Teriyaki Salmon (on a cedar plank)

I was looking through some older entries on our blog this weekend and I realised that I had never blogged a Teriyaki salmon recipe. It was a perfect opportunity to try something new as our dear friend Matt was in town from the UK and frankly, there’s nothing better than catching up with a home cooked meal over a few glasses of wine.

Now you have to also understand Matt. He’s a lawyer by training and trainer by profession and lets just say he doesn’t hold back on opinion. That makes cooking for someone like him a bit of a  challenge as the meal has to be good. And if truth be told, the big green asian egg didn’t disappoint last night nor did Heather’s strawberry custard flan.

For the Teriyaki marinade/finishing sauce you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup light soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced green onion bottoms

Combine the above in a handmixer or a blender and pulse on low speed for about a minute, basically until everything combines well. Reserve half of the marinade for a finishing sauce you’ll prepare later on. Place three pieces of salmon in a shallow glass dish and pour the marinade over the salmon. Now flip the salmon so that the skin is facing upwards, put a lid on the dish and pop it back into the fridge for a few hours. In the meantime, place a cedar plank in the sink full of cold water and let it soak for about four hours.

Your grill should be set for a medium high heat (say around 400 F) and set up for direct heat. Take your cedar plank out and dry it off then pour about a tablespoon of olive oil over the plank and smear an even coat across the plank. Season with coarse salt and pepper and put it on the grid. Close the lid and let the plank warm up for about two minutes.

Once ready, place your salmon directly onto the plank and take the leftover marinade that you had in the glass dish and drizzle the salmon. Close the lid and let let the salmon cook for about 15 minutes to a maximum of 20 minutes (if the salmon is particularly thick.) When the timer pings, carefully remove the plank from the grid with a wide spatula and let the salmon rest right on the plank. You’ll hear the cedar crackle and pop for while still and the smell is incredible! While the salmon rests for about 5 minutes you should take the reserve marinade and bring it to a simmer, reducing it to about half and until it thickens. Plate your salmon and drizzle the thickened finishing sauce on top.

We served our salmon with a Mediterranean couscous and a simple rocked salad followed by a strawberry custard flan. A bit of an eclectic meal but yummy beyond belief.

In true Matt Dean style, this is what he had to say:

Matt’s verdict

“As someone who hasn’t eaten meat for much of my life, I have eaten many, many salmon steaks.  Frequently they are bland, sometimes dry and flaky, sometimes blackened on the outside but a soft, uncooked pink on the inside.  Last night’s offering was absolutely perfectly cooked throughout. And deliciously moist, properly infused with the teriyaki flavour. How could Mr Matla judge the moment to take them out? How were all of the steaks perfectly cooked despite their different thicknesses. Either he is a genius or (more likely) this big green egg is as good as he says it is. My only tiny, weeny question: could we have had a little bit of that teriyaki stickiness I’ve experienced before? Perhaps I’m asking for too much – how could that form on a soaked cedar board?

Heather’s cous cous with creamy feta cheese was a perfect accompaniment and certainly something I will be trying to replicate at home.”  

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10 & Overall Matt Rating: 10/10

A “New” Rib Recipe

I’m chronically on the hunt for the ultimate pork rib recipe. Whilst trolling the blogosphere on the trusty tinternet this weekend, I came across the famed Dr.BBQ and his recipe for Baby Back Ribs. I figured I’d test it on our friends Dayne and Tammy Cowan and well, if it all went wrong, there was always pizza that could have been delivered!

It wasn’t all bad in the end but I’d certainly adjust the directions to get a slightly different result. In our case, everyone around the dinner table was thrilled with the final product, except me. I thought the timing was too long for the first and second phases and I practically omitted the last phase as the ribs were more than done! Following Dr BBQ’s method resulted in the ultimate in “fall off the bone” ribs and that’s undeniable, but there was no pretty plating of the ribs and well, it ended up a being a delicious wad of pork and bones all thrown onto a serving plate for all of us to tuck into.

