First of all my thanks goes to all who have served. Especially those that left a part of them selves behind during a conflict or ultimately failed to return at all. A lot of my family and many people I've know have sacrificed for this country and while "thanks" is never enough it's a small token of appreciation that can never be repeated too much.
It being memorial day I did what any red blooded American male would do... I fired up the grill. Tonight's menu: Chicken burgers, Venison burgers, sausages and Cornish game hens. Yes it's a lot of meat but I like to use the weekends to get ahead of the game.
The chicken burgers & deer burgers (yes I eat Bambi) were made the same way. 1 lb of meat, 1 tblsp milk, 1/4 cup bread crumbs and 1 egg. Mix well (by hand) and divide into 4 and make into patties. Put on a plate to chill in the fridge.
Sausage ready to go (we had Lamb, tuscan italian sausage and andouille. The andouille is slated for some redbeans and rice later on but the rest are ready meals.
The baby Chickens I marinated with fresh thyme, sage and rosemary from our deck garden with a sprinkling of salt and some olive oil.
Grill order was to sear the sausages and chickens first and then move to the cool side of the grill. I then cooked the burgers with the following method. Plop on the hot part of the grill, leave alone until the liquid pools at the surface. Then I flip and leave alone until the bottom side is nicely caramelized. They are done now. They got wrapped in foil and I moved the sausages to the medium part of the grill until firm to touch. They also get the foil treatment. I then closed the lid of the grill with the chicken still on the cold side. This roasts the chicken at about 350. I went out after dinner and they were totally done.
All in all a very successful grill. Nothing went wrong and all the meat was tender and juicy. As an added bonus the wife and toddler LOVED all the food and that's the best applause any cook can get. Hope you all had a great weekend... NOW BACK TO WORK SLACKERS.
Monday, May 31, 2010
I'm a bad daddy...
I started a new job, I have a bad cold and my oldest learned he could climb EVERYTHING so I've been a bit busy on both the cooking and the blogging front. Tonight I plan to do burgers/sausages and some Cornish game hens on the grill but I want to give you frogurt. Sometimes called FroYo (especially by the hippies up north) it is a mixture of yogurt and stuff that is frozen in an ice cream maker. You've made the homemade yogurt right? OK if you haven't take a day and make it.... now ready? OK you can buy some if you want to but you will loose the ultimate homemade bragging rights.
The link to my ice cream maker is here
. We also have a stand alone freezer that we keep pretty cold (most home freezers are around 0 degrees and vary within the freezer, we have an energy-star stand up freezer in the basement that we keep at about -15. I know that my Ice Cream maker benefits from the extra cold. BTW this is the type of maker where you freeze the container.
Take about 2 quarts (about 1 cup shy actually) or the amount that your Ice Cream maker will handle (and please use whatever you are comfortable with). Add stuff to the yogurt.... chocolate, vanilla & sugar, brown sugar & chocolate chips, blueberry jam and taste the yogurt until you are happy with it. This is the taste of your frogurt so be happy. Now one thing to look out for is that homemade yogurt can be a bit more sour than store bought commercial processed stuff so you may need to sweeten it a bit more but do it to taste (AND I DO MEAN TASTE if you don't sample it do not blame me if it's horrible remember cooking is NOT about recipes it's about how flavors mesh and and how they work on you). If this is your first time spinning ice cream I do recommend a fruit flavor using jam (homemade of course) as the flavoring, yogurt and jam go together like peas and carrots (thanks Forrest). Once the mix is at a taste you enjoy put it in the coldest part of your fridge for at least 4 hours (usually the bottom shelf).
We need to chill it because it will freeze faster and better. Set up your ice-cream maker and turn it on it's lowest setting. It needs to be on so it won't freeze the beater in place after you pour in the yogurt mix. So slowly pout in your chilled mix and let it spin for 15 to 20 minutes or (if you you have a fancy electric machine) the maker tells you it's done. At this point it should be the consistency of soft serve ice-cream. Eat now if that is your choice or put in an airtight container in the freezer for the next day where it will set up just like store bought.
Keep it simple with your first batch. Later on at the 10-15 minute mark you can put in chunks like almonds(or other nuts), chocolate chunks, bought candy bits etc. If you want a ribbon of flavor going through, stir it in gently once it's out of the container (the ribbon flavors need to be hard frozen for the ribboning to set).
The chocolate (no sugar added) I did for my wife was pretty good, she liked the bitterness of the dark chocolate but not for me. I am thinking of trying honey with almond bits next a classic yogurt combo.
Enjoy the long weekend all.
The link to my ice cream maker is here
. We also have a stand alone freezer that we keep pretty cold (most home freezers are around 0 degrees and vary within the freezer, we have an energy-star stand up freezer in the basement that we keep at about -15. I know that my Ice Cream maker benefits from the extra cold. BTW this is the type of maker where you freeze the container.Take about 2 quarts (about 1 cup shy actually) or the amount that your Ice Cream maker will handle (and please use whatever you are comfortable with). Add stuff to the yogurt.... chocolate, vanilla & sugar, brown sugar & chocolate chips, blueberry jam and taste the yogurt until you are happy with it. This is the taste of your frogurt so be happy. Now one thing to look out for is that homemade yogurt can be a bit more sour than store bought commercial processed stuff so you may need to sweeten it a bit more but do it to taste (AND I DO MEAN TASTE if you don't sample it do not blame me if it's horrible remember cooking is NOT about recipes it's about how flavors mesh and and how they work on you). If this is your first time spinning ice cream I do recommend a fruit flavor using jam (homemade of course) as the flavoring, yogurt and jam go together like peas and carrots (thanks Forrest). Once the mix is at a taste you enjoy put it in the coldest part of your fridge for at least 4 hours (usually the bottom shelf).
We need to chill it because it will freeze faster and better. Set up your ice-cream maker and turn it on it's lowest setting. It needs to be on so it won't freeze the beater in place after you pour in the yogurt mix. So slowly pout in your chilled mix and let it spin for 15 to 20 minutes or (if you you have a fancy electric machine) the maker tells you it's done. At this point it should be the consistency of soft serve ice-cream. Eat now if that is your choice or put in an airtight container in the freezer for the next day where it will set up just like store bought.
Keep it simple with your first batch. Later on at the 10-15 minute mark you can put in chunks like almonds(or other nuts), chocolate chunks, bought candy bits etc. If you want a ribbon of flavor going through, stir it in gently once it's out of the container (the ribbon flavors need to be hard frozen for the ribboning to set).
The chocolate (no sugar added) I did for my wife was pretty good, she liked the bitterness of the dark chocolate but not for me. I am thinking of trying honey with almond bits next a classic yogurt combo.
Enjoy the long weekend all.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Bread that does not suck
I've never been too into baking. Cakes & cookies are easy and a bit too formulaic for me to enjoy making. You mess up too much on a measurement when baking you get glop, with spaghetti sauce you get a new recipe. When it comes to bread though I've never made a good loaf until now. Kneading and salt amounts have always been my downfall, but no longer I've found a book on no knead breads and the first one was awesome.
My most awesome wife gets the props on this one as she saw a segment on the Martha Stewart show on the no knead breads
and convinced me to put it on my amazon wish list. Lo and behold I got it as a present (I also have a 1000$ swiss army knife up there so it's not too odd that I got the cookbook instead). The real beauty of this bread is that instead of slaving and kneading for hours I literally spent less than 15 minutes of work on this. So in your scheduling treat it more like a slow cooker recipe than as "MAKING BREAD"
The basic recipe is
3 cups bread flour
, 1 tsp salt, one packet of yeast 
and 1 1/3 cups of water.
You start by mixing all the dry stuff in a big bowl. Add in the water and stir to incorporate. Do not over stir you want a moist sticky consistency. Add water in small amounts if you are too dry. Also start by adding only one cup just in case the humidity is working against you.
Now store it in a cool dry place for 18 hours. Yes 18 hours of a slow rise. I covered the bowl with a damp towel and forgot about it. After the first rise I turned the dough out of the bowl and formed it into a ball with the seam on the bottom (the book has tons of good pictures) dusted the whole thing with flour and set it in a tea towel to rise for 2 hours (ok it was a clean burp cloth who really has tea towels hinging around any more).
Now they suggest baking in a closed pot. I don't have a pot that can take 475 degrees so I used a clay baker that has a top and a bottom. Once the oven was pre-heated I dumped the dough ball in seam side up, slapped on the lid and set the oven timer for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes I took the top off and let it bake for 15 more minutes.
Now comes the magic, with my tongs
i pulled out the bread and set it on a wire rack
to cool. Now wait a minute and listen to the bread. You will hear it crack and hiss. This is moisture escaping from the interior and is a good sign you did things right. I did the rye variety (substitute 3/4ths a cup of rye flour for an equal amount of your bread flour) and it is sooo yummy. The bread has small holes that would make it a good candidate for a sandwich bread or a great container for melted cheese.
So my bread failure streak has ended. Next I want to try their pizza dough.
