Meat Sweats With Jordie: Let's Get Double Cheeked Up With Some Beef Cheeks
I follow a lot of bbq accounts on Instagram. So much so that I'd say my Instagram feed is somewhere around 60% bbq, 30% hockey highlights, and 10% targeted ads. So while I'm mindlessly scrolling through my feed like a zombie, I see so many platters of smoked meats. So many briskets. So many ribs. So many beef ribs on the weekends. And they're all great. They all might look pretty similar but while a lot of these places are serving up the same items on their menu, it's the man or woman behind the pit who makes each place different from the other.
But then I'll come across LeRoy & Lewis as I'm scrolling, and that's where shit really starts to get unique. They check all the classic boxes, sure. But then they start messing around and putting stuff out there that you never even heard of before. For starters, you're not going to see cauliflower "burnt ends" on a ton of bbq joint menus.
And you're also not going to find beef cheeks on every menu either, or at least not yet.
Brisket kicks ass. Beef ribs are life changing. Pork ribs always hit. Pulled pork you can't go wrong. But if you're ever looking to change things up a bit, beef cheeks are a great move. And it's also a super easy way to use those brisket trimmings that I've been begging you to save for later.
Cook a few briskets, save the trim, render down some beef fat into tallow, use that tallow to confit some beef cheeks, and now you're basically an Austin native. Pretty sure you'll be invited to the McConaughey family bbq after this one.
P.S. - Currently have a brisket sitting in a pastrami brine for next week's episode.