Bar BQ Grills

On Our Grills is a regular event that tests a collection of grilling/smoking geniuses and/or misfits are tested with making a meal around 4 ingredients.  The only rules are that you must use all of the ingredients and at least the protein must be cooked over some form of live fire (grilling, smoking, stir fire, cold smoking, flame thrower, molotov cocktail, etc).   

There is no winner or prize.  The whole point is to compare notes on how we all approached the menu, cooking techniques, and execution of the meal.  Plus it was a way to get us hard core grillers to realize there are more food groups than meat, bacon, bbq rub, and bbq sauce.  The ingredients for May 2011 were:

Chicken

Wild Rice

Fava Beans

"anything starting with the first letter of your name"

I chose chorizo

This is one of the easiest lists we have had.  Except for the fact I couldn't find fava beans in the 4 stores that I went to.  So I substituted butter beans. 

I also cheated had help.  My chicken dish was 99.9 1/2% stolen from inspired by Mike and Debbie Davis of the world championship BBQ team Lotta Bull.   I took their cooking class at Dead End BBQ this weekend and they did a kielbasa stuffed chicken breast.

So I did pretty much the same thing but used chorizo instead.   I had my Big Green Egg running at 350f set up for direct heat with my grid (grill grate) raised 2 1/2" inches.  I grilled a 4 ounce link of Johnsonville chorizo for about 20 minutes, turning 1/4 turn every 5 minutes.  I sliced it into 1/4" slices.


I sliced a pocket into the side of each chicken breast and stuffed 2-3 slices of chorizo in each.  Seal the edge with a couple of toothpicks.

Then I seasoned them with Lotta Bull's UnBullevable All Purpose Seasoning.  I had it on several things in the class and liked the flavors it brings.  You can order it online or use your favorite season salt or creole seasoning if you have to use what is on hand.

I remembered the toothpicks before grilling.

Finally, I grilled the chicken for about 24 minutes flipping every 5-6 minutes.   About halfway through, I applied a special oil based baste, super secret ingredient.  It comes in a plastic blue bottle, starts with a P and rhymes with "dark day".   I know a lot of BBQrs have used this for ribs on the pro circuit but this was my first time using it.


For the butter beans, I chopped two slices of bacon and par-cooked them in a tin.  Then I added the butter beans and 1 tsp of my rib rub.  I let that cook for about 1 hour on the grill.  Simple but Alexis said that they were the best beans she's eaten.


For the wild rice, I took the easy route, cooked it and served it inside of a reverse timbale of white rice.

The overall results were good.  I'll definitely be making the beans this way again.  Next time on the chicken, I'll butterfly the breasts instead (like Mike did) and season the inside too.  I wish I had done something more with the rice.  It was good but some chopped dried cherries would have been good or maybe some other add ins.

Check out the other participants below to see what they came up with using these same 4 ingredients.

Grill Grrrl- Adventures of a Girl on the Grill
Robyn Medlin is the "grill girl" behind grillgrrrl.com. Her focus is on healthy, simple and creative recipes on the grill. She encourages women to learn to grill as it a great way to create healthy, flavorful dishes without all the fuss and clean up in the kitchen. This "grill girl" holds quarterly "Women's Grilling Clinics" as a way to encourage women to not be intimated by the grill. As a McCormick's flavor correspondent for their "This Week in Grilling Campaign", Robyn shares fun, tropical video recipes documenting her grilling adventures from her backyard in Sunny, Hollywood, Florida.
May Challenge Recipe

Grill Adventures by Broadcast Marc
Grill Adventures by broadcastmarc was started in March of 2010. I started the BBQ thing when I was 30, before that we ate a lot outside. had fun, but when the kids came into our life we started serious cooking. Most of it is really healthy I think). The grill has a special place in my heart because we love to do things outside. Everything I make is an adventure, and sometimes we use the books. We try to grill as much as we can year round.
Marc's May Challenge Recipe:


The BBQ Grail
The BBQ Grail website was created in 2007, initially to document the author’s quest to find the perfect backyard BBQ experience. Since that time The BBQ Grail has become one of the more popular BBQ blogs on the internet and is listed onAlltop.com as one of the top BBQ blogs.
Larry's May Challenge Recipe

