Thursday, August 28, 2008

More BBQ Recipes

I'd really like to post more often. I'm out of the habit, but doing it
helps me reflect more about events going on in my life, and no one
reads this, so it's pretty safe to post anything here.


RED-EYE RIBEYES

Source: Recipe courtesy of Steven Raichlen
Method: Direct grilling
Serves: 4

For the rub:

2 tablespoons ground dark roast coffee
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon pure chile powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 ribeye steaks, at least 1-inch thick (8 to 10 ounces each)
You'll also need:

Red-Eye Steak Sauce (recipe below) for serving (optional)

1-1/2 cups wood chips or chunks (optional), soaked for 1 hour in cold
water to cover,
then drained

Make the rub: In a small bowl, combine the coffee, salt, chile powder,
onion powder, garlic powder, coriander, black pepper, and cinnamon.
Mix well.

Place the steaks on a platter and sprinkle on both sides with the rub.
Let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes while you prepare the grill.

Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to high. If using a
gas grill, add the wood chips (if using) to the smoker box before
preheating. If using a charcoal grill, toss the wood chips on the
coals. When ready to cook, brush and oil the grill grate. Place the
steaks on the hot grate and grill, turning with tongs, until cooked to
taste, 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to
a warmed platter and let rest for 3 minutes.

Serve with Red-Eye Steak Sauce, if desired.
RED-EYE STEAK SAUCE

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced celery
1/2 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Add the shallot, garlic, and
celery and cook over medium heat until lightly browned, 3 minutes.
Stir in the coffee, ketchup, tomato sauce, cream, soy sauce, bourbon,
Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, mustard, and liquid smoke and gradually
bring to boil.

Reduce the heat slightly and simmer the sauce until thick and richly
flavored, 8 to 10 minutes, whisking from time to time. Correct the
seasoning, adding salt and pepper or any other ingredient to taste

STEAK FROM HELL
MESQUITE GRILLED STEAK WITH FIRE-CHARRED TOMATO SALSA steakmell.jpg

This recipe comes from an unassuming steakhouse in Juarez, Mexico,
called Mitla. Mitla's steaks owe their extraordinary flavor to the
fact that they're cooked over blazing mesquite logs. You can
approximate the flavor by tossing a couple cups of soaked mesquite
chips on a backyard barbecue grill. The fire-charred salsa reinforces
the smoky flavor of the beef.

Source: The Barbecue! Bible by Steven Raichlen (Workman, 2008)
Method: Direct grilling
Serves: 4

2 to 4 chiles de arbol (4 give you a nice heat)
2 large ripe tomatoes
1/3 medium onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 T-bone steaks or sirloin steaks (each about 3/4-inch thick)
4 large or 8 small flour tortillas

You'll also need:
2 cups mesquite wood chips, soaked in cold water to cover for 1 hour,
then drained (optional)

Soak the chiles in a bowl of warm water until pliable, about 20
minutes. Meanwhile, set each tomato directly on a gas stove burner and
roast it over high heat until the skin is charred and blistered on all
sides, 6 to 8 minutes in all. (Or do the tomatoes in a previous
grilling session.) Transfer the tomatoes to a plate and let them cool.

Drain the chiles and remove the seeds if you prefer a milder salsa.
Place the chiles in a blender with the cooled tomatoes and the onion,
garlic, and cilantro, and process to a coarse paste. Add the lime
juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the salsa to
a serving bowl.

Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to high. If using a
gas grill, add the wood chips (if using) to the smoker box before
preheating.

When ready to cook, if using a charcoal grill, toss the wood chips on
the coals. Brush and oil the grill grate. Salt the steaks generously
on one side. Arrange the steaks on the oiled grate, salt side down,
and grill, turning once with tongs, until cooked to taste, 2 to 4
minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer the steaks to a platter and
let rest for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, arrange the tortillas on the grate and grill until soft and
pliable, but not browned, about 20 seconds per side. Serve the steaks
with the tortillas and the salsa on the side.