My most awesome wife gets the props on this one as she saw a segment on the Martha Stewart show on the no knead breads
and convinced me to put it on my amazon wish list. Lo and behold I got it as a present (I also have a 1000$ swiss army knife up there so it's not too odd that I got the cookbook instead). The real beauty of this bread is that instead of slaving and kneading for hours I literally spent less than 15 minutes of work on this. So in your scheduling treat it more like a slow cooker recipe than as "MAKING BREAD"The basic recipe is
3 cups bread flour
, 1 tsp salt, one packet of yeast and 1 1/3 cups of water.You start by mixing all the dry stuff in a big bowl. Add in the water and stir to incorporate. Do not over stir you want a moist sticky consistency. Add water in small amounts if you are too dry. Also start by adding only one cup just in case the humidity is working against you.
Now store it in a cool dry place for 18 hours. Yes 18 hours of a slow rise. I covered the bowl with a damp towel and forgot about it. After the first rise I turned the dough out of the bowl and formed it into a ball with the seam on the bottom (the book
has tons of good pictures) dusted the whole thing with flour and set it in a tea towel to rise for 2 hours (ok it was a clean burp cloth who really has tea towels hinging around any more).Now they suggest baking in a closed pot. I don't have a pot that can take 475 degrees so I used a clay baker that has a top and a bottom. Once the oven was pre-heated I dumped the dough ball in seam side up, slapped on the lid and set the oven timer for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes I took the top off and let it bake for 15 more minutes.
Now comes the magic, with my tongs
i pulled out the bread and set it on a wire rack to cool. Now wait a minute and listen to the bread. You will hear it crack and hiss. This is moisture escaping from the interior and is a good sign you did things right. I did the rye variety (substitute 3/4ths a cup of rye flour for an equal amount of your bread flour) and it is sooo yummy. The bread has small holes that would make it a good candidate for a sandwich bread or a great container for melted cheese.So my bread failure streak has ended. Next I want to try their pizza dough.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Colonel Custard in the kitchen with a Frying Pan
When we think about custard we think about a time consuming annoying dessert or cracking through the sugary shell of a creme brulee. But we are culturally askew. Any dish that has heat, eggs & milk combined together is a custard (surprise). This means that america's favorite scrambled breakfast is actually a custard. So let me give you a few of my favorite recipes.
Breakfast Casserole.
Start with 1/2 to 1 lb of your favorite caseless sausage browned (or bacon or crisped ham). 5-10 eggs (depending on the amount of bread you will be using). 1-3 lbs of cheese (shredded) and salt and pepper to taste and milk (or cream or 1/2 & 1/2). One loaf of bread (rye is terrific with this but whatever you like) cubed.
Crack the eggs together and add about 1-3 tsp of milk per egg. Salt and pepper to taste. Be a bit light on the salt as both the cheese and the meat will have salt in it. Beat the egg mix until it's all homogenous (no little clear bits floating this is easiest done in a stand mixer, submersion blender or hand mixer). Pour all of this in a big bowl with the cubed bread. You want to let this soak a bit so that all the bread is saturated. You don't want the bread to soak up all the custard or else it will be dry. If you need more mix up more custard mix with the same proportions and add to the bread mix. Gently with your hands mix in about 1/2 the cheese and 1/2 the meat. Dump this mix into a baking pan and sprinkle the rest of the cheese and meat on top.
Bake at 350 until it's just jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 or so minutes (to finish setting).
This is a savory bread pudding It is wonderful and was inspired by the much demanded breakfast casserole of my Father's wonderful wife.
This one is all mine though.
French toast.
4-5 eggs and an equal volume of 1/2&1/2. dash of salt, 2 tblsp of sugar, 2 tblsp of cinnamon
, one tsp of your wonderful homemade vanilla extract (or store found) and an optional dash of nutmeg (optionally you can add some pumpkin spice mix or star anise instead of the nutmeg). Sliced bread of some sort.
Put everything in a bowl except the eggshells and the bread and mix until thoroughly combined (I really like using an immersion blender here). You need to watch out for and try to eliminate the floating cinnamonas if it's on the outside of the bread it can burn and become bitter.
In a frying pan over medium low heat add some oil (I like 1/2 butter 1/2 canola oil mix) soak your bread in the custard and toss in the pan until browned and then flip until the other side is browned. Toss in a warm oven to keep warm and to finish setting until you are done with all your toasts. If you have leftover custard freeze until you are ready for more. This is a flavorful toast that really doesn't need syrup but feel free to add some anyway. For a real treat use thick slices of pannetone
. One thick slice makes 2-4 servings depending on your hunger and/or self restraint.
Breakfast Casserole.
Start with 1/2 to 1 lb of your favorite caseless sausage browned (or bacon or crisped ham). 5-10 eggs (depending on the amount of bread you will be using). 1-3 lbs of cheese (shredded) and salt and pepper to taste and milk (or cream or 1/2 & 1/2). One loaf of bread (rye is terrific with this but whatever you like) cubed.
Crack the eggs together and add about 1-3 tsp of milk per egg. Salt and pepper to taste. Be a bit light on the salt as both the cheese and the meat will have salt in it. Beat the egg mix until it's all homogenous (no little clear bits floating this is easiest done in a stand mixer, submersion blender or hand mixer). Pour all of this in a big bowl with the cubed bread. You want to let this soak a bit so that all the bread is saturated. You don't want the bread to soak up all the custard or else it will be dry. If you need more mix up more custard mix with the same proportions and add to the bread mix. Gently with your hands mix in about 1/2 the cheese and 1/2 the meat. Dump this mix into a baking pan and sprinkle the rest of the cheese and meat on top.
Bake at 350 until it's just jiggly in the center. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 or so minutes (to finish setting).
This is a savory bread pudding It is wonderful and was inspired by the much demanded breakfast casserole of my Father's wonderful wife.
This one is all mine though.
French toast.
4-5 eggs and an equal volume of 1/2&1/2. dash of salt, 2 tblsp of sugar, 2 tblsp of cinnamon
, one tsp of your wonderful homemade vanilla extract (or store found) and an optional dash of nutmeg (optionally you can add some pumpkin spice mix or star anise instead of the nutmeg). Sliced bread of some sort.Put everything in a bowl except the eggshells and the bread and mix until thoroughly combined (I really like using an immersion blender here). You need to watch out for and try to eliminate the floating cinnamon
as if it's on the outside of the bread it can burn and become bitter.In a frying pan over medium low heat add some oil (I like 1/2 butter 1/2 canola oil mix) soak your bread in the custard and toss in the pan until browned and then flip until the other side is browned. Toss in a warm oven to keep warm and to finish setting until you are done with all your toasts. If you have leftover custard freeze until you are ready for more. This is a flavorful toast that really doesn't need syrup but feel free to add some anyway. For a real treat use thick slices of pannetone
. One thick slice makes 2-4 servings depending on your hunger and/or self restraint.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Busy week
I try not to be lame about posting but I mentioned that I have a toddler and an infant right? Plus there's been a lot of work going on in the job arena this week so it has been busy so now I'm going to tell you what I have done while in a hurry/frazzled state (the toddler learned to climb the sofa this week).
Meal one
Chicken Salad
Two chicken breasts from our grilled chicken, 1/2 cup or so of Mayo, 2 tblsp of horseradish sauce (to taste), 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish. 1 tsp dijon mustard.
Basically cut up the breasts and mix it all up. I also added 1/2 tsp of curry powder for a nice subtle sweet taste.
Pot Roast & egg noodles
1 package of egg noodles cooked aldente and lightly buttered after being drained.
1 can of cooked carrots & 1 can of cooked green beans.
1 store bought pot Roast
Heat & mix everything and you are set to go.
We had one pickup dinner of leftovers.
One dinner of packaged tortellini (beef) with a quick sauce based on any commercial sauce you like. Add about 10 parts sauce, one part chicken stock (or broth) and a handful of Parmesan (or asiago) cheese when it's boiling. It will taste 10x better I promise you.
Tonight we are getting slices because it's my birthday. Just because I love to cook and really promote it does not mean that I am oblivious to reality. There are days when you have no time and are just too dang tired. Remember to keep it simple and healthy on those nights. Canned or frozen veggies are great especially when you get no salt added.
Meal one
Chicken Salad
Two chicken breasts from our grilled chicken, 1/2 cup or so of Mayo, 2 tblsp of horseradish sauce (to taste), 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish. 1 tsp dijon mustard.
Basically cut up the breasts and mix it all up. I also added 1/2 tsp of curry powder for a nice subtle sweet taste.
Pot Roast & egg noodles
1 package of egg noodles cooked aldente and lightly buttered after being drained.
1 can of cooked carrots & 1 can of cooked green beans.
1 store bought pot Roast
Heat & mix everything and you are set to go.
We had one pickup dinner of leftovers.
One dinner of packaged tortellini (beef) with a quick sauce based on any commercial sauce you like. Add about 10 parts sauce, one part chicken stock (or broth) and a handful of Parmesan (or asiago) cheese when it's boiling. It will taste 10x better I promise you.
Tonight we are getting slices because it's my birthday. Just because I love to cook and really promote it does not mean that I am oblivious to reality. There are days when you have no time and are just too dang tired. Remember to keep it simple and healthy on those nights. Canned or frozen veggies are great especially when you get no salt added.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Grilled it...
If smoking is low and slow, grilling is turning and burning, the antithesis of smoking. Here we want high heat on at least 1/2 the grill and most items we will be cooking fast. This can be the exact same piece of equipment that we smoke with too. Just like an oven we can control the temperature and use it in different ways.
