Fire Roasted Stuffed Bell Peppers - Cheater Version

The stuffed mini pepper kabobs that I made the other day made me crave stuffed bell peppers, one of my childhood favorites.  My usual recipe is a little more drawn out but I took some short cuts on this one.  You could also do this in your kitchen using your stove top and oven but you won't get the extra flavor of fire roasting.  Unless you catch your oven on fire.....

Fire Roasted Stuffed Bell Peppers - Cheating Version

source:  www.nibblemethis.com

Ingredients

• 5 bell peppers
• 12 oz Mexican style chorizo*
• 1/3 cup diced onion
• 3 cups cooked Mexican rice*
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 tsp Grill Mates Fiery 5 Pepper Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Manchego cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat a charcoal grill to 350f (medium heat).  I added two chunks of mesquite wood.
2. Par-cook the peppers.  Cook over direct heat about 1 minute per side and then place in a covered bowl for 5 minutes.* 
3. Brown the chorizo in a skillet, adding the onions about 3 minutes after starting the beef.  
4. Add the chorizo and onion to the cooked rice.  Add one half of the cheese and stir the whole mixture together.
5. Slice the top of each pepper off and remove seeds.  Fill with the rice mixture.  
6. Mix the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Fiery 5 Pepper, and oregano together.  Spoon over the top of the stuffed peppers.
7. Use an indirect heat set up to roast your stuffed peppers for 30 minutes.
8. Top the peppers with the remaining cheese and cook another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
9. Remove, let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving, they will be hot.

Notes

• Mexican chorizo - this is the raw style, not the cured Spanish chorizo.
• I used a packaged mix, one of my cheats.
• Peppers - You aren't trying to char and blister the skin off of the peppers here like you would normally.  You are just trying to pre-cook them a little bit so they'll be tender at the end.

The Fiery 5 Pepper adds a punch to the glaze.

Have everything ready because it goes quickly during prep.

Manchego - This briny hard sheep's milk cheese is nicely suited with the chorizo.  If you can't  find Manchego, you could use monterey jack cheese instead.

Grilling on a skillet.  Skillereting?  Grilleting?

I cooked mine in a stoneware pan, those are ideal for indirect grilling.

Cover liberally with the cheese. 

I served them with slices of seasoned avocado. 

Grill Mayor of 2012
How would you like to be named as the Grill Mayor of 2012?  Food Network is currently running a contest in which you can been named Grill Mayor AND win this great prize package:

o   Grand Prize: 2 trips to New York City for winner and a guest 

o    2 nights first-class hotel accommodations

o   $100 Food Network gift card

o   Food Network Grilling Cookbook

o   Omaha Steaks grilling kit

o   Assortment of Grill Mates products

o   Dinner for Grand Prize Winner and one guest at a Food Network’s chef restaurant in New York City

o   Two VIP access passes to a premiere New York City BBQ Festival 

o   Tour of the Food Network kitchens in New York City

So how do you get elected to Grill Mayor?  Simple.  You go to the Food Network contest entry page and submit your best grilling tip or piece of advice.  Entries must be 100 words or less and include a picture of your tip in action.  See the contest rules for official stuff but the contest runs through July 31, 2012.  Good luck!

Also - don't forget to join me at the Grill Mates Grillerhood for fun stuff from McCormick.  I just downloaded a hot grilling wallpaper for my laptop:

I know, I'm a dork.  They also have ring tones, recipes, and other stuff each week, check it out.

[Standard Disclaimer] I have received compensation for this post from representatives of McCormick Grill Mates.

DivaQ's Chocolate Pig Candy Pretzels

This is as close to a "cookie post" that you will ever see on Nibble Me This.   I made DivaQ's Chocolate Pig Candy Pretzels (click for full recipe).  It's made of pretzels, chocolate and crumbled candied bacon.  Yeah, I know....right? 

Sweet, salty, and a bit smoky too.

Danielle Dimovski aka DivaQ has been one of my top favorite BBQ bloggers since I started my blog.  She's got a hilarious sense of humor, has great content & tips, and is one heck of a BBQ competition cook, as proven by her top finish in pork shoulder at the 2011 Jack Daniels.  If you don't already follow her, check out www.divaq.ca .  

Made my pig candy on my Green Egg. 

Improvised double broiler.

Dipped in chocolate, sprinkled with crumbled pig candy, chilled in fridge, dusted with powdered sugar.

