big green egg – Page 2 – Gas is For Work, Not My BGE

Wet-aged steaks

What is wet aging of steaks and why should one consider it?

Wet-aging is the process of keeping a steak (or a large cut like a whole tenderloin, whole rib roast, or 3-4 bone prime rib) for a specified time period in a critically temperature-controlled environment. Enzymes in the meat will tenderize it gradually over the time period. At that point the meat can be cooked or frozen for later use.

As an experiment, I had purchased 4 one-pound ribeyes from Sam’s Club on Jan. 4, 2016. I cooked one, then individually vacuum-sealed the other three. I cooked one more after 4 weeks, then one after 8 weeks and the last one tonight – a total of 14 weeks. My goal was to determine the ideal time for wet-aging a 1-1.25# ribeye to improve the tenderness, without allowing the meat to get over-tender (a mushy texture). I was concerned that 12+ weeks might be too long.

Results: We noticed a progressive increase in tenderness between all the ribeyes, and were pleasantly surprised tonight to find the 14-week steak was extremely tender, yet maintained an acceptable texture.

Note the most important food safety requirement for wet-aging meat is the ability to control the temperature in the environment (refrigerator). I use an outdoor fridge that is rarely opened. I keep a refrigerator thermometer (Kroger) on the shelf with the meat and strive for 32-34* at all times. I check every couple of days and ‘bump’ the temperature controller up or down as needed. I also keep some bottled water on the shelf to observe for any ice formation. I recommend vacuum-sealing the meat and not leaving it in the store’s sealed container than might contain bacteria. For large cuts (tenderloin, rib roast, etc) it is ok to leave it in the original thick, vacuum-sealed cryovac, as long as it has remained sealed tightly.

(In another post I will discuss dry-aging and the combination of wet and dry aging).

If one is interested in improving the tenderness of store-bought steaks, I can recommend 14 weeks as the optimum time for wet-aged ribeyes that are about 1-1.5 inches thick, following the food safety notes above.

The steak from tonight is pictured, plated with rutabaga fries and oven-roasted zucchini slices, plus a salad of cucumbers and cherry tomatoes (recipe below).

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

**********

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1-1/4# wet-aged ribeye steak
Cluck and Squeal Beef Specific rub (or favorite seasoning)

Instructions:
(1) Prepare the grill for a hot, direct cook.
(2) Season and allow the steak to come to room temperature (45-60 minutes)
(3) Grill 3-4 minutes on each side until it reaches your preferred doneness – internal temp of 125* (medium rare) or 130* (medium).
(4) Cover and rest for 5-8 minutes before serving.

Hanger Steak

I finally carried my new MiniMax (MM) Egg to Oxford this weekend. It will replace a small egg that will come home to Madison. For the inaugural cook on the MM, I thawed out a hanger steak we had purchased at The Farmer’s Market in Oxford. They sell beef and pork that is processed at Stan’s on highway 6 near Batesville. The pork is locally raised and the beef is aged Angus.

Hanger steak? What is that? Actually it comes from the part of the diaphragm that is closest to the spine and tenderloin. The outer, tougher part of the diaphragm is called the skirt steak. Hanger steaks are difficult to get unless using a custom butcher, but they are one of the most tender cuts from the cow (3rd most tender, I believe) and have lots of beef flavor.

I seasoned this steak with Cluck and Squeal’s “Beef Specific” rub and let it come to room temperature on the counter for about an hour.

I prepared the MiniMax for a direct cook at 500*.

Since this was the inaugural cook, one can appreciate the new, white ceramics that will soon become nice and seasoned.

The steak was flipped after about 3 minutes, then removed when the internal temperature was 130*.

It was rested for 5 minutes, while the asparagus finished roasting in the oven, then plated with the asparagus.

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

**********

Serves 2

Ingredients
Hanger steak (3/4 to 1 pound)
Cluck and Squeal Beef Specific Rub (or preferred steak rub)

Instructions
(1) Liberally apply the rub to both sides of the steak, patting it in. Let it rest on the counter for 45 minutes to an hour to come to room temperature.
(2) Prepare the Egg (grill) for a hot (450-500*) direct cook.
(3) Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side and remove when internal temperature reaches 125* (medium rare), 130* (medium), or your desired doneness. Cover with foil and rest for 5-8 minutes.
(4) Important! Slice against the grain for the most tender results.

