Yesterday I posted a recipe for Grilled Steelhead with Salmonberry Glaze.  This was served with some fantastic grilled vegetable couscous.  Here’s the recipe!

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

 I’m confused.  Whenever I try a new BBQ restaurant one of the first things I order, if it’s on the menu, are greens.  I love greens and if a restaurant cook has taken the time to master the greens then I’m somewhat confident they can turn out some good BBQ.  At least that was my thought process until this past week.  Up until that time I’d never actually cooked greens myself. 

After cooking greens for the first time I know figure that if a BBQ restaurant has greens on the menu, and they aren’t any good, they probably shouldn’t even be allowed to own a restaurant.  Maybe I just got lucky they first time, but it seems to me that if you take your time and do a little prep work, up front, that cooking greens just ain’t rocket science.  If you can’t cook good greens, then you just don’t want to.

 Last weekend when I was working on a batch of veggie burgers for a family cookout I needed to roast some beets for the recipe.  After finishing up the veggie burgers I started to clean up my mess and got to thinking about that just tossing the beet tops was a waste.  They didn’t taste all that bad.  They had a somewhat sweet flavor.  I know that all types of “greens” can be used when cooking greens so why not just cook the beet tops.

I cut the hard stems away and diced the beet tops up and got them ready for a nice slow soak in something flavorful.  But what was I going to use as the seasoning.  I knew that ham, ham hocks and sausage could be used.  I came across some Tasso, in the freezer, I had cured and smoked a couple of months ago.  Tasso is a very flavorful Cajun ham.  This would give a lot of flavor.  I diced up the Tasso and tossed it in some water with greens and started to simmer it all together.  (Here’s a Tasso blog post I did last year, if you wanted to see how I made it.)

All I did at this point was let it slowly cook down until the beet tops were tender.  Nothing else, that’s it.  When most of the liquid, known as pot likker, had cooked away I added a good splash of apple cider vinegar and a good dash of Tabanero picante hot sauce.

The beet greens tasted wonderful.  They were full of tangy, spicy flavor.  Because I’d loaded them up with Tasso if I’d had a hunk of cornbread I’d have had a complete meal right there in the bowl.

There was nothing fancy here, just beet tops, water, vinegar and Tasso.  I can’t wait to try some other greens and maybe an actual recipe or two.  What I learned though is that there is no excuse for a restaurant to serve lousy greens.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

I’ve got to admit that I’m already a brussels sprouts fan.  If cooked right this is one of my favorite vegetables so I was pretty sure adding bacon would make it taste pretty good.  I was right…

Brussels Sprouts can have a bitter after taste if not selected and prepared properly.  There are several methods for removing the bitterness.  First, select the smallest sprouts you can find.  It seems the smaller the sprout the less bitterness.  Next trim off the hard bottom of the sprout and remove the first layer of leaves.  Next par-boil the sprouts for a couple of minutes in salted water. Don’t cook them all the way.  Just a couple of minutes will do the trick.  Plunge them into ice water to stop t he cooking.  The par-boil and ice water bath will also help them maintain their bright green color.  Using these methods has never failed me.  I never end up with bitter sprouts.

I wrapped each of the Brussels Sprouts in a half strip of thin sliced bacon and put them on skewers to make grilling easier.  I set up my Weber kettle for indirect heat and cooked the sprouts until they were almost done.  You want the sprouts tender, but not mushy so watch them.  Once they are done I gave them a flash over direct heat to crisp up the bacon.

While the sprouts were cooking I reduced 1/4  cup of raspberry balsamic vinegar down to about two tablespoons of thick tasty syrup.  I added two tablespoons of butter to the syrup and heated it through.  When the sprouts were plated I spooned the balsamic reduction over the top.

