Latest news with #Moo'sCraftBarbecue
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Moo's Craft BBQ Fire-Roasted Salsa Verde
30 minutes Makes about 2 cups Print Recipe Print Recipe Aug. 8, 2025 Michelle Muñoz likes a tangy and acidic fire-roasted salsa to cut through the lushness of barbecue meat she and her partner and husband Andrew Muñoz serve at L.A.'s Moo's Craft Barbecue. To achieve this, she works charred tomatillos, serrano chiles and chiles de árbol into a green salsa that is perfect for making tacos with the couple's barbecue beef ribs (get the rib recipe here) or with just about anything you can think of that needs an extra kick. Watch Michelle and Andrew Muñoz make their beef ribs adapted for home ovens and the fire-roasted salsa in the Times Test Kitchen for our 'Chef That!' series. Watch Michelle and Andrew Muñoz of Moo's Craft BBQ make oven-roasted barbecue beef ribs. 1 Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and put the tomatillos in the hot pan. Blister the tomatillos until they soften and have charred spots all over, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping regularly with tongs. Remove from the pan and set aside, covered, in a large bowl. 2 Add the serrano chiles to the hot pan and char on all sides, rotating with tongs, about 4 minutes. Set aside with the tomatillos to cool slightly. 3 Toast the chiles de arbol in a dry skillet over medium heat, until aromatic and slightly darkened, about 30 to 45 seconds. Keep an eye on them and stir as needed — they can burn quickly and turn bitter. 4 Put the roasted tomatillos and serrano chiles, chiles de arbol, onion, cilantro, garlic and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until it's a well-incorporated chunky mixture. Taste and add salt if necessary. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; you also can freeze it.
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Los Angeles Times
Chef That! Moo's Barbecue Beef Rib tacos and Fire-Roasted Salsa
Beef ribs, says Andrew Muñoz, co-founder with wife Michelle Muñoz of Moo's Craft Barbecue, are a Saturday special at their Lincoln Heights restaurant. 'We can't make enough of them,' he says. Those ribs are cooked in a smoker customized for the Moo's team over California white oak. But the couple has developed this home-cook recipe that, as they demonstrated in the Times Test Kitchen, produces beautifully burnished ribs in an ordinary kitchen oven. 'We realize not everyone has a smoker,' says Michelle Muñoz, 'but everyone has an oven.' And, yes, Andrew Muñoz adds, you can get bark — that layer with earthy smoky notes — on these beef ribs in the oven.' These ribs are terrific sliced (across the grain) right off the bone and served with traditional barbecue sides, but Michelle and Andrew Muñoz often like to let the ribs cook a little longer and then shred the meat for tacos. Michelle makes fire-roasted salsa with tomatillos, serranos and chile de árbol, but you can use any salsa you like.
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Chef That! Beef Ribs with Michelle and Andrew Muñoz
At Moo's Craft Barbecue, Michelle and Andrew Muñoz prepare beef plate ribs on their smoker. They show us how to get extra-flavorful ribs from the kitchen oven. Then they turn that into tacos served with roasted tomatillo salsa. Get the recipe for barbecue beef ribs and tomatillo salsa.
