WOOD-FIRED CLAMS CASINO

Our wood-fired clams casino on the offset grill with brick and the finished product

Have you ever noticed how many ingredients go with clams? This low fat, high protein seafood also has many beneficial minerals. They are also one of the most sustainable seafood resources.

I thought I would provide an easy wood-fired cooking method that can be done on your charcoal grill (you certainly can modify a few setup items and do this on the gas grill as well using wood) and produce the most flavorful clams casino out there.

Go find some similarly sized clams, fire up the grill, and get ready for this recipe and technique to become your favorite.

Hot Coal Grilling

Our Wood-Fired Clams Casino recipe is quite simple gather together:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 oz. sliced pancetta or bacon, finely chopped
• 1 cup finely diced red bell pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped shallots
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced (you can use pre-minced garlic)
• ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 18 medium clams, shucked, bottom shells reserved

 

Before starting on the casino filling, it’s important that you get the grill ready. First, you’ll want to get a chimney starter of charcoal going. I’m using SmokinLicious® charwood in place of traditional charcoal as this is a partially charred product that will also provide for some hardwood flavor infusion. Once lit, the chimney starter needs to burn down the charwood to hot coals – no flame should be visible when you dump this into the grill.

For my charcoal grill, I’ve set a mesh screen at the base of my kettle grill to allow me to retain as many hot coals as possible. The screen helps to prevent small coals from falling through the charcoal area. I’ve also covered brick with heavy-duty foil to act as a heat conductor and radiator. This will help to keep a constant temperature during the actual cooking process. The brick will also separate the cooking area from the fuel area. A bit of unlit charwood is also added to the charcoal half of the grill so these bits can ignite from the hot coals and sustain the heat level more evenly.

Casino Mixture

With the charwood burning in the chimney starter, I can now start on the casino filling. After adding a tablespoon of oil and cooking the pancetta or bacon in a skillet, I’ve put that aside on a paper towel lined dish and added the diced red pepper to the fat drippings in my pan. After cooking a few minutes, I had the shallots, garlic, and parsley to the same skillet and sauté until the shallots are tender and translucent, which is about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and simmer until it is almost evaporated. Remove the skillet from the heat and cool completely.

Assembling the Casinos

While the casino mixture is cooling, I prepare my clams. Here you have a couple of options depending on your skill level and time management. You can shuck the clams as normal and reserve the bottom shell with the clam, or you can steam the clams until just open, separate the top from the bottom shell, reserving the bottom shell. I loosen the clam from the shell so it’s easier to consume with the casino mixture. After the clams are readied, I take the cooled casino mixture and add the previously cooked pancetta or bacon, 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan, and fresh pepper mixing well. I then take a tablespoon of the mixture and mound it over the clam in the shell. The finished clams are placed in a grill-proof pan.

Wood Firing Brings Depth of Flavor

With all my top neck clams stuffed with casino filling, I sprinkle the remaining Parmesan and the 2 tablespoons of panko bread crumbs over each clam. I am now ready to place the tray on the grill. Since I’m using a two-zone cooking method, I can safely put the lid on the grill without concern for charring these clams too far. With a steady temperature of about 300°F, these will take between 15-20 minutes. You can rotate the tray if you feel the heat level in your grill is not even or steady. For those that like a crunchy outside to the clam feel free to place these under the broiler for a few minutes. The clams pick up the wood flavor in a very balanced way, giving just hints of charry goodness with each bit. Super easy, super flavorful, and super fun to make. Take your clams to the wood fire for your next event.

The Culinary Crew wants you to know…

… about the great results had from indirect cooking or the two-zone grilling technique, as referenced in this recipe blog. When it comes to this particular recipe, you will find that wood fired clams done on a charcoal grill with indirect heat and a simple brick heat conductor will add a distinctive smoky flavor twist to your clams casino. This appetizer promises to be a fan favorite for any seasonal or football party!

Now you can enjoy a video tutorial on this recipe as we collaborated with our friends at Passing It On. Get the visual step-by-step directive on making our rendition of clams casino.

WHY TWO-ZONE COOKING METHOD LET'S YOU WALK AWAY FROM THE GRILL

The SmokinLicious® culinary crew’s two-zone cooking method set up to smoke Fava Beans on the Gas grill with Wood chunks!

We all know that the key to easy and successful outdoor cooking is to control the temperature. I also believe that outdoor cooking should not hold you hostage at the grill. That’s why everyone should learn the two-zone cooking method for grilling.

Let’s cover what type of cooking you can do by this method, why it’s so successful, and how to set up the zones.

