Inspired by Columbus: Roosters - part 2

Sorry for the delay on this post.  To make it up to you, I will do two posts this week.  As promised, I wanted to introduce you to Korean fried chicken wings, which I often think about fondly after eating Roosters Sweet Thai Chile wings pictured above.  These wings and their sauce are quite easy to make and they are so good.

Start by tossing some chicken wing sections in salt and cornstarch in a large bowl until the wings are well coated. Whisk together some additional cornstarch with water and then toss the sections in this mixture to coat.

Fry in small batches in 375 degree oil until the for about 5 minutes and then using tongs, a skimmer, or a slotted spoon remove the wings and set aside on a cooling rack placed in a 200 degree oven.  Fry the remaining batch or batches in the same way making sure the oil gets back up to 375 degrees in between each batch.  

Fry each batch a second time until they are golden brown, putting the finished batches in a large bowl.

Simmer some minced garlic, sugar, soy sauce, water, sriracha, and rice vinegar together in a saucepan until thickened.  Toss the wings with sauce and serve.  You can also add some minced cilantro and thin sliced scallion when tossing for additional flavor and color.

Korean Fried Chicken Wings

• 2 quarts vegetable oil
• 3.5 lbs chicken wing pieces
• 1.5 c. cornstarch
• 1.25 c. water 
• .5 c. sugar
• .25 c. soy sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 1 tsp. sriracha
• 1 Tbsp. minced cilantro
• 2 scallions, sliced thin

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees and heat oil in a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium high heat to 375 degrees.
2. While the oil heats, toss the wing pieces and 1/2 cup cornstarch in a large bowl.  Whisk together the remaining 1 cup cornstarch and 1 cup of water until smooth.  Toss the wing pieces with the cornstarch slurry until the wings are well coated.  
3. When the oil gets up to temperature add 1/3 or 1/2 of the wings (depending on pot size, do not overcrowd).  Stir the pieces to prevent sticking and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove with tongs, a skimmer, or slotted spoon to a wire rack set over a cookie sheet in the oven.  Fry and remove the remaining batches in the same manner, making sure the oil temperature gets back up in between batches.
4. Fry the first batch a second time until deep golden-brown, about 5 more minutes.  Transfer the finished wings to a large bowl and repeat with the remaining batches.
5. Simmer the sugar, remaining 1/4 cup water, soy sauce, minced garlic, vinegar and sriracha or medium heat until syrupy.  Toss the finished with the sauce and cilantro and scallions if desired and serve.

In the next couple of days I'm going to let you about an event Lyndsay and I went to called Taste of Dublin and some of the great food we had there.

Inspired by Columbus: Roosters - part 1

Roosters may have started in Dayton and is now in multiple states, but with 10 locations it is the Columbus area that has embraced this "fun, casual joint" the most heartily. I have tried sauced wings all over the city and I will admit to having a bias towards Roosters even before this post.

If you've never been before, Roosters has the feel of a large sports bar.  This means lots of muted TV's, beer signs, and in Roosters case, colorful sayings posted all over the walls.  It often feels busy, and a little loud, but because it has so much seating I have never had to wait for a table.  All the staff work quickly so no matter how busy it is I have never found the service to be lacking.

The sports bar aesthetic continues through the menu  which focuses heavily on wings and other fried foods as well as burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, and salads. One thing I like about Roosters is that everything I have had there has been pretty good, though the wings are an obvious standout. The food is also very reasonably priced; I often pay less for a full-service meal here than a trip to a food-truck.

Honestly, besides the wings, I can never decide on which appetizer I want.  Taking a queue from the state fair they have a lot of foods deep-fried for easier consumption like mini corn dogs, fried pickles, mac-and-cheese bites, fried mushrooms, and that's just to name a few. I ordered the mac-and-cheese bites and Isaac always orders the mini corn dogs kids meal so I borrowed them for the picture.  I also got some wings half Carolina gold and half Sweet Thai Chile.  Finally, Lyndsay, who couldn't really handle all the fried goodness ordered the Cobb salad.  As expected everything was excellently prepared, best in it's class without breaking any boundaries.  

