December 6, 2025 • 45 mins
In this podcast episode, we engage in a profound exploration of culinary traditions as we approach the Christmas season. Our esteemed guest, Graham Care, the renowned Galloping Gourmet, shares his insights into festive cooking and the significance of thoughtful meal preparation. We delve into the merits of utilizing high-quality ingredients, such as smoked turkey and carefully chosen vegetables, while also discussing the nuances of presenting a meal that balances simplicity and elegance. Throughout our conversation, we emphasize the importance of community and inclusivity during this celebratory time, as we reflect upon our personal experiences and the joy of sharing meals with loved ones. Ultimately, we aim to inspire our listeners to embrace the season's spirit by cultivating gratitude and appreciation for the abundance that surrounds us.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Olive Garden
- Painted Hills Beef
- Costco
- Campbell's
- Heritage Steel
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
It's time for Barbecue Nationwith jt so fire up your grill, light
the charcoal, and get yoursmoker cooking.
Now from the Turn It, Don'tBurn it studios in Portland, here's
jt.
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with my co hostand co conspirator, Leanne Whippin.
Hall of Famer, I might add.
(00:21):
It's that time of year.
We're coming into theChristmas holidays.
You're probably still waddlingaround, no pun intended, after the
Thanksgiving festiv.
So, as normal, we always bringone of my favorite people on the
planet, Graham Care, theGalloping Gourmet, my inspiration
in life as far as the cooking.
And we've got Graham back withus today.
(00:45):
And Graham is now almost,what, a year into your marriage?
Two years.
Wow.
We were talking about how.
How time flies when.
Before we started recording.
And that is true.
Then.
I stand corrected.
Two years.
(01:06):
That's.
That's fine.
It seems like yesterday.
Let's put it this way.
Yeah, for sure.
Okay.
So we got to tell people.
And before Leanne came on, I.I made a comment about your tie.
Yes.
Mai tai I have had sinceGalvin Gourmet days.
(01:31):
And they used to tune in thecameras using Mai tai to make the
color balance properly on thecameras and the days when that used
to have to happen.
So it's getting a littlethreadbare around the edges, but
that goes well.
It almost looks nascar.
It looks like a NASCAR tie.
(01:54):
It's got those colors.
Yes.
And it does me good to knowthat I still have a tie.
Yeah.
And then you wear it, youknow, President.
Well, the president continuesto have this perfectly knotted tie,
but most men nowadays and evenrunning for office seem to be.
(02:18):
Seem to have the open throatthing, so.
Yeah.
Like this.
Yeah.
Yes.
For you today.
I'm impressed still that youcan tie the knot if you're not tying
them in much.
Yes.
Yes.
Without looking.
Yes.
Yeah.
I.
All those years I traveled, Ihad to wear coats and ties and suits
(02:39):
and stuff.
And I could tie those thingsin the dark and get them probably
95% correct as far as theplacement of the knot and like that.
But I don't have to do that anymore.
But I. I do wear a tieoccasionally around Christmas because
I've got a couple of sharp.
Christmas time.
I've got to wear a tie on Thanksgiving.
We're having a complete familyThanksgiving this year, just Nancy
(03:03):
and me.
Oh, excellent.
Nice.
And I have planned it down tothe last detail and been shopping
creatively, and I'm ready to go.
All right, so let's talk alittle bit about what you had at
Thanksgiving, and then we'lljump into Christmas.
So what was on the agenda at Thanksgiving?
(03:25):
Well, this is a simple menu.
First of all, it's avocado andshrimp, fresh shrimp, freshly cooked
and tossed in with the avocadoand with my favorite salad dressing,
which comes from Olive Garden Restaurant.
Their standard practice is tohave a salad, that sort of ongoing
(03:48):
salad.
And they do a remarkably good vinaigrette.
And.
I could reproduce it if Iwanted to, but they do it so well,
and it's so available.
Then I toss the shrimp and theavocado in that, and that's my first
course.
Second course, I got a companythat doesn't.
(04:12):
They smoke turkey breast andthey do a really good job of this.
So I've got this smallerturkey breast and I'm cutting it
completely across the grain sothat when it lies that it's an inch
thick and lies on the plate,it looks about like that and would
(04:36):
be about 6 ounces, I guess.
I'm going to put two slices ofprovolone cheese over the top of
that, and I'm going to drapethen two anchovy fillets so they
cross and then stud the wholething with capers on the top of things.
Then under the broiler, itgoes until it dapples and gratins,
(05:02):
you know, have that littlebrown spots, golden spots, and the
anchovies and the capers sinkdown into the cheese.
And with that, with thatturkey where the smoke choking, I'm
really looking forward to thatbroccoli on the side, a little roasted
sweet potatoes, nicely peeled,and they're brilliant orange color
(05:26):
against a brilliant green.
So that's what the plate willlook like.
No other, nothing else, justvery simple.
And then as a dessert, I'mgetting from our local store, I found
out that they get croissantsin the frozen state.
(05:48):
They get delivered to thestore, and the store then bakes the
croissants.
So I've got the frozen croissants.
I managed to get into theirsystem and get these.
I know that's a little unusual.
And then what I'm doing is I'm pumping.
A pumpkin pie spice mix ofmine into the frozen croissant as
(06:13):
it's going, so that I'mactually creating a pumpkin pie croissant,
if you will.
And then on the side I've gota gelato, because we're not into
ice cream.
So the gelato is a pumpkin pie gelato.
It actually has pieces of piein the gelato, and.
(06:37):
It'S in several stores, so Ifelt that I could mention it to you.
But it's really delicious and good.
So that's.
That's it.
And we're having a sparklingrose on the.
On the side.
Yeah.
Excellent, Excellent, excellent.
I will.
Two quick confessions from my end.
(07:00):
I have a large bottle of theOlive Garden salad dressing in my.
Sam's.
I think they sell it at Sam's Club.
Yeah, yeah.
And so I've got that for theupcoming festivities.
And when you said gelato, lastyear, we were in Hawaii for Thanksgiving.
(07:20):
Oh.
And right down the street fromthe hotel was a gelato store.
And I became their bestcustomer for 10 days.
So there you go.
That was it.
Let's switch forward toChristmas here and.
Lots of changes.
(07:42):
I know that I talked to WillHomer from Painted Hills Beef last
night, and they don't haveenough, you know, rib roast to go
around.
Well, one of the reasons is,is they've had to.
Cut back a little bit on their production.
(08:04):
Just because of the expenseand things like that.
They're working through it.
They're.
They're going to come out just fine.
But they're doing that.
And stores are scrambling forrib roasts.
So just a heads up, you know, they.
You might consider a striploin if you.
Don'T want to, you know, sprayand rib roasts are expensive now.
(08:27):
So anyway, that's my tip to people.
You might look at a strip loinbecause most people won't tell the
difference anyway, so.
But what's going to be onGraham's table at Christmas?
Always roast lamb, my friend,and always basted in apple and orange
juice and a leg, preferably.
And I'm really angling.
(08:49):
I can't confirm it at themoment, but I've got all my feelings
out from the west coast of thesouth island of New Zealand.
And that's because over a tonof salt is dumped out of the Tasman
Sea onto that coastline.
And the sheep eat that saltedgrass and you get a partially salted,
(09:14):
you know, rather like theCostco chicken.
You know, they brine beforehand.
This is naturally.
Bred into the flesh itself.
The French call it.
Meaning with salt.
And it's.
Of all the lamb in the world,is probably has to be amongst the
(09:37):
best.
So are you and Nancy justdoing you two at Christmas or are
you going to have a house fullof mini gourmets around there?
I think it's going to be thetwo of us.
You know, I'll be 92 on the22nd of January.
(10:02):
Her age is not declared.
I see.
But we're so enjoying each other.
And quite honestly, there's somuch that goes on in the community
here that it's a big party forthe whole of December.
