Steak Pizza

Our weather in southwestern Ontario tends to be not as harsh as the rest of Canada but we still see subzero temperatures and a fair amount of snowfall each year.  That does not deter us or many in our region from outdoor grilling.  The grill is typically very close to the back or patio door, within an easy shovelling distance if need be.  Our grill is under a soon to be enclosed roof on the deck making it a three season room.

The weather was unseasonably warm so we grilled rib steaks.  Now, these were quite large steaks at an inch and a half thick as hubby does not like grilling thin steaks.  We buy our beef in bulk so the abattoir does a custom cut for our meat.  He likes his steak rare while I like mine medium rare but on occasion will eat rare.  

The real focus of this meal was the lightly seasoned rib steaks.  We served them with campstyle potatoes and a Caprese salad.  The sweet basil is homegrown mainly hydroponically and in the Aerogarden.  I currently have several basil plants on the go and honestly, you can never have enough basil!  

Campstyle potatoes is a rather simple, versatile dish always made in cast iron usually with potatoes and onions but sometimes mushrooms.  Cast iron gives the perfect caramelization for this dish!

I know many will think this funny but we always have left-over steak.  That's just the nature of the beast.  On the other hand, we love cooking once but getting two or more different meals out of what we cook.  We try very hard to minimize food waste so lef-overs are used within a couple of days or froze for later use.

Left-over steak can be used in so many ways.  One of our favourites is as a sandwich in pita bread.  This time I made sourdough flatbreads for steak pizzas.  These were a bit of a spin on the Margherita pizzas.   Toppings included red onion, sweet basil, fresh tomato, steak and of course lots mozzarella cheese.  The end result was a delicious meal with very little effort.
 

Barbeque Rib Roast

Beef, venison and pork roasts lend themselves nicely to cooking on the outdoor grill.  They can be cooked directly on the grill racks, wrapped in foil, in a covered or uncovered pan or on a spit.  Roasts can be cooked without season, with a rub or sauce, or a combination of rub and sauce.  Regardless of the way they are cooked on the grill, roast turn out moist, tender and flavourful!

We cooked a rib roast in a covered pan with sauce on the grill.  While a regular roasting pan could have been used, I used an aluminum foil pan.  I poured a health dose of Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce over the roast then added half an onion cut into slices.  Then I covered the pan with aluminum foil and placed on medium indirect heat.  Mid-way through cooking, I added two large potatoes.  Potatoes cooked this way absorb flavours from the roast and sauce.

Adding saucer at the start of cooking gives the roast a lovely flavour throughout however, there is a risk of the sauce burning.  When cooking this way, you want the sauce to cook to the point of burning for the rich caramelization flavour but you don't want it to burn enough to cover the entire bottom of the pan or give the roast a burnt flavour.  This is why I used a disposable baking pan.

Despite first appearances with the burnt sauce edging on the pan, the rib roast comes out a sure fire winner!  The meat is richly flavour, melt in your mouth, fork tender.  It falls off the bone!  There is not as much sauce left as you would expect.  The thick sauce is perfect for topping the meat if desired.  Doesn't the meat look delicious?

This has to be one of our favourite ways to cook roasts during the hot summer months.  The results are consistently delicious!  Any barbeque sauce can be used so don't be afraid to experiment.  We like the deep rich, smokey flavour of Sweet Baby Ray's or bourbon whiskey grilling sauce. 

Barbeque Chicken

We were excited when we bought our vacation home in sunny Florida.  Not only did this make it possible for us to spend extended periods of time on vacation, it gave us a means to still enjoy home cooked meals.  Don't get me wrong as we do love eating out and fining new dining experiences while in Florida, but we also want our taste of home too.  Our vacation home is located in a resort community with a park-like setting and full amenities.  There are ample photo opportunities.  The house itself is a 2 bedroom plus den, 2 bathroom, 2007 Fleetwood manufactured home with carport and lanai.  Our vacation home kitchen is almost as well equipped as our home kitchen so cooking is not a problem.

We spent most of May at our vacation home arriving back in beautiful Ontario Wednesday night.  During our stay we enjoyed a lot of great food although this trip we ate out a bit less.  It was hot and humid with pop-up thunderstorms the last week of our stay but that didn't stop us from doing a bit of grilling.  Our meats of choice at our vacation home tend to be pork (loin,ribs), beef (steak, ground) and seafood even when eating out.  I spotted a lovely package of chicken legs with their backs attached when we were at Publix and thought that would be a nice change.

Years ago as newlyweds the only way we cooked chicken on the grill was with barbeque sauce.  The biggest problem with grilling chicken was always the flare-ups.  A friend told us to bring the chicken to a boil then drain and finish barbequing.  That method worked to remove some of the fat causing the flare-ups but it also removed flavour.  Overall, chicken cooked this way is grilled as the cooking time is fairly short.  We discovered using lower temperature and a beer spritz to control flare-ups then using a barbeque sauce as a wet mop during the last 15 minutes of cooking gave lovely, moist, barbeque results.  We haven't cooked chicken like this in ages.  I'm not sure why because it is ever so delicious!

The difference between grilling and barbequing is timing.  Grilling is short, quick and high heat sometimes using a marinade whereas barbequing is long, slow with low heat often using a dry rub and/or wet mop (sauce).  Barbequed meats are moist, tender, and fall off the bone delicious.  The sauce is nicely caramelized but not burnt or charred. 

Method:  Heat the grill to medium.  Place the chicken on the grill.  Cook the chicken slowly turning when the first side just starts to brown.  If flare-ups occur, spritz with water or beer.  Continue cooking the chicken turning as needed until both sides are a light golden brown.  Apply the sauce, coating generously.  Cook until sauce begins to caramelize.  Turn the chicken and apply sauce on the other side.  Cook until caramelized. 