Perhaps I’m being overly critical but I kind of like ribs with a bit of bite required and it’s got to look nice too. Would I recommend this recipe? For sure! The rub and the glaze are excellent. The timing, if adjusted, should result in a fantastic rib result!

So here’s what you’ll need to prepare. First the rub:

• 1/4 cup corse sea salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated onion
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Combine all the spices above and then whiz it through a spice grinder or coffee bean grinder. You want to get the rub nice and fine. This also makes enough for at least 6-8 big racks. Whatever I don’t use I simply put it into a zip top bag and keep it in the fridge. Lasts for ages!

To rub your ribs, simply slather each of your racks with vegetable oil and then dust the rub over both sides of the rack and in between the bones on the sides. Don’t miss that sweet spot with the rub. Wrap your ribs in cling film and place them back in the fridge for a few about 2.5 hours. When your grill/smoker is up to temperature, take out the ribs, unwrap them and put them into your trusty rib rack.

The glaze is next, and when done it’s delicious. Highly recommend trying this glaze.

• 1 cup ketchup (which is pretty much one standard size glass bottle of Heinz ketchup)
• 1/2 cup dark molasses
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon mace
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
• 1/2 cup honey

Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized saucepan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Let it cool down uncovered and you’ll see how it thickens up beautifully.

Here’s the way I’d do it (again) knowing now what I know.

Preheat your smoker/grill or BGE to 275 dome temperature, set up for indirect cooking. Add a drip pan full of water and then throw in two handfulls of cherry wood chips. Put your ribs into a rib rack and place them over your drip pan. At this temperature, set your timer for 2 hours. The original recipe called for 3 hours…  Place them into an aluminium tray and coat them in honey then fill the tray with about 3 cups of apple juice. Make sure you’ve got enough juice in there so it doesn’t evaporate. Tightly close the tray with two sheets of heavy duty aluminium foil. Then plonk it on the grill at the same temperature for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Carefully open the foil tray, it will be steamy and hot after an hour on the grill. Take your ribs out with equal care as they’ll be really close to done at this point. Carefully remove your plater setter and go for the direct cooking method. Place the ribs on the grid directly, meat side up and baste them with the glaze you made earlier. Close the dome for no more than 5 minutes, flip and then take them off after another 2 minutes. Put your ribs on a platter and cover them in foil. Rest them for about 10 minutes, set up the table and now WOW your guests.

We served these ribs with a great new slaw recipe along with baked potatoes and an Apple Cake Tatin that was DELICIOUS! (Thanks Heather!!!)

Like I said, I would have preferred to do the method above but all was not lost. Everyone loved the ribs and I was inspired to try this again in a few months time. Highly recommend the rub and the glaze and I’m looking forward to using the leftovers on chicken and chops!

PS – Check out the “Pork Lady” wield the knife to the pork side – no saw, just a 200 year old blade and lots of muscle. I also took the full loin she gingerly removed, slicing it into 4 small roasts and popped them into the freezer. Thanks “Pork Lady!!!”

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Overall Heather Rating 9/10

Fennel Roasted Pork with Prosecco Gravy

Pork leg roasts are one of the easiest things to pull off on a grill or smoker, with little required in terms of faffing about. Last night, in the torrential monsoon rain of Singapore, I ventured out on the deck and cooked us up some tasty fennel crusted pork leg with “wintery veg”, apples and a tasty gravy to help get the damp chill out of the air. Now for context, it was still 80 degrees outside but when it rains for days on end, it seems somewhat cooler than the normally sunny and humid days we get living on the equator! We needed some comfort food last night.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 x 1.5 kg boneless pork leg roast
• a few good glugs of olive oil (for coating the roast and the vegetables)
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 Teaspoons fennel seeds
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut diagonally
• 6 medium potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
• 1 head of garlic, paper removed
• 2 small onions, peeled and quartered
• A pinch of dried oregano, thyme and parsley for the veg
• 3 green apples, cored and sliced thick

