Crawfish Stuffed Grilled Alligator

Crawfish Stuffed Grilled Alligator

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Crawfish Stuffed Grilled Alligator

I lose sleep at night thinking about new and different things to cook on the grill or backyard barbecue.  But this crawfish stuffed grilled alligator  BBQ Pit Boys cooked up is turning me into an insomniac with new ideas!

 

This beautiful looking (and probably tasting) dish is a skinned 5-foot alligator filled with a crawfish-based stuffing. Crawfish Stuffed Grilled Alligator is the creation of the BBQ Pit Boys, a barbecuing federation that teaches members how to cook food properly. The alligator was the centerpiece of a full Cajun gourmet meal that also included poboys, stuffed red snapper, and deep fried oysters.

I’ve had barbecued pork, chicken, turkey, and beef, but never alligator. The narrator says that it has the consistency of pork and the taste of chicken. That squares with my experience of baked alligator.  By John Farrier – Check out more here

Grilling Montana's How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time- Reverse Sear Method

Grilling Montana’s How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time- Reverse Sear Method

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If you don’t already know, the BBQ Dragon is a fantastic tool to get your coals red hot for putting a hard sear on tasty meat, but have you ever heard of a reverse sear?  Using Grilling Montana’s reverse sear method, you learn how to grill the perfect steak every time!

Grilling Montana’s How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time- Reverse Sear Method

When you set out to order a steak, it makes a statement.  It says, “I am a go-getter, and I get what I deserve.”  Not only does the steak evoke opulence, but winning a set of steak knives implies you have won the pinnacle of all prizes.  Or at least the pinnacle of all consolation prizes.

IMG 0512 768x1024 How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time Reverse Sear Method

Because the steak brings such strong emotion, when you are making a steak on the grill, there really is little room for error.  If the steak is underdone, a fleshy pink center becomes a rubbery red chew toy that is hard to swallow.  Keep the steak on the flame too long, and its overcooked, grey interior becomes as appealing as a rain delay at the ballpark.  But if you have the skills to cook your steak somewhere in between the temperatures of fire and ice, you take the guesswork out of what flavors and texture you will achieve and end up with a steak that is simply sublime.

I have found that the best way to achieve steak perfection is through the use of a roasting thermometer.  The method is often referred to as a reverse sear and it is the key to getting consistent results.  This is how I reverse sear a steak:

  1. Take your steak out of the refrigerator and let it warm up to room temperature for about 45 minutes.DSC 0161 1024x680 How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time Reverse Sear Method

    I like to trim off any silver skin that is easily accessible and will often cut off and discard any excessive bits of fat as well.

  2. Get your grill heating up and make some preparations for cooking.  Plan on having your grill stabilized at about 350F when you begin cooking.
  3. Season your meat about 10 minutes before you begin cooking.  I like to use a combination of a pre-made steak seasoning flavored with garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and a favorite meat rub that has nuances of coriander, cumin, and coffee flavors.  Seasoning is simply a matter of preference and at times salt and cracked black pepper simply works best.  A word of caution to initially be sparing when using seasonings and rubs with salt added.  The salt can often overpower the other flavors.
  4. Insert a digital meat-roasting thermometer halfway up the thickness of the steak and slide it into the meat as close to the center as possible.IMG 2155 768x1024 How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time Reverse Sear Method

    Because digital meat roasting thermometer probes are often 4 inches or longer, when inserted in the middle and center of the meat, you get a relatively consistent temperature reading throughout.

  5.  The meat will initially be roasted, and then seared before service.  Start by roasting the meat indirectly, or not sitting it directly over the flames until your desired temperature is achieved.IMG 2160 768x1024 How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time Reverse Sear Method

    My grill does not allow me to easily roast the meat near or next to the flame, so I have found that I can achieve the same effect by raising the steak vertically away from the flame.  This allows the meat to roast and heat up without being directly charred until I am ready.

  6. The Meat Temperature and Doneness Chart has beef steak cooked medium rare at 135F.  Meat will continue to cook after it is off of the heat so I like to roast my steak to about 125F and pull the meat off the grill to rest.IMG 2157 768x1024 How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time Reverse Sear Method

    Remove the meat thermometer and let the meat rest on a plate, covered with foil for a good 10 minutes.  This allows the juices to re-distribute.

  7. Resist all temptation to cut into the meat and instead go back to your grill and raise the heat.  After the meat has rested, the grill should be between 500 and 600F, an ideal temperature for searing.IMG 2166 768x1024 How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time Reverse Sear Method

    Searing the meat at a high temperature will give it a beautiful crust, additional grilled flavor, and fabulous grill marks.  I hot sear the steaks at the high temperature for about one minute a side.  Be sure to take precautions when searing at the higher temperature.  Long tongs and gloves for hand protection are a good idea.

  8. Plate the steak and serve!

By monitoring the internal temperature of the meat you know that it will be cooked to your desired doneness.  Allowing the meat to roast slowly enhances the flavor of the meat while keeping it juicy.  The reverse sear method takes the guesswork out of grilling the perfect steak.  Now if I can just figure out how to pick the perfect glass of wine to go with it.

IMG 2173 972x1024 How to Grill the Perfect Steak Every Time Reverse Sear Method

Check out more of what Grilling Montana is cooking using his BBQ Dragon over at his page GrillingMontana.com

Smoking Ribs 101- Code 3 Spices Style

Smoking Ribs 101- Code 3 Spices Style

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Smoking Ribs 101

Mike and the guys over at Code3Spices have been putting out amazing competition rubs and spices for a few years now.  What is fantastic about these rubs and spices is that they are so ideal for whatever you are prepared to BBQ.  On top of that, Code3Spices is sharing a portion of the proceeds with charitable organizations that the men and women of the badge and armed forces benefit from directly. Check out how the crew at Code3Spices prep and are smoking ribs and learn how they do it here at BBQ Dragon.com,  Competition style!

The guys at work have been wanting me to bring in some BBQ, and since I didn’t have a post on smoking ribs, I figured this was the perfect time to show everyone the basics of smoking ribs.

Smoking ribs are the most fun to do because there are hundreds of flavors that you can use.  You can read articles for days about which ingredients are the best to use, but when it comes down to it, everyone does the same basic steps.  The flavor profile is the main thing that differentiates a good rib from a bad rib.

I had been buying my ribs from Kelly’s 4-0 in Troy, IL, but since they always sell repackaged ribs, I decided to try the Novacich Meat Market in Collinsville.  When I walked in, I saw that they had fresh pork ribs sitting in the cooler.  Ribs are not particularly expensive, and that day they were on sale for $2.59/lb.  The nice part is that the guy behind the counter removed all of the rib tips, cut them for me, and placed them into their own bag…nice service.

