Black Eyed Pigz

Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Well, the camera battery is charging, so I didn’t get any pictures of the setup on this one, but it’s marinating as we speak, and I’ll get pics of the cook if nothing else.

I’ve got 2 boneless chuck roasts, about 4 pounds total.

They’re currently marinating in a mixture of:
Bourbon Whiskey - 4oz
Worcestershire Sauce - 2 Tablespoons
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Kosher Salt
Beef Broth

When they go on the cooker, I’ll spritz them down with a little fruit juice and smoke them over hickory wood until they’re about Medium-Well.

Pics to come!

Well, I took the plunge and made some homemade breakfast sausage just now. It honestly took about 15 minutes all the way through. Now, keep in mind, I cheated a bit here and there, but this is how easy it can be.

What I used:
Hi Mountain Breakfast Sausage Seasoning Mix “Prairie Sage”
2 lbs of Ground Pork

Here’s how it looked:
The pieces……

Adding the Seasoning to the meat:

Seasoning Mixed in, a splash of water to help meld the spices and meat:

Test Fry:

Finished Patties:

The results…. Not too terribly bad, pretty good to be honest. This seasoning blend using red pepper flakes, sage and salt mostly. In the taste testing I noticed the red pepper biting my tongue, which I enjoy but those with a more delicate palette may not. The sausage itself is not as dense as store bought sausage, which is actually kind of nice to feel in your mouth.

Overall, I would do it again, but I think I would mix up my own blends next time. More sage, less red pepper and maybe throw in a few grinds of black pepper. Definitely worth the effort, definitely better than store bought.

I got a chance to pick up some really nice chuck filets at the store the other day. So, seeing as how they’re just like filet mignon, only from a lesser cut of beef, I decided to wrap ‘em in bacon and grill ‘em up.

Here’s what I did:

Started with 8 chuck filets:
Marinated for about an hour in beer and texas pete hot sauce:
>

Wrapped with bacon and put them on a hot grill:

Grilled for about 7 minutes per side, give or take:

Served them up with a baked potato, some green beans and a few cold beers. Aaahhh…steak.

I just realized I never shared this recipe with you, so my apologies.

Honey Pineapple Ham Glaze:

1 15oz can Crushed Pineapple
1/4 cup Honey
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar.

In a small sauce pan, drain the juice from the pineapples into the pan, use a spoon to mash down the pineapple and get as much juice as you can from them. Or you could just use about 1/2 cup of pineapple juice already squeezed I guess. Then add your honey and brown sugar. Simmer this over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reduces and becomes thick. Remove from heat and brush on your ham.

Keep in mind, if you let this sit and cool to room temp, it will be almost hard like rock candy. If this happens, just put it back over the heat and stir until it loosens back up.

For an added kick, throw in a pinch of chipotle powder and cinnamon. MMMM MMMM!

Friends, I spent part of yesterday trying out a new idea for BBQ Beans. I’ve always been a fan of the Bush’s brand Grillin’ Beans, but thought I could do better myself.

So I sat down with a baked bean recipe, and adjusted it here and there, coming up with a killer combination that I think is a definite keeper. Here’s the lowdown:

2 15oz cans beans (Any kind you like, but I used 1 kidney bean and 1 great northern bean)
1/4 lb bacon
1/2 large onion diced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Ketchup
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (may want to use a bit less to suit your tastes)
1 tablespoon Chipotle powder (again, adjust for your tastes, this was a touch spicy)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons yellow mustard

Start out by cutting your bacon into bite size pieces, then put in a pan with your diced onions. Cook until the bacon is just starting to get crisp around the edges and the onions are transluscent. Then add all of your other ingredients. Stir well to combine and let it cook on medium heat for about an hour. At the hour mark, test it to see if you need to add any more spices. Turn the heat down to simmer and let them simmer for up to 45 minutes.

The BEST BBQ Beans you’ve ever had.

The only thing I will do different in the future is to put them on the smoker and let some hickory smoke mingle in with the beans. Otherwise, I see no way to improve on this killer recipe.

Let me know if you try it out, it’s a definite keeper for us!

Folks, I know all of us love a juicy ribeye or a succulent porterhouse, but man, those things are costly. When you have a family of 6 like I do, it’s not always feasible to drop $50+ for some steaks when the urge strikes you.

SO, one week at the grocery store, the wife picked up some chuck steaks. CHUCK STEAKS????? What’s wrong with you woman!??? Well, after I got over the initial shock and dread of a sub-prime piece of beef, I marinated them up and tossed them on the grill. Any steak would have to be better than no steak, right?

Well, let me tell you, these things were incredible. Had all the characteristics of a good ribeye. Boneless, marbled with fat and fork tender when grilled to a medium doneness. Needless to say, I haven’t looked back since.

Keep in mind, however, there are usually 2 types of chuck steaks in the meat cases. One will be labelled as “CHUCK EYE” which is a super tender portion of the chuck roast, much like a ribeye steak. The other will be labeled simply as a “CHUCK STEAK”. Reminds me a bit of a NY Strip. It was tender, juicy and best of all super affordable.

When you’re making a plate of 7 or 8 steaks to feed the troops, this is the most economical way to enjoy a good meal. It’s not going to win you any steak-master awards, but it’s damn good eating nonetheless.

