Calling All Cooks

[Pauly]

Trying somthing new here.. I love to cook.I'm not a chef (yet) would love to goto chef school (life long dream) but at this time i am just a cook at home since the old lady dont cook. We can go all kinds of directions here. I love to BBQ. Now that can mean alot of diff things with the wide varity of polkies reading here. There is all kinds of bbq and to each his own. Here is were we can swap recipes, hints, sauces, dry rubs etc... I'll start with a little trick i learned from a chef. On the backside (underside) of the rib, if it already hasnt been pulled off (more than likely not) there is a very thin skin that can be pulled off...some ribs are eaiser than others to pull off and will take some work but eaisest way i have found is to get a sharp pointy knife and just poke a little under the skin NOT INTO the meat and kinda pull up to get it started once you get it going it should be somewhat of a breeze..Anyway with taking this skin off will result in a more tender rib. If you dont beleive me just try it.....lets see what you got

CookiePuss

[organ]

Thanks for the tip. I never liked that skin. Now I'm hungry:D . btw, I make kick ass spicy shrimp and suicide buffalo wings:)

Maurice

[Shizelbs]

If anyone has a good tritip maranade recipe, or similar, I would love to hear it. I want to have it at my wedding, but I need to convince the lady first.

[Strong Bad]

I've been known to make some mean curried chicken and sauce. Throw some of that sauce on top of steamed rice and veggies....


YUM YUM!

[Pauly]

Originally posted by organ
Thanks for the tip. I never liked that skin. Now I'm hungry:D . btw, I make kick ass spicy shrimp and suicide buffalo wings:)

Maurice

Oh yeah that was my next gimmick...I grow my own peppers (habi's, nanners sweet and hot, cayannes, volcanonos and jalis) here and there i make my own hot sauce for wings but i love Texas Pete Hotwing Sauce with a tad of butter, few crushed cloves of garlic, salt pepper tossed with some crispy grilled wings and thats heaven.

Gassy Spaz

[organ]

Spas,
That's awesome. Your method of making wings is similar to mine. I'd like to make my own hot sauce one day. But right now I'm very happy with my combo for the wings.

No Tobasco???? Dude, there's nothing like dipping hot and spicy wings into some tobasco sauce:). Of course, I also put tobasco in the buffalo wings sauce. Man do I feel sorry for my ass the next day;) .

Maurice

[dorokusai]

I marinate my ribs in beer, minced garlic, and Galena Street Rib Rub from Penzey's, overnight. www.penzeys.com

Load ribs on a baking sheet, cover tightly in heavy foil, cook for 2 hours at 325. Last 15 minutes, for BBQ sauce and grill marks on the grille. I just use a store bought or vacation sauce found along the way.

Falls off the bone.

[Shizelbs]

Has anyone tried beer-can chicken? I am sure its not too unheard of. Its nice and simple too. Get a can of beer, cheap works fine. Drink some. No really. About half will do. Get a whole chicken. Season as you like, and shove the can up that birds butt. Cook away, and man alive, will that be one moist and delicious bird.

[hotwheelman]

Any franks redhot users out there? I had a friend that made wings with this stuff and man was it out of this world. Problem is I can't locate him for the recipe...any ideas? I do know that he used honey and butter but just do not remember past that.

Oh yeah, anybody good at chinese food?

[Pauly]

Organ,
Tobasco is alright but if you can get your hands on texes pete..its GOOD

Beer Can chicken is real good. Best is when you slow smoke it with some hickory/mesq chips...awwwwe man Heaven

**** now that i think about it if anyone has tried or can get there hands on some orange tree wood..that stuff is Awsome for smoking.

[amulford]

I use all different kinds of wood for smoke. Try some black walnut a nice filet mingon marinated in red wine shallots garlic and a little bit of balsalmic vineger spice w/ fresh herbs. man you got my mouth watering....

[Jstas]

Originally posted by Shizelbs
Has anyone tried beer-can chicken? I am sure its not too unheard of. Its nice and simple too. Get a can of beer, cheap works fine. Drink some. No really. About half will do. Get a whole chicken. Season as you like, and shove the can up that birds butt. Cook away, and man alive, will that be one moist and delicious bird.

Very good stuff, super tender and almost no greasy fat 'cause it all drips off.

I've done it wil chilli peppers in the beer too. Also, an aged bourbon added to the beer (about 2 shots worth) with chilli peppers gives it a nice, smooth flavor. For added spice, paprika and cayenne pepper (about 2-3 parts paprika to 1 part cayenne or to personal taste) on the chicken will give it the spicy kick to go with the chilli pepper flavor! Serve it with a nice, full bodied lager, some sweet potato fries and BBQ baked beans and it makes for an awesome, fairly easy summertime dinner!

