Cast Iron Texas

Pork Spare Ribs

2015-05-25T14:07:00.000-05:00

Pork Spare Ribs

Let’s talk barbecue. The best way to get good at smoking meat is to practice with ribs. At around $13.00 per rack, they are a good way to learn your techniques without messing up more expensive slabs of meat like brisket.

Today we are going to learn the “3, 2, 1 method” of smoking Pork Spare Ribs. The 3, 2, 1 method stands for 3 hours of smoking, 2 hours wrapped in foil, and 1 hour developing a good caramelized bark / crust.

If you’ve ever had ribs that were tough, it’s because they didn’t have the opportunity to braise in their own juices during the foil phase.

*Notes:

The colder the meat at the start of the smoke the better. In general, the smoke ring will stop developing in the meat somewhere around 135ºinternal meat temperature. Therefore you don’t want to bring the meat up to room temp prior to smoking (40ºmeat will have longer to absorb smoke to 135ºthan say… 70ºmeat).

There are endless flavor combinations / rubs / sauces / etc. (through experimentation my recipe below has a beautifully sweet and spicy flavor without being overpowered by either).

Once smoking, NO PEAKING!!!

Super Strength Reynolds Wrap is the only foil I have found that will consistently hold up to accidental tears and punctures.

Recipe

Pork Spare Ribs (3-4 servings per rack)

1 rack of Pork Spare Ribs
2 cups Vinegar
2-3 teaspoons Kosher Salt
Aluminum Foil (Super Strength Reynolds Wrap)
Apple Jelly
Sriracha Sauce
Barbecue Sauce (the sweeter the better for a good caramelized crust)

Instructions

Set up your smoker for a 6 hour smoke.
Keep ribs in refrigerator until the very last minute.
Rinse ribs off with vinegar.
Pat ribs dry with paper towels.
Salt both sides of ribs liberally.
Place ribs on smoker for 3 hours at 225º.
Rip off 3 ft. of aluminum foil.
Place 3 dollops of apple jelly.
Drizzle with Sriracha Sauce.
Remove ribs from smoker and place on aluminum foil bone side down.
Place 3 more dollops of apple jelly and drizzle again with Sriracha Sauce.
Roll long sides of aluminum foil together creating a good tight roll.
Tightly roll open ends of aluminum foil toward rib ends.
Place ribs back on smoker for 2 hours.
Remove ribs from smoker and take out of aluminum foil.
Slather ribs liberally with barbecue sauce.
Place ribs back on smoker for 1 hour.
Remove ribs from smoker and serve.

Three Racks Ready to Go

Apple Jelly & Sriracha Sauce

More Apple Jelly & Sriracha Sauce

Roll Long Side Together Tightly

Tightly Sealed

How to Smoke on a Weber Kettle

2015-05-25T12:14:00.001-05:00

Being that it's Memorial Day, let me take this opportunity to remind everyone to take a moment to remember those who lost their lives protecting our great nation. I served as a Medic in the United States Army for nearly 6 years and I still have no words to describe my love for those who’ve served.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Henry V - William Shakespeare

Each year, as summer approaches, many begin to dust off their barbecues in preparation for grilling season (unless you’re lucky enough to live in Texas where it's always grilling season).

If baseball is America’s pastime, then I could argue that Texas’ pastime is cooking meat with fire.

Today, I’m going to show you how to set up a Weber Kettle Grill for smoking. Why a Weber you ask? Because most people with multi-thousand dollar smokers don’t use them often enough to get good at smoking. I truly believe that if you really want to master a skill, you should start with the basics and build from there. Hell, a 22” Weber can be had for $100-$150.

I've received some bizarre looks at BBQ competitions when I bust out my Weber Kettle Grills, but the judges can't tell that I don't have a professional set-up (and I've won a few local awards to prove it).

Setup

You’ll Need

Weber Kettle Grill - 22” or larger
4 Fire Bricks - Acme 9" x 4" x 2.5"
Aluminum Drip Pan (I prefer Weber 13" x 9" x 2")
Charcoal Briquettes (I prefer Kingsford)
Wood Chunks (I prefer Oak or Hickory)
Weber Chimney Starter
Paper Towels
Vegetable Oil

Set bottom vents to 99% closed - This will allow the fire to smolder ever so slowly.