Ok tonight the wife wanted grilled stuff. Chicken and fish. Chicken has always been my grill nemesis, but as the Lady requests, so the Lady gets. So off to the store. I got a smallish roaster chicken and some Mahi Mahi (dolphin for those that don't know and yes it is a fish a porpoise is a mammal). In addition to that I knew I would have some extra heat so I grabbed some turkey Italian sausages, summer squash, a couple of tomatoes and some oranges.
Prep work
Cut the backbone out of the chicken with poultry shears
and flatten the chicken. You want to also cut off the last joint in the wing and tuck them under and tuck the drumstick under as well. At that point I place some fresh sage leaves (just picked from out deck garden) under the skin of the chicken, stalt and pepper both sides and drizzle with olive oil. Then foil and put in the fridge.
Mahi Mahi has a blood line running down the middle of the filet by the skin. This gets pretty bitter so cut it out (I did this with my awesome sushi knife
(nothing better for cutting fish). I then salted and peppered my fish and threw in some thyme sprigs (also from the deck garden), oiled them and foiled them. Toss in the fridge.
Sausage needs no prep so forget about that for now.
The summer squash cut in half and I seeded them (you don't need to but I don't like the texture of the seeds. Salt and pepper & lightly oil.
Tomatoes and oranges. Cut into 1 inch slices with both ends open.
Now to the fire. First of all NEVER use match light or charcoal lighter fluid. Both add basically petroleum distillates to your food. That's not good eating. Use a chimney charcoal
starter one sheet of newspaper (or old bills that are in the shred pile) a match and about 10 minutes and you have a great fire. Once the top coals have some white ash on them dump the chimney full of your charcoal into the grill and spread it out. Here you can go as is or add more fuel on top and wait another 5 minutes (be careful to not smother your existing fire, leave room for O2 to get in). Today I used briquette charcoal
(instead of lump hardwood charcoal
my usual) because I wanted a fire that would last longer. Lump tends to burn much hotter than briquettes but it will burn out long before the briquettes will. As I was cooking a chicken and multiple dishes I went for the longer burn. I did pick an all natural briquette with hickory in it though to avoid the petroleum taste as well as adding a little hardwood smoke.
Once your added coals are showing white ash you are ready to grill. At this time take that bronze brush you got with your grill tool kit and brush down the top of the grill. The heat will have converted any old debris to ash and you can just brush it off. If you try it when the grill is cold good luck.
Ok I cooked the veggies first. Tomatoes throw on for about a minute a side, here you want a bit of smoke and some grill marks, any more and the tomatoes will just be mush, not a good side dish. The summer squash give 3-4 minutes a side, you want really good charring from the grill and the heat in the squash will finish the cooking so don't worry if it's a bit hard when you take it off the grill. The Orange you definitely want to do at about the same time as the squash. This will concentrate and caramelize the sugars on the outer part of the orange and give you the good flavor that you cannot get elsewhere.
Next came the fish and the sausage. The sausage I got a good char on each side and moved to the cooler part of the grill. The Mahi Mahi being a firm fish I took a chance. Instead of using a fish basket on the grill I left the skin on the filets and placed the seasoned oiled fish on the hot part of the grill. I left the fish skin side down until I could see that moisture was coming out of the top of the entire fish. I then turned it over for about 30-45 seconds to finish the top. Thanks to both oiling the fish and the high heat (about 600 degrees) nothing stuck and they came off perfectly. The sausages took about 8 minutes after I browned them to fully cook and I removed them and served the family (the baby boy was hungry and fussing by that point).
The chicken I messed up on. I put it over the hot part of the grill to get the skin cooking and had a huge flare up (from oil and chicken fat hitting the coals and flaming up high). I was inside for this serving the gang so by the time I got out the chicken skin was covered with oily soot. This tastes horrible so I was fretting. After a few dozen choice cuss words I flipped the chicken on the cool part of the grill and squirted out the flames. I closed the lid and set the damper so that the heat was about 500 degrees and went in to eat. I check the chicken about every 10 minutes and it was cooked in about 30. The good part was that once peeled the chicken tasted great but the skin (which the wife loves was a total loss). So learn from my lesson. ALWAYS pay attention to your fire.
Ok tonight the wife wanted grilled stuff. Chicken and fish. Chicken has always been my grill nemesis, but as the Lady requests, so the Lady gets. So off to the store. I got a smallish roaster chicken and some Mahi Mahi (dolphin for those that don't know and yes it is a fish a porpoise is a mammal). In addition to that I knew I would have some extra heat so I grabbed some turkey Italian sausages, summer squash, a couple of tomatoes and some oranges.
Prep work
Cut the backbone out of the chicken with poultry shears
and flatten the chicken. You want to also cut off the last joint in the wing and tuck them under and tuck the drumstick under as well. At that point I place some fresh sage leaves (just picked from out deck garden) under the skin of the chicken, stalt and pepper both sides and drizzle with olive oil. Then foil and put in the fridge.Mahi Mahi has a blood line running down the middle of the filet by the skin. This gets pretty bitter so cut it out (I did this with my awesome sushi knife
(nothing better for cutting fish). I then salted and peppered my fish and threw in some thyme sprigs (also from the deck garden), oiled them and foiled them. Toss in the fridge.Sausage needs no prep so forget about that for now.
The summer squash cut in half and I seeded them (you don't need to but I don't like the texture of the seeds. Salt and pepper & lightly oil.
Tomatoes and oranges. Cut into 1 inch slices with both ends open.
Now to the fire. First of all NEVER use match light or charcoal lighter fluid. Both add basically petroleum distillates to your food. That's not good eating. Use a chimney charcoal
starter one sheet of newspaper (or old bills that are in the shred pile) a match and about 10 minutes and you have a great fire. Once the top coals have some white ash on them dump the chimney full of your charcoal into the grill and spread it out. Here you can go as is or add more fuel on top and wait another 5 minutes (be careful to not smother your existing fire, leave room for O2 to get in). Today I used briquette charcoal (instead of lump hardwood charcoal my usual) because I wanted a fire that would last longer. Lump tends to burn much hotter than briquettes but it will burn out long before the briquettes will. As I was cooking a chicken and multiple dishes I went for the longer burn. I did pick an all natural briquette with hickory in it though to avoid the petroleum taste as well as adding a little hardwood smoke.Once your added coals are showing white ash you are ready to grill. At this time take that bronze brush you got with your grill tool kit and brush down the top of the grill. The heat will have converted any old debris to ash and you can just brush it off. If you try it when the grill is cold good luck.
Ok I cooked the veggies first. Tomatoes throw on for about a minute a side, here you want a bit of smoke and some grill marks, any more and the tomatoes will just be mush, not a good side dish. The summer squash give 3-4 minutes a side, you want really good charring from the grill and the heat in the squash will finish the cooking so don't worry if it's a bit hard when you take it off the grill. The Orange you definitely want to do at about the same time as the squash. This will concentrate and caramelize the sugars on the outer part of the orange and give you the good flavor that you cannot get elsewhere.
Next came the fish and the sausage. The sausage I got a good char on each side and moved to the cooler part of the grill. The Mahi Mahi being a firm fish I took a chance. Instead of using a fish basket on the grill I left the skin on the filets and placed the seasoned oiled fish on the hot part of the grill. I left the fish skin side down until I could see that moisture was coming out of the top of the entire fish. I then turned it over for about 30-45 seconds to finish the top. Thanks to both oiling the fish and the high heat (about 600 degrees) nothing stuck and they came off perfectly. The sausages took about 8 minutes after I browned them to fully cook and I removed them and served the family (the baby boy was hungry and fussing by that point).
The chicken I messed up on. I put it over the hot part of the grill to get the skin cooking and had a huge flare up (from oil and chicken fat hitting the coals and flaming up high). I was inside for this serving the gang so by the time I got out the chicken skin was covered with oily soot. This tastes horrible so I was fretting. After a few dozen choice cuss words I flipped the chicken on the cool part of the grill and squirted out the flames. I closed the lid and set the damper so that the heat was about 500 degrees and went in to eat. I check the chicken about every 10 minutes and it was cooked in about 30. The good part was that once peeled the chicken tasted great but the skin (which the wife loves was a total loss). So learn from my lesson. ALWAYS pay attention to your fire.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Quick Chix
Here's a speed recipe for a quick and yummy entree.
1 lb chicken tenders (or sliced chicken breast)
1/2 cup homemade yogurt (you can store buy if you are not cheap like me but do check out the recipe for yogurt below)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 tblsp curry powder (sweet or hot whatever mix your family likes we go for McCormick's)
1 cup panko
bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat oven to 375
First of all layer your salt and pepper a bit on the tenders a bit in the bread crumbs. It will make for a better result.
So rinse and pat dry your chicken tenders then season them.
Mix 2/3rds of the curry and all of the yogurt and mustard together into a big bowl. Once combined, dump in the chicken and really squish around so that they are all thoroughly coated. Once coated one at a time toss them in the bowl of bread crumbs (add the rest of the curry to the panko and mix first) so that they are all covered. Place on baking sheet and cook for 12 -15 minutes. Test one for doneness. All the pink should be gone but it should still be juicy.NOTE: if you bake on stoneware add 3-5 minutes for the stone to heat up.
