Barbecue Bachelor

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-04T09:42:00.004-04:00

Good morning and Happy Birthday America! This is probably the biggest grilling day of the year. Make it count!

Its a bit overcast here in West Chester, PA this morning but hopefully the weather will pick up.

Pork Picnic Cut

2008-06-25T00:26:00.012-04:00

Time to step up your game. I don't do this often so pay attention. This one is a little more involved than the every day burger. Enter the pork picnic shoulder cut. Hunks of pork like this need a lot of time, a little heat and lots of patience.

Step one, rub the picnic down with plenty of spices. My dry rub consists of

1-2 Tablespoons of chili powder
1-2 Tablespoons of ground cumin
Teaspoon of sugar
Tablespooon of kosher salt
Half teaspoon of allspice
Tablespoon of garlic powder
Tablespoon of onion powder
Splash of olive oil to create a paste

After mixing all of the spices together, rub them into the meat. In addition, I also like to pull out my injector, fill it with my rub and inject it into the shoulder. The key here is to add plenty of vinegar to the rub to make it a proper liquid. If you dont enough liquid you will clog the injector. Stick the pork in the fridge for at least two hours to let the rub become one with meat.

The key to grilling something of this size is low and slow. Your goal will be to cook it under indirect heat at 200 degrees for 10 hours. This is usually easier said than done. I normally get lit and then close the vents so its just enough to keep the fire going. Invest in a thermometer to make sure your fire doesn't get too hot. Though its a lot of work, your efforts will pay off.

Mixed Herb Pesto Sauce

2008-06-23T08:16:00.001-04:00

I am always looking for variety in what I eat. One staple of mine in the summer is pesto. traditionally pesto is made with basil, pine nuts, olive oil, salt, pepper and some parmesean cheese. The BBQB takes thi basic recipe and constantly expands on it.
Today's pesto contained:
1) Bunch of basil
2) Few leaves of purple basil
3) Bunch of parsely
4) Toasted walnuts
5) Olive Oil
6) Salt + Pepper to taste

Put all ofthe ingredients above in a food processor and process it into a paste. This can be used on numerous food including pasta, fish, pork chops, bread etc.

Tamarin, Garlic and Chili Shrimp

2008-06-21T08:43:00.003-04:00

Is a grill pan a handy device to have in a kitchen? Yes. Is it valid replacement for a Weber charcoal grill. No. Do I own a grill pan? Yes I do.

Yes, its true, I don't grill every night. Tonight I decided to head down to Gadaleto's and pick up some sea food. I ended up with some fresh shrimp and a couple of flounder fillets.

I was in the mood for a little spice so I decided to make a tamarin, garlic, and chili glaze. That's right, a glaze. To make the glaze, I added the following ingredients to my food processor and processed 'em.

1) 2 Dried red chilis

2) 1 Teaspoon tamarin paste

3) Tablespoon of peanut butter

4) Splash of olive oil

5) Pinch of salt

6) Few grinds of pepper

7) 2 Cloves of crushed garlic

Once processed, pour the mixture into a sauce pan bring to a boil and then turn off.

cTo cook the shrimp, I skewered them on wooded skewers, basted them with the glaze and placed them on my grill pan/griddle. With the pan on high heat the shrimp only took about 2 minutes on each. Make sure you baste both sides heavily.

The final plate was served with some baked flounder topped with a pesto sauce, some steamed broccoli, and some french bread. I nailed this one.

Texas Brisket

2008-06-19T10:30:00.001-04:00

This week I find myself in Texas, just north of Dallas. After work tonight, my coworker invited me over to his house to meet the fam and for some Texas BBQ. I don't really have any exact recipes to share with you but here are some pretty good pictures I took with my cell phone.The jist of it was of course low and slow. The brisket was actually cooked in the oven for several hours at 140 degrees. He then finished it off on his charcoal grill for about 30-40 minutes. It was excellent.

