Retired Home Cook

St. Charles Pork Steak with Missouri BBQ Glaze

Cuisine: Missouri BBQ | Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 1 hr 45 mins | Total: 2 hrs | Servings: 4 | Difficulty: Easy

A St. Louis-area backyard barbecue favorite featuring tender pork steaks slowly cooked and finished with a tangy Missouri-style BBQ glaze, served with German potato salad, grilled zucchini and onions, and cherry crunch bars.

Ingredients

Pork Steaks: 4 pork shoulder steaks (about 8 oz each), 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp black pepper.

Missouri BBQ Glaze: 1 cup barbecue sauce, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.

German Potato Salad: 2 lbs red potatoes cubed, 4 slices bacon diced, ¼ cup diced onion, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp sugar, salt and pepper.

Grilled Zucchini & Onions: 2 zucchini sliced lengthwise, 1 large onion sliced into rings, 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Cherry Crunch Bars: 1 can cherry pie filling, 1 box yellow cake mix, ½ cup melted butter.

Instructions Season pork steaks with paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Grill over medium heat for 10 minutes per side, then transfer to a covered pan with a little water and cook at 325°F for 1 hour until tender. Combine BBQ sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce; brush over pork during the final 15 minutes of cooking. For the potato salad, boil potatoes until tender. Cook bacon until crisp, sauté onion in the drippings, then stir in vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper. Toss with warm potatoes. Brush zucchini and onions with olive oil, season, and grill until tender. For dessert, spread cherry filling in a baking dish, top with dry cake mix and melted butter, and bake at 350°F for 40 minutes until golden.

Pairing: Beer – Schlafly Kölsch | Wine – Missouri Norton | Cocktail – Missouri Mule (bourbon, ginger beer, lime)

🍕 THE BLUE-STEEL PIE FORGED IN THE MOTOR CITY
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Happy National Detroit-Style Pizza Day! 🍕🚗
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While thick, square slices with a sky-high cheese crust are a massive global trend today, this legendary pizza was quite literally forged by American industrial ingenuity right after World War II.
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The story begins in 1946 at a former Prohibition-era speakeasy called Buddy’s Rendezvous on Detroit’s Eastside. The owner, Gus Guerra, wanted to introduce something totally new to his tavern menu.
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Looking for high-sided baking pans that could withstand intense oven heat, he didn't head to a bakery supply store. Instead, he sourced industrial blue steel utility trays from local automotive factories—the exact ones assembly-line workers used to hold nuts, bolts, and scrap metal! 🛠️
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These heavy-duty, seasoned steel pans conducted heat perfectly, giving birth to a brand-new style of square American pizza.
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What truly sets the authentic Motor City pie apart is its strict, backward assembly line:
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🔹 The Foundation: High-hydration, double-proofed dough is hand-stretched directly into the oiled corners of the steel pan.
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🔹 The Layering: Thick pepperoni slices go directly onto the raw dough first, followed by a dense blanket of Wisconsin brick cheese spread all the way to the edges.
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🔹 The "Frico": As it bakes, the cheese melts down the sides, caramelizing against the hot blue steel to form a dark, crispy, lacy cheese crown known as a frico.
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🔹 The "Racing Stripes": The pizza is finished with thick ladles of hot tomato sauce draped over the top in parallel lanes, affectionately nicknamed "racing stripes" in honor of its automotive roots. 🏎️
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This ingenious process keeps the airy, porous crust beautifully light and crisp without ever getting soggy from the sauce.
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For the ultimate pairing, enjoy a corner slice alongside a crisp, cold Midwest pale ale or a robust IPA—the hop bitterness beautifully cuts through the rich, buttery brick cheese. 🍺
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Ozark Country Fried Chicken with Pepper Gravy

Cuisine: Missouri Ozark Comfort Food | Prep: 25 mins | Cook: 30 mins | Total: 55 mins | Servings: 4 | Difficulty: Moderate

A hearty Ozarks supper featuring crispy country fried chicken smothered in pepper gravy, served with creamy mashed potatoes, butter-braised green beans, and traditional Apple Stack Cake.

Ingredients

Country Fried Chicken: 4 boneless chicken breasts, 1½ cups buttermilk, 1½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, oil for frying.

Pepper Gravy: 3 tbsp pan drippings, 3 tbsp flour, 2 cups whole milk, 1 tsp cracked black pepper, salt to taste.

