Where there's smoke there's fire

Anyone who reads my blog even semi-regularly knows how I love to cook with wood and charcoal. I came across a great post on another site and I wanted to share it.
Below is an outline of different woods used to cook and smoke meat.
Take a look and try one of these at your next cookout.

ACACIA - these trees are in the same family as mesquite. When burned in a smoker, acacia has a flavor similar to mesquite but not quite as heavy. A very hot burning wood.

ALDER - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds.

ALMOND - A sweet smoke flavor, light ash. Good with all meats.

APPLE - Very mild with a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown) and pork.

ASH - Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats.

BIRCH - Medium-hard wood with a flavor similar to maple. Good with pork and poultry.

CHERRY - Mild and fruity. Good with poultry, pork and beef. Some List members say the cherry wood is the best wood for smoking. Wood from chokecherry trees may produce a bitter flavor.

COTTONWOOD - It is a softer wood than alder and very subtle in flavor. Use it for fuel but use some chunks of other woods (hickory, oak, pecan) for more flavor. Don’t use green cottonwood for smoking.

CRABAPPLE - Similar to apple wood.

GRAPEVINES - Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb.

HICKORY - Most commonly used wood for smoking–the King of smoking woods. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork, ham and beef.

LILAC - Very light, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb.

MAPLE - Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds.

MESQUITE - Strong earthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottest burning.

MULBERRY - The smell is sweet and reminds one of apple.

OAK - Heavy smoke flavor–the Queen of smoking wood. RED OAK is good on ribs, WHITE OAK makes the best coals for longer burning. All oak varieties reported as suitable for smoking. Good with red meat, pork, fish and heavy game.

ORANGE, LEMON and GRAPEFRUIT - Produces a nice mild smoky flavor. Excellent with beef, pork, fish and poultry.

PEAR - A nice subtle smoke flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork.

PECAN - Sweet and mild with a flavor similar to hickory. Tasty with a subtle character. Good with poultry, beef, pork and cheese. Pecan is an all-around superior smoking wood.

SWEET FRUIT WOODS - APRICOT, PLUM, PEACH, NECTARINE - Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork and fish. The flavor is milder and sweeter than hickory.

WALNUT - ENGLISH and BLACK - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter woods like almond, pear or apple. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats and game.

Game Hens

I saw some Cornish Game Hens at the store the other night and grabbed a couple.
I love how you can spatchcock these birds and get your grilling done in less than 30 minutes. I threw together a grilled vegetable salad, roasted some asparagus and grilled some bread. From start to finish I had dinner together in 45 minutes

Game Hen

Toss in a 2003 Turley-Howell Mountain-Rattlesnake Ridge Vineyard Petite Syrah and you have some "Good Eats"

I'm not a breast man....... (really)

I am guessing that her favorite piece of the chicken is the breast.

When it comes to chicken almost everyone know exactly what piece is their favorite. Some people like breasts, other prefer the legs. Personally I love the thigh. The meat of the chicken thigh is darker, fatter and when cooked properly it is by far the most succulent part of the bird.
The other night I wanted to grill, but I didn't want the full production of cooking a whole bird so I pulled out my favorite dry rub mix and dusted half a dozen chicken thighs and in less than 30 minutes dinner was served.

Spice rubbed Chicken Thighs w/ Green Bean, Radish & Red Onion Salad

This time of year the produce is fantastic and I have been playing with grilled and chopped salads all Spring and Summer. Tonight I did a quick fresh salad of green beans, radishes and some red onion. A quick vinaigrette and Summer is served!

Spice Rub
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Coriander
1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard Seed
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
3 tsp Spanish Paprika
2 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Kosher Salt
(grind the seeds and add to remaining ingredients).

Green Bean, Radish, Red Onion Salad
Ingredients:
1 lb Green beans
1 bunch Radishes
1/2 Red Onion

2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Trim and blanch the green beans in boiling water for 3 minutes. Shock the bean in ice water after they are done cooking. Thinly slice the radishes and red onion and then You are good to go-

Green Bean, Radish & Red Onion Salad

Spatchcocking

Don't you think that George Carlin would have had fun with the kitchen term "Spatchcocking"?
This sounds like some kind of kinky bondage or S&M practice. In reality it is a way of removing the spine of the whole chicken so you can butterfly it for cooking.
I had a Free Range Chicken I had picked up at the store and I wanted to do something different than make my World Famous Guantanamo Chicken.

