Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 24, Episode 10 - Smoked, Grilled and Fried - full transcript

I'm Guy Fieri
and we're rolling out,

looking for America's
greatest diners,

drive-ins and dives.

This trip...
Suwee!

We're headed into the smoker...

Wow.
Onto the flat top...

Mm-hmm.
And down into the fryer...

That's fried chicken city.
In Miami.

See, he didn't take
any television bite right there.

A legit charcuterie...

Where's this been all my life?



House-makin'
some meaty magic...

We've got life-changing bacon.

In Modesto, California.
Cut.

A monster taco trifecta...

We've just about
gone ridiculous.

Alongside a breakfast
lunch mashup.

We're making a sandwich
out of the waffle?

And over in Stockton...

Oh, look at her go, now.

A sporty husband-and-wife

team...
All right.

We're good.
Gets saucy with their wings.

This is just a funky,
crunchy wing.

So, I'm here in Miami, Florida



in an area known
as Little Havana.

And I haven't been
here since, like, 2009.

It's been too long.

Here to check out a joint

where two high school buddies
took a wild catering project

and turned it, literally,

into an artisan pig emporium.

So we got Miami Smokers.

You're gonna dig this.

MAN: These are
bacon-wrapped plantains.

From a block away you can
actually smell the smoke.

And it just leads you
right into the front doorway.

MAN: Barbecue Boar, order up.

We don't have a lot of, like,

smokehouses here in
south Florida.

So to smell that smell,

it reminds me of being
in somewhere like Tennessee.

FIERI:
That's where Andres Barrientos
and James Bowers

picked up their mad curing
and smoking skills

before bringin'
it back to Miami.

MAN: It started off as a pop-up
brunch, started making bacon.

Before long, we're
in full-on bacon production.

FIERI: Which led to
a charcuterie joint

servin' up sandwiches in 2014.

Order up,
two Floridians.

The Floridian sandwich
is absolutely amazing.

It's made from wild boar.

MAN: Grind 'em in-house into
sausage.

It's a delicious sandwich.

What kinda sausage
are we makin'?

So this is what we call
our Floridian sausage.

I am Floridian.
I was born and raised here.

You are a Flor...
Born and raised?

Represent.
Sea salt, fresh sage...

'Kay.
Garlic, cayenne pepper,

paprika, fresh thyme,
toasted anise,

toasted fennel,
toasted peppercorns,

tricolored pepper melange...

Pepper melange.
Yeah?

I feel like I should have
an ascot

when I say pepper melange,

with a pipe.

And these citrus zests.

We use wild boar for this.
Seasoning in here.

Got it.
All right.

So this thing's
pretty well mixed.

We go grinder.

Then, we bring it over here

and mix it together.
Right.

You need to mix it to achieve
primary bind, in other words,

to get the meat
to stick back together.

You can smell that fennel.

You can pick all that citrus
comin' outta there.

These are pretubed casings.

Wow.

Off we go to the races.

Allow a little bit of that air
to come out.

Not explode the sausage.

So this will get twisted
by hand now?

We're ready to go.
Mm-hmm.

Sausage goes in
the oven for a little bit...

And then finished on a flat top
and then assemble the sandwich.

Start off with a little
baguette, avocado purée...

Floridian sausage.

Spicy mayo, pickled peppers...
Pickled peppers.

Pickled onions,
a couple orange segments.

I've had a lot of dogs
around the country.

I've never seen anybody
put orange on 'em.

First time for everything.

Nicely done, chef.

Nice little spice on that.

You definitely
get the wild boar.

You get a little bit
of that gaminess,

a little more lean

than the typical sausage
I think people would expect.

You get tons of citrus
coming through from the zest.

Love the citrus that you do
with the fresh orange on there.

That's a dynamite
sausage sandwich.

Fantastic.

Floridian sausage.

That rich flavor
in the sausage

and then the pickled vegetables
just add a lightness to it.

FIERI: Even former Miami
Marlins catcher

Charles Johnson
goes to bat for this big dog.

See, he didn't take
any television bite right there,

ladies and gentlemen.
Mm.

I really love it.
That sausage is really good.

Best sausage sandwich
you can have in south Florida.

So I've had the fortunate
opportunity to be associated

with a great organization
known as Best Buddies.

And it was formed by a good
friend of mine, Anthony Shriver.

This is Chris.
And this is Aaron.

And I thought
these two characters,

they made some time
in their schedule,

would come down and tell me
what they thought.

