Hey, everybody, I'm Guy Fieri and we're rolling out.
Looking for America's greatest Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
This trip...
Ha-ha!
...we're loading up the meat...
So dainty portion.
...with out of bounds beef and bird.
You're just shoveling, it's like trying to eat with a Tasmanian devil.
We've got authentic southwest specialties in New Mexico.
These are outstanding.
Off the chain chicken in New Hampshire.
This is what I would call destination dish.
And a local gem in Emerald Isle, North Carolina
And I'll tell ya what, guy's crushing it.
Smoking up legit barbecue flavor bombs.
Ohh! Dynamite sandwich.
That's all right here, right now, on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
We're here in Emerald Isle, North Carolina on a family reunion.
By the way, Mom's called me like four time now, they want us at the beach.
I know, but we had to take the corvette for a spin.
I'm here to take you to a joint that is doing the bomb barbecue.
Wait, barbecue right now? It's hot.
People tell me this place is off the hook,
-are you hungry? -I'm always hungry.
This is Shepard Barbecue.
Rib plate in the window, order up.
Where does this stack up in the world of barbecue?
It's the number one place for me.
Good barbecue all depends on the person that's behind the smoker.
It's the genius of Brandon.
[Guy] Which all started when Chef Brandon Shepard was just a kid
hanging around the pit at family cookouts.
Then, after working at kitchens, he and his wife Elizabeth...
jalapeno cheddar sausage up.
...decided to fire things u on their own.
What kind of barbecue you doing?
We kinda jump all over the place.
Eastern North Carolina style pulled pork.
But we also do brisket, pull a little bit from everything.
Boss Hawg and the Collard.
The Boss Hawg sandwich has got your pulled pork,
jalapeno sausage in it, and it's just a flavor bomb
-[Guy] All right, Chef. -This is our jalapeno cheddar sausage.
[Guy] Okay. So the trimmings from the brisket and from the pork?
-Yes, sir. -Got it. And what are we adding to it?
[Brandon] Granulated garlic, smoked paprika, crushed black pepper,
curing salt, kosher salt, mustard powder,
-we have milk powder. -Little fat in there, got it.
[Brandon] And this is actually cream.
[Guy] Now, are we gonna add this to the meat
-and grind it on the meat? -[Brandon] Yes, sir.
[Guy] Intersperse the peppers.
You just gonna do one grind? Or you gonna go multiple?
-Two different runs with a coarse grind. -[Guy] Okay.
[Brandon] And once all the grinding's done we mix in mild cheddar.
Now, we're gonna put the sausage mix into the stuffer
-to make our sausage. -Let's see it, Chef.
-[Hunter] Look at that. -You'll twist it.
-Beautiful. -Then we smoke it.
-[Guy] What kind of smoker? -We have a custom smoker outside.
It is a stick burner. We normally use hickory, post oak, and pecan.
[Guy] Smoke at a low temp, 2.5 hours, then hold it,
and then go again at a higher temp for another 3 hours.
-Yes, sir. Now, we're gonna season the pork butt. -So just salt and pepper.
How long's this gonna smoke
-About 10 hours or so. -[Guy] Okay.
[Brandon] Add salt, and pepper, the Carolina vinegar
to get ready for service.
-[Guy] Okay, Chef, next up? -Our Carolina Gold mustard sauce.
We start off with yellow mustard, Dijon mustard.
-[Guy] This is the Carolina vinegar sauce you make? -Yes, sir.
[Guy] I'll have a gallon of that to go. More white vinegar.
[Brandon] Water, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika.
-Black pepper. -[Brandon] Black pepper, cayenne,
granulated garlic, granulated onion powder.
Where's my money!
It's all right, I don't have anger issues.
-Red chili flake. -[Brandon] And white sugar.
That's on point. Love that vinegar, love the heat,
I love the simplicity.
You call it gold, you're right.
We toast our bun with our beef tallow.
Beef tallow is what you smear on the bun?
Little bit of garlic as well.
I almost named you Beef Tallow when you were a child.
-I'd have been okay with that. -[Brandon] Our house made slaw.
-Here's our sausage. -Yeah, that could be all right.
I love the grind in it. Good amount of cheese.
Little bit of heat, not too much smoke, right?
