Keeping it Simple for Spring Time Grilling

With the weather here in East Bay hitting the 80's over the weekend, it finally feels like Spring is here to stay. The garden is all planted and the bass are spawning on the Delta, so Spring has fully sprung. Even with all of that there is one thing that makes it feel like Spring is here and Summer is right around the corner, and that is BBQ and grilling. Walking out of the hardware store yesterday I caught that always recognizable smell of Kingsford charcoal and lighter fluid on fire. It immediately inspired me to break out my old faithful 18 inch Weber kettle that now only has two legs, also known as R2D2.

On the menu tonight, two beautiful prime quality ribeye steaks. When you grill steaks, keep it simple and you will be outdoing any $45 steakhouse product in the comfort of your own backyard.

Step 1: Get it Blazing!
Use a charcoal chimney to get your coals blazing hot. Let them burn in the chimney until they are red hot and white ashy all over. We want that flavorful crust on the out edge of the steak. The only way to do that is to bring the heat. You should only be able to hold your hand above the coals when laid out for two seconds tops. Last thing, since we are keeping it simple, use newspaper for your chimney. Three pieces of bunched up paper works perfectly and it saves you money on lighter fluid and doesn't leave that lighter fluid taste lingering around in any of your food.









Step 2: Buy Quality Beef!
Your steak will only be as good as the source it comes from! In my opinion a ribeye is the best grilling steak around as it has great marbling throughout the meat which means more flavor. Pay the extra money and get a good "choice" or better yet "prime" quality ribeye form your local butcher or market. Remember spending $12 on the steak is nothing compared to the $40-$50 it would cost at a steakhouse. This isn't something you're going to do everyday so spend the money for the quality and enjoy it.

When selecting your ribeye, you want to choose a steak that is at least one inch thick. I would choose one that is closer to 11/2" thick and close to 16 ounces in weight. The thickness and size is essential for grilling so you can get a good exterior sear and keep a nice medium/medium rare center. A thinner cut will dry out by the time you get a good sear on the exterior. Pick a ribeye with some good marbling (the lines of fat in the beef), as this will melt into the steak which imparts all the flavor.


Step 3: Keep the Seasoning Simple
Grilling a steak is all about the steak. You spent the money on a good cut of ribeye, don't ruin it by over seasoning or marinading it. It's as easy and salt and pepper. Sprinkle your steak liberally with both salt and pepper. Most people under season their steaks which will result in less flavor. Remember this is nearly a pound of beef so go a little heavier on the salt and pepper so that each thick bite has a proper amount of seasoning. A lot of recipes will say to rub the steak with oil to help seasonings stick, forget about it! The salt and pepper will stick just fine without and the oil will prevent that good crusty sear we are looking for.

Step 4: Timing is Everything
So you're finally ready to grill. Lay out your super hot coals in an even layer so that you can hold your hand just above the grill for no more than two seconds. When this happens your ready to grill. Lay your ribeye over the hot coals and set a timer for 2 1/2 minutes. When that time expires turn your steak 90 degrees and set the timer again for 2 1/2 minutes. This will give you those beautiful grill marks and a nice even sear.

After 5 minutes have passed turn the steaks over and repeat the process on the other side. This will give you about a 10-11 minute total cook time on your ribeye, which will give you a perfectly cooked medium rare steak.

Step 5: Rest and Enjoy a Beer
When you take your ribeye off the grill, loosely cover it with foil and let it rest for about 5-7 minutes to let the juices move back into the meat so that it will be nice and juicy when you take that first bite. While its resting enjoy a nice cool beer (you actually should have been doing this the entire time you've been grilling). So there are all these great craft beers out there to choose from but this is one time I can say just enjoy the warm weather and sun and crack open a refreshing light mass produced lager such as the infamous B-minus (bud light).

Served Island Style with sticky rice, sautéed sherry mushrooms & onions, and steamed chard. 

The warm weather is here so get outside, grill, and crack a beer!!!