THE PREPERATION

I always like to start my ribs the day before.  You find differing opinions on when to prepare ribs, butI find that when I am able to apply the rib rub the day before that it has a much better flavor.  I usually start around 24 hours before they go on the smoker.

The first step is to flip the ribs over, and remove the skirt and rib membrane.  The skirt is simply a flap of meat on the back of the rib rack.  If it isn’t removed, then the ribs will cook uneven because they will be thicker on one end of the rack.  Simply lift the skirt up (I can hear you snickering), take a knife and just cut that off.

Smoking Ribs 101- Code 3 Spices Style

There is a “skin” on the back of the ribs.  Again, differing opinions, but I find that the ribs are not as tender if it isn’t removed.  This part is the biggest pain to do, but I think it makes the biggest difference.  In order to remove the membrane, take a knife or flat head screwdriver and insert underneath the membrane of the first bone to get it started

Once you have the skirt and membrane removed, you will want to trim any more visible fat.  There is enough fat in the ribs that you want to trim the extra that you see.  Before you start with any spices, you will want your ribs to look similar to below

Now is the time to start getting your rib rub put onto the ribs.  I like to take a basic store bought rib rub and add flavor (such as cayenne) to get it to what I like.

Once they are rubbed, they are ready to go into the fridge.  I cover them in foil and let them sit over night.

Once you have those done, you can start on the rib tips.  When you buy a rack of ribs, there is a bone connected to the top that needs to be removed.  This is actually part of the sternum which is in between each set of ribs.  I follow the same process in that I trim the extra fat and then apply the rib rub.

I use the rib tips as an appetizer.  They will smoke faster than the rack of ribs, and will be done way early.  It gives you an early taste of what you are preparing.

THE COOK

Once the ribs have sat overnight, they are ready to go on the smoker.  Each rack of ribs is different, but you can assume about 6-7 hours for a slow smoke anywhere between 225 and 275 degrees.

Since I was doing 5 racks of ribs, I used a rib rack because of space limitations on my smoker,  I have a pretty big smoker, but it was a colder day out and the smoker wasn’t holding heat like I wanted it to.  About once an hour for the first four hours, I will spray the ribs down with a mix of apple juice and apple cider vinegar. At the same time, I add some more wood chunks for smoke, but this will also help bring your temperatures back up. I like to use a mixure of apple and cherry wood chunks. They aren’t as harsh as mesquite or hickory, so there really isn’t a chance that you would have too much smoke, which would make the ribs bitter.

This is apparently the point where I also started to forget to take pictures.  The next time I do ribs, I will take more pictures of the smoking process.  Here the ribs are about 2 hours into the smoke:

Depending on where you live, there is an argument for dry ribs, sauced ribs, and ribs with a glaze.  I like to do either dry (and allow the guests to add sauce if they feel necesarry) or I do a glaze, which I think gives it a great flavor.  The glaze is sweet, so with the rub, you have a mixture of sweet and heat.  For this recipe, I found a glaze recipe online which looked good.  It contained apple juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, and a little barbecue sauce.

Be aware that if you choose the glaze or sauce route, that both of these contain sugar and will burn if left on the smoker too long.  During the last 3o minutes, I apply the glaze about ever 10 minutes to give them a nice coating.  Once the ribs hit between 180 and 190 degrees, they are ready to pull off the smoker.  When you are done, you should have something like below:

After you take the ribs off the smoker, let them sit about 15 minutes to rest, and then slice between each bone.  You will have some of the most tender ribs you have ever had.  Get your place together, add the sides and you are ready to eat.

National Prime Rib Day

National Prime Rib Day

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National Prime Rib Day

Cedar Planked Grilled Lobster Tails

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Cedar Planked Grilled Lobster Tails

The charcoal grill is a great place to prepare lobster tails. This cedar planked grilled lobster tail recipe is easy and full of flavor.  The folks over at Outdoor Gourmet show us how it is done!

Cedar Planked Lobster TailsLobster Tails on a Cedar Plank with Chive Lemon Aioli

Ingredients

1 6″ x12″ cedar plank
5 6-8oz raw lobster tails
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Fresh chives roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

Method

Soak cedar grilling plank in water for at least one hour.

Preheat grill to 400Fº.

Cedar Planked Lobster Tails

Turn the lobster tails leg side up and carefully cut down the center cutting only the shell. Season with salt and pepper.

Cedar Planked Lobster Tails

Place the lemon slices on the plank and sprinkle with chives. Place lobster legs side down on top and move to the grill, closing the lid.

Cedar Planked Lobster Tails

After 10-12 minutes the plank will be smoking and the lobster meat will be firm in a bright red shell. Remove from grill.

Cedar Planked Lobster Tails

Cedar Planked Lobster Tails

The tail meat can be pulled out of the shell after a few minutes to cool. We ate ours with Chive lemon aioli.

Chive lemon aioli
1 egg + 1 yolk
1 cup olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Handful fresh chives
Pinch of salt

Place eggs in a food processor and blitz for 30 seconds, with the machine still running very slowly add the oil in a thin stream. When the oil is incorporated the aioli will have thickened. Add lemon juice, chives and salt. Blitz until smooth.

Welcome To Your Weekend

~Chef Matt

Photo Credit: Ryan Zimer

Spicy But Smooth Chipotle en Adobo Barbecue Sauce

Spicy But Smooth Chipotle en Adobo Barbecue Sauce

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After you’ve made this quick and easy chipotle en adobo sauce once, you’ll want to slather it on grilled chicken, steak, pork chops…you might never go back to the bottled stuff. I created it to top the Cheyenne burger, which was inspired by a rodeo I once went to in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I was thinking its layers of smoked cheddar, spicy barbecue sauce, and crisp fried onions would bring out the cowboy in anyone.–Bobby Flay

This thick, cling-to-your-ribs-or-burger, chipotle en adobo sauce has a sweetly spicy, sigh-inducing note that wooed us from the very first spoonful. And the second. And the third…

BOBBY FLAY’S CHIPOTLE en ADOBO BARBECUE SAUCE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS
  • 2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
  • 1 smallish onion, coarsely chopped (preferably a Spanish or other sweet onion)
  • 3 small cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or substitute sherry vinegar)
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 canned chipotle en adobo, chopped (note that this is 1 chipotle pepper from a can of peppers, not 1 can of peppers)
  • 2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
  • 1 tablespoon sweet Spanish paprika (pimentón)
  • 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  •  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

  • 1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the ketchup and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • 2. Add the mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, chipotle chile, ancho chile powder, paprika, brown sugar, honey, and molasses and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for an additional 10 minutes or until thickened. Let cool for at least 10 minutes.
  • 3. Scrape the barbecue sauce into a food processor or blender and purée until smooth or until the desired consistency. The sauce will be quite, quite thick. Let cool to room temperature. Taste and season with salt and pepper accordingly. You can start dousing and dolloping right away, although if you wait overnight you’ll be rewarded with a more complex, three-dimensional taste. (You can cover and refrigerate the sauce for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before using.)