For a marinade, give this a try:

1 12oz Miller High Life Beer (it just has to be High Life)
1/2 cup of Frank’s Red Hot Hot Sauce
Fresh Ground Black Pepper About a teaspoon or so
Pinch of Kosher salt (Don’t use table salt, it’s not the same)

Throw your steaks in a plastic bag, pour in the ingredients and seal the bag, removing as much air as you can. Slosh the mixture around to coat all the meat thoroughly, and let it do it’s magic in the fridge for at least an hour, 2 is better.

Get your grill smoking hot, toss the steaks on and cook for about 6 - 7 minutes per side for medium doneness. Remove them from the grill and let them rest on the counter for about 5 minutes or so before serving.

If you try this one out, let me know your thoughts on the chuck steak. I think it’s a great way to save money AND enjoy a good piece of meat!

Super simple may be overstating things a bit, but, they’re not difficult to make at all, and they’re absolutely the BEST WINGS EVER!

Here’s how I do it:

1 bag frozen chicken wing sections (about 2 pounds) Thawed.
1/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 12oz can Miller High Life (Yes, the Champagne of Beers).

Throw the wings in a gallon size zip top bag and add the hot sauce and beer, seal it up and let it marinate in the fridge for about an hour or so.

In the meantime, get your grill or smoker going. I like to smoke these at 250 - 275 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours. Add a generous amount of soaked hickory chips to your fire and place the wings on the smoker. Let them cook. Remove these from the heat and let them come to room temperature while covered with aluminum foil.

Get a small pan of vegetable or peanut oil going on the stove, about 350 - 375 degrees, and drop the wings, one at time, into the oil. I usually fit 6 wing sections in my pot at a time (it’s a small pot). Let them deep fry for about 4 - 5 minutes, and remove them, allowing them to drain.

Now, I eat them plain this way. There’s a hint of heat, plenty of hickory goodness and a crunchy skin that makes batter completely unnecessary. They’re not HOT by any means without additional sauce, so everyone can enjoy them. If you like your wings hot, here’s a quick and dirty buffalo sauce you can try out:

1 cup Franks Red Hot sauce
1/2 stick butter

Combine in a sauce pan, until the butter is melted and pour generously over your wings. Add some ranch dressing and you’re ready to rock!

Try it out and let me know what you think. I’ll NEVER bread another wing as long as I live.

Ah…ABT’s.

Well, technically, it’s a jalapeno popper, but I change a few things up to make ‘em even mo’ better.

First off, you need jalapenos that are on the large side. We will be stuffing these, remember?

So, let’s figure on making 8 for today.

You will need:

8 Large Jalapenos
8 - 12 ounces Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
8 Slices Thick Sliced Applewood Smoked Bacon
8 Toothpicks
Rubber Gloves (don’t want those jalapeno oils in your eyes)

Wash your jalapenos. Then slice off the SIDE of the pepper, just enough to gain access to the inside of the pepper. Don’t cut these off at the end, it’s a pain to keep the filling inside that way. You want your pepper to look like a little green canoe when you’ve cut it open. Save the slices of pepper for later on.

Using the butt end of a soup spoon, dig out the white ribs and seeds from your peppers. You can either discard them, or add them to your filling if you really like HOT poppers.

Once your peppers are cut and gutted, finely dice the pieces of jalapeno you cut off earlier and combine with your shredded cheddar cheese. (Feel free to use blended cheeses here, but I like sharp cheddar). Once combined, stuff the mixture into your peppers. Get as much as you can inside there.

Now, take one full slice of bacon and wrap your peppers. Using a toothpick to secure it THROUGH the pepper.

Get your grill fired up and place the ABT (atomic buffalo turds) on the grates, AWAY from the heat and let them slow cook until the bacon crisps up.

To change things up, feel free to dice up some lil’ smokies (cocktail weenies) and add to your cheese mixture prior to stuffing the peppers.

These things are so good, you’ll want to slap someone’s grandma. But don’t.

Oooh baby.  This is a good one.  I plan to do this to my turkey this year too.

I always try turkey recipes on chickens first, just to see how it turns out.  This one was a winner.  Now, one note, I don’t plan on butterflying the turkey like I did the chicken, but otherwise, it will be done the exact same way.

Basically a brine is like a salty liquid marinade.  And by liquid, I mean mostly water and beer.  It’s not thick, there’s no oil like most bottled marinades, it’s meant to soak into the meat of the bird to tenderize and moisten it for the upcoming cooking process.

The Brine:

4 cups hot water
¾ cup kosher salt
¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon coursely ground black pepper
2 X 12 oz. bottles/cans cold lager beer
1 tray of ice cubes
2 cups cold water

Mix the hot water with the dry spices until the salt and sugar have dissolved completely.  Then add in your cold water, beer and ice cubes.  You’ll want to bring the overall temp of the brine down to 40 degrees or less for food safety reasons.

Now, take your bird (in this instance, a butterflied whole chicken and stuff it in a 1 gallon zip bag, cover with the brine, and seal.  Place it in your fridge overnight up to 24 hours.  When the time has passed, remove the bird from the brine, rinse and pat dry.

Apply your favorite rub to the meat underneath the skin and place in your well heated smoker for about 2 - 3 hours or until the temperature of the breast reaches 165 degrees.  Remove from heat, let rest under foil for about 30 minutes, then serve up.

This is the most flavorful and moist chicken I’ve ever made.  It even beats the beer can chickens I’ve done so many of in the past.  The only drawback is having to brine overnight.  But if you’re not in a big hurry, this is well worth the wait.

Just because I’m using their methods, not their recipe necessarily, I wanted to post their video for you to enjoy.  The BBQ Pit Boys rock!

BBQ Chicken Split Roasted Style