Now that I have a fancy new gas grill, it was time to test the smoker capabilities. I opted to do smoked pork chops again, albeit with a simpler recipe.
I brined the pork chops for several hours in a mix of 1/4 cup of kosher salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 4 cups water. I then put them on the grill, along with some wood chips. My grill is a bit different, so it's not necessary to soak the wood chips. You just drop them in. There's no direct flame so they don't burn up too quickly. Anyway, using the BBQ option resulted in a temperature of 350F, which was higher than the 250-275F that is recommended. The chops cooked quickly, in about 40 minutes. They were tender and moist and tasted like a cross between regular and Canadian bacon. The smoke flavor and salt level were just about right. They were not overwhelmingly smoky. I will definitely be making these again. If I feel like being a really anal retentive BBQ geek, I'll try cooking them more slowly at the recommended temperature.
I really like the infrared cooking so far. I like my meat on the rare side, without a really charred crust, and everything I've cooked so far has come out moist, rare but not underdone, and was nice and tender.
Next up: Chicken Spiedies
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
New Toy: Char-Broil Infrared Grill
OK, so I had a brief respite from my grill lust when I got the BBQ/smoker, but after a few days the gas grill lust returned. The smoker is good for the weekends, but I'm hungry and tired when I get home from work. I wanted to be able to throw some meat and veggies on the grill and eat within 30 minutes.
I got lucky on Craigslist - the full story is posted on my other blog. Suffice it to say I am now the proud owner of a brand new Char-Broil Red infrared gas grill. I like it pretty well so far. There are settings for high heat (clean/preheat) sear (for steaks, etc), grill, and BBQ/smoke.There is a U-shaped pan so grease never drips directly on the flame. That's good for me since I was always having grease flare-ups in my old mini-grill. I think the pan also serves to radiate/diffuse the heat so stuff cooks quickly and evenly. There were mixed reviews on the grill and the infrared. A lot of people really like it, and Consumer Reports gave it a high rating, but some people got lemons or were die-hard BBQ or gas grill snobs. Anyway, so far my grill isn't a lemon (knock on wood) and I'm always open to new technology, so I'm happy.
Last night I cooked some chicken breasts* and zucchini. The zucchini was a gift from the lady that sold me the grill. The chicken cooked in about 10 minutes, and the squash took 15. As it was cooking, it smelled really good, like a rotisserie chicken. That was a good sign. My old mini-grill always was pretty smoky due to the flare ups. At five minutes I took a look at it. It looked done on that side so I flipped it. At ten minutes it was done. I let it rest while the squash finished. Anyway, the chicken was really good - it was fully cooked but not charred on the outside, and it stayed very moist inside, even though I hadn't brined or marinated it. The squash was better than usual, but not perfect. I've never had much success with grilled squash. All in all, I was pretty pleased with my first attempt. I'm looking forward to cooking other stuff on it.
* this is my standard quick meal, so it's a good test.
I got lucky on Craigslist - the full story is posted on my other blog. Suffice it to say I am now the proud owner of a brand new Char-Broil Red infrared gas grill. I like it pretty well so far. There are settings for high heat (clean/preheat) sear (for steaks, etc), grill, and BBQ/smoke.There is a U-shaped pan so grease never drips directly on the flame. That's good for me since I was always having grease flare-ups in my old mini-grill. I think the pan also serves to radiate/diffuse the heat so stuff cooks quickly and evenly. There were mixed reviews on the grill and the infrared. A lot of people really like it, and Consumer Reports gave it a high rating, but some people got lemons or were die-hard BBQ or gas grill snobs. Anyway, so far my grill isn't a lemon (knock on wood) and I'm always open to new technology, so I'm happy.
Last night I cooked some chicken breasts* and zucchini. The zucchini was a gift from the lady that sold me the grill. The chicken cooked in about 10 minutes, and the squash took 15. As it was cooking, it smelled really good, like a rotisserie chicken. That was a good sign. My old mini-grill always was pretty smoky due to the flare ups. At five minutes I took a look at it. It looked done on that side so I flipped it. At ten minutes it was done. I let it rest while the squash finished. Anyway, the chicken was really good - it was fully cooked but not charred on the outside, and it stayed very moist inside, even though I hadn't brined or marinated it. The squash was better than usual, but not perfect. I've never had much success with grilled squash. All in all, I was pretty pleased with my first attempt. I'm looking forward to cooking other stuff on it.
* this is my standard quick meal, so it's a good test.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My new smoker/smoked prok chops and salt potatoes
My brother and some of my coworkers are total barbeque geeks. I've been listening to them yap about barbequing and smoking meats, and they were a bad influence on me.