By the way, Beercan Chicken in the over works and it even does well on a propane grille. But by far the best beercan chicken I ever had was done over a charcoal grille with hickory chips mixed in with the charcoal and the chilli pepper/beer/bourbon in the beer can and the pepper rub on the chicken.

If you are into smoking, adding smoked bacon to the beans compliments the whole deal very well. I've also done biscuits in a dutch oven for this meal too. I've even cooked it on a camping trip.

[Pauly]

Speaking of balsalmic..a splash in some green beans (or anygreens) brings out the taste. And really a splash of any kind of vinegar (acitic) enhances the flav. Try it. not too much just a splash

[Jstas]

Originally posted by amulford
I use all different kinds of wood for smoke. Try some black walnut a nice filet mingon marinated in red wine shallots garlic and a little bit of balsalmic vineger spice w/ fresh herbs. man you got my mouth watering....

My dad did some pork chops with apple tree wood chips and hickory chips and diluted some apple cider in the water pan for the smokeing chips. That was totally awesome! So tender and juicy! Best pork chops I ever had!

[amulford]

BAM!!! :D

[dorokusai]

Jstas - You have officially sold me on beer can chicken, good lord :D

[pjdami]

Good thread. Definitely something different.

I'm not trying to be Mr. English teacher here, but its Tabasco. A fresh shucked raw oyster with a dab of this mixed with some horseradish on a cracker and cold beer is one of my favorites.

As a Louisiana born and raised cajun boy I just wanted to set the record straight. Oh yeah, the real good stuff comes from Avery Island here in La. where it was invented over a hundred years ago.

I've got some killer cajun recipes like stovetop jambalaya, shrimp etouffee, crawfish etouffee, etc.

[dorokusai]

PJ - Send them to me please at dorokusai@comcast.net , I would love some LA real recipe's, not from a website :)

[pjdami]

Doro,

Here's an authentic cajun website (not some guy who lives in Minnesota or something like that!). There are great recipes on there that are just variations of what most folks cook down here.

http://www.jfolse.com/

I don't think I have any of my recipes on the computer or anything but I'll have to type some of them up in the next few days.

Chef Folse is widely respected for his recipes down here and lots of folks use them.

[danger boy]

"jambalaya, shrimp etouffee, crawfish etouffee"

Awwwmmmmmm! great stuff.

Last two years i kind of perfected my BBQ pork ribs receipe.

I mix my own dry rub with whatever spices i have in the cupboard.. but the rub MUST contain brown sugar, and curry.. those two are standards.. the other is chilli power mix, plus whatever other spieces you like.

rub heavly all over ribs and cover with plastic wrap then in foil and leave in fridge overnight. next day.. cook them on the grill over indirect heat. the sugar from the brown sugar carmelizes and creats a nice coating on the ribs.. the last 15 to 30 mins you can SLATHER them sweet ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce.

meat falls off the bones.. tender, mouthwatering and sticky, messy, just the way ribs should be.

[TroyD]

Beer can chicken......in the beer can add in 2-3 tablespoon fulls of any type of cajun seasoning plus rub the chicken itself down first.

Ribs- I'm not a big rib fan but when you marinate them (and this holds true for pretty much any meat) add a can of sprite (or whatever you like) as the carbonation makes the meat more tender, IMO. Can't cook them on direct heat, actually 250-275 is ideal. If you are impatient, boil 'em first. Only add sauce for the last ten mins or so. BBQ sauce is full of sugar and the sugar burns.

Want good pulled pork BBQ without doing a whole pig? (doing a whole pig is a total beating but depending on the turnout, I'm planning to do one for the SE Polkfest) just smoke a pork sirloin roast. You can use a Boston Butt roast too but I think there is too much fat.



BDT

[Drewsmith]

ok it's 830 here in CT and this thread has officially pissed me off.

DAM I"M HUNGRY

[TroyD]

Also, anytime you make anything with tomato sauce......I always make the sauce a day early and let it sit overnight then make my lasagna or what have you the next day.

If you are frying anything (deep frying) use an oil that has a high smoke point. Like if you are making wings or frying a turkey, you want to fry at 350. Heat your oil up to 375 or so degrees THEN add your wings or what have you. What happens is, especially with frozen wings or turkeys, when you put them in the oil they will cool the oil quick. Cold oil = greasy food. Not a good thing. You want to keep the oil as hot as possible. Then when it creeps above 350 turn down the heat. Oil getting too cool is why the food you fry at home is always greasier than restaurant food.

