Apple Pie Cornish Game Hens

My son started crying one morning and woke me up. Once he was back down, I found myself wide awake and unable to get back to sleep before I had to wake up for work an hour later. As I lay in bed awake, I came up with the following recipe. It's still a work in process. Oddly enough, I've found that it tasted a bit better cold than it did hot. If anyone has some suggestions on how to perfect the concept, I'm happy to hear them.

Please note with the spices that I am NEVER precise in measuring them out, opting instead for what feels/smells/tastes right. What you see below is an estimate of what I used.

Apple Pie Cornish Game Hens



Prep Time: 10-20 Minutes
Time to Marinade: 0 Minutes
Grill Time: 20-40 Minutes

Ingredients:
2 - Cornish Game Hens
1 can - Apple Pie Filling
Olive Oil
1 Cup - Brown Sugar

Spices:
1 Tbs - Ginger
1 Tbs - Basil
2 tsp - Cinnamon
1 tsp - Table Salt
Cayenne Pepper
Sea Salt

Directions:
1.) Preheat the grill to 400 degrees and oil it.

2.) Mix and blend the Applie Pie Filling, Brown Sugar, Ginger Powder, Basil, Table Salt and Cinnamon in a blender. Pour 1 or 2 cups of the mixture into a seperate container and set the blender aside in the refrigerator (you will use the mix left in the blender to coat the game hens when you serve them).

3.) Rinse the hens and cut them in half lengthwise down the rib-cage so that they lie flat open. Using a cajun injector, draw the applie pie mixture from the seperate container until the cajun injector is full. Inserting the injector deep into the meat, pump the hens full of the apple pie mixture in several places. Use 1 or 2 full syringes in each bird. (Click here to for a video on how to use the injector)

Note: DO NOT stick the cajun injector into the mixture that you have set aside in the blender; you don't want to contaminate it.

4.) Brush both sides of the birds with olive oil, then sprinkle them lightly and evenly with coarse sea salt and cayenne pepper.

5.) Grill the birds for 20-40 minutes, starting skin-side down and flipping them to skin-side up after 5-10 minutes. Repeat the process, flipping the birds every 5-10 minutes until they reach an internal temperature of 170 degrees.

6.) Display the entire bird face down (as pictured above and below). Take the pie-filling mixture that is left in the blender out of the fridge and either pour it over the top of the hens, or serve it as a sauce on-the-side.

Enjoy.

Cajun Beer-in-the-Butt Chicken

Well, last weekend's project turned out most delicious. I won't write out the recipee because you can find it on my last post. It's a cajun chicken that's grilled over 2 hours with a can of beer in its butt. The beer steams slowly into the meat as it cooks.



I used a gas grill, so I had to change things up a bit from the original recipee. It's a 4-burner grill, so I still used the indirect method. I turned my two side burners to medium heat and left the middle burners turned off. The heat was a bit uneven, so I found that I had to turn the chicken a few times as it cooked.

Also, I used mesquite woodchips (instead of hickory wood chunks) to smoke the chicken after soaking them in beer for a few hours. No real rhyme or reason to it, mesquite is just what I happened to have lying around.

The end result was a sensual masterpiece:



I think I'll make another this weekend. HIGHLY recommend this recipee.

Cajun Beer Chicken

Here is this weekend's project:



I expect it should turn out most delicious. Maybe I'll adapt it for cornish game hens instead....

Cedar Tilapia

I adapted this recipe for the grill. The original recipe came from my sister. It's quick, easy, and delicious.

Cedar Tilapia



Prep Time: 10-20 minutes
Time to Marinade: 1 hour (soaking time for the cedar wraps)
Grill Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:
1.5 Pounds - Tilapia
1 - Large egg
1 Tbs. - Water
1/4 Cup - Olive oil
1/2 Cup - Grated Parmesan

Spices:
Sea Salt - To Taste
Pepper - To Taste

Other items:
Cedar Wraps - (Soaked for approx. 1 hour)
Butcher String - (Soaked for a few minutes)

Directions:

1.) Preheat grill to medium heat. If you are using cedar wraps, don't forget to soak them for ~1 hour.

2.) Mix egg, water, and olive oil.

3.) Dip each tilapia fillet one by one into the egg mixture. Remove and LIGHTLY sprinkle both sides with pepper and sea salt. Add a generous amount of grated parmasean to both sides of the fillet.

4.) Wrap fillets in the cedar wraps (one or two per wrap) and tie off with butcher string.



5.) Grill over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until fish has reached desired internal temperature, turning halfway through.

6.) Remove from grill. Cut butcher string, remove fillets, and enjoy.