CHEERS!!!

Doesn't Get Any Fresher Than This

Now that I live in NorCal I don't get a chance to get out on the ocean for "fun" fishing as much as I used to in San Diego. The thing I miss the most about it, the fresh fish to bring home to grill up. In San Diego I regularly had freshly caught tuna, yellowtail, or ono (wahoo) at my fingertips to create a delicious grilled seafood masterpiece. Nowadays that is rarely the case but I do come across the occasional striped bass when out on the bay or delta in between my regular freshwater bass tournaments.

Just last week I decided to take one of these striped bass home for a little fresh fish dinner. People often get intimidated by grilling fish but it's simple as long as you remember a few key rules.
1. Get a fresh fish. It shouldn't smell fishy and if buying whole look for nice clear eyes.

2. Keep your grill clean, hot, and oiled up. This rule can be applied to many other things in life as well, I'll let you use your imagination :)

3. Don't move the fish until its ready! Don't do the classic grilling fidget where you wanna peek to see if it's sticking. If you think its going to stick it probably is, so let it form a nice crisp crust and your sticking to the grill problems will be a thing of the past.

Ok, now for the fish. This particular "striper", as they are known in the fishing world, was literally swimming two hours before it hit my grill. This one weighed a few pounds after cleaned and I decided to cook it whole, skin on and scaled. For this particular recipe I went the propane route, using my Infared Charbroil grill, that will crank out an amazing amount of surface heat that will help when cooking a "skin on" fish. When grilling fish keep it simple, especially with a milder white fish like a striped bass.

Rub some olive oil on the outer skin of the fish and season with salt and pepper. Cut diagonal slits about a 1/2 inch deep into the flesh. This will help the heat penetrate the fish and keep the fish from wanting to curl up as the skin crisps. For some flavor I cut up some slices of lemon, onion, and fennel tops and stuffed them into the body cavity of the bass. Simple as that.

Over a medium-high heat place the whole bass gently on your grill and cook for about 7-8 minutes on one side. Remember NO PEEKING!!! Use a spatula and tongs to then flip the fish over without scraping under the fish so that the skin will stay intact and repeat cooking the other side for another 7-8 minutes. cooking the fish whole will keep it ridiculously moist and add even more flavor. Simple as that!

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Enjoy this bass with a nice amber ale that has some good floral
flavors but also a little bit of bitterness. Try one of my San Diego favs, Ballast Point's Calico Amber Ale. Can beat pairing a bass recipe
with a beer named after a bass right?

CHEERS to the Striper (not stripper)!!!

What to do in Tahoe When There's No Snow

  As the new year roles in up here in NorCal we all have been loving the less than winter like weather so far this year. I sit here and write this post in shorts, a t-shirt, and my slippers on January 7th....yes that's right, it's 70 degrees out today and full sunshine. Last weekend we went to South Lake Tahoe, where I once called home, amongst the beautiful summers and snow-filled winters. After college I lived out my snowboarding dream for two seasons, working at Heavenly resort and drinking my way through the plentiful drinking holes of the south shore, always ending at a nearby blackjack table.

  Well, those days appear to be a thing of the past as this year the only thing white in Tahoe was the pasty skin of those from the midwest on a holiday vacation in sunny California. So what do you do if there is no snow in Tahoe? You drink beer of course!!! And play blackjack and shoot pellet guns in the middle of the Nevada desert, but that story is for another time.

   This trip I finally tried the brewery I had walked by at least 100 times. Stateline Brewery is located in the basement of the Heavenly Village shops at the base of the Heavenly Gondola. There are signs everywhere so you can't miss it. I've always seen their logo and liked it, boasting their "It's always 5 o'clock here" slogan. I finally decided to give their beer and food a try. Stateline Brewery offers a rotating menu of their five beers that include Stateline Pilsner, White-out Wit, Neat Wheat, Avalanche Ale, and Darker Parker Strong Ale. I decided to try their sampler that included three of their craft beers plus three guest beers.

