Swedish Meat Balls

SWEDISH MEAT BALLS

2- LB GROUND BEEF
4 tsp CHOPPED ONION
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1- 1/3 cup milk
2 tsp brown sugar
salt, pepper, allspice and nutmeg
Flour, veg oil
2 cups milk, light cream or chicken bouillon

Combine the first 6 ingredients; add 2 tsp salt, ¼ tsp each of the pepper and allspice and ½ tsp nutmeg. Mixture will be moist.

Shape into small balls and roll in flour and then brown well in a small amount of oil.

Remove the balls and add liquid.

Mix 1-1/4 TBS flour with 1 cup flour stirring until thick

Add 2 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper.

Place back in the balls and cover and cook slowly for 15 minutes.

Remove the balls, spoon the fat from the gravy and thin with a little water if necessary.

Replace the balls, reheat and adjust spices.

Serve over egg noodles.

Chicken, Pineapple and Bell Peppers

Chicken, Pineapple and Bell Peppers

20 oz. can of pineapple chunks
24 ounces of chicken boneless chicken breasts or thighs (Cubed)
2 Tbs vegetable oil
8 oz chicken broth
¼ cup white vinegar
2 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 large minced clove garlic
1 1/2 medium – large bell peppers (any color) cut into 1 inch squares
3 Tbs cornstarch mixed ¼ cup water

Drain pineapple chunks saving the syrup

Trim the chicken of fat deposits

In a skillet, add in the oil and brown the chicken until almost done

Add the reserved pineapple syrup, chicken broth, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce and garlic.

Add the green peppers and pineapple chunks until the peppers are tender and the chicken is cooked through

Add the cornstarch to the water and stir until blended well. Turn the heat to high and when it’s to a near boil add in the cornstarch mixture, mix and turn off the heat.

Serve over steamed white rice.

Hard Boiled Eggs – Perfectly Cooked and Easy to Peel – Every Time

Click on photo to enlarge

I’ll make this short and sweet.  If you want perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs that are easy to peel each and every time stop boiling and start steaming. 

It doesn’t matter is they are barnyard fresh or older, steamed eggs will peel with ease.  I use a rice cooker that also has a vegetable steaming setting (and basket) so all I have to do is hit the button and when the beeper sounds remove them, let cool and then crack the shell and gently peel.  

I suspect that if you are using a saucepan on the stove top you’ll have to make a couple of trial runs.  Personally I’d wait until the water is boiling and steam with a lid on the pan for 10 – 12 minutes and cover with cold water for 5 minutes when finished.

That’s it in an egg shell. 🙂

P.S. Remember, steam is very hot and can burn you if you’re not careful.

To Brine or Not To Brine…That is the Question

If you don’t brine your poultry or pork you are missing the mark by a wide margin!

The best way for me to describe the process is that salt and sugar open up the pores of the meat and allow the water to enter.

Interestingly, this solution of salt and sugar that opens the pours does not enter or otherwise flavor the meat but it increases the water content which in turn increases its juiciness factor. The beauty and mystery of this simple technique is that if you add other spices to the brine they WILL flavor your meat.

I recommend the following:

1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar dissolved in warm water. Add 3 TBS minced garlic and about 1.5 gallons of “cold” water.

For pork, this all you need

For poultry, kick in some parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Just like the song!

Stir and place pot into the frig for at least 4 hours to 24 hours.

Drain and then wash the meat under cold water to remove any remaining remnants of the brine. Failure to do so will result in a salty end product, i.e. your food… and this is not a good thing.

Pat the meat dry and apply your favorite seasoning.

Cook as you like.

BBQ Rubs

“This review is not about meat rubs for grilling; it is about rubs for slow smoked BBQ.”