Smoked Brisket (a tutorial)

“The Quest for the Perfect Brisket”

In the 10+ years I have been seriously cooking on my BGE, I have always been intimidated by the thought of cooking a brisket. As a KCBS-certified competition judge, I have sampled some very good brisket and also some really terrible brisket! That being said, I did my first brisket flat almost a year ago and was pleased with the results. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take my try at a full packer on my BGE. After watching a few Aaron Franklin’s videos (Brisket prep / 3 ways to cook brisket) and consulting with some experienced brisket-cooking friends I came up with a game plan.

Of course since most plans can be thrown a curve ball, my plan to wrap with butcher paper fell apart as I could find no store (or butcher) with actual butcher paper! Thus Plan B became a “naked” cook – no wrap at all – just hours and hours over a low temp fire.

Preparation of the Egg:
Before any low and slow cook, I first remove and save the used lump from the fire box (a plastic shoebox works great for this).

It had been a while since I cleaned out behind my fire box, so I removed the fire ring and fire box and as one can see, a considerable about of ash and lump pieces needed to be cleaned out. The second picture is with everything cleaned out, reassembled and ready to build the fire.
FullSizeRender 8

Building a fire for a long cook:
Whether it be for a Boston butt or a brisket cook, one of the important factors in maintaining a steady fire is good airflow throughout the entire cook. One can just dump in lots of lump and usually ‘get away’ with it, but I learned years ago to carefully build a fire starting with large pieces of lump and stacking with gradually smaller pieces. I also intersperse large chunks of dry wood throughout the entire ‘column’ of lump. For this cook I used a mixture of hickory and pecan chunks. I also used a dense lump (Wicked Good’s Weekend Warrior blend) with is difficult to find locally. It burns very slowly, but being difficult to light, I add the easier-lighting used Royal Oak lump on top. Pictures show the progression of building the fire.

(Since I planned to use a pizza stone as my indirect piece, located slightly above the fire ring, I wasn’t concerned with the platesetter being too close to my lump).

Grid setup:
I used many components acquired from the Ceramic Grill Store to construct my grid setup. I started with the Adjustable Rig (AR), added a slider to the bottom level and placed an oval ceramic stone on the slider rack. I positioned 4 spacers (1/2″ copper pipe angles) on the stone, then a foil-lined rectangular drip pan. The original BGE grid sits on top of the AR.

I lit a small fire in the center, in the used lump with the bottom vent wide open and nothing on the top of the dome. I placed the adjustable rig and all components (as above) in and allowed it all to heat up. As the temperature approached 200*, I added my BBQ Guru DigiQ II power controller, placed a pit temperature probe at the grid level and set the desired temperature to 230*.

Meat Prep:
I trimmed the brisket of a large amount of the fat (I probably was a little aggressive for my first time and will likely leave a on little more fat next time). Aaron Franklin’s recipe calls for a 50/50 mixture of Kosher salt and freshly coarse-ground black pepper as the only seasonings. It works best to put this mixture in a jar as it constantly needs stirring around to keep the salt from settling to the bottom. An even distribution on all surfaces is all that’s needed.

The cook:
The seasoned meat rested on the counter for 45-60 minutes while I let the BGE, all the components, and the ceramics stabilize. Getting everything uniformly heated helps keep the Egg temperature from dropping too much when a large mass of cold meat is added. In the picture, one can see meat and pit probes from both the DigiQ as well as a Maverick E-732 wireless remote, which has alarms set to alert me during the night if anything gets outside the parameters I set.

Around midnight (6 hr into the cook), the meat was at 154*. I woke to my clock alarm at 3 am, checked the Maverick remote at the bedside – 175*. The clock alarmed again at 6am (I’m just a little worried with overnight cooks) and it was at 192*. The DigiQ kept the grid temp at a solid 230* for the entire cook! At 6 am, the brisket wasn’t tender to probing, so I continued until it registered 201*. I wasn’t completely happy with the “probe test” as it didn’t feel like it was passing through butter, but decided it was done enough, especially since it was going to be 6 hours until lunch.