Why it is Best

Two-zone cooking can be done on any type of grill no matter the fuel source. What is two-zone cooking? Using the fuel source on only half the grill while the other half holds the food. Although you may use the unlit side of the grill for most of the cooking, you have the benefit of finishing crispy skins of items or quick cooking thinner cuts of meats on the direct heat side.

Two-zone cooking is also called direct and indirect cooking. The indirect side uses indirect convection heat to cook the food which means the heat generated by the lit side radiates into the material of the equipment and produces heat (convection heat) on the unlit side. The direct side produces the heat within the unit and can be used when quick cooking is needed or when a food that has been cooked on the indirect side needs crisping, additional coloring, or some char.

The Set Up

The primary reason you want to set up two-zone cooking is most of the grill cooking does not require direct heat. When you consistently cook foods, especially meats, over direct heat, you easily can have dried, stiff, flavorless results. This is due to the components of meat reacting at different temperatures that with direct cooking occur too fast to react.

I will tell you that you need a grilling area that is large enough to establish two zones. I judge the space needed with a rectangular, disposable foil pan. If the pan can fit on half the grill area without issue, then you have plenty of room for a two-zone setup. When using a gas grill, this means lighting the burners on one half of the grill. If you don’t have an even number of burners, then decide how many are to be turned on and how many left off. With a charcoal grill, placing the hot coals on only half the charcoal area. On an electric unit, if you can manipulate the heating element, isolate the element to one side of the unit. The temperature that works ideally for two-zone cooking is 225°F. Of course, I always add wood chunks to give a smoky flavor to the foods. Remember, the hardwood goes on the direct side of the grill or lit burner or hot coals.

Note that you can also use a water pan using two zones. This can be placed on either side of the grill depending on when you need the direct heat side. Keep in mind, when doing meats, it’s great to place a pan under the meat with vegetables (onions, potatoes, celery, peppers, etc.) and a small amount of liquid that can collect the meat renderings. You can also place pans of beans to catch those drippings. Anything is fair game.

For those times when you don’t want to add any additional foods, you can simply lay a thin foil pan under the grill grate of the indirect side or a sheet of foil. That will collect any fat drippings.

Cook Anything!

Since radiant heat is what you are cooking with when foods are placed on the indirect side, you can cook anything. I love doing tarts and cakes via this method, especially during the hot months when you don’t want to lite your indoor oven. In fact, those are the times that I cook an entire meal using a two-zone setup.

You can also cook multiple items using both direct and indirect heat. A long cooking meat goes on the indirect side, is cooked to temperature and held there, while a side dish is cooked on direct heat. Don’t forget, if the cookware you use is high heat tolerant, you can use cookware as well. This is how I can make cakes, tarts, and bread on the grill. You need to view this equipment like an oven as that is essentially what it is!

Use Like an Oven & Walk Away

I’m going, to be honest. Although it’s true that you can produce more moist foods using a two-zone method the real reason I love this method of cooking is I can walk away from the grill. This is particularly true when using a gas grill which holds the temperature steady, which for me, is 250°F for long cook meats and regular baking temperatures for all my cookies, cakes, tarts, bread. Remember, charcoal grills will still require you to refuel so the temperature can fluctuate more if you’re not careful. Keeping an extra chimney starter of charcoal going will solve that issue.

What is a two zone fire? You may ask…

A two zone fire is also called two-zone cooking method can be used to grill or smoke any type of food on any grill (smoker, gas, charcoal, wood-fired or electric)! Setting up a two-zone cooking method is very easy- have a hotter side on one half of the grill and a lower or no setting on the other half. A two zone fire gives the cook or chef “a stylized or finessed” way to grill without ruining great food flavors by over cooking. It is especially the best way to cook meats and vegetables. Keep in mind that grills radiate and transfer heat, so it’s really not necessary to crank up every burner or heat source to a temp equivalent to the Sun! It’s as simple as that!

As a final note, even though two-zone cooking allows you more time away from the grill, you still need a good digital thermometer to monitor the temperature of the food. Invest in an easy read one and you’ll really enjoy this new way of grilling and smoking.

 

BARBECUE SAUCE BROKEN DOWN

Barbecue Sauce versions come in many different size, shapes and colors, our primer can assist you in understanding their use ages.

Barbecue is a cooking method that includes smoke vapor for flavoring. This is my pure definition. I won’t go into the controversy over whether grilling is part of barbecue or not. Just know that some type of plant material must combust to produce smoke that produces flavor to what is being cooked.

The resulting food whether an animal protein or some other item, can be finished with various methods. By far, the most popular finish is with a sauce, more commonly known as barbecue sauce.

Let’s dive into what comprises a sauce used for barbecue and how regions are influenced by the ingredients chosen for the sauce.

I’m Talking Sauce Not Mop!

