June 2016 – Gas is For Work, Not My BGE

Smoked/Grilled Chicken Thighs

Tonight we had some large skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs that needed cooking. Naturally, the BGE gets the call! I wanted a decent smoke flavor and a seasoning with some depth.

I lightly coated them with some olive oil, then seasoned both sides with Mike’s All Purpose Seasoning (Spicy Recipe). I purchased this a while back from a vendor at the Livingston Farmers’ Market, yet I had only used it a time or two. (Website for Mike’s – http://www.mikesseaonings.com ).

Egg set-up: In the past I have used both indirect & direct cooks for chicken. The indirect cook allows using a high temp, but it is difficult to get a crispy skin (elevated, indirect helps). With a hot, direct cook, one gets crispy skin, but at the risk of flare-ups that often give black, charred skin instead. The set-up from my pork chop cook yesterday gave me an idea for a new technique. Two Grill Grate panels were resting on the lower level of my Adjustable Rig (AR), about 4-5 inches below the top of the AR, on which the BGE grid was positioned. I thought this would give a pseudo, or false indirect cook since the Grill Grates would block most of the direct heat from the lump (they have multiple holes in them to let drippings fall through without flaring up), but they would emit considerable heat for cooking the thighs from underneath.

Adjustable Rig with Grill Grates on the lowest level and the BGE grid on top . (Buy Grill Grates on Amazon – Grill Grates ).

On the way home from work I heard an ad for a great BBQ restaurant saying they cook with a combination of hickory and pecan. I thought – why not? After I got a clean, 350* fire burning, I added 2 small chunks of hickory and 2 handfuls of pecan chips (all dry). After the heavy white, acrid smoke burned off, I placed the thighs, skin up, on the grid. I was amazed at the great color on them with the first check, when I was inserting a Maverick E-732 wireless, continuous-read thermometer. (Buy at Amazon – Maverick E-732 ).

When the internal temp reached about 145-150*, I removed the thighs and the grid. I then seared them on the Grill Grates for 2 minutes on each side. Final temp was 165-180*, depending on the size of the thigh.

They were juicy, had a great smoke flavor, and the Mike’s Seasoning really worked well. It met Jana’s approval and was served with black rice, pan-roasted broccoli florets, a salad and Asian dipping sauce.

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

**********

Ingredients:
Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Olive Oil
Favorite rub or herbal seasoning

Instructions:
(1) Lightly coat both sides of the thighs with olive oil, then generously apply the rub or seasoning of choice.
(2) Prepare a fire at 350-400* and add hickory and pecan chunks or chips. When heavy white smoke clears one can begin the cook.
(3) Indirect technique – works better if one can create an elevated cooking surface, as the heat coming from the ceramic dome will help cook the chicken faster and crisp up the skin. With indirect, I will sometimes get the dome temp closer to 500*.
(4) Direct technique – build a smaller fire (less lump) and try to elevate the grid as far from the lump as possible. This will allow a hotter fire (400-500*), but less flare-ups since the distance to the lump is increased. Turn thighs frequently to prevent excessive charring of the skin.
(5) Combo technique – begin cook indirect and then use a direct sear when the internal temp reaches about 150*.

Brined pork chops

Jana purchased some boneless, center-cut pork chops from Sam’s Club, so tonight I decided to grill them using a flavor brine. My simplistic explanation: The salt in a brine is more concentrated than the salt in the meat so initially water flows out of the meat into the brine solution to attempt to balance the salt concentrations. After 30 minutes or so, this process reverses itself, with the water and salt going back into the meat. The salt breaks protein bonds in the meat, capturing water molecules within the proteins and increasing the moisture content of the meat. Any flavors added to the brine will enter the meat along with the salt, infusing flavor into the depths of the meat.

I made a 5% brine solution plus I added 1 tablespoon of Cluck and Squeal’s All Purpose Rub as the flavor. I kept the pork chops in the brine in the refrigerator for about 2 hours, before removing and briefly rinsing under running water to remove any excess salt. I dried them, added a light coating olive oil on all sides and dusted liberally with the same rub that was in the brine solution.

