Saturday, March 28, 2009

Recipes For A Pork Loin From Deep In The Heart Of You Know Where!


A lot of folks prefer pork loin to other cuts of pork. They usually are lean, mean and are very easy to prepare. Looking for a couple of recipes, ways to fix them? Well, I really hope so!

But first, my song: “The rain is cold - the barbecuin’ is bold – Deep in the heart of Orygun! When the sun does shine – the porks all mine – Deep in the heart of Orygun!”

A pork loin slices up very nicely for a main entrée, stir fry, and, "hey, great sandwiches"!

I started out with a three and half pound loin, took it into the shower and washed it, light coating of extra-virgin olive oil, and then I used “Wild Willy's Number One-derful Rub” to season it. Here is how to make the Rub..... Bub!

I place the loin into a nice size baking pan that is lined with aluminum foil.



Now, you can buy a commercial rub if it is inconvenient to make your own, but half the fun is “making your own rub”. And, you will save a little money at the same time.

You can also use plain-old yellow mustard as a marinade. It really does work. But first, generously sprinkle on Wild Willy’s, and then rub the mixture over the entire pork loin.

Next, administer a heavy coat of mustard over the loin. Sissies may have to put on latex gloves to do this. (Just kidding!) Sprinkle again with Wild Willy’s, but don’t rub it in this time. No need to refrigerate overnight, but I usually do. Don't marinate anything in foil overnight. However, if you do refrigerate you will have to let it set out for at least 30 minutes prior to putting it on the barbie, or in the oven.

In the interim, start the barbie! If you can’t start the barbie, you are done. Well, not really. You might have to use a conventional oven, especially if you don’t have a BBQ. Whether you use a BBQ, or oven, set the temperature at 325 degrees.

If you are planning on barbecuing the loin, you will want to use indirect heat. On a gas grill, this means turning off the burners on one side of the grill and cooking on the other. On a charcoal grill, pushing the coals to one side and cooking on the other. Keep the lid on the barbie closed.

As far as recipes, for a roast, you are going to cook the pork loin anywhere from one and a half to three hours. During the last half hour of the cooking process, spray on a mixture of either orange juice, or apple juice. Combine this with a little apple cider vinegar. This adds flavor and keeps the pork moist.

A cup of juice with about a tablespoon of the vinegar should suffice. And, don’t go berserk spraying. A light misting should do it. (Takes the place of mopping, and makes less of a mess)

When I was in the Marine Corps I did a lot of mopping, and I prefer the "misting thing", now.

Use a meat thermometer to check on doneness. Continue misting on your juice concoction on the hour.

Smoking your pork loin may be desirable. There are a couple of ways to do it. For the gas grill, you can add a smoker box with wood chips (available at most hardware stores, with directions).

If I cook a roast on a gas grill, I use a water pan with a grill on top of that, along with the smoker box on top of the flame deflector (On the hot side).

Make sure you can close the lid over the water pan and roast. The pan has to be in the center, or the lid won't close. The use of a water pan makes it self-basting, but in the last stages of smoking and cooking I mist the meat anyway. If you want you can add garlic, onion, spices, or whatever to the pan, it will help flavor anything that you are cooking.


Or, you can add like a drop or two of Hickory Seasoning Liquid Smoke to you spray bottle. Be careful, a little goes a long way. Personally, I am not a liquid smoke guy.

For charcoal grills, simply add a few presoaked chips to the coals.

Irregardless, of what recipe you use for the pork loin, once it’s done, let it sit out on the table for a while….fifteen minutes or so. Wrap it up in foil after taking it out of the oven, or BBQ. Store or freeze in an air tight freezer bag.

Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend, George Hirsch would say: “Know your fire!”

I don’t ask that you send me 100K for my BBQ and cooking tips. But, hey, it's cool if you do! It really helps with the bills. If not, please check out my sponsors and ads....it helps keep up the blog and my fragile spirit! Thank you, it’s appreciated! Please see bottom of page for Product Disclosure and Privacy Disclosure. “Semper Fi” To All Marines!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Weber Genesis E310 Gas Barbecue | Get Grillin’ Fast & Even Faster Than Fast!