-Good little snap to it. -Do our pulled pork,
Carolina Gold sauce, pickled red onion.
And the collard greens, give me a rundown on this.
-An inspiration of my grandmother. -Ohhh!
-[Brandon] We call these Helen's Collards. -Those are great greens.
-Dynamite sandwich. -[Hunter] Mmm-hmm.
The smoke is tender, but doesn't have a ton of smoke.
Sausage has got a great bite
Yeah, it adds a great textural difference between the pulled pork
and the sausage. I mean, it's nice to have that.
Coming for your job.
-I'm, you know. -Textural difference.
-That Carolina Gold, money. -We could put that on a flip-flop, legit.
Slicing sausage for the Boss Hawg.
It's crazy good.
[man] The pulled pork's got an excellent bark on it
really good flavor, really juicy.
I am obsessed with the jalapeno cheddar sausage.
And collard greens are ridiculous.
I always get all collards.
You have to get those pit beans too, as a side.
My Mama makes some good baked beans, but...
Don't get us in trouble with mama.
This has been top-notch.
[Guy] All right, we gotta do another one.
-Let's do the Spicy Heifer. -Yes, sir.
Spicy Heifer sandwich in the window.
You don't know how you're gonna tackle it, it's so big.
So don't go anywhere,
we're hanging out at Emerald Isle, North Carolina
-eating barbecue with this guy. -This is awesome.
Welcome back. Hunter and I are handing out, doing Triple D in Emerald Isle.
We're supposed to be at the beach with our family,
but we heard about this barbecue joint.
And I'll tell ya what, guy's crushing it.
[Brandon] Smoked turkey plate going out.
The food here is outstanding.
Really hits your tastebuds with a pop of flavor that's off the hook in general.
Spicy Heifer sandwich and Street Corn.
The Spicy Heifer, that's a burger that is top-notch.
[woman] It's got that super tender brisket on there,
the sausage right underneath it, I just can't get enough of it.
-Now, we're gonna jump into a dish called the... -The Spicy Heifer.
-First, we start off with our prime brisket-- -Prime!
We still use prime brisket even in today's day.
This is our Carolina Gold sauce...
-[Guy] Yeah. -...mixed with our pickle juice.
-We do house made pickles. -Would it be easier
to talk about the things you didn't make?
If I found out you start baking your own buns, we're gonna talk.
-We actually-- -No, don't!
We got a guy for that in Raleigh.
[Guy] All right, so hit it with the mixture.
Pepper, our seasoning salt.
-This we do not make. -[Guy] Ha-ha!
Finally, ladies and gentlemen after 87 things, he didn't make something.
You under achiever.
Granulated garlic.
[Hunter] Now, will you marinade this for a while?
Or you just going straight to the smoker?
[Brandon] We actually let it sit out for around 10 minutes or so,
just to tack up a little bit.
And then, we go straight to the smoker.
-What temp are we running this at, 225? -Yes, sir.
Between 12 and 16 hours.
And what else goes on this Spice Heifer?
The red barbecue sauce.
We start off with ketchup, I do not make by the way.
-They don't make. -Two things.
[Brandon] Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, molasses,
Carolina vinegar, brown sugar, granulated garlic,
-cracked black pepper. -[Guy] There's the onion powder, Chef.
Chipotle seasoning, water.
Instead of using liquid smoke, we just throw it in the smoker 10 minutes or so.
-We're gonna make the pickled jalapenos. -Let's see it.
[Brandon] Start off with the water, white vinegar, salt, sugar.
Little pickling spice. Let this come to a simmer?
[Brandon] Pour the hot pickling liquid onto the raw jalapenos.
-[Guy] How long does this take? -About 20 minutes or so.
Now, we're gonna plate up the Spicy Heifer sandwich.
-Cover the bottom with the pickles. -Every bite gets it, right.
Then, we go with our sausage, brisket.
-[Guy] Gorgeous. -Juicy.
-You guys like the moist or the lean? -Yeah.
[Brandon chuckles] Either one.
-Dude, you're giving 'em prime brisket? -Prime brisket.
Barbecue sauce that we made earlier, pickled jalapeno,
white onion to cut through all the fat.
I don't know how I'm gonna get my little mouth around this.
-Barbecue sauce must be messy. -The brisket's ridiculous.