WildSide Bar & Grille in Kissimmee, Florida

My husband and I spent our fall vacation (October 2 - 23, 2012) at our vacation home in sunny Florida.  This vacation is very much a family, friends and golf vacation which means we end up making a few trips to two different airports depending on where family and friends are flying into and out of.  We arrived in Tampa late on October 2 then made the drive to our vacation home.  My husband's sister and her pre-teen arrived on October 5 on a bit earlier flight in Orlando to spend the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend with us.  We decided to go for dinner before picking them up.  So we pointed Lucy (our GPS) in the direction of a restaurant we wanted to try close to the airport.  That ended up in a field of nothing!  We told Lucy to take us to our next choice and again were greeted with an empty field.  So, we drove around heading towards downtown Orlando where we found a nice little gem of a restaurant.

We are huge barbecue and grilling fans.  Although the terms are used interchangeably  there is a difference.  Barbeque is low, slow cooking (hours) which gives tender, juicy, fall off the bone results.  Grilling is high heat that seals in the juices giving nice hash marks.  The best of both worlds combined with smoking is to do the BBQ then finish off with grilling.  Well, we spotted a huge smoker outside of a restaurant and knew that was it so we stopped in for dinner.

WildSide Bar & Grill has three locations, two in Orlando and one in Kissimmee.  We stopped at the Kissimmee location at 7725 W. Highway 192 just a short distance from the Walt Disney World Resort.  There is a really lovely piece of wall art on the side of the building where we parked (to left of photo out of camera range).  I was going to include it as well but five pictures is about the maximum for a blog post.  There is covered outdoor seating on the front porch and in the gazebo, both facing Highway 192 (W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy).  After taking several pictures, we decided to eat indoors out of the misty rain, high humidity and threatening a heavier shower.

Just take a look at this gorgeous smoker set-up. Isn't it impressive?  I would have loved to see it in action so that is on our to-do list for our winter vacation.  The black smoker unit on the far right is a separate smoker from the larger unit.  The larger grey unit is part of their full service catering for any special occasion but I imagine they fire it up on premises as well.

We dodged the rain, noting patrons enjoying a drink and bit of quiet time on the covered patio shielded from the rain.  It looked cozy and inviting but in Florida with rain comes humidity so we made our way into the restaurant to the comforts of air conditioning.

Oh my, this place immediately hit you with a warm and welcoming feeling.  It has almost a British pub feeling yet more.  The restaurant is two levels high, with a lot of wood.  To the right on the lower level is an open fire grill.  The picture was taken from our table just to the bottom of the picture right beside the last opening in the wood railing.  There were an abundance of HD televisions to indulge in as many sports as desired.  Now this place definitely had atmosphere!

We were promptly greeted and the wait staff made us feel like they had nothing else to do but wait on us.  They were extremely friendly, very attentive to our needs, and just downright pleasant.    The wait staff themselves make this a must stop at restaurant.  They are absolutely delightful!  This is a very good indication that management here treats their staff well which is reflected in the service they give to their patrons.

The restaurant offers a variety of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes, chicken, ribs and seafood.  My husband told me to order the lobster tails which normally I would be very tempted but I was in the mood for good BBQ.

After our drink orders, a photographer came around to take our picture.  We declined.   We often get one of the waitresses to take a picture of us anyway but we prefer having the photo on our camera where we have control of where it goes.   We aren't comfortable having our pictures online but that doesn't appear to be the case with WildSide.  It's more of a souvenir photo to remember your visit to the WildSide.

We knew we had to meet a flight so didn't have a lot of spare time after encountering a large detour to get around a massive accident.  Surprisingly, we did not have to wait long for our meals at all even though we never told our waiter that.  Our meals came with a small loaf of warm bread that was brought out within a few minutes of ordering followed by my salad.  My husband ordered the half rack of baby back ribs ($15.99) that came with a choice of two sides.  Extra sides are available at a small charge if desired.  The ribs were dry rubbed then grilled to perfection.  He had macaroni $ cheese and BBQ baked beans as the sides.  As promised, the baby back ribs were grilled to perfection -  mouth-watering, tender and flavourful.  He was quite pleased with his meal!

I ordered the half smoked chicken ($12.99) that came with a choice of two sides.  My side choices were roasted red potatoes and a garden salad with Thousand Island dressing (not pictured).  My gosh, the potatoes were delicious perfectly complementing the chicken.  The chicken was nicely seasoned, delightfully tender and aromatic.  They really could have done without the nachos to help fill up the plate as they didn't go with anything.  Besides, with warm loaves of bread who needs nachos?  This proved to be too large of a serving for me but then I wasn't feeling well to begin with.  I would have loved to take the left-overs back to the vacation home but we didn't have a cooler with us.  We still had to pick up my husband's sister and young one at the airport then make our way back to our vacation home.

The only negative thing I can say about this restaurant is I wish we had a bit more time to relax and enjoy it. With Lucy taking us on wild goose chases we lost a bit of time and even though their plane took off 15 minutes late, they arrived early so we got the phone call midst meal they had just landed.  It was skedaddle time but rest assured this is going to be one restaurant we will be revisiting during our winter vacation!

The Turtle's Nest Restaurant at the Costa Linda Beach Resort in Aruba

During our spring vacation split between Florida and Aruba, we enjoyed a wide variety of great foods.  Dining in Aruba was quite delightful affording us opportunities to try Caribbean cuisine.  Caribbean cuisine has a distinctive Netherlands Antillean flavour, a mingling of diverse cultures and dishes of the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Indonesia, and West Africa.  Some dishes distinguished by their Papiamento names are exclusive to the islands.  Some of the ingredients like prickly pear, mawby bark, plantains, concomber (a light green spiny cucumber), piccalily, and aromatic herbs just tantalize the tastebuds!  Seafood in one for or another is available at every restaurant on the island.  Dining in Aruba is an experience it itself.   Tourism is the island's largest industry and they certainly do treat tourists like royalty!

