Alder Planked Halibut with Horseradish Crumb Topping

Wild Halibut Season it here!  Let's plank some!

Alder Planked Halibut with Horseradish Crumb Topping

Ingredients:

1 Outdoor Gourmet Alder Grilling Plank

1 Wild Halibut Fillet, Fresh

4 Tablespoons Parsley, chopped

1 ½ cups Bread Crumbs

2 Tablespoons Butter

3 Tablespoons horseradish, peeled + chopped

First: Soak Outdoor Gourmet Alder Grilling Plank in water for at least an hour, but longer is better. 

 

Chop parsley and peel Horseradish root- for this step I highly recommend some sort of eye protection and possibly something to cover your nose and mouth… I used goggles and a bandana. 

 

Then: Turn on the broiler. While it’s heating up, whir bread crumbs, butter, parsley, and horseradish together in a food processor.

 **I wore my goggles for this step too. Raw horseradish is strong!! Not to worry though- some of the sharpness calms down when horseradish is cooked. 

Place your halibut fillet on the soaked Alder plank, then cover the exposed part of the plank with foil to protect it from the broiler. 

 

Next: Pack your horseradish breadcrumb mixture atop the halibut fillet and place under boiler for 2 minute to brown the crumbs.

 

Preheat: Grill for 350-400°. Remove halibut from under broiler, discard foil and place plank and halibut with pre-browned crumbs onto grill and close the lid. 

Allow the plank to smoke and smolder until the fish is down to your liking. Cooking times with vary depending on the sizes of your halibut fillet. 

Finally: Carefully remove from grill, serve with a springy salad and enjoy!

Welcome to Your Weekend! -KB

Oven-Planked Cranberry Crusted Salmon

Hardcore grilling is sorta my thing- bring on the blizzards and drizzle be damned! I will the wind to stop me!

Ok, combating the elements isn’t always my thing… sometime I wimp out. Now is one of those times.  Firing up the grill during this torrential downpour is much less appealing than just staying inside and listening to NPR.

Fortunately, grilling planks is for weather wimps too. Yes, our name is OUTDOOR Gourmet, but today, I am an indoor gourmet. 

Today, I am going to mod a recipe by one of my favorite radio personalities. 

They say laughter is the best medicine- and Dr. Zorba’s distinctive chortle is one of the most recognizable laughs there is. He also has a great collection of Heart-Healthy Recipes, which goes right along with our healthy grilling mission. 

Let me step on my soapbox for a moment: Planking is an extremely healthy method of preparing food because no additional oil or butter is needed in the cooking process. It infuses food with moisture and flavor, while sparing the extra calories and fat of other methods. Cedar Grilling Planks are also an excellent way to serve, plate and display delicate fish that may otherwise be overcooked or fall apart when placed directly on the grill.

Dr. Zorba’s Oven-Planked Cranberry Crusted Salmon

Ingredients

1 large fillet of Salmon

2 tablespoons Stone Ground or Dijon Mustard

¼ cup fresh Bread Crumbs

¼ cup dried Cranberries, rough chopped

½ chopped Green Onion

1 tablespoons Butter, melted

2 teaspoons fresh Thyme, finely chopped

2 teaspoons Lemon Zest

Salt, Pepper, and Cayenne to taste

1 bunch Asparagus, rinsed and ends snapped off

3 tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Blood Orange, half juiced, the other half sliced in rounds

Directions

First: Soak 2 Outdoor Gourmet 6x12 Cedar Grilling Planks in water for 1 hour or more. Thaw salmon in cold water, if frozen. Preheat oven to 375°.

Place: Asparagus in an oven-safe dish, sprinkle with olive oil, blood orange juice, salt, fresh ground pepper, and top with blood orange rounds.

Next: Toss breadcrumbs, cranberries, green onion, melted butter, thyme and lemon peel in the food processor. Give it a quick whirl.

Then: Cut salmon filet to fit planks and season with S+P. Place salmon on soaked plank skin side down. Rub a layer of mustard over each filet. Divide breadcrumb mixture evenly over salmon filets.

**Tip: Wrap the bottom of the plank in foil or place on cookie sheet to avoid drips.

Finally: Place both the salmon + asparagus in the oven at the same time. Bake for 25-30 minutes. These dishes should take about the same time.