Review - Gilmore's In West Chester, PA

2008-06-17T11:10:00.000-04:00

At the moment, I have some friends in town from Europe and they offered to take the BBQB out to dinner at Gilmore's in West Chester, PA. I had never been and must say was pretty excited to go. I used to live in France for a little bit and (no big surprise) absolutely love the food.
My friend went online and decided that we should all try the Chef's Tasting Menu. Since there were five of us going there, my friend walked over the restaurant in the afternoon and asked if we needed to let them know that we planned to have the tasting menu. They assured us they did not need to reserve the tasting menu.
When we arrived to our 8:30pm seating we were promptly and cordially greeted at the door and shown to our table. The dining area is well decorated with paintings and is quite nice inside. Gilmore's in a BYOB so we packed in 4 bottles of wine. Things were really starting to look good. ...But it is here that Gilmore's really dropped the ball. When we tried to order five of the Chef's Tasting Menus the waiter had to go back and check if there were any more left...and indeed there were only three left. I must say we were VERY disappointed. This was unacceptable in my opinion...especially since we had specifically gone to the restaurant earlier to make sure this did not happen. I was even a little embarrassed in front of my guests.
Therefore, instead of ordering five menus, we ordered the three and then went a la carte for the other two meals. Now, I must say, after that opening debacle, things made a sharp turn for the better. The food was absolutely excellent. The Chef's menu was phenomenal. The exact menu is below and it costed $60. In addition, the servers were fairly knowledegable about what they were serving and one of them even knew some French. A few of us speak a little French so we enjoyed convering with him a bit as well.
Surf and Turf - Slow braised veal cheeks with seared sea scallop
Pickled oysters on cucumber cappellini with horseradish cream
Duck confit and siitake pot stickers, port sauce
Porcini dusted rabbit loin with morels and spring vegetables
Creme au Miel

When they brought the first course out, it looked so good that I forgot to take a picture of the dish. But let me tell you, that was one heck of a scallop.

The second dish, pickled oysters, was extremely interesting. I had never tried a pickled oyster before. They have a completely different tast than fresh oysters. There is no fishy or salt-water taste at all. Actually, they had a very subtle delicious flavour. These guys are good.

The third dish was equally impressive and delicious. The BBQB, in general, is a big fan of things wrapped in dough. Therefore, these duck potstickers were another home run. ...as was the rabiit (not shown)

An interesting consequence off not having five Chef's Menus was that the table ended up trying many different dishes that we otherwise would not have. Therefore, everything worked out for the best. Thank you Gilmore's for a fantastic evening. Dessert, coffee, and four bottles of wine later we rolled out of there as extremely happy campers. We be back!

Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon

2008-06-15T11:28:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine made these bacon wrapped filet mignon steaks for me a while back. In my opinion, filet mignon really needs the bacon in order to be successful. Frankly, there just isn't enough fat in filet mignon to bring out the flavor. Luckily, mother nature allows us to create a marriage of flavor between swine and bovine to save the day.

Preparation is quite simple actually. Just wrap the outside of the steaks in a nice piece of bacon and secure them using a toothpick or two. Coat with salt and pepper and thats it.

The only trick to grilling the filet mignon is to make sure the bacon is cooked without overcooking the steak. On a hot grill, I wouldn't want steaks this size on there for more than 6 minutes. Therefore, its a good idea to move them around a bit and stand them on end it order to get the bacon cooked...as in the picture above.

Now thats a place setting. My friend's final plating included some steamed broccoli, and garlic and cheese mashed potatoes all resting on some delicious brown sauce.

The BBQB also recommends bacon wrapped asparagus, bacon wrapped scallops, and bacon wrapped bacon.

Its Gettin' Hot In Here

2008-06-13T19:02:00.009-04:00

Summer has hit us pretty hard here in West Chester, PA, this week. To combat the heat and to take advantage of a bag of limes that I had in my fridge, I whipped up a batch of home made margaritas. Though the pre-made mixes you can buy at the grocery store are convenient, they are not a serious alternative to a 'real' one.

...And here is what the BBQB deems a real margarita.

Two parts tequila
One part Cointreau (I believe you can substitute triple sec here)
One part freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Teaspoons sugar (Optional and only really necessary if your lime juice is not that great)

Put all of the above ingredients into your drinker shaker with some ice...shake. To salt the rims of your glasses wet the edge of your glass and then dip them in some coarse kosher salt.