Fire Brick Placement

Single Layer of Medium Wood Chunks

Layer of Briquettes

Layer of Smaller Wood Chunks

Final Layer of Briquettes

Upside Down Chimney Starter

Drizzle some wadded up paper towels with a bit of vegetable oil then place under chimney.

Five Briquettes

Light 'em Up

10 to 15 Minutes Later

Evenly Disperse Lit Coals

The combination of placing just a few lit coals on top and setting the bottom vents to 99% closed allows the fire to slowly smolder on down to a perfect smoking temperature of 225º.

Final Configuration

While the smoldering coals keep the overall temperature low, the fire bricks act to protect your smoking meat from direct heat.

Now plop some meat on that cooker and sit back with a cold one while it works its magic.

Stay Tuned for my Famous Pork Spare Ribs

*Notes:

Never, ever use lighter fluid!

Never, ever use "match light" charcoal briquettes!

Always leave the top vents wide open.

This set-up will easily smoke for 6+ hours untouched.

You can get Fire Bricks from a local Acme dealer, they're only about $3 each.

The Weber 13" x 9" x 2" Aluminum Drip Pan fits precisely on the cooking side of the fire bricks.

While I usually prefer "Lump Charcoal" over Briquettes while grilling, I find that Lump burns too hot on my rig during smoking.

Ranch Style Beans

2015-03-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

Ranch Style Beans

A frijole by any other name… Baked Beans, Charro Beans, Ranch Style Beans, Frijoles de Olla, Refried Beans…. the options are endless.

Beans were one of the cornerstones of the American diet prior to European exploration. One could argue that beans and corn were our greatest contribution to modern food. Hell, to many across the globe, beans still represent the perfect comfort food because they are just as at home on the table during hard times as they are during good times.

Many will tell you that in order to make beans the right way you must adhere to a few steadfast bean rules such as soaking the beans overnight, or only adding salt at the end of cooking. Call me a rebel, but I’m all about doing things the old fashioned way (I’m not guessing that the chuckwagon cook was soaking his beans overnight).

This is Cast Iron Texas y’all. I’m gonna show you how Dutch Ovens earn their keep with three little words… Low and Slow.

*Notes:

You can make this recipe with just about any variation you’d like (Ham Hocks, Jalapenos, and Tomatoes are just a few ingredients you can customize with).

DO NOT follow the cooking instructions on the package of beans. Soaking the beans or using the “quick” method listed will result in blown out mushy beans. Beans cooked slowly at a low temperature come out perfect every time.

DO add the salt at the beginning. Contrary to lore, beans won’t explode just because you add salt prior to cooking. If you waited to add the salt at the end of the cook, you would end up needing to double the salt because the beans just don’t soak it up once they’re cooked. Plus, the small amount of sugar that I add help the beans retain their shape and texture.

Add additional boiling water every few hours if needed to keep the beans submerged.

There are plenty of cooking vessels appropriate for bean cookery. Traditionally beans were cooked in a clay “bean pot” called an olla. However, a modern cast iron Dutch Oven does a great job keeping the heat nice and even. If you wanna be super fancy, you could use an enameled cast iron “French Oven”. If you’re in the Central Texas area, HEB carries a very economical ($30) alternative to the pricey Le Creusets or Staubs. The enameled options are really good for longer cooks like Ranch Style Beans.

Onion & Garlic

Bacon Lardons

Recipe

Ranch Style Beans (9-13 servings)

1 lb. Pinto Beans – Dried

1 lb. Bacon (approx. 9 pieces) – Cut Into Strips / Lardons

1 Yellow Onion (approx. 2 cups) – Chopped

6 cloves Garlic – Minced or Pressed

4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock

4 cups Water

2 tablespoons Chile Powder

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 ½ teaspoons Sugar

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 250°.
Sort & rinse beans, removing any debris.
On stovetop, fry bacon in dutch oven until crispy.
Remove bacon with slotted spoon.
Add onion & salt then sauté for 4 minutes.
Add garlic then sauté for 20 seconds.
Reduce heat to low & cover for 4 minutes.
Add chicken stock & water.
Stir in chile powder, black pepper, & sugar.
Add beans & bacon.
Bring to a simmer.
Bake in 250° oven for 6-8 hours with lid on
Add additional boiling water every few hours if needed to keep beans submerged.

