Event Notice: AmazingRibs announces Pitmaster Club Meat-Up In Memphis

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received no compensation for this post.

If you follow my blog, you know that I love grilling meetups where grillings and BBQ enthusiasts from all over the country get together for a few days of amazing food, sharing techniques, and meeting new friends.  The number 1 BBQ website, AmazingRibs.com, is putting together a Meat-Up in Memphis, one of the BBQ capitals of the US.  Here is the press release for more info - 

AMAZINGRIBS.COM ANNOUNCES “PITMASTER CLUB MEAT-UP IN MEMPHIS”

– Inaugural Event Brings BBQ Lovers Together In The Capital City Of Pork BBQ For
Spectacular Food, Seminars, And Fellowship –

MEMPHIS, TN (AUGUST 21, 2019) – AmazingRibs.com, the world’s leading outdoor cooking
resource, today unveiled details for the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club Meat-Up In Memphis,
a first-of-its-kind BBQ weekend filled with spectacular food, seminars, and fellowship taking
place in Memphis from July 31 - August 2, 2020. The event is limited to 400 attendees, so early
registration is encouraged.

This is THE ONLY barbecue conference for consumers, bringing enthusiasts together in one of
the BBQ meccas to experience some great educational sessions, enjoy some amazing food
prepared by renowned BBQ competitors and restauranteurs, and socialize with fellow Pitmaster
Club members.

Grilled Steak and Shrimp

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I have taken the year off from sponsorships; however, I have accepted two educational trips to the Certified Angus Beef® Brand Culinary Center this year.

When you go to the store to pick something up for dinner, do you tend to:

1. Go to buy a specific protein and have a recipe idea in mind, OR
2. Go to see what protein looks so good that you can't pass it up and build the meal around that?

If we are just cooking for ourselves, we generally go with the latter.  Alexis and I went to Food City earlier this week and found a package of thin-sliced, USDA Prime, Certified Angus Beef® Brand NY strip steaks.  They also had 26/30 count shrimp for sale, so we decided to make a quick grilled steak and shrimp. 

These steaks were thin, weighing in at 6 ounces each.  That's what I call "breakfast steaks" because they are perfect for a quick sear in a skillet and serve along with some fried eggs.  Or in this case, a quick grill and served with buttery, garlicky shrimp.

Grilled Chicken Pita on the Big Green Egg

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received no compensation for this post.

I have been on a Middle Eastern food kick lately so Alexis and I made these fantastic Chicken Pitas with Tzatziki last week.  I marinated the chicken with a spicy oregano vinaigrette and then grilled it to perfection - juicy and bursting with flavor.

I blame my Middle Eastern cravings on Knoxville's own Yassin's Falafel House.  Yassin's has a message of inclusivity and tolerance and won Reader's Digest's Nicest Place in America last year.  They also happen to make insanely good falafel and one of the best gyros I have ever had.

We ate at the Yassin's in West Knoxville last week, and it was fabulous as always.  The next night, I was still craving Middle Eastern delights, so we whipped up these pitas.

Recipe Cook: Spiralized Vietnamese Cucumber Salad.....with Chicken!

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received no compensation for this post.

Leave it to me to add meat to a vegetarian dish.

Like everyone, Alexis and I are trying to eat a little healthier as we get older.  Last night, we were going to make this Vietnamese Cucumber Noodle Salad from the May 2019 issue of Eating Well magazine.  It is spiralized cucumbers and carrots tossed in a version of nuoc cham and topped with cilantro and peanuts.  I just had to add some grilled chicken breast.  

I wanted to give the chicken a little Asian flair, but I didn't have time for a marinade, so I improvised.  I used Albukirky Green Chile Rub, which is Southwestern US, but with salt, pepper, chiles, and garlic, it isn't too big a stretch for Asian.  I took 1 tablespoon of the rub and added a 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon of Olde Virden's Spicy Verde for heat.  I seasoned two butterflied chicken breasts with that, and the flavor was passable as Asian.

My "weapon of choice" for this small cook was the Big Green Egg Mini-Max.  A small kamado (13-14") grill is perfect for small amounts like this, plus the grill heats up quickly and doesn't use much coal at all.  