Chops and Dogs

2008-06-11T22:10:00.008-04:00

I had intended to redo my orange juice and soya sauce pork chops from a week ago but instead of doing them on a gas grill I was going to do them on my charcoal Weber...well long story short, I got home from work a bit late and decided to forgo the marinading process and just go with pork chops au naturelle. I'll redo the OJ marinade another day.
I got these chops in a value pack from the Giant in West Chester, PA. Before grilling them, I sprinkled them with kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper. Frankly, I dont really think that is enough spice for chops but I just didn't have the time.
To round out the meal, I also picked up a package of Hatfield Pepper and Onion Sausage Links.

On a hot grill, chops this size only take about 4-5 minutes on each side. While the chops were cooking I placed the dogs on the outside of the grill, away from the direct heat of the coals. My goal was for the dogs to finish by the time each of my guests had finished their chop. Their nothing like finishing a meal with a nice flavourful sausage. This was actually the firs time in a while that I tried a Hatfield product and I have to say it was excellent. I'll be buying them more often.

The final touches for this meal included some pasta salad, limes, garlic bread, and a magnum of Fish Eye Cabernet Savignon.

Sunset Magazine Festival Dominated by Barbecue Themes

2008-06-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

My Northern Californian connection sent me pictures from the Sunset Magazine Festival that took place in Menlo Park , California on June 7th and 8th. Now, normally, I don't have copies of Sunset Magazine hanging out around the John; however, apparently there was a huge grilling theme at the Festival and Weber had a huge showing.

He sent me a bunch of photos. He keeps pushing the gas grill on me. Strange, one would think a guy from California would be a little more eco-friendly and get a charcoal grill. Perhaps I'll send him the classic Weber 22 1/2 inch charcoal grill for his birthday.

Thankfully he did send a photo of the classic...

Apparently, they are also grilling pizzas in California...

Here are the raw ingredients...

Big Apple Barbecue Block Party

2008-06-08T18:38:00.006-04:00

I am up in New York this weekend and this afternoon I went over to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party. It was a good time with lots of food and beer booths. In general the food was really good and the atmosphere was pretty cool. There really is nothing like a bunch of people listening to live music, drinking beer and eating good food. If only the West Chester Restaurant Festival was this relaxed.

I was happy to see the Victory Brewing Company make a strong showing at the event.

Chili and Lime Spiced Chicken

2008-06-03T09:04:00.001-04:00

This is a recipe that I do a lot of variations on. The basic ingredients are: chili powder (hotter the better), cumin powder, onion powder, garlic powder, olive oil, pepper and salt. Spread that basic rub all over the chicken legs and thighs. I like hot legs and thighs.

To really boost the flavor I also squeezed in a few limes and even added some lime zest. Add all of this into a zip top bag and let it marinate for at least an hour or two in the fridge. These limes I bought from Acme a few days ago were excellent. I've been using them in everything from chicken to gin and tonic's to mojitos.

Often I cook chicken with indirect heat. This time I put them directly over the coals for about 20 minutes. You really need to watch your heat with chicken though to make sure they dont burn. If the grill starts to get too hot then just move the chicken to the other side of the grill and finish them with indirect heat.

Grilling Season Is In Full Swing

2008-06-01T16:15:00.004-04:00

As we all know, grilling season is in full swing. Personally, I grill all year round but even I start firing up the Weber more often when the weather turns nice. Some people use Memorial Day as their kick-off point but I coincide my calendar with the first offering of Iron Hill's Hefe-Weisse. I was lucky enough to get up to Iron Hill last Thursday and throw back a few of them. Is it me or have the glasses gotten smaller since last year? My waitress assured me that they had not.
After my beers at Iron Hill I turned it back to my place and hoisted a few more Franziskaner Weisse beers. I have an assortment of beer glasses...and I like to use them. For those of you who need some grilling encouragement, here are the steps neceesary to begin grilling.

