New York strip.

One of my favorite cuts of meat.  The one I picked up is about 2-3 inches thick.  There is nothing really special in cooking this but damn it tastes good.

Ingredients:

• New York strip steak 2-3 inches thick.
• Montreal steak seasoning, see previous post.
• vegetables, mushrooms and onion in my case.

Directions:

1. Take your steak and rub with olive oil.  Then rub it with Montreal steak seasoning.
2. Start your charcoal and set up the grill for direct and indirect heat.
3. Place your steak on the direct for 2 minutes a side to get a good sear.
4. Once you got a good sear move steak to the indirect side of the grill.
5. Put your onions and mushrooms on the grill on direct.  I used skewers this time to make it, olive oil was liberally put on the veggies.
6. Move veggies to indirect when seared.
7. Place lid on grill and let steak cook about 15 minutes.
8. When steak is about medium rare remove from grill and plate.
9.   It should look like this when cut.

Simple Sweet and Sour Pork kabobs

This is a real down and dirty sweet and sour pork kabobs. This is a basic recipe which can be built upon.

Ingredients:

• Pork.
• canned pineapple
• chopped garlic
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cut pork into one inch cubes.
2. Chop onion also into one inch cubes..
3. Place pork, onion into a bowl and add canned pineapple with juice plus chopped garlic.  Sprinkle in salt and pepper.  Set in fridge for 1-7 hours, overnight if you want.
4. Put onion, pineapple and pork onto skewers.
5. Set up grill for direct heat.
6. Put skewers on direct heat and flip every 2 minutes until fully cooked.
7. Plate over white rice and you have a healthy meal.

Grilled swordfish

This is a nice fish if you can get it fresh.  Properly cooked it flakes apart and does not have a heavy fishy flavor.  Give it a try.

Ingredients:

• Swordfish
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp Dijon mustard
• juice half lemon
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1 tbsp chopped white onion
• pepper

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together.  Add fish to a bowl and pour marinade over.  Cover and place in fridge for an hour or two.
2. Set your grill up for indirect heat.  
3. Place your fish on the grill over medium heat.  You don't want it over direct heat just next to it.  Your fish will take about 8-10 minutes to cook.  Flip it 2-3 times.
4. Grilled asparagus goes well with this fish.  Serve over a bed of rice and with a slide of lemon.

Marinaded lamb

Lamb done right can be a really tasty meal.  Here is a marinade with a bit of a Mediterranean flavor.

Ingredients:

• Lamb, your choice of cut.
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 clove garlic chopped

Directions:

1. Make the marinade.  Use a zester to get about 1 tbsp lemon zest.  Squeeze the lemon for all its juice.  Add the garlic, oregano and a liberal amount of fresh ground pepper to the marinade.  Put the lamb in a bag or bowl and cover.  Let sit for 1-4 hours.
2. Start your charcoal and set up the grill for direct heat.
3. Put lamb on grill over direct heat for about 3 minutes a side.  This will cook it about rare to medium rare.
4. Serve with grilled asparagus and your meal is complete.

Chicken Tikka

Chicken tikka is a Pakistani chicken kabob.  Made with a yogurt basted marinade and typical middle eastern spices.  This blend of spices makes a very nice complement to the chicken flavor without being overpowering.

Ingredients:

• Boneless chicken breast, cubed.
• 1 tbsp ginger, fresh chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, fresh minced
• 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
• juice 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Take your chicken breast and dice it into about 1" or a little bigger cubes.
2. Mix all the ingredients except the chicken in a bowl to make your marinade.   Once mixed add your chicken and cover all the meat good.  Place cover over bowl and put it in the fridge for 1-4 hours.
3. Start your charcoal and set up the grill for direct heat.  Allow the grate to heat up.
4. Take your chicken and place on skewers close together.  Do not compact the squares just don't leave space between them.
5. Place your skewers on the grill and watch them carefully.  They will cook fast.  Turn them every minute or two.  They are done when fork tender.
6. Plate it with your choice of side dish.  I used some leftover cabbage to make a cabbage salad.  Just cabbage, juice of one lime, olive oil and pepper.  It marinaded at the same time as the chicken.

