Memphis Dry Ribs and Nashville Hot Chicken
I decided to go to Tennessee to watch the big game. I'm glad I did, the food was great! Rendezvous-style Memphis dry ribs, Nashville hot chicken on buttermilk biscuits, creamed chard and mac n' cheese were on the menu.
Here's how it all went down:
Buttermilk biscuits
Whisk together:
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 1 T. baking powder
- 1/2 t. salt
Add 1/3 c. butter (cut in pats) and cut together using a potato masher. The butter should end up the texture of pea gravel.
Mix in 3/4 c buttermilk and quickly knead the dough into a loose mass.
Roll the dough to about 3/4".
Cut the dough into ~2.5" circles and arrange them on a baking pan.
Bake at 450F for about 10 minutes, until golden brown.
Creamed chard
Put ~1lb. cleaned, de-veined, frozen chard in a heavy pot.
Cook on medium heat uncovered until most of the moisture is gone.
Fry one small onion (finely diced) in 2 T. bacon fat until nice and brown.
Stir in 1 T. flour and cook for a bit.
Whisk in 1/4 c. warm milk and 1/3 c. warm cream.
Stir and heat until thick.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour cream sauce over chard and mix.
Mac n' cheese
Make a roux with 2 T. butter and 2 T. flour.
Whisk in milk and cream (1:1) to make a thin white sauce.
Add 1 lb havarti cheese and melt while stirring.
Boil ~1/2 lb. penne until done.
Drain and combine with cheese sauce.
Place in a small greased baking dish and cover with bread crumbs and more small cubes of havarti.
Bake, covered at 350 until bubbly.
Uncover and broil for a bit to brown the top.
Memphis dry ribs
Cut a 3 lb slab of ribs in half and dry brine with about a tsp of salt. Let them sit for a few hours.
Make your rub:
4 T. paprika
2 T. garlic powder
2 T. goatsweed flakes
1 T. black pepper
1 T. ground yellow mustard
1 t. ground celery seed
1 t. oregano
1 t. thyme
1/2 t. ground allspice
1/2 t. ground coriander
In a small saucepan, combine:
2 T. rub ^
2 T. Texas Creek Chipotle barbecue sauce
1/4 c white vinegar
a splash of water
Heat to a simmer and stir a few times.
Kill heat a and set aside.
Start a bigass fire in your bullet smoker.
Place the ribs on the lower rack and cover. Part of the secret to good Memphis ribs is a good, hot, direct flame. None of this low and slow crap!
The melting fat drips onto the coals and the resulting smoke imparts that wonderful char broiled flavor to the meat. Keeping the meat well above the coals prevents them from getting overly flame-kissed.
After about 15 minutes, mop ribs and cover again. Repeatedly opening the smoker allows a big waft of air to fan the flames periodically. That extra blast of heat makes these ribs
happen.
After another 15 minutes or so, mop again and flip.
Keep mopping and flipping over direct heat until a good bark and char develops.
Once they look sexy, put them on the uppper rack to finish cooking with less direct heat.
Pull ribs once they pass your doneness test (bend, toothpick, whatever...).
Cover with foil and keep warm until dinnertime.
Nashville hot chicken strips
Slice about 1.5 lb. boneless chicken breasts into fat fingers.
Dry brine with about a half tsp. salt and a small handful of cayenne flakes.
Combine in a ziploc bag:
1 c. flour
1 T. cayenne flakes
1 t. garlic powder
1t. oregano
2 T. cocoa powder (FOR THE WIN!)
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. ground celery seed
Heat ~2" oil to 360F
After the chicken has brined for an hour or so, dredge it in the flour mix ^.
Let the strips sit for ~15 minutes to dry a bit.
Re-dredge.
Dip strips in egg wash:
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1/2 T. Louisiana Habanero sauce
Drip off excess and dredge again.
Fry immediately, keeping oil above 360F.
Drain chicken strips.
In a glass bowl, combine 3 T. goatsweed powder and ~1/2 c. frying oil.
Microwave this ^ for a bit to make chile oils dissolve.
Dip fried chicken strips in oil to coat.
Open one biscuit and place it on a serving plate. Put a few hot chicken strips on the biscuit and garnish with okra pods (pickled with chiles and garlic). Slice ribs into two rib sections and put a few pieces on the plate. Dust with more rub if desired. Add a scoop each of mac 'n cheese and creamed greens and you have (what this Northerner imagines would be) a delicious, authentic Tennessee feast!
One of these days, I'm going to remember to add POL to another pic besides the ingredients pic. Until then...