The last Family BBQ I went to I was asked to bring a fruit platter.
Max.

... next time they're gonna think that through and ask you to bring plain fruit!

 

The last Family BBQ I went to I was asked to bring a fruit platter.
Max.

Alas, the creativity.

Ron

 

Did a nice chunk of tri-tip steak last night on my grill. I used a fair amount of charcoal, and placed the piece of meat on top of the live fire, allowing it to blacken a bit on the outside, while measuring its core temp carefully at all times.

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the sliced, finished product . So you're just gonna have to take my word that it was absolutely juicy and delicious!

I'm intrigued, because I would normally never do that! I'm wondering what the concept is here? I guess I get the idea that the outer few millimeters can/will be sacrificed, so you might as well get it over with. But couldn't you get a similar result on the inside without the outer char?

 

I'm intrigued, because I would normally never do that! I'm wondering what the concept is here? I guess I get the idea that the outer few millimeters can/will be sacrificed, so you might as well get it over with. But couldn't you get a similar result on the inside without the outer char?

Yes, you could get similar results on the inside without using the live-fire technique. But the outer char is actually delicious! ... so no sacrifice there, as long as it doesn't become too thick. That's why I left it on the fire for just a few moments, and closed the lid afterward....

 

The last Family BBQ I went to I was asked to bring a fruit platter.
Max.

Makes me think of this.....

kv

 

WOW, nice grill peach!!!!!! where is amazing happen

 

I intend this to be the last of the threads that I plan to maintain and keep alive in the off-topic section of this forum. Those who know me are already familiar with my other threads, which are Picture This, Glad I'm not a passenger, and The Pets of AAC.

Anyway, I thought that one important thing that was missing in this place was the one thing that separates us from all the rest of the creatures in this earth... that is, our primal love of fire and the way we've mastered it to suit our nutritional yearnings...

This thread is intended for mainly sharing our experiences regarding outdoors cooking (but feel free to post indoors cooking experiences too, if you like).

I'd like it to cover:

• Grilling tips and tricks
• Grilling pictures
• Grilling equipment
• Grilling (and cooking) recipes
• Grilling anecdotes and stories.
  
• And of course... Grilling electronic projects. There are many, many gadgets that I'd like to work on that could be useful for this purpose... For instance, I'd like to make multiple temperature and humidity measurements in my smoker and wirelessly transmit them to my pc and keep a log... just in case I've cooked something right!... I want to remember what I did... even if it wasn't on purpose!

If by chance, some good idea starts in this thread, we can always take it to the projects forum for completion and link it from here.

So, without much further ado, here go my first recipes.


Veggie casserole:

• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 orange bell pepper
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper
• 1 Poblano pepper
• 2 Zucchini squash
• 1 red onion
• 1/3 butter stick

View attachment 88121


Dice all the veggies, except the poblano pepper, and place them along with the butter in a pan, letting them slowly warm a little away from the live fire. Season generously with salt and pepper, (I use Season All) and possibly a little celery salt, if you like the taste.

View attachment 88123

In the meantime, place the poblano pepper atop the live fire, and let it burn for a while until the skin blackens and starts to peel.

View attachment 88124

After that happens, cut it in half, seed it, and remove the stalk. Then dice it and put it in the pan with all the other veggies.
Keep stirring the veggies every once in a while to make sure that the heat is evenly distributed and the veggies at the bottom don't burn and stick to the pan.

When the onion goes almost transparent, then it's time to move the pan away from the fire and place a few slices of gouda cheese on top.

View attachment 88128


Cover the pan and let it rest for a few minutes. Then stir the ingredients.

View attachment 88129

Serve it as a side dish, or better yet, fix yourself some tacos and enjoy.


Using proper racks for ribs and chicken legs saves a lot of space on the grill:

View attachment 88125

Also, I recommend cooking those two sorts of meats away from the fire... offset-y way. They will take much longer to cook (about 2-1/2 hrs), but it's worth it.
One easy way to know if the legs are done is by gently twisting the drumstick away from the thigh... if you feel that it has dislodged easily, then it's done and ready to serve.
Telling if the ribs are done is a lot easier... they're done after the meat has pulled away from the tip of the bone.

BTW... those are cactus leaves that I'm grilling... they release this not-so-nice-looking viscous fluid while they're being cooked (we say they drool), but after they're done (which is when they've blackened a little and release no more fluid) you only have to cut them in thin slices, and pour some salt and a generous amount of lemon (lime?) juice on them. They're very healthy and quite delicious.


If you're going to serve tacos... you gotta do it with style!:

View attachment 88126



Half bell peppers stuffed with goat cheese:

View attachment 88127

• Take a few bell peppers of all colors, cut them in half and seed them.
• Place them directly on the live fire, gently brushing them with olive oil.
• When they start to warm, take them off the fire and place them on a pan.
• Using a spoon, put some goat cheese in them. I like to use the type that comes already seasoned and with onion chives in it.
• Generously sprinkle soy sauce and english sauce on them.
• Add a little dry hot red pepper to them (the pizza type), if you'd like them spicy.
• Serve and enjoy.