For those that aren’t familiar with the difference, we are talking only about sauces today and not mops. A mop is a thinner liquid that is applied while meats are cooking to keep the protein moist during the cooking process. These are commonly used for open pit barbecue and grilling and are applied while the meat is raw all the way through the cooking process. Like a marinade, once a mop is used for a cooking event, any leftovers need to be discarded to prevent cross contamination of bacteria. The tool used to apply the mop looks like a miniature floor mop.

Sauce is a glazing liquid that is much thicker than a mop and usually contains ingredients that provide a balance of sweet, salty, savory, and spicy. Generally, a sauce is either applied near the end of the cooking or left as a side to be applied by the guest enjoying the barbecue meats.

There are a lot of variations to a sauce which are generally based on regional ingredients and cuisine.

Carolina Sauces

The Carolina states revolve around mustard and vinegar-based sauces. Since pork ribs, whole hog, and pork butt dominate in these regions, the acidity of these ingredients blends perfectly to bring the meats to perfection.

South Carolina: the sauce is yellow, sweet with a tartness commonly found in central South Carolina to the coast of Charleston. The sweetness comes from cane or standard sugar and the tartness from standard yellow mustard paired with a little dried mustard powder.

The western portion of South Carolina tends to lean toward ketchup-based sauces while northwest you’ll find tomato sauce added.

North Carolina: Although commonly associated with North Carolina, vinegar-based sauces are really a central to eastern North Carolina preference. These locations often use the vinegar sauce as both a mop and sauce, starting with naked meat; no rub. Commonly white distilled vinegar is the choice rather than the apple cider variety and this is paired with a little sugar, salt, red pepper flakes or crushed Chipotle, black pepper and hot sauce.

The western portion of the state is more prone to a tomato-based sauce or “dip” as it is called. Like their eastern counterparts, they apply this as a mop and sauce to naked meat. Ingredients generally include distilled white vinegar, ketchup, sugar, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and a bit of juice, usually apple.

Alabama White

Used for chicken, this is a mayonnaise-based sauce that has no sweetness at all. Other ingredients include apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, apple juice, garlic powder, horseradish, dry mustard, cayenne pepper.

Kansas City Red

This is likely what most of the sauces sold in grocery stores can be compared to. It is very thick, very sweet, and ketchup or tomato based. Its common ingredients include onion, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, chili powder, spicy mustard, molasses, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, and ketchup.

Texas Style

With beef being king in the state of Texas, their sauce also tends to serve as a mop as well. This sauce tends to be very dark and similar in consistency to gravy. Due to their proximity to the Mexican border, chiles are common in the sauce. As beef takes a long cooking time, this sauce/mop penetrates deep into the meat making it seem less like a sauce.

Kentucky Black

Known to include vinegar and Worcestershire, this is often referred to as Western Kentucky-Style Barbecue Sauce. It is quite thin due to the amount of water added with only a little bit of ketchup and seasonings that include paprika, dry mustard, onion and garlic powder, and red pepper.

Memphis Style

When in Memphis, learn how to order your ribs. They serve them two ways – dry and wet. Dry is just that – dry rubbed only. Wet will give you a saucy rib. Oh, yes, Memphis is all about ribs.

The sauce tends to be a balance of sweet and spicy as they use both vinegar and ketchup in most recipes. Other ingredients include: onion, garlic, Worcestershire, butter, molasses, mustard, paprika, brown sugar, oregano, thyme.

Keep in mind, most natives only like dry ribs but are known to indulge in sauce on their pulled pork and chicken.

Other Finds

Certainly, you will find other sauces available during your travels in North America. Some will be soy sauce based like Hawaiians use while others are fruit rich. I love smoking various fruits while in season and then using their rendered juices in a sauce. Strawberry, raspberry, peach, and cherry work great for this purpose.

To me, a sauce should compliment the protein your serving and not cover it up. It should not be the only flavor you taste. If you can’t decipher the meat under the sauce, then the balance of ingredients is not there.

If you step into the arena of sauce making, here’s some additional information to keep in mind. Always include some level of vinegar, salt, sugar and spice as these have preservative properties that will allow your sauce to stay fresh for a while. Use glass jars for storing your sauce and try to get the sauce in the jars while still hot. Get them to the refrigerator quickly after jarring.

Unopened sauce will last many months while open jars should be used within a month.

Keep in mind that when cooking with hardwood as in traditional hot smoking, it is the ingredients, cut of meat, age of the wood that all factor in to how the wood flavonoids reveal themselves. Don’t let anyone tell you that a fruitwood will always produce a sweet flavor to smoked meats. That is for you to determine through the additional ingredients you use in the meat’s preparation.