Executive Chef John van Hoven completed the menu for the Turtle's Nest Restaurant at the Costa Linda Beach Resort in Aurba that includes two seafood signature dishes daily, one highlighting shrimp, the other fresh fish.  The restaurant offers a very popular breakfast and lunch menu as well theme night dinners.  My husband and I enjoy grilled foods year round so it isn't surprising that we were excited to find The Turtle's Nest  offered a Tuesday Night Caribbean All You Can Eat Bar-b-Que.  It immediately went onto our agenda as a must eat at restaurant which wasn't difficult as we were staying at the Costa Linda Beach Resort.

The Tuesday night Caribbean all you can eat bar-b-que ($19.95) consists of southern style glazed bbq ribs or grilled bbq chicken legs or grouper fritters or a combination of all three served with French fries, cole slaw, baked beans and fresh baked corn bread.  We each ordered the combination to try both meats and fish.  All were delicious!  The grouper fritters had a light, tangy lemon sauce that was quite tasty.  Both the beans and cole slaw came in small serving bowls.  The ribs were fall off the bone tender with a nice flavour as was the chicken.  The seasons were definitely Antillian, richly aromatic with just a hint of heat, yet pleasant on the palate.  The cornbread was scrumptious!  I didn't care for the fries as they weren't fresh cut which is the only negative I can say about the meal.  True to their word they refilled our plates when requested making this an excellent deal.

This BBQ menu is very much like what we would offer for a larger get together during the summer months except grill baked or camp style scallop potatoes would be substituted for the fries.  I really would like to duplicate the grouper fritters.  Grouper is a wide-mouth fish similar to wide-mouth bass (here in Ontario, Canada).  It is rather popular in Florida so we can get it when at our vacation home but so far I have not been able to find grouper here.  Both small and large mouth bass are popular fresh-caught fish here but not available in the frozen food section.  Unlike grouper that is usually breaded in Florida, it is usually pan fried with no or little coating.  Large mouth bass would likely be a good substitute fish for the fritters.

Fancy Hot Dogs

As a foodie my camera is always close by.  I take a multitude of food related pictures on any given day.  The pictures are not restricted to those dishes I have made but rather encompass anything food related that strikes my fancy.  I take pictures of food in restaurants, diners, community events as well a photograph recipes I want to try from magazines when flipping through them in waiting rooms. I am particularly fond of taking pictures in the bakery section of supermarkets.  Some of the foods are just so delicious looking and then, there is the presentation.

A few days ago, we were in a supermarket where I spotted they absolutely gorgeous fancy hot dogs.  Two things immediately popped into mind.  First, these fancy hot dogs would be a lovely, unique addition to BBQ ideas for a family get-together even though they are not actually grilled.  Although, they could easily be baked on the outdoor grill.  The second thing that came mind is that these fancy hot dogs really would not be difficult to make.

You could use Pillsbury* crescent rolls (refrigerator section of grocery store) or pre-made puff pastry (freezer section of grocery store) or homemade puff pastry as the fancy hot dogs are all about presentation.  The bottom of hot dog is a solid sheet of pastry for the wiener to rest on.  The top dough is a fancy pastry cut using a series of alternating slits on the folded dough  then gently stretched open.  Once in place covering the wiener, simply seal the edges.  Bake at 400°F/200°C until the crust is golden brown.

Smoking - A New Culinary Adventure for 2011

Smoked Turkey Drumsticks

(St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida)

December 20, 2010

I've spent a bit of time since our winter vacation going through all 1,780 pictures I took while away.  A large number were of course of foods we enjoyed while away.  It didn't take long for a general them to emerge either.  It would appear we focused on BBQ - long, slow, wood smoked BBQ.  It wasn't planned, it just happened that way.  We enjoyed some of the best Q!

BBQ seemed to be available just about everywhere we went.  What was interesting is take-out BBQ was available at venues like Busch Gardens and St. Pete Times Forum.  Pictured are the smoked turkey drumsticks at Boneyard BBQ Company in the St. Pete Times Forum.  They were priced at $8.50 the same price as their BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.  Oh my, did they ever look gorgeous!  We didn't have any because we had eaten at The Luxury Box just across from the Forum.

I have been wanting a smoker for quite some time but after this vacation, I now know I need a smoker!  So I've been doing a bit of research.  I found plans on how to convert an old refrigerator into a smoker similar to what Michael Smith uses.  I found smokers that attach to grills, smokers that stand alone, an electric pressure smoker and several plans for building my own.  I even found a way to smoke meat on the stovetop that I might try just to see how it works.  Smokers tend to be fueled by wood, gas (natural or propane), electricity.  What I want is a wood smoker that uses only wood.  It is supposed to be the best way to smoke meats and fish.  The Ontario Government has annouced that our hydro bills will increase 7.9% annually over the next 5 years so an electric smoker is out of the question.  I'm not sure what style I want yet as to whether movable or stationary.  I'm getting a lot of good ideas from Smoking Meat so I will have a good knowledge base when I get or build my

Mike's Smokehouse BBQ and Grill, Tampa Bay, Florida

I have been in the market for a smoker for quite some time.  As a result we have had the great pleasure of checking out a lot of BBQ featuring smoked meats, mainly pork but also chicken and beef.  Smoking adds characteristic flavour and colouring to the meat.  In general there are two types of BBQ, dry or wet.  Dry BBQ starts off with a dry rub that the meat may sit in for a period of time to absorb the flavours before long, slow smoking.  A sauce may or may not be mopped on during the final hour of smoking.  The ideal temperature for smoking is 225ºF to 250ºF.

Mike's Smokehouse BBQ and Grill is located at 7117 N US Hwy 301, Tampa Bay, Florida.  The restaurant has been extended from the original trailer that housed it.  Mike's is a small two level, family friendly, restaurant packed full of a lot of character.  There is outdoor seating available.  It is casual dining set in a friendly atmosphere.  There is a kid's menu for the little ones.  Daily specials keep the prices quite low.  Catering and take-out are available as well.

