FIRE ROASTED PEPPER MAKE THE PERFECT SALAD

Our fire Roasted Pepper make the perfect Salad with these white beans!

If you are a follower or subscriber of ours, then you’ve likely seen our recommendations for charring peppers on the hot coals using an open pit, fireplace, charcoal grill or even gas grill.  It’s so easy yet gives such a flavorful outcome to use in all types of recipes.

I’m giving you a salad recipe that is hearty enough to be a salad entrée or the perfect side for your favorite protein.

Gather Simple Ingredients

I truly believe anyone can do both the charred pepper technique and make this salad without any difficulty.  Here are the ingredients you’ll need to bring the salad to life:

• 6 charred peppers, skinned, seeded, and quartered
• 2 anchovy fillets packed in olive oil, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
• 1 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ ounce Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 cup packed spicy baby greens like arugula or watercress

In addition to the ingredients, you’ll need salt, pepper, a bowl, and whisk.

Vinaigrette Is Key

You’ll want to get any larger pepper slices cut down into thinner slices.  Once the peppers are evenly sized, it’s time to season them with salt and fresh ground pepper.  Do this by laying them out on a platter.  Taking a small bowl, it’s time to make the vinaigrette. Start putting the anchovies, garlic, vinegar, oil, and parsley in the bowl and whisk together.  Add the beans and toss to coat with the vinaigrette.  Season the mixture with salt and fresh ground pepper.  You can taste and adjust the vinegar and seasonings until it fits your taste.  Now prepare the serving dish to assemble the salad.

Simple Layers of Flavor

With the peppers charred and vinaigrette made, it’s time to assemble the salad.  Start by laying out the peppers on a platter or serving dish.  Spoon the bean mixture over the top of the peppers and top with spicy greens like baby arugula or watercress.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  That’s it!

This is a perfect side with a great steak, ribs, chicken or fish.  It’s hearty enough to use as a main entrée as well for those looking for a healthier meal.  It’s especially refreshing during the warmer seasons.  Remember, char extra peppers and freeze them so you can pull them out for this fabulous recipe any time of the year.

WHY IS MY BARBECUE MEAT DRY??

The best way to keep meat moist while smoking is to follow the recommended cooking temperatures for meats!

You thought you timed the meat perfectly on your smoker or grill.  When it came time to cut it, all you found was a gray, dry former piece of meat staring back at you.

 

What went wrong?

Don’t fall into your old habits when it comes to outdoor cooking, whether you’re using a traditional wood or electric smoker, charcoal grill or gas grill.  Learn some easy tips to keep your foods juicy and enticing this outdoor cooking season.

 

Tip #1: Own a Good Meat Thermometer

There is no way around it!  You need to own a good meat thermometer.  That is truly the only way to know when meats are done before you keep them on the grill or smoker too long.  There is no one internal temperature that is good for all meats either!  Don’t think because you cook chicken until 160°F that this is the ideal temperature for beef, lamb, fish, pork, and sausage.

 

Tip #2: Know Ideal Food Temperatures

It is vital that you know when to pull the meat off a grill or smoker.  All chicken and turkey need to cook until 160°F (71°C).  Ham, sausage and hot dogs should have a minimum temperature of 140°F (60°C).  Pork including ribs and shoulder need to register 145°F (63°C) while pork steak, chops, roasts can have a range based on doneness preference: 120-130°F (49-54°C) for rare, 130-135°F (54-57°C) for medium-rare/medium, 145-155°F (63-68°C) for medium-well, and 155°F (68°C) and above for well-done.  Beef, lamb, and venison range 120-130°F (49-54°C) for rare, 130-145°F (54-63°C) for medium, 145-155°F (63-68°C) for medium-well, and over 155°F (68°C) for well-done.

 

Tip #3: Flip, Flip, Flip

When you grill over high heat, it becomes vital that you learn to flip more often.  The results will be better flavor, better color to the food, even doneness and a quicker cooking time.  The flip ensures that only even heat levels get in instead of too high which results in a burnt, charred mess.

 

Tip #4: Moist Burgers Every Time

Burgers can become extremely dry due to the higher heat level they are cooked over.  To keep as much moisture into the meat, here are a couple of tricks.  The first is to add 1-2 tablespoons of either mayo or Greek yogurt to your ground meat or turkey.  Mix well then form into your burgers. I sometimes like to mix in ricotta cheese!  Or you can add an herb-butter patty to the center of the burger to add moisture.  Be sure to follow Tip #3 with burgers!