Way back when (I'm an old dude!) I paid about $750 for a Pro-Chef Gas Grill that doesn’t have half the features the Weber Genesis E310 has. Corny.......... yes! But, in this time of recession, I hope you are getting all the value out of the things you decide to buy.

One of the reasons folks buy more gas grills than any other type of grill is the convenience, which means they don't want to be foolin' around with other mediums.
Another reason is, the ability to cook, or sear at high temperatures. And, even more important, and in the end, getting extremely excellent taste results.

It’s difficult to beat a quality gas grill for searing steaks, and a lot of other types of food that you might want to impress family and friends with. After you get home at night, you want it to be a breeze to fire up the gas grill.

Hey, this is competition time. With a Weber Genesis E310, you will beat out the local red-neck by a mile...... You'll smoke em'. While they are fumbling around with the charcoal, wood, asbestos, and “Buzzard’s Breath Marinatin’ Sauce”, you'll be enjoying a cool beverage.....and, be extremely relaxed in your hammock or favorite chair.

The guess is, you’ll be done eating before they get the “their coals ah goin”.

Features of the Weber Genesis E310:
  • 42,000 BTUs; 637 inches total cooking area
  • Choice of 3 types of cooking grills
  • Cross-over ignition system that takes less than 3 seconds to fire up all 3 burners
  • Can reach 550 degrees even in cold weather, searing steaks is a snap
  • No flare ups with Weber’s stainless steel Flavorizer Bars which vaporizes fats & juices into smoke and adds flavor to what you are grilling
  • Built in fuel gage
  • Built-in BBQ tool holders in an enclosed storage area
Let’s go back to the choice of cooking grills. You have three choices of grills….. I would choose a cast iron grill. They are harder to keep clean, but not that much more difficult. All you have to do is periodically wipe them down with olive oil to keep them clean and to prevent rust, especially in a humid climate.

Over time cast iron grills become seasoned with all the different spices that you use when grilling, adding more flavor to whatever you are cooking. They retain heat better than the other grills. It takes them a little longer to heat up, but in the long run they use less energy because of their heat retention rate. Hey! Can't make a decision? .......buy all three grills.

Spring for a cover for your Weber Genesis E310! The grill will last you three times as long if you do. They are reasonably priced.

This is going to sound like a sales pitch, but don’t buy a cheap gas grill. They don’t last long and they simple can’t get up to the high temperatures that are necessary to grill steaks and other types of food properly.

With a cheap grill, you won’t be able to store your BBQ tools either, like you want, which is important. Article about how to turn your gas grill into a raging BBQ. You can read it: Here! And, here is yet another article.

The Weber Genesis E310 is a medium priced grill. You can pay a thousand more for a gas grill that won’t perform any better. Besides check out the very cool copper color one they have. They also have a stainless steel model, the Weber Grill S320.

Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend, George Hirsch would say: “Know your fire!”

I don’t ask that you send me 100K for my BBQ and cooking tips. But, hey, it's cool if you do! It really helps with the bills. If not, please check out my sponsors and ads....it helps keep up the blog and my fragile spirit! Thank you, it’s appreciated! Please see bottom of page for Product Disclosure and Privacy Disclosure. “Semper Fi” To All Marines!










Monday, March 16, 2009

Shrimp Salad Recipe - Makes An Excellent BBQ Side


Pretty soon it's going to be BBQ season, so here's a little shrimp salad recipe you can use as a side. Actually, I can just eat it all by itself.....and I don't wait till BBQ season.

In my research, I try to find out the history of barbecue sides (with quotes), and discover absolutely nothing. Although, I strongly suspect it is a derivative of "side dish".

But, what side is your side on? Does it go on the left side, or the right side......where does it go?