(10:22):
And so I think that for ourmeal, it's just going to be the two
of us or that we'll be havingour eyes open for somebody who looks
as if they're not fitting in somewhere.
And if that's so, I know bothof us would love to include them.
Can I come?
(10:47):
Both of you can come, yeah.
Oh, thank you.
It's all good.
It's all good.
Yeah.
The.
You know, when you go to thestores, you just get, sometimes you'll
get a.
You know, a crown roast orsomething, and then sometimes you
have the chops and once in awhile you'll see a leg in there.
(11:10):
Do you recommend if they'regoing to consider doing lamb to go
to maybe not New Zealand, butsomewhere other than just the commercial
stores?
If there's a, you know, asheep rancher around or something.
Oh, if you can possibly get asclose to the animal on the hoof.
(11:34):
For lamb, I find that that,that works, that when, when they
kill, they need to be hung forabout five or six days.
And so in New Zealand, becausethe killing is so massive.
And they're frozen almostimmediately, I always hang my lamb
(12:00):
in the refrigerator.
I put a hook through it and Iplace it underneath to get the drippings
and I hang it always for atleast eight days.
Wow.
Wow.
Very good.
All right.
It really works beautifully.
Yeah.
I hung in college.
I hung upside down for a dayone time, but we won't talk about
(12:21):
that.
Anyway, we're going to be backwith Graham Care.
I don't know if we want tohear the rest of it.
Yeah, Might get in trouble.
We're going to be back withGraham Care and Ms. Whippen in just
a minute.
Stay with us.
You're listening to Barbecue Nation.
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(13:02):
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(13:34):
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with LeanneWhippen, hall of famer and purveyor
of pig powder, and also mygood friend Graham Care, the Galloping
Gourmet.
You look great, by the way.
You look fantastic.
Well, that's.
Thank you.
That's my mother's genes.
(13:54):
You know, by genes, I mean genetically.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ever had a pair of jeans?
I have to tell you something.
Before we came on the showtoday, I was killing a little time
for a few minutes.
I had everything set up, and Iwent to ancestry.com which I have
an account there, if you will.
(14:14):
And I was looking at stuffbecause I was thinking about you,
Graham, and I thought, I have a.
Like, if you total it all upfrom Scotland and England and all
this, I have about a 48% UKheritage in me from, like I said,
(14:36):
the Scotland Lowlands couplein the Highlands, couple percentages
down in Wales and all these places.
I thought, well, okay.
And then the other part of meis Swedish.
That's my mother's side.
And.
But there's a lot of.
A lot of the UK in me there,and a little tiny bit of French,
(14:58):
so.
Well, you know, I'm Scottish and.
And I was pillaged 5, 600years ago by people from Norway and
Sweden, so.
Yep, yep, yep.
I think that's true.
So let's go back and talkabout beef for a second and preparing
(15:22):
beef for your Christmas dinner.
A lot of people will still dorib roast or prime rib, as they call
it, and.
Or, you know, perhaps they doa strip loin or perhaps they do something
else.
I mean, some people do lasagna.
It's all in your.
Whatever you like to do.
But what are a couple ofthings that you and your vast experience.
(15:45):
Would suggest to people whenpreparing their rib roast or a strip
loin?
Okay.
Well, you know.
I've done several things overmy career, one of which is, of course,
the large salt crystals and toroll the roast in those larger crystals
(16:09):
of salt.
And now there's a theory whichI'm sure probably you would like,
because it's so good that youstarted off at about 450 in order
to sear the outside within areally hot temperature, then you
(16:30):
wind the temperature back downto about 350, 375, and finish the
roast off in that way.
I have never done that.
I've always chosen the 350 mark.
And started it from fresh withthe salt crystals on the outside.
(16:52):
Now it doesn't crisp and brownas well as the fierce each at the
beginning, but I do find thatit seems to cook better overall for
the finished.
Slice.
(17:12):
And it's always, alwaysheavier when you bring it out.
There's quite a lot ofevaporation that takes place with
that high initial temperature.
And being a Scott, I want tosave with a rib roast as much as
I can.
And I'm one who has a pinkabout 140, 150 temperature internal.
(17:42):
And that's what.
But you know, for me.
The essence of a meal nowadaysfor me is the vegetable accompaniment
that takes place.
You've heard me with my Thanksgiving.
It's just simply broccoli andthe brilliant orange.
The brilliant orange and thegreen for me is wonderful.
(18:05):
But I have a way now which Iwas wanting to talk to you about
called a puel P O E L E. Haveyou ever heard that word puele before?
No, I haven't.
Not from anybody but you.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well a puel if you couldimagine a saute pan of about a 10
(18:26):
to 12 inch diameter with areally long handle.
And it was a really longhandle so that they could do that
over a fire so that they couldget away from it enough.
And the handle of course isalways metal.
But what they would do, theywould put either butter or oil in
(18:48):
the pan first of all and thenthey would have chopped up the vegetables
in about 1 inch pieces if youwill, about the size you could cut
a brussels sprout in half, for example.
And you've got parsnips andturnips and.
That range of.
(19:10):
Vegetables.
Now do you have a Costco closeto you?
Oh yeah, I do.
I guess most of us have Costcodo a thing called a melange M E L
A N G E And it's about a fourpound bag of vegetables and they're
(19:31):
already pre roasted and it'sgot all of what the vegetables I
just discussed with.
Has mushrooms in it as well assweet peppers.
It's a marvelous combinationreally and quite inexpensive when
you think of the laborinvolved in getting that those vegetables
(19:53):
together.
So I take a brimming overcupful per person of these vegetables
and drop them into that hotoil and then saute them, toss them
backwards and forwards andmove them around.
I only have about atablespoonful of oil in the bottom
of the pan to do that.
(20:14):
Now then.
The essence comes.
If you want to add a littlebacon to that.
Then you drop some choppedbacon in.
If you have a favoritesausage, then let the sausage also
be part of the vegetable.
And then Campbell's do thecondensed soup.
(20:35):
You know, the little cans, six ounce.
Can I put one of those?
Now they do a cream of celery,which is my favorite, the cream of
celery.
I drop that into the pan andthen I get a stock and it will be
a chicken stock or veal stock,whatever bones I've had recently.
(20:58):
And pour that about the same quantity.
So for the condensing, it'sthe soup itself, the cream white.
And then the stock on the topof it, the same volume, and then
stir that all in together.
I add the herbs of Provence,that spice mix and shake that in
(21:20):
so that I can see that I'vegot enough.
Adjust the seasoning.
It's usually quite saltyenough for me.
And it looks magnificent.
I love it.
The greens and the colors andthe mushrooms and the red peppers
and all.
(21:41):
And this beige and this cream sauce.
With a little bacon andsausage in there as well.
Okay, we got to take a breakbecause my refrigerator is right
there and you just made me hungry.
But we're going to be back ina minute with Graham Care.
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(22:04):
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(22:27):
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(22:52):
Welcome back to Graham show.
Leanne and I are disspectators today because he's given
us so much good stuff.
Stuff.
I had a question, though,about your.
Your vegetable dish you talked about.
Yes.
Is the bacon a bit precookedbefore you drop it in there, or is
(23:14):
it still raw and you need tolet it cook a bit?
No, no, that.
Thank you so much.
Normally, what I do would beto take the meat content of this.
And that whole dish, by theway, that I've just described is
something that Nancy and I do frequently.
We keep on changing the meatand we keep on.
(23:37):
The vegetables stay the same,but the meat changes constantly and
the Soup that we use.
They have a wide range ofcondensed, so we use that as well.
But always with the freshlymade stock in the temp.
Yes.
(23:57):
When the sausage and the baconthat's added to the vegetables at
the start so that it reallydoes so and get cooked or before
soup is added.
Yeah.
You know, one of my favoritesoups that Campbell's makes, and
I use it in things like you'rediscussing because I use cream of
celery and I do all that stuff.
