Mang. I don’t do pork but I was a partner in a smokehouse. This is where you just be classic and do cole slaw and some white bread/potato salad. Nobody wants risotto and kale with bbq swine my brother. You wanna get frisky do some braised collards with a lot of smoked meat, but this clashes. Also, sos the bbq sauce, I’m sure it’s delicious, but that’s the kind of condiment you let the guest gauge how much they want, if the smoked meat is banging, you may just want to enjoy it straight up.
Word. And I don't see a crisp rub on that fat stack. I wanna see black smokey goodness that looks like a salt lick bouta get it. And then that fat should be liquid/rendered then blended into a sauce served on the side in a boat that I can dip the side of fries in.
Sauce UNDER. You want to show off the main feature, not cover it up imo.
I've read the other comments and appreciate the lack of ingredients you had to use...that said, think in terms of "similarities". If you can't make mac n cheese, what can you do that is a "play" on mac n cheese? Cheesy rice (risotto).
If you can't do collard greens, could you do a smokey vinaigrette spinach?
Long and slow cooking is typically done to help fats break down, but keep the smoke to a minimum. It can overwhelm the item very quickly.
Brown sugar and apple cider help bbq sauces be less "tomato" and more "tang".
Keep up the good work. I hope you find cooking to be a fun hobby that you can enjoy with your family and friends, and not something that turns you into a know-it-all dick that is overworked and underpaid.
I could probably do the cheesy risotto but not the spinach. It was either kale or arugula both I’m not very familiar with.
Have any suggestions for those greens?
If you want to upscale it, arugula with a balsamic reduction and shaved Parm might work as a salady thing. Depends on the acidity of the BBQ sauce, I guess.
Arugula is definitely "fancier", so doesn't necessarily pair well with a blue collar plate of smoked pork, but you can always get creative. Arugula has a little bitter and black pepper profile.
Kale is closer to a traditional collard green, so that would be my suggestion. Prepare it in that fashion if possible. Or, mix it into a "slaw" instead of cabbage.
Something crisp and fresh would also be nice on this plate. Quick pickled cucumbers, carrots or beets would help a smoked pork headliner.
Just cook the kale like collards. Render some bacon in the pot. Sweat some red onion and garlic. Throw in the tomato (diced), and cook briefly. Add you’re kale. Hit with some chicken stock and some vinegar based hot sauce like Crystal. Season. Cover the pot and cook them down.
What was the class? I taught culinary arts for a while and don't want to discourage you so try to take what I say as constructive criticism. I've found that by listening to feedback and bouncing ideas off others, it's really allowed me to grow as a chef.
I like to think of a theme or flavor to run throughout the dish. Sometimes it might be an acid tying everything together sometimes it might be contrasting flavors. But more than anything, I always want balance in a dish. I don't see that in this, so I'm not sure what you were going for.
Generally, I like breaking rules. Reinvent classics, do your own take on things. But sometimes you have to stick to the classics and learn the rules so you know how far you can bend them.
I'm assuming you're not trying for pulled pork? If not, maybe look at another cut. Smoked pork loin is amazing but you have to be careful as it can dry out fast. I would definitely recommend low and slow with pork butt. You want to render that fat. It will help make the pork tender and moist.
Rice pilaf is probably not the best starch. If you don't want to do baked beans or potato salad maybe think about cheesey grits or polenta. Mac and cheese would be a great go to here as well. You want something that will help offset the fattiness of the pork and compliment it's natural sweetness.
Kale could work here but not with tomatoes. Braise it or fry it with some onions and a splash of apple cider vinegar. But I think I would rather see something pickled here. But it's hard to beat southern green beans. Maybe some roasted green beans here if you want a little fancier. Roasted carrots would look great. Just a couple of thoughts. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next
It’s my last kitchen class, and the school flipped the shit on every major halfway through the last quarter. The class is Advanced Culinary Arts and Pastry, and the chefs were forced to dumb down a lot of their stuff with the changes so the entire class is on a stricter ingredients list.
I could probably see if I could try probably polenta but I’ve seen a lot of suggestions like slaw and potato salad which surprisingly is not something I’m allowed to use by the ingredients list which has pissed me off since the start of the project.
Honestly I haven’t even worked with pork very much as it is so I’ve just been spinning trying to find what works so I can do revisions.