How to start grilling:

A grill. Your biggest expense is going to be the grill. The problem with choosing a grill is that there are many options out there to choose from. There are not only many different vendors to choose from but you must also answer the age old question on whether not to get a gas or charcoal grill. Lucky for you, there is only one correct answer to each question: The Weber 22 1/2" Black - One Touch Silver Kettle Grill. And the best part is that it will only run you about $80-$90!

A chimney. This little device costs about $12 and is vital for the whole grilling process. A chimney is the best way to light your charcoal. Take two sheets of newspaper, crumple them up, and stick them under the device. Next fill your chimney with enough coal to cook whatever you plan on cooking. The more you grill the more you will be able to predict how much charcoal you will need. For instance, if I am grilling a 2-4 hamburgers or 2-3 steaks I will usually on use half of a chimney. However, if I am doing chicken or ribs, I will use an entire chimney. The other day I was actually able to grill/smoke a pork shoulder for 10 hours on one chimney full of coal...but then again I'm the BBQB

Some grill tools. Get some decent tools. You will need some tongs, a spatula, and a wire brush to clean off the grill. These are pretty vital as well. Don't skimp out on these or you will be dissappointed.

Some charcoal and some food and you are all set!

Porcini Rubbed Two Pound Rib-eyes

2008-05-30T12:26:00.019-04:00

I know what you've been thinking...the BBQB has been neglecting to post on red meat. My apologies. I'm back in a big way. I picked these monsters up from Acme in West Chester, PA. Each bone-in rib-eye weighed over 2 pounds. Of course this is way more than one person should eat in one sitting but heck it was my buddy's birthday! I bought the meat but my friend actually did the preparation. He wanted to attempt to duplicate the procinni rubbed rib-eye that the Capital Grille in Philadelphia offers.

I believe he nicked the recipe off of the web somewhere but I don't think it is a big secret or anything. It is essentially as follows. First, coat both sides of your steaks in olive oil. Next, get your hands on about an ounce of porcini mushrooms and grind them to a fine powder using a coffee grinder. I actually own two grinders, one for my coffee and one for grinding spices. I suggest you do the same unless you want funked joe in the morning. Combine in a couple of tablespoons of black pepper and plenty of kosher salt. I like plenty of salt on my meat.

Once you've mixed up your dry rub, spread a thick coating of it on to both sides of the steak as shown above. This thick coating will become a sort of crust once grilled.

As for cooking these guys make sure you get the grill nice and hot. I cannot stress enough the need for a firey hot grill when grilling steak. This is probably the most important part of the whole process. Under heat like this we grilled them for about 3-4 minutes a side. That produced a perfect medium rare.
Once the meat was cooked I took them off of the grill and let them sit for 10 minutes. Before serving, I tossed them back on the grill for 30 seconds to get them piping hot for the dinner table. Right before serving, drizzle some high end balsamic vinegar on top of the steak. It really finishes the whole thing off. Take a look...
To round out the meal I fixed up a batch of potatoes au-gratin, grilled up some little eggplants, and tossed on a slice of tomato. 2 pounds of meat is a bit much for one man but I rose to the occasion. And it all got washed down with an unhealthy amount of red wine. Enjoy!

Memorial Day Pork Chops With Pesto Sauce

2008-05-28T12:27:00.014-04:00

I ended my Memorial Day weekend in California by grilling up a dozen or so pork chops. Of all the pork cuts, I find pork chops to be one of the more difficult ones to grill properly. Chops have less fat than ribs so it is very easy to overcook them. One must walk a fine line between being under cooked and over done. In addition, pork chops can somtimes be a bit bland for my taste. To increase the flavor I will usually prepare a marinade. This time, I relied on a orange juice soya sauce mixture. Soak your chops in this marinade for at least a few hours if not longer. The ingreidents for the marinade are:

1 cup orange juice

1 cup soya sauce

Few table spoons of olive oil

You will want enough liquid to cover all of your chops. Adjust the poritions above as necessary.

The cooking time for pork chops really depends on the thickness of the cut. As you can see from the pictures, I was dealing with some pretty thick chops. These required about 5-6 minutes a side over high heat.

