The US music industry has had a strong presence at the ongoing 2020 Olympics. Jessica Springsteen, an elite equestrian and daughter of Bruce Springsteen, is competing at the games. John Legend was part of a group that covered John Lennon’s “Imagine” during the Opening Ceremony. It turns out that it almost went deeper than that, as Lady Gaga was apparently nearly involved in the Opening Ceremony as well.
It seems Gaga, who is known all over the world as her albums have gone No. 1 in dozens of countries, was close to making a Nintendo-themed cameo. According to Japanese publication Bunshun (as Stereogum notes), leaked documents from October 2020 describe a plan to have Gaga remotely disappear into a green warp pipe (from the Mario series) while wearing a red Mario hat. She would have then re-appeared through a different pipe in the Japanese arena, except instead of Gaga herself, it would have been Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe (who is best known for her Beyonce impression).
The bit would have been similar to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s appearance at the 2016 Olympics closing ceremony. By this spring, however, all mentions of Gaga were entirely removed from planning documents.
Despite some folks still not being able to get their hands on the coveted console, the PlayStation 5 is proving to be a triumph and bestseller for Sony Interactive Entertainment. Earlier this week, Sony’s global sales and business operations SVP Veronica Rogers took to the company’s official blog to announce that Sony has sold more than 10 million PlayStation 5 units globally as of July 18. According to Rogers, this makes the PlayStation 5 the fastest-selling console in Sony history.
After thanking fans for their “amazing response” to the PlayStation 5, Rogers went on to address the console’s infamous supply issues due to the ongoing global pandemic. First and foremost, Rogers thanked the various Sony teams who worked during the pandemic in order to make the console’s launch successful in spite of the countless challenges. Rogers also stated that Sony is currently “making steady progress with available global supply and can’t wait for the day when everyone who wants a PS5 can easily get one.” While that’s not much in the way of a plan, fingers crossed it means all the folks still wanting a PlayStation 5 will be able to purchase one soon.
Lastly, Rogers also praised all the various components of the PlayStation ecosystem that set the system apart from competing consoles. Rogers thanked Sony’s product development team for delivering “amazing innovations including lightning-fast SSD, immersive 3D audio, and the dynamic DualSense controller with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers,” before listing some of the system’s most-anticipated upcoming games — such as Horizon Forbidden West and the new God of War title. Rogers closed the post by stating Sony is “committed to making sure that PlayStation is the best place to play.”
While this is all incredibly exciting news for the folks at Sony, the sales reflect an overall increase in growth and profitability in gaming. Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed their new console, the Xbox Series X | S, is their fastest-selling system of all time as well, reaching 6.5 million units sold as of June 30. While the Nintendo Switch has been out for some time now, just last year Nintendo reportedly sold more than 28 million units of the portable console, bumping the total number of units sold to nearly 85 million. Clearly, regardless of where you play, there’s never been a better time to.
The influential independent label Jaguwar is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a covers album featuring plenty of artists they’ve signed over the years. The likes of Angel Olsen, Bruce Hornsby, Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade) and Jamila Woods have all joined in to cover songs that reflect influences on themselves as artist or the label as a whole. So far, the label has shared Bruce Hornsby doing “Feel The Pain,” a Dinosaur Jr. cover, and Jamila Woods covering Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” You can hear Jamila’s version of that classic above, and Hornsby doing his best Dino Jr. below.
Also check out the full tracklist for the complete project below. The album will be released on September 24th and is available for pre-order right here.
Join The Ritual tracklist
Spencer Krug – “Red Dress” (Jad Fair)
The Besnard Lakes – “Good Morning, Captain” (Slint)
They Hate Change – “The Seeming And The Meaning” (Stereolab)
Angel Olsen – “Cold Blooded Old Times” (Smog)
Bruce Hornsby – “Feel The Pain” (Dinosaur Jr.)
Jamila Woods – “Fast Car” (Tracy Chapman)
Nap Eyes – “Car” (Built To Spill)
S. Carey – “Weight Of Water” (Low)
Pink Mountaintops – “The Concept” (Teenage Fanclub)
Cut Worms – “One For The Catholic Girls” (Simon Joyner)
Okay Kaya – “Nightswimming” (R.E.M.)