If I go into a BBQ joint and they ask me what kind of a side I want, and I answer, "A side of beef", they are going to think I am a smart-mouth.

Anyway, here is a shrimp salad recipe you can use as a side when your barbecue-eatin' friends come over:
  • A half pound of pre-cooked salad, or large tails off shrimp
  • Medium-size head of green cabbage
  • Mayo
  • Tabasco, or hot sauce
  • Worchester sauce
  • Old Bay Seasoning
  • Coursely ground pepper
In a very large bowl, add coursely cut up cabbage. I don't shred the cabbage. Peel off a couple of outer layers. Start at the top of the head and vertically slice off about one inch, cross cut that into about one inch slices. Repeat until you have just about filled up the bowl.

Add mayo, I do not saturate the cabbage, use enough (about five or six tablespoons) so that you can get the cabbage to adher. You don't need a whole bunch of Mayo.

Add about five dashes of Worchester, and five dashes of Tabasco. Sprinkle the Old Bay and pepper on top and mix in. Best to let everything mingle overnite.

Now, I don't add the shrimp to the salad until ready to eat for safety reasons. Shrimp can go bad on you real fast. If the shrimp are large enough, you can stick them on the barbie for a few minutes, or pan fry them if so desired. However, I never do this with pre-cooked shrimp.

I hope you enjoy this shrimp salad recipe as a side, or even as nice refreshing main dish, maybe with a nice bread.

Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend, George Hirsch would say: “Know your fire!”

I don’t ask that you send me 100K for my BBQ and cooking tips. But, hey, it's cool if you do! It really helps with the bills. If not, please check out my sponsors and ads....it helps keep up the blog and my fragile spirit! Thank you, it’s appreciated! Please see bottom of page for Product Disclosure and Privacy Disclosure. “Semper Fi” To All Marines!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Willamette General Store Barbecue Brisket Sandwich


Yesterday was a good day because my puppy and I indulged in a barbecued brisket sandwich at the Willamette General Store in Willamette, Oregon. He even shared some of it with me.

Actually, the store is more of an old fashion hardware store than anything else, but they are a major Traeger BBQ grill distributor.

It is the type of hardware store where you can go with part a and part b and they will give you advice on how to put part a and b together.....my type of hardware store. Not like the big home improvement centers we have now where you encounter Twiddle Dee and Dum when you need some help.

Being a Traeger dealer, they are usually barbecuing something up on their own barbies in front of the store. You can go in there and order a nice barbecued sandwich to go, or you can eat it there. It was cold and rainy out, so I didn't bother sitting out outside the store and eating my (sorry, my puppy's) sandwich.

I ordered a barbecued brisket sandwich for $4.95. It doesn't come with any sides, but it does come with a least 8 ounces of brisket.

The brisket was excellent.....lean and well barbecued. They put on a sauce, which I forgot to tell them to leave off, but I have to admit it was a super nice sauce. And, they didn't put so much on I couldn't taste the brisket.

Personally, when I serve my own BBQ brisket, I slice it. What they served was more of a pulled barbecue brisket, but just the same excellent. Whether you are a native Oregonian, or a tourist, the town of Willamette is right next to I205....take exit 10. It's a cool quaint little town, and has a super barbecue joint to boot. Make sure you check out all the eighteen hundreds era homes on the side streets.

Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend, George Hirsch would say: “Know your fire!”

I don’t ask that you send me 100K for my BBQ and cooking tips. But, hey, it's cool if you do! It really helps with the bills. If not, please check out my sponsors and ads....it helps keep up the blog and my fragile spirit! Thank you, it’s appreciated! Please see bottom of page for Product Disclosure and Privacy Disclosure. “Semper Fi” To All Marines!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipes That Work For What Ails You Or Something!




This can’t be cast as one of those all exclusive "red-neck" BBQ recipes, but, hey a good chicken noodle soup is vital! First though, this very important quiz!........