Bob’s Brew and ‘Que
Bob started Bob’s Brew and ‘Que in August of 2009 with the intent of sharing his views on food and drink. Originally focused on BBQ and Homebrew, it was inevitable that the influences of his upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area and it’s wealth of ingredients as well as his heritage as an American of Japanese ancestry would help focus his blog, as it has his approach to food and drink.
Bob’s May Challenge Recipe

No Excuses BBQ
The No Excuses BBQ website was started in January of 2009 as a way to record the author's goal of cooking outdoors at least once a week throughout the year and showing the results to the world. Somewhere along the way things got out of control...
No Excuses BBQ’s May Challenge Recipe

Grilling with Rich
I am a young person breaking into the great world of barbecue. I enjoy everything about barbecue from the culture to the food. I am just a regular guy trying to have fun and enjoy the food and the process of cooking the food on the grill.  At Grilling with Rich.com we go beyond just the normal cooking adventures and dig deeper into the large world of BBQ’ing, both professionally and for amateurs. Grilling with Rich focuses on the adventures of a regular guy and his quest to understand and learn as much as possible about the BBQ world.
Grilling with Rich's May Challenge Recipe

The Dutchess Cooks
About Hanneke: After years of cooking, grilling, baking and reading other people’s blogs, I thought “why not start my own blog??” And I did, in 2010, but already after a short period of time, a blog wasn’t enough, and I started my own website. It’s not my goal to publish or come up with fancy and difficult recipes:  just good and delicious food with an international twist! Straight from my plate to yours!
Dutchess' May Challenge Recipe 

When I was little, my mom and her mom used to always say that a mom's favorite parts of the chicken were the necks and backs.  They always wanted to make sure that everyone else got the parts that everyone else wanted.

I hadn't really thought of that lately until tonight when I made my Grilled Bourbon and Cherry Pork Chops for the third time this week.

Since the pork chops are so thick, Alexis and I were splitting one.   That might not seem like a big deal if it was a boneless pork chop, you could just chop that sucker in half.  Both sides taste the same. 

But this was a massive, bone in pork chop.  Bone in pork chops have three key zones.  

I instructed and heavily funded the Graphics Department at NibbleMeThis to produce this high quality graphic to demonstrate the flavor distribution of a bone in pork chop.  (I'm not sure I got my moneys worth for that all expenses paid trip to Cancun that they submitted to Accounting.)

But the only way to split a bone in pork chop is to separate the "No Bone Zone" from the "Nibble Zone" and "Flavor Zone".   The "No Bone Zone" only brings flavor from external influences like rubs and bastes, which can be good.  But the other two zones are magiclicious.  The "Nibble Zone" is like eating corn on the cob made out of pork.   And the back side of a grilled pork chop or the "Flavor Zone" is perhaps one of the most perfect bites of food ever.  I would trade the rest of the whole pork chop for the two or three bites of the Flavor Zone.  

So back to my dilemma.  I was splitting a bone in pork chop.  I wanted the Nibble and Flavor Zones.  But I knew those are Alexis' favorites.  I let her have the better parts. 

It reminded me of that Bible verse used in weddings about "Love is patient, love is kind....".   Sure, but True  Love is giving up the Flavor Zone of a pork chop.  I can be patient and kind, but giving up the Flavor Zone is special....

And settling for chicken necks and backs.  Thanks Mom! 

I have a jam packed weekend.  In just a few hours, Alexis and I will be at the KCBS and Kingsford Points Chase event Bloomin' Barbecue and Bluegrass Festival nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.  We'll be doing our Bush Beans cookout this weekend (also a sponsor of the Festival).  Finally I'm attending a BBQ class taught by Mike Davis of Lotta Bull (currently 5th in the Kingsford Point Chase) at Dead End BBQ.  

Don't miss out on the chance to win this kick butt set of Grillin' Tools

courtesy of Bush Beans.  Enter to win this set at my previous post. 

You all have a great weekend.

I have received my cookout kit from Bush's Best Grillin' Beans this week. 