First up was the Stateline Pilsner, a German style lager in which they brewed using Belgium barley and German yeast. This beer was very light in color and in taste. It wasn't my style of beer as it was very light and resembled somewhat of a craft version of the typical mass produced American lagers of the world.

Next up was their Avalanche Pale Ale, a very mellow version of an American style pale ale. It was light in color and surprisingly very light in taste and hoppiness. I guess that was the theme of their brewmaster as their beers were all of a lighter version in hop flavor compared to most craft breweries. Finally, the third sampler was placed in front of me, their Darker Parker Strong Ale. It was by far the darkest and most flavorful of their current beer selections but still a pretty mild ale by craft beer standards. It is a Scotch Ale that offered the common characteristics of a malty flavor, but this one didn't follow up with much of hoppy finish.

Overall, Stateline Brewery was a fun atmosphere and more modern scene than many of the bars/restaurants of South Lake. They have a pretty extensive menu of your typical brewpub type food. I had a french dip sandwich that was a generous portion and pretty good au jus on the side. The side was good as each sandwich comes with a beer battered, almost tempura-style french fry that had a good seasoning. Next time your in South Lake Tahoe, whether you're fresh off the powder or just praying for it, stop by Stateline Brewery for a pint and some food.

CHEERS!!!

Respect the Elder

  After a long, loooooonnnnng week of work and dealing with car dealers trying to fix my truck last night I was due for a good drink. I stopped by the Whole Foods near my house to check out their beer selection. I don't shop there much but I will give it to them, they have a pretty good craft beer selection. After a quick browse I saw one of my favs, Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing Co. Pliny is a double IPA that is very hoppy which makes sense given its name (read Russian River Brewing's story on the website.) For those you not in NorCal check out your local Whole Foods or BevMo to find the Elder!!!

CHEERS!!!

One Night Portland Brewery Crawl

  Last summer I had the pleasure of taking a road trip through the northwest heading through the states of California, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. For those of you that do not know, this trip could be made into a beer lovers dream trip as the northwestern states are home to more craft or microbreweries per area than any where else in the country.

  For this blog I'm going to focus on what I did one night in Portland, Oregon which was to hit as many good breweries as I could walk to between 7 PM and last call. It just so happens that my friends Curtis and Liza Brennan are heading to Portland this weekend to celebrate New Year's, so Brennans here are my recommendations for some tasty beers. (Portland Brewery Map)

  With roughly 40 breweries and tap rooms solely dedicated to local microbrews within Portland's city limits, picking a few to visit can be intimidating. I decided there were a couple that I really wanted to visit like Rogue and Hair of the Dog and then I would just venture out to any other tap rooms that found their way into my "hopped" up stumbling path.

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  Rogue Beer Hall is a small little joint in the area known as the "Pearl" that serves all of Rogue's beer along with a good food menu that ranges from pizzas to your typical brewpub fare. Definitely try some of their seasonals that offer a unique taste of what Rogue's creativity has to offer, such as their Chipotle Ale and one of my favorites of the trip, Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale named after Capt. Sig Hansen of Deadliest Catch fame. If you're lucky enough to be at Rogue Beer Hall during the Deadliest Catch season stop by when the show is on and the bar comes alive with drinking games, beer specials, and all the tv screens full of whitewater and king crabs.

 Another stop nearby is Bridgeport Brewery which is now home to Bridgeport Ales which are the oldest craft beers in Oregon. Curtis, you'll like this, these first craft beers were made by a graduate of UC Davis in 1984. Bridgeport was the last stop on my crawl that night so to tell you the truth what I drank there was a little blurry but I do remember one of their beers I have had during the holidays in particular, which is their Ebenezer Ale. Ebenezer is a very malty beer, light on the hops, and has that caramel type color and finish that makes for a full bodied but smooth ale.

