Smokin' - The Big Easy® Is Your Entry Into The Big Leagues

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and nothing is going to treat your bird better. How often have you wanted to make big league BBQ but you didn't have the big league equipment to do it. You don't have a 30 foot rig with decals and and a pit master to go with it nor do you have the space to park something like this. Drum roll please - in walks The Big Easy your answer, your ticket, your golden egg. Living in New York City I don't have room for a big rig but if I did you know I would get one so instead I get all my smoking and low and slow bbq action done in my Big Easy. Big turkey day will be here before you know it so whether its a big bird, a small bird or several little birds you want to be ready now.

Hey maybe you don't want to make turkey this year - then don't - no one said you have to so instead make some ribs.

I get my ribs ready by boldly rubbing them down with an exotic mix of chiles and spices.

The tall rack is ideal for ribs, I am also using the optional rib hooks that attach to the basket.

I have the electrical unit because I already have a large charbroil grill with a propane tank and I don't want to have too many propane tanks up on my roof for safety reasons. This unit gets nice and hot. I usually fill the smoker drawer with left over rosemary sticks that I save up.

You know I just had to show you how perfect the ribs are.

I like to switch things up when I make a bbq sauce - this one is a cactus fruit and habanero sauce that is sweet, tangy and tropically spicy.

The Big Easy is awesome. You get a nice smoke ring, you get depth of flavor, you get it cooked perfectly because of the built in thermometer and heat settings, you get to show off. I have made turkey, porchetta, leg of lamb and lots and lots of ribs and every single thing has come out perfectly cooked. If you are short on space but you want to be long on flavor I wholeheartedly recommend you get your hands on a Char-Broil Big Easy. I actually don't know what I would do without it, grilling is one thing but low and slow smoking and making BBQ is something else entirely. You will love it.

Maybe you want to make a leg of lamb - then do it.

Lamb so Juicy, so flavorful so delicious I want some right now.

What about a nice juicy Porchetta - can't you taste that crispy skin?

Traditional turkey is always a winner  - hands down. Juicy breast, crispy skin, moist and smoky flavor - its making my mouth water just typing this.

So what ever you choose, be it a big turkey a few racks of ribs, a leg of lamb or a crispy skinned porchetta you can bet The Big Easy is gonna make it easy. Don't these fine BBQ's items look awesome. Good BBQ takes time. For something special this Thanksgiving - go with The Big Easy.

*I am a char-broil all-star and I get compensated for my opinion

The Kamado Smoker and Grill (cookbook review)

If you are looking for a cookbook that takes you from soup to nuts explaining things that both the novice and the seasoned outdoor cook can appreciate then this is the book for you. This book is filled with recipes that everyone can appreciate.

Tips, everyone wants tips and tricks and you will find them numbered and with a nice large banner so you know where they are. Don't know what reverse searing is? You will find the answer in this book.

While the book is loaded with pictures and step by step visual instructions I do think there could have been a few full page images of some of these delicious dishes. All in all this is a great cookbook and you don't necessarily have to have a Kamado Smoker to benefit from all the good advice as these tips and techniques have cross over to any backyard grill set up that you may have. Go out an pick up a copy.


I received a free copy of this book to review and secondly the author is one of my colleagues as a Char-Broil AllStar.

chicken - its whats for dinner

Check out my latest post for Char-Broil - I call it Malibu Chicken!

Gotta Feed The Kid™ - You Keep Seeing This - I know!

Gotta Feed The Kid™ 

is a little project I am working on - and I admit I am moving pretty slow. I did secure the URL and I have bounced the idea around with a few "people" to enthusiastic responses but like I said I am moving pretty slow. 

You might have noticed me mentioning it a lot on my FaceBook Page - that is about as far as I have come with this and I am hoping to kick start it a little more.

Today was a simple lunch of pulled pork I made in my Char-Broil Big Easy . Trouble free cooking. 

I made a simple yellow mustard with agave, lemon juice and white vinegar "bbq sauce" to go with these sandwiches. Delicious.

One of the most popular and frequent dishes is what we call "Food Truck Chicken" and this is based off this little to go platter that my son likes to get just outside his school from a Halal Food Truck. There is a Mosque just up the block so this food truck is strategically placed.

My son is also my food tester so he gets to eat a lot of pretty food too.

I am hoping to find the time to commit to this project with all the attention it deserves and I hope that by posting this publicly I will - wish me luck.

Creative Cooking Crew Challenge - RICE

Rice is one of those things that you either make all the time or you don't - I make rice in all its forms all the time.

Forbidden rice pudding - this has coconut milk and toasted peanuts.