Read more about this and other cool recipes at http://leitesculinaria.com/81549/recipes-bobby-flays-barbecue-sauce.html#Omh8WjAOVDSGZVpG.99

Easy to Make Bacon, Onion and Cheese Stuffed Burgers

Easy to Make Bacon, Onion and Cheese Stuffed Burgers

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These stuffed burgers really get my juices flowing!  When I found the recipe here, I thought how fun it would be to fire up the grill and make these Bacon, Onion, and Cheese Stuffed Burgers this weekend if the weather looks good.

Now-  I am starting to think I will make them regardless of the weather!

Stuffed Burger Ingredients

Original recipe makes 6 burgers

Directions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ground beef, salt, black pepper, barbeque sauce and garlic powder using your hands. Taking a small handful at a time (approximately 1/4 pound), shape into 12 patties. Lay patties out on a cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap; place patties in the refrigerator.
  2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Turn the heat down to medium and pan fry the onions in the remaining bacon drippings until soft and translucent and just beginning to brown. Mix together onions and bacon in a small bowl.
  3. Prepare a grill or large skillet for medium heat.
  4. As the grill heats, pull beef patties out of the refrigerator; top 6 of the patties with 1- 1/2 tablespoons of the bacon and onion mixture each, and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Top each with one of the remaining patties and press the edges together to seal.
  5. Grill or pan fry the stuffed and sealed patties until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve on hamburger buns with condiments of your choice.

Using a combination of charcoal, and the BBQ Dragon will add additional flavor to your stuffed burgers!  What is the most outrageous thing you can think of to put inside your stuffed burger?

big bad bbq beef rub

Big Bad Beef Rub Recipe- Texas Style Brisket

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Do you love Texas style brisket?  Me too!  AmazingRibs.com really did the homework when they shared the in’s and outs of Texas style brisket.  If you check out his article on Texas style brisket, it is interesting how many delicious ways it can be enjoyed.  One thing I found particularly surprising is that simplicity is often considered the way to go when you season your Texas style brisket.

I do like a little more pizzazz than just salt and pepper so I am looking forward to trying out Meathead’s Big Bad Beef Rub the next time I pick up a packer.  Using the BBQ Dragon helps get your BBQ to the temperature you want it so you can enjoy Texas style brisket wherever you are!

big bad bbq beef rubBig Bad Beef Rub Recipe

Makes. About half a cup
Preparation time. About 10 minutes

Ingredients
3 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons table salt
1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons mustard powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili or ancho powder
1 teaspoon chipotle or cayenne powder

About the black pepper. Lately I’ve been grinding my black pepper and then sifting it. I use the coarse stuff, and put the fine stuff in a pepper shaker.

About the chile powders. I’m looking for complexity with two different flavors and two different levels of heat. Most American chili powders and ancho powders do not have a lot of heat, but good flavor. In fact, ancho is usually in a lot of American chili powders. Go with ancho if you can find it. It has a nice raisiny character. With chipotle or cayenne I’m after a kiss of heat. Chipotle has better flavor though.

Do this
1) Mix the ingredients together in a bowl.

2) Lightly oil the meat with vegetable oil. Many of the flavors in the rub are oil soluble and the oil helps penetrate the meat. So does the salt, so don’t leave it out. Spread the rub generously on beef brisket, not so thick on other, thinner cuts. You can apply it just before cooking, no need to let it marinate overnight. Fact is, like marinades, only the salt in rubs penetrates deep into the meat. The rest can’t get far past the surface.

big bad bbq beef rub

Poblano and Cheddar Elk Burgers with a Flavorful Twist

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Poblano and Cheddar Elk Burgers with a Flavorful Twist

It is not often enough that people send me pictures and stories about what they are cooking on the grill.  I love to hear about what others have grilling and especially when they add some local flavor to the fire.  Jeremy and I knew each other two decades ago while living in Vermont’s rural Northeast Kingdom and attending Lyndon State College.  It was a pleasant surprise to hear that he had also been living in the rocky mountains for some time and working in Boulder Colorado.

Recently, Jeremy made this poblano and cheddar elk burger with a flavorful twist and I thought it looked fantastic.

Ingredients:

2 lbs elk

1cup cheddar

3 strips of bacon minced to a paste

2 tablespoons sweet mesquite posse

1 tablespoon prepared dry rub

1 teaspoon chili powder

6 roasted poblano chilies cleaned and chopped

Panko breadcrumbs

 

bbq dragon big green egg

Getting the coals hot with the BBQ Dragon

Start by making your bacon paste.  Put three strips of bacon in the freezer for 15 minutes.  Put the mostly frozen strips of bacon on a cutting board and cut into fine pieces over and over.  As the bacon warms up and the pieces continue to get cut a paste like consistency will form.  When added to the elk, it will bring additional flavor and moisture to the burgers.  The bacon paste goes into a large mixing bowl with the cheddar, chilies, and rubs.  The dry rub used here was a combination of sweet and heat with nuances of ground chills and brown sugar. The sweet mesquite posse seasoning is the same one I get from Costco.  Mix all the ingredients together well and then add your elk meat.  I prefer to mix the elk with the other ingredients by using my hands because I feel all of the spices and flavors get distributed more evenly in the meat than any other method.  Adding the panko breadcrumbs is where you need to make a bit of a judgment call.  You probably want to add at least a cup of the breadcrumbs to absorb some of the moisture from the poblano chilies and add body to the burger, but you do not want the breadcrumbs to take center stage.  Grill over raised direct heat until meat is cooked thru.

With the brightness that the poblano chilies add to the cheddar elk burgers, Jeremy recommends a Happy Camper IPA from Santa Fe, New Mexico to wash it down with.  I could not agree more.  See this and other tales from the grill over at Grilling Montana.