When they said "cookout kit", I was not expecting Emile Henry â„¢ and Rosle â„¢ items.  Very nice, Bush Beans!  And look, they made sure mine was green so it will match our Big Green Eggs:)

For the cook out I'm grilling flat iron steak and Bush Beans has asked me to pair that with the Bourbon and Brown Sugar recipe of Grillin' Beans.  After kicking a few ideas around, here's my "plan of attack".   I'm going to use Alexis' grill set up for indirect heat to cook potatoes and the Grillin' Beans.   I'll use my grill set up for direct heat to grill the steak and make a sauce.  Here's my draft menu:

Grilled Romaine Heart Salad

Grilled Flat Iron Steak

Bourbon & Brown Sugar Grillin' Beans

Twice-Fire Roasted Potatoes

Do you like my new tool kit?  Do you want it?  You can't have it!  But I will hook up one lucky winner with the same kit.  As part of kicking off the opening of Grillin' season (for you slackers that don't grill all year round, ha ha), Jay, Duke, and Bush Beans are going to give one of my lucky readers the same set up and a supply of Bush Grillin' Beans.  

How To Enter
Each person can receive up to a total of 3 entries as follows:

This post and giveaway are sponsored in partnership with Bush Beans.  [Standard Disclaimer]

Major props to Chris Lilly, Ken Hess, and the Big Bob Gibson's Barbecue Team for taking Grand Champion at Memphis In May this past weekend!

I have been lucky enough to learn from Chris on several occasions including attending Kingsford University this year.  Chris has a wicked BBQ IQ, is a successful restauranteur, championship BBQ competitor, and author.  But what impresses me most is his business acumen.  If you took him out of the BBQ world tomorrow and dropped him into the field of "full contact, speed crochet", he'd be successful there too.  He really understands how to work it and is one of those people that makes his own good fortune. 

So I've been working on this recipe for the past week and came close a few times.  It finally came together yesterday.  

Servings: enough for 2 really hungry people

Thick pork chops are succulent but can be hard to grill all the way through without burning the outside. This recipe fixes that by combining direct and indirect heat. The smoky flavor of bourbon and the sweet taste of cherries combine over fire to make a sauce that is grillicious!

2 ea pork loin chops, bone in, at least 1” thick

1 tsp Salt

½ tsp Black pepper

1 quart water & ice (see recipe)

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup sugar

1 Tbsp peppercorns, cracked

1 tsp fennel seed

¼ cup Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon

¼ cup dried cherries, diced

2 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp Honey

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh thyme

Mix 2 cups of water, salt, sugar, peppercorns, and fennel seed in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve all salt and sugar. Remove from heat. Add enough ice and more cold water to make a quart. Bring temperature down to 40f. Soak the chops in this mixture for 4-6 hours.

Remove chops from brine, rinse, and dry them. Season with the salt, pepper, and thyme. Let them rest at room temperature for 30 minutes while you are starting your fire.

Set up your grill for direct heat at 450f.  Hickory or oak smoke will emphasize the smoky character of the bourbon. I was grilling on my Brinkmann grill and used Kingsford with Hickory (green bag) briquettes. If using lump coal, sprinkle hickory or oak chips just before grilling. If using a gas grill, put a “smoke bomb” (wood chips in a foil pouch or can) on the lava rocks and start grilling when it begins to smoke. This isn't going to smoke the meat per se, but it will give them a hint of smoke flavor.

When the fire is hot, brush your preheated grates with peanut or vegetable oil. Place the chops on the grill over direct heat and grill for five minutes per side.

While that is going on, whisk the baste ingredients in a small heat proof pan (foil ones work great) on the grill top.

After 10 minutes, the pork chops should have sear marks and some browning on the outside but they aren't done inside. Move them to the baste pan, flipping to coat both sides. 

Cook for another 10-15 minutes. During that time, every 2-3 minutes, shuttle them back to the grill grates for a minute and then back to the sauce pan. This does two things. First, it cooks the sauce ONTO the pork chop, layer after delicious layer. Second, it adds a smokey flavor back to the sauce each time the chops come back to the dish.

Pull the chops when they reach an internal temperature of 145f. Let the chops rest for at least 5-10 minutes after taking off the grill. They will continue cooking from carry over heat.

Serve and spoon some of the syrupy sauce over the chops.

These were some of the best pork chops I have made.  Everything came together with the grilling/basting to create an amazing sauce for the pork chops.

Walking down the aisle, I saw these two characters sitting next to each other on the shelf.   It was an impulse buy that I couldn't resist. 

I wanted to try them in an "all other things considered equal" situation so I decided it was time for a burger throwdown, mano a mano.  Or I guess more like burgero a burgero....

Side by side they don't look all that different.  Both have a good blend of textures and colors.  

