Dairy Free

Timing is key, so have everything you need ready, and start whisking egg whites once the syrup is at a full boil.

Loaded with a big cocoa flavor, these bonbons are surprisingly small in stature, each just larger than a quarter. This is a good cookie to bake in a pinch because it’s likely you’ll have the few ingredients on hand. But be aware that the cookies need about 2 hours in the oven.

Crunchy coconut biscuits are a Jamaican specialty and are crispest the day they’re baked. To toast coconut, preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread the coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, stirring occasionally, until light golden and fragrant, about 10 minutes.

The key to success with these cookies is to bake no more than two to three on a sheet at one time. Shape them as quickly as possible after removing from the oven, because they begin to firm up as soon as they are lifted off the baking sheet. To avoid wasting cookies, try the shaping process with a circle of paper first.

Homemade stock is the foundation of all truly great soups and stews. Not everyone has the time to make it, but if you do you’ll find it really makes a difference in your cooking.

Rubbin’ spices into meat is the essential first step of great barbecue. This is a good starter rub, but feel free to personalize it. Add some of your favorite herbs or pulverized dried smoked chiles. Just make sure you keep the sweet, savory, and spicy flavors in balance.

To mop or not to mop, that is the question. There seem to be two schools of thought about moppin’ ribs while they’re cookin’. Personally, I think that if the ribs look dry and thirsty you should mop ‘em. Mop sauce should never contain sugars that would burn before the ribs are cooked through. A good mop sauce is based on the spicy flavors of the rub.

This is the ultimate “anything goes” dish. All you need is some sausage and any kind of raw or cooked meat you might have on hand. We use a tasty mix of sausage, chicken, pulled pork, and ham. The only thing you can’t skip are the chicken livers. That’s what makes Dirty Rice dirty and gives it its deep, rich flavor. We’ve been servin’ it every Wednesday as a featured side, and we’ve found that Central New Yorkers really appreciate this frugal New Orleans specialty. It’s also good as a stuffing for Cornish hens, pork chops, or turkey.

Back in the early days of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, I made a pilgrimage to New Orleans, and it seemed natural to bring some of the wonders of the Big Easy back up north. The thing that really grabbed me was jambalaya, a dish with infinite possibilities. There’s no one recipe for jambalaya because its whole reason for bein’ is to let the cook get personal and real creative with the bits of meat or fish hangin’ around in the fridge. You can give it your personal touch any way the spirit moves you. Try makin’ it with other veggies, throwin’ in some shellfish, messin’ with the seasoning—this is your chance to be a link in the evolution of one truly great leftover dish.

This recipe from our Rochester restaurant brings together the lively flavors of fresh garlic and ginger. It makes for a refreshin’ salad that goes with all sorts of grilled and roasted meats and poultry.

Serve up these deeply flavored Cuban-style beans with a pile of perfectly cooked white rice. Add a salad or some veggies and you’ve got the Dinosaur vegetarian platter.

These beans have a deep, broodin’ flavor—sweet and spicy at the same time. We add crumbled hot Italian sausage to make ‘em truly special.

This recipe was inspired by an Italian recipe handed down by my partner Mike’s grandmother. Like all good Italian cooks, she insisted that the raw ingredients in any dish be ripe and flavorful. She never cheaped out and neither do we. When we started the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, it was one of our original sides, and it has stayed on our menu ever since. It’s best made in the morning, or at least several hours before serving.

Coleslaw is an absolute essential in a barbecue joint. We make ours fresh twice a day so the crispness and integrity of the cabbage always contrasts with the tangy, creamy dressing. What I’m saying is, it don’t get better with age.

“How ‘bout a nice sausage sandwich?” From 1983 to 1988 my partner, Mike, and I belted that line out thousands of times at fairs and festivals up and down the East Coast. Those were the days of Dinosaur Concessions, when we made our living slingin’ sausage and charbroilin’ steak for sandwiches. We pretty much retired from the fair business in 1988 when we opened the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. But ten years later we were back at it again. In 1998 we joined forces with Steve Davis from Gianelli Sausage, whose family stand has been a mainstay at the New York State Fair for as long as I can remember. Gianelli (see Resources, page 175) makes a great sausage—lean, yet packed with flavor— just great for our State Fair Sausage & Pepper Sandwich and all our other sausage specialties.

Pulled pork is one of the wonders of true blue barbecue. It starts with a pork butt, also called a Boston butt, which is the meat surrounding the shoulder blade of the pig. This is a tough, fatty piece that’s magically transformed with spices, smoke, and slow cookin’ into something lean and melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Here’s an interesting technique. We cut (counter to logic) the pork tenderloins into long steaks along the grain of the meat, forming steaks approximately 10 inches long by 2 inches wide. Whip up the jerk paste the night before or that morning, and get the tenderloins marinating early. That way you can grill and eat in minutes after getting jerked around at work all day.