While doing the promotional rounds for his new film, Stillwater, Matt Damon has confirmed that, yes, he will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic fo a cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder. After various reports and on-set sightings from Australia, where the production’s being helmed by Taika Waititi, the cat was pretty much out of the bag. But thanks to Marvel’s notorious secrecy, nothing is ever official until you hear from the studio or the actor themselves, and Damon didn’t try to hide his MCU return during an interview with The Jess Cagle Show.
As expected, Damon is reprising his role as an Asgardian actor who portrayed Loki for a stage play in Thor: Ragnarok, but he teased that the part will be a bit more substantial this time around. Via Comic Book:
“I don’t know if it’s secret or not though everybody knows,” Damon said. “I went down there to shoot. I think they sussed out, because paparazzi took pictures of us so that they sussed out what we were doing. We were kind of reprising a cameo that we, that Luke Hemsworth and I did in the last one. And we had a ball and so Taika [Waititi] had us back again, to kind of run that joke back and upgrade it a little bit.”
Of course, one has to wonder if Damon’s Loki role will have any connection to to the Trickster God’s Disney+ series, which recently introduced Marvel fans to the concept of Loki Variants. More than likely, Thor: Love and Thunder will chart its own path, but it will be interesting to see how or if the film will address the God of Thunder’s mischievous brother, who was last seen contributing to massive multiversal destruction that will alter the very nature of reality.
Old Forester/Wild Turkey/Buffalo Trace/Elijah Craig/istock/Uproxx
Christopher Osburn has spent the past fifteen years in search of “the best” — or at least his very favorite — sips of whisk(e)y on earth. He’s traveled to over 20 countries testing local spirits, visited more than 50 distilleries around the globe, and amassed a collection of bottles that occupies his entire basement.
In this series, he cracks open his worn “tasting diary” and shares its contents with the masses.
Unless you’re a super-rich person who doesn’t care about hand-crafted, high-quality whiskey and the painstakingly difficult work that goes into creating it, you’ll savor a super expensive glass of bourbon slowly, neat or on a deep-frozen rock. You certainly won’t use that bottle of Pappy, Weller, or EH Taylor as the base for a mint julep, Manhattan, or whiskey sour all too often. Fortunately, there are much less expensive, also-well-made bourbon options perfectly suited for mixing.
When I refer to “less expensive” bourbons, I’m not talking about the plastic-handled bottom shelf swill that seems much more suited to being fuel for your lawnmower than drinking. I’m talking about the great, value bourbons that are not only functional sippers but also ideal cocktail bases. Generally, these land smack dab in the second shelf — the $20-$30 range. Not so low on the quality ladder that they ruin your drink and not refined enough to make you feel bad about mixing with them.
Below, you’ll find my eight favorite mixing bourbons in the $20-$30 sweet spot — ranked with tasting notes.
One of the most well-known names in the bourbon world, Maker’s Mark is a 90 proof, small-batch whiskey (although they spell it whisky) that’s well-known for its iconic red wax-dipped bottles. With its cheap price and mellow, rich flavor, there’s a reason Maker’s Mark is one of the most popular bourbons in the world.
Tasting Notes:
This bourbon smells the way you imagine bourbon to smell in your mind. The basic aromas of vanilla, caramel, and oak are prevalent and… that’s about it. The flavor is soft, mellow, and highlighted by notes of butterscotch, vanilla beans, and subtle cinnamon. It’s a simple, straightforward whiskey that’s always there.
No frills and no flavors you don’t anticipate.
Bottom Line:
Part of the appeal of Maker’s Mark is that it’s a sweet, corn-centric, mellow whiskey that you can sip neat, but its sticker price won’t make you feel remorse about mixing with it.
You might assume that the price for the only vintage-dated single barrel bourbon on this list would be pretty hefty. Well, It’s not. Evan Williams Single Barrel is made up of hand-picked barrels that are aged 7-8 years. Even though this whiskey retails for around $30, each bottle is labeled with its vintage date, the year it was bottled, and the barrel number.
