Archive for August, 2010
A good tailgating appetizer is grilled cheesy bread.
Get yourself a loaf or two of Italian or French bread. Cut them in half, lengthwise.
For each loaf you need the following ingredients:
1\4 cup softened butter or margarine
1 cup shredded cheese, (whatever your preference, mozzarella, cheddar, pepper jack, a blend)for an example I am going to use approx. 3\4 cup mozzarella & approx 1\4 cup Asiago cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
2- 3 tbsp grated Parmesan/Romano cheese
1\4 cup fresh parsley
Blend together your ingredients and spread onto the cut surfaces of the bread. Grill the bread on the top rack of your Brinkmann Grill at 350 degrees with the lid closed.
10-15 mins later, the bread should be done. If you like it crispier leave it on a little longer. Cut into bite sided slices with a pizza cutter.
This is a fairly simple recipe that can be cooked right in your cast iron skillet. Therefore it can be done at home in an oven, or while you are camping or tailgating, using your grill for an oven.
3\4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar, divided into 2 1\2 cups
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1\4 tsp. salt
1\4 tsp. ground cloves
3 medium sized baking apples, cored and sliced about 1\4″ thick, peeled or unpeeled, your choice
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1\3 cup butter
3\4 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten
Combine flour, 1\2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon & cloves in a bowl & set aside. Toss apples with lemon juice in a separate bowl & set that aside. Sprinkle the apples with the other 1\2 cup of sugar. Melt the butter in a 10″ cast iron skillet. Add the milk & beaten egg to the flour mixture & mix well. Pour the batter over the melted butter in your skillet; don’t mix it! Stir your apples to get them well coated & arrange them on top of the batter. Bake in a 350 degree oven or grill for 45 mins. or until the apples are tender. Let stand for at least 20 mins. before serving. A nice dollop of vanilla ice cream on top would be nice.
We only get to tailgate at a couple of NASCAR weekends a year. Now I say weekends because tailgating with motorsports is just that. A race weekend. People show up mid to late week, set up & stay until Monday or Tuesday. That is alot of tailgating and alot of food. It is not surprising that the next race we get to attend is a month away and I am menu planning as we speak. We are going to Dover International Speedway, The Monster Mile. So for one meal I am planning on making a Monster Pizza.
You need to have a table for this recipe, to roll out pizza dough. I was considering making the dough fresh myself, but for ease & simplicity of the tailgate, I have decided to buy pre-made dough. It is readily available where I live, in fact I don’t even have to go to the local pizza parlor, they actually sell it in my grocery store now. (To make it real simple, if you prefer, you can buy the pre-baked bread shells or 12″ pre-baked crust. If that is the case buy 2 & split this recipe in two portions, one for each pie).
Roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with corn meal. ( A rectangular cookie sheet will suffice. I prefer a large rectangular metal grilling sheet with perforations in it for this recipe. You could also use a pizza stone.)
Pre-heat your grill to 450 degrees F.
Now to top your pizza dough:
1 generous cup of homemade or your favorite store bought thick, chunky salsa
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small red & 1 small green bell pepper, cut into thin rings
3-4 sliced scallions(green onions)
1\2 red onion, sliced thin
2-3 jalapenos seeded & sliced thin
2 cups shredded cheddar (or a nice shredded Mexican blend)
2 cups Pepper Jack
1 cup sliced pepperoni (optional) ( for an added kick use sliced, pre-cooked andouille sausage instead of pepperoni)
1 cup cooked ground sausage (optional) ( again, some like it hot, use ground, hot Italian sausage, instead of sweet)
Approx. 1 1\2 TBSP of a Tex-Mex or Southwestern spice mix (basically a blend of chili powder, cayenne, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt & pepper, etc.)
Spread the salsa on the prepared dough. Evenly spread the beans and vegetables. Sprinkle on the cheese. If adding meats, place on top of the cheese. Sprinkle spices evenly over the top.
Place on the lower cooking surface of your Brinkmann grill. Close the lid. Turn as necessary, to cook evenly. Roughly about 12-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Cut & serve immediately. Probably going to need a plate and knives and forks. Not your traditional pick up and eat pizza. This version is not for the faint hearted! Can be toned down for the mild mannered.
It’s time to expand that tailgating menu of yours. Have you been leery of taking a deep fryer to your next tailgate party? There are plenty of safer deep fryers out there that are well worthy of the parking lot.
