Chef Ponzio

When that beef brisket renders just right!

On special for lunch today on the 4th floor at

We smoked up some prime briskets for today’s lunch special. Seasoned with 8:1 pepper to salt ratio.

These were smoked at 240° over oak, wrapped at 165 with beef tallow and then finished smoking to an internal temperature of 206.

what do the brisket professors think?

The French Laundry… I have to say, this place lived up to its reputation!

A special thank you you and the entire team at for a truly unforgettable experience. Your hospitality, service, and finesse were second to none.

17 courses of culinary bliss. Several of the courses had more than one component, so we dined for 3 1/2 hours… and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I’ve had the pleasure of eating at restaurants all over the world and have never had a dining experience as memorable as this one.

What’s better than poaching lobster directly in butter? Recipe 👇

This technique requires making a beurre monte, which is a sauce made by emulsifying butter into water. It sounds like a hard technique, but it is super simple and the results are next level!

By butter poaching the lobster, we are infusing layers of flavor and richness to this delicious meat.

Beurre Monte
1/2 cup water
1 shallot, sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 lb butter, diced
1 sprig tarragon
1 tbsp kosher salt

1. Bring the water, shallots and garlic to a boil
2. Whisk in the butter, adding more as you go, until it is fully melted and emulsified
3. Turn off the heat and whisk in the tarragon and salt
4. When ready to cook the lobster, bring the sauce up to a boil and add in the lobster
5. Allow it to simmer gently in the butter until cooked through

When Dad’s at work and mom attempts to make meatball sandwiches for dinner… 🤦🏻

Fall apart beef cheeks… have you ever had them? 👀👇

If you have never had beef cheeks before, you are missing out! I like to think of them as short rib’s richer, more flavorful brother.

The cheek muscle is one that is heavily used, so it has a lot of connective tissue. But unlike the motion muscles on the cow like the shanks and round, beef cheeks have an amazing succulence.

The succulence of the cheeks comes from the amount of collagen in the connective tissue. As they break down, then turn to a gelatin, giving you an unforgettable mouthfeel and a deep richness. To break down the collagen, you need long cooking at a low temperature.

These cheeks were rubbed with a 8:1 pepper to salt rub, smoked at 250° with oak wood, then finished slow cooking in beef tallow until they fell apart.