Emeril's Grill Bam!burger seasoning was $.47 per ounce and Weber Gourmet Burger Seasoning was $.49 per ounce.

I took Mike Davis' (Team Lotta Bull, champion BBQ team) BBQ Boot Camp** last year and one of the tricks he taught was to taste rubs straight by themselves to check the balance, blend, and flavors they will bring.   I tried that with these seasonings and both had a lot going on.  Emeril's seemed a little saltier.  Weber's had more of a smokiness to it. 

To minimize the variables, I tried to make this as equal as possible, using the same beef grind and cooking them over the same fire.  I weighed out 3 separate pounds of 80/20 ground chuck.  To each I added 1 egg yolk as a binder and 3 Tablespoons of panko bread crumbs.

Following package directions, I added 2 teaspoons of the Weber to one batch and 2 Tablespoons of the Emeril's to another batch.   Yea, teaspoons vs Tablespoons, I checked the label 3 times because it sounded wrong.  In the third batch I used a simple burger seasoning of 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

I carefully weighed the mixture into 5.3 ounce portions and pressed them out into 4" patties.  I'm not normally so exact with my burger weight but I wanted everything but the seasoning to be the same.  

I grilled them for 8 minutes, flipping every two minutes, over a 450f fire.

Finally, time for taste testing!  

My preference was the burger made with the Weber seasoning.  I thought it had a spicy flavor but it didn't overpower the burger.  Alexis also liked the Weber burger best.  The two boys (22 y/o and 11 y/o) both chose the burger with basic seasoning as their favorites.  

Nobody liked the Emeril's burger.   My youngest asked if I made that burger out of sausage and my older son said that it tasted like a turkey burger trying to be a real burger.  The seasoning just dominated the flavor of the burger, it wasn't enjoyable at all.  I don't think the seasoning is "bad", I think the instructions calling for 2 Tablespoons is just way too much.  I'll try it again but only use 2 teaspoons next time.

If you need a premade burger seasoning, I'd recommend the Weber.  Overall, I would stick with making your own burger seasoning.  Start with the basic seasoning and then add whatever signature flavors you like, maybe some worcestershire sauce or bbq sauce.  You get to experiment with flavors more that way and it's a lot cheaper than almost $.50 an ounce.

I smoked one intentionally for leftovers, based on the "grill once, eat twice" mantra that we learned at KingsfordU.  It saves time and money for dinner and lunch on Monday!

If it's Sunday and your grilling 4 burgers for the family, thrown on a few extra to have for lunches on Monday.  If you're cooking one chicken, you might as well cook two and use the second for other meals.  Chickens are especially handy because there are so many recipes call for a cup or two of cooked chicken. 

Here is one of the meals I made from the smoked chicken. 

Serves: 3 pizzas (3-4 servings or 12 appetizer portions)

Source:  www.nibblemethis.com

6 ea flour tortilla (fajita size)

1 can kidney beans

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup smoked chicken, diced

3/4 cup smoked white cheddar cheese, shredded (you can sub any cheese you like)

3/4 cup enchilada sauce (preferably homemade)

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

1 Tbsp jalapeno, finely diced

1 Tbsp oregano, fresh chopped

3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 

2 Tbsp cotija cheese

Bring the kidney beans and garlic to a boil, reduce heat and then simmer for 15 minutes.  Drain, season with 1/2 tsp of salt, and mash together with a large fork or potato masher.

Preheat grill to 350-400f.  Grill 3 of the tortilla's on BOTH sides until browned and they should be somewhat crispy stiff.  If you hold them up sideways and they don't bend too much, they are ready. 

Grill the other three tortillas one ONE side.

Place the three ONE sided tortillas grilled side up and top each with 1/3rd of the bean/garlic mixture.  Use a spoon to spread it out to the edges of the tortillas.

Top each with 1/3rd of the diced chicken, 1/4 cup smoked white cheddar, and 1 ounce of enchilada sauce.

Place the remaining three tortillas on top.  The trick I learned between the first and second batch is that your tortillas will bend into a concave shape when you are first grilling them by themselves.  The first batch, I had the concave or curved side facing up, which kept all the ingredients bowled up.  The second time I did it concave side down and that worked better because the cheeses and warm sauce melting outwards, giving an even coating of gooey good stuff (technical food term there...). 

See how the first batch was bending upward?