Lucky Lab Beer Hall on Quimby

The last Portland brewery I recommend is the Lucky Labrador Brewing Company. The Lucky Lab has four locations in Portland including a beer hall, public house, brew pub, and taproom. They all offer their own personal niches whether you're in the mood for pizzas, sandwiches, or pub fare. The most important thing is that they all offer Lucky Lab craft beers. They usually have about eight of their beers on tap including a cast conditioned ale and nitro tap which I prefer because of the flatter, creamier finish of a full bodied ale rather than a lot of carbonation.

Outdoor Patio at
Lucky Labrador Beer Hall

  So Curtis, Liza, and all others that are planning to go to Portland to drink beer, those are a few of my favorites I found amongst the ridiculous number of breweries that Portland has to offer. So go enjoy a pint or six and don't forget to hit up Voodoo Doughnuts when you're nice and buzzed (or drunk) they are open 24 hours!!!

Cheers!!!

Turkey's Not Just For Thanksgiving

  Nearly a month has passed since the big turkey day, but if the texture of a dried out oven bird or cost of

three gallons of peanut oil for the turkey fryer has left a bad taste in your mouth, then here is the recipe for you.

I smoked my first turkey a couple of years ago for Thanksgiving at my house when I ran out of poultry cooking options. I have of course made the classic oven roasted bird and dabbled in the turkey deep fryer, but it was time to try something else so I decided to break out the orange home depot bucket I use for brining and fire up the smoker for my first smoked turkey.
Going out of town this past Thanksgiving I had a frozen leftover turkey in my fridge, so once the food coma wore off from a weekend long face stuffing session I decided to replicate my famous smoked turkey and here's the recipe!




Turkey Brine

6 qts. hot water
1 pound kosher salt
1 pound dark brown sugar
5 pounds of ice

   Combine the water, salt, and brown sugar in a clean five gallon bucket, Gatorade type drink cooler, or ice chest. Stir the liquid until all of the salt and sugar is dissolved and then add the ice to cool down the mixture. Once the brine has cooled down place the turkey in the brine, making sure it is completely submerged. Place the bucket in a cool place for 10-12 hours.

Smoked Turkey

12-14 pound turkey with giblets removed
olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon ground sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
3 sprigs of rosemary
1 onion
apple & hickory wood chunks (soaked in water)

Fire up your smoker to 250 degrees and place your wood chunks in to start the smoking. While your smoker is heating up dry off your turkey and then rub liberally with olive oil and spices to cover the entire bird and place quartered onion and rosemary inside the cavity. Cover the tips of the wings with foil to prevent them from burning while cooking.

Place your turkey in the smoker over the drip pan containing your vegetables for the gravy. After about 2 hours check your bird to make sure it is not getting too dark in color. If it is getting too dark loosely cover the entire bird with foil for the remainder of the cooking process.

Smoke your turkey for about 4-6 hours at 250 degrees or until you reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Let the turkey rest for 30 minutes once removed from the smoker and then carve as you would any other turkey and serve with the gravy (recipe below).

Apple Gravy (optional)

2 onions

3 celery ribs

3 carrots

1 lemon
3 sprigs of rosemary
turkey giblets (neck, gizzard)
1/2 cup apple juice
2 cans chicken stock
1/4 cup flour
salt & pepper to taste

Roughly chop all of the vegetables and place in an aluminum turkey pan with the giblets, apple juice, and chicken stock. Place the pan under the turkey in the smoker to catch the drippings and cook the vegetables. When the turkey is finished, strain out all of the vegetables and solids from the pan and pour the liquid into a saucepan over medium heat to reduce. Slowly add the flour and whisk to thicken the sauce. When desired thickness is reached remove from the heat and serve with the turkey.

Ultimate Pulled Pork

   Last week I offered up a recipe for a great Carolina barbecue sauce that is a perfect companion to any smoked pork product. Well here is the greatest canvas to add that sauce to, the ultimate pulled pork sandwich.