The bacon was good on the Brussels Sprouts but it was a little overpowering.  I know I’ll make these again, but next time I’ll just stick a piece of thick sliced bacon between each sprout on the skewer.  This will give me the flavor without it being overpowering.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

Leeks are root vegetables that look quite like giant green onions, to which they are related. Their flavor is onion-like but much milder. People who avoid leeks because they don’t like onions should try them — their flavor is mellow and not overpowering, and many onion-haters love leeks.–WiseGeeks

I was the proud recipient of some unwanted leeks this week.  Free leeks aren’t exactly the greatest gift a guy can get, I mean they aren’t free bacon, but leeks have become one of my new favorite vegetables.  Up to this point I’ve only cooked leeks in braising liquids with tougher cuts of meat.  They add a great flavor to broth and the resulting gravy.  I love leeks…

Leeks have a wonderful onion flavor and are great for adding flavor to other dishes.  As a side dish they might not be for everyone, but for me grilling leeks gives them a nice little flavor that when combined with a little olive oil and vinegar makes them one of my favorites.

Here’s how I grilled my leeks!

Trim the root end of the leeks off and the leafy tops.  Remove the first layer or two from the leeks.  They should look something like the picture on the left above.  Bring a pot of water to a boil, add some salt and/or a little BBQ rub to the water.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook the leeks for about 12 minutes or until they just start to get tender.  Remove and drain well.  Be careful, you want to try to keep the leeks in their original shape.  Try to keep them from coming apart.  When the leeks have cooled, give them a light coating of olive oil and grill, over medium heat, until they start to char and get grill marks.

Remove the leeks from the grill and immediately rough chop them.  Toss them in a bowl with a little more olive oil and a splash of vinegar.  Add a dash of salt and serve.  The mild onion flavor works great with the acid from the vinegar.  A little sweetness comes out from the caramelizing from the grill.  Great…great flavor.

In the process for cooking I used an interesting salt I picked up at the Winter Fancy Food Show from The Salt Works.  The Hellfire salt is smoked for days with mesquite wood and infused with Habanero and a little lime.  I added 1/2 tablespoons of the Hellfire sea salt to the water during the initial cooking process. The salt with Habanero added an amazing flavor that actually held up through the entire cooking process.  I added a pinch more when I served the chopped leeks.

This salt has a lot of strong smoke flavor and is quite hot from the Habanero, so a light hand is needed.  It would be very easy to ruin your meal with a heavy hand.  I’m going to have to see about ordering some in quantity because I’m already thinking about a new chicken brine using the salt.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Larry Gaian

One of the interesting things about green tomatoes is no one in their right might would think eating an uncooked, unripe tomato.  But grill or fry them and they become something quite yummy.  The process is very simple.  Slice them, drizzle with olive oil and some seasoning and grill them to juicy, tender vegetable goodness.

Sliced, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a little Todd's Cajun Dirt.

The tomatoes were very, very tasty and would go great as a side dish for just about any grilled meat.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Hasselback potatoes are said to have originated at Hasselbacken “Hazel Hill” in Stockholm, Sweden.  I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I do know I love potatoes cooked this way.  For me there isn’t a potato dish that fits cooking on the grill or smoker.  They are so easy to make and look pretty darn impressive.  There are many different recipes for enhancing the flavor of Hasselback potatoes.  I’m not sure if there is an original recipe, but I do know I like this one.

When the guys are J&D’s offered to send me some of their new Bacon Rub I jumped at the chance to give it a try.  My first thought was to grill up some chicken or pork chops with the rub, but as I was preparing my Hasselback potatoes the new Bacon Rub kept calling out for me.  (Meat and meat flavored products often do that)  “Baked” potatoes and bacon just go together.  So that’s how these came about.

With a very sharp nice cut the potato, short side, in slices about 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide.  After doing these for the first time I realized the thinner you can make the slices the better.

There are a couple of good techniques for cutting almost through the potatoes without cutting the bottoms.  The best one I found says to place the potato in a large wooden spoon and then cut through the potato all the way down to the lip of the spoon.  This sounds like a winning way to do it.

I then melted equal parts of olive oil and butter and added a tablespoon of Bacon Rub.  After the mixture cooked for a couple of minutes I poured it over the top of the sliced potatoes.

I cooked the potatoes on my Weber kettle using indirect heat at about 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Keep the potatoes in your pan or pie plate so you can use the butter/olive oil mixture to baste the potatoes every couple minutes.