The mustard and yogurt will keep the meat moist and provide a good flavor on the outside. The breadcrumbs will give you a bit of flavor and a crunch. Kids will love the Chicken tenders with the crunch and adults will love the flavor. Don't tell the kids but this is so healthy their doctors will need to sell their boats/golf clubs.
1 lb chicken tenders (or sliced chicken breast)
1/2 cup homemade yogurt (you can store buy if you are not cheap like me but do check out the recipe for yogurt below)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1 tblsp curry powder (sweet or hot whatever mix your family likes we go for McCormick
's)1 cup panko
bread crumbs salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat oven to 375
First of all layer your salt and pepper a bit on the tenders a bit in the bread crumbs. It will make for a better result.
So rinse and pat dry your chicken tenders then season them.
Mix 2/3rds of the curry and all of the yogurt and mustard together into a big bowl. Once combined, dump in the chicken and really squish around so that they are all thoroughly coated. Once coated one at a time toss them in the bowl of bread crumbs (add the rest of the curry to the panko and mix first) so that they are all covered. Place on baking sheet and cook for 12 -15 minutes. Test one for doneness. All the pink should be gone but it should still be juicy.NOTE: if you bake on stoneware add 3-5 minutes for the stone to heat up.
The mustard and yogurt will keep the meat moist and provide a good flavor on the outside. The breadcrumbs will give you a bit of flavor and a crunch. Kids will love the Chicken tenders with the crunch and adults will love the flavor. Don't tell the kids but this is so healthy their doctors will need to sell their boats/golf clubs.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The last Stand
I always wanted a stand mixer
, but if there is one thing to remember it's that I am cheap. It was hard to justify the expense when there were other items requiring my attention. Enter a loving wife a few extra bucks and a birthday. It was the best present ever. I can make toll house cookies (double batch) in 5 minutes and a huge batch of icing in about the same time. In addition to all the mixing and whipping I got every attachment. Granted the shredder is not a great buy but the pasta attachment and the grinder both rock.
The biggest problem with homemade pasta is the time. Mix, knead and roll & cut. It can take hours. You can cut the time (and cost) of really good pasta by about a third. I've talked about ground meat before but it is amazing beyond belief to eat a burger of good fresh ground chuck. The flavor is better and you control exactly how much fat you want in it. There is a saying with ground meat that fat = flavor. This is very true but when you take a piece of meat with good inter-muscular fat you don't need to add additional fat for flavor and you can add moisture in other ways that bring flavor to the party (more later).
When you think about it a good stand mixer (that can take attachments) is pricey but when you add up everything it will replace it is a good deal. Mine replaces hand grinder (though motorized is much much much more desirable), hand mixer with mixing blades/whipping blades and dough blades, ice cream maker (working on a recipe for that one) and motorized pasta machine it is a good deal overall and what you can do with it will save you a ton of money in the long run plus you don't have to store all those separate pieces in your space limited kitchen (kitchen equipment will always consume 110% of the available space it's a law).
Shepards/Cottage Pie
(the difference is with Shepard's pie you use lamb not beef).
2 lbs ground beef shoulder (or lamb)
1 large carrot
1 medium onion or large shallot
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
1 sprig of time (strip the leaves) optional
2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of chicken broth (optional used to add moisture if the ground meat gets too dry).
salt to taste.
1 & 1/2 to 2 lbs of mashed potatoes (you can use the potatoes in a tub if you want I often do)
1 egg yolk
4 oz of cheese (your choice) shredded
Mix the egg yolk, cheese & potatoes and set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 and get out a 9x9 baking pan (stone ware is great for this so would enameled cast iron)
Grind your meat on a coarse or fine grind (your preference). Lightly salt the meat and brown the beef in a skillet and drain. Grate in the carrot (peeled) and the onion/shallot. Add in the time and grate the garlic into the shallot if you want to use them. Lastly add in the Worcestershire sauce and stir the meat mixture for 3-5 minutes over heat (taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning if needed). When done pour all of it into the baking pan. Gently spoon the potatoes or pipe them over the beef and smooth to an even cover. You can optionally fluff the potatoes with a fork, but you want a good seal all over the pan with the potatoes so your meat does not dry out.
Bake for 30 minutes or so or until the potatoes are browning on the top.
Let your pie rest for 10 or so minutes (you can eat immediately but in 10 minutes the pie will set so you can get clean slices out) and enjoy. The juices of the meat will blend with the vegetables and the Worcestershire sauce and it will taste heavenly. This simple dish will wow you and is surprisingly light and flavorful. Try this at home even if you need to buy ground meat (grinding meat takes about 5 minutes per roast that you grind).
, but if there is one thing to remember it's that I am cheap. It was hard to justify the expense when there were other items requiring my attention. Enter a loving wife a few extra bucks and a birthday. It was the best present ever. I can make toll house cookies (double batch) in 5 minutes and a huge batch of icing in about the same time. In addition to all the mixing and whipping I got every attachment. Granted the shredder is not a great buy but the pasta attachment and the grinder both rock.The biggest problem with homemade pasta is the time. Mix, knead and roll & cut. It can take hours. You can cut the time (and cost) of really good pasta by about a third. I've talked about ground meat before but it is amazing beyond belief to eat a burger of good fresh ground chuck. The flavor is better and you control exactly how much fat you want in it. There is a saying with ground meat that fat = flavor. This is very true but when you take a piece of meat with good inter-muscular fat you don't need to add additional fat for flavor and you can add moisture in other ways that bring flavor to the party (more later).
When you think about it a good stand mixer (that can take attachments) is pricey but when you add up everything it will replace it is a good deal. Mine replaces hand grinder (though motorized is much much much more desirable), hand mixer with mixing blades/whipping blades and dough blades, ice cream maker (working on a recipe for that one) and motorized pasta machine it is a good deal overall and what you can do with it will save you a ton of money in the long run plus you don't have to store all those separate pieces in your space limited kitchen (kitchen equipment will always consume 110% of the available space it's a law).
Shepards/Cottage Pie
(the difference is with Shepard's pie you use lamb not beef).
2 lbs ground beef shoulder (or lamb)
1 large carrot
1 medium onion or large shallot
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
1 sprig of time (strip the leaves) optional
2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of chicken broth (optional used to add moisture if the ground meat gets too dry).
salt to taste.
1 & 1/2 to 2 lbs of mashed potatoes (you can use the potatoes in a tub if you want I often do)
1 egg yolk
4 oz of cheese (your choice) shredded
Mix the egg yolk, cheese & potatoes and set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 and get out a 9x9 baking pan (stone ware is great for this so would enameled cast iron)
Grind your meat on a coarse or fine grind (your preference). Lightly salt the meat and brown the beef in a skillet and drain. Grate in the carrot (peeled) and the onion/shallot. Add in the time and grate the garlic into the shallot if you want to use them. Lastly add in the Worcestershire sauce and stir the meat mixture for 3-5 minutes over heat (taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning if needed). When done pour all of it into the baking pan. Gently spoon the potatoes or pipe them over the beef and smooth to an even cover. You can optionally fluff the potatoes with a fork, but you want a good seal all over the pan with the potatoes so your meat does not dry out.
Bake for 30 minutes or so or until the potatoes are browning on the top.
Let your pie rest for 10 or so minutes (you can eat immediately but in 10 minutes the pie will set so you can get clean slices out) and enjoy. The juices of the meat will blend with the vegetables and the Worcestershire sauce and it will taste heavenly. This simple dish will wow you and is surprisingly light and flavorful. Try this at home even if you need to buy ground meat (grinding meat takes about 5 minutes per roast that you grind).
Daddy's Jam Session
Ok with the canning I gave you the basics of jam. This Christmas I made a bunch for the family & friends and used primarily frozen fruit. Do not sneer at the frozen. The fruit is picked at the peak of ripeness and flash frozen to protect it. When frozen fruit thaws the juices tend to leak out due to damage to the cell walls from ice crystals. Juice leaking is horrible in a parfait, but it is what we want in a good jam.
Texture is another important part and is where the pectin comes in. I like my jam to be between a pudding and a jelly consistency. If you simmer your fruit before you add sugar you will develop the natural pectins and will not need to add as much processed pectin (it's a natural fruit extract so don't worry about it). I don't have the patience for that as it's a long enough process already. Also with pectins there are two types powder and liquid. I use powder is that is what is available & cheap at my grocery store. The big thing is after you add the pectin, test it out on a spoon full before canning/storing. If your jam is too thick for your add some water (a little at a time) and re-test, if it's too loose add some more pectin and re-test. Each bag of fruit will be a little different so you will need to fiddle with it some with the amount of sugar and pectin.
What can you jam? Anything in the veggie aisles of the store or your garden. There are three basics in addition to what you are jamming: sugar, lemon juice and pectin. everything else is variable or optional. Some fruits are hard to give up the juice so you need to add some liquid like water apple juice or a liqueur. Other items like hot peppers (made that too it was yummy but way too hot for me) like a splash of vinegar. Some items like the oranges I jammed supplied their own pectin and a ton of juice but needed extra sugar as cooked orange peel gets very bitter.
