A Barbecue & Bourbon 'Cue & A
AU: Hi Everyone! We have a very special newsletter for you this week… Elizabeth had an amazing culinary adventure, where she shared some of her BBQ/Grilling knowledge… Lucky for you, she’s spilling all the secrets (with downloadable recipes) below!
Let us know your Grilling & Barbecue Questions in the comments… We’ll answer ‘em in future newsletters!
A WEEKEND OF BOURBON & BBQ…
EK: I got back from the Blue Ridge mountains where I hosted a weekend of Barbecue, Bourbon and Steak at Primland last week. I am still thinking about what a perfect weekend it was.
AU: OK what is this magical Primland you speak of, and how do I get there?!
EK: It really was magical. Primland is a resort in Meadows of Dan, Virginia—it sits on a 12,000 acre estate nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains and is the ultimate mountain destination. The resort is managed by the Auberge Resorts Collection and privately owned by the Primat family whose late father, French industrialist Didier Primat purchased the property in 1977 as an outdoor activity retreat for his family.
The property is tucked away in the mountains and it is 20-30 minutes of a winding scenic mountain road from the front gate to the Lodge, which means once you arrive, you are there until your visit ends. Because it is the sole destination of the weekend, there are lots of activities planned for the guests from classes (like the ones I taught) to spa treatments, sport shooting, golf, RTVs, horseback riding and lots more.
It is the very definition of lux-casual. I remember the first time that I stayed at an Auberge Resort—it was transporting. It is luxurious without being pretentious, and that is why I loved partnering with them to host an interactive weekend.
AU: You told me you hosted a bourbon & ham tasting… but not just any ham. Country ham! Where did that idea come from, and why are they a good pairing?
EK: Yes!! That may have been my favorite activity of the weekend. In 2015, I visited Jim Beam and had a tasting of the single barrel bourbons—Knob Creek, Basil Hayden, Booker’s and Baker’s with master distiller Fred Noe. Turns out writer Steve Coomes became fascinated with country ham and created the tasting for Jim Beam brands, he also wrote the book, Country Ham: A Southern Tradition of Hogs, Salt & Smoke. Anyway, as a lover of country ham and bourbon, I thought it was a great idea. And, no surprise, I’ve wanted to create a tasting with my own twist on his idea.
When Primland loved the idea, I even called Steve and discussed my tasting with him. His tasting was a concept, not a turnkey program, and so I took his idea as my inspiration and created a tasting to introduce people to some interesting bourbons that they might not have tasted before and to some country hams that they might not have tasted before. And, because we had ham, we had to have mini buttermilk biscuits, creamery butter, apple butter and molasses to round out the tasting!
I could write a whole newsletter on the pairings, but in the interest of time, here is the line-up. I started the tasting with OG Maker’s Mark and Benton’s Country Ham because it is a great pairing and a good benchmark to discover more unusual whiskeys and hams. Here’s the whole lineup…
BOURBON AND COUNTRY HAM PAIRINGS
Welcome: Wild Turkey Honey [Since 1940 Lawrenceburg, Kentucky] Spiced Turmeric Tea Hot Toddy with 18-month Old Edwards Ham [Since 1926 Surrey, Virginia] Biscuit
Maker’s Mark [Since 1953 Loretta, KY] and Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams [Since 1947—Benton’s took it over in 1973, Madisonville, Tennessee]
Blade and Bow [original Stitzel-Weller in 1935, re-boot 2016] and Goodnight Brother’s Country Ham [Since 1948, Boone, NC]
Jefferson OCEAN [Since 1997, Louisville, Kentucky—OCEAN launched in 2012] and Col. Bill Newsom’s Country Ham [Recipe deeded in the 1700s, Caldwell County, KY]
Blackened [Since 2018 Sweet Amber Distilling Co., Mineville, NY] and 18-month Lady Edison Extra Fancy Country Ham [Sometime after 2010 Chapel Hill/Carrboro]
One note that I think is super cool is this last spirit, Blackened, is made by the legendary band Metallica!
The band re-mastered whiskey with the late Master Distiller Dave Pickerell…(of Maker’s Mark and Whistle Pig). It is a blend of well-aged bourbon and rye whiskeys, finished in Black Brandy casks (black brandy is a dark amber spirit made from grapes, not in Cognac) and a Black Noise finishing process using Metallica music!!
AU: Wait. Hold up… Are you telling me that this booze was made listening to Enter Sandman?!?
