During the fresh peach season, a smoked peach cobbler is the perfect sweat treat after dinner.
In a large cast iron skillet, melt 2T of butter. In a bowl, toss 3 pounds of yellow peaches, pitted and sliced, with 1/4C of smoked simple syrup. Add to the skillet.
In another bowl, mix together 2/3C flour, 1t baking powder, 1/2t cinnamon, 1/4t salt.
In yet another bowl, cream 1/2C butter with 1/2C sugar, 1 egg and 1t vanilla. Fold in the flour mixture and spoon batter on top of peaches. Sprinkle the top with raw sugar.
Preheat your grill to 350F. Cook for about 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. If peaches are starting to look done, but the crust isn’t there yet, just place under a broiler for a few minutes to finish. Let sit for a few minutes so you don’t burn layers of skin off your mouth.
This version of mac & cheese uses 4 cheeses, including American, which gives it a unique, stringy and delicious consistency. For a heavier, main dish, substitute gnocchi for the macaroni.
3C coarsely grated cheddar cheese
2C shredded mozzarella cheese
1C finely grated Parmesan cheese
2C (7oz) shredded American cheese
2.5C whole milk
1t salt
1t paprika
1t mustard powder
1/2t chili powder
1/2t ground nutmeg
1/2t garlic powder
1# any dry pasta. I used cavetappi in the picture, or 32oz fresh gnocchi
1/2C heavy cream
Minced chives or parsley for serving
If using a dry pasta, prepare according to the package directions.
Mix together the cheddar, mozz and Parmesan, set aside.
In a large cast iron skillet, bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat. Add the salt, paprika, mustard powder, chili powder, nutmeg and garlic powder. Whisk and cook for about 2 muinutes.
Add in the cooked pasta or fresh gnocchi. Stir to coat and cook for about 2 minutes
Add the American cheese, stirring until it melts and slightly thickens the sauce. Add the heavy cream and half of the shredded cheese mixture. Stir until all the cheese melts.
Move the whole dish to your smoker set for the lowest setting. Smoke for 60 minutes, stirring every 15-20 minutes to effectively blend the smoke flavor throughout.
Top the dish with the remaining cheese and place under a broiler until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes, garnish and serve.
The above picture was taken during the smoking stage, before topping with the additional cheese and broiling the top.
When my daughter-in-law proclaims “This is one of the best things you’ve ever made!” and my wife eats the whole dish without feeding the dogs, this recipe becomes a keeper!
The original concept came out of a Costco Connections magazine where they featured Firefighter’s Recipes. I loved the presentation, so I had to give it a try. Improvised a bit, and didn’t smoke a darn thing, but it was really, really good.
Here’s what you’ll need to make these show stopping babies:
2 whole pineapples
1 bunch chopped cilantro
3 plumb tomatoes, chopped
2 mangoes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 jalapeños, minced
2 limes
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2C soy sauce
2T water
1t sesame oil
1/2C brown sugar
1/2C rice wine vinegar
2t ginger
8 garlic cloves, minced
2t flour
4T bourbon
2# boneless chicken breast
2C uncooked jasmine rice
Sesame sees & green onions, for garnish
For the Grilled Garlic & Herb Shrimp Skewers
4t paprika
4T minced garlic
4t Italian seasoning
4T lemon juice
1/2C olive oil
1t black pepper
4t dried basil
2T brown sugar
2# large shrimp, peeled and deveined
12 skewers
Start with the shrimp. Wisk together all the ingredients above until thoroughly blended. Drop the shrimp in a gallon Ziploc bac and pour in the mixture. Seal the bag and toss to evenly coat the shrimp with the marinade. Refrigerate at least 2 hours, tossing every 30 minutes.
Next make the Pineapple/Mango salsa. Cut each pineapple in half lengthwise, including the leafy top. I used an electric knife, which was still tough to get through the green. May try my Sawzall next time. Cut and scoop out the pineapple, leaving 4 hollowed-out pineapple boats. Chop the removed pineapple and set the boats aside. Mix the chopped pineapple, cilantro, tomatoes, mangoes, red onion and jalapeño. Squeeze the juice of one lime over the mixture and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate to let the flavors meld. I prepared the salsa about 2 hours before we planned to eat, wrapping the boats in plastic wrap and refrigerating as well.
Prepare the rice according to the package. For the jasmine rice I had, I used 2 cups of dry rice with 4 cups of water. Brought it to a boil uncovered, then reduced the heat to a low simmer and covered for 20 minutes, after which I removed from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before fluffing and serving.
While the rice is cooking, preheat your BBQ grill. Season the chicken breasts with whatever your heart desires. Grill for about 8 minutes/side, until the bird gets to 165F. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the Bourbon sauce mixture. Wisk together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, flour and Bourbon. When the chicken is done, chop into one inch chunks, and place in a cast iron frying pan or skillet. Over high heat, add the Bourbon sauce mix and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
While the chicken is cooking, skewer 4-6 shrimp together. When the chicken is about done in the pan, grill the shrimp for 2-3 minutes/side.
