Perfect Pork Chops

Pork chops growing up were always served with some sort of sauce. Apple sauce, gravy, anything to add some moisture into the dried hockey pucks on the plate.

But times have changed. You should be able to eat your chop without any dressing...if cooked properly. Here are a few tips for grilling a simple chop that can stand alone:

1) Rub a little olive oil into the chop and lightly season with sea salt and fresh pepper.

2) Preheat the grill fully. For gas, turn burners on high and close the lid for about 15 minutes. For a little smoke flavor, through some wood chips on the grill grates. When you return, turn one burner down to medium high, and turn one burner off for an indirect cooking space. You'll only need this if your chops are thick. These chops were cooked on the used the Char-Broil Quantum Infrared Grill.

3) Grill chops, depending on thickness, 5-7 minutes per side.

4) Pull chops off with some pink inside, about 130-140 degrees by the thermometer. The temperature will rise to the fairly new USDA recommendation of 145 degrees while they rest. The old recommendation was 160, which meant dry shoe leather.

5) Really do let them rest 5 minutes before cutting into them. Let those juices roll back into the meat, not on your plate, before you eat.

6. Serve without sauce and be proud of your perfect pork chops!

Spring Grilling Tips

It's time to move to your outdoor kitchen and grill 'til fall, y'all! I wrote a post for Char-Broil about my Favorite Five Outta Eleven Grilling Tips for the season! Yes, grilling and barbecue season is year-round, but when you live in Seattle, there is nothing like a spring day after a long winter of rain. Here is a teaser:

My Favorite Five Outta Eleven Grilling Tips

#1 GET YER STUFF TOGETHER! Have everything ready at your fingertips. Realizing at the moment your food is done that you don’t have a clean plate can ruin a meal. Being prepared will set you up for success.

Read the whole post here and enjoy the season!

Pickles!

I've been experimenting with pickles for the restaurant. We serve them on the small plates and with sandwiches. This new batch is very garlicky and spicy. I think in a good way. It's too early to tell. I've made a large batch of refrigerator pickles - hopefully a one month supply - and will can some of the batch tomorrow.

Canning is pretty new to me. I'm brining the cucumbers first overnight in pickling salt and ice (which will melt slowly and become the brine). This is a step I've never done before but word on the pickling street is that it keeps them crisper.

Anyone found this to be true? Any amazing pickle tips you want to share?

Pickling feels a lot like soapmaking to me. It's a similar rhythm. One I'm drawn to. It's basically the opposite rhythm of the firestorm of the line, which is my husband's realm. Hmmm. He's a fire sign. I'm a water sign.

So, if any of you are pickle people, please give me a holler!

A Dodge Dart, Tapestry Dress, and an Excel Spreadsheet

Every once in a while, I get antsy for the time when someone really couldn't reach me. You remember those days, don't you? Back when you could fit all your worldly possessions in a Dodge Dart. Sure, if that Dodge Dart happened to break down, which it did often on account of the gas gauge being broken, you had no way of getting a hold of anyone, and had to walk until you found an "emergency phone" that wasn't broken along a lonely stretch of highway. But at least you had your futon rolled up in the back seat, right? And the camp stove. And a really awesome tapestry that could be a wall hanging, a blanket, and a dress.

I may not miss the tapestry-bedspread-dress combo, because frankly I could never figure out how to tie that thing so that it wouldn't flap open inappropriately, but I do sometimes miss the freedom of not being wired.

So much so that I often put those dreams on paper. Well, actually in an Excel spreadsheet. I have spreadsheets of how we can sell it all and move to some remote location dating back to when I think they invented the Excel spreadsheet.

The problem is, once the dream of being completely independent of society gets put into the many columns and format-able cells of a spreadsheet, it almost begs one to insert numbers. Numbers like how one can make a living in the wilderness to make up for any lack of foraging, or the cost of a yurt with a deck and the additional snow load package. Then come the ideas like Eric could grow mushrooms in tire pots and sell them at farmer's markets and I could make and sell soap while writing a novel. (If you think that I simply made that up to be funny, I can show you the mushroom growing/soap selling spreadsheet of '97).

