Orang Zest Pulled Pork on Maple Plank

In the winter, I'm all about citrus. Everything from my Mulled Wine to my Hefeweizens have orange sections floatin' around in 'em and lemon or lime zest sneak in or on top of all my recipes. It also seems that I go through about a case of the Cutie tangerines once a week and I get giddy at the sight of really nice grapefruits at the market.  If I were an Otter Pop, I would be Sir Isaac Lime... I think you get the point about how much I love citrus.

When the idea of a Planked Pulled Pork Sandwich was presented to me, I said "Ooooh, with orange barbecue sauce. Let's do it."  So, I off I went to the store to get supplies, but I first had to do a bit of research.  What part of the pig does the pulled pork come from... the correct answer is it depends on where you are from. Like the prefect pork rib, there is much debate over how to get to the perfect pulled pork. Some prefer to use the pork butt, while others swear the only way to achieve perfection is with the shoulder.  I can't say that I have a strong opinion either way, so I went with the shoulder because pork butt cuts usually come in 5 lbs. parcels or more. I was only feeding two people.
 
Ok, off to the store... the shopping list included:

Puller Pork 

1 Outdoor Gourmet Large Maple Plank

2 1/2 lb Pork Front Shoulder

1 19 oz bottle of North Idaho's Backhills Barbecue Sauce: Sweet and Sour

The Zest of 2 Oranges

Cabbage Slaw

4 cups cabbage (red or green)

1 red onion, thinly sliced 

1/2 cup sweet pickle chips

1/4 cup Rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Taylor-Made Whole Wheat Hoagie Roll 

(Store-bought bread or rolls will work splendidly- I just have a talented baker on staff, so why not have fresh-baked bread?)

1 cups all purpose white bread flour

3 cups Mountain Wheat Bronze Chief Traditional Whole Wheat made from hard red spring wheat.

1 Tbs. Yeast (We were doing this at 5,000 ft. so if you higher or lower use more or less.

2 tbs. fine sea salt

1 1/2 cups warm water

First: Grab your crock pot, pork and BBQ Sauce. I used North Idaho's Backhills Barbecue Sauce- not only am I a sucker for anything local, but the name got me too. We are pretty backhills 'round these parts and this sauce was everything one would want out of a BBQ Sauce. I just added a healthy bit of orange zest to keep to my citrus-y theme. I digress... anyway! Set your meat in the crock pot, smother with BBQ sauce, set your crock pot to low and forget about it for the next 4-5 hours.

 

Note: Depending on the crock-iness of your crock pot, this may take more or less time. You want your pork cooked, but not falling. That will come when you finish it on the plank.

Next: Slice and dice your cabbage slaw makings, add orange juice and vinegar, and allow to mull in the fridge. About this time would be a good opportunity to get your Outdoor Gourmet Maple Grilling Plank soaking in water and check to see if you have charcoal or propane.

Then: The hoagie roll making... Our Outdoor Gourmet Baker is a Montana native and prefers to use wheat from Montana Wheat. www.wheatmontana.com

1. In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water add. 
2. Beat 4 cups flour and salt until smooth. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.
3. Turn onto a floured board or stone. Knead until smooth and elastic for about 6-8 minutes.
4. Place in a greased bowl turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
5. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured board, divide into 18 pieces.
6. Shape into an oval. Place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheets.
7. With scissors cut a 1/4-inch slash across the top of each. Cover and let rise 20 minutes.
8. Bake at 400° for 13-18 minutes until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Next: Preheat grill to medium-low. Place plank on grill then after 5 minutes, flip the plank. This is especially good to do when working with the hardwoods because it help prevent cupping.
Place pork shoulder on plank and close lid. Allow to smoke in grill for 15 to 20 minutes. Have a spray bottle handy in case the plank catches fire.

Finally: By this time, the shoulder should have a nice, dark crust.  Remove plank and pork shoulder from grill and let pork rest for 10 minutes. Place cooling pork in bowl and "pull" with forks. This is why they call it pulled pork- the meat should easily pull away into nice shredded meat.  Chill over night or serve hot! Enjoy!

Welcome to your weekend. -KB

The Christmas Prime Rib

So, I just stirred from my Christmas food coma. My family had our traditional Christmas celebration, which entails making and eating a bunch of food and playing Balderdash. It’s festive and delicious.

