Dutch Oven Chicken Experiment

We have been very big fans of Joanie & Dean over at Outdoor Cast Iron Cooking for a while now and this has lead us to search out other great cast iron cooking videos. The other day we came across a dutch oven chicken meal that looked very good, this was over at Snowalker13's channel.

While out back chopping firewood on a very nice day we put together a small fire pit and cooked up a version of this dish. The wood pile took up too much time to allow for a full video but we did take some pics of the cook. Hope you enjoy.

Here is what was in the pot

Dutch Oven Chicken

Some Oil

5 Yellow Potatoes / halved

1 Turnip / peeled & sliced

1 Yellow Onion / chopped

2 Large Carrots / peeled & sliced

3 Stalks Celery / chopped

some Rosemary, Sage & Thyme

2 to 3 Cups Turkey Stock

12 OZ Pilsner Beer

2 TBS Wondra - new to me - used for a thickener

Tango Spice Twist & Shout Rub

1 Roasting Chicken / split

Putting this together was real simple.

Put 2 or 3 TBS canola or olive oil in the dutch oven, add the sliced potatoes and slide around to coat. Set them all sliced side up and sprinkle with Twist & Shout.

Add the turnip, onion, carrots, celery and herbs.

Pour in the turkey stock.

Mix the pilsner and the wondra and pout into the pot.

Place chicken on top of the other ingredients, skin side up and sprinkle on some Twist & Shout.

Close the lid and place on some hot coals.

Now I know that I am not using the Dutch oven in the exact right way. There is a coal count for the bottom and the top. Since I was busy with wood chopping and other yard work it was easier for me to just set it and check back on it every once in a while. 

The chicken I had was also a little over 7 pounds, and cooking a 5 pounder would have been better as it would have fit nicer under the lid. Since it did sit so high I did not put any coals on the lid until 20 minutes into the cook.

As I start using the Dutch oven more, I will definitely start to count coals and check the timing more closely. One thing I know is that the chicken came out amazingly moist, and this is a very cool way to prepare a hot meal while messing around in the yard.

You can check out Snowalker's video here.

Snowalker's Dutch Oven Chicken

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Ingredients Are Ready

Simple Fire Ring

Seasoned Potatoes

Ready For The Chicken

Needs Some Twist & Shout

That's Better

Now We're Cookin'!

Ready For Some Top Heat

A Few Coals On The Top

Blackened Chicken - Yum

Ready To Eat

Moist & Delicious!

Hot 2 Trot Collard Green Mini Corn Muffins!

The Holiday Get Together & Gathering Season is upon us and the call for easy to prepare snacks is at an all time high! Having a spicy bite to eat to nibble on a must for any party. Here is a small pass around snack that is easy to prepare and darn tasty!

Corn Muffins? Not a very exciting snack you say?

Well, these Tango Mini Corn Muffins are not your every day, run of the mill snack of crumbly & dusty tumbleweeds of the appetizer table - Oh Not By Any Means! This recipe is moist, light & fluffy, with just the right amount of heat as well, thanks to the addition of Tango Spice Hot 2 Trot Blend.

Whip up a batch of these and watch them disappear! Of course, they are so good that they may disappear even before your guests arrive!

Hot 2 Trot Collard Green Corn Muffins!

Makes 48 mini muffins

Ingredients:

2 Boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

1 TBS Tango Spice Hot 2 Trot Blend^^

4 Eggs

1/4 Cup Milk

1 Cup Cottage Cheese

1 14 oz Can Allen's Seasoned Collard Greens / Completely Drained

2 TBS Butter

1/2 Cup Chopped Red Onion

1 Clove Garlic / Minced

Directions:

In a medium bowl blend corn muffin mix & Hot 2 Trot, set aside.

In a large bowl, blend whisk the eggs to break up yokes.

add milk and cottage cheese, blend well.

Add drained collard greens, blend well.

Add the corn muffin mix, stir until everything is incorporated.

