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.

Sausage Stuffed Mini Sweet Pepper Skewers

Would you like to have a Big Green Egg like mine?

Here are some kabobs I made up on Sunday.  Alexis did a down and back trip to Florida and was nearly home.  These were meant to be an appetizer after her long trip but they but ended up being our dinner after we added a quick basil-pasta side.

Free Big Green Egg?  Oh, yeah, I did say something about that didn't I?  

Johnsonville's newest contest has TWO Grand Prize packages.  Each Grand Prize is a Large Big Green Egg with accessories and a year's supply of Johnsonville products.  They are also drawing 8 weekly winners for grilling tool packages.  To enter, you just have to enter your Kabob Creation using any Johnsonville Sausage on their official Contest Page.

Sausage Stuffed Mini Sweet Pepper Skewers

source:  www.nibblemethis.com

Ingredients

• 1 lb Johnsonville Italian Sausage 
• 1 lb mini sweet bell peppers
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 1/2 cup diced sweet onion
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup diced tomato
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil*
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup shredded pecorino-Romano cheese
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to boil.  Meanwhile, cut off the top of each pepper and scrape out the seeds and ribs using a paring knife or scraper (see picture).  Boil the peppers (actually chiles) for 3 minutes and then remove them to ice water for 5 minutes to stop the cooking.  [You can do this step the day before.]
2. Preheat a charcoal grill to 400f.  
3. Place an oven safe skillet on the grill.  Remove sausage from the casing and cook in the skillet until just lightly browned, not fully cooked.  Remove to a colander to drain*.
4. If necessary, deglaze* the pan with a 1/4 of liquid (i.e. beer).  Add the oil and onion.  Season with a a pinch of salt and pepper.  Simmer the onion until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  
5. Add the tomato and garlic, cook another minute.  
6. Remove from heat and stir in the basil, oregano, and cheese.  Season with more salt and pepper to taste.  Return the meat to the pan.  Let cool for 5 minutes.
7. Stuff the peppers with the mix.  Impale the stuffed peppers on BBQ skewers.
8. Grill the kabobs 3-4 minutes per side, until the stuffing registers an internal temp of 160f.  Remove from grill.
9. At your leisure, slide a stuffed pepper off a skewer and pop in your mouth.  Yeah, pretty darn good.  

Notes

• Basil - Unless your basil plants has been as brutalized by the heat as mine.  I had to use 1 Tbsp of basil paste.  If using dried basil, use a teaspoon.
• Colander - Plan ahead while grilling.  I had a colander on top of a bowl outside by the grill so I didn't have to run inside to do this.
• Deglaze - South Park's "Creme Fraiche" episode has ruined this term for me, I snicker every time.  You gonna deglaze that?

I used a carrot peeler but a paring knife will do.

I used about 3/4 chimney of Kingsford briquettes. 

Just cook to slightly browned, it will finish cooking in the peppers.

The garlic and tomatoes will cook quickly.  

Toss all back together and let cool before stuffing the peppers.

A piece or two might fall out, don't panic.   Not a big deal.

One kabob is an appetizer.  Two plus pasta is a meal.

So quit being green with envy over my Big Green Eggs and go enter Johnsonville's contest to win your own!

[And yes, I appreciate the irony that I did not cook this meal on one of our Eggs.]

Pork To Fork

I need your help for a good cause.

Here's the short version:  For every comment I get on this post with a question about pork farming (sustainability, modern practices, etc), the National Pork Board will donate 1 pound of pork (up to $1,000 worth) to The Foodbank of Ohio.  

The longer version is that in a couple of weeks, I am traveling to Versailles, OH to Wuebker Farms to learn about the Farm To Table aspects of modern day pork farming, courtesy of the National Pork Board.  It is no secret that I'm a prime consumer of pork.

Let's face it, I'm their target demo - PCDWAS  (Pig Consuming Dude With A Smoker). 

I'm excited to learn more about pork farming because I am one generation removed from the original "Farm to Table" movement.  My mom knows all about it because while she grew up slinging tobacco in North Carolina they also had hogs.  She had a "pet pig" named "Poogie".  You know what happened when Poogie got old enough?  Yes.  Poogie went from farm to table.  True story.  

Since Poogie became dinner over 50 years ago, much has changed with the farming of pork to produce a leaner and cleaner pork.  

I am really curious about what all I will learn during this trip because when I think about it in reverse order...