Bring to a Simmer

The Perfect Steak

2015-03-15T09:46:00.000-05:00

The Perfect Steak

Beef. It’s what’s for dinner. Well… steak that is. And by steak, I mean a thick cut USDA Prime Bone-In Ribeye. This is Texas, son. We eat beef. We eat good beef. Steak is the national meat of Texas.

I don’t mess around when it comes to cooking steak. Let’s face it, these things aren’t cheap. Please, do yourself a favor by cooking it correctly. Don’t be goin’ off and embarrassing yourself in front of all of your friends and family by ruining $20 chunks of awesomeness.

Don’t be all sizzle and no steak!

Today is going to be a guide on how to knock cooking a Fred Flintstone slab o’meat out of the park in just a few easy but precise steps.

*Warning:

I do not list cook times for Medium Well or Well Done steaks. If you have to ask why, then well… maybe this isn’t the site for you.

*Notes:

Today’s guide is meant for cooking with a stovetop and oven. Firing up the grill is another baby altogether. Watch for that recipe this summer.

You’re gonna need at least a 12” cast iron skillet. Steaks are meant to be cooked using cast iron or over a grill. Anything else just won’t do.

When buying your meat, 1” is as thin as I’d go (I prefer 1 ½” steaks). Greenhorns can share a steak if it's too big for them.

Let’s talk about meat grades. If you’re dropping coin on over an inch of steak, then USDA Prime is the only way to go. It’s worth every penny of the $5 more per pound than the cost of USDA Choice. At this level, cutting corners changes the finished product drastically.

Do yourself a favor and throw away all of your "iodized" table salt. That’s right… drop it right on in that trashcan there. That’s it… just walk away. What we’re gonna do here is switch on over to Kosher Salt. Why? Some salt is fortified with iodine so as to prevent dietary deficiencies. Well that was a smart move around 1900, but today’s American diet has plenty of iodine containing foods (dairy, eggs, yogurt, saltwater fish, and shellfish). Kosher Salt is easier to pinch and it doesn’t have the funny taste that some say iodized salt has. The little coarse flakes of Kosher Salt allow for a far more even distribution on steak, mainly because it doesn’t dissolve on contact, which allows you to see where the salt is falling.

One word on cooking oils. You’re gonna need an oil that can handle a lot of heat. Personally, I keep a bottle of “Extra Light Olive Oil” on hand because you can get a big ol’ bottle of it for pretty cheap at the grocery store. This is not to be confused with Extra “Virgin” Olive Oil. Extra Light Olive Oil can take a lot of heat because they have filtered out all of the stuff that makes Extra Virgin Olive Oil yummy. Some other good neutral tasting oils that can handle the heat are Safflower, and Peanut Oil.

High Temp Cooking Oil

The table lists TOTAL cook time: i.e. all times added together (2 min sear + 1 min sear + 4 min roast + final roast minutes = Total Time).

Steak Cook Times

Recipe

Steak

Ribeye (1 ½” Thick, Bone-In)

Kosher Salt

Extra Light Olive Oil or Safflower Oil

Instructions

45 minutes prior to cooking, place a dry cast iron skillet on middle rack of oven.

Pre-heat oven to 400°.

Pat steak dry with paper towels.

Salt steak liberally (1/4 teaspoon or more per side).

Allow steak to rest at room temperature for 45 minutes while skillet & oven heat.

5 minutes prior to cooking, transfer skillet to largest burner at its highest setting.

Turn on exhaust fan and open some windows.

While skillet heats on stovetop, pat steak dry again then brush both sides with oil.

Sear steak for 2 minutes, flip & sear for 1 minute.

Place skillet in oven WITHOUT flipping steak again.

Allow steak to roast for 4 minutes before flipping one last time.

Roast 5 more minutes for rare, 7 for medium rare, or 10 for medium (see Table for total cook time for other steak thicknesses)

Remove skillet from oven & place steak on a baking rack to rest for 5 minutes.

Smokin' Hot Skillet

Resting Peacefully

Steak & Ranch Style Beans

A Perfect Medium Rare

Skillet Cornbread

2015-03-13T22:20:00.000-05:00

Skillet Cornbread

Southern cooking traditions run as deep as that old Tennessee River. However, one staple of the Southern table comes to mind as being the most universal.