For the gravy, you’ll need:

• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 3/4 cup of any half decent prosecco
• 2.5 Tablespoons of plain white flour

Here’s how to pull it all off:

Set up your grill for indirect heat, and settle the temperature down at about 425 F. Just before you’re ready to put your roast on, throw on a small handful of cherry wood chips for a bit of smoky flavour and colour. Drizzle your roast with olive oil then season with Kosher salt, fennel seeds and cracked fresh peppercorn. Place your roast into a v-rack and a drip pan and place it on the grid. Make sure you’ve got your thermometer inserted and set for your internal temperature of 165 F. Now set your timer for 40 minutes at which point the roast looks golden brown and starts to crackle.

At the end of the first 40 minutes, remove the v-rack carefully (cuz it’s hot) and add your vegetables (but not the apples). Before you add them, make sure you’ve coated the veggies in olive oil and seasoned them with a bit of Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Sprinkle on the other herbs which can included oregano, thyme and parsley. Add the v-rack back onto the drip pan and close the lid of the grill. Reduce the temperature just a bit to a steady 400 degrees for another 40 minutes.

Once the second 40 minutes are done, add the apples and mix up the vegetables so they don’t stick to the bottom of your drip pan. Now simply wait for your roast to come up to 165 degrees F. Then simply remove the pan with the rack and carefully set it down on a surface that won’t burn. Loosely cover your pork leg with aluminium foil as well as the vegetables. Let the pork rest for ten minutes and while that’s happening you can prep the final touch…

Now for the gravy! Remove the veg from the drip pan and then very carefully drain the drippings from the pan into a skillet that you’ve got on the burner over medium/high heat. Now add your flour and and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. Little by little add your stock and prosecco (which you can pre-mix) and stir gently until the mixture thickens. I had a bit of stock and prosecco left over so don’t feel like you need to use it all, just keep adding and stirring the gravy until it gets nicely voluminous and thickens well.

Once done, your pork has rested, your vegetables have settled down to a temperature that you can actually eat without burning the roof of your mouth and your gravy is thick and piping hot. Now simply carve up your pork into thin slices and make sure there’s a wonderful piece of crackling for each piece. Admittedly, that’s my favorite part of the dish…the crackling! And, if I could only rate that, it’s got to be an 11, despite the colesterol warnings I get from my GP!

The fennel added a really wonderful flavour to the crackling and the veg along with the apples were delicious! The gravy was also a killer addition to the whole meal. I lost overall Heather rating points simply because of the quality of the raw roast. And here’s a good lesson…you can cook an amazing meal but if your meat quality is sub-standard, you’ll get an ok meal instead of a legendary one. This roast was an impulse buy at the local grocery store and it was very high in fat content. I didn’t mind it too much but Heather’s not a huge fan, texturally. Great meal, but a bit on the fatty side.

We’ll definitely do this recipe again but I’ll go to the local wet market butcher and get a fresh pork leg to work with next time! Special thanks to my little helper Kalyna…you’ll make a great chef one day darling!

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Overall Heather Rating: 7.5/10

Garlic/Rosemary Veal Chops

A BIG shout out to our friends at “She Cooks He Cleans”, another fantastic blog for people with a zest for life and equally for those who kinda like food too! I was trolling the net yesterday afternoon looking for an easy recipe to fire up on the grill. I knew that I wanted veal – it’s been a while and well, when a craving hits, it hits hard. I ended up finding a great post dated November 2011 here from Nancy and James…thanks you two – it was a resounding success in this Singapore household and the family was begging for more.

Here goes:

• 4 veal chops (bone in)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, stemmed and chopped
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (I ran out of Kosher salt)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 3 teaspoons water
• enough olive oil to make a soupy paste-like goo – this is your marinade!

Chuck in all the ingredients above, minus the veal chops into a hand blender and give it a few pulses. Not enough to liquify but just enough to make a pasty marinade that will stick to your chops. Keep adding a bit of olive oil a bit at a time if you need to make it a little bit more runny.