How I was Inspired

Part 2 will focus on the wings, but my first, and more interesting idea was to take the concept of deep-frying foods and apply it to something that isn't normally deep-fried. I decided to take traditional Spanish tapas and give it the sports bar treatment by battering and breading it.  After looking at a lot of options I settled on Chorizo stuffed mushrooms, Spanish meatballs, and Manchego cheese.

To make the Spanish meatball I started by soaking some bread in milk until it was soft enough to be beaten into a paste.  Then I added ground beef and pork, parsley, egg, salt and pepper, garlic, and Manchego cheese, mixed thoroughly and rolled it into 3/4" balls (any bigger and they will be too hard to eat in one bite).

To accompany the meatballs I made a sauce with onions, tomatoes, broth, wine, and picada which is a mixture of  finely chopped almonds, minced garlic, saffron, and parsley added after the sauce is finished simmering.

The mushrooms and Manchego cheese were really easy.  I removed the stems from some white mushrooms and then filled them with raw chorizo.  I removed the rind on the cheese and then cut it into small cubes.

I made a thick batter (think pancake batter), put some panko in small bowl, and battered each piece then rolled it in panko.  The most important thing I learned in the process was that the dripping batter quickly made the panko unusable so use small amounts at a time and wipe out the bowl regularly. Also, for the Manchego, freeze them after breading for at least an hour so the cheese is less likely to ooze out.  I fried the pieces in stock pot containing 1 quart of 375 degree oil until they were golden brown as shown above.

You'll notice that only the mushrooms, pictured in the back, look right.  This is because I ran out of panko as a result of the problem I mentioned above.  But, they still tasted pretty darn good, though not as crunchy as the mushrooms, which were amazing.  I topped the mushrooms and Manchego with a drizzle of honey and smoked paprika.

Recipe for deep-fried tapas (serves 6 as an entree or 10 as an appetizer)

• 2 slices of white bread, torn into quarters
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 8 oz. ground beef
• 8 oz. ground pork
• 3 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• pinch pepper
• 1 small onion, minced 
• 1 small tomato, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped almonds
• 1/4 tsp. crumbled saffron threads
• 14 tsp. paprika
• 9 oz. Manchego cheese, rind cut off, 1 oz. shredded, the rest cubed
• 12 oz. white mushrooms, stems removed
• 1/3 lb. uncased chorizo sausage
• smoked paprika and honey for garnish

Oil, Batter and breading

• 1 quart vegetable oil
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• water to get it to the desired consistency
• 4 cups panko

1. Combine the milk and the bread and let it sit for a few minutes until saturated.  Mash it into a paste and then add the ground meat, shredded cheese, 1 clove minced garlic, 2 Tbsp. minced parsley, salt, pepper, and egg and mix until uniform.  Form the meat into 3/4" meatballs and set aside.
2. Saute the onion over medium heat until very soft and lightly browned.  Add the tomato and cook for 1 minute.  Add the broth, wine, and bay leaves and simmer until thickened.  Mash together the remaining minced garlic, minced parsley, almonds, saffron, and paprika and stir this into the mixture after it has finished cooking.
3. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium high heat until it reaches a temperature of 375 degrees. While it is heating, mix the the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and water to make a thick, but still drippy batter.  Put a little bit of panko in shallow pan. Have 2 baking sheets ready.  Dip each cheese cube into the batter with a long skewer and then roll in the panko, adding more panko and cleaning the dish as needed to prevent clumping.  Set each cheese cube on one of the baking sheets and put in the freezer. Repeat with the meatballs and mushrooms, but do not freeze them.  
4. Once the oil is ready, fry the meatballs in batches first, pulling them out when they they are deep golden brown with a pair of tongs or a skimmer and setting them on a paper towel lined plate.  Repeat with the mushrooms, then finally the semi-frozen cheese.  Check your oil temperature from time-to-time to make sure it is staying hot enough.
5. Serve the meatballs with the sauce and garnish the meatballs and mushrooms with some honey drizzle and smoked paprika.

Stick with me because next week I will show you how to make Korean-style fried chicken wings, which I would put up against any wing I've ever had.

Inspired By Columbus: Ray Ray's Hog Pit

Ray Ray's Hog Pit
2619 N. High St
Behind Ace of Cups
Columbus, Ohio
Friday-Sunday noon-8pm
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I can't imagine anyone who enjoys barbecue and lives in Clintonville or the University District who hasn't tried Ray Ray's yet.  I have been enjoying their food since before I even lived in Columbus and was just in town visiting family.  I have tried a lot of barbecue places in Columbus and Ray Ray's is arguably the best.