I bought a charcoal grill/smoker. It was on sale for $19. I've been wanting to get a nice big gas grill, and still intend to do so, but finding this was part of my good shopping karma this weekend.
It's nice and small and light, but I can still fit a small turkey in there. When I'm not using it I can stash it in the garage. I like its' design better than my old round one. I'm giving the old one to a grad student.
I got some pork chops, rubbed them down with a spice rub, and then looked at the instructions. Ooops. The grill needs to be cured before the first use, to seal the finish and get rid of paint odors. I cheated and let it cure for two hours, added a few more charcoal briquets and then started cooking the pork chops. I had trouble maintain the proper temperature (250F), so I should've added more earlier. After an hour I gave up and finished off the pork chops in the oven. They smelled pretty good as they cooked. They were moist and smoky, and the rub was tasty. They were somewhere in between smoked and baked. I don't recommend cooking them this way, but it is useful to know that rub is so tasty, especially since I have a lot left over.
My brother reminded me that smoked food is best paired with something blander, so it's not so overwhelming. I used this advice as an excuse to make salt potatoes, which are new potatoes cooked in a saturated solution of salt water. They are a regional dish here, and there's even chemistry involved, so of course I wanted to try them. The salt raises the boiling point of the water and also denatures the protein in the potato, so they get really tender and creamy. They are usually served with melted butter. What's not to like?!?! (Admit it, you really want to try them) Anyway, to take away the guesswork of either preparing a saturated solution or measuring out salt, they sell bags of potatoes packaged with bags of salt. [I found it kind of funny that the potatoes were packaged in Sacramento, where the workers were probably wondering WTF about the salt.] I prepared them according to the directions. The salt/water mixture was pretty close to saturation. I ended up putting the lid on the stockpot so they wouldn't splatter salt all over my nice clean kitchen. After about 20 minutes, they were done. I'm not sure if I didn't cook them quite long enough - they were soft and starchy like baked potatoes, rather than being creamy, but after sitting in the presence of butter for a while they became creamier. As you might expect, there was no need to add more salt, but they weren't overwhelmingly salty. (Be forwarned that I like my potatoes very salty, though.] I may make them again, especially since I still have some potatoes left.
I'll post more once I successfully use the smoker.
I bought a charcoal grill/smoker. It was on sale for $19. I've been wanting to get a nice big gas grill, and still intend to do so, but finding this was part of my good shopping karma this weekend.
It's nice and small and light, but I can still fit a small turkey in there. When I'm not using it I can stash it in the garage. I like its' design better than my old round one. I'm giving the old one to a grad student.
I got some pork chops, rubbed them down with a spice rub, and then looked at the instructions. Ooops. The grill needs to be cured before the first use, to seal the finish and get rid of paint odors. I cheated and let it cure for two hours, added a few more charcoal briquets and then started cooking the pork chops. I had trouble maintain the proper temperature (250F), so I should've added more earlier. After an hour I gave up and finished off the pork chops in the oven. They smelled pretty good as they cooked. They were moist and smoky, and the rub was tasty. They were somewhere in between smoked and baked. I don't recommend cooking them this way, but it is useful to know that rub is so tasty, especially since I have a lot left over.
My brother reminded me that smoked food is best paired with something blander, so it's not so overwhelming. I used this advice as an excuse to make salt potatoes, which are new potatoes cooked in a saturated solution of salt water. They are a regional dish here, and there's even chemistry involved, so of course I wanted to try them. The salt raises the boiling point of the water and also denatures the protein in the potato, so they get really tender and creamy. They are usually served with melted butter. What's not to like?!?! (Admit it, you really want to try them) Anyway, to take away the guesswork of either preparing a saturated solution or measuring out salt, they sell bags of potatoes packaged with bags of salt. [I found it kind of funny that the potatoes were packaged in Sacramento, where the workers were probably wondering WTF about the salt.] I prepared them according to the directions. The salt/water mixture was pretty close to saturation. I ended up putting the lid on the stockpot so they wouldn't splatter salt all over my nice clean kitchen. After about 20 minutes, they were done. I'm not sure if I didn't cook them quite long enough - they were soft and starchy like baked potatoes, rather than being creamy, but after sitting in the presence of butter for a while they became creamier. As you might expect, there was no need to add more salt, but they weren't overwhelmingly salty. (Be forwarned that I like my potatoes very salty, though.] I may make them again, especially since I still have some potatoes left.