We packaged these in foil cups and red straw inside of a clear plastic goody bag to give as gifts to co-workers, neighbors, etc.

Pin It

On Our Grills August

It is time for the monthly On OurGrills – 4 Ingredient Challenge. 

It's a monthly challenge (not contest) in which a group of grilling/BBQ friends are presented with a list of 4 ingredients that they must use to create a meal from the grill. The challenge ingredients for August are:

Protein: Beef Short Ribs

Vegetable: Celery

Starch: Gluten Free Pasta

Fruit: Peaches

I cheated on this one. I had an ace up my sleeve and I consulted the Gluten Free Grillmeister himself, Dave of Food and Fire for advice. I decided to TRY to make the entire meal gluten free. 

Beef Short Ribs

Full of connective tissues, these are a prime candidate for low and slow and/or braising. I went with both and used this Chris Lilly recipe that you can find at Grilling.com. I smoked the ribs as directed and used a mix of Kingsford and peach wood that I got from Larry last year (BigDude's Eclectic Ramblings). The second part of the cook braises them where I did slip up on gluten free since I could not get gluten free soy sauce.

Celery

Does celery even COUNT as a vegetable? I mean, it's fiber and water. Outside of “ants on a log” or as a side to hot wings, whoever wants celery? Actually I like the flavor of celery, it's the texture that I dislike. I hate biting into dishes and getting a huge, raw chunk of celery. I solved that problem tonight by using very thin slices on a bias. Just look at the difference.

Gluten Free Pasta

This was my biggest surprise. I expected some chewy, gross pasta substitute. We used Notta Pasta Rice Spaghetti and we LOVED it. I made a veggie pasta side dish on the grill while the beef rested.

On Our Grills Challenge Made Me Make This But I Really Liked It Pasta

Serves 2

2 Tbsp butter

1 stalk celery, sliced thin on a sharp bias

1 leaf sage, sliced

¼ cup roasted red pepper, diced

1 green onion, sliced

¼ tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt (gluten free, don't ya know!)

4 oz Notta Pasta Rice Spaghetti, cooked according to directions

Preheat a skillet over high heat and then add the butter. Saute celery and sage for 2 minutes.

Add the pepper, onion, and season salt. Saute another 1-2 minutes.

Add cooked pasta and toss to coat.

Peaches

Once the meat had smoked, I grilled the peaches over the peach wood embers while Alexis made our basic home made ice cream. Grilling fruit concentrates the natural sugars. 

After peeling and dicing the peach halves, Alexis poured about 1 Tbsp of Agave nectar over them and tossed them. The warm peaches melted the ice cream before I could get a decent photograph but the taste was well worth it. 

 

Smoke Hollow

I used 3/4ths of my SmokeHollow grill/smoker combo cooker for this dish.

• Offset Smoker – smoked the beef ribs until the point they were foiled
• Charcoal Grill – grilled the peaches over the peach wood embers
• Gas Grill – finished cooking the ribs once foiled, sauteed the veggies

I love our two Big Green Eggs but the Smoke Hollow combo cooker is great because I can be using 3 cooking surfaces at once doing different things. I want to get it out on our deck with the Eggs but need to get a 7 foot long grill cover first.

The On Our Grills Troupe

Check out the creative meals that the rest of the gang came up with:

The Daily Dish – August Challenge Post

Kristina has been writing "The Daily Dish" for www.BetterRecipes.com for the past two years. The blog covers a wide variety of recipes, but firing up the grill truly lights up her passion for food! She was named "America's Next Pork Personality" by Guy Fieri for one of her grilled pork dishes, won the outdoor grilling division of the National Beef Cook-Off, and her winning grilled lamb-burger took her all the way to the land Down Under with Meat and Livestock Australia. The "4-Ingredient Challenge" is a fun and exciting way to get creative on the grill!

The BBQ Grail – August Challenge Post

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 on Alltop.com as one of the top BBQ blogs.

No Excuses BBQ – August Challenge Post

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...

Oshawa Ogre's Views, News & BBQ's – August Challenge Post

Wilfred is somewhat of a newcomer to the BBQ scene having only done standard grilling for most of his 50 years, He found and became passionate about Low & Slow about 2 years ago. and that passion also morphed into a second hobby which is writing. Oshawa Ogre’s Views News & BBQ’s has been a project that has taken on a life of it’s own and blessed him with many many new friends in the BBQ community on Twitter, facebook and through the blog.