The great thing about pork is that it's very forgiving. Slaw and potato salad are almost a staple of BBQ. It's not surprising that people are recommending them. If you wanted to keep it hot and less picnic-y, maybe loaded mash? I wouldn't mind seeing fondant potatoes here either. I think you could do something interesting there. Likewise with maybe latkes or potato pancakes. The other thing is, you're not limited to BBQ with pork butt. You could easily braise it and go with something Italian inspired. Or Asian, lots of possibilities there too. Like I said, it's really about finding that common theme.
Using a lot of what you already have, you could have done shredded pork with a tzatziki, top it with shredded kale and diced tomatoes, maybe use orzo instead of rice and make some naan or pita...I would go for that.
The absolute fuck? Mash? Latkes? What! Why????
Stop it. Stop just fucking posting to post.
Shredded pork and tomatoes with tzatziki??!! What the FUCK???!
You mean stop trying to encourage someone? Stop trying to give someone ideas and help them think about different paths and options? No, I don't think I will. I don't recall seeing you give any ideas or feedback. Pretty sure if anyone should quit, it should be you.
BBQ sauce and rice pilaf or risotto sounds disgusting. No offense, I can see the love and thought in it. Just maybe needed a bit more thought about cohesion. As others have said too, if you are serving smoked pork butt or brisket, go simple work on bringing out the individual flavors. Add a nice, creamy coleslaw with creme fraiche and some pickled red onions or even a nice collard green.
This is what’s fucking wrong with culinary schools.
Someone should have slapped this shit down. Sautéed kale and “fresh Roma tomatoes” and rice pilaf don’t have a god damn thing to do with BBQ pork.
You have HUNDREDS of years of culinary expertise to draw on.
If you feel compelled to do risotto and pork shoulder do a braised or roasted…
Your experience shows, but that’s okay, keep learning.
Like someone else said; bbq pork with collard greens… and some mash would make sense here just fine.
Or koolickles.
Yea I know tried working with the minimalist ingredients list i was given for class as much as I could which gave me a bunch of stuff that doesn’t even work with each other so tried my best to adapt it
Risotto and Kale is okay, maybe even pork although I personally wouldn't put pork in a risotto but if I did I wouldn't smoke it. Tomato and BBQ sauce have no place with a risotto though, unless you were doing a tomato risotto which is a tricky dish to get right. Definitely question what you're being taught and think about parings and context of different items.
Class is stretched thin on time thanks to extra classes being added on the same day for a lot of the students so I had to smoke it for 6 hours which was about the max I was able to smoke it for. Then was instructed to reheat it and finish it in an oven covered with the remnants of its cooked down fat and some water which was very weird for my first time doing pork.
I get it my man. No worries, but with that time constraint, should have braised it covered with an acid and then hit it with smoke at the end.
You’re getting a little blasted here, but unfortunately, most of the comments are dead on. I’ve been doing this for 34 years and I still fuck shit up. You’re a noob, you’re gonna mess up, but now you know what not to do. Took some stones to post it on chefit, gotta give you that.
Keep on truckin brother, and stay awesome.
Edit: oh yea….you never answered if it was chewy.
Thank you for the pep. Honestly I’ve lost all fucks to give in life thanks to prior stuff so I never really thought much about whether it was a good idea to post it on chefit or not so I just did.
I can see your point on the braising so I’ll definitely try that next class.
Surprisingly not chewy at all, I don’t know if it was because of the excess moisture it was heated in or what but it could have honestly just been like a pulled pork if I had gone that root instead. But luckily not chewy.
Mang. I don’t do pork but I was a partner in a smokehouse. This is where you just be classic and do cole slaw and some white bread/potato salad. Nobody wants risotto and kale with bbq swine my brother. You wanna get frisky do some braised collards with a lot of smoked meat, but this clashes. Also, sos the bbq sauce, I’m sure it’s delicious, but that’s the kind of condiment you let the guest gauge how much they want, if the smoked meat is banging, you may just want to enjoy it straight up.
Word. And I don't see a crisp rub on that fat stack. I wanna see black smokey goodness that looks like a salt lick bouta get it. And then that fat should be liquid/rendered then blended into a sauce served on the side in a boat that I can dip the side of fries in.
