Celebrate Summer With These BBQ Recipes By Chef Omar Tate

Renowned Chef Omar Tate has worked in some of the country's best restaurants, but it's the flavors of family get-togethers and barbeques that has him inspired this summer.

"Every year I spend countless loving hours stoking flames in our offset smoker grill cooking ribs for my wife, kids and friends through the season in celebration or simply for pleasure," Tate says.

The Time100 Next honoree is passionate about adding more diversity and people of color into the culinary world, and his work often highlights the different flavors of African American culture. Now, he's bringing some of his favorite dishes to select cities for an exciting exhibition called “Cultivating Community: Dinner Series.”

See Also: Juneteenth Feast By Chef Megan Brown

The series is held in partnership with Bombay Bramble and the Black Farmer Fund, and the menu reflects this celebration and acknowledgement of Black farmers. It kicks off in New York City's Oko Farms, then moves to Atlanta and Charleston, South Carolina; but you don't have to be in those cities to experience some of the flavor.

Tate shares a few of the recipe highlights with us today, including a sweet and savory rib dish, a mouthwatering tart, a delectable summer cocktail and more. He hopes you enjoy them with family and friends, so you can make some summer memories of your own.

Bramble Berry Sour Cocktail

This sweet, refreshing summer drink mixes the fruity flavors of the Bombay Bramble with notes of blackberries and raspberries, bitters and honey syrup for a little twist on the classic negroni.

Ingredients:

• 1½ oz Bombay Bramble
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ½ oz orange juice
• ¼ oz Martini and Rossi bitter
• ¼ oz Martini and Rossi fiero
• ½ oz honey syrup (2:1)

Directions: Shake and strain into a rocks glass with crushed ice. Garnish with an orange wheel and a blackberry.

Summer Ribs with Legacy Sauce

“Ribs are the quintessential summer barbecue staple in my family,” Tate says. “This twist of using the bright freshness of berries transforms the ribs into a sweet and tangy delicious seasonal spin on an old classic. The accompanying Legacy Sauce is a flavorful sweet and savory dressing for the ribs, featuring fresh berries, heirloom tomatoes, local honey, Dijon and more, all simmered down with the berry-infused Bombay Bramble gin for an extra pop of vibrant, all-natural berry flavor. Up South pickles are the perfect accompaniment to the rich and fatty ribs as well.”

This recipe is for two racks of St. Louis cut ribs.

Ingredients:

Strawberry Rub

• ¼ cup smoked sweet paprika
• ½ cup light cane sugar
• 2 tbsp berry molasses
• 2 tsp dried chile powder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried lavender
• 1 ½ tsp Timut black pepper
• ¼ cup raspberry powder

Legacy Sauce

• 2 cup fresh strawberries
• 2 cup fresh raspberries
• 2 cup fresh blackberry or black raspberry
• 1 lb heirloom sweet tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup smoked vidalia onion, diced
• 2 cup Bombay Sapphire Bramble Gin
• ½ cup Dijon
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Maryiza grawa honey
• 2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• ½ tsp fresh cracked Timut pepper
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• sea salt to taste
• Apple cider vinegar to taste

Directions:

Strawberry Rub

1. Mix together all of the ingredients and rub all over the set of ribs.
2. Marinate for at least 24 hours.

Legacy Sauce

1. Make this sauce in a wide and shallow pot. Turn the heat to low-medium and add the onions.
2. Cook onions until soft, translucent and beginning to carmelize. Cook the onions until they are carmelized to a golden brown.
3. Add the tomato paste, honey, dijon, worcestershire and Bramble Gin.
4. Continue cooking into the onions until all are incorporated.
5. Once incorporated, add the tomatoes and fruit. Cook slowly until the berries and tomato begin to release liquid.
6. Allow the sauce to cook until the berries are entirely broken down into a thick sauce.
7. Blend in a blender, and strain to remove the seeds.
8. Add salt, pepper and a splash of apple cider vinegar to taste.

Snow Crab and Tomato Salad with Charred Corn Bread

“Nothing brings folks together in my neighborhood like gathering to eat crabs,” Tate says. “We usually eat them with seasoned butter, but this time I wanted to share them playfully in traditional summer ingredients like corn (cornbread) and tomato for a light refreshing addition to our favorite shellfish.”

Ingredients:

Fine Herbs

• 1 bunch of tarragon or ⅛ oz
• 1 bunch of parsley or ⅛ oz
• 1 bunch of chives or ⅛ oz

Crab and Tomato Mix

• 2 lbs of snow crab
• 6 large heirloom tomatoes of different colors

Candied Lemon

• 10 lemons
• 1 pint of raw cane sugar crystals
• 1 pint of filtered water

Cornbread

• 4 ounces European butter
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1½ cups whole milk buttermilk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Raspberry Vinaigrette

• Raspberry vinegar
• Shallot
• Dijon mustard
• Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Fine Herbs

1. Chop all herbs individually with a very sharp knife as finely as possible.
2. Combine them together into an herb mixture.

Crab and Tomato Mix

1. Steam the crab until it is just hot.
2. Carefully remove the crab meat from its shell.
3. Use the back of a spoon to smack the shell at the marked point. The claw should expose the meat and loosen the shell to be easily removed from the claw.
4. Mix fine herbs into olive oil and lightly dress the crab in the fine herb dressing.