Dad, along with being beloved patron of the house (and the winner of yet another round of Balderdash), holds the honorary title of Grand Master Planker. This holiday season, he took planking to a place we have never taken it before-

The Christmas Prime Rib

This entry isn’t so much a guest blog or a recipe- more a holiday narrative on the finer points of planking the big stuff.

Ingredients

Cedar Baking Plank- 13/16” thick, soaked overnight.

10 lb. Prime Rib with nice marbling

“A lot of Garlic.” At least a bulb- cloves whole and crushed.

Kosher Salt and fresh cracked Pepper.

The Narrative...

“This was no ordinary plank. This was one of those big, thick, baking planks we made to play around with in the oven. I soaked three of them overnight, just in case we needed to switch them out, because this thing was going to take a while. “

The cut of meat in question was a bone-in, Rib Eye 10 pounder. Just a beautiful cut of meat!

“I rubbed the roast with salt and pepper, then stuffed whole garlic cloves between the fat seam and the meat. If I would have had fresh rosemary, I would've used that too, but there wasn't any around.

Then I heated up the grill and put the plank on there for three, maybe four minutes on one side at 350°, then flipped it. This helps it not cup, even though cedar isn’t as bad about cupping as the hardwoods- it’s more dimensionally stable.

The roast went on the plank and this was the tricky part- the sear.  I got the grill up to 550°, then put the back two rows (on a propane grill) of flames down to the lowest flame possible- if I had it to do over again, I would have turned them off- while the front was still on medium-high. By the end of my 30 minute sear period, my plank was on fire. This actually seared the roast very nicely and helped the overall color, but if I wouldn’t have been on it with a squirt bottle, we would have had problems. When you are cooking something that throws a lot of grease combined with high temps, you better be patrolling it, ‘cause your gonna catch fire.

Anyway, I kept it at 220°-240° for the rest of the cooking time. I even had a little trouble keepin’ it that low. When you’re cooking low and slow, you only need to check it once every 30 minutes or so, but for that first half hour- Whoo! I can’t say it enough, you better be hanging out around the grill with H2O close at hand.

This prime rib took 4.5 hours, which comes out to be 27 minutes per pound for Medium Rare, even with the sear time. In round numbers, plan around 30 minutes per pound, or if you are a medium-well, well done-type of person, allow more time.

Pulled it at 125°, then it rested covered with foil for 15 minutes. Didn't want to dry it out. With prime rib, it’s ok to buy a big roast. When it comes to left overs, you can’t beat prime rib. “

While Dad manned the grill, family and guests alike were put to work chopping and prepping. I took charge of the mulled wine, which needed many, many tests to get just right.

Many hands make light work and all that...

I mulled it over several times with my Mulled Wine.

I also made some quick horseradish sauce using extra hot horseradish and some thick Greek yoghurt. 

Horseradish- must when it comes to prime rib.

Neighbors kept popping by with baked goodies and good cheer!

The Prime Rib was just that- Prime! Hope your holidays were as happy as ours.  Good cheer from our family to yours.  Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Northwest Hunters, Gatherers, and Grillers

The Northwest has a very distinct hunter / gatherer-type culture. About the same time I was out rummaging around for Chanterelles (gathering), there was mass exodus of the "men folk"- and a couple "women folk" here and there- to elk camp (hunting). Now they're back with fresh, wild game to help keep me fat and happy for winter.

Whether you hunt or benefit from friends that hunt, fresh, wild game is a total score. Not only is it delicious, but it's super-healthy. Wild game harvested in the fall is at it's peak in nutritional value- the game has spent all spring and summer following the bloom of forbes, grasses and shrubs. This migratory behavior combined with all that natural feed results in lean, nutrient-rich meat.

Elk is a very dark, nearly fat-less meat. No marbling can be found in these beautiful steaks.

We were lucky enough to have some friends gift us with some top notch elk steaks. So, this week's recipe is simply Planked Elk Steaks on a Winter-Greens Salad.

Ingredients

2 Grilling Planks, soaked

2 Elk Steaks- whichever cut you have/prefer

Fresh cracked black pepper and coarse sea salt to taste

(I used the following ingredients for the Winter-Greens Salad, but really anything you have in fridge would be great.)

