Grub Hacker

Spit Roasted Fireplace Beef

What better way to spend a lazy cold Sunday then around a fire, roasting a nice tip roast on the spit.  This was the first attempt at my new fireplace rotisserie from spit jack and I am very pleased and impressed with the results.  This thing works great and I was amazed by how quiet it was when running.   If you have the fireplace of a decent size that could support this I would highly recommend it as it is well built, ultra quiet and it spun out some great beef.  One great thing that I learned while using the spit was that there was virtually zero roasting meat smell in the house.  After I had already ate it has dawned on me that since the fire was burning it was pulling all the odors up the chimney much like a hood on a stove would.  This is good or bad depending on your level of beef fragrance you enjoy in your house.

We built a fire and allowed it to burn for about 1-1.5 hours of time before adding the meat to the spit.  This creates charcoal which will help get temperatures to roasting level.  We seasoned the roast with pepper and some sea salt and threw it on the spit.

Cooking along nicely

Basted during final 1/2 hour of cooking with red wine, duck fat and rosemary

Finished and ready to eat!

Seth

Quail with Winter Black Truffles, thyme and Riesling

After a wonderful trip to Fox & Obel in Chicago today we picked up some amazing things including these quail and some fresh winter black truffles and duck fat.  I designed this recipe to be simple yet powerful in its flavors with utmost respect and to never overpower the flavors of the quail.

Pan Fried Quail with black truffles, thyme and Riesling

The deg-lacing of the pan with German Riesling sounds a bit odd considering the earthy powers of the quail, thyme and black truffles. The combo does pairs well and adds a slightly sweet dimension to the already earthy flavors of the truffle, thyme and duck fat.

Quail Seasoning

8 Quail
2 TBS duck fat
1 TBS minced Thyme
.02 -1/4 oz fresh black winter truffles
1 tsp fleur de sel
1/2 tsp black petter

Finley chop black truffles and thyme.
Microwave duck fat in small bowl for 1 minute or until just melted
mix all ingredients into duck fat

Clean and pat dry Quail

Eye your total liquid that you just made and realize you need to save 1/4 of it.

With the remaining 3/4 liquid rub equally under the skin of the quail breasts.

Cooking the Quail

Heat 2-3 TBS Duck fat over MedHI heat

cook 4-5 minutes each side until brown and crispy
remove and tent with foil

Riesling Quail Reduction Sauce

1/4 cup German Gewurztraminer or Riesling
Remaining duck, thyme and truffles from first step
1/8tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

drain remaining oil from saute pan used to cook quail
put pan back on MedHI heat until lightly smoking
pour wine in pan and scrape to loosen fond and reduce to slightly thickened
turn off heat and stir remaining mixture of duck fat thyme and truffles
stir in salt and pepper

Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon, NEVER A WHISK!!!!!! 

You should not whisk your wine sauces as whisking creates smaller wine molecules yet leaves fat molecules large and with the dominate flavor profile in your finished sauce.  A wine and butter sauce that has been whisked will no doubt leave a predominate butter flavor wish very little signs of the wine. If you stir your sauces with a spoon vs a whisk it allows the wine molecules to stay in proportionate size to fat molecules thus creating balanced wine and butter flavors.

Drizzle sauce over each quail and serve with a good roasted root vegetable

Fireplace BBQ Pit

I have always had the dream of spit roasting a small animal over my fireplace in the winter, with the smell of oak and roasting meat filling the house.  This Christmas my dream has came true in the form of a spitjack fireplace rotisserie.  I have unboxed her last night and will be taking it for a trial run either tomorrow or Monday.

Fireplace model

Seth

Cheap Sous Vide Machine built on a budget

I recently received a copy of Thomas Keller's new book "Under Pressure" on Sous Vide cooking. The general concept of a trapped, pressurized cooking bag with zero loss of liquids really blew my mind.  The thing that fascinates me with Sous Vide cooking is the lack of any resemblance to normal cooking technique where eyes, ears and taste are used as your primary indicators of progress.  The sinister idea of cooking something compressed in a bag with zero moisture loss and having to only use small amounts of spices really forced me to think in different directions in my cooking and preparation ways and really opened my mind to new ideas on how to use classical cooking techniques. 

!New is Exciting!