Tasting Notes:
The aromas of cooking spices, brown sugar, charred oak, and light caramel are heavy on the nose. The palate leans into caramel apples, candied orange peels, oaky wood, and toasted vanilla beans. The finish is long and surprisingly mellow for a value bourbon.
Overall, a great whiskey for the price, but not overly complex and perfect for mixing.
Tasting Notes:
This well-priced whiskey feels like it was created to be used as a mixer. It’s sweet, flavorful, and stands up well even when mixed with bold, over-the-top ingredients.
By now, you likely know that the “Old Grand-Dad” on the bottle is none other than Basil Hayden. His face should always alert you that you’re about to crack open of the best value bourbons ever created. While you can opt for the bonded version, I feel that this high-rye, robust, oaky bourbon is better suited for cocktails.
Tasting Notes:
The first aroma that’s noticeable is vanilla. This is followed by caramelized sugar, honey, and wood char. The palate reveals hints of raisins, butter cookies, vanilla beans, caramel candy, and just a hint of cracked black pepper. It ends in a warming, sweet, slightly spicy finish that works well in drinks like the classic Manhattan or whiskey highball.
Bottom Line:
If you don’t have a lot of money to spend, or you simply don’t want to spend a lot on a mixer, you can’t do better than the crazy low-priced Old Grand-Dad. It was literally made for mixing.
Four Roses is a big name in the bourbon world and offers a portfolio of high-quality expressions. Its lowest level is Four Roses Kentucky Straight Bourbon (also lovingly known as Four Roses Yellow Label). It’s aged for five years, is 80-proof, and is noted for its fruity, rich flavor.
Also, it’s surprisingly cheap.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas include honey, cinnamon, dried apricots, and vanilla. The palate is made up of caramel apples, raisins, almond cookies, toasted vanilla beans, oak, and subtle spices. All in all a smooth, sippable, highly mixable whiskey.
Bottom Line:
The sweet honey, caramel, and slight spice make this an ideal whiskey for mixing. Use it as the base for a boulevardier and you’ll be stoked.
This award-winning whiskey is just as well-known for its consistently low price as well as its 100-proof, robust, slightly spicy flavor. Made from hand-selected barrels, its high proof and well-balanced flavor make it one of the best value choices for bourbon cocktails on the market.
Tasting Notes:
The aroma is a great mix of sweetness and spice with notes of caramel and vanilla beans mixed with almonds, freshly brewed coffee, and just a hint of baking spices. The flavor follows suit with caramel apples, dried fruits, clove, cinnamon, rich, oaky wood, and slight peppery rye at the very finish.
Bottom Line:
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more mellow, sweet, slightly spicy 100 proof bourbon in this price range more suited for mixing into cocktails. Take a look, we dare you.
One of the most beloved bargain whiskeys by both bartenders and bourbon drinkers, Wild Turkey 101 is one of the best mixing (and sipping) value whiskeys in the world. This high proof, high-rye bourbon, has been aged the same way (in heavily charred oak barrels) for more than sixty years.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is loaded with buttery caramel, sweet cream, charred oak, and just a hint of spicy rye. The palate highlights maple candy, butterscotch, vanilla beans, cracked black pepper, and cinnamon sugar. The finish is dry, sweet, and filled with a symphony of pepper, vanilla, and cinnamon spice.
Bottom Line:
I’ll get it if you stop right here. Wild Turkey 101 is unbeatable for the price. Fans of baking spice-driven, charred oak, caramel-forward bourbons will love mixing with this high-proof expression.
Legend has it that Elijah Craig invented bourbon when he aged his whiskey in charred oak barrels. Regardless of that story’s veracity, I love the bourbon made in his honor for its versatility and value. The brand’s flagship Small Batch has won multiple awards and is known for its spicy, sweet, slightly smoky flavor profile.
Tasting Notes:
Crack open a bottle and you’ll be greeted with slightly herbal aromas plus dried cherries, cinnamon sugar, and buttercream frosting. Sipping it brings forth notes of charred oak, cloves, cinnamon, treacle, and butterscotch. It all ends in a crescendo of toasted oak and sweet dried fruits.
