Fajita Butt Tacos

A while ago I decided it was time to create my own fajita seasoning. I had tried a couple of the store bought fajita spice mixes to season the chicken cutlets for my quesadillas but I just wasn't satisfied.  So I went online and searched "fajita seasoning" and looked through a bunch of different recipes.  Most of them were very similar and included salt, paprika, chili powder, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and usually cayenne pepper for some kick.  To the pantry I went, hoping I wouldn't have to make a trip to the store.  We had everything but the chili powder so I improvised and used the chipotle pepper spice I already had instead of going to the grocery store for chili powder. I also added black pepper and cumin.  After a little bit of tweaking here and there, this has become my go-to seasoning for the chicken, shrimp and steak that goes into tacos, quesadillas, nachos, and any other mexican/southwestern dish.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I had another stroke of genius.  I was watching some barbecue competition show on tv and as each of the competitors was generously coating their huge cut of pork with their own special spice rub, I immediately thought of my fajita seasoning and wondered what it would be like on a smoked pork butt.  I had to try it!  So this past weekend I picked up a little four pound pork butt roast.  I gave it a good coating of my fajita seasoning, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and let it sit in the fridge overnight.  The next day I threw it on the smoker and let it go all day until the internal temp reached 200 degrees.  I let it rest for about an hour and then pulled it to be used in tacos.

While the butt was still resting, I put together a salad/relish kinda thing I discovered last summer in Honduras.  In a large mixing bowl I combined a bag of cole slaw, a diced red bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro, the juice from one lime, and a little vinegar.  I seasoned the mix with salt, pepper, and cumin, and gave it a generous toss, making sure everything was mixed very well.  This stuff is even better the next day so I prefer to make it a day in advance so that the ingredients can hang out together in the fridge (I'm just not very good at planning ahead, didn't happen this time!).    

Once the fajita butt has rested and been pulled, I put a handful of it in the middle of a flour tortilla and top it with the Honduran salad.  These tacos are ridiculous!!!                 

Armadillo Eggs Down and Dirty

Down and dirty puts a perfect crisp on the bacon

The other day I was watching a show called Deep Fried Masters on Destination America.  It's a cooking competition that puts State Fair Vendors up against each other to see who is the real deep fried master.  I'm not a huge fan of the "deep fry everything" craze, in fact I think it's a little absurd, but that's what was on and just before I changed the channel, a particular dish caught my attention.  For the "food on a stick" category one of the competitors was cooking what he called Deep Fried Armadillo Eggs.  As I watched him assemble these little guys and drop them in the fryer, my first thought was, "Those look stupid good!" which was immediately followed with, "Those would be perfect to do down and dirty."

Soak the skewers in water to keep them from burning

This particular version of Armadillo Eggs consists of three ingredients, a block of pepper jack cheese, boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and bacon.  Start by slicing the chicken breast into pieces about an inch think.  Then, pound the chicken out until it is about four inches in diameter and about an eighth of an inch thick.  Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Wrap each piece of chicken around a small chunk of cheese, wrap the cheese and chicken with a slice of bacon, and use a bamboo skewer to hold it all together.

My new favorite food on a stick

Light a chimney starter full of hardwood lump charcoal and let it get white hot.  Dump the coals into your down and dirty cooker (see Cooking Down and Dirty) and then place a wire cookie cooling rack directly on the coals.  Blow off the ashes and then place the Armadillo Eggs down on the coals.  Flip the eggs a couple of times so everything cooks evenly.  Take the eggs off the coals when the bacon shell gets nice and crispy.  Let them rest for a couple of minutes before serving.                       

Banana Bread

Pecans + smoke = stupid good!

As my wife and I began exploring different things to do on the grill, her banana bread recipe was one of the first sweets we decided to try.  Pecans handle smoke well and so we figured this recipe might work. Well, let me tell you, we were right!  We've done muffins and bread and both do a great job of capturing just enough smoke to give it an unbelievable flavor.

Mix the following together in a large mixing bowl:

1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of softened butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of all purpose flour
3 bananas, over ripened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of salt
couple of handfuls of chopped pecans

Light a chimney full of hardwood lump charcoal and let it get white hot.  Dump it into the grill and add three or four chunks of hickory or pecan wood.  Bring the temperature up to 350 degrees.  Rub the inside of a loaf pan with butter and lightly dust with flour.  Pour in the mixture until the loaf pan is half full and sprinkle another handful of pecans on top.

So that the bread will cook evenly, I always cook with indirect heat using my stone diffuser.  Let the banana bread cook for at least 45 minutes before checking on it.  It may take an hour or so to cook so when a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean, take it off the grill and let it cool for about ten minutes before removing from the pan.

Pecan Mozzarella Chicken

Grilled chicken breast can be tricky; it just takes practice.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are notoriously hard to grill.  Trust me, I have dried out more chicken in my backyard (and made my kids eat it anyway) than I care to admit.  Honestly, the trick is to learn from your mistakes and don't be afraid to fail.  Because when you get it right, it's freakin' magic!

