I picked up a few fancy salami the other day while at Jungle Jim’s market outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. I didn’t get them by accident. Someone on an online BBQ group had recommended cutting them Hasselback-style, smoking them and glazing with an apricot glaze. The thought had my mouth watering, so I proceeded to make awesome smoked glazed salami. A little sweet, a little smokiness, and flavor-packed cured meat. Perfect.
Pass The Crackers
These sliced smoked glazed salami treats are perfect on crackers with cheese. Or even on sandwiches. Or by themselves. If you like a little spiciness, you can substitute jalapeno jelly for the apricot preserves. The heat really works well with the flavor of the salami.
These sliced salami treats are perfect on crackers with cheese. Or even on sandwiches. Or by themselves. If you like a little spiciness, you can substitute jalapeno jelly for the apricot preserves. The heat really works well with the flavor of the salami.
Cut thin slits in the salamis, but do not cut all the way thru. Tip: I lay two wood spoons alongside the salami. Then, when I cut down thru the salami the round spoon handles keep me from cutting too far.
Fire up your smoker for cooking at 225 F. Use a light wood such as apple or peach.
Smoke the salami for 1 hour.
Combine the apricot preserves and Dijon and brush half over the tops of the salami.
Smoke another 30 minutes then brush with the remaining glaze and smoke another 30 minutes.
Remove from the smoker.
Serve as is, with a knife for slicing, as a great topping for crackers.
Notes
I also sliced the salami and served it on sandwiches.
Sometimes you just come across a recipe that really hits you as something you absolutely must make immediately. This spiralized Churchill Downs butterbean and radish salad was just that for me. I had to make it immediately. But I had to change it up a bit and spiralize the radishes because, well, I love spiral radishes. A little crunch and a hint of citrus and you have a great tasty salad.
Take It On A Picnic
This spiralized Churchill Downs butterbean (er, lima bean) and radish salad also travels really well. It’s the perfect salad for a pitch-in, and it’s something different. I bet you haven’t seen too many butterbean salads. I haven’t seen any that’s for sure. Maybe it’s the pitch-ins I go to…. People will definitely perk up when they see a big ole bowl of this salad, that’s for sure.
I used to live in Lima, Peru. Which isn’t how we pronounce lima beans. I’ve always found that to be sooooo confusing. I mean, there’s Lima, Ohio, right? Why isn’t it pronounced like Lima, Peru? Lima beans came from Peru. Who’s in charge of fixing this?
Spiralized Churchill Downs Butterbean and Radish Salad
Sometimes you just come across a recipe that really hits you as something you absolutely must make immediately. This Churchill Downs butterbean and radish salad was just that for me. I had to make it immediately. But I had to change it up a bit and spiralize the radishes because, well, I love spiral radishes. A little crunch and a hint of citrus and you have a great tasty salad.
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
I’ve made baby back ribs on my Char-Broil Big Easy before and they’ve come out great. After watching a TV show segment on Tony Roma’s ribs I decided that I needed to try the same technique using my Big Easy. And boy, did they come out packed with flavor. Tender, almost-fall-off-the-bone meat. Perfectly tasty. And, a key in my book, not over-sauced. Just like they said on the TV show, you want to taste the meat. There are ribs there. Taste them!
Don’t Be Intimidated. They’re Easy.
The recipe steps may look like a lot of work, but these Tony Roma’s ribs are actually quite easy to make. Marinate overnight, cook for a while, brush with sauce, cook a bit longer to set the sauce, slice and serve. Done. If you prefer a more traditional ketchup-based BBQ sauce on your ribs try my copycat of Tony Roma’s Blue Ridge Smokies sauce.
I do not like for my rib meat to be completely fall-off-the-bone. I like a little ‘tug’ to it and that’s what I got after 90 minutes. If you prefer your ribs to be even more tender, leave them in for the full 2 hours.
The recipe steps may look like a lot of work, but these Tony Roma’s ribs are actually quite easy to make. Marinade overnight, cook for a while, brush with sauce, cook a bit longer to set the sauce, slice and serve. Done.
Cut the ribs in half if they are too long to fit into your Big Easy.
Place the ribs in resealable container or baggie.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium saucepan.
Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and let simmer until reduce by half and thickened, 15-20 minutes.
Remove the sauce from the heat and let cool.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce and pour the remaining sauce over the ribs. Coat well, seal, and refrigerate overnight. Turn occasionally to let the marinade get on all sides of the ribs.
Fire up your Big Easy.
Cut a small slit in one end of the ribs and insert the rib hooks.
