Recently in Smoking / Grilling

Smoked Chipotle Citrus Pulled Pork

It's summertime . . . a season dedicated to great slow smoked meats and ice cold beer!  Sometimes there is just nothing better than a pulled pork sandwich and a tall iced glass of ale.  If you've been reading this website, you know that I am a big fan of the Big Green Egg smoker/grill.  It's one of the best investments I've made in my culinary world.  And when I smoke pork, it's always in the Egg.  However, this recipe can also be made in an oven, regular grill or even a slow cooker or CrockPot.  But in my house, the Egg reigns supreme!

When you want succulent and sweet pork for your sandwiches, I always recommend buying a bone-in pork butt.  In my opinion, any meat that is still attached to the bone will end up having more flavor than the boneless variety.  This includes pork chops too.  So find a good quality pork butt at your local butcher.

When you decide to smoke anything, expect to invest the proper time into properly marinading and then of course slow cooking the meat.  This isn't fast.... but it's easy and the pork will be packed with so much flavor that it's well worth your time.  Pork can be so flavorful in its own right, I consider a rub or marinade optional.  Sometimes, I just season it with a bit of salt and pepper the night before and that's all it needs.  If you want a slight southwestern flavor, then consider the following marinade prior to smoking.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 pound bone-in pork butt
• Sea salt
• Freshly cracked pepper

Chipotle Chile Marinade:

• Juice from 1 orange, freshly squeezed
• Juice from 1 Meyer lemon, freshly squeezed
• 1 TBSP orange zest
• 1 TBSP brown sugar
• 1 TBSP honey
• 1 heaping TBSP canned chipotle adobo sauce
• 2 chipotle peppers
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 serrano chile
• 1 shallot
• 2 TBSP fresh cilantro, chopped

Method:

Combine all marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until just combined.  Place pork in a roasting pan, fat side down and baste with marinade.  Place in refrigerator for 1-4 hours.

Remove pork from refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 40 minutes.  Prepare your Big Green Egg, charcoal or gas grill so that it is preheated to 250 degrees.  Place pork shoulder on a v-rack in a roasting pan with the fat side up.  Baste again with the marinade and season generously with coarse sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.

Place on grill in Big Green Egg and allow to cook at 250 degrees for approximately 7-9 hours.  Do not open the Egg while grilling until you've passed about 8 hours of smoking.  This will affect the temperature of the Egg.  After 7+ hours, start checking the pork temperature every 45 minutes until temperature reaches about 180 degrees.  Remove from heat and allow the pork to "rest" for at least 40 minutes. It's best if you wrap the pork tightly in aluminum foil.  The meat will keep cooking internally but the juices will have a chance to settle in.  For fall off the bone, pulled pork you want to reach an internal temperature of 185+

Serve with your favorite BBQ sauce on sandwich rolls.

Marinated and Grilled Leg of Lamb

Tagliatelle With Carmelized Onions, Applewood Smoked Bacon and Cremini Mushrooms

Mache Greens with Garlic Lemon Vinegarette, Goat Cheese

and Roasted Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

I was reading Tyler Florence's book "Tyler's Ultimate" and decided to modify and combine some of his recipes in order to create a special menu to accompany leg of lamb.  This is what I came up with... to view the accompanying recipes, please click the above links.

Leg of Lamb - Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 TBSP fresh oregano, chopped
• 1 TBSP fresh thyme leaves
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Sea or Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 (3-3.5 lb) leg of lamb, boned and butterflied but not tied

Method:

Make vinaigrette by whisking together oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, thyme and lemon juice in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove lamb from any ties and pat dry.  Place in a roasting pan or platter and liberally apply salt and pepper to all sides of lamb.  Pour about 1/2 of the vinaigrette over the lamb and roll the meat in it so it is well coated.  Return to refrigerator and marinade, covered for 2 hours.

Preheat your outdoor grill or Big Green Egg to medium high heat.  Clean grate with scraper.  Using folded paper towel dampened with olive oil - carefully oil grates to create a non-stick surface.

Place lamb on the grill and cook anywhere from 15 - 25 minutes per side.  Make sure all sides are cooked evenly and have charred grill marks.  Continue cooking until a thermometer reads 130 degrees in the thickest part of the leg.  Remove from grill, place on cutting board or platter and cover.  Let rest 10 to 15 minutes prior to carving.