This real tasty and easy meal to grill.

Pulled pork

Smoked pulled pork is another Southern classic.  Probably one of the best things to try when you are beginning smoking.  It is a very forgiving meat to smoke.  Pulled pork is usually made from the 'picnic' or from a 'Boston butt'.  Either cut can be bone in or bone out.  Many people prefer bone in as it cooks better and some claim it leaves a better taste.

Ingredients:

• Boston butt or picnic pork.
• seasoning rub
• wood chunks not chips.

Directions:

1. Trim any large pieces of fat from the pork.  Smoke will not penetrate the pork.  Rub the pork heavily with the rub.  Cover every inch.
2. Start your smoker up and bring it up to about 225°.  You want some good smoke coming out of it for the first hour of the smoke.  After that it can settle down.
3. Place your piece of pork in the smoker.  You can roughly figure it will take about 1-1.5 hours per pound of meat.   Check the meat every so often but not often.  A digital temp probe is helpful here if you have not done many smokes before.  Keep the temp as close to 225° for the entire cook.  Don't worry if it goes higher for a while, just close the bottom vent a bit to bring it back down.
4. When the temp reaches about 180-190° it is time to pull the pork off the smoker.
5. Put the pork in a large dish and tent with aluminum foil.  Let is sit for at least a half an hour.  It is still cooking at this point.  If you are holding it for later you can wrap it in aluminum foil then a towel and stick it in a cooler.  It will keep warm for several hours this way.
6. Now it is time to pull the pork.  Use either two large forks or a set of bear claws.  You are shredding the meat.  Don't use a knife to cut it.  It should come apart really easy and the bone should slide right out.  Remove any big pieces of fat that you see.
   
7. Mix it with some BBQ sauce and serve plain or on a bun with coleslaw.

If you put in a 5lb Boston butt expect to have less than 2.5lbs of smoked meat when done.  This also keeps well in the freezer if you have any leftovers.

Lemon pepper chicken with grilled cabbage

How does boneless chicken breast marinaded in fresh lemon an pepper sound?  Sounded like a good idea when I thought of it.  Also on the menu is grilled cabbage, it is not just for making coleslaw.

Lemon pepper marinade:

• large lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic
• fresh basil
• fresh ground pepper

Take the lemon and use your zester to get some of the zest.  You don't need much, 1/4 tsp at most.  Juice the lime and add olive oil.  Chop and mince the garlic and a fresh basil leaf then add to the mix.  Add about 1/2 tbsp of fresh ground pepper and stir the marinade well.  This will make enough marinade for about 2 - 11-12oz chicken breasts.  Put the breasts in a large Ziploc bag and then pour in the marinade.  Shake the bag well so all parts of the meat is covered.  Put in fridge for 1-3 hours. 

Prepare the Cabbage:

• 1 head cabbage
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• fresh ground pepper

Quarter the head of cabbage.  Take off the first couple of outer leaves.  Drizzel some olive oil on the cabbage wedge allowing it to get into the leaves.  Brush the rest of the wedge with your fingers.  Put a liberal amount of lemon juice over the cabbage as well.  Season with pepper.

Directions for the cook:

1. Start your grill and set it up for 2 heat zones, direct and indirect.
2. When coals have started put your cabbage in the indirect area of the grill.  These will take 20-45 minutes depending on the size of the cabbage you buy.  Put the lid on and they are about done when you get a little char on the leaves.
3. At this point it is time to put on the chicken.  Grill until nicely done.
4. Plate it and serve.

Grilled goat skewers

So this is a different one for me.  Normally we don't eat goat meat in America but when I find something new I will try it.  I found a recipe on Formerchef.  So this is what we will be grilling today.