To assemble, layer a base of rice in each pineapple boat. Add a helping of chicken on one end and the pineapple/mango salsa on the other. Garnish with a slice of lime, green onions and sesame seeds. Lay 2 or 3 shrimp skewers across each and enjoy!
NOTE: the limiting factor in this dish is the size of the pineapple. you can only get so much in each boat. I ended up with enough rice, chicken and shrimp for another 1-2 meals, and enough pineapple/mango salsa for a week! That’s a good thing!
Incredibly easy to make, and tasty as all get out! Just take a boneless pork butt and cube it into 1″ pieces. Season and coat well with your favorite pork rub. I used Traeger Pork & Poultry rub. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, overnight if you are that organized.
When ready to cook, skewer the cubes onto individual sticks. The pictures above represent 6oz of meat on each stick. Smoke at the lowest setting on your grill (165F is what I use) for 2 hours. Turn the heat up to 250 and cook until IT gets to 190F (about another 60-90 minutes). Sear over high direct heat for 1 minute/side. After the 4 minute sear, brush with your favorite BBQ sauce or two, and return to the smoker for another 10-15 minutes to tighten up the sauce.
Review from my son: “Crispy and tasty on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside!” These can be served as an appetizer, or as your main dish. They are surprisingly good!
Went fishing on Lake Michigan in Traverse City last summer. Caught our limit in under 2 hours. Now what the heck do you do with all this Trout? Smoke it and make a dip!
Start with about 2# of skin on Trout fillets. Brine overnight with 1/4C kosher salt, 1/2C brown sugar, 2T soy sauce, 1T black pepper.
Smoke at 165 for 4 hours. Turn grill up to 225 and cook another 30 minutes or until you get to 140F internal. Remove skin from fillets and mix in with 8oz sour cream, 8oz cream cheese, 2 garlic cloves, 1T fresh parsley, 2T fresh dill, 1T fresh chives, salt & pepper to taste. I actually took the cream cheese and seasoned it with garlic powder, onion powder, salt & pepper and smoked on it’s foil for the last hour with the trout.
Refrigerate and let the flavors meld. Will be best the second day.
Peeling off the silver skin on the back of the ribs was super easy. Got it started between ribs and grabbed it with a paper towel. Peeled off in one long sheet. Seasoned one rack with Traeger Prime Rib Rub, the other with a mix of salt, pepper and garlic. Both were very good and not noticeably different in taste. The Traeger rub gave the rack a bit more color.
Since these are leaner than pork ribs, they don’t take quite as long on the grill. A tweak to the 3-2-1 method works great. Smoked at 225F for 2 hours.
Wrapped in foil with squeezable Parkay (4T), honey(2T) and Worcestershire sauce(2T).
Finished on the grill for about an hour, until the IT got to 200F.
Peel and chop the mango. Place in sauce pan with your favorite BBQ sauce and mango juice. Clean and seed Habanero Peppers. No need to chop up, just add to the sauce pan.
Bring mix to a simmer and let cook for about an hour, or until the mango is soft. Move mixture to blender and puree until reasonably smooth. Return to the stove and simmer another 30 minutes to meld flavors.
Mango Brined Chicken
Mix 64oz (less 3/4C for above) of Mango juice with 1/2C Kosher salt. Soak chicken in brine for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Season chicken with your favorite rub, smoke for 30 minutes, finish over direct heat. Sauce in the last 2 minutes, 1 minute/side.
I love my traditional Hogsbreath BBQ sauce, but wanted to find a sweeter sauce for a lasagna I was making. This worked great!
3/4C dark brown sugar
1C cider vinegar
1/2C molasses
1/2C hot honey
1/2C Worcestershire
4T dark rum
4T yellow mustarard
2T liquid smoke
2T chili powder
1T black pepper
1T garlic powder
2t ground allspice
1/2t ground cloves
8C ketchup
Combine everything except ketchup in a large pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until everything is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Stir in ketchup and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes uncovered. Makes about 10 cups
So I’m watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Guy walks into some joint where the specialty of the house is BBQ lasagna. So you know I’ve got to give this a try.
The lasagna prepared on the show uses pulled pork, chicken and spicy sausage, though I would suggest any combination of meats would work. Great idea on how to recreate leftovers! For this platter, I used the following:
Shredded cheese- I used a mix of Monterey jack/cheddar and mozzarella, about 4#
Though I didn’t use it, some Italian seasoning would probably be good sprinkled throughout
For this beast, I had a 12×17″ pan. Spread a light layer of BBQ sauce on the bottom, followed by a layer of noodles, pulled pork, cheese and more BBQ sauce. Repeat with a layer of noodles, pulled chicken, cheese and BBQ sauce. Add a third layer of noodles, andouille sausage, cheese and BBQ sauce. Top with layer of noodles, cheese and a BBQ sauce drizzle. Or, if you are preparing your lasagna for a bunch of guys going to Canada in 2 weeks, you can try your artistic skills out on a Maple leaf.
Smoke for 30 minutes, then cover and bake at 350 for about 90 minutes. Let set for 10 and enjoy!
When you just have to have an Old Fashioned, but you run out of simple syrup, make your own! Start with 4C of sugar. Dissolve in 2C hot water. Place on smoker at lowest setting for 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so.