Cedar Wraps

I was shopping for some planks when I came across these:





They're thin cuts of Cedar wood. The idea is that you wrap your food in these bad boys before grilling. Since they were only $6.95 for a pack of 10 on Amazon, I had to give them a shot. I decided to grill some tilapia, something I had been meaning to do for a while (see the recipe above).

The Good: Added a delicious plank-like cedar taste to the tilapia at a small fraction of the cost

The Bad: They're very small, limiting what they can be used for; They're flimsey and break easily; They're thin enough to become a fire hazard if you're grilling a cut that will take more than 10-20 minutes.

I would recommend these and I'll be using them again whenever a cut of meat/fish is small enough to fit. For larger cuts, I'll stick with planks.

4th of July BBQ

For the 4th, we had some of our friends over for a BBQ. Although I didn't get pictures of every course of the meal, here's an overview:

We started off with Chicken Kabobs:


I prepared the chicken using my standard lemon/lime recipee, then cut it into cubes. I added onions, red and yellow peppers, and zucchini. The zucchini I seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.

After the kabobs, I finally got around to making the cheese steak I've been wanting to make. Although, I didn't realize that a tenderloin cost $60-100, so I used a couple of roasts instead. It tasted amazing, but in hindsight I should have used some New York steaks instead. The roast didn't hold up to being stuffed too well. Much of the cheese melted out (catching my just-cleaned grease pan on fire yet again).

We then moved on to the sliders:


The process was simple. My wife made some small burgers from ground beef, adding chopped onions and some hamburger spices. We served them on french rolls with cheddar cheese.


The Grilled corn was simply amazing:


I've seen many different methods for cooking grilled corn (sheared and wrapped in tinfoil with ice, etc.). I decided to leave the husks on and throw them straight on the grill, rotating a quarter turn every 5-minutes or so. It took ~20-30 minutes to grill on high. I just waited until the husk was charred all the way around.

For dessert I served grilled bananas. Here's the recipee:

S'More Bananas
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Time to Marinade: N/A
Grill time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients:
Bananas
Chocolate Chips
Mini Marshmallows
Brown Sugar

Directions:
1.) Leave the banana in the peel. Cut the banana in half lengthwise, but don't go all the way through the back end of the peel (think of a hot dog bun).

2.) Open the banana wide enough to sprinkle with brown sugar. Then add a layer of chocolate chips, followed by a layer of marshmallow. Close the banana again and wrap in aluminum foil.

3.) Grill for ~5 minutes on high.

4.) Open the banana and eat with a spoon.

Pork Cakes

While I had originally planned to make tenderloin cheese steak this weekend, I decided to hold off on it until the 4th. Instead, I came up with something a bit different that I like to call Pork Cakes. They are so named because, once we bit into them, my wife and I realized that they were lacking a bit for flavor. So, as if they were pancakes, we starting adding different toppings getting great results. My personal favorite was raspberry jam. Some more options are listed below, although the sky is really the limit.

Have a look:

Pork Cakes



Prep Time: 30-60 minutes
Time to Marinade: 0 Minutes
Grill Time: 1-2 Hours

Ingredients:
1 - Pork Tenderloin
1 - Apple cored and chopped
1/4 - Cup dried apricots
1/2 cup & 2 Tbs. - Orange Marmalade
1/2 cup & 2 Tbs. - Orange Juice

Spices:
1 Tbs - Chives
1/8 tsp - Ground Cardamom (Note: if you do not have Ground Cardamom, substitute 1/2 Tbs of Chives)
To Taste - Sea Salt

Toppings:
Honey
Brown Sugar
Pinneapple Salsa
Raspberry Jam
etc.

Other items:
Butcher String

Directions:
Note on Grill Prep: My approach was to smoke the meat indirectly using wood chips. A very clear approach to this technique on a gas grill can be found here.

1.) Preheat grill to medium heat and lightly grease.

2.) Mix chopped apples, dried appricots, chives, ground cardamom, 2Tbs orange marmalade and 2Tbs orange juice. Set aside.

3.) Trim excess fat from pork tenderloin. Cut the meat in half lengthwise to creat an opening (as if it were a hot dog bun). Be careful not to cut all the way through the meat! Place the meat on top of butcher string, which will be used to tie the meat shut after it has been stuffed. (Note: For help stuffing the meat, watch the video on my previous post)

4.) Fold open the meat. Take the mixture from step 2 and spoon it into the opening in the meat until it is fully stuffed. If desired, add sea salt to the inside of the meat. (Note: I was going for a sweeter taste when I made this, so I went very light on the salt. If you want a spicier or saltier meat, spice accordingly)

4.) Close the meat over top of the stuffing. Using the butcher string, tie the meat shut using a surgeon knot (watch the video on my previous post). Lightly salt the outside of the tenderloin.