So, first, how was the slaw?

I think it's really tasty,
and I like it.

Put him in a chef coat, and now
he's tryin' to take my job.

If you bleach your hair,
we're gonna have a big problem.

Okay? Did you try the plantains
wrapped in the bacon?

Yeah.
That's delicious.

That was delicious.

MAN: The sweet plantains
and the guava...

Guava's a huge thing
here in Miami.

So we're doin' bacon now.

And I see no nitrate here.

Only nitrate's gonna come
from sea salt,

naturally occurring in sea salt.
Got it.

sea salt, cumin,

red pepper flakes,
makes it so good.

So we use an antibiotic
hormone...

Can you say suwee?
Suwee!

Hormone-free pork belly.
Cures right here.

Just gonna draw out the moisture
from the pork, create a brine.

And how long
is this gonna cure?

Two weeks.

And then they get hung up

in our aging cooler
another 2 weeks.

And how long in the smoker?
48 hours.

Whoa.

So these will now
go in the freezer

so they tighten up a little bit

so they're easy to slice?
Correct.

And then we're gonna make
a plantain wrapped in the bacon?

Correct.
Sweet plantains,

let them ripen all the way.

Roast 'em, turns black,
and then it pops.

Pop it like it's...

Hot.
Thank you.

Pretty much.
Bacon first.

Plantain.
There you go.

This is the bacon
without the nitrate.

A little bit more
of the natural color.

For people that have never
had artisan bacon,

they don't really quite
understand it.

The moment that they taste it,

and they taste
real smoke flavor, life changes.

We've got life-changing bacon.

Cook 'em right in the oven,
10 minutes.

Five to an order,
queso fresco...

Guava paste?
This is a very Latin thing.

Oh, where's this been
all my life?

The combo between the salty,
the cheese,

the great smoke
of the bacon: ridiculous.

The plantain is not as sweet
as I thought it would be.

But this guava purée
that you guys make, dynamite.

It's a really great platform
to present your bacon 'cause

you can taste
the bacon in there.

Cool.
Well done, man.

Here you guys go. Here's our
bacon-wrapped plantains.

The bacon was my favorite part.
Like, I loved it.

Had a little taste
of a little guava to it.

Yeah.
Outstanding.

You played ball in Miami
for how long?

Five to six years.
Won the World Series in 1997.

How'd you find Miami Smokers?

We have a contest,
Taste of Miami.

Andres was our chef,

and he put on this nice
little barbecue sauce of mine.

And it's called Catch This.

A portion of my proceeds
go back to, um,

trying to really revive baseball

in a lot of places
like inner cities.

You're awesome, brother.
Thank you very much.

Thank you.

No other place in Miami
like Miami Smokers.

Car is backed up there.

You can just start loadin'
up that bacon now

and the sausage.
All right. Gotcha.

Got it.
Just load it over top.

Up next, we're headed
to Modesto...

Oh, boy.
To a funky craft beer joint...

It's everything you want.
Pumpin'

up their scratch-made menu.
Yeah.

Well, it's only
about 17 pounds of food.

♪

I'm here in Modesto, California,

about an hour
south of Sacramento.

You're gonna love this story.

Two high school buddies

who live in separate parts
of the state decide

to move back to Modesto 'cause

it's a great place
to raise their families.

And they also decide, "Hey.

Why don't we open up
a craft beer joint

and make scratch-made food?"

You gotta love
the American dream.

This is Commonwealth.

I get cravings of this place
all the time.

Barbecue nachos?
Wow.

I'm here multiple times a week.

Beer is often the draw,
but the food will keep you here.

FIERI: Which is exactly
how owners Jeff Brown

and Blake Humble drew it up.

Kinda started
as a craft beer bar

but we wanted people
to leave saying, "Damn.

That food's good."

FIERI: So they signed up
chef Brian Lien.

You got the meat for tacos yet?

FIERI: Another hometown dude who
turned Jeff and Blake's

dream menu
into a reality

with dishes like this trifecta.

Order up, Craft Tacos.

FIERI: A banh mi taco,
barbecue pork taco

and a buffalo chicken taco,

all piled on,
you got it, one plate.

Honestly, I can't say
which one to start with.

Lovin' it,
absolutely off the chart.

FIERI: What are we gonna make?

Some braised pulled pork.
All right.

Get after it.
Rub this pork butt

with some salt
and pepper,

a little bit of oil
in the pan.

