Thursday, August 29, 2019
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Friday, January 13, 2012
Tamales of the Candy Cane Brisket Variety
You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas. And I will eat Tamales. - Davey Crockett
Greetings from beyond the internet void that was created in the past months with the lack of El Smokeador Y Smokehopper posts. You have no doubt been trying the various restaurants on the Fort Worth Restaurant List that Smokehopper compiled. Thank you for doing that Smokehopper. Fuzzy's truly is a gem in our small corner of this great state. We have been busy in the lab since the FWRL post coming up with new ideas that will mark 2012 as a banner year for our blog posting, meat smoking, most important, unimportant, little corner of the web community known as the internet. A taste of what we plan to bring you in 2012:
1) Chocotaco with brisket as the taco - brisket formed into a taco shell and filled with chocolate.
2) The Brisket - a silent brisket that is the best silent brisket since the silent brisket era. Film buffs will like this one.
3) Karaoke Brisket featuring a Wolf Parade reunion and BBQ Beans
4) Untitled Brisket Music project collaboration with Dan Auerbach and the Ghost of Lightnin' Hopkins
5) A how to on microwaving a brisket and ribs. From scratch.
6) Another turkey sandwich from Smokehopper.
Exciting. On to tamales.
Since we are the number 1 internet stop for confectionery BBQ, we have been toying with the idea of a Christmas brisket for some time. Candy canes certainly had to be involved, but ended up playing a minor part in this. Kind of like Tea Leoni in Deep Impact. In this sites opinion, that tidal wave should have ended her storyline in the first 10 minutes. Just a terrible movie.
Back on topic. I crushed up a bunch of candy canes with a hammer, rubbed it with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, etc. and the crushed candy canes, smoked it and it was good.
It is time for a new smoker. The New Braunfels that has treated me so well for the past 3+ years isn't doing it for me anymore. 7lb brisket took almost 14 hours. Also, I need to take better pictures of the sliced brisket. This looks rubbery and tough, but that was not the case. The candy cane added no flavor to the meat. I was disappointed after the success of the butterfinger brisket, but I guess that was to be expected. Long story short, after making a sandwich I still had half of brisket leftover. Luckily, I saved the drippings from the smoking process and had stowed them in the freezer. Couple of days later LSmoke and I conversed and decided that brisket tamales are not featured very often and it needed to be done.
We started by soaking the husks for 45 minutes in warm water. No pictures of this. Put the husks in a pot and turn on the water from the sink. Add it to the pot. Let them soak.
Chopped up the rest of the brisket. This is only some of it.
Took the layer of lard off the top of the frozen drippings and put the drippings in a pan and heated it up.
Added the chopped brisket and a beer to the drippings. Let it simmer for close to an hour while adding some water and another beer.
Moved meat to a bowl to be strained.
Strained the meat and this was leftover.
Added that to this along with some of the lard (maybe a quarter cup) and mixed it up.
Could have used a Cornballer here. Made the mix into golf-ball sized balls of corn.
Next part is a little tricky. Grab two husks, put a ball of the corn mix in between the two and mash it down until its flat and resembles something you could roll up and put meat inside of. Then add a scoop of the meat and roll it up.
Pack them into a steamer.
And let it sit for about an hour.
Celebrate like you're at a dirt bike rally at the AAC when they are done.
Finished product.
You can see the brisket in there. I am not the best at plating. We had an idea of making a white queso and an ridiculously red salsa to make a candy cane looking bed of stuff on a plate to put the tamales on. But I was hungry and didn't. Next time maybe, but probably not. Tamales all look the same from the outside anyway, right? Reconstituting the brisket in the drippings and using the strained juice in the masa added so much flavor that it was really like eating a tamale filled with brisket. I don't know how else to describe it. Delicious? Smokey? Candy caney? Yes, yes, no.
We also made tamales with rib meat. Post forthcoming.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Fort Worth Restaurant List
OK Everybody. We were all tired of not having an adequate Fort Worth restaurant list...SO I BUILT ONE.
The criteria for the list is as follows
1) The restaurant cannot be a "chain restaurant". (Although there are exceptions)
2) The restaurant must be inside the 820 loop. (Although there are exceptions)
Here it is. Please let me know of any restaurants that I missed. This list is ever changing and I need everyone's help to keep it current, and accurate. As suggestions are made, I will update the list under this post heading. Please use it!!!!!
Also, there is no ranking going on here. It will be up to you to determine if these places are worth going to.
Fine Dining:
1. Del Friscos
2. Grace
3. St. Emilion
4. Ruth’s Chris
5. Bob’s
6. Chop House
7. Schula’s
8. Eddie V’s
9. Bella West
10. Bailey’s Prime
11. La Piazza
12. Silver Fox
13. Lonesome Dove
14. Ellerbee’s
15. Bonnell’s
16. Reata
17. Lambert’s
18. Lanny’s
19. Pop Safari
20. Ray’s Prime Steak / Seafood
21. Piola
22. Fort Worth Club/Petroleum
23. Various Country Clubs
24. Six 10 Grille
Casual Dining:
1.