(24:18):
But I love their golden mushroom.
Now.
I have no idea.
I just like the flavor of it.
It's probably chock full of chemicals.
I don't care.
It just tastes good.
Instead of their basic oldwhite condensed cream of mushroom
soup, I use their goldenmushroom soup.
It's just something I like to do.
So there you go.
Yeah.
(24:39):
Yes, we use that as well.
I have their full range inorder to have a variety.
Yes.
Yeah.
And once in a while, a can ofNally's chili.
What the hell?
You know, like that.
But by the way, Leanne, Iforgot at the top of the segment,
tell everybody about pig powder.
Oh, new spicy pig powder iscoming out.
(25:00):
New labels, but it will be thesame ingredients.
Nothing changed in theoriginal pig powder, which won best
rub on the planet.
One of the top.
I think it's the top award,really, given to a dry rub.
It's very versatile, sweetwith a little back heat.
Can be used on seafood pulp,tree pork, scrambled eggs, french
(25:21):
fries, baked beans.
So you can either go to Amazonor pigpowder.com to get yours.
And yeah, it's a greatChristmas gift, too.
Yeah, it is, it is, it is.
Did you ever send Graham some?
No, but I need to.
Shame on me.
Shame on me.
I will.
That is at the top of my list.
You've just moved to numberone spot of to dos.
(25:44):
Okay.
All right.
All right.
So let's move on with the.
The Christmas dinner.
Our standard fair.
And Leanne said this to melast week on the show.
She said I'm more of a traditionalist.
And I am.
If you came to my house andGraham came to my house, I would
not be.
But the crew I feed everyyear, very traditional.
(26:09):
So I always take that into consideration.
Because I'm a very considerateguy, as you know.
But I. I do do that.
But to.
I've got half the people thatwon't eat broccoli.
I've got half of them thatwon't eat Brussels sprouts.
I've got, you know, that typeof thing.
So I tried to be in atraditional fashion.
(26:30):
So at our house on Christmaswe have a roast.
I do a twice baked potato,which if you're worried about caloric
value, this is not the placeto come.
Because the bacon and thecheese and.
It'S got three different typesof cheeses.
It's got sour cream, it's gotgreen onions.
(26:53):
Bacon, bacon, bacon, lots of bacon.
And then sometimes I've evendiced up little bits of prosciutto
and put in it.
They don't know that becauseif I said it, their heads would explode.
But it's in there.
And then I coat it all withcheese and bake it off and they love
it.
And you know, when people cometo take stuff home, the twice baked
(27:17):
potatoes are.
I have to make like three pansof them because not only what they'll
eat at the meal, but then whatthey want to take home with them.
And they'll do those twicebake and they'll steal some au jus
from me and they put that onthere when they're watching football
on Friday or Saturday or whatever.
But I also do a traditionalCaesar salad and some pull apart
(27:38):
rolls.
Sometimes another vegetablelike peas or something.
Again, very traditional.
But I wanted to get Leanne'stake and then Graham's take on what
you do at Christmas.
Well, for me, for Christmas,it's the same thing every year because
we love it and look forward to it.
(27:59):
It's always a bone in rib roast.
Sometimes I'll do a reversesear on it.
So it depends on my mood, itdepends on the cut that I get.
I have a funny story.
I actually had a rib roastthat I ordered from, I think it was
Publix.
And I went to go pick it upthe day before Christmas and they
didn't have it.
They were all out after I preordered it.
(28:21):
So they actually delivered acrown roast of pork on Christmas
day.
I don't know how they swung it.
And that's what they deliveredto us.
And that's what I ended upcooking, which was a nice change.
You know, stuffed it with wildrice and mushrooms and everything.
It was good.
But I like traditional rib roast.
We do a string beans withonions, bacon and mushroom mashed
(28:41):
potatoes because I love makinggravy and so that's my thing.
And yeah, that's.
It's very basic.
And then, you know, the pullapart rolls and.
Yeah, yeah, that's it.
That's it, Graham.
All right, mine.
I mentioned if I can possiblyget that leg of lamb out to the west
(29:01):
coast.
I know that's being picky and ridiculous.
But if I can possibly swingit, I have connections and it may
work.
But if not, I'll get myself aleg of lamb and I will get it about
four or five days at leastbefore Christmas, and I will put
(29:22):
an S shaped hook in it andhang it up in my fridge and let it
drip onto a plate.
I must have at least four orfive days of that taking place.
Then I'm going to roast it at325 degrees Fahrenheit, no early
(29:43):
temperature at all.
And I'm going to base thatwhilst it's going with apple and
orange juice, both of themcanned, both of them without sugar.
But the combination of applesand oranges basted over the meat
with the drippings and thebottom make a fantastic citrus gravy.
(30:03):
Sure.
And it's called lamb, Andrew.
And I thicken that with alittle arrowroot.
Not much, but a little arrowroot can, can be brilliant because
it can reflect light wonderfully.
It doesn't cloak the palate inany way, and it looks terrific.
And with that, probablybroccoli, because I just love that
and my family does.
(30:25):
And I also love, as I.
Or explain those garnet sweetpotatoes when, when they're peeled
and roasted properly alongwith the lamb.
It's just beautiful.
So that.
So and I was that at the table?
(30:45):
Yeah.
Oh, see, that's, that's thebest part, what I was going to say.
And Leanne, you jump in onthis too, or Graham doesn't matter.
I actually.
I take my roast the day beforeand I do any minimal trimming that
is needed like that.
But I will use a, a light coatof olive oil on it.
(31:08):
And then I will season it andput it in a.
Garbage bag, if you will.
I have these plastic bags thatare see through and I put it in my
spare refrigerator overnightbefore I go to cook it the next day
to roast it.
Okay.
And it's just some of that.
(31:29):
And we know, you know, salt'sthe only thing that permeates the
meat and that, but in the fatthat will kind of soak into the fat
a bit.
And I've just had good luckwith that.
Well, you're almost creating amarinade, you know, and you have
to make sure you don't usethose bags that smell like Febreze.
Right, right, right, right.
(31:52):
So that'.
Sure.
I'm sure it's delicious.
Yeah, yeah.
And I use like Graham wassuggesting, I use an ample amount
of salt on the fat because,you know, I don't Know how many people
at your tables.
But the, the hardy folks thatcome to my house love the spinellas.
They love the, the fat cap onthe outside, depending on how much
(32:14):
I leave.
And with all that salt and fatand seasoning because I use, you
know, basil and oregano andblack pepper and all that garlic
and all that good stuff, youmay have a, the, in the eye of the
rib steak.
That eye may be there, butthat spinella is gone off everybody's
(32:35):
plates.
That's how I'm gonna.
You've trained them well?
I've trained them well, yes.
So I, I, Is there any, youhave any suggestions, Graham, for
seasoning like that?
Do you know I am a devotedherbs of Provence sky and I, I lived
in Provence for a while and,and gathered those herbs myself.
(32:58):
And I have a McCormick's do areasonable dry solution of those
and I like to mix those herbswith salt for the, the outside of
a roast.
And by the way, in, in theSavoy Hotel in London, they bring,
(33:18):
they roast a baron of beef,you know, that's loin and rum.
And they have this largesilver trolley and they wheel it
to your table and open thetrolley up like this.
And Henry used to be the guywho, Henry would say, what will he
be?
What will your pleasure be today?
(33:42):
And I said, I'd like an in andout, please, Henry.
Certainly, son.
And then he cuts this roasted,you know, crusted herb.
Outside.
And then he'll go to the innerside in the loin, which has been
roasted at the same time, butit is pinker, if you will.
(34:03):
Yeah.
So then you get a slice from that.
So you get a slice in and out cut.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, here's to Henry.
And we're going to takeanother break and come back and celebrate
Christmas meals again rightafter this.
Stay with us.
Need a vehicle?
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(34:24):
During the Kia Fall savings event.
