Sauced

This is a bonus episode that first went out to our premium subscribers in March. We're dropping it in the public feed today so you can hear what bonus episodes are like. They typically feature deep dives into a single technique, ingredient, or side dish, and the subject of this episode is garlic.Garlic changes more dramatically based on how you process it than almost anything else in the kitchen — crush it and you get a pungent, volatile hit; slice it thin and it softens into something almost sweet; roast it and it turns into spreadable butter; confit it low and slow and it becomes unrecognizable from where it started.We break down the science behind why, walk through six preparations, bust multiple myths, and debate whether the garlic press deserves its bad reputation. Plus: the 10-minute rule that might change how you prep garlic forever.Want more like this? Premium subscribers get bonus episodes, ad-free weekly episodes, digital recipe cards, and early access to live events and tastings. Sign up at sauced.supercast.com.Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.pod

The name says shrimp twice — except it doesn't. "Scampi" is Italian for langoustine, making shrimp scampi a translation accident that's been hiding in plain sight on every red sauce joint menu in America.This week, we unpack the dish that Italian immigrants rebuilt with a different crustacean in a new country. The real identity behind the name, why the sauce is actually a beurre blanc, the salt-and-baking-soda cure that changes everything about shrimp texture, and the 90-second window where it all comes together or falls apart.The cocktail: Lo Scampo — gin, fresh Ruby grapefruit juice, marjoram syrup, and seltzer. Garnished with a brûléed grapefruit slice.For the full recipes and more, become a premium subscriber at https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week’s partners:El Ateo Tequila: https://pkgdgroup.com/#our_brands/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

A Flemish dish with a French name. A stew named for coal, where nothing is cooked over fire. And a thickening technique that involves floating mustard-slathered gingerbread on top of the pot. Carbonnade Flamande is Belgium's answer to Beef Bourguignon — same method, different drink, entirely different class.This week, we break down the beer-braised stew that fueled Flemish laborers for centuries — why it's all beer and no stock, the ossobuco-cut shanks that give it body, Julia Child's wrong beer choice, and the peperkoek bread lid that makes this dish unlike anything else in the European canon.The cocktail: Le Charbon — aged Jamaican rum, Falernum, dry curaçao, and a ginger-molasses syrup.For the full recipes and more, become a premium subscriber at https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week’s partners:Mezcal Ultramundo: https://pkgdgroup.com/post/ultramundo/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

The most iconic dish in British cuisine was invented by a 13-year-old Jewish refugee, popularized by Italian immigrants in Scotland, and served with vinegar that — at most chip shops — is almost certainly fake. Fish and Chips is an immigrant masterpiece, and the real story is wilder than anyone gives it credit for.This week, we dig into the batter science that makes everything shatter: rice flour, ice cold vodka, and lager all working against gluten in different ways. The chips get a double fry. And we settle the great condiment debate — malt vinegar, ketchup, curry sauce, or the tartar sauce most Brits quietly ignore.The cocktail: The Good Companion — gin and dry vermouth with a homemade malt vinegar shrub, garnished with a Hayward's pickled onion.For the full recipes and more, become a premium subscriber at https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week's partners:El Acabo Raicilla: https://pkgdgroup.com/#our_brands/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

A storm forced an English merchant into a Sicilian port in 1773. The wine he discovered there ended up defining one of Italian America's most iconic dishes.This week we trace Chicken Marsala from that shipwrecked merchant to the red sauce joints of New York, unpacking how a fortified wine became the backbone of a one-pan classic. We break down Marsala's DOC classifications, debate why pounding chicken is pointless, and make the case for three types of mushrooms — quartered, never sliced. Plus the cooking order most recipes get wrong.The cocktail: an Italian Margarita — tequila, amaretto, citrus, and agave — built around the nutty, oxidized notes that bridge right back to the dish.For the full recipes and more, become a premium subscriber at https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week's partners:Palomo Mezcal: https://pkgdgroup.com/post/palomo-who-we-are/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

