I adore a succulent duck breast cooked with a crisp, tasty skin on it. Yet achieving this in the Big Green Egg has proven less effective than the kitchen … until now. I found a way of getting that delicious, crispy skin using the Egg, whilst at the same time cooking a rich and complimentary mushroom side. It’s a simply trick, you just need a cast iron skillet. And a spirit level.
Beef short ribs are a deliciously rich and flavoursome cut of meat, one of our favourites to cook any time of the year. Smoked over cherry wood and then braised for a few hours in a red wine sauce to enhance the deep flavours and you’re on the way to create a winning dish to impress friends and family alike.
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Or as it’s also known, clean the fridge out mac ‘n’ cheese. Inspired by Jamie Oliver’s new mantra for home cooking, we raided our food supplies to discover what we had lying around to make dinner. My wife hit on the idea of mac ‘n’ cheese with mushrooms and spinach. Add in smoked cheeses that had been maturing for a while and we had ourselves a fantastic side dish.
My wife and I experienced a fantastic lunch at the Gatlinburg branch of Calhoun’s Tennessee BBQ in 2019, part of our east coast USA tour. The highight was the best chilli that we’ve ever tasted, using brisket as the meat. After cooking and enjoying some brisket back home, we had leftovers. Time to emulate that amazing Calhoun’s Tennessee brisket chilli.
I thought I had roast potatoes nailed a long time ago, having peaked with the duck ‘n’ dexter roasties a few years back. Then one day a few weeks ago I decided to try roasting potatoes in the Big Green Egg. Well hello! After an abortive first attempt, we now have a new winner for how to make amazing roast potatoes! And yes, they are better than oven cooked ones …
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We cooked some pulled pork at the weekend, and had leftovers. Yes, I know, leftover pulled pork, how is this possible? Well there’s only two of us (along with three mainecoon cats) and I did cook a lot of pork. I recently saw a recipe for cheesey nachos with leftover smoked brisket, so emulated that … including the crispy bacon bits which, according to my wife, sealed the deal!
The good news is that I got a new job! After being made redundant and unemployed for six months, I’m once again being useful as a Scrum Master and agile coach to a large, multi-national organisation. It’s also meant that the blog has taken a bit of a back seat whilst I settle into the new role and get to know the teams I am and will be working with. So as a final blog post for the year, we return to one of my favourite meals, steak. And a new technique called the clean caveman for making those amazing reverse steaks ribeyes even better …
The “caveman” steak method involves placing meat directly onto hot coals. I loved the crisp, seared crust results but didn’t care for the ash. So what happens if we get the steaks very close to the coals without actually touching? This is what I tried … the clean caveman steak. And it’s now our go-to steak cooking method.
Earlier in the year, I made apricot preserve pork breast ribs, smoked over orange wood chunks. A reader suggested a similar recipe with peach preserve and smoking chunks. Sounded like a good idea, and the reader, very generously, sent me some peach wood chunks from the USA. He was bang on the money, the peach smoked and glazed St. Louis ribs were amazing!
I’ve had tomahawk steak in the past, the classic cut of bone-on beef resembling the weapon of the American Indian people. But tomapork steaks? That was a new one on me, and came into the “gotta try this” category. Slow roasted and served with buttery potatoes and green cabbage, this make for a fantastic meal with an impressive centrepiece.
Another one of those “that’s a new one on me” blog posts. Pork riblets (also called pork shoulder ribs) are a small, meaty rack of unevenly cut pork ribs, a perfect size for a single serving. They are incredibly tasty, and normally great value. Cooked low and slow, with a spicy, warm basting sauce made by my wife, we present some delicious pork riblets with chipotle sauce.
Along with brisket and ribs, pulled pork is a classic “rite of passage” meal every BBQ owner (including me) aspires to create. And, eventually, excel at. It takes time and patience, but done right the reward is some of the most amazing pork I’ve tasted.
Traditionally cooked over hot coals as street food on the hectic byways of cities such as Hanoi and Saigon, Vietnamese lemongrass pork (or thit heo nuong xa) is one of the easiest and tastiest classic Vietnamese recipes to replicate in your own home kitchen. It’s a great way to experience some authentic, flavoursome food of this exotic country.
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