To accompany the chops I whipped together a nice pesto. As you know, I am a big fan of pesto and make it many different ways. Click here to see what I have done in the past.

I make pesto several different ways sometimes using basil sometimes using parsley, sometimes using pine nuts and sometimes using walnuts. This time, however, I tried using pistachio nuts instead. I got the idea from watching an episode of Good Eats with Alton Brown. It was excellent...you must try this. Just keep the basic recipe for pesot but substitue the pine or walnuts with pistachio nuts. That means, plenty of basil (or parsley), garlic clove or two, parmesean cheese, pistachio nuts, salt, pepper, and enough olive oil to create dip like consistency. Place all of these ingredients in your food processor and let it run.

For the final plating, I spread a big spoonful of the pesto sauce on to a chop and one big spoonful of the pesto sauce on to a slice of crusty sourdough bread. In addition, grilled up some fresh corn and put together a spinach and ravioli salad.

Upper Yosemite Falls Menu

2008-05-25T01:08:00.009-04:00

At the moment, I am spending the Memorial Day weekend in the San Francisco area. Yesterday I found myself in Yosemite. I wanted to do some hiking and finally decided to do a fairly short hike from the Yosemite Valley up to the Upper Yosemite Falls. It took about 2 hours to get to the top. Once at the top, I felt the proper way to enjoy the view was to sit down, enjoy some lunch and uncork a bottle of red.
Lunch consisted of a big loaf of sour dough bread paired with a block of aged cheddar, some hard salami, and some store bought hummus. All of this was choked down with a bottle of Diablo Creek. The wine was crap but it was the best $5 bottle of wine that could be found at the top of the falls. Wine never tasted so good.

To finish off the "on the trail" meal, I made some chocolate sandwiches. For those of you who have never tried it, you take a piece of white crusty bread and you eat it with a piece of quality chocolate. Brands like Lindt or Rittersport go exceptionally well.

Review - Star Of India, West Chester, PA

2008-05-21T12:39:00.003-04:00

In my last post I highlighted a new beer that I had gotten my mits on. At the same time I mentioned that I consumed most of it at a small Indian restaurant called the Star Of India in downtown West Chester, PA. Though I wrote that I enjoyed my dining experience there, I did not however provide a proper review. Here is a more proper review.In general, I feel I have very specific and high standards for Indian food. I am by no means an expert but I have eaten at Indian joints all of the US, the UK and parts of India. In general, the food served in many domestic Indian restaurants is often very bland and caters more to the masses. This is especially true for Indian lunch buffets. They have gotten so bad in my opinion that I no longer go to them. In the UK and India, the experience is much different. In my opinion, Indian food needs to be properly spiced. This not only includes heat but also flavor as well. Restaurants in the UK and India certainly deliver.Now back to the Star Of India. When my date and I arrived last Friday night, we were greeted at the door and promptly seated. As we were BOB'ing, the server brought us some clean glasses and my date and I popped open a couple of Schwelmer beers and dove into them. I was pleased to see that there were several other people in the restaurant. To be honest, I had been avoiding the Star Of India for quite some time. I had last been there 4 years ago. While I remembered enjoying the food, I felt that the restaurant was not very clean. While I will eat Indian food out of a dirty restaurant in India, my standards change when I am in the States. At first glance I was happy to notice that they had cleaned up their act.For an appetizer, we dialed up some vegetable samosas. While the samosa s themselves were failry ordinary, the mango, mint and tomato/onion sauces were excellent. After that, we popped open our second beers. My beer happened to make a load champaign type pop when I did it. The entire restaurant turned their heads in surprise. I like attention.For our main courses, my date and I shared a lamb rogan josh and a lamb palak with some chapati, naan and rice on the side. I must say they were pretty darn good. The chef had properly spiced the food as I had requested. My date and I soon ate ourselves into a food coma.Overall I would certainly recommend this restaurant. The only complaint I would have is that the wait staff is not incredibly friendly. I would normally expect and small joint like that to be extra friendly. For example, at one point I noticed a picture of the Taj Mahal on the wall and mentioned to the owner(?) that I had recently gotten back from India. My real point was to start a conversation. She merely acknoledged my statement and left. In her defense, she might not have understood me.Anyways go to the Star Of India, order some good spicy food and let the BBQB know what you thought of it.

