Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Plankin' The Rib Eye!


This past Sunday was one of the few glorious days we have had this year, and for 2011 glorious means that there was no rain. It was a perfect fall day for raking leaves and stokin' up some charcoal. Dinner was going to be baby back ribs so the outdoor test kitchen was in full swing early.

While the Brinkman offset was heating up I figured a little lunch on the Weber would be a great idea. Once again it was time to grill a big rib eye on a cedar plank. This time it was going to be a very thick 'slice' weighing in at a respectable 33 ounces!


To start I soaked a 15" X 5" X 1/2" plank in water for three hours. No specific reason for that time limit other than I remembered to put the plank in the water three hours before I was going to start the charcoal.

Before I started the charcoal the rib eye came out of the fridge and was lightly coated with Tango Spice Midnight Espresso. The last time I tried this combination the aroma and taste of the cedar worked like magic with the brown sugar, espresso ancho chile & coriander of the Midnight rub.


The charcoal of choice was Kingsford in the blue bag, one chimney worth. Got that fired up and poured it into a charcoal holder in the center of the Weber 22/5, placed the grates back on, and closed the lid. Once the temperature reached 520 degrees I placed the plank on the grill to heat up. It took just a minute on each side to heat up and scorch the plank. Once that was done moved it to the side and got ready to sear the rib eye. One minute thirty seconds per side to get nice grill marks and onto the plank it went.

This being such a large cut of beef it was going to take a little longer than a 'normal' rib eye. A temperature probe was inserted and the grilling commenced. The temperature in the weber, with the lid closed and vents opened hovered just around 500 degrees. At this temp you could smell the beef & cedar aroma and hear the plank cracklin'.



Once the rib eye was on the plank, it took 28 minutes to reach an internal temp of 130 degrees.

After a couple of minutes rest it was time to slice into this lunch time treat. As the knife slid through the meat you could really smell the Midnight rub & the cedar! The taste was amazing, everything a rib eye is supposed to be.


The grilling planks are still new to me and I have been having fun with them for sureI can see trying many different food stuffs on them, really stretch their capabilities. I also highly recommend Natures Choice Grilling Planks, so head on over and see Larry today!

As Always, Thank You For Reading!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Plank For The Win!




Well, well, it seems that the judges were liken' the idea of planked Twinkies for a grilled dessert!

I want to thank Allen AKA bbqsmoker over at BBQ4Smoke on YouTube once again for sponsoring such a fun contest.

I also have to thank Larry over at Nature's Choice grilling planks for the incredible prize of cedar planks and a cook book. This was way more than I was expecting. Here is a list of what was in the prize pack!

6 pcs. 8"L X 5.5"W X 1/2" Thick
6 pcs. 12"L X 5.5"W X 1/2" Thick
6 pcs. 15"L X 5.5"W X 1/2" Thick
2 pcs. 12"L X 5.5"W X 3/4" Thick
2 pcs. 15"L X 5.5"W X 3/4" Thick

I have already tried one of the planks for grilling up a 28 ounce rib eye steak. Oh wow, the aroma and flavor is amazing!

If you are in the market for a great cedar plank, head on over and see Larry today!

As Always, Thank You For Reading!




Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Cast Iron Pizza!


This past Sunday was a really nice day. After a few days of rain (what else is new?) the dawn was as cloudless as it could be. A slight breeze from the south meant we were in for a rather warm October day. I started to plan lunch a little early because I was going to try my hand at making pizza in a cast iron skillet.



I know that folks have probably been doing this for many years, but it is a new concept for me. There are two blogs where I had read about this method and I had saved both for future testing. Well, Sunday was the day! I will list the two blogs at the end, please go check them out!

Here are the ingredients which I put on the pizza crust.
A mixture of Restaurant Style brand bbq sauce & Frank's Sweet Chili Sauce
A heaping mound of baby back rib meat from a previous bbq
Fire roasted orange & yellow bell peppers
Fire roasted jalapeno peppers
Lots of fine shred cheddar cheese! 

As for the crust, a simple one will do nicely.

3/4 cup Lukewarm Water
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 tsp Salt
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
1/4 cup Semolina Flour
2 tsp Instant Yeast
1 tsp Baking Powder
Mix and knead all of the ingredients to make a smooth, pliable dough. Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for 30 minutes
This can also be put the refrigerator for a few hours or even overnight. 

While the dough was rising I roasted the peppers over a bed of hot coals. I like to slice the bell peppers before roasting them so both inside and out can get a good char on them. They turn out a little drier that way too, which I find better to work with and the seeds are already removed.
Also, this was the time to start the Sweet Home Pellet Grill and get it crankin' to 425 degrees.
Once the dough had risen I placed it in a 12 inch cast iron pan. I did lightly spray the pan with cooking spray. Once all of the ingredients were piled high it was time to heat the pan. This I placed on one of my butane stoves, set it to high and let it fire up for three minutes.
At the three minute mark it was onto the pellet grill.
18 minutes later it was done. I let it cool a little, slid it out of the pan and enjoyed a super lunch!
This method is good indoors as well, so you can use your stove and oven.
Please give this a try, then let me know how you enjoyed it!

Here are two blogs for your reading pleasure...



As Always, Thank You For Reading!
www.tangospice.com
www.youtube.com/TangoSpiceCompany