Mike's features slow smoked BBQ ribs, chicken and the usual BBQ sides and appetizers.  One appetizer looked rather interesting - BBQ nachos made with BBQ pulled pork.  That would be an easy one to duplicate at home so we chose the gator basket as an appetizer.  Unfortunately we did not get to meet the pit master but the waitress was extremely friendly.  Of note, the only alcoholic beverage served at Mike's is draft beer at $1 per draft all day long.  Beer pairs nicely with BBQ.
  

The gator basket (pictured) consists of a generous portion of breaded alligator pieces served with a spicy dipping sauce.  Although alligator is sold frozen as ribs, steaks or fillets we have yet to have found it in any form other than deep fried, breaded nugget style.  It is usually paired with a rather spicy dipping sauce as well. 

Alligator is a white meat with a texture and flavour similar to frog legs.  The one word everyone in our group used to describe the texture is rubbery.  The meat does have a bit of resistance similar to lobster although it lacks the sweetness of lobster.  I rather like it as did my husband and the kids so it would be a meat I would try cooking at home.

We of course ordered the ribs.  Everyone ordered a side of baked beans.  We also ordered sides of baked beans and BBQ corn on the cob.  They were dry BBQ using a tasty dry rub then long smoked until tender with just a little resistance.  They had a wonderful flavour.  The ribs were a little fattier as they weren't baby back ribs but that just added to the flavour.  The BBQ corn on the cob was a real treat!  It was the smaller kernel, hybrid white sweet corn.  The flavour was a tantalizing mixture of sweet and smokey.  The baked beans were amazing!  They had a deep, rich smokey flavour.  What was different about these baked beans is the addition of pulled pork giving them extra flavour and texture.  We ended up bringing home a 32 oz. container of the baked beans.  They were that good.

Mike's is definitely not on the expensive side.  Our total came to $59.51 for four adults including the take-out container of baked beans.  This is another restaurant that has made it onto our must visit when in the area.

Rickard Ridge BBQ, Caryville, Tennessee

One of our favourite events to attend are ribfests.  These are competition events where ribbers compete for the title of best ribber with the public having the opportunity to taste some of the best ribs around.  Many of the ribbers come from across Canada and even as far away as Texas to compete in the ribfests.  It is always a great pleasure to find a competition ribber with their own restaurant to enjoy award winning BBQ. 

Rickard Ridge BBQ is located inside Cove Lake State Park at 131 Goose Lane in Caryville, Tennessee (I-75, Exit 134).   The restaurant overlooks Cove Lake with a view of the Cumberland Mountains.  Rickard Ridge BBQ is owned and operated BBQ Pitmaster Mark Rickard.  The restaurant is well known for it's BBQ.  Signature dishes are chicken thighs, baby back ribs and pulled pork all slow smoked.  Live Bluegrass music is featured every Monday and Thursday starting around 6:30 pm.  Every Thursday night all you can eat catfish is featured for only $11.99.   The restaurant does not serve alcoholic beverages which helps keep the meal prices quite affordable.  They currently offer catering and wedding packages as well as group take out specials.  The restaurant is planning expanding their service by offering their signature BBQ dishes ordered from their website sent directly to your door.

My husband ordered a full rack of dry rub baby back ribs slow smoked  Memphis style, a signature dish of Rickard's Ridge BBQ.  The rib rub is a secret blend of spices developed by Mark.  No BBQ sauce is used during the cooking process.  Rather their homemade BBQ sauces are available on the side for dipping if desired.  The meal came with a choice of two sides and a dinner roll.  His sides were baked beans and French fries.  My husband declared the ribs some of the best he has ever had.  I tasted them and oh my gosh, to borrow a phrase from Guy Fieri "that's some good Q!"

I ordered the pulled pork bbq, another of the restaurant's signature dish.  I chose a baked potato and baked beans as the sides.  The pulled pork is rubbed with a secret blend os spices.  It is hickory smoked, long and slow to perfection.  The tender, melt in your mouth pulled pork had an amazing flavour!

Both meals were served very much competition style containers, something that reminded me of the ribfests we so enjoy attending.  Our total came to $30.55 which was certainly a reasonable price.  We brought the left-over ribs and pulled pork to enjoy the next day.  The meat reheated quite nicely.

Mark has been part of an award winning competitive BBQ team for several years.  I asked the waitress if it would be possible to see the smokers.  Mark proudly showed us the smokers and he should be proud of these beauties that are the bones behind the restaurant.  The smaller one (pictured) was happily smoking away filling the chilly night air with a mouth watering aroma.

Even the small smoker is an impressive size.  I know from seeing the ribber competitions that problems can happen with the smokers in the cooler weather.  True to form, like most ribbers Mark has his smokers sheltered from the wind which is important when doing a long, slow smoke where keeping the cooking temperature constant is a must.  Ideally the temperature should be between 225ºF and 250ºF.  The cooking time is about 6 hours for ribs.  When fully cooked the meat will tear from the bone with a little resistance.

Mark also has two larger smokers big enough to each hold a whole pig!  They were not in use during our visit but it's the off season with cooler temperatures.  It is quite apparent that he is a very knowledgeable and talented BBQ pitmaster!  We really enjoyed him taking his time to show us his smokers and tell us a bit about them.

The Rickard Ridge BBQ  has made it onto our list of must stops when in the area.  If you are in the Caryville, Tennessee area on I-75 be sure to stop by for some of the best Q you will ever taste!  Do say hi for us and that we will be visiting again soon.  Kudos to Mark Rickard and thanks so much!

Kitchen Quick Tips - Hamburg Patties

When shaping homemade hamburg patties make a shallow divot or even a hole in the middle. This will allow the burgers to cook faster without the outsides getting overcooked and prevent the pillowing. The hole disappears as the burger cooks.