   As I wrote about last week, "pulled pork" has become somewhat of a food marketing term that you can find in a lot of restaurants these days that refers to any shredded pork that is drenched in barbecue sauce and added to sliders, generic sandwiches, quesadillas, nachos, wontons, egg rolls, etc. In my mind pulled pork has become a chain restaurant's dream as it is a great canvas to make a variety of menu items that will cause those consumers who have drank the "pulled pork craze" kool aid to salivate at the very mention of pulled pork. The only problem with this? This is not real pulled pork!!!

   To be a true pulled pork, you need a pork butt that is smoked at low temperatures for hours and hours to create that beautiful smoke kissed interior and blackened crust packed full of flavor commonly known in the BBQ world as "bark." I have a hunch that Applebees isn't smoking a pork butt out back in the parking lot to create their "pulled pork" sliders and wontons. These restaurants have mastered creating an oven or crock pot version of pulled pork and smothering it in some store bought barbecue sauce.

   Next time you want to spend a weekend day at home watching some games with friends or in my case give yourself a real good reason to stay home and get some house chores done on a Saturday, fire up the smoker, crack open some good home brews, and try my "ultimate" pulled pork recipe. I promise you will never go back to the oven made faux pulled pork ever again. If you love all these fancy pulled pork sliders, wontons, and quesadillas, that's great, they will taste even better with a real smoked pork butt highlighting the show.

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   Smoking a pork butt for fourteen hours is a long process so don't go with too heavy of a beer during the process, or you might wind up napping in the corner instead of monitoring your smoker to keep that magical temp at 225. Last weekend as I tended to the smoker all day I opted for a mixed bag of some lighter ales from one of my favorite California beer makers, Ballast Point Brewery. Their Wahoo Wheat and Yellowtail Pale Ale are perfect for a fall day hovering around the smoker.

  

 Once the mighty pulled pork is off the smoker and ready to be pulled apart, I think the rich flavors of the pork and bold smokiness from the bark needs to be paired with a beer that can match the smokey rich notes but isn't super heavy on the alcohol or full bodied like a stout. A good smokey, roasted Porter is a great match, such as Black Butte Porter from Deschute's Brewery in Bend, OR. Enjoy the beer and the pulled pork, and let me know how it all turned out. Remember, if it looks tasty, smoke it! If it looks hoppy, drink it!

CHEERS!!!

Ultimate Pulled Pork

Ingredients

1 pork butt, bone in (about 6 pounds)

1/2 cup BBQ rub (see previous post for recipe)

Carolina BBQ sauce (see previous post for recipe)

1. Take the pork butt and place on a baking sheet or roasting pan and cover in spice rub, making sure to evenly coat the pork butt and massage spices into the meat.

2. Cover the rubbed pork butt with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night.

3. Remove pork butt from the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. While this happening get your smoker ready. Bring your smoker to a temperature of 225 degrees, using applewood chunks. You can use mesquite or hickory for a heavier smoke flavor but I think applewood is the best for long smoking times with pork.

4. Once your smoker is ready, take the pork butt and place in the smoker on a rack and smoke for 12-14 hours at 225 degrees or until your meat's internal temp is about 195 degrees. This is important as this is when the butt's collagen melts down and creates that juicy tender final product that allows you to easily pull the pork apart. Another way to test for doneness is to stick a fork into the pork butt and twist. If the fork can turn 360 degrees easily then the pork butt is finished.

5. Once cooking process is complete, remove the butt from the smoker and let rest for about 15 minutes and then begin to pull apart the pork using two forks or your hands if you have those heat callused fingers of a true pitmaster. This will create those shredded pieces of a traditional pulled pork. Do not use a knife to chop or cut pork into chunks!

6. At this point your pulled pork is ready to eat. To create a sandwich, place the pulled pork on a soft roll or sliced white bread and mop the Carolina BBQ sauce over the top of the meat. You can top with a coleslaw if you like.

This pulled pork is great on its own dipped in the Carolina sauce or in a sandwich served alongside a creamy potato salad.

Write me a comment and let me know what you think or how yours turned out.

Enjoy!!!