Cedar Plank Salmon & Tilapia

Cedar Plank Salmon & Tilapia

Review: 9/10 - these turned out great... (This was also the "easiest" thing I have cooked on the BGE yet). The cedar flavor was very subtle and the tenderness of the fish was amazing. I attempted to cook at an even 400 degrees, but I also cooked asparagus and had to keep opening the BGE lid to turn - hence, resulting in ~375 degrees. The fish took about 25 minutes to reach an internal temp of 145, but it was well worth the wait. I used a fair amount of Arthur Bryant's Fish Seasoning, which was great and definitely did not over power the fish. Purists would really enjoy the true flavor of the fish as I prepared it, but as I am not a purist, I would probably go a little heavier on the seasoning next time.

(My wife loves salmon, as do I, but unfortunately I am either allergic to it, or it gives me horrible acid reflux - either way that is why we did two different fish)

BGE Settings:
1. Hickory & Oak Lump Wood Charcoal
2. Direct Heat at 400 degrees

Ingredients:
1. Sockeye Salmon (11 oz filet)
2. Tilapia (11 oz filet)
3. Arthur Bryant's Fish Seasoning
4. Western Cedar Planks
5. EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
6. Lemon

Recipe:
1. Soak the cedar plank(s) in water for a minimum of 4 hours

2. Coat fish with a little EVOO and Arthur Bryants Fish seasoning and refrigerate

3. Let fish set at room temperature for 30 minutes prior to grilling
4. Stabilize BGE at 400 degrees (direct heat)
5. Place cedar plank on grill for about 4-5 minutes (until it starts to steam/smoke)
6. Flip the cedar plank and coat the top with EVOO
7. Place fish on cedar planks (do not flip fish during grilling) and top with slice of lemon

8. Remove fish once internal temperature reaches 145 degrees

9. Cover with foil for 10 minutes

10. Serve with favorite vegetable or sides (I like grilled asparagus)

Happy Eggin...

Chris

Chris' Kick-Ass Chili

Chris' Kick-Ass Chili

(I have not tried this on the Big Green Egg...yet! - I first need to get a dutch oven or cast iron pot large enough for the recipe but also fit in the egg)

A lot of people have tried my chili, and almost everyone has said it is the best they have ever tasted... (they could be trying to save my ego, but I will take it anyway!)

My chili is somewhat unique in that it has a ton of ingredients, yet is very consistent. I cut everything small, because my philosophy for chili is that every bite should taste the same... (I don't want to get a hunk of onion in one bite and a hunk of pepper in another and have different tastes with each spoonful)

Before you decide to partake on this endeavor, I will point out a few things and modifications (the below recipe is about 7 years old and I have modified a few things)...

1. There are 41 ingredients... even if you have most of the spices handy, it will still cost over $40+ to make this batch - but you will have chili for weeks (unless like my wife and I, you end up giving a lot away)

2. Although the recipe calls for Guinness beer, I have actually stopped using it. I prefer a hoppy IPA, but any beer will do (I have actually used High Life on more than one occasion)

3. In the instructions, it says to use a processor to dice the vegetables - I actually recommend against this, as it can create a puree instead of a fine dice... I actually use a cool tool from Pampered Chef - their Food Chopper. (I cut the vegetables to small pieces with a knife and then finish them off with the chopper to get finely diced consistency)

4. Instead of 4 cans of beans, I have lowered it to 2-3... I'm just not a big fan of a lot of beans in my chili (you could actually cut them completely out if you want)

5. It is important to let simmer for 8 hours, but I don't refrigerate overnight anymore (When I wrote this recipe, it was primarily for football tailgates, hence the overnight refrigeration... now I just cool down and freeze in containers whatever I will not eat within a few days)

6. I have changed up the meats for several batches (once did a game batch - boar, lamb, deer, buffalo, bison) - but 90% of the time, I stick to the below meats.

7. Nowadays, I just eyeball each ingredient - which gives each batch its own character. I also have changed up the hot pepper selections from time to time (almost always add a couple habanero peppers now) - this can change the heat and flavor as desired...

8. The biggest instruction is to make with love... I have got the process down to about 3 hours until simmering, but still a big endeavor....

Without further adieu, I present to you my recipe...

Here is the link to the original document, in case you want to save/print:
Chris' Kick-Ass Chili

Enjoy!

Happy Eggin...

