This bratwurst stir-fry was different. And very tasty. I never thought about cooking bratwurst in a wok ala stir-fry. I’m usually a grill-my-brats kinda guy. This dish is like having a bratwurst dinner, including potatoes and vegetables, all in one! And of course there’s mustard! You can’t have bratwurst without mustard.
Get Some Texture
Make sure to get the bratwurst ‘bites’ in this bratwurst stir-fry nicely browned and slightly crispy around the edges. You want a little contrast with the rest of the dish of tender potatoes, squash, peppers and onions. Plus, it gives the bratwurst that almost-grilled texture. If you want a little more crunch, feel free to add a little peeled and diced apple.
Go Mustardy
I wanted a fairly strong mustard flavor so I used a good, grainy mustard when I made this. I also used a bit more than the recipe calls for.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over wok over medium-high heat.
Add the bratwurst pieces and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and getting crispy around the edges, 5 or so minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate or small bowl.
Add the potato chunks and cook for 5 minutes or until just starting to soften. Remove to the plate with the bratwurst.
Add the squash and cook until just tender, 2-3 minutes. Remove to the plate with the bratwurst.
Add the bell peppers and onions and cook until tender, stirring, 3-4 minutes.
Add the bratwurst, potatoes and squash back to the skillet.
Stir in the garlic and cook 3 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, beer and Worcestershire sauce. Add to the meat mixture.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces slightly. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. You may also want to add more mustard.
Serve garnished with the green onions.
Notes
You can use any combination of vegetables you want. Always start cooking the thicker, harder vegetables (such as carrots) first since they take longer to cook.
In my opinion, just about every recipe needs Old Bay seasoning. It’s what makes this southern pimento cheese something different, something special. I knew exactly where this yummy mixture was heading the moment I spied the recipe. I was going to pile it up high on a slice of grilled bologna. The perfect topping for the perfect sandwich. I could’ve used it as a dip. Or inside an omelet. Or really, I could just sit down with a spoon and a bowl of southern pimento cheese (ok, that might be a stretch, but not much of one).
Shred Your Own Cheese
Whenever making a dish like this southern pimento cheese I always shred the cheese by hand. I buy a big ole block of cheese and put some muscle into a shredder. The pre-shredded stuff has things added to it to keep it from sticking together. You don’t want that in your pimento cheese. So do it by hand like I do.
Update: Oh my goodness! No more hard work shredding my cheese! I love this shredder! It’s one of the best kitchen gadgets I’ve ever purchased.
I knew exactly where this yummy mixture was heading the moment I spied the recipe: piled up high on a slice of grilled bologna, toping off the perfect sandwich.Â
And BOOM! Like that these quick fix Frank’s RedHot Original Seasoning potato chips were gone. “The perfect blend of flavor and heat” is what the bottle says. And the bottle does not lie. Why someone hasn’t come out with these chips in bags I do not know. They could retire on a beach somewhere if they did. Well, until then, I’ll just make them at home in just a few minutes. Sadly, I won’t be retiring on a beach, though!
The Simple Steps To Chip Success
The keys to making quick fix Frank’s RedHot Original Seasoning potato chips are simple. Use ruffled (wavy) potato chips so that you get seasoning in every ridge and valley. And equally as important, use a lot of the seasoning. Heck, if you want lightly seasoned chips go to the market! There’s bag after bag of meh-flavored chips! Now’s your chance to bring some flavor to each and every crunch!
Don’t search out the expensive chips for this dish. El cheapo chips work just fine. In fact, they could easily be better. You want chips with a bit of oil still in them from the frying process. When you heat them that oil will come to the surface. That’s the ideal time to season them.
These BBQ sous vide country style ribs have been on my radar for a while now. I love country style ribs. I usually sear them on the stovetop then finish them in the oven, served over sauerkraut. Yum. This time I went the sous vide route, finishing the ribs on a hot gas grill. A little hickory BBQ sauce gives the impression that the ribs were cooked low and slow on a smoker. Or close enough, at least. The result was tender, very juicy, very flavorful ribs.
Tender as you want it to be
You get to decide how tender you want your BBQ sous vide country style ribs to be. The first time I made them I went 4 hours. At that point the ribs have a good chew but aren’t tough. If you like a good tug to your ribs, 4 hours will get you where you want to be. But for more tender ribs you really might want to go 6 if not 8 hours. The full 8 hours is a bit much for me only because I do want a little ‘bite’ to my meat. I’d settle on 6. You can squeeze the ribs in the bag after 4 hours, and every hour or so after that, to see if the ribs are getting to where you want them. Just note your favorite cook time for the next time you make them. Because there will be a next time.
I use an Anova sous vide cooker. It’s my immersion circulator workhorse!
