Chef Tom Jackson is a Kansas native, born and raised in Wichita. In 2008 he and his wife moved to Portland, Oregon where he attended Oregon Culinary Institute. Tom studied both general culinary skills as well as baking and pastry while working as a cook in a variety of restaurants. After graduating from Oregon Culinary Institute he began working as a bread baker and pastry chef at the renowned Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Northwest Portland. He spent more than four years honing his skills under James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Ken Forkish.
In that time he and his wife had their first child, and the draw of home and family grew stronger. Longtime friends of the Cary family, owners of All Things Barbecue, they returned to Kansas to help All Things Barbecue continue to excel in their cooking classes. Tom has been further developing and building cooking classes and private events at All Things Barbecue since March 2014.
Porchetta, the Italian rolled roast that can be made with a number of pork cuts, is currently blowing the minds of the employees here at All Things Barbecue. It’s a simple process, really, though it requires some patience. Our take on this Italian classic features a pork loin and pork belly, both of which were brined before being rolled and tied together and reverse seared for maximum flavor and texture.
It’s far too easy to get in a rut with potatoes. Mashed, then baked, then mashed, maybe scalloped… Let’s throw a new one in the mix. With just a few ingredients that you probably have on hand, you can put together a flavor packed side dish that’s also super appealing visually.
World BBQ Champion “BBQ Brian” Misko of the House of Q shares his recipe for Cranked Up Meatloaf which he cooked on our Yoder Smokers YS1500 Pellet Cooker. This recipe will take your mom’s meatloaf and crank it up with some serious flavor!
With apple season at its best, we continue to find new ways to utilize everyone’s favorite Fall fruit. This one is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It’s visually beautiful! Blow away your friends and family by putting a little finesse into baking on the grill.
If you like spicy and you like fried chicken, then Nashville Hot Chicken should be right up your alley. Despite its popularity in the Music City, there is much left to the imagination when it comes to creating it yourself. There doesn’t seem to be a hot chicken joint in town that’s willing to part with its recipes or signature techniques. Lucky for you guys, we’re not in the habit of keeping secrets. After some research and tweaking, we’ve come up with a recipe and technique adapted to the grill that, at the very least, is likely going to make you sweat.
Sous vide has taken a jump in popularity lately with the introduction of more and more affordable sous vide units on the market. This has brought the cost of home sous vide down and has introduced the technique to those who had never heard of it mere months ago. Chef Tom takes an amazing Creekstone Farms Master Chef Choice Cowboy Ribeye and sous vides it in the VacMaster SV1 at 49°C and cooks it for an hour and a half. After that he quickly sears it off for flavor on our Yoder Smokers YS640 Pellet Cooker setup for direct grilling.
Here at All Things BBQ, we’re constantly interacting with folks who are passionate about grilling, smoking and cooking in general, and folks who are hungry for knowledge and looking to improve their craft. If you’re reading this, there is a good chance that you are one of these folks. You’re awesome. One of the questions we get a lot is, “What is the best way to cook a whole bird?” Whether it’s chicken or turkey our answer is always the same. Spatchcock. If you’re tired of drying out the breasts while waiting for the thighs and legs to finish cooking, it’s time to employ the spatchcock technique.
Chef Tom walks us through the process of direct grilling a Creekstone Farms Master Chef Choice Cowboy Ribeye Steak on our Large Big Green Egg; similar to the Kamado Joe Big Joe or Kamado Joe Classic.
A couple of weeks ago we talked about what a great ingredient puff pastry is to have on hand, and how its uses go beyond breakfast and dessert items. This week we’re back with another great puff pastry recipe, and we’re going savory again. You BBQ enthusiasts are probably familiar with ABTs, the barbecuer’s take on jalapeño poppers. We’re tweaking those ideas a little more for this flaky, creamy, chile-centric appetizer.
We use chile peppers year round. Anaheims, Poblanos and Jalapeños are staples in the test kitchen here at All Things BBQ. But this is a special time of year. Hatch chiles and Pueblos offer wonderful flavor and varying levels of heat, and they’re currently flowing out of the Southwest. Their harvest season doesn’t last all year, due to their specific geographic location, so it’s a good idea to process and preserve the chiles in some way so that you can enjoy them for months to come.
When our friends at Cattleman’s Grill asked us to come up with a killer steak sandwich recipe it was a no-brainer. We use the Cattleman’s Grill rubs more than any other when it comes to grilling steaks around here. This recipe is built around the earthy flavors of their Smoky Chipotle Coffee Steak Rub. The coffee flavor works great with the smoky spice of the chipotle, which we’ve amped up with the steak marinade and the aioli on the sandwich.
Our cheese sauce isn’t far from the nacho cheese you occasionally indulge in at the ballpark or movie theater, but it’s made from scratch (so you actually know what’s in it) and it’s slightly sweeter with a little spice, thanks to those delicious bread and butter jalapeños.
Puff pastry is a great food item to have in your freezer at all times. It’s super versatile! It can be used for sweet or savory applications. It’s great for desserts or appetizers and people love this stuff! These ham & cheese puff pinwheels are both visually interesting and super tasty, which makes them great for parties or big dinners.
Forget elbow mac ‘n cheese, Cavatappi pasta is where it’s at. This spiralized noodle is perfect for holding all of that creamy, cheesy sauce that is topped with a layer of crunchy breadcrumbs, all of which is smoked to perfection!
This grilled apple slaw is the perfect side for Autumn grilling. Incorporating flavors of the fall, this summer recipe can thrive months after the summer!
Friends don’t let friends fry wings. Spread the word, wings belong on the grill. The texture is fantastic, and the flavor is in a whole other league. This concept is simple, really, but doing it right will make all the difference. The breakdown goes like this: brine, rub, grill, sauce. Brining adds flavor and will help you retain moisture.
Compound butter is simply butter enhanced with supplementary flavors. Herbs, spices, other aromatics and even cheeses are stirred or whipped into room temperature butter, which is often then chilled back down to be used later to top meat, vegetables or enhance a sauce.
By
Tom Jackson
