Garlic Parmesan Wings on the Stumps Baby

We have this little place not far from our house that we go to for wings and beer.  They make a nice garlic parmesan wing, but like all wing places, they can come drenched in oil or butter.  My mission over the weekend was to make something comparable that was tasty.  I did just that.  And, it was so easy, I am going to put it in the Cooking For Novices Section...

First, into the blender:

1 whole head of garlic (yes, the whole head with the cloves seperated and paper removed
1 tbsp siriacha sauce
1 tsp of celery salt
1 tsp dried parsley flake
A double thumb piece of parmesan cheese.  I would do about 1/8 cup if using canned
Enough olive oil to make a paste, about 1/8 cup.

All blended...

Place in a plastic bag and put in frig for happy time...

These got about 3 hours of happy time.  I would recommend overnight...

In the bowl, ready for the Baby...

Middle rack of the Baby, 300 F, 1 piece of hickory in the ash pan...

1 hour at 300 F.  Still not crispy enough.  So, I cranked the heat up to 325 for 30 more minutes. After that, perfect crispiness...

Not too greasy, perfect flavor and crispiness.  Wife loved them.  We will be making these again or maybe something else.  Who knows...

For those without a smoker, 1 hour at 350 in your oven will make them nice and crispy for sure.

Enjoy...

Bill

Remembering D-Day

I know this is late, but a good friend and colleague of mine from France visited Normandy on D-Day to tell his children the history of the day and sent me these pictures last week.  I must say, every French person I have met is very grateful for the sacrifices of our Grandfathers and Fathers. I know that if you are walking through any village in Normandy and a local finds out you are American, you have a good chance of getting invited in for a glass of wine...

In the words of my friend:

I spent a very nice weekend in a special space. Sometimes it's France, sometimes it's USA but everywhere it's history and emotion ... 

Picture Slideshow

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Smoked Yellowfin Tuna

Rueben over at BBQ Guam gave me this idea.  So I decided to smoke some yellowfin tuna at the beach.

I picked up some nice fillets at Risky Business Seafood in Hatteras...

I made a batch of fish brine and let sit overnight...

While starting the fire, I let sit on cookie racks for 2 hours to dry...

Drying allows the fish to form a nice crust on the outside that adds flavor and is more receptive to smoke.

Then, on the Weber kettle...

I used Stubbs Oak/Hickory/Apple chips in the wood box.  They were soaked overnight in water...

Here is the finished product.  About 2 hours with a flip halfway through...

Then I made Smoked Yellowfin Tuna Dip with the long thin piece...

4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 oz mayo
2 oz sour cream
4-6 oz of tuna, chopped
1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
1 tbsp Texas Pete hot sauce
Juice of 1 lime

Mix throughly.  Serve with favorite cracker or tortilla chips.

Enjoy,

Bill

Old School Chicken on the Weber Kettle

At the beach, I was happy that our house had a Weber Kettle grill as well as a gas grill.  I hate gas grills, especially those that are provided at rental houses.  They are never taken care of and always a bottom of the line model.

So, I took a whole chicken and slow smoked on the Weber for sandwiches.  First, I brined the bird in poultry brine overnight.  Then, I started on the grill the next day...

Webers are fairly easy to regulate.  With the top and bottom damper, air flow is easy to regulate.   I started 20 briquettes and let them burn until they were very ashed over to ensure the lighter fluid was burnt off and would not leave a taste.  Then, I added 10 more fresh briquettes and my wood box full of Stubbs Oak, Hickory, and Apple chip blend.  Then the bird went on the rack, with a liberal coating of Weber Beer Can Chicken rub under the skin, off to the side...

Make sure you put the open handles over your charcoal pile so your fresh briquettes are easy to add.  You will need to add about 10 an hour.

Here is the bird after 2 hours at about 250 F...

Here is the bird after 3.5 hours.  A perfect 165 F internal, pulled off the Weber with a nice crispy brown skin...

As you can see from the drippings, nice a moist.  Here is the final product being pulled for sandwiches. It also made a nice chicken salad...

