Hairy Bikers – Route 66 episode 1: The Hairy Bikers traverse the infamous Route 66, serving up plenty of delicious food along the way. The first helping of this epic adventure runs from Chicago to St Louis and provides a wholesome bite into the story of America, a country built on migration.
Chicago historically drew migrant workers into its supersize meatpacking industry, and with them came a lineup of dishes as diverse as the city’s population. The Bikers discover hickory smoked BBQ meat and a rather soggy Italian beef sub roll, which sees the Bikers adopt a very particular ‘stance’ to avoid wet boots.
Hairy Bikers – Route 66 episode 1
In small town America, the Bikers enjoy some retro roadside spectacles that provide entertainment and intrigue, including the huge fibreglass figures known as ’muffler men’. Dave and Si enjoy a championship-winning apple pie and learn how Route 66 entered American folklore by connecting small town America from east to west and enabling it to prosper.
The pair are privileged to receive an invitation from the Amish community, where they cook together and learn more about this very different way of life.
Crossing the Mississippi into Missouri, Dave and Si visit the city of St Louis. Fuel comes in the form of Route 66 institution, Ted Drewes’s ‘concrete custard’ – a treat so rich and thick it’s served upside down. The Bikers encounter a story of modern migration with the city’s Bosnian community, as they sample their wonderful food.
Recipes:
Walnut and honey baklava
This wonderfully sticky baklava tastes amazing with freshly made mint tea or Turkish coffee.
Meatloaf
This is an American classic and is made here with a combination of beef and pork mince.
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
- For the meatloaf, heat the oil in a sauté pan and add the onion, celery and carrot. Fry until the onion is translucent and all the vegetables are softened. Turn up the heat and cook for a few more minutes until the onions are slightly caramelised. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Put the mince and bacon in a large bowl and add the herbs, garlic powder, mustard and breadcrumbs. Add the vegetables, pour in the double cream and break in the egg. Season well with salt and pepper. Mix everything together thoroughly, making sure especially that the beef and pork are well combined.
- Take a large baking tray and mould the meatloaf mixture into a large loaf shape on the tray. The dimensions should be roughly those of a large loaf tin.
- Cut the bacon rashers in half, then stretch out with the flat of a knife. You should find they are just long enough to drape over the sides and top of the meatloaf. Arrange these over the meatloaf in a criss cross pattern. The whole loaf should be covered except for the two ends.
- For the glaze, place all of the ingredients into a small saucepan and whisk over a low heat until well combined (and any sugar is dissolved if using). Brush the whole meatloaf generously with most of the glaze. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove and brush with the glaze again. Bake for a further 30 minutes until cooked through. The bacon should be crisp and glossy and the meatloaf should be cooked through and piping hot in the middle.