When you look at that pull, I mean, it is moist, juicy.
-[Hunter] Dude, that is money. -[Guy] Barbecue sauce is spot on.
The sausage, of course, is great.
Pickled jalapeno, primo, delicious crunch to that pickle.
-And the white onion, yes. -[Hunter] Great Street Corn salad, too.
-Very refreshing after all the protein in there. -Well done.
[Brandon] Spicy Heifer to the window.
The brisket here is always on point, the bark is nice.
I loved the jalapenos on it and pickles, it was excellent.
-What's your favorite thing on the menu? -The brisket.
[woman] It's meat butter, it's great.
-Meat butter? -Yeah.
What else you want from me? She has better hair.
-She had all the points. -Oh, come on, now.
Got the Smokehouse Cuban for you.
-This is just one of those places we keeping back to. -It's smack yo mamma good.
You're such a humble guy, it shows how much you love what you do.
[Hunter] You definitely understand flavors, for sure
-Great success to you, my friend. -[Hunter] Nice job.
Delicious. Let's get some of this and go to the beach.
We'll have the meat sweats out there.
-Okay. -All right.
Up next, an eclectic spot in North Conway, New Hampshire.
I mean, that's a really good looking dish.
Throwing Thai into their tacos.
Ooh, delicious.
[Guy] And winning me over..
This is where we're gonna have to talk.
...with their piccata.
Might be one of the best piccatas I've ever had.
Welcome to winning the hair game.
-You're taking me out of my title. -This is my chrome look.
-You are going for it. -[all laughing]
Son, we are here in North Conway, New Hampshire.
It's about 2.5 hours from Boston.
Yeah, yeah. I know where we're at.
I thought we were coming to go skiing though.
No, son. People come up here for a lot of things, like the summer time.
As a matter of fact, one of those popular times
is coming up here for the foliage in the fall
But that's not the reason we're here.
So we're here to check out a restaurant vet
that's been doing restaurant here in North Conway for, like, 50 years.
And he's got this hotshot chef now that's doing food his way.
-This is Barley & Salt. -Love the name.
Korean beef taco in the window, guys.
I'm just blown away by the flavors.
Getting the tandoori on the grill.
It's a perfect international combination of food.
[Guy] Served up by, local food legend and owner, Ben Williams.
[Ben] I opened up my first restaurant in '76.
I've been doing restaurants on and off since.
So what is the concept?
[Ben] Beer complimenting a lot of international flavors.
[Guy] And he's got a perfec fit with chef Bryan Lantagn running the kitchen.
I like to take different ideas blend them together, have a good time.
Thai coconut chicken taco.
So I had the Thai chicken coconut tacos.
-Literally bursting with flavor. -Pow.
All right, so, what are we making, Chef?
Curry sauce for our Thai coconut chicken taco.
We get the green pepper in, white onion, carrot,
minced garlic, ginger puree, lime juice.
-[Guy] Sambal. -Soy sauce, rice wine vinegar,
brown sugar, curry powder, we got ground coriander.
-[Guy] Turmeric. -Chiffonade basil, salt and pepper mix.
-Then, we got the red curry paste. -[Guy] Green curry paste.
[Bryan] Coconut milk.
Cook this and then, we're gonna bind it with a slurry
just so that way it doesn't break when it cooks.
Finish off with the white vinegar.
We're gonna let it sit overnight.
Go ahead and take our chicken thighs
and just dump that right over the top of it.
Salt, and pepper, and just a little bit of water.
-Marinating this for 24 hours, cook it in this? -Yes.
-350 for about 2.5 - 3 hours. -[Guy] Okay.
We take it out and we shred it,
-and then leave it in that sauce? -Absolutely.
I'm glad he's using chicken thighs and not chicken breasts.
-What are we gonna work on next? -Sweet chili sauce.
Whole cloved garlic, chopped shallot, Sambal,
-[Guy & Bryan] Rice wine, -cider vinegar, Aji Mirin.
[Guy] Japanese cooking wine.
-Sriracha. -Just a little bit.
-Ginger puree. This is our Chinese five spice. -Dangerous.
[Bryan] But delicious. Soy, brown sugar.
-[Guy] Sweet chili sauce. -Sweet chili sauce, yep. Water.