Mashed Potatoes: 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cubed, 4 tbsp butter, ½ cup milk, salt and pepper.

Butter-Braised Green Beans: 1 lb green beans trimmed, 2 tbsp butter, ½ cup chicken broth, 1 minced garlic clove, salt and pepper.

Apple Stack Cake: 1 prepared apple stack cake or 8 slices.

Instructions Marinate chicken in buttermilk for at least 20 minutes. Combine flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken in the flour mixture and fry at 350°F for 6–7 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. For the gravy, whisk flour into the pan drippings, gradually add milk, and cook until thickened; season with black pepper and salt. Boil potatoes until tender, drain, and mash with butter and milk. Simmer green beans with butter, broth, and garlic until tender and flavorful. Serve chicken topped with pepper gravy alongside mashed potatoes and green beans, followed by Apple Stack Cake for dessert.

Pairing: Beer – Piney River Float Trip Ale | Wine – Missouri Chambourcin | Cocktail – Bourbon Sweet Tea Mule

🌰 THE CARAMELIZED LUXURY THAT GAINED A SOUTHERN SOUL
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Happy National Pralines Day! 🌰✨ While we think of pralines as a melt-in-your-mouth Southern staple, this confection actually began as a 17th-century European luxury meant to aid a French nobleman's digestion.
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The candy traces back to 1600s France, named after diplomat César, duc de Choiseul, comte du Plessis-Praslin. Legend says his chef coated whole almonds in caramelized sugar. Called "praslines," these crunchy nuts became an absolute sensation in the royal court as an elegant post-dinner treat.
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The recipe crossed the Atlantic in the 1720s with French Ursuline nuns arriving in New Orleans. Because European almonds were scarce but native pecan trees and sugarcane were abundant, Southern cooks made a brilliant regional swap:
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🔹 The Nut: They traded crunchy almonds for rich, buttery Louisiana pecans.
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🔹 The Texture: Instead of a hard glaze, they added fresh cream and butter.
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This completely altered the cooking process, transforming a brittle candy into the soft, fudge-like "American praline" we know today.
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Beyond flavor, the praline holds a monumental place in history. In 19th-century New Orleans, emancipated Black women street vendors—known as pralinières—sold these pecan candies in Jackson Square and the French Quarter. This entrepreneurial movement provided a vital path to financial independence and business autonomy during a deeply restrictive era, cementing the praline as a symbol of New Orleans resilience.
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For the ultimate experience, enjoy a fresh praline alongside a hot cup of dark-roast chicory coffee or a neat pour of smooth southern bourbon—the bitter and smoky notes perfectly balance the intense, buttery brown sugar sweetness! ☕🥃
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🧅 THE CRISPY APPETIZER THAT RAN RINGS AROUND FOOD HISTORY
Happy National Onion Rings Day! 🧅✨ While we usually associate these golden, crunchy loops with mid-century American drive-ins, classic diners, and a cold pint of beer, the true origin of the onion ring actually crosses the Atlantic and goes back more than two centuries.
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The earliest recorded recipe for a dish explicitly matching modern onion rings didn't come from a fast-food franchise, but from an 1802 British cookbook titled The Art of Cookery Made Easy and Refined by John Mollard. His recipe, "Fried Onions with Parmesan Cheese," instructed cooks to slice onions into half-inch rings, dredge them in a rich batter of flour, cream, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan, and deep-fry them in boiling lard. He even recommended serving them with a sophisticated dipping sauce of melted butter and mustard.
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The dish migrated to the United States and evolved into the ultimate regional comfort food. In the early 1920s, a Texas-based chain called Kirby’s Pig Stand—widely recognized as America’s very first drive-in restaurant chain—began serving a heavily battered, deeply fried version. They claimed to be the true inventors of the modern onion ring, serving them up as the ultimate side to their famous Texas barbecue pork sandwiches.
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However, what truly launched onion rings into regular American home kitchens was a brilliant marketing push. In 1933, a widely published advertisement for Crisco vegetable shortening in the New York Times Magazine featured a step-by-step recipe for domestic cooks. This ad completely demystified the art of deep-frying at home, turning a restaurant luxury into a Great Depression-era comfort staple. By the 1960s, fast-food giants like A&W added them to nationwide menus, sealing their fate as a legendary global snack.
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Today, whether you love them beer-battered, panko-crusted, piled high on a gourmet burger, or paired perfectly with a crisp local pale ale, you’re enjoying a centuries-old culinary evolution!
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Kansas City Burnt Ends with Sweet & Smoky BBQ Sauce

Cuisine: Missouri BBQ | Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 3 hrs 30 mins | Total: 3 hrs 50 mins | Servings: 6 | Difficulty: Moderate

Kansas City's most famous barbecue dish—tender, caramelized burnt ends coated in a rich sweet-and-smoky sauce, served with creamy coleslaw, skillet cheesy corn, and homemade blackberry cobbler.