The Cajun Fryer by R & V works and The Bayou Fryer by Bayou Classic are perfect examples here. These fryers are portable outdoor propane deep fryers. They are made safer by their design & construction. Metal tubes inside these fryers contain the flames, but still get perfectly hot enough to fry whatever you like. Any spillage that may occur would happen in the front of the fryer, while the only exposed flame is in the back. Therefore, no oil should ever touch the flames. And, as I said, they are portable. Wheels with a rolling caddy. The Cajun Fryers can actually be removed from the caddy for easier transport storage and for table tailgating. And if you are worried about hot oil being left in your fryer while you are in the game. No worries. After the oil cools a little, you just need a hot water heater hose and a male hose end. Attach it to the drain valve & store the oil in a cleaned, metal Gerry Can. The metal will still be hot, but you will be able to store it out of harms way while you and your friends enjoy your event.
Traditional turkey fryers are great too. Deep fry a turkey for the pre-game party. Be great for those Thanksgiving Day games! But traditional turkey fryers are very versatile. Not only can you deep fry in them, you can also steam, boil, stew, etc. Cook up a bunch of corn on the cob while you are cooking steaks on the grill. Make chili for the big game. Steam up some lobster before the race. The options are endless.
This holds true for All-In-One cookers too. Not only can you deep fryer, steam, boil, and stew, these units are also a bbq smoker & grill. Everything you need to change up your tailgating menu throughout the season!
So, why not take a deep fryer tailgating? You can make Buffalo wings for the Buffalo game. Deep fried mozzarella sticks for that Cheese Head game. Fry up some catfish for A Ragin’ Cajun game. Your menu can be as imaginative as you are. Get out there and start cooking!
I can’t stress enough that your Brinkmann grill is just like an oven. You can bake anything, anytime, anywhere. When you are done with your regular tailgate menu, surprise your friends and make some dessert. How about a nice slice of southern pecan pie? Just get yourself a 9″ pre-made pie crust & toss a few extras in the tailgating bin.
3 eggs
2\3 cup sugar
1\3 tsp salt
1\3 cup butter, melted
1 cup dark Karo syrup
1 cup halved pecans
In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add sugar, salt, butter & Karo. Once blended, stir in the pecans. Pour mixture into the pie crust. Preheat the grill to 375 degrees F. Place pie on the upper cooking surface and close the lid. Bake for 40-50 minutes. To keep crust from browning too fast, wrap an inch wide strip of aluminum foil around the crust’s edge. Remove foil 15 minutes before the pie is done. When the pie is done baking, remove & let it cool. Serve cold or slightly warm.
Now, if you are lucky enough to have a refrigerator with a freezer while your tailgating, put some vanilla ice cream in there to serve on that pie. If not, without the ice cream is just as good.
Are you still toying with the idea of having a deep fried turkey this Thanksgiving? What are you waiting for? If you are going to go out and purchase a conventional turkey fryer or an outdoor propane deep fryer, now is the time to do it! You are obviously not going to buy one & try it out for the first time on Thanksgiving Day. That’s just crazy. You need a little time to get to know your new cooking equipment. Even if you don’t want to start out with a turkey, it’s a good idea to fry something. Make some chicken wings (make sure all poultry is properly thawed!!!) make french fries, onion rings, fried green tomatoes. You want to establish a relationship with your fryer before you invite the whole family over on a holiday & you want to look professional. You know, like you know what you’re doing. So why not actually know what you’re doing! You’ve taken time to get to know your grill. You know the hot zones, you know your safety zones. You should be as well aware of your deep fryer as your grill.
You can get a conventional outdoor propane turkey fryer, or you could get a safer Cajun fryer. The point is, do some research now. Figure out what fryer would best suit your needs, and then get one and use it now!
So many people will purchase a turkey fryer, and only use it for the holidays. They pack them away in the garage after they holidays are over & there they sit. There are hundreds of things that you can do with a traditional turkey fryer. Did you know that besides deep frying, you can boil & steam in that fryer pot. You can have a traditional southeastern Low- Country Boil, a New England Clam Bake. You can even make a giant pot of gumbo in it if you want. Use it in the spring to make maple syrup. Most people don’t have a pot big enough in the house to do that anyway.
Take your outdoor propane fryer tailgating, camping, or just use it for an afternoon cookout. The point is, just use it.
I was just visiting a friends blog. Meathead at Amazing Ribs has a great recipe for cracklins. Cracklins are starting to become bar snack food, but they have been around for many, many years. For those of you that don’t know what a cracklin is, back in the day, women would render oil, lard, from the fat clinging to the skins of the hog. (Also refer to our past blog on Deep Fried Pork Rinds.) Cracklins, were the left over bits that were in the oil. Therefore cracklins, are the by-product of rendering oil. It is messy rendering oil from the skin anyway, so if you do intend to try this out, I would do as much outside as possible. Get yourself an outdoor patio stove or cooker. You could even do this in that turkey fryer you have collecting dust in the garage.
Now you could just go ahead & deep fry those bits and pieces after you’ve cut and boiled them a bit, but Meathead has gone a bit farther & slow smokes them for a bit & then turns up the heat. Definitely check out his recipe. I need a cold beer just thinking about them.