Poblano and Cheddar Elk Burgers with a Flavorful Twist

Spiced_Grilled_Ham_with_Citrus_Glaze

Grilled Spiced Spiral Ham with Citrus Glaze

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Grilled Spiced Spiral Ham with Citrus Glaze

 

Ingredients

6 to 7 pound fully-cooked bone-in spiral ham, trimmed
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 cup lemon marmalade, *
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

 

Cooking Directions

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-hot (375 to 425 degrees F). Prepare the grill for indirect cooking: For a gas grill, turn off the center burner; for a charcoal grill, bank the coals on either side; place a drip pan under the grate between the heat sources.
Score a diamond pattern into the spiral ham, about 1/8-inch deep into any fat. In a small bowl, combine the coriander, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and cloves. Rub the spice mixture over all sides of the ham. Place the ham, flat side down, in the center of the grill over the drip pan. Cover and cook, adding briquettes to a charcoal grill as necessary to maintain the heat, until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 140 degrees F, 1 1/2 to 2 hours or 15 to 18 minutes per pound.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the marmalade, orange juice, and sugar.
Brush the marmalade mixture over the spiral ham. Cover and grill 5 minutes, until the glaze is lightly caramelized. Remove the ham from the grill, transfer to a cutting board, and let rest 15 to 30 minutes.
* If you can’t find lemon marmalade, substitute another citrus marmalade.
Serves 12-14

– See more at: Pork- Be Inspired

 

BEEF AND BLUE CHEESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS

BEEF AND BLUE CHEESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS

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If you are still coming up with ideas for a great appetizer this weekend, then look no further than these grilled Beef and Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms.  Quick, and easy to make, they pack a wallop of flavor and can be prepared in advance and grilled just before service.  Using your BBQ Dragon to get your grill up to temperature and quickly stabilized is the secret ingredient to these grilled Beef and Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms!

Total recipe time: 40-50 minutes
Makes 36 – 40 mushrooms

Ingredients

  1. 1/2 pound Ground Beef
  2. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  3. 36 to 40 small button or cremini mushrooms (about 1-1/2 to 2-inch diameter)
  4. 1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese
  5. 1/4 cup soft whole wheat bread crumbs
  6. 3 tablespoons minced chives
  7. 1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning blend
  8. Minced fresh chives (optional)

  Instructions:

  1. Preheat and stabilize grill to 375°F. Remove and reserve stems from mushrooms. Season mushroom caps with salt; set aside. Mince stems to yield 1/2 cup; discard remaining stems.
  2. Combine Ground Beef, minced stems, blue cheese, bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons chives and steak seasoning. Spoon beef mixture evenly into mushrooms.
  3. Place stuffed mushrooms on rack in broiler pan. Roast in 375°F grill 15 to 20 minutes over indirect heat. Sprinkle with additional chives, if desired.

Check out this recipe and others from the Montana Beef Council: -click here

aldersalmon

Northwest Alder-Plank Grilled Salmon

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Northwest Alder-Plank Grilled Salmon

Native Americans have been cooking salmon over roaring fires in the Pacific Northwest for quite some time.  The combination of fresh salmon and alder wood makes a smooth and savory taste with nuances of the forrest.  Although you could prepare whole salmon over a roaring fire like they do here in Tillicum Indian Village, using one of these alder grill planks is a much more manageable way to get the same wonderful flavor from your fish.

Alder-Grilled-Salmon

Ingredients

1 Alder grilling plank
1 Salmon fillet
½ Cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon chile powder
1 Tablespoon paprika
½ Teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ Teaspoon salt Lemon

get the grilling plank

Instructions

Soak grilling plank in water for at least one hour, and up to eight hours.

Preheat grill or oven to medium-high, or 400ºF (190ºC).

Mix brown sugar, chile powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt together. Rub mixture on salmon.

Add to grill or oven. *When grilling salmon, keep the grill lid closed during cooking.

Cook until internal temperature of salmon reaches 145ºF (63ºC), or for about 20 minutes.

Remove from grill and serve on the plank with plenty lemon.

*Keep a spray bottle of water at hand for dousing flare-ups on the grill.

Keep your backyard barbecue, fire pit, or charcoal cooker at the temperature you desire with the BBQ Dragon!  Buy one here-

 

Georgia Style Barbecue Rub Recipe

Georgia Style Barbecue Rub Recipe

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Georgia Style Barbecue Rub Recipe

I am told that Georgia Barbecue has a style and flavor of it’s own.  Known for pork and whole hog barbecue, enthusiasts of Georgia barbecue think that it is hands down the best of the bunch.  The next time you want to get some pork going on your barbecue, give this Georgia barbecue style seasoning rub a whirl.  It may become your favorite too!

Georgia Style Barbecue Rub Recipe

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Paprika

4 T Coarse Salt

3 T Coarse Pepper

2 t Onion Powder

2 t Garlic Powder

2 t Celery Seed

1 t Cayenne Pepper

Mix all ingredients and keep stored in an airtight container.

Georgia Style Barbecue Rub Recipe

grilled crab cake

GRILLED CRAB CAKE RECIPE- CRAB CAKES DONE ON THE GRILL

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GRILLED CRAB CAKE RECIPE

IMG 1844 768x1024 Grilling Montanas Grilled Crab Cake Recipe

Crab cakes can easily be made on the grill picking up lots of flavor from the charcoal

Grilled Crab Cake Recipe

1 can Jumbo Lump crab or fresh crab if you can get your hands on it

1 egg

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

12 ritz crackers crushed fine

¼ cup Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup Sriracha (or less based on your preference)

Combine all ingredients except crab, panko, and cracker crumbs in a large bowl.  Whisk all ingredients together until you get a smooth wet mixture.  Be sure to have the mayo and egg well incorporated.  Fold crab meat into wet mixture taking care not to break up the lump crab as best you can.  Sprinkle half the breadcrumbs and cracker crumbs on to mixture and fold again.  Repeat with remaining crumbs.  Form cakes with delicate care and try not to over handle.  Bake at 350 until golden brown 20-25 min.  Baking on parchment paper is not a bad idea.  Also cooks fantastic on a grill over indirect heat.

DSC 0370 1024x680 Grilling Montanas Grilled Crab Cake Recipe

What is so great about making crab cakes on the grill is the delicious flavor they develop.  Using the BBQ Dragon will keep your crab cakes in the temperature zone you want so they are crispy and flavorful.

Check out more fun recipes for on the grill here-

Devils Sauce- An Easy To Make Steak Sauce Recipe

Devils Sauce- An Easy To Make Steak Sauce Recipe

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Devils Sauce- An Easy To Make Steak Sauce Recipe

Have you tried your hand at making your own BBQ Sauce yet?  If not, what are you waiting for?