Place the ribs on a piece of foil. Pour any remaining marinade from the overnight marinate (NOT the marinade you reserved) over the ribs and seal TIGHTLY. You want the foil seam to be at the top, near the hooks and the bottom of the ribs sealed so the juices and marinade does not leak out.
Hang ribs in the Big Easy basket and lower into the cooker.
Cook for 90 minutes to 2 hours. After 90 minutes the ribs will be tender with a bit of a 'bite', meaning the meat will gently pull away from the bones. The meat will pull away from the bones about an inch on the ends. If you want your ribs to be completely fall-off-the-bone leave them in for the full 2 hours.
Remove the ribs from the Big Easy and remove them from the foil. Do not remove the rib hooks.
Brush the ribs with half of the reserved marinade and return to the Big Easy for 5 minutes.
Remove ribs from the cooker and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Brush with last of the reserved marinade and serve.
Notes
You’ll need the Big Easy rib hooksor fashion your own from stainless hooks or wire.
Looking for the best way (well, one of the best ways) to use leftover BBQ pulled pork? Make hot pockets! They’re crazy easy. Just about as easy as making a pulled pork sandwich. Light crispy dough. Hot oozing filling. You can even pick these pulled pork hot pockets up and devour them like little meat pies if you want.
Almost Any Dough Will Do
Just about any dough can be used, from homemade to pizza to even crescent roll dough (pinch two triangles of the dough together to form one ‘pocket’). These also freeze well, making them great for a quick lunch. Just pop them into the microwave until hot (beware of the hot filling!) and it’s time to eat! Of course you can substitute smoked brisket or chicken instead. Just shred fine and you’re good to go!
I highly recommend that you shred or grate your own cheese at home. Don’t buy the pre-shredded or pre-grated stuff. It has stuff added to it to keep it from sticking together. That ‘stuff’ affects how the cheese melts. Shred it yourself and use the good stuff.
I was wandering around the produce section at the grocery store when I came across a really nice basket of fresh-picked ripe peaches. I knew exactly what I was going to make with them. Peach BBQ sauce, the perfect sauce for a rack of St. Louis-style smoked ribs. Although I’d be partial to using this tasty sauce on anything, it really complements anything pork the best. Pulled pork of course would be another great way to use this delicious sauce.
Just The Right Amount Of Peachiness
This sauce isn’t too ‘peachy’. You can taste the fresh peaches, sure, but they don’t over-power the sauce. The peaches add a nice sweetness too. For me, this is the ideal fruit-based sauce. You really don’t want it to be too over-powering, but you want to taste that fruity flavor no matter what fruit you are using. It’s still a barbecue sauce in the end and not a peach sauce!
I like to store my sauces in squeeze bottles. Then I can squirt it onto whatever I’m serving. I admit, the kid comes out of me and I get a little crazy with it. Patterns, designs, you name it. I get ‘artsy’ with it.
Peach BBQ sauce, the perfect sauce for a rack of St. Louis-style smoked ribs. Although I’d be partial to using this tasty sauce on anything, it really complements anything pork the best.
Although I truly do love making jerky on my dehydrator, it’s actually not the main reason I bought it. I got it to dry herbs and vegetables to make my own spice mixes. This bell pepper powder made on my Nesco Snackmaster Pro dehydrator was my first attempt, and boy, is it ever amazing.
Great Pepper Flavor
I cannot wait to use this bell pepper powder on the Nesco Snackmaster Pro in everything from omelets to chili. It has a great peppery sweetness to it. You could easily substitute it for black pepper in a lot of cases.
Grind Until Perfect
After drying the chopped peppers for 24 hours I ground them using a blade coffee grinder (not the burr grinder). Not all of the peppers would go thru the grinder (they were still a bit moist) so I returned them to the dehydrator for just a bit.
Storing Your Pepper Powder
The final product went into Mason jars with lids and then vacuum-sealed using a jar attachment for a vacuum sealer. You just have to remember that after you open the jar to remove some of the powder you’ll need to re-seal it. No big deal and well worth the effort.
4bell peppersI was able to fit approximately 2 peppers per Nesco Snackmaster Pro tray
Instructions
Set your dehydrator to 135 F.
Rinse the peppers. Remove the stems and seeds and cut into chunks. If you are not using screen trays you’ll want to cut fairly large pieces so they do not fall between the trays.
Dehydrate for 18-24 hours. Rotate the trays every 2 hours if possible.
Once all the peppers are dry and a bit crisp remove and let cool.
Process the peppers in the grinder until they form a fine powder. If some pieces of pepper do not grind return them to the dehydrator for another hour or so until crisp.