Who invented Chicken Noodle Soup?
Martin Short ___
Martha Stewart___
Genghis Khan___
Bambi___
Who Knows?___
Last Chance Answer! - Donald Trump___

In my research, I couldn't come up with a definite answer, but the guess is, it is a derivative of a Chinese noodle soup.

My variation of chicken noodle soup is really thick and falls into the category of being a “stoup”, a phrase coined by Rachael Ray (On one of her 30 minute meal shows, but this is not her recipe) for being so thick that it is a cross between being a stew and a soup….thus, stoup!
  • Quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil
  • One large onion
  • One clove of garlic
  • Two large carrots
  • Two stalks of celery
  • One roasted Anaheim pepper (optional)
  • Three or four large chicken breasts
  • Wild Willy's Number One-derful Rub Recipe
  • Ah, the el twisto, Luzianne Cajun Seasoning
  • 22 ounce package of large egg noodles
  • Six 14 oz cans of low sodium chicken broth
  • One to two 14 oz cans of low sodium beef broth

    Get your grill up, or you, to 400 degrees or more. In the meanwhile, coat each chicken breast with a little olive oil and put on a generous amount of Wild Willy’s rub onto each of the breasts. You can pan fry or grill each chicken breast on the barbie until done. I prefer the BBQ. (Besides this is a BBQ blog).

    I use a 6 ½ quart stock pot for my chicken noodle soup. Finely chop up the onion and garlic and caramelize in the olive oil until you get a nice brown coating.

    Dice up the carrots (not you!), and celery and add them to the pot, sauté them for seven minutes, or so.

    Add one can of beef broth to the veggie mix and reduce the heat. I like to cook everything separately, so I add two thirds of a package of egg noodles to boiling water and cook for seven minutes. Add a little olive oil to water to keep the noodles from sticking.

    Add the beef broth and four cans of the chicken broth to the pot. Add rinsed noodles, bring up the heat, but don’t boil. Cut up chicken into bite size chunks and add to pot.
    You say,” why not just cook the chicken in the broth, dude”?

    For one, it will reduce the chicken chunks to minuscule size. Ok, with that I really doubt that I am making an impression! Open a can of chicken noodle soup and compare the size of the chicken chunks to yours. The result is what happens when you boil chicken and cut corners.

    You don’t have to cook the noodles separately either, but I don’t do starchy noodles....do you really love that darling starchy taste?

    The toughest part is the spice part. The noodles will make it a bland. This is where the Cajun Seasoning comes in. Shake it on the finished product, stir, taste, and shake it on some more until you get rid of the blandness.

    Now, you are going to have some different tastes in your soup and that’s cool! The caramelized onion and garlic add a wonderful taste to soup. You will receive yet another great and separate taste with the barbecued chicken because of the rub. The nice spicy taste will come from the Cajun Seasoning. I also add a roasted Anaheim pepper, but that's optional.

    Remember that chicken noodle soup is good for the soul….and well, you too! This is just one in a number of recipes that I hope you enjoy!

    “Wild Willy's Number One-derful Rub Recipe” (Courtesy of Cheryl Jamison…. She has one of the best barbecue books out there, and I can't recommend it enough, or highly enough…..”Spice &Smoke”)
Main all-purpose rub, good on pork & beef rib, brisket, chicken, and more ("And More" Meaning Pulled Pork, Steak, Hamburger).
  • 3/4 cup paprika
  • 1/4 cup ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup salt (Try to use Sea salt)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne
What could make this chicken noodle soup recipe better? Well, you could add more veggies, maybe even double up on the carrots and celery.

Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend, George Hirsch would say: “Know your fire!”

I don’t ask that you send me 100K for my BBQ and cooking tips. But, hey, it's cool if you do! It really helps with the bills. If not, please check out my sponsors and ads....it helps keep up the blog and my fragile spirit! Thank you, it’s appreciated! Please see bottom of page for Product Disclosure and Privacy Disclosure. “Semper Fi” To All Marines!

