The Chemical Engineer's Handbook to the Culinary Universe - A Culinary Guide to fabulous feastivities and amazing meals
A Map of Culinary Adventures and Other Fascinating Tidbits
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Food, fun and other fascinating tidbits with Dr. Mark
Dr. Mark's List of Favorite Flavor Enhancers
Special Spice List
Every chef has their go-to spiices. This is a list of spices I use quite often in my recipes. I find all of them at local grocery stores. I highly recommend keeping a stock of these for when you embark upon any foray into the magic world of food.
These recipes are really meant to be a starting point. While these dishes are quite tasty in my opinion, everybody is different. Experiment and explore... it is all about what you (and/or your guests) like, love, desire, or crave. Let your passion drive the flavors.
Here are a list of spices/ingredients that I use often and are always stocked in my flavor arsenal. I find all of these at my local grocery store
- Black truffle infused olive oil - Private Selection
- Himalayan Pink Sea Salt - any brand
- Smokehouse Maple seasoning - MCormick
- Bacon Chipotle seasoning - MCormick
- Brown Sugar Bourbon seasoning - McCormick
- Smoking Seasoning - Weber's
- Truffle Dust - Private Selection
Carnitas de Carnell
Soutwestern TexMex
6-7 lb pork shoulder roast - bone in
Dr. Mark's Magic Pig Powder
Wet Rub
4 Tbsp fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Roasting Broth
1 can Bud Light
1/2 cup limeade
2 Tbsp butter (optional)
Liberally apply the Wet Rub to wet surface of roast
When surface is wet apply the Magic Pig Powder dry rub liberally to the entire roast
Let roast rest 10-15 minutes and place in smoker
Smoke at ~225 for 4-5 hrs
My ideal wood blend for this recipe is a blend of maple, pecan, apple.
I also like to add just a little cherry chips and whiskey barrel chips too, if available.
If you want to use charcoal, I recommend applewood, a hardwood blend, and cherry. These can also be combined with natural wood, which I do often.
Carefully remove roast and place in a 4-6 quart oven-safe stock pit with cover
Pour in roasting broth and cover.
Place in oven (covered) at 160F for 5-6 hrs
Remove from over and carefully uncover being careful not to let the steam burn you
Use long-handled tongs and pull bone out. It should pull easily out in one piece.
Chunk or shred the roast to desired consistency (I personally prefer chunks to shredded)
Serve as a sandwich with rice and beans or french fries and pico de guillo
Dinner serve with rice and beans or roasted potatoes and pico de guillo
Tacos -
corn or flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro leaves, shredded cheese, pico de guillo and some taco sauce with a side of rice and beans or french fries
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Culinary Conquests
Coffee-Espresso Basalmic and Black Truffle Glazed Ribeye
2 Tbsp Black truffle infused olive oil
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Minced garlic
4 Tbsp (your favorite) red wine
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/8 cup Sliced shallots
1/4 cup Sliced cajun belle peppers
1/4 cup Sliced button mushrooms
1/8 cup sliced sweet onions
8 oz sliced ribeye
1 Tbsp Coffee/Espresso
2 Tbsp Basalmic Vinegar
Add oil, butter, garlic, soy, and wine in large skillet
Heat on med heat stirring lightly until butter melts
Add shallots, onions, mushrooms, and peppers and
Sauté until veggies are al dente
Add coffee/espresso and 1 Tbsp basalmic vinegar and sauté for 1-2 minutes
Then add sliced ribeye and sauté until steak is just under rare
Then drizzle with 1 Tbsp Basalmic and toss/mix
(Optional: add 1 Tbsp sesame seeds)
Sautee for 1-2 minutes to mix sauce, veggies, and meat well
As an entree:
Serve over rice and garnish with fresh parsley
As a sandwich:
Serve on a baguette or hoagie roll with:
- 3 slices of Muenster, Havarti, Swiss cheeses
- a side of leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, pickle spear and mayonnaise
Smoked Margarita Shrimp
2 lbs raw cleaned and deveined, shells on 21-25 white shrimp
3 Tbsp smokehouse maple seasoning
3 Tbsp bacon chipotle seasoning
1 Tbsp Weber's smoking seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp pink sea salt
1/4 cup limeade
1 1/2 oz gold tequila
Mix and combine all marinade ingredients well and pour mixture over shrimp in gallon bag, let marinate in fridge for at least 6-8 hrs in refrigerator
Smoke at 160 degrees for 1 - 1 1/2 hrs
Remove from smoker and wrap in aluminum foil with juice and place in oven to steam at 200F for 15-30 min until shrimp are firm and tender
Good served fresh and hot with rice or fries or served cold as peel and eat style with cocktail sauce and lemon
Smoked Lemon-Maple Chicken
5 lbs chicken quarters separated into legs and thighs
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Fresh lemon juice (2 lemons halved)
2 Tbsp Olive oil
dry rub ingredients
1 Tbsp Fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbsp Ground white pepper
2 Tbsp Meat tenderizer seasoning
3 Tbsp Italian seasoning
3 Tbsp Poultry seasoning
2 Tbsp Brown sugar bourbon seasoning
3 Tbsp Sweet maple seasoning
1 Tbsp Paprika
Butter non-stick cooking spray
Directions:
mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside
combine liquid ingredients and rub all over chicken, spray lightly with cooking spray
coat with dry ingredients
spray chicken again with cooking spray
Smoke at 250F until chicken reaches internal temp of 190F
Serve dry or with your favorite bbq sauce
Sauce can be brushed on and served or brushed onto chicken toward end of smoking process to get some carmelization and smoke flavor in the sauce
Spicy Crunchy Fried Chicken
2 whole chickens or 6-8 chicken quarters
cut into pieces
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Black pepper
2 tsp White pepper
2 tsp Garlic powder
2 tsp poultry seasoning
4 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp hot sauce
1 cup pickle juice (optional)
Egg-wash
3 Eggs
1/3 cups Water
1/2 cup red hot hot sauce
1/4 cup lemonade
Dry Batter
4 cups Flour
1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp White Pepper
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 tsp Paprika
3 tsp Cayenne pepper
Season chicken with salt, pepper, white pepper, poulty seasoning and garlic powder and set aside
Place seasoned chicken in gallon bags with buttermilk and hot sauce (and optional pickle juice). Mix well and remove air from bags
Refrigerate overnight
Mix together eggs, water, lemonade and hot sauce in a container large enough for dipping the chicken pieces.