When ready to serve, slice the lamb and pour some of the remaining vinaigrette over the slices on each plate.  Season with sea salt and pepper.

Grandma Dave's Latin Spiced, Marinaded and Slow-Cooked Ribs

Ingredients:

• Baby Backs or St. Louis Style Spare Ribs (Two full slabs)
• Olive oil - ¼ cup
• Latin Spice blend - ¼ to ½ Jar WES Latin Blend
• Honey -2 Tablespoons
• Garlic finely chopped -3 cloves
• Kosher Salt -1 Tablespoon
• Grandma Dave’s BBQ Sauce -½ to 1 bottle (don’t be shy!)

Method:

1. Rinse and dry baby backs and set aside
2. Mix Olive oil with Latin Blend, Honey, Garlic and salt
3. Let ribs marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours
4. Pre-heat your Big Green Egg Slow-cooker)

1. After marinading... Fire up the grill and roll ribs around to develop color and flavor.  This will give the ribs that slightly grilled flavor.

1. Place ribs in rib rack in center of Big Green Egg
2. Cook in the Egg for 3-4 hours - or until meat recedes from the bone.  You may test one by cutting off a rib on the end until it the meat appears to be falling off the bone.
3. Remove from Egg, cut ribs off of slab and slather in Grandma Dave's Orange Chipotle BBQ sauce.  Place in baking dish that can handle the heat of the egg.  Return to egg until sauce begins carmelizing on the ribs... but not too long.  The sauce should always go on at the end so it doesn't get too burned on the ribs.

About Grandma Dave and Wholearth Spices . . .

The absolute FINEST spices on the market! Wholearth Spice Blends are organic hand-crafted  spice blends to bring alive the authentic flavors of various cultures and regions of our world. These spice blends contain the highest quality organic spices, combining them to create a harmonious flavor that is distinct, unique, and authentic. These versatile blends can be used as rubs, marinades or seasonings, or can be added to salad dressings, soups and sauces.

Wholearth Spice Blends are created by a professional chef with over twenty years of experience and a dream to bring the dynamic flavors of the world to your kitchen, bringing our culture closer together.

To order spices and marinades visit www.grandmadave.com

Coca Cola BBQ Ribs

by Chef David Lawrence

www.chefdavidlawrence.com

This is the ONLY rib recipe you will ever need. Sticky and sweet. Absolute perfection!

• 1 (1.5 liter) bottle of Coca-Cola (not diet!)
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 2 racks baby back ribs (about 4 pounds)

FOR THE SAUCE

• 2/3 stick unsalted butter
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1½ tablespoons yellow mustard
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (12 ounce) can Coca-Cola (not diet!)
• Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In a large pot, add the (1.5 liter) bottle of Coca-Cola, onion, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns. Add the ribs and, if necessary a bit of water just to ensure the ribs are submerged completely. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, turning the ribs occasionally, until the meat pulls away from the bone, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, to make the sauce combine the butter, onion, garlic, ketchup, mustard, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and (12 ounces) Coca-Cola in large heavy sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for about 25 minutes stirring often until sauce is thickened and reduced. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let cool slightly. Using a blender, puree the sauce.

Note: Sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.

Preheat the grill to high.

Remove the ribs from the pot, pat dry, season with salt and pepper and brush liberally with the sauce. Grill, turning often, until charred on the outside, about 8 minutes. Loosely tent the ribs with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into individual ribs. Serve extra sauce on the side for dipping.

Recipe and photos reprinted with permission of Chef David Lawrence.

Kick Ass Burgers with Roasted Tomatoes, Caramelized Onions and Smoky Chipotle Ketchup

by Chef David Lawrence

www.chefdavidlawrence.com

Chef David Lawrence has done it again by creating quite possibly, the ultimate burger... and the best photo of a burger I think I've ever seen!   Serve these once and your house will be the hit of the summer BBQ season!

Here is the recipe, in his own words:

The all-American Hamburger gets a gourmet makeover with the addition of ground brisket and a few other ingredients that really take this cookout classic to the next level. Perfect for Memorial Day! Admittedly there's a bit of preparation involved, but don't confuse time consuming with difficult. There's nothing difficult about these burgers and most of the prep work can be done days in advance. Believe me, the flavor pay off is well worth it! Ask your friendly butcher to grind the brisket twice for the juiciest, most delicious burger you've ever tasted.

