oh brother, she can cook a steak.

Well, there are some little things that you can do to make your steak a little better. Here are a few tips:

1. Pick a high-quality steak. The USDA gives steaks certain grades according to the quality and marbling of the meat, as well as the age of the cow. Here are the top steak grades in order:

-Prime

-Choice

-Select

-Standard

Choice grade is what you would find at Outback and Ruby River. Prime grade meat is what you would find at a steakhouse like Ruth's Chris, Morton's, etc. You really can taste the difference when you're at a quality steakhouse, but Prime is super expensive, which is sad.

I've found it is pretty hard to purchase Prime grade meat in Utah Valley, but I did find some at Costco today, which was exciting. 

2. Choose the right cut of meat. It all depends on what you like. For me, it's between the Ribeye and the Filet. I love Ribeye because it's flavorful and rich. But Filet is always tender and delicious. It's up to you!

3. Season your steak with a lot of salt and pepper before placing on the grill, pan, or broiler. I was watching a steak grilling tutorial on youtube the other day and the guy put this tiny little pinch of salt on his steak. Steak needs to be seasoned! Most steakhouses season their meats VERY WELL. That's why they're so good. Also, season early and let it sit for about 20 minutes. That will allow the salt to dissolve into the meat and evenly flavor it.

4. Let your meat come to room temperature before grilling. If you throw your steak on the grill right out of the fridge, it will take longer to cook. 

5. Don't freeze your meat! Freezing steak completely changes the taste of the meat and it isn't very appetizing. 

6. Put it on the grill (or pan or broiler) and don't touch it. Sometimes you see guys cooking steaks and they're just flipping it over and over again. It may look cool and manly, but it isn't good for the meat. Put it on there and leave it alone. You want to put a good crust on your steak and keep the juicyness of the meat. If you are grabbing and flipping it the whole time it doesn't have the chance to caramelize, it will toughen the meat, and it will probably lose a lot of it's juiciness.

When grilling steak a good rule of thumb for medium rare steak is to cook for 5 minutes per side, per 1-inch thickness. So if you have a 1.5 inch cut of meat, cook it for 7.5 minutes per side. 

When pan-searing a steak, sear it for 1-2 minutes per side and throw it in the oven for another 7.

Now, I'm no steak professional and I've ruined my fair share of steaks, but hopefully these hints are as helpful to you as they have been to me. Bon Appetit!