Here's a list of some of my acquaintances that I think might like to have a look at this thread.

@MaxHeadRoom, @ronv, @#12, @djsfantasi, @Sinus23, @nerdegutta, @R!f@@, @GopherT, @WBahn, @atferrari, @Wendy, @strantor, @nsaspook, @killivolt, @shortbus, @JohnInTX, @RichardO, @jpanhalt, @OBW0549, @joeyd999, @MikeML, @wayneh

My apologies to those that did not find it interesting, and to those that may be interested but that I've forgotten to tag.

They look so goooood! Now, I'm hungry

 

Fathers day rack of ribs.


Still about an hour to go.

 

Looking good there Kermit. Got a few T-Bones here to grill shortly. Kathy, my wife, just picked up 7 nice racks of ribs last week on a meat farm run. I need to get to those.

Ron

 

Tried making these last night and canceled due rain. Got back from my bicycle ride, jumped int he shower. Got out of the shower and it sounded like the shower was still on. It was raining again. So I said screw the rain and popped these on. Of course just as they were done it stopped raining again.

 

Rain delay? They look good.

Ron

 

My first attempt at pork tacos al pastor is underway!

It'll marinade overnight and I'll skewer and grill the meat tomorrow.

 

Looking good. Marinating overnight should yield some seriously good pork on the grill. There is just something about how pineapple compliments pork or chicken. Enjoy!

Ron

 

Looking good. Marinating overnight should yield some seriously good pork on the grill. There is just something about how pineapple compliments pork or chicken. Enjoy!

Ron

i haven't yet added the pineapple juice! One of us is allergic to fruit. I may split off a fraction for him rather than compromise the whole batch.

 

i haven't yet added the pineapple juice! One of us is allergic to fruit. I may split off a fraction for him rather than compromise the whole batch.

Reminds me of things to be thankful for. I have no food allergies. Thanks for the reminder.

Ever notice how certain fruits and fruit juices seem to compliment certain meats? Also how well certain fruits grill when the sugars burn a little? I hope the pork tacos al pastor come out real good.

Ron

 

Reminds me of things to be thankful for. I have no food allergies. Thanks for the reminder.

Ever notice how certain fruits and fruit juices seem to compliment certain meats? Also how well certain fruits grill when the sugars burn a little? I hope the pork tacos al pastor come out real good.

Ron

Add some grilled pineapple sliced and diced along with some pico de gallo to them tacos, and I guarantee they will be scrumptious...

 

Add some grilled pineapple sliced and diced along with some pico de gallo to them tacos, and I guarantee they will be scrumptious...

That's an excellent idea. I can just keep the pineapple to the side. The juice won't be on the pork to tenderize it, but that shouldn't really be a problem with thin-sliced pork.

 

That's an excellent idea. I can just keep the pineapple to the side. The juice won't be on the pork to tenderize it, but that shouldn't really be a problem with thin-sliced pork.

The juice makes a difference too when tenderizing. So making two batches would be in order. Then again, keeping things simple is a staple of Mexican cuisine...

Hope you have a great get-together, my friend.

 

The juice makes a difference too when tenderizing. So making two batches would be in order. Then again, keeping things simple is a staple of Mexican cuisine...

MEXICAN FOOD HISTORY
One of several good reads on the subject. Growing up NYC with an Italian mother from Brooklyn we ate frugal but very good. Vegetables, and chicken as chicken was inexpensive and abundant as well as hamburger. Also, growing up Long Island if it comes out of the water you eat it so fish and shell food was added to poultry.
What I like about Mexican Cuisine is the history, other than it simple taste good and is in many cases simple fare. I like to look at the origins of geographical areas and see how their cuisine originated, what influenced it?

Ron

 

MEXICAN FOOD HISTORY
One of several good reads on the subject. Growing up NYC with an Italian mother from Brooklyn we ate frugal but very good. Vegetables, and chicken as chicken was inexpensive and abundant as well as hamburger. Also, growing up Long Island if it comes out of the water you eat it so fish and shell food was added to poultry.
What I like about Mexican Cuisine is the history, other than it simple taste good and is in many cases simple fare. I like to look at the origins of geographical areas and see how their cuisine originated, what influenced it?

Ron

Mexican food is a universe in itself. Most people don't know it, buit it can easily be compared in diversity and complexity to French cuisine. There are many different influences in its history that are derived not only from the many different sub cultures in the country, but also from the uniqueness of the available ingredients in each region.

I'll be back later and post articles and recipes to that regard. In the meantime, have a great friday