Category Archives: Weber

November 23, 2010 · 10:55 AM

Time To Brine!!!

Ah yes! Once you have experienced a brined turkey, it is hard imagining having turkey prepared any other way. I did a post last Thanksgiving on brining a bird, and subsequent posts on brined pork. Here are links to some of the better turkey brines I have tried:

http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-11-17/food/17454587_1_brined-turkey-big-bird-larger-bird/2

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Turkey-Brine/Detail.aspx

http://bbq.about.com/od/turkeybrinerecipes/tp/10turkeybrinerecipes.htm

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

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November 14, 2010 · 11:38 AM

Cherry Coke Beef Tenderloin!

In some parts of the south “Coke” is a generic term for any carbonated beverage. In other places it a specific reference to the drink “Cocola” (where one syllable has somehow disappeared). Anyway, for years Cherry Coke as we know it had to be made by taking a coke and adding cherry syrup. Some called it a “Cherry Suicide” or “Coke Suicide”. I had my first Cherry Suicide in the mid sixty’s and loved it (previous post)! Why did it take the folks at Coca Cola until 1982 to develop their own version? I guess they were too busy tweaking the “Classic Coke” recipe?

On Amazon I recently saw a BBQ sauce based on Dr. Pepper and another on A&W Root Beer. Why not a marinade based on Cherry Coke since I need something different to prepare the beef tenderloin which came out the freezer yesterday? Steakmarinade.org to the rescue!!! Some other genius already had the idea! I borrowed and modified the recipe to be like this:

Ingredients:
12 Ounces Of Cherry Coke
5 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Of Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/8 Cup Teriyaki Sauce
4 Tablespoons Minced Yellow Onion
1 Tablespoon Frank’s Redhot sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder

The tenderloins have been marinading in this potion since last evening. I will fire up the grill at 5:00 PM today, and then let you know how things worked. I really think we are onto something!

I will be trying out two-zone cooking which is described by BBQ Zen master Craig Goldwyn at:

http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/2-zone_indirect_cooking.html

Monday 11/15/2010

The steaks were great. This is a must try recipe!


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June 27, 2010 · 5:10 PM

North Carolina Smoked Ribs

The “original” BBQ sauce, according to recorded history was a vinegar and pepper mix. It is still used on the coastal plains of both North and South Carolina where it originated, and to a slight degree in Virginia and Georgia. After the vinegar and pepper variation we began to see adaptations with “light tomato”, “heavy tomato” and mustard: in other words, four basic categories. Vinegar and pepper based sauces are linked to early Scottish settlers in the Carolina, whereas mustard based sauces are the fine work of the German settlers.

“Light tomato” sauce is little more than vinegar and pepper mixed with ketchup. “Heavy tomato” sauce is a rather recent occurrence and what we see in the likes of “KC Masterpiece”. Sauce wars have been fought through the years over ownership of the original recipes, and of course, over which is best. After that the debates go to pork versus beef, and even in places like Kentucky, mutton, or lamb in considered best.

Being of Scottish descent, I chose a very basic vinegar and pepper marinade and baste, with a spicy flare:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon brown sugar

I let this mix sit for four hours to make sure the flavors had sufficient time to emerge and blend. I then put the mix in a large plastic bag along the ribs, and put the whole mess in the refrigerator over night.

Around 11:00 AM I fired up the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker with Kingsford briquets. For smoke flavoring I chose cherry wood which I purchased from Amazon.com, my new favorite retailer (I still love you, too, Costco, but Amazon Prime lets me get most everything with two-day shipping, and no sales tax). I put the ribs on around noon, and have been basting them every so often with the vinegar and pepper mix. These guys are gonna be good!

