Blackened Red Grouper & Mango Salsa

Can you believe it?!?!?!? An actual post about food... About time I know.


Okay, here goes...

My wife isn't really a fan of fish except for tuna steaks. I wanted to try some other fish on the egg, specifically doing something with a lot of spice that I could cool with a tropical salsa. While at the store a few weeks ago, I wandered past the seafood department and struck up a conversation with the guy behind the counter. After I told him what I would like to try; he suggested Red Grouper. Figured I'd try it, if the wife didn't like it, I'd have a chicken breast on standby... Brought home two filets and cut them in half for 4 servings, as a friend was joining us for dinner. This was fresh caught wild Red Grouper, supposed to be very mild in taste and since they filets were thick, they could stand up to being blackened in a cast iron pan. I also picked up some fresh fruit and veggies to make the sides.

I found the recipe for the mango salsa on Allrecipes.com... here is the link
Mango Salsa Recipe

Here is the salsa being made... it was simple and very tasty. I will be making this one and ones like it throughout the warmer weather.

 Then it was on to prepping and cooking the fish. I simply melted some butter, brushed the filets with the melted butter, and then coated them thoroughly with Dizzy Pig Swamp Venom. Not the hottest spice mix out there, but it does have a really nicely balanced kick to it...

 Along with the grouper and salsa, I also made some simple grilled asparagus that was tossed with Wegmans Basting Oil and some sea salt, garlic salt, and course ground pepper. As a surprise for my daughter who loves strawberries; I also prepped and grilled some strawberries that where coated with a little EVOO and some Dizzy Pig Pineapple Head rub. This rub is great on any fruits and especially grilled corn on the cob.

The strawberries came off the egg after about 8 min. They were a little soft; but the flavor was amazing. I think they might be better egged in a small sauce pan and then served over ice cream. The juices after they were cooked tasted crazy good.

Here is the fish on the egg. I got the egg to about 350 dome temp and then let the cast iron skillet heat up for about 10 mins. I used a little bit of oil and the remaining melted butter to blacken the grouper. I did them about 3 min a side for the thicker pieces and 2 min a side for the thinner ones.

 I can say the aroma coming off the egg while cooking this had my mouth watering...

Here it is plated up... My daughter loved it, as she is always up for trying new things. My wife gave it two thumbs up and asked when we were having fish next. I would say that counts as a successful cook...

Don't be afraid to try grilling on cooking fish on the egg or whatever grill you happen to have. Ask your fish guy at your favorite seafood counter for suggestions; they are rarely wrong with the help they provide.

If you plan on using a lot of mangoes over the summer, either buy the pre sliced packaged type or get yourself one of these... Oxo Good Grips Mango Splitter  This handy tool will make working with the mangoes so much easier.


Enjoy!

Ed
 

Brisket... Finally Got One Right!

This past weekend; during the snowstorm that wasn't (at least where we are) I wanted to do a low and slow cook and see how my egg did in the heavy snow and high winds. We had snow, a very little, but we did have wind...

I picked up a 12 pound Choice packer brisket from Shady Maple and decided to do a straight low & slow cook, no foil crutch during the cook, no in a pan braising either. Get my egg to between 225 and 250 on the dome thermometer and let her go until done.

I prepped the meat by injecting the flat portion in several spots with some simple Herb-Ox beef broth; and then rubbed it with a heavy coating of sea salt, cracked pepper, and Tasty Licks Black Bart's Brisket rub.

In order for it to fit on the large egg; I need to use an inverted roasting rack to raise the middle, allowing the ends to fit inside the dome. The egg settled in at 230 around 7:30PM and the smell of hickory was all over my deck as the wind picked up. I sat and enjoyed some Woodford Double Oak along with a good cigar while a sturdy umbrella protected me from most of the weather.

I called it a night around 12:30AM as the snow was winding down and the wind was really howling. Slept in and checked on the egg around 8:30AM to find it still at 230 with delightful aromas coming from the daisy wheel on top. Here it is around 10:30AM as it is coming out of the stall and at about 185 internal temp. My target internal temp was 205...

And here it is; at 205 internal and ready to be foiled and loaded into a cooler with some towels for a few hours rest until dinner later that day. The brisket came off the egg at about 1PM. This was a total egg time of about 18 hours and then about a 5 hour rest in the cooler.