Once done, wash off your chops and place them into a large zip top bag. Pour in your marinade and try to get as much of the air out of the bag as possible. Then give it a good squish around ensuring an even coating of your chops. Just be careful not to press too hard or the rib bones will pop out of the plastic and it gets awfully messy when that happens! Back in the fridge for a couple of hours – 3 in our case as we were in a bit of a rush and I didn’t pre-plan. Given there’s no acid in the marinade, you can easily let it sit overnight however it worked just fine with three hours of marinating!

Set up your grill for direct heat and aim for about 400 degrees F for ambient temperature. I found way too many recipes online where they tell you to get your grill up to 700 degrees or above and sear the hell out of your veal. Go right ahead if you like to eat veal that resembles the soles of your work boots.

400 F is a solid medium heat that will cook your chops in about 10-12 minutes total time. Place them right out of the fridge onto a well seasoned grid. I popped in my trusty digital thermometer probe and set it for an internal temperature alarm at 150 F internal (medium for veal.) Flip the chops at the 5 minute mark to get the lovely caramelised sear marks on your chops. At 10 minutes total time, refer to your thermometer and take them off at 150 F. Place the chops on a plate and loosely tent with aluminium foil and let them rest for 10 minutes more.

Heather made up a platter of Dauphinoise potatoes (link here) and some steamed garlic/broccoli. Quite honestly, this combination along with a light red wine like a pino noir, went down a legend. The little dance on the pallet went on for at least an hour after dinner.

Thanks Nancy! Great recreation of an awesome recipe!

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Overall Heather Rating: 10/10

Lemon/Garlic Chicken “Boobies”

Last weekend I had a few extra chicken breasts in the freezer kindly delivered by our friend the “Chicken Man.” His chickens are free range birds who live a happy life in southern Malaysia. Apparently H5N1-free….I digress. These breasts are fantastically juicy and easy as sin to grill and here’s how it was done on the Big Green Asian Egg. PS I used the term “boobies” to see if I’d get any extra hits on the blog!

What you’ll need:

• 3 chicken breasts, skin removed
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 large lemon, zested and squeezed (save the zest for final garnishing)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
• light coating of Lawry’s  seasoned salt, both sides of the bird boobies
• a solid pinch of smoked paprika on each side of the chicken breast
• a package of fresh parsley, chopped up nicely

You’ll now blend the garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper in a blender. Once done, set aside 3 tablespoons for drizzling.

In a non-reactive (glass) baking dish, lightly drizzle with olive oil and season your chicken boobs  with a decent coating of Lawry’s seasoned salt and smoked paprika. Give them a good rub so that the seasoning gets right into the meat. Plop the chicken into a zip top bag and place it back into the fridge for 30 minutes.

Fire up your Big Green Egg or any other grill to a dome temperature of 400 degrees F and over direct heat. Wait until you have a nice even spread of heat with no major flare ups or flame. Apocalyptic brimstone kind of look with the coals works best.

Place your chicken boobies onto the grid and get your trusty thermometer into the thickest piece of chicken breast. . That will be about 6 minutes per side and your internal temperature should be set  for 170 degrees F. Once done, plate the chicken breasts and lightly tent them with aluminium foil. Let them rest for a full ten minutes.

Once rested, split the breasts in two and plate up with a starch of your choice (baked potato with garlic cream cheese) and grilled zucchini. Drizzle the remaining sauce that you set aside and top with some fresh parsley and a pinch of lemon zest. That gives it a wonderful little punch when you bite into the boobs! A quick grind of black pepper also goes nicely.

All in all, simple and quick and again…..oh so tasty! Enjoy these boobies as much as we did!

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

Stuffed Lamb Shoulder

Hi there friends! I know it’s been a long time and I can’t really say anything other than, I’m sorry it’s been so long since my last post. To say I’ve been busy is an excuse but truthfully I just needed a wee bit of a break. That being said, I’m posting one of my all time favorite lamb dishes tonight. Stuffed lamb shoulder with Waldorf salad on the side.