Beer at the Star Of India, West Chester PA

2008-05-18T08:58:00.006-04:00

A buddy of mine gave me a six pack of Schwelmer beer two weeks ago and I finally had the chance to crack a few of them open Friday night. For the first tasting I decided to take it to the Star Of India. The Star Of India is a an BYOB Indian restaurant in downtown West Chester, PA. For those of you not from Pennsylvania, BYOB or Bring Your Own Beer, restaurants are eating establichments that do not have a liquor license. BYOB's are the best thing PA has got to offer. You'll save beaucoup bucks bringing your own booze.
Anyways, back to the beer and the Star Of India. The Star Of India is definitely worth a visit. I like my food spicy and they had no problem providing the spice. Normally I would bring a bottle of wine to a BYOB. However, because of the strong flavor of Indian food, I felt a good strong beer would stand up better. I was right and the beer I chose was perfect. At first glance, these Schwelmer beers are noticeably a little different the average fair because of the flip-top cork style seal. I'm not saying it is as much fun as opening a bottle of champagne, but if you do it right the bottle will make the same popping noise and definitely catch the eye of all of the other restauranteers. Good stuff! As for the taste, it's pretty decent as well. The color is a slight amber and it has a slightly sweet and caramel flavor. If I had one criticism it was that I was unable to achieve a proper head on the beer. It wasn't flat but the picture below is the most head I could coax out of the bottle.

Grilled Little Eggplants

2008-05-09T18:40:00.004-04:00

Little eggplants are very similar to normal eggplants...but little. Anyways, they are really awesome on the grill. Place them directly over the coals. The idea here is to get the skin nice and charred. This is a very similar process to making roasted red peppers.
Once the skin of the eggplants are nice and charred, take them off of the grill. At this point you'll need to peel them. Many people suggest putting them into a paper bag to get them to sweat a bit. As for me, I dont have any paper bags hanging around so I just toss 'em into a bowl of cold water. Works for me.

I like to server them with brushed with a little bit of butter with the stem still on.

Charcoal Grilled Sausage Pizza

2008-05-04T22:02:00.001-04:00

As promised earlier, this blog entry will give you yet another idea how to consume your homemade sausages.
The other night I got another itch to grill up a pizza. This time it was a homemade chicken and pork sausage ricotta cheese pie. Again, you really need to try this out. Its simple and it tastes incredible. The taste is a little different than your average pizza parlour pie because of the charcoal flavor.
Remember to get the pizza stone as hot as you can get it before transferring your dough to the stone. As a reader suggested earlier it is also possible to do the dough directly on the grill thpough its a bit mroe difficult.

Shark - Reader Submitted

2008-04-30T06:51:00.001-04:00

Normally I would avoid kicking you all in the kiwis by having three fish type posts in a row but I received this post from a reader a while ago and am only now getting around to posting it.

"I had to try it. I saw shark steak for sale at Safeway. Shark steak sounds ... impressive.
The tag said "Only $7.99/lb - Great for grilling". So I bought a couple of the steaks and brought them home for grilling. I prepared it by simple slathering it with mustard and grilling it about 6 minutes per side. You can see the results below.

I have to say. It only tasted so so. My Fat Tire Beer tasted much better. Can anyone send me some suggestions as to how to cook Shark on a grill?

One more thing. Shark is not one of those endangered fish that we are not supposed to buy is it? "

Charcoal Grilled Anchovy Pizza

2008-04-25T12:10:00.005-04:00

Another one of those grill "oh my god that was good" meals is grilled pizza. In a previous blog entry, one of my readers showed us how to grill a pizza on a gas grill. While pizzas on a gas grill are fantastic, pizzas on a charcoal grill are "oh my god that was good".

