Comments on A Tuscan foodie in America: American BBQ

Hi Andrew, welcome and thank you for your comment....

2012-01-15T17:25:30.261-06:00

Hi Andrew, welcome and thank you for your comment. Yes, time is key. And a lot of patience.

I was well-trained by a good Southern friend to kn...

2012-01-15T16:31:09.038-06:00

I was well-trained by a good Southern friend to know the difference between drilling and BBQing: time.
I can now do ribs, chicken, roasts and brisket with the best of my Okie friends. I've also had fellow Italians over for dinner and served BBQ with no shame and to general appreciation.

Welcome illmakeitmyself: I love your blog...we see...

2012-01-14T08:37:57.255-06:00

Welcome illmakeitmyself: I love your blog...we seem to share a passion, i.e. the love for Japan. I visited several times, and absolutely love the food.

I am going to glen arbor soon...I am adding this restaurant to the must do list of things!

Your cherry BBQ sounds amazing! I don't eat or...

2012-01-14T07:58:22.647-06:00

Your cherry BBQ sounds amazing! I don't eat or cook a lot of meat anymore, but I adore the cherry pulled pork bbq from Cherry Republic's restaurant in Glen Arbor, MI.

I live in Japan now, and barbecue is more like grilling meat and veggies and serving them with dipping sauce (tare).

I love reading your blog because I discuss cooking in Japan on my own blog, but also because it's so interesting to hear your opinions on American food! :)

Sound good!!!

2012-01-11T14:55:26.450-06:00

Sound good!!!

This sounds yummy and an excellent candidate for t...

2012-01-08T09:52:47.895-06:00

This sounds yummy and an excellent candidate for the slowcooker...

Well, I'm not sure I can explain my recipe for...

2012-01-08T06:53:49.070-06:00

Well, I'm not sure I can explain my recipe for boar stew in english but actually my recipe is not so complicated, so let's try.
Usually I make boar stew when I can get some fresh boar meat, so the meat needs to marinate in red wine with a lot of spice (I use black pepper in grains, laurel, rosemary, juniper berries and cloves) for at least half a day to eliminate the "wild" smell from the meat. Actually this time I got some frozen boar meat, so there's no need to marinate it. I prepare a classic "soffritto" with garlic, carrots, celery, onion (lots of onions, indeed) in a "terracotta" pot and then I put all the meat in the pot, let it cook a bit till the meat keeps its juice, then I add a glass of red wine (even the wine used to marinate the meat) and "faccio sfumare a fuoco alto" (sorry, I can't really translate it and Google doesn't help me at all!). Finally, I add some tomato sauce and start the slow cooking: it takes 3-4 hours at least.
I got the recipe from my mum and it's a very classic one, as you can see. According to her, the basic elements are good boar meat, a "terracotta" pot and her housemade tomato sauce!
In the end, you just need to eat the stew with a bottle of good red wine (Sangiovese Superiore, since I'm from Romagna. But even Chianti works out very well!)

Claudio, you summed it up perfectly: most Italians...

2012-01-07T22:42:18.345-06:00

Claudio, you summed it up perfectly: most Italians go abroad refusing to eat local cuisine. They spend their time looking for Italian cuisine, they complain because they can't find it - or because it is not like the one they have in Italy - and end up convinced that nowhere you can eat decently but in Italy. If they embraced local cuisines in their travels they would instead eat well and have more fun. Their loss.

I love boar stew! I haven't had it in such a long time! How did you make it?

Just to keep on criticizing our compatriots: I was...

2012-01-07T16:45:42.105-06:00

Just to keep on criticizing our compatriots: I was in London a few years ago and I tried all the kind of food I could, specially junk food in its most dangerous and harmful forms (for me that city is a sort of paradise for reckless foodie). On the contrary, it seemed that all italians in London could not survive without "pizza" or an espresso "fatto come dio comanda"... Poor miserable people!
Anyway, don't you think I'm a sort of total iconoclast... Right now I'm spending my saturday evening preparing a boar stew and I'm going to have it for dinner tomorrow with a plenty of baked potatoes and a bottle of Sangiovese. When I'm in my own kitchen I really love traditions!

Claudio, I agree entirely. There is a sort of pres...

2012-01-07T10:20:44.161-06:00

Claudio, I agree entirely. There is a sort of presumption in many of us Italians: we believe our food is the best and nothing else can be as good. So we do not even try something different because we know that in any case ours is the best. Very, very narrowminded...

Gattosorniona, I am happy to see another fellow Italian agreeing on this!

BBQ in USA is a very serious thing. I loved it whe...

2012-01-07T10:04:16.600-06:00

BBQ in USA is a very serious thing. I loved it when I was there. Food was really good and feel too! :)

Here in Italy (as you know very well, I guess) the...

2012-01-07T09:17:25.600-06:00

Here in Italy (as you know very well, I guess) the only BBQ admitted consists in throwing the meat on the grill, barely cooking it and then just devouring it in two bites. Too much italians pose as "conoisseur" of grilled meat and proudly claim they eat only "fiorentina" and only "al sangue". In my opinion they're just too narrow minded and I really envy you when you write about your real american BBQ experiments!

Yes, people in the South are especially serious ab...

2012-01-06T10:56:03.854-06:00

Yes, people in the South are especially serious about their BBQ. Their attitude reminds me that of people from Naples when they talk about pizza: only THEIRS is the real one..

We learned that too when we moved to the USA in 20...

2012-01-06T10:48:29.758-06:00

We learned that too when we moved to the USA in 2001 - grilling is way different that bbqing.

Didn't know there was a difference until we moved down here and boy people sure have strong feelings about their BBQ - more so in the south though.