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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Hurricane Sandy - Day Three
I'm still catching up on all of our recent grilling adventures. By the third day after Sandy we (my family plus Rocco and his family who live next store) had enough of roughing it and were debating ways to get out of town. Also, it was Halloween but the NJ Governor had postponed the holiday as there were still so many power lines down. So we figured we would make the best of things and cook something tasty for lunch.
As you know I'm handy with the grill and most meat, but when it comes to pizza, I'm a novice. Rocco on the other hand, well... his name is Rocco, enough said. So we put our talents together and decided to grill pizza for the kids. We dressed up in our costumes and grilled some pizza which was about the best I had ever had outside of Naples.
Here is my recipe for pizza dough:
Drive to pizza place you like
Buy dough
Drive home
total time: 5-10 minutes
If you want to make your own dough or have a good recipe that is significantly better than your favorite pizza place's, please send me the recipe and I will publish it.
Making the pizza in the video:
1. Get your pizza stone really hot. I've seen pizza grilled without a stone but I've never tried it. I had the green egg at 650+ degrees.
2. Make a thin crust the same size as your stone (be sure you have a lot of flower on your pizza peel so nothing sticks). Rocco calls this "throwing pies". The pizza dough we bought had to be divided into four mini doughs to fit on the stone. Rocco put each in a bowl covered each with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from forming a crust.
3. Add a thin layer of sauce. The sauce was just canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped garlic and some salt and pepper. Remember we had no electricity so we were making due.
4. Cheese was Mozzarella and Parmigiana but you could can be much more creative than that.
5. Toppings... use your imagination. Whatever you have lying around the house. Olives, sausage, vegetables, etc.
6. Each pie takes about 8 minutes on the egg. Your situation will vary so keep and eye on things. Crust is everything! Make sure it's crispy.
Check out the video:
As you know I'm handy with the grill and most meat, but when it comes to pizza, I'm a novice. Rocco on the other hand, well... his name is Rocco, enough said. So we put our talents together and decided to grill pizza for the kids. We dressed up in our costumes and grilled some pizza which was about the best I had ever had outside of Naples.
Here is my recipe for pizza dough:
Drive to pizza place you like
Buy dough
Drive home
total time: 5-10 minutes
If you want to make your own dough or have a good recipe that is significantly better than your favorite pizza place's, please send me the recipe and I will publish it.
Making the pizza in the video:
1. Get your pizza stone really hot. I've seen pizza grilled without a stone but I've never tried it. I had the green egg at 650+ degrees.
2. Make a thin crust the same size as your stone (be sure you have a lot of flower on your pizza peel so nothing sticks). Rocco calls this "throwing pies". The pizza dough we bought had to be divided into four mini doughs to fit on the stone. Rocco put each in a bowl covered each with a bit of olive oil to prevent them from forming a crust.
3. Add a thin layer of sauce. The sauce was just canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped garlic and some salt and pepper. Remember we had no electricity so we were making due.
4. Cheese was Mozzarella and Parmigiana but you could can be much more creative than that.
5. Toppings... use your imagination. Whatever you have lying around the house. Olives, sausage, vegetables, etc.
6. Each pie takes about 8 minutes on the egg. Your situation will vary so keep and eye on things. Crust is everything! Make sure it's crispy.
Check out the video:
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Hurricane Sandy - day one
Sorry for the delay but we just got power back at the Jersey Shore. Just kidding! We have had it for a few weeks. Thankfully, the Griller Instinct team made it through the storm with minor damage which I can't say about all our friends, some of which you see in these videos. I will be honest and let you know the delays in my postings are the result of my having a day job. As much as I would like to conjure up new and exciting ways to smoke and grill meat all day .... I've got to go to work! What a distraction.
Back to the hurricane. Sandy rolled in on Monday night. We lost power around 1pm. Luckily we have a generator that gives us lights inside and keeps all the meat and beer cold. By 6pm we were bored so we headed out to the deck to grill some steak.
In the video you will see me grill a steak that has recently come onto the scene. You know I like good meat on the cheap and this fits right into that genre. I grilled a rib steak, but not a rib eye steak. This steak was cut off the rib. I'm not totally sure how to describe it other than it's a steak cut from the rib rack but not the eye. I'll come back to you with specifics. It's tender like a Flat Iron steak.
Also, I grilled broccoli. I made the broccoli the same way I roast most vegetables.
Cut up veggies in a bowl
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Yellow curry powder
Mix it up and roast at a high heat.
Rib steak had the standard salt pepper olive oil. The wind was so strong I had to send the kids inside half way through the video as I thought they might blow away. The wind did stoke the fire with made the Green Egg shoot up to 650 degrees so it was an inferno, which you can see.
Back to the hurricane. Sandy rolled in on Monday night. We lost power around 1pm. Luckily we have a generator that gives us lights inside and keeps all the meat and beer cold. By 6pm we were bored so we headed out to the deck to grill some steak.
In the video you will see me grill a steak that has recently come onto the scene. You know I like good meat on the cheap and this fits right into that genre. I grilled a rib steak, but not a rib eye steak. This steak was cut off the rib. I'm not totally sure how to describe it other than it's a steak cut from the rib rack but not the eye. I'll come back to you with specifics. It's tender like a Flat Iron steak.
