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.