Petit Oak Lettuce (from the Costco Artisan Petite Lettuce Variety Pack)

Parmigianino Reggiano (A nice, crystalline one)

Red Onion

Balsamic Vinaigrette: 

        - extra virgin olive oil

        - balsamic vinegar

        - crushed red pepper flakes

        - blue agave

        - green pepper corn

Winter Green Salad Makings

Balsamic Vinaigrette

First: Soak Cedar Planks for an hour or more. For these steaks, I used 7 x 4 (personal size) planks. Preheat grill to high (500°) and rub elk steaks with salt and pepper. 

Next: Sear steaks for 1 minute on each side, then turn grill down to medium heat (300°). Transfer steaks onto soaked cedar planks and put planks on grill. Close lid and allow planks to smolder and smoke- this is how the meat will be infused with flavor.

For medium-rare steaks, plank elk for about 8 minutes.  Because wild game is so lean, it’s best to give it a quick sear, then let it go low and slow. The soaked planks protect the meat from drying out.

Note- if the planks catch fire, don’t panic! Just spray a little water on the flame up and keep on planking or, as I did with particular plank fire... 

Snowy fire control

Finally: Carefully remove steaks from grill, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Then slice and serve on atop your green salad. Enjoy!

After resting, slice thinly steak to top salad.  

I paired this entree with the Sawtooth 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which is an Idaho-grown and produced wine. This Snake River Valley AVA wine has classic Cab Sauv notes with round, dark fruit flavors with a nice peppery finish that went oh-so-well with my planked elk steak. For more information on Sawtooth's wines, check out this link: Sawtooth Winery.

Grown, crushed, fermented, racked, and bottled here in the Gem State. 

The next day, I had some leftovers, so I added the salad and steak to organic whole wheat sourdough bread from the Pine Street Bakery here in Sandpoint. A little stone ground mustard, avocado, tomato and there's lunch! You could also make it as a steak lunch wrap.  Too bad there wasn't any wine left over.  Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Leftovers done right!

IPA Beer Infused Cedar Plank Chicken

Note about the guest bloggers- Curtis and Liz Chism

Curtis and Liz Chism live in San Diego, CA and were recently married. Curtis is a construction professional and Liz is a student and sign language interpreter. Curtis enjoys grilling and writing and Liz loves cooking and photography; together they have teamed up to share their grilling and cooking tips.   Thanks Curtis and Liz!

December usually means the grill is packed away and forgotten until spring, but not so here in San Diego, CA, where we just experienced another 80 degree day – perfect grilling weather! After grilling with Outdoor Gourmet Cedar Grilling Planks for the first time, we fell in love with them! Our recipe was a delicious dry rub chicken with a __ glaze that we’ve used numerous times both on the grill and in the oven. The recipe can be found at For the Love of Cooking

Outdoor Gourmet cedar plank soaking in Lagunuitas IPA

Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken Breasts grilled on IPA Beer Infused Cedar Plank

Ingredients:
1 5x11" Cedar Grilling Plank from Wildwood Grilling Outlet

4 boneless and skinless chicken breasts

2 tsp garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika

Pinch of crushed red pepper

Cooking spray

6 tbsp of honey

3 tsp cider vinegar

Many traditional plank instructions call for soaking the Western Red Cedar plank in water for 1-2 hours. We opted to soak the plank in beer and chose Lagunitas Brewing Co India Pale Ale (IPA) for about 3 ½ hours, which we were planning on pairing with the chicken. Make sure to add some weight to the plank to keep the plank submerged (such as the empty beer bottle, or fill the bottle with water for additional weight). The smoking cedar wood and IPA beer added amazing complexity to an already savory chicken dish.

Chicken breasts seared and placed on the cedar plank to finish cooking

Mix the spices together in a bowl to create the dry rub, and then rub the thawed breasts with the mixture (garlic and chili powder, salt, cumin paprika, red pepper). Mix the honey and cider vinegar together to make the glaze. Now you’re ready to start grilling! Remove the plank from the beer, place it on the grill, pre-heat the grill to about 350 degrees, and allow enough time for the plank to warm up (5-10 minutes).

Beer is oozing from the cedar plank after a few minutes of cooking

Place the chicken directly on the grill to sear it for 1-2 minutes on high heat on both sides to help lock in the moisture and give it that classic grilled appearance. We basted the plank with more beer to add a little more flavor just before placing the chicken on the plank. Just be careful not to let too much beer spill off the plank or the grill will start flaming up. Spray some PAM or lightly apply olive oil to prevent the meat from sticking to the plank. Once the chicken is seared, remove the chicken from the grill and place it on the plank, close the lid and let it cook for an appropriate amount of time (15-20 minutes). 