For more BBQ lore check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY

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Filed under Indirect, Kingsford, Marinade, Pork Ribs, Smoker, Weber

June 19, 2010 · 12:56 PM

Santa Maria Tri-Tip


Tri-tip is a cut of beef from the bottom sirloin (see picture). It is a small triangular muscle, usually 1.5 to 2.5 lbs. per side of beef. You rarely (pardon the pun) hear of it outside of the west coast, although in New York city it may be called “Newport steak”. In my hometown of plain old Plano, TX you can find it only at few places such as Central Market or Hirsch’s Meat Market, and, of course, at my favorite store, Costco. BBQ Buddy Lee and I have had several tri-tip cook offs over the years, using a marinade recipe from Lee’s Reno friend Jim Riggen, who happens to be a real world McGyver, both in the garage and in the kitchen. The marinade (and baste) is a mixture of sliced purple onion, Teriyaki sauce, olive oil and brown rice vinegar. After spending 12 or more hours marinading, the beef is cooked over indirect heat on the Weber Kettle Grill or in the Weber Smoker.

The original US tri-tip recipe was created in Santa Maria, California, and named accordingly. In fact, it is alleged the town’s Chamber of Commerce has copyrighted the recipe. In its most basic form a rub comprised of salt, pepper and garlic powder is used, and the meat is cooked over red oak. I found a recipe for Grilled Santa Maria Tri-Tip on About.com which is much more involved, but turned out to be a a dead ringer! It calls for these ingredients:

2 to 2 1/2 lb beef tri-tip roast
1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup oil oil
4 cloves crushed garlic

I used Hungarian Hot Paprika in lieu of the garden variety and deli mustard instead of Dijon. Olive oil was substituted for vegetable oil. Preparation began with combining the black pepper, salt, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, rosemary, and cayenne in a small bowl. This mixture was then rubbed on to all surfaces of the tri-tip, and the meat was refrigerated for 3 hours. The meat was removed and given 30 minutes to warm to room temperature.

For the baste the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, and crushed garlic were put into a jar with a lid and shaken vigorously until emulsified. The Weber Kettle Grill was fired up with lump charcoal. Once the coals were ashen white, the meat was placed on the grill and coated with a mixture of olive oil and red wine vinegar. The meat was grilled for a total of 30 minutes to medium rare (135 degrees). Every 3-4 minutes it was basted. After resting for 30 minutes the meat was cut into thin slices.

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April 25, 2010 · 3:04 PM

All BLOGged Out?

It has been a while since I have posted, but certainly not a result of resting the grills or being otherwise lazy. I have been repeating some recipes lately, and doing some basic stuff like BBQ’d chicken and burgers.

With old friends in town it was my time to demonstrate grilling prowess, or, in the worst case, look like uncooked cabrito (an inside joke). Failure wasn’t an option so I endeavored to create a convergence of distinct flavors, without overemphasizing any one of them individually. Turkey breast has a wide appeal and is lean, but it seldom done with a sweet flavor for some unknown reason. Defying convention, I rubbed a Butterball young turkey breast the night before with John Henry’s Sugar Maple Rub Season which is heavy with sugar and brown sugar (I like brown sugar better since it doesn’t caramelize as quickly as refined sugar). I hit it again Saturday morning when it came out of the ‘frig to warm to near room temperature.

As turkey lay on the counter in wait of heat and smoke, I loaded up the side rails of the trusty Weber Kettle Grill with lump charcoal. Lump charcoal has a more distinct flavor than briquets, but not excessively strong like straight mesquite or oak. I put in more charcoal than normal since I needed four hours of steady heat and lump charcoal burns faster the briquets.

A little history on charcoal courtesy of Wikipedia:
Charcoal is the black residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood, sugar, bone char, or other substances in the absence of oxygen (see pyrolysis, char and biochar). The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal and is 50% to 95% carbon with the remainder consisting of volatile chemicals and ash. The charcoal briquette was first invented and patented by Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania in 1897 and was produced by the Zwoyer Fuel Company. The process was further popularized by Henry Ford, who used wood and sawdust byproducts from automobile fabrication as a feedstock. Ford Charcoal went on to become the Kingsford Company.

In about 45 minutes, and with the help of my new battery powered yard blower, the coals were ready. I put the turkey breast on center grill, and for the other chosen flavoring, covered it in thick, peppered bacon. Coffee wood, the final ingredient, is great for adding a mild smoked flavor. Several chunks were placed on the lump charcoal burning in the side rails on either side of the grill, and the grill lid was put on with the vents about 2/3 open.

Four hours later and two bastings of olive oil, we were good to go. I removed the bacon, and put the bird in a throwaway pan covered with aluminum foil. This all went into my trusty cooler to keep things warm during the 50 mile trip to Ft. Worth.

