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

Smoked Meatloaf And Mashed Cauliflower...

It's been a while since my last post. My apologies...

Meatloaf is one of my wife's favorite meals. She it requested for her birthday recently, being a great husband how could I say no? We have been watching our carb intake in an effort to get a little healthier and more creative in our meals; so instead of making some kind of potato dish, I decided to do some mashed cauliflower. The meatloaf was cooked on my Big Green Egg, set up for indirect, and cooked at about 400 with some hickory chunks until the internal temp was 160.

I am always looking for new ways to try making old staples; and meatloaf is no exception. I did a little searching on Google and found several mentions of using a mixture of saltine crackers and milk to the meatloaf to keep it moist. There where also tips on the how finely ground the meat was before being mixed. Sauteing the veggies until they are tender before using them in the mix was also something I hadn't done before. Well, here we go...

Ingredient List

For the meatloaf...

• 3lbs of 80/20 ground beef
• 2 medium onions diced small
• 1 large green pepper diced small
• 4 slices of bacon
• 2 cups of crackers (didn't have saltines, so I used some Cheese Nips)
• 1/2 cup of milk
• About a 1/3 of cup of seasoned bread crumbs

For the mashed cauliflower...

• 1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
• Butter
• Milk
• Salt & Pepper
• Garlic ( to taste, it doesn't  take much) 

Now for the pictures...
Saute the bacon for a few minutes; once it renders a little fat into the pan, add the peppers and onion. Cook on medium heat until they are tender. Add a little salt & pepper.

 While the veggies where on the stove top, I began to prep the rest of the meatloaf. Here is my crackers and milk mixture. In hindsight; I think I would continue to use these instead of saltine crackers. The cheese crackers added some really good flavor to the meat.

 Once the cheese nips and milk were blended well in the food processor; I began adding the ground beef to the mix of crackers in the processor. The meat was originally a courser grind, and as I was going for better texture, I decided to blend the meat in the processor with the cracker mixture.

 Then it was time to add the rest of the ingredients. Once I had it all mixed up; I placed the mixture in an aluminum loaf pan and set it in the fridge for a few hours.

 When the egg was up to temp; I took the loaf pan and turned it upside down in a baking dish so that when cooking the meatloaf, it could get more of crust over more of the meatloaf. I have it a quick coating of Dizzy Pig's Dizzy Dust as well...

Once the meatloaf was on it's way, I started to make the side dish. I simply cut the cauliflower up and cooked it until tender in the microwave. Then into the food processor with some milk, salt, pepper, melted butter, and garlic. Process just like if you were making potatoes...

 

Once the meatloaf reached an internal temperature of 160, I pulled it off the egg and set it aside to rest.

 

Here is the finished meal...

My wife loved the meatloaf; saying the taste with the addition of the cheese crackers out it over the top. My family also like the texture of the meat, saying it was unlike any meatloaf they'd had before. The cauliflower was a big hit...

I will have to continue practicing making meatloaf, while this tasted very good, it didn't stay together as much as I wold have liked.

Please let me know if you try a meatloaf of your own; what worked and what didn't...

Enjoy,

Ed

Coconut Flour Pancakes...

While I have a pork butt slowly smoking on the Egg this morning; last week I made breakfast for my family. My daughter had requested pancakes... Not something you want to have while trying to avoid grains, gluten, carbs, etc...

I found this recipe here at Nourishing Days.

I am not much of a baker really; but the recipe was pretty easy to follow. The pancake batter is a lot thicker than with normal flour and the pancakes themselves wind up more of a silver dollar size. Very dense; but still fluffy, and with a subtle almost cake like taste. I topped them with melted butter, fresh raspberries, and some organic maple syrup, and served them with some sage sausage.

Family really like them and they were a filling breakfast. Just 3 little pancakes and we were all good till a late dinner...

Follow the link above and try these out...

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

Fire Roasted Salsa and Grilled Chicken...

Over the 3 day weekend I was able to take advantage of the nice weather and do most of my cooking outside; on the Egg, the way nature intended...

I wanted to try something new; and decided that fire roasting up a bunch of fresh veggies and pairing them with some grilled chicken sounded just right. Fresh, healthy, and not to heavy...

No special recipe here; my basic wing it process applies to this one.

Here the fresh veggies; washed and ready to go...

 Cut, and and removed the cores and seeds from the peppers. I then tossed them all with some olive oil and seasoned them with sea salt and pepper. I had the Egg prepared and was going to cook them direct at about 350 for about 45 minutes or until they got a nice char on them.

