PLUG BBQ 2007

This year's PLUG BBQ has come and gone. It was a good chance to see a lot of people that I generally only see on IRC. Incidentally, I propose for next year's event we find someplace that sells "Hello, My IRC Name Is ________" stickers. Knowing somebody's real name wasn't always helpful.

Once again, I brought flank steak. I also brought pork tenderloin. And once again, I was asked for recipes. Everyone assumed that I was going to post them, but they wanted to make sure. So here goes:

Lime Flank Steak Marinade

8 limes, juiced
2 guajillo chiles, dried
1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
2 tablespoons pickling salt
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole achiote
1 teaspoon whole cumin
1/2 cup Canola oil

Put your trimmed flank steak in a gallon zip-top bag and pour in the juice. Put the plastic bag inside another container, just in case something leaks. Marinate your flank steak for about 3 to 4 hours before grilling. Make sure you turn the flank steak at least once while it is marinating. I generally prefer to grill my flank steaks to medium rare, but just in case we had some squeemish guests, I took this one to medium. Make sure to cut very thinly, on a bias, against the grain.

Notes: Of all the marinades, this was easily my favorite. I may very well do another flank steak exactly like this in the near future. The flavor and the seaoning were both perfect.


Dr. Pepper Pork Marinade

12 oz Dr. Pepper
1/4 cup Canola oil
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
2 tablespoons pickling salt
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

Pineapple Pork Marinade

6 oz pineapple juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons Canola oil
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon pickling salt
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

For both marinades: Pour it all into a bag, seal, shake to combine. The mustard will keep the oil and the liquids from seperating too much. Marinate for as much as an hour beforehand, but try not to go much more than that. The only reason my Dr. Pepper marinade us twice as big is because that's how big the can was. This should have enough salt to do a little brining while it marinates. To grill, your only goals need to be to cook the pork through, while still keeping it moise. The brine should help a lot with that.

Notes: Both tenderloins tasted good, but I couldn't tell them apart. Additionally, I would have liked to have had a little more saltiness. Perhaps I should have marinated longer.


Tequila Lime Death Sauce

50 ml tequila
2 limes (juice)
7 oz/wt canned chipotle in adobe
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bay leaf

Combine half of the lime juice with everything else in a saucepan and bring to a low simmer until most of the liquid is evaporated. Remove the bay leaf and pour everything, plus the remaining lime juice, into a food processor or blender and puree. Chill before serving.

Notes: I think I may have wasted a tequila mini. I didn't taste it at all, nor did I taste the lime. I think my next batch needs to have more of both, perhaps reduced before adding the chipotle. I also think I should have sauteed the garlic in a wee bit of oil, perhaps with a diced shallot, before deglazing with the liquid. Still, the sauce was intense, and at about my level of heat. My wife could barely smell it, it was so hot.