Mesquite-Grilled Turkey Legs with Jalapeño-Cilantro Lime Basting Sauce

Mesquite-Grilled Turkey Legs with Jalapeño-Cilantro Lime Basting Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This is one of the simpler and quicker ways to prepare turkey. You can add mesquite chips soaked in water to the fire to add a little smoke flavor to the turkey legs. And go ahead, be daring and add a couple of tablespoons of tequila to the sauce. Grill over a fire with soaked mesquite chips added. Serve with hot German potato salad and ranch-style baked beans.

You can read Mark Masker’s article on smoking turkey on the Burn! Blog here.

Ingredients

Jalapeño-Cilantro Lime Basting Sauce:
1/4 cup lime juice
6 jalapeño chiles, stems and seeds removed, chopped
2 fresh tomatillos
1 ½ teaspoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

4 small turkey legs

Instructions

Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, adding some water, if necessary, to make a smooth sauce.

Bring the turkey to room temperature and, gently loosen the skin without tearing, brush the sauce over the legs and under the skin, reserving any remaining sauce. Allow the turkey to sit at room temperature for an hour.

Grill the turkey legs over a medium fire, basting regularly with the sauce. Cook for 30 minutes, turning often, or until the internal temperature of the legs reaches 160 degrees F. for medium.

Ghost Chile Extract Bloody Mary

Ghost Chile Extract Bloody Mary

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

A Naga Jolokia Bloody Mary just sounds like manly fun and a great way to fire up a classic with hot new blood. This recipe features the Henry Family Farm Varietal Chile Extracts Ghost Pepper Extract made by David Rosengarten. This is a party-sized recipe suitable for a punchbowl. Read the entire article by Mark Masker here.

Ingredients

(4) 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes in thick tomato purée, chilled
6 cups tomato juice, chilled
2 tablespoons celery salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne (or to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons Ghost Chile Pepper Extract (or to taste)
1 1/2 cups chilled vodka
salt to taste
pickled vegetable garnishes

Instructions

Working in batches, purée the canned tomatoes and their juice thick in a food
processor. You will have a rich liquid, with no lumps.

In a large bowl or pot, combine the purée with the tomato juice, and blend well.
Add the celery salt, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne, Chile
Pepper Extract, and vodka. Season to taste with salt; you may need more than you expect to bring up the flavor of the mix (canned tomatoes have less salt than tomato juice). Keep mixture cold.

When ready to serve, fill up an 8-ounce tumbler with ice cubes. Pour about 4 ounces of Bloody Mary mixture over the ice, which should almost fill the glass. Garnish with pickled vegetables, at least 3 pieces per glass.

horseradish pickled beets

Horseradish Pickled Beets

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This recipe appears in the article “Sidekicks: Three Fun Barbecue Side Dishes from Mike
Stines” on the Burn! Blog. Read the story here.

For this recipe, you could use fresh beets and prepared horseradish, but by making your own horseradish you can control the heat level. Canned beets make this a breeze to prepare.

Ingredients

For the horseradish:
1 (7- to 10-inch) horseradish root
White vinegar

For the relish:
2 (16-ounce) cans whole beets
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sliced red onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup well-drained horseradish

Instructions

Peel the horseradish and cut it into chunks. Use a food processor to grate the horseradish, being careful not to inhale the fumes. Allow the grated horseradish to rest. The longer it rests, the hotter it will become. When the horseradish reaches the desired heat level, cover it with white vinegar and pulse to combine. Drain the horseradish and transfer it to a resealable container. The horseradish will keep, refrigerated, for two weeks or frozen up to six months.

Drain the beets, reserving the liquid. Quarter them or leave them whole. In a medium saucepan combine the beet liquid, sugar, vinegar, onion, lemon juice and salt. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove the liquid from the heat and cool; when cooled pour it over the beets. Add the horseradish and stir to combine. Allow the beets to marinate for at least eight hours or up to three days.

pickled red onion

Pickled Red Onions

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

This recipe appears in the article “Sidekicks: Three Fun Barbecue Side Dishes from Mike
Stines” on the Burn! Blog. Read the story here.

This also works well as a topping for your favorite burgers.

Ingredients

2 large red onions
1 1/2 cups white vinegar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Bay leaves
2 tablespoons pickling spice
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 small chile (such a serrano), minced

Instructions

Peel the onions, cut them in half lengthwise and finely slice. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the vinegar, sugar, garlic, bay leaves, pickling spice and pepper. Stir this until the sugar dissolves. Add the onions and blanch for one minute. Drain the onions, reserving the liquid. When the liquid is cool, pour it over the onions and add the chile. Refrigerate the onions at least four hours to allow the flavors to combine.

chipotle butter

Chipotle Butter

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This recipe appears in the article “Sidekicks: Three Fun Barbecue Side Dishes from Mike
Stines” on the Burn! Blog. Read the story here.

This compound butter adds great flavor and a little heat to grilled sweet corn, a nice rib-eye, or a swordfish steak. It’s also a tasty addition to freshly-baked corn muffins.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon lime zest
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons minced chipotle in adobo or 1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Instructions

Combine the ingredients in a small mixing bowl until well mixed (leftover chipotle in adobo may be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks or frozen up to six months).