I wrapped the brisket with 2 layers of foil, placed in dish and then into a pre-heated cooler with thick towels under and over it. I left it like this until time to slice and serve (6+ hours).

Final results:
I sliced the flat against the grain. The “judge’s” take: tenderness (draped over a knife and ‘pull test’) was excellent; the flavor was great. My only criticism was that it was a little dry, even for brisket. I got several “best brisket I’ve ever had” comments, so I think it was a winner.

Final note: Below is a picture taken shortly after the brisket was removed from my large Egg – note how much lump remained after an over 14 hour burn!

Enjoy,

Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)
PS – Brisket #2 is already in the planning stages…….I think I will wrap with butcher paper on the next one……..

********

Ingredients:
1 packer (whole) brisket (Choice or Select grade – Prime, if one can find & afford it)
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/2 cup coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions:
(1) Prep the smoker for a long (12-18 hr) cook with wood chunks (fruit wood plus some hickory, if desired). A drip pan is needed as lots of fat is rendered. Water is not necessary in a ceramic smoker, but is a good idea in other types of smokers.
(2) Trim most of the fat from the brisket, then season liberally with the salt & pepper mixture (keep shaking the container to keep the S&P mixed well).
(3) Smoke until internal temperature reaches about 195*, then check for tenderness by probing the flat with an icepick, a toothpick or a temperature probe. Desired doneness will be when the probe passes in and out of the flat like soft butter. Continue cooking and checking until the desired tenderness is reached.
(4) Wrap in 2 layers of aluminum foil, place in a pan or dish (in case of leaks), then wrap with towels and keep in a pre-heated insulated cooler for at least an hour or up to 5-6 hours before serving.
(5) Slice immediately before serving (it drys very quickly) and drizzle each piece with any juices.

Hot-tubbed Steak

There are multiple ways to cook an excellent steak on the grill. In today’s post I will describe one of my favorite, simple ways to produce a perfectly cooked steak using a technique called “hot-tubbing” combined with a quick, hot sear.

‘Hot tubbing’ is a po’ man’s version of Sous Vide, which is a recently popular home cooking method. Sous vide is French for ‘under vacuum’ and it involves placing vacuum-sealed foods (meat, chicken, fruit, vegetable, etc) in a temperature-controlled water bath for an extended period of time, then finishing the food on a grill, a griddle or a skillet. I will have more information in a subsequent post on the advantages and disadvantages of sous vide cooking.

Back to hot-tubbing….. Before I ever heard of sous vide, I saw many people on the BGE forum preheating their steaks in a water bath, then searing on the BGE. The principle being that you basically ‘cook’ the steak through and through during the water bath period, then only sear it at the end. The final result is a steak that is the same doneness from edge to edge – not one that is well done on the outside 1/4″ or so, then medium well, then medium rare in the middle. A hot-tubbed (or SV) steak is medium rare (or your choice of doneness) from the outside sear on one side to the sear on the opposite side.

DSC_0399_2

The first step is to vacuum seal the steak. Many people have vacuum seal units like Food Saver, Game Saver, etc. they use for freezing steaks bought in quantity or cut from larger (sub primal) cuts like whole ribeye, tenderloin, or sirloin. In that case the steak is already in a vacuum bag, so it only needs to be thawed in the bag before hot tubbing. With a fresh steak, one can either use their vacuum sealer to bag it, or use a zip lock-style bag. With the zip lock bag, one seals all but about a 1/2″ corner, then submerges the bag into water, forcing the air to the top and quickly closes the bag before it goes completely under the water. The water pressure will collapse the bag around the steak and create an almost perfect vacuum bag. One can season the steak before it goes in the bag, or it can be seasoned after it comes out of the water bath prior to searing. If the bag tends to float, a small saucer on top of it will hold it under water.

The following pictures are from an 8-week, wet-aged ribeye steak I recently hot tubbed and seared on my Mini Egg.

My hot tap water is about 110*, so I usually mix it to get around 100* in my sink. The steak stays in the water bath for 45-60 minutes. In the meantime, I get the grill ready for a direct cook at 500-600*. I remove the steak from the bag (it usually measures 86-95* internal), season, then sear it for 2 minutes on each side. If it is not to my desired internal temperature, I will cook longer, flipping if one side starts to get too done. I might even close the top and bottom vents on the EGG and let it continue to cook until the desired doneness is reached. Hot-tubbed and sous vide steaks do not require a post-cook rest period and can be served immediately from the grill.