Candied Lemon

1. Place the lemons in the freezer, allowing them to almost freeze entirely.
2. Make a syrup of the water sugar by dissolving the sugar into the boiling water.
3. Slice the lemons by 1/16 of an inch on a deli slicer.
4. Heat the syrup to a poaching temperature of about 165 to 175 degrees.
5. Place the lemons in the poaching liquid, and cook until they are candied and translucent.
6. Remove the lemons immediately, and place them on a tray lined with parchment and coated substantially with extra virgin olive oil.
7. Allow the lemons to cool thoroughly.

Cornbread

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly.
3. Whisk the egg and combine with the buttermilk and melted butter (all ingredients should be at room temperature).
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the mix and whisk them together.
5. Heat your oven to 350 degrees.
6. Place a well-seasoned and buttered skillet, or shallow baking tin lined with wax paper and buttered, into the oven.
7. Allow the cornbread batter to sit for about 8 to 10 minutes until you begin to see bubbles forming in the batter.
8. After 10 minutes, remove your skillet or baking tin from the oven and pour the batter into it.
9. Place it into the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Check for doneness by inserting a thin knife or toothpick into the bread. If it comes out clean, it is finished.
10. When finished, remove the pan or skillet and place it onto a rack to cool completely.
11. After it is cooled, break the cornbread into medium-sized pieces and either fry them in a fryer until each piece is a golden brown all around, or bake them further in a 325-degree oven until the desired color is achieved.

Raspberry Vinaigrette

1. Add into a blender the shallot, dijon and vinegar.
2. Blend on medium-high speed for about 30 seconds.
3. Slowly begin to add the oil in a steady stream.
4. Pour until completely smooth and emulsified.
5. Season in the end with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble the Salad

1. Combine all components and dress with raspberry vinaigrette.
2. Season the salad with salt and pepper to taste.

Up South Pickles

These pickled veggies are the perfect addition to balance out the sweet and flavorful ribs.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup okra sliced in 1in biased cuts
• 1 cup carrot sliced in 1in biased cuts
• 1 cup radish sliced in 1in biased cuts
• 1 cup fava beans sliced in 1in biased cuts
• 1 small to medium sized onion, julienned

Pickling Liquid

• 1 pint of white wine vinegar
• 3 cups of filtered water
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• ⅛ cup of sea salt
• ¼ cup of raw cane sugar
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1 sprig of oregano

Directions:

1. Bring pickling liquid to a boil.
2. Add all the other ingredients into the pickling liquid.
3. Allow all the ingredients to come back to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes.
4. Take it from the heat and allow all ingredients to cool down in the pickling liquid.

Bramble Tart

“Tarts, pies and galettes are one of those treats that I look forward to every year,” Tate says. “This bramble berry tart made with jam that's been cooked with Bombay Bramble is the grown-up way to enjoy these treats without having to share them with the kids at the block party. The tart beautifully balances the bright citrus notes and bold berried flavor of the gin with pastry cream and extra fresh berries for a refreshing, yet indulgent summer dessert.”

Ingredients:

Jam

• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) of blackberries
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 piece of lemon zest
• ½ cup of Bramble gin

Pastry Cream

• 2 ¼ cups whole milk
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 9 egg yolks
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• 8 tablespoons or 1 stick unsalted butter, softened and cubed
• Clear Fruit Glaze (nappage):
• 3⁄4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 ¼ tablespoons NH pectin, available online

Pate Brisee (for tart)

• 5 cups flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cups cold, cubed butter
• ½ cup ice water

Directions:

Jam

1. Add all ingredients into a sauce pot and slowly begin to bring to a simmer.
2. As the sugar dissolves, allow the mixture to continue to simmer until it thickens.

Pastry Cream

1. In a medium pot, bring half of the sugar and all of the water to a boil.
2. In a bowl, whisk the other half of the sugar with the NH pectin. Once the syrup is boiling, sprinkle the sugar-NH pectin mixture into the syrup, whisking constantly until dissolved. It’s important to combine some of the sugar with the NH pectin first, and then sprinkle it into your sugar water slowly. If you were to add just NH pectin in all at once, you’ll end up with a clumpy glaze.
3. Continue boiling the syrup, whisking constantly to dissolve and activate the pectin, for about 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

Pate Brisee (for tart)

1. Dice the butter into small cubes and place into the freezer.
2. Whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl.
3. Add the diced butter into the flour and gently mix. You still want to see the chunks of butter in the flour.
4. Pour the ice water into the flour mixture a little at a time using a slotted spoon or spatula to keep away the ice. You may not need all of the water. The dough is ready to be formed when it is still quite crumbly but small bits can be squeezed into a dough form.
5. While still crumbly, dump the contents of your bowl onto your work surface.
6. With both hands, gather the dough into itself, squeezing all of the crumbles and working it over itself until all of the dough is together and hydrated. Try to force this process to finish as quickly as you can using the least movements possible. This will ensure the dough is still flaky.
7. Once formed, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for later use.

To Assemble The Tart

1. Begin by chilling the blackberries and raspberries until very cold.
2. Fill one pastry bag with jam.
3. Fill one pastry bag with pastry cream.
4. Fill the base of a tart shell with brambleberry jam to one-eighth inch into the tart.
5. Fill the tart with pastry cream over the jam by about one-quarter inch into the tart.
6. Begin filling the tart with berries until just over the lip of the tart.
7. Melt the nappage in a microwave for about 30 seconds or until it is a liquid again.
8. Very lightly brush the nappage over the fruit to create a translucent glaze.
9. Garnish the tart with grated nutmeg, lemon zest and mint.