Eater
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
Highly Opinionated: An Eater Editor's Favorite Barbecue in Los Angeles
When it comes to barbecue, there are as many opinions as there are styles. Los Angeles might not be the hotbed of barbecue like Texas, Kansas City, Memphis, or the Carolinas, but there is still plenty of top-quality smoked meats to be found. Southern California pitmasters have to deal with stringent air quality standards and often difficult permitting processes, but once set up, there's no reason why the barbecue can't be as good as the best in Austin or Dallas. Those places certainly have a deep, decades-long tradition of barbecue with hundreds of practitioners, but I would submit any of my favorite places in Los Angeles as top-tier. Don't just take my word for it, even famed Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn has praised these restaurants. Here are my favorite barbecue places to try around town. Waiting for barbecue at Snow's in Lexington, Texas in 2015. Matthew Kang The counter at Snow's BBQ in Texas in 2015. Matthew Kang The overall favorite: Moo's Craft Barbecue in Lincoln Heights Meats and more from Moo's Craft Barbecue in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles. Matthew Kang In 2021, Andrew and Michelle Muñoz's longtime pop-up Moo's Craft Barbecue established a permanent home in Lincoln Heights, capturing a casual blend of walk-up-style Texas barbecue sprinkled with a good dose of California and Mexican flavor. Their brisket is irreproachable, balanced with juiciness and heavy oak smoke flavor without being overwhelming. Ribs, turkey breast, and jalapeño cheddar sausages are also fantastic, everything smoked to a high-level of detail in large pit smokers in the back. What I especially enjoy about Moo's is the sides, like esquites, tangy and crunchy coleslaw, and saucy brisket beans. Andrew takes on LA-style flavors with the Korean barbecue pork belly burnt ends, which tug at my Korean heart with a balance of sweetness and rich smokiness. Sitting out on the patio with a dozen friends, diving into the Muñozs' barbecue with my hands, and experiencing all of it together, I feel an incredible amount of comfort and joy. Michelle especially brings a welcome level of service to the barbecue experience that's rare in the mostly male arena. A meal here is the exact kind of seasoning, smoke, and creativity that Moo's brings to every tray, and what makes this place a world-class barbecue destination. Worth a journey and a wait: Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano Smoked meats, brisket, chicken, sides, and beef rib at Heritage Barbecue in San Juan Capistrano. Stan Lee It was very difficult to make a choice between Moo's Craft Barbecue and Heritage Barbecue, Daniel Castillo's immense smoked meat destination down in San Juan Capistrano. The drive down takes about an hour for most Angelenos, and probably even half that for those living in the more densely populated parts of Orange County. Once there, Heritage captures the feeling of Austin, its mostly outdoor seating sprawled across a skinny plot of land, the big steel smokers billowing out wood aromas throughout the morning. Folks line up for hours just like in Texas, marinating in the smoke while they work up an appetite. Yet instead of cattle auctions or warehouses (like at Snow's in Lexington), there's a historic California mission across the street, its church bells ringing right when Heritage opens at 11 a.m. Castillo and his team's prowess with the smoker is evident with the entire array of the dishes at Heritage of which there are something like 19 depending on how you count. The smoked meats are much more diverse than what one would find in Texas, including whole smoked chicken, maple-glazed pork ribs, and even tri-tip, something more associated with Central California/Santa Maria-style barbecue. Depending on the day, char siu pork belly, whole beef ribs, and a burger will show up as specials. Across the board, Heritage's meats are amazing, deeply smoky, highly peppered, and well-seasoned. Close your eyes, and the brisket is as luscious and evocative as the best in Texas. The beef rib doesn't reach the heights of say, Black's Barbecue in Lockhart, but it is also terrific. Instead of turkey breast, it's nice to see chicken here for non-red-meat eaters, and the heavy herb seasoning balances nicely with the smoke. The sides are also highly complementary, like Korean-style chile pickles that would please a grandmother (kimchi and American food usually spooks me out but it really works here). The spiral macaroni and cheese is dense and salty and hearty beans almost look like Texas chili until you look at the actual cheese-topped chili, rich enough to feed a trucker for an entire day. Queso comes with crisp tortilla chips, while a peach and cherry tomato salad brings a welcome summery freshness. Castillo and the kitchen go absolutely beyond the call to create a meal brimming with excellence, so it's not hard to imagine why he was a 2025 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California. Will Heritage eventually join the four Michelin-starred barbecue spots in Texas (LeRoy & Lewis, Interstellar, La Barbecue, and Corkscrew)? I definitely think it should. Another excellent spot for Texas-style barbecue: Ray's Barbecue in Huntington Park Smoked meats and sides from Ray's Barbecue. Matthew Kang Ray Ramirez was one of the most consummate hospitality professionals I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Prior to his untimely death in 2022, he served my wife and me an ample tray