Grill Aventures – August Challenge Post

Grilladventures by broadcastmarc is started on march of 2010.I started the BBQ thing when I was 30,before that we eat a lot outside.have fun,but when the kids came in our life We start serious cooking.Most of it is realy healthy I think;-)The grill has a special place in my heart,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.

Jason's Barbecue Adventures – August Challenge Post

Jason’s BBQ Adventures was started in 2007 when Jason fell in love with real BBQ the first time and tried to smoked a pork shoulder and soon after started smoking ribs, brisket, and chicken. After a while he started to experiment with grilling and smoking just about anything and ultimately fell in love with the entire cooking process.

The Dutchess Cooks – August Challenge Post

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!

Let's Go All The Way

Nah I'm not talking about this wretched song from the '80s....



Do you remember the very first time you ever thought to yourself, "Wow, that was the best thing I've ever eaten!"?

For me, the first two times both involved being at my grandparents farm near Elizabethtown, NC.  Once was the first time I ever had bbq.  The second time was when I had my first "all the way" burger from Melvin's (aka The Pool Hall).  The wonderfully greasy burger with it's slaw and chili dripping down my 7 year old hands stamped a memory in my head that has lasted a lifetime.

While "all the way" implies putting everything and the kitchen sink on it, in the Carolinas, it means only four items:  chili, slaw, onions, and yellow mustard.

Yesterday I spent the day recovering the yard and deck from the storm.  The siding of our house is totaled, we have gutters damaged, and our roof has to be replaced.  But I'm happy to have those problems because it means that I still have a house standing.  

Made with pieces of broken siding and glass in my yard.

It's weird seeing my grilling area and Big Green Eggs without a canopy but I was glad to finally be able to cook outdoors again last night.  I quickly decided to cook "all the way" burgers and dogs.  

FWOOMP - SPLAT.  That's the noise made by cleaning wet debris and muck out of a gutter and letting it fall 12 feet to the ground.  FWOOMP - SPLAT is also the sound that canned chili makes as it escapes the vacuum of the can after months of captivity and falls into the pot.  Appetizing thought, right?  That is why I don't use canned chili.

To make good "all the way" burgers, you need to make a great chili. In the past I have used this  A & W clone but I wanted to try a new one this time so I consulted one of my favorite barbecue resources - AmazingRibs.com.  Meathead produces an excellent website, it's truly a "resource" with it's helpful  information packed articles.  It's what NibbleMeThis wants to be when it grows up.  If you don't already use AmazingRibs.com, go check it out.

After an email exchange with Meathead, I ended up picking his All-Purpose Chili Sauce recipe.  I made it as written and let it simmer for 2 hours while I finished up on the roof.  

I fired up my Big Green Egg for the first time since Thursday and grilled a few Lay's beef hot dogs.

I dressed them up "all the way" but something didn't seem right....

I know what it is!  It was too neat, you never get an "all the way" dog like this.  They wrap them up, smashing everything together in the paper.

Ahhhh perfect!  

If you don't get chili and slaw on you, you didn't use enough!

Then I grilled burgers.  Normally, I make 1/3rd pound burgers that leave me stuffed.  But Melvin's Burgers are smaller guys, that's why I can always eat two.  So I carefully weighed out the burgers in 4 ounce patties and they turned out to be the right size.  I used 1.5 lbs of 80/20 ground chuck, 1 egg, salt & pepper, and 1 piece of toast ground up.  I use toast to make bread crumbs instead of canned ones because it's more moist and I think it gives a better burger texture.  

The dogs and burgers were exceptionally good.  Everyone loved the chili sauce so I think it will be my new favorite.  The cinnamon was a unique addition and it brings a fantastic note to the chili, I wouldn't have thought of adding it to chili. 

It feels good to be grilling again! 

March Giveaway: The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches

You know those nights when you got home late from work, you are tired and you aren't up to making a huge dinner but you won't want to settle for boring?   Then flipping through Susan Russo's The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches will be spark ideas and take you from "blah" to "kick butt food between bread" in just a few minutes.

Tonight was one of those nights for us.  I spent just a minute browsing and found the "Chow Mein Sandwich".  It sounded crazy, looked delicious and I had all of the ingredients on hand.  According to the book this is a South Massachusetts favorite.  I can see why!  

Matt's picture makes mine above look like crap, but it still tasted great!

