Grilled Garlic Rosemary Chicken (wrapped in bacon!)

Hi gang…really quick blog entry as we’re off for an after-dinner walk…So, for the easiest and really yummy grilled chicken…do this:

• 1 large chicken breast (to share between two people)
• dried garlic flakes
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large rosemary sprig (from your garden)
• 8 rashes of streaky Danish bacon

Take your chicken breast, remove the skin and trim off any bits of fat. Sprinkle a good helping of dried garlic flakes followed by a decent seasoning of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Place your rosemary sprig in the middle of the chicken breast and then braid on the bacon, overlapping slightly and securing it on the reverse side of the breast with toothpicks.

Fire up the grill to 400 degrees F and place the chicken breast on an oiled grid for 8 minutes on each side.  Once your timer goes off, take the chicken from the Egg (ha, that’s funny…) and wrap it in aluminium foil and let it rest for another 2-4 minutes.  Open the foil, remove the toothpicks and slice on a diagonal.We served dinner with garlic Kai-Lan  (a local favorite) and steamed white rice. A 10/10 for speed, ease and taste!

Bon Apetite,

Roman

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Overall Heather Rating: 8/10

The Egg gets some work done…

The Big Green Egg also requires a little tender love & care once in a while and yesterday was the day to deliver.

Not quite like a facelift or tummy tuck, the egg does need a freshening up as the years take their toll and I simply wanted to thank the guys at High-Que for a great customer experience and show you guys what the end product looks like!

OK, not a huge deal but I replaced the main gasket with high-que’s high heat Nomex felt gasket and added the new High Performance fire grate.

Check out the new look before it gets tested tonight…

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Uncle Roman’s Ukrainian Borsch

Clinging to my cultural roots, I decided that tonight’s dinner was going to be something that’s healthy, hearty and a reflection of my Ukrainian heritage; meat borsch!

It wasn’t done on the egg but I wanted to make sure the recipe was posted more for the benefit of my friend Ayako who gave me the idea as I was shopping for ingredients this morning.  So, Aya…this one’s for you!

Now, traditional borsch can be made several different ways…purely vegetarian (as it is for Christmas), with various types of meat (pork, beef, chicken), and with sour cream etc… What I’ll share today is my recipe that has proven incredibly easy and super tasty.

So here’s Uncle Roman’s Ukrainian meat borsch:

Ingredients and method:

• 800 grams of stewing pork (on the bone of course)
• 30 grams of dried porcini mushrooms
• 4 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 onions, chopped roughly
• 2 carrots, diced and chopped
• 2 celery stocks, chopped
• 3 medium beets, cut into julienne strips
• 2 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 can of white cannellini beans
• half a medium sized cabbage, shredded
• 1 can of Hunt’s diced tomatoes
• 1 head of garlic, minced
• 2 cups mushroom stock (from the dried porcini)
• 1 cup V8 vegetable cocktail
• 1/2 cup of Heinz ketchup
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups of pork stock (from the stew meat)
• 1 tbs white vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• fresh dill (from your garden!)

Before you start, make sure you’ve prepped everything and I mean everything.  Honestly, it makes for such an easier experience when all you have to do is follow the steps one after the other without having to stop and cut something up, or measure something out. Generally, faffing about should be avoided!  A ready kitchen is the only way to go. so with that in mind, I assume you’ve got everything prepped and ready to rock.

      

Let’s start with the meat first.  This takes about an hour and you can crack on with the borsch while this is happening.  So here are the steps you need to take:

To brown the meat, get a large skillet and melt a good 2 or 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter.  Season your pork chunks with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and then add each piece to the skillet full of hot melted butter.  You’ll see how quickly it browns so keep an eye on things just now. Flip the pieces and get an even colour on the flip side.  Once done, place the pork into a pot an cover the meat with cold water.  Bring the pot to a boil and simmer the pork for about an hour.  The meat will be falling off the bone once done!

      

Now, on to the borsch.  The fist step is to cover your dried porcini mushrooms with 3 cups of boiling water, place the saucepan on the burner and bring to a boil until the dried mushrooms are tender and tasty. Do NOT throw away the mushroom stock, it’s priceless and adds a wonderful earthy flavour to the borsch; you should have about 2 cups worth of stock left over.

