Posts Tagged ‘grilling’

It was a lot of fun to be once again be invited to the Char-Broil all star event. (Seriously does anyone ever turn down an opportunity to be in the sun for a few days>?) This year’s event was held in Atlantic Beach Florida at the beautiful One Ocean Resort. Glorious beach views and top notch amenities was the theme for the weekend. Really – this was pretty lovely to work and learn in this environment.

My fellow all star Char-Broil Bloggers were once again a blast to be around. You really need to check these folks out:

Meet the All-Stars

BBQ Crawl commercial

coming to Travel & Escape

April 9 at 10:30pm EST

Flank

The flank is that portion of the hind quarter which is separated from the loin by a straight cut passing approximately parallel to the lumbar back bones (lumbar vertebrae) beginning in close proximity to or through the flank lymph node (prefemoral) and from the plate by a cut passing between the 12th and 13th rib and cartilage.

Resource: Canadian Beef 

* One of my favorite sites for referencing all things Beef. Super friendly user site*

Flank is a great tasty marinating cut of beef and perfect for the grill. It is also a more economical cut of beef. Being budget friendly makes this an ideal meal for our family. Which is a darn good thing since my furnace broke last night while it is -30 and I am writing this recipe from a Starbucks. (*Dude is coming to fix today but damn those furnace thingys are expensive)

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Flank Steak
• 1 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Fresh Rosemary finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Minced Garlic
• 2 tablespoons Sorghum Molasses
• 1 tablespoon Granulated Onion Powder
• 1 tablespoon Freshly Ground Butcher Grind Black Pepper

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together. Place flank steak into a 1 gallon Ziploc bag. Pour marinade over flank steak. Seal bag removing as much air as possible.

Marinate overnight in fridge turning bag over a couple of times to ensure even distribution of the marinade.

Preheat grill to medium high heat.

Remove Flank steak from marinade. Discard remaining marinade. Grill flank steak to rare/ medium rare (120F-130F). Remove from grill and rest for 10 minutes.  Flank steak must be cut across the grain when serving.  I like to sprinkle the slices with a really good kosher or sea salt just prior to serving.

We served ours with a really nice crisp broccoli slaw. The next day I made sandwiches out of the remaining flank with herbed focaccia. It was delicious.

I really like Piri Piri hot sauces. While I can get a few bottles here in Canada -my friends from England The UK Grand Champion Award winning BBQ team Miss Piggy’s BBQ spoiled me with bringing multiple types when they came for a visit last year.

I set out to make my own. One problem. I could not find dried Piri Piri peppers anywhere unless I mail ordered some. As luck would have it a friend of mine was heading to Portugal and brought me back a few packets.

Piri piri can also be referred to as African Birds Eye Chilies they can range from 50,000 to 175,000 Scoville units

From Wikipedia 

Piri piri (pili pili, peri peri) is a cultivar of Capsicum frutescens, one of the sources of chili pepper, that grows both wild and domesticated. It is a small, extremely spicy member of the Capsicum genus. It grows in Malawi, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Here is a great chart from WIKI
Scoville heat units Examples
15,000,000–16,000,000 Pure capsaicin[4]
8,600,000–9,100,000 Bear spray, various capsaicinoids (e.g., homocapsaicin, homodihydrocapsaicin, nordihydrocapsaicin)
500,000–2,000,000 Most Law enforcement grade pepper spray[5]
855,000–1,463,700 Naga Viper pepper,[6] Infinity Chilli,[7] Bhut Jolokia chili pepper,[8][9] Trinidad Scorpion Butch T pepper[10]
350,000–580,000 Red Savina habanero[11]
100,000–350,000 Habanero chili,[12] Scotch bonnet pepper,[12] Datil pepper, Rocoto, Madame Jeanette, Peruvian White Habanero,[13] Jamaican hot pepper[14]
50,000–100,000 Byadgi chilli, Bird’s eye chili,[15] Malagueta pepper,[15] Chiltepin pepper, Piri piri (African bird’s eye), Thai Pepper Pequin pepper[15]
30,000–50,000 Guntur chilli, Cayenne pepper, Ají pepper,[12] Tabasco pepper, Cumari pepper (Capsicum Chinese)
10,000–23,000 Serrano pepper, Peter pepper, Aleppo pepper
3,500–8,000 Espelette pepper, Jalapeño pepper, Chipotle,[16][17] Guajillo pepper, New Mexican varieties of Anaheim pepper,[18] Hungarian wax pepper, Tabasco sauce
1,000–2,500 Anaheim pepper, Poblano pepper, Rocotillo pepper, Peppadew
100–900 Pimento, Peperoncini, Banana pepper
0 No significant heat, Bell pepper, Cubanelle, Aji dulce

Piri Piri Hot sauce

2 packages Piri Piri Peppers (approx 1 cup dried)
6 jalapeños seeded & chopped
1 cup red onion chopped
1 cup white vinegar
1 can diced tomatoes 398ml (14oz)
½ cup dehydrated red pepper
7 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp white granulated sugar

In a glass bowl pour 2 cups boiling water over piri piri peppers cover with plastic wrap and set aside overnight.
Strain piri piri chillies reserving the water.
In a medium sized pan on medium heat sauté onions in the olive oil until softened. Add 1 cup of the piri piri water. Add jalapenos and continue to sauté until the jalapenos have softened. Add strained piri piri chiles, garlic, red pepper, salt, sugar and tomatoes mix thoroughly and set aside.
Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor. Pulse until the texture is smooth. Add the vinegar and pulse again until well combined.

