Benicia Chef Dishes Up Great Food on KRON-TV

Submitted by denise on February 9, 2011 - 8:45pm

People are asking for the recipe of a mouth-watering dish Benicia chef Maynard Oestreich of Sailor Jack’s, and Frankenburger, demonstrated live on KRON-TV (Channel 4) the morning of Saturday, February 5, during a live cooking segment.

With the Super Bowl coming up the next day, Chef Maynard, with 25 years’ experience under his hat, showed how the “average Joe” can prepare a great dish to dazzle party guests with products found easily at any supermarket. He whipped up his Zinfindel-glazed St. Louis Spareribs – in a crock pot no less – and was kind enough to share his recipe.

Besides serving up great food, both Maynard and KRON 4 Weekend Morning News host Henry Tenenbaum dished on why Benicia is such a fun place to visit. It truly is a “hotbed of great food with a fabulous art scene” as Henry said during the segment.

Here’s the recipe, as written by the chef:

Chef Maynard’s Zinfandel-glazed Crock Pot St. Louis Spareribs

Crock pot veterans, resist the urge to add more liquid. This recipe serves 6 cavemen or 9 normal sized persons and requires a large capacity crock pot.

Ingredients:

7 lb. St. Louis cut pork spareribs
1 bottle Zinfandel, I prefer Frank Family
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Cajun seasoning
4 tbs fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 cup yellow onion, minced
1/4 cup chopped garlic
2 cups chicken broth, low sodium
1, 12 oz bottle store bought BBQ sauce, I like Sweet Baby Rays

Method:
Combine wine and sugar in a sauce pan and simmer to reduce to half volume, about 18 min. at high simmer. Rinse and dry racks, score inside of rack on the bone side in a crisscross pattern. Season with Cajun seasoning and pepper. Depending on the size of your crock pot, cut racks into 2 or 3 pieces. Combine wine syrup and BBQ sauce, add garlic and onions, toss to coat. Add chicken broth to crock pot and layer rib sections into pot, cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Cut into individual ribs and toss in degreased liquid in the crock pot and serve hot with a lot of napkins.

To enjoy more of Chef Maynard’s delicious food, visit Sailor Jack’s, 123 First Street or stop in for a bite at Frankenburger, 131 First Street. Enjoy!