Merry Christmas

Merry Merry! It is Christmas morning and we used the Fire and Flavor Turkey brine on the turkey with the turkey in the cooler in ice/water over night. We got up at 5:30am(not an easy task for me) and began preparations. Gary got the turkey inside and put it in a foil pan. I lit the grill at 5:55am. It was cold as you can see by the temp with a snowy mix. I used olive oil instead of butter on the turkey and used the reserve herbs from the brine on top. While filling the turkey and foil pan, I placed a bag of ice on the turkey's breast. I put 1/2 lime, 3 garlic cloves, a jalepeno pepper, an orange, apple, 1/2 onion, and a bunch of sage and thyme from my garden inside the turkey. I place all of the above less the herbs in a foil pan along with a carton of vegetable broth, carton of water and 1 celery and a carrot. Pecan chips had been soaked in water over night so we were ready to quickly load the grill. We opened the lid, Gary added the upside down plate setter, full foil pan, grate then the turkey. The temp was up to 550 when we opened the lid then it went down to 250 at 6:45am. Temp had been hovering around 280 and I put the open cap on. That lowered the temp to 250 so I took it off. Now at 8:30 we are at 265 and praying it will hold.

As the morning went on...

We got the bird on at 6:50 am. Chuck had suggested I make notes so here they are. As Thanksgiving day went on, the temperature outside and in the grill started going down. It had been 550 until we opened and loaded the grill. It got up to 225 and we picked up Jeff and went to Starbucks. Follow my notes for the morning schedule. Here is the view from the kitchen table but the bad news was the weather kept deteriorating. Pies were made by Jeff and I and baked and around 10:30am the temp was 190 degrees and we had more rain/sleet. We decided that it would be best to take the turkey off and put it in the oven. It looked and smelled great. You can see by my notes that them temperature kept rising and we took the turkey out of the oven at 12:45pm. Although I was disappointed that I didn't get it ALL cooked in the BGE I consider it a success since everyone said it was the best turkey they had ever had. It was incredibly moist and tasted great today on sandwiches we shared today with 3 generations of family and friends:) I look forward to the Christmas challenge!!

Thanksgiving 2010 or Turkey 101 on the BGE

Gary got me up at 6:15am and I dashed downstairs to light the grill. It was misting and cold outside. I took the turkey out of pot and scooped off alot of the herbs to mix with 1 & 1/2 sticks of softened butter. I applied that to the bird but I need someone to tell me how to apply the butter consistently. Mine was in lumps and did not smooth out very well. Mad Max suggested that you fill a pan with water so I used part of the brined mixture along with an apple, a lemon, an orange, 2 onions, 2 sticks of celery and 2 carrots to keep moisture in the grill. We could also use this for gravy or for a turkey broth to use for a leftover recipe. I put the items in a foil pan but as I was getting ready to put it on the plate setter I discovered it would not fit. I ran for the green egg pan and Gary helped me transfer the pan items so we could get everything in the BGE quickly. Gary placed the turkey directly on the grill grates.

Thanksgiving Eve and preparing my first Thanksgiving dinner

My feelings were excitement and nervousness as I approached Thanksgiving and cooking it for my family for the first time. This was my first whole turkey and in addition cooking with the challenge of the BGE! I got lots of advice and read alot on the Internet. The decision to brine or not brine was made when Josh brought be the Fire and Flavor Turkey Perfect Herb brine. We also consulted on how we were approaching our preparation. We also shared a link I found on the nakedwhiz.com which was Mad Max's Turkey and Gravy. Alot of good tips. Tuesday at lunch I purchased my fresh turkey at Dillons, a Honeysuckley White weighing in at 13.43 lb and on sale for .99 per lb. So Thanksgiving Eve night I followed the Turkey Perfect instructions by removing the neck and giblets from inside the turkey, boiling water and the brine mix then adding sugar and vinegar before cooling off the mixture with more water and ice. I had a pot that I put the mixture in but also was able to put the turkey in it after it cooled off. The pot went in the fridge for the night. Josh also gave me a handful of pecan chips which I soaked over night.

