Serves 6 to 8
If you can’t find chuck and/or sirloin, substitute any 85 percent lean ground beef. Handle the meat gently; it should be thoroughly combined but not pastelike. To avoid using the broiler, glaze the loaf in a 500-degree oven; increase cooking time for each interval by 2 to 3 minutes.
- Meat Loaf:
- minced fresh thyme leaves
- paprika
- tomato juice
- low-sodium chicken broth
- unflavored powdered gelatin
- soy sauce
- Dijon mustard
- crushed saltines
- minced fresh parsley leaves
- ground black pepper
- ground sirloin
- ground chuck
- Glaze:
- ketchup
- hot pepper sauce
- ground coriander
- cider vinegar
- light brown sugar
Mojo sauce (recipe follows; makes 1 generous cup) is a citrus-flavored Cuban sauce served with pork. Rice with black beans is an excellent accompaniment to this dish. The use of wood for flavoring is not traditional in this dish and can be omitted if you prefer to keep the emphasis on the pork and seasonings.
Mojo Sauce
Makes 1 generous cup
- Cuban-Style Barbecued Pulled Pork:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- ground cumin
- dried oregano
- brown sugar
- ground black pepper
- Mojo Sauce:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- ground cumin
- orange juice
- juice from 4 limes
- ground black pepper
Makes about 2½ cups
- cider vinegar
- vegetable oil
- Dijon mustard
- maple syrup or honey
- Worcestershire sauce
- Ground black pepper
Makes about 2 cups
This sauce contains no tomato but is rich with heat and vinegar.
- distilled white vinegar
- cider vinegar
- red pepper flakes
- Salt and ground black pepper
Makes about 1 cup
You can adjust the proportions of spices in this all-purpose rub or add or subtract a spice, as you wish. For instance, if you don’t like spicy foods, reduce the cayenne. Or, if you are using hot chili powder, eliminate the cayenne entirely.
- sweet paprika
- chili powder
- ground cumin
- dark brown sugar
- dried oregano
- ground black pepper
- ground white pepper
- 1–2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
Serves 8
Pulled pork can be made with a fresh ham or picnic roast, although our preference is for Boston butt. If using a fresh ham or picnic roast, remove the skin. Preparing pulled pork requires little effort but lots of time. Plan on 10 hours from start to finish: 3 hours with the spice rub, 1 hour to come to room temperature, 3 hours on the grill, 2 hours in the oven, and 1 hour to rest. Wood chunks help flavor the meat; hickory is the traditional choice with pork, although mesquite can be used if desired. Serve the pulled pork on plain white bread or warmed buns with the classic accompaniments of dill pickle chips and coleslaw. You will need a disposable aluminum roasting pan that measures about 10 inches by 8 inches as well as heavy-duty aluminum foil and a brown paper grocery bag.
Serves 8
Pulled pork can be made with a fresh ham or picnic roast, although our preference is for Boston butt. Preparing pulled pork requires little effort, but lots of time. Plan on 10 hours from start to finish: 3 hours with the spice rub, 1 hour to come to room temperature, 3 hours on the grill, 2 hours in the oven, and 1 hour to rest. Wood chunks help flavor the meat; hickory is the traditional choice with pork, although mesquite can be used if desired. Serve the pulled pork on plain white bread or warmed buns with the classic accompaniments of dill pickle chips and coleslaw. You will need a disposable aluminum roasting pan that measures about 10 inches by 8 inches as well as heavy-duty aluminum foil and a brown paper grocery bag.
Serves 4
- Salt and pepper
- cider vinegar
- bourbon
- brown sugar
- Dijon mustard
Serves 8
Although it was originally made with skirt steak, this combination of steak and vegetables grilled and then wrapped in warm tortillas is the dish that put flank steak on the culinary map in the United States. The ingredients go on the grill in order as the fire dies down: steak over a hot fire, vegetables over a medium fire, and tortillas around the edge of the medium to low fire just to warm them.
- lime juice from 2 medium limes
- For the Flank Steak:
- lime juice from 4 medium limes
- fresh cilantro leaves chopped
- medium clove of garlic minced
- medium red onion diced small
- tomato juice
- For the Classic Red Table Salsa:
- lime juice
- fresh cilantro leaves minced
- medium clove of garlic minced
- onion minced
- For the Chunky Guacamole:
- Ground black pepper
- very large onion peeled and cut into half-inch slices
Serves 6
Top blade steaks (also called blade or flatiron steaks) are our first choice, but any boneless roast from the chuck will work. If you end up using a chuck roast, look for the chuck eye roast, an especially flavorful cut that can easily be trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces. Buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes make excellent accompaniments to carbonnade. The traditional copper-colored Belgian ale works best in this stew. If you can’t find one, choose another dark or amber-colored ale of your liking.
- Table salt and ground black pepper
- vegetable oil
- tomato paste
- low-sodium chicken broth
- low-sodium beef broth
- bay leaves
- cider vinegar