Like many people, my first experiences with grilling were on a gas grill.  At the expense of irritating a lot of people, I'm saying right here and now, cooking on a gas grill is no good.  Gas has no flavor and it sucks the moisture out of even the best cuts of meat.  That's just my opinion based on my experiences. It was only when I ditched the gas and started cooking with charcoal did I realize what I was missing.  My burgers had more flavor and my chicken wasn't as dry. 

Through trial and error, I have discovered that chicken breasts are done best by cooking with indirect heat.  When I would cook on Mr. Draper's grill (the horizontal grill rescued from the rubble of Hurricane Katrina), I would put the coals on one side and the meat on the other.  Now, cooking on my Akorn, I use the stone diffuser.  Either way, the chicken is never sitting over direct flame.

Vegetables like asparagus always taste better with a little smoke.

Start by giving the chicken a light scruffing and then season it with salt, pepper and cumin.  Light half a chimney starter of hardwood lump charcoal and let it get white hot.  Dump it into the grill, add a couple of chunks of hickory or pecan wood, and bring the temp. up to between 325 and 350 degrees.  In a bowl, mix a couple of handfuls of chopped pecans and a little barbecue sauce together for the topping.  Use just enough barbecue sauce to coat all of the pecans and help them stick together.  You don't want the topping to be too runny.   

Put the chicken on and let it cook for eight to ten minutes.  Flip the chicken and baste it with barbecue sauce.  After another eight to ten minutes, flip it and baste it again.  You can flip and baste a couple of times, allowing the chicken to build a good layer of flavor.  The last time you flip and baste, make sure the underside of the breast filets are facing up.  The topping won't stay on otherwise.  Add a small amount of the topping to each piece of chicken and then finish with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.  When the internal temperature of the chicken has reached 165 degrees, take the chicken off the grill and let it rest for ten minutes before serving.

 This chicken can be served with just about any of your favorite sides.  This time around I went with asparagus.  I put it on the grill when I first put the chicken on and let it cook for about ten minutes or so.  I left it on just long enough for it to start to become tender.  I then took it off and set it aside.  While the chicken was resting, I finished the asparagus in a non-stick pan with a little melted butter.  I tossed the asparagus in the butter, added a little salt and pepper, and then drizzled on a little honey.

Smoked Nachos

It's the smoke that takes these nachos to the next level.

It's hard to find anyone who doesn't like nachos.  Whether you prefer simple cheese nachos or you like to put everything but the kitchen sink on a pile of chips; nachos just work.

In our house of five, it's hard to please everyone when it comes to food.  We cook a lot of truly good food and I am always astonished when one of my daughters tries to act like she doesn't like what we've cooked.  But I can pull these nachos from the grill, set them in the middle of the table out on the back porch, and step back and watch the pizza stone get picked clean, all the way down to them scraping up the burnt cheese with a fork.    

I start these nachos by generously seasoning four or five chicken breast cutlets with a fajita spice blend.  In a preheated, non-stick frying pan I melt a chunk of butter and then cook the chicken five or six minutes per side.  Since the chicken cutlets are sliced thin, be sure not to over cook the chicken or it may dry out.  Once done, set the cooked chicken aside to rest.  

In a bowl, combine one diced tomato and a can of strained and rinsed black beans.  Squeeze the juice from one lime into the tomatoes and black beans and mix together, being careful not to over mix and crush the black beans.  Chop some fresh cilantro and put into another bowl.  Fill a third bowl with the chicken, sliced into bite-sized pieces.  This is the fun part of making nachos because you can pretty much put whatever you want on them.  For us, the tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, and chicken all work well together, but I have a feeling we will be experimenting with all kinds of different toppings.  I melted cheese in the microwave over a bowl of chips and the sausage and scrambled eggs leftover from the buffins we made the other day.  I think I might be on to something.  I am definitely going to try some sausage, egg and cheese breakfast nachos on the grill sometime soon!  The point is, just have fun with it and be creative.   

Along with a bag of your favorite nacho chips and shredded cheese, head out to the grill with the toppings and begin getting the coals ready.  Light half a chimney starter of hardwood lump charcoal.  When it is white hot, dump it into your grill and add four good-sized chunks of hickory or pecan wood.  You want a lot of smoke.  Place your pizza stone on the grill grate and begin building the nachos.  Start with a layer of chips and then a handful of chicken, tomatoes and black beans, cilantro and then cheese.  Add another layer of chips followed by another layer of toppings and cheese.  Finish with one more handful of cilantro.  Close the lid and let them cook for three to five minutes.  Have a hot pad or two in place where you want to serve the nachos because the stone will be hot.  When the cheese is melted and has just begun to brown on the stone, take the nachos off the grill using oven mitts.  Serve the nachos directly from the pizza stone.

Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Buffins

Buffins (breakfast muffins) can be stuffed with just about anything.

These little guys are a stroke of genius my wife came up with a couple of years ago.  We've been doing them in the oven but decided to take them to the next level by baking them out on the grill.  With a little help from a couple of chunks of pecan wood, these things are stupid good!