A handy pair of kitchen shears and even I look like I spent time in a M*A*S*H unit with the precision of this cut.

A quick marinade of lemon, olive oil, rosemary, some garlic, salt+pepper and I was ready to bag the chicken for a day before cooking it on the grill. Resealable freezer bags are great, though I usually use a couple of produce bags from the store. They are sturdy and I feel better recycling them.

I fired up the Weber Grill with some hardwood charcoal and did a pretty wide spread on the coals, but still left a portion of the grill empty so the temperature was medium-hot. Usually cooking a chicken this size takes about 60 minutes or so. This bird was done in about 35 minutes. I would suggest starting cooking with the breast side up and cooking for about 10 minutes. Flip the bird over and go for another 10 minutes with the skin side down and then access where you are at that point. Depending on your flame you may need some more direct cooking, if not set the bird over the portion of the grill that is not directly over a flame.

The real hero of this meal with the Grilled Cole Slaw I did as a side. I had seen the recipe in the July issue of Bon Appetit. I liked the grilling aspect of the cabbage, but I tweaked the dressing. The cabbage gets warm and the dressing is a perfect sweet/sour accompaniment. So a tip of the hat to Bon Appetit for the inspiration and a small pat on the back to me for the imagination.

Grilled Cole Slaw
Ingredients:
1/2 Head Green Cabbage (quartered)
1/2 Head Red Cabbage (quartered)

1/2 Red Onion-as thin as you can slice it
1 bunch Scallions

Dressing:
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Sherry Wine Vinegar
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard

Directions:
Brush the cabbage with some olive oil and place on the grill. Grill both flat sides for about 4 minutes each. Add the scallions and cook for about 1-2 minutes per side (just get some color). Note: Since the red onion was my addition, I decided to throw it in raw. Rough chop the scallions and thinly slice the cabbage after it has cooled slightly.
For the dressing go ahead and throw everything into a Mason jar, seal and shake to blend.

Grilled Cole Slaw

Any prettier and this would be this could be in a Rockwell painting. Bon Appetit'

Fire Grilled Beef Tri-Tip w/ Chimichurri

Beef Tri-Tip Roast w/ Chimichurri Sauce
I discovered Chimichurri Sauce several years ago in a Steven Raichlen's "Barbeque Bible". This sauce is a traditional marinade and condiment in Argentina and can be used on steaks, pork, sausage and even grilled chicken. This sauce a definitely a cousin of Genovese Pesto or French Persillade.
Chimichurri has a wonderful fresh herb quality, but it also has an addictive piquant component...heat with a great acidity.
Last night I fired up the grill and cooked a Tri-Tip Beef Roast. I love this cut as it is a less expensive piece of meat and if you grill it, then cut it on the bias the flavor and tenderness is outstanding. In my book the Tri-Tip is second only to the Rib-eye for flavor.
The recipe below is one I have adapted from Steven's. I like adding cilantro to the mix, though that may actually throw this sauce into the Chilean Pebre (whatever, this version kicks butt) category. Anyway, this is a good introduction to this sauce and the variations are endless.

Chimichurri Sauce
Ingredients:
1 Bunch Italian Flat Leaf Parsley-leaves and tender stems
1 Bunch Cilantro-leaves and tender stems
1/4 White Onion rough chopped
8 Garlic Cloves rough chopped
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, or more to taste
1 tsp. Dried Oregano or 1 Tbsp. Fresh
1 Jalapeno -rough chop, I added the seeds for some more heat
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:
Throw the garlic and onions into a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Next add the salt, oregano, jalapeno and pulse the food processor again. Next, add the vinegar and water through the drizzle tube on the top of the processor. Add the cilantro and parsley last as you want the sauce to have some chunks to it. Add the olive oil to the drizzle tube and pulse intermittently until everything is incorporated. Season to taste-I love more heat and more vinegar.