Friday, August 01, 2008

More Recipes

RECIPES

BARBECUED ONIONS

Sneak preview! Here's a recipe from "Primal Grill with Steven
Raichlen" that hasn't been posted yet at www.primalgrill.org.

Method: Indirect grilling
Serves: 8

8 Vidalia or other sweet onions, peeled
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 slices good-quality bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup your favorite brand of sweet red barbecue sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

You'll also need:

8 pieces of aluminum foil, twisted into 2-inch rings or grilling rings
1-1/2 cups of wood chips or chunks, soaked for 1 hour, then drained

Using a sharp paring knife and working opposite the stem end, cut a
cone-shaped cavity in each onion by angling your knife toward the
center and cutting in a circle. Finely chop the onion you've removed.
Set each onion on a foil ring with the cavity facing up.

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the
bacon and chopped onion and cook over medium heat until lightly
browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain the bacon in a strainer over a bowl.
Place a spoonful of the bacon mixture in the cavity of each onion. Cut
the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into 8 equal pieces. Spoon 1
tablespoon of the barbecue sauce into each onion and place a piece of
butter on top. Sprinkle with pepper.

Set up the grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium. If using
a gas grill, place all of the wood chips or chunks into the smoker box
or a smoker pouch and run the grill on high until you see smoke.
Then reduce heat to medium. If using a charcoal grill, place a large
drip pan in the center and preheat the grill to medium, then toss all
of the wood chips or chunks on the coals.

When ready to cook, place the onions on their rings in the center of
the hot grate, over the drip pan, and away from the heat, and cover
the grill. Cook the onions until they are golden brown and tender, 40
to 60 minutes. To test for doneness, pinch the side of an onion; it
should be squeezably soft. If the filling starts to brown too much
before the onions are fully cooked, cover the onions loosely with
aluminum foil. Transfer the grilled onions to a platter or plates and
serve at once.

FIVE-SPICE SHANGHAI SHORT RIBS WITH SHANGHAI BARBECUE SAUCE

Simplify the preparation of these ribs by substituting Best of
Barbecue "Five Spice Barbecue Rub" and "Shanghai Barbecue Sauce" for
the homemade versions here. Find both at www.grilling4all.com.

Method: Indirect grilling
Serves: 4 to 6
Advance Preparation: 4 to 6 hours for marinating the meat

3 to 4 pounds beef short ribs, bone-in

For the rub:

2 tablespoons Chinese 5-spice powder
1 tablespoon teaspoon fine grained sea salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground white pepper

For the Shanghai Barbecue Sauce:

1 cup hoisin sauce
1/3 cup Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing) or dry sherry
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar, or more to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peeled, minced ginger
2 scallions, white and green parts minced

You'll also need:
1-1/2 cups wood chips or chunks, soaked for 1 hour in water to cover, then
drained

Make the rub: Combine the 5-spice powder, salt, sugar, and pepper in a
small bowl and whisk to combine.

Make the barbecue sauce: In a nonreactive saucepan, combine the hoisin
sauce, wine, soy sauce, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and
scallions. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce
thickens (5 to 10 minutes).

Generously sprinkle the ribs on all sides with the rub. Cover the ribs
with plastic wrap and refrigerate them while you set up the grill.

Set up a charcoal grill for indirect grilling and preheat to medium.
Place a large drip pan in the center of the grill. When ready to cook,
brush and oil the grill grate. Place the ribs in the center of the
grate over the drip pan and away from the heat. Toss half of the wood
chips on each mound of coals. Cover the grill and cook the ribs until
they are well-browned, cooked through, and tender enough to pull apart
with your fingers, about 1-1/2 to 2 hours. When the ribs are done, the
meat will have shrunk back from the ends of the bones by about 1/4
inch.

Just before serving, brush the ribs on all sides with the Shanghai
Barbecue Sauce and move them directly over the fire. Grill until the
sauce is sizzling, 1 to 3 minutes per side. Watch carefully so the
sugars in the barbecue sauce don't burn. Transfer to a large platter
or cutting board and let rest for a few minutes. Serve with the
remaining barbecue sauce on the side.

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