[ May 18, 2012 3:00 am to May 19, 2012 3:00 am. ]
Manbque invites you to come take in a night of tasty meat, cold beer and loud rock n roll. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
$5 bucks gets you awesome, grilled food by the Manbque dudes and enough music to make your ears bleed. (in a good way, of course)
Great food, good music, somewhat ok [...]
You, readers and patrons of ManBQue, have questions about grilling. And honestly, it’s one of our favorite things to do to answer them. Especially because they’re often along the lines of “Can you grill X?” At one of the last events, a newer attendee was marveling at the variety of food, legitimately believing that the [...]
Archive for August, 2010
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The bone-in pork chop is an underrated piece of meat. While steak and chicken get all the love, there are worlds of possibility with the other white meat. I snagged this recipe from a friend’s cookbook, and discovered that not only is it a great dish, it makes amazing leftovers. Take my word for it, you’ll want to fill a pint glass with the glaze.
The Setup
2 thick, bone-in pork chops
1 shallot, minced
1/4 c maple syrup
2 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp crushed black peppercorns
1 tbsp thyme leaves
Kosher salt
Olive oil
- The bone-in the pork chop is far less prone to drying out if you make a mistake than the boneless variety – makes the whole process more idiot proof. Get the thickest one you can find. If not quite the size of a Leon Uris book, then at least an inch thick.
- Yes, getting fresh thyme leaves off the sprig is a huge pain in the ass. But if you can stand it, it’s worth it. If you’re going to go dried instead, then knock down the measurement to 1 tsp.
- It’s more expensive, but get real maple syrup, not the Mrs. Butterworth. You’ll know it’s real because it says “real maple syrup” on the bottle, along with a grade. The good matron Butterworth is curiously non-specific about her pedigree. Get the real stuff – it’s a completely different taste.
- The whole “other white meat” thing was nice, but don’t cook your pork to a uniform chicken-like white. You can have a little pink in there – it won’t kill you, and it preserves the moisture and flavor. Just make sure to bring the pork to 145 degrees.
Cooking
1. Preheat the oven to 350 and salt the chops with a coarse-grained salt.
2. Take a large ovenproof skillet and heat with a tablespoon or so of the oil over medium-high. Sear the chops for five minutes on each side.
3. Flip the chops again and throw the skillet into the oven. Roast for 2-4 minutes, until it’s cooked through to 145, then take them out and rest them under foil while you make the sauce.
4. Put the skillet back on the range over medium-high with the shallot, thyme, and salt. Cook for about two minutes, until the shallot is soft and starting to brown.
5. Pour in the cider vinegar and use a wooden spoon to scrape the fond (tranlation: stuck pork bits) from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Add the maple syrup and peppercorns and simmer for another 8 minutes. When the sauce is done, you’re good to go.
Posted in Pork, Recipes | No Comments »
| August 29, 2010 |
| 10:00 am | to | 2:00 pm |
We’re men, popping some aspirin and drinking water is NOT going to cure your hangover. The Man B Que secret involves a haircut or a shave, an ice cold PBR and a kick-ass Man B Que burger. We guarantee* your hangover will be gone, instantly. Stop over at Joe’s Barber Shop every three weeks and order up a Hangover Shave!
*No we don’t.
Tags: bbq, burger, chicago, haircut, hangover shave, joes barber shop, Man B Que, manbque, shave
Posted in Events | No Comments »
| October 10, 2010 |
| 10:00 am | to | 2:00 pm |
We’re men, popping some aspirin and drinking water is NOT going to cure your hangover. The Man B Que secret involves a haircut or a shave, an ice cold PBR and a kick-ass Man B Que burger. We guarantee* your hangover will be gone, instantly. Stop over at Joe’s Barber Shop every three weeks and order up a Hangover Shave!
*No we don’t.
Tags: bbq, burger, chicago, haircut, hangover shave, joes barber shop, Man B Que, manbque, shave
Posted in Events | No Comments »
| September 19, 2010 10:00 am | to | September 20, 2010 12:00 am |
We’re men, popping some aspirin and drinking water is NOT going to cure your hangover. The Man B Que secret involves a haircut or a shave, an ice cold PBR and a kick-ass Man B Que burger. We guarantee* your hangover will be gone, instantly. Stop over at Joe’s Barber Shop every three weeks and order up a Hangover Shave!
*No we don’t.
Tags: bbq, burger, chicago, haircut, hangover shave, joes barber shop, Man B Que, manbque, shave
Posted in Events | No Comments »
For years, I hated Italian food – especially pasta. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized the reason that I didn’t like pasta was because I’d only had crappy pasta. Now I’m so into Italian food that I’ll gladly spend half a day making something as authentic as possible. That being said, striking a line between something truly rustic Italian and something you have the time to make on a weeknight can be a challenge. I think this one straddles the line nicely, even if you do take my recommendation to make your own sauce.
The Setup
1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1 bulb fennel, chopped
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1/2 c white wine
2 c basic tomato sauce (recipe below – or just use the jarred marinara)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
- Hopefully, you got the whole fennel bulb, with the stems and the leaves and everything. Before you chop it up, you’re going to want to take off the leaves and chop them up fine to use as the garnish. It smells great, and makes you look as if you expended more effort than you did.
- So if you want to make your own tomato sauce like some fancy-pants Italian grandmother, take 1/4 c of extra-virgin olive oil (abbreviate it EVOO and I’ll punch your neck), one small yellow onion chopped fine, 5 minced cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of dried thyme, half a grated carrot, and a couple of big cans of San Marzano tomatoes. Crush the tomatoes with your hand in a big bowl, keeping the juice. Cook off the onion, garlic, and carrot, the add the tomatoes and juice (hope your hands were clean), bring it to a boil, and let it simmer for a good while. This makes a lot more than the 2 cups you’ll need. Portion it out in ziploc bags and freeze the rest. Homemade pasta sauce without any new effort. Hell yes.
- Don’t forget the pasta to serve it with. I didn’t list it because you can use whatever you want, and that’s going to affect the cooking time. I used mostaccoli, but the spiral pasta is probably the best match for the ragu’s thick texture.
Cooking
1. Heat a skillet and the oil over medium-high and saute the chopped fennel until it’s soft and beings to brown slightly.
2. Add the sausage and break it up while it cooks. Big chunks of sausage – for once – are not your friend.
3. When there’s no pink left in the sausage, pour in the wine (something dry, preferably, but whatever you’ve got in the house is probably fine) and let it reduce by about half.
4. Add the two cups of your excellent homemade sauce (or the assembly line’s perfectly servicable version), mix it in well, and bring it up to a boil. Reduce the heat again and simmer for 15 minutes. Make sure the vegetables are tender.
5. Cook your pasta while the sauce is simmering, then either finish it in the sauce pan with some of the cooking water or just throw it down on a plate and serve the sauce over it. We’re not picky here. Err on the side of al dente, or you may as well be eating sausage stew with limp pasta.
6. Garnish with those chopped fennel leaves and you’re ready to eat until sweat pants seem like a good idea.
Posted in Blog, Pork, Recipes | No Comments »