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For Key Corner.
Hey everybody, it's jt.
You know, I talk about PaintedHills all the time and we always
(34:48):
say beef the way nature intended.
But it's more than thatbecause each bite of Painted Hills
will make your taste buds explode.
Put a big bright smile on yourface and whoever's at your dinner
table will have a big brightsmile on their face.
And you can thank me for thatlater, just go to paintedhillsbeef.com
and find out more.
You won't regret it.
(35:09):
Hey, everybody, J.T.
here.
I want to tell you about theHammerstahl knives.
Hammerstahl combines Germansteel with beautiful and functioning
designs.
They're part of the Heritagesteel group, which also does their
pots and pans.
So go to heritagesteel USCheck out the Hammer Stahl knives.
If you're really into cooking,I think.
You'Re really gonna like.
(35:35):
Foreign.
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with.
Leanne Whippen, hall of famer,I might add, and my mentor, Graham
Care, the Galloping Gourmet.
And not only that, he's my friend.
And I. I am sad to report toyou that I have tried to resurrect
(36:01):
that particular.
Brand of huckleberry jam thatyou love so well.
And.
And unfortunately, that man isno longer with us.
And then somebody else took.
Took it over, and they took itover and decided that it was too
much work, so they just don'tdo it anymore.
And that's a.
(36:21):
That makes my heart.
That's a shame.
They.
They were delicious.
They're great stuff.
And I tried to keep Grahamentered as often as I could.
But I'm on the proverbialquest always for your huckleberry
jam.
Graham like that?
Yes.
And you.
(36:41):
You.
You.
You may know the story behindthat, but.
And there is, by the way, along and quite lovely island alongside
Vancouver island on theStraits of Georgia called Huckleberry
island, which has a massivehuckleberries on it.
And I have been trying to gethuckleberry jam since you ceased
(37:02):
to be my provider.
Since you are no longer my provider.
I want you to see that Ireally come on this program because
I enjoy both of you very much.
Oh, thank you.
And therefore I am without the jam.
And I don't care.
So I was once crying into my pacemat.
(37:24):
If you've heard this before,you're going to have to hear it again.
And it was that I'd beenmarried 60 years and the wife of
my youth had died, and I wason my own at the table and I was
overwhelmed with a moment ofself pity and was crying onto my
(37:46):
pacemat.
And I felt the front doorburst open and God rushing in.
You have to accept me.
And he's got this big pot inhis hand and a ladle is in it, and
he comes roaring up to thetable and he says to me, stop that.
(38:08):
And he gets this big ladlefull of huckleberry jam.
And he Massages it into myplacemat where I've been reading.
And I said, what are you doing?
You say, ah, I noticed theother day that your friend.
(38:29):
Had given you some huckleberryjam and you had had it for the first
time and you were just amazedat how beautiful this.
And you were saying, I'm sograteful, I'm so grateful.
Isn't that what you did?
I said, yes, it is.
But why have you done this inmy face?
He said, because when you areinto self pity, you are going down
(38:50):
and down like a whirlpool, allthe way down.
And there's no way out of thatself pity.
But when you're grateful, thenit just covers the whole thing and
you think of the things you'regrateful for and if you think of
those, the self pity will goaway completely.
That's why I massagehuckleberry Jan, because you said
(39:14):
you were grateful for it.
And so that's why I've slappedit onto your face.
That's a great story.
I have practiced beinggrateful at times when it just looks
really, really, really bad.
Sometimes if you listen to thenews and nowadays it seems so, so
(39:35):
dark.
And yet in between those newsflashes, there is a wonderful, abundant
life.
And I'm so grateful for that.
That's the focus.
Here's a pro tip for everybody.
Turn off the news.
Just turn it off and removeyourself from social media for a
few days at a time.
(39:56):
I try.
It's hard in our work that we.
Do, but I've done that now for.
Eight months and life's a lot better.
Yeah, I'm news free and I'mloving life.
It's just fun.
And here's another thing.
It doesn't hurt.
It's not like going to rehabwhere you start, you know, delirium,
(40:17):
tremors and stuff, none ofthat happens.
You, you might pick up a book,you might have a conversation with
your wife or your husband orwhoever it is, who knows, or your
kids, God forbid.
But you know what, it's good.
So I, I would do that.
All right, we just got a fewminutes left.
Favorite dessert at Christmas,we'll start with Leanne.
(40:41):
I always make my nana's owndesign pie, which is her own recipe
and it is homemade pie crustand it has like a custard type filling.
And then when you take it outof the oven, you sprinkle semi sweet
chocolate on it and then youput a meringue on top and it's own
design pie.
Delicious.
(41:02):
Do you sweat after you eat it?
I mean, oh my God.
Well, the meringue sweats.
We always used to talk about that.
Why is the meringue crying?
Yeah.
Yes.
Little sugar bubbles.
Graham.
Okay.
Mine definitely.
Again, your own pie crust intothere and then Cross and Blackwell's
(41:27):
mincemeat.
Most stores that have.
It's an English manufacturer,but they do.
Mince meat.
It really is mostly currantsand raisins and pea orange peel,
etc.
But little pieces of lard arein there as well.
So that is pastry into the piecrust and that's baked in the oven
(41:49):
about 400 and it all bubblesand settles.
Bring it out and cool it.
Then put sliced strawberriesover the top of that, over the whole
of the top.
And then.
And this is a new thing for methat I've been doing, I buy the jello
(42:11):
family size, no sugar addedcustard that they do and it's a two
minute whipping thing and Ipour that custard, get it well chilled
and nice and thick and pourthat all over the top of it.
That sinks down over thestrawberries and then that's cut
(42:32):
up and it's.
It's delicious.
Delicious.
Could you do the mincemeat ina, in a roll like a pastry.
Crust, and then spread it outand roll it up and do the same thing.
Oh, and roll it up.
Yeah.
(42:54):
I was just putting it in a pie tin.
Oh, I understand.
But I love the.
Yeah, I, I get you.
Yeah.
Kind of like a Graham'sversion of a Yule log, if you will.
But, yeah, actually, I'm justthinking for a moment of, of the
croissant as well.
Maybe just to buy a croissantand then slice it from the side and
(43:16):
fill that with mincemeat and.
And with that custard.
Yes, that fun.
See, you learn all kinds ofthings when you do this show.
What can I say?
It's all good.
So we're going to get out ofhere in a minute, but I really wanted
to, first of all thank ourlistening audience.
(43:38):
We've been doing this a longtime and longer than I care to admit.
Not just this show, but radio shows.
And I think I speak for Leanneand Graham, really want you to have
a great Christmas season.
It's only a couple weeks awaynow, and I hope you don't forget
why we actually celebrate it.
(44:00):
It's not to go to Costco andbuy toys and stuff, although that's
part of it.
But that's not why wecelebrate it.
But we genuinely hope you allhave a wonderful, wonderful Christmas.
And I would invite you also tostick around and listen to after
hours because I got some newquestions for Graham.
Good.
(44:20):
Yeah, good.
I got some new ones there anyway.
If you can.
I had one.
Can I add one?
Absolutely.
Okay.
We talked about the news beingdark and saying.
And there.
There's an old scripture whichtalks about that the thief comes
to steal, to kill and destroy.
(44:40):
And Jesus was speaking, but Icame so that you might have life
and have it abundantly.
My prayer for this for all ofyour nurses is they have set the
thievery and the destructionon one side and enjoy an abundant
life this Christmas.
I couldn't agree.
I love that.
I love that, too.
(45:00):
All right, so for Leanne andGraham, we thank you for joining
us.
We all hope you have a greatChristmas holiday.
You're going to hear thismessage again because we got a couple
more shows to do prior toChristmas, but until then, go out,
be kind.
Remember our motto here.
Turn it, don't burn it.
And we will be back next week.
(45:21):
Take care, everybody.
Attention, stations.