Once I go down that path, however, then I habitually start musing about what we'd call our little venture, which turns into branding, packaging, marketing strategies, websites and blogs, and finally, the employee Health Plan, CleanGrow. OK CleanGrow isn't on the spreadsheet, but you get the idea. It becomes what I already have, which sometimes means very plugged in, reachable, responsible, and unable to take a true day off.

So this month, I did write a number of spreadsheets, but they weren't about moving to the wilderness or spending a year studying turtles with the kids. They aren't quite old enough for that one anyway. I'm thinking middle school for the turtle venture. Anyway, the spreadsheets were about expanding the business in a way that fits with our growing family. I may poke fun of my ideas in a year, but it was good to reflect and hopefully make some decisions that make sense in the future.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to do some research. My spreadsheets almost always require research. R&D like they say up at Corporate. Eric just calls it my seasonal crazy, but as soon as I get my hands on a foot operated shrink wrapper I'm going to put some of those ideas in the sunshine, spread out on a sheet. A real sheet. Whether it's plain white or a tapestry design doesn't matter in this metaphor. I meant it as in I'm moving from the hypothetical to the actual. Sheesh. Get off my back for the poor execution of a literary device. And whatever, you haven't facebooked me in like forever.

Oh, and for those of you that googled about Dodge Darts, and found this post, my Dart in college was a 1970, slant six. Color of road dust so you never had to wash it. You like barbecue?

A Valentine like only a chef can give

I know what you think this post is going to be. You think this is going to be about the amazing dinner my husband the chef made for me.

Wrong.

Restaurant people don't do Valentine's Day. Or most holidays. We work them. Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, New, Year's Day, the Superbowl, weekends, weddings, summers...

It makes us a little jaded about holidays, which sometimes makes me sad because I like holidays. I love celebrations. I live for playing elf, cupid, bunny, and all the other secret creatures that bring songs, presents, tricks and treats.

Otherwise every day may as well be Tuesday. Mundane ol', school night, leftovers for dinner Tuesday.

So today, even thought he wasn't feeling it, and just wanted to go to TaeKwonDo, like he does every Tuesday, honey made me a flower. Made of hearts cut out of the chefware catalog.

Which he made into a card.

And I came in pissy with the groceries, thinking that he didn't do a thing, and didn't even see it at first because I plopped the bags right on top of the card.

Thank you, baby. You know just how to turn the B into a Be Mine.

Superbowl Party Recipe: Smoked "Reverse Popper" Wings

The big game is almost here! For those of you hosting a party, here is an easy and delicious twist on wings. It's simple; stuff wings with a mix of sausage and diced jalepenos, dust with rub and grill. What you get is a nice smoked wing with a little spicy surprise inside.

Recipe
Jumbo wings, 1 and 2 joint. As many as you want to make.

Diced jalepenos, canned. 1 small can goes a long way.

Sausage - your choice. I chose a sweet Italian. Factor 1 spoonful per wing.

Rub
1 part brown sugar
1 part mix of paprika, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, and chili powder
(or use your favorite with added brown sugar. I liked the sweet contrasted with the heat).

Cut wings open slightly to make a little pocket for the mixture. Thoroughly mix the jalepenos with the sausage. Stuff a heaping spooful in each wing and "reclose". Dust with rub.

Make a hot grill with half indirect space. Grill first directly to sear and mark for 5 minutes on each side, then move to indirect heat with your lid down until done, approximately 20-30 minutes. It's important you use the big jumbo wings so they don't get overdone before the sausage is cooked.

Serve with hot sauce, barbecue sauce, or sweet-hot Thai chili sauce.

May your team win!

Superbowl Sunday: Can You Top a Meat Stadium?

I'm just about ready to post my little recipe of stuffed wings for Superbowl Sunday. I think they are great, but then this came across my virtual desk. Some guy named Mikey over at Char-broil is making a MEAT STADIUM. That's right, a panorama, a model, a not-so-small-miniature of a football stadium, made entirely out of meat.

I can't imagine, frankly, where one finds space in one's brain to think and execute a meat stadium, but we all have different abilities, don't we?

To see it, complete with football-esc diagrams, click here.

