Why didn't we do hot dogs and beer last night? Cause Phil always brings great wines from his cellar that hot dogs wouldn't do justice to. So what does he turn up with? The 2 wines on the left - Trader Joes specials. Cause his cellar's already packed.
The Contadino Pino Grigio was OK; generic white wine with no remarkable qualities one way or the other. The Cantina Zaccagnini was awful. Sort of like red water with a crappy aftertaste. The Pinossimo, some gifted wine from my grab bag rack, was marginally acceptable as an apertif.
To go with the ribs we grabbed my last bottle of '02 Shotfire. God that's great wine. Inky, complex, chocolaty, lots of blackberry and pepper, just fabulous. And it's all gone. Sniff.
The 2004 Torbreck Woodcutters Shiraz was fine. Jammy cherry with a real spiciness and peppery finish. As I recall about a $20 bottle and if so it's a solid deal.
The ribs were smoked baby backs, with a finishing sauce. On a scale of 1 to 10, these were an 11. The sauce was a new one and it was a home run - concept was a basic sweet BBQ sauce with the addition of 2 of the things I think best complement pork: peanuts and black beans. This is so good I'm not even sure I want to share it. But I will cause I'm that kind of guy.
Peanut Butter Black Bean BBQ Sauce
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons fermented black beans
½ cup molasses
¼ cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Colemans mustard powder
2 jalapenos, chopped fine
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup red wine
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 comments:
What kind of peanut butter? Natural? Jif? Crunchy? Smooth?
And where do I get fermented black beans?
Thanks!
I think I used Wal Mart peanut butter which we buy by the vat cause our dogs eat it. It's great! Smooth is best - I guess I didn't post the instructions but you're going to saute the onions, add the rest and simmer it about a half an hour, and then puree it. So crunchy would turn smooth anyway.
I used to see fermented black beans, dried and salted, in little jars in the oriental food aisle of good supermarkets but can't say I do any longer. I got a big jar packed in oil at the oriental grocery. You could use black bean sauce which is easier to find.
Cool, thanks. We have a few really good supermarkets and asian groceries, so I should be able to find those beans.
I had a terrible brisket sandwich the other day, ordered because of my fond memories of your brisket. I think you've ruined me for that cut of meat entirely!
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