The Real Way to Cook - With FIRE!

Shame, shame, shame if you don't have a grill.

Grilled and Chilled Gazpacho
from Weber’s Charcoal Grilling: the Art of Cooking with Live Fire by Jamie Purviance

Prep time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: at lest 8 hours
Grilling time: 10 to 12 minutes

6 large plum tomatoes
3 medium red bell peppers
2 medium red onions
Extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups reduced-sodium tomato juice, plus as much as 2 cups more for thinning out the soup
¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ English cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
½ cup sour cream

Core each tomato and cut in half lengthwise. Cut the peppers into lengthwise strips, discarding the core and the seeds. Cut the onions crosswise into ½ inch slices. Set aside 2 strips of bell pepper and 2 slices of onion to be finely chopped for garnish. Lightly coat the remaining tomatoes, peppers and onions with oil. Season with the salt and pepper.

Grill the tomatoes and peppers over direct medium heat until the skins are blistered and the vegetables are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. At the same time, grill the onions over direct medium heat until lightly charred and crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once or twice.

In a blender, working in batches if necessary, puree the vegetables and any accumulated vegetable juices with the tomato juice. Chill for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.

When the grilled vegetable puree is thoroughly chilled, check the texture. If it seems too thick, add more tomato juice. Then add the basil, vinegar, and Tabasco sauce. If desired, season to taste with additional vinegar, Tabasco sauce salt and pepper.

Finely dice the reserved onion and bell pepper along with the cucumber. Serve the gazpacho in individual bowls, cold or at room temperature, topped with sour cream and diced vegetables.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.


Amended recipe:
As above, when blending, add:
3-4 cloves of garlic
¼ cup of white wine
reduce tomato juice by ¼ cup

This is for Michael:

Blue-Cheese Burgers

1.5 pounds (0.7 kg) ground chuck (80% lean)
2 teaspoons Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or other blue-veined cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Shape the meat into 4 equal-sized balls. Divide the cheese into 4 equal pieces.With your forefinger, make a dimple in the center of each piece of meat and insert a piece of cheese. Close the meat over the cheese. Gently press the meat intopatties of equal size and thickness, about 3/4 inch (19 mm) thick. Season both sides of the patties with pepper. Place the patties on a platter, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to grill.

Grill the patties over direct medium heat until the internal temperature reaches 160 F (71 C) for medium, 8 to 10 minutes (at least that's the same) turning once halfway through grilling time. During the last 30 seconds, grill the buns over direct medium heat until lightly toasted.

Serve the burgers hot on the toasted buns.

Notes: Do NOT smash the burgers with the back of the spatula while they are cooking. That only forces out the juice, and makes for hard, dry patties.
Do not worry about 80% lean meat. Much of the fat wil cook out. What doesn't, makes the burgers juicy, and more flavorful. Using more than 80% lean (95% lean) makes dry burgers.

From Weber's Big Book of Grilling by Jamie Purviance

Here's another:

Mini Grilled Blue Cheese Bites

1 small red onion
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh italian parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 slices rye bread, about 1/3 inch (8 mm)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 ounces (170 g) crumbled blue cheese, about 1.3 cups (300 ml)

Cut the onion in half through the stem, then cut into thin half circles. In a small bowl, mix the onion , vinegar, parsley and pepper.

Lightly brush one side of each slice of bread with the melted butter. Place four of the slices, buttered side down, on a work surface and evenly distribute the seasoned onions on top. Sprinkle the cheese on top, pressing the cheese down so it doesn't fall off the bread. Top with the four remaining bread slices, buttered side up.

Grill the sandwiches over direct medium heat until toasted, about 4 minutes, turning with a wide spatula once halfway through grilling time. Transfer the sandwiches to a cutting board. Using a long sharp knife, cut each sandwich into four pieces. Serve warm.

Makes 4 to 6 servings: appetizer

From Weber's Big Book of Grilling by Jamie Purviance

Notes on cooking styles and temperatures:

Direct means the food is over the heat. It is for smaller items that will cook quickly.

Indirect means the food is next to the heat. It is for larger items that cook slowly.

Burgers cook over direct heat, whole chickens roast over indirect heat.

Low means 300 F (150 C)
Medium means 350 F (180 C)
High is 500 to 550 F (260 to 290 C)

A-Type Rub

This is a real overachiever - It's good on virtually everything

2 parts each:
Dry Mustard
Granulated Onion
Paprika
Kosher Salt

1 part each:
Granulated Garlic
Ground Coriander (I use dry Parsley)
Ground Cumin
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

In a small bowl combine the ingredients. Press the rub into all sides of the meat and refrigerate for 1 hour prior to grilling to intensify flavors.

I use 1/2 cup as my part volume. That makes enough for almost a full year of grilling. Great on steaks, pork chops, chicken, nearly everything. This rub even helps hot dogs.

Roasted Garlic

1 Large head of garlic
1 teaspoon (5 ml) extra-virgin olive oil

Remove the loose, papery outer skin from the head of garlic. Cut about 1/2 inch (12 mm) off the top to expose the cloves. Place on an 8-inch (200 mm) square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and drizzle the olive oil over the top of the cloves. Fold up the foil sides and seal to make a packet, leaving a little room for the expansion of steam. Grill over indirect medium heat until the cloves are soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from the grill and allow to cool.

You can squeeze the roasted cloves on to hearty bread, just like butter (yum), or. . .

2 tablespoons (30 ml) unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons (10 ml) dijon mustard
1 teaspoon (5 ml) worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Squeeze the garlic from the individual cloves into a small bowl. Using the back of a fork, mash the roasted garlic together with the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Smear on grilled bread, or over a sizzling steak for an instant sauce.

The Ted

This burger is named after Ted Turner for two reasons: the man owns bison and you would have to be as crazy as he is to even try eating this.

Burger Ingredients:
one pound of bison burger
pinch garlic powder
couple drops of Worcestershire sauce
one egg yolk
pinch of Lowrey's seasoning
small handful of bread crumbs

Cheese ingredients:
1/3 cup feta
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preparation:
Combine cheese ingredients in bowl, microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. Let sit until ready.

Combine all burger ingredients in a bowl, be sure to mix thoroughly by hand. Ball into one large behemoth of a burger then flatten into a decent patty. Cook as preferred on skillet or grill. Serve on half loaf of bread. Top with cheese. Eat.