Just on the Egg. This set up in from the Ceramic Grill Store, The PSWoo3 and the now unavailable Woo Extender. They make great products and their customer service is top notch as well...

Here they are ready to chill in the fridge for bit before I complete the salsa...

 While waiting for the veggies to cool a bit; I prep the chicken for the grill. Tossed with a little Wegman's Basting Oil and some Dizzy Pig Jamaican Firewalk . Great rub with some heat and touch of citrus sweetness.

 After putting the chicken on the Egg to begin cooking; I finish up on the salsa. The veggies are rough chopped and the tomatoes peeled before being chopped and added. To finish the salsa; I added some fresh chopped cilantro and minced garlic, along with a little extra virgin olive oil and some fresh lime juice. Also added some sliced black olives too...

After the chicken finished cooking; to 165 on an instant read thermometer, it was time to plate the meal. Topped it with some freshly sliced avocado. My family gave this meal two thumbs up and enjoyed the salsa even more the next day with some corn tortilla chips.

Don't be afraid to throw your veggies on the grill and let them get some fire time...

If you do make the salsa or this dish; let me know how it turned out.

Enjoy,

Ed

Another Good Weeknight Meal... Pork

Like my last post; this one is another meal that's possible to get to the table without too much fuss and will leave leftovers for lunches.
 Pork tenderloins are are great source of protein and are low in fat (if you're worried about that sort of thing)... The veggies in this dish are pretty straight forward as well.
  The tenderloins are usually packed in packs of 2; so I would recommend cooking them both. Again, I did these direct on my egg; you can use the grill or method that works best for you. Just a side note; the more I cook outside, the less there is to clean up inside which can make dinner (at least the prep and clean up part) go much faster and leave more time for the important part which is sitting down with your family.
The veggies this time were cauliflower and eggplant. I grilled both on the egg. Cauliflower was a yes, the eggplant? Not so much. Never been a big fan of eggplant, and this cook didn't help. I am going to have to keep trying to find a way to prepare it that will work for me...

 The tenderloins are pretty easy to make. As you can see; when I grill tenderloins, I double back and tie the thin end so it is about the same thickness as the rest of the loin. This allows the entire length to cook more evenly so you don't wind up with the overcooked and burnt thin end. Cooked over direct coals, the dome temperature on my eggs was around 350 with the grid at normal level.

 Here they are on the fire... seasoned them simply with some Wegmans Basting Oil, sea salt, pepper, and garlic salt.

 The cauliflower was tossed with some basting oil as well and dusted with some Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust BBQ rub. I cooked them on the egg in a grill basket once the pork was done. Cooked them until they were fork tender and had a slight char on them. Tossed them in a bowl with some shredded cheese.

And here is the plated meal... was very good (except for the eggplant).

Success on the pork and cauliflower... Fail on the eggplant. But that's what this blog is about; what works and sometimes what doesn't.

Enjoy!

Ed

Good Weeknight Meal...

Like most people; my wife and I can be pressed for time at the end of the day to get something healthy on the table for dinner. Luckily for us; our daughter Elise is pretty adventuresome when it comes to food for a 9 year old, so we can try more things for dinner without having to always have a plate of chicken nuggets nearby (not that's there anything wrong with that)...

This is just a classic meal of chicken, veggies, and potatoes with a paleo twist... The potatoes are actually cauliflower!

This meal is easy and quick to prepare...

The organic chicken breasts can be cooked any way you normally do your chicken. My preferred and recommended method of course is to do them on your Egg or whatever grill you happen to have. Cooking over fire is always better than cooking inside. Another thing I recommend is buying the chicken in bulk and then cooking the entire batch. For me in this case it was 10 breasts. Left over breasts can be sliced up for salad and used in other recipes in the following nights to take care of the protein component of your meals.

The veggies are even easier...

First the strings beans. I used a bag of organic string beans and simply steamed them right in the bag using the microwave. When they were done, tossed them in a bowl with some garlic infused olive oil and some sea salt.

The cauliflower was pretty easy too and turned out to be the star on this plate. I used two heads of organic cauliflower, stemmed and cut up into little chunks, removing any of the tougher stem parts. Cooked them in microwave until tender and then turned them into "potatoes". Used my blender and pureed the cauliflower, adding melted butter, sea salt,  fresh ground pepper, and a little garlic salt. Blended them until everything was smooth and about the same consistency as normal mashed potatoes. They turned out great.

If you want to make this healthy meal even quicker, use chicken from an early cook and just reheat along with the fresh veggies...

Here is the plated meal...

Enjoy!

Ed