I happen to be going through some messages on Twitter and saw a message about a cooking class at Distrito, at the Saguaro Hotel.
When I clicked on the link the class was about smoking meat. Hhmm.... It made mention that you would be taught how to smoke meat, how to make a rub and how to make beer can chicken. I had no plans for that Sunday ~ so....why not! I asked my friend Stephanie if she had plans and told her about the class and she was excited at the opportunity! Woohoo!!
We learned in class that for smoking meat, the right type of charcoal is needed. Chef Michael recommends using pure 100% hardwood as shown here by Chef Ken.
People will have different opinions on what type of charcoal to use, but mesquite or hickory are the most popular. But Chef Michael mentioned that Ono from Hawaii (which is all natural) and Binchotan from Japan (white oak) are also great as they are not pressed from other woods.The first thing Chef Michael showed us was how to make the beer can chicken. He used a 4 pound free range chicken, rinse the chicken and then make sure to pat it dry. This is VERY important to get the skin crispy.
Then Chef salted the chicken - all over and let the chicken sit while he showed us how to make the Adobo bbq spice rub and this allows time for the salt to sit and pull the moisture out of the chicken so the rub will stick.
While the chicken was waiting in the wings, (lmao!! ~ sorry fowl humor!!) Chef Michael then combined all the ingredients needed for the Adobo rub. He mixed it all up to make sure it was done well. Once that was completed, he generously coated the chicken with the mixture.
Make sure the chicken is coated well. He mentioned that you also want to make sure that you coat the inside too and to shake off any excess.
He then took a beer can and poured out half (usually he would drink it but since he was teaching he didn't feel right about it) and took some sliced lemon and oranges and put in the beer can.
Once that task was done Chef brought the chicken back so he could place the chicken on the can or is it the can in the chicken?? lol
I'll let you decide......
You'll let the chicken with the rub set for about 30 minutes before you put it on the grill.
One tip that Chef told us was that you'll want to make sure you tuck the wings into the neck. The reason ~ it's one of the ways you can tell that the chicken is done.....the wings will pop out. Make sure that the chicken and can are secure.
Cooking time for your chicken will depend on how many pounds but Chef recommends not going larger than 4 pounds and figure about 20 minutes a pound at 375 degrees.
One of the things that Chef Michael told us is that when you light your grill, you want to make sure that the center burner is off. Only use the side ones. Or if you are using charcoal ~ make sure the charcoal is on one side.
You will place the chicken on either the non-charcoal side or the burner that is off.
Here you can see Chef Ken placing the new bird on the grill as Chef Michael brings in the bird that is done.
You can see from the picture below that the wings have popped. Oh...and don't worry about the color of the skin. It's not burnt (cause that was my first thought).
It's from the rub and the caramelization of the sugar. (cause I don't like burnt food~and it wasn't)
Let me tell you what, when Chef brought the chicken in, I swear people were going to attack it.
That chicken smelled SO good. And it was steaming hot!
Chef let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes before he removed the can. Then he carved the chicken, though the meat practically fell right off and served it to us.
We were all enjoying the aroma of the sliced chicken and you could smell the adobo rub and it was amazing.
The chicken was SO tender, moist and SO flavorful. And the skin, he just chopped up to sprinkle on top of the chicken for that added crunch texture.
I have NEVER had beer can chicken before and let me just say (per my notes for the blog -sorry in advance if I offend anyone) OMFG!!! FIRST TIME AND LOVED IT!!
While we all chatted about the chicken and sipped on our margarita's. Chef was chatting along with us while cleaning his station to move to the next course.
From chicken we moved onto ribs. For this Chef Michael used Tenderbelly (brand) ribs -which are Berkshire hogs.
The Berkshire breed is the most purest of breeds dating back almost 200 years and was discovered almost 100 years before that in the shire of Berks in England.
Chef also mentioned other breeds that are excellent such as Hampshire and American Yorkshire as they are higher in fat content and are very tender.
Chef started prepping the ribs by turning it over to remove the "pellicle" or membrane. He showed us a simple way of doing that. To score it down the middle length wise and then slide the tip of your knife underneath the pellicle to loosen. Once you get a piece, use a kitchen towel to grip and peel off. Then turn it around and do the same to the bottom half.
Once that task was completed Chef salted the ribs and then pressed the rub into it. He used bbq rub on the ribs ~ sadly we didn't we receive the recipe for this as it was the house blend.
Chef mentioned that if you don't have a smoker and are using a grill to make sure you leave the center burner off as you did with the chicken and place a foil packet of wood chips on one of the lit burner.
Use any chips that you desire. The blend that was used was 40% hickory, 40% mesquite and 20% apple.
To the left you can see the ribs that Chef just got done putting love into and the two ribs to the right are the ribs that Chef Ken had just brought in.
And let me tell you, the aroma from the ribs were mouthwatering!!! They smelled SO good!
While he let those rest, he was working on another set of ribs that he was going to cook in a different way, though the prep for it was the same that I mentioned above.
The difference with this one is that it is double foil wrapped making a pouch to add beer to it. Make sure the top is secure and one of the ends are closed to pour in the beer.
Doesn't matter what kind of beer but for this cooking class he used Kilt Lifter Ale. Once the beer is added make sure to seal tightly and place on the rack over the "off" burner for about 3 hours.
I'm sure you can imagine what those ribs smelled like when Chef opened the foil as the steam came out. OMG!!!
Chef Michael took the foiled ribs out of it's pouch and transferred it into the pan and poured the beer au jus over it while it cooled down a bit.