Turkey Breast- bone in- test for Thanksgiving- November 8th

Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, I thought I should see what it was like to cook a turkey breast on the BGE. I went to Outdoor Home to buy some lump charcoal and visited with a guy about cooking a turkey breast. He was cooking one at the store so suggested I purchase Fire & Flavor Mustard and Herb Blend rub. He suggested I rub butter on the turkey along with the herb rub. I purchased a Honeysuckle White 6.65lb frozen turkey bone-in turkey breast. It took 3 days in the fridge to thaw out. I used the inverted plate setter and put foil on top of it to catch the drippings. I got maintained the heat at 325 and cooked the turkey for over 3 hours using a thermometer to get the heat to 160 degrees. I did let it cook a few minutes over when the I had checked it and I think I overcooked it a bit. It was slightly dry.

Tri-tips November 6, 2010 with John and Jenny

I had never tasted or cooked tri-tips. I went to our local Harter House and bought 2 tri-tips with a BBQ rub on them. I lighted the grill and got the temp to 550 degrees. I cooked on each side of for 3 minutes, one of the sides burned. I took them off and wrapped in foil while the temperature lowered to 350. I cooked another 25 minutes and they were medium when I took them off. I also cooked new potatoes with olive oil and rosemary, in foil, on the side. I carved them across the grain. They were simple, delicious and more tender than I expected! We liked them and the cost is substantially less than beef tenderloin.

Why I have been away from this

Our dog has had some back issues and thankfully we have gotten him better. This is what happens when you don't use the BGE. MOLD. The first blog I read said to clean it completely out and bleach it to kill the mold. But alas all it took was lighting a hot fire and burning it off. Didn't look pretty and at first I thought I had ruined it! I've only used it a couple of times since and will next blog those entries then report on our Thanksgiving turkey.

Summer's end

It was a beautiful weekend and I've included a shot of the sky at sunset from our front porch at the lake. Ok, I was not original but what I cooked tonight is getting better. I made the Rosemary Turkey burgers and Butterball Rotisserie Turkey Tenderloin. I have been having trouble keeping my temperature much above 300 degrees. As a result, the tenderloins had to be on the grill 40 minutes (turning every 5) and the burgers took 15 minutes. The potatoes and onions in foil were on for 20 minutes but should have stayed longer. I made a spinach salad using beets from Home Grown Foods along with bean sprouts from there also. I have several volunteer tomatoes plants at the lake which have taken over my garden but they have yielded a variety of cherry tomatoes. Nice dinner for summer's end!

More Sunday night cooking

Yesterday we had a wonderful lunch at Tea Bar then walked to the corner to Home Grown Foods. We got a rack of lamb and lamb brats to cook tonight. I found a recipe on the Food and Wine website for Rosemary Rack of Lamb. It was very simple. I put salt and ground pepper on the rack. I lit the Green Egg and I decided that I need to do a better job having the fire spread all of the Green Egg rather than in one spot. It took a little longer to get the fire going and then when I put the lamb on for a couple of minutes the temp was 600 degrees. Fortunately it was side of the lamb with fat on it. The recipe called for 2 tbs of butter and 2 tbs of olive oil melted together which were brushed on the lamb every 2 or 3 minutes with 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary. I cooked it for 40 minutes and maintained the heat at 350 degrees. Here is a photo of the lamb after 20 minutes. I added the brats and some Rosemary Turkey burgers in the last 15 minutes. I sliced the rack of lamb and topped it with fresh thyme, parsley, oregano and rosemary. It was delicious and so easy.

Sunday night cooking

We decided to have a couple of friends over and cook several items on the grill. We had to have the Rosemary Turkey burgs again along with Butterball Cracked Pepper Turkey Tenderloins, a couple of bone in porkchops, beef brats with jalepeno and chedder cheese and fresh pineapple. Here it is ready to go on the grill. Our grill temp hovered around 300 degrees. I put the turkey tenderloins on and turned them every 5 minutes for 30 minutes. I added the other items after 20 minutes and ended up cooking them for about 15 minutes. The pineapple was only on for 3 minutes. Everything was seasoned as previously discussed but on the pork chop I used Penzey's BBQ 2000. It was milder than the new Penzet's Arizona seasoning, which I had used less of by the way. I may a salad with the sweet large yellow tomatoes and drizzled it with olive oil and balsamic glaze. It was top with Kraft shredded parm. The table was ready for us to enjoy. Our dessert was Sally's Rhubarb cake!