Check out this easy to make recipe that takes only 25 min to prepare!

Read more about the recipe here:  Devils Sauce

Original recipe makes 1 /2 cup

Directions

In a saucepan over high heat, blend raspberry jam, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, malt vinegar, hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes, or until thickened.
Pizza for Breakfast? Yes Please!! BACON & EGG PIZZA

Pizza for Breakfast? Yes Please!! BACON & EGG PIZZA

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I am in the minority on this one, but I just have NEVER liked eggs.  Now pizza and bacon on the other hand are right up my alley!  Even though I don’t do the egg thing, I do think these bacon and egg pizzas look delicious!  Brian over at WinnipEGGHeads made this fantastic looking pizza that I would be proud to serve guests any old time!

Brian cooked these pizzas at 600F and mentions he had a hard time sustaining that temperature for this cook.  One of the great things about your BBQ Dragon is how you can adjust the speed of the Dragon and cook your pizza at almost any temperature you wish!

BACON & EGG PIZZA

One Sunday morning, we decided that for brunch instead of just doing bacon & eggs, we would do them pizza-style on the Big Green Egg.

You will need:

  • Pizza Dough (your own recipe or ours)
  • Onion (sliced)
  • Bacon, cooked (as much as you like)
  • 2 Eggs
  • Tomato (sliced)
  • Asiago Cheese
  • Olive Oil

We started by cooking up some bacon caramelized some amazing onions in the cast iron skillet while the pizza dough was rising.

Everything all kind of came together at the same time… the onions finished caramelizing, the dough finished rising, the bacon finished cooking and the Egg was up to temp and holding steady, so we finally got the pizzas going.

First on was some plain old EVOO and then some bacon

Then came the onions and then the tomatoes

Then some grated Asiago cheese

Next came the fresh cracked egg…

We then put on the Big Green Egg, one at a time. I didn’t do a good job cleaning the charcoal properly from the 2 previous cooks, so the Big Green Egg was having a hard time getting over 600F. We used the Super Peel for putting the pizza on the BGE and it worked great!!! We thought we might lose the raw egg, but it was perfect.

Now at this point the bottom of the crust was perfect, but because I was lazy in my fire starting and Egg cleaning we couldn’t the Big Green Egg hot enough to cook the actual egg on the pizza. I don’t like a runny egg, so I put it under the oven broiler while we cooked Jackie’s pizza.

Here are the finished Brunch Pizzas, my egg is now cooked more how I like, while Jackie’s was good and runny… what she calls “nature’s sauce”.

For next time I would get creative and maybe add some fresh herbs (basil seems like a natural fit) or you could even make a hollandaise sauce for it.

Happy Egging!
Brian

Easy At Home Ham Cure Recipe

Easy At Home Ham Cure Recipe

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AmazingRibs.com shows how to cure a ham with an easy to make brine.  Getting your cooker or smoker fired up with the BBQ Dragon is just as easy!

By Meathead Goldwyn

If you cure and smoke a ham and serve it fresh it will taste better than the best commercial ham you’ve ever tasted.

There are two methods of curing, dry or wet. To dry cure, you mix up your salt and spice mix and coat the meat and hang it in a temperature and humidity controlled space. If you don’t do everything right, the meat will spoil. Wet curing is more even, thorough, reliable, and easy.

Before you get started, I recommend you read my article on the Zen of hams, my article on cooking ham on the grill, and my article on the Zen of salt for background.

You will need a five gallon food grade bucket. It must be food grade if it is plastic, and if it is metal in cannot be aluminum. If it is not food grade, you can use five gallon food grade bucket liners if your bucket is not food grade. A very clean beer cooler will also work.

Makes. 1 whole ham
Takes. 10 to 14 days to cure

Ingredients
1 whole fresh ham, 15 to 20 pounds with skin
3 gallons cold water
4 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
20 ounces by weight of salt (about 2 1/2 cups of table salt)
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons pink curing salt #1
6 tablespoons pickling spices

Optional add-ins. Three or four stalks of lemongrass is nice. So is dill.

About the pink curing salt. You can substitute more table salt, but the meat will not have the typical rosy color when cooked, it will be tan. It will taste only slightly different, but it will not keep as long in the refrigerator.

Method
1) Remove the skin and most of the fat. You can use the skin to make cracklins.

2) Put 1 gallon of the water in a pot and add all the ingredients except the ham. Boil for a few minutes until the salts and sugar dissolve. Chill.

3) Get your 5 gallon bucket and add the remaining 2 gallons of cold water and the brine you boiled. Stir.

4) When the brine is chilled, inject the meat in multiple locations with the liquid part of the brine and put it back in the bucket and submerge it. Click here for more on injecting and injectors. If necessary, weight the meat down under a tupperware container filled with water. Put the bucket in the refrigerator and let the meat cure for 10 to 14 days. It should not smell funny or look cloudy or develop a scum.

5) If you don’t plan to use it immediately, smoke it at 325°F until it is 165°F in the deepest part. You can glaze it in the last hour if you wish, but I wait until I am ready to cook and serve it to glaze it. My favorite glazes are Chris Lilly’s Spicy Apricot Glaze or Danny Gaulden’s Brown Sugar Mustard Glaze. Make sure it doesn’t burn. You can refrigerate it for up to two weeks. If you vacuum seal it it will keep longer. Cooking will take 6 hours or more depending on how thick the meat is. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or so, or frozen. You can cut slices and grill ham steaks, or just warm it in the oven. The reason we cook at 325°F is to prevent the stall which will happen at lower temperatures.

If you want to serve it immediately, smoke the ham at 325°F until it is 145°F in the deepest part of the center. This will take up to 5 hours depending on the meat’s thickness. During the last hour, paint it with a glaze. Make sure it doesn’t burn.

Easy At Home Ham Cure Recipe

Sriracha Shrimp Grilled in a Cedar Wrapping

Sriracha Shrimp Grilled in a Cedar Wrapping

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Sriracha Shrimp Grilled in a Cedar WrappingCedar Wrap Sriracha Shrimp

Know what are really good? Shrimp. Prawns. Langoustines! Know what else is really delicious? Sriracha. Lots of it. I like to use so much Sriracha on my pizza, popcorn, eggs, pasta, or (in this case) shrimp, that it turns a nice bright, peppery, red.