National BBQ Association Conference coming up

Hey fellow West coasters, the NBBQA conference and trade show is in San Diego, CA this year. It's coming right up - February 22-25. I'm tempted to go, but don't know if I can get away. Restaurants and young 'uns tend to tie one down a bit. Still, looks like they will have some excellent sessions, like getting your sauces and rubs to the market, and how to keep profitable during this recession. Good no matter where one is in the process, plus plenty of fun.

Anyone going? Anyone been in the past? I think my desire to go is in part for some sunshine, but also for some face to face barbecue community time. You all know, if you've paid attention, that I am wishy washy about the social media business. I take breaks, to my "brands" detriment perhaps, but life's too short to worry too much about that. I'll choose real time contact over on-line contact just about any time. 

So...any chance any of y'all I gab with on facebook and twitter going?

Hello Snow!

The wood pile is ready for making fires after sledding. That is a perk to owning a barbecue restaurant - an everlasting supply of wood. Sure, using up our nicely seasoned cherry wood for firewood isn't economical, but this might be our only true snow day all winter. And frankly, the mobile smoker isn't getting much action right now so we might as well use some of those sticks sitting in the shed.

For those of you laughing at our paltry Seattle 2-3 inches, and the fact that schools got out yesterday because of a "threat of snow", check out the snowman we made the previous day at the park. We call him Wood Chip Man. If you look closely you might be able to discern the face made out of wood chips, as opposed to the wood chips that were picked up in the rolling.

By the way, Smokin' Pete's BBQ is open today. Come in to warm up with some barbecue.

See ya, 2011

Awesome axe kick snagged from this website

I don't think I've ever heard someone say, "Oh, if only this year could last forever," have you? No matter how wonderful your year may have been, it's always time, isn't it, for a new year to begin. 2011 has not been a favorite year for many of us. I heard a commentator say the other night that the theme of 2011 is "When will it ever end?"

Instead of champagne this year, I'm planning on sending off 2011 with an axe kick. Then I may imbibe in some bubbly.

I'll make sure to eat my collard greens and black eyed peas too for a good dose of health and prosperity for 2012.

Happy New Year everyone!

"Fish Friday" Cedar Wrapped Ling Cod

Here's my post on the Char-Broil Live site about cooking Ling Cod in The Big Easy. What I loved about making this dish? It was super fast and delicious. It's also simple. During the slog of holiday dinners, parties, and platters of cheese, it's nice to have a simpler dinner here and there. This dish is heavy on the flavor but light everywhere else.

Read the whole post here (please) and if so inspired, throw me a comment here or on the Char-broil site. I do so love to hear from y'all.

A Practical Wish for the Holidays

My son attended a preschool one year called Nature Kids, housed in the middle of Seattle's largest park, the 534-acre  Discovery Park. The main premise of the preschool was that the kids would go on a hike for most of the day, rain or shine, learning about nature.

The school had all sorts of specially named places they'd hike to: Stick Belong, a place they often gathered large sticks to make a lean-to fort, Owl Logs, a place with fallen trees that could be an instant game of pirate ship, and the Wishing Tree.

The Wishing Tree was my son's favorite. Almost every day, the kids would gallop to one particular tree of many that surrounded an open field and whisper their wish. My son naturally wished for superhero strength, the ability to change into a cheetah, or an invisibility hat he could don to sneak candy whenever he wanted.

One kid, however, wished every time, without fail, for a sandwich. My son reported this to me each time with an incredulous voice, for the boy apparently wished out loud to the Wishing Tree as well.

"But he gets a sandwich!" my son would say, shaking his 4 year old head. "There's a sandwich every day in his lunch!"

The fact that this boy would waste his wish on something so mundane, and on something he'd get within the hour baffled both of us. Even I, a cynical adult, would prefer an invisibility hat to sneak chocolate over a sandwich.

But after a while I got it. The kid was a practical fellow. He wanted his wish to come true.

For those of you that want your wishes to come true this holiday season, I suggest socks. Wish for socks. Sometimes it's better to keep your expectations low and be surprised. After all, they might be really great socks.