This style of cooking is not for all and requires significant amounts of time and some odd materials. Surely you can do something even cheaper than this but remember that Sous Vide cooking is all about consistency and timing and super cheap might not be the way to go due to lack of consistency.  Seeing that the full blown recirculator from polyscience is around a thousand dollars I set off to make something that could achieve a 1-3 degree temperature difference for under 150 dollars.  This project came in at right around 130

Budget Sous-Vide Machine

• 27 Quart or similar size Crock Pot/Roaster 29.99 Walmart
• Ranco Temperature controller 99.99- Temperature Probe
• Small Aquarium Air Pump 9.99
• 3 foot Aquarium hosing .99
• 1 foot section of silicon tubing - Home Depot 5.00
• Zip Ties
• Aluminum Foi
• Stone or Pestle from your Mortar and Pestle

The first step is covering the temperature controllers sensor with the silicon tubing as this model is not water proof.  In order to lossen up the silicon tubing, boil it in water for a minute or two.  Slip the silicon tubing over the temperature probe and leave 1/2" tubing at the end of the probe.  Fold tube over and zip tie to seal.

Fill Crockpot/Roaster up with warm water and plug the Crockpot into the temperature controller. 
Situate the controller probe so its even in the center of the water column.  Zip tie this to the rack if you have one

Attach air hose to air pump and place end in center of roaster and also zip tie to rack to hold down.  You want an even air bubbling in the center, this will keep the water moving at a consistent temp.

New Kingsford Competition Brand Charcoal

I tried this charcoal once last year on the competition circuit and it cooked as normal. I will reserve my judgment until further testings....

Press Release

Kingsford Press release KINGSFORD BRINGS THE COMPETITIVE EDGE HOME WITH HIGH-HEAT BRIQUETS Latest Product from America’s #1 Charcoal Brand Allows Backyard Barbecuers to Grill Like Experts OAKLAND, Calif. (Embargoed until Jan. 1, 2009) – Today the Kingsford Products Company brings tantalizing cook-off quality home with a charcoal briquet that combines convenience, high heat and long burn times. From grilling to searing to slow cooking, 100 percent natural Kingsford® Competition Briquets are designed for fast lighting, too. The briquet once ruled on the cook-off circuit, where tangy scents linger and competition sizzles, but lately, chefs have shifted to using lump charcoal instead, to achieve the high heat necessary to bring home a trophy. Now Kingsford offers the best of both worlds. “These new briquets are going to give folks at home the versatility and quality I get at competitions without the expensive equipment,” said Chris Lilly, owner of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala., and six-time Memphis in May world champion. “The briquet form is going to give you a much easier time controlling the hot burn compared to traditional lump charcoal.” Kingsford® Competition Briquets will help take grilling to a new level – whether it’s a quick meal fired up for a family of four or championship cuisine cooked low and slow overnight to impress the judges on the barbecue competition circuit. Made with all-natural ingredients for an authentic barbecue flavor, Kingsford® Competition Briquets allow the temperature flexibility needed for advanced cooking methods including grilling, searing and slow cooking. To showcase the versatility of Kingsford® Competition Briquets, Lilly has created these recipes for home cooks: • Peppered Ahi Tuna with Cantaloupe & Pineapple Salsa – Utilize high heat by searing fresh tuna steaks to perfection • Beer-Basted Pulled Pork Sliders – Get low and slow with competition-worthy pulled pork in bite-sized form • Apple Cider Ribs – Use direct and indirect grilling methods to prepare baby back ribs with a tasty twist Kingsford® Competition Briquets light more quickly than traditional charcoal briquets with a light-to-cook time of approximately 14 minutes. Temperature is controlled by arranging the briquets and adjusting the vents according to the cooking method and food choices. Lilly’s instructional videos are available on www.Kingsford.com along with how-to’s for advanced grilling techniques and information about Kingsford® Competition Briquets. “We want the home chef to knock the socks off their families and friends with competition-quality barbecue,” said Ryan Elvers, Kingsford marketing manager. “Now anyone can grill like an expert at the next backyard barbecue.” As with all Kingsford® charcoal products, Kingsford® Competition Briquets are manufactured in an environmentally-conscious way: Wood waste is converted into useful fuels, combustion gases generate heat for use in production and process water is contained to be reused for the next batch of charcoal. Because of their all-natural ingredients, Kingsford® Competition Briquets leave less ash than traditional charcoal. Kingsford® Competition Briquets will ship to grocery, mass, club and home improvement retailers in January 2009 and will be widely available by April 1, 2009. The new briquets are available in a 12-lb bag (lasts the same as 14-lb original) for the approximate retail value of $9.49 and two 16.5-lb bags (lasts the same as two 21-lb original) for the approximate retail value of $16.99. For more information about new Kingsford® Competition Briquets, charcoal grilling recipes and tips, visit Kingsford.com.