For storage you have three options: canning (described in the prior post), freezing and refrigeration. Remember you are basically making a sugar jello here (it's what they use to culture bacteria) so some means of preservation is required. This stuff is safe to refreeze and reboil so you can take your blueberry jam and turn it into a GREAT ice cream topping with just a little heat, then throw the rest back into the fridge (assuming for some reason you didn't eat it all).
So experiment with what you have and what you want. Also remember to taste as you go along. A great advantage (other than cost) to homemade jam is that you control what goes inside. So you can make a lower sugar version than what you can get in the store that will taste so much better. One question I still have to answer is with papayas and pineapples. I know that the natural enzymes inside will dissolve gelatin but i am unsure about pectin. So wait for a good sale on the frozen goodies and go to town.
My Christmas List of Jams:
Peach
Blueberry
Mixed berry
Strawberry (it's a must)
Pepper (home grown hot peppers)
Planned for this year (if the garden cooperates)
Pepper (not as hot this year)
Tomato & Tomato pepper
Canteloupe
& Maybe Cucumber
Texture is another important part and is where the pectin comes in. I like my jam to be between a pudding and a jelly consistency. If you simmer your fruit before you add sugar you will develop the natural pectins and will not need to add as much processed pectin (it's a natural fruit extract so don't worry about it). I don't have the patience for that as it's a long enough process already. Also with pectins there are two types powder and liquid. I use powder is that is what is available & cheap at my grocery store. The big thing is after you add the pectin, test it out on a spoon full before canning/storing. If your jam is too thick for your add some water (a little at a time) and re-test, if it's too loose add some more pectin and re-test. Each bag of fruit will be a little different so you will need to fiddle with it some with the amount of sugar and pectin.
What can you jam? Anything in the veggie aisles of the store or your garden. There are three basics in addition to what you are jamming: sugar, lemon juice and pectin. everything else is variable or optional. Some fruits are hard to give up the juice so you need to add some liquid like water apple juice or a liqueur. Other items like hot peppers (made that too it was yummy but way too hot for me) like a splash of vinegar. Some items like the oranges I jammed supplied their own pectin and a ton of juice but needed extra sugar as cooked orange peel gets very bitter.
For storage you have three options: canning (described in the prior post), freezing and refrigeration. Remember you are basically making a sugar jello here (it's what they use to culture bacteria) so some means of preservation is required. This stuff is safe to refreeze and reboil so you can take your blueberry jam and turn it into a GREAT ice cream topping with just a little heat, then throw the rest back into the fridge (assuming for some reason you didn't eat it all).
So experiment with what you have and what you want. Also remember to taste as you go along. A great advantage (other than cost) to homemade jam is that you control what goes inside. So you can make a lower sugar version than what you can get in the store that will taste so much better. One question I still have to answer is with papayas and pineapples. I know that the natural enzymes inside will dissolve gelatin but i am unsure about pectin. So wait for a good sale on the frozen goodies and go to town.
My Christmas List of Jams:
Peach
Blueberry
Mixed berry
Strawberry (it's a must)
Pepper (home grown hot peppers)
Planned for this year (if the garden cooperates)
Pepper (not as hot this year)
Tomato & Tomato pepper
Canteloupe
& Maybe Cucumber
Monday, May 10, 2010
Canning & my awesome Peach Jam
One of the most popular method of preservation, canning has fallen out of popularity. Why? it's a time thing. Canning though simple takes time. Time is an enemy in the modern kitchen if you listen to the ads, but canning can save you time and money. Canning equipment is simple and cheap. You need a large cheap stock pot. How big? Mine is a 5 gallon, that's 20 quarts and can handle 7 quart jars at one time. We made everyone jam for Christmas and decided to can them. The process is simple start with clean jars, rims and NEW dome lids. You cannot re-use the dome lids. Jars and rims can be reused until they are dead. This is the link to the canning kit I use
.
The process is simple use enough water in the pot to cover your jars by about 2 inches. Then turn on the flame and start it boiling (this will take a while as it is a lot of water. In the bottom of the pan you want a rag and also place in your jar rack (if you use one). One key to canning is to not let the jars touch the bottom or the sides as the thin metal of the pot can heat very unevenly and break the glass.
Once the water is boiling put all your jars in the pot as well as the rims & lids (all seperate and no jars touching). Let these boil for 5-10 minutes. Pull out a jar and drain and then pull out one rim and one dome lid. Put your food in the jar keeping the jar rim clean of all food and other debris. Place the dome lid on the jar and put the rim on and tighten to finger tight (you need to leave some looseness here as we want air to escape if you seal the jar airtight it can explode).
Once all the jars are filled and sealed put them back into the giant pot of boiling water. Let the water boil for 5-20 minutes. We are doing two things here. We are sterilizing the food in the jar and letting the air expand and a lot of it escape the jar. When the boiling is done (read the recipe for the exact time) pull the jars from the water and let it cool. If everything is sealed properly in about 2-10 minutes you will hear a tink as the dome lid will depress due to the air inside the jar decreasing in volume due to the cooling.
If the dome lid does not depress then there is NOT a good seal. You can reseat a new dome lid and re boil or you can just refrigerate after it is completely cool. This is definitly not a jar to place on teh shelf as it is not airtight and will grow possibly harmful bacteria. In addition if you ever find a jar later on that does not have a good seal discard it immediately. NEVER consume improperly sealed shelved goods as it can be potentially fatal.
Ok the warnings are out. Now you need something to can and this is one of my favorites.
Peach Jam.
4lbs of frozen peach slices thawed (substitute with fresh if the cost is right and they are good peaches) .
1 tsp of ground nutmeg
1-4 cups of sugar
2 packs of commercial pectin
2 tblsp of lemon juice.
Cook the peaches on low until they start to juice. Add 1/2 the lemon juice, one cup of sugar and 1/2 the nutmeg and then mash the peaches with a potato masher. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes and taste. Nutmeg can be overpowering so hold of on adding more. Adding sugar to taste is the first task. Do it slowly 1/4 cup at a time until it tastes just right to you. Just remember that you cannot remove sugar. If you do get it a bit too sweet add a touch of lemon juice and re-taste. Once the acid and sugar is good add additional nutmeg to taste. I like a little bit in the background but remember it's your jam. Once it's all to taste add one pack of pectin. This will give it the jelly like consistency take a spoonful and let cool while the rest is still simmering (you can put it in the fridge to speed the process up). Taste the cooled jam and check the consistency and flavor. If you want it firmer add more pectin and re test otherwise it's ready to can (this jam will keep in the freezer forever and in the fridge for 2-4 weeks if it's not all eaten the first day. Now it's ready to eat with bread & butter, as an ice cream topping, stirred into your homemade yogurt or even just right off the spoon. Total cost for almost 1/2 gallon of jam? 6-10 dollars.
.The process is simple use enough water in the pot to cover your jars by about 2 inches. Then turn on the flame and start it boiling (this will take a while as it is a lot of water. In the bottom of the pan you want a rag and also place in your jar rack (if you use one). One key to canning is to not let the jars touch the bottom or the sides as the thin metal of the pot can heat very unevenly and break the glass.
Once the water is boiling put all your jars in the pot as well as the rims & lids (all seperate and no jars touching). Let these boil for 5-10 minutes. Pull out a jar and drain and then pull out one rim and one dome lid. Put your food in the jar keeping the jar rim clean of all food and other debris. Place the dome lid on the jar and put the rim on and tighten to finger tight (you need to leave some looseness here as we want air to escape if you seal the jar airtight it can explode).
Once all the jars are filled and sealed put them back into the giant pot of boiling water. Let the water boil for 5-20 minutes. We are doing two things here. We are sterilizing the food in the jar and letting the air expand and a lot of it escape the jar. When the boiling is done (read the recipe for the exact time) pull the jars from the water and let it cool. If everything is sealed properly in about 2-10 minutes you will hear a tink as the dome lid will depress due to the air inside the jar decreasing in volume due to the cooling.
If the dome lid does not depress then there is NOT a good seal. You can reseat a new dome lid and re boil or you can just refrigerate after it is completely cool. This is definitly not a jar to place on teh shelf as it is not airtight and will grow possibly harmful bacteria. In addition if you ever find a jar later on that does not have a good seal discard it immediately. NEVER consume improperly sealed shelved goods as it can be potentially fatal.
Ok the warnings are out. Now you need something to can and this is one of my favorites.
Peach Jam.
4lbs of frozen peach slices thawed (substitute with fresh if the cost is right and they are good peaches) .
1 tsp of ground nutmeg
1-4 cups of sugar
2 packs of commercial pectin
2 tblsp of lemon juice.
Cook the peaches on low until they start to juice. Add 1/2 the lemon juice, one cup of sugar and 1/2 the nutmeg and then mash the peaches with a potato masher. Let this simmer for about 5 minutes and taste. Nutmeg can be overpowering so hold of on adding more. Adding sugar to taste is the first task. Do it slowly 1/4 cup at a time until it tastes just right to you. Just remember that you cannot remove sugar. If you do get it a bit too sweet add a touch of lemon juice and re-taste. Once the acid and sugar is good add additional nutmeg to taste. I like a little bit in the background but remember it's your jam. Once it's all to taste add one pack of pectin. This will give it the jelly like consistency take a spoonful and let cool while the rest is still simmering (you can put it in the fridge to speed the process up). Taste the cooled jam and check the consistency and flavor. If you want it firmer add more pectin and re test otherwise it's ready to can (this jam will keep in the freezer forever and in the fridge for 2-4 weeks if it's not all eaten the first day. Now it's ready to eat with bread & butter, as an ice cream topping, stirred into your homemade yogurt or even just right off the spoon. Total cost for almost 1/2 gallon of jam? 6-10 dollars.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
A Quick salad
Simple, crisp and one of my all time favorites. You will need three medium or two large tomatos, Two medium cucumbers, 1/2 onion, 1/4 cup vinegar (your choice), 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tblsp sugar.