Friday, March 6, 2009

Willamette Valley Barbecued Chili

History has it that chili, especially barbecued chili originated in the Oregon State Prisons in the latter part of the eighteen hundreds. The rumor was that a lot of folks didn’t want to get out of prison because the chili was that good!

Or, if they got out of prison they did whatever it took to get back in so they could get more of that delicious chili.

Well, a little barbecuing BS here!

In reality, most think it originated in the Texas penal system, but “hey!” Oregon needs some love and credit for something, too.

I have been making the following bean-less chili recipe for at least twenty years (Started when I was two!) You can make two different kinds of chili out of this recipe….bean-less, and with beans if you must.

Beaner-Less Version:
  • 4 Tsp of Extra-Virgin olive oil, or butter
  • One finely chopped onion
  • 4 large gloves of finally chopped garlic
  • 1 large Anaheim roasted pepper
  • 4 Tbsp of hot New Mexican red chili pepper
  • 4 Tbsp of mild California red chili pepper
  • 3 Tsp of Comino Molido (Ground Cumin)
  • Two 14 oz cans of Beef Broth (the less sodium the better)
  • 2 pounds of hamburger
  • 2 pounds of sirloin
  • Garnish with shredded cheese, or sour cream…well, maybe both

You will be able to find the ground pepper and cumin you need here: Corona Real Ground California Molido Chili Ground Chili, 3 oz.

I love to add a least one roasted Anaheim pepper. Heat the grill or oven up, coat the pepper with a little oil and throw on the barbie, or in the oven until it literally deflates. You should have a nice, spotted black crust developed on the outside of it.

My basic recipe calls for hamburger and sirloin. Cook or barbecue the meat separately. I usually grind my own hamburger, but if you can’t that’s ok, form patties for barbecuing, and breakup the hamburger if cooking on the stovetop. Make sure you drain it real well, or pat off all excess fat.

I grill the steak until medium rare….no need to season and don’t over grill it. If you have to season, sprinkle a small amount of Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper on. It won't hurt!

I have an 8 ½ quart pot that I cook most everything in. I cook the onion and the garlic at medium high in the olive oil until it caramelizes….it adds a beautiful dimension to your chili.

Next, add the finely chopped Anaheim to the pot, seeds and all. Don't worry, the Anaheim is mild and the idea is to add flavor. Lower the heat to simmer, and add the precooked hamburger to the pot. The finer you chop it up the better.

Now it’s time to add both kinds of the red chili peppers and cumin to the pot. Mix real well. Add the beef broth (a little at a time, don’t put too much in) and cook on medium heat until hot…no need to boil. What you should have is a real thick chili. You will have to experiment. It may mean adding even more hamburger, or using less broth.

Next cut up the sirloin into bite size chucks and add to the mix. No need to cook too long, or the steak will be like rubber, a couple of minutes will do so that the steak absorbs some of the spice.

All by itself, this recipe is delicious. For bean lovers, heat up your favorite can of beans and place on the bottom of a bowl and then cover with you chili mix.

The beans also will cut some of the hot spicy taste. My wife doesn’t do hot! The beans work well in that regard. She prefers chili beans because they come in a nice thick tomato sauce.

If you use the ground chili pepper as directed, what you get is an after bite...meaning you take a bite, nothing happens and all of a sudden, WOW!

You can also substitute shredded beef brisket, pot roast, chicken, pork, buffalo, or any combination.

You can cook all this on your barbecue grill. Make sure you have a brew or you will never be able to get this off, or at least a favorite beverage in your hand while you are assembling all this. Barbecued chili will never be the same, and your friends and family will think so, too.

Enjoy! Like my favorite chef and friend, George Hirsch would say: “Know your fire!”

I don’t ask that you send me 100K for my BBQ and cooking tips. But, hey, it's cool if you do! It really helps with the bills. If not, please check out my sponsors and ads....it helps keep up the blog and my fragile spirit! Thank you, it’s appreciated! Please see bottom of page for Product Disclosure and Privacy Disclosure. “Semper Fi” To All Marines!