Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Burgers

One of the positive things about cold winter days is that they are ideal for cold smoking cheeses.

A few weeks ago we hickory smoked a batch of cheddar, colby jack, Gouda, Edam, and fontina cheeses for about 90 minutes.  They have now "aged" vacuum sealed for two weeks, the smoke flavor has balanced out, and they are ready to eat.   

What better way to give the smoked cheddar a test spin than on these Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Burgers.

Smoked Cheddar and Bacon Burgers

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Brick Grilled Chicken Wrap

Things are staying stupid busy around here. 

And when your schedule is chaotic you need something quick and easy for lunch.  Tortillas are fantastic for beating the clock, just throw a bunch of good stuff in a tortilla and you have a quick meal on the go.  In this case, I went with chicken, avocado, and the stuff for a BLT.

Brick grilling chicken is a good technique for evenly and quickly cooking a butterflied chicken breast.  You can use the same technique inside on a skillet and topping the chicken with a bacon press, a cast iron skillet or something heavy. 

Steak and Cheese Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

Wow, it was brutally cold today across most of the country. The temps never rose above the mid-twenties here in East Tennessee today, which is cold enough for this Florida raised kid.   It's the kind of dry cold that chills you down to the bone.

I thought about making a hearty soup or chili for dinner.  But then I remember I had the leftovers of a flat iron steak from New Year's Day and decided I'd make some steak and cheese enchiladas.   Enchiladas are comfort food, right?  Especially when you use a creamy chile sauce instead of the traditional red enchilada sauce.

Steak and Cheese Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

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Hog's Ass Wings & Posting Frequency

The holiday season has been a little crazy and sometimes I need to cook something easy and reliable.  For me one of those "old faithfuls" is wings on the grill.

Sure, I have posted lots of great recipes for wings.  But if I'm in a hurry, I'll just grab a commercial rub and make a basic wing sauce (1:1 butter/Franks hot sauce w/ splash of worcestershire sauce). 

For flavor on this particular day I used a cajun rub, Hog's Ass Garlic Habanero Sauce, and Char-Broil Whiskey Barrel Chips.

Grilled versus Griddled Steaks

Which do you like better, a steak from the grill or a steak cooked in a pan?

Steak cooked on a cast iron griddle.

Both have their advantages.  

• Grilled streaks have that smoky or char flavor and it's hard not to "eat with your eyes first" when you see nice cross hatch marks.  Getting to play with fire is just a bonus.
• Pan seared steaks have an even Malliard browned crust across most of the steak surface, bringing more flavor to the steak.  It's like having grill marks that cover the top and bottom. Pan searing steaks also gives you sucs or fond in the pan to use in a delicious pan sauce. 

Mustard Glazed Smoked Bratwurst with Chow-Chow

When I first got my "Warthog" bbq trailer, I jokingly guestimated that I could fit 250+ bratwursts in it at one time.  

We were going to make a bunch of smoked bologna for some friends and co-workers this weekend so I decided to toss a pack of Johnsonville brats in the smoker too.  I have yet to determine the actual "maximum brat capacity" of the Warthog, but these sure tasted good.

 

Grilled brats have a golden color while smoked brats take on a deep hue of mahogany.   Grilled brats usually also get cooked in liquid but these smoked ones would not, so I added a simple mustard glaze to help retain moisture and encourage a smoke ring.  Smoking them also takes at least 3-4 times as long but the extra flavor is worth it.

Equipment Review: St Louis Charcoal Company Fire Grate for Kamado Grills

I recently bought an improved lower fire grate from the St Louis Charcoal Company for my Big Green Egg.   The fire grate for a kamado grill is the metal piece at the bottom and it has two functions

1. Hold the burning coals
2. Allow ash to drop through and air to flow into the fire box/chamber

 There are two issues that I have found with the original manufacturer's (OEM)  fire grates.  First, many of the kamado manufacturers use cast iron.  The frequent extreme temperature changes can cause the grates to crack wide open like mine on the left below did.  It still works like that and I have used this one in this condition for 3-4 years. Mine kind of looks like Pac-Man trying to eat Alexis' fire grate, doesn't it? 

Clockwise from upper left:  cracked Big Green Egg grate, intact Big Green Egg grate, and the improved lower fire grate from St Louis Charcoal Company.