Chow Mein Sandwich

slightly adapted from

The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches:  Recipes, History, and Trivia for Everything Between Sliced Bread

Ingredients

2 yellow onions, cut into small wedges

1 stalks celery, thinly sliced using the whole stalk and leaves

2 leaves napa cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 cup bean sprouts

4 cups chicken broth (divided)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 Tbsp Kitchen Bouquet

1 tsp Sriracha sauce

1 tsp red pepper flake

1 cup beef broth

salt and pepper to taste

4 hoagie rolls

16 oz Chow Mein crispy egg noodles

Place veggies in a 3 quart pan preheated to medium high heat and dry stir fry (no oil) for 1 minute.  

Whisk together the cornstarch and 1 cup of the chicken broth.  Pour over the veggies and toss for another minute.

Add the remaining chicken broth, beef broth, Kitchen Bouquet, sriracha, and red pepper flake.  Bring to a boil and them simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened.  

Split rolls, top with crispy noodles and ladle the sauce over them.

When I first sat down to go through the book, my expectations ranged from "been there done that" to "who the hell has shaved Himalayan yak ham in their fridge?".  But I was very pleasantly surprised.  The book is a winner.   

 

Yes, we still actually own an encyclopedia set.

True to it's name, it is an A-Z encyclopedia of classic, regional, and unusual sandwiches.  Each "entry" includes history & trivia about the sandwich, the recipe itself, and suggested variations.   The author, Susan Russo, writes for NPR's Kitchen Window and runs the food blog, Food Blogga.  Matt Armendariz of MattBites rocked out the photos in the book.  

The recipes themselves are not intimidating but at they same time, they are creative and fun.  That's because Susan uses a lot of ingredients that you will probably have on hand.  I could see this being one of those books that you always turn to when you need a quick idea for something tantalizing, different, but easy too. 

Because of the history and trivia presented with each sandwich, I often found myself thinking "Wow, I didn't know that".  Susan keeps even the standard sandwiches interesting by offering possible additions that make one say, "Huh, that's a neat twist". 

I almost wanted to take issue with pulled pork done in an oven, but at least she didn't kill it in a crock pot with a gallon of bbq sauce poured on top and I know not everyone has two Big Green Eggs and another smoker like me ;)  So I'll let that slide ha ha.

And this is a small thing, but it is a paperback with one of those hinged spines that let's it stay open when you put it down open.  Don't you HATE using a cookbook that every time you turn back to reference it, has either closed or changed pages on you????

Hold on.  I think I am talking myself out of this giveaway.  Never mind people, this book is awful.  You don't want it.  I'm keeping it for myself!  Nah, just kidding.  I am still giving it away but I'll buy myself a copy.

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

1. leave a comment below telling me your all time favorite sandwich. (NOTE: If you use the "anonymous comment" option, be sure to leave an email or your screen name in the comment so I can contact you if you are the winner. Something like "EggerinFL from the Egg Forum" or "swibirun from the BBQ Brethren forum" is enough.)
2. Do a Twitter or Facebook post linking to this giveaway post and then leave a separate comment below with the URL of your Facebook post or for Twitter use the slash tag #foodblogga so I can find it. 
3. Mention this giveaway and link to it in a post on your blog. Then leave a separate comment below with the URL of your post.

The Rules

1. Giveaway entry period begins Friday, 12:01am March 24, 2011 and ends Thursday, 11:59am, March 31, 2011. Drawing will be held Friday, April 1st (no april fools), 2011 at 7pm (All times are Eastern Time zone).
2. Comments will be numbered by order received and random.org will generate a random number for the winner.
3. Limited to residents of the continental US unless you wish to pay the extra shipping charges.
4. I am the final judge regarding any discrepancies, interpretations, grievances, etc about this drawing.
5. Quirk Publishing is sponsoring the prize. They are not responsible for the drawing or the giveaway.
6. Winner must respond and claim the prize within one week of the winning announcement. If a winner does not claim the prize during the specified time, a reserve winner will be drawn from the original entries.
7. Employees, Board Members, pets, indentured servants, and family of Nibble Me This are not eligible to enter. 

If you don't win, don't worry.  The book goes on sale April 5, 2011.   I know I will buy one.

Grilled Chicken with Barbecue Sauce

Here's another quick "non-recipe" post. 