Peel and dice cucumbers. Dice the tomatos to a similar size. Dice the onion as small as possible. Put all of your dices in a bowl. Sprinkle in the salt and sugar, add the vinegar. Stir the salad and refrigerate for an hour. Check the seasoning though. If it is too sweet, add a sprinkle of salt, stir and recheck. Do the opposite if it's a bit too salty.
This is an easy no brainer salad that is light and refreshing. With it's high acid content it is great with rich (aka fatty foods) like BBQ and anything fried. If you want a twist add some time or terragon (avoid dill as it is cliche though).
By the way this is also a quick refrigerator pickle.
Peel and dice cucumbers. Dice the tomatos to a similar size. Dice the onion as small as possible. Put all of your dices in a bowl. Sprinkle in the salt and sugar, add the vinegar. Stir the salad and refrigerate for an hour. Check the seasoning though. If it is too sweet, add a sprinkle of salt, stir and recheck. Do the opposite if it's a bit too salty.
This is an easy no brainer salad that is light and refreshing. With it's high acid content it is great with rich (aka fatty foods) like BBQ and anything fried. If you want a twist add some time or terragon (avoid dill as it is cliche though).
By the way this is also a quick refrigerator pickle.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Yogurt, home made
A quick break from smoking here. I made yogurt last night.
Ingredients
6oz active culture plain yogurt
1 gal milk
1 crock pot
1old blanket
Optional strainer and a paper towel or coffee filter or cheese cloth or (something else that water can flow through but not solids.
Simplicity thy name is yogurt. Take a clean crockpot and add 1 gal of milk. Heat on low for 2.5 hours then let rest for 3 hours. Mix your active culture yogurt with 2 cups of the warm milk. Add mixture to crockpot, cover and wrap in blanket or towel for 8 or so hours.
That's it you have yogurt. Our batch is a bit runny (perfect for smoothies) but we are planning to drain it (by putting a coffee filter in a strainer and putting the yogurt in it) to thicken it up to what we like. Total cost for 1 gallon of yogurt? 4 dollars. Now we can add in fresh or frozen fruit or even some of my homemade jam. It's yummy and fresh and all ours for the price of one pack of yogurt at the store.
Ingredients
6oz active culture plain yogurt
1 gal milk
1 crock pot
1old blanket
Optional strainer and a paper towel or coffee filter or cheese cloth or (something else that water can flow through but not solids.
Simplicity thy name is yogurt. Take a clean crockpot and add 1 gal of milk. Heat on low for 2.5 hours then let rest for 3 hours. Mix your active culture yogurt with 2 cups of the warm milk. Add mixture to crockpot, cover and wrap in blanket or towel for 8 or so hours.
That's it you have yogurt. Our batch is a bit runny (perfect for smoothies) but we are planning to drain it (by putting a coffee filter in a strainer and putting the yogurt in it) to thicken it up to what we like. Total cost for 1 gallon of yogurt? 4 dollars. Now we can add in fresh or frozen fruit or even some of my homemade jam. It's yummy and fresh and all ours for the price of one pack of yogurt at the store.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
A Gift From Texas to the World
My cousin Joe is a native Texan and a single dad (just got engaged yesterday!!!). Here you will learn about Brisket. Remember it is a different piece of meat as well as a different animal, so there are some big differences. Joe also shows good use of mixed smoke here. I must confess I am a single smoke guy. So here is his offering for your enjoyment. Remember BBQ is an art form not the way to cook a quick supper. So take the time and you will be rewarded.
Brisket, My Way
my cousin Bill has asked for a "Texan's" input on brisket for this blog....now, regardless of where you are from, your home state IS something that can be overcome, just as a public education can, in the making of a proper brisket....to fully appreciate the meat a bit of its history must be understood
my cousin Bill has asked for a "Texan's" input on brisket for this blog....now, regardless of where you are from, your home state IS something that can be overcome, just as a public education can, in the making of a proper brisket....to fully appreciate the meat a bit of its history must be understood
(here I disagree. The shoulder is a worse cut. It is just as tough but in a brisket the grains of the muscle run in one direction as it is one muscle. The shoulder is a bunch of cris crossing muscles. WIth brisket if you slice thinly against the grain, just like a fajita [or skirt steak to the uninformed] it can be a tender mouthful. With a shoulder there is no way to cut it where it will all be tender because the muscles are going every which way.)
brisket is actually one of the worst, if not THE worst, cut of beef....in its natural state it is very tough, stringy and not at all edible....so in the days of the old south when cut up for the family the brisket cut was given to the slaves as it was not considered worth consumption...these slaves were from all parts, Africa, the Caribbean, some had been in the deep south, some had immersed themselves with local indians and some had even been with the French settlers of the south along the Mississippi.....why is all of this important to know? well, each culture has added a bit of spice, a style of cooking and curing
by this time the slaves had already been getting inferior cuts of meat and knew that the best way to make them edible was with flavor and low heat slow cooking....time marches on, as it is wont to do, and we come to the post Civil War era...these former slaves, now freedmen were still getting the brisket cuts although now they were starting to open up their own lunch shops in fallen down deserted houses or even a stand on the side of the road.....even in the deep south at this time a crowd of any color drew looky loos and gawkers and eventually the tender juicy meat made its way into the cities and more populated areas where because of its flavor and ability to fall apart with a fork it became extremely popular
(We also differ a bit here I like a special smoker as I can hot or cold smoke. The offset grill setup while great is good for hot smoking only unless you want to pipe smoke from the chimney included off to a seperate box which I do.)
today anyone with a back porch and the ability to press an ignite button fancies themselves a grill master....many take short cuts and claim their 5 pound brisket cooked on gas in 6 hours is just as good as the rest and this is simply not true....smoking a brisket remains an art form today just as it has for the last 200 years
there are several ways to season a brisket, you can use the injection method, a dry rub, you can season your wood in a brine and allow the smoke to do all the work, or you can simply allow the meat to flavor itself with a bit of help from the smoke
regardless of the size of the brisket you must first allow the meat to come to room temperature....doing so will ensure that it will cook evenly all the way through...starting out with a cold center will have the outer portion cooking much faster and will result in dry meat....once you have your brisket seasoned you are going to want to wrap it in foil....you can either twist one end into a "vent" or not again that is personal preference, i chose to do so for about half the cook time....make sure when you wrap you keep the fatty side up...this will allow the fat to drip down through the meat flavoring it and keeping it nice and moist
(Talk to your butcher to see if you can get a brisket without the fat trimmed. a fatty brisket is near impossible to find in my area. If you havn't figured it out yet, Texas is different.)
my pit set up is a weber offset smoker, this keeps the heat indirect and makes adjusting the heat much easier as i dont have to move the meat to get to the fire....i begin with a bed of coals getting them nice and hot before dropping on a few logs of apple wood....on a 13 pound brisket i will smoke it for 26 hours (2 hours per pound).....the first 18 hours or so will be done with the apple as it is much milder and wont over power the meat
(Not just for smoking the desire to fiddle with meat on the grill has ruined many a good piece of meat)
once your brisket is on the pit DO NOT MOVE IT!!!!....the only time you should be opening your pit is to open the firebox to either add wood or coals, or to vent off too much heat....now the last 8 hours or so i use pecan, it is a bit stronger than the apple but by now the meat has sealed up a bit and wont take on too much of the pecan so as to be overpowered by it.....the last half hour you will want to remove the foil....this last half hour of cook time allows the meat to firm up just enough to seal in some of the juices and be more manageable with a knife....you are now ready to enjoy the best meat youll ever have dripping in your mouth
a good way to ensure you do not dry out your meat is to get a small can (one that wont put off fumes when it gets hot like a coke or beer can) and fill it with either plain water, beer, or some type of marinade...i set mine near but not in the fire, this causes the pit to fill with humidity and keep the meat super moist
in review:
you will need 1 brisket (with a full side of fat coverage, do NOT buy it with the fat removed as it will dry out!!)
wrap in a layer of foil, fat side up to allow it to drip down
1.5 to 2 hours of cook time per pound (if youre like me and cook big, youll need an alarm clock or co-pilot to get you through fire maintenance in the small hours of the morning)
your smoker to be at 130-150 degrees F
unless you are already comfortable with your smoker you will want to temp check every half hour to hour
(good rule of thumb, each log or scoop of coal adds about 50 degrees and will take about a half an hour to show up on your thermometer
so make sure youre staying ahead of temp drops.....AND REMEMBER TO ADJUST ACCORDINGLY PER SEASON ie winter or summer)
and depending on how big your brisket is, youll need a proper amount of hungry people to enjoy it!