I wanted the easiest possible way to get shrimp and sriracha together in an immediate kind of way. Enter the ever-faithful cedar wraps. Cedar wraps, which are also called cedar papers, are thin sheets of cedar veneer that add smoky, cedar flavor when used on the outdoor barbeque, or cedar flavor when used in the oven. Don’t tell my foodie friends; cedar wraps also work really well in the microwave. Technically, they are supposed to be soaked in water for 10 minutes, but sometimes I just dip the cedar papers in water (or beer in this case), get them wet and they still work fine.

Here’s the recipe that I came up with for my spicy-cedar-shrimp feast:

Ingredients

1lb (about 15) Jumbo Prawns. Shell-on, thawed
5 Cedar wraps/ cedar papers
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
6 Tablespoons Sriracha
2 cloves minced garlic
1 bunch fresh Thai Basil
1 lime

Method

Soak. Soak the cedar wraps in water, beer or wine for 5-10 minutes. We used beer.

Sriracha Shrimp Grilled in a Cedar Wrapping

Prep. Mix olive oil with Sriracha until it has an even consistency, add garlic. Toss shrimp in the garlic, Sriracha and oil sauce.

Sriracha Shrimp Grilled in a Cedar Wrapping

Wrap. Add three or four shrimp and some Thai Basil to each cedar wrap. Rolling with the grain of the cedar wrap; wrap the shrimp and tie with butcher’s twine.

Cedar Paper Shrimp ready to wrap upIt’s important to leave the shells on the shrimp or prawns when you grill them. They keep the shrimp from drying and seal in the flavor of the Sriracha sauce.

Cedar paper shrimp wrapped and ready to grill Grill. Preheat the grill to 400ºF. Add cedar wraps to the grill. Grill the cedar wraps for between 7-10 minutes, or until they are pink and cooked through.

Cedar paper shrimp on the bbq

Dine. Serve the cedar wraps with a squeeze of lime and enjoy.

Welcome to Your Weekend!

~ EC

These cedar wraps add so much flavor and will impress your dinner guests time and time again!  Using the BBQ Dragon to stoke your charcoal fire and cedar wraps to add flavor are a winning combination!

 

 

 

 

 

 

roasted-avocado-guacamole-2

Easy Grilled Guacamole- Only Five Ingredients!

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5 Ingredients: Roasted Avocado Guacamole

Recipe type: Dip
Prep time:  
Cook time:  
Total time:  
Serves: 2
While traditionally Jalapenos are used to add a spice factor to the dip, for a nice colour contrast I added red long chilli instead. To help lift the acidity of the dip and keep it green for longer, I also used baby cocktail onions instead of raw onion. Besides raw onion can leave you with bad breath, and I’m sure you don’t want that. As mentioned, you can omit the roasting / grilling step if you don’t have time, but I find that you can pre-heat the oven grill and roast them while getting all your ingredients ready.
Ingredients
For the Roasted Avocado Guacamole:
  • 1 ripe avocado
  • ½ red long chilli (seeds removed if you prefer), chopped finely
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander [cilantro]
  • 5 mini cocktail onions, chopped finely
  • juice of ½ lime
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven grill to high (about 200C, 400F).  Using the BBQ Dragon will get your coals nice and hot!
To roast the avocado:
  1. Cut avocado in half and remove seed. Place halves, skin side down, on a roasting tray and grill for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
To make Roasted Avocado Guacamole:
  1. Scoop roasted avocado into a bowl.
  2. Add lime juice, chopped chilli, coriander and onions.
  3. Mash around well using a spoon or mortar and pestle.
To serve:
  1. Serve Roasted Avocado Guacamole with a side of corn chips, slices of fresh baguette.
To store:
  1. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days and use on burgers and sandwiches.

roasted-avocado-guacamole-2

Lemongrass Pork Satay with Rice and Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

Lemongrass Pork Satay with Rice and Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

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The marinade was incredibly simple to make because most of the ingredients go in the blender before you pour it over pork skewers. I used Raichlen’s recipe as a guide for my marinade with some minor modifications to suit my liking.

The raw pork marinated on the skewers for about two hours before they hit the grill, but I bet you could make them a day in advance without too much harm done if you are prepping for a party.

Lemongrass Pork Satay with Rice and Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

All marinade ingredients go into the blender

Feeling like a fun guy, I put a few heaping tablespoons of the marinade on the concave part of a couple portabella mushrooms and allowed them to pick up the Asian flavors. The pork skewers and mushrooms went on a 450-degree grill and cooked for about 6-8 minutes. As I turned the skewers to evenly cook the pork, they picked up a rich, caramel, charred color and I could smell the oils from the lemongrass releasing their citrusy aroma. When they were done, I dipped some crusty French bread in a mixture of butter, garlic, and paprika before it got grilled to make a rustic grilled crouton to accompany a salad. I plated the skewers with steamed jasmine rice and cut the grilled portabella mushrooms into ribbons, fanning them out on top of the rice. The mushrooms and rice could have stood on their own as an entrée, but with the pork and peanut sauce, it all became like a laser light show of smells and flavors.

Here is my interpretation of Steven Raichlen’s recipe which you can easily find if you check out his website. If you try to make this dish, I encourage you to have fun and play with the ingredients like I did.

Unless you radically derail the flavor train, this is an easy and fun dish that everyone will love!

  • 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed and coarsely chopped
  • 1 lime zested, taking care to use the green, not the white
  • 2 medium shallots, coarsely chopped
  • 5 TBS garlic, coarsely chopped or minced
  • 1 Serrano pepper, or another hot chili, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 3 TBS Sriracha hot chili paste
  • 3 TBS sugar
  • 1/4 cup each Asian fish sauce and lite soy sauce
  • Juice of one fresh lime
  • 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds pork loin or tenderloin

Put all ingredients except for the pork into a blender, and blend until smooth with small bits.

Cut pork into strips 4-5” long with a width the size of a die from a Yahtzee game.

Skewer the pork and slather on the marinade. Let it soak for a minimum of an hour, grill, and enjoy!

Lemongrass Pork Satay with Rice and Grilled Portabella Mushrooms

Sexy Steak Sauces You Must Have On Hand To Go With Your T-Bone

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Having a nice T-Bone steak on hand is all the excuse we need to grab the BBQ Dragon and fire up the charcoal!  The folks over at Beef It’s What’s For Dinner show us how they do T-Bones and three recommendations for saucing your sexy dinner!  There is a sauce for every season so try them all on your next T-Bone or whatever your next beef dish is and let us know which one is your favorite!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR GRILLED T-BONE STEAK FOR TWO

  1. Prepare desired Sauce(s); set aside.
  2. Press steak seasoning evenly onto beef steak. Place steak on grid over medium, ash-covered coals. Grill, uncovered, 14 to 16 minutes (over medium heat on preheated gas grill, covered, 15 to 19 minutes) for medium-rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning occasionally.
  3. Remove bone; carve steak crosswise into slices. Serve with sauce(s).

