Getting creative with leftovers
Inflation is usually associated with economics, but in today’s brave new world of barbecue, it also creeps into the process of ordering and eating at your favorite barbecue restaurant.
First, there’s the price. One side effect of the craft-barbecue movement that uses only the best ingredients and old-school smoking techniques is the sense of sticker shock when that giant tray of Instagrammable meats comes out to more than $100 for you and your lunch companion.
As barbecue fanatics, we can all admit to occasionally going overboard when standing before a cutting table of glorious smoked meats and placing a big order. This is often amplified by being the “barbecue guy” among your non-barbecue friends. We are inevitably tasked with ordering for our group and, not wanting to appear cheap, we tend to overorder. Inflation in portion size is another hallmark of today’s upscale barbecue.
At the end of the meal, we are often left with a pound or four of barbecue to take home. What can you do with leftover barbecue?
Quite a bit. I bring a lot of leftover barbecue home and have developed several techniques for reappropriating it for lunch or dinner the following day.
The success of barbecue leftovers begins with the cut of meat. Fortunately, most cuts are workable, with the exception of lean brisket. Because of a lack of fat, using lean brisket for leftovers is a tough assignment. Your best bet is to chop it up, toss it in a skillet with some butter and then pile it on a bun with your favorite barbecue sauce for a chopped beef sandwich.
Alternatively, the holy grail of barbecue leftovers is the “plate” beef rib. These are the big “dinosaur ribs” that usually weigh about 2 pounds, bone included. Rivulets of flavorful fat are braided throughout the meat and combine with a crusty outside bark redolent of smoke and fresh cracked pepper to create one of my favorite barbecue dishes.
After a night in the refrigerator, the beef rib meat tends to be dense and congealed. I’ll put it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to loosen it up. I’ll then shred it with my fingers and add it to a skillet with some butter to heat and crisp it up. In another skillet, I’ll heat some good quality store-bought flour tortillas.
You see where I’m going with this. But there is one more ingredient that is essential. Once you pile the shredded beef rib on the tortilla, don’t reach for the barbecue sauce. Rather, use your favorite green salsa (salsa verde) as an accompaniment. The herbal flavor and acidic component is a great complement to the rich fattiness of the beef and the bready flavor of the tortillas.
My favorite green salsa — a sauce, really — is from Gerardo’s Drive-In on Patton just north of downtown. Owner Jose Luis Lopez makes it from scratch using a secret recipe featuring tomatillos and serrano peppers. I’ll buy a bottle and use it as a condiment for just about any dish.
Another option for reappropriating leftover barbecue is in your favorite chile con queso recipe. Again, chop up and reheat the meat — pork rib meat, brisket, beef ribs, sausage and even pulled pork are all good candidates — and add it to the bowl of melted cheese and stir.
Adding various meats to queso is, of course, nothing new in Tex-Mex cuisine. The local El Tiempo Tex-Mex chain features smoked brisket as one of its chile con queso add-ons, as does Beaver’s on Westheimer.
Developing a good strategy for leftovers is the best way to avoid buyer’s remorse when ordering those big trays of smoked meats at your favorite barbecue joint.