He Said (1) - Texas-Style Barbecued Chicken Legs

I mentioned to my husband that we were in a bit of a grilling rut. Now that really isn't much of a problem in one sense because we are preparing tried and true grilling methods. Considering we basically like our steaks cook unseasoned so the meat itself shines and ribs are always slow barbequed, well as you can see we are in a bit of a rut. So my husband and I have come up with a bit of a way to spark up our grilling. From now until the end of August we are going to be doing a he said/she said recipe discovery. This essentially will be 6 weeks where he makes a recipe and she responds with a recipe so essentially what we should end up with 12 new recipes and out of those 12 hopefully we will find one or two that become a family favourite. I will mark each post with a he said/she said followed by a number so in the end there should be 6 of each. The first week of September I will post a poll looking for votes on what you thought was the best recipe. So plan to make each recipe and vote at the end our our little he said/she said contest for the best recipe. May the best (ahem) cook win!

Inspiration

To make the contest fair we decided all the recipes had to come from the same cookbook. Since it's summer and the main grilling season we settled on the Better Homes and Garden New Grilling Book, 2005 by Meredith Corporation. Now the rule is the recipe has to be followed as is without modification of ingredients other than the amount of added. For example if a recipe calls for ingredients A, B and C then all three ingredients must be used but can be reduced or increased if desired.

As you can see I already have a few recipes tagged with post-it notes to try. My husband on the other hand dog eared his recipe! Now that might be fine for some people but dog earing one of my books is sacriligious so he heard about it. Anyway, those are the rules and I doubt he will dog ear another one of my books. Other than that it should be a good bit of fun.

On the Grill

My husband chose the Texas-style Barbecued Chicken Legs on page 270 of the cookbook. What was very interesting about the way the chicken was cooked was a different method of creating indirect heat on the grill. We have used two methods of grilling chicken. The first applies mainly to boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The meat is grilled on indirect heat over the burner that is not turned on. The second method for skin on chicken involves par-boiling the chicken, draining then finishing on the grill. Both methods work quite nicely but are still subject to minor flare-ups. This method called for placing a tray of water over both burners set to medium heat with the chicken on the grate above. This method virtually eliminated any flare-ups! Pictured is the chicken legs as they were cooking and with the sauce.

Texas-Style Barbecued Chicken Legs
source: Meredith Corporation, Better Homes and Garden New Grilling Book, 2005. Pp. 270

½ cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp ground sage
1 tbsp butter
½ cup ketchup
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
½ tsp hot pepper sauce
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
6 whole chicken legs

Prepare onion and garlic. Place onion, garlic, chili powder, sage and butter in saucepan. Cook until onion is tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except for chicken. Brig to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes then remove from heat. Heat the grill to medium. Place the chicken legs bone sides up on grill over the filled drip pan. Grill for 50 to 60 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink, turning once halfway through the grilling. Brush with the sauce during the last 10 minutes of grilling. Heat remaining sauce until bubbly to spoon over the chicken.

Texas-Style Barbecued Chicken Legs

Pictured is the Texas-style Barbecued Chicken Legs my husband made. I paired them with Arborio rice cooked in homemade chicken stock with a little butter and tomato slices on a bed of Chinese mustard and Grand Rapids lettuce fresh cut from the garden. I garnished the tomato slices with Vadalia onion wedges.

I really have to say this is one of the best barbequed chicken I've tasted! The method of grilling virtually eliminated any charring yet the chicken was moist, tender and flavourful. Adding to the perfectly grilled chicken was the wonderfully flavoured sauce. Now this sauce is really quite tasty and it is one that I will be modifying for canning. The sauce was amazing with a deep, rich flavour! My husband made two changes reducing the chili powder and hot sauce by half. The sauce was very easy to make using ingredients most cooks would have on hand.

Social Event Barbeque

Last Saturday night we were invited to a social event hosted by a service club in a community about 40 minutes from us. I've mentioned before on this blog how much I enjoy going to local food events. They are always filled with good food, lots of laughter and tend to be overall just a very lovely way to spend and evening.

Taygur Barbecue on Wheels

Saturday's dinner was a barbequed rib and chicken dinner catered by Taygur Barbecue on Wheels for the social event. I couldn't find a website for them which is a pity because their food is really good! The ribs were nice and meaty with lots of flavour as was the chicken. The ribs and chicken were served with baked potatoes, baked beans, a vegetable mix as well as the usual rolls. The vegetable mix included parsnips a vegetable that is not widely served unless requested. Parsnips look like carrots but are usually a creamy, yellowish white and they have a stronger flavour. Now parsnips by them selves may be too strong from some tastes but they add a lot of flavour to soups and stews. Parsnips are also quite lovely roasted served they way they were. The baked beans were quite tasty, rich and robust with larger pieces of onion and tomato. They also had a lovely fruit tray, something that is not always served at these types of events. Overall this was really a nicely presented meal that packed a lot of flavour. We will certainly be watching for their name to come up again when determining which events to go to.

For the most part these types of events cost $8 to $12 per plate. There is usually some type of social either structured or unstructured takes place after the meal. They are usually dinners but some service clubs host breakfasts and luncheons as well. On our list to attend events to attend for February are a pickerel fish fry, a roast beef dinner and possibly a Chinese dinner. To find these kinds of events, check the community section of your local newspaper.

A Burger With Attitude for Canada Day 2008

Happy Canada Day

Many people celebrate Canada Day by having get-togethers that include grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. In our neck of the woods we are hoping that the latest trend of raining almost daily will end. Today we woke to more rain and winds out of the north so the temperature had dropped quite a few degrees. We are planning to do a little boating tomorrow depending on the weather. Grilling will likely be part of our celebrations if we don't stop at one of our favourite haunts while boating. Later in the evening weather permitting we will sit on the dock to enjoy the fireworks. We don't set them off ourselves but don't mind enjoying seeing various displays. I do hope the rain holds off and it warms a bit!

Burger With Attitude

I've mentioned before that my husband makes the most fantastic homemade burger patties using fresh ground beef. However, there is no reason that a burger always has to be made using ground beef. Saturday he decided to make burgers but with a twist. Instead of using just ground beef he added ground pork and turkey to the beef. Then end result was a flavourful, juicy burger with a noticeable but pleasant difference in taste.

