NYE in Providence

New Year's eve at JC's in Providence may not look very punk, what with all the finger foods and crudites, but it turned punk-as-fuck later on when some crazy-ass girl they know blacked out and decided to smash every piece of glass in the house, including all of their fancy beer mugs. After the coffee table had been overturned and all the counters cleared, she added her piece de resistance by reaching in the cabinet and grabbing a bottle of high-end balsamic vinegar and a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, smashing those to create a dressing for the broken glass salad she had left on the kitchen floor. This last move, I thought, showed a certain panache and sense of the absurd that I find lacking in many other fits of drunken destruction.
Anyway, earlier on things were more of the "D.I.Y" variety of punk, with JC busting out his home-brined corned beef and cabbage and homemade Rye Egg-Nog.
Homemade Egg-Nog takes at least a few days to get good in the fridge (and will continue to improve for a year or more, a mind-blowing fact considering that it includes uncooked eggs), but is a good way to get many people very drunk for very little, using copious amounts of affordable Rye whiskey. Corning your own beef also takes some forethought, but saves money and helps you avoid the preservatives, saltpeter and/or red dye they put into the store-bought variety. It also makes for some truly banging Ruebens the next day.
Here's a recipe (via Recipezaar.com) that's probably close to what JC uses:

Ingredients

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• 1 (8-10 lb) beef brisket

• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in thirds

The Brine

• 2 quarts water
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon peppercorn
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 pinch ground cloves

The Simmering Liquid

• water, to come up 3/4 to side of brisket
• 1 teaspoon peppercorn
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced

Directions

1. Combine all of the brine ingredients and bring to a boil, then cool.

2. In a huge plastic roasting bag (do NOT use a garbage bag), place the beef brisket, the cooled brine, and the 4 garlic cloves.

3. Make sure that all of the meat is covered by the brine (cutting the brisket in pieces if you need to), tie off tightly, place in a pot large enough to hold it all, and refrigerate for 6 to 7 days, turning occasionally.

4. After the 6 to 7 days, remove brisket from the brine and discard the brine.

5. Rinse the meat thoroughly, then place in a Dutch oven or other large pot and add enough water to come up 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up the side of the meat.

6. Add the rest of the Simmering Liquid ingredients (peppercorns, mustard seeds, allspice, cloves and garlic), bring to a boil and skim off any foam.

7. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook, covered, for at least 3 hours, but 4 hours doesn't hurt anything. Meat will be SO tender and delicious!

I would venture that JC also added some beer to his simmering liquid, as good beer seems to be the binding principle of most recipes and events at their house. One new beer label JC introduced me to on this visit was Pretty Things, who are a tiny company of "gypsy brewers" currently operating out of Buzzard's Bay Beer Co.'s brewery and making some awesome "real beer". This is a company you should definitely support- seek them out! Their beers are served at some Animal Blanco-approved bars in the Northeast such as Bukowski's and Redbones in Boston/Cambridge, The Foodery in Philly and Barcade in Brooklyn.














BTW, Yes, as far as we could tell the beer is named after the awesome British garage/psych band of the same name, which is kind of reason enough to drink it for me.