2. Lilly’s
3. Nonna Tatta
4. Patrizios
5. Tillman’s Roadhouse
6. Fireside Pies
7. Brownstone
8. Michael’s
9. The Tavern
10. Sapristi
11. Grady’s
12. Rufino’s
13. Taverna
14. Buttons
15. Winslow’s
16. Bricks
17. Cafe 1187
18. Shaw’s
19. Simply Fondue
20. Italian Inn
21.
22.
23. Lucille’s
24. Magnolia Motor Lounge
25. Ferre
26. Cowtown Diner
27. Daddy Jack’s
28. Paco and John’s
29. Milano’s
30. Sardine’s
31. Spiral Diner
32. Mama Mia Italian
33. Café Bella
34. Pappadeaux
35. Margie’s Italian
36. Fortuna
37. Mancuso’s Italian
38. Cattleman’s
39. H3 Steak House
40.
41. Vidalia’s
42. Zambrano’s
Even More Casual:
1. Mellow Mushroom
2. Rock Bottom
3. Hoffbrau
4. M&M Steakhouse
5. Williamson Steak House
6. Fuzzy’s
7. The Point
8. Zeke’s Fish and Chips
9.
10. Perroti’s
11. Drew’s Place
12. Mama’s Pizza
13.
14. Boomer Jack’s
15. J & J’s Oyster Bar
16. Lone Star Oyster Bar
17. Flying Fish
18. Cabo Grande
19. Red Cactus
20. Blue
21. Parton’s Pizza
Fine Mexican:
1. Mi Cocina
2. Gloria’s
3. Cantina
4. Hacienda San Miguel
5. Revolver Taco Lounge
Tex/Mex:
1. Joe T Garcia’s
2. Chimey’s
3. La Familia
4. Pullido’s
5. Esperanzas
6. El Rancho Grande
7.
8. Chuy’s
9. The Original
10. La Playa Maya
11. Tres Joses
12. El Asadero
13. Salsa Fuego
14. Tortillandia
15. Dos Gringos
16. Benito’s
17. Pappacitos
18. Mi Cocinita
19. Uncle Julio’s
20. Mercado Juarez
21. Los Vaqueros
22. Mi Charito
23. Los Mier
24. Don Juan’s
25. Fiesta Mexican
26. La Playita
27. Dos Molinas
28.
29. Cancun Restaurant
Sushi:
1. Axiom
2. Axiom Hulen
3. Blue
4. Hui Chan
5. Piranha
6.
7. Edohana
8. Sushi Q
9. MK Sushi
10. Hammerhead Sushi
11. Wasabi Sushi
12. Sanjuku Station
13. Temaki Sushi
14.
15. Taste of
16. Sushi Yoko
Thai/Viet/Korean:
1. Thai Tina’s
2. Thai Orchid
3. Pho
4.
5. Thai Rice and Noodle
6. Thai Select
7. Pho’s Saigon
8. Jun Suree Thai
9.
10. Sikhay
11. Sonny’s Diner
12. Tu Hai
13. Pho Noodle and Grill
Foreign Flavors:
1. Maharaja
2.
3.
4. King Tut
5. Chadra Mezza
6. Terra
7. Greek House
8. George’s Specialty Food
9.
10. Eddelweis
11. Bavarian Bakery
12. Sczheuan
13.
14. PF Chang’s
Lunch /Breakfast Only:
1. Jazz Café
2. Carshon’s Deli
3.
4. Vickery Café
5.
6. Paul’s Doughnuts
7. Old Neighborhood Grill
8. Yogi’s
9. Galligaskin’s
10. Café
11. Park Hill Cafe
12. The Lunch Box
13. Pack a Pocket
14. The Great Outdoors
15. Zoe’s Kitchen
16. Mi Cocinita
17. Carniceria dos Hermanos
18. Black Rooster Bakery
19. Bluebonnet Café
20. McKinley's
21. Swiss Pastry Shop
22.
23. Day Break Café
24. Ol’ South
25. Central Market
26. Blue Bonnet Bakery
27. The Gardens Restaurant
28.
29. Emi G’s Sandwiches
30. Star Café
31.
Burgers:
1. Fred’s
2. Charlie’s
3. Dutch’s
4. Love Shack
5. Tommy’s
6. Kinkaid’s
7. Pappas Burgers
8. M & O Burger
9. Five Guys’ Burgers
10. Smash Burger
11. Chubby’s
12. Jake’s
13. Your Way
BBQ:
1. Railhead
2. Angelo’s
3. The Smoke Pit
4. Sammies BBQ
5. Smokey’s BBQ
6. William’s BBQ
7. Risky’s BBQ
8. Coopers BBQ
9. Cousin’s BBQ
Tacos:
1. Taqueria San Luis
2. Tacos Don Miguel
3. Melis Taqueria
4. Taco Heads
5. Salsa Limon
6. Yes! Taco
7. Yum Yum Truck
8. Tortas La Hechizera
9. Granny’s Tacos
10. Quickway Burritos
Bars with Food:
1. The Pour House
2. The Flying Saucer
3. Fox and the Hound
4. The Ginger Man
5.
6. The Aardvark
7. Lucky Strike
8. 8.0’s
9. Embargo