We’re doing something a little different on this episode of Cooking With Friends. I’ve got my buddy Matt Kuesk, Senior Manager for Field Training and Experiences for Weber Grills, joining me for a full bourbon and meat pairing.

Instead of cooking one recipe, we put together five different proteins and paired them with bottles from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. We’ve got everything from Chilean sea bass and chicken to pork, tri-tip, and Wagyu ribeye, so there are a lot of different flavors on the table.

The goal here wasn’t just to cook some good meat and drink some good bourbon. We wanted to see how the protein, seasoning, cooking technique, and whiskey all worked together. Some of these combinations were what we expected, and a couple of them surprised us.

Bourbon & Meat Pairing with the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection | Cooking with Friends

For this cook, Matt and I fired up two Weber Kettles—a 26" Weber Kettle and a 22" Weber Kettle—with Royal Oak Hardwood Lump Charcoal.

We didn’t cook every protein the same way, either. The tri-tip got a reverse sear, the Wagyu ribeye went hot and fast, the chicken and pork chop went directly on the grill, and the Chilean sea bass cooked in a hot cast-iron skillet.

That gave us five different proteins, several cooking techniques, and plenty of different flavors to work with once we started pouring the bourbon.

The Bourbon Lineup

We worked our way through five bottles from the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. With different ages, proofs, and styles represented, each one gave us something different to put up against the food.

Eagle Rare 17

We started with Eagle Rare 17. This was the first pour in our lineup before we started working our way through the rest of the Antique Collection.

Sazerac 18

Next was Sazerac 18. Matt pointed out that while it has plenty of age on it, it comes in at a lower proof than some of the other bottles we were tasting. That softer profile became important once we started pairing it with some of the lighter proteins.

William Larue Weller

William Larue Weller gave us a wheated bourbon to work with. While we were getting everything ready, Matt talked about how its softer profile could complement the flavors we were putting on the chicken instead of overpowering them.

Thomas H. Handy

Thomas H. Handy brought another rye whiskey into the lineup, but with a much different profile. Matt described it as a six-year-old straight rye whiskey at barrel proof, giving us another direction to go when we started matching the pours with the different meats.

George T. Stagg

Finally, we had George T. Stagg. This gave us one of the bigger, hotter pours of the tasting and created an interesting contrast when we started comparing what worked with delicate proteins versus richer cuts of meat.

The Meat Lineup

We wanted enough variety on the grill to really put these bourbons to the test, so we went with five proteins that gave us completely different flavors and textures.

Tri-Tip

We started with a Certified Angus Beef tri-tip and seasoned it with Heath Riles BBQ Steak & Chop Seasoning.

Instead of cooking this one hot and fast from beginning to end, we decided to reverse sear it. Tri-tip already has plenty of that beefy flavor, and the slower start gave us a chance to build some smoke before finishing it over the live coals.

Wagyu Ribeye

The Wagyu ribeye also got a layer of Heath Riles BBQ Steak & Chop Seasoning, but we took a completely different approach to the cook.

Instead of a reverse sear, this steak went hot and fast. Once it hit the grill, I kept it moving, flipping it about every 30 seconds to a minute. I’m not worried about getting perfect grill marks on a steak like this. I’d rather build good color and get it cooked where I want it.

Lard-Injected Pork Chop

Next up was a lard-injected pork chop. We started with Heath Riles BBQ SPG Seasoning, then came back over the top with Heath Riles BBQ Pecan Rub.

The SPG gave us a good base of salt, pepper, and garlic, while the Pecan Rub brought in a little nutty flavor to go along with the richness of the lard-injected chop. I use Pecan Rub with other seasonings a lot, and SPG is one of the combinations I like.

That gave us another completely different flavor profile to work with once we started pairing the meat with the bourbon.

Chicken Breast

For the chicken breast, we kept the seasoning simple with Heath Riles BBQ Chicken Rub.

Matt brought up an important part of food and whiskey pairing while we were getting the chicken ready: you can look for flavors that complement each other or flavors that contrast each other. With the softer wheated profile we had in the bourbon lineup and the flavors in the Chicken Rub, he thought we had a combination that could complement each other well.

Chilean Sea Bass

The Chilean sea bass got two layers of flavor with Heath Riles BBQ Simple Citrus Rub and Heath Riles BBQ Garlic Butter Rub.