This past weekend I slow smoked 4 slabs of pork ribs and 4 slabs of beef ribs. Each slab was rubbed with a total of 4 different spice blends, 3 that were commercial and one that I have the recipe for. They are:

Bad Byron’s Butt Rub (BB)
Charlie Vergas Rendezvous Famous Seasoning
Coopers Old Time Pit BBQ Rub
Jake’s Boss BBQ Rub Recipe

PORK RIBS

With a test group and my opinion as well, the ratings were identical. Winning by a land slide margin was Jake’s Boss BBQ Rub. In second place was Bad Byron’s Butt Rub.

BEEF RIBS

With a different test group (but with me as well) the following are the results:

Winning 1st place was Coopers Old Time Pit BBQ Rub beating Jake’s Boss BBQ rub by a hair.

Great BBQ

You want to make great BBQ, so you say. Well first you have to know the difference between grilling and BBQn. If so, hopefully this information well serve you well

Click on photo to enlarge!

This 10 pound brisket was cooked for a total of 12 hours with hickory wood and I’m here to tell you neither teeth nor sauce are required to enjoy this tender and flavorful piece of meat.

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My first and only recommendation for the backyard smoker or someone who wants to make the best BBQ on the planet is to buy the Weber Smoker Mountain Smoker/Grill Model 721001. I have been doing this long enough to know the difference between a superior smoker and an inferior one. Don’t waste your time or money on one of those $175.00 smokers that you find in places like Home Depot or the like. They are not up to the task and you will most probably never achieve perfection. And if you think that you need a $1,000 or more smoker, think again. The added cost is not necessary unless you are a caterer or need to smoke meat in very cold conditions. But for the majority of us, the Weber is all that you will ever need to produce championship quality BBQ for less than $300 (delivered from Amazon.com) and at the end of the day, this is what is all about.

http://www.amazon.com/Weber-721001-Smokey-Mountain-Cooker/dp/B001I8ZTJ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1247518263&sr=8-1

Listed below are some “links” to videos that you may find interesting. You will notice in the first one that it is the older Weber Smokey Mountain model 2820 Smoker/Grill without a temp gauge, the larger water bowl and the heat deflector that protects your deck from the high heat. (I use a heat resistant mat under my new version smoker just to be on the safe side)

Both videos are informative from different perspectives. I have to tell ‘ya that once I was trying to put the middle section onto the lower section when the pan full of hot tap water fell through. It was not a catastrophic loss as I was able to get it out without soaking too many of the coals with water. It is amazing just how hot it can be trying to set the bowl into the middle section or try to set both the bowl and middle section onto the hot bottom section. But with a good pair of heat resistant gloves, it is not a problem although the best way would probably be to fill the bowl with a garden hose. The only draw back to this is that it will take a bit longer for the water to heat up and stabilize the overall temp but this takes only a few minutes.

To view these videos links you will have to copy them and place them into your web browser to view. Please do this as the information about the grill and a cooking demonstration by some college folks is both informative and interesting.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=weber%20smokey%20mountin%20viedio&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wv#

http://www.strimoo.com/video/16393759/Ribs-Vimeo.html

In the second video there was way too much smoke…too much smoke is not a good thing. Most of it went out of the top vent or around the seams of the lid. This is a result of using wood chips that burn very quickly and spikes your temperature… and this is also not a good thing. Wood chunks don’t do this. Your objective is a consistent and steady stream of smoke that easily exits through the top vent.

Personally, I like to layer the charcoal. One good solid base layer, then some wood, and then another layer of charcoal and then a few chunks of wood on top. Using this method you should never have to pitch in a piece of wood. What you don’t want to do is have a huge amount of wood tar coating your food and that is why a steady stream of smoke vice a big burst makes the difference if you want really good BBQ.

I know that all of this may seem complicated but it is not and is only necessary if you are looking to make championship quality BBQ. Quite frankly, there is no other way and the difference is in technique. Again, the key requirement for great BBQ is a steady temp of about 225 degrees on the temp gauge of your smoker and a nice even consistent stream of smoke. That’s it and don’t forget it!