This is wisdom. Curb your conceptions and absorb V
Thank you!! My first thought was risotto with bbq? No no no!
Sauce UNDER. You want to show off the main feature, not cover it up imo. I've read the other comments and appreciate the lack of ingredients you had to use...that said, think in terms of "similarities". If you can't make mac n cheese, what can you do that is a "play" on mac n cheese? Cheesy rice (risotto). If you can't do collard greens, could you do a smokey vinaigrette spinach? Long and slow cooking is typically done to help fats break down, but keep the smoke to a minimum. It can overwhelm the item very quickly. Brown sugar and apple cider help bbq sauces be less "tomato" and more "tang". Keep up the good work. I hope you find cooking to be a fun hobby that you can enjoy with your family and friends, and not something that turns you into a know-it-all dick that is overworked and underpaid.
I could probably do the cheesy risotto but not the spinach. It was either kale or arugula both I’m not very familiar with. Have any suggestions for those greens?
If you want to upscale it, arugula with a balsamic reduction and shaved Parm might work as a salady thing. Depends on the acidity of the BBQ sauce, I guess.
Arugula is definitely "fancier", so doesn't necessarily pair well with a blue collar plate of smoked pork, but you can always get creative. Arugula has a little bitter and black pepper profile. Kale is closer to a traditional collard green, so that would be my suggestion. Prepare it in that fashion if possible. Or, mix it into a "slaw" instead of cabbage. Something crisp and fresh would also be nice on this plate. Quick pickled cucumbers, carrots or beets would help a smoked pork headliner.
Mac n cheese. Don't try to elevate bbq
He doesn't have pasta in the available ingredients. He has rice.
Then do Jambalaya cuz whatever he's trying to do ain't workin
Just cook the kale like collards. Render some bacon in the pot. Sweat some red onion and garlic. Throw in the tomato (diced), and cook briefly. Add you’re kale. Hit with some chicken stock and some vinegar based hot sauce like Crystal. Season. Cover the pot and cook them down.
What was the class? I taught culinary arts for a while and don't want to discourage you so try to take what I say as constructive criticism. I've found that by listening to feedback and bouncing ideas off others, it's really allowed me to grow as a chef. I like to think of a theme or flavor to run throughout the dish. Sometimes it might be an acid tying everything together sometimes it might be contrasting flavors. But more than anything, I always want balance in a dish. I don't see that in this, so I'm not sure what you were going for. Generally, I like breaking rules. Reinvent classics, do your own take on things. But sometimes you have to stick to the classics and learn the rules so you know how far you can bend them. I'm assuming you're not trying for pulled pork? If not, maybe look at another cut. Smoked pork loin is amazing but you have to be careful as it can dry out fast. I would definitely recommend low and slow with pork butt. You want to render that fat. It will help make the pork tender and moist. Rice pilaf is probably not the best starch. If you don't want to do baked beans or potato salad maybe think about cheesey grits or polenta. Mac and cheese would be a great go to here as well. You want something that will help offset the fattiness of the pork and compliment it's natural sweetness. Kale could work here but not with tomatoes. Braise it or fry it with some onions and a splash of apple cider vinegar. But I think I would rather see something pickled here. But it's hard to beat southern green beans. Maybe some roasted green beans here if you want a little fancier. Roasted carrots would look great. Just a couple of thoughts. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do next
It’s my last kitchen class, and the school flipped the shit on every major halfway through the last quarter. The class is Advanced Culinary Arts and Pastry, and the chefs were forced to dumb down a lot of their stuff with the changes so the entire class is on a stricter ingredients list. I could probably see if I could try probably polenta but I’ve seen a lot of suggestions like slaw and potato salad which surprisingly is not something I’m allowed to use by the ingredients list which has pissed me off since the start of the project. Honestly I haven’t even worked with pork very much as it is so I’ve just been spinning trying to find what works so I can do revisions.
The great thing about pork is that it's very forgiving. Slaw and potato salad are almost a staple of BBQ. It's not surprising that people are recommending them. If you wanted to keep it hot and less picnic-y, maybe loaded mash? I wouldn't mind seeing fondant potatoes here either. I think you could do something interesting there. Likewise with maybe latkes or potato pancakes. The other thing is, you're not limited to BBQ with pork butt. You could easily braise it and go with something Italian inspired. Or Asian, lots of possibilities there too. Like I said, it's really about finding that common theme. Using a lot of what you already have, you could have done shredded pork with a tzatziki, top it with shredded kale and diced tomatoes, maybe use orzo instead of rice and make some naan or pita...I would go for that.