Rather than putting the fish straight on the grates, we heated a cast-iron skillet over the fire and cooked the sea bass in the skillet. Butter helped us build that crust, while olive oil helped keep the butter from burning as the fish cooked.

Setting Up the Weber Kettles

With five proteins to cook, having two grills going made it a whole lot easier to get everything finished around the same time. We fired up the 26" Weber Kettle and 22" Weber Kettle with Royal Oak Hardwood Lump Charcoal.

For the tri-tip, we settled the kettle in at about 300°F and built a two-zone fire with all the charcoal on one side. The tri-tip started on the cool side so it could slowly come up in temperature and pick up some smoke before we opened the grill up and finished it over the live coals.

After about 25 minutes, the tri-tip was around 105°F internally. From there, we let the fire start breathing and finished the meat over the hot side. Once it hit about 125°F and had good color on the outside, we pulled it onto a sheet pan to rest.

While that was happening, Matt worked on the chicken breast and pork chop, and we got the cast-iron skillet hot for the sea bass. The chicken was turned about every three minutes to build good color before the pork chop and ribeye joined it on the grill.

The idea was to get all five proteins across the finish line close together. Once everything was cooked and rested, it was time to start slicing meat, pouring bourbon, and finding out which combinations really worked.

The Bourbon & Meat Pairings

Once everything was cooked and rested, it was time for the fun part. We started working our way through the proteins alongside the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection to see what worked together.

One of the biggest things Matt and I talked about was that a good pairing isn’t just about matching a certain bourbon with a certain cut of meat. The seasoning and the way you cook that meat matter, too. You’ve got the quality of the meat, the quality of the whiskey, the seasoning, and the cooking technique all coming together.

And that showed up pretty quick once we started tasting.

Sazerac 18 + Chilean Sea Bass

This may have been the biggest surprise of the day.

We cooked the Chilean sea bass with Heath Riles BBQ Simple Citrus Rub and Heath Riles BBQ Garlic Butter Rub, then paired it with Sazerac 18.

The Sazerac has a lighter mouthfeel at its lower proof, and that worked really well with a delicate piece of fish. Then you bring in the buttery flavor from the sea bass and the Garlic Butter Rub, along with that little bit of citrus, and the whole combination just worked.

We even talked about how something hotter like George T. Stagg could be a little much with a delicate fish like this. The Sazerac didn’t overpower it.

I wasn’t expecting fish and rye whiskey to be one of the combinations we kept coming back to, but it was.

William Larue Weller + Chicken Breast

Next we went to the chicken breast seasoned with Heath Riles BBQ Chicken Rub and paired it with William Larue Weller.

This was a good example of what Matt was talking about earlier with complementary flavors. The wheated profile of the Weller is softer, while the Chicken Rub brings its own seasoning profile to the meat.

It was a good pairing, but after starting with that Sazerac and sea bass combination, we both agreed it was going to be hard for the chicken to follow it.

One thing we noticed was that the Weller and chicken remained two pretty distinct experiences. They worked together, but neither one disappeared into the other.

Thomas H. Handy + Lard-Injected Pork Chop

For the pork chop, we poured Thomas H. Handy.

The lard-injected pork chop already had plenty of richness, and the combination of SPG Seasoning and Pecan Rub gave the whiskey even more to work with.

The pepper coming through from the SPG really stood out once we took a sip of the Handy. The higher proof helped bring those pepper notes forward, while the Pecan Rub added a nuttiness that worked really well with the whiskey.

The lard injection also gave the pork chop a buttery, almost velvety texture that was different from a regular pork chop. Put all of that together, and this was another pairing that held its own after that sea bass and Sazerac combination.

Eagle Rare 17 + Tri-Tip

The reverse-seared tri-tip was paired with Eagle Rare 17.

We seasoned the tri-tip with Heath Riles BBQ Steak & Chop Seasoning, started it on the cool side of the Weber Kettle, and finished it over the live coals. That gave us plenty of beef flavor along with a little smoke and a good crust on the outside.

The Eagle Rare 17 worked right alongside those flavors without covering up the beef or seasoning. We could still pick up the Steak & Chop Seasoning, the texture of the tri-tip, and the flavor we built during the reverse sear.