Bottom Line:
Even though it’s around $30, Elijah Craig Small Batch is so flavorful, so nuanced, you might not want to mix with it. I implore you to push those feelings away and use this one as a base for your next Manhattan. You’ll be delighted you did.
Buffalo Trace is one of the most respected distilleries in the world. Makers of Pappy, Weller, and almost all of the most sought-after bourbons on the market, Trace also makes a flagship value bourbon simply called Buffalo Trace.
Easily the most respected bargain bourbon on the market, Buffalo Trace is a small batch, slightly spicy, sweet whiskey that demands to be used as the base for your favorite cocktails.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is exactly what you hope for in a well-made, mixing bourbon. It’s filled with scents of sticky toffee, caramel candy, almond cookies, and gentle peppery spice. The palate has flavors of caramel corn, butterscotch, charred oaky wood, chocolate fudge, and dried cherries and raisins. It ends with a nice mix of cinnamon and caramelized sugar.
Bottom Line:
When it comes to a price to quality ratio, I don’t believe there is a better mixing bourbon than Buffalo Trace. It’s spicy, sweet, and perfectly suited for mixing into Manhattans, whiskey sours, and especially summery, fresh whiskey highballs.
As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.
Legendary TV producer Norman Lear turned 99 years old on Tuesday. To celebrate, the creator of such iconic and groundbreaking sitcoms as All in the Family announced a new project: he’ll be executive producing a reboot of his short-lived ‘70s satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, with Emily Hampshire—best known for her role as the Rosebud Motel’s sardonic desk clerk in Schitt’s Creek—taking on the title role and co-writing the project with Letterkenny’s Jacob Tierney.
Both Hampshire and Tierney will executive produce the project alongside Lear and his production partner Brent Miller, who have an overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. Word of the reboot began spreading earlier this year, in February, when Lear and Hampshire were shopping the project around. Though it’s still only in the development phase, TBS was the lucky network that snatched up the rights.
The original series, which ran in syndication for just two seasons between 1976 and 1977, followed Louise Lasser as an Ohio housewife who is regularly dealing with surreal moments happening all around her. The series earned Lasser an Emmy nomination for the title role in her first season. In 1976, it took home the Emmy for Special Classification of Outstanding Program and Individual Achievement for its pilot episode, and co-star Mary Kay Place won for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1977.
The updated version of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman will see Hampshire grabbing the attention of the social media world (a surreal thing in its own right) after footage of her nervous breakdown goes viral and turns her into something of an influencer.
“The kick of kicks as I turn 99 today is learning that TBS is developing MHMH and will allow us to make a new version of it starring Emily Hampshire,” Lear said of the announcement. “As someone who believes his 99 years on this planet is owed to the amount of laughter he enjoyed through the years, here’s to the next 99. Bless you all!”
Isaiah Rashad fans have been waiting for quite a while for the Chattanooga rapper’s follow-up to his debut album The Sun’s Tirade and this Friday, they’ll finally get their fill when The House Is Burning drops on TDE and Warner Records. With the release just days away, Isaiah releases one last video, “Runnin’” featuring Schoolboy Q, to give fans a preview of what to expect.
The video is more of a nostalgic look back through the archives of Rashad’s career so far, featuring behind-the-scenes footage from his prior tours and recording sessions (there are even some glimpses from back when he had ‘locs!). Naturally, during Q’s verse, the perspective shifts to follow the exploits of the South LA native. Kenny Beats and Dom Maker provide murky but smooth instrumentation for their lyrics to glide over, giving the song an improvisational but polished sound.
Prior to the release of the upcoming album, Rashad also shared videos for comeback single “Lay Wit Ya” featuring Memphis crunk revivalist Duke Deuce, “Headshots (4r Da Locals),” and “Wat U Sed” featuring TikTok-favorite Tampa rapper Doechii and Kal Banx.
Watch Isaiah Rashad’s “Runnin’” video featuring Schoolboy Q above.