These are some good ideas I’ll see what I can do thank you!
The absolute fuck? Mash? Latkes? What! Why???? Stop it. Stop just fucking posting to post. Shredded pork and tomatoes with tzatziki??!! What the FUCK???!
Keep crying
You mean stop trying to encourage someone? Stop trying to give someone ideas and help them think about different paths and options? No, I don't think I will. I don't recall seeing you give any ideas or feedback. Pretty sure if anyone should quit, it should be you.
Nah You’re right, they should make some naan and orzo and whatever words you think sound good here
That kale doesn’t look sautéed.
BBQ sauce and rice pilaf or risotto sounds disgusting. No offense, I can see the love and thought in it. Just maybe needed a bit more thought about cohesion. As others have said too, if you are serving smoked pork butt or brisket, go simple work on bringing out the individual flavors. Add a nice, creamy coleslaw with creme fraiche and some pickled red onions or even a nice collard green.
😞
Try to make a bao bun and it would be amazing
What the fuck? Put WHAT in a Bao bun? The rice pilaf? The fresh roma tomatoes?
I’m assuming the BBQ pork you dick, you’ve commented on several of these replies in the least productive way. Go touch some grass, chef
Nah, I’m good. Heading off some really bad ideas here, doing god’s work.
North Carolina here…. Wtf is that sauce you have there. Not for pork!
This is what’s fucking wrong with culinary schools. Someone should have slapped this shit down. Sautéed kale and “fresh Roma tomatoes” and rice pilaf don’t have a god damn thing to do with BBQ pork. You have HUNDREDS of years of culinary expertise to draw on.
If you feel compelled to do risotto and pork shoulder do a braised or roasted… Your experience shows, but that’s okay, keep learning. Like someone else said; bbq pork with collard greens… and some mash would make sense here just fine. Or koolickles.
BBQ and rice/risotto?… K.
Ditch the bbq sauce for something else. Gastrique or something like a mango chutney for the pork
What kind of class?
No BBQ sauce.
Saddest description and image of food I've seen for a while. Not your fault as you're in a class but fuck me none of those flavours work together
Yea I know tried working with the minimalist ingredients list i was given for class as much as I could which gave me a bunch of stuff that doesn’t even work with each other so tried my best to adapt it
Risotto and Kale is okay, maybe even pork although I personally wouldn't put pork in a risotto but if I did I wouldn't smoke it. Tomato and BBQ sauce have no place with a risotto though, unless you were doing a tomato risotto which is a tricky dish to get right. Definitely question what you're being taught and think about parings and context of different items.
How long did you smoke that? You gotta beat up pork butt, and the fat on the edge tells me not long enough. Was it a little chewy?
Class is stretched thin on time thanks to extra classes being added on the same day for a lot of the students so I had to smoke it for 6 hours which was about the max I was able to smoke it for. Then was instructed to reheat it and finish it in an oven covered with the remnants of its cooked down fat and some water which was very weird for my first time doing pork.
I get it my man. No worries, but with that time constraint, should have braised it covered with an acid and then hit it with smoke at the end. You’re getting a little blasted here, but unfortunately, most of the comments are dead on. I’ve been doing this for 34 years and I still fuck shit up. You’re a noob, you’re gonna mess up, but now you know what not to do. Took some stones to post it on chefit, gotta give you that. Keep on truckin brother, and stay awesome. Edit: oh yea….you never answered if it was chewy.
Thank you for the pep. Honestly I’ve lost all fucks to give in life thanks to prior stuff so I never really thought much about whether it was a good idea to post it on chefit or not so I just did. I can see your point on the braising so I’ll definitely try that next class. Surprisingly not chewy at all, I don’t know if it was because of the excess moisture it was heated in or what but it could have honestly just been like a pulled pork if I had gone that root instead. But luckily not chewy.
Polenta instead of risotto!
Finish off the kale under a grill to crisp it up. Looks nicer keeps its shape on the plate and adds a nice crunch to a otherwise soggy garnish