The Barefoot Grill Master

A few minutes before removing the chicken from the plank, baste the chicken with the honey/vinegar glaze and allow it to finish off the chicken. Remove from the plank and it’s ready to serve! To complete this delectable meal, serve up a side salad, quinoa, and steamed broccoli. And of course pair the dish with the same beer used for soaking the plank – Lagunitas IPA. 

Chicken is fully cooked, glazed and ready to serve!

Prepared dish with chicken, quinoa, broccoli and carrot peel and mint garnish

SADDSD

In the Fall, I get all jazzed about canning, preserving, dehydrating, jamming, jarring, and yoga…  then the months roll by and about the time I'm pretty sick of fruit leather and about done with sitar music, the season flips. And just in time- I was about to loose my head of steam for the aforementioned list.

This gumption loss is a prime example of my self-diagnosed SADDSD- Seasonal Attention Deficit Disorder Syndrome Disease. According to everyone expect me, getting bored with ingredients and pastimes isn’t a "real ailment," therefore is not a good reason to skip work to go snowboarding. I disagree.  How does anyone expect me to do the whole 9 to 5 thing when I live here at Schweitzer, Idaho, Pacific Northwest, USA. The lifts open at 9 a.m. for Pete's sake.

Again, not bragging, but: The view from my porch at 6:48 a.m.

Just about when I’ve had enough of the current season’s fare, a solstice or an equinox rolls around to save the day with new ways to play outside and a whole new, colorful food pallet. Good bye pears, hello citrus. Auf Wiedersehen Autumnal Seasonal bier, Hallo Jubleale.

Life in the mountains.

So, this winter, my new interests include: Bread baking, planking spiced meats in blizzards, eating large quantities of tangerines, grapefruits, and various winter greens. Oh, and skiing/snowboarding one hundred days. Nine down, ninety-one to go.

Taylor-made Whole Wheat high-elevation Bread.

 So here is a festive, wintery, Christmas-Eve-Feast-worthy dish, made on a plank!

I'm fairly certain that Santa Clause would prefer this to cookies and milk.

Ingredients

1 rack of lamb

1 Outdoor Gourmet Hickory Grilling Plank, soaked over night (the hardwoods need to soak longer than the cedar.)

Rub and/or marinade of your choice.

I used...

   - pinch of coarsely ground salt and pepper
   - fresh ginger, minced
   - fresh rosemary, minced
   - a splash of soy sauce
   - 2 TBS. honey
   - 3 TBS. fresh lime juice
   - one hot pepper, minced

First: Preheat grill to high heat. Pat rack of lamb dry, wrap foil around exposed portion of bone to prevent unattractive burning to the tips. Rub with salt and pepper. Mix remaining ingredients to brush on meat.

Next: Sear rack on grill for about 45 seconds on each side, then turn heat to low. Place soaked plank on grill and place seared rack on plank. Bush soy, honey, ginger, lime mixture on the meat and cover with foil to retain moisture in the meat.

Then: Let roast on plank for 10 minutes or internal temperature is 120 for rare meat. Remove carefully from grill and let juices set for 5 minuets.

Finally: Remove foil and enjoy!

Welcome to your weekend! -KB

The Outdoor Gourmet Basics

It recently occurred to me that I have neglected the basics- what does Outdoor Gourmet produce and how the heck do you use ‘em? So, here is a rather hodgepodge explanation of each of our sustainably produced products.

Our mainstay and best-selling product is the classic Western Red Cedar Grilling Plank, so let’s start there…

Western Red Cedar Grilling Planks (accept no substitutes) -

Plank cooking is an indirect heat method of grilling which uses a wet, relatively thin piece of wood to infuse food with moisture and flavor, while protecting the food from direct heat. This method of cooking is primarily done on the grill, but you can use planks in the oven or even the microwave. 

The first thing you have to do is soak your plank- an hour or two prior to grilling will work just fine, but a longer soak time permits the plank to absorb more moisture. This allows for more cedar-infused water vapor to be released during the grilling process.