Cornbread... Ask a hundred Americans and you’ll probably get a hundred different family recipes. Hell, I wouldn’t doubt it if the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys started over whose Ma had the best cornbread.

I can hear it now, “My Ma’s cornbread could whoop your Ma’s cornbread.” Well, the cornbread feuds still rage on.

Cornbread as we know it originated with hoecakes and/or johnnycakes, which were cornmeal, water, and salt mixed into an unleavened batter then cooked on a griddle, much like a pancake. Hoecakes were born out of necessity in the impoverished South because it wasn’t until well after the Civil War that they had easy access to flour, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder.

Controversies abound in defining what authentic Southern cornbread is. The inclusion of sugar, wheat flour, and buttermilk are just a few of the hotly contested ingredients.

Sugar

Probably the greatest controversy in cornbread lore would be whether or not to add sugar. No offense to Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (based in Michigan), but they have completely skewed the palates of generations of Americans by making what I would call “corn cake mix” (There is almost as much sugar in a box of the Jiffy as there is in Duncan Hines’ Classic Yellow Cupcake Mix). I’m not saying that Jiffy cornbread is bad… it’s just not very traditional.

In my opinion, the only legitimate reason for adding sugar to cornbread is to give today’s lackluster cornmeal a boost. The corn of our forefathers was much sweeter than today’s so they didn’t need to add sugar. Personally, I remedy this by adding a little honey to my batter (not enough to make my cornbread “sweet”, but just enough to taste right).

Wheat Flour

Cornbread from north of the Mason-Dixon line is usually 50% or more wheat flour. And they still call it cornbread? Hell, there are people in the South that believe cornbread shouldn’t contain any flour at all. Seeing as how I’m not a sharecropper who can barely afford to feed my family, I use just a little bit of flour to help obtain a slightly finer crumb in my cornbread.

Milk

To me, the debate over what type of milk to use is of much lesser concern. Let’s face it, you can’t buy “real” buttermilk these days anyway. The “buttermilk” that grocery stores sell is really just liquefied yogurt / sour cream. Plus, buying a quart or more of an ingredient that you’re only gonna use a cup of is unnecessarily wasteful.

*Notes:

Using only stone ground, coarse ground, or medium ground cornmeal is imperative to getting the right cornbread texture. Most grocery stores do not carry a very good selection of these kinds of cornmeal. Since selection is sparse, I don’t quibble about choosing between yellow or white cornmeal. The one brand that is probably the most widely available would be Bob's Red Mill .

If you really want to make authentic Southern cornmeal, Anson Mills uses heirloom corn varietals that definitely don’t require any sweetening. Their mail order coarse white cornmeal is the king of all cornmeals when making Southern cornbread.

This recipe fits perfectly in an 8" cast iron skillet. Double this recipe for a 10" cast iron skillet.

Recipe

Cornbread (6-8 servings)

8” cast iron skillet, or 6 muffins, or 12 mini-muffins

1 ¾ cups Cornmeal – Stone Ground, Coarse Ground, or Medium Ground

¼ cup Flour

1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 Egg

1 cup Whole Milk

3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter – Melted

1 tablespoon Honey

2 tablespoons Butter for Pan

Instructions

Place skillet on middle rack of oven.
Preheat oven to 425°.
Allow liquid ingredients to come to room temperature.
Beat egg then combine with milk, butter, & honey.
Place dry ingredients in a separate bowl & mix well.
Combine wet & dry ingredients then stir. Do not overwork batter.
Carefully grease preheated pan with butter.
Pour batter into pan then place in oven.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes (cornbread muffins will cook faster than skillet cornbread).

Texas Cookin' by Guy Clark

2015-03-04T21:19:00.002-06:00

Nobody speaks to my soul like Guy Clark!