Contact jeff@thecowboycook.comfor distribution of the show after
December 13th.
Barbecue Nation is produced byJTSD LLC Productions in association
with Salem Media Group.
All rights reserved.
It's time for Barbecue Nationwith jt so fire up your grill, light
the charcoal, and get yoursmoker cooking.
Now from the Turn It, Don'tBurn it studios in Portland, here's
jt.
Hey, everybody.
Welcome to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with my co hostand co conspirator, Leanne Whippin.
Hall of Famer, I might add.
(00:21):
It's that time of year.
We're coming into theChristmas holidays.
You're probably still waddlingaround, no pun intended, after the
Thanksgiving festiv.
So, as normal, we always bringone of my favorite people on the
planet, Graham Care, theGalloping Gourmet, my inspiration
in life as far as the cooking.
And we've got Graham back withus today.
(00:45):
And Graham is now almost,what, a year into your marriage?
Two years.
Wow.
We were talking about how.
How time flies when.
Before we started recording.
And that is true.
Then.
I stand corrected.
Two years.
(01:06):
That's.
That's fine.
It seems like yesterday.
Let's put it this way.
Yeah, for sure.
Okay.
So we got to tell people.
And before Leanne came on, I.I made a comment about your tie.
Yes.
Mai tai I have had sinceGalvin Gourmet days.
(01:31):
And they used to tune in thecameras using Mai tai to make the
color balance properly on thecameras and the days when that used
to have to happen.
So it's getting a littlethreadbare around the edges, but
that goes well.
It almost looks nascar.
It looks like a NASCAR tie.
(01:54):
It's got those colors.
Yes.
And it does me good to knowthat I still have a tie.
Yeah.
And then you wear it, youknow, President.
Well, the president continuesto have this perfectly knotted tie,
but most men nowadays and evenrunning for office seem to be.
(02:18):
Seem to have the open throatthing, so.
Yeah.
Like this.
Yeah.
Yes.
For you today.
I'm impressed still that youcan tie the knot if you're not tying
them in much.
Yes.
Yes.
Without looking.
Yes.
Yeah.
I.
All those years I traveled, Ihad to wear coats and ties and suits
(02:39):
and stuff.
And I could tie those thingsin the dark and get them probably
95% correct as far as theplacement of the knot and like that.
But I don't have to do that anymore.
But I. I do wear a tieoccasionally around Christmas because
I've got a couple of sharp.
Christmas time.
I've got to wear a tie on Thanksgiving.
We're having a complete familyThanksgiving this year, just Nancy
(03:03):
and me.
Oh, excellent.
Nice.
And I have planned it down tothe last detail and been shopping
creatively, and I'm ready to go.
All right, so let's talk alittle bit about what you had at
Thanksgiving, and then we'lljump into Christmas.
So what was on the agenda at Thanksgiving?
(03:25):
Well, this is a simple menu.
First of all, it's avocado andshrimp, fresh shrimp, freshly cooked
and tossed in with the avocadoand with my favorite salad dressing,
which comes from Olive Garden Restaurant.
Their standard practice is tohave a salad, that sort of ongoing
(03:48):
salad.
And they do a remarkably good vinaigrette.
And.
I could reproduce it if Iwanted to, but they do it so well,
and it's so available.
Then I toss the shrimp and theavocado in that, and that's my first
course.
Second course, I got a companythat doesn't.
(04:12):
They smoke turkey breast andthey do a really good job of this.
So I've got this smallerturkey breast and I'm cutting it
completely across the grain sothat when it lies that it's an inch
thick and lies on the plate,it looks about like that and would
(04:36):
be about 6 ounces, I guess.
I'm going to put two slices ofprovolone cheese over the top of
that, and I'm going to drapethen two anchovy fillets so they
cross and then stud the wholething with capers on the top of things.
Then under the broiler, itgoes until it dapples and gratins,
(05:02):
you know, have that littlebrown spots, golden spots, and the
anchovies and the capers sinkdown into the cheese.
And with that, with thatturkey where the smoke choking, I'm
really looking forward to thatbroccoli on the side, a little roasted
sweet potatoes, nicely peeled,and they're brilliant orange color
(05:26):
against a brilliant green.
So that's what the plate willlook like.
No other, nothing else, justvery simple.
And then as a dessert, I'mgetting from our local store, I found
out that they get croissantsin the frozen state.
(05:48):
They get delivered to thestore, and the store then bakes the
croissants.
So I've got the frozen croissants.
I managed to get into theirsystem and get these.
I know that's a little unusual.
And then what I'm doing is I'm pumping.
A pumpkin pie spice mix ofmine into the frozen croissant as
(06:13):
it's going, so that I'mactually creating a pumpkin pie croissant,
if you will.
And then on the side I've gota gelato, because we're not into
ice cream.
So the gelato is a pumpkin pie gelato.
It actually has pieces of piein the gelato, and.
(06:37):
It'S in several stores, so Ifelt that I could mention it to you.
But it's really delicious and good.
So that's.
That's it.
And we're having a sparklingrose on the.
On the side.
Yeah.
Excellent, Excellent, excellent.
I will.
Two quick confessions from my end.
(07:00):
I have a large bottle of theOlive Garden salad dressing in my.
Sam's.
I think they sell it at Sam's Club.
Yeah, yeah.
And so I've got that for theupcoming festivities.
And when you said gelato, lastyear, we were in Hawaii for Thanksgiving.
(07:20):
Oh.
And right down the street fromthe hotel was a gelato store.
And I became their bestcustomer for 10 days.
So there you go.
That was it.
Let's switch forward toChristmas here and.
Lots of changes.
(07:42):
I know that I talked to WillHomer from Painted Hills Beef last
night, and they don't haveenough, you know, rib roast to go
around.
Well, one of the reasons is,is they've had to.
Cut back a little bit on their production.
(08:04):
Just because of the expenseand things like that.
They're working through it.
They're.
They're going to come out just fine.
But they're doing that.
And stores are scrambling forrib roasts.
So just a heads up, you know, they.
You might consider a striploin if you.
Don'T want to, you know, sprayand rib roasts are expensive now.
(08:27):
So anyway, that's my tip to people.
You might look at a strip loinbecause most people won't tell the
difference anyway, so.
But what's going to be onGraham's table at Christmas?
Always roast lamb, my friend,and always basted in apple and orange
juice and a leg, preferably.
And I'm really angling.
(08:49):
I can't confirm it at themoment, but I've got all my feelings
out from the west coast of thesouth island of New Zealand.
And that's because over a tonof salt is dumped out of the Tasman
Sea onto that coastline.
And the sheep eat that saltedgrass and you get a partially salted,
(09:14):
you know, rather like theCostco chicken.
You know, they brine beforehand.
This is naturally.
Bred into the flesh itself.
The French call it.
Meaning with salt.
And it's.
Of all the lamb in the world,is probably has to be amongst the
(09:37):
best.
So are you and Nancy justdoing you two at Christmas or are
you going to have a house fullof mini gourmets around there?
I think it's going to be thetwo of us.
You know, I'll be 92 on the22nd of January.
(10:02):
Her age is not declared.
I see.
But we're so enjoying each other.
And quite honestly, there's somuch that goes on in the community
here that it's a big party forthe whole of December.
(10:22):
And so I think that for ourmeal, it's just going to be the two
of us or that we'll be havingour eyes open for somebody who looks
as if they're not fitting in somewhere.
And if that's so, I know bothof us would love to include them.
Can I come?
(10:47):
Both of you can come, yeah.
Oh, thank you.
It's all good.
It's all good.
Yeah.
The.
You know, when you go to thestores, you just get, sometimes you'll
get a.
You know, a crown roast orsomething, and then sometimes you
have the chops and once in awhile you'll see a leg in there.
(11:10):
Do you recommend if they'regoing to consider doing lamb to go
to maybe not New Zealand, butsomewhere other than just the commercial
stores?
