Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Tango Kale & Chile Corn Bread!

Over the weekend the Winter of 2015 rolled on, bringing more snow and ice pellets and rain - blah blah blah.
So, for this weekend's cook I pitched a tent over the smoker so I could continue to get to know the new Shirley Fabrication pit.
On the meat side of the menu was chicken thighs for Saturday & pork butts for Sunday, with a few sides to go with it all.
One side item was a corn bread which was superb!
Yeah, I know, another corn bread recipe on the internet!
Well, his bread has a super taste, nice kick from some Southwest Sunset and is very, very moist.
I would ask you to give it a try then let me know how you enjoyed it.


Tango Kale & Chile Corn Bread


Ingredients:

2 TBS Butter
1 Sm White Onion / Chopped
2 Pkgs Corn Muffin Mix
4 Eggs
1 13 oz Can Margaret Holmes Seasoned Kale / drained
1 4 oz Can Green Chilies
1 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1/4 Cup Milk
2 TBS Tango Spice Southwest Sunset

Directions:
Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

Melt butter in a skillet, saute onion until tender, allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, blend all ingredients until well incorporated.

Pour into prepared pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until lightly browned.

Please give this recipe a try, then let me know how awesome yours turned out!

As Always, Thank You For Reading!
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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Sunday With Shirley!

Once again this past weekend turned into a study in patience when it comes to the desire to be out in the yard messing around with the new Shirley Fabrication cooker. All week I had kept an eye to radar and it looked like Sunday was going to be a day with enough of a fair weather window to get some smoking done. The latest ice pellet storm was not set to show up until 5 PM so it was all good.

In the fridge were a few chicken leg quarters, some bratwurst, jalapenos, bacon, heck I even had some fig newtons to make some Fig Poppers.

Just enough good stuff to test out a cook in the warmer. I decided to use the charcoal pan in the warmer and instead of the firebox. I rigged up the charcoal ring from the WSM as an experiment. What the heck, always go for something fun on the first time out.

The ring from the WSM 22.5 fits in the pan real well. Inside is an old charcoal grate lifted by a couple of bricks. Put a paver inside to help create a sort of Minion idea. Worked out darn good.

On the rack above the charcoal I put the heat deflector that came with the pit and that worked out real well.

The chicken was coated with Tango Spice Chik N’ Rib Rub
The Fig Poppers were flavored with our Cajun Rub

During the cook the outdoor temps were a steady 30 to 32 degrees. It took about 30 minutes for the cold steel of the pit to steady out at 290 to 310 degrees. There were a couple if times when the pit temp got to around 340-ish, but I messed with the air intake / exhaust to get it dialed back in. I am happy to be getting some learning done on new pit during the winter, as I think in the warmer months it will be even easier than it is now.

Using the ring in the charcoal pan worked out great and I will certainly be doing that again.

The Fig Poppers took about a 90 minutes to get to the way I like them and they were spectacular.

The brats and chicken I left on there for 2 1/2 hours with both being very tasty and quite juicy. I could up the temps and do a hot & fast cook. which I will try soon.

The warmer box has been a great part of the Shirley Fabrication cooked and I look forward to many more ‘experimental’ cooks on it, as well as big cooks in the main chamber.


Here are a re few pics of the action.

Looks Bad Ass In The Yard!
The Weber Basket Fits Perfect
The Paver Makes The Minion Method Work
The Deflector Goes On The Bottom Shelf
The Top Two Shelves Get The Grub On

Beans & Brats & Fig Poppers Oh My

It All Looks & Smells So Great

Almost Time To Eat 

Dinner Is About To Be Served

Plate Full Of Goodness Thanks To
Shirley Fabrication

Now That's A Smoke Ring!

Good Eats Indeed!
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Sunday, February 8, 2015

Tango’s Cajun Fig Newton Jalapeno Poppers!

Today was another day to be outside in the elements goofing around with the new Shirley Fabrication cooker we recently brought home.
This was a cook done in the warmer box, using the charcoal pan instead of the firebox. Wow, have to say that even after just three cooks so far, the versatility of this SF Cooker is amazing.
On the menu today was chicken leg quarters, thrice baked beans, bacon wrapped bratwurst and the snack to be a highlighted in today’s blog.

Tango’s Cajun Fig Newton Jalapeno Poppers!



Ingredients We Used:
Plump Jalapenos / cut and cleaned as shown below
Fig Newtons / outer cookie edges cut off
Bacon / Kirkland if you can find it, great bacon
Tango Spice Cajun Rub / or any Tango Blend you wish

Method We Followed:
When I buy jalapenos I let them sit in a bowl on the counter for at least a day or two so they can continue to ripen a little bit
Once the jalapeno has been cut and cleaned, put in as large a piece of fig newton as you can fit, fig side up.
Lay bacon slices individually on a cutting board, sprinkle with Tango Spice.
Tightly wrap one slice bacon around one jalapeno, sprinkle with more Tango Spice.
Our Fig Poppers were placed on the top shelf of the warmer box, which was running along between 280 and 320 degrees, mostly on the 310 side. This is the first time using the warmer box with this set up and once I got the air flow dialed in it was smooth BBQ.
The Fig Poppers were in the box for a little over an hour, until the bacon got to where I like it. I like a decent set on it, bite through goodness.
Took them off and let ‘em cool for about 10 minutes then dove in, as the aroma was fantastic.

I will say right now, these were freakin’ amazing - a taste sensation that you NEED to try.

So, that is a small part of our Sunday Mid-Winter Cook Out.

Here’s a few pics!

As Always, Thank You For Reading!


Simple Ingredients!

Stuffed With Fig Newton Sweetness!

Fig Poppers In The Pan & Bacon Wrapped Brats!

Fig Poppers, Bacon Brats & Thrice Backed Beans!

Can Ya Smell What I Am Cookin'?

Hanging With Shirley Fabrication!

Look At That - I Know You Want Some!

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