Texas Cookin' by Guy Clark

Well I'm goin’ down to Austin, Texas

I'm goin’ down to save my soul

Get that barbeque and chili

Eat my fill then come back home

I'm gonna take my baby with me

We gonna have a high ol' time

We’re gonna eat till we get silly

Sho' do make a beer taste fine

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' somethin’

Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' good

Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could

Well I know a man that cook armadillo

Tastes so sweet he called it pie

I know a woman makes pan dulce

Tastes so good it gets you high

Get them enchiladas greasy

Get them steaks chicken fried

Sho' do make a man feel happy

To see white gravy on the side

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' somethin’

Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' good

Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could

Well I know a place that got fried okra

Beat anything I ever saw

I know a man that cook cabrito

It must be against the law

We gonna get a big ol' sausage

A big ol' plate of ranch style beans

I could eat the heart of Texas

We gonna need some brand new jeans

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' somethin’

Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' good

Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could

Authentic Chili

2015-03-02T21:40:00.002-06:00

Authentic Chili

Happy Texas Independence Day Y'all

From Cincinnati to California chili is a comfort food that is a part of the American fabric. So how is it that a good ol’ bowl of red came to be a staple in the American diet?

As they say down here in Texas, “anyone who knows beans about chili knows that chili ain’t got no beans”. However, the Chili History books tend to prove this incorrect. Chili con carne circa the early 1800’s in San Antonio would have been a wholly unrecognizable dish to modern Americans or to Texans for that matter. You see, chili as we know it, started out as a subsistence dish in which Texicans would mix what little meat they could afford with chiles and beans to produce a hearty hash like stew.

By the 1870’s, America’s post civil war appetite for beef meant that a $10 head of cattle in South Texas would fetch $20 a head at the railroad in Kansas. The ensuing cattle drives made San Antonio Texas’ largest city until the 1930’s. This influx of cowboys and money led to a local sensation known as the Chili Queens. Chili Queens dressed gaily each evening as they served street cart chili to visitors drawn to the Alamo Plaza’s nightlife. In 1890 chili was introduced to the rest of America at the “San Antonio Chilley Stand” during the World’s Fair in Chicago.

The original chili that the Chili Queens and cowboys enjoyed contained no more than chilis, beef, garlic, salt, cumin, and Mexican oregano. The advent of ground chili powder and its national availability allowed for the modernization of the dish throughout American kitchens. However, most Americans probably wouldn’t recognize chili made without at least the addition of tomatoes and onions.

Over the years, I have experimented with dozens of different chili recipes. I mean, yeah… I could just run down to the supermarket and pick up Wick Fowler’s 2 Alarm Chili Kit. But how fun is that? Though I’ve enjoyed developing my own chili cookoff style recipe, my favorite recipe pays homage to the original Chili Queens by using whole dried chiles.

Don’t get me wrong, today’s recipe is a bit more time consuming. However, the technique of rendering the dried chiles into chile paste allows a wonderful depth of flavor. Once or twice a year, I usually triple the chile paste recipe and freeze the extra to use for chili, enchiladas, or Mexican mole.

So to answer the question. Sure, you could put beans in chili. But why would you?

*Warning:

This chili is not very spicy. You can take the heat to what my wife would consider to be “just right” with the addition of 1 teaspoon of cayenne powder.

*Notes:

Chili is better served next day.

Ancho and Guajillo chiles are easy to find in most supermarkets that have a decent Hispanic food selection (thank goodness for HEB here in Central Texas). Pasilla chiles can more easily be found in Mexican markets.

These chiles and much more can also be found at the famous Pendery’s World of Chiles & Spices.

You can play with different chile ratios to find your favorite combo. Ancho chiles are the most predominant chiles used in South Texas dishes. If using only Anchos, 12 chiles are just the right amount. As a matter of fact, my 2^nd favorite chile combo is Anchos alone.

I prefer extra lean cubed beef stew meat. You can ask your butcher to grind up some “chili grind”. Most supermarkets can do this for you if you ask at the meat counter. Please don’t use regular ground beef!

Assembled Ingredients

Receipe

Authentic Chili (6-12 servings)

10 Ancho Chiles, 6 Pasilla Chiles, & 4 Guajillo Chiles
12 Plum Tomatoes – cored & deseeded (can substitute 15 oz. can of Tomato Sauce)
Vegetable Oil
3 lb. Extra Lean Beef – Cubed or “Chili Grind”
1 Yellow Onion (approx. 2 cups) – Chopped
4 cloves Garlic – Minced or Pressed
3 3/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1 tablespoon Cumin Seeds – Finely Ground (can substitute ground cumin)
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano – Finely Ground (can substitute regular oregano)
Optional: 1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300°.
Cut tomatoes in half then core & deseed.
Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Place tomato halves cut side up. Drizzle with oil.
Roast tomatoes in oven for 1 hour.