The following recipe is for a large batch of patties with about a third used to make meatballs. We were entertaining that evening so the meatballs were cooked then went into the slow cooker with sauce for later. The burger patties freeze nicely either raw or cooked as does the cooked meatballs. This is something we regularly do when cooking for stocking the freezer with homemade convenience foods. It is a frugal use of time and the energy source used to cook the food.

Toppings: iceburg lettuce, aged sharp cheddar cheese, tomatoes, dill pickles, onions, jalapeno peppers
Condiments: Miracle Whip®, ketchup, mustard, relish

Combination Burger Patties

5 lb lean ground beef
2 lb ground pork
2 lb ground turkey
2 ½ dry bread crumbs
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1½ tbsp garlic pepper
¼ c Heinz 57 steak sauce

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl using your hands. Form into large patties* about 5 - inch diameter and ¾ - inch thick or form into 2 - inch meatballs**.

Grilling: The most important thing when grilling burgers besides having your grill set to the correct temperature (medium) is to never press the patty to flatten. Flattening forces all those lovely juices out of the burger and increases flare-ups. The second most import thing when grilling is to only flip the burger once. Use a large barbeque flipper to flip the burger to prevent the patty breaking. Flip when the patty is nicely browned with defined grill marks. Grill on the other side until the burger is nicely browned with well defined grill marks and the interior registers at least 71ºC/160ºF*** on an instant read thermometer***.

Frying (meatballs): Heat 2 to 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil on medium in a fry pan. Place meatballs in a single layer on the bottom of the fry pan. Fry until browned. Turn and continue cooking until browned through. Remove from fry pan using a slotted spoon. Repeat until all meatballs are cooked. If freezing allow to cool then flash freeze in a single layer and package into freezer bags. If using the same day, place in slow cooker, add sauce then set on low until ready to use.

* The patties will shrink in diameter and thicken while grilling. Alternately you can use a burger patty press if desired.
** A meatballer can be used for this.
*** The old advice to cook until no longer pink is no longer recommended. The inside can still look pink depending on whether the ground beef was fresh or frozen and how it was thawed when cooked to the proper temperature however, depending on where the ground meat was purchased can look brown before it is safely cooked. Therefore it is best to use an instant read thermometer to ensure your burgers have been cooked to the proper temperature.

Home Canned Barbeque Pork

There are many reasons for canning meats, poultry and fish. Quite often an excess of meats coincides when the freezer space is as well so canning is one method of being able to preserve the excess for later use. Jars of homecanned meats are convenient foods to have on your pantry shelf. They are already cooked so all you need to do is heat and serve. Canning allows you to take advantage of hunting and fishing but also allows you to take advantage of meat sales. Just as in other home canned foods, you can control the ingredients and tweak the flavours so it is a win-win situation.

A couple of question from my readers:

1. How many 6 quart baskets are there in a hamper? A. A hamper is 5/8 of an Imperial bushel or 32 quarts. There are 20 quarts in a hamper or 3 1/3 - 6 quart baskets.
2. Do you have a food preservation schedule for home use? A. I do not use an actual schedule because I follow the growing seasons for the heavy preserving season of May to October. Anything that can be canned or frozen outside of the growing season is fit in. For me this means starting with asparagus. Each crop lasts a certain length of time so that gives me a time frame to work in. For example strawberries start mid-June and generally runs for 11 days. During the time frame, I will focus on that crop but will also be doing other preserving.
3. Can vegetable beef soup be canned? A. Yes, vegetable beef soup and most soups can be canned providing they do not contain rice, barley, noodles, thickeners or dairy. The hot soup should be ladled into hot jars. Wipe the rim and adjust the two piece lids. Process in a pressure canner at 10 lb pressure 60 minutes for pints, 70 minutes for quarts.
   

As you know from my previous post, pork shoulder roasts are on sale for $1 per pound which is a very good price. My husband picked up a 16.4 lb piece that had not been cut into roasts yet for $16.40. The regular price would have been $53.97! I processed the first batch of roasts into canned shredded barbeque pork (read more here) and while the results were good, I was not pleased with the amount of fat in the jars. The focus of this batch of canned shredded barbeque pork was fat reduction.

Pork Roast Prep

This pork shoulder came cryovac sealed and was not cut into roasts. Since the meat contained a couple of bones, it was actually more convenient for cooking. I placed the pork shoulder into a large roasting pan fat side down. I knew I would be defatting later so fat side down made sense. That way I could lift meat later leaving as much fat and bone undisturbed as possible. The shoulder just fit the roaster!

The pork shoulder was prepared much the same way as the pork shoulder roasts. The nature of this cut is it will be fatty. The fat is needed for the long and slow cooking process. It keeps the meat tender while adding flavour so I did not cut any fat from the meat prior to cooking.

I rubbed Blazin BBQ Rib Rub into the surface of the pork shoulder. Then topped with Spanish onion slices. The onions add both moisture and flavour. Unlike the first method I used, the sauce was not added until the pork shoulder was about half way through the cooking process. The pork was cooked at 200ºF for 6 hours then the temperature was raised to 250ºF and the meat was allowed to cook for another 2 hours.

Defatting

Once the pork was cooked, I removed it from the oven. The pork was transferred to the lid of the roaster while the sauce was strained into a large saucepan. Using tongs and forks, I carefully pulled as much meat from the fat and bones as possible. I ended up with a large saucepan of strained sauce (1) two large baking pans of shredded meat (2). Both were allowed to cool then were refrigerated overnight.

The fat congealed on the surface of the sauce (1) that had taken on a jelly like consistency and yes the fat was that yellow having picked up colour from the sauce. I carefully removed as much fat as possible from the top of the sauce. There must have been a good almost two cups of fat, all that would not be going into my finished product!

The two baking pans of shredded meat were reshredded using forks. Any obvious pieces of fat were removed. The pans were covered with tinfoil then to heat in the oven set to 250ºF not only to heat for the canning process but also to allow and fat to melt out. While I knew this would not remove a lot of fat, any fat removed would be a good thing. Once the meat was heated, I brought the sauce to a boil then prepared for canning. The meat was put into hot jars leaving 1-inch headspace and hot sauce was ladled onto the meat leaving 1-inch headspace. I wiped the rims, adjusted the two piece lids then pressure canned at 10 lb pressure for 75 minutes (500 ml jars).

