Smoked Turkey

I find myself consistently disappointed with Thanksgiving turkey... Or rather with the white meat. While there are those who can cook turkey correctly (I'm thinking of my mother and my mom-in-law), it seems like most people manage to cook every ounce of flavor right out of the white meat, leaving it dry and completely flavorless. Thank goodness for the grill.

Smoked Turkey

Thaw Time: 1-3 days (Don't forget to factor this in!  If you don't completely thaw out your turkey then the frozen meat won't cook completely, so you'll either end up with a dry, over cooked turkey, or a "hot on the inside, uncooked in the middle" outcome)

Soak Wood Chips: 60 Minutes (Don't forget that you'll need to add woodchips 1 or 2 times throughout the process)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Time to Marinade: 0 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 - Turkey

1 Cup - Lemon Juice

1/2 Cube - Salted Butter (melted)

1 Can - Chicken Broth

Olive Oil

Spices:

Cajun Seasoning

Coarse Sea Salt

Black Pepper (freshly ground is preferable)

Directions:

1.) Setup your grill for indirect grilling and pre-heat to low-medium heat (or ~300 degrees).  If you are using a charcoal grill, remember that you will need to replenish the coals every hour or so.

2.) Mix together the lemon juice, melted butter, and chicken broth.  Add some cajun seasoning to the mixture to taste (I like to add 1-2 Tablespoons).  Using a cajun injector, inject a completely thawed turkey with the mixture (see this video to get the technique).

3.) Apply extra virgin olive oil (or, if you prefer, melted butter) over the surface to the turkey and spread it around with your hands to make sure you get an even coating.  Cover the turkey liberally with coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cajun seasoning.  Your turkey is now ready to be grilled.

4.) Position a drip pan in the center of the grill, beneath where you'll be placing the turkey.  Add pre-soaked wood chips to the coals (click here to see how you can do this on a gas grill).

5.) Position the turkey breast-down on the grill.  Cook for the appropriate time according to the table below, or until the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit.  (Try not to go past 175 degrees Fahrenheit or your meat will really start to dry out)

Approximate cook time:

4 to 8 pounds...................1-1/2 to 3-1/4 hours
8 to 12 pounds.................2-3/4 to 3 hours
12 to 14 pounds...............3 to 3-3/4 hours
14 to 18 pounds...............3-3/4 to 4-1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds...............4-1/4 to 4-1/2 hours
20 to 24 pounds...............4-1/2 to 5 hours

Note: Be sure to replenish your coals (if using a charcoal grill) and your wood chips every 1-1.5 hours.

6.) Remove the turkey from the grill (I HIGHLY recommend using these bad boys so you don't burn your hands), tent it with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest for 20 to 30 minutes

7.) Carve and enjoy.

Back in action (How to grill steak)

It's been a LONG time since I gave this blog the attention it deserved. But now that warmer weather is upon us, I thought I'd rededicate my efforts to providing interesting and delicious recipes, along with any tips/tricks I can throw in along the way.

On the horizon (in no particular order):
- Grilling an entire turkey (No more dry meat)
- Philly Cheese Porterhouse (as delicious as it sounds)
- Wood-burning grills - Doing it Argentine Style
- Tri-Tip (A bit of Santa Maria)

For today, enjoy a "how to" for grilling steaks (direct grilling, summarized):

1.) Season steaks before placing them over the heat. Use coarse sea salt and freshly ground or cracked black peppercorns.

2.) Set up 3 distinct heat zones
- Super high heat (for actual grilling - 600+ degrees F)
- Medium-high heat (400 degrees F)
- No heat (Safety zone in case of flareups)

3.) Place all steaks lined up in the same direction over the super high heat zone to keep grill marks consistent for a professional look

4.) After 2 minutes, rotate the steaks (don't flip them yet, just rotate them) 45 or 90 degrees to create a crosshatch of grill marks.

5.) Sear the steak for:
- 1-2 minutes (1/2 inch steak)
- 3-5 minutes (1 inch steak)
- 6-9 minutes (1.5 - 2 inch steak); Note: For steaks this thick, after searing, move the steak to the medium-high heat zone to finish cooking

6.) After searing, turn the steaks using tongs or a spatula.
NEVER use a fork, this allows the juices to escape

7.) Continue cooking on the other side, turning 45 or 90 degrees after 2 minutes.

8.) Top with a piece of butter or drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil

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.