How To Cook Grilled Potatoes

You've heard me say before that a good steak doesn't need much besides salt, pepper, and flame.
Bad steaks on the other hand require every trick in the book.  Salting, marinades, crazy rubs, finishing sauces, you name it.    Life is too short to waste time on bad beef.
I guess I've been spoiled lately.  We usually only buy USDA Choice grade at our house.  But at Kingsford University, I had flat iron, fillet, strip, & brisket from Snake River Farms.  Their products actually exceed USDA Prime category, more on that to come.  Then there was the Prime strip at Shula's last week.  I have been living in Beef Nirvana.  Then at SOMEONE in our house brought home some USDA Select grade ribeyes that were on sale this week.  They had no marbling.  And they were only 1" thick.  I wept. 
One of my best tips for dealing with crappy steaks (other than don't buy it)?  Misdirection.  Draw attention away from that beef in a "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" way with great side dishes like these awesome grilled potatoes.
I adapted the basic process from this recipe at America's Test Kitchen and then changed it around to meet my tastes and ingredients on hand.
Grilled Potatoes
8-10 ea red bliss potatoes, halved
4-5 bamboo skewers
1/2 cup herb infused oil (see instructions for ideas)
kosher salt to taste
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
Infused Oil
Their recipe had a process for making your own rosemary/garlic oil but then they have you strain the solids out.  I WANT the herbs and garlic roasted onto my potatoes, don't you?  Anyway, I was going to make my own oil when I found this in my cupboard. 
It was a gift from a neighbor at Christmas and thought I'd try it out.  I mixed it up according to directions and then added 1 Tbsp finely diced roasted red pepper and 2 Tbsp of the parsley.  
If you need to make your own oil, just simmer your choice of minced garlic, shallot, and herbs in a 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium/low heat until fragrant. Then add in some color and texture with finely diced parsley and red peppers.  Have fun with the combinations, this is your chance to make it YOUR dish. 
Par-cook Potatoes
Skewer the potato halves and poke each several times with a fork or skewer.  Brush with 2 Tbsp of the oil mixture and season liberally with kosher salt.  Microwave for 4 minutes, flip, and then microwave another 3 minutes.  What?  YES, I have a microwave.  Just because I grill all the time doesn't mean I'm a cave man.

How To Cook Spiral Sliced Ham With Spicy Apricot Glaze

One of the downsides to reading food blogs is that AFTER food related holidays, you see ideas that you wish you had seen BEFORE the holiday so you could have tried it.  I've been looking at some ideas for next weekend's Easter ham and I think I have settled on trying a version of this one from Chris Lilly.  I love cherry with ham so I'll swap out cherry preserves for the apricot.
Spiral Sliced Ham with Spicy Apricot Glaze
Makes: 8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
You’ll Need:
8 pound spiral sliced bone-in cured ham
Spicy Apricot Glaze
½ cup apricot preserves
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/16 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions:
In a medium bowl, combine the glaze ingredients and mix well.
Double a large piece of aluminum foil and place the ham, flat side down, in the center of the doubled foil. Pour ½ cup of the glaze mix on top of the ham and spread it evenly over the entire ham. Wrap the aluminum foil tight over the ham and seal it.
Prepare an outdoor charcoal grill for indirect cooking by situating the coals on only one side of the grill, leaving the other side void. When the grill reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit, place the wrapped ham on the void side of the grill and close the lid. Cook for three hours or until the internal temperature of the ham reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove the ham from the cooker, unwrap the foil, and place the ham in the center of a baking pan. Pour the remaining glaze over the top of the ham and spread it evenly. Place the ham back on the grill, close the lid, and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the glaze firms. Remove the ham from the grill and serve.
Recipe created by champion pitmaster, Chris Lilly, on behalf of Kingsford® charcoal.  Reprinted with permission from Kingsford charcoal.