Comparison in the Jars

The end result was 7 - 500 ml jars of shredded pork barbeque roast and one gallon vacuum sealed freezer bag. In comparison to the first batch (1) the second batch (2) had considerably less congealed fat in the jars when they cooled. I had two concerns after the first batch cooled. The first was the amount of fat left in the final product. Lowering the fat for a healthier product was something I really wanted to do. The second concern was the aesthetics. A large amount of congealed fat in the jars simply does not look good. Reducing the fat in the finished product gave a much nicer result.

Overall, I'm pleased with the results of the defatting process for barbeque pork. The extra defatting steps did add more time and work so processing could not be done the same day but at the price, I have no complaints. This is something I'm willing to do to get a lower fat finished product. Any step that will result in a healthier homecanned version is always of primary concern for me. Now I have the method worked out for canning barbeque pork and have another pork should weighing in at 16.95 lbs, I will do up another batch using the defatting method.

A Food Filled Labour Day Weekend 2007

Waterside Entertainment
Sept. 1, 2007

As many of you already know we go to as many ribfests as possible. Canada's largest ribfest is held in Spencer Smith Park, Burlington, Ontario on the Labour Day Weekend. This is a family event for us each year. We left Thursday night so we could spend a whole day with our grandbaby while her Dad was at work and her Mom was getting her classroom ready for the new school year. That meant we got to spoil her a lot. In the early afternoon we took her shopping at IKEA. We saw a kitchen in their catalogue we liked so was considering it for our remodel. Then we stopped at Fortino's to get the ingredients for a homecooked dinner to surprise them when they got home. We bought rib steaks, baking potatoes, salad fixing and a few other goodies for a nice barbeque. Our grandbaby is now 8 months old and eats directly from her parents plates, steak included! The following morning our mouths were already watering in anticipation of sights and smells of the ribfest.

The smell of the ribfest hits you well before entering the enclosed area. The smokey aroma from wood fires intertwines with the sweet tang of sauces and rubs. From there it is sensory overload! The lines are long, the sun is hot and the people are friendly. The smells continue to entice along with the sights and sounds. The anticipation builds as you watch the ribbers in action. The ribs all look wonderful promising a lip smacking, finger licking culinary delight!

There were 16 ribbers at this year's ribfest:
Camp 31
Gator BBQ
Uncle Sam's BBQ
Bibb's BBQ
Turtle Jack's
Carolina Rub King
Hog's Gone Wild
Kentucky Smokehouse
Memphis BBQ
Billy Bones BBQ
Blazin BBQ
Howling Coyote BBQ
Jack on the Bone
Bone Daddy's
Silver Bullet
Toney Romas

Some ribbers were barbequing chicken and beef ribs this year so of course we just had to get some of those. Saturday was people's choice voting so some of the ribbers decorated their take-out packages. As per our normal quest at ribfests each family member gets $20 from my husband to go off, stand in line and bring back a rack of ribs except the designated ones to get corn, a blooming onion, fried vegetables and beverages. I had to get the blooming onion and fried vegetables this year.

We settled around a picnic table in the shade to enjoy six full racks of ribs from various ribbers, a blooming onion platter with fried vegetables and all dressed fried potatoes. With the exception of our grandbaby and daughter-in-law who expecting, the drink of choice was beer. The little one happy munched with as much gusto as the rest of us. Afterwards we chose the ribs we liked best and filled in our ballots. Camp31, Bone Daddy's and Hog's Gone Wild were our favourites. Sufficiently stuffed we packed up the left overs then headed to the ice cream stand. With treats in hand, we wandered through the rest of the ribbers and booths then strolled leisurely along the waterfront.

Part of the fun is finding sauces that made the "best of the previous year" all for sale for $6 each or 2 for $10. What we normally do is bring a list of the sauces that won best last year and we liked the ribs as well as picking up a bottle or two of sauce from the favourite ribbers of this year. I picked up two bottles of sauce from Uncle Sam's Albuquerque Style BBQ Sauce while my husband picked up Rib Rub from Blazin BBQ. He really liked the flavour of those ribs! Unfortunately their sauce is not available yet but should be soon. I was disappointed that Smokin' Joes wasn't there as I had wanted to buy more of their sauce. I was also disappointed that the Jet Set Spice Co. booth wasn't there either.


Our son and daughter-in-law took us to Whole Foods Markets in Oakville, Ontario. This supermarket specializes in organic and fair trade foods. The market is huge, a visual culinary delight! I could have stayed there for a few hours slowly going up and down the isles seeing many things that I can't easily get here. I bought Dabur Red Rose Water, Turtle Reef Alca Hawaiian Sea Salt and Organic GD Herbes de Provence. Unfortunately I was not able to buy much in the way of perishables because we had plans to stop at the Charity Casino in Brantford on the way home but the next trip I will be stocking up on a few items.

We arrived home in the early Monday morning hours yet I was up by 6:30 am ready to get the car unpacked and laundry done so I could get a bit of canning done. When I canned the caramelized onions, the canner had lost almost all of the water even though it had maintained pressure. While I hadn't noticed it in the rush to get ready to leave, I discovered the canner bottom had just slightly warped. Now I'm likely the only one who would have noticed this but it was cause for concern so I put the canner through the paces yesterday canning water. This is a standard canner test. Then as if we had not had enough ribs over the weekend, I put a rack of ribs on the grill for dinner much to my husband's delight.

Pork Roast

On Monday we celebrated our 30^th Anniversary by hosting a pig roast at our new house for our family and friends. A head count before dinner was 46 but people straggled in after that so the number served was likely closer to 55 with it growing to about 70 before the end of the evening. On the menu: roasted pig, roast beef, gravy, potato salad, pork & beans, roasted corn on the cob, coleslaw and macaroni salad. Snacks included: vegetable tray, fruit tray, potato chips and popsicles for the kids. Several people brought deserts and other snacks even though we had indicated not to so there was an abundance of food. Our daughter and daughter-in-law insisted that everyone took a care pack with them when they left and still there was a lot left over!