Food for the weekend with meat on the BGE and fresh veggies

Last night I stopped at Home Grown Foods then went to Smillies for groceries for the weekend. I started the grill then put a pork tenderloin, rosemary turkey burgers and country ribs on the grill. I had put soy sauce on the plain tenderloin and salt, peppered and Arizona's Seasoned the rest of the meat. I jumped in the pool and let it all cook for an hour. I had new potatoes on the stove and more fresh corn to put on the grill near the end. Again the BGE temp was 300 degrees. I turned the meat every 10 minutes or so and cooked the corn in foil in the last 20 minutes. We added fresh tomatoes to the mix and had another wonderful fresh meal plus food to give to family and to take to the lake. For a snack I got fresh Milsap Farms edamame at the market. What a wonderful flavor compared to frozen and the color green was amazing!

Rosemary Turkey Burgers and Primary Elections on August 3rd

My friend Amy, from work, likes to share recipes and her passion for good food. Months ago she told me about a ground turkey and rosemary recipe. I finally tried it on Tuesday. I bought a 1.2lb package of ground turkey, cut fresh rosemary from my garden and added 2-3 tablespoons of mayo along with sea salt and Penzey's California Pepper. I mixed it all with my hands and prepared 3 patties. I put a new Penzey's Arizona spice on both sides of the patties and put them on the grill at 300 degrees. I'm having trouble these days getting the temp regulated any higher. I cooked the burgers for 20 minutes, turning a couple of times, along side of 2 fresh ears of corn wrapped in foil with butter, salt and pepper. I boiled some lovely new potatoes from Home Grown Foods on the stove top for about 30 minutes with fresh green beans from my sister's garden. We also had tomatoes from Cathy's garden. We watched election results on TV then my sister flew in from the east coast and we went to our cousin's watch party to see him win the Primary for the 7th District Congressional seat! Send a citizen and businessman to DC!

Best time of the year for Locavore

Home Grown foods is a wonderful new addition to our neighborhood and they have new things all of the time. I bought Groose Farms Bratwurst with Jalapeno and Cheese and cooked it on the BGE for 30 minutes at 300 degrees then prepared a dish of fresh vegetables, which included eggplant, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, fresh herbs, sea salt and pepper. Note in the picture the different colors of eggplant. We did not notice any difference in taste of the different varieties. The vegetables cooked for 45 minutes sauted in olive oil on my gas range. I also cooked basmati rice. We ended up slicing the brats and mixing them in with the vegetables.

Gary's birthday in July

Since we had not been out of town in awhile and Gary had a meeting in Kansas City we traveled up there on his birthday. My friend Teresa recommended Blustem for dinner and it was a delight.Located in the Westport area of KC, the chefs have been getting rave reviews. I chose the 5 course and Gary chose the 3 course. The hightlights were the presentation of course but my favorite dish was the rich pasta with crab and Gary loved his generous vintage beef dish. The scallop dish was divine too. Have a look.

The next day I got to go to Penzey's Spices which thrilled me and Whole Foods. At Whole Foods I bought Habanero Green Chili Chicken sausages and cooked them on the Green Egg when we got home along with Nan bread. My sister loves Indian food and it looked good so I bought it too. My sister brought Gary a gooseberry pie for his birthday. Yum yum.

Local organic chicken

Friday night after work I stopped by the Home Grown Foods store. It stay open until 7:00pm for people like me who can't make it to the Farmer's Market. A young farmer was there and he was selling fresh chicken's and will be each Friday from 4pm until 6pm. It was 2.88lbs and cost $7.00. Since we weren't going to the lake I thought I would cook it on Saturday. Saturday I went to hit golf balls and I was fortunate to run into Chuck. He gave some brief instructions which I followed. I cleaned the bird and rub it with butter then put salt and pepper on it. Simple deal. I lit the grill and placed the plate setter on with a pan of chicken broth on top of it. Placed the grates on then forgot I was going to put apple wood chips on so I slipped them down the side. I put the additional grates on then placed the little chick on that. I maintained my temp at 300 degrees the whole time and checked it at 45 minutes. It was not too brown so I cooked it another 15 minutes then checked but left it on another 20 minutes. It looked and smelled wonderful. It was very juicy. We had a party to go to so we didn't get to try it until tonight. I made a platter of fresh heirloom vegetables, hard boiled eggs and it made a light meal after a busy weekend! I'm anxious to try it next time fresh off of the grill.