So we'll sear this up
on all sides.

Then we're gonna take
the pork out

and continue building
our, uh, braising liquid.

Bacon, some mirepoix,

Boatload of garlic.
Chopped bell peppers...

You sure get a wind up there
with the throw, don't ya?

Fresh thyme, fresh rosemary,

bay leaves,
dried chilies,

chili powder, allspice...

Allspice.

Alcohol cider.
Chicken stock.

So we'll reduce this down.
We're gonna transfer

that to a hotel pan,
top it with our pork.

In the oven 6 hours at...
Three hundred degrees.

Bring it out,
let it cool, pull it?

That's right.
All right.

Next up?
We're gonna marinate

some chicken for our grilled
chicken buffalo tacos.

So we have boneless,
skinless chicken breast,

fresh tarragon...

Tarragon?
Tell me the premise.

I just love tarragon on chicken.

That was the premise.

Parsley, minced garlic,
olive oil,

mix that up.
All right.

So this is gonna go
in the cooler 24 hours,

marked on the char grill,
finished in the oven.

Diced up, ready to go.
Next up?

This is our umami sauce.
'Kay.

It's gonna go on our,
uh, banh mi taco.

All right.
So we're gonna start

with some vegetable stock,
soy sauce, fish sauce.

Really like those detailed
measurements.

Raw bacon...

Come on down
to the carnival, kids.

It's bobbin' for bacon here
at Commonwealth.

Full peppercorns...
Full peppercorns.

Star anise,

cinnamon sticks, cloves,

chopped ginger, onions,
green onions...

How 'bout you just tell me
the things that don't go in it?

Jalapenos, carrots, garlic,

toasted sesame seeds
and brown sugar.

Okay then.

Uh, this is gonna cook
for about 90 minutes.

Then we're gonna strain it.

And we're gonna hit it with
a corn starch slurry.

That's on top of
the banh mi taco...

Right. That will get tossed
with the pulled pork.

Got it.
Okay.

We're gonna make
our craft taco plate.

We're gonna start

by heating our tortillas,
dipped in water.

Throw down our meat,
this is our pulled pork,

by heating our tortillas,
grilled chicken.ter.

All right.
Our meat's hot.

Let's start
with our umami sauce,

barbecue sauce,
our buffalo sauce.

We're gonna start in the middle
with our banh mi taco.

Cilantro, jalapenos,
pickled carrot and red radish.

Uh-huh.
That works.

This over here is our buffalo.

So that's gonna get house-made
cole slaw, blue cheese,

some diced tomatoes.

Then we'll start
our barbecue pulled pork

and our umami pulled pork.

Grilled buffalo chicken.

Back to our pulled pork taco,

our ranch slaw.

That's Sriracha mayonnaise.

I'm gonna hold you back
anymore ingredients after this.

We've just about
gone ridiculous.

All right?
Parsley and that's it.

Slaw's great,
complements it well.

Barbecue sauce got some kick.

Banh mi, that's got
your favorite flavors.

And that umami sauce, wow.

Next up, grilled chicken
buffalo taco.

There's so much flavor

in each one,
big acid in this one,

big salt in this one,
big vinegar in this one.

Well done.
Thank you, sir.

Well done.

Fresh, clean, delicious.

This is my buddy, Ahmed,
from Rock and Sole in London.

I wanna find out,
what does he think

of some funky tacos
in a little town called Modesto?

Lots of flavor,
all layered very nicely.

Absolutely hittin' the spot.

Uh, it's got
the perfect buffalo sauce.

The pork seems like it's been
marinated for days.

Great food, great company,
even better beer.

Get beer from all
over the country?

All over the world.
The craft beers are things

that you will not find
in the grocery stores.

You can always get stuff
that is your favorite, stuff

you've never heard of before.

If you ever want a good meal
and a good brew,

come on down to Commonwealth.

All right. So here's the deal,
when we come back,

chef says that he has just
what I need:

a waffle that has what?

Don't tell me.
Get through this.

I'll see you in a minute.

♪

Hi.
Welcome back to Commonwealth

in Modesto, California.

I just had three tacos
the size of four burritos.

And now I'm gonna have a waffle.

How long on that waffle?

It is a combination of
breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Waffle Madame.

It's just amazing.

All right, chef.

Tell me about
this wonder waffle.