Mole Sauce (Spring): Combine 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce, 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 3/4 teaspoon ground ancho chile powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt in small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally. Carefully pour hot sauce in food processor or blender container. Cover; process 30 seconds or until smooth, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water to thin sauce, if necessary. Return to saucepan; keep warm until ready to use. Makes 1 cupLemon-Pesto Sauce (Summer): Combine 3 tablespoons basil pesto sauce, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel and 1/4 teaspoon coarse grind black pepper in small bowl. Makes 1/4 cup

Wasabi Sauce (Fall): Combine 3 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, 1-1/2 teaspoons wasabi paste and 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger in small bowl. Makes about 1/3 cup

Coffee Sauce (Winter): Combine 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, 1-1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 teaspoon smoked paprika in small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 4 to 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened and reduced by about half, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; keep warm until ready to use.Makes about 1/2 cup

  • Test Kitchen Tips
  • To broil, place steak on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil 15 to 20 minutes for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning once.
  • Any leftover sauce(s) may be refrigerated and reserved for another use.

**We always prefer the flavor of Grilling our T-Bone steaks with the BBQ Dragon stoking the coals whenever possible!

 Sexy Steak Sauces You Must Have On Hand To Go With Your T-Bone
A Cowboy Breakfast- Beef Sticky Buns!

A Cowboy Breakfast- Beef Sticky Buns!

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I love beef, and I love sticky buns!  Until I read this recipe from the Montana Beef Council, I would have never thought of pairing the two together.
Total recipe time: 1 to 1-1/4 hours
Makes 4 servings or 8 sticky buns
Ingredients
1 recipe Basic Country Beef Breakfast Sausage (recipe follows)
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
3/4 cup diced onion
3 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
1 package (13.8 ounces) refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 cup jalapeño pepper jelly, warmed (optional) or Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
  1. Prepare Basic Country Beef Breakfast Sausage, cooking mushrooms and onion with beef and spices. Add spinach to skillet; stir to wilt spinach. Set mixture aside 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is cooled completely, stirring occasionally. Stir in cheese.
  2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Unroll pizza dough on flat surface; pat or roll dough evenly to 14 x 10-inch rectangle, pinching together any tears, if necessary. Spread beef mixture on dough, leaving 1/2 inch border on short side furthest from you. Starting at closest short end, roll up jelly-roll style, pinching to close. Slice dough into 8 pieces using serrated knife and careful sawing motion; place cut-side-up on greased baking sheet.
  3. Bake in 425°F oven 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove buns to cooling rack. While still warm, drizzle with melted jalapeno pepper jelly, if desired.   Basic Country Beef Breakfast Sausage: Combine 12 ounces ground beef (96% lean), 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage, 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 3/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot. Add beef mixture; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into 1/2-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. (Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.) Makes 2 cups crumbles Cream Cheese “Frosting”: Combine 1/4 cup softened reduced-fat cream cheese and 1 tablespoon milk in small bowl, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over warmed beef rolls.
A Cowboy Breakfast- Beef Sticky Buns!
Nutrition information per serving,

409 calories; 10 g fat (4 g saturated fat; 0 g monounsaturated fat); 57 mg cholesterol; 1084 mg sodium; 53 g carbohydrate; 3.1 g fiber; 28 g protein; 4.5 mg niacin; 0.3 mg vitamin B6; 1.6 mcg vitamin B 12; 2.8 mg iron; 17.8 mcg selenium; 4.1 mg zinc; 64.7 mg choline.

This recipe is an excellent source of protein, niacin, vitamin B12, selenium and zinc; and a good source of fiber, vitamin

I love a good campfire! A campfire adds ambience to almost any event. It's crackle and smell is the foundation of fantastic memories and a campfire is often the punctuation at the end of a day in the outdoors.

Add Color to Complement the Crackle Of Your Campfire or Fireplace

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I love a good campfire!  A campfire adds ambience to almost any event.  It’s crackle and smell is the foundation of fantastic memories and a campfire is often the punctuation at the end of a day in the outdoors.

By using a little chemistry, you can add amazing color to your campfire or fireplace flames and paint a palate of color that will impress your friends.

For Colorful Flames


If you want colored flames, you can do the following — but it must be prepared well in advance:

Pick the color(s) you want your flames to be and get the chemical(s) needed to produce the effect. Chemicals can be gotten locally (sometimes from stores that deal with fireplaces) or online, such as from this place http://www.chemistrystore.com/. You only need “technical grade” chemicals, not the (more expensive) “purified grade”.


 

red flames

strontium chloride

carmine flames

lithium chloride

orange flames

calcium chloride (a bleaching powder)

white flames

magnesium sulphate (Epsom Salts)

blue flames

cupric chloride (copper chloride)

green flames

copper sulphate (blue vitrol)

yellow flames

sodium chloride

yellowish-green flames

sodium borate (borax)

purple flames

potassium chloride

violet flames

potassium sulphate (chromealum) mixed
3 to 1 with potassium nitrate (saltpeter)

Wear rubber glovers during this procedure. Now, add the chemical(s), singly, to a plastic container of water for each flame color — adding as much as the water will absorb (about a half a pound per gallon of water).

Soak your wood, “logs” made of tightly-rolled newspapers, or some pine cones in the solution(s) overnight (you can also use sawdust to sprinkle onto fire to make briefly burning colored flames. Just stir some liquid glue into the liquid, too, and then add the sawdust. The glue will allow chunks to form).

Take the wood/cones/sawdust out of the liquid, lay out on newspapers, and allow to dry thoroughly (for sawdust, spread out onto sheets and dry). Save the newspapers on which they’ve dried, and roll them up tightly to form “logs,” too, as they can produce pretty colors from the chemicals they’ve absorbed.

Just throw these things on to your fire for pretty flames (can also be used on indoor fires, but ventilation should be good). The chemicals can be thrown directly onto the fire, too, for short bursts of color.

Check out the full story on building a good bonfire here from the folks at Fisheaters website.

Using the BBQ Dragon will bring an extra bit of functional fun to your next campfire!

I love a good campfire! A campfire adds ambience to almost any event. It's crackle and smell is the foundation of fantastic memories and a campfire is often the punctuation at the end of a day in the outdoors.