Okay, so, let this come to a boil.
[Bryan] Then we're gonna add the slurry to thicken it up.
Hit it with the emersion blender.
All right, let's put this thing together.
[Bryan] Freshy grilled tortilla shells.
Cabbage, snow pea. Hope you guys like red onion.
-We do now, evidently. -Chicken.
So a dainty portion.
Our sweet chili sauce.
Just a little bit more snow pea, cilantro. Topped with a lime.
[Guy] The chicken is really rich.
All that big thick full coconut milk, there's a ton of flavor.
Thank goodness that you have the fresh crunch
of the cabbage, and the snow pea,
the cilantro, the onions, I mean, you need it.
And, gotta have lime juice.
The ginger chili sauce is a nice compliment and you didn't flood it.
-It's money. -[Bryan] Thank you very much.
-Well done, man, delicious. -Thank you.
These tacos are unbelievable, super fresh.
And I love the curry flavor to it.
Chicken's great. Especially when you pair it with a couple beers.
Here you go, guys.
The beers are from all over New England.
If you can't find a beer here that you like, you probably don't like beer.
The IPA went great with piccata.
Two chicken piccatas up in the window.
I specifically like the chicken piccata there's so much flavor.
With homemade rustic mashed potatoes, I love it.
[Bryan] We're making brine. First, we got our water.
Cider vinegar, white wine,
-kosher salt. -[Guy] Just a little.
Brown sugar, whole clove garlic, rosemary, fennel seed.
-And our whole black peppercorn. -[Guy] So, let this simmer.
-Simmer down, now. -[Bryan] Strain it off.
Add some more water. And then, we're gonna be adding it to our chicken breast.
-How long is it gonna brine? -Twenty four hours, then pound it out.
We do a lot of piccata in our family, everybody's got their methods.
But the piccata sauce this is where we're gonna have to talk.
You know, we are from the piccata place.
It's my version of a piccata sauce, all right.
There ya go, see. I play the song my way.
So you can be quiet is what he just said.
[Bryan] We gonna start off by getting this butter melted.
And a little bit of olive oil as well, shallot, garlic,
capers with liquid.
See, I'm a caper guy first, let those capers bloom.
-Hey, this is his house. -Yeah, that's right.
Parsley, white wine, verjus.
It's kind of a white winey, vermouthy type.
Lemon juice, orange juice concentrate,
veggie base, dill, some rosemary salt,
ground black pepper, little bit of rub sage.
Last but not least, our water.
Let this go, tighten it up. What about the mashed potatoes?
[Bryan] We take our Red Bliss, white onion, whole clove garlic.
-All this boils together? -For 20 minutes.
We're gonna strain it and get it into our mixer bowl.
Adding salt, white pepper, and a combination of butter and heavy cream.
-And then all of this gets mashed together? -Yes.
Final steps, make the dredge for the chicken.
White flour, corn flour, salt, and pepper,
little bit more black pepper, thyme, dried basil, some dill.
-You just gonna get a simple quick dredge? -Yep.
-Fry this off at 350 and then build it? -Rustic red mash.
-[mimicking airplane] -As your dad, I miss these moments.
-Ah. -Almost.
Ooh, delicious.
[Bryan] Griddled focaccia bread, add our fontina cheese, arugula.
Very interesting dish.
-[Bryan] Fried chicken. -[Hunter] Crispy.
Just shout out the answers when you got 'em.
-Crispy! -[Hunter chuckles]
[Bryan] Sauce it with the piccata.
Top that with some sweet drops.
-[Guy] Peppadew. -[Bryan] Parsley.
I mean, that's a really good-looking dish.
-[Hunter] Mmm. -[Guy] You're doing so many things right here.
The arugula, the fontina, the grilled focaccia, the piccata sauce.
That is some juicy chicken breast right there.
What I love is that run off of your sauce
in the mashed potatoes, into the bread.
I love a rustic mash with the skin on, you got good cream and butter.
That little background of the onion and the garlic,
might be one of the best piccatas I've ever had.
This is what I would call destination dish.
More rustic mash on the line, please.
The flavor's amazing. And the capers on there, I love capers.
That breading just soaks up the sauce, you know,
it's packed with flavor in every bite.