 

Tip #5: Consider Marinating

Although you can now purchase cuts of meat in most stores pre-marinated, I beg you to do this step yourself to control the additives and preservatives that are commonly found in the prepackaged items.  Marinating cuts of meats, especially thinner cuts, produces great flavors and can make for a moister experience as the liquid finds the cracks and crevices on the meat.  It helps to make small slices in the cut of meat to help with the marinade absorption.  There really is no need to marinate overnight though you can do that.  Just know that a couple of hours for meat in a marinade is enough to produce a great outcome.  Plus, marinated foods reduced the unhealthy chemical compounds that can form when you use a hot grilling technique.

 

Tip #6: Considering Brining

A brine is a wet, salty, slightly sweet mixture that you soak your meat in.  The salt and sugar react with the protein in meats to help retain moisture.  It’s like having a protective moisture-shield around the meat.

 

Tip #7: Use an Indirect Method of Cooking

An indirect or two-zone cooking method refers to using one side of your equipment for heat while the other side is used for the actual food placement.  By keeping the lid on the grill or smoker, you will retain the heat and radiate it throughout the grill.  If you want to produce a crust on your food, you can easily move it to the direct fireside for a few minutes to accomplish that.  On a gas grill, you would lite the burners on only one side of the grill.  On a charcoal grill or smoker, you would place and lite the charcoal on just one side of the charcoal area.

 

Tip #8: Foil Wrap

Aluminum foil, the heavy-duty kind, works wonders at keeping foods moist.  By adding 1-2 ounces of liquid to the foil with the meat placed inside and any other ingredients you want to incorporate flavors from, you allow steam to be produced inside the packet and keep everything super moist.   Just be sure you crimp the foil tightly around the food so nothing escapes.

 

Tip #9: Extend the Cooking Time

If you’re able to plan out your outdoor cooking event, then consider doing a combination of a two-zone cooking method with lower level temperature cooking.  Any time you can cook at a lower temperature for a longer time, you allow the collagen in meat to breakdown producing a gelatin that releases great flavor.  The two-zone cooking method will allow the meat to receive heat in every direction at an even level.

SMOKED BONE BROTH FOR HEALTH & FLAVOR

Our Smoked Bone Broth starts with Great Beef bones trimmed on the gas grill

Know up front, that making broth from bones has been in our human history for a very long time.  It’s not new but I will say that over the past several years, it has gained in popularity for its health benefits and ability to cleanse the body.

Here’s what has been reported to improve when you consume bone broth: ease joint pain, reduce or prevent degenerative joint disease, promote hair and nail growth, enrich the blood, aid in digestion, build muscle, boost the immune system, and improve memory.

Bone broth is all about depth of flavor.  I am going to dig deeper into the flavor option and smoke the bones rather than roast them to bring an umami-type flavor to my broth.  Warning: you will need about 12-14 hours for the entire process so be sure to plan for this timing.

 

Grill Set Up

The gas grill I’m using is equipped with 4 burners and heat shields over those burners.  I’ll be preheating my grill using all 4 burners then shutting off the two burners on the left side and reduce the heat level to medium-low on the right side.  I add two wood chunks to the heat shields on the lit side of the grill.  Then on to my bones on the left side grill grate, where the burners are turned off.  These will stay on the grill for about 3 hours, with one turning of the bones at the halfway point.  Then off the grill and into a stock pot go my smoked bones for the start of the broth.

 

Simmering We Go

The extra depth of the smoke flavor will be gently revealed in our broth and does not overpower or obsolete the benefits of the broth.  To start the broth process, place the bones in the pot and fill the stockpot with cold, clean water.  Be sure the water is about four inches above the bones.  Allow the bones and water to come to a rapid boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  The bones should simmer for a least 6 hours.  During that time, you can check and skim off any impurities from the top with a spoon.  While they are simmering you can prepare the vegetables, herbs, and spices that will be added to the mix.

 

Mirepoix and More

Now it’s time to add even more nutritional value to our broth.  Start by selecting the aromatic vegetables for your mirepoix.  I’ve taken leeks, carrot, celery, Napa cabbage, and a few broccoli stems.  To this, I’ve also included about 8 cloves of garlic, thyme, basil leaves, and a ¼ cup cider vinegar.  Place everything in the pot and stir to mix and submerge.  Cover the pot and allow this to simmer for about 8 hours.  Enjoy the great smell that will fill your home!

