There is no law which states fast food must be deadly. There is no law which states fast food must contain chemicals and poisons. There is no law which states fast food must be high in calories. The fact of the matter is, the origial fast food was known as "bistro" food, food made quick and healthy. It wasn't until the fast food dens of death (the chains) where the term fast food became the equal to slow suicide. In todays hectic lifestyle it is rather hard to take a lot of time to make a decent dinner. With this new series, we'll be sharing with you some incredible meals you can make in a matter of minutes which will be tasty, natural and pretty damn good for you! If you want to see how-to slideshows for any dish in this series, just checkout the Facebook page for ChefLarryEdwards (yes, all one word).
When I was a student in Paris, I roomed with two other American students who were also attending Escoffier. One of them had a habit of marinating everything in Pepsi. According to him, it had to be Pepsi and never Coke. To be honest most of the food he prepared this way was pretty decent but it is not something I brought back home and used in my restaurants. I did learn, however, that sometimes carbonated soda can make for a wonderful marinade!
During the summer when I am grilling, I often will marinate a tri-tip in Dr. Pepper. Don't laugh, some of the "secret" ingredients in Dr. Pepper are herbs and spices! When it comes to pork, and especially boneless pork ribs, one of my favorite ways to prepare them is marinating them in an organic root beer!
The secret to marinating with soda is simple. Make sure you add the meat right away. You want the carbonation to permeate the fibers of the meat. Not only will you get a better taste, the meat will naturally tenderize! When serving this dish at the restaurants, we would slice the meat, drape it on the plate and drizzle with some of the juices.
Root Beer ribs is a very simple recipe and the ribs can either be grilled or broiled. Try it, it's fun, tasty, easy and pretty damn inexpensive!
Ingredients needed to make Root Beer Ribs (serves 2):
- 2 pounds boneless pork ribs (pork brisket ribs work very well)
- 1 12-ounce bottle organic root beer
- 2 green onions, minced
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. garlic salt
Steps:
- Remove any excess fat from the ribs. Don't take it all off! Remember that fat acts as an insulation of sorts and protects the meat from intense heat!
- Into a shallow bowl, pour the root beer and wisk in the remaining ingredients.
- Immediately add the ribs. Let marinate at room temperature 45 minutes, turning a few times.
- Pre-heat your broiler.
- Place the ribs on a broiling pan and broil to your desired doneness.
- Remove from the broiler, plate-up and chow down!
The new cookbook from Chef Larry Edwards is now available from Amazon.com and bookstores worldwide. One of the most anticipated cookbooks of the year, "Edwardian Cooking: Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals."
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