Also, AFTER you fry anything slice a potato VERY thin and throw it the oil and let it fry. The potato will suck up a lot of the crap in the oil (keeping it cleaner, longer) plus the fried taters are pretty good.

BDT

[dorokusai]

I knew a guy that bought some supermarket ribs, and cooked them with the plastic on, because it didn't mention anything specifically about taking it off. Came over, house was full of smoke and a thick acrid plastic smell....he peeled off the plastic....rinsed the ribs off, and ate them anyways.

[Pauly]

must have been hungry :)

[Jstas]

How is this word "etouffee" pronounced?

[TroyD]

eh-too-fay

[phoneisbusy]

étouffée; à l'étouffée
[ay-too-FAY]
This popular CAJUN dish is a thick, spicy stew of CRAYFISH and vegetables served over white rice. Its rich, deep color and flavor come from the dark brown ROUX on which it's based. The word étouffée comes from the French étouffer , which means "to smother" or "to suffocate." The term à l'étouffée refers to the method of cooking food in a minute amount of liquid, tightly covered and over very low heat. This method is also called à l'étuvée

www.epicurious.com

One of my favourite cooking/recipe sites btw... :)

regards

Dave

[Jstas]

Here is one of my favorites

Pepperoni Bread


½ cup milk			1 package yeast
3 tablespoons of sugar		5 ½ to 6 ½ cups unsifted flour
2 teaspoons of salt
3 tablespoons of margarine 
1 ½ cups warm water  (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
2 lbs. of pepperoni
2 lbs. of provolone cheese
1 egg (for egg white)


Scald milk; stir in sugar, salt and 3 tablespoons of margarine.
Cool to lukewarm. Measure warm water into large warm bowl.
Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved. Add lukewarm milk mixture
and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in additional flour to form
a stiff dough. Turn out onto lightly floured board; knead until
smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Place in greased
bowl, turning to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm place, free
from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough; turn out onto board. Cover; let rest 15
minutes. Divide dough into 6 equal parts. Roll each piece into a
rectangle, 12 x 8 inches. Layer the pepperoni and cheese
alternating between a layer of pepperoni and a layer of cheese.
Make 4 layers, two of pepperoni, two of cheese. Tightly roll the
dough and filling and pinch the ends. Place on a baking sheet
about 2 to 3 inches apart. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free
from draft. The loaves should double in bulk in about 1 hour.
Uncover the loaves and brush with beaten egg white and water.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes or, until done.

Recipe will make about 6 twelve-inch loaves or 12 smaller loaves.
Recipe can be easily doubled to make 12 twelve-inch loaves. 


Serve warm or fresh from the oven. The loaves can be frozen. If
loaves were frozen or placed in refrigerator, reheat in an oven
before serving. 

To reheat, place a piece of tinfoil on a cookie sheet. Slice the loaf
before reheating. (If the loaf is sliced after reheating, it gets
messy and the cheese runs out.) Place the sliced loaf on the
tinfoil leaving a small space between the slices. Place in the over
at 350 degrees F for 10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of
the loaf and whether it was sliced before reheating or not.

It takes a while to make but it is sooooo worth the trouble! It's kinda like a stromboli only instead of a pizza crust, it uses a bread dough. It's great for parties! You can freeze the loaves for up to 3 months. After that they start going south. But every party I have ever made it for, I couldn't keep the plate full of the pepperoni bread! It's a shame that it never sticks around long 'cause there is never any left for me!

[Jstas]

Here is another one I had at a friend's house. These were spectacular!

Beer brined Pork chops

2 cups water 
2 cups dark beer
3 tbsp packed brown sugar
3 tbsp molasses
¼ c. coarse salt 
1 c. ice 

7 cloves minced garlic 
3 tsp crushed pepper 
2 tsp salt 
1 tsp sage leaves

6 thick cut pork chops 


Mix first five ingredients and stir until sugar dissolves.  Add ice. 
Place pork chops in a plastic page that re-seals, pour mixture
over.  Store in refrigerator and turn bag periodically during the
next four hours.  

Mix in a bowl the garlic, pepper, salt and sage to make a paste.  

Start grill, medium high heat.  

Remove chops from brine mixture and pat dry.  Rub with garlic
mixture and place on grill.  Cook approximately 10 minutes per
side, moving the chops periodically to cooler parts of the grill so
they don’t burn.  Place on platter and tent with foil for 5 minutes.