First we're gonna mix up
our dry ingredients,

all purpose flour,
granulated sugar,

bakin' powder,

kosher salt.
'Kay.

Now for our wet ingredients,
eggs, buttermilk...

So far, this just looks
like a regular waffle, chef.

Well, it's the sandwich
that's most impressive.

Vanilla...

We're making a sandwich
out of the waffle?

We are making
a Waffle Madame sandwich.

Cut. I didn't say
I was into any sand...

Ah, you're killin' me.

I'm gonna --
never gonna get the car home.

I'm gonna have
to Fred Flintstone

that thing, take out
the floorboard again and...

Melted butter.

Addin' our dry to our wet.

You're making waffles
all day?

Yeah, the customer's favorite.

You make the waffle to order?

To order and then
we build the sandwich.

It's gonna cook for 2 minutes.

All right. Our waffle's done.

We're gonna cut it in half.

Swiss cheese.

We're gonna cook our home fries,
maple mustard butter.

So that's just the butter,

the maple syrup
and the whole grain mustard?

Whole grain mustard.

And our ham.

If waffle's not
good enough for ya,

let's just cook
your ham in some butter.

Those eggs
better not be goin' on there.

And our eggs.
All right.

Our ham's hot, move
that over to our waffle.

And our other half.

And your favorite right on top.

So chef, I know that you're
a big fan of the eggs.

I'm gonna just
pull this right over here

and just allow them to be yours.
You are welcome to do that.

Is it supposed to be eaten
like a sandwich.

I don't think I've ever
seen anybody do it.

All right.
Well, it's only about 17 pounds

of food.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, boy.

Yeah, see, I'm not
a huge breakfast person 'cause

I'm not a big sweets person.

But I do like that
when you get a little kiss

of that maple
with the little saltiness

of the bacon or the ham
or whatever it might be.

And this is that combo,
which is the contrast

that people love.
You know what makes it?

Maple mustard butter?
Outstanding.

That's yours?
That's mine.

Killer.
the ham goin' with the cheese.

A little bit of the --
the waffle

playing into the bread element.

That's pretty much gonna change
the waistline of Modesto.

It's fantastic.

It's sweet and crispy
and fluffy all at the same time.

Very unique to the area,
just a whole lot of goodness.

I'll be back in here tomorrow.

The waffle should be illegal.

It actually is.
You should have to weigh in

before you can eat that thing.
Nice job, guys.

Thanks very much.
Thanks, man.

Appreciate it.
Thank you, sir.

Comin' up, it's
Stockton, California.

Easy greasy.
Easy greasy.

An ex-football pro
slinging the wings...

Now that's what
I'm talkin' about.

And scorin' big with the sauce.

Mm.
That's my kinda wing sauce.

♪

So I'm here in Stockton,

California in one of
the older neighborhoods

known as Yosemite
to check out a joint.

Get this, it's an ex-NFL player
and his college sweetheart.

They decided to jump right
into the restaurant business.

And from what I hear,
they're doin' pretty good.

This is Smitty's Wings & Things.

This is the spot.

I need two rib plates
and a six-pack of hot wings.

Comin' up, baby.

MAN: Pizza out here
is absolutely great.

And they're doin' the wings
right without a doubt.

Hot and honey barbecue
comin' up right now.

I'm a big wing person.
I crave 'em all the time.

And this is the place
to get 'em?

Yeah.

And you always
support your mom and pops.

FIERI: Here, mom and pop is
Jaime Smith

and her husband, Steve,

whose career started out
on the gridiron.

How long were you in the NFL?
Four years all together.

Played for the, uh...
Jacksonville and Tennessee.

Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Yeah.

I had a couple surgeries,
back surgeries,

and that's kinda
why I had to stop playing.

So it was like,
"I gotta go out and get a job."

So he traded pigskin
for a pizza joint in 2013

and added wings to the roster.

What makes a great wing,
in your opinion?

Crunchy, moist and big.

Smitty's home of crunchy, moist
and big.

I need a 12-pack Thai sweet
and sour hot wings.

Whatever your appetite is,
whether you like hot,

you like sweet,
you like sour...

They have bleu cheese,
lemon garlic,

the garlic chili.

You're the wing-fryin' machine?
Fryin' machine.

And you're
the sauce-makin' machine?

Yes.
This is gonna go for which wing?

The Damn Hot wing.
I love spicy food,

but I like spicy food
that has some flavor in it.

You wanna have some depth?
Yes.