Though Ray Ray's is a food truck, their partnership with Ace of Cups means even though you'll be dining outside, it doesn't mean you'll be dining in the rough.  If a soda doesn't suit you, you can get whatever drink you like from the bar and then enjoy your barbecue on the covered patio.

Their menu is focused on doing a few things really well.  It's ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and more recently jerk chicken for an entree.  Their sides are macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and baked beans.  They also offer a couple of desserts and sodas. But get there early, those black marks on the menu mean they have sold out of some items, which happens often.

Though I regularly come for the pulled pork, Ray Ray's does offer occasional specials, like their pork sundae, or double smoked "burnt ends." I made a special trip a couple of weeks ago to try out their cajun brisket which is described above.

I took my brisket home and added some of the sauce to it.  Like everything else I've had at Ray Ray's, it was delicious.  The sauce was quite different from their other sauces, though both the brisket and sauce were quite a bit spicier than I was told to expect.  Though barbecue is not completely foreign to cajun cuisine, it is also not one of the first states you associate with it.  That got me thinking about what other cuisine might lend its flavors well to a classic Southern barbecue.

How I was Inspired

I settled on a Chinese five-spice chopped pork shoulder with a sesame ginger barbecue sauce.  I have posted links to the pulled pork recipe I use in the past, so this time I wanted to highlight the actual process I go through to make a pretty darn good smoked pulled pork without a traditional smoker.  I started by rubbing an eight pound pork shoulder with Chinese five-spice powder and salt and letting it sit overnight, though you can let it sit for a few days, which I recommend whenever possible.

Using a standard grill (I happened to make my own, but this work perfectly in a large Weber kettle) Then I lit a small amount of coals and once they were ashen I top them with a few dried hardwood chunks, whichever you like, by I tend to prefer the assertive flavor of hickory.



I placed the roast in a disposable pan and set it on the cooking grate opposite the coals and then covered the grill and smoked the pork shoulder for about 5-6 hours adding about 10 briquettes and another piece of smoking wood every hour until the meat reached an internal temperature of 190 degrees.  The picture above is after one hour of smoking and the picture below is after the smoking was complete.

I let the meat rest for an hour in a sealed paper bag, before chopping it and saucing it. The sauce I made while the meat was smoking was a quick barbecue sauce (ketchup, molasses, vinegar, worcestershire, and dijon) that I added Chinese five-spice powder, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, garlic, and ginger to. I served my chopped pork with some egg rolls and a sesame oil and rice vinegar cucumber slices.

Chinese Five-Spiced Chopped Pork Shoulder

• 6-8 lb pork shoulder
• charcoal
• smoking wood chunks
• five spice powder
• salt
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. of sriracha or more to taste
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• toasted sesame oil
• soy sauce

1. Generously sprinkle the pork roast with five-spice powder and salt, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it sit for at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.
2. Soak the wood chunks for at least 30 minutes prior to using.  Light 3 quarts of charcoal.  When the coals are ashen position them on one side of the grill and top with 2 wood chunks.  Place the cooking grate in place.  Put the pork shoulder in a disposable pan and set opposite the coals. Cover and position the top vents to be right above the pork shoulder.  Smoke for 5-6 hours, until the meat reaches 190 degrees, adding 10 briquettes and 1 piece of smoking wood every hour.
3. Wrap the meat in aluminum foil and place in a large paper bag, crimp to shut tightly, and let it rest for 1 hour.  
4. While the meat is resting combine the ketchup, molasses, vinegar, worcestershire, dijon, sriracha, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil and soy sauce to taste to a small saucepan and simmer until thickened to desired consistency.
5. Either chop the meat with a knife or pull with forks, add sauce to taste and serve.

Next week I will show some of the delicious things I ate at Roosters and how it inspired me in my home cooking.  Let me know if you think there is a restaurant I need to visit in the comment section below.

Inspired by Columbus: The Ohio State Fair Taste of Ohio Cafe

The Ohio State Fair

717 E. 17th Ave.

Columbus, Ohio

open end of July - beginning of August

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I love the Ohio State Fair.  After years of faithful attendance I remain convinced there is more to do here that I could possibly handle in one day. But I pack as much livestock, handcraft, rides, and of course food as I can.  