Grilled Mixed Vegetable Salad
What I love to do when I am grilling meat is to also do some kind of grilled vegetable salad. This salad had roasted corn, grilled tomatoes (just big enough to not fall through the grate on the BBQ), onions (grilled yellow, and raw red), asparagus, zucchini and a handful of arugula. I tossed this with a red wine vinaigrette and it matched nicely with the rare Tri-Tip Beef Roast.

A friend stopped by with a bottle of 2005 Domaine Du Galet Des Papes-Chateauneuf-du-Pape. This wine had a great earthy, dried fruit character along with garrigue (think Herbs De Provence) on the nose. Big tannin structure and 14% alcohol were more than a match for this meal.

Warning: Chimichurri Sauce is addictive.
Eat at your own risk!
.

I am the Bobby Flay of my Neighborhood

Anyone who is more than a passing viewer of the Food Network knows who Bobby Flay is. His style of cooking has taken French technique and combined it with regional cuisines (especially SW United States) to come up with dishes that are almost uniquely American. Fresh, seasonal and often cooked on a grill. What I appreciate about the dishes Bobby does is that when you look at your plate you can identify everything you are eating-tomatoes,corn, cilantro, red onion. He lets the food speak and his choice of seasoning is typically a spice rub or a marinade.
So, with that information in hand I just want to issue a "throw-down" and say:
" I am the Bobby Flay of my neighborhood" (minus the curly red hair and the hot blond ex-model wife). If you don't believe me ask my neighbors. They will tell you that I probably grill 150 days a year. Lamb, beef, pork, turkey, chicken, buffalo, quail, goat...basically anything that moo's, oink's, crows, chirps or bleets is fare for my table.
Clouds, rain, sunshine (I live in Portland so there is much of the first two and little of the third) I am outside getting my "Bobby Flay" on.
So, dinner last night:

Menu

Dry Spice Rub Grilled Chicken Thighs

Chopped Salad w/ Lime Vinaigrette

Grilled Asparagus & Grilled Red Onions &Garlic Toast

2002 Provenance Cabernet

These thighs are fantastic-moist, succulent and flavorful. While I cooked this bone-in, I think they actually are better boned (save the bones for stock). Make sure you cook the chicken just to the edge of the coals. If you want some grill char put over the coals directly and stick by the grill.

Spice Rub
1 Tbsp Coriander seed
1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard seeds
2 tsp Fennel seeds
3 Tbsp Spanish Paprika (pimention dulce)
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Kosher Salt

Grind all the seeds and add the remaining ingredients-you can easily scale this up to keep on hand in an airtight container.

Chopped Salad
1-2 cup Tomatoes-heirlooms, pear, cherry-coarse chop
1 cup Corn (in season you can grill the corn in the husk and then cut off the cob)
1/2 Red Onion chopped
1 can Pinto Beans (rinsed & drained)
1 handful cilantro -chopped
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
1 Lime juiced

The Firestarter

Just to clarify before anyone is gets confused, this isn't a review of the Stephan King novel by the same title.
I am not a material person per se. I am not a car guy. I don't have a big horsepower hobby like 4-wheeling ,snowmobiling, boating or flying.
So what do I like to spend my disposable income on? Why of course food and wine. An innocent hobby turned into an raging obsession. Why spend $36.00 for a case of "Two buck Chuck" (I live in Oregon and here it is $3.00/btl) when you can spend that much on single bottle of decent Chateauneuf du Pape? Frozen turkey from Safeway's for Thanksgiving, naw, I need to research for two weeks to find free range, heirloom turkeys that are butchered to order (except I had to drive 3 hours round trip to get them).
Yesterday I did something that I had been needing to do for quite some time, I went out and purchased a new BBQ grill.













Obviously from the above you can see that I will spare almost no expense to procure the best when it comes to food and wine related items. I have to have great knives (Heinkel), great pans (LeCreuset, All-Clad,Calphalon).
As much as I would like to have built the above fire pit, I think my neighbors in my condominium complex might have complained.
That is why yesterday's purchase I went all out and got what I consider to be the BMW of BBQ equipment.