A 1974 Italian cookbook, a Bologna nightclub, and a dish that earned the nickname "disco pasta" — Penne alla Vodka has no codified recipe, no agreed-upon ingredient list, and was once called "disgusting" by the president of the Italian Academy of Cuisine. So why does it persist?This week, we're tracing the dish from its murky Italian origins to its Italian-American identity crisis — and devising our own version along the way. We break down why vodka, a flavorless spirit, actually extracts flavor compounds from tomatoes that water and fat can't reach, debate whether cream is a non-negotiable, and talk through why Carbone's famous Spicy Rigatoni skips the vodka entirely.The cocktail: The Disco MiTo — vodka, Campari, Cocchi di Torino, orange bitters, lemon peel. A vodka riff on the Negroni, stirred and served up.For the full recipes and more, become a premium subscriber at https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week’s partners:El Ateo Tequila: https://pkgdgroup.com/#our_brands/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

A secret recipe, a snail shortage, and the richest man who ever lived — that's how Oysters Rockefeller came to be. This week, we're tracing the dish back to 1899 New Orleans and Antoine's, the oldest family-run restaurant in America, where Jules Alciatore swapped escargot for Gulf oysters and created something iconic.We're committing to our own version of the secret recipe — compound butter loaded with spinach, herbs, and absinthe, spooned over plump Gulf oysters and finished under the broiler. Plus, Sother's East Coast vs. West Coast vs. Gulf oyster cheat sheet, the case for Panko over Italian breadcrumbs, and why you should always make more compound butter than you need.The cocktail: The Obituary — a gin Martini laced with absinthe, born just down the street from Antoine's at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop.For the full recipes and more, become a premium subscriber at https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week’s partners:Mezcal Ultramundo: https://pkgdgroup.com/post/ultramundo/Atheras Spirits: https://atherasspirits.com/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

Coq au vin — rooster in wine — is one of those dishes that sounds fancy but started as peasant cooking. A tough old bird, past its prime, slow-braised until tender in wine with bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions.This week, we trace the dish from Julius Caesar's alleged power play against a Gallic chief to Julia Child's 1961 cookbook that made it a global sensation. We debate whether the "vin" must be red (spoiler: there are regional riffs with Riesling, yellow wine, even Champagne), explore why marinating overnight is non-negotiable, and talk through the butchery if you're breaking down a whole bird.The cocktail: The Queen of Cocktails — a Mezcal Pechuga highball inspired by the surprising connection between cock ale, the cocktail's etymology, and pechuga's ceremonial distillation. It's a story you'll want to hear.Premium subscribers get the full recipe card with quantities, techniques, and the cocktail specs. Head to saucedpodcast.com to sign up.Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week's partners:El Acabo Raicilla: https://pkgdgroup.com/#our_brandsUnderberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

A big, steaming bowl of mussels — simple, fast, and impossibly satisfying. In this episode of Sauced, Tim McKirdy and Sother Teague break down Moules Marinière: the classic bistro dish that proves you don't need lots of time or effort to create something beautiful.We cover why PEI mussels are the move (and why green lips aren't), the proper way to clean and debeard, why shallots matter more than you think, and the exact moment your mussels go from done to overdone. Plus, the serving move that makes this a complete meal: crusty bread in the bowl and fries on the side.The cocktail: The Bouchot — a Calvados-forward sipper with Suze and Cocchi Americano that nods to Normandy without overpowering the briny sweetness of the dish.To sign up for a premium subscription, head to: https://sauced.supercast.com/Follow us on Instagram: @sauced.podThanks to all of this week's partners:Palomo Mezcal: https://pkgdgroup.com/post/palomo-who-we-areAtheras Spirits: https://atherasspirits.com/Underberg: https://underbergamerica.com/

What happens when two former chefs — now leading voices in the drinks world — turn the mic on their favorite topic: cooking with booze and drinking with food?Introducing Sauced, a brand new weekly podcast from Tim McKirdy and Sother Teague.Each week, Tim and Sother unpack a single dish: its history, the techniques that make it sing, and the drinks that belong alongside it. From Beef Bourguignon to Crêpes Suzette, we're exploring the classics — and the booze that makes them better.Tim is a drinks writer, editor, and podcaster who's spent years covering cocktails, wine, and spirits. Sother is one of New York's most respected bartenders and the author of I'm Just Here for the Drinks. Together, they bring chef instincts, drinks expertise, and the kind of meaty conversation you'd want to partake in over a great meal.New episodes every Thursday. Premium subscribers get bonus content, recipe cards, and early access to live events.