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

**********

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1-1.25 pound steak (ribeye, sirloin, flat iron, etc)
Steak seasoning of choice

Instructions:
(1) If using a previously vacuum-sealed steak (thaw if frozen), place the bagged steak in a hot water bath (about 105*) for 45-60 minutes. If using a fresh steak, apply the seasonings, then either vacuum seal or evacuate the air in a zip lock bag by submerging under water, forcing out the air before sealing. Place in the water bath like above.
(2) Prepare grill for a direct, hot cook (500-600*).
(3) Remove the steak from the bag, season if needed, and then place it on a hot grill for 2 minutes per side. If not quite done to your preference, leave it on until done, flipping a time or two to prevent burning, or shut down the grill (close the top and bottom vents) until it’s done.
(4) The steak can also be seared on a griddle (grill or stove) or in a heavy skillet if desired.
(5) You can serve immediately, or cover and rest until ready to serve.

Pork tenderloin steaks

Plain pork tenderloins and loins have not been Jana’s favorite because they are often bland or even dry. In the past I have stuffed them with a variety of ingredients. Since the stuffing retains moisture and adds internal flavor, they have been acceptable.

A couple of months ago I purchased some packets of pork tenderloins from Sam’s Club (their pork is not injected with water or salt solutions, like most grocery store brands). These packets weigh about 2 pounds and have 2 tenderloins per pack. After a bit of Internet research I came up with this recipe. Jana said it was perfect and was definitely a “do over”!

The keys to this recipe are two-fold: (1) A flavor brine, and (2) flattening the cut tenderloins with a meat mallet or the edge of a heavy glass. According to Cooks Illustrated one can increase the surface area of a filleted pork tenderloin by 33% by pounding out the rounded surface. More surface area equals more surface in contact with the grill and the benefits of caramelizing the exterior of the ‘steak’.

Pork Brine: A 5-8% solution of salt in water is a basic brine. One can use the brine alone or add rubs, herbs, or other flavors that will be infused into the meat along with the salt. The penetration of the moisture and flavors into the meat is dependent on the time in the brine and the thickness of the meat. The easiest way to make salt solutions of different percents is using metric measurements. 50 gm (by weight) of salt in 1 liter (1000 gm weight) of water is 5%. Since most of us don’t have scales that weigh in grams, the closest “English” formula is to use 1/4 cup of Morton Kosher salt in 1 quart of water (this makes an approximately 6% salt solution). The type & brand of salt used with the “English” formula is important, as table salt, Morton & Diamond Crystal Kosher salts have different equivalents, based on the size of their crystals (Explanation of different salts).

The recipe: The first step is to brine the whole tenderloin in a 5-6% salt solution with a tablespoon of the rub added to help the flavor penetrate the dense muscle fibers of the pork. The recipe calls for adding ice cubes to the brine to help get the solution cool quicker before it goes in the fridge for a minimum of 45 minutes up to overnight.

Once brined, the meat is removed from the solution and some of the salt is briefly rinsed off under running water. Cut the tenderloin in half crossways, then cut each piece lengthwise, giving you 4 pieces that are flat on one surface and curved on the other. In the picture below one of the halves has been split lengthwise and the other has not.

Put the pieces into a heavy baggie (freezer bag), then pound flat with a mallet or the bottom edge of a heavy water glass. Try to leave the filet (steak) about an inch thick.

Lightly season with the seasoning or rub of your choice (tonight I used a locally made rub – “Rebel Rub” by Rebel Butcher Supply in Pearl, MS).

The grill: Prepare the Egg (or other grill) for an elevated direct cook at 400-500* (I used “Grill Grates” on top of my regular grid). Oil the grid with a paper towel soaked in vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Grill the steaks for about 2-3 minutes on each side and remove when the internal temperature reads between 135 and 140*. Cover and rest until ready to serve.

Let night, t0 be compliant with our Ideal Protein diet, we each had 8 oz (precooked weight) and 1.5 cups of oven-roasted asparagus. We also had a salad of 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes with sliced cucumbers and radishes. Jana made a dipping sauce (soy + Sriracha) from an IP video for the meat.

Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 pork tenderloin, about 1#
50gm (or 1/4 cup) Morton’s Kosher salt
1 liter (or 1 quart) cold water
1 tablespoon of rub, seasoning, or savoy herbs, plus more for seasoning for the grill

Instructions:
(1) Add the salt and rub to 800 ml (or 3 cups) of cold water. Mix well to dissolve the salt in the water. Add ice cubes to bring the volume up to 1 liter (or 1 quart). Place the whole tenderloin in a gallon ziplock bag, add the brine solution and seal the bag, squeezing out as much of the air as possible. Put the bag in a pan or bowl (in case of leaks) and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or up to overnight (turn occasionally to help the brine stay in contact with all sides of the meat).
(2) About 30 minutes prior to grilling, prepare the Egg (or other grill) for a 400-500*, elevated direct cook.
(3) Remove the meat from the bag and briefly rinse under running water to remove some of the salt. Cut the tenderloin in half crossways, then cut each piece lengthwise to create 4 filets that are flat on one surface and slightly rounded on the other. Place these filets in a thick bag and pound with a meat mallet (or the bottom edge of a heavy water glass) until the filets are flattened, trying to leave them about 1 inch thick.
(4) Soak a paper towel or rag in vegetable oil and using tongs swab the grid generously to reduce the meat sticking to the grid. Place the filets (steaks) on the grid and grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove when the internal temp reaches between 135 and 140*. (Overcooking might result in dry, chewy steaks). Rest, covered until ready to serve.

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.

========================================================
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.

*************

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

“Mad Max” Turkey

I’ve previously blogged about a simple turkey recipe (Herbes de Provence Turkey). This post will link readers to my absolute favorite turkey recipe – the “Mad Max” Turkey. My good friend, Max Rosen, whom I initially met on the original BGE Forum is well known by Eggheads who have participated on Forums, Facebook BGE pages and attended Egg Fests. He has developed this fantastic turkey recipe and openly shares it with fellow cooks around Thanksgiving every year (in the past he has actually posted his phone number (hotline) where we could call for help if we didn’t understand something). It is not a difficult recipe, but it has more details than the Herbes de Provence turkey, including steps for making a stock, cooking the turkey, and making an awesome gravy to go with it.

Important note: This recipe will easily work in the oven or in a gas or charcoal grill.

Since the recipe has resided for several years on “The Naked Whiz” blog, there’s really no reason for me to duplicate it here. Therefore I will provide a link to his site, which is loaded with well-respected resources including “classes and recipes”. So click here and I hope you enjoy this turkey recipe as much as we do. The Naked Whiz’s Blog.

Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

Lamb Chops

This is a quick and easy weeknight cook:

My friend from New Zealand, Chantelle, taught me the best lamb in our area is found at Sam’s Club. Considering her background and experience raising and cooking lamb, I had to believe her. Sam’s (we have no Costco here) has not disappointed. Lamb chops, rack of lamb and leg of lamb have all experienced hot charcoal in my Egg – great flavor with essentially none of the “mutton” taste many associate with lamb.

Lamb, like beef, will handle a bold rub, so many people use coffee-based rubs. I use one of 2 rubs with chops and racks of lamb – Dizzy Pig’s Red Eye Express, which is coffee-based. More recently I have been using Cluck and Squeal’s Beef Specific on lamb and as well as on beef.

Here are the chops seasoned and letting the rub ‘melt in’ while I got the Egg going.

I prepared my Egg for an elevated, direct cook at 400-450* with Grill Grates (Amazon – Grill Grates) on the grid. The chops were grilled for 3 minutes on one side, then flipped and grilled until their internal temp reached 125-130*.

They were rested 5-8 minutes, then served with pan-roasted mixed vegetables (peppers, mushrooms, and squash).