Here’s the inventory you’ll need to make a mind-blowing lamb supper:

• 1.6 kg boneless lamb shoulder
• 1 cup of English Parsley
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 3 tbsp pine nuts (lightly toasted in a dry pan)
• 1/3 cup of sun-dried cherry tomatos in olive oil (drained)
• 2 tbsp capers (rinsed under cold water)
• 1 small tin of sardines in oil
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup of dijon mustard
• kosher salt/freshly ground black pepper to coat
• 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried oregano (all 3 dried ingredients pounded to a pulp with your mortar and pestle!)

Now here’s what you’ll need to do:

Combine the parsley, garlic, pine nutes, tomatos, capers and sardines in a food processor. Pulse it about 6-10 times in short bursts. You want to keep the stuffing pretty chunky as opposed to runny and liquid-like. Once done, unwrap your lamb shoulder from the butcher’s net in comes in. You’ll re-tie the lamb shoulder later with your trusty butchers twine (which of course I didn’t have on hand so I improvised…) Spread the stuffing generously across the lamb and carefully wrap it back up as close to what it looked like before. This is where two pairs of hands really come in handy! Take your butcher’s twine and tie it up nice and tight. Nothing fancy required, just make sure the shoulder doesn’t fall apart on you. We wrapped the shoulder up in cling film and popped it back in the fridge for another hour or so.

Meanwhile, get your grill up to ludicrous temperature and get ready to sear your lamb shoulder on all sides. Careful now as the flames will get pretty intense so a long pair of tongs and a fireproof set of gauntlets really come in handy. Coat the shoulder in olive oil and give it a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Then, on to the grill and make sure you get a nice sear all over the lamb and once done, then simply set it aside. Now comes the crucial part….add your plate setter (if using a BGE) or make sure your grill is set up for indirect grilling. I plonked in the plate setter and reduced the temperature to about 400 F (dome.)

As the Egg was settling down, I re-tied the shoulder where the twine had singed off (always get quality twine!) and then I spread the dijon mustard all over the shoulder. Then, sprinkled the dried herbs all over and finally I placed the shoulder into a greased v-rack and onto the grid (which sat on top of the plate setter, legs down.)

For this lamb I went purely by temperature. Using my trusty iGrill thermometer, I set the internal temperature alarm at 155 degrees F. To reach this temperature, it took right about 1.5 hours at 400 F. At the sound of the bell, I took the lamb shoulder off and covered it loosely with aluminium foil and let it rest for a full 10 minutes.

The result? A gorgeous crust, a lip smacking stuffing and lamb that was as tender as tender could be! Simple, tasty and nothing better for a Sunday roast dinner!

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It’s good to be back!

Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

“Killer” Cherry Smoked Leg ‘O Lamb

Hi all, a very happy Diwali to one and all! Yes, today we celebrate the festival of lights here in Singapore and that means that I have a holiday Tuesday to update the blog with this post.

This past Sunday we had two dear friends over for a lamb roast. Now we’ve done plenty of lamb roasts but none quite as tasty as this one. So, without a whole heap of photos, here’s what you’ll need to do to make quite possibly the tastiest boneless leg of lamb on your grill/smoker!

You’ll need to plan ahead for this recipe – by at least 12-24 hours if you can. The leg of lamb will require a marinade/paste for at least 12 hours to get what can only be described as an out of this world taste.

For the marinade you’ll need:

• 4-5 solid “glugs” of quality olive oil
• 2 Tbsp dried thyme
• 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped) and save another 3 or 4 long sprigs for later
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
• 2 Tbsp dried marjoram
• 1 Tsp ground cumin
• 4 garlic cloves (minced) then set aside another 3 cloves thinly sliced
• Zest of one lemon
• A squeeze of half a lemon
• 1 Tbsp quality balsamic vinegar

Combine all of the above ingredients in a bowl and mix well – I did it by hand so that I was able to crush the fresh herbs and garlic, releasing all that yummy flavour! Now take your boneless leg of lamb and give it a quick rinse and pat it dry with some kitchen roll (paper towel!) Now take a really sharp knife and make a number of deep but small incisions. Stuff a sliver of garlic and some rosemary inside. Try and go as deep as you can without tearing the a massive hole into your lamb. Careful here and you’ll be just fine!

