Irish Whiskey Ribeye Steaks

 These are great with the gourmet ribeye steaks from http://www.socalmeats.com.  Thaw them first, use a quick thaw method (remove steaks from freezer and put in a large bowl of room temperature tap water, the more steaks the larger bowl of water  is needed).

1/2 cup butter, unsalted
1 cup fresh white bread crumbs
Pinch of mixed herbs such as parsley, tarragon, and thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp Irish Whiskey
2 6 to 7 ounce boneless rib-eye steaks, butterflied
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large shallot, diced
2 to 3 Large mushrooms, quartered
2 to 3 Cremini or Portobello, sliced

1. In a small skillet over medium, melt 4 Tbsp of the butter
2. Stir in bread crumbs, herbs, and pepper
3. Cook, stirring until butter is absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes
4. Stir in whiskey
5. Season steak inside and out with salt and pepper
6. Spread half of the mixture in each steak and press down to seal
7. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the oil until hot, not smoking.
8. Cook the steaks 3 to 5 minutes on each side until seared.
9. Transfer to platter and cover loosely
10. Return the skillet to medium heat melt remaining 4 Tbsp of butter
11. Add the shallot and mushrooms and cook 3 to 5 minutes or until tender
12. Push vegetables to side of skillet and return the steaks to the center
13 Cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes on each side for medium rare or until your preference, and vegetables are browned.
14 To serve, place a steak in the center of 2 plates and spoon mushroom mixture and pan juices over the top of each

Coconut Chicken and Mint Relish

Coconut Chicken and Mint Relish
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2cup lime juice
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 teaspoon chopped jalapenos
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, 6 oz portions
Mint Relish:
2 cucumbers, chopped
1/2cup chopped mint leaves
1 tablespoon garlic
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

1. Chicken, combine the coconut milk, lime juice, oil garlic, cilantro, chives and jalapeno in a large reseal able plastic bag. Add the chicken, coat evenly and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.
2. Relish, combine the ingredients in a small bowl and toss to mix. Let stand at room temperature until ready to serve.
3. Preheat the grill. Remove chicken from the bag and discard the marinade. Season with salt and pepper. Grill 6 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove from the grill and serve with mint relish on the side.

The Perfect Steak Sandwich

Perfect Steak Sandwich

8oz strip or rib-eye steak or filet
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
unsalted butter
1/2 cup red onion, sliced into half moons
1/2 cup pickled cherry peppers(hot and sweet), sliced
1 cup white mushrooms, sliced thin
2 tbsp steak sauce
Hoagie-style soft roll, ends trimmed, split horizontally.
Garlic Mayonnaise(see below)
4 slices white cheddar (about 4 oz)
Arugula, cleaned and dressed with red-wine or light balsamic vinaigrette
2-inch piece fresh horseradish root, peeled.

Grill, broil or pan-sear steak until medium rare, season with coarse salt and ground black pepper, and let rest before thinly slicing. In saute pan over medium heat, melt 2tbsp butter until lightly browned, and caramelize onions. Add peppers and mushrooms and cook, flipping frequently, until well mixed, about 3 minutes. Add steak sauce and simmer to glaze, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Lightly butter roll and lightly toast in skillet(buttered sides down). Spread toasted sides with garlic mayo, and place on foil covered sheet pan. Top with cheese and melt open faced under preheated broiler. Remove and transfer to serving plate. Arrange steak atop broiled bread, overlapping slices slightly, and evenly distribute vegetable mixture, finishing with dressed arugula salad. Using small hole side of box grater, shred horseradish root over sandwich and serve.


Garlic Mayo
Place peeled garlic clove on clean work surface. Using broad side of a chef's knive crush slightly and macerate, using circular motions, until it becomes paste. Add a pinch of kosher salt and mix. Stir paste into mayonnaise, adding ground black pepper and a pinch of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley. Use about 2 garlic cloves to 1/4 cup of mayo, more or less according to your taste.

Baked Potato on the Grill

Howdy Folks,
Here is a great way to bake potatoes on your grill.  I did it the other day, they came out great.  Tasted fantastic.

What you will need:
1 Potato for each person
Spray Oil, (Pam, etc)
Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
Aluminum Foil

Wash the potatoes well, remove all the eyes.  Dry the potatoes.  Lay your aluminum foil out, place the clean, dry potato on the foil.  spray with your cooking oil, such as Pam, I used Olive Oil Pam on one side of the potato, sprinkle some black pepper, garlic salt, and seasoning salt.  Flip the potato over and spray the other side, then sprinkle the pepper, garlic and salt on that side.  Wrap the potato in the aluminum foil.

I have a 4 burner grill, I was going to grill some steaks later, so I got the burner going away from the normal area where I grill steaks on, set the burner on high and set the potatoes on the grill.  I turned them one quarter turn every 10 minutes  for one hour, you can tell if they are cooking correctly by gently pushing in on the potato, when it is mushy it is ready.  After the hour, I turned the burner off, grilled my rib eyes, and ate them together.   All I can say is delicious. 

Hope it works for you.

Hickory Smoked Wild Caught Salmon

Howdy Folks, 

Here is my recipe for Hickory Smoked Salmon(Wild Caught Salmon from http://www.socalmeats.com/).  Here is what mine looked like when I was done.

It turned out with a beautiful brown pellicle(a skin or coating of proteins on the surface of meat, fish or poultry, which allows smoke to better adhere to the surface of the meat during the smoking process. Useful in all smoking applications and with any kind of animal protein, it is best used with fish where the flesh of, say, Salmon,  forms a pellicle, the surface that will attract more smoke to adhere to it than would be the case if you had not used it: Without a pellicle; the fish would be inedibly dry from enough smoking to produce a tasty finished product. It is the pellicle which permits the transformation creating delectable Smoked Salmon.)   In the world of smoking meats the outside skin is also called bark.

You can see by the bottom piece that it separates from the skin very easy, always a good indication that your Salmon is done.  I am not a great photographer but you can almost see how the meat of the Salmon is a bright pink / light orange.  Very Flaky.   Very Tasty.  Almost too salty, if your not a big fan of salt you may try just a little bit less salt in the brine, I plan to next time and will post about the results. 

Brine for Smoking Salmon

4 cups of water
1/4 cup Kosher Salt
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
2 Bay Leaves
1 Stalk Celery
1/2 Onion
2 Garlic Cloves(smashed)

I added the salt and sugar to the water stirred until there was nothing left on the bottom or big clumps in the water.  Chopped the onion(pretty fine), cut the celery into small chunks, chopped then smashed the garlic.  Added the Salmon( about a 1 1/2 pounds) into a glass dish, poured the water over the Salmon, added the onions, celery, garlic and threw in a couple of bay leaves.  Covered and let sit in the frig overnight. (it sat in the brine for around 14 hours). 



The next morning, I took the Salmon out of the brine and sat it on a rack to let it dry.  This is when the pellicle is formed.  Leave it out in a cool, airy place for 2 to 3 hours.  It won't spoil due to salt acting as a preservative.

Smoking the Salmon

I soaked a couple handfuls of hickory wood chips for about 20 minutes, then added them all to the smoker. Let it smoke for 2 hours.  Due to varying temperatures and the thickness of the Salmon, check yours it may or may not be ready after 2 hours.  It is ready when it flakes easily.   My wife heated up some black beans, a little bit of brown rice, and made us a salad to go with it.  Delicious!!!