do NOT be scared to experiment! try a flavor, try a type of wood, try anything you like! we didnt get to where we are today by being timid around the grill!!!
once your brisket is on the pit DO NOT MOVE IT!!!!....the only time you should be opening your pit is to open the firebox to either add wood or coals, or to vent off too much heat....now the last 8 hours or so i use pecan, it is a bit stronger than the apple but by now the meat has sealed up a bit and wont take on too much of the pecan so as to be overpowered by it.....the last half hour you will want to remove the foil....this last half hour of cook time allows the meat to firm up just enough to seal in some of the juices and be more manageable with a knife....you are now ready to enjoy the best meat youll ever have dripping in your mouth
a good way to ensure you do not dry out your meat is to get a small can (one that wont put off fumes when it gets hot like a coke or beer can) and fill it with either plain water, beer, or some type of marinade...i set mine near but not in the fire, this causes the pit to fill with humidity and keep the meat super moist
in review:
you will need 1 brisket (with a full side of fat coverage, do NOT buy it with the fat removed as it will dry out!!)
wrap in a layer of foil, fat side up to allow it to drip down
1.5 to 2 hours of cook time per pound (if youre like me and cook big, youll need an alarm clock or co-pilot to get you through fire maintenance in the small hours of the morning)
your smoker to be at 130-150 degrees F
unless you are already comfortable with your smoker you will want to temp check every half hour to hour
(good rule of thumb, each log or scoop of coal adds about 50 degrees and will take about a half an hour to show up on your thermometer
so make sure youre staying ahead of temp drops.....AND REMEMBER TO ADJUST ACCORDINGLY PER SEASON ie winter or summer)
and depending on how big your brisket is, youll need a proper amount of hungry people to enjoy it!
do NOT be scared to experiment! try a flavor, try a type of wood, try anything you like! we didnt get to where we are today by being timid around the grill!!!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Ancillary Smokeage
You've done all the prep work building your smoker, you've brined for days and woke up with the rooster to get your pork butt smoking. There's 12 hours to kill and you see all that smoke pouring through the cracks filling the neighborhood with smoke (and envy). You ponder what else can I do with that setup?
Well I've done some thinking (and cooking) in that direction. If you have a nice big space put a hunk of cheese (mozzarella, provolone or parmesian are my favorites) in a heat proof bowl and smoke for an hour or four. When it comes out place in the fridge to cool off. The smoke would have permeated every bit of that cheese and it is heaven. Adding to pasta or just snacking you've taken bargain bin cheese to gourmet status.
Well that's 4 out of the 12 hours so take any cased sausage and stab each with a fork in a few places (for fat drainage) and throw on the smoker in any convenient place. Give the sausages 2-4 hours and test one for doneness. When cooked through they are ready to eat although you may want to wait a bit longer for more smoke and a bit less moisture in the sausage. The end result can be eaten straight, sliced thin as an appetizer or pizza topping or lastly used in a spaghetti sauce.
What you can smoke is limited only by your imagination so experiment whenever you can.
Lastly smoke is a preservative. If you keep your smoked items away from heat, moisture & air (sealed plastic bag in the fridge) they will surprise you on how long they will last. Smoking is an early and primitive form of preservation and helps make the food inhospitable for micro-organisms by dehydration of the materials and because most little bugs just don't like the smoke.
Well I've done some thinking (and cooking) in that direction. If you have a nice big space put a hunk of cheese (mozzarella, provolone or parmesian are my favorites) in a heat proof bowl and smoke for an hour or four. When it comes out place in the fridge to cool off. The smoke would have permeated every bit of that cheese and it is heaven. Adding to pasta or just snacking you've taken bargain bin cheese to gourmet status.
Well that's 4 out of the 12 hours so take any cased sausage and stab each with a fork in a few places (for fat drainage) and throw on the smoker in any convenient place. Give the sausages 2-4 hours and test one for doneness. When cooked through they are ready to eat although you may want to wait a bit longer for more smoke and a bit less moisture in the sausage. The end result can be eaten straight, sliced thin as an appetizer or pizza topping or lastly used in a spaghetti sauce.
What you can smoke is limited only by your imagination so experiment whenever you can.
Lastly smoke is a preservative. If you keep your smoked items away from heat, moisture & air (sealed plastic bag in the fridge) they will surprise you on how long they will last. Smoking is an early and primitive form of preservation and helps make the food inhospitable for micro-organisms by dehydration of the materials and because most little bugs just don't like the smoke.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Daddy's smoked Pork Butt
Pork BBQ is in my opinion the ultimate pork dish. If done correctly it yields moist succulent strips of meat, with every piece carrying the ultimate in smoky porky goodness. I know there are many out there who would disagree in fact BBQ disagreements would escalate beyond the horror of religous wars if not for copious amounts of beer involved. The other primary camps are ribs and beef brisket (to be covered later).
This is more of a method than a recipe and so many of the individual components can be substituted or replaced that I won't really mention them but I will specify what is essential.
Step 1 the Brine.
Many people use rubs but IMO a brine is better because 1) we are adding moisture and 2) we are adding flavor to all the meat not just the outside and lastly the crust does not burn it just gets crusty and yummy. Others may disagree with this but it's my blog dammit so I brine.
The brine there are two essentials to a brine salt and water. Everything else is optional and to taste besides I don't measure when doing this . As to the amount of salt you will need more than you think as you want the liquid to taste like seawater when you are done. The salt, it's all the same chemically but I like pickling salt as the small crystals dissolve easily in cold water. Kosher salt will dissolve the least of the common salts and plain old table salt is an acceptable choice. For other flavors I like Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, cumen, any and all herbs that will go with the primary flavor profile (dried and powdered, don't waste the good fresh herbs here). Latstly I like bourbon for flavor. It is a complex mix of savory, sweet and pure yumminess and just goe so well with pork. Add any booze you like though, just be aware of the total flavor profile.
The brining method is simple. Cover the meat with the brine and refrigerate for 24-72 hours. During this time all the flavors (along with a bit more liquid) will migrate through the entire hunk of meat seasoning every bit of it instead of just the surface half inch (a rub).
Set up your smoker and put the meat on. You want constant smoke and a temperature between 180 & 220 degrees F. A small pork butt will take 8-10 hours with a large one up to 12 to 16 hours. During this time the smoke is penetrating the meat imparting a unique flavor and a characteristic pinkness, fat is melting and basting the meat, connective tissues that make a pork butt tough when roasted at 350 are dissolving leaving moist tender meat behind. When you ca easily pull off hunks of meat with tongs. Wrap in foil and let the pork rest and cool for about 1/2 hour. You can eat immediately but this is a hot piece of meat.
I like a big pile of meat (i discard most fat when hand shredding) for a side, choose something light & crisp and eat with optional BBQ sauce of your choice. Please lightly dunk, this meat is way too good to drown in sauce
This is more of a method than a recipe and so many of the individual components can be substituted or replaced that I won't really mention them but I will specify what is essential.
Step 1 the Brine.
Many people use rubs but IMO a brine is better because 1) we are adding moisture and 2) we are adding flavor to all the meat not just the outside and lastly the crust does not burn it just gets crusty and yummy. Others may disagree with this but it's my blog dammit so I brine.
The brine there are two essentials to a brine salt and water. Everything else is optional and to taste besides I don't measure when doing this . As to the amount of salt you will need more than you think as you want the liquid to taste like seawater when you are done. The salt, it's all the same chemically but I like pickling salt as the small crystals dissolve easily in cold water. Kosher salt will dissolve the least of the common salts and plain old table salt is an acceptable choice. For other flavors I like Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, cumen, any and all herbs that will go with the primary flavor profile (dried and powdered, don't waste the good fresh herbs here). Latstly I like bourbon for flavor. It is a complex mix of savory, sweet and pure yumminess and just goe so well with pork. Add any booze you like though, just be aware of the total flavor profile.
The brining method is simple. Cover the meat with the brine and refrigerate for 24-72 hours. During this time all the flavors (along with a bit more liquid) will migrate through the entire hunk of meat seasoning every bit of it instead of just the surface half inch (a rub).
Set up your smoker and put the meat on. You want constant smoke and a temperature between 180 & 220 degrees F. A small pork butt will take 8-10 hours with a large one up to 12 to 16 hours. During this time the smoke is penetrating the meat imparting a unique flavor and a characteristic pinkness, fat is melting and basting the meat, connective tissues that make a pork butt tough when roasted at 350 are dissolving leaving moist tender meat behind. When you ca easily pull off hunks of meat with tongs. Wrap in foil and let the pork rest and cool for about 1/2 hour. You can eat immediately but this is a hot piece of meat.
I like a big pile of meat (i discard most fat when hand shredding) for a side, choose something light & crisp and eat with optional BBQ sauce of your choice. Please lightly dunk, this meat is way too good to drown in sauce
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Where there's Smoke there's flavor.
First of all disabuse yourself of what you consider barbecue (BBQ or just Q). Cooking something on a grill does not make it BBQ it makes it grilled. BBQ is long slow cooking at low heat with smoke (we will get to smokers later on). Grills are useful tools as they can cook quickly over direct heat (steaks, chicken, fish, etc.) in a medium time over indirect heat (roasts, whole chickens & meatloafs), or long and slow with smoke over indirect heat (the Q).
