Louisiana-style Hot Sauce

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This sauce is seriously hot! Recipe by Mike Stines, Ph.B.

Ingredients

1/2 cup diced habanero and birdseye chiles
2/3 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

Instructions

Rinse the chiles under cold water to remove any dirt and pat dry. Cut the stems off of the chilis and finely dice (remove seeds if desired). Place the chiles and vinegar in a two-quart non-aluminum saucepan. Add the salt and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the chiles for five minutes. Transfer the liquid to a food processor and blend until smooth. (Be careful not to inhale the fumes during processing!)

Pour the sauce into a sterilized bottle and refrigerate for at least three weeks, inverting and shaking every few days, to develop its full flavor. (If refrigerated, this sauce will keep for about three months.)

Smoked and Braised Lamb Shanks with Roasted Spring Vegetables

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Love the taste of lamb for Easter but don’t want to go to the bother of cooking a whole leg of lamb? This recipe combines stovetop smoking with slow cooking to produce fall-off-the-bone tender meat with a very rich, flavorful sauce. Although wonderful the day it is prepared, this entrée is even better after mellowing for a day. You’ll need a stovetop smoker and a slow cooker (alternatively, the lamb shanks could be braised in a 325 degree F oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours after being smoked). Serve with roasted spring vegetables (recipe follows) and garlic mashed potatoes. Smoke and braise extra shanks for a wonderful lamb stew.

Ingredients

4 lamb shanks (about 1 pound each)
1 tablespoon apple wood shavings
1 tablespoon hickory shavings
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 large celery ribs, cleaned and chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon minced fresh flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 Tellicherry peppercorns
2 cups Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon
2 cups beef stock, homemade preferred
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Trim any exterior fat from the shanks and season them with salt and pepper.

Prepare the stovetop smoker by adding 2 tablespoons of wood chips (1 tablespoon of hickory and 1 tablespoon of apple) under the drip pan. Place the lamb shanks in the smoker and tent aluminum foil over the shanks. Leave one corner of the foil loose and heat the smoker over medium heat.

Once smoke begins to show, tightly seal the foil and smoke the shanks for 20 minutes. Remove smoker from the stovetop and place shanks on a plate.

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 lamb shanks and brown them on all sides until golden brown. Remove them to a plate and brown the other 2 lamb shanks. Transfer the shanks to the plate.

Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of drippings from the skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the skillet and cook them, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomatoes, parsley, basil, oregano, peppercorns, wine, and stock; heat to boiling. Transfer the vegetables and liquid to a slow cooker set on high. Place the lamb shanks on top of the vegetables and cook, covered, for 4 to 6 hours on high or 9 to 10 hours on low. Remove the shanks and keep warm while finishing the sauce.

Strain the sauce through a fine mesh colander into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Allow sauce to reduce and thicken, about 15 minutes. (If desired, the sauce could be thickened with a cornstarch slurry.)

Yield: 4 servings

Roast Pork Sirloin

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While this roast could be prepared in an oven, smoking it over apple and cherry wood adds another dimension of flavor to complement the peppercorn and mustard glaze. A boneless pork loin could also be substituted for the bone-in sirloin roast. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes as pictured here. Note:  This entrée does require some advance preparation; be sure to read all the recipes before proceeding, as some of the steps are interrelated.

This recipe appears in Mike Stine’s article “Outdoor Cooking: Not Just a Summer Pastime“

Ingredients

1 (5-pound) bone-in pork sirloin roast
4 to 5 gloves garlic
2 to 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon black peppercorn
1 tablespoon green peppercorns, drained
1 tablespoon pink peppercorns
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt

For the gravy:
4 tablespoons pork fat, divided
2 1/2 cups apple cider
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons flour

Instructions

Trim the excess fat from roast, and reserve. Peel the garlic cloves and slice into slivers. Using a sharp paring knife, cut into the pork roast in several areas and insert slices of garlic at varying depths. (If desired, the roast may be tied between the bones to help retain its shape during cooking as the outer layer tends to separate from the rib-eye muscle.) Brush Dijon mustard onto the meat.