One of my all time favorites is anchovy pizza. And it is amazingly simple. Here is the breakdowno the steps involved:

Prepare your pizza dough (or buy it). Look for a good recipe on the web. I believe IHOB has one as well. Making your own dough takes a bit of time due to the yeast so plan accordingly.
Prepare your pizza sauce. This is simple. Start with some fresh garlic and a small onion cut into small pieces. Give them both a good fry in some olive olive oil before adding a can of crushed tomatoes. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and oregano and you have your basic pizza sauce. Feel free to add other herbs as well if you got 'em. Hint: basil makes a fine addition here.
Prepare your grill. Get it nice and hot. I actually use a full sleeve for this. You will also need a pizza stone of course. I bought mine at Crate and Barrel. Not all of the stones out there say they work on a charcoal grill so be careful. You also want the stone hot so put it on your grill right away to get it heated up.
Roll out your dough, smear some sauce on top, and then spread your favorite shredded cheese on top. of that. Then add your anchovies. There arent any rules on how you lay out the anchovies but the picture above is how I did it.
Next comes the only tricky part: getting the pizza on to the stone without messing it up. A pizza paddle would be your best option as this point. Its well worth the money.
Once your pizza is safely on to your stone cover the grill and leave all of the vents open. I cannot stress enough that you want the thing hot. If the grill is not hot enough your crust will not get crispy. 10-15 minutes should do the trick.

Oh yeah, if you don't like anchovies on pizza it might be a good time to move out of your parents basement and find work.

Mahi Mahi Mahi

2008-04-22T15:30:00.000-04:00

I tend to grill a lot of salmon, so this time I decided to shake things up a bit a go for the mahi mahi. Mahi mahi, also known as dolphin fish (though not related to the mammal), goes great on the grill. Preparation is simple as well. I marinaded this fillet for about an hour in lime juice and a bit of salt.
Before placing in my grill basket I seasoned the fish with a bit more salt and pepper. Similar to salmon, you only want to cook this guy over direct heat for about 6-8 minutes a side.

For my final plating, I served some steamed broccoli, sprinkled with parmesean cheese, brown rice and a parsley humus.

Homemade Sausages

2008-04-20T11:52:00.005-04:00

That's right, store bought aren't good enough for the BBQB. Actually, I don't go through the hassle that often but last weekend I did...and here's what went down.The first step is to grind your meat of choice. My plan was to make both some 100% chicken sausages and some 100% pork sausages. For the chicken, I used boneless, skinless thighs. Chicken thighs have a little more flavor than just chicken breasts though I guess that would work as well. As for the pork I used boneless pork chops.While grinding the chicken, I also tossed in a few cloves of fresh garlic and a handful of parsley. The parsley gives the chicken dogs a nice fresh flavor. Once the chicken is ground up, here's your chance to season it. I added plenty of salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. For the pork links I also tossed in a few cloves of garlic and then spiced the mixture with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, chili powder and a pinch of cumin. Bascially spice your meat mixture to your own pallette. If you are unsure about your creation just make a small meatball and fry it up quickly and taste it.

The only tricky part in this whole operation is the actual stuffing of the casing. I bought the natural casing at my "go to" grocery store Shop Rite. Casings come frozen, packed in salt for preservation. Just slowly defrost the casings and rinse the salt off thoroughly.

Next, take a yard or so of intestines and slip them over your Kitchen Aid sausage stuffer. Be sure to also spray a little of non-stic spray into the device to make this process easier. Slowly start filling your casing being careful not to create too many air bubbles. When completely filled twist off your links in equal lengths.After a couple of hours of work, I was ready to eat. Below, on the left are a couple of my pork sausages and on the right are the chicken.
Frankly (excuse the pun) these sausages were incredible and I really think everyone should go through the headache of making these every now and then. Keep tuned to the blog and I'll show you other creative ways of using the sausages.

Is That A Plate Full Of Brats?

2008-04-15T22:18:00.005-04:00

Well as a matter of fact it is. My brother whipped these up for me the last time I was in Germany. He served them will a plethera of different mustards and a some good ole German bread. This is a meal that is a bit tough to reproduce at the same level here in this country. If you are able to find good quality sausage/brats I'd love to hear about it.