-That's a Ferrari right there. -Outdid my standards.
Our shrimp and sausage paella's up.
This is our favorite date night spot.
Beer, the food, the people, just all good stuff.
[Guy] What you guys are trying to achieve here
from what's been going on in this area, you deliver. Watch out for this guy.
Coming up, a true taste of New Mexico in Taos.
So look at this.
-Sauced... -I see why everybody loves it.
-...and stuffed. -It's not pronounced sopapilla.
You eat one of these and it's sofa for me a.
All right, son, we're here in Taos, New Mexico.
About 3.5 miles from downtown.
Actually, you're in Ranchos de Taos.
-Who is that guy? -I don't know.
Anyhow, the restaurant has got a lot of history.
And one of the things, it's right next to this really,
-really old church. -That's pretty cool.
It's actually one of the oldest catholic churches in America
and they re-mud it every yea
-[Hunter] Fun fact. -Well, it's three generations running this restaurant.
And they've got a menu so bi
-I have no idea what we're even gonna order. -All right.
You gotta try the carne adovada, the sopapillas hombre.
Wait, where does he keep going?
I have no idea. But this is Ranchos Plaza Grill.
I got chicken fajitas.
It's an amazing place to come and eat.
Authentic northern New Mexico food.
The chili's the best here.
You have the ristras hanging outside,
adobe walls, everything this area's known for.
[Guy] And when Adam Medina and his wife, Raelynn, opened this traditional spo
they went into it with the help of Adam's late father.
[Adam] My dad was in the restaurant busine forever.
His dream was to open up a restaurant.
I got out of culinary school, this place came up.
Me, and my dad, my mom, and Raelynn.
Yeah, the four of us started it.
So who are we cooking with today?
-Me. -You won't come back if you cook with me.
-All right, what are we gonna make, Chef? -Carne adovada.
Carne adovada is marinated pork.
They smother it in more chil and it's just awesome.
-What are we kicking off with? -[Adam] Pork stock for our chili sauces.
-This is-- -[Guy] New Mexico chilies?
-They're showing off 'cause we're in New Mexico. -[Hunter chuckles]
[Adam] I salt the bones first.
-Necks and backs. -[Adam] Put them in the oven, 475 for a couple hours.
Bones go in here.
-We add vegetables. -Onions.
-[Adam] Celery. -[Guy] Garlic.
[Adam] Tomato paste and some red chili pods.
-Put it back in the oven about 45 minutes to roast 'em up. -[Guy] Okay.
-Deglaze. -[Guy] Pull all the flavor out of that.
-This goes in there. -[Guy] Stand back.
-Oh, dear. -[Guy] Okay, the water. Simmer again.
-Five hours or so. -We'll strain this?
[Adam] I reserve, like, a quarter of it.
Reduce that for my marinade for my carne adovada.
I've never heard of someone marinating pork in a pork stock.
-Yeah. -[Hunter] All right.
[Adam] We're making a base.
Water, crushed red chili, caribe, and chili powder.
So we blend this. That's reserve for the red chili sauce we're gonna make.
But now, you're gonna add other ingredients to it
-that will make it the marinade? -[Adam] Yeah.
Garlic, white vinegar, salt, and then, our reduced pork stock.
-Blend this. -And what is the pork we're using for the adovada?
-[Adam] It's a pork sirloin. -How long's this pork gonna marinade?
-[Adam] At least 8 hours. -What else are we gonna work on?
Our red chili sauce.
Ground pork, we fry this pretty crisp.
[Guy] And make a roux with the flour.
Then, we add our fresh minced garlic, chili mixture.
So I get some stock in here.
So that pork stock is like one of the backbones of the restaurant?
-[Adam] Yeah. -Little bit of salt?
-[Adam] Let it simmer about 30 minutes. -How do you make the rice?
We start off by browning a parboil rice
-toasted with oil. -[Guy] Got it.
-And then, we add-- -Pork stock!
This dish doesn't take pork stock, unfortunately.
The one thing that doesn't get pork stock.
[Adam] Celery, and onions, pureed tomatoes, water,
some salt, pepper, some granulated garlic, and bay leaves.
-Cook it about 35 minutes. -All right, Chef, let's see it.
-So rice, beans. What else? -[Adam] Marinated pork.