If there's a, you know, asheep rancher around or something.
Oh, if you can possibly get asclose to the animal on the hoof.
(11:34):
For lamb, I find that that,that works, that when, when they
kill, they need to be hung forabout five or six days.
And so in New Zealand, becausethe killing is so massive.
And they're frozen almostimmediately, I always hang my lamb
(12:00):
in the refrigerator.
I put a hook through it and Iplace it underneath to get the drippings
and I hang it always for atleast eight days.
Wow.
Wow.
Very good.
All right.
It really works beautifully.
Yeah.
I hung in college.
I hung upside down for a dayone time, but we won't talk about
(12:21):
that.
Anyway, we're going to be backwith Graham Care.
I don't know if we want tohear the rest of it.
Yeah, Might get in trouble.
We're going to be back withGraham Care and Ms. Whippen in just
a minute.
Stay with us.
You're listening to Barbecue Nation.
Need a vehicle?
Does it feel hopeless?
Did other dealerships alreadysay no because of credit or negative
(12:41):
equity?
Weston Kia wants to say yesduring the Kia Fall Savings event.
Come see Weston Kia, Oregon'sall time leader in Kia sales.
January 1994 to December 2025.
Weston Kia sold more new kidsthan any other kid.
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(13:02):
Hey, everybody, it's Jeff here.
I want to tell you aboutsomething really cool.
Heritage steel cookware.
I just got mine.
I do a lot of cooking and.
It'S got five ply construction.
Stay cool Handles.
It's titanium strengthened.
It's got all the great stuff.
Just go to Heritagesteel USand find out more.
You'll love it.
I guarantee it.
(13:34):
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with LeanneWhippen, hall of famer and purveyor
of pig powder, and also mygood friend Graham Care, the Galloping
Gourmet.
You look great, by the way.
You look fantastic.
Well, that's.
Thank you.
That's my mother's genes.
(13:54):
You know, by genes, I mean genetically.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Ever had a pair of jeans?
I have to tell you something.
Before we came on the showtoday, I was killing a little time
for a few minutes.
I had everything set up, and Iwent to ancestry.com which I have
an account there, if you will.
(14:14):
And I was looking at stuffbecause I was thinking about you,
Graham, and I thought, I have a.
Like, if you total it all upfrom Scotland and England and all
this, I have about a 48% UKheritage in me from, like I said,
(14:36):
the Scotland Lowlands couplein the Highlands, couple percentages
down in Wales and all these places.
I thought, well, okay.
And then the other part of meis Swedish.
That's my mother's side.
And.
But there's a lot of.
A lot of the UK in me there,and a little tiny bit of French,
(14:58):
so.
Well, you know, I'm Scottish and.
And I was pillaged 5, 600years ago by people from Norway and
Sweden, so.
Yep, yep, yep.
I think that's true.
So let's go back and talkabout beef for a second and preparing
(15:22):
beef for your Christmas dinner.
A lot of people will still dorib roast or prime rib, as they call
it, and.
Or, you know, perhaps they doa strip loin or perhaps they do something
else.
I mean, some people do lasagna.
It's all in your.
Whatever you like to do.
But what are a couple ofthings that you and your vast experience.
(15:45):
Would suggest to people whenpreparing their rib roast or a strip
loin?
Okay.
Well, you know.
I've done several things overmy career, one of which is, of course,
the large salt crystals and toroll the roast in those larger crystals
(16:09):
of salt.
And now there's a theory whichI'm sure probably you would like,
because it's so good that youstarted off at about 450 in order
to sear the outside within areally hot temperature, then you
(16:30):
wind the temperature back downto about 350, 375, and finish the
roast off in that way.
I have never done that.
I've always chosen the 350 mark.
And started it from fresh withthe salt crystals on the outside.
(16:52):
Now it doesn't crisp and brownas well as the fierce each at the
beginning, but I do find thatit seems to cook better overall for
the finished.
Slice.
(17:12):
And it's always, alwaysheavier when you bring it out.
There's quite a lot ofevaporation that takes place with
that high initial temperature.
And being a Scott, I want tosave with a rib roast as much as
I can.
And I'm one who has a pinkabout 140, 150 temperature internal.
(17:42):
And that's what.
But you know, for me.
The essence of a meal nowadaysfor me is the vegetable accompaniment
that takes place.
You've heard me with my Thanksgiving.
It's just simply broccoli andthe brilliant orange.
The brilliant orange and thegreen for me is wonderful.
(18:05):
But I have a way now which Iwas wanting to talk to you about
called a puel P O E L E. Haveyou ever heard that word puele before?
No, I haven't.
Not from anybody but you.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well a puel if you couldimagine a saute pan of about a 10
(18:26):
to 12 inch diameter with areally long handle.
And it was a really longhandle so that they could do that
over a fire so that they couldget away from it enough.
And the handle of course isalways metal.
But what they would do, theywould put either butter or oil in
(18:48):
the pan first of all and thenthey would have chopped up the vegetables
in about 1 inch pieces if youwill, about the size you could cut
a brussels sprout in half, for example.
And you've got parsnips andturnips and.
That range of.
(19:10):
Vegetables.
Now do you have a Costco closeto you?
Oh yeah, I do.
I guess most of us have Costcodo a thing called a melange M E L
A N G E And it's about a fourpound bag of vegetables and they're
(19:31):
already pre roasted and it'sgot all of what the vegetables I
just discussed with.
Has mushrooms in it as well assweet peppers.
It's a marvelous combinationreally and quite inexpensive when
you think of the laborinvolved in getting that those vegetables
(19:53):
together.
So I take a brimming overcupful per person of these vegetables
and drop them into that hotoil and then saute them, toss them
backwards and forwards andmove them around.
I only have about atablespoonful of oil in the bottom
of the pan to do that.
(20:14):
Now then.
The essence comes.
If you want to add a littlebacon to that.
Then you drop some choppedbacon in.
If you have a favoritesausage, then let the sausage also
be part of the vegetable.
And then Campbell's do thecondensed soup.
(20:35):
You know, the little cans, six ounce.
Can I put one of those?
Now they do a cream of celery,which is my favorite, the cream of
celery.
I drop that into the pan andthen I get a stock and it will be
a chicken stock or veal stock,whatever bones I've had recently.
(20:58):
And pour that about the same quantity.
So for the condensing, it'sthe soup itself, the cream white.
And then the stock on the topof it, the same volume, and then
stir that all in together.
I add the herbs of Provence,that spice mix and shake that in
(21:20):
so that I can see that I'vegot enough.
Adjust the seasoning.
It's usually quite saltyenough for me.
And it looks magnificent.
I love it.
The greens and the colors andthe mushrooms and the red peppers
and all.
(21:41):
And this beige and this cream sauce.
With a little bacon andsausage in there as well.
Okay, we got to take a breakbecause my refrigerator is right
there and you just made me hungry.
But we're going to be back ina minute with Graham Care.
Don't go away.
Attention, stations, contactjeff@thecowboycook.com for distribution
(22:04):
of the show after December 13th.
Foreign.
It's JT and I have eaten.
If you've ever looked at me,you know that.
But I have eaten seafood allover the world, and I can tell you
there's no place better thanhere in Oregon and our Dungeness
(22:27):
crab.
If you want to learn moreabout Oregon Dungeness crab, just
go to oregondungeness.org.
Find out how to cook it, howto catch it, where to buy it.
And the sustainability of whatthey're doing there in the Oregon
Crab Commission.
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(22:52):
Welcome back to Graham show.
Leanne and I are disspectators today because he's given
us so much good stuff.
Stuff.
I had a question, though,about your.
Your vegetable dish you talked about.
Yes.
Is the bacon a bit precookedbefore you drop it in there, or is
(23:14):
it still raw and you need tolet it cook a bit?
No, no, that.
Thank you so much.
Normally, what I do would beto take the meat content of this.