5.) Turn off the burners on one side of your grill. Place the tenderloin on the side of the grill that has the burners turned OFF. Cook with grill lid closed.



6.) Turn the meat a quarter turn every 10-15 minutes for 1-2 hours or until cooked clear through (internal temp. of 160F).

7.) Remove the meat from the grill and place it on a cutting board. Wait 10 minutes - this will help the meat to tenderize and taste more juicy.



8.) Cut the tenderloin width-wise into small, circular "cakes". Serve with the toppings listed above, or with additional toppings or spices to your liking.

Inspired principally by this recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/meat/fruit-stuffed-pork-chops/

Tenderloin Cheese Steak over Wood & Grilled Garlic Bread

Hate to post two YouTube videos in a row, but this one is my project for Saturday and I don't want to lose track of it! Although, I'll have to adapt it for my gas grill.

Widely-applicable tips from the video:
1.) Never cut into meat hot off the grill. Wait 10 minutes for the meat to relax and you will find it much more juicy.
2.) Be sure to add plenty of flavor - grilling is delicious but not subtle.
3.) To oil a grill, impale half of an onion with a butcher fork, dip it in oil, and use the onion to spread the oil across the grill grate.

Grilled Pizza

On Sunday I decided to experiment with some grilled pizza. I made the standard - Pepperoni and cheese with marinara sauce. For the crust I just used some Pillsbury Dough Boy readymade pizza crust; so all I had to do was throw it straight on the grill, add the pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, and let cook for a few minutes.

It amazes me how absolutely everything tastes better on the grill! Pizza was no exception. What makes grilled pizza particularly great is that in only takes ~10-15 minutes - prep time included.

Here's a cheesy, but informative video on the process:

Too long without cleaning

A week ago on Friday I had some friends from work over for a BBQ to help break-in the new grill. I had owned my grill for 2 weeks at the time. What I had forgotten, was that I had used it 9 times since I brought it home...

In those two weeks, I had also forgotten to clean the grease pan. Even showed up and I starting cooking some steaks and chicken over low heat. When I noticed the temperature of my grill was rising to an overwhelming level, I opened it up to find that my grease pan was on fire.

I quickly turned off the gas, but the damage had been done. The steaks had all been charred and the chicken was as dry as saltine crackers.

Yes, I'm an idiot.

Welcome - Lemon/Lime Chicken

Welcome to Sneak's Grill.



In this blog I intend to post all about my grilling experiences. Posts will consist of my successes, mistakes, recipes, and tips that I pick up along the way.

For this, my first post, enjoy a chicken recipe that I created last week:


Lemon/Lime Chicken

Prep time: 20-30 minutes
Time to marinade: 3hours+ (optional)
Grill time: 10-20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 - Chicken Breasts
1-2 - Cans of Sprite/7-Up
0-1 - Cups of Water
1 Tbs - Lemon Juice
1 Tbs - Olive Oil
1 - Fresh Lime

Spices:
Lemon Pepper
Sea Salt

Directions:
1.) Place un-spiced chicken breasts (frozen or thawed) in a pot or sauce pan (must be large enough to hold all ingredients). Add Sprite or 7-Up and Lemon Juice. Add water, as needed, until chicken breasts are completely submerged.

2.) Cover the pot or sauce pan and allow chicken to marinade for at least 3 hours. (Note: This step can be skipped if you are in a time-crunch)

3.) On a stove-top, bring the liquid to boiling over hi-heat. Boil for about 1 minute.

4.) Remove chicken from the liquid and place on a plate. Pour olive oil over top of the breasts. Lightly spice both sides of the breasts using lemon pepper and sea salt to taste. Remember that the Sprite or 7-Up will make the chicken sweet.

5.) Grill over high heat with the lid closed until chicken reaches appropriate internal temperature (approx. 10-15 minutes), flipping halfway through. The chicken will cook more quickly than normal because it has just been boiled! While the chicken is on the grill, squeeze one half of the fresh lime on both sides. For additional lemon flavor, consider squeezing fresh lemon juice onto the chicken as well.

The Good: Boiling the chicken in Sprite or 7-Up softens the chicken and allows you to cut down time on the grill, keeping the chicken from drying out. Boiling in soda also delivers a sweet flavor very deep into the chicken.

The Bad: Requires more prep time than I'd like, but the prep time certainly isn't prohibitive!