This is our chili caribe sauce that we made earlier.
A healthy amount of sauce, huh?
Lettuce, tomato, and there we go.
Can't tell you're hungry.
You're just shoveling, it's like trying to eat with a Tasmanian devil.
-The sauce has got a real depth of flavor. -[Hunter] It does.
-Good amount of heat. -Really tender. Lots of flavor.
I love the amount of sauce you put on there,
'cause now you can incorporate it into the beans and the rice.
-I see why everybody loves it. -[server] Carne adovada plate.
The meat is just what really brings out that chili flavor, just amazing.
Can't beat it anywhere, just like Mom's.
Got three shredded beef tacos, pick up.
-I was Adam's biology teacher in high school. -Oh, boy.
[teacher] He also taught cooking classes at the community college.
He got better grades in my class than I got in his classes.
No way!
[Adam] Ready for the beans and the sopas.
Ranchos Plaza Grill is very known for the sopas.
I had the chicken stuffed sopa smothered with green chili on top.
I come here for my green chili fix.
We're gonna get into a pollo sopapilla.
We have some fresh chicken, we're gonna make a rub for it.
-Black pepper, salt. -[Guy] Granulated garlic.
-Red chili powder. -[Guy] Got it.
Oil our chicken and add the rub on top.
Roast it in the oven about an hour and a half, 450.
You'll shred it, take the meat off it.
So we got the bones, we got the skin, we got everything.
[Adam] Celery, carrots, onions.
[Guy] New Mexico chili pods.
-Don't call 'em anaheim or guajillo. -Never.
-Fresh cilantro. -[Guy] And some water.
Are you just making stock all the time?
Dude, we need to get you, like, stock pot burners.
This is one of the smallest kitchens. Let this go?
-Couple hours. -[Guy] Strain it?
We take our shredded chicken, we put our chicken stock into it.
Now, we're gonna make the green sauce.
So, first thing down is the ground pork?
[Adam] Add our flour, make our roux.
Garlic, my roasted red and green chili, salt, and stock.
-Once it comes to a boil, 30 minutes, and we're done. -All right, Chef.
[Adam] We're making our dough for our stuffed sopapillas.
We have flour, baking powder, some salt.
[Guy] So mix the dry ingredients first, then, hit some water in it.
Then, we'll let it rest.
-Ball it up. -[Adam] So at least 3 hours in the fridge.
The one reason I like it cold
is because when it hits the fryer, the cold and the heat, pow.
That's what makes it puff.
You make 'em all by hand?
Try to make it as round as possible.
We go ahead and cut it.
Fry 'em until their golden.
So look at this!
Bigger than your head!
-[Adam] Open it up. -Just a little bit of beans.
Our shredded chicken, little bit of cheese inside.
-So this is our green sauce. -[Guy] This is going next level.
This is no sopapilla that I've ever seen.
[Adam] And then, we have our rice, cheese.
-Does it go in the oven? -[Adam] Just till the cheese melts.
-[Guy] It's a monster. -Shredded lettuces.
Sour cream, made in house.
Just kidding. That's the only thing we don't make in house.
-I bit. I took it. -[Adam] Guacamole, made in house.
[Guy] Really flavorful rice.
Green chili's delicious. I get that heat in there, you get a bit of that kick.
-It's not overpowering. -These are outstanding.
So fresh. That chicken is soaked in that chicken stock.
[Guy] It's nice and tender.
It's comfort food.
It's not pronounced sopapilla.
-You eat one of these and it's sofa for me a. -[Hunter laughing]
Your stuffed sopapilla with chicken.
The chicken's really, really tender.
With everything stuffed in there, the beans, chili, it's just great.
Chicharron burrito.
When you want something special, you come here.
[Guy] What you're pulling of in this tiny, little kitche is ridiculous.
Pops is proud. Crushing it.
-Come next week, he'll be making sour cream. -[Adam laughing']
So that's it for this road trip.
But don't worry, we got plenty more joints to find all over this country.
I'll be looking for you next time on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
He's gonna be around here for a long--
Best chicken piccata... Chicken piccata he's ever had, that's impressive.
Yeah, I'm in the middle of dropping my line
and you're back here. [gasping]
I was trying to pitch in my point, okay.
[all laughing]