Naw, this is too Big.....(kinda like the Hummer of BBQ's)

Nope, too small.........(the VW Beetle of BBQ's)

Just Right! (Yeah, baby! Sleek, well engineered and built for performance)

I went out and bought a brand spanking new 22 1/2" Black/Silver Weber Kettle Grill.
To me this "Old school" piece of equipment is as good as it gets with a reasonably small, highly portable, piece of cooking equipment. As far as I am concerned the "only way" (nose in the air for emphasis) to grill or bbq is with charcoal or hardwood. Using a gas grill is like microwaving a steak, sure, you can do it, but why ruin a great piece of meat?
I was packing up the box (assembly required) of this new grill and a neighbor said: "Oh, you got a new barbeque", I beamed and said "yes", them she said: "That looks like your old barbeque" and again I said, "yeah, I wore the other one out". My neighbor laughed and said: "You are serious about barbequing". I would say I am "serious" about Barbequing. Even with this new grill I went so far as to keep my "old" grill grate just because it had been perfectly seasoned (a brand new stainless steel grill grate is like the back-up quarterback on a football team-you can tell he hasn't been in the game because his uniform is so clean). To me cooking isn't about providing fuel to my body, it is about the thought, preparation and execution that go into cooking. Searching for raw ingredients, working on kitchen techniques and preparation all reflect in a finished dish or meal. For me it is the Zen-like quest for perfection and it is all about the journey vs. the end.....not to say that I don't enjoy a great meal with friends and family. I hope you get to taste the fruit that this new grill will bear.

"Guantanamo Chicken"

Almost nothing is more succulent or comforting than a perfectly roasted chicken. For years I swore that a chicken cooked on a rotisserie was as good as it got, but then I discovered "beer can chicken" Think of it as kind of a red neck version of a spit rotisserie roasted chicken. The advantage is this dish is much less equipment intensive and the end result is just as great.
Since I am a bit of a food snoot I have been trying to figure out a way to make this dish seem a bit more refined and a little less "hillbilly". Truth be told, the ingredients are the same, the prep is the same and the end result is just as good, whether you are eating this at a campsite or a country club.
Going forward, I am just going to be calling this dish "Guantanemo Chicken". Follow the illustrations below and this will ultimately make sense . To make this easy lets lay out the menu and the ingredients and then we will introduce the main course.

Menu
"Guantanemo Chicken" (Fire Roasted, Beer Can Chicken)
served with
Grill Roasted Asparagus
&
Roasted Corn, Cherry Tomato & Black Bean Salad

First things first, a little "water boarding".....er brining, go ahead and put the entire chicken into a large bowl with 3/4 cup of kosher salt and cold water. Let the bird soak for an hour before prepping for the grill.

To prep for the grill go ahead and pull the wing tips behind the bird. This is kind of a "put you hands behind your head" thing. The wings will stay without being tied up (bondage). Take a old time can opener (why is this called a Church Key?) and punch a couple of holes in a can of beer (on top of the can). The can is going to act as a stand on the grill for the bird. My feeling is that the quality of the beer is inversely proportional to the quality of the chicken, so Pabst is about as good as it gets.












Stand up the bird on the beer can (no cavity probe jokes....please) and apply dry rub spice mixture, go head and rub hard!. I use a spice mix of:

Spice Rub
1 Tbsp Coriander
1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard Seed
2 tsp Fennel Seeds
3 tsp Spanish Paprika
2 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Kosher Salt
(grind the seeds and add to remaining ingredients).













Personally I only cook with charcoal or hardwood and for this preparation take a chimney of coals that you divide into two piles (one on each side of the grill) after they are good and hot. As you can see the bird is not going to cook over direct heat. Cook the bird for 30 minutes and then rotate 180 degrees and cook for another 30 minutes (extra hot coals might bump down the cooing time to 25 minutes a side). (Okay chicken, veee havve vays to make you talk)






















At 50-60 mins. pull the bird and let is rest for 10 minutes while covered with foil before you start carving.













Asparagus with a drizzle of olive oil and S& P and 2 mins per side on the grill.













A Southwest Bobby Flay-esque Roasted corn, Tomato and Black Bean salad with a red wine vinegar dressing and dinner is served.
In Season fresh corn is great for this and you can roast the whole ear with its husk and all on the grill.












This meal would go will with a Spanish or Portuguese wine. A 2005 Altano from the Douro region in Portugal scored an 85 in Wine Spectator and at Trader Joe's it will set you back all of $6.99 (this is the best bottle in the store for the price).