Ingredients for the meat and marinade:

• Goat meat
• 2 cups Greek yogurt, plain (3 cups for both marinade and yogurt sauce)
• 2 tsp ground sumac
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• juice of one lime

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl except the meat.  In my marinade I left out the sumac.  That was only cause I did not have time to stop by an Indian grocery.  Make sure it is mixed well.  Trim any fat or bones from the meat.  Ideally you want to have the same sized cubes to insure all pieces cook the same.  Otherwise you will have rare and well done on the same skewer.  Place the meat in a large Ziploc freezer bag and add the marinade.   Place in the fridge overnight.

Ingredients for the yogurt sauce:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt plain
• 4oz grated cucumber 
• juice of half a lime
• salt and pepper

You can make this at the same time as the marinade.  Store it in the fridge and mix again before serving.

Directions for the cook:

1. Start your charcoal and set it up for direct heat.
2. Once the grate is heated up place your skewers over the coals.
3. Turn them every 2-3 minutes, get a little char on the skewers.  Mine took about 9 minutes to do, I pulled them when the yogurt marinade was no longer wet looking.
4. Lightly toast a couple pieces of flat bread or pita on the grill as well.
5. Serve on your plate with a big helping of the yogurt sauce.

I found this to be really nice diversion from what I usually cook.  The goat meats marinade had a very Middle Eastern flavor to it.  As for the goat meat itself, it did not taste bad nor was it gamey.  If you can find goat give it a shot, it is not bad.

Pecan chicken burger

Something a little healthier on todays menu.  We will be grilling a chicken burger with pecans mixed in the meat.  Pecans are good for lowering cholesterol.  At the same time we will grill some corn on the cob.

Ingredients:

• corn on the cob with husks on
• ground chicken
• chopped pecans
• tomato
• bun or kaiser roll
• salt/pepper

Prepare the burgers:

1. Take the lb of ground chicken and mince it with a knife.  It will make a nice texture and will be easier to mix.
2. You want about 15-25 pecan halves.  Chop them up into small bits.
3. Add the pecans to the chicken and mix well.
4. Form into 1/3lb patties and place each one on a piece of wax paper.  Place the patty in the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm them up a little.

Directions for the cook:

1. Start with the corn.  Leave the corn in the husk.  Trim the excess silk at the top and the stem.  Submerge in water for 15-30 minutes.  Place something on top to keep them underwater.
2. While the corn is soaking start your charcoal.  When the coals are ready just dump them out in the center.  We are going to direct grill these.
3. Place the corn over the coals on direct heat and put the lid on.  Turn the corn every 3-4 minutes.  The husk will burn and this is ok as you are not going to eat that.  The water inside the husk and the cob will steam the corn as it cooks.  It should take 15-20 minutes to grill.  The corn is done when you can easily stick a fork into the kernels.  Remove from the grill and set aside.
4. Now is the time to cook the burgers.  But first season the patty with salt and pepper.  Then place on the grill.  Grill them as any burger, I flipped mine twice.
5. When the burger is about done cooking put the bun on the grill to toast it.
6. Pull it all off and put on a plate.  Add a thin slice of tomato to the burger.  Instead of butter on the corn try spreading light mayonnaise then sprinkle on some crushed red pepper.

The chicken, pecan, toasted bun and tomato really worked well together.  I recommend you put this one on your to do list.

Smoked pulled chicken.