There are also many purpose built appliances for smoking ranging in price from 60$ to the price of a small car. To break it down you need a heat source (preferably wood/charcoal or electric), a place to put the wood (for smoke not fuel) and something heat safe to contain the smoke and what you are smoking. For fuel stay away from gas as burning gas produces large amounts of water vapor, water vapor will hit the fat in what you are cooking and prevent a lot of the smoke from penetrating. Later on I will give you a "recipe" for a smoker anyone can afford.
Think of smoke as a flavor. You can use just about any wood during a roasting or a grilling to impart a wonderful aroma and flavor (after grilling steaks or burgers put a pan of meatballs or a meatloaf on the grill to cook in the residual heat and you will be amazed) as this happens over a short period. Somewhere between 6-8 hours under the smoke though and the individual characteristics of the wood come through as a distinctive flavor in your meat.
As for choice of fuel I have a cousin who swears by wood. Nothing wrong with this but be warned it needs a lot more attention and will vary in heat. You have to nurse a wood smoker along and it is a labor of love. I prefer electric as it gives me a constant heat and a constant smoke and is much less time intensive in terms of fiddling with your smoke.
Wood choices vary in two ways flavor and chunk size. The smaller the chunk the more smoke and faster consumption you will have, the larger chunks will last longer and smoke a bit slower. Sawdust will burn fast with a LOT of smoke, hand size chunks will smoke for a long time with a constant amount of smoke. Also in terms of flavor you can break it up into light medium & heavy flavors. The lighter flavors include all of the fruit woods, medium oak, maple and almond, heavy hickory and mesquite. The heavier flavors I relegate to grilling too much of them imparts what is to me a medicinal taste that bothers me but I am not everyone. I prefer single wood smoking using the fruit woods for a light sweet smoky addition. Like all flavors though play with and choose your own choices until you get what you like. My suggestion is to stay single wood and start lighter and build heavier until you find the flavor you like best.
Smoker:
Ingredients
small round hot plate
inexpensive metal pie pan
round grill grate
terra cotta pot large (from your local hardware store should fit the round grill top on the inner lip)
Ceramic or cement lid that will snugly cover the large terra cotta pot
Wood chunks
large for long smoking, medium for ribs and chips or sawdust for cured fish.
Smoking thermometer
Assembly:
Put the hot plate at the bottom of the pot and feed the cord through the bottom. Set the temperature on the hot plate to 2/3rds max. Place pie pan on hot plate and fill with wood chunks. Put grill in the top of the terra cotta pot. Put meat/whatever you are smoking on top. Hopefully there is a hole in your cover, if not drill one using a ceramic drill bit. Put the thermometer in the top and secure. Put top over pot and plug in. If you are using large chunks the smoke will last 3-4 hours per refill. Once it runs out, if the meat is not done, you will need to refill the wood, dump the old chunks in a metal pan full of water (if you dump in the mulch pile you will start a fire and burn down your fence or more trust me on this) and put the new chunks in, replace the grill, meat and top and drink another beer. Repeat process until the meat falls apart. I'll give you specific recipes later but hey unless you are really driven gathering the hardware here will take a few days.
There are also many purpose built appliances for smoking ranging in price from 60$ to the price of a small car. To break it down you need a heat source (preferably wood/charcoal or electric), a place to put the wood (for smoke not fuel) and something heat safe to contain the smoke and what you are smoking. For fuel stay away from gas as burning gas produces large amounts of water vapor, water vapor will hit the fat in what you are cooking and prevent a lot of the smoke from penetrating. Later on I will give you a "recipe" for a smoker anyone can afford.
Think of smoke as a flavor. You can use just about any wood during a roasting or a grilling to impart a wonderful aroma and flavor (after grilling steaks or burgers put a pan of meatballs or a meatloaf on the grill to cook in the residual heat and you will be amazed) as this happens over a short period. Somewhere between 6-8 hours under the smoke though and the individual characteristics of the wood come through as a distinctive flavor in your meat.
As for choice of fuel I have a cousin who swears by wood. Nothing wrong with this but be warned it needs a lot more attention and will vary in heat. You have to nurse a wood smoker along and it is a labor of love. I prefer electric as it gives me a constant heat and a constant smoke and is much less time intensive in terms of fiddling with your smoke.
Wood choices vary in two ways flavor and chunk size. The smaller the chunk the more smoke and faster consumption you will have, the larger chunks will last longer and smoke a bit slower. Sawdust will burn fast with a LOT of smoke, hand size chunks will smoke for a long time with a constant amount of smoke. Also in terms of flavor you can break it up into light medium & heavy flavors. The lighter flavors include all of the fruit woods, medium oak, maple and almond, heavy hickory and mesquite. The heavier flavors I relegate to grilling too much of them imparts what is to me a medicinal taste that bothers me but I am not everyone. I prefer single wood smoking using the fruit woods for a light sweet smoky addition. Like all flavors though play with and choose your own choices until you get what you like. My suggestion is to stay single wood and start lighter and build heavier until you find the flavor you like best.
Smoker:
Ingredients
small round hot plate
inexpensive metal pie pan
round grill grate
terra cotta pot large (from your local hardware store should fit the round grill top on the inner lip)
Ceramic or cement lid that will snugly cover the large terra cotta pot
Wood chunks
large for long smoking, medium for ribs and chips or sawdust for cured fish.Smoking thermometer
Assembly:
Put the hot plate at the bottom of the pot and feed the cord through the bottom. Set the temperature on the hot plate to 2/3rds max. Place pie pan on hot plate and fill with wood chunks. Put grill in the top of the terra cotta pot. Put meat/whatever you are smoking on top. Hopefully there is a hole in your cover, if not drill one using a ceramic drill bit. Put the thermometer in the top and secure. Put top over pot and plug in. If you are using large chunks the smoke will last 3-4 hours per refill. Once it runs out, if the meat is not done, you will need to refill the wood, dump the old chunks in a metal pan full of water (if you dump in the mulch pile you will start a fire and burn down your fence or more trust me on this) and put the new chunks in, replace the grill, meat and top and drink another beer. Repeat process until the meat falls apart. I'll give you specific recipes later but hey unless you are really driven gathering the hardware here will take a few days.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
One of the many wonders of Pork.
Pork, or as we call it at home, Meat Candy, offers up so many flavors and I can blog about it for a year. That is a bit boring though. I am really tired today because we are trying out a new sleeping schedule with the kids and that meant not too much sleep for the Daddy (that's me). So due to lack of sleep I am going to hit you with a simple recipe. This is my recipe for carnitas, the spanish/mexican influenced pulled pork dish. For this dish we will need a crock pot
large enough to hold the pork butt you purchased. The pork butt (it's the front shoulder the ham is the actual butt) should be 5-10 lbs and trimmed of as much fat as you can get off of it. Since we are not roasting the pork, the fat will just accumulate in the crock and you will need to skim it off later. So a good trim job up front will save time later. The muscles have a lot of fat between them so you will end up with some good size chunks of pork and lets try to leave them in chunks for now.
Mix 1 tbsp of cumen, two tbsp of adobo seasoning
(found in the mexican/international aisle or spice aisle of your grocery store) and 1 tsp of oregano (you don't often notice it but oregano is very common in mexican cuisine). Take this mix and rub it all over the pork chunks and toss them in the crock pot. Add to the pork one can of tomatoes (any type except italian seasoned) some chopped peppers (to taste and these can be anything from bell to jalapenos to the infamous scotch bonnet or whatever mix you like or can handle) also throw in one onion medium chop (if you like you can omit all of that for about 8-10 oz of sofrito sauce as it has all of those flavors built in). Now turn on the crock pot (I would say set it and forget it but that's a copyright violation).
In 8-12 hours on low or 5-6 on high you will have some really yummy pork that will make you drool. Remove the pork and shred when cool enough. From this pile of yumminess you can make tacos, just eat it over some rice or use it in place of the protein in any Mexican dish you can think of.
large enough to hold the pork butt you purchased. The pork butt (it's the front shoulder the ham is the actual butt) should be 5-10 lbs and trimmed of as much fat as you can get off of it. Since we are not roasting the pork, the fat will just accumulate in the crock and you will need to skim it off later. So a good trim job up front will save time later. The muscles have a lot of fat between them so you will end up with some good size chunks of pork and lets try to leave them in chunks for now.Mix 1 tbsp of cumen, two tbsp of adobo seasoning
(found in the mexican/international aisle or spice aisle of your grocery store) and 1 tsp of oregano (you don't often notice it but oregano is very common in mexican cuisine). Take this mix and rub it all over the pork chunks and toss them in the crock pot. Add to the pork one can of tomatoes (any type except italian seasoned) some chopped peppers (to taste and these can be anything from bell to jalapenos to the infamous scotch bonnet or whatever mix you like or can handle) also throw in one onion medium chop (if you like you can omit all of that for about 8-10 oz of sofrito sauce as it has all of those flavors built in). Now turn on the crock pot (I would say set it and forget it but that's a copyright violation).In 8-12 hours on low or 5-6 on high you will have some really yummy pork that will make you drool. Remove the pork and shred when cool enough. From this pile of yumminess you can make tacos, just eat it over some rice or use it in place of the protein in any Mexican dish you can think of.
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