 

Strain and Portion

You’ve been smelling this awesome bone broth for nearly 14 hours so now it’s time to strain it and prepare to portion it out for future use.

If you’ve used a large stockpot, you may need a couple of additional pots for the straining as the contents get heavy to pour.  Once the clear broth is extracted with all the great nutritional value intact, remove the strainer and feel free to compost your vegetable/herb mixture.  Allow the broth to cool and skim off any settled fat from the top layer.  Then portion out the broth and get ready to enjoy its health benefits anytime.

This can be consumed as it for maximum detox benefit, in soups, or to make sauces – any way you can use broth.  I’m starting off by making a bowl of pho with sprouts, soba noodles, mushrooms, spring onion, and of course, my piping hot, flavorful, smoked bone broth.

Stater Ingredients for Bone Broth

• 6-8 lbs. of beef bones
• 1 lb. celery
• 2 lbs. onion
• 1 lb. carrot
• 4-6 bay leaves
• 8 cloves garlic
• ¼ bunch fresh thyme
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT – APPLIES TO WOOD COOKING

“You are what you eat” saying is truer today than it was years ago!

We’ve all heard it, likely from our mothers.  You are what you eat.  If you truly understand the meaning of the statement, you know that we extract necessary nutrients from the foods we ingest to energize and stabilize our bodies.  The nutritional content of what we eat determines the composition of our cell membranes, bone marrow, blood, and hormones.  Every day we lose cells which is why the foods we consume are so vital to our body’s health.

Like Any Other Food Choice

If you’ve been a follower of my writings then you are aware of the stress I put on recognizing the wood used to cook foods is just as important an ingredient as the cut of meat, choice of spices, quality of oil, etc.  There has been a lot of focus on the origin of food and how important it is to source locally both as a means of supporting local business and to control what you’re putting in your body. 

From our perspective, you want to know that the wood used for cooking is sourced close to the growing area.   This ensures that there is knowledge about how the wood is processed before it gets to you and it assures the freshest product.

Minimal Processing

Just as with the clean food concept which focuses on minimally processed foods and as direct from nature as possible, SmokinLicious® holds to the same approach.  Sourcing wood from forest regions (direct from nature) that are in close proximity to our manufacturing facility, provides us with the unique advantage to process into the various cooking products the hardwoods harvested that meet our strict criteria: 100% bark-free (we don’t allow any bark-on product to cross our threshold), 100% heartwood (no outer cores of the tree cross our threshold), harvested hardwood that is less than 6 months of age (ensures this is still a “green” product), chemical-free (no pesticide or growth enhancement techniques employed), and in raw state to allow us to process it into a suitable cooking wood size.

The Risks

If you love foods that are cooked with wood, then you should know a few specifics to keep you on the path to health and long life.

Hardwoods only!

• Softwoods or coniferous woods should never be used for cooking as they have elevated sap levels and more air in their cell structure. This causes them to burn fast, produce lots of sparks, and unpleasant flavors that are not ideal for flavoring foods. These include pine, redwood, cedar, fir, spruce, hemlock, larch, cypress.

Toxicity Risks:

• There are many known toxicities in certain species of wood with softwoods containing the highest risk. Other woods have the potential to cause sickness and in some cases death if a person’s system is already compromised. Most of the risks are associated with the cooking process rather than the ingestion of the actual wood-fired food. But know that if a balance of the wood-tar creosote is not found, then the ingestible risks of the food heighten.  One of the best means of obtaining a balance is by starting with hardwoods that are considered safe for cooking, are clean, are bark-free, and derive from the inner cores rather than outer of the wood, where more impurities lurk.

Cooking Technique Influence Risk:

• At some point, I’m sure you’ve read about heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These are the chemicals that form when meats, poultry, and fish are cooked using higher temperature methods like grilling. Why does this pose a health risk?  Because these chemicals cause changes in DNA and when you change DNA and they are metabolized by specific enzymes in the body, you can increase the risk of cancer associated with these compounds.  There is no definitive link between HCA and PAH exposure from cooked meats and cancer in humans.  There is no way to differentiate between other exposures to the chemicals from the food exposure.

HCAs are found to only be associated with meat cooked at high temperatures. While PAHs can be found in other smoked foods.  Remember, PAHs are also in cigarette smoke and fumes from car exhaust.  A recommendation is to remove any charred portions of meat, continuously turning meat over the high heat source, and avoiding direct exposure of meat to the open flame to reduce exposure.  Here’s a tip that can also reduce the risk of forming HCAs – marinate your foods for at least 10 minutes.