Today we will be smoking some chicken.  Smoking is different than grilling as we will be using low heat for a long time instead of high heat for a short time.  Also as the name implies we will be using smoke.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts, bone in or out.  Get a package that DOES NOT say enhanced.  All enhanced does is add more cost to the meat.  Basically salt and water.  You do not want that.  For all meat that you smoke get a non-enhanced meat.
• garlic flakes
• salt/pepper
• hickory wood

How to set up the Weber kettle for smoking:

1. You do not need a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker to smoke.  A regular kettle will work just fine.
2. Ideally find some firebricks.  If they are unavailable you can use old red bricks.  Where I am at I cannot source either so I am using brick pavers.  These are used for a heat sink, they smooth out the temperature.  Fit the bricks so they are to one side of the grill as shown in the picture below.  You do not need to form the bricks like I did with a hammer and chisel.
3. To start the smoker fill the smaller cavity with about a chimneys worth of charcoal.  Place 2 hunks of wood in as well.  In your charcoal chimney light about 6-8 bricks.  When these are red hot add to the top center of the charcoal pile.  This is sometimes referred to as the 'Minion method' of lighting a smoker.  
4. After charcoal has been added put a drip pan in the larger section of the kettle.  You can add water to the pan if you wish but I do not.  Add the grate and place a thermometer on the grate.  These are inexpensive and a great tool, mine cost about $6.
5. Close the bottom vent leaving about 1/16" open.  The lid vent needs to be wide open.  You regulate the heat with the bottom vent.  Let it sit for about 20-30 minutes to heat up.  You want the temp to be about 225° max.  Opening the lid to look at the food excessively will raise the temp.  Those are the basics with a 18-22.5" Weber kettle.

Directions for the smoke:

1. Take chicken from package, wash it then pat it dry.  Season both sides with garlic flakes, salt then pepper.
2. When the smoker has come up to temp put the chicken on.  Check the temp about every half hour.  If it gets too hot close the bottom vents a bit more.
3. After about 45-60 minutes check the chicken with a probe.  Stick your probe in the thickest part of the breast from the side.  You will want to pull them around 165°.  Check them about every half hour.  BBQ can't be timed it is done when it is done.  If you cook them too hot they will dry out, you want it juicy.
4. When they are done put them in a dish covered with aluminum foil for around 10 minutes.  This is a good time to throw some veggies or other side on the grill.
5. Now is the time to shred the chicken.  Take two forks and use one to hold the chicken then with the other scrape it across the chicken.   This is not an exact science, pieces will be irregular shapes and that is fine.
6. Mix some of your favorite BBQ sauce into the chicken or serve it on the side.  I used Pappy's Moonshine Madness which is very, very hot.  That is why you don't see a lot of it in my picture.
7. Serve on a toasted bun or just a pile on a plate. Absolutely no silverware, BBQ is meant to be eaten with your hands if you want to do it right.

When smoking the meat it really only absorbs the smoke flavor in the first part of the smoke.  You do not need the smoker producing smoke like a choo choo train the whole time.

Cedar plank salmon with veggies.

Tonight's meal is salmon grilled on a cedar plank. Grilled vegetables and rice completes the meal. The focus of this post will be on the salmon.

Ingredients:

• Salmon skin on.
• lemon juice
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt/pepper
• cedar plank

Directions:

1. Soak your cedar plank for about 2 hours in water.  You can buy cedar planks 1/4" thick from places you buy grilling accessories.  However there is no difference between those overpriced planks and the wood you can get from a home improvement store.  $5 for two 6" x 12" x 1/4" pieces of wood versus $4 for a 6" x 4' x 1/4" plank.  You do the math.
2. While the charcoal chimney is being started.  Take the salmon and give a liberal dose of lemon juice.  Then about a tspn of olive oil.  Rub it in good.  Season with salt/pepper.
3. Once charcoal is ready, bank on one side of grill.  Close bottom vents to about 1/8 open.  Let the grate heat up.  
4. Place the soaked cedar plank over direct heat for about 5 minutes.  You want to create cedar smoke in the grill.
5. Move the cedar plank to the indirect side of the grill.  Salt the plank with Kosher salt and then put your salmon on the cedar plank.   Then place the cover on the grill and let it go for about 5-8 minutes.
6. You are about done when the salmon flakes apart.  When this happens leave the lid off the grill and put the veggies on.  
7. When veggies are done it is time to plate it.