We were all focused on watching as Chef Michael and Chef Ken as they carved into the dry ribs. And by dry I mean, no wet sauce.
What we didn't realize is that we were in for a treat.
Though we had two styles of ribs, we got THREE different takes on them.
We were served one of the ribs just as they were with the dry rub and then with the same dry rub ribs also drizzled bbq sauce on it.
And the foil cooked ribs were served as is.
Think the picture below says it all...it was terrible!!! LMAO!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!
What surprised me and I'm sure a few others was that Chef Michael made two different styles of ribs but by adding bbq sauce to the dry rubbed one ~ changed the taste or rather added another layer of flavor to it.
It certainly left us wanting more. It was all SO good!
And to think if that wasn't amazing enough, Chef then cleaned up his station for the next course!!
From ribs we move to brisket.
I personally have not cooked a brisket before so it was interesting to learn about it.
Chef used a beef brisket that was about 12 pounds. You need to start brisket the night before as it takes about 14 hours. So what he prepared in class would be used the next evening.
Chef recommends that if your grill is small and the brisket is too large for the grill then to use your oven. The reason for this is when you cut the muscle, it changes the texture of the meat.
I learned that there are 3 tiers or layers to a brisket. The bottom, top and crown.
You cook with the fat side up and when you transfer the meet for serving, you put the fat side down.
I also learned that when you smoke meat, that once the meat temperature reaches 150 degrees it doesn't get any smokier.
Again if using a grill make sure the wood chips packs are on the "on" burner, leaving the center burner off.
Chef Michael generously puts on the adobo spice rub. I mean he put on a lot, massaging it and pressing into the meat. Once he felt that there was enough on there (if that's even possible) he then cooks it for 14 hours or until the brisket reaches 170 degrees.
Once 170 degree temperature is achieved, you want to take gently take your brisket and place in double foil making a pouch like you did with the ribs.
Once the brisket is done, allow to rest for 2 hours and make sure to keep the juices from the meat.
Chef Michael recommends getting whole spices instead of pre-ground dried if you can, as the whole spices have a longer shelf life.
Once the meat had rested, Chef Ken taught us how to remove the fat cap from the brisket.
He told us that you put the fat cap placed towards you where you can scrape the fat with the grain of the meat ~ never scrape against the grain.
And that when you cut the brisket, you cut it against the grain... it's more tender when you do.
He told us that you put the fat cap placed towards you where you can scrape the fat with the grain of the meat ~ never scrape against the grain.
And that when you cut the brisket, you cut it against the grain... it's more tender when you do.
After Chef Ken removed the fat, he turned it over and started slicing the brisket and Chef Michael jumped in to help.
While they were slicing, Chef talked to us about the "smoke ring". Smoke rings are a good thing to have on your meat. It shows that it's been done good.
Basically the smoke ring is the pink color that's just under the bark (the crust).
A good smoke ring is around 1/4 inch in thickness.
It's the water soaked wood chips that produces nitrogen dioxide loaded smoke.
As you can tell by the picture to the right, the smoke ring on THIS brisket ~ was PERFECT. And when the plate was passed around Chef also passed a plate of the bbq sauce for those who wanted a little something extra - but it didn't need it.
The brisket was SO tender and moist and I think the best part of it was the bark. It was like dessert ~ it was very, very YUMMY!!
After the brisket we couldn't imagine having anymore...well, ok maybe we did. :)-
Chef Michael pulled out some green onions. Ok-so those that know me, know I don't care for green onions. But I watched and listened with great interest.Chef took the green onions and drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled salt on them and gave them to Chef Ken to grill.
While Chef Ken was keeping a watchful eye on the onions, Chef Michael was making the pipian rojo. And the best part was he made it using a mortar and pestle.
You can use a food processor but using a mortar brings out the flavor in the spices. Don't worry about the pipian sauce being a bit loose, as it sits or when you refrigerate it ~ it will thicken.
When the plate with the onions with cotija cheese sprinkled on top came around I was a bit hesitant but I grabbed one and tried it with the pipian sauce.
Umm.. Chef Michael ~ I LOVED IT!
I don't know if it was due to the onion being grilled or the sauce or perhaps both....but I would gladly have more!! (thank you Chef ;) )
We thought that was the end of class as the pipian sauce was the last on the hand out BUT Chef Michael had one last treat for us.
He made us a coleslaw with cabbage, jicima and carrots. He whipped up the seasoning for the coleslaw and added it to the slaw.
He topped the coleslaw with a julienned granny smith apples and can I just say WOW. I'm not a huge coleslaw fan but I LOVED how Chef Michael made this one.
I think it had to do with the fact that it didn't taste like vinegar. It was smooth and refreshing and the apple added the perfect balance to the dish.
While we were finishing our slaw, Chef Michael had one last treat for us.
They had set up a station with the spices used in the adobo rub with mason like jars for us to be able to make our rubs to take home!
It was SO awesome and fun do to. It made the class that much more memorable....not like you could forget Chef Michael or the team that assisted him ~ Chef Ken, Chef Nate and last but not certainly least Mateo.
Chef Michael, the class was amazing and thank you SO much for taking the time. Hope you come back to teach another in the near future!
To the team ~ Chef Ken, Chef Nate and Mateo, thank you for your hard work and making sure we were all taken care of.
To The Saguaro Hotel and Distrito ~ Thank you for putting on an amazing class and I can't wait to take another one!
The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sauces.
– Albert Einstein
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