For the rest of you...Happy Holidays! May your feasts be plentiful and delicious. May your family be bearable. May it not hurt when you bite your tongue. Do bite it, for the few days you need to. It will make for a far smoother year. May your gifts all fit so that you don't have to enter the post-Christmas fray at the mall, unless you like that sort of thing. May you get amazing socks. May you go easy on the eggnog and be mildly controlled with the chocolate...

And when the din settles down, may you find time to stop, breath and contemplate the new year about to unfold.

White Winter/Fall Colors

We don't get much snow in Seattle. Most of our "white winter" is an unending white sky. It gets grey plenty too, but today it was that endless white. Here are some images of winter I took today, walking to the post office, contrasted by some fall pictures I took last month. We had a glorious fall, due to incredible blue sky, crisp sunshine days.

I played with the highlights with this one.

What a contrast to the fall...

My son is saying, "Come on, mom!"

My favorite of the fall pics. I have a cheap little point and shoot camera. It's woefully inadequate for a food blog, but it fits in my pocket and helps me capture my kids and fall leaves and stark trees.

The Holiday Store is Open!

We've come up with a host of barbecue stocking stuffers this year. Back by popular demand is the BBQ Soap. An olive oil soap, it's scented with sandalwood and hickory, "For when you want to smell fresh out of the smoker!" TM. Also this year we have the Pitmaster's Blend coffee for sale. Truth be told, it is the Tango Blend by Cafe Mam, but we've renamed it Pitmaster's Blend because it's what our pitmaster, Eric, drinks by the gallon. We think it is the best coffee on earth.                 

As always, we sell our spice rub, smoked peppers, sauce gift packs, and signed copies of She-Smoke! We have a new T-shirt design! Big, bold, Ballard. Get 'em while they're hot. Here is one of our cooks, "Falcon", modeling the new T.

Check back to the blog soon as I'll be unveiling a really cool giveaway for the holidays!

Deep Fried Turkey, Hold the Deep Fry

The "Oil-less Turkey Fryer" from Char-Broil arrived just in time for me to test before Thanksgiving. I am one of their bloggers this year on Char-broil live in exchange for a few goodies like this. The products are for me to use or give away. If I want to review them, I can, but without any strings attached. But first, some back story....

I've been intrigued by this little unit for a few years now, having competed on one in a Barbecue Smackdown at Memphis in May in 2010. I'd always wanted to go to MIM, so when Char-Broil invited me to be a guest chef for some fun demos and competitions with some other barbecue personalities, I jumped at the chance.

I'd never touched one before I was thrown into a celebrity grilling competition, and had to learn quickly how to operate it while at the same time realizing that everyone else was cheating wildly, pulling bacon and other ingredients out of their pockets.

Luckily, The Big Easy, as it's called, is really easy to operate. Turn on gas, turn igniter switch and you are good to go. I didn't win the competition, but it was a blast. Next time I'll stuff my pockets with bacon. It was nice to get to know this cooker at home, without the pressure of TV cameras on me.

I decided to make a simple "deep fried turkey", according to the recipe provided in the packaging booklet. I rubbed a 14 lb turkey with peanut oil, and then sprinkled on a rub I made by mixing two commercial rubs together plus some thyme. I didn't need to get finicky about the rub as this was my maiden voyage. It was more about testing the tenderness, the skin, and the cook time than any specific flavors.

First I seasoned the little guy (the grill, not the bird) with vegetable oil, per the instruction booklet. By the way, my preferred oil rag for grills is a clean old sock of Eric's that has finally shredded. I can get an old sock oily, dirty, and then throw it in the compost with a clear conscience that I've both reused an old thing and diverted it from a landfill. We always seem to have a steady supply of tube socks in the process of biting the dust. Eric will try to wear the torn, holey socks out of the rag drawer, so I have to actually rip them to the point that they no longer hold a foot. But I digress....

Here are my comments on The Big Easy:

I cooked my turkey for 4 hours, about 30 minutes too long because the kids were in the bath and I couldn't go out and get it. It came out beautiful, but on the edge of too done. The booklet math recommendation came out to 3.5 hours so it was correct.

The skin: The skin is definitely the highlight of this turkey and cooking method. It was all I could do not to pick the bird bald. Crispy, fried but not oily, and a deep amber color...perfect.