The House Is Burning is due 7/30 on TDE and Warner Records. Pre-save it here.
New Jersey residents know that its rest stops are named after prominent residents of the state, like Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Edison. Recently, the New Jersey Turnpike announced plans to re-name those rest stops with an updated roster of more contemporary figures. Famous folks who now have their own rest stops include Jon Bon Jovi and Whitney Houston, courtesy of the New Jersey Hall Of Fame. Curiously missing from the list is Bruce Springsteen, although there’s a reason for that: He apparently wasn’t interested in having a rest stop named after him.
New Jersey Hall Of Fame spokeswoman Natasha Alagarasan told NorthJersey.com (as Stereogum notes), “Bruce Springsteen respectfully declined to have a service area named after him. It should be noted, though, that Bruce has been very supportive of the New Jersey Hall Of Fame over the years, and is very much a part of the fabric of the Hall.”
As for the newly re-named rest stops, those include Montvale’s James Gandolfini Service Area, Brookdale North’s Larry Doby Service Area, Brookdale South’s Connie Chung Service Area, Vauxhall’s Whitney Houston Service Area, Cheesequake’s Jon Bon Jovi Service Area, Monmouth’s Judy Blume Service Area, Forked River’s Celia Cruz Service Area, Atlantic’s Frank Sinatra Service Area, and Ocean View’s Toni Morrison Service Area.
The Walking Dead‘s gearing up for its 11th and final season (which debuts on AMC on August 22 and AMC+ a week earlier) after releasing a trailer to mark the beginning of the end (of the flagship show in 2022), yet the universe won’t be ending anytime soon. Instead, the universe is plowing full steam ahead with more Fear the Walking Dead, which has gained new life heading into Season 7. The intellectual property seems to show no end in sight for spinoffs — and more billions of dollars in revenue — including the in-process The Walking Dead: World Beyond and more on the way, like the Carol-Daryl spinoff in the future and those long-awaited Rick Grimes movies. So, this zombie-universe’s comic-book creator, Robert Kirkman, would like to make sure that he’s getting his desired share of profits going forward.
That’s a stance that Kirkman has been pursuing in court for several years. Original The Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont recently fared quite well (to say the least) when his lawsuit ended in a $200 million settlement. However, Kirkman’s efforts recently received a hefty blow after contract interpretation by a judge, who decided in favor of AMC when it came to “express terms of the parties’ contracts.” The judge ruled that these terms would override any “fairness” arguments by Kirkman and multiple other executive producers to increase their share of the pot.
Long story short? Kirkman cut his legal team loose and re-upped. Now, a judge has ruled that he can “pursue new legal theories and punitive damages” while seeking monetary relief. It’s an interesting twist, and The Hollywood Reporter reveals that the same judge (Los Angeles Superior Court’s Daniel Buckley) who shut down the most recent Kirkman legal attempt has had a change of heart. He will allow Kirkman’s legal team to present arguments on a pair of amended claims. The first claim involves fairness in contract negotiation, and the second one is more complicated but essentially accuses AMC Network of interfering with contracts that it wasn’t directly involved with. Here’s the legal-tech speak:
The first is alleged breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. According to this latest theory, AMC knew it had a unilateral right to craft the MAGR term, waited until success of the series, and then specifically crafted defined profits to ensure plaintiffs would not recover under the circumstances. And the other is alleged tortious interference. This theory (one that may soon be imitated by others in the entertainment world) is that AMC Network — which didn’t have direct contractual relations with the show’s producers — had knowledge of its sister company’s dealings and intentionally induced a breach for its own advantage.
As always, the entire entertainment industry could be shaped by a case like this, especially when it comes to juggernauts like The Walking Dead, which not only sees a vast cable audience but is also streaming like gangbusters. Licensing deals will continue to fuel more dollars for the entire TWD universe, and it seems like Kirkman’s not letting go of his claims. The end result should reverberate throughout the entertainment industry as other shows gain additional life on streaming, so you know, stay tuned.