Chris

Blue & Gouda Bacon Stuffed Burgers

Blue & Gouda Bacon Stuffed Burgers

Review: 8/10 - My wife enjoyed these more than I did and gave them a 10/10 - I wasn't as impressed. I expected the flavoring from the stuffing to be more prevalent. The cheese melted completely and the burgers were very tender. I loaded mine with toppings - lettuce, tomato, onion, hot pepper relish, mayo, ketchup and mustard, while my wife simply put ketchup and mustard on hers - which could be why she noticed the flavor more and enjoyed more so. I will cook these again, using the same BGE settings, but will try different stuffings with more flavor (like mushroom & swiss or prosciutto & habanero cheese)

The Egg likes the snow!!! (of course while it is covered on the screened-in deck)

BGE Settings:
1. Hickory & Oak Lump Wood Charcoal
2. (1) Jack Daniels Whiskey Oak Barrel Block (from Bass Pro Shop)
3. 400 degrees at direct heat

Ingredients:

1.  Meat
     a. 1 lb Ground Beef
     b. Worcestershire
     c. A1 Sauce
     d. BBQ Sauce
     e. Salt & Pepper
     f. Weber - Blazin Burger Seasoning

2. Stuffing:
     a. 1/3 lb bacon - cooked and chopped
     b. Blue Cheese (crumbled)
     c. Gouda Cheese (dice into 1/4" chunks)
     d. Salt & Pepper

Recipe:
1. Prepare ground beef by mixing with small amounts of Worcestershire, A1, BBQ, Salt & Pepper
2. Use burger press to shape burgers (keep them thin as two patties will create one burger)

3. Layer stuffing on one patty

 

4. Cover with another patty and press to close edges and create one burger
5. Sprinkle Webber Blazin Burger Seasoning on burgers

6. Refrigerate until ready - let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before grilling)
7. Stabilize BGE at 400 degrees
8. Cook for 5 minutes then flip and cook for 5 more minutes or until one temp less than desired temp (I prefer mine at medium-well, so I take them off when medium)

9. Remove from BGE and cover with foil for 10 minutes - this will finish cooking burgers to desired temp.

10. Toast buns for 2 minutes on BGE

11. Enjoy with a cold beer!

 "I like mine with lettuce and tomato, Heinz 57 and french-fried potatoes, a big kosher pickle and a cold draft beer" - Jimmy Buffet

Happy Eggin...

Chris

Smoked Whiskey BBQ Chicken Breasts

Smoked Whiskey BBQ Chicken Breasts

Review: 9/10 - These chicken breasts turned out phenomenal! The were amazingly moist and tender (again - did not need a knife to cut - fork sliced them like butter) - they melted in the mouth! Even though they only cooked for 50 minutes (they were large breasts), the smoke flavor was prevalent even with the BBQ sauce. I didn't taste as much of the Jack Daniels Whiskey Block flavoring that I would have liked, but it was still very good. My wife said it was the best chicken she had ever eaten.

BGE Setting:

1. Hickory & Oak Lump Wood Charcoal

2. (5) Jack Daniels Oak Barrel Wood Blocks (from Bass Pro Shop)

3. Indirect heat (using plate setter) at 300 degrees

4. For last couple minutes of grill time, full open top and bottom vents

BBQ Sauce Recipe: (eyeballed)

1. 1 cup "Sweet Baby Rays" Honey Chipotle BBQ Sauce

2. 2 oz Crown Royal

3. 2 tbsp honey

4. 1 tbsp cayenne pepper

5. 1 tbsp dry mustard

6. 1 tbsp ketchup

7. 2 tsp Sriracha sauce
8. 1 tsp garlic powder

9. 1/4 cup water (to thin sauce for injection)

Recipe:

1. Set aside some sauce to coat chicken after it is done

2. Inject chicken breasts with sauce
3. Coat chicken with leftover (from injecting sauce) and marinate/refrigerate

4. When ready, let sit at room temperature for 1 hour
5. Stabilize BGE at 300 degrees - indirect heat and place chicken breasts on grill

6. Cook at 300 degrees until internal meat temp reaches 145 degrees
(I flipped chicken 3 - 4 times and coated with leftover marinade each time)
7. Once meat reaches 145 (took me about 45 minutes), open bottom and top vents all the way (my BGE jumped to 500 almost immediately) and place chicken on perimeter of grill (where flame/heat comes up)
8. Cook for about 5-10 minutes more, until internal meat temp reaches 155 degrees
9. Remove chicken and cover with foil for 10-15 minutes
10. Slice chicken and coat with sauce you set aside

(I served with butter rice and broccoli)

Happy Eggin...

Chris