Set aside and allow to sit for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a skillet sauté onion to soften just a little, about 3 minutes.

Add the garlic, turn off the heat and stir to combine. Allow to cool for the remainder of the 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350

After the the 20 minutes are up, fold the onion & garlic into the muffin mix. No need to be aggressive here, just gently incorporate them in.

Grease mini muffin pan* and place one tablespoon of mix in each.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on your oven, until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minute before removing from pan. A plastic knife will help where the collard green may stick, though these should just pop out.

These light & fluffy treats are great by themselves or with a dash of hot sauce on top. The size it just right to drop a couple into a bowl of steaming chili.

Enjoy!

* For a 13 X 9 pan, bake for 35 to 40 minutes. These are good, but less fluffy than the minis.

* For 2 TBS regular sized muffin, bake for 14 to 16 minutes. These are lighter than the pan baked, but still not as fluffy as the minis.

^^ Any Tango Spice Blend can be substituted. For the spiciest bite, try our Tango Verde!

A Few Simple Ingredients

Tango In The Center Of The Action!

Nice & Fluffy!

Makes A Great Plate!

Go Ahead, Have A Bite!

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Hurricane Sandy Monday Morning Report!

   This morning I took a short walk to the end of the block to see how the surf was acting as Hurricane Sandy was approaching Long Island.
   This is what I saw - an update that is short and to the point.
   May have to go out again in a little bit to see how up the surf actually is!

Tango Verde Immune Boosting Soup!

When the winds of fall start to blow, the humble bowl of soup starts to take center stage on many a menu. A couple of years back our neighbor Melissa gave is a recipe for what she called Immune Boosting Soup. That first batch was a very tasty soup indeed, and it surely did take the chill off a dark autumn evening. 

This particular version of Immune Booting Soup gets a little spiced up thanks to the addition of our very own Tango Verde Green Chili Powder. The combination of Jalapeño & Habenero powders in Tango Verde will give this soup a nice kick. After a bowl of this you will definitely be feeling the warmth flowing throughout your entire self.

Of course, adding more of the Tango Verde will always be a heart warming option.

Tango Verde Immune Boosting Soup

Ingredients:

2 TBS Olive Oil

1 Cup Chopped Carrots

4 Garlic Cloves / crushed

1 Inch Ginger Root / peeled and minced fine

2 Leeks / washed & chopped fine

3 Shitake Mushrooms / chopped

5 Cups Hot Water

5 Asparagus Stalks / chopped

1 tsp Tango Spice Tango Verde* (or more)

2 TBS White Miso

Directions:

Heat olive oil over medium high heat until it shimmers.

Add the carrots and sauté for 1 minute.

Add garlic, ginger & leeks, sauté for 3 minutes.

Add shitake, sauté for one minute. 

Add water and bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer on medium low for 10 to 15 minutes.

Put miso in a small bowl, ladle out one cup of broth, add to bowl and stir to dissolve miso.

Add miso mixture to soup and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Right before serving, garnish with fresh cilantro or basil.

*Tango Spice's Hot 2 Trot or Southwest Sunset blends also work great in this recipe.

Enjoy!

One more thing that we have enjoyed about this soup is that it works excellent as a base for heartier, meatier soups. Simply by adding any left over pulled pork, smoked brisket, grilled chicken or bbq rib meat, you have a soup that can also please the meat eaters at the table.

Please let me know if you decide to try this recipe.

Gather The Ingredients

Dice Them Nice & Small

Enjoy Some Healthy & Spicy Soup

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Practice Chicken Thighs!

What's not to like about chicken thighs? Small, easy to prepare and full of that dark meat chicken goodness. In my fledgling quest to get better at BBQ and one day to perhaps compete I have been trying  each of the four main competition food groups. There is of course brisket, ribs, pulled pork and chicken.

Chicken Thighs were on the menu for this 'practice cook'. I started with a family pack of eight thighs which were on sale for 99 cents a pound. One thing I have been finding is that when you do score a good price on thighs, they are far from the best trimmed, so even at a low price you are paying for some waste.

