Saturday, July 25, 2009

Chipotle Meatloaf



Here is a recipe I threw together the other night.

Ingredients:

2 Pounds Ground Chuck
3 Jalapeno Peppers (Seeded and Finely chopped)
1/4 Cup Yellow onion (Finely chopped)
1/2 Cup Glaze (Recipe Follows)
1/2 tsp Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
1/2 Cup Cherry Wood Chips(optional)

Glaze:
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 cloves pressed garlic
2 tsp Chipotle in Adobo Sauce(liquid)

Instructions:
Mix Ground Beef, Jalapeno, Onion, Salt, Pepper, Bread Crumbs, Egg, and 1/4 cup of the Glaze(save the rest for later). The meatloaf should be about 9x5x3 if shaping it by hand, or you can shape it in a loaf pan.

Cooking Instructions:
Setup Grill for Indirect cooking at 400 Degrees. Put a digital meat thermometer in the thickest part of the meat. Cook until the internal temperature is about 120 Degrees and brush on the glaze. The meatloaf is finished when the internal temp is 155 Degrees. Let it rest in tented under aluminum foil for 10 minutes, slice and serve. You could make 2 times the amount of glaze so everyone can put more on theirs.

Here is the Meatloaf sliced and ready to eat!!


Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Reverse Seared Beef Roast

Here is a recipe I found on bigoven.com. Marinate the beef roast as per the instructions on the recipe. I removed the roast from the marinade, covered it with pepper and garlic powder and let the roast come up to room temp for about an hour. The cooking method I used for this I found on the Primo Grill Forum, anyone can join the forum and there is alot of good info on there. The person credited with the "Reverse Sear" is a guy on the forum named Finney. This method can be used for just about anything including thick cuts of steak. Start by getting the grill for indirect cooking to a temperature of 250 degrees F, cook the food to about 5 degrees or so below what you would like the final temperature to be(beef ended up being about an hour per pound). Wrap the item(s) in aluminum foil for about 5 minutes and get a hot fire going on the grill. Sear the food on High Heat for about a minute to a minute and a half on all sides(if there are more than two sides).

Here is a picture of the roast right after finishing.



Here is another picture of it after slicing.



This cooking method allows the middle of the roast to be cooked uniformly while getting a good seared crust on the outside.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

My Primo Ceramic Grill

Well, anyone who has read my earlier blogs knows that I got a Holland Grill in late October. I have cooked for family and friends a few times since then and sometimes when cooking for holiday events, there just is not enough room on one grill. I started doing some research on how I could get the most versatility out of another grill. I finally decided the best grill to buy was a ceramic cooker. There are a few brands out there, but the one I got is a Primo. Ceramic grills retain heat better than any other on the market, when opening the grill is required, the recovery time to get the inside back up to temperature is very short. One firebox filled with Lump Charcoal can cook something "low and slow", like brisket and pork shoulder, for about 36-40 hours without adding any charcoal and keep a consistent temperature within 10 degrees F. The grill requires Lump Charcoal to be used, it burns hotter and lasts longer than briquettes with producing very little ash. Natural Lump charcoal has no binders or fillers, it is 100% natural hardwood. Here is a picture of the grill.



The temperature of the grill is set by adjusting the bottom vent to restrict the amount of oxygen to feed the fire. The top vent also plays a part in the temperature control, but has little effect because more air can not leave than is allowed in. A ceramic grill is capable of a temperature range from 150-700+ Degrees F, allowing anything from smoking to searing. Below is a picture inside the grill, the firebox holds the charcoal, and a cast iron firebox divider that is used when cooking less food or cooking indirectly.



Here is a few pictures of what I cooked on Independence Day. There was marinated pork steaks and grilled veggies. The pork is cooking directly over the coals and the veggies are being cooked with the radiant heat from the ceramic walls(top). I did first grill the vegetables over direct heat in a grilling wok(bottom) before putting them in the pyrex dish.



One of the features I love about this grill is that since it is sealed with a gasket, when you are done cooking you just close the bottom and top vents. The fire will go out and the remaining charcoal can be re-used.

I do have to give a shout out and thank Gamble for helping me put the grill in its cart, otherwise I would still have 200 lbs of ceramic in my hatchback.