How To Cook Flat Iron Steak With Fun Guy Stir Fry

This grilled steak combines the "fifth taste" of umami from the oyster mushrooms* with layers of ginger, garlic, basil and red chilies to create an Asian flavor profile that hits all notes of the taste buds.  The stir fry cooks during the steak's resting time, making it convenient for a quick but delicious dinner.
Flat Iron Steak with Fun Guy Stir Fry
Serves 4
Ingredients
1.5 lb flat iron steak
For the dry rub
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp basil, fresh minced
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp McCormick's Roasted Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp dried minced garlic
For the stir fry
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp peanut oil
8 oz oyster mushrooms, fresh
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 1/2 tsp ginger, peeled and diced
2 Tbsp roasted red bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
1 Tbsp basil, fresh and cut chiffonade style
1/4 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp red pepper flake
slurry (1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1 Tbsp cold water mixed together)
Instructions
Preheat a charcoal grill to 450f set up for direct heat.
Mix the dry rub together and season both sides of the steak.  (Alternatively, use a broiler)
Grill the steak 5 minutes per side, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 130f for medium rare*.
Remove steak and rest on a raised rack.  
Reduce grill heat, place a wok or large saute pan on the grill and allow to preheat for a few minutes*.  (Alternatively, do on stove top)
Drizzle the sesame and peanut oil into the hot wok.  Stir fry the mushrooms for 3 minutes until starting to turn tender and releasing their moisture*.  
Add the garlic and ginger, stir fry another minute.
Add the red bell pepper, stir fry another minute
Add the basil, beef stock, mirin, soy sauce, and red pepper flake.  Stir fry another 1-2 minutes.
Add the slurry and cook another minute or until the sauce is thickened.
Slice the steak across the grain (short side) and serve family style with the mushroom stir fry over the top.
Notes
Oyster mushrooms have a natural umami flavor.  If you can't find oyster mushrooms, use another kind and add 3/4 tsp fish sauce to the mirin/soy sauce mixture.
For the Big Green Egg, I had the top DMFT totally open and after preheating, the bottom vent was about half way closed.
For the Big Green Egg, I closed the bottom vent all the way.  The fire was already going from the steak and stir frying requires you to have the Egg top open.  The coals will get plenty of air from the open top. 
I love the flavor of sesame oil but using it as the only oil is over powering.  Using a little sesame oil with a neutral flavored oil like peanut oil gives a balanced flavor.

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Chicken Caesar Salad

Chicken salad usually consists of chopped chicken, mayonnaise, and a few other ingredient used as a binder. Other ingredients may be added to add texture and flavor, such as nuts and celery. There is a wide range of traditional chicken salad, but majority of recipes consist of these basic ingredients. What's great about chicken salads is that they can be easily doubled and tripled in size without compromising the taste of the original recipe. There is also much room for creativity to accommodate different tastes. But first, learn the basics, and then move on to experimenting.
The Basics: Cooking the Chicken
Chicken salads often taste best when the chicken is baked. However, there's no stopping you from grilling, boiling, sauteing, or using other cooking techniques to cook your chicken. You may even utilize precooked chicken breast strips if you're strapped for time. Some basic ideas when serving the dish would be to eat it with crackers, place it on bread as a sandwich, or top it off with hard-cooked egg slices.
Chicken Caesar Salad
If the Caesar dressing is your favorite, then you should try this chicken salad version. Simply add Caesar salad dressing over cooked, cubed chicken and toss to coat. In another bowl, mix chicken mixture, tomato, lettuce and onion. Top it all off with croutons and grated cheese.
Spicy Chicken Salad
This is a warm salad and can be eaten as a side-dish or light lunch. It can also be eaten with bread or potatoes for dinner. This salad has the perfect balance with the meat and spicy dressing poured over the cool salad. First cook some bacon with olive oil in a frying pan, and set the bacon aside when done. Fry chicken strips in the bacon fat that's left in the pan and set aside once browned and cooked thoroughly. Place sliced tomatoes, red and orange bell pepper, and spring onions into a large serving bowl. Add in some lettuce and cucumber strips and set aside. Place finely chopped chili pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and balsamic vinegar onto the pan and bring to a boil. Mix in the chicken pieces and bacon and keep stirring to heat all the ingredients. Using a slotted spoon, place the hot mixture over the salad and serve.
Asian Chicken Salad
While there are many variations, typical characteristics of most Asian chicken salads consist of chicken, lettuce, sesame oil in the dressing, ginger, and crunchy pieces of deep-fried noodles. Some versions may use bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, almonds, peanuts and mandarin orange slices.

How To Cook Chris' Quick Black Beans And Rice

As ugly and dreary as yesterday was, today was just glorious. Blue skies, autumn colors, and moderate temperatures meant my butt was grilling today!
The black beans and rice were a side dish to a couple of ribeyes that I had introduced to my cajun beef rub.
Then said ribeyes made the acquaintance of a certain Big Green Egg who was running along at about 550f degrees.
TIP: It's important to let your steaks "rest" after cooking. I don't just let mine rest, I give them the day spa treatment. Drizzle some Worcestershire sauce, olive oil and fresh herbs on the plate on which they will be resting.
See? It makes them happy.
Ok, on to the Black Beans and Rice. The thing I like about our quickie version is that it bypasses hours of soaking dried beans, simmering them with ham hocks, etc but still results in a reasonable facsimile of real black beans and rice. One of the tricks is using bacon grease/pork fat to saute the veggies. This lets you get away with only about a 20 minute cooking time.
Chris' Quick Black Beans and Rice
Ingredients
1 can black beans rinsed
1/2 cup onion diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 ea Jalapeno peppers seeded, finely diced
1 tablespoon Pork fat (substitute butter if necessary...you don't keep your bacon grease?)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
2 teaspoons Cilantro chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt to taste
2 cups rice cooked
Instructions
Heat pork fat (bacon grease) in a saute pan. Once it comes to temp add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes.
As the onion starts to become soft and translucent, add the garlic and pepper (very finely diced & seeds removed). Saute for another 3 minutes.
Add the cumin, cilantro, salt, pepper, Tabasco, and black beans. Either add 1/4 cup of chicken broth or swirl 1/4 cup of water in the black bean can to get out the leftover "goodies" and add to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer until thickened.
Serve the beans over a timbale of rice and garnish with bacon, cilantro, sour cream, or whatever sounds good.
Here's a trick I came up with during cooking tonight. One of those aha moments. It may have been done before but it was new to me.