We had a great time in Ft. Worth visiting old friends, the Morans and Hassons, enjoying libation and eating finger food. The turkey was a hit and I avoided being a goat (cabrito).

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November 26, 2009 · 5:15 PM

Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday, primarily due to the absence of commercialism. Granted the “Black Friday” phenomena has recently become a big deal in our consumer-spending driven economy, but each of us has the option to ignore it, without the consequence of being considered a friggin’ scrooge! Plus, we don’t have the bickering over what originated from Christian truths vs. which pagan holidays have had evil influence (where is the Church Lady when needed most?).

Faith, family, friends and food are my focus, and in that order! Consider the Psalms and other scriptures which point to our faithful Creator’s provision. Consider too that family and community are His gifts to us for organization, structure and protection, based solely on unconditional love and sacrifice.

Our immediate families are on the east coast, Chicago and Germany, so we generally holiday together with friends like the Henderson’s (BBQ buddy Lee) right here in plain ole Plano, Texas. Hearing our kids bantering and catching up, and seeing the flow of their friends in and out of the house is really cool, not to mention the aromas associated with cooking, baking and smoking all sorts of food! We start off Thanksgiving Day with sausage gravy and biscuits (fodder for another post), skip lunch and then gorge late afternoon/early evening on turkeys prepared several ways, smoked ham and all the other major food groups.

Lee Henderson’s specialty is smoked ham (previous post) while mine is brined and smoked turkey. The web has many variations of brines posted, but I really like just a few. This year I am doing a modified version of one submitted to “Saveur” magazine. Trust me on this and do the following:

CREATE THE BRINE:
1 cup kosher salt
1 lemon, halved
1 orange, halved
1 onion, cut into wedges
3 cloves garlic, chopped
4 bay leaves
1 tbsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp. ground black pepper
4 juniper berries, crushed
4 allspice berries, crushed

Combine dry ingredients in a 12-qt. pot, or large brining bag. Add 1 1/2 gallons cold water and stir. Squeeze lemons and oranges into the brine and add the squeezed halves. Submerge turkey in brine, breast down. (Weight the turkey down with dinner plates if necessary.) Cover pot with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight, or store in a cooler with ice. Remove turkey from brine, pat dry with paper towels, and let come to room temperature.

Load up the smoker with a heap of Kingsford charcoal (burns best evenly for extended periods). Once the coals are gray, open the vents all the way, put the bird on the grate over the water pan, add hickory chunks, close her up and get a cup of coffee.

About every hour or so baste the turkey with a mixture consisting of a splash of red wine mixed with olive oil. About eight hours later you have smoked a beautiful bird with absolutely moist, tender and flavorful meat. Enjoy while giving thanks.

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October 18, 2009 · 4:23 PM

Chicken Value Meal???

Ah yes! Two young hens from Sam’s or Costco for nine bucks, two oranges, one onion, olive oil, salt, pepper and John Henry’s Pecan Rub are all it takes. Fire up the trusty Weber kettle grill with coals in the side rails, add some hickory chips along the way, and you are in for a real tasty, yet inexpensive, treat!

It took just a few moments to clean out the birds, cube the oranges and cut the onions. I put the birds in a small throw-away roasting pan and stuffed a cubed orange into each one. In between the orange and the breast bone I stuffed in the onion pieces. Next I coated the birds in olive oil, then added salt, pepper and the Pecan Rub.

The birds went on the grill at 2:00 PM, and the top vents open about 1/4 of inch each. It’s about 5:00 PM now and time to retrieve the birds.
IMG_3292IMG_3298

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October 4, 2009 · 7:32 PM

Pulled Pork

Pulled pork is the primary ingredient in a “Barbecue Sandwich”, as it were, in the south from Virginia to Mississippi, including Arkansas and Tennessee. Most times the pork is served covered with cole slaw, on a basic hamburger bun. Along with a splash of BBQ sauce you have a killer sandwich! I ate my first barbecue sandwich in the early 60’s at Chip’s Barbecue in Little Rock, Arkansas, which is located on Markham Street next to the now defunct Ben Franklin Five and Dime. While in college we frequented Bill’s BBQ on Broad Street in Richmond for great BBQ sandwiches

Last weekend we attended the “Bikes, Blues and BBQ” festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas following our daughter Ashleigh’s soccer game at John Brown University in Siloam Springs. Fayetteville is usually a thirty-minute trip, but the 45,000 plus motorcycles around and near our destination made it a little longer, not to mention the rednecks in the ‘hemi Dodge with a twelve pack of cheap beer in the bed (that’s a whole ‘nuther story).

