Barbecue Tricks

BBQ Tips and Tricks

Archives for June 2014

Featured

Oil-Less Fried Pork Chop With Big Boss How To

playchopWatch This Cool Trick for Oil-Less Frying
BIG BOSS 1300-Watt Oil-Less Fryer, 16-Quart

Cooking with The Big Boss Oil-Less Fryer is quick and easy, and my special Pork Skin Pork Chops come out crispy and delicious every time.  First you will need to have this fryer…  (get it here and support the site) Amazon has it and you will be amazed.
The Big Boss 1300-watt oil-less fryer cooks with low energy and offers triple cooking power with halogen, convection and infrared heat. You can cook from fresh or frozen with no thawing time, and has 2 trays, and holds 16 quarts so you can cook multiple foods at the same time. It even comes with a metal collar so you can “fry” a turkey in it. It cooks up to 3x faster than the oven without preheating, and leaves food moist on the inside and crispy on the outside with little to no fats or oil, so food is not greasy and you don’t have to figure out how to dispose of oil after cooking. There are three cooking elements working in uniform. The halogen directly heats the surface of the food for browning, roasting and flavor. The convection circulates the hot air, evenly distributing the heat for faster cooking, and the gentle infrared heat cooks food from inside out, sealing in the juices. Works great for roasting turkey, baking fish, broiling steaks, air frying chicken, grilling meats, toasting breads, steaming veggies, and even makes dessert.

Sequence 01.Still001Pork Skin Pork Chops you will need:
The Big Boss 16 Quart, Oil-Less Fryer
1 bag pork skins
1 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp Cayenne pepper (to taste) – we like it spicy!
4-6 thick cut pork chops
1 egg
Bacos – Imitation Bacon Bits
Olive oil spray (optional)

chopplayerCrush the pork skins into a fine powder, and pour into a mixing bowl. Add the pepper, garlic and cayenne, and blend thoroughly with a fork. Beat the egg in a small bowl and add a little water. Dip each pork chop in the egg wash and dredge in the crumb mixture to coat on all sides. Place the chops in the wire basket provided with the Big Boss, and place on the higher rack. Spritz the chops with a little olive oil if desired.
Plug the Boss in, set the temperature at 400 degrees and set the timer for about 16-18 minutes. Turn the pork chops half way through, and use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Pork should have an internal temperature of 145°. The chops will come out crispy and moist!

Cook

MAKE A GRILL HOTSPOT MAP WITH BISCUITS

GRILL BISCUIT hotspot
If you find yourself shuffling your food around the grill haphazardly hoping to find the cool or hot spot this may be of service.  At least you’ll end up with brunch.

Here’s a fun and fast way to pinpoint the hot spots on your grill.   We use a few tubes of refrigerated “poppin” biscuit dough.    A few tips:  get your gas flowing freely first… start with all your dough the same temperature… and make sure the dough slices are of identical thickness.   Take a biscuit selfy and save if for future reference.  Carolina Pitmaster Jack Waiboer suggests this as the first cook on any new grill.  A GRATE idea.

 

Watch the Grill HotSpot Video HERE

Featured

Cauliflower BBQ Pizza – Low CarbBQ

pizza2.Still003My family loves a good pizza… I’m from Chicago so it’s kinda in my DNA.   I always go for the DEEP dish heavy thick slices from Pizzaria UNO (one a pretty wide spread chain that has it’s origins in Chicago).

But, alas, the pizza caught up with me and in January of this year I signed up with MediWeightloss.   Thankfully MJ, my wife. was on board too and in the next few months I lost 55 pounds.

Part of the routine was a low carb Acute phase.    Needless to say pizza is a tough one.  However we found that on YouTube cauliflower pizza crust is all the rage and we loved it.  Watch us make the BBQ version HERE on YouTube.

No, it’s not exactly the crun-chewy crusty carbloaded bread we may be craving, but if you love cheesey toppings equally as much this faux crust should be a suitable base to curb your craving for a heavy slice.

cauliflowerHere’s what you’ll need to make the crust:

1 head cauliflower
1 egg
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ cup mozzarella cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup almond meal

Wash and dry the cauliflower before cutting off the florets. Discard the stems and leaves. Chop florets into small pieces and pulse in a food processor until it looks like snow (about 30 seconds).

crust2Pour cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on high 4 minutes. Let it cool slightly and pour cooked cauliflower onto a clean dish towel or cheese cloth. Wrap up tightly, and holding over the sink, squeeze repeatedly to remove as much water as possible. This is key! Dump squeezed cauliflower into a mixing bowl. Add egg, spices, cheeses and almond meal, mixing thoroughly.

Pour mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and spread out, shaping into a circle about ¼ inch thick. Press a paper towel over the top to remove excess water. Place parchment paper on a preheated grill stone on the grill, close lid, and grill approximately 10 minutes on medium heat until browned.