Remove to a container with a tight fitting lid and set aside for 2 weeks in the fridge to let the flavours bloom.

I did an early taste test and there is real kick to this and a warmth that stays with you. I can’t wait to use it on some grilled chicken, pork and in a BBQ sauce.

For more hot sauce related information check out a couple sites that I like to visit:

Hot Sauce Daily 

Scott Roberts 

I love BBQ cook books. I love reviewing the recipes and many times being inspired by them.

Recently on a trip to South Carolina I got to meet in person Barry “CB” Martin.  We have talked back and forth on twitter & facebook many times and on the phone but never in person. He is the contributing editor for this cookbook.

Barry exudes a lot of passion for all things BBQ and grilling – it really comes through in this book as well ! This is a happy book.  This book makes you want to go out and grill something ASAP. Lots of really useful information packed into this well laid out BBQ cookbook!

Right from the beginning the book outlines all different methods and does a fine job of it -

Beautiful pictures and 222 recipes follow all gloriously detailed!

In no way is this book pretentious. It is an easy book to read to look at and to enjoy. One of the best things about this book is that it makes you want to head to the store buy the recipes and BBQ.. That’s why I would highly recommend this book for anyone – It would be a great gift too!

The book is available from Amazon

You can find Barry on twitter and Char-broil on facebook

Last year these were made out of necessity. This year I am doing them again on purpose. No bread crumbs and no deep frying for this bbq recipe. Its just my take on scotch eggs on the grill.

For this recipe I use:

• 8 medium boiled eggs
• 8 cevapcici (substitute your favorite sausage brand out of the casing)
• 16 pieces roasted red pepper (Or substitute jalapenos for a spicier Scotch egg)
• 2 spring onions finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded colby cheese
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 1/4 cup bbq rub
• 1 cup bbq sauce

For each scotch egg I lay down a piece of plastic wrap first. This makes assembly so much easier.  Spread out the sausage to make a flat patty about 5 inches in diameter.

I lay down 2 pieces of roasted red pepper, some spring onions and 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese.  Lay the egg down and using the plastic wrap bring the sides of the sausage around the egg.  Making sure all of the egg is completely enclosed season them with your favorite BBQ rub. ( Please note if your sausage is not well seasoned you may want to add some bbq rub on the inside of the egg as well on the outside of the egg.) Remove from the plastic once the eggs are formed.

To the grill they go at 250 F indirect. I used a frogmat to lay my eggs on.  Grill the eggs for 1/2 hour then turn them. Continue grilling until the temperature of the sausage reached 165F.  Remove and let stand for at least 10 minutes cut and serve in halves or quarters. Super yummy. Serve with your favorite warmed BBQ sauce.

There is nothing like deciding to go on a bit of a road trip for a contest. We decided to make a bit of a hike to Pennsylvania this past weekend with our children to attend the Inaugural competition put on by our friend Brian Nevel from Huntingdon County Custom and his partner Ed Stoddard.

They did a good job informing teams coming in of what to expect and the location was top notch. We had a great time competing in both the grilling and the KCBS contest.

You know its always so wonderful to get the opportunity to travel and see the small towns on the way to a comp. There are so many beautiful communities with interesting quirks I would love to stop at. There just never seems to be enough time. The fall foliage was breathtaking as we approached our destination. Just beautiful. My blackberry pictures don’t do it justice.

Lucky for us we had our good friends from Swamp Pit BBQ right next to us. Our kids love hanging out together and so do we!!

I also have to point out that I finally got to meet a very special little man. He is so snuggly and cute and adorable.  Cooper belongs to Kristal and Josh Shade from Tiny’s BBQ and well I was just really excited to cuddle him a bit

For the grilling contest I have to give some props to our good friends Dan Hixon and Chris Hall from 3 Eyz BBQ. Since they were not competing in the grilling part they ended up being our taste testers for the trials we did ahead of the competition.   I was happy with our burger, pizza and chefs choice entires. I like having the ability to be creative. We ended up with a 1st in pizza and Reserve Grand Champion.

Here is a short video I took on the BB of the competition.