Serves 2

Ingredients:
20 oz. of bone-in lamb chops (about 16 oz of meat)
Bold rub (Dizzy Pig ‘Red-Eye Express’ or Cluck and Squeal ‘Beef Specific’)

Instructions:
(1) Trim any thick, hard fat along the edges of the chops. Liberally coat both sides with the rub, including the edges. Pat in the rub.
(2) Prepare the grill for an elevated, direct cook at 450-500*. Add Grill Grates to the grid, if using.
(3) Place chops on the grid for about 3 minutes, then flip. Cook until internal temp reaches 125-130* (for medium rare), moving around on the grid to prevent burning if there are any hot spots.
(4) Cover with foil and rest 5-8 minutes before serving.
Enjoy,
Misippi Egger
(Clark Ethridge)

Kodiak River Salmon

There are many ways to grill salmon. Once I developed this recipe/technique, Jana won’t allow me to experiment with any other recipes. This is her favorite and she says “It is perfect. Don’t change it”.

I realize many of you like marinated and/or glazed salmon, cedar-planked salmon, BBQ salmon, etc., and those are all good, but this will be about our “go to” salmon recipe – Kodiak River Salmon. (Note: I will blog about smoked salmon (cold and hot) on another day).

First and foremost, you need a nice, fresh piece of salmon. If it ‘smells’, it’s probably not fresh! I buy my salmon from Duggan’s Seafood in Jackson (truck parked every Thursday and Friday in the DeVille Plaza parking lot, near CVS building). This salmon comes from the cold, Nova Scotia area and is raised in huge, offshore deep-water farms. We prefer skin-on filets – the skin protects the filets from overcooking and the crispy skin is a treat!

Note: If you purchase a whole filet, you should cut the thin belly piece off so it doesn’t over cook, giving you a nice, evenly thick center piece. We save those belly pieces (called Toro) and cook them for appetizers – they are delicious!

This is a 1 pound center-cut filet piece drizzled with a small amount of olive oil and liberally seasoned with Big Green Egg “Kodiak River” seasoning. This seasoning can be purchased at Madison Fireplace & Patio in Madison, MS or at your local egg dealer. The pieces of Toro have a light coating of Kodiak River.

Salmon filet and pieces of Toro seasoned

We had torrential rains all day (the lake is coming over our seawall and pier) and since my Mini Egg is under the porch, it got the nomination tonight. I prepared it for a direct cook at 400-450* dome temp.

I carefully scraped the hot grid clean and to further protect the fish from sticking, I swabbed the grid with a small rag soaked in vegetable oil.

I placed the filet and the pieces of Toro flesh down on the oiled grid, then closed the dome for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes.

I used a spatula to flip all the pieces, putting the skin down on the grid. (The spatula works better on the tender salmon filet because it will fall apart when using tongs — trust me)!

After about another minute, I removed the Toro pieces and we ‘dug in’ to these very tasty (high fat content) appetizers.

When the filet reached 120-130* internal temperature, I removed it from the grill. I always try to let it rest, covered for a few minutes, but that doesn’t always happen!

I divided this filet lengthwise into 2 servings and plated with roasted bacon & brussel sprouts and roasted chayote squash.

This technique is great for a quick weeknight meal. The salmon has a nice crust from the rub and the flesh-down sear, but it is flaky and juicy inside.

Try it – it might become your only salmon recipe also!

Addendum: Weeknight cook: 1# salmon filet plus an appetizer piece of Toro from Duggan’s fish truck. Kodiak River rub plus a light dusting of sea salt. 450* on Grill Grates -( Buy at Amazon ):
Done at 120* internal temp. Plated over pan-roasted Brussel sprouts, mushrooms and bacon:

**********

Enjoy!
Clark
(Misippi Egger)

Serves 2 Prep and cook time: 30 min.

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh salmon filet, skin on
Olive oil
Big Green Egg Kodiak River rub

Instructions:
Prepare Egg for a 400-450* direct cook
Clean salmon filet, trim off (and save) thin belly piece to get a filet of even thickness. Drizzle a light coating of olive oil and spread it around (to hold the rub better). Liberally coat the filet with the rub and allow it to ‘melt’ onto the filet for 10-15 minutes.
Clean the hot grid carefully and swab with a rag or paper towel soaked in vegetable oil. Lay the filet and any Toro pieces on the grid – skin down.
After 2-2.5 minutes, using a spatula, flip the filet and Toro so the skin side is on the grid.
Remove any Toro pieces after another minute and continue to let the filet cook until it reaches 120-130* internal temp.
Cover and rest for 5-8 minutes, then serve.

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