I'll post more once I successfully use the smoker.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Crock pot pulled pork
Some of the grad students and postdocs at work are major foodies of the meat 'n barbeque type. They're always talking about what they're cooking for dinner or what kind of meat is on sale, the merits of different types of barbeque sauce, etc. This week they were talking about cooking meat in the crock pot, and they also started talking about how they get good deals at the local Smart and Final type store, Mainesource.
So anyway, I went to Mainesource after work. They had boneless pork roasts for cheap. I bought one since it looked like it was the right size for my crock pot, and I remembered hearing that you could make pulled pork that way. (I don't have a gas grill yet, although I do have my trusty charcoal grill.) I found a recipe on the internet for North Carolina style pulled pork a la Crockpot, and then proceeded to take liberties with it, since I didn't have any barbeque sauce.* (Besides, that would blur the line in barbeque sauce styles, not like I'm the least bit authentic, a Californian living in upstate New York, cooking it in a crock pot) I rubbed the roast with an applewood spice rub, put it in the crock pot, and then put about half a can of diet coke in there since some of the other recipes called for coke or ginger ale. I also added a few drops of liquid smoke for good measure. Better living through chemistry, baby! I set the crockpot on low and let it cook overnight. The house smelled deliciously of fake barbeque. I also made the sauce, so that it would have time for the flavors to develop. The smell of barbeque permeated my dreams, and I dreamt that I was grilling. It also made Rugrat wake up extra early and start pestering me. I got up and examined the contents of the crock pot. The meat was falling apart. I plopped it into a bowl and pulled off the fatty bits, and shredded the rest. I have enough for about 8 or nine portions, plus some for the cats.
It didn't have that nice mix of tender inner bits and slightly dried out but flavorful outer bits, but it had a nice clean, mildly smoky flavor and good texture. I could only taste the slightest hint of the cola flavor. There was very little fat. With the vinegar sauce, it tasted pretty authentic. Even though I'm planning on getting a grill, I'm sure I'll make the crockpot pulled pork again, especially in winter when I don't want to go outside.
*NC style barbeque doesn't use tomatoes at all. Instead, the pulled pork is served with a sauce made of vinegar, black and red pepper, hot sauce, and a bit of sugar. I'm not really crazy about traditional barbeque sauce, so I like NC barbeque a lot.
So anyway, I went to Mainesource after work. They had boneless pork roasts for cheap. I bought one since it looked like it was the right size for my crock pot, and I remembered hearing that you could make pulled pork that way. (I don't have a gas grill yet, although I do have my trusty charcoal grill.) I found a recipe on the internet for North Carolina style pulled pork a la Crockpot, and then proceeded to take liberties with it, since I didn't have any barbeque sauce.* (Besides, that would blur the line in barbeque sauce styles, not like I'm the least bit authentic, a Californian living in upstate New York, cooking it in a crock pot) I rubbed the roast with an applewood spice rub, put it in the crock pot, and then put about half a can of diet coke in there since some of the other recipes called for coke or ginger ale. I also added a few drops of liquid smoke for good measure. Better living through chemistry, baby! I set the crockpot on low and let it cook overnight. The house smelled deliciously of fake barbeque. I also made the sauce, so that it would have time for the flavors to develop. The smell of barbeque permeated my dreams, and I dreamt that I was grilling. It also made Rugrat wake up extra early and start pestering me. I got up and examined the contents of the crock pot. The meat was falling apart. I plopped it into a bowl and pulled off the fatty bits, and shredded the rest. I have enough for about 8 or nine portions, plus some for the cats.
It didn't have that nice mix of tender inner bits and slightly dried out but flavorful outer bits, but it had a nice clean, mildly smoky flavor and good texture. I could only taste the slightest hint of the cola flavor. There was very little fat. With the vinegar sauce, it tasted pretty authentic. Even though I'm planning on getting a grill, I'm sure I'll make the crockpot pulled pork again, especially in winter when I don't want to go outside.
*NC style barbeque doesn't use tomatoes at all. Instead, the pulled pork is served with a sauce made of vinegar, black and red pepper, hot sauce, and a bit of sugar. I'm not really crazy about traditional barbeque sauce, so I like NC barbeque a lot.
Monday, July 12, 2010
No shopping experiment, the flip side
Once I got to Ithaca and got my kitchen set up, it was time to stock my cupboards..and my fridge..and my freezer..and my liquor cabinet. Yes, I'm in the process of replacing many of those things that I systematically ate up a few months ago. I spend a lot more than I'm used to spending at the grocery store, due to all those random supplies.