How To Cook Brisket Chimichanga

After smoking that gargantuan beef brisket at Christmas, we packaged the leftovers in vacuum seal bags and froze some for later use. Later is today.
This is one of my favorite uses for leftover brisket but also works for pulled pork and chicken.
Brisket Chimichanga
Ingredients
2 -3 slices smoked beef brisket
2 ea flour tortilla, burrito size
1/2 cup shredded cheese
6 TB ranch dressing
2 TB salsa
2 TB butter
1/2 cup long grain rice
1/4 ea red onion, diced
1 ea tomato, seeded and diced
1 cup water
1 TB tomato paste
1 teaspoon oregano, dried
1 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Saute onion for 5 minutes. Add rice and continue sauteing for another 2-3 minutes. You know it's ready when the rice begins to turn golden and releases an aromatic nutty smell.
Add the water, tomato paste (I normally whisk the paste and water together before adding), tomatoes, oregano, and sugar. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to as low as possible yet still remain at a simmer for approximately 20 minutes. Avoid opening or stirring. After the 20 minutes, remove from heat, fluff the rice with a fork, replace cover and let cool covered.
Mix the ranch dressing and salsa together to make a "mexi-ranch sauce".
Reheat your brisket slices. I prefer to do this by brushing them with maybe a tablespoon of beef stock, wrapping the slices in foil and placing them in foil in the oven while I'm preheating a deep cast iron skillet. Take the slices out as soon as they are warm to the touch and chop them up.
Put about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the rice mixture on a tortilla. Top with half of the meat, cheese and a tablespoon or so of the mexi-ranch sauce.
Wrap the burrito closed. Here's how I roll my burritos for deep frying. I'm not an expert by any means but this works for me and I haven't had one fall apart during cooking yet.
To roll a burrito well, you want to start with a tortilla that's like a great kiss, soft and warm. A cold, dry tortilla will break instead of folding. Warm it for a few seconds (9 for me) in a microwave between two moist paper towels. Place your filling in a line to the side. Mix a "food glue" with equal parts flour and cold water. Looking at the tortilla like a clock, brush a bit of the glue from about 11 o'clock clockwise to about 7 o'clock.
Remove the preheated skillet from then oven and on the stove top, add vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch. Heat skillet over medium high heat. Test for readiness by dropping a small torn piece of tortilla. If it bubbles and sizzles, it's ready for cooking.
Carefully place the burritos seam side down into the oil and let cook until they are golden brown (about 2 minutes). Flip and cook the other side until golden brown (usually less time, like 1:45 seconds).

Grilled Orange Beef With Broccoli Stir Fire

Many people don't think about using a work on the grill but actually it's an ideal match.   Traditionally woks were used over a pit stove with live fire.  A charcoal grill generates the high heat that woks crave.  A flat bottomed wok will work on just about any large grill.   You can use a round bottom wok too, if you have a "spider rig" or if you have a mounting base for it.  The things I like about using a wok on the grill, or as I call it, "Stir Firing", are:
It is a fast dinner option.  Most dishes on the wok take only a few minutes of prep and cooking.
It is a healthier option.  (less oil, more veggies)
It is just fun!
So break out of the same ol', same ol' and try using your wok on your grill.  That is what I did tonight, I made a Grilled Orange Beef w/ Broccoli Stir Fire (aka stir fry).  The steak by itself was pretty damn good but the rest of this dish is good too.
Grilled Orange Beef with Broccoli Stir Fire
1 ea flank steak
Marinade
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 ea green onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp ginger, fresh ground
Veggies
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 ea shallot, diced
1 head broccoli, cut into 1" pieces
1/3 cup chicken stock
Sauce
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 Tbsp peanut oil
1 inch ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks (about 2 Tbsp of fresh ginger)
1 Tbsp orange peel, fresh grated
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp dry sherry
2 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp cold water
salt and pepper to taste
Mix the marinade ingredients together and marinate the steak for 3-4 hours.
The beef and broccoli was good.  It disappeared quickly, with my 11 year old having seconds.  But the sauce seemed awfully thin, it just didn't coat like my usual stir fry does.   After dinner I was cleaning up my out door kitchen, gathering things to be washed and there on the table was my unused bowl with the cornstarch slurry in it.........DOH!  Mystery solved.