This ended up being one of the combinations we kept near the top as we worked our way through the tasting.

George T. Stagg + Wagyu Ribeye

We saved the Wagyu ribeye and George T. Stagg for last.

The ribeye was seasoned with Heath Riles BBQ Steak & Chop Seasoning, cooked hot and fast, and finished with a little Maldon salt.

Even though we used the same seasoning on the ribeye and tri-tip, the two cuts gave us completely different experiences. The Wagyu had a much more buttery, velvety texture, while the tri-tip had that big, beefy flavor and a different chew.

With a rich cut like the Wagyu ribeye, Matt wanted to pair it with a higher-proof bourbon that could stand up to the meat. The George T. Stagg gave us exactly that and made for a great way to finish the tasting.

What Makes a Good Bourbon & Meat Pairing?

If there was one thing I took away from this tasting, it’s that there’s more to pairing bourbon and meat than saying beef goes with one bottle and chicken goes with another.

The protein is only the starting point.

You’ve also got to think about the richness of the meat. A delicate piece of Chilean sea bass is going to react differently to a high-proof whiskey than a rich Wagyu ribeye or lard-injected pork chop.

Then there’s the seasoning. The Simple Citrus Rub and Garlic Butter Rub changed what we were tasting with the sea bass, just like the Chicken Rub played a part in how the chicken worked with the Weller.

Your cooking technique matters, too. Reverse searing the tri-tip gave us something different from cooking the Wagyu ribeye hot and fast, even though both were seasoned with the same Steak & Chop Seasoning.

Finally, you have the whiskey itself. Proof, mouthfeel, and overall intensity can change the experience just as much as what’s on the plate.

You can also decide whether you want the food and bourbon to complement one another or create some contrast. There’s not one combination that everybody has to like. That’s part of what makes doing a tasting like this so much fun.

The Pairing That Surprised Us Most

For me, the biggest surprise was how well Sazerac 18 worked with the Chilean sea bass.

You might look at a table with Wagyu ribeye, tri-tip, pork, and chicken and not expect the fish to be the thing everybody keeps going back to, but that’s exactly what happened.

The lighter mouthfeel of the Sazerac worked with the delicate fish without taking it over, while the butter, Garlic Butter Rub, and Simple Citrus Rub gave us plenty of flavor to bring the two together.

By the end of the tasting, we were still talking about the fish and Sazerac. Matt even pointed out that rye whiskey can pair really well with lighter proteins, especially fish.

Sometimes you go into a tasting thinking you know which combination is going to stand out, and then something completely different gets your attention. That’s exactly what happened here.

Tips for Hosting Your Own Bourbon & Meat Pairing

You don’t need five bottles from the Antique Collection and five different proteins to try this at home. The biggest thing is giving yourself a few different flavors to compare.

Try using proteins with different levels of richness. You could have something lighter like fish or chicken alongside pork or beef, then see how the same whiskey changes from one bite to the next. You can also season or cook similar cuts differently to see how much those choices affect the pairing.

Keep your portions small enough that you can taste everything without filling up on the first protein, and give yourself time to go back to earlier combinations. One of the fun parts of this tasting was returning to something we had already tried after tasting another bourbon or another piece of meat.

Most importantly, don’t go into it thinking there has to be one right answer. Taste them, compare them, and figure out what works for you.

Final Thoughts

This was a different kind of Cooking With Friends, and I had a blast doing it.

We got to fire up a couple of Weber Kettles, cook five completely different proteins, and work our way through the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection with Matt.

The biggest takeaway for me was how much everything on the plate matters. The meat matters. The seasoning matters. The cooking technique matters. And, of course, the bourbon matters.

The combination I didn’t expect to keep coming back to was that Sazerac 18 and Chilean sea bass. That one surprised both of us and showed exactly why it’s worth trying combinations you might not normally put together.

Big thanks to Matt for coming down and cooking with us, and thanks to Buffalo Trace and Sazerac for sending the bourbon for us to taste.

We’ll see y’all next time on another episode of Cooking With Friends.

Equipment & Products

Royal Oak Hardwood Lump Charcoal, Weber 26" Kettle, Weber 22" Kettle, Cast-Iron Skillet, Sheet Pan, Thermapen ONE, Tongs