Top each with 1/3rd of the black olives, 1 tsp each diced jalapeno, 1 teaspoon each of oregano, 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese and an ounce of enchilada sauce.

Cut the heat back on the grill to 300f.  Your grill grates will still be hot enough to toast that bottom tortilla (that's why you left one side ungrilled) but it will take long enough that the cheeses will melt on top, about 3-4 minutes.  For a Big Green Egg, you can just shut it down and let the carry over heat of the Egg finish it off.

Sprinkle with some cotija cheese, quarter each pizza with a pizza cutter and serve.


These disappeared quickly! 

Food Network's new barbecue competition show starts tonight (Sunday) at 9pm and runs for 4 weeks.  Six teams with renowned pitmasters compete through a series of cooking challenges, vying for a $50,000 prize.  Friday I had the opportunity to discuss the show with host, Chef Bryan Caswell, in a conference call with a few other bloggers.

The show clearly is not intended to be a behind the scenes look at a KCBS style BBQ competition.  This doesn't mean a lot to most people but some competitive barbecuers will declare, "That is NOT BBQ - it's grilling" if it isn't ribs, chicken, brisket, and pork done low and slow.  Chef Caswell took that question straight on and said that there was no way to make everyone happy.  Bbq means a lot of different things to different people and gave a great example of how both his grandmothers make gumbo.  Both say theirs is the best and the other doesn't know how to make gumbo.

The show challenges do involve live fire, wood, and a protein, "mostly smoking".  The pitmasters get to use their own smokers, which is a good thing in my opinion.  There will be some dramatic moments for sure and Mother Nature gets a bit snippy along the way.  One very interesting comment that Chef made was that he thought the major regions of US barbecue were represented well but then threw in an "except for _________".  The interesting part is there was someone representing that region in the competition so I guess the implication is that he/she/they sucked.   You have to tune in to find out what that is all about.

I'm looking forward to the show tonight.  I'd like to say I'm impartial, but I'm not.  I'm pulling for Chris Lilly and Ken Hess to win it all. 

All that talk about barbecue made me hungry, so I smoked a couple of chickens that afternoon.  We have grilled a bunch of birds this year but it has been a while since I smoked some.  When I bit into the finished product, I remembered why it is worth taking the 3-4 hours extra.  The heavenly hint of smoke and the tender, juicy meat got raves from the whole family.

Soaking your bird for 3-4 hours in a seasoned brine helps ensure a moist chicken and adds flavoring.  For two birds I use 3/4 cup salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 Tbsp peppercorns, 1 Tbsp dried minced garlic, 1 Tbsp fennel seed, and enough water to fill a 2 gallon container.  

Beer butt chicken my arse.  Chicken on a throne is cute I guess (unless you're the chicken) but it is a set up for uneven cooking temps.  You're putting the breast (most likely to dry out) in the hotter/higher part of your cooker.  A spatchcocked or butterflied bird lies flat and in a narrower range of temperatures for more even cooking.  Just my opinion, but it's the right one;)

A lot of people will tell you to use a mild fruit wood for smoking chicken because poultry takes on smoke easily.  Some will specifically tell you not to use hickory or oak.  I disagree, I like hickory for chicken and turkey.  I like to use 2-3 fist sized chunks of hickory and 1-2 chunks of cherry buried in my coal for grilling chicken.  

I don't bother mopping my ribs, brisket or butts but I religiously mop my whole chickens every 30 minutes.  This literally cooks on layer after layer of flavor.  The mop should be thin, not thick.  My favorite mop is 1 cup of KC Masterpiece Southern Style BBQ Sauce (or your favorite commercial sauce), 3/4 cup cider vinegar, 1/2 cup light beer, 1.5 teaspoon of salt, 1.5 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of chipotle/garlic hot sauce.  

I smoke my chickens at 250f for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours.  I take them out when they hit 160f in the breast and 180f in the deep thigh.  

It's hard to believe that our East Tennessee blogger get together at Larry's is just over a month away, on June 19th.  

Double click on the above for details of our upcoming blogger party. We discovered that we scheduled it for Father's Day, but decided to proceed - treat Dad to a day trip to Almost Heaven South. Several folks have already committed, but we'd like to hear from everyone by June 1 who plans to attend - email Larry at grandpop1@yahoo.com. We want to be sure we have plenty of food, but don't want to overbuy.