Two weeks from know, I will be attending Kingsford University in Vegas, learning from pit master, Chris Lilly.  To say I am excited would be a massive understatement.  I feel like a kid the night before Christmas...and dagnabit I want coal in my stocking NOW!  It is a gorgeous day today so maybe some grilling will "take the edge off" of waiting for the next two weeks to pass. 

I received a sample jar of Albukirky Seasonings BBQ Rub from fellow Egghead and blogger, Kirk Muncrief.  (See?  His name is Kirk and he lives in Albuqurke....um...Albuqurque....ah forget it, Albukirky is easier to spell anyway!)

I'll do a full post about it later after I have tried it a couple of times but couldn't wait to try it today.  The boys wanted "bbq chicken*" sandwiches for lunch so I seasoned a few boneless skinless chicken thighs with the Ablukirky rub.  

I fired up the Big Green Egg to 350f direct heat and grilled them for about 6 minutes per side.  Then I glazed them with some Smoky Mountain Smokers Barbecue Sauce, moved them to the cooler spots of the grill and let them cook another 2-3 minutes to let the sauce "set" onto the chicken.  

Only add bbq sauce in the last few minutes of grilling so it won't burn.

The boys loved the chicken and it disappeared.  I tasted a piece and it was quite good.  The rub is either sugar free (I'll find out) or low in sugar which made it perfect for grilling (won't burn).   That is why I used a sweet sauce like Smoky Mountain Smokers at the end to balance out the flavor.

Here are my quick tips for grilling boneless, skinless chicken thighs:

1. Trim excess pieces of fat from the thighs but don't stroke out over getting it all.  A little fat is a good thing.
2. Wipe the chicken as dry as possible.
3. Season with your choice of rub and let rest while starting your fire.
4. Grill over direct heat (preferably charcoal fire) at 350-400f for 5-6 minutes per side.
5. Often, one of the thighs in the package is the runt of the litter and it will cook faster than the others.  Keep the runt in one of your cooler spots.  
6. When grilling, tuck that little flap of chicken on the back under the thigh.  This piece may fall off near the end of cooking.  If so, move it to a cooler spot of the grill so it doesn't burn and dry out.  When no one else is looking, pop it in your mouth and eat it.  Chef's treat.  
7. Glaze with your choice of BBQ sauce and move to indirect heat or the cooler areas of your grill.
8. Remove at an internal temperature of about 170f in the fattest part of the thigh.

*What most people call bbq chicken is actually grilled or oven roasted chicken with bbq sauce.  True "bbq chicken" is smoked.    I'm just pointing out there is a difference.  I'm not a hard core traditionalist that is going to correct someone for calling their grilled chicken "bbq chicken".  I know what you mean.

Grilled Flank Steak with Hubba Hubba Sauce

Valentine's Day is coming up so you think this post would be about the sweet delicious Hubba Hubba sauce that I made tonight.

But in actuality, this post is about punctuality, productivity and "put-it-on-the-table-ivity".   Alexis is in the middle of her three 12 hour shifts, Brett is just getting over the flu, and Trevor is in the middle of the flu.   Thanks to several short cuts, I got this on the table in 1 hour flat.  

Shortcut 1:  I normally marinade my flank steaks for 4-6 hours to load them up with flavor but tonight I relied on a strong rub of S&P and a rich sauce to build extra flavor on the back end.

Shortcut 2:  Multitask - Take advantage of "down time" when you are normally waiting.  I started the grill at the same time I started the water boiling for the pasta, then prepped the ingredients while they came to temp.   I made the sauce while the steak was resting.

Shortcut 3:  Don't be too proud to use the jar.  My side dish was a total cheat since I simply cooked some vermicelli (6 minutes once water boiling) and tossed it with some Classico Pesto.  I also used demi-glace in a jar from Williams Sonoma in the Hubba Hubba sauce.  

Grilled Flank Steak with Hubba Hubba Sauce

Source:  NibbleMeThis

1 ea flank steak (mine was 1.85 lbs)

2 tsp pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

1 Tbsp butter

1 small shallot, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup marsala wine

2 Tbsp demi-glace

1/4 cup beef stock

1 Tbsp chives, chopped

Fire up your grill for a direct heat cook at 500f.  I prefer charcoal but I won't hate on you if you use gas or a broiler.   (But charcoal is better.....I'm just sayin'.  I won't bash you for using gas, don't bash me for being right.)