It was a lot of fun and it was great to see the other teams. I loved seeing the custom made firepits. I really enjoy sitting around the fire at a competition. I also seriously enjoyed a wicked good prime rib courtesy of the Grand Poobah himself Phil. It was awesome.   The morning shot was courtesy of MABA & Aporkaclypse now. The shot glasses were a really nice souvenir from the event.

We had a great time and I would recommend this event highly. The awards were terrific. Medals from the BBQ-brethren and custom awards from Brian Nevel.

Congratulations to PA Midnight Smokers who received two 180′s for the weekend. One in dessert and one in brisket.

Congrats to Chix, Swine and Bovine on their GC and 3Eyz BBQ on their Reserve GC for the KCBS competition. we came in 4th overall just missing a 180 in pork by less than 1/2 a point.

The reserve GC and the Grand Champion teams got to participate in a new tradition at Raystown Lake they both took a dip in the water and we all posed for a group picture:

It was great to be among friends for the weekend but its always nice to come home …..

I love grilling fish. Its such a nice change . I had a couple of really nice grouper fillets and I decided to make a Thai inspired glaze.

Ingredients:

• 2 grouper fillets
• 1/2 red onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• juice and zest 2 oranges
• 3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 stalk bruised lemon grass
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions>

In a small saucepan sauté the onion in the sesame oil until soft. Add the orange juice, zest, fish sauce, chili sauce, kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass. Reduce by half and set aside.

Prepare your grill for indirect heat medium high.

Season the grouper fillets with salt & pepper and place on the grill.  Grill for 15-25 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets. The fillets should be semi firm to the touch. Glaze the grouper with the sweet chili orange glaze then grill for 5 more minutes. Repeat the glaze then remove from grill. Serve with remaining glaze.

I served the grouper with a mango, purple & red  pepper slaw with sweet basil chiffonade.

Enjoy!

This is a great deal and a good place to eat. Was in there for lunch earlier this week and saw their Fathers Day special posted:

Big Chris fathers day special folks.. Two full racks, large fries, and a large caesar salad for $35.00.. Dont make dad cook on his day, take it home and tell him that YOU MADE IT..

Location:

110 Anne st. South

Barrie, ON

Phone:

705-721-7427

I received a new toy to try out and play with the Looft Lighter In Canada the Looft Lighter is available at Ontario Gas BBQ’s and retails for $89.99.  

THE LOOFTLIGHTER STORY

It all began 1997 when theatre director Richard Looft got angry. The chicken he barbecued tasted lighter fluid!

Richard started thinking of a better and more environment friendly way to light the grill.

He poured coal into a toaster, turned the flow around in a vacuum cleaner and discovered that the coal got ready to use in just a few minutes!

In 2003 a prototype was presented to the Swedish Inventors’ Association.
In 2005 Looft Industries Ltd was established. In 2006 the first 5000 Looftlighter arrived in Stockholm and Richard then called the most exclusive department stores. Nobody wanted even to see him…

So he took his grill, placed himself outside the shops, called again to the purchasers and asked for 60 seconds of their time. They came out, Richard made his demonstration and all ordered the Looftlighter right in the street.

Today the Looftlighter is being sold as a BBQ- and fire place lighter in all of Scandinavia, more than ten countries in Europe and has also been introduced in the USA.

I have to admit I was pretty shocked at the price considering it is just a BBQ lighter. I mean who is going to spend $89.99 on essentially a lighter. Ok really its a lighter and beer opener. It would be advisable though to open your beer then light the charcoal. It is very hot once you use it rendering the beer opener unusable until the unit cools down.

I used in in my weber kettle last weekend. I wasn’t going to be cooking in fact I was out in my backyard with my daughters friends who wanted to roast marshmallows. It sounds an awful lot like a hair dryer. Which makes sense since it is hot air that is being used to light the charcoal. I simply pointed it to the pile of lump charcoal I was using and approx 30-40 seconds later it started sparking and about 1 minute later the piece of lump it was pointing to – was lit. That was it. However due to its design you only get one or two pieces lit at a time.  I left the couple of pieces lit and after 45 minutes the rest of the charcoal was ready to go. You can also use the looft lighter in fireplaces.

The lighter overall seems to be constructed well. It is heavier than it appears. Solid overall. However there is no child lock on the lighter. That would be a concern for me.

The looft lighter absolutely works as stated. No denying that fact. Its a fun expensive gadget for sure. For however many coals you want lit you have to hold the button down. IF you want a whole lot of coals lit at once that means potentially holding the button for 10-15 minutes listening to a loud hair dryer. At the end of the day I am really comfortable using my weber chimney that cost 19.99 and a sheet of newspaper (free from the assortment of flyers I get weekly) or a weber cube ($4.99 for 24 cubes). Its much easier to me to light my charcoal chimney full then go play with my kids, or prep the meats and veggies and come back and dump them in. Simple easy lighter fluid free.