They turned out great.  The outside of the potato was nice and crispy while the inside had a nice soft texture.

Next time you’re looking for something a little different for a potato side dish, give Hasselback Potatoes a try.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

There’s something about the combination of sweet and heat that just goes with BBQ.   And Cowboy Candy takes the combination and kicks it up a couple of notches.  I love all kinds of pickles, except sweet pickles.  I can’t stand sweet pickles.  Weird I know.  And what makes it even stranger is that I love sweet pickle relish.  Go figure.  But jalapeno done up like sweet pickles is an amazing mixture of sweet and heat.  These babies will tickle the front of you tongue with sweetness and once they make the turn and head down your throat they’ll light you up.  I made this batch so that I would have them for the sandwiches made from my Cha Cha Pork Belly.

Cowboy Candy (Candied Jalapenos)

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds fresh, firm, jalapeno peppers, washed
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 6 cups white granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 3 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder

Remove the stems by cutting a small slice off the end of the jalapeno peppers.  Slice the peppers into uniform 1/4 inch rounds.  (WEAR GLOVES) Set aside.

Add the cider vinegar, sugar, tumeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and chiptole powder in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes.  Add you In a large pot, bring cider vinegar, white sugar, turmeric, celery seed, granulated garlic and cayenne pepper to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the jalapeno slices and simmer for 4 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon transfer the cooked jalapeno slices into clean, sterile canning jars.  Leave 1/4 inch head space in each jar.

Return the syrup to the stove and bring to a rolling boil.  Boil the syrup for five minutes to thicken.

Using a ladle pour the boiling syrup into the jars to just cover the jalapeno slices.  Make sure you leave the 1/4 inch head space in each jar.  Using a wooden chopstick or similar utensil insert into each jar two or three times to release any trapped air.  Add additional syrup if necessary.  Wipe the jars with a clean, damp paper towel and screw on new two-piece lids.  Make sure they are only finger tight.

Place jars in a canner and cover with water by 2-inches.  Bring the water to a rolling boil.  Keep the jars in a full rolling boil for 10 minutes for 1/2 pints and or 15 minutes for pint jars.  cover with water by 2-inches.  Bring the water to a full rolling boil.  When it reaches a full rolling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half-pints or 15 minutes for pints.    When time is up remove from water bath and place on a cooking rack.  Leave alone for 24 hours then wipe clean and label.

It’s best to let the Cowboy Candy sit for two weeks to mellow and allow flavors to blend together.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Normally sliced potatoes would take a long time to cook on a plank, but by par-boiling you cut the cooking time down by about 2/3 without sacrificing any flavor.  If you like potatoes and Parmesan cheese this dish is a must to make.

You need a plank that is fairly wide to make this recipe.  The planks I normally like to use were really to narrow.  At about 4 inches wide they just didn’t hold the potatoes on the plank without a lot of juggling.  I think when I cook these again I’ll just go buy me a 6 or 8 inch alder board from Home Depot.  That should do the trick.

Parmesan Herbed Potatoes

(Adapted from The Plank Grilling Cookbook)

Ingredients:

• 2 large baking potatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• Sour Cream

Directions:

Soak plank for an hour.

Parboil potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water over medium-high heat until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes.  Drain potatoes, pat dry and allow them to cool.

In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except sour cream.  Cut potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and coat with Parmesan mixture.

Pre-heat grill to medium-hot.  Remove plank from water and dry.  Coat the plank with a thin layer of olive oil.  Place potato slices on plank.  Close lid and grill for 15 minutes.  To serve, top potatoes with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Earlier in the week I published a couple posts with meat entrees.  Today’s post is all about a great potato side dish that will match up well with either the planked Salmon and cucumber salsa or the planked Pork Loin with Cola Balsamic Reduction.  First up Wood Planked White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes.  This recipe is taken from  Ted Reader’s excellent cookbook on all things plank grilled, Napoleon’s Everyday Gourmet Plank Grilling .  The cheeses along with the herbs make this a fantastic dish that would pair nicely with all types of grilled foods.