The flavor: I didn't brine the turkey and wish I had. It was a little bland beyond the skin layer.

The texture: This time of year we are up to our necks in turkey at Pete's, so I'm used to the smooth, almost delicate texture of a smoked turkey. The texture was a little tougher, but I attribute this to my overcooking.

Sturdiness and other comments about the cooker itself: I like the basket and little handle lifty thing that comes with. You simply load the basket and drop it down. It was solid enough and sat level, yet once assembled I could carry it out the door and down the steps to the front yard. It was easy to set up and easy to clean.

What I did NOT like: It cooks totally open - you only use the mesh lid at the end, meaning you have this really hot burning thing right at kid level. And by kid level, I mean right exactly at the height and spot a 2-5 year old would stick their hands on or in. It made me very nervous. I got so nervous bringing my almost 3 yr old widely around it that she nearly tripped, out of transferred nervousness, into the burning hot center.

I've come up with a solution. Char-broil should include cones and caution tape with the packaging to section off the grill. And maybe a few English traffic cops to stand around it to make sure no one gets too close to the flame.

Final comments: I like it. I'm keeping it vs giving it away. I wish it came with a lid or cover because the very first night I left it out and of course it rained. I recall the ones we used in the competition had lids, and grill inserts so maybe these are extras one can order.

I'll use it again, though it will most likely be on a less frequent rotation than other grills, due to the open flame/small child issue. I want to try it with a brined turkey. The booklet has some recipes with injections, but no brines.

As for my opinion on injections, I think I've already answered that poetically.

Barbecue Soap Curing

The barbecue soap is unmolded and cut. It will be ready for sale and to ship by December 5th, just in time for the holidays.

I've been making this soap for stocking stuffers since we opened Smokin' Pete's. It's scented with hickory and sandalwood, and is a classic Castille soap recipe (mostly an olive oil base, with some coconut and palm oil). No, I did not render the brisket fat to make it! I used to make soap and bath products with a friend. For a brief while we sold it at crafts fairs and farmer's markets.

The last two years, I've either not made it or made very little, but I've had so many requests this year I made sure to make two big batches.

The only change this year is to the packaging: instead of the tag line "For the manly man that wants to smell fresh out of the smoker!", it will say "For when you want to smell fresh out of the smoker!"

I've always struggled with that line. It always got a lot of laughs, and I liked the rhythm of it, but I didn't like that it was only geared toward men. In honor of the spirit of She-Smoke, I decided to make the packaging equitable for all. Here is what the packaging looks like, but with the "old" line.

It's Here! My New Oil-less Turkey Fryer

It's called The Big Easy and Char-Broil claims is has all the taste of a fried turkey, without the oil, mess and imminent backyard explosions we hear about every year on Thanksgiving.

I'm intrigued. I've always been too chicken to fry a turkey (heh heh), and therefore the perfect candidate to try out a gas powered oil-less unit.

First I'll need to assemble and season the little guy. I've bought a 14+ pound Northwest Natural turkey and am planning to try the first recipe in the Charbroil booklet they send. It's very simple - 1 turkey, peanut oil, and herb seasoning of your choice.

How many of you have deep fried a turkey? How many have tried The Big Easy? If you've tried both, please share your comparison in the comments.

7 Do's/Don'ts When Smoking Turkey

Turkey time is a favorite part of the year for me. For one, Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite meal. When asked what I'd choose if stranded on a deserted island, with only one food choice, I say Thanksgiving dinner. Then I'm told that's not fair, I must choose one food, like a mango, to which I reply, that's ridiculous, no one could live off one food, nutritionally, and I stick to my guns. Definitely Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, and gravy...lots and lots of gravy.

I love the hustle and bustle of this week at the restaurant, and I know all of you are making plans, calling relatives and friends, and divvying up the menu. Are you are asked each year to bring a special dish that everyone loves? Is there a dish someone always brings that, oh god, makes everyone silently groan?

If you are on turkey duty, here are some tips for smoking your turkey.

#1 DO start with, if possible, a fresh bird. Fresh birds were slaughtered this season. When you buy a frozen bird, it could very well have been left over from the year before.

#2 DO buy a natural turkey that has not been pumped with any solution. You are going to brine your turkey, so you'll want your turkey free of additives.