of Texas-style brisket, ribs, sausage, and pulled pork. His sides of macaroni and cheese, vinegary cole slaw, and potato salad were great but I most loved the Salvadoran-inflected rice and beans studded with bits of meat. Ramirez left behind an amazing legacy of working-class barbecue in the heart of Huntington Park, a neighborhood just south of Vernon set in the middle of an industrial zone. His two sons Raul and Sebastian along with his wife Anabell, continue his work serving barbecue worthy of Texas Monthly's Vaughn. A recent visit confirmed my first experience. The brisket here is juicy and well-smoked while the ribs are competition-level. The well-browned jalapeño cheddar sausage is also delightful. The damp coleslaw still conjures pupusa-style curtido, while the seasoned rice remains difficult to stop eating. Ramirez taught his sons well, and Ray's continues to be one of the best barbecue places in Los Angeles. Pro tip: out of the top three barbecue spots I selected, Ray's is the only one open on Tuesdays. Other excellent barbecue spots around town: Domestic BBQ in La Puente. Matthew Kang Domestic BBQ La Puente (and Covina) barbecue destination Domestic straddles that happy medium between Texas and California, serving well-smoked meats and very good sides like bacon-topped macaroni and cheese. The tri-tip here hews closer to Santa Maria-style, slightly dried out (dip it into the side of jus to re-moisten) but smoky enough, while the brisket will certainly be tender. The ribs were a standalone, as was the extra-long smoked sausage. In all, its very handy barbecue hangout with an impressive craft beer selection for those located in east San Gabriel Valley. Bludso's BBQ I've always enjoyed Bludso's, a place very conducive to hanging out with friends and catching a ballgame on the screens. Founder Kevin Bludso's Texas-style barbecue is very consistent, with moderate smoke and high-quality meats. The beef ribs are probably the best overall meat (as they are at most barbecue joints) but the turkey is a nice respite from beef. Smoked wings are another specialty worth trying as an appetizer. Maple Block Meat Co. Finding good barbecue in central parts of Los Angeles isn't always easy. Maple Block Meat Co. has been a reliable place for smoked meats since it opened in Culver City in 2015. Recently, the menu, under the direction of talented pitmaster Rudy Suazo, has taken a turn to Mexican flavors, like brisket tacos, smoked carnitas tortas, esquites, and smoked carne en su jugo, but the main part of the smoked meats leans Texas-style. Smoke Queen Barbecue Winnie Yee's distinct Asian-style barbecue comes out of three massive 1,000-gallon smokers and a welcoming cottage in the city of Garden Grove, where fans line up to try the pitmadam's smoked char siu, crispy siu yuk pork belly, and beef brisket. Yee's approach aims for balance, with sweetness and smoke interplaying with spice and texture. Her mapo chili will bring on a flavor likely unseen in places like Texas, while spicy cucumber pickles wouldn't look out of place at a Sichuan restaurant. Eater LA All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Los Angeles Times
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Can chefs create recipes simple enough for home cooks? 23 food pros met our summer challenge
Here is the challenge we set out for the chefs of some of our favorite restaurants: Come up with a recipe that demonstrates chef skills and creativity but is still simple enough for an average home cook to make. That's not necessarily easy for chefs with regular access to specialty ingredients, a team of prep cooks and dishwashers to do the chopping and cleanup, plus years of training that enable them to handle complex kitchen tasks with ease. But with a little persistence we were able to get some of L.A.'s best chefs plus a few others to answer the call. You can watch the results in our ongoing 'Chef That!' video series — as in chef that grilled cheese sandwich or date night pasta or ice cream sundae. Collected here are some of the best summertime recipes from our 'Chef That!' series along with tips we learned when the chefs cooked for us in The Times Test Kitchen. Sang Yoon of Helms Bakery and Father's Office, for instance, shows us the best way to peel a jammy egg. Andrew and Michelle Muñoz of Moo's Craft Barbecue show us how to make ribs with outdoor smoker flavor in a home oven. Vespertine and Meteora chef Jordan Kahn gives us advice on brining meat. Dave Beran, chef of Seline and Pasjoli, shows us the best way to caramelize onions. And Anajak Thai's Justin Pichetrungsi shares the secret ingredient that makes his fried food so good. We also gain insights into how chefs bring restaurant touches to classic recipes. Kismet chefs Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson use pickles to add a pop of acidity to a cheesy dip. For macaroni and cheese pie, Bridgetown Roti's Rashida Holmes changes up the noodles, cheeses and spices. 88 Club's Mei Lin uses not only cilantro leaves but the blossoms and stems in her cold mung bean noodles. And chefs Brian Bornemann of Crudo e Nudo and Brian Dunsmoor make the case that shrimp stock should be a home cook staple. These recipes — for ceviche, sandwiches, noodles, ribs and luscious desserts — will not only make your summer entertaining easier, they show off the best of restaurant and home cooking. —Laurie Ochoa Watch this space for more chef and cookbook author video demos this summer from Andrew and Michelle Muñoz of Moo's Craft Barbecue, Sang Yoon from Father's Office and Helm's Bakery, 88 Club's Mei Lin and more.