The result; the best brisket that I have done so far in my almost one year of egging... the meat was tender, moist, and had great flavor... Got thumbs up from everyone on this one.

This was my 4th brisket packer and I think I am on to something. Despite my egg's lack of gasket; waiting till Spring to put the replacement on, it held temperature in the cold and wind without any issues. Don't be afraid to try this particular cut of meat... learning how to do it is all part of the fun!

Served it with some simple slaw and Bush's Black Bean Fiesta...

Enjoy!

Ed

Crispy Wings...

The last time I made wings was on Super Bowl Sunday. I have only made them a few times on my egg; and while they tasted really good, most everyone was hoping they would be a little more crispy...

After reading for a bit on the BGE forum; I decided to try something a little different with this batch. Rather than put the wings in a pan and sprinkle the rub over them; I decided to use a zip lock bag and shake them like I would do for stew beef and flour. Also, rather than going straight rub, I added some corn starch to the rub. Based on what I had read, the corn starch would help the skin crisp up while the wings cooked indirect and the meat stayed moist.

Here are wings, washed and dried, with the rub and cornstarch mix. The rub is Dizzy Pig Swamp Venom. I mixed the rub and corn starch in about a 3:1 mix.

After a few vigorous shakes, they went into the fridge for a while as the I got the egg set up. I set the egg up for indirect cooking using the plate setter. Got the temperature settle in about 400 and used some mesquite chunks for flavor. The wings were on for an 1:15 and came off looking good.

These were the best wings I have made so far...

 
Served with a simple sauce made up of Frank's Red Hot mixed with Blue Cheese dressing...

Let me know if you try this method or have one of your own for really crispy wings!

Enjoy!

Ed

BBQ Beef and Red Cabbage Slaw...

This past Sunday; I wanted to enjoy some playoff football, some family, and the nice weather... Can't think of a simpler or tasty way than to do some BBQ on Egg!

Decided that this time it would be beef instead of pork for the slow smokey cook. After doing a little reading on the BGE Forum; I decided to try Clay Q's Pulled Beef from Dizzy Pig's recipe page. Friday night I was up at Shady Maple and picked up two 4 pound chuck roasts for this cook.

Like most directions; I always take them more as suggestions rather than hard and fast rules. Certainly makes cooking and egging more interesting and entertaining...

Clay Q's recipe advises to expect about an 8 hour cook. With the football starting at 3PM; I wanted to have the beef ready around 5PM; so doing some sophisticated figuring, that meant I should be shooting to have to beef on the Egg at about 9AM.

Got the Egg cleaned out; filled with a new load of lump, and fired her up. Once the temp stabilized at 250F on the dome temp I threw in about half a dozen chunks of hickory and put the plate setter on legs up for an indirect cook..

Here are chucks in the rack... The night before I injected them with the Wegman's Santa Fe marinade. Under the rack and in the pan was going to be a couple of onions and and two cans of Guinness. I gave them a good dusting of Tasty Lick's Black Bart Brisket Rub. Following Clay Q's suggestion; I applied a layer of bacon to help with both the flavor and to add some moisture to the party.

And here they are on the Egg... Stage one involved getting the internal temp to 160F before moving onto the braise portion of the cook.

Once the beef was on it's way; it was time to make the Red Cabbage Slaw. I wanted to be tangy and a nice counter point to the richness of the beef. Decided to keep about as simple as possible; red cabbage and a basic vinaigrette. Olive oil, red wine vinegar, sea salt, pepper, onion powder, and seasoned salt. Shredded the cabbage, coated the cabbage with the vinaigrette and put it in the fridge to get happy for several hours while the beef cooked.

Here is the beef after about 6 hours. Not sure why; but these chucks never got to 160 when expected, they stalled around 151 before I pulled them off the rack and they went right into the pan with the onions, Guinness, and drippings. I covered the pan tightly with foil and put it back on with the dome at about 300F to wait for the beef to come up to the end temp of 210F.

 
In the end; all was well... Based on the way the chucks smelled cooking on the Egg in the crisp air I had to abandon plans for doing step 3 of Clay Q's recipe and simply shredded the beef and served it with the slaw.

Everyone loved it, especially the bacon  being left into the mix as well... Sorry for the very informal plating picture; but we were being very causal at that point in the evening. Did I mention that Monday was holiday for President's Day?

A good time was had by all...

A pretty easy cook overall with some really tasty results...

Enjoy,

Ed