Once done, plonk the leg of lamb into a large zip top bag and pour the marinade (a thick pasty thing) into the bag. Now make sure you cover all of the leg. Massage the bag ensuring you get a good even cover. Now pop the bag onto a plate and into the fridge for the next 12 hours.

OK, fast forward and you’re ready to get your lamb on! First, get your lamb out of the fridge and get the temperature up to as close to room temp as you can. In the meantime prep your smoker/grill.  I used our trusty BGE and this is how I set her up.

• Fire up the Egg to a target temperature of 300 degrees F (130C)
• Plate setter in, legs up
• Cherry wood chips (once the charcoal is lit and settled)
• Drip pan under the rack
• V-Rack for the lamb leg

Lightly oil your v-rack with some vegetable oil  and then remove your lamb from the bag and place your leg of lamb on it, fatty side up. Smush all the herbs and oil out of the bag and onto the leg. Close the lid on your smoker/grill and let the magic happen for the next few hours.

Using my trusty iGrill, I set the target internal temperature for 155 F and the ambient temperature at a stable 300 F. I didn’t bother timing it but the length was about 3.5 hours. Again, I used the internal temperature as my gauge and not time (a far better measure if you ask me but one that peeves my wife when she asks, “when are you going to be done?”

Once you hit the target temperature of 155F, take the lamb leg off the rack and wrap it in aluminium foil and a tea towel. Let that sit for at least 10 minutes to redistribute the juices.

At this point, we prepped the salad, potatoes and pita bread eagerly awaiting the carving of one of Mary’s little ones…The result? Absolute killer and the reason why I wanted to post the secret marinade for everyone to have a crack at. Don’t forget to use all the drippings from the lamb as a gravy! Don’t waste an ounce of this stuff….it’s pure gold!

Sorry, no detailed photos of this one, save for the one I took with my iPad. I wasn’t planning on an entry but the result was so good that I just had to.

Enjoy!

Overall Heather Rating: 10/10

Hickory Smoked Beef Short Ribs

Ah, another weekend passed and another weekend where I was able to try a low and slow recipe much to the delight of the family. This past Sunday I blew the dust off an old favorite recipe and actually improved on the overall flavour of these hickory smoked beef short ribs.

All in all it was a 4.5 hour job but well worth it in the end. We served up a hunk of beef ribs with Heather’s own corn fritters and a couple of baked potatoes.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and combines the techniques of smoking and then finishing in….wait for it….an oven! (the thought still makes me shudder but hey ho, it was chuckin’ down with rain on Sunday so finishing the ribs inside was a bit of a blessing!

First the rub, which incidentally went on the ribs the night before, goes something like this:

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp of Kosher salt

Run this mixture through your spice grinder for a few seconds and combine it thoroughly. The next step you’ll  coat your ribs with a bit of regular vegetable oil and then ensure you get an even sprinkling of the rub – don’t be shy here either!

After 24+ hours in the fridge, get your ribs out to get up to room temperature as you get your smoker ready. Stabilise your smoker at 180 degrees F and once done, throw in a few choice chunks of hickory wood. No need to soak them whatsoever…why put wet wood on a fire? Kind of defeats the purpose.

Place your pre-rubbed ribs on a rack and place it on the grid. Close the lid and let it smoke for the next two hours.

In the meantime, prep the next stage which is the steeping stage….and this is what you’ll need:

• one bottle of beer (your choice but this time I used a bottle of Corona)
• 2 cups of chicken stock

Just get it ready, which means, no need to combine it all as you’ll dump it on the ribs after they finish smoking.