I could go for a New Yorker sandwich from McAlister’s Deli right now. Boy would that ever be good. And a side of potato salad. Please. Or, I could make a copycat McAlister’s Deli potato salad at home. True, my pastrami sandwich isn’t quite as good as theirs, but this potato salad is. This is easily my favorite. I could sit down with a (large) bowl of this any time and finish it off. The perfect crunch, creaminess, and flavors. This is reminiscent of a classic version, but one that has been amped up. A lot.
Baked, Not Boiled
I like to bake my potatoes for my copycat McAlister’s Deli potato salad. Some people (oh, say, like my wife) prefer to boil them. I like them baking because first, I think baking adds more flavor and more importantly, prevents flavor from being lost to the boiling water. I also like how baking keeps the size and shape of the potato. Baked potato chunks are nice and squared. Boiled are round from being bounced around in a torrent of bubbling water. Go baked, I say!
I almost always use Blue Plate mayonnaise in the dishes I make. I think it is the best around. If you can’t find it locally you can pick it up online for a fair price.
Poke a few holes in each potato with a sharp knife.
Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until done as desired. Cooking time depends on the size of the potatoes and how much 'crunch' you want to your salad. I use a bamboo skewer to test for doneness.
Remove potatoes from oven and let cool.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the vinegar, dried parsley and celery flakes. Set aside to let the dried herbs rehydrate, stirring every 5 minutes or so.
In a medium bowl combine the red onion, relishes and sugar.
Peel the potatoes.
Chop potatoes into cubes and add to the bowl containing the onion mixture.
Gently toss the potatoes to coat.
Gently stir in the vinegar and dried herb mixture.
Add half of the mayonnaise and stir. If you want a creamier salad add more mayonnaise.
Sprinkle with the celery salt.
Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. If you want, also add more celery salt but be careful. It's strong stuff and can quickly overwhelm the salad. I happen to like it so I added more.
True story. I could eat an ultimate smash burger with secret spicy sauce, turn around, and eat another. Oh gosh, please don’t tell my doc. He’s already on me about chicken wings. I don’t want him to take away my delicious, juicy, nice-and-lightly-charred burgers! Oh, and that spicy sauce! It’s as if the special sauce from McDonald’s grew up and got some kick! Man is it ever good! So heck, make yourself two of these crazy good burgers and get to eatin’ and enjoyin’!
You can load up your ultimate smash burger with secret spicy sauce with whatever toppings you like. Sometimes I like mine piled high. Sometimes just some cheese and sauce will do. No matter what, they’re going to be fantastic!
The equipment
Here’s the equipment I use. You can get by using two cast iron skillets. Use a larger skillet for cooking the burgers, and a smaller one to smash the burgers and keep them flat. Since I’m a cooking gadget collector, I prefer to use a few more tools.
The griddle
First, a griddle. You can buy griddles that sit on top of your grill grates or ones that replace them. Just about every grill I have has a griddle on it. I use them for a lot of things, not just smash burgers. You want one that can be placed over the hottest part of your grill so it gets screaming hot.
Next, you need a burger press. You can use a heavy cast iron skillet, like I mentioned. Or get a burger press. For easy cleanup I wrap mine in foil first. When I’m done, just peel off the foil and toss. Super easy. Get a press that’s at least big enough to cover two burgers. You only smash one at a time, but if you want to keep them flat, you want to rest the press on top so bigger (and heavier) is better. Plus I’ve found that a bigger, heavier press tends to stay on the burgers whereas a smaller, lighter one is hard to keep centered on the burgers, specially if you have a bunch of them cooking at once.
Next up, a dome. While not 100% required, it does speed the time it takes to melt the cheese and it does it in a nice even fashion. In my opinion you don’t really need one if you’re using a super melty cheese, such as American, but for thicker slices like say a deli pepper jack, you want the cheese to melt before you over-cook the burger and that’s where a dome comes in handy.
Lastly, you need something to clean your griddle. I like to clean mine when I’m done cooking, but you can do it at the start instead. I use one of these pad holders with a griddle cleaning pad. Then I add a bit of water to my griddle then use the pad (connected to the holder) to scrub off any big chunks and get up some of the grease. I don’t go crazy with it, I always heat the heck out of my griddle before cooking, but I get the worst. The long arm on the pad holder makes it perfect for scrubbing a hot griddle, too.
In small bowl, stir together the salad dressing, hot sauce and jalapenos.
Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the smash burgers
Fire up your grill for high heat. Place a griddle or a large cast iron pan over the highest heat.
Season the ground beef and form into four 4 ounce balls (not patties!).
Place the balls of beef on the griddle and let cook for one minute. Just let them cook, don't mess with them.
Take your press and flatten out the patties. I like to use the point of the press and work my way around the ball first, doing a little section at a time and then finally I press down on the entire patty to flatten it out. You can also just flatten out the ball all at once. At this point I also like to season the patties some more.
