Roquefort salad

Garden Salad with Homemade Roquefort Dressing

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

This recipe appeared in the article “Retro-Grilling” by Dr. BBQ, Ray Lampe. Learn more about Dr. BBQ on his website here. Many people don’t realize that some salad dressings don’t come from a jar.  In the spirit of authenticity, I am calling for iceberg lettuce here, but if you substituted romaine or spinach, I won’t tell anyone.

Ingredients

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, pulled apart
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 small sweet onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt to taste
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and carrot and toss.  In another bowl, mix together the garlic, mustard, salt, and vinegar.  Whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream until the dressing is thick.  Stir in the cheese.  Serve at room temperature on the side of the salad.

chipotle butter

Chipotle Butter

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This recipe appears in the article “Sidekicks: Three Fun Barbecue Side Dishes from Mike
Stines” on the Burn! Blog. Read the story here.

This compound butter adds great flavor and a little heat to grilled sweet corn, a nice rib-eye, or a swordfish steak. It’s also a tasty addition to freshly-baked corn muffins.

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon lime zest
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons minced chipotle in adobo or 1 teaspoon ground chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Instructions

Combine the ingredients in a small mixing bowl until well mixed (leftover chipotle in adobo may be stored in the refrigerator for two weeks or frozen up to six months).

horseradish pickled beets

Horseradish Pickled Beets

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This recipe appears in the article “Sidekicks: Three Fun Barbecue Side Dishes from Mike
Stines” on the Burn! Blog. Read the story here.

For this recipe, you could use fresh beets and prepared horseradish, but by making your own horseradish you can control the heat level. Canned beets make this a breeze to prepare.

Ingredients

For the horseradish:
1 (7- to 10-inch) horseradish root
White vinegar

For the relish:
2 (16-ounce) cans whole beets
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sliced red onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup well-drained horseradish

Instructions

Peel the horseradish and cut it into chunks. Use a food processor to grate the horseradish, being careful not to inhale the fumes. Allow the grated horseradish to rest. The longer it rests, the hotter it will become. When the horseradish reaches the desired heat level, cover it with white vinegar and pulse to combine. Drain the horseradish and transfer it to a resealable container. The horseradish will keep, refrigerated, for two weeks or frozen up to six months.

Drain the beets, reserving the liquid. Quarter them or leave them whole. In a medium saucepan combine the beet liquid, sugar, vinegar, onion, lemon juice and salt. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Remove the liquid from the heat and cool; when cooled pour it over the beets. Add the horseradish and stir to combine. Allow the beets to marinate for at least eight hours or up to three days.

pork with carolinaesque rub

Pork with Carolina-esque Rub

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This recipe appeared in the article “Mike’s Carolina-style Pulled Pork in Mustard” on the Burn! Blog. Read the entire story here.

Serve with Ketchup-vinegar Barbecue Sauce, recipe here.

Ingredients

1 bone-in Boston butt (pork shoulder)

For the Rub:
1/4 cup sweet paprika
2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons granulated onion
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dry mustard

Instructions

Combine the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir well to incorporate. This seasoning blend will keep about 2 months if stored in an airtight container.

After rubbing the meat, wrap it with food film and refrigerate it for least eight hours. Bring the meat to room temperature while preparing the smoker.

For this cook, I used a Grill Dome ceramic cooker and a PartyQ draft controller from BBQ Guru. The Grill Dome is excellent in holding temperature while being very efficient in using fuel. The PartyQ is a battery-operated draft controller than will keep your smoker’s temperature exactly where you want it to be without constant monitoring. (Unlike other BBQ Guru controllers, the PartyQ does not monitor meat temperature.)

Fill the Grill Dome firebox three-quarters full with lump char wood and ignite. Add four chunks of apple wood and one cup drained apple wood chips; stabilize the temperature of the Grill Dome at 225 degrees F. Place the pork on the cooking grate over a drip pan.
Close the lid and smoke the pork for three hours. Spray the pork with apple juice and continuing cooking, spritzing every hour, until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F.

When the pork reaches an internal temperature of 190 degrees F., transfer the meat to a clean baking sheet. Tent it with aluminum foil and let it stand for about 30 minutes (the internal temperature will continue to rise to about 195 degrees F., the optimal temperature for pulled pork). When the pork is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-size pieces. The pork may be cooked one day ahead, shredded, and covered with foil or food film. Unless you like having food poisoning, we recommend refrigerating it.

Place the shredded pork into a large cast iron skillet and cook over medium heat until warmed (this will help remove any residual fat from the pulled pork). Add your favorite sauce and cook until bubbling. Pile the shredded pork onto the bottom of a hamburger bun, top with a healthy dollop of Carolina-style slaw and the second half of the bun.

For a sauce, you could use a Carolina-style mustard sauce or a ketchup-vinegar mixture, like like this recipe.

thai cucumber salad (600x399)

Thai-style Cucumber Salad

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

This recipe appears in the article “Sidekicks: Three Fun Barbecue Side Dishes from Mike
Stines” on the Burn! Blog. Read the story here.

Ingredients

2 cucumbers
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup water
2 scallions, bias-sliced (white and light green part only)
2 (or more) Thai chiles (or 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes)
2 slices red onion, minced
1 tablespoon minced Thai basil

Instructions

Peel the cucumbers, slice them in half length-wise, and use a melon baller or teaspoon to scrape out the seeds. Slice the cucumbers into 1/4-inch slices and place them in a colander. Sprinkle the cucumbers with one tablespoon of kosher salt and allow them to drain at least one hour. Salting the cucumbers will draw out some of the moisture, making for a crisper salad.

Meanwhile, stir together the remaining salt, rice wine vinegar, and water in a small bowl. Rinse the cucumbers and drain them well. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cucumbers, scallions, chilies and red onion. Add the rice wine marinade and stir it all to incorporate. Refrigerate the mixture for at least one hour. Garnish it with the basil and serve.