Ground pork with garlic, onions and all the spices.
On a recent episode of “The Next Food Network Star” one of the contestants, Aarti Sequeira made a dish called Kofto Kebabs. Her dish was excellently executed and was popular with the judges and dinner guests.
Every once in awhile I get the urge to recreate a dish from one of the realty TV cooking shows I often find myself watching. I knew immediately that Aarti’s dish was was one that I needed to adapt to the grill or smoker.
As is often the case, Google was my friend. I started comparing recipes and soon realized the spices used in making typical Kofto Kebabs was very similar to the spices I might use in making up a BBQ rub.
From my research I learned that Kofto Kebabs are most often made with lamb and/or beef. Fish can be used, and there are vegetarian versions out there. I used pork for mine. I know it’s way out of the box for a middle eastern dish, but because Kofto is also found in South Asia and the Balkans it might not be so bad.
Continue reading BBQ Grail’s (Sort of…) Kofto Kebabs
It’s about getting down and dirty. You’ve got to get hands-on, get stuck in and extract the most from the food in the most primal way. Use your hands to crush and combine the fresh herbs, garlic and spices. Massage the marinade into the meat, and press the seasonings in with your hands instead of using a brush. I show you how to improvise and impart the best flavors possible with using something as simple as a bunch of mixed fresh herbs tied to a wooden dowel with twine. Discard the roasting rack and other exotic equipment — you won’t need it. Sometimes restraint can be difficult, but even if you are limited by your ingredients, it doesn’t mean you’re limited in the flavors you can produce. — Adam Perry Lang in the Introduction to BBQ 25.
I’m not sure I have a BBQ idol, but if I did it would be Adam Perry Lang (APL). Over the last couple of years no single person has influenced me more in my BBQ techniques than APL.
I can remember one of the biggest “I’ve just got to do that” moments was after watching an episode of the Food Network’s “Th Best Thing I Ever Ate.” Today I can’t remember who the host of that particular segment was, but I do remember they were raving about the smoke beef ribs at APL’s restaurant in New York City.
Continue reading Adam Perry Lang’s “BBQ 25″
It took a lot for me to venture into Burger King to eat the new ribs they have been advertising. Of all the fast food restaurants on Earth, Burger King is my least favorite. I can’t stand the Whopper and that Burger “King” guy just plain creeps me out. So, going into Burger King
Continue reading … Burger King Ribs! Yes I Actually Ate Them
One of the first events I had the pleasure of participating in was the Char-Broil Celebrity Grill-Off. The contest featured several local Memphis radio and television personalities who were paired up with one of Char-Broils guest chefs. The participants were:
- Steve Conley, Host of “Conley & Karen” on Classic Hits 94.1 WKQK
- Jay Young, Host of “The Young and Elder Show” on Kix 106 WGKX
- Earle Augustus, Host of “Love Songs” on Soul Classics 103.5 WRBO
- Ernie Freeman, Anchor of Fox 13’s Good Morning Memphis
- Joey Sulipeck, Chief Meteorologist at Fox 13 Weather Authority
I was teamed up with Jay Young for the cooking contest. Each team was given about 3 pounds pork loin and two Char-Broil Big Easy Smoker, Roaster & Grill for cook their meat. The idea was to cut a couple of nice chops from the loin and grill those while smoke roasting the rest of the loin.
Continue reading Memphis In May #13: Char-Broil Celebrity Grill-Off
Let me admit something right up front. Get it out of the way first and then move on. I have some definite food prejudices. You put words like “all” and “natural” together when describing something I’m supposed to eat and my, sometimes misguided, food prejudices are sure to come out.
I know foods today don’t have to taste bad to be healthy, but I’ve got too many years of foul tasting “healthy” stuff disturbing my taste buds to let it just go. (And if you’re being honest you have to admit I’m right)
But as I’ve gotten a little older I like to think I’m getting a little smarter too about what I’m eating. Products that are ”all natural” and have no preservatives or corn syrup no longer gets an immediate dismissal. And Melanie’s Big Acres sauces fit the bill.
Melanie’s is based in San Carlos, California and according to their website they are “all natural, preservative free line of sauces and marinades offers an exciting mix of unique flavors to help you prepare healthy gourmet meals every day of the week. Life is short so we created these sauces to help you spend more time with your family and friends while offering them healthy and tasty options!
“Our sauces are high quality, convenient and versatile and great tasting too!
“Absolutely no preservatives, MSG or corn syrup. Only the finest all natural ingredients are selected to bring customers a superior product.”
With a description like that there was a time I would have just turned up my nose, dug in my heels and decided “this can’t be good” and moved on.
Continue reading Melanie’s Big Acres Mango Peach Chili Sauce
I learn so much from my fellow BBQ enthusiasts on The BBQ Brethren. There is not a greater group of people in the world. They are willing to share everything they know. Learning about different “meat” products is a great way to increase one’s smoking and grilling skills. Recently there was a discussion of Goetta on the forum and this lead me to giving it a try.
Continue reading Goetta: An interesting take on sausage
I have a new favorite cookbook!
Okay, so I have a new favorite cookbook every couple of weeks but this week it’s Ham: An Obsession with the Hindquarter. Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough have come up with a well written, enjoyable book to read If you enjoy ham as much as I do, you’re going to want this book.
Bruce and Mark are the authors of the “Ultimate” cookbook series. Even those this book doesn’t have the word Ultimate in the title they have written what may be the ultimate ham cookbook.
The cookbook is divided into four primary sections that deal with the four basic types of ham: Fresh Ham, Old World Dry-Cured Ham, New World Dry-Cured Ham and Wet-Cured Ham. Each section not only has representative recipes from around the world it is interspersed with stories, definitions, cooking tips and humor that illustrate the versatility of the back-end of the pig.
Continue reading Ham: An Obsession With The Hindquarter
Today was the day the pancetta was supposed to be finished. And as things often go when learning to do something new it wasn’t meant to be. When I cut down the pancetta and sliced the top off it was apparent that the drying time was not long enough. I was curious about this recipe and it’s short two week drying process. It needs more drying, maybe another two weeks or more.
The possible reasons for the incomplete drying are many, but more than likely the back bedroom where I had the pancetta hanging wasn’t warm enough. The ideal temp is around 60 degrees with a60% humidity. The humidity here in the northern Sacramento Valley isn’t any where near 60% but that doesn’t appear to be a problem because a couple mists of water took care of that. But having a temperature below 60 degrees most of the time may have impaired the drying.
Continue reading Drying Pancetta Day 14