Score the flank steak at 1" intervals (Click here to see my video tip on How To Score Meat) and season with salt and pepper.  Instead of "just" pepper, I used some of Richard FL's Indian River Rainbow Pepper which ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY rocks with flavor.  Too bad you can't buy it, he just makes it for a few fellow Eggheads (Big Green Egg owners).  But you could use one of those tri-color pepper blends or even "just" pepper.

Grill the flank steak for 3 minutes.

Flip and cook another 3 minutes.  Flip the steak that is.  I don't expect you to do a front or back flip.  Unless you feel so inclined, then have at it.  But if  you aren't a trained gymnast and you have to say, "Here, hold my beer" first, I'd recommend against it.

Flip and cook for 1 minute.  Ever notice that some flank steaks look like you are grilling a beaver's tail?

 

Flip and cook for 30 seconds and them temp check.  It should be about 125f now, which is PERFECT for medium rare flank steak.  If you insist on ruining....errrr....if you prefer a medium steak, cook another minute or two.

Pull the flank steak and rest it on a raised rack.

While the steak is resting, heat a pan over medium heat and THEN add 1 Tbsp of butter.  The THEN is a major difference.  I used to throw oil (butter, oil, etc) into a cold pan and bring them up to heat together.  It makes a huge difference to preheat your pan first as shown here:

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

Saute the shallot for 4-5 minutes, until softened.  Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Deglaze the pan with marsala wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes.  

Stir in the demi-glace and simmer for 1 minute.  

Kill the heat and add the chives.

Slice the steak thinly across the grain in 1/4" slices and top with the sauce.

For a dinner that was only intended to be time efficient, the Hubba Hubba Sauce was, well....."hubba hubba".  Flank steak signed up for e-Harmony.com and this sauce was his perfect match!

Unfortunately for flank steak, Hubba Hubba sauce isn't as selective.  It would go excellently with any steak such as fillet, ribeye, or a porterhouse.

Podcasts, Pineapple Jalapeno Chutney, and a Giveaway

Right now I am smoking a pork butt on my Big Green Egg. It has just entered his stall point at 175f ....


So I'm guessing I have another 2 hours before it's time to pull from the cooker and rest it. That's enough time to knock out this quick post.

Hot Sauce Weekly Podcast

The Hot Sauce Daily blog is having it's second annual Week of Wings. On Tuesday, I participated in their Hot Sauce Weekly podcast in a Hot Wing Roundtable with some of my favorite food bloggers.


CLICK HERE TO LISTEN IN. You'll pick up some good wing tips from the panel. Ha ha....I said "wing tips".

Fire Day Friday
I also posted my Vegetable Burritos this week at Our Krazy Kitchen where I co-host Fire Day Friday with Jenn from Jenn's Food Journey.


Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Jalapeno Chutney
Speaking of Hot Sauce Daily, that is where I first found out about Tropical Island Gourmet Company and my now favorite Fire Ant Juice. I bought another shipment this week (3 bottles of Fire Ant Juice and 1 of his Chipotle Garlic Sauce) and Chef Wayne tossed in an extra jar of Hobo Howey's Pineapple Jalapeno Chutney.

This chutney is an interesting thing. It hits you up front with a nice sweet flavor and just as you think it is mild, a heat kicks in on the back side. I thought it would get along nicely with a grilled pork tenderloin.

My Big Green Egg was busy kicking butt on the pork butt, so I fired Alexis' Egg up to 350f with indirect heat. I was using straight lump coal - no wood chunks.

Since tenderloins typically come in two packs, I took a calculated risk. I marinated one in some of the pineapple jalapeno chutney and rubbed one with Dizzy Pig Jamaican Firewalk rub. I thought the chutney might burn given the natural sugars from the pineapple and apricots. Then I grilled them both for 21 minutes, turning every 6-7 minutes.


The chutney marinated one did char a little from the burned sugars but that's on me. It is a chutney, not a marinade. It didn't taste bad at all, it just looked very dark.

Next time I'll just glaze it on in the last 5 minutes of cooking of an already rubbed tenderloin. Regardless, it ROCKED when served across the sliced pork tenderloin (the way it is intended to be used....I'm not good at following directions).


Why yes, that IS a black bean and rice volcano. I came up with it tonight as a spin on my double timbale technique and thought it looked cool. I'll be using this again.


Brett had a friend over and between the 5 of us, both tenderloins disappeared with second and third helpings. No leftovers.