“A lot of times I’ll say that the smell of barbecue is like this symbolic dinner bell and anybody who smells it — it’s inviting,” says legendary six-time world barbecue champion pitmaster and French-trained chef, Tuffy Stone. He’s not wrong. For me and my fellow carnivorous, barbecue-obsessed food lovers, just a slight whiff of fat-laden, fragrant smoke or sweet hickory barbecue sauce signals a feast.
Stone, a Virginia native and Barbecue Hall of Fame inductee, is also the author of Cool Smoke: The Art of Great Barbecue. In that cookbook, the chef and pitmaster shares many of the nuanced techniques that help him create perfectly tender and sumptuous cuts of meat.
“Everything is so fast and immediate in this day,” he says. “No one’s waiting for a letter in the mail, unfortunately, anymore. It’s a text. It’s a post. It’s a call. It’s a tweet. And I think barbeque is one of these moments where you take a pause, you slow down, you’re taking affordable ingredients for the most part, and trying to make something special out of it.”
Tuffy’s specialty is pork and whole chicken, which is what he told me he wants to be known for when we met in one of the barbecue capitals of the world, Austin, Texas. During our time together, I was completely blown away by his enthusiasm and love for the art of smoke and flame. The food itself was even more impressive.
Check out our full conversation below, along with a Tuffy-approved recipe for delicious barbecue pork. Enjoy!
What motivates you as a pitmaster?
I’m a little different. I started off in a French kitchen. I started learning how to become a chef back in 1987. It was 2004 [when] my wife and I had started a catering company and, in the company, had grown to a point where I was managing the business more than I was cooking. And I needed a new culinary activity to kind of reconnect me as a cook and a chef and learning how to cook with all wood burn and fire became like this idea in my head of what I was going to learn next.
It was such an amazing journey. I often say that that barbecue is like the most gregarious cuisine. It’s the friendliest food. Barbecue is something that historically is feeding large groups of people – family reunions, picnics, and things like that. It’s usually taken modest cuts of meat, tough cuts of meat, and trying to cook something great out of it. I think because of my culinary background, I thought, “Man, I should be able to get the knack of this. I can make all these hard-to-pronounce fancy expensive foods. I can make barbecue.” I got my first pit back in 2004 and got a load of hickory, got some pork butts, made a rub, fired up the pit, seasoned this meat – and I just ruined a big ol’ load of meat. It was so humbling, but it was so exciting.
I say it a lot of times — I went off the barbecue deep end. There are so many things about barbecue that are interesting to me. It’s such an approachable food. Nobody’s ever afraid to pronounce it. I can be driving down the road and my pit is on the back of the truck and a car will pull up beside me and give me the thumbs up. I think that’s what barbecue does for so many people but really, I think it’s more of a challenging cuisine. I’m, of course, much better at it today than when I started but that took a lot of mistakes and a lot of learning.
I think it’s a combination of building a fire and taking a tougher cut of meat and taking it to a level that just puts a smile on people’s faces. It’s the process. You’re a writer and I just saw you did a review on bourbon. So, we have something in common there. (Laughs) I’ve written a cookbook and I talk a lot, but I think if writing was my full-time profession, it would be finding the stories that are not only interesting to you but hopefully interesting to the reader.
I think food is that way. I read a cookbook one time and it was a Michelin three-star chef who had written his cookbook. He said he didn’t believe you could cook a dish as well as it could be cooked if you weren’t kind of a little bit passionate about that. It’s probably true with writing, too. I’m sure you can write the story, but probably your most magical stories are the ones that you feel a connection to – and I think it’s the same with food.
Tuffy Stone
Perfectly stated. I agree with your comment on being passionate about topics. That’s exactly why I only cover certain brands or certain types of music, because if it doesn’t resonate, it will reflect in the writing or in your case, reflecting in the cooking.
I like the fact that you write about the things that connect with you and you feel good about. There’s so much clutter out there in this world. I think finding things that are authentic is always refreshing.
Thank you. You brought up several good points, but I’m still thinking of the first pork butt that you ruined. Would you say that you now have that mastered? What’s your signature dish?