Serves 6

FOR THE BURGERS

• 2 1/4 pounds ground brisket
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons steak sauce (recommended: A1 Brand)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter

FOR THE ONIONS

• 1 pound red onions, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch rings
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar

FOR THE KETCHUP

• 1 cup ketchup
• 1 to 2 teaspoons canned chipotle peppers, seeded and diced, or to taste
• 1 to 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from can, or to taste
• 2 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar
• Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

FOR THE TOMATOES

• 6 Roma tomatoes
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

• 6 Brioche Rolls or good hamburger buns, split, cut side toasted or grilled
• 6 thick slices sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 cups baby arugula leaves
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced

Brining a Whole Chicken

1 1/4 gallons cold water

3/4 cup kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 bay leaves

1/2 bunch fresh thyme, or 2 tbsp dried

1/2 head of garlic, peeled and smashed

1 tbsp cracked black pepper

1. combine all the ingredients into a large pot or brine bag (you can buy them at your grocery store)
2. add one whole chicken. ideally  refrigerate for at least 12 hours... however you can put it in the AM and roast the bird in the evening.
3. remove the chicken and pat dry. drizzle the skin with a little olive oil.
4. roast chicken until done. i usually roast it at 375 for 1.5 – 2 hours, depending on the size of the chicken.  Or if you have  Big Green Egg please try this wonderful recipe -http://laurasbestrecipes.com/2009/04/25/butterflied-chicken-big-green-egg/

 

• 5 slices center cut bacon, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• 1 pound, pinto or small white beans (soak overnight)
• 6 cups water
• 1/4 cup Irish Whiskey
• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• 1/2 cup, dark brown sugar
• 2 tbsp spicy brown mustard
• 2 tbsp adobe sauce from canned chipotles
• 2 tbsp smoked Tabasco sauce
• 2 tbsp good quality molasses
• splash of Guinness (optional)
• 2 tsp salt
• pepper

Wash, sort and soak beans overnight.

Preheat a Dutch oven on the stove top... brown bacon until crisp.  Add onions and jalapeno and saute until soft (about 5 minutes.)  Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.   Add beans and water and whiskey and cook covered on low/medium heat until beans are soft.  This should take about one hour.

Add your favorite BBQ sauce (homemade or purchased - I used a locally made BBQ sauce from The Rib House in Boulder - www.theribhouse.com).  Also add brown sugar, mustard, Tabasco and adobo sauce, salt and pepper, stir well.  Simmer uncovered for about another hour until sauce thickens and beans are more cooked.

I was smoking a pork shoulder in my Big Green Egg.  It had been smoking at 250 for about 2 hours when I transfered the beans to the pan I was using for the pork shoulder.  I then covered the beans with foil and punctured the foil to allow the smoke from the applewood chips I was using on the charcoal to flavor the beans.  I placed the v-rack with the shoulder over the beans and cut more holes in the foil so that the shoulder would baste the beans while smoking.  Make sure that the shoulder has been cooking long enough that the juices are just starting to run clear before adding beans.  The beans smoked like this for another 2 hours.  Check on the beans every once and awhile to make sure they aren't getting dry or burning on the bottom.  If you are concerned about this - after an hour of smoking, you can transfer them back into the Dutch oven (add ice to top) and finish (covered) in the oven at 350... After an hour, I added a little bit of Guinness Draught to the beans to make sure they had enough moisture.  Also feel free to add more spice or BBQ sauce... season to taste!

Carter's Turkey Brine

Submitted by: Carter Snead

It's been said by some that Carter's Thanksgiving turkey is the best they've ever had.  I asked him to share his technique to brine the turkey. I'm so glad I did!  On Thanksgiving, I followed his recipe and it was the best turkey I've ever made.  When we were carving it, juice was literally squirting at us (even from the breast.)