EK: Yes!! Apparently, the trademarked Black Noise finishing process uses low-frequency sound waves of Metallica’s music to force the whiskey to penetrate deeper into the barrel, attracting more caramel, honey and vanilla flavor…
It is not aged in charred new-oak barrels like most bourbon, and thus not technically bourbon, but American whiskey. The Black Brandy barrels impart some of the black brandy flavor—a more common practice with Scotch and Irish whiskeys. That combined with the Metallica playlists make this a unique contemporary bourbon!
And, you can match the number on the bottle with a playlist on the website and download the Metallica playlist from Spotify. Which means that you can listen to the same playlist that “made” the whiskey as you drink it.
Blackened
Nose: Burnt caramel, honey, oak
Taste: light spice, honey, caramel, apricot
Finish: long finish with notes of smooth butterscotch, taffy, maple candy
Proof: 90
The Ham: Lady Edison is owned by Sam Suchoff—chef/owner of The Pig in Chapel Hill. Suchoff is a LA native and a UNC Graduate who stayed in the area after graduation is known for his barbecue restaurant, The Pig.
He sources heritage breed hogs that are a cross of Berkshire, Chester White and Duroc. Founded on the values of animal welfare and sustainability, the business was born out of ‘the appreciation of the way things used to be.’
The ham is dry-cured, unsmoked and long aged for 18 months, from Winter through the next Spring.
AU: OK, we’re moving into grilling season, and you taught a Make-your-own rub class at the resort?
EK: This is one of my favorite classes to teach. It’s rare that you can walk into a room with every kind of spice that you can think of including some really cool specialty spices like dehydrated red wine, Worcestershire, honey, maple syrup, molasses, etc. and make as many different spice combinations as your heart desires. I couldn’t resist and made 2 myself—one sweet dessert rub and one savory rub. Everyone in the class had a blast and most people made about half a dozen new rubs to try out at home.
The room was set up to match my “Make Your Own Rub Chart” (←click here to download).
The chart is a guideline. You can use as many of the columns as you wish or as few—remember in food as in fashion, sometimes less is more and sometimes, MORE is more! People walked around and used measuring spoons to make the rub. My measuring rule of thumb is 1-2 tablespoons salt, depending on how many other spices you are using and 1 teaspoon of most spices unless they are really strong like cayenne pepper and then I only use a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon. Remember, the hotter the spice, the less you use.
Let your creativity flow! You DO YOU! There is no right and no wrong, taste is subjective. I created the chart to give people a guideline/suggestion. For example, the dehydrated powders are great and a little goes a really long way as they are super concentrated. Think about old-fashioned Kool-Aid. The unsweetened pack has about 2 teaspoons lemon/lime powder but requires a cup of sugar and makes 2 quarts or 8 cups of liquid Kool-Aid! It’s the same with dehydrated red wine, vinegars, honey, molasses, and my favorite Worcestershire sauce!
AU: I remember making one of your rub recipes to give out as a wedding favor for mine and Josh’s wedding. You, me, Sarah Abell, and Josh were red in the face and sneezing from all the cayenne (and the Whistle Pig Whiskey didn’t help!). What did you do the final night at Primland?
EK: That was one of my favorite nights ever! I can still remember how much we laughed—and sneezed!
As we both know, all good things come to an end…and we finished the weekend of Barbecue and Bourbon with a dinner from my cookbook, Steak & Cake.
Each person received a copy of my book and I made a simple but elegant and satisfying meal to inspire them to go home and cook out of the book. We started with a dish that #Whats4Dinner readers may remember, my Jumbo Shrimp with Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce which Anthony and I both love to make and we featured in our New Year’s Eve newsletter.
Next up was my version of a salad of warm cepes (like a French porcini mushroom) that I had in Provence, a beautiful Certified Angus Beef tenderloin that was sous-vide and charred with an espresso-rub crust was served with local Old Mill of Guilford coarse-ground cheese grits and a red-eye-gravy glaze.
EK: If that meal didn’t spell C-E-L-E-B-R-A-T-E then the individual Petit Coconut Cake with Lemon Curd Filling certainly did!! Beef Tenderloin and Coconut Cake recipes are in the book:)
And a great time was had by all…
That’s it for this week! As always, if you make our recipes, tag us on the ‘gram (@kitchensitch & @elizabethkarmel), and use the hashtag #whats4dinner. Happy cooking!!
This is fantastic! I'm sharing it with all of my bourbon snob buddies!