From cocktails and grilled appetizers to barbecue and dessert, we have a recipe collection fit to please dear old Dad.
When asked what your dad wants for Father’s Day, the old man probably shrugs off the question, mumbling something about “nothing,” maybe “rest.” We have ideas for gifts, like gifts for the outdoorsman in your life or, yes, even ties. We’ve also got food-specific gifts for Pops. But what about the grub? We got that too. Right here. Our roundup of recipes includes easy-to-mix cocktails, classic steak preparations, ribs from Adrian Davila, third-generation pitmaster of Davila’s BBQ in Seguin, Texas, and author of Cowboy Barbecue: Fire & Smoke From the Original Texas Vaqueros (pictured above), and a sweet, spiked finish.
Balcones Buck
2 ounces Balcones Baby Blue or Balcones Single Malt
½ ounce lemon juice
3 – 4 ounces ginger ale
Lemon or lime wedge, for garnish
Add all ingredients into ice-filled highball glass and garnish.
Sotol’d Fashioned
Courtesy Desert Door Texas Sotol
2 ounces Desert Door Oak-Aged Sotol
¼ ounce simple syrup
Dash Angostura bitters
Luxardo cherry
Orange zest, for garnish
Orange peel, for garnish
Stir all ingredients except orange in a low ball glass. Add large rocks ice cube. Peel orange peel and zest over glass. Then top the glass with the peel.
Barbecue Bacon Brie
(6 – 8 servings)
1 pound bacon
16-ounce brie wheel
½ cup preferred barbecue sauce
In a large skillet over medium heat in the kitchen, cook the bacon until just crispy. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to cook indirectly at 350 degrees.
Unwrap the brie and place it in a disposable pie pan. Top with the barbecue sauce. When the bacon is cooked, drain on a paper towel and then chop medium fine. Top the brie with all of the bacon.
Place the pan with the brie on the grill and cook until the brie is soft, about 15-20 minutes. Add crackers around the brie and serve warm.
Ostiones Asados (Wood-Roasted Gulf Oysters With Chipotle Butter)
24 oysters
1 cup chipotle compound butter (recipe follows)
6 teaspoons panko breadcrumbs
6 teaspoons grated Parmesan
Chipotle Compound Butter
(Makes 1 cup)
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons minced white onion
1 tablespoon chipotle peppers, deveined, seeded and minced
¼ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
¼ tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, minced
4 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon paprika
½ tablespoon kosher salt
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Scrub oysters under cold running water. Using a strong bladed knife insert the knife into the hinges of the shell. Twisting the blade slightly, move the blade along the upper side of the shell to free the muscle from the shell. Remove and discard the upper shell. Transfer the oysters on the half shell to a platter lined with rock salt.
Combine all butter ingredients in a bowl and mix until well incorporated. Transfer to a container and keep cool until ready to use.
Top each oyster with 2 teaspoons of chipotle butter, ¼ teaspoon of grated Parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon of panko breadcrumbs. Place in the oven and bake for 8 – 10 minutes until panko is golden brown.
Oak-Grilled New York Steaks
Courtesy Alisal Guest Ranch And Resort
6 (10-ounce) New York strip steaks
Basting Sauce
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons garlic-infused vegetable oil
Seasoning Salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
3 teaspoons salt
Mix basting sauce ingredients together, and mix seasoning salt ingredients together. Coat both sides of steaks with basting sauce and place on hot grill. Season tops of the steaks with salt mixture. Turn the steaks before the heat causes the juices to come out the tops of the steaks. Baste and season the tops of the steaks. Turn the steaks 2 more times, basting and seasoning after each turn. Continue turning the steaks until they are done to your liking. Check doneness with a meat thermometer.
Mesquite-Smoked Lamb Ribs With Chimichurri
Reprinted from Cowboy Barbecue: Fire & Smoke From the Original Texas Vaqueros (The Countryman Press, 2018) by Adrian Davila with Ann Volkwein
You’ll rarely find lamb on barbecue menus in Texas and throughout the United States; in fact, the only state that can call lamb a barbecue “mainstay” is Kentucky. But at Davila’s, barbecued lamb has been embraced by our customers for more than six decades. The origin of chimichurri sauce is unclear, but one theory is that the Basque settlers from Spain, who arrived in Argentina as early as the 19th century, named it. I enjoy these Old World flavors because the tang and bite of the sauce cuts through the fatty, smoky, savory ribs, and it goes well on any meat: beef, poultry, and/or fish. – Adrian Davila
(Serves 3 – 4)
¼ – ½ cup Davila’s Signature BBQ Rub (recipe here)
1 (2½- to 3½-pound) lamb breast
Davila’s Original BBQ Sauce, for serving (recipe here)
Adrian’s Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Serrano Chimichurri Sauce, for serving (recipe here)
Rub the BBQ Rub thoroughly into the meat, covering all crevices of the lamb breast. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for 12 – 24 hours. Thirty minutes before you want to cook, prepare a mesquite indirect fire in a barbecue pit or grill to achieve an even mix of smoke and heat, reaching 275 degrees. Put the lamb breast in the middle rack of your barbecue pit, over indirect heat. Cook until the meat is fork-tender, 3 – 3½ hours. Remove the lamb breast from the pit and allow to rest for 25 – 30 minutes before slicing the ribs into individual portions. Serve with Davila’s Original BBQ Sauce and my special serrano chimichurri sauce.
Peach Beans With Applewood-Smoked Bacon
Courtesy Jason Dady and Two Bros. BBQ Market
½ pound Applewood-smoked bacon
1 yellow onion, diced
2 pounds cooked pinto beans
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup barbecue sauce
½ cup Dijon mustard
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup black pepper
¼ cup kosher salt
2 cups fresh peaches, diced
In large heavy bottom braising pot, render and cook bacon until crispy. Remove fat as it renders and reserve for another use. Once bacon is crispy add onion and cook until translucent. Add beans, sugar, barbecue sauce, Dijon, vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Once beans come to a simmer, add peaches and serve immediately.
Perini Ranch Steakhouse Bread Pudding With Whiskey Sauce
Courtesy Perini Ranch Steakhouse
(Serves 8 – 10)
Bread Pudding
2 eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons vanilla (Mexican, if available)
2 ½ cups milk
2 cups sugar
2 cups sourdough bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
⅓ cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat the eggs, and add the butter, vanilla, and milk. Gradually add the sugar and mix thoroughly until sugar is dissolved. Place bread cubes in the bottom of a 9-inch round baking dish. Pour liquid over bread, making sure all the pieces are fully saturated. Sprinkle pecans over the bread and push them down into the bread. Bake in the oven for 50 – 60 minutes.
Whiskey Sauce
½ cup sugar
1 stick butter
½ cup cream
¼ cup whiskey
Combine the ingredients in a medium saucepan. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture reaches a low rolling boil. Pour a small amount over the individual servings of bread pudding.
Photography: (featured) From Cowboy Barbecue: Fire & Smoke from the Original Texas Vaqueros (The Countryman Press, 2018)/Courtesy The Countryman Press, Courtesy Balcones Distilling, Deb Small/Courtesy Hugo Ortega, Courtesy The Countryman Press, Courtesy Two Bros. BBQ Market/Facebook