 

“MATCH YOUR COOKER” – CHARCOAL SMOKER GRILLS: THE WOOD MASTER’S GUIDE

Charcoal Smoker Grills and SmokinLicious®- for great wood fired flavor!

For those that have followed us for years, you know we are proud that almost from the start of our Company, we were committed to providing a guide for equipment to cooking wood product match. We refer to our guide affectionately as “Match Your Cooker”.

In this article, we are covering our recommendations for charcoal-wood burning grill equipment; these are grills that capable of using charcoal and wood for authentic charcoal grilling. As there are always new equipment lines and models released, our plan is to provide regular updates. We also encourage you to send us a message when you don’t see a manufacturer or model listed.

For now, we introduce you to our wood master’s guide to SmokinLicious® cooking woods for specific smokers.

Barrel Smoker Logs-

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Barrel Smoker Log/ Full Cut Log:

Aztec model: Commercial Grills

Gaucho Grills models: Supremo Free-Standing, Grilling Inserts

¼ Cut Wood Logs

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® ¼ Cut Wood Log:

Aztec model: Home Grill

Engelbrecht Grills & Cookers: all models

Gaucho Grills all models

Kalamazoo models: Outdoor Gourmet, K75OHS Hybrid Fire Grill

M Grills model: B2, M16, A10

Pitts & Spitts models: Traditional Charcoal Grill, Adjustable Charcoal Grill

Unfileted Wood Blocks

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Unfileted Wood Block:

Gaucho Grills all models

Pitmaker model: BBQ Grills 48

Pitts & Spitts models: Traditional Charcoal Grill, Adjustable Charcoal Grill

PK Grill & Smoker

Single Filet Wood Chunks

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Single Filet Wood Chunks:

American Muscle Grill

Dyna-Glo models:

Grillworks 36

JedaJeda Charcoal Grill BBQ

Kalamazoo Charcoal Smoker Cabinet

Pitmaker models: Tailgater, BBQ Grills 30

West of Memphis Ironman 3

Double Filet Wood Chunks

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Double Filet Wood Chunk:

Alfresco Grills: Models with Solid Fuel Insert

Arteflame

Aussie models: Walk-A-Bout Portable Charcoal Grill, Americana Sizzler Charcoal Grill, Americana Traveler Portable Grill

Camp Chef model: Wood Fire Cook Wagon

Char-Broil Models: Kettleman Tru-Infrared Charcoal Grill, Kamander Charcoal Grills, CB940X Charcoal Grill, American Gourmet Charcoal Grills, Charcoal Grill 580 & 780, Charcoal Barrel Grill, CB500X Portable Charcoal Grill, American Gourmet® Portable Charcoal Grill, Deluxe Gas & Charcoal Combo Grill

Char-Griller Grills & Smokers models: Super Pro™ 2121 Charcoal Grill, Deluxe Griller™ 2828 Charcoal Grill, Traditional Charcoal Grill, Outlaw™ 2137 Charcoal Grill, Pro Deluxe™ 2727 Charcoal Grill, Wrangler™ 2123, Wrangler™ 2823, 14822 Premium Red & Black Kettle, Legacy Charcoal Grill, Grand Champ™ 8100 Charcoal Grill, Patio Pro® 1616 Charcoal Grill, Patio Pro® 1515 Charcoal Grill, Duel Function™ 5030 2-Burner Gas & Charcoal Grill, Duo™ 550 Gas & Charcoal Grill, Dual Function™ 5072 Gas & Charcoal Grill, Double Play™ 5650 Gas & Charcoal Grill

Cobb all models

Dancook 1900 Charcoal Grill

Texas Pit Crafters models: BBQ King BI, PM 200/200S BI, PM 500/500S BI

Tremor Breeze Smoker

Grande Sapore® Wood Chips

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Grande Sapore® Wood Chips:

Aussie models: Walk-A-Bout Portable Charcoal Grill, Americana Sizzler Charcoal Grill, Americana Traveler Portable Grill

Camp Chef models: Wood Fire Cook Wagon

Char-Broil: CB500X Portable Charcoal Grill, Portable Charcoal Grill, Portable Kettle Charcoal Grill, American Gourmet® Portable Charcoal Grill

Cobb all models

Minuto® Wood Chips

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Minuto® Wood Chips:

Earth Oven

Eco-Que: Portable Grills

Fire Magic Charcoal BBQ Smoker on Stand

Orion Cooker

Piccolo® Wood Chips

The following equipment/models would be suitable for the SmokinLicious® Piccolo® Wood Chip:

Orion Cooker

We hope you view this guide as a helpful resource for selecting the perfect culinary wood for your equipment. As always, our Wood Guide Team is ready to answer your additional questions and further assist you with the perfect grilling and smoking experience!