Marinating

The pig was 117 lbs and since we had to pick him up Saturday he spent most of Sunday in the commercial refrigerator of the restaurant of one of our friends. Sunday night the guys picked him up for marinating. The marinade was a mixture of orange juice, oranges, pineapple, lemons, garlic and spices. He slept in our lovely green tub (soon to be remodeled bathroom) while we prepared the yards and house for the party.

There was a lot of prep work to do setting up tables and getting the yards ready. Additional lighting had to be set up along with music. Outdoor speakers were installed the day before so we could hook up the iPod for continuous music. Tekki torches were added to the perimeter lighting to ward of bugs while giving a nice glow and complimenting the solar lighting. Three eight foot tables formed an L near the water and two eight foot tables were used as the food area in the patio.

Pork Roaster

The guys picked up the pork roaster on Saturday when they picked up the pig. They set it up in the yard between the house and garage out of the main party area. This was a practical location given that we would have little ones running around.

The roaster is quite large and is on a hitch to attach to a trailer hitch for moving. A huge crank on the right side (not pictured) can be used to hold the lid open if needed. The fuel was propane but it only took a 25 lb tank to cook the pig so that wasn't too bad. We were concerned we might run out of fuel so had a spare filled tank on hand just in case.

On The Roaster

Surprisingly a marinated pig weighs enough so it took three of the guys to get the pig onto the roaster. From there the humour emerged! We took a lot of pictures as jokes were told and antics unfolded. Well, let me tell you we have some great scrapbook photos!

Once the pig was settled onto the barbeque it was time for action. I was concerned that other pig roasts we had been to had the pig on a spit and we didn't have a spit. However, the guys thought it would roast just fine without a spit. The temperature was set to 150ºF for a slower roasting then increased to 350ºF about an hour before serving. The pig went on the roaster just before 9 am with dinner being served just after 6 pm.

Roasted!

The roasted pig was done to perfection thanks to the help of our son! His contribution to the party was cooking the meat and he did an excellent job. Not only did he roast the pig, he also cut it up for serving.

Roasted pork can have a tenancy to be dry which is why it needs to be marinated. This pork was tender and juicy. The skin normally kept for craklin's was a nice golden brown. Due to the size of the party and refrigerator limitations most of the skin and carcass was not kept. The next time we do a pig this way I will definitely make arrangements for both the skin and carcass.

If you are planning a large party and want an idea of how much this cost us, the pig was $100. We payed $80 for the roaster and fuel. I would estimate about $150 in additional food for a total of $330 or to our estimation about $6 per plate. We over bought on buns, corn on the cob, vegetables and fruits. Given the amount of left-overs the price per plate was more like$3 maybe even less making a pig roast a very frugal way to do larger parties like family reunions.

Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Ribfest 2006

Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Ribfest 2006


Ribs

We have made it a family tradition to attend the Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Ribfest held on Labour Day Weekend. This year was the 11th Annual Ribfest. It is Canada's largest ribfest with this year's attendance expected to be 150,000. There were fifty vendors, twenty-five food vendors and twenty-two musical artists. The most important attraction are the premium Rib teams from across North America. The Rib teams are affectionately known as ribbers. This year there were fifteen ribbers, listed below. The ribbers are in competition for the best ribs. In the past eleven years Ribfest has raised more than $1.5 million dollars for the various charitable endeavours of the Rotary Club of Burlington Lakshore and their partner charities. The ribfest was held in Spencer Smith Park at Burlington's downtown waterfront.

If you have never been to a ribfest, you really are missing a delightful experience. If you attend the various ribfests you get to know some of the ribbers. A couple of family members had attended a smaller ribfest the weekend before. They raved and raved about one of the ribbers so they were very happy to see that ribber was here. Now a ribfest is all about food and that is quite apparent even before you get anywhere near the event gates.

We park a block or two from the ribfest yet the wonderfu aroma of barbeque ribs fills the air tantalizing every taste bud. The pace picked up as we near the gated areas. Once inside the gate we decide who is getting which ribs or other foods. Then one by one we head off to stand in fairly long lines. Anticipation of the mouth water ribs grows and grows! A full rack of ribs is $20. This year our family went through six full racks, eight cobs of corn, a blooming onion/fried vegetable tray, and a few pints of beer while we sat in the shade listening to the music. With fully stuffed tummies (so I though) I decided to take a few pictures while the rest got huge soft ice cream cones dipped in chocolate. My son in law bought cotton candy for him and myself. Then we walked along admiring the ribbers, through the vendors and finally down along the waterfront.

Most of the ribbers have bottles of their secret sauce for sale. This year I got a bottle of Zestferno Cayenne Pepper Hot Sauce instead of rib sauce. The Jet Set Spice Company had a booth so I just had to buy a package of their Herbs De Provence! This is a lovely all natural spice combination.

Well that was our 2006 experience at the Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Ribfest. Here is a list of the premium Rib teams aka ribbers:
Turtle Jack's (Burlington)
Gator BBQ (Florida)
Carolina Rib King (South Carolina)
Howling Coyote BBQ (Chicago)
Bibb's BBQ (Florida) - voted best by our family this year
Jack on the Bone (Ohio)
Blazin' BBQ (Chatham, Ontario) - voted second best by our family
Billy Bones (Fort Erie, Ontario)
Kentucky Smokehouse (London, Ontario)
Purple Pig (Toronto, Ontario)
Bone Daddy's (Michigan)
Uncle Sam's BBQ (New Mexico
Silver Bullet BBQ (Fort Erie, Ontario)
Camp 31 (Alabama)
Porky 'n' Beans (Ohio/Florida)

Best Food vender:
Gary's World Famous - best blooming onion ever!