1. I love smoking, grilling and cooking pork.  I'm rock solid on the consumer end.
2. I worked in a meat department of a grocery store in the mid-80s (I was underage so I wasn't allowed to butcher and I never used the powered equipment......wink wink).  I'm experienced on the retail end.
3. I visited a meat packing plant many times when I moved to working for the corporate offices of the same grocery store.  I've seen the production end.

The only part that I have not seen is where the real magic happens, the farming aspect. 

I will be posting more about my trip as it happens but for now, please help me, help The Foodbank in Ohio by asking me a question that I should ask during my visit to the pork farm.  Don't worry about whether or not someone has already asked it, just ask what you want to know.

Cherry Chipotle Chicken Lollipops

I had two of the best tacos I have ever had at 10:30 this morning.

I stopped by the Savory and Sweet food truck and got the smoked chipotle pork taco and fried avocado taco, both with cilantro lime slaw and chipotle cream.  I took my tray over to the nearby babbling water feature in the park under the cool shade trees.  The saxaphone player who is at the market every weekend wailed out a tune as I got into my pair of tacos.

Get there early, as with all food trucks, things sell out - first come first serve.

I was expecting the pork tacos to be great because Joshua R had already told me about them and he was right.  But I was unprepared for the crispy, delicious fried avocado taco.  It re-defined what a taco is to me.  The avocado pieces are light and crispy on the outside yet tender and velvety on the inside. The slaw and chipotle cream finished it off flawlessly.  

If you are in the Knoxville area, you need to hunt the Savory and Sweet food truck down and try them out.  You can find them at the Bearden Beer Market on Friday evenings and at the Market Square Farmers' Market on Wednesday and Saturday. 

About 5 hours later, I was hungry again and was in the mood for something "food truck-ish".  I thought about DivaQ's chicken lollipops.  Normally she does them with chicken wing drummettes but in her recent BBQ Pitmasters appearance, she used drum sticks instead.  I went with that and did a cherry chipotle flavor profile. 

Cherry Chipotle Chicken Lollipops

Idea inspired by Danielle Dimovski aka DivaQ

Ingredients

• 8 chicken leg "drumsticks"
• 8 Tbsp unsalted butter

For the rub*

• 1 Tbsp Spanish paprika
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp dried ground chipotle chile
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder

For the sauce

• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce*
• 1/4 cup cherry preserves* 
• 1 ea chipotle, seeded*

Instructions

1. Preheat a smoker or grill set up for indirect heat to 300f (medium).  I added two cherry Mojobricks for wood smoke
2. Sauce - Mix the BBQ sauce, preserves and chipotle in a blender until liquified.  
3. Rub - Mix the rub ingredients together and mix well.
4. Lollipops - For each drumstick, use poultry shears to snip off the ankle.  Push down around the bone, forcing the meat down round the bottom.  Use the shears to snip off any ligaments that you can see.  Cover the exposed bone with foil.
5. Cook the Chicken - Place the butter in a shallow pan in the smoker/grill.  Place the lollipops in the pan and cook until they reach an internal temperature of 165f.  Glaze with the sauce and cook until they chicken reaches an internal temperature of 175f.  This took about 90 minutes but I wasn't paying strict attention. 

Notes

• Rub - This was decent, not bad at all, but I would amp it up a bit next time.  Maybe a use turbinado sugar instead of brown, or use a blend of the two.  Then add some subtle notes like maybe corriander or cumin.  
• BBQ Sauce - use your favorite traditional BBQ sauce recipe or commercial BBQ sauce.  
• Cherry - I tried using fresh cherries & 1 tsp of brown sugar today but it looks like the cherry season ran its course.  The "fresh" cherries didn't look great and the  flavor was muted.  The rest of the year, I just use cherry preserves.
• Chipotle - Medium heat (to me) as written.  Use half of one for mild.  Use a whole one, unseeded for hot. 

Why do this?  It gets the whole leg cooked evenly and gives you a handle.

Don't forget to cover the bones with foil or they'll get dark.

I used stoneware but you can use foil pans.

The cherries I bought today were already past their prime.  Looks like cherry season is over for this year.

Glazed and finishing up.

Do you have food trucks in your area?  If so, what is your favorite one?  What's your favorite food truck dish?

Lights Out Brats

Not "Lights out, brats!" that is what you say to the kids when they won't go to bed.

No, these are "Lights Out Brats" as it - bratwursts while the power is out.

I was hungry driving home last night and was planning to grill some bratwursts for a quick and easy dinner.  Just as I got home, the angry lines of red, yellow, and green were marching across the weather map towards Knoxville on the evening news.  Then the lights flickered.  Then they went out.  And the storm wasn't even here yet, just the winds.