OK, so two hours have passed. Now you’ll simply move your ribs into a glass baking dish, bone side down, and then pour the chicken stock and beer on top of the ribs. Cover it with the lid or if you like, you can cover it with aluminium foil, but make sure it’s nice and tight. Have your oven pre-heated to 375 degrees F and then add the baking dish to the oven for the next 2.5 hours.

Once done, you’ll have an amazing bark from the smoking and the juiciest and most tender, fall off the bone beef you’ll ever try. The hickory smoke adds an awesome punch and the cayenne pepper give you that teeny bite that rounds off the ribs. Let the ribs rest for a few minutes but as they’ve been steeping in the stock/beer mix, they’re already nice a juicy.

Heather’s had this recipe before but with a bit of practice I’ve notched this one up by two points! Hope you enjoy this recipe. It takes a bit of patience but it’s all well worth it on a rainy Sunday night!

Cheers!

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Overall Heather Rating: 9/10

Cedar Smoked Pork Ribs

Hiya everyone, I was meaning to do this recipe for a while now and a quiet Sunday afternoon seemed the perfect time to break out the cedar planks and try something other than salmon! The recipe this weekend was Cedar Smoked Pork Ribs accompanied with breaded zucchini, smoky beans and a homemade lemon merengue pie. (The pie will NOT feature in this post….sorry Heather!)

So as with all things “low and slow” you’ll need to prepare the night before. That means getting your rub ready and your ribs coated and in the fridge overnight. The rib rub goes a little like this:

• 4 tbs (60 ml) dark brown sugar
• 4 tbs (60 ml) sweet paprika
• 2 tbs (30 ml) fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp (4 ml) cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp (10 ml) onion powder
• 3 tbs (45 ml) kosher coarse salt
• 2 tsp (10 ml) garlic powder
• 2 tsp (10 ml) celery salt

I like to pulverize my rubs in the spice grinder to break down any clumpy stuff, so once you’ve got it all together give it a good whirl in the grinder for about 30 seconds. Now the way I prepped the ribs this time was to slather them in regular yellow mustard after which I liberally coated each slab with the rib rub and then cling filmed them to a tight fit. Three racks, 15 minutes and into the fridge for 24 hours. If you’re using cedar planks, pop them in the sink and cover them in water for a few hours before you light the grill.

Fast forward 30 hours and you’re ready to start the next few phases. First, get your grill set up for direct grilling (but remember its not really direct as you’ll be smoking the ribs on two of the cedar planks.) Set your temperature at or about 220-250 degrees F. To get an accurate read of the ambient temperature on top of my cedar planks, I used my trusty IGrill thermometer with its new ambient probe. It works a charm for any temperature less than 400 degrees F.

The cedar planks also needed a bit of adjustment. I sawed off the top and bottom corners of both the left and right planks. It ended up looking like a crooked octagon but it was the only way to get two planks to fit side by side on a large Big Green Egg. Use the off cuts to add to your charcoal for additional and quick smoke.

During your grill prep time make sure your ribs are out of the fridge and coming up to room temperature or as close to it as possible. Don’t put freezing cold meat on a grill, ever! When you’re all ready to go, place your slabs on the planks, shut the dome and get your grill stable between 225-250 degrees F. Have a spray bottle ready with a 50/50 mix of apple juice and water. Spray the ribs and planks every 20 minutes for the first hour or of your planks set fire.

I set my timer for two hours and during that time I sat back and watched the plumes of smoke chug out of the egg. Once the timer pinged, I placed each slab into an aluminium foil packet and filled each one with about a cup of apple juice. Carefully remove your cedar planks as well and put them in a safe place to cool down, away from the kids! Plonk the packets back on the grid and crimp the top to make a steeping tent. Close the lid for another 45 minutes. The temperature will creep up a bit now but try to keep it at a maximum of 350 degrees F.