The thighs were put in a plastic container and covered with a combination of a 12 ounce Lawry's Chile Lime marinade and 1 cup of Frank's hot sauce. Those sat in the fridge for about 5 hours. After marination the thighs were placed on a cutting board where I trimmed off any excess skin & fat. I also cut off the joints from the bones. This seems to help roll them into a more uniform shape.

After that it was a nice coating of Tango's Chik 'N Rib Rub.

Smoked these on the Weber Smokey Mountain at about 230 degrees.

After 90 minutes the chicken was coated with a glaze made from a 50/50 mixture of inexpensive bbq sauce and agave nectar. This combination is tangy and sweet and also sets up real nice.

After the first glazing the temps were checked and a little more of the sauce mixture was applied until they got to an internal temp of 165. The chicken was then taken off and covered for a few minutes to cool of just a bit.

The chicken came out really nice, very tender and juicy. Still not up to competition levels but getting there. The left over chicken made an amazing chicken salad as well.

As Always, Thank You For Reading!
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Regular Charcoal & Apple Wood

Getting The Coals Started

Coated & Ready

On The WSM - Let's Practice

Time To Sauce

Sauced!

Ready To Eat!

Beef Ribs!

I was walking through Restaurant Depot the other day and saw a good price on some beef ribs and knew I had to have me some!

These were cooked on the Sweet Home Pellet Smoker @ 220 for just over five hours.

To Foil Or Not To Foil - that was the question and I decided to try the foil method on the ribs. Not matter how ya Q if the food comes out tasting so darn great it's all good!

Before rubbin' the ribs with our Midnight Espresso I coated each rack with a 2 to 1 mixture of yellow mustard and Worcestershire Sauce.

After three hours at 220 I foiled the racks with a little pilsner beer and set them back on for 60 minutes. After that it was time to get out of the foil and back in the smoker.

One rack was then sauced twice with Pumpkin Patch Smokey Rib Sauce, while the other was just left with only the Midnight Espresso.

Darn happy with the way they turned out, tender and darned tasty. Even have some left over for a future meal. Smoked Beef Rib Dumplings?

As Always, Thank You For Reading!

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Mustard & Wooster Sauce

Coated With Midnight Espresso

Hit The Pellet Smoker

One Hour Gone 

Three Hours & Ready For Foil

Foil & Beer

After 1 Hour Foiled - Back In The Smoker

Five Hours - Ready To Eat!

Can't Wait To Dig In!

Look At That Smoke Ring!

Nice Plate

Southwest Peach Salsa!

Summer Of Salsa!

Summer is here and the air has taken on that sometimes stifling feel to it. With temps in the mid 90s for the past few days it is nice to whip up something quick that is both tasty and refreshing.

Here is a sweet & spicy salsa that is easy to prepare and really hits the spot on a hot day.

With farm stands and grocer's shelves stocked with peaches, there is no way to you can pass up this summertime treat.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Diced Peaches**

1/2 Cup Diced Red Onion

2 Jalapeños / roasted, peeled, seeded and diced

2 TBS Chopped Cilantro

1 TBS Agave Nectar

1 TBS Rice Vinegar

1 tsp Tango Spice Southwest Sunset

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, blend well.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Enjoy!

This is a great salsa, sweet and spicy. Get it real chilled and it tastes so good on a hot day.

**When using the peaches you can go one of two ways.

Use less than ripe peaches, which are quite snappy for a crunchier salsa.

Use the ripe peaches for a juicier & sweeter salsa.

This salsa is best made and eaten the same day

Also, spoon this over a fresh off the grill pork chop and you are Good To Go!

Here Are The Ingredietns

Southwest Sunset - So Good In Salsa

Those Jalapeños Are Sweating

Let's Roast Some Peppers

Lookin' Good

Grab A Chip

Heck, Grab A Spoon!

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