I must say, everyone needs to learn how to smoke old school so that you can use any equipment that you have available.  Don't get me wrong, Stumps are great cookers, but you can't take one everywhere.

Hope you enjoy the pics.  Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Ocracoke Island Sunset

Well, just got back from the beach.  We go to Hatteras, NC on the Outer Banks every year.  Part of that trip is a ferry ride over to Howard's Pub on Ocracoke Island for dinner.  I got some great pictures of the sunset on the Ocracoke side this year.  I thought I would share them with everyone...

I zoomed in a bit and caught a really nice picture of a fishing boat and a duck blind in front of the setting sun...

I did do some smoking this week at the beach.  I'll be posting about that during the week...

I hope you enjoy the pictures.  Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Howards Pub, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina

First off, sorry no pics.  Just a review.  And I might say, a review that I do not take pleasure in writing.  We have been going the the Outer Banks for 20 years and a trip to Howard's Pub has always been a highlight of the trip.  We even had Thanksgiving Dinner there one year as we had liked it so much.  But, unfortunately, the quality has been going downhill and our visit last week was the last straw.

There were 8 of us.  One order of crab cakes was OK and the grilled tuna was acceptable to the person who ordered.  

I ordered the Hungry Howard, a 5 piece assortment that you can receive either fried or broiled.  I ordered it fried.  It came to me cold and soggy.  The crab cake was mushy and the scallops were underdone in the middle.  The fish was overcooked and leathery, almost like it had been under a heat lamp for an extended period of time.  

One person ordered the 3 piece broiled platter.  Ditto on the soggy crab cake and under done scallops.  

The wife ordered snow crab legs.  The taste was good.  But they were ice cold.  

They even got rid of the free plastic Howard's Pub cups that you can get your drafts in and take home a a souvenir.  

The last straw was the level of service.  The waitress was not knowledgeable and did not offer to give a discount or anything when the quality of our meals were mentioned.  Plus, there was a hint of impatience on her end.  

I could go on, but I think you get the picture.  

Like I said, it pains me to write this review.  We have considered ourselves loyal customers of Howard's for years.  But, considering the declining level of service, coupled with our experience last week, we will not be returning unless online reviews say otherwise.  

Bottom line, 1/2 out of 4 stars...

Smoked Steelhead

When I am lucky enough to catch one of these...

It goes straight on the smoker.  If you are not near anywhere you can catch steelhead salmon, you can buy it at a reasonable price at Costco and it works just as well.

First, I prepare a brine to soak the fish in overnight.  My friend Darrell from Seattle was kind enough to give me his dads recipe as well as some nice alder for smoking the fish.  Here is the recipe...

Darrell's Dad's Smoked Fish

Into 1 1/2 gallons of water:

2 cups sugar

1 cup salt

4 heaping tablespoons garlic powder

2 heaping tablespoons onion powder

Brine for 4 hours

take fish out of brine and pat dry

sprinkle lightly with garlic and onion powder

smoke at 150 -160 degrees for 12 -14 hours ramping up to 200 towards end to finish

sprinkle with brown sugar right at end

The modifications that I made to the above are that I let the fish brine overnight, I add a tablespoon of Texas Pete Hot Sauce to the brine, and I allow the fish to air dry on a rack for 1 hour or until the fish becomes shiny.  I also do not add the brown sugar at the end.  Here are some examples...

Before...

After...

As you can see, if you get a little heavy handed with the garlic/onion powder, it will darken.  But, it does not effect the flavor.  The skin pulls right off the bottom and the finished product vacuum packs and freezes well.  

We eat as is, or make an outstanding fish dip that we can eat with a spoon...

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Grilled Shrimp, BBQ Guam Style

Now, it is pretty obvious that I love American Style BBQ.  But, I do get tired of the stuff.  So, I am always looking for other flavors to try out at home on the smoker or grill.  If you are looking for those different flavors, you need to go visit Rueben over at BBQ Guam.  Rueben has all of those flavors going on that are not what we see here in the US.  If you haven't visited his site, you need to get over there and give it a look.  You will not be disappointed.

Now, on to the recipe...