In a large stock pot, heat up your vegetable oil and saute your onions, carrots, and celery until they’re “tender crisp.” Which means, don’t make them soggy! Once done, add your mushrooms, along with your minced garlic and saute for a few more minutes. However at this point, stop and take s sniff…takes me back to baba’s kitchen on Indian Grove!  At this point, add the julienned beets, diced potato, beans, shredded cabbage, can of diced tomatoes, cup of V8 juice, 1/2 cup of ketchup, 2 cups of mushroom stock and then add 6 cups of water. (Basically, you’re adding in everything else but the fresh dill, vinegar and the meat at this point.)

      

OK, so now you’re done the hard part.  Grab yourself a cold one and sit tight for the next 45 minutes or so. In the meantime, your pork should be just about done (make sure you set your kitchen timer right) and it’s time to “de-bone” the meat! Erm?!? Anyway, take out each piece and let it cool down a bit unless of course you have asbestos fingers.  I find that you want to keep the meat that falls off the bone without any effort.  The stuff that sticks heartily, leave it as it’s only going to be chewy and full of fatty cartilage.  Once you’ve got your meat stripped, plop it in the borsch, add the 2 cups of pork stock and add your dill.  Cook for another 1o minutes or so and then shut off the heat and wait for your loved one to come home from work.

      

To serve, simply heat up your borsch, place a dollop of sour cream if that’s what ya like and chow down with some fresh bread, a glass of wine and good company.

      

Smachnoho and let us know how it goes! – Uncle Roman

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Rib Rub Recipe

Hi y’all – it was Norm (a regular on this blog) that brought it to my attention that I did not post the rib rub recipe that we use for our FF ribs. So ask, and ye shall receive…R

Applying the rub

All rubbed up

All done…

 

• 3 tablespoons fine sea salt
• 1-1/2 tablespoons celery salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon granulated onion
• 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon powdered ginger
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons paprika

Cheeky, Smoked Beef Cheeks that is….

So yesterday I decided to take a walk up to my favorite butcher to find me some beef short ribs to grill for dinner and much to my disappointment, there were none to be purchased.  I was looking for something different, something unique and something Heather and I just haven’t tried before. Enter my pal the butcher. With a smile he suggested beef cheeks and then explained to me that the texture and make up of the muscle is very similar to what you’d find on short ribs.  I pulled out my trusty BGE cookbook (yes, I brought it with me to the butcher…) and my pal the butcher agreed that the smoked beef short ribs recipe (on page 304) could be used for this very cut of beef…

Challenge Accepted!

I came home with two pieces of cheek (just under 600 g) and began the preparation.  When you’re going to smoke meat, its gonna take a while so I had to time things for Heather’s return home from work.  Start time was around 3:00 pm and here’s how it all went.

Step 1: The Rub (with a few suggestions for next time…)

• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (add a drop of liquid smoke to your regular paprika if you don’t have the smoked stuff…)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbs of Kosher salt (now this is where I’d change things – use 1 or 2 tsp of Kosher salt instead – the smoking process and the chicken stock add a lot of salty flavour….just something to keep in mind!)

Now prep your grill by adding a fistful of pre-soaked hickory chips to an already lit firebox, place your grill on top and close the lid and watch the smoke start to billow. Stabilize your temperature at 180F. At this stage, its a good time to mix all of the rub ingredients in a small bowl and get your beef cheeks to room temperature.

The Rub

The Rub all Mixed Up...

Hickory Smoke

Once their ready, generously coat each side of the beef cheeks with your rub – don’t over do it but make sure you’ve got an even coating so that every bite will get the intended flavour! Place the beef cheeks on the grid and close the lid on the Egg. Let the cheeks smoke low and slow for the next 2 hours. (BTW, they look horrible after a smoking but fear not, its just part of the process!)

Beef Cheeks - 590g

Rub Applied

Let the smoking begin

After the two hour mark your beef cheeks will look like they’ve seen better days.  In fact, what you’ve done is seal in all that smoky goodness within the meat. They did end up moist and succulent though at the end of the smoking bit, they looked more like beef jerky!

Low & Slow

Smoked at last...

