Thanksgiving Dinner:
Dad choose to cook 2 turkeys this year, I think this was a reaction to the fact that last year I ate all the leftovers on Friday morning (I have a moral objection to leftovers...) This was a problem because no one was able to enjoy a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich, which is a holiday classic and one of Ben's all-time favorites. So a pair of smoked turkeys got an extra 5 hours of rotisserie smoke from wine infused wood-chips my dad used to flavor a barrel of Cabernet in his winery.
Smokin' Hot rotisserie action...
Keeping the birds company in the smoker was a batch of stuffed jalapeños; These bad-boys were were brimming with sautéd onions, spicy sausage and monterrey jack. Believe it or not the sausage was actually spicier than the 'peños.
Putting the jalapeño roasting rack to good use...
He rounded out the appetizers with kettle chips for a creamy BLT dip and Rita's bite-size mini sweet potato pies.
These were so deliciously sweet they could've even worked as a dessert...
The finished birds, still skewered up...
Heavy on the gravy is the only way to roll...
PART II: THE SALT LICK
Just as Muslims must journey to Mecca, Barbeque aficionados can't call themselves legit until they've made the trip to The Salt Lick.
The Salt Lick is located about 30 minutes outside of Austin in Driftwood Texas on an unassuming ranch that looks and feels more like a summer camp than a restaurant. The first thing you see (and smell) when you walk though the door is the massive round brick BBQ Pit, brimming with more meat than you can shake a fork at.
The pit dates back to 1969 when the 'Lick first opened...
A closer look at the pit, reveals some of the secret to the best barbeque in Texas: There is an eighth of an inch of smokey flavor caked on to everything anywhere near the pit (my feet were practically sticking to the floor) You can tell that the griddle has so much flavor and character imbued in it that just touching it to meat gives it that incomparable flavor.
This brings a tear to my eye...
From the Pit to the carving board and straight to your table...
The menu is simple: Ribs, Brisket and Sausage served family style along with a variety of sides, none of which I partook in (more room for meat!!). Once you sit down they take your drink orders and minutes later the meat comes rolling in. The staff quickly replenished the meat supply the second we finished the first meat platter. I can't even describe how good the food here is, it makes even my favorite BBQ joints in NYC seem like Appleby's.
The family-style spread...
2 comments:
god i'm hungry now. i want to go to austin.
steve - at nico/dan's party, there was a girl who started talking about the salt lick and i kept telling her to go find you. did she talk to you? 2nd time salt lick generated female encounters.
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