My set up was a Kick Ash Basket full of Parker's Tennessee Hardwood Charcoal, a woo ring, and a stock BGE cast iron grate. 

 

I grilled the butterflied chicken breasts halves for about 6 minutes a side at 450°f until they registered 155°f on my Thermapen.  Butterflied thin like this, they will cook all the way through on the carryover cooking, so I pull them a bit early to keep them juicy.

So we made the salad as written and just topped it with this spicy grilled chicken.

I'm not a huge fan of cucumber, but this was surprisingly good.  I want to use the cucumber noodles and make some kind of gyro salad with some seasoned ground beef, shaved red onion, and tzatziki sauce.

Pepper Jack and Chili Juicy Lucy Burgers on the BGE Mini-Max

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received no compensation for this post.  I took a year off of sponsorships this year, but I still like to disclose that I have a close relationship with the Certified Angus Beef® Brand.

Last night, thunderstorms and hail were moving through our area while I grilled these knock-out Juicy Lucy style burgers stuffed with chili and pepper jack cheese. 

I haven't done Juicy Lucy-style burgers in a month of Sundays.  The craving just hit me when I was standing at Food City looking at a pretty Certified Angus Beef® Brand chuck roast that was just begging to be fresh ground for burgers.

I've probably tried a dozen burger presses and Juicy Lucy tools.  In general, I find that just making patties by hand is the easiest way to go.  Just make two 3-4 ounce patties, put your cheese between them, and seal the edges.  But last night, I broke out the ol' Burger Pocket Press that I got years ago just for grins and giggles.  It actually does a good job, I just hate cleaning 4 pieces, that's the only downside.  Well, that and the cost.  No way it should cost $40.

Beef Back Ribs with Chimichurri on the Big Green Egg

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I do not receive any compensation for this post; however, I will be paid for my book sales.

The gauchos of Argentina knew what they were doing when they paired grilled beef with chimichurri.  The pungent flavor combination makes my mouth water every time.

This past weekend I found a nice rack of beef back ribs and decided to make the Beef Back Ribs with Chimichurri from my new book, The Offset Smoker Cookbook (Ulysses Press).  The only difference was this time, I used a Big Green Egg instead of an offset smoker.  Everything in this book can be cooked just as easily on a kamado instead of an offset.  The full recipe details are in the book but you can probably figure everything out from the details given here.

Picture from The Offset Smoker Cookbook.

Types of Beef Ribs

I need to do an entire post about different types of beef ribs, but for today's purpose, I'll generalize and say there are two types of beef ribs (there are more). 

• Beef Short Ribs - Cut from the Plate or Chuck primals, beef short ribs eat like brisket - luscious and beefy.  We smoke them whole, but in the grocery store, you'll see them trimmed down to half-sized individual ribs or flanken-style (Korean).  They are big, take a long time to cook, and a single rib will feed 1 to 2 people.
• Beef Back Ribs - These are the rib bones that you see on a bone-in prime rib.   Beef back ribs are the leftovers once the butcher breaks a whole ribeye down into a boneless roast or ribeye steaks.  Naturally, these eat more like ribeye steak.  They LOOK big when you buy them, but they will shrink down quite a bit.  Back ribs are scrappy little things but still delicious.  Count on 2 bones per person.  

Spicy Potatoes Au Gratin on the Big Green Egg

[FTC Standard Disclosure]  I received no compensation for this post.  A few of the links are Amazon Affiliate links, but I paid full price for the products mentioned.

I'm home alone this weekend and had a craving for potatoes au gratin last night, so I whipped this together for my dinner.  Sorry that some of the pictures are dark, it came off the grill right as the sun was almost set.

 

The first problem I ran into was that I had no milk or cream for the base.  But I did have some Mexican crema, so I mixed a cup and a half of that with a half cup of chicken stock and about a tablespoon of my NMT Beef Rub v.2.  Basically, I mixed it to taste.

I brought out the mandoline, aka the "destroyer of fingers."  I sliced half of a Vidalia onion at 1/16th inch and Yukon gold potatoes to 1/8th inch.