There are a few things to consider when choosing an oil to deep fry with.
Expense can be a factor for some. If you are frying with a counter top or stove top deep fryer, you may not need as much oil as if you are using an outdoor propane deep fryer or turkey fryer. Peanut oil can be higher up on the price end than say using a basic vegetable oil, like soybean oil. When you are buying enough oil to fill a 17 gal. Cajun Fryer, cost may be an issue. Hopefully if you are using a fryer that big, you are careful with your oil & store it properly & strain it after say every 5 uses. I would also think that you would be deep frying more often with a larger unit, than say someone that has a conventional turkey fryer that only takes the unit out of the garage once a year.
Another thing to consider is your target audience. Who are you feeding? Do you know if your friends, family, or crowd has peanut, or seed allergies? This is a major consideration if you will be cooking for the general public.
Lastly, you want to consider smoke point & flash point. The smoke point refers to the point where your deep frying oil starts to break down. This is the point you start to see the bluish smoke…smoke point. The smoke point of an oil will determine the maximum temperature in comparison to usability in certain cooking applications. Deep frying is done at high temperatures, so you need an oil with a high smoke point, not to mention a high flash point. A flash point of a combustible liquid is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. An unmonitored propane deep fryer can turn into a very hazardous situation with any oil, even one with a high smoke & flash point. Olive oil has a very high smoke point, but is also very costly. Could you imagine how much it would cost to even fill a 2 1\2 gallon deep fryer with extra virgin olive oil? It would probably cost less to fill the 20 gallon gas tank on your old car.
Oils more suited to low temperature frying, like sauteed and stir fried foods would include olive oils, grape seed oil & walnut oil.
Most deep frying is done at 350-400 degrees F. An unrefined oil like sunflower or safflower has a very low smoking point, about 225 degrees F. But once refined you are looking at a 450 degree F smoking point. Good oils to use for deep frying include peanut oil (smoke point 448 degrees F), soybean oil (s.p. 466 degrees F), corn oil (s.p. 457 degrees F), palm oil (s.p. 446 degrees F) , rice bran oil (s.p. 489 degrees F), mustard oil (s.p. 489 degrees F) and the refined safflower & sunflower oils. I don’t know about your area, but where I live, coming across large quantities of mustard & rice bran oil is not even in the mix. To tell you the truth, I never even heard of them until I started researching frying oils.
Add a little kosher salt to your oil when it is almost ready. It may prevent some splattering. Remember to lower completely defrosted foods slowly into your deep fryer. Do not to put too much food in your in your fryer at one time it will lower the oil temperature too much causing the food to absorb oil instead of sealing it. Also make sure you bring your oil back to the proper temperature before starting a new batch, again, oil absorbtion & unhealthy, undesirable food.
Still, always remember to keep a watchful eye. Especially if you aren’t cooking with a counter top deep fryer with an emergency fail-safe high temp. shut off. A stove top fryer you can put a lid on, but that is not always the case with an outdoor fryer. Keep a multi- purpose fire extinguisher around at all times. And never, ever use water on an oil fire!
I’ve been finding skirt steak quite interesting lately. I came across this tidbit that I would like to share. It is a grilled pepper steak using a marinated skirt steak.
Get yourself a 1 1\2 lb – 2 lb skirt steak. You want to marinate it for at least an hour in a glass pan. You can cut into about 6 long portions, before or after you marinate, your preference. You will need 6 metal or wooden skewers. If you have wood start soaking them while you are marinating.
Marinade:
1\2 cup red wine vinegar
1\2 cup apple juice
1\4 cup finely grated onion
1 minced clove garlic
2 tbsp. rubbed dried sage
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp dry ground mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 cup olive oil
When the steak is done marinating you are going to thread the meat onto skewers weaving the meat in and around pearl or bulb onions and large pieces of bell pepper or jalapenos if you like it hot.You can thread some mushrooms too if you like.
Take the marinade & boil it for at least 3 minutes to use as a baste while grilling the skewers.
Cook over hot coals on your Brinkmann charcoal grill, about 3-4 inches from the heat. Grill for 12-15 minutes, turning to grill on all sides. Baste the skewers with your boiled marinade while they cook.
Take off the grill & serve immediately.
I am preparing to deep fry a half turkey breast in my Cajun fryer. I went out and bought an already de-boned & tied turkey breast. I bought some peanut oil for my outdoor propane deep fryer. I rubbed the poultry with a Memphis dry rub & I am going to let it cure for at least a day. Frying a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey should be interesting. Besides it is not a holiday. It is mid summer and who needs a whole turkey. Just a small barbeque type get together with a few friends and some cold ones. What should I serve for a side dish?