Depending on what size of plank you have, soaking can be the most difficult part of the process, as most kitchens are equipped with nothing larger than a 13 x 9 Pyrex baking pan.

Larger soaking receptacles that most people have available include…

    -Kitchen sink, freshly cleaned

    -Cooler

    -5 gallon bucket with lid

    - Food Service Container 

Once you have your soaking vessel, make sure your plank(s) remain submerged. This may require you to weight it down. Feel free to be creative with this step. 

Next, place you food on plank and close grill lid and let cook for recommended time. No flipping, turning, or tweeking is needed. It’s that easy.

So, What is plank-able? Well, I have found that you can plank just about anything from brisket to brie, but the classic pairing is cedar and salmon.

Hardwood Grilling Planks 

We also produce planks in four other “flavors,” which are actually hardwood species, but for simplicities sake, we’ll call ‘em flavors.

Each wood type has it’s own, distinct flavor profile. In order from most robust to most delicate- 

Cedar: Spicy, fragrant, and full-bodied

Hickory: Smoky and savory

Cherry: Subtly and fruity

Maple: Soft, round, and slightly sweet, like maple syrup 

Alder: Delicate and earthy

These planks work just like the cedar planks, except for a slightly longer soak time- if you can remember, overnight is best.

Skewers

Have you ever put a mushroom on a bamboo skewer and then tried to flip it… turn, turn, turn. You’re flipping, but the mushroom is not. Well, let the mushroom flip you off no more. Our skewers are flat. Just give them a quick soak in water before you use them and you’ll never go back to this round skewer nonsense again!

Outdoor Gourmet Fromagier Line

Your standard wheel of semi-soft cheese is 5 inches in diameter. Our 7 x 7 Maple or Cedar Outdoor Gourmet Fromagier line give you a little wiggle (and dribble) room on either side. These Cedar and Maple cheeseboards add delicate, smoky flavor to Brie, Camenbert, Gouda, Mimolette... I could go on and on. They also work wonderfully on fruit and make for a beautiful presentation.

Cedar Grilling Wraps 

Soak our paper-thin 8 x 8 cedar grilling wraps in water, beer, wine, or anything that you want your delicate food to taste like and blam- you're a wrap star. These cedar papers protect the most delicate of foods from scorching on the grill. We even include all-natural fiber twine to tie up all loose the loose ends.

And that’s a wrap! Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Maple Planked Brie

Note about the guest blogger- Veronica Culver

Veronica Culver is a marketing professional in the high tech industry by day, and by night she is the author, photographer, chief cook and bottle washer for the innovative food blog The Enchanted Cook. She is an "eclectic eater" and loves to share her recipes, food and travel experiences.

Mmmm, warm melty brie crusted with sliced almonds and chewy dried cranberries, drizzled with honey...what a delicious small plate! Just perfect for the holidays, or any time of the year.

Imagine a cold snowy day, a warm crackling fire blazing away in the fireplace and everyone gathered around chatting after a long day of skiing enjoying this melted Brie with a glass of Chardonnay before dinner. Sounds like fun to me!

Outdoor Gourmet, environmentally-conscious maker of gourmet grilling planks made from reclaimed wood, was kind enough to send me a sample pack of some of their items to try. Their Fromagier Line of planks really caught my eye.

 

Along with the instructions they included great serving suggestions:

Just soak the plank submerged in water for at least an hour before using.

After your plank has soaked for an hour, it's ready for use.

Maple Planked Brie

Outdoor Grill 400 degrees F
Serves 4-6 as an appetizer


Ingredients:

1 7-inch x 7-inch Outdoor Gourmet Maple Plank, pre-soaked in water

1 wedge Brie cheese (I used Supreme French Brie)

2 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons sliced almonds

2 Tablespoons dried cranberries

Place the wedge of Brie in the center of the plank. Drizzle with half of the honey, then arrange slices of almonds on top and press on the sides. Sprinkle with cranberries and drizzle with remaining honey.

Place plank with Brie directly on grill and close the lid. Check brie after a few minutes to see if it is melted. I used a particularly soft and creamy Brie, so it only took about 5 minutes or so. Once melted, remove from grill and serve immediately with slices of French baguette and/or crackers.

I love companies like Outdoor Gourmet that are environmentally responsible. They source their raw material in a way that respects the environment. They don't cut down any trees; instead, they recycle seconds (off grade lumber).