So first we're gonna start

some hot sauce,
garlic, cilantro.

We've got some coarse
black pepper.

Course we do.
Got some ground cayenne,

fresh lime...

Oh, look at her go now.

Sorry if I juice ya.

Chipotle and adobo sauce,
smoked jalapenos...

Okay.
And some green chilies.

It's gonna be hot.

You'll be all right.

I don't know about that.

Mm.

That's my kinda wing sauce.

There's a lot goin' on.

You pick up a little afterburn

at the end of that.
Yes.

Okay.
Next one, what are we making?

Thai sweet and sour.
I eat this one.

You don't eat the other one?

I don't do spicy, man.

You don't do spicy?
Nah, man.

Big shot NFL guys,

I thought you all did
spicy, drink gasoline.

Oh, nah.
Fire.

No?
Oh, no.

Sweet chili sauce.
Yes.

And then we have
some rice vinegar.

Then we get 30 shakes
of fish sauce.

Thirty shakes?

That's not really
a culinary term.

We have some fresh ginger,
coarse black pepper,

some granulated garlic
and some fresh garlic.

And we're gonna whisk
this all together.

That's good stuff.
Yeah, yeah.

That's your sauce right there?

Where'd that recipe come from?

Me.
Play mad scientist?

Mm-hmm.
And then try it on Steve?

I wanna be around
when that happens.

All right. Let's make some
wings, Steve.

All right. We'll take some
regular all-purpose flour.

I mean, I'm just gonna be
straight with you right now,

I am not a big breaded wing guy.

Are you a breaded wing guy?
Yeah.

So break it down for me.

I wanna see what's gonna happen.

Paprika, we got onion powder.

We got garlic powder.
Just take it and stir.

Easy, greasy.
Easy, greasy.

Should we dredge 'em
when we go?

Yeah.
We just take 'em to the fryer.

And what temperature
are we cookin' at?

Three--
350, 360,

when the light comes on,
I don't know.

Should we to the...
When the light comes on.

Oh, Steve.

Now, that's
what I'm talkin' about.

See, not overly coated.

I wanna taste wing.
Look at that.

Nice and crispy.

Oh, yeah.
All right.

We're good.
I just had to taste 'em.

So we do the Damn Hot first,

just squirt it
in there like that.

That's coatin' a wing.

Mm-hmm.

Boom.

I mean, this is just a good,
old-fashioned,

funky, crunchy wing.

Do I have anything right there?
Unh-uh.

That's how everybody lookin'.
The Smitty face.

The Smitty face.
It is.

The sauce is consistent,
not overly spicy.

Mouth's not on fire
but I do have a good, nice,

round heat.
Nicely done.

All right.
Next one.

We got the Thai sweet and sour.

Okay.

This is when that wing,

havin' a little bit
of that flour on it,

really works the best 'cause
it's soaking it up.

It really does.
That's fried chicken city.

Nicely done.
For sure.

Thank you, thank you.
Nicely done.

Table 50, Damn Hot six-pack.

It's a good kick,

gives you a little bit
of sweat..

ey got this nice crunch bite.
It's a good kick,

All right, we got
the Thai sweet and sour.

It's a nice mix of flavors.

Get 'em all over your hands,
I mean, they're on your clothes

and your shoes.

I mean, there's wing sauce
everywhere.

FIERI:
And the ribs will get ya, too.

Walkin' in with the ribs up.

FIERI: You gonna make me sit
there and dig into that?

Yeah.
That's how we do it.

It'll mess my bling up.

You gotta get messy.

We like to see the Smitty face.

Good sauce, good blaze,
right amount of sugar,

right amount of salt,

not overcooked,
good rib.

All right.
I got a rib plate for ya.

The ribs are, uh,
meaty and tasty.

I can't finish it, I mean...

It's good people, good food,
just a great place

to bring your family
and hang out.

You know hard work
from football life.

Mm-hmm.
This is a tough business.

But your enthusiasm

and your optimism,
you're gettin' after it.

And I would put those wings
up against anybody's.

Damn. That's what's up.
'Kay?

I'm gonna tell Emil
you used his word.

Uh-oh.

So that's it for this trip,
but don't worry!

There's plenty more Triple D
joints all over the country!

I'll be looking for you
next week on

"Diners, Drive-ins and Dives."

If you don't know
about Best Buddies,

you need to find out.

In order to get more information

about this fantastic
organization,

Peace out.
Nicely done.