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I don’t drink much liquor. Actually, I don’t drink much of anything at one time, but that doesnt’ mean I don’t like the stuff, but I’m more likely to have some wine, a hard cider or a beer than liquor, though I’m personally partial to single malt scotches. When it comes to barbecue, though, bourbon is hard to beat as an ingredient. |
There are some good bourbons out there, and Jack Daniels has certainly
done a good job of making
sure everyone knows of their product.
Maybe it’s my liking of scotch, but the best bourbon I’ve had is
Maker’s Mark. It’s made in the style of a scotch, I’m told, and
they even spell whisky without the ‘e’ (very Scottish). I think
it’s a smoother bourbon and gives a great flavor to barbecue.
There are different ways to use bourbon when you barbecue or
grill. One simple way is to brine with it. I’d heard that
brining doesn’t really add flavor but it adds moisture, so I did a test
with chicken thighs. One set was brined in salt water, the other
was brined in salt water wth bourbon, sugar and peppercorns. No
one in their right mind would tell you that the two tasted the same;
the bourbon brined chicken had a much sweeter flavor.
Another obvious way of using bourbon for barbecue or grilling is to put
it in a sauce. I love it this way, and even though it wasn’t
judged well as a sauce at a competition, most people that try my
Bourbecue sauce want more. If I bottle a sauce, this will be one
of the first candidates (I’m working on a Javacue sauce, too).
Why does bourbon so easily translate to barbecue? That’s easy;
it’s made from corn… you know, corn syrup… sweetener… when you
cook with it, things get a great, complex sweetness added to them.
So far, two of my bourbon-doused items have gotten rave reviews, at
least from family members! Keep in mind that neither my mother or
father would give me false compliments… My mom says my chicken is the
best she’s had, and my dad, a long time rib lover, said the same about
my bourbon ribs. Both had a glazing of Bourbecue sauce, but used
bourbon in different ways, too.
I’m not going to be using much bourbon in competition from now on, as I
don’t think it goes over as well, but for catering or anything at home,
I keep a big bottle of Maker’s Mark around. It’s good with fish,
chicken, pork… anything that can take a good dose of sweet along with
some spice. And next, I’m going to try Drambuie salmon, I think…