Now for the glaze. I made up the glaze in the morning to allow for all the flavours to meld over time. Here’s how it goes:

6 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp Heinz ketchup

1.5 tbs molasses

4 cloves fresh minced garlic

1 half Jalapeño pepper, seeds included and finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

When your 45 minutes are up, very carefully remove the packets as they’ll contain some pretty darn hot juices. Carefully place your ribs back on the grid, meat side up. Now coat your slabs with your glaze and shut the lid for 5 minutes then flip and repeat for another 5 minutes. When done, remove the slabs carefully as they’ll want to fall apart. If you’re the type that likes a bit of bite to your ribs, forget the 45 minute steeping phase! Heather likes her ribs to fall off the bone so we opted to go with the above method.

Now let the ribs rest for about 10 minutes under a tent of aluminium foil. When ready, serve up your sides and tuck in!

The recipe above was so absolutely different than the ribs I normally make. Now that’s a good thing because you want to try a bit of variety once in a while. These ribs also had a pretty hefty spice kick to them coupled with an amazing cedar smokiness at was utterly insane! If you’re like my buddy Brett and you like ‘em spicy, this is the rib recipe for you! Let me know what you think!

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Overall Heather Rating: 8.5/10

Hot-Smoked Salmon (Update)

Happy weekend one and all. This past Saturday, Heather and I hosted our two friends Rasa and Chris and their troop of four for an evening of all things fishy on the egg. Hot-smoked salmon and Sri Lankan crab. The post tonight will focus on the Hot-Smoked Salmon as I’ve adjusted the recipe just a smidge so I figured you’d rather hear about that.

To get the salmon ready, you’ll need to brine the fillets overnight in a non reactive bowl that has a lid. Try the following, simple but oh so effective brine:

• 2 cups of water
• 1/8 cup Kosher salt
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tablespoon dried fennel (dry roast the fennel in a pan for a few minutes and then crush it all up in a mortar and pestle – this lets ALL the flavour our!)
• 1/2 an onion, chopped
• 4 cloves smashed garlic

Place your salmon in skin side up and pop it all in the fridge overnight. Remember, you can always make more brine if you need it. This covers about three medium sized salmon fillets perfectly.

On the following morning I had my customary cup of coffee and then I pulled the salmon out of the fridge. Give the fillets a quick rinse with cold water and then pat them dry with a paper towel. Set up your fillets on a wire rack and place them in a cool and breezy area. Tough to do in Singapore but if you put it under the air conditioner and blast the fan, you’ll do just fine. From my last blog entry on the subject, the next step is a critical one that many people sadly omit. It’s THE step that will ensure your salmon is ready for smoking. What happens after about 2 hours of sitting in a cool breezy spot, the salmon fillets form a coat of pellicle, a thin lacquer-like layer on top of the salmon that will seal it in, also causing a sticky surface for the actual smoke to adhere to. Check out the photos. If you get a beautiful shine thats tacky to the touch…you’re golden!

Now, set your salmon on some grease proof paper and trim the edges. Place the fillets back onto the same wire rack and that will sit on top of your grid. Fire up the egg to a very cool 190 degrees F. Once there, add in two fist fulls of wood chips. Try to use any type of fruit wood as hickory or mesquite is just a bit too strong. For ours last night I used cherry wood and it worked a charm!

Once you’ve stabilized the temperature with a platesetter in place, chuck your rack on top of the grid and let it smoke, low and slow for the next 90 minutes. I’ve adjusted the time to account for reaching optimum ambient temperature and getting a good waft of smoke going.

After 90 minutes, pull off the rack and place it back in the same cool place. Once the fillets have reached room temperature, place them on a plate, wrap them in cling film and chuck them back in the fridge.

When you’re ready to serve, simply pull off the cling film and serve up with fresh rye bread and some Heather’s secret homemade cocktail sauce!

The verdict? 10/10 from the judges here at Chez Matla!

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Overall Heather Rating: 10/10 Again!!!!

Hope you all had a great weekend and don’t be shy, drop us a line if you like this or any other BGAE post!

Cheers, Roman