Ingredients

Burnt Ends: 3 lbs beef brisket point, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp paprika, 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder.

Sweet & Smoky BBQ Sauce: 1 cup ketchup, ¼ cup molasses, ¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp smoked paprika.

Creamy Coleslaw: 4 cups shredded cabbage, 1 carrot shredded, ⅓ cup mayonnaise, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, salt and pepper.

Skillet Cheesy Corn: 4 cups corn kernels, 2 tbsp butter, 4 oz cream cheese, ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, ¼ tsp cayenne pepper.

Blackberry Cobbler: 4 cups blackberries, ¾ cup sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 cup self-rising flour, 1 cup milk, ½ cup melted butter.

Instructions Season brisket with brown sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Smoke or roast at 275°F until tender, about 3 hours. Cube the brisket, toss with BBQ sauce, and return to the smoker or oven for 30 minutes until caramelized. Simmer sauce ingredients together for 10 minutes. Mix coleslaw ingredients and chill until serving. For cheesy corn, melt butter in a skillet, add corn and cream cheese, stir until creamy, then mix in cheddar and cayenne. For cobbler, place berries in a buttered baking dish, combine sugar, flour, milk, and melted butter, pour over berries, and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes until golden.

Pairing: Beer – Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale | Wine – Missouri Norton | Cocktail – Kansas City Horsefeather (bourbon, ginger beer, bitters)

I finally added my original chili recipe to my website. Check it out and let me know if you tried it or would.

Pit Pirate ATNO Atomic Chili – Retired Home Cook Recipes, cooking tips, and locally owned and operated restaurant reviews featuring Western Pennsylvania and Southeastern Ohio restaurants and recipes.

🍑 THE ROYAL FRUIT THAT INSPIRED A SUMMER OBSESSION
Happy National Peaches 'N' Cream Day! 🍑✨ While a bowl of juicy peaches drenched in velvety cream is the ultimate symbol of casual summer bliss today, this timeless pairing spans ancient royal rituals, colonial abundance, and one of the most notorious medical mysteries in American history.

Peaches originally hailed from ancient China, where they were revered as symbols of immortality. By the Victorian era, they had evolved into a high-society luxury across Europe. In Queen Victoria's court, enjoying a fresh peach was a delicate etiquette ritual—no formal dinner was complete without a peach presented to guests wrapped safely inside a beautifully stitched cotton napkin.
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When European colonists brought peach trees to the Americas, various Indigenous tribes helped widely plant and migrate the seeds across the continent. With the parallel rise of local dairy farming, combining the lush, sweet fruit with fresh cream became an instant summertime staple, cementing its legacy as a beloved tradition, particularly across the American South.
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However, this innocent dessert also holds a darker, legendary spot in public health history. In the early 1900s, an incredibly talented New York cook named Mary Mallon—better known to history as "Typhoid Mary"—became the first recognized asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever in the United States.

While her heated, cooked dishes safely killed off the bacteria, her absolute most requested, signature dessert was served completely raw: handmade peach ice cream packed with fresh, hand-chopped peaches. Because the freezing process preserved the bacteria rather than killing it, her famous summer treat unwittingly became a historic medical vector, helping epidemiologists eventually track down the source of the outbreaks.
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Today, with excellent modern kitchen hygiene, we can enjoy this sweet contrast completely stress-free. Whether you take your peaches simply sliced with heavy cream, dolloped with airy whipped cream, or churned into a cool ice cream, you are tasting a brilliant, centuries-old summer tradition!

I've known how to break down a chicken (or any poultry) for a very long time, but I even picked up a few tips from this excellent how-to video.

Andrew Zimmern Cooks: Breaking Down a Chicken Everyone should know how to break down a whole chicken. For one, it...