And that whole dish, by theway, that I've just described is
something that Nancy and I do frequently.
We keep on changing the meatand we keep on.
(23:37):
The vegetables stay the same,but the meat changes constantly and
the Soup that we use.
They have a wide range ofcondensed, so we use that as well.
But always with the freshlymade stock in the temp.
Yes.
(23:57):
When the sausage and the baconthat's added to the vegetables at
the start so that it reallydoes so and get cooked or before
soup is added.
Yeah.
You know, one of my favoritesoups that Campbell's makes, and
I use it in things like you'rediscussing because I use cream of
celery and I do all that stuff.
(24:18):
But I love their golden mushroom.
Now.
I have no idea.
I just like the flavor of it.
It's probably chock full of chemicals.
I don't care.
It just tastes good.
Instead of their basic oldwhite condensed cream of mushroom
soup, I use their goldenmushroom soup.
It's just something I like to do.
So there you go.
Yeah.
(24:39):
Yes, we use that as well.
I have their full range inorder to have a variety.
Yes.
Yeah.
And once in a while, a can ofNally's chili.
What the hell?
You know, like that.
But by the way, Leanne, Iforgot at the top of the segment,
tell everybody about pig powder.
Oh, new spicy pig powder iscoming out.
(25:00):
New labels, but it will be thesame ingredients.
Nothing changed in theoriginal pig powder, which won best
rub on the planet.
One of the top.
I think it's the top award,really, given to a dry rub.
It's very versatile, sweetwith a little back heat.
Can be used on seafood pulp,tree pork, scrambled eggs, french
(25:21):
fries, baked beans.
So you can either go to Amazonor pigpowder.com to get yours.
And yeah, it's a greatChristmas gift, too.
Yeah, it is, it is, it is.
Did you ever send Graham some?
No, but I need to.
Shame on me.
Shame on me.
I will.
That is at the top of my list.
You've just moved to numberone spot of to dos.
(25:44):
Okay.
All right.
All right.
So let's move on with the.
The Christmas dinner.
Our standard fair.
And Leanne said this to melast week on the show.
She said I'm more of a traditionalist.
And I am.
If you came to my house andGraham came to my house, I would
not be.
But the crew I feed everyyear, very traditional.
(26:09):
So I always take that into consideration.
Because I'm a very considerateguy, as you know.
But I. I do do that.
But to.
I've got half the people thatwon't eat broccoli.
I've got half of them thatwon't eat Brussels sprouts.
I've got, you know, that typeof thing.
So I tried to be in atraditional fashion.
(26:30):
So at our house on Christmaswe have a roast.
I do a twice baked potato,which if you're worried about caloric
value, this is not the placeto come.
Because the bacon and thecheese and.
It'S got three different typesof cheeses.
It's got sour cream, it's gotgreen onions.
(26:53):
Bacon, bacon, bacon, lots of bacon.
And then sometimes I've evendiced up little bits of prosciutto
and put in it.
They don't know that becauseif I said it, their heads would explode.
But it's in there.
And then I coat it all withcheese and bake it off and they love
it.
And you know, when people cometo take stuff home, the twice baked
(27:17):
potatoes are.
I have to make like three pansof them because not only what they'll
eat at the meal, but then whatthey want to take home with them.
And they'll do those twicebake and they'll steal some au jus
from me and they put that onthere when they're watching football
on Friday or Saturday or whatever.
But I also do a traditionalCaesar salad and some pull apart
(27:38):
rolls.
Sometimes another vegetablelike peas or something.
Again, very traditional.
But I wanted to get Leanne'stake and then Graham's take on what
you do at Christmas.
Well, for me, for Christmas,it's the same thing every year because
we love it and look forward to it.
(27:59):
It's always a bone in rib roast.
Sometimes I'll do a reversesear on it.
So it depends on my mood, itdepends on the cut that I get.
I have a funny story.
I actually had a rib roastthat I ordered from, I think it was
Publix.
And I went to go pick it upthe day before Christmas and they
didn't have it.
They were all out after I preordered it.
(28:21):
So they actually delivered acrown roast of pork on Christmas
day.
I don't know how they swung it.
And that's what they deliveredto us.
And that's what I ended upcooking, which was a nice change.
You know, stuffed it with wildrice and mushrooms and everything.
It was good.
But I like traditional rib roast.
We do a string beans withonions, bacon and mushroom mashed
(28:41):
potatoes because I love makinggravy and so that's my thing.
And yeah, that's.
It's very basic.
And then, you know, the pullapart rolls and.
Yeah, yeah, that's it.
That's it, Graham.
All right, mine.
I mentioned if I can possiblyget that leg of lamb out to the west
(29:01):
coast.
I know that's being picky and ridiculous.
But if I can possibly swingit, I have connections and it may
work.
But if not, I'll get myself aleg of lamb and I will get it about
four or five days at leastbefore Christmas, and I will put
(29:22):
an S shaped hook in it andhang it up in my fridge and let it
drip onto a plate.
I must have at least four orfive days of that taking place.
Then I'm going to roast it at325 degrees Fahrenheit, no early
(29:43):
temperature at all.
And I'm going to base thatwhilst it's going with apple and
orange juice, both of themcanned, both of them without sugar.
But the combination of applesand oranges basted over the meat
with the drippings and thebottom make a fantastic citrus gravy.
(30:03):
Sure.
And it's called lamb, Andrew.
And I thicken that with alittle arrowroot.
Not much, but a little arrowroot can, can be brilliant because
it can reflect light wonderfully.
It doesn't cloak the palate inany way, and it looks terrific.
And with that, probablybroccoli, because I just love that
and my family does.
(30:25):
And I also love, as I.
Or explain those garnet sweetpotatoes when, when they're peeled
and roasted properly alongwith the lamb.
It's just beautiful.
So that.
So and I was that at the table?
(30:45):
Yeah.
Oh, see, that's, that's thebest part, what I was going to say.
And Leanne, you jump in onthis too, or Graham doesn't matter.
I actually.
I take my roast the day beforeand I do any minimal trimming that
is needed like that.
But I will use a, a light coatof olive oil on it.
(31:08):
And then I will season it andput it in a.
Garbage bag, if you will.
I have these plastic bags thatare see through and I put it in my
spare refrigerator overnightbefore I go to cook it the next day
to roast it.
Okay.
And it's just some of that.
(31:29):
And we know, you know, salt'sthe only thing that permeates the
meat and that, but in the fatthat will kind of soak into the fat
a bit.
And I've just had good luckwith that.
Well, you're almost creating amarinade, you know, and you have
to make sure you don't usethose bags that smell like Febreze.
Right, right, right, right.
(31:52):
So that'.
Sure.
I'm sure it's delicious.
Yeah, yeah.
And I use like Graham wassuggesting, I use an ample amount
of salt on the fat because,you know, I don't Know how many people
at your tables.
But the, the hardy folks thatcome to my house love the spinellas.
They love the, the fat cap onthe outside, depending on how much
(32:14):
I leave.
And with all that salt and fatand seasoning because I use, you
know, basil and oregano andblack pepper and all that garlic
and all that good stuff, youmay have a, the, in the eye of the
rib steak.
That eye may be there, butthat spinella is gone off everybody's
(32:35):
plates.
That's how I'm gonna.
You've trained them well?
I've trained them well, yes.
So I, I, Is there any, youhave any suggestions, Graham, for
seasoning like that?
Do you know I am a devotedherbs of Provence sky and I, I lived
in Provence for a while and,and gathered those herbs myself.
(32:58):
And I have a McCormick's do areasonable dry solution of those
and I like to mix those herbswith salt for the, the outside of
a roast.
And by the way, in, in theSavoy Hotel in London, they bring,
(33:18):
they roast a baron of beef,you know, that's loin and rum.
And they have this largesilver trolley and they wheel it
to your table and open thetrolley up like this.