Pop open a can of Grands Honey Butter biscuits.  Work each biscuit by hand, stretching it out into a piece of dough about six inches in diameter.  Press the pieces of dough down into a greased muffin tin, starting with the middle of the dough in the middle of the cup and working your way out. Allow the extra dough to lap over the edge of each cup.  You will need this dough to fold over the top after the buffins are stuffed.  Fill each cup with a little cheese, precooked sausage, precooked scrambled egg, and a little more cheese.  Fold the remaining dough over the top, sealing off each buffin.

Top with a little cheese or dust with brown sugar before cooking.

Light half a chimney starter of lump hardwood and let it get white hot.  Dump it into the grill and bring the temperature up to 350 degrees.  Add a couple of chunks of pecan or hickory and then put the buffins on.  Close the lid and let them cook for ten minutes before checking on them.  Take them out when they are golden brown.  Let them cool for five minutes before serving.

We usually stuff ours with sausage, egg, and cheese but they can really be stuffed with anything you'd put in a omelette.  Be creative and have fun!   

  
  

Sausage, Basil, and Red Sweet Pepper Pizza

A hot pizza stone gives the crust that brick oven crisp.

I bought my wife a pizza stone for Christmas about ten years ago.  Since then, we have used that thing in the oven to cook everything from biscuits to cinnamon rolls, pigs in a blanket to chocolate chip cookies.  To say that it's well seasoned is an understatement.  But not once, I mean never, did we ever used it the way it was intended.  Even when we would cook pizzas on it, we never preheated our pizza stone.  We were basically using it as a glorified cookie sheet.  I'm embarrassed to say we just didn't know any better.

All of that changed about a year ago.  My horizontal cooker, a Brinkmann grill with an offset smoker box affectionately dubbed "Mr. Draper's Grill" because my best friend and I rescued it from the rubble of Hurricane Katrina (a story for another day), had to be retired because, well, nobody likes rust in their food.  Therefore, I was in the market for another grill.  My wife and I headed to Lowe's in search of another horizontal cooker.  As we walked around looking at a couple of different possibilities, I couldn't help but eyeball the ceramic, kamado style cooker sitting there calling out to me.  The problem; I couldn't afford forking out a grand for a grill.  And then I saw it.  Sitting right there next to the ceramic cooker was a steel, double wall insulated version of a kamado cooker made by Char-Griller for three hundred bucks!  I hadn't read much about the kamado cookers yet, so I headed home and began reading up on this style of cooking.  Basically, a kamado cooker consists of an egg-shaped vessel with an opening in the bottom and top and the ability to change the size of both openings to have complete control of the temperature.  Most are made of ceramic, but a few less expensive versions are made of insulated steel.  One of the words I kept seeing when reading about this type of cooker was "versatile."  So we bought it and it has forever changed the way I cook with wood.  Although I would like to one day upgrade to the Primo Oval XL, the Char-Griller Akorn is a great place to start when it comes to cooking a lot of different kinds of food with wood.

When I decided to try pizza on my new cooker, I knew that a quality pizza stone was crucial.  So I bought a thick stone, sixteen inches in diameter, that was made for grills.  I knew I needed something that could handle the high heat of a grill and I also discovered that the trick was to preheat the stone to between 450 and 500 degrees.  In order to know that the temperature was where it needed to be at grate level, I also invested in a digital, remote thermometer with a sensor that clips directly to the grill grate.

Corn meal sprinkled on the pizza peel will help it slide onto the stone.

Armed with the right tools for the job, we began making pizzas.  Although we make a lot of different pizzas, this one is my favorite.  Before we start doing any rolling out of dough or pizza decorating, I head out to the grill and get a chimney starter full of lump charcoal lit.  As soon as it's ready, I dump it into the grill and add a couple of chucks of hickory or pecan, depending on what I have at the time.  I put the pizza stone down on the grill grate, get my thermometer sensor set, and close the lid.  I bring the temperature up to about 475 and then let it stay there for about an hour.  This lets the pizza stone come all the way up to 475 as well.

We get our pizza dough from Publix.  We prefer the multigrain but will use whatever they have available at the time.  One bag of dough will make two pizzas so my wife splits the dough in half after letting it come up to room temperature.  She rolls the dough out pretty thin and then moves it over to the pizza peel.  Now here's where things get a little weird, but just trust me.  We never use tomato sauce on our pizzas.  No matter what toppings go on the pizza, we begin by lightly coating the dough with Williamson Brothers Barbeque Sauce.  Follow it with a little cheese, diced red bell peppers, fresh basil, Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage that's already been cooked and sliced, and then finish it with more cheese.

Out to the grill I go.  I slide the pizza on to the pizza stone and close the lid.  It usually only takes about five minutes or so to cook, but I know it's ready if I lift the edge a little and the dough has just begun to brown underneath.  Don't leave it too long or the dough will burn.  Our first time at this was a disaster!  When it's done, scoop it up with the pizza peel, let it cool for a few minutes, and then cut and serve.