Age Check:  Who remembers the song "That's The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" (and NOT the Reba McEntire version)?  

We lucked out and got the weakest parts of the storm.  There were some downed trees blocking the road just hundreds of feet up the ridge from our house (Nubbin's Ridge) and a marina to the East of us collapsed during the storm and boats capsized.  All we had was no power for a short while and some hungry people, no big deal at all considering what everyone else has been putting up with.

Once the worst of the wind and heavy rain passed by, we made these while the power was still out.  Note - all measurements are estimations and SWAG.  

Forgive the pic quality, remember this was taken on a stormy evening with the power out.  Windows, exposure, and slow shutter speeds are a wonderful thing.

Lights Out Brats

source:  www.nibblemethis.com

Ingredients

• 5 Johnsonville Brats
• 5 split buns
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into 1/4" wedges
• 1 sweet onion, peeled and sliced into 1/4" wedges
• 1.5 tsp BBQ rub*
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 can Bush's Best Seasoned Black Beans

Instructions

1. Go to your electrical panel and turn off the main circuit, killing all power to your house.
2. Preheat a charcoal grill to 325f.  
3. Toss the pepper and onion slices in a bowl with the BBQ rub, vinegar, and oil.  
4. Place all ingredients on the grill.  Put the beans in a small foil pan (you can try putting them on the grill without the pan but it doesn't work well).  Put the veggie mix in a grill topper or veggie wok.  Put the brats on the grates.
5. Cook for 15 - 18 minutes with the grill lid closed.  Rotate the brats every 3-4 minutes.  Toss the veggies occasionally.  Stir the beans once or twice.  
6. Remove and serve each brat on a bun topped with some of the beans, green pepper, and onions.

Notes

• BBQ Rub - use your favorite homemade or commercial rub.  You could even just use salt and pepper.

The most important ingredient while the power is out?  A manual can opener! 

Veggies chopped and ready for dressing with oil, vinegar and rub.

I didn't even pull the cover all of the way off of the Egg's table while cooking (that's the green  stuff on the far end).

No power outage on my grill!  

Lights Out Brat

To be honest, I originally planned for the beans to just be a side but I figured, why not just throw them on top too.  

[Standard Disclaimer]  I have a relationship with Bush Beans and Johnsonville but this is not a sponsored post.  It was just getting dark and I needed something tasty and easy.

Grilled Ribeyes with Gorgonzola Sauce

Happy Independence Day!

I hope you have all had a safe and fun 4th of July so far.   We have spent the day grilling, watching the Olympic trials, and blowing stuff up.  We normally do mortars and Roman candles on the Fourth, you know, rockets' red glare kind of stuff.  But the grass is so dry and we have a high potential for fire, we stuck with "non-flying explosives" this year.  

We grilled "red, white, and blue" steaks.   The steaks were red (med rare) and the sauce was white with blue cheese.  Normally, I don't use a sauce with steaks but these were the ribeyes that don't have the spinalis dorsi attached so I wanted to up the flavor quotient.  This sauce does that with creamy texture and sharp flavors.   Gorgonzola cheese has a pungent taste that just rocks with beef.  

The side dishes were a Caesar salad and Bush's Grillin' Beans Steakhouse Recipe.  The salad is a typical partner for steaks and the Steakhouse Grillin' Beans made sense because they are slowly simmered in a delicious steak sauce.  

Grilled Ribeyes with Gorgonzola Sauce

source:  www.nibblemethis.com

serves:  4

Ingredients

• 4 ribeye steaks
• salt & pepper to taste

For the Gorgonzola Sauce

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2 Tbsp All purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 oz Gorgonzola cheese*
• 1/4 cup shredded pecorino-Romano cheese*
• 1 tsp finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp black pepper, coarse ground

Instructions

1. Temper your steaks.  Either leave them at room temperature for 1 hour or better yet, put them in a vacuum sealed bag and put them in 105f* degree water for 1 hour.
2. Make the sauce.  Saute garlic in butter over medium heat until it starts to turn golden and smell fragrant, about one minute.  Add the flour and whisk constantly until it becomes a blonde roux, about 3-4 minutes.  Whisk in the cream and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.  Fold in the cheeses, parsley, salt and pepper.  Keep warm.
3. Preheat a charcoal grill to 500f (high).  Don't skip this part.  PREHEAT.  
4. Grill the steaks.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grill 4 minutes per side or until the steaks reach an internal temp of 125-130f for medium rare.  
5. Rest the steaks for 10 minutes.  Don't skip this part either.  Seriously.  Quit looking at that steak!  Just wait.  
6. Serve the steaks.   Crumble some extra Gorgonzola cheese on the steaks and pour some of the sauce over each.  