A digital thermometer is critical to good BBQ. Feed the probe down through the top vent that ALWAYS remains open while you are smoking. Stick the probe in the appropriate section of the meat that you are cooking, close the lid, attach the probe to the thermometer and shade the unit. DO DOT OPEN THE LID TO SEE HOW YOUR BBQ LOOKS…NO MATTER HOW TEMPTING IT MAY BE. Remember, the difference between okay BBQ and great BBQ is a steady temp. Every time you lift the lid you lose the edge!

The only time that you should open the lid is to either put meat in or take it off. For instance, lets say that you are having some very special guests over for supper and you want to make a great beef brisket and some wonderful pork or beef ribs. The brisket will take at least 12 hours for a 10 lb. cut. The ribs will take about 4-5 hours. Place the prepared brisket on the lower rack and stabilize the temp to about 220-250 degrees based on the temp gauge on the lid. Smoke for 7 hours, then with your ribs ready to add, quickly take off the lid, put the ribs onto the top rack and replace the lid.

If you are using a rib rack (and you should) this will take no more than 10 seconds and the rack will allow you to smoke more meat while occupying less space by spacing meats vertically vice horizontally as long as they are not too tall and touch the upper grill or lid. However, your meats will decrease in size as the cooking process progresses so don’t be overly concerned.

As for pork ribs, I hold the minority opinion in that the meat should not be falling off the bone. I like a little bite and a little bit of a chew. Not much mine you, but enough where the meat will stay on the rib as you are holding and eating it. But this is my preference. It’s kinda like Fillet Mignon vs. a rib-eye steak…gum it or chew it. Unfortunately, I think too many people rate great BBQ pork ribs by the fall-off the bone criteria.

Here is another way I do things that differ than most. I like to BBQ my brisket at least the day before eating. I let it rest and cool to room temp and then refrigerate it. The next day, I slice it (across the grain)and warm it in the microwave. It carves easier than when hot and you can be assured that all of the juices will be rendered back into the meat after it has cooled making for a juicier end result. Also, after cooking for 12 hours who wants to entertain.

Let’s be real…after cooking for 12 hours it’s time for bed. Better left for the next day. With that said, make 2 briskets, slice and freeze the other for another day.

As for the ribs, same day smoking and eating is perfect with the Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker and absent the brisket, there will be more room for more ribs. Just slice up your previously smoked brisket, heat it up, smile, and enjoy your day.

Note: Please remember to place room temp meat on your smoker. To prepare the meat just rub on your favorite spice mix, no mopping is EVER required.

If at this point you have any questions as to my choice in selecting the new and improved Weber Mountain model 721001, please refer to the reviews of the older Weber 2820 where there are 249 reviews. Any and all complaints of the 2820 were addressed and incorporated in the newer 721001 model

Additionally, forgot to mention that I once cooked 8 whole chickens; and another time I cooked a 10 lb brisket and 4 chickens on my 721001 Model Weber. But to up the ante, they have a larger model, the 731001 that costs less than $400.00 that would cook enough for a small army!

I hope that you benefit from this article on making great BBQ in the Weber Mountain Cooker/Smoker.

24 June 2011 – I just received an email request for the spice recipe that I used.  When I made this brisket I used Jake’s Boss BBQ rub.  Since then I have found that Coopers “original” spice rub from Llano, TX  is superior on beef.  Cooper’s spice rub can be purchased online.

Emeril’s Chili

Emeril’s Chili
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• Salt
• Cayenne
• 2 pounds Chuck (not ground)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 3 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup canned dark red kidney beans
• 2 tablespoons masa flour
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 bag Tortilla Chips
• 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
• 6 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 small jar of jalapenos
Directions
In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the vegetables start to wilt. Season with salt and cayenne. Stir in the stew meat, chili powder, cumin, crushed red pepper, and oregano. Brown the meat for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, beef stock, and beans. Bring the liquid up to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the liquid, uncovered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until the beef is tender. Skim off the fat occasionally. Mix the masa and water together. Slowly stir in the masa slurry and continue to cook for 30 minutes. Reseason with salt and cayenne. Place a handful of the chips in each shallow bowl. Spoon the chili over the chips. Garnish with the grated cheese, sour cream and jalapenos.