Brining is the process of soaking the bird in a salt/broth or water mixture in order to add flavor and moisture.  Be sure to start with a fresh, organically raised free-range turkey....There are hundreds of variations of brine recipes to accomplish different levels of flavor (savory, sweet, smoky etc).  This is Carter's own recipe, in his own words:

Laura, to brine the turkey make the brine using 1 gallon of water with 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup kosher salt and 3 tablespoons of cracked black pepper. If you want an herby flavor you can add a bunch of fresh thyme and fresh sage to this mixture - I like it plain and don't use the herbs. I use a large plastic bag, but you can also use a deep casserole if you have one. soak the turkey in the brine for 24 hours. if it is not immersed you can make another gallon or turn it frequently. should keep it in the fridge, but I usually put it in a cold room that is close to outside temp overnight since this time of year here it is 20-30 degrees outside.

The other trick to making a good turkey is to use a maple syrup/butter basting mixture. basically, you melt 1/4 pound of butter in 1/2 cup maple syrup over a low to med. heat. once the turkey has been in the oven for 10 min or so, long enough to warm it up, pour the maple syrup/butter over it and then baste it every 20 min.

Note from Laura:

Last year my husband and I purchased a "Big Green Egg" slow cooker.  For any kind of smoking, grilling or roasting - this large egg shaped outdoor grill is second to none.  The egg is made of a high tech ceramic designed after the ceramic ovens people have been using in the Orient for thousands of years.  The ceramic walls keeps all the moisture in during the grilling or smoking process.  Gone are the days of dry turkey on Thanksgiving!  The design also allows for terrific temperature control over long periods of time - just what you need for exceptional smoking.  Aside from that great smoke flavor, meats are incredibly juicy and tender.   This year I will be cooking a 20 pound turkey on my Big Green Egg.  For more information about them, see the link in the Kitchen Gear section or click here... http://www.biggreenegg.com/index.html

Happy Thanksgiving!

Grilled Lamb Chop Appetizers

This is one of the easiest and most celebrated appetizer you will ever make for a party.  Simply buy a rack of lamb. Have the butcher french them, cleaning the bone.  You can then hold the chop easily. Have any fat cut off and leave it like a lollipop!  

Cut it into chops approximately 1.5 inch wide.  Season with salt and pepper - only!  Why mask the great flavor of lamb on the grill?

Every grill is different... but you want to end up with the lamb mildly charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside.  This usually means you will grill at a medium-high to high (depending on how you like it) heat for 3-5 minutes per side (if that) - depending on your grill's temperature.  It will vary, so experiment based on your grill and the lamb thickness.

Arrange on top of any colorful garnish you choose- chopped cucumber, tomatoes, jicama - it's up to you.  I would not recommend any sauce (it gets messy and hides the flavor) just salt and pepper.  Your guests will simply pick up the lamb by the rib bone to eat!

Enjoy!

Alabama Slow Cooked Ribs

Submitted by: Carter Snead

Laurie, enclosed is my Alabama Ribs recipe that I have made for Marilyn, your mother, et al. the last few Labor Days. The following recipe is good for about 4-5 lbs of ribs. I routinely double it. . .

The sauce:

Dice one medium onion and sautee in a tablespoon of butter; add about 2 tsp minced garlic and sauté some more – do this in a pot big enough to hold about 2 quarts. Then, once everything is sautéed and soft: 

Add 2 cups catsup

Add 1/2 cup white vinegar

Add 1/4 cup of either Dales Steak sauce, or, if you can’t get any, use Worcester sauce

Add 1-2 teaspoonfuls of liquid smoke

Add two – three teaspoonfuls of Cajun seasoning

Add two-three teaspoonfuls of black pepper

Add one tablespoonful of Dijon mustard

Add one tablespoonful of brown sugar

Juice from one lemon

Dash of tobasco

Cook on low heat for 15-20 min.

This is the basic. You can start tasting after about 10 min of cooking and add things as needed for spice (Cajun), heat (pepper), smokiness (liq. Smoke), tanginess (lemon), or sour (vinegar). I usually wind up using two lemons, but you should taste it first. The nice thing about this sauce is that the last ingredient is the flavor from the pork.

The Ribs:

I use baby  back ribs.  I generously sprinkle salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning on the ribs and then rub them with Tobasco sauce. I then put them in an oven at about 200 degrees for several hours and then dump them in the sauce to sit for a while longer and then sear them on the grill. 

this is pretty spicy, so you can always go easy on the tobasco rub or the pepper.