January Giveaway
Since Chef Wayne Howey has been so gracious in adding free samples in with my orders, I am going to pay it forward with my January Giveaway. I am going to give one lucky winner a jar of Hobo Howey's Pineapple Jalapeno Chutney and a bottle of Fire Ant Juice from my personal stock. To enter, go to the Tropical Island Gourmet site and leave a comment below stating which product would be your favorite.

I'll draw the winner from qualifying entries on Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 7 PM est.

[Standard Disclaimer] I pay full price & shipping for the products I buy from Tropical Island Gourmet and have no affiliation with them other than enjoying Chef Wayne's products. I receive no compensation for this post although they do throw in a freebie sample here and there when I place an order of several jars.

Piri Piri Wings in the Style of Nando's

About a year ago, I stumbled on Michael Symon's Sriracha wings at Hot Sauce Daily. I fell in love with them because of their well developed spiciness and flavor. Since then, no other wings I have tried have come close to matching the taste excitement of Sriracha wings...

Until last night about 8:37 PM when I made this recipe from Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbecue! These piri piri wings bring a gauntlet of sensation. It's kind of like if you build a washing machine made out of heat (spicy), flavor, and "mouth-wateriness" and then throw yourself into it on spin cycle.

(Yeah, if you're counting that's about the eleventieth successful recipe I've made from this book. If you're going to even LOOK at a grill this summer, go buy this book. )

I didn't have Piri Piri chilies or sauce, so I used Raichlen's substitution recommendations. Here's a link to the original recipe.


Piri Piri Wings
adapted from Planet Barbecue!

24 wing pieces

Marinade
1/4 cup Fire Ant Juice or other gourmet, premium, extra good hot sauce
1/4 cup chilies, seeded and chopped (see note)
1/4 cup garlic, coarsely chopped
1 ea Vidalia salad onion, chopped (white and green parts)
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup lemon juice and pulp (from one large lemon)
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt

Tossing Sauce
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbsp cilantro
1 Tbsp red bell pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp Fire Ant Juice
2 Tbsp lemon juice

First, these are supposed to be hot but I know not everyone likes the sweet burn of capsaicin. I consider myself as a "medium" heat kind of guy leaning towards "hot". Here is how I think I'd adjust this recipe for varying tastes. I haven't tried these, just my thoughts.



Put the marinade ingredients...


into a mini food processor...



And process about 6-10 pulses until well blended.


What?

Yes. I have a Magic Bullet, don't be a hater. I got it as a birthday gift last year.

It is actually quite handy for marinades and dipping sauces. While their informercials would make any foodie cringe (who needs a food processor for an omelet?), it doesn't take up much space, it's easy to clean and I find I use it about once or twice a week for quick jobs. Plus it is super portable and easy to use out by the grills.

Marinate the chicken wings. Look how colorful and rich the marinade is. I can't wait to try the same thing on shrimp this summer.

The original version calls for overnight, Raichlen recommends 6-24 hours. I didn't have that kind of time so I broke out a tool I've had for about a year but haven't used - a FoodSaver Quick Marinator. The theory is the vacuumed atmosphere will make the marinade soak in quicker.


I doubt the "science" behind that but after making the same recipe yesterday and today, only using the quick marinade tonight, it does seem to have made a visible difference. I'll do some kind of a side by side comparison later because I know the Engineer in Larry wants to know. Maybe he and I will do a controlled experiment this year. (Sounds like another good excuse for us to get some folks together for a taste test.)

I departed from Raichlen's instructions at this point and followed my general wing cooking technique - 30-20-10 wings. I set up the Big Green Egg for indirect heat at 350 -375f. I cooked the wings for 30 minutes....


Then flipped and cooked for 20 more minutes.


Then I tossed them in the "tossing sauce" and let them cook another 5-10 minutes. Just long enough for the sauce to cook onto the wings. I reserved about 1/4 cup for a finishing sauce.


I'm actually disappointed in the pictures because the wings were so much better than they look. I know...they don't look horrible. But damn they rocked the taste. The pictures just don't do them justice.

[Standard Disclaimer] I didn't receive any compensation for this post. I got the Raichlen book for free last year from his publisher but have bought more of his books since then. The Magic Bullet was a gift from a family member. And Fire Ant Juice is just the best hot sauce on the face of the planet, it makes everything else look ridiculous. Oh, we also bought the FoodSaver Quick Marinator at retail.