Posted on 07/03/2014 6:01:00 AM PDT by ken5050
The 4th of July three-day weekend starts tomorrow. For many Americans, especially our fellow FReepers.. it'll be a well needed respite from the real world. Many will hit the beach, or a ball game, see a parade, watch fireworks. For a lot of us...it means grilling...cooking meat the way it was intended to be cooked, OUTDOORS..with lots of awesome sides. So, if that's in your plans ( or even if you're just thinking about it) feel free to share ideas, recipes, rubs..
Yeah it’s expensive. But I usually buy about one of those boxes a year. And it lasts me a year.
I don’t grill burgers a ton. But it’s always there for me when I need it! lol
FINAL Oven-melt grated cheddar/jack atop 12 corn tortillas. SERVE--stack three cheesy tortillas. Spoon green sauce over; cut into wedges. Add sides of salsa, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, chp cilantro.
Potato salad:
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled & chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, cut ~ 3/16” sliced crosswise
8 good size russet potatoes, peel, cube into cubes of approximately 3/4”, cover with water, bring to a boil, boil for 11 minutes, no more or less
Drain potatoes and rinse with cold water
Mustard, mayo/salad dressing, cider vinegar, sweet pickle relish
Mix the potatoes, onions, egg, celery together. Start with about 1/2 cup mayo, generous tablespoon of vinegar, shot or 2 of yellow mustard, and 2-3 tablespoons of relish, mix together, and add additional mayo or vinegar to taste. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
Since HOT DOGS will be consumed by, at least, one reader, here is a compendium of hot dog toppings:
http://www.squidoo.com/hot-dog-toppings
Enjoy!
Happy 4th, y’all!
Cook/slightly brown a min 3 tb heated veg oil, tsp minced gingeroot, chp scallion. Add 1/2 c chix broth, 3 tb soy sauce, 2 tb br/sugar, tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. At the boil, add cornstarch/sherry roux; stir/slightly thicken.
I smoked a brisket yesterday and will be smoking the pulled pork today along with some baked beans. The Food Networks Oklahoma Joe’s pulled pork rub is excellent. I tried the Oklahoma Joe’s brisket rub a couple of years ago and decided to go in a different direction.
For a side dish, I’ve come up with an interesting avocado pasta salad. Over the years I’ve had many a pasta salad and pretty much loathed the lot of them, so I decided to see if I could come up with a recipe I liked. I did and it’s pretty simple.
I’m not a cook who does precision. Things are always to taste, and at best I can offer approximations. But here’s the gist of it:
six small avocados, diced
pound of dry pasta with an interesting shape (rotini, or whatever, just something with a good mouth feel)
4 bell peppers (mixed colors is nice, but not necessary)
a number of fresh jalapeños to taste. One is probably enough for those entertaining kids.
a shallot
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
garlic powder
Dice the avocados into bite sized chunks.
Boil the pasta to a bit short of al dente. The heat carryover and vinegar in the dressing will finish any cooking needed (yes the vinegar will ‘cook’ it).
Dice the bell peppers into small chunks.
Mince the shallot and jalapeño fine.
Once the pasta is done and cooled down (after boiling dump in an ice bath to make sure it doesn’t overcook) throw everything in a large mixing bowl with the spices and toss with a goodly drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (don’t get carried away, but enough to make sure everything sees some).
Let it sit a while so the flavors get time to blend. Best made the day before really.
Hope you have a big double pot...I find they always taste better steamed than boiled..
I like the shredded wheat idea..but maybe as a panade..soaked the shredded wheat in milk first...when it’s all absorbed..THEN mix it into the meat..
Yes, I think you’re right.
Sounds delicious!
Hmmmmmmm!!!!
I will try this, this weekend!
I guess I should have included that the mayo, etc. is to be MIXED with the potatoes, egg, celery, and onion. But I think most FReepers would be able to figure that out! :)
I’m admitting to heresy here...but I found long ago that the absolute best way to finish steaks is in the oven..I like mine medium rare..( FYI..medium well should be illegal, IMHO)towards the rare side..so take your recipe..follow it exactly..get a great sear..and the grill marks..about 4-5 minutes each side..then pop it into a 325 oven..if the steak is about 1 1/2’ thick..for medium rare..it’ll be 4 minutes in the oven....
I came across Dr. Maurice Codd’s rib recipe and tried it. Codd was a nobel prize winner in chemistry so I would imagine he understands the chemistry of this better than I do. But the ribs are amazing. Enjoy!
I am quite certain that after a long development process I have finally reached the perfection point in pork rib bbq. For years I hated rib recipes that slather ribs with gooey sweet sauce, and I preferred the dry rub ribs. Now, after countless hours in the “lab” I have captured both the crunch and tang of the dry rib, and the flavor of the sauce ribs.
Before I go through it, one key ingredient will be somewhat hard to get. Some time back, a wild swarm of bees showed up in the back yard. I caught them in a box, and then moved them to a hive I got. Since then they have yielded gallons of exquisite wild swarm honey. That is the key ingredient. And no, it doesn’t taste sweet. Here is the recipe:
Go get as many slabs as you want of tasty pork ribs, cut them up individually
Get a jug of apple cider vinegar, a jug of molasses.
Then go the fridge. Grab what you have: mustard, some ketchup, maybe even a left over bottle of barbeque sauce, left over red wine is good, you get the idea, forage for it.
Pepper, some salt.
Mix up the vinegar, molasses (a bunch) and the other ingredients in a big stainless pot or bowl. Dump the marinade and the ribs in a plastic bag and put them in the fridge for at least a day. The key ingredient here is the vinegar, don’t skimp on that.
Now to cook. The key here is low, low heat for a long time. If you can get your grill down to 200 degrees, that’s best. Sure throw in some wood chips or whatever if you want.
This part is important: don’t put the ribs on the grill, put them on a rack, and put aluminum foil under them so there are no flare ups. Indirect heat for a long time is key. If you must, do a little basting but you really don’t need to.
Cook until the meat shrinks back from the bone, that could be an hour or it could be two depending on the grill and the ribs. Tip a few while this is going on. It won’t help the recipe but you will feel better.
Now the honey part. Take the ribs off the grill and pull out the aluminum foil. Put the foil where the dog wont get it, you will regret it if he does. Put the ribs in big bowl and drizzle the honey on each rib till they are coated.
Turn the heat up to high in the grill. Quickly put the ribs directly on the grill. This part should take maybe a minute or two. Keep turning the ribs until the honey caramelizes, you don’t want any un-caramelized honey left or the ribs will taste too sweet. You will have to play with this to be able to see when they are done, but you have to stay on it, turning them.
Take the ribs off and go to town. The outside of the ribs will be crunchy, not sweet, and the inside will fall off the bone and be tangy. The combination of the two is amazing.
Perfect ribs are that easy!!
Worn out sneakers taste better than American cheese, on anything.
Great website..many thanks...
LOL, true, but I did not want to insult Amercan cheese on the 3rd of July! :)
I hope so. :)
Maybe you should do an Iron Chef competition with your dad..LOL
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