I wanted a smoky, slow initial cook, with a quick finishing sear at the end. I got a good fire going in my large BGE with a platesetter in place and a foil drip pan on it. I added a couple of handfuls of dry cherry chips and smoked the chops until their internal temp was about 118-120*.

I removed chops and the platesetter, added 2 panels of my Grill Grates and got the dome temp up to 400*. I then seared the chops about 90 sec. on each side, then I held them with tongs while I seared the fat along the edges.

They were very juicy and one could taste the flavor throughout the whole chop. Delicious!!

Here are colorful pictures of Jana’s mixed, oven-roasted veggies, including our garden squash, and her tasty sautéed Asian green beans.

A little black rice finished off the meal!

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

**********

Ingredients:
2 center-cut, boneless pork chops (a least an inch thick)
50 gm Morton Kosher salt
1 T Favorite rub
800 ml water
Olive oil

Instructions:
(1) Make a 5% (6% if using non-metric measures) brine solution. Add 50 gm Morton Kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of rub to 800 ml water. Mix with a whisp until all the salt is dissolved, then add ice until the volume equals 1 liter. Pour this into a ziplock bag with the pork chops and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to overnight. (For non-metric measures, use 1/4 c Morton Kosher salt, 1 T rub, and 3.5 quarts of water. When mixed well, add ice to a total volume of 4 quarts (6% solution).
(2) Remove the chops from the brine and rinse briefly under running water to remove some of the salt. Dry them well, then coat all sides with olive oil. Apply rub to both sides of the chops and allow sit at room temp while getting the fire ready.
(3) Prepare a low-temp (250-300*) indirect fire. Add any preferred wood chips then the chops. Cook until they reach an internal temp of 118-120*. Remove the chops, convert the fire to a direct, hot fire for searing (400-500*). Sear the chops for abut 90 sec. per side, then using tongs and gloves, sear the fat edge of each chop.
(4) Remove and rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Grilled Cajun Cobia (lemon fish)

I recently acquired some fresh cobia (also known as lemon fish) from my local fish monger (Duggan’s Fish Truck). Having never grilled cobia, I obtained this recipe from the owner, John Lester.

Cobia has a firm, white flesh and since the filets are rather thick it tolerates the direct heat from the grill without drying out.

I got the large BGE to about 350-400* dome temperature with inverted Grill Grates elevated on an adjustable rig, creating a griddle-like surface (to read about or purchase on Amazon, click on the link: Grill Grates ).

I coated the fish on both sides with olive oil, then applied a light coating of Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, followed by a light coating of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Then I finished with a layer of Smoked Paprika.

I generously swabbed the Grill Grates with a rag soaked in vegetable oil, then placed the fish on the griddle. I flipped it every 2 minutes until the internal temp registered about 120*.

The total cook time was about 8-9 minutes. I rested it for about 5 minutes before plating with Janeva’s Asian green beans and a green salad with home-grown gold and red cherry tomatoes.

Note: I was a little too generous with the Cavender’s and Tony’s, so the fish came out looking great, but tasting definitely too salty. I strongly recommend being very careful with those 2 seasonings since they both have a good deal of salt.

Enjoy!
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

**********

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1# fresh cobia (lemon fish) filet(s), preferably 1.5-2 in thick
Cavender’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning
Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
Olive oil
Smoked paprika (regular is ok)

Instructions:
(1) Prepare grill for an elevated, direct cook at 350-400* dome temp. Use a griddle, inverted Grill Grates, a vegetable grate or even a cast iron skillet.
(2) Coat fish on all sides with olive oil, then lightly sprinkle both sides with the Cavender’s, the Tony’s and the smoked paprika.
(3) Generously swab the cooking surface with a rag or paper towel soaked in vegetable oil before adding the filet(s). Using a spatula, flip the fish after 2 minutes. Continue to flip every 2 minutes to prevent too much char on either side.
(4) Remove from the grill when the internal temp reads about 120*. Total cook time for a filet 1.5-2 inches thick will be about 8 minutes.
(5) Cover and rest about 5 minutes to let the juices redistribute, then serve.