After fighting through the crowds on Dickson Street and an extended wait at a greasy steak joint where we enjoyed a couple of cold beers in plastic cups, we headed to the food garden just a few blocks down the hill. There we found pulled pork served on the ubiquitous hamburger bun, next to a heapin’ pile of ‘slaw! Across the midway we purchased home-made potato chips. We washed the whole mess down with bottled water and then moved on to funnel cakes.

Still inspired, yesterday I got a 10 lbs. piece of Boston Butt at Sam’s Club. Upon arriving home at the house, I rubbed it with a mixture which includes:

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons mustard powder

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

This morning I put the slab of pork in a throw-away pan and covered it with Reynold’s Aluminum wrap. It went in the oven at 250 degrees ten minutes before eleven as we headed out to church. We got home around 1:45 after lunch with friends. I immediately fired up the Weber kettle grill. The pork was placed center grill at 2:30 with charcoal and hickory burning in the side rails. I doused the pork twice a little bit later in the cooking process with Wicker’s Marinade.pulled pork

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September 12, 2009 · 8:54 PM

Wheat Beer Brined Pork Chops

This recipe yields exceptionally moist and tender pork chops, with incredible taste! I learned about brining several years ago during the holidays. Just about every turkey I have made since then was prepared in some variation of a brine.

I used butterflied pork chops for this barbeque endeavor, and chose Wheat Beer instead of the Stout Beer called for in the original recipe. Wheat Beer is my favorite summer evening beverage, especially when poured cold in the right glass, with a slice of lemon. My roots trace back to Scotland, but the Stout Beer just isn’t my bag–too chewy and blehhh.

So let’s go…

Beer Brine
2 cups water
2 cups wheat beer
1/4 cup kosher salt
3 Tb packed brown sugar
3 Tb molasses
1 cup ice cubes
1 lb thick cut pork chops

Garlic Rub
7 cloves minced garlic
3 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chopped cilantro

Combine water, beer, salt, sugar, and molasses in large bowl. Stir until salt and sugar dissolve. Add ice. Marinate the pork chops in the mix for 4 hours in the fridge. Remove pork chops from beer brine and pat dry. Mix garlic, pepper, salt, and cilantro in small bowl. Rub garlic mixture over both sides of pork chops. Grill pork chops for 10 minutes on each side until cooked through. Let stand 5 minutes.

The garlic may be too much for some palates. I will omit it in the next iteration of this recipe.
pork chopsbeer

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September 7, 2009 · 9:18 PM

Best steak I have ever eaten!!!

I had this steak dish at Dean Fearing’s restaurant a few weeks ago. I tried it at home last Monday, searing and then cooking the steaks on my Perfect Flame gas grill for 15-17 minutes. Although Dean does it better, my son Matt and I agree these steaks are beyond awesome for home cooked food! Don’t shorten the time in the marinade! It works better to cut the meat into portion sizes before marinading–more flavor is imparted in each piece.

Maple Black Peppercorn Filet Mignon

Serves 4

1 cup Maple Syrup

2 tablespoons Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

2 cloves Garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 large Shallot, peeled and finely chopped

1 teaspoon Fresh Sage, finely chopped

1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme, finely chopped

1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

2 pounds Beef Filet trimmed of all fat and silver skin, center-cut

In a small bowl, combine maple, black pepper, garlic, shallot, sage, thyme and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and pour over the beef filets. Allow the beef filets to soak in this liquid for a minimum of 24 hours. Remove the beef filet from the maple mixture and cut into 8 ounce filets.

Season each filet with salt.

Perfectly pink with crusted, sweet carmelization

Perfectly pink with crusted, sweet carmelization

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