Using the side of a chef’s knife, a rolling pin, or a small spice grinder coarsely crack the peppercorns and mustard seeds. In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, thyme, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and salt. Liberally apply the rub to the roast. (If desired, the roast could be prepared to this point one day ahead and held, wrapped in food film and refrigerated.) Allow the roast to come to room temperature before cooking.

In a small saucepan, melt the pork fat over medium low heat until fat renders, about 10 to 15 minutes, being careful not to allow the fat to burn. Remove cracklings, and reserve if desired. Strain the fat and reserve. (Depending on the amount of fat, it should render to about 1/3 to 1/2 cup.)
To prepare the grill dome:  Fill the Grill Dome firebox with hardwood lump charcoal and light the charcoal. Allow the temperature to stabilize at 360 degrees F to 370 degrees F. (This will take about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your Grill Dome and the amount and type of fuel. For my Grill Dome ET, the bottom vent should be open about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch and the top vent about 10 percent to maintain the desired temperature.) Add two chunks of apple wood and 1/2 cup of BBQr’s Delight cherry pellets (in an aluminum foil pouch or smoker tray) to the charcoal.

Place the pork on the cooking grate and roast 25 to 30 minutes per pound (about 2 1/2 to 3 hours) or until the pork has an internal temperature of 155 degrees F. Remove the roast from the grill, tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

To prepare the gravy:  In a covered saucepan over medium heat, reduce 2 1/2 cups of apple cider to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 to 20 minutes.

In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, heat two tablespoons of pork fat and cook the onions until caramelized, about 8 to 10 minutes (a pinch of granulated sugar will help caramelize the onions). Remove from the heat, remove the onions and reserve (do not clean the pan, as it will be used later to prepare the gravy).

Using the same sauté pan as for the onions, melt two tablespoons of pork fat (or unsalted butter) over medium high heat; add flour and cook, stirring constantly, to a blonde roux. Add reduced cider, reduce heat and simmer for three to four minutes Add two-thirds of the sautéed onions (reserve remaining onions for garnish). Return gravy to a simmer and cook for two to three minutes. (The gravy may be prepared ahead and held, refrigerated, for up to two hours. If the gravy is too thick, thin it with some apple cider or chicken stock.)

Smoked Brisket

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Smoked beef brisket, traditional barbecue fare, usually takes a very long time to cook so that the meat is tender. By using a brisket flat instead of an entire brisket the cooking time is reduced. Note:  This recipe requires advance preparation.

 

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2-pound) brisket flat
Yellow mustard

Rub:
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika

4 cups mesquite and hickory wood chips or 1 cup BBQr’s Delight wood pellets


Instructions

Score the fat pad on the brisket but do not trim. Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the brisket with yellow mustard.

Rub the spice mixture evenly over the meat. Package the brisket in a one-gallon resealable bag and marinate, refrigerated, at least six hours or up to overnight.

At least one hour before cooking, soak the wood chips in enough water to cover. Bring the meat to room temperature.

Drain the wood chips. For a charcoal grill, arrange medium-hot coals around a drip pan. Pour one inch of hot water into the drip pan. Sprinkle half of the drained wood chips over the coals. Place meat on grill rack, fat side up, over the drip pan. The grill/smoker should be about 190 degrees F. to 210 degrees F. Cover and smoke about one to 1 1/2 hours per pound or until the meat thermometer registers 185 degrees F. Add the remaining wood chips halfway through smoking. (If using pellets, place half of the pellets in a smoker tray or an aluminum foil packet with a few holes poked in it. Place the packet or smoker tray on the hot coals.)

For a gas grill, preheat the grill using all the burners. Turn all but one burner off and reduce the heat to medium-low; add wood chips or pellets to a smoker tray over the burner in use. Place the brisket on cooking grate, fat side up, over drip pan, and indirectly cook as above.

Remove meat from grill. Cover meat with foil; let stand for 10 minutes before carving across the grain into 1/4-inch slices.

Yield: 4 servings
Heat Scale: Mild