While it cooks, gather the toppings:

¼ cup BBQ sauce
½ cup pulled pork
½ red onion, sliced
¾ cup Mozzarella cheese, divided

low carb cauliflowerTo turn the crust, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a second baking sheet, slide the crust off the grill onto that second baking sheet. Place the parchment lined baking sheet upside down on top of the crust, carefully flip and remove the original piece of parchment paper from the top. Now using the new parchment paper, slide the flipped crust onto the grill stone. Close the lid and grill another 5-10 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Add toppings to the pizza right on the grill:

BBQ sauce
(I mixed a sweet tomato based BBQ sauce with a low fat vinegar based sauce and added a little sugar free syrup)
Mozzarella cheese
Pulled pork
Red onion
Mozzarella cheese

1pizza 1Close grill lid and cook 5-10 minutes. Remove using a pizza peel.

To cook this in the oven, preheat oven to 450° and follow the same procedure. Alternate toppings:

Marinara
Turkey pepperoni
Mozzarella cheese

You can also prepare this with frozen cauliflower florets. Thaw the florets completely and prepare the same, decreasing the microwave time from 4 minutes to 2 minutes. The turkey pepperoni will curl in the oven, so put some cheese on top.

 WATCH the BBQ Pizza video HERE

Competitions

Zac Brown Food Festival

Just announced – another Zac Brown Music and Food Festival for October – here’s a look at the 2013 event.

If you like the look of the STAGE Boxes shown in the video… act fast… the special all you can eat and drink seating sold out last year and the 2014 tickets JUST went on sale — more HERE

You can usually find some great BBQ or other Southern fare from a bunch of local vendors (and Zac himself).

Not a BBQ competition… but definately a good time when weather in SC is at it’s best.

zac brown food

Featured

Pros and Cons of Gas & Charcoal

Charcoal

charcoal chimney

Warmer weather is finally here, and that means it is officially grilling season!

 

There are few things that feel more like summer than standing around a grill with friends on a warm evening. While some people fire up their grill without putting any thought into how they will be cooking their meal, others are dedicated to certain methods and techniques.

Some people prefer the convenience of using a gas grill, while others are fiercely loyal to charcoal. Traditionally, grills are designed to cook with either gas or charcoal. If you like to use both fuel sources, hybrid grills are a great solution.

There will always be a debate about which fuel source is best when it comes to grilling. Here is a quick guide to help you determine which fuel source is best for the cooking at hand:

 
gas burner replacementGas
There is one advantage that gas grilling has above all other fuel sources: convenience. To start a gas grill, you simply have to turn a knob and press a button. Once lit, you have an easily controllable heat source to cook your food. Gas grills are also relatively easy to clean because there are no leftover ashes.
While gas grills are probably the easiest to use, grilling enthusiasts often have one major complaint: a lack of flavor.

  • Pros: Easy to light and control temperature, very little clean up.
  • Cons: Gas adds no flavor to food, and produces a more moist heat.

 

Lump Charcoal
When you burn wood in the absence of oxygen, the remains of this natural process is lump charcoal.
One of the great aspects of lump charcoal is how quickly it gets extremely hot. This typically takes only 10 to 15 minutes. Because lump charcoal gets so hot, it can sear foods rapidly. It also produces a very dry heat, which creates that delicious, caramelized crust on the outside of your food.
This quick heating process makes lump charcoal great for grilling foods that cook quickly.
Once lump charcoal reaches maximum temperature, it loses heat quickly, which can be disadvantage. If you want to use lump charcoal and sustain a high temperature, you will need to replenish the charcoal periodically. Because you are using charcoal, there will be ash cleanup involved.

  • Pros: Lights quickly, burns hot, great for searing.
  • Cons: Burns quickly, more expensive, takes time and effort to light.

 

Briquettes
Briquettes are similar to lump charcoal in how intensely they burn, but the similarities end there. One of the easiest ways to discern them is to look at their shape. While lump charcoal is inconsistently shaped, making it difficult to stack, briquettes usually have a uniform shape.
An advantage briquettes have over lump charcoal is that they burn for long periods of time, which makes it easier to cook at a more consistent temperature than lump charcoal.
While lump charcoal is created through an all-natural process, briquettes are not. Briquettes typically contain additives that help them light, burn and keep their shape. These chemical additives will give off a distinct smell when they are lit, but if you wait to start cooking until all the briquettes are covered in white ash, that smell shouldn’t transfer to your food.

  • Pros: Burn time, consistent temperature, cheaper.
  • Cons: Chemical smell, ash to clean.

 

Author Bio:

This is a guest post by Arianna on behalf of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet. Visit kalamazoogourmet.com to find out more about our hybrid grills.