Part of me wonders if it would be cheaper to just never cook, and just grab ready made stuff at Wegman's, microwave dinners, and/or eat in the restaurants/dorms* around campus. I did this in grad school, aided by the presence of the MIT food trucks and the 24 hour coffee house, and I sort of did this as a postdoc and in the early years at the startup company, since they fed us. And I'm sure there will be times when I revert to that when things are super busy. But to make that work, you have to commit to it 100%, like I did when I was a grad student with no kitchen. Going half and half gets pricy and time consuming- I ended up buying stuff I didn't use, and spending too much time going out to find food.
* As a perk, faculty and staff can go to the all-you-can eat dorm lunches for $6. Even when I was a young undergraduate biddy working in the dorm cafeteria, some 20+ years ago, it cost at least that much. As a result, we didn't see many non-students. The postdocs in the group are big fans of this, and they bring along some of the grad students. These are some big eaters, too.
Part of me wonders if it would be cheaper to just never cook, and just grab ready made stuff at Wegman's, microwave dinners, and/or eat in the restaurants/dorms* around campus. I did this in grad school, aided by the presence of the MIT food trucks and the 24 hour coffee house, and I sort of did this as a postdoc and in the early years at the startup company, since they fed us. And I'm sure there will be times when I revert to that when things are super busy. But to make that work, you have to commit to it 100%, like I did when I was a grad student with no kitchen. Going half and half gets pricy and time consuming- I ended up buying stuff I didn't use, and spending too much time going out to find food.
* As a perk, faculty and staff can go to the all-you-can eat dorm lunches for $6. Even when I was a young undergraduate biddy working in the dorm cafeteria, some 20+ years ago, it cost at least that much. As a result, we didn't see many non-students. The postdocs in the group are big fans of this, and they bring along some of the grad students. These are some big eaters, too.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Garlic Scapes, part 2: Pesto
I continued my experimentation with the garlic scapes tonight, and made pesto. I had some basil, so I made basil/scapes pesto rather than the scape-only version.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
1 cup walnuts
appx 1 cup olive oil
1 cup grated parmigiano
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. Add more oil if mixture is too dense. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add cheese; add salt and pepper. Makes about 12 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
The garlic scape flavor is much stronger than the basil flavor. You could adjust the proportions to suit your preferences.
Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
1 cup walnuts
appx 1 cup olive oil
1 cup grated parmigiano
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste
Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. Add more oil if mixture is too dense. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add cheese; add salt and pepper. Makes about 12 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2-4 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.
OM NOM NOM NOM! OMFG this is so damned good, and I'm not even a big pesto fan. I have a wimpy little food processor attachment, so I wasn't able to get it as smooth as I wanted, but it didn't matter. I put some in pasta and mixed a little bit into some yogurt for a salad dressing.
The garlic scape flavor is much stronger than the basil flavor. You could adjust the proportions to suit your preferences.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Garlic Scapes, part 1
I went to the Ithaca farmers' market today. I'll blog more about the farmers' market later, but for now I want to report on my introduction to garlic scapes.
Garlic scapes are the stems that grow from certain varieties of garlic. They curl up into big curliques. The flower bud is at the end. Apparently the bulbs get bigger if you cut off the stems so they don't sap the plant's energy.
This is all news to me - I don't know if California garlic is the same type. A lot of people at the farmer's market were selling them. I was curious so I bought some.
The woman who was selling them told me that they were good in pesto, roasted, or in scrambled eggs. A quick survey of the internet confirmed those suggestions. Tonight I roasted a few alongside some asparagus. I cut them into 4" pieces. When raw, the texture is like a green bean and the flavor is a mix of garlic and pepper. When roasted, the flavor mellows a lot and they get kind of chewy, like a roasted green bean. They went well with the asparagus and the roast beef.
I am looking forward to trying them in pesto and scrambled eggs.
Garlic scapes are the stems that grow from certain varieties of garlic. They curl up into big curliques. The flower bud is at the end. Apparently the bulbs get bigger if you cut off the stems so they don't sap the plant's energy.
This is all news to me - I don't know if California garlic is the same type. A lot of people at the farmer's market were selling them. I was curious so I bought some.
The woman who was selling them told me that they were good in pesto, roasted, or in scrambled eggs. A quick survey of the internet confirmed those suggestions. Tonight I roasted a few alongside some asparagus. I cut them into 4" pieces. When raw, the texture is like a green bean and the flavor is a mix of garlic and pepper. When roasted, the flavor mellows a lot and they get kind of chewy, like a roasted green bean. They went well with the asparagus and the roast beef.
I am looking forward to trying them in pesto and scrambled eggs.
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