Veggies – Gas is For Work, Not My BGE

Pork chops (a rub comparison) and Roasted Sprouts

St Patty's Egg Pic

Happy St Patrick’s Day!! (Photo courtesy of my tailgating friend – David Hyde).

Last night we had a healthy meal of pork chops and a new oven-roasted Brussel Sprouts recipe. Pork chops can be boring, so I decided to liven things up by doing a rub comparison. The chops came from the “Farmers Market” in Oxford, MS and were local, farm-raised hogs.

The rubs for this “test” were Carnivore (Carnivore BBQ) “Rub Me Raw” – one of my favorite butt rubs – and Mike’s All Purpose Seasoning “Spicy Recipe” that I purchased at the Livingston Farmers Market a while back. The Mike’s rub had a lot of paprika, making it easy to tell which chop it was on.

I smeared a small amount of olive oil on each chop before applying the rubs, allowed them to melt for about 20 minutes, then onto the Mini BGE (it was raining on the large) at 300* for 4 minutes on one side and about 3 minutes on the other side. They temped out at about 135-137* internal so I pulled them and let them rest a few minutes.

Assessment: I split each chop in half, so we could both compare the rubs. We both agreed the Carnivore needed a little more salt, thus making the bolder “Mike’s All Purpose Seasoning” the slightly better choice tonight! I have to admit I deliberately sparingly applied the Carnivore, as I was unsure how salty it would be and thus chose to err on the light side – apparently a little too light. (It has more subtle flavors, although it makes a great bark on a Boston butt). I will definitely layer on more next time. Either of these rubs will give you excellent results, as will other choices like “Sprouts” (a local rub), lemon pepper, Greek seasoning or an herbal choice like Italian Seasoning or Herbes de Provence.

Of course, the Egg shined again with this cook – delivering chops that were so juicy one would find it hard to believe they had not been brined before grilling.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 8 oz center-cut pork chops
Olive Oil
Carnivore, Mike’s or your favorite rub

Instructions:
(1) Smear a light coating of olive oil on both sides of each chop.
(2) Liberally apply the rub to both sides of the chops and allow them to rest at room temp for 20-30 minutes.
(3) Prepare a direct fire at 300-350* dome temperature. Grill the chops for 4 minutes , then flip and grill until the internal temp is 135-137*.
(4) Cover with foil and rest for 5-8 minutes before serving.

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Bonus recipe: Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Smoked Salt

Serves 2

Ingredients:
4 cups Brussel sprouts, halved
4 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp smoked salt
2 tsp Maple syrup (I used Walden Farms brand – no calories)
2 slices of bacon, chopped (leave this off if on the Ideal Protein diet)

Instructions:
(1) Preheat oven to 425*.
(2) Mix together all ingredients to make the marinade.
(3) Put the halved sprouts in a ziplock with the marinade and shake around to thoroughly coat them.
(4) Place the Brussel sprouts, cut side down, on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Flip them over and roast for another 10 minutes or until they are a nice brown color.

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Happy St. Paddy’s Day from Misippi Egger (Clark Ethridge)

Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus

It’s hard to beat a sunny, spring-like Sunday afternoon with a couple of the grand-boys and family visiting for lunch, boat riding and fishing! I needed a couple of quick, easy vegetable sides to go with a crock pot roast. I made cabbage boats (click on the link to see recipe) and while they rested, I threw prosciutto-wrapped asparagus on the Grill Grates (available at Amazon – Grill Grates) for a few minutes.

Preparing the asparagus is easy. It can even be wrapped the day before, then seasoned and grilled in only a few minutes. Guests will rave about them!

After you have snapped and washed the asparagus spears, carefully spiral a slice of prosciutto (they will tear easily) around each thick spear. If your spears are very thin, group 2-4 together and wrap with a slice of the meat. Once they are all wrapped, and in a dish (9×13 works well), liberally drizzle them with olive oil and roll them around to coat evenly. The prosciutto is fairly salty, so chose a seasoning with minimal salt and use sparingly. We like Dizzy Pig’s Swamp Venom (a cajun-style seasoning) and really just apply to one side of the spears.

They are grilled direct on a grid (or on Grill Grates) or in a veggie grill pan. All you want to do is firm-up the prosciutto on all sides for a few minutes. Place back in the dish and cover until ready to serve.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus (about 36 thick spears)
Prosciutto (enough for all spears)
Olive oil
Cajun seasoning (minimal salt)

Instructions:
(1) Snap the spears, wash and dry.
(2) Separate the prosciutto slices and carefully spiral wrap a slice around each spear, or around 2-4 spears if they are thin.
(3) Place the wrapped spears in a wide dish and liberally drizzle with olive oil, rolling the spears around to thoroughly coat them with the oil. They can be prepared the day before, covered and kept in the refrigerator until ready to season and grill.
(4) Sparingly apply the cajun seasoning (I only season one side).
(5) Grill direct at 400*, turning frequently to prevent burning. You only need to char a little – to let the prosciutto firm up.
(6) Cover until ready to serve.

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger

Cabbage Boats

Slices of cabbage are seasoned and wrapped in a foil boat, then roasted at a high temp in the Egg which adds a little char around the edges. We were first served this awesome side on New Year’s Day (2016) at the Gulfport home of my fellow Egghead, Terry Helms and his gracious wife, Angel. I first “met” Terry (Grillin Guy) on the BGE Forum many years ago, then in person with Angel when we were cooking at the first Gulf Coast Eggfest. Eggers are a cult – a big family who connect through Forums, Facebook pages and Eggfests. Many life-long friends are made through these connections!

Terry & Angel Helms 1st Annual Gulf Coast Eggfest - 2010 — Terry & Angel Helms
1st Annual Gulf Coast Eggfest – 2010

On to the cabbage……………

Cut a 1/2 head of cabbage through the core into quarters, then eights. Drizzle with melted butter, spray butter or EVOO. Liberally coat with Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning.

Cut through core into 1/8ths. Drizzled with butter or EVOO and Tony's — Cut through core into 1/8ths. Drizzled with butter or EVOO and Tony’s

Seal in the foil boat and roast on the Egg – elevated (above the rim), direct at 400-450* for 20 minutes.

Foil boats cooked elevated, direct at 400-450* (these are on "Grill Grates". — Foil boats cooked elevated, direct at 400-450* (these are on “Grill Grates”.

Rest on counter, then carefully open and serve.

Finished cabbage boat - tender with a little char. — Finished cabbage boat – tender with a little char.

Prep: 10 min. Cook time: 20 min Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cabbage
EVOO
Butter, melted (or “I Can’t Believe it’s Butter” spray)
Tony Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning

Instructions:
1) Cut cabbage through the core into quarters, then into eights.
2) Place each cabbage slice on a large sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil (HDAF).
3) Pour melted butter or the EVOO (or both) or spray with faux butter. Liberally coat both sides of the wedges with the cajun seasoning.
4) Seal each packet tightly and place in the BGE – direct, elevated (above the rim) at 400-450*.
5) Cook for 20 min., then rest on the counter until ready to serve.
6) Open carefully as they will release steam when opened.