Let the patties cook until you start to notice a little char along the edges. Flip, season again if desired, and continue cooking another minute or so until the other side is charred. The burgers are thin so they will cook very quickly so watch out.
Add the cheese slices. If desired, cover in a dome to help the cheese melt.
Toast the buns. Remove, add the patties and serve with plenty of the secret spicy sauce and desired toppings. Devour immediately.
Notes
The more napkins you have to use, the better the smash burger.
I’m a big-time shrimp addict. These spicy grilled shrimp with Cajun butter and lemon remoulade are just another reason why. I can’t stop eating them. Everything about this dish is fantastic. The shrimp are seasoned with two of my favorite seasonings: Cajun and Old Bay. Then it’s onto the grill they go, where they get basted with a wonderful spicy butter sauce while they cook to perfectioon. Oh me, the butter sauce… Finally, the tasty shrimp are served with a cooking lemon remoulade that has just a hint of spiciness and citrus. This is a great plate here!
Shrimp Heaven
You can cook these spicy grilled shrimp with Cajun butter and lemon remoulade directly on a grill if you prefer. Or you can skewer them. Me, I prefer to use a grill basket. I don’t have to worry about anything falling thru the grates when I use a basket. And I don’t have to worry about the shrimp spinning around on the skewers (though that problem can be solved by using two skewers!).
Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.
Cajun Butter
Stir together all ingredients.
Keep warm until ready to use.
Spicy Grilled Shrimp
Place the shrimp into a medium bowl.
Add hot sauce to shrimp and stir to coat.
Season the shrimp with the Cajun seasoning and Old Bay and stir to coat.
Fire up your grill for medium heat cooking.
Transfer the shrimp to the grill. For ease of cooking, you might want to skewer them first or use a grill basket.
Brush the shrimp with the Cajun butter. Watch out for flare-ups as you brush them. You might need to momentarily move the shrimp away from the fire until the flames die down.
Grill the shrimp 4-5 minutes per side, brushing with the butter as they cook.
Remove the shrimp from the grill and place on a serving platter.
Sprinkle with more Cajun and Old Bay seasoning and garnish with parsley.
There was a time when McDonald’s thought it could take on my favorite fast-food burger, the Burger King Whopper. They upped the game by making their patties bigger than the one on the Whopper. And of course, they copied the fresh toppings. Well, I’m not sure how long they lasted, but it couldn’t have been long. I love the classics, so I make my copycat McDonald’s Big Xtra Burgers at home. I have to since I can’t get it at the restaurant any more!
Ok, So I Made A Change…
I prefer to cook my burgers ‘smash burger’ style. You don’t need a bunch of fancy equipment or a lot of time to make a copycat McDonald’s Big Xtra burger. Just a hot griddle and a burger press. Any griddle will do, whether it’s on a grill, cooktop, stove or even a standalone outdoor flattop. Just get those patties nice and thin and they’ll cook up perfectly in no time at all. This is my go-to burger making technique no matter what burger recipe I’m following.
I’m a big lover of cooking outside on a grill. Gas or charcoal, I like to mix it up. Grilling outside is a great substitute for cooking inside on or in an oven, plus you just can’t beat the experience and the added flavor. I made this spicy hot meatloaf using a grill and it came out fantastic. As a bonus, it picked up a light smokiness, which went great along with the spicy meat mixture that was packed with flavors, some traditionally found in a meatloaf and some not.
The Meatloaf Of Dreams
I cooked my spicy hot meat loaf using a grill in a large cast iron skillet. I could’ve used a large aluminum disposable pan. But, the skillet gets hotter and adds a nice crunchy layer around the edges and bottom of the meatloaf. That added texture made a noticeable, welcome difference. It kinda reminded me of the old Pizza Hut deep pan pizzas. You know the ones. They cooked them in iron skillets with a little oil. That oil helped get the bottoms and sides of the crust a little bit crunchy. That was the best part of the pizza!
My wife has declared this our ‘go-to’ easy slow cooker ground beef chili and I definitely have to agree. It could only be easier (but certainly not as yummy) if it came out of a can. The southwestern flavors have lots of time to really carry through every ingredient as the chili cooks in the slow cooker for a few hours. I don’t consider it to be a spicy chili even with the addition of spicy V-8 juice and a jalapeno. If you prefer a spicier version, use a hotter pepper and use hot chili powder instead.
That Pasta Thing
My wife prefers her slow cooker ground beef chili served over cooked elbow macaroni. The first time I ever heard of such a thing I made a face. Who does that? Well apparently, everyone in Indiana and the surrounding area. But I have to admit, I’m coming around to the idea. I’m ok with chili ladled over pasta as long as I can still top it with sour cream, green onions, and sometimes a little shredded cheese.
My wife has declared this our ‘go to’ easy slow cooker ground beef chili and I definitely have to agree. It could only be easier (but certainly not as yummy) if it came out of a can.Â