Ready for Phase 2

Phase 2: The Steeping

• 1 bottle of Lager and 1 for the cook
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup rice wine (or white balsamic vinegar)
• 2 tbs cubed unsalted butter

At this juncture, you’re ready for the bottle of Lager (Cascade in this case from the Isle of Tasmania) and 2 cups of chicken broth. Mix the beer and stock in a large bowl and pour the mixture over the beef cheeks.  Seal the dish tightly with aluminium foil and pop it in your pre-heated oven set at 375F or 190C – The ribs then enter their steeping phase for the next 2 1/2 hours.  Remember, low and slow for best results!

Ready for Phase 2

Cheeks in Beer/Stock Mix

Into the oven for 2.5 hours

Phase 3: Final prep and plating…

Place your rice wine in a saucepan over medium heat for about 15 minutes until it reduces to about half, set it aside for the final step.  Now once your 2.5 hours are up it’s time to prep your final sauce and present your masterpiece.  Warm up the reduced rice wine and using a whisk, add the butter a bit at a time, stirring constantly until the butter emulsifies. Carefully remove the cheeks from the oven, unwrap the foil and take a deep whiff of that incredible smell! Slice your beef cheeks against the grain and plate up with some rosemary/garlic roasted potatoes coupled with pistachio/pine nut buttered asparagus.

Thanks to my pal Pete the butcher…  Great suggestion and a fantastic result!  YUM!

 

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Grilled Chicken & Spinach Salad

Wednesday night means another night that Roman gets busy in the kitchen and the grill.  Yesterday was a bad day for us as we dined on fastfood hamburgers (twice actually for Roman) which really left a need to go slightly healthier tonight.  Ok, its not quite that healthy given that this recipe has bacon, butter and cheese in it but it’s better than a double whopper with cheese!

This recipe is straight out of the BGE cookbook – page 103 if you want the real deal or try mine below with a few variants added along the way.

Here are your ingredients (and save the vinaigrette recipe for any salad you like…this was a true winner!)

• 100 grams baby spinach, rinsed
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced white button mushrooms
• 2 cups of 1-inch cubed French baguette
• 3 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 6 slices of Danish streaky bacon, crispy
• 1/4 minced shallots
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tbs granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• 1 big boneless chicken breast
• 2 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled

Step 1: Making the croutons is easy and pretty quick though watch the amount of butter you use as they can end up pretty soggy! I added some granulated dried garlic to mine and it turned out quite good. In a medium bowl, toss the bread bits with the melted butter and garlic.  Place the croutons on a grill pan and cook whilst turning constantly to avoid burning.  Once done, remove the croutons and set them aside for the salad…

Step 2: Ah the vinaigrette…delicious! Cook your bacon for added flavour to the salad.  Keep the bacon fat in the pan as you’ll need it to fry up the shallots and garlic (about 1.5 minutes.)  Once you do that, add the vinegar, mustard and sugar and stir it well.  Using a non-scratching whisk, blend in the 1/2 cup olive oil slowly until it emulsifies. Once done, season with some S&P and set it aside.

Step 3: The Chicken! Easy as!  Lightly brush both sides of the breast with your favorite olive oil. Season well with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken on the grid of your BGE set at 400 F. I kept mine on for 6 minutes per side then another 2 minutes per side tuned 90 degrees to achieve nicely seared hatch marks.  Then remove your chicken breast, put it on a plate and cover it with aluminium foil – that redistributes the juices and keeps it warm for up to 2 hours.

Step 4: Assemble your masterpiece. Pour the vinaigrette onto your salad, add your croutons and bacon.  I also added some feta cheese and olives for some more twang! Season with S&P and then divide the salad accordingly.  Place your quartered eggs on for a nice look and then add your diagonally sliced chicken breast on top.

That’s it…awesome chicken salad with minimal effort!

Bon Apetite! Roman

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Father’s Day Chinese Spare Ribs

Hello folks and of  course all of you Big Green Asian Egg-heads – for those of you who celebrated Father’s Day last Sunday…happy, happy to you all!  On this side of the planet the kids (Alex & Kalyna) surprised me with a wonderful little gift that did not include ties or socks (I suppose Christmas will be here soon enough!) No, from the offspring I received a little book called “The Great Ribs Book” by Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. Nice, even the kids know what dad really wants!

