Grilling: Those Elusive Fajita Beef Cuts

In Ireland, it took me a long time to find the cuts of beef used for “fajitas” or carne asada tacos back in the American taco belt: hangar steak, flat iron steak, bavette, chuck tenders, skirt steak, etc. Such cuts of beef are easy to cook on the grill, but…

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La Caja China: Mid-Summer Pig Roast in Ireland

For St John’s Eve 2018 I cooked Irish sausages on a charcoal grill. It was a little underwhelming. So I suggested that the school acquire a pig roasting box so we could try something a little more ambitious this year. La Caja China, the makers of the famous Cuban-style pig roasting…

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Moving the BBQ Smoker to Ireland

Dear Friends: On December 31, my entire family (including Frances, the Basset Hound) will embark on a one-way flight to Europe. After toasting the “Happy New Year” aloft, we will land in Paris, hop a flight to Dublin, rent a van, and drive to Ballyvaughn on the West Coast of…

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Portrait of Irish BBQ as a Young Art

The Pitt Bros Barbecue Test Lab is a repurposed shipping container in the incredibly hip EATYARD, a gathering spot for food trucks and other street food vendors in Dublin. Pitt Bros BBQ restaurants has two brick and mortar locations plus the food stand at EATYARD, making it the largest barbecue chain in…

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The Campaign for Real Barbecue

My longtime friend John Shelton Reed talked me into joining his barbecue group, The Campaign for Real Barbecue. The organization started in North Carolina to combat the sinking standards there. Many barbecue joints have abandoned cooking with wood or coals and are now roasting their pork shoulders in gas or electric ovens. They…

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