Risotto of all kinds all the time - this is a summer risotto with squash blossoms and baby zucchini.

I also just make rice that we have with stir fry - one is my take on General Tso's chicken and the other is a mix of chicken and shrimp.

Indian food is a popular favorite around here and this is my version of Madras chicken. So you can clearly see that rice is my friend. For this months challenge I didn't get too far out of my comfort zone of using rice as a side dish. I made chicken and rice.

I took some seasoned chicken breasts and some seasoned venison and some asparagus tips and I rolled them together with a little transglutaminase and then I vacuum sealed them and let them "rest" in the bags for about 40 minutes to seal everything up nice and tight.

I then took these sealed pouches and immersed them in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes at about 150F to tighten everything up all nice and cozy. While all this was happening I sautéed up some kabocha squash and I sliced up a pear and a beet that I had boiled earlier and let cool. I also made a blackberry gastric because everybody likes a little acidity wouldn't you say. As odd as this might sound I tried to imagine what the venison and the poultry would be consuming in a free range world and tried to match up my flavors based on that.

 

I took the simmered chicken, venison and asparagus rolls and first browned them in a pan whole then I sliced them into medallions and browned the bottoms to add a nice little caramelization to an already tasty dish. All of this went on to a plate with some black Thai sticky rice, and while this rice is usually used for dessert I found its subtle sweet flavor and nuttiness a nice addition with some puffed rice for crunch and here you have it - chicken and rice.

Here is my chicken and rice - for the Creative Cooking Crew Challenge - Rice. Check out all the others HERE - thanks Laz for organizing this!

mediterranean chicken in the lower east side of manhattan - aka "belly dancing chicken"

Through the magic of cooking and blogging I am able to transform regular ingredients into exotic ingredients from far away lands with the application of herbs, spices and heat all in a two hour span. I know that may sound like some kind of tricky mumbo jumbo but its absolutely true. Take this chicken for example: yesterday evening a long time friend, a buddy I have known since we were both 18 years old or so calls me up and says "I have some chicken breasts and I am thinking of grilling them, do you have any ideas?" Well thats like asking if there is sand on the beach - of course I have ideas. Fortunately my friend is usually pretty well stocked so when I asked him about mint he said "growing in the garden" and when I asked about feta cheese he said "a half pound in the fridge" so before you know it he was pounding out his chicken and spreading this mediterranean mixture I had described to him inside the flattened breasts and rolling them back up and tossing them on the grill. We also discussed a potato that was first parboiled then sliced and rubbed with olive oil, oregano and coarse salt that was also grilled. (he sent me a picture from his cell phone)

The consensus between his 9 year old daughter, her 9 year old friend who was over for dinner, his girlfriend and him was - no leftovers - so as much he was hoping to save some for a nice lunch these delights disappeared faster than a wizard in a sandstorm. Well, since I now have mint and lemon zest and chicken and oregano on my mind - I had to get busy.

I had chicken thighs not breasts so I made a nice rub but since I didnt have feta I had to use goat cheese and since I didnt have a garden with fresh mint I had to use some dried mint I had dried myself from my last mint purchase so my version was going to be slightly different. I made a nice mixture in my mortar and pestle of goat cheese, garlic, oregano, mint, lemon zest, salt and olive oil and this was rubbed all over the thighs then I ground fresh pepper over the whole lot and they were allowed to rest in this for half an hour before they were first seared on the stove top then popped in a hot oven.

Chicken is out of the oven looking perfect and doing its resting thing while I slice some cucumbers and fluff up the rice with some of the marinade that I had reserved on the side just for this very flavor footprint, I wanted everything to stroll harmoniously together.

Now if you cant tell these are three different plates then you have no business in my kitchen. The flavors were outstanding, the chicken was juicy with a nice crispy skin, the rice danced ever so seductively with the rest of the plate - it was like belly dancing with out the music and with out the belly dancer but with everything thing else that makes you feel exotic, a little of the far away right here in Manhattan.

Vegemite

Having somehow created a challenge for myself I will attempt a Vegemite recipe. The Kraft site was easy to look at and they kept playing the Vegemite song making my visit entertaining. I really liked the little quiche idea so I am going to try something on those lines.






I changed my mind I went for a chicken wing thing.



I looked at the Kraft recipe for Indian style chicken wings and came up with a variation. I mixed the Vegemite, with some red chile powder, celery salt, black pepper and buttermilk and I let the wings soak for a good long while. Drain the wings and deep fry in hot canola oil until golden and crunchy. They came out tangy and tasty and I think I will experiment with Vegemite more.