#3 DO brine your turkey before smoking. Give at minimum of one hour of brine per pound of your turkey. Usually one day in the brine is best. This will keep your bird juicy during the smoking process. See my post above all about brines.

#4 DON'T get too fancy with your brine. Strong brines, like beer or wine brines, are best for red meat. I find a simple salt brine or citrus brine is best for turkey.

#5 DO rub turkey with olive oil or butter before you add a spice rub. This will help combat the somewhat rubbery skin that can occur from slow and low cooking.

#6 DON'T stuff your smoked turkey. Stuffing lowers the center temperature of the turkey. Because of the low temps for smoking (180-220), stuffing won't allow the bird to get up to a proper safe internal temperature. I'll discuss the stuffing conundrum in my next post.

#7 DO remind your guests, in particular your mother, that smoking causes the meat to turn pink. It's a different pink than a turkey that is undercooked. Undercooked turkeys are pink in the center, closest to the bone. Smoked turkeys are pink throughout.

Those are just a few tips dealing with the very beginning and the very end of smoking one's turkey. I'll discuss the middle part, the cooking part, in my next posts this week.

Brining the Bird 101 (Repost)

This is a repost from a Thanksgiving series I did in 2009. I won't repost the entire series, but brining your turkey before smoking is both essential and simple. Without further ado....
For Turkey Week today the Barbecue 101 class is about BRINES.

What is brine? It is a combination of water or other liquids, with salt and often sugar. Brines add flavor and more importantly, moisture to the meat.

How does it work? For a brine to do it's magic, it must a) fully cover the meat and b) be saltier than the meat itself. The meat draws in the salt, and the liquid with it, to equalize the salt ratio. It makes sense, when you think about it. There aren't "salty spots" in an ocean, or "almost fresh water" areas. Salt water is salt water. I know there is a scientific answer for this, but it's late while I'm writing and I don't want to get on an oceanography google fest tangent. If any of you want to chime in, please do.

What goes into a brine? Water and salt are all you really need, but it's fun to add other flavors. A large turkey isn't going to take on much flavor inside the meat from a rub. That will remain on the skin, or just under as we will discuss in the Thursday recipe. A brine is an excellent way to infuse other flavors into your turkey. Sugar and vinegars are popular. So is beer or other alcohols. I like these on large cuts of pork or beef, but find they overpower turkey.

I get surprisingly traditional at holiday time. I just can't teriyaki my turkey. I love the simple flavors of citrus, garlic, and herbs. Below is a variation of the Citrus and Clove Brine featured in She-Smoke (pg. 63). For examples of other brine recipes, click here. My turkey was pretty big for smoking (14lbs), and I used a 5-gallon bucket so I made a brine batch and a half. If you fill a large plastic bag with your brine and turkey, you can make less brine solution.

Holiday Turkey Brine

2 gallons water
2 cups kosher salt
3 tbls. pepper corns plus 1 tbls. ground pepper
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
1/2 grapefruit, cut into wedges
1 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves

As a general rule, you need to submerge a turkey an hour for every pound, for a maximum of 48 hours. Too long in the brine and the meat can get mushy. Once brining is done, rinse the turkey and pat it dry with paper towels before adding your rub and cooking. The Thursday recipe will cover preparing and smoking a turkey.

Any questions, class? Please post them in the comments so that everyone can benefit from the discussion.

Stuffed Turkey Breast with Orange-Maple Glaze

Whether you want a new turkey breast recipe for a weekday dinner, or have a smaller gathering at Thanksgiving this year, here is a post I hope you'll like that I wrote for Char-broil Live.

The other day a friend of mine bemoaned the fact that she would be having a quiet Thanksgiving this year. She loves turkey dinner with all the trimmings but the thought of “all that work” just for two, and having to process most of the turkey for the freezer, was making her rethink the menu. She wasn’t fishing for an invite. In fact, she was looking forward to her first quiet Thanksgiving in her 42 years.


Read the rest of the post and recipe HERE!

I'll be posting more about turkey and some trimmings this month. If anyone has questions they'd like answered, please e-mail me at julierbq at q dot com and I'll put it on the list to discuss this month!