And Henry used to be the guywho, Henry would say, what will he
be?
What will your pleasure be today?
(33:42):
And I said, I'd like an in andout, please, Henry.
Certainly, son.
And then he cuts this roasted,you know, crusted herb.
Outside.
And then he'll go to the innerside in the loin, which has been
roasted at the same time, butit is pinker, if you will.
(34:03):
Yeah.
So then you get a slice from that.
So you get a slice in and out cut.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, here's to Henry.
And we're going to takeanother break and come back and celebrate
Christmas meals again rightafter this.
Stay with us.
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(35:09):
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(35:35):
Foreign.
Welcome back to Barbecue Nation.
I'm JT along with.
Leanne Whippen, hall of famer,I might add, and my mentor, Graham
Care, the Galloping Gourmet.
And not only that, he's my friend.
And I. I am sad to report toyou that I have tried to resurrect
(36:01):
that particular.
Brand of huckleberry jam thatyou love so well.
And.
And unfortunately, that man isno longer with us.
And then somebody else took.
Took it over, and they took itover and decided that it was too
much work, so they just don'tdo it anymore.
And that's a.
(36:21):
That makes my heart.
That's a shame.
They.
They were delicious.
They're great stuff.
And I tried to keep Grahamentered as often as I could.
But I'm on the proverbialquest always for your huckleberry
jam.
Graham like that?
Yes.
And you.
(36:41):
You.
You.
You may know the story behindthat, but.
And there is, by the way, along and quite lovely island alongside
Vancouver island on theStraits of Georgia called Huckleberry
island, which has a massivehuckleberries on it.
And I have been trying to gethuckleberry jam since you ceased
(37:02):
to be my provider.
Since you are no longer my provider.
I want you to see that Ireally come on this program because
I enjoy both of you very much.
Oh, thank you.
And therefore I am without the jam.
And I don't care.
So I was once crying into my pacemat.
(37:24):
If you've heard this before,you're going to have to hear it again.
And it was that I'd beenmarried 60 years and the wife of
my youth had died, and I wason my own at the table and I was
overwhelmed with a moment ofself pity and was crying onto my
(37:46):
pacemat.
And I felt the front doorburst open and God rushing in.
You have to accept me.
And he's got this big pot inhis hand and a ladle is in it, and
he comes roaring up to thetable and he says to me, stop that.
(38:08):
And he gets this big ladlefull of huckleberry jam.
And he Massages it into myplacemat where I've been reading.
And I said, what are you doing?
You say, ah, I noticed theother day that your friend.
(38:29):
Had given you some huckleberryjam and you had had it for the first
time and you were just amazedat how beautiful this.
And you were saying, I'm sograteful, I'm so grateful.
Isn't that what you did?
I said, yes, it is.
But why have you done this inmy face?
He said, because when you areinto self pity, you are going down
(38:50):
and down like a whirlpool, allthe way down.
And there's no way out of thatself pity.
But when you're grateful, thenit just covers the whole thing and
you think of the things you'regrateful for and if you think of
those, the self pity will goaway completely.
That's why I massagehuckleberry Jan, because you said
(39:14):
you were grateful for it.
And so that's why I've slappedit onto your face.
That's a great story.
I have practiced beinggrateful at times when it just looks
really, really, really bad.
Sometimes if you listen to thenews and nowadays it seems so, so
(39:35):
dark.
And yet in between those newsflashes, there is a wonderful, abundant
life.
And I'm so grateful for that.
That's the focus.
Here's a pro tip for everybody.
Turn off the news.
Just turn it off and removeyourself from social media for a
few days at a time.
(39:56):
I try.
It's hard in our work that we.
Do, but I've done that now for.
Eight months and life's a lot better.
Yeah, I'm news free and I'mloving life.
It's just fun.
And here's another thing.
It doesn't hurt.
It's not like going to rehabwhere you start, you know, delirium,
(40:17):
tremors and stuff, none ofthat happens.
You, you might pick up a book,you might have a conversation with
your wife or your husband orwhoever it is, who knows, or your
kids, God forbid.
But you know what, it's good.
So I, I would do that.
All right, we just got a fewminutes left.
Favorite dessert at Christmas,we'll start with Leanne.
(40:41):
I always make my nana's owndesign pie, which is her own recipe
and it is homemade pie crustand it has like a custard type filling.
And then when you take it outof the oven, you sprinkle semi sweet
chocolate on it and then youput a meringue on top and it's own
design pie.
Delicious.
(41:02):
Do you sweat after you eat it?
I mean, oh my God.
Well, the meringue sweats.
We always used to talk about that.
Why is the meringue crying?
Yeah.
Yes.
Little sugar bubbles.
Graham.
Okay.
Mine definitely.
Again, your own pie crust intothere and then Cross and Blackwell's
(41:27):
mincemeat.
Most stores that have.
It's an English manufacturer,but they do.
Mince meat.
It really is mostly currantsand raisins and pea orange peel,
etc.
But little pieces of lard arein there as well.
So that is pastry into the piecrust and that's baked in the oven
(41:49):
about 400 and it all bubblesand settles.
Bring it out and cool it.
Then put sliced strawberriesover the top of that, over the whole
of the top.
And then.
And this is a new thing for methat I've been doing, I buy the jello
(42:11):
family size, no sugar addedcustard that they do and it's a two
minute whipping thing and Ipour that custard, get it well chilled
and nice and thick and pourthat all over the top of it.
That sinks down over thestrawberries and then that's cut
(42:32):
up and it's.
It's delicious.
Delicious.
Could you do the mincemeat ina, in a roll like a pastry.
Crust, and then spread it outand roll it up and do the same thing.
Oh, and roll it up.
Yeah.
(42:54):
I was just putting it in a pie tin.
Oh, I understand.
But I love the.
Yeah, I, I get you.
Yeah.
Kind of like a Graham'sversion of a Yule log, if you will.
But, yeah, actually, I'm justthinking for a moment of, of the
croissant as well.
Maybe just to buy a croissantand then slice it from the side and
(43:16):
fill that with mincemeat and.
And with that custard.
Yes, that fun.
See, you learn all kinds ofthings when you do this show.
What can I say?
It's all good.
So we're going to get out ofhere in a minute, but I really wanted
to, first of all thank ourlistening audience.
(43:38):
We've been doing this a longtime and longer than I care to admit.
Not just this show, but radio shows.
And I think I speak for Leanneand Graham, really want you to have
a great Christmas season.
It's only a couple weeks awaynow, and I hope you don't forget
why we actually celebrate it.
(44:00):
It's not to go to Costco andbuy toys and stuff, although that's
part of it.
But that's not why wecelebrate it.
But we genuinely hope you allhave a wonderful, wonderful Christmas.
And I would invite you also tostick around and listen to after
hours because I got some newquestions for Graham.
Good.
(44:20):
Yeah, good.
I got some new ones there anyway.
If you can.
I had one.
Can I add one?
Absolutely.
Okay.
We talked about the news beingdark and saying.
And there.
There's an old scripture whichtalks about that the thief comes
to steal, to kill and destroy.
(44:40):
And Jesus was speaking, but Icame so that you might have life
and have it abundantly.
My prayer for this for all ofyour nurses is they have set the
thievery and the destructionon one side and enjoy an abundant
life this Christmas.
I couldn't agree.
I love that.
I love that, too.
(45:00):
All right, so for Leanne andGraham, we thank you for joining
us.
We all hope you have a greatChristmas holiday.
You're going to hear thismessage again because we got a couple
more shows to do prior toChristmas, but until then, go out,
be kind.
Remember our motto here.
Turn it, don't burn it.
And we will be back next week.
(45:21):
Take care, everybody.
Attention, stations.
Contact jeff@thecowboycook.comfor distribution of the show after
December 13th.
Barbecue Nation is produced byJTSD LLC Productions in association
with Salem Media Group.
All rights reserved.
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