Well, so let’s talk about why that pork was so bad. My next-door neighbor, Sue Brown – who’s still my next-door neighbor – was a recipient of a lot of my failed attempts in barbecue. Most barbecue becomes not great when it’s not cooked to a nice tender. The other thing is, most people when they make barbecue initially, they over-smoke it. I read a book by author John Willingham. Unfortunately, he’s passed, and he wrote in his book some things that really stuck with me. He said smoke is dirt. We’re cooking, we’re not smoking. So the way I say it now is I like to treat smoke like salt and pepper. With Texas barbecue, especially where you live, smoke is certainly an element to the barbecue as I know it in Texas; but you don’t want it to be so smoky that that’s all that you taste.
With my initial attempt at barbecue, I was over smoking, and I wasn’t getting the tenderness right. One day, I knocked on Mrs. Brown’s door, and I had some more barbecue for her, and she said, “Tuffy, thank you, but I still have some of the last barbecue you gave me.” It struck me right then and there: She didn’t want it because it wasn’t any good.
Over time, as I got better at learning how to run a fire and cooking barbecue, I did kind of go back to my roots, like my French training. I don’t do French barbecue,by any means, but I try to treat [barbecue] with a lot of finesse, and I try and really execute it well.
Tuffy Stone
So, if I wanted to make the best pork ever, what would be the one piece of advice you would give me towards how I cook it?
Oh, it can’t be one. I mean, if it’s going to be one, I think the best barbecue and really the best foods in the world – and I don’t care if it’s Caesar salad or ice cream or pork butt – is hitting this magical texture this magical tenderness. You say, “Well, how does that apply to Caesar salad?” I think the best Caesar salad has the [crispest] romaine, the crunchiest croutons, dressed just with the right amount of dressing – not too much, not too little. I think the best ice cream has the best mouthfeel and we could probably go into bourbons and the texture of how it can feel in your mouth. Barbecue pork is about getting this magical doneness to where the meat was cooked until it was tender, but it’s not overcooked. It’s not chewy, it’s got like a silky gentle chew with that fat rendered out during the cooking process.
If I only focus on one thing and give you one answer, I think it’s going to be focusing on tenderness. That’s huge.
So can you take us through the steps to the perfect pork butt? [Numbers added after the interview for clarity.]
Take a pork butt, season it for seven hours before you’re going to smoke it. I got tons of recipes for rubs on my website. The rub can be as simple as salt and pepper and it can be something you buy at the store, it can be something you order on the internet, but most rubs have salt in them. So where I come with my time is I don’t want that rub to not be on there long enough and I don’t want it to be on there so long that it cures the meat. So typically speaking, I would say basically seven to eight hours or overnight for writing purposes.
Get up in the morning, pull your pork butt out and let it sit at room temperature for one hour while you get your grill or your smoker prepared.
Get it at 275 if you’re on a gas grill because I’m not going to be persnickety that way. People have what they have that they’re going to cook on. So, if you’re going to cook on gas, you want to do what’s called two-zone where you have one burner on and one burner off, you’re going to put that seasoned piece of meat on the side where the burner’s off so that we don’t burn it up. If you’re doing a charcoal grill, you will have coals on half of the bottom of your cooker, and then not on the other side. If you’re in Texas and got a big ol’ Texas offset, then that doesn’t matter.
We’re going to cook it indirectly for four hours, and after one hour, we’re just going to mist it with a little bit of apple juice just to kind of keep it hydrated during the cooking process. So, cooking 275 for four hours. After the first hour, I mist it with apple juice and then mist it every 30 minutes. After four hours, I got beautiful color, I got just the right amount of smoke.
Then, we’re going to do what’s called the Texas Crutch. We’re going to wrap it in aluminum foil and put it back on the cooker to continue to cook until it’s tender. Probably check it two and a half hours later as a start. We’re going to cook that pork butt until it’s about 195 degrees or until it probes tender with a meat thermometer.
Pull it off the cooker, let it rest for about an hour or hour and a half. And then, we’re going to chop it, pull it, slice it – whatever you want to do and serve it with a favorite barbecue sauce.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