After soaking the Chef Locke Alder wood planks from TailgatingPlanks for an hour they are placed on the grill.  Once they start to smoker quickly slide your “loaf” of potatoes onto the plank and close the lid.  Make sure you oil the plank well with a little olive oil so the potatoes don’t stick to the wood.

Here they are all done with lots of gooey cheese both inside and out.

Wood-Planked White Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

(Adapted from “Everyday Gourmet Plank Grilling” by Ted Reader)

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 4 cheese strings, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1/2 cup white cheddar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Salt & Pepper
• Butter
• Additional Cheese for topping

Directions:

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Add garlic, onions and salt and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes or until potatoes are fully cooked and tender.  Drain and return pan to heat.  Shake pan to remove excess moisture from potatoes, farlice and onions.  Remove from heat.

Mash potatoes, garlic and onion using a potato masher.  Add butter, cream and sour cream to mashed potatoes.  Stir to combine.  Cool for 20 minutes.  Stir in cheese string pieces, white cheddar and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, mix well.  Transfer to a large bowl and cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Mound potatoes onto the plank.  Firmly pat and smooth evenly.  Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  Place plank on grill and close lid.  Plank bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp on the outside and hot all the way through.  (5 minutes before potatoes are done I topped them with slices of Tilamook Colby  Cheese).  Carefully remove plank from grill and serve potatoes topped with extra butter.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian

Grail Note: Just a reminder to all my readers.  Many times the sauces and/or products used here at BBQ Grail HQ are provided by the manufacturer.  That is the case with the sauces from Scotty B.  It may also appear that I like everything you sent to me.  I don’t, I promise.  It just seems like it sometimes because I rarely write negative reviews, it’s a karma thing.  If someone sends me something I don’t like I normally just let them know why and we move on to something else.  In rare cases something is so bad I do let you know.  But because taste is so subjective I just feel it’s best to just not publish negative reviews.

I’ve decided the next step for The BBQ Grail is hot sauces.  Certainly hot and spicy foods go right along with BBQ and Grilling.  I’m not interested in just being able to sprinkle (or douse) my foods in some fiery, burn both ends, hot sauce.  I want to be able to cook with the sauces.  And that’s why the gourmet hot sauces from Scotty B interested me. They look like sauces that were created with cooking in mind, not just heating up already cooked food.

I had some salmon in the refrigerator and thought I’d give the Berries in Heat sauce a try.  Not knowing exactly how hot the sauce was or what the flavor profile would be like after I cooked with it I was a little hesitant to try it on the salmon.  I mean, salmon is the greatest grilled fish on Earth and wiping it’s flavor away with some super hot sauce wasn’t really what I had in mind.  (Click the picture for more details)

I decided to cook some carrots and see if I could glaze them with the sauce.  This would be a really good test for the Berries in Heat.  You see, I don’t like cooked carrots.  Raw carrots and carrot cake are pretty much the only way I like to eat carrots.  If Scotty B’s hot sauce could make carrots taste good Then we’d probably have a winner here.

The carrots were peeled and quartered.  I then par-boiled the carrots in heavily salted water until they just started to get soft.  One of my complaints about most cooked carrots is they are normally cooked to the mush stage.  So cook the carrots to the point where you get an initial soft bite but there is still a crunch in the middle.  When you reach that point submerge in ice water to stop the cooking process.  Drain and return to the pan.

Depending upon how many carrots you have in the pot add enough butter and Scotty B’s Berries in Heat in a 50/50 mixture until the carrots are completely coated.  Now slowly heat the carrots until the sugar in the hot sauce starts to caramelize.  Don’t burn the sauce or the butter.  You want to make sure the coating stays on the carrots.  When the carrots are warmed through you are ready to serve.

Were they good?  Yes, they were.  I could have pumped up the hot sauce a little more for my taste, but it had a nice sweet heat.  This sauce would work on a variety of different foods.  And I probably could have put it on the salmon without any problem.

The salmon was seasoned with Todd’s Crabby Dirt.  (Yes, I use a lot of Dirt when I cook).  And grilled on a plank from a wild apple tree.

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2011 Larry Gaian