Grilled Ouzo Shrimp

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil1/2 cup ouzo (Greek liqueur) or anise liqueur
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (got to be fresh)
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 lb. jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
Grape tomatoes

I can't stand Ouzo, so I made some modifications:

Substituted 1/2 cup of Mirin for the Ouzo

Instead of the red pepper flakes, I used 2 tsp of siriracha sauce

Everything else is the same...

I did marinade the whole 6 hours...

I threw some bacon wrapped asparagus on the side.  No oil, just throw on the grill as is.  When the bacon gets crispy on one side, flip.  When that side gets crispy, put on indirect heat and serve when the rest is ready.  Good stuff...

Even threw on a cheap $5 lobster tail that was part of the seafood sale...

This shrimp was everything Rueben advertised and more.  4  thumbs up from me and the wife.  The grape tomatoes compliment the garlicy flavor of the shrimp.  The lemon juice with a slight hint of thyme bring the honey and mirin together.  They tasted even better for lunch the next day.

Ruben, this one is a winner.  We will be doing this again for sure...

Thanks,

Bill

Grilled Blue Point Oysters

Now, when it comes to eating oysters, I like them 3 ways:

1. On the half shell with either Texas Pete or spicy cocktail sauce with a saltine.
2. In a shot of beer with a ton of hot sauce.
3.  Breaded and fried (good for a hangover  ;) )

I had a friend one time who grilled them once, but they were way over done.  So, I decided to give them a try.  The local grocery store had them on sale for 0.99/ea...

I put them on the hot part of the grill, then flipped after 1-2 minutes...

Then, when they started to open, I moved them to the cool side of the grill...

Then, after all four opened, I heated for 30 seconds, then took inside.  I then ripped off the top shell and dotted with siriracha sauce...

This is a new favorite for sure.  Not quite cooked the whole way through, so they were not rubbery.  Warm, salty, and spicy.  Very good.  I will be doing this again...

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Homemade Portable Smoker

A friend of mine come up with the perfect idea by tooling around the internet and melding a few ideas.  I give you the Combination Portable Smoker and Grill...

In his words...

Here are some pictures of the smoker that I built.  As I said, it's basically a mini WSM.  I can't claim that it was my original idea.  I saw it on a WSM website and put my own spin on it.  The top and bottom are a Weber Smoky Joe grill and the middle is a 32 quart pot.  The pot fits in there like it was made for it.  I made some modifications to the pot and installed a thermometer in the lid.  The whole thing cost about $70.00.  The red paint is optional but I like the way it looks.  I used it once so far and it works well.  It wont replace my WSM and I know that it's no Stumps, but it's still good.  I figure it's good for traveling, it's about 14" across and about 30" tall.  It also gives me an option of having 2 smokers going at once at different temperatures.  Another good thing is that when I take the center section out I still have a small grill to use.

I did a little research and the 32 quart stock pot is the same as a turkey fryer pot.  I like the idea that you can either smoke or grill.  He also says that once you play with the vents, he can keep the temperature rock solid.  It inside has 2 Smokey Joe racks at different levels (if you look hard enough, you can see where they are from the bolts drilled in the pot).  He also puts a water pan on the grill top for moisture and to help regulate temp.

I like the idea and I have been looking for something portable.  I will be building one and will report back on the results.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Smoked Sausage with Peppers and Onions

After all of the practice for KCBS lately, I had a taste for something smoked without sauce ;). So, I bought some hot and sweet sausage and fired up the Baby. First, I thick cut some sweet onion and bell pepper, tossed with some olive oil and S&P, and made a bed in some 9 x 9 foil pans. I then laid the sausage on top...

I also split this bottle of Penn Octoberfest between both pans...

By the way, this beer rocks on its own: nice, full bodied, and smooth... But, I digress... 45 minutes at 350 F on the middle rack for the sausage. Real good stuff... Hot links...

Sweet...

I used oak wood for this smoke. The fat in the sausage just sucks in the oak flavor. The sugars from the caramelized onions and peppers mingled well with the malty Octoberfest. We served on crusty sausage tools with spicy brown mustard. I highly suggest trying this sometime soon.

 Thanks for stopping by...

 Bill