Notes

• Gorgonzola cheese - Most grocery stores carry this in the deli or specialty cheese area these days.  If yours does not, you can substitute another type of blue cheese. 
• Pecorino-Romano cheese - If your store doesn't carry it, you can use any other hard cheese like Parmesan or Manchego.
• Hot-tubbing - tempering your steaks in warm water is called "hot-tubbing".  The idea is that you get the entire steak up to an even temperature before throwing it on the grill for a quick sear.  This results in a more evenly cooked steak.  If you do this, check your internal temps early and often while grilling because it can take a few minutes off of your cook times.  

Steaks hot-tubbing.

Mise en place for the sauce.

Fire + Hot Coals = Tasty

  

I spilled a little too much sauce on this one but it tasted so good it didn't matter.

Okay, maybe more like Pink, White, and Blue.  

It's hard to beat the bold taste of Grillin' Beans to liven up your grilled dishes.

Hmmm....what are these two up to?

Why is Brett running backwards and counting down?

Ka-boom!

Time to head down to the fireworks.  How have your Fourth of July festivities been and what was on your grill?

[Standard Disclaimer] I received compensation for this post from Bush Beans but my opinions of the Grillin' Beans is my own.

I made a mis-steak

I wanted a pair of strip steaks for dinner this week so I asked Alexis to buy me a few of them if they were decently priced or a whole strip loin if they had a deal.

"The individual strip steaks were expensive,"  Alexis said upon returning and handing me a huge 15 pound hunk of beef, "so I bought you this instead."

No problem.  We buy primals (whole ribeye, strip loins, tenderloins) and cut them down ourselves often.  You cam save a ton of money per pound trimming your own steaks if you have a good vacuum sealer.  (Warning:  Never use these machines outside.  Why?  Because "nature abhors a vacuum"!  ba-da-boom!)

So anyway, I start on trimming this strip loin.  I'm a bit puzzled at first because neither end seems to have the tough ball that strip loins have.  I cut off the lip which didn't seem to fit a strip loin.  Then there is this extra piece I'm not used to, I'm really getting a bit frustrated at this point.

As I worked this odd piece off of the strip loin, I said, "This is all wrong.  These strip steaks look weird and this thing looks like a spinalis dorsi on a ribeye."

"Oh, I thought you knew," she chimed in, "That IS a ribeye!"

DOH!  I was so embarrassed.  I was expecting a strip loin and when she said "this instead" it didn't register, I thought she meant a whole strip loin instead of strip steaks.

So now I had a whole ribeye with this spinalis dorsi removed.   

The spinalis is that little c shaped piece that wraps around the end of a ribeye steak (see pic below).  This is the favorite piece of the ribeye for many folks because it has a different texture than the rest of the steak and is packed with fat fueled flavor.  It is also called "cap steak", "deckle", and "rib lifter" (Field Guide to Meat - Green).

The spinalis dorsi on a ribeye.

It looked like a flank steak so I figured I would cook it like one.  I just seasoned it with Draper's Moo'd Enhancer and black pepper.  Then grilled it over a 450f degree charcoal grill about 4-5 minutes per pound.  I also threw a chunk of mesquite wood in for a little smokiness.  The mouthwatering aroma of grilled beef filled the house while we let it rest for 10 minutes.

It came out beautifully!  Since we were not expecting to be eating, we had no sides prepared.  Alexis, Trevor, and I stood around the kitchen eating these tender strips of streak right off of the cutting board.

A gentle pull would tear the slices in half so we didn't need utensils.  We sounded like barbarians as we groaned in approval of the rich taste. 

So out of 1 ribeye, we got 9 thick steaks (packaged and frozen for use), one  cap steak, and I used the scraps from the lip to make about 1 lb of fresh ground ribeye steak....

I'm going to be some tasty ribeye steak burgers!

And to not waste anything, I took the fat from the lip and rendered it for about 45 minutes on my gas grill....

and triple strained it through cheesecloth to get about 1 cup of tallow which can be used for a lot of things but we use it mostly for shortening.

Final thoughts on the cap steak

• Some of the best steak I have ever tasted, it was spectacular.  Yes, it is that good. 
• Would I do it again (on purpose)?  Yes, but not every time.  As good as it is, I now have 9 center cut ribeyes that will be missing their piece of this muscle.  

Once I got over the anger and embarrassment of my mistake, I have to admit it is pretty funny.  And tasty.