Though I often stop at one of the many places selling fried sweets, corn dogs, or turkey legs, I find some of the most delicious, budget-friendly and interesting food is in the Taste of Ohio Cafe right in the middle of the fairgrounds.  The large, thankfully air-conditioned space is like a food court that is devoted to local meat and dairy.  The center is filled with tables large and small while on the perimeter about a half-dozen lines form divided by protein type: poultry, beef, pork, lamb, and dairy.

You really can't go wrong in any line, but this year I decided to get some delicious Ohio pork.  Though pig wings and the pork parfait are both whimsical and delicious, I saw that this year they also had something not featured on the main menu, the three little pigs.

This slider trio takes two of their menu items, the pork loin and pulled pork sandwiches and adds a mini-BLT to create this delicious study in pork.  The BLT was by far the best, but the experience of trying each type of pork was enjoyable just for the novelty.

And speaking of novelty, I would be remiss if I didn't mention this gem just a little outside of the Taste of Ohio Cafe.  Along with the pork parfait (layers of pulled pork and mashed potatoes), these ice cream inspired entrees I thought typified the kind of whimsy one expects at the fair.

To be successful at the fair you can be one of three kinds of food.  Fair staples are things like corn dogs, pizza, and smoked turkey legs.  These are things that you expect to see at any state or county fair and you just can't help but be tempted by them.  The second category is well-established local food.  Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Der Dutchman fit in this category as do many others. Finally, there are foods that try and do something new and usually over the top hoping that the sheer novelty will draw people in.  Chocolate covered bacon, in addition to the meat sundaes mentioned above fall here. This category is my favorite and is what inspired me in my own cooking.  

How I was Inspired 

I decided to take the idea of a trio of flavors I encountered with my "three little pigs" and the concept of the meat sundae and put them together to play on a banana split.  This is a playful and over-the-top way to make something interesting with your leftovers at the end of the week and you could substitute nearly anything for what I did.

I roasted a turkey breast and made some stuffing and gravy.

I made a pot roast with a red wine reduction and served it with some classic mashed potatoes that Lyndsay made.

And finally, I went to Ray Ray's Hog Pit and picked up some pulled pork (I guess I was too tired to smoke my own after the turkey and pot roast).  To go along with it Lyndsay made some mashed sweet potatoes with thyme and I made a South Carolina mustard barbecue sauce.  The reason for this is because I've learned mustard barbecue sauce goes amazingly well with sweet potatoes.

So after enjoying turkey, pot roast, and pulled pork all week I had a bunch of leftovers to work with.  I sliced some yellow squash and sauteed it over medium heat until golden brown on both sides.  Now it was time to assemble this Frankenstein monster of awesomeness.

I tossed the pot roast with the red wine reduction, the turkey with it's gravy, and the pulled pork with the mustard barbecue sauce and then used an ice cream scoop to mound them in the center of a shallow bowl.

Next I topped each with its respective starch: mashed potatoes, stuffing, and sweet potatoes.

Finally, I added two slices of yellow squash and a garnishes to each: a grape tomato, cranberry sauce, and fresh herbs. Now this looks like something that would draw people in.  As I mentioned before you could substitute almost anything: risotto and chicken, couscous and lamb, etc. In fact, my brother recommended substituting a split sausage for the squash, but I thought that might be meat overkill.  You also don't have to all the different flavors, you could just make a sundae with one kind of meat and starch.

Here are the recipes I used when I make each of these components.  Beyond that it is literally just a matter of sauteing the squash in a little oil over medium heat until golden brown and assembling and then adding the garnishes. 

Three Meat Sundae

• Pulled pork
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• South Carolina barbecue sauce (I added a lot more brown sugar to get it how I liked it)
• Roast Turkey Breast
• Stuffing
• Turkey Gravy
• Pot Roast with red wine reduction (I added a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce)
• Mashed Potatoes
• 2 small yellow squash sauteed over medium heat until golden brown on both sides
• 2 grape tomatoes
• cranberry sauce
• fresh herbs

What are some of your favorite fair foods.  Now that the fair is over, where should I dine next.  Let me know in the comments.