Keep the powder in an airtight container. I place mine in a Mason jar, cover it, then use a vacuum-sealer attachment specifically for jars to remove all of the air.
Notes
You’ll need the following. A dehydrator with screen trays (I use a Nesco Snackmaster Pro), a blade coffee grinder (not a burr grinder) air-right containers or vacuum-sealed jars (I use a canning jar attachment on my vacuum sealer) additional trays, if required (my Nesco Snackmaster Pro came with 5, I purchased more so I can have 8 or more trays going at once).
I have a habit of copying recipes from restaurants or food trucks I hear about or see on TV. Here lately I’ve been on a major campaign to copy some of the crazy great dogs from Duke’s Gourmet Dogs in Minster, Ohio, which closed recently. Sadly. Warm chili. Crunchy potato straws (an ingredient I haven’t had in years). And my favorite, ooey gooey cheese sauce. Lots and lots of cheese sauce. Wiz hot dogs are crazy good.
Like I’ve said before, if it’s going to be messy to eat, it’s going to taste great and Wiz dogs are definitely messy and therefore, great to eat!
Crazy Good. And Kinda Fun.
I was tempted to add a few chopped jalapenos to these Wiz hot dogs. I like some kick to my dogs but I went another route and used spicy cheese sauce instead. Nothing beats cheese on a hot dog. Except for maybe macaroni-and-cheese. Yes, on a hot dog.
Smoked Scotch eggs have been on my bucket list for a while. I finally had a little room on my Weber smoker so I jumped at the opportunity. As easy as they are to make, Scotch eggs are really amazing. It’s like breakfast in a bite. Perfectly hard-boiled eggs, smoked breakfast sausage, and a bit of BBQ sauce for dipping. They look great and they taste great. Awesome appetizers for your next cookout.
Want Some Heat? You Got It.
If you want a bit of kick to your smoked Scotch eggs add a bit of cayenne pepper or your favorite spicy rub to the bread crumbs. Not a lot, just enough to bring a little spiciness.
I prefer to use fruit or nut woods when I smoke unless I want a heavier smoke flavor. Pecan, apple or cherry are my favorites. I smoked these eggs using apple wood chunks.
Smoked Scotch eggs have been on my bucket list for a while. I finally had a little room on my smoker so I jumped at the opportunity. As easy as they are to make, Scotch eggs are really amazing.
Note: This recipe was developed using the Char-Broil Big Easy Oil-Less Fryer. If you are cooking using the Char-Broil Smoker-Roaster Grill you should cook with the lid open and the temperature set to High. You might also need to adjust the cooking time.
I’ve been wanting to make this old school BBQ chicken on the Char-Broil Big Easy for some time now. I flashed back to the mid-1970s, to my earliest memory of a cookout, and chicken. Chicken legs, then. Grilled and sauced with off-the-shelf Kraft BBQ sauce. That’s it. Done. Well, this is my take on the classic I remember from 40 years ago. I used split chicken breasts because that’s what we prefer, but any cut of chicken would work just fine. Just chicken and BBQ sauce. Summer.
Not Fancy. Just Delicious.
I didn’t do anything fancy to this old school BBQ chicken on the Char-Broil Big Easy. A little oil, salt and pepper and that’s it. No brine, no fru-fru spices. Just simple flavors. With your Big Easy (and specially if you add a Bunk Bed basket) you can cook up a big batch of chicken ahead of time for a picnic or family get-together.
I’ve been wanting to make this old school BBQ chicken on my Char-Broil Big Easy for some time now. I flashed back to the mid-1970s, to my earliest memory of a cookout, and chicken.
Our local grocery store had cheap steak on sale even cheaper, so I picked up one for lunch. Working from home has its advantages, and one is being able to toss a steak onto the charcoal grill during the day. As much as I love just good ole salt and pepper on a steak, sometimes I want something a little different. I had Asian-inspired flavors on the brain, so well, you can probably guess what happened next. An Asian steak marinade combining salty soy with a little sweetness and a little heat. Each and every bite was packed with tons of flavor. I enjoyed my cheap steak big time!
Great Flavor In Every Bite
I loved the combination of heat and sweet in the Asian steak marinade. I would not be afraid to add more chili paste, though. That’s just me. I like a bit of spicy in all of my dishes.
Sear ‘Em First
You do want to be careful cooking the steaks over high heat. Too long and they’ll char. Sear them quickly and then move them to indirect heat to let them finish cooking.
I had Asian flavors on the brain, so well, you can guess what happened next. An Asian steak marinade combining salty soy with a little sweetness and a little heat.