Also, I grilled broccoli. I made the broccoli the same way I roast most vegetables.
Cut up veggies in a bowl
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Yellow curry powder
Mix it up and roast at a high heat.
Rib steak had the standard salt pepper olive oil. The wind was so strong I had to send the kids inside half way through the video as I thought they might blow away. The wind did stoke the fire with made the Green Egg shoot up to 650 degrees so it was an inferno, which you can see.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Habanero Hot Sauce
Once a year the Griller Instinct team makes hot sauce. We make enough to last for 12 months. It keeps well in the refrigerator.
Up until 2012 I have only made one version of the hot sauce. The version is a food additive. What does that mean? The sauce is too hot to put directly onto food. It's meant to be added to other dishes to increase heat and flavor. For example, half a teaspoon can be added to a cup of ketchup for burger night. A tablespoon can be added to a pot of chili. A teaspoon can be added to tomato sauce, and so on. Just so we are clear this version of the hot sauce should not be added directly to your food unless you want a mouth full of fire.
Many of my friends can't grasp the concept of a food additive. Why not? I'm not sure, maybe they drink too much. So by request this year I made a second version of hot sauce that is not a food additive but rather a sauce that can be added directly to food. Don't get me wrong, it's still hot but nothing too crazy.
In the video you will see me making both versions of the hot sauce. The sauce that went into the pot and then was placed on the grill to simmer, can be added directly to food.
While the food additive hot sauce is my own recipe, the lower test version is not. I researched many ingredients and techniques for making hot sauce and I found a recipe I really like. Here it is. I also really like this guys (calls himself Meat Head) blog. When I'm looking for new ideas and suggestion this that is what I read.
As far as the food additive version goes, here is my recipe:
First, let's talk safety. Thick rubber gloves are required to do this and I would also recommend wearing glasses. Do no roast habaneros indoors, especially with kids home.
5 pints of habaneros
1 cup of peeled garlic
kosher salt
pepper
white vinegar
This is very simple. Roast the garlic in a foil tent with olive oil and salt. Put the foil tent on the grill but use the inside shelf so there is less direct heat. Figure the garlic will take 15-20 minutes. It needs to be cooked but not burnt.
Roast the habaneros. Put them on a baking sheet an put the baking sheet on the grill. Toss the peppers around after 7 minutes and let cook a little longer, total should be 10-12 minutes. When you start to smell the roasting peppers they are almost done.. You are looking for partial blackened peppers. Careful when you open the grill. Don't inhale the fumes.
Once everything has cooled a bit pull the stems off the habeneros (leave everything else in tact like the seeds) and add to the blender. Then add the garlic and some salt and pepper. Then add some vinegar, I would say two cups. Blend. Add more vinegar if you want a runnier sauce. Add less if you want it to be more viscous.
Bottle it up and you are good to go.
Up until 2012 I have only made one version of the hot sauce. The version is a food additive. What does that mean? The sauce is too hot to put directly onto food. It's meant to be added to other dishes to increase heat and flavor. For example, half a teaspoon can be added to a cup of ketchup for burger night. A tablespoon can be added to a pot of chili. A teaspoon can be added to tomato sauce, and so on. Just so we are clear this version of the hot sauce should not be added directly to your food unless you want a mouth full of fire.
Many of my friends can't grasp the concept of a food additive. Why not? I'm not sure, maybe they drink too much. So by request this year I made a second version of hot sauce that is not a food additive but rather a sauce that can be added directly to food. Don't get me wrong, it's still hot but nothing too crazy.
In the video you will see me making both versions of the hot sauce. The sauce that went into the pot and then was placed on the grill to simmer, can be added directly to food.
While the food additive hot sauce is my own recipe, the lower test version is not. I researched many ingredients and techniques for making hot sauce and I found a recipe I really like. Here it is. I also really like this guys (calls himself Meat Head) blog. When I'm looking for new ideas and suggestion this that is what I read.
As far as the food additive version goes, here is my recipe:
First, let's talk safety. Thick rubber gloves are required to do this and I would also recommend wearing glasses. Do no roast habaneros indoors, especially with kids home.
5 pints of habaneros
1 cup of peeled garlic
kosher salt
pepper
white vinegar
This is very simple. Roast the garlic in a foil tent with olive oil and salt. Put the foil tent on the grill but use the inside shelf so there is less direct heat. Figure the garlic will take 15-20 minutes. It needs to be cooked but not burnt.
Roast the habaneros. Put them on a baking sheet an put the baking sheet on the grill. Toss the peppers around after 7 minutes and let cook a little longer, total should be 10-12 minutes. When you start to smell the roasting peppers they are almost done.. You are looking for partial blackened peppers. Careful when you open the grill. Don't inhale the fumes.
Once everything has cooled a bit pull the stems off the habeneros (leave everything else in tact like the seeds) and add to the blender. Then add the garlic and some salt and pepper. Then add some vinegar, I would say two cups. Blend. Add more vinegar if you want a runnier sauce. Add less if you want it to be more viscous.
Bottle it up and you are good to go.
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