So after reading the very basic introductions and sections on rib types and techniques I had to dive in to the first recipe in the “Show Stopping Asian Ribs” section, “Best Chinese Baby Back Ribs.” If anything I would rate this book purely on the different recipes and sauces contained within – the techniques section is far too basic and very very very generic – my suggestion is go with your intuition when grilling these recipes and don’t be afraid to combine styles and past experience.  Anyway, I wanted to try out the first recipe out of principle (being the first in the book) and because the outcome sounded really good.

I got up early on Father’s Day and took my son Alex down to visit the “pig lady” at West Coast Market.  We managed to secure the last two racks she had available, what luck! We came home and started the 6 hour marinade.  I personally like the dry rub technique but I must admit, the marinade was good though I have a few new ideas based on this experience…more to come on that later.

Instructions are as follows:

Marinade & Sauce:

• 1 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/2 cup plum sauce
• 1/3 cup oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbs dark soy sauce
• 2 tbs Chinese rice wine
• 1 tbs dark sesame oil
• 1 tbs Chili sauce
• 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
• 1 tbs orange zest
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup minced old ginger
• 1/4 cup minced green onion

Combine all the ingredients and that’s it!  This yields approximately 3 cups when completed. Add the ribs to a glass dish and coat every square inch of the ribs with this yummy sauce! I left the ribs in the fridge for just over 6 hours and then onto the grill.

For the grilling I employed a mixed technique and if anyone can tell me how to improve on it, please do let me know…leave a comment!

I fired up the BGE and stabilized the temperature at 325 F. I used the platesetter with the legs up and then added a drip pan full of water to see if that would provide enough steam for juicier ribs.  I can’t say they were dry but I would like to try steeping them next time in aluminium foil packets like I do for the Fred Flintstone ribs.  Anyway, I placed the ribs onto my trusty rib rack and let the magic begin.  The book suggests a 90 minute cook time for spare ribs and as “pig lady” cuts us some huge ribs, I took the 90 minute route in hopes of cooking all the way through. I always get nervous with timings like 90 minutes for ribs given that my other rib recipe takes 6 hours to complete…anyway, this recipe certainly does not take the low and slow approach!

After all was said and done I removed the ribs and covered them in aluminium foil for another 10 minutes and the result?  Juicy ribs with an incredible sauce.  Heather was right to point out that these ribs were not “fall off the bone” at all and the really thick parts could have been more tender which is why I want to steep them next time around.

The real winner of course was the marinade and sauce (always keep some sauce aside before you cover your raw ribs!!!)

Thanks kids for a memorable Father’s Day and a brand new rib recipe! Love you both…Dad

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Aubergine Parmesan with Roasted Red Pepper-Tomato Sauce

Hiya Egg fans – today’s post is all about what to do with the huge aubergine (Eggplant) that’s been sitting in the fridge for a week and not moved?  I know….Aubergine Parmesan thanks to a recipe from none other than Bobby Flay!  Now I have to admit, I’m waiting on a few extra parts for the Big Green Egg so I was unable to cook on it last night…however, I don’t see why you can’t do the final cook on the egg… next time!

Having said that though, this recipe ROCKS and both Heather and Kalyna were speechless, which is a big deal for both of them!  Enjoy…we did!

Ingredients & Prep…

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce

• 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1.5 roasted red peppers, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 (14-ounce) cans plum tomatoes and their juices, crushed with your hands
• 1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Honey, to taste

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Add the red peppers and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Return the mixture back to the pot, add the parsley, basil and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes longer and season with honey, if needed.

Aubergine:

• 2.5 cups fresh dried breadcrumbs (made from dried day-old bread)
• Butter, for greasing the dish
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoons water
• 1 large aubergine cut into 1/2-inch-thick round slices
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Sauce
• 6 ounces grated mozzarella (not fresh)
• 1/4 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 6 ounces grated fontina or any other semi soft cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Romano
• Fresh basil leaves, torn

Preheat the oven to 300 degree F. Evenly spread the bread crumbs on a large baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, turn the oven off and let the bread crumbs sit in the oven for 30 minutes or until just dry.