CAMPFIRE BLUEBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS

Cooking Over a Campfire- Campfire Blueberry Orange Muffins

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The folks over at Apron Strings seem to have mastered some amazingly delicious looking recipes that can be cooked over the campfire!  The next time you get a campfire roaring with your BBQ Dragon, hitch your wagon to one of Apron Strings recipes and be ready for your friends and family to beg for the next campfire!

CAMPFIRE BLUEBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS

These babies are so delicious and so foolproof even kids as young a 5 can put them together with minimal help and throw them in the campfire.

Here is the entire recipe:

Stir up a box of blueberry muffin mix according to the package directions.

Cut an orange in half and scoop out all the orange flesh. Save orange flesh for another time, or strain and drink the orange juice.

CAMPFIRE BLUEBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS

Fill one half of emptied orange with blueberry muffin mix.

Just throw them in the fire. No, really. Literally toss them in the fire. I know, I know. This might be scary the first time you do it. But trust me – they will not burn! The orange peel will insulate the muffin mix from burning. The orange peel itself might blacken a little, but the mix in the middle will turn out steamed and delicious. Like a steamed pudding. With a delicious orange flavor. Yum.

Keep turning the aluminum balls over and over in the fire, every minute or so. It usually takes about 10 minutes, but go ahead and pull them out and check them once in awhile until they are firm in the middle.

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Then unwrap and eat with a spoon!

 

BBQ Dragon

Homemade Kansas City BBQ Sauce With a Twist- You Won’t Believe What Goes Into This BBQ Sauce

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People will drive long distances to get their hands on authentic Kansas City BBQ.  And for good reason!  Some of the best BBQ anywhere has been coming out of Kansas City for generations with recipes and techniques passed down thru the ages.   Meathead Goldwyn over at Amazing Ribs is a wealth of knowledge and his version of Kansas City BBQ Sauce will take the misery out of store bought BBQ sauce.

Eve’s Apple Butter Pig Paint

Eve tempted Adam with apples, and if you want a great Kansas City style BBQ sauce with a twist, use apple butter to sweeten it and people will sin to get your ribs. This sauce would have Adam eating out of Eve’s palm, and sucking on her fingers. Yes, it has lumps. Strain it if you must. I say leave ’em in.

Recipe

Yield: Makes about 2 cups of sauce.
Preparation time: About 20 minutes
Keeps. Because it has a high acid and sugar content, it can keep for months in the refrigerator.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup ketchup
3/4 cup apple butter
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons steak sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate (1/2 square)
1 teaspoon ground ginger dissolved in a few teaspoons of water
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
2 teaspoons of Chipotle Tabasco sauce for mild, 4 for medium, 6 for hot

About the Tabasco. I love the Chipotle version, but feel free to use the regular Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce and the amount you like. Just go easy unless you know everybody likes the heat.

Method
1) Melt the butter over low to medium heat.

2) Cook the onion and garlic until translucent, being careful not to brown the garlic.

3) Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for ten minutes. I like to make two batches, one mild, one hot. Keep in the fridge and it will last for months.

BBQ Dragon

When you get your grill fired up and these ribs all ready to roll, be sure to use your BBQ Dragon to keep the coals cooking the way you like em-!

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Chipotle Chicken Marinade- Just Like They Do At Chipotle Grill?

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Want to make Chipotle Chicken Marinade just like they do at Chipotle Mexican Grill?  Following these step by step instructions could not be simpler thanks to the folks at Kitchen Daily showing us how it is done!

What is great about this recipe is that you can make up the marinade a day ahead of time and let the chicken party with all the herbs and spices until you are ready to grab your BBQ Dragon and fire up the grill.

Ingredients

  • 2 oz dried ancho chiles or dried pepper of choice
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tbs fresh oregano, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 red onion, quartered
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 4 cuts of meat of choice, such as chicken or steak

Directions

  • Soak dry chiles in water overnight or until soft. Discard water. Remove seeds.
  • Add all ingredients except meat in food processor. Puree until smooth.
  • Spread mixture over meat and refrigerate at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours.
  • Heat grill to about 400 degrees, or if cooking inside heat small amount of oil in skillet or grill pan over high heat. Salt meat to taste. Grill meat about 4 minutes per side, depending upon thickness, until done.
  • Serve with rice, black beans or choice of side dish. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Or serve in a burrito
    .

chipotle-mexican-grill-s-ancho-chile-marinade_456X342

 The BBQ Dragon is an ideal companion for grilling up this Chipotle Mexican Grill style recipe.  Click Here for more information about the BBQ Dragon.
Charbroiled OystersCharbroiled Oysters

Ode to Charbroiled Oysters- The Way it is done at Drago’s

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I love Oysters!  Raw, on the half-shell, grilled, charbroiled, and especially dredged in cornmeal on a New Orleans style Po-Boy sandwich.  From what I have read, Drago’s restaurant in Metairie, LA sets the bar for charbroiled oysters.  And for good reason!  Check out this easy to make recipe for Drago’s Style Charbroiled Oysters and device for yourself-

The Sauce:

1 Stick Unsalted Butter, very soft
1 Pinch Kosher Salt
1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
4 Tbsp Pecorino Romano
1 pinch Cayenne
1 pinch White Pepper
1 Spritz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Minced Italian Parsley

Whisk together all ingredients.

For the Oysters:

1 Dozen Large freshly shucked Oysters on the half shell (preferrably Louisiana) Watch my quicktime video on How to Shuck an Oyster
1 Recipe of the Sauce, above
Pecorino Romano to finish
Minced Italian Parsley for garnish
Fresh Bread
Lemon wedges

Mix together all of the ingredients.

Heat a charcoal or gas grill until very, very hot. Place the oysters on the hottest spot on the grill and let them cook in their own juices for a few minutes, just until they start to bubble and the edges curl.

Top each with a generous portion of the sauce, enough to fill up the shell. When the sauce starts to bubble and sizzle sprinkle each oyster with about a Tbsp of Pecorino Romano. Let the Oysters go until the sauce on the edges of the shells gets nice and brown. Garnish with minced Parsley.

Serve while still sizzling with Lemon wedges and fresh bread.

This recipe was found at nolacuisine.com. They are a great resource for cuisine from New Orleans, and other parts of Louisiana.

Charbroiled OystersCharbroiled OystersAre you ready to fire up some flavor and get your grill going for some charbroiled oysters?  Click here to get your hands on the secret ingredient of this recipe- The BBQ Dragon