Roasted Tomatoes

Boil approximately 4 quarts of water in a stock pot then reduce to a simmer.
Prepare chiles by tearing off stems & spliting them down the middle to shake out as many seeds as possible.
Place chiles in stock pot with lid on & allow to soak off of heat for 30 minutes. Stir every 5-10 minutes to keep chiles from floating.
Grind cumin seeds & Mexican oregano in a mortar & pestle to a fine consistency.
When tomatoes are done roasting, set aside.
Place dutch oven & 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat.
Add onion & sauté for 4 minutes.
Add garlic & sauté for 20 seconds.
Turn off heat & cover for 4 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon scoop chiles, onion, & garlic into a food processor with the tomatoes.
Add 1 1/2 cups of the chile soaking liquid & blend the mixture thoroughly.
Using a fine mesh strainer & a silicone spatula, strain the mixture into a bowl then set aside.

Chile Paste Straining

The Reason We Strain

Place dutch oven & 2 tablespoons of oil on stovetop.
Brown meat in several batches. Drain pan & meat thoroughly.
Combine all ingredients in dutch oven (paste, beef, salt, cumin, Mexican oregano, & optional cayenne).
If necessary, add more chile soaking liquid to cover meat.
Stir well & bring to a simmer.
Bake with lid on at 250° for 3 hours (if not using a dutch oven, can simmer for 3 hours on stovetop).
Adjust salt to taste.

New Beginnings

2015-02-26T17:09:00.001-06:00

WOW, it’s been 4 years since I first dreamed up this blog. Man… time flies. I've been so busy that I've neglected this passion of mine. No More…

I woke up this morning to realize that today is National Chili Day. National Chili Day you say, and Texas Independence Day is on Monday? Challenge accepted…

Let’s see here… I've got a Chili recipe for just about every occasion.

My favorites include:

The Original Bowl of Red (imagine San Antonio in 1890)

Traditional Texas Chili Cookoff Style

or my favorite is a mixture of the old and new styles which is both authentic and familiar.

Stay tuned for this weekend’s recipe, stories, and mouthwatering pictures.

Sangria Wine

2011-04-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

In the words of Jerry Jeff Walker,

Yeah, I love that sangria wine

Love to drink it with ol’ friends of mine

Yeah, I love to get drunk with friends of mine

When we’re drinkin’ that ol’ sangria wine

Following Jerry Jeff’s loose lyrical recipe I have gone on to develop my own Sangria Wine.

1 Bottle of Red Wine

8oz Brandy

3oz Everclear

2 Tablespoons of Sugar

Add the juice of 1 Lime and 1 Lemon

Add 1 sliced Lime and 1 Lemon

Add 1 sliced Apple
Sprite

I like to add the wine, brandy, everclear and sugar first so that I can get a good stir going to dissolve the sugar. I’ll then add the fruit and let it sit in the fridge as long as I can before the party (even the night before works great). I avoid adding ice to the pitcher as to avoid it getting watered down, plus the ice will prevent any of the fruit from pouring into the drinker’s cup. I usually just put the pitcher of Sangria out next to a bottle of Sprite so people can mix it to their strength (this also keeps the sprite from going flat).

A cheap but tasty red wine is all that is needed, if you want to stray a little more towards an authentic Sangria try out a Spanish Rioja.

Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell, and Rémy Martin are all good makers of French Brandy a.k.a. Cognac. Or you can save some dough by using E&J’s, it's still quite tasty.

On to the Everclear, I know, I know…. You’re looking at me like, “I’m not in College anymore”. Well that’s fine and all, but you’re missing out on what makes Sangria fun. Two shots of Everclear will not drastically change the strength of this Sangria. However, if you consider yourself a lightweight, just add more Sprite to your cup, that way you don’t ruin everyone else’s fun.

As far as the Sugar is concerned, the more the merrier. I start at 2 Tablespoons and go from there. The finer the Sugar, the better it will dissolve.

On to the fruit, you can add absolutely anything you like. However, I find that the Lemon and Lime additions are non-negotiable.