Raise the temperature of the oven up to 400 degrees F or simply fire up the BGE – I will try this on the Egg as soon as my replacement parts arrive from the US&A! Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 15 by 10 by 2-inch baking dish and set aside.Place the bread crumbs into a large shallow bowl. Add the herbs, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. In another medium shallow bowl, whisk the eggs and 2 tablespoons of water together.

Season each aubergine slice on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge each aubergine slice in the flour, tapping off excess, then dip it in the egg, and finally dredge it in the bread crumb mixture. Shake off any excess breading and transfer the egg plant to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining aubergine.

Heat 1/2-inch of oil in 2 large straight-sided saute pans over medium heat until the oil reaches a temperature of 385 degrees F. Working in small batches, fry a few of the aubergine slices, turning once, until golden brown, about 3 minutes per batch. Using tongs, transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining aubergine.

Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with some of the tomato sauce and arrange 1/2 of the aubergine over the sauce. Cover the aubergine with some of the sauce, grated mozzarella, fontina, Romano cheese and some of the basil. Repeat to make 3 layers ending with the sauce. Top with the fresh mozzarella and remaining Romano and bake until hot and just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Bring and appetite and enjoy it with your loved ones!

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Brined Pork Fillets… a dedication to my Big Brother!

Hiya loyal Egg fans! Tonight’s blog entry is dedicated to none other than my big brother Markian!  He’s been been a bit touchy lately about the amount of grilling we’ve been doing and I thought it only fitting to give him his own dedicated recipe of brined pork fillet  with a unique dry rub.  One day he may actually come out to Singapore to taste some of this food…but until then, I can only dedicate a blog entry in his honour!

Smachnoho Marchyk!

So, tonight…simple salad, baked potatoes and two pieces of pork fillets picked up from the local grocer (both combined were less than 6 bucks!)

Ingredients:

•  3⁄4 Cup lightly packed light brown sugar
•  1⁄2 Cup kosher salt
•  10 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
•  4 bay leaves, crushed
•  3 TBS whole black peppercorns, crushed
•  2 boneless pork fillets (not quite a loin but not quite a chop!), 1 1⁄2 inches thick

Preparation Directions:

• In bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in 2 cups hot water.
• Add garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, and 4 more cups cold water, cool mixture to room temperature.
• Pour mixture into a resealable zip top bag
• Add pork fillets, seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible, refrigerate until fully seasoned (for about 2-3 hours)
• Remove fillets from brine, rinse and dry thoroughly with kitchen roll
• Season with favorite dry rub (we still use the Righteous Urban BBQ recipe for our favorite rub!)

Cooking Directions :

• Grill over direct heat about 12-15 minutes turning once at 450°F
• Let the pork rest for about 5-7 minutes before serving

Great meal, easily done and one more blog entry to drive my brother nuts!

Bon apetite!

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Lamburgers (for the lads at The Butcher!)

In hopes of getting a huge discount, I’m dedicating this blog entry to the always nutty folks at The Butcher located on 44 Jalan Merah Saga right in the heart of Chip Bee Gardens in Singapore. The lads there are always ready for a bit of banter and they consistently provide good suggestions when it comes to grilling different cuts of meat.  I left the guys our blog address to have a peek…so if you’re reading boys, I need a discount on all the charcoal I buy from you!

Anyway I digress, last night being a lazy Friday night, I walked up to The Butcher and grabbed 6 pre-made lamb burger patties – they’re a wonderful blend of lamb mince, rosemary and mint.

Once at home I set the BGE at 400 degrees F, and the burgs were done perfectly at 4 minutes per side. I let them rest for about 3 minutes under some aluminium foil and a tea towel.  Once ready to serve, we cut up some homemade buns, added a bit of Brett’s salad and a couple of big russet potatoes.

Juicy is the operative word when it comes to these lamburgers!  The Big Green Egg simply doesn’t dry anything out and as a result, we had the best “lamburgers” money can buy.

To the boys at The Butcher, as always, thanks lads and see you next weekend for more charcoal! – Roman

PS – BIG THANKS to our guests for the evening, auntie Barbara and uncle Brett.  We had a great day and looking forward to brunch and hockey tomorrow morning!  GO VANCOUVER!

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