Cold Meat Is the Best Way Out for a Summer Party
There are few things better than a summer dinner party and few things worse than cooking for one. Sweating over a red-hot grill in the August heat, when your guests are getting more drunk and hungry, creates a truly unpleasant reception experience.
Ready meals are a lifesaver for any host or hostess trying their best, and as I recently learned from this Bon Appétit article , cold meat is the main focus of a pre-cooked meal. Serving everything straight from the refrigerator (or warmed to room temperature ) gives you a cool kitchen and a casual cooking schedule so you can spend more time really enjoying your guests’ company. This is a stunningly simple solution to a very real headache – which I would like to think about before inviting my friends over for a fajitas cast iron steak in August.
Bon appetite emphasizes the convenience factor, but misses an important argument: Cold meat is always fully rested. Spending the night in the refrigerator gives the flavors enough time to merge and keeps the juices in place, so the pure meat tastes better. Sous vide meat dishes work especially well here : they are not only already wrapped and ready for cooling, but also perfectly fried from edge to edge, for which you just need to quickly fry or fry on the burner before serving. Anything you hide in front of an open refrigerator the next day is a better candidate, but here are some tips to get you started:
- Marinated Fajitas Steak: Chop a few half-inch chuck steaks and toss with thick slices of pepper and onion. Marinate everything in beer, lime juice, soy sauce and plenty of garlic and caraway seeds, then sauté or grill until desired.
- Roast pork shoulder: Pierce the roast in several places, stuff with the garlic cloves, rub everything with salt and brown sugar and leave overnight. Tie it nicely and tightly and bake or toast until it falls apart.
- Ribs: Pork, beef, or lamb, everyone loves a plate of ribs, which are tastier and easier to eat at room temperature.
- Any variation on the “chicken under the brick” theme: cold or warm chicken skin can be unpleasant, but if you put a bird in a hot pot, every square centimeter crunches, so it tastes good at any temperature.
- Fried Chicken: The Cold Fried Chicken rules – and you don’t even have to cook it yourself. If you’ve got a great local spot, order takeaway for everyone and focus on the parties.
They each need nothing but one or two pickled vegetable accordions and the appropriate carbohydrate to complete them. The taco steak obviously requires tortillas, plus some pickled red onions and escit ; Serve slices of slow-fried pork shoulder with bread or rolls, aggressively seasoned red cabbage stew, and a ball of arugula in a vinaigrette for delicious DIY sandwiches. If your menu still seems a little lean, pickled tomato salad is always a safe bet: Whisk any vinegar with a little neutral oil, season with salt, pepper, sugar or honey to taste, then add the sweet onion shavings and wedges. ripe tomatoes. Serve everything with the sauces of your choice – never skip the sauce – and plenty of chilled drinks for an easy spread worthy of the trendiest summer evening.