In a separate gallon bag, mix dry batter ingredients.
Remove chicken from buttermilk marinade and season again with salt, pepper, white pepper and garlic powder and place chicken pieces in bag with dry batter mixture and coat all the chicken pieces.
Remove chicken pieces one at a time, shake off any excess flour.
Once pieces are all removed from flour dip pieces in the egg mixture, one at a time, and put the pieces back in bag with dry batter mix again.
shake to coat the chicken a second time.
Heat peanut oil to 335F and fry pieces for ~20 minutes until crust is golden brown (internal temp of ~175) being careful not to crowd the chicken while cooking
Remove from oil when done and place on a rack to cool and crisp (important: drain on rack so oil can drip off and chicken remains crispy)
Truffle-Kissed Roasted Brussel Sprouts
1 lb fresh brussel sprouts
1/8 tap Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Truffle Dust
1/8 tsp White pepper
1/4 tsp bacon chipotle seasoning
1/8 tsp Smoking rub
5 drops black truffle infused olive oil
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp crubled bacon
2 Tbsp thinly sliced shallots
1 Tbsp chopped fresh garlic
2 Tbsp rough chopped sweet onion
Place sprouts, shallots, garlic, inion, and bacon in a large oven-safe container and add seasoning and mix well
Cover with foil and bake at 200F for about 20 minutes or until al dente
Remove mix and place in grill pan or foil and finish on grill until veggies have a very light char for flavor.
Serve warm as a side dish.
Fresh and Creamy Berry Citrus Punch
1 cup blueberries
1 cup pineapple
1 cup raspberries
1 cup lemonade
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
1 oz heavy cream
Blend until smooth and pour into 1 gallon of lemonade.
Refrigerate overnight and then strain.
Serve over ice garnish with fresh fruit
Carnitas de Carnell
Ingredients
6-7 lb pork shoulder roast - bone in
Dr. Mark's Magic Pig Powder
4 Tbsp Meat tenderizer
2 Tbsp Fresh Ground Black pepper
2 Tbsp Himalayan Pink Sea Salt
2 Tbsp White Pepper
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
4 Tbsp Smokehouse Maple seasoning
4 Tbsp Brown Sugar Bourbon seasoning
4 Tbsp Bacon chipotle seasoning
Wet Rub
4 Tbsp fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
Roasting Broth
1 can Bud Light
1/2 cup limeade
2 Tbsp butter (optional)
Liberally apply the Wet Rub to wet surface of roast
When surface is wet apply the dry rub liberally to the entire roast
Let roast rest 10-15 minutes and place in smoker
Smoke at ~225 for 4-5 hrs
My ideal wood blend for this recipe is a blend of maple, pecan, apple.
I also like to add just a little cherry chips and whiskey barrel chips too, if available.
If you want to use charcoal, I recommend applewood, a hardwood blend, and cherry. These can also be combined with natural wood, which I do often.
Carefully remove roast and place in a 4-6 quart oven-safe stock pit with cover
Pour in roasting broth and cover.
Place in oven (covered) at 160F for 5-6 hrs
Remove from over and carefully uncover being careful not to let the steam burn you
Use long-handled tongs and pull bone out. It should pull easily out in one piece.
Chunk or shred the roast to desired consistency (I personally prefer chunks to shredded)
Serve as a sandwich with rice and beans or french fries and pico de guillo
Dinner serve with rice and beans or roasted potatoes and pico de guillo
Tacos -
corn or flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro leaves, shredded cheese, pico de guillo and some taco sauce with a side of rice and beans or french fries