Recreating the McRib with Syrah Pairings

Anwar and Trigirl visited us in South Haven, MI for the weekend. After some time spent bumming around at the beach, an apple orchard, a cidery and a brewery in the afternoon, we decided to do something a little different and less serious for dinner on Saturday night. We tried to recreate an upscale version of the McRib. I visited a local butcher Saturday morning and bought some rib meat patties to cook on the grill. For the bbq sauce, I used a bottle from the Dinosaur BBQ in upstate NY that a friend gave me as a gift (featured on Man v. Food). We substituted the raw onions with some sweet onions we bought at a farmstand that afternoon and marinated them with olive oil and seasoned salt before cooked them on the grill. I opened a batch of homemade pickle slices which my Mother made. The final change was that I took the rolls, added butter and garlic and toasted them on the grill as well. For the sides we made hand cut duck fat fries seasoned sprinkled with a herb rub and served with a chipotle mayo dipping sauce. My wife also made a homemade cole slaw.

I think everyone thought they turned out great and my wife who is not a fan of the McRib even liked them (before the dinner she was debating whether she wanted me to cook her a steak instead but decided against that). Since the main flavor was the bbq sauce we went with a pairing of Syrah with the meal. Here are my notes for the wines:

• 2003 Clarendon Hills Syrah Liandra 93 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon

  (10/9/2011)

  Opened with Anwar and Jackie. WA gave this a 92-95 range and I would agree. This was a fruity wine with pure berry notes. Full mouth feel. Medium bodied. Approachable tannins. Some cassis notes on the finish. Much better than the 2001 Clarendon Hills Syrah Brookman that i had 7 years ago and on par with some of their Grenache based wines. 93 points.

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• 2007 Stefania Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch 92 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County

  (10/10/2011)

  2nd time I have had this and my last bottle. Notes were consistent with the bottle I had last year. Plum, blackberries and spices again. Solid tannins. 91-92 points.

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• 2002 Copain Syrah Broken Leg Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley

  (10/9/2011)

  Anwar brought this bottle. Probably my favorite of the 4 Syrahs we tried. Slight rubber tire aroma but it did not detract from the wine. Meaty with notes of herbs and red fruit. Round texture with some nice secondary flavors that made it stand out for me. This was the 5th different Copain Syrah I've had and it tied for the best with the 2001 Eaglepoint Ranch. 93 points.

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• 2003 Delas Frères Hermitage Marquise de la Tourette 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

  (10/9/2011)

  Opened by Anwar. My wife and Jackie thought this was the best of the 4 Syrahs. This was from a hot vintage in the Northern Rhone. I thought this was the smoothest of the Syrahs opened. I was also surprised that it was drinking as well as it was at such a young age. Notes of lavender and currant. An elegant wine. 91+ points.

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