Check out more of Dr. Zorba's Heart-Healthy recipe at his website.

Welcome to your weekend.   -KB

Finger Lickin' Ribs on Red Oak Grilling Planks

Honey and heat- two things that make almost any recipes better. That’s why I was excited to see both flavors in one jar. Honey Hole of the Blue Ridge  just released their Honey Fuzions in Hot Habanero, Vanilla Bean Vibrance, Crushed Ginger Cascade and Cracked Red Pepper. I used the Cracked Red Pepper Honey Fuzion on Kansas Style Low and Slow Baby Back Ribs and Apple Cole Slaw.

Slaw Ingredients:

¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar

¾ cup Mayonnaise

¼ cup Red Pepper Honey Fuzion

1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 medium green cabbage, cored and shredded

2 carrots, julienne cut

1 bunch of green onions, sliced

½ parsley, minced

3 apples, chopped, skin on.

Slaw Direction:

Combine the cabbage, carrots, scallions, parsley, and apples. Mix all remaining ingredients together and set aside ¼ of the Poppy Seed Honey Fuzion dressing. Mix dressing and veggies together and refrigerate for at least an hour. Top with remaining dressing when serving.

 

Baby Back Rib Ingredients:

2 5x10 Oak Grilling Planks

2 rack of Baby Back Ribs (Pork Loin Ribs)

½ cup Honey Hole of the Blue Ridge Honey Fuzion

Rib Directions: 

First- Soak 2 5x10 Outdoor Gourmet Oak Grilling Planks for an hour or more.

 

Next- Preheat grill to 450° then brush ribs with Habanero Honey Fusion.

 

Then- Sear ribs on both sides for grill marks. Add soaked oak planks to grill and place ribs
atop planks. Keep heat at 450° for 2 more minutes, the turn the heat down to 275°. Plank ribs low and slow at 275° until internal temp is at least 160°. Baste with Honey Fuzion at least a couple more times.

 

 

Finally- Carefully remove from grill and serve with Apple Slaw.  And enjoy!

And then, they were gone.

Keepin' it Creole Cedar Wrapped Gumbo

 

I wasn't Born on the Bayou, but I have a friend who was...

Barry Lofton is one of them team members of the award-winning Gumbo Cook-off Team "O-kra-p Dat's Good Gumbeaux." And he shared some authentic Louisianian wisdom on the subject of Cajun cookin'... 

Well, if it ain't broke... This guy knows what he's doing, so I'm just going to rip off his method lock, stock, and barrel. Then throw a little Northwest flare there on the end.

First order of business- get to choppin' the mirepoix variation. Onion, bell peppers, and celery- the Creole "Holy Trinity."

I prepared for the roux-  Flour, oil- check. Beer- double check.  I even downloaded Buckwheat Zydeco's Swamp Blues for the stir time. Two beers, 41 minutes, and a minor flesh wound later, I had chocolate brown roux.

Chocolate Brown Roux

Now just follow the pro's instructions...

Okra about to be blanched with 2 caps of white vinegar

Spicy

Now, this next part, I can handle.  Soak 8 Outdoor Gourmet Cedar Wraps in warm water for around 15 minutes. While they soak, shell 2 lbs. of tiger prawns and 1 lb. Langostino lobster tails. 

Prawns

Wrappin'

Preheat grill (the oven will work too!) to 400 degrees. Then arrange prawns and langostinos in center of wrap, parallel to the grain of the wood. Fold edges toward each other and overlap slightly. Tie with a piece of the enclosed natural fiber twine.

On the grill...

Place cedar wrapped on grill away from direct flame. Close lid and try not to peak.  This should be done in about 8-12 minutes.  Keep a spray bottle near by just in case.

 

Carefully remove wraps from grill.  Unwrap to reveal plump, perfectly cooked shellfish! Serve atop gumbo with white rice. 

Cedar Wrapped Langostinos and Prawns

 Happy Fat Tuesday!  -KB

Cedar Plank Baked Apples

There is far too much pressure associated with Valentines Day. And that anxiety expands exponentially when it’s the first Valentine’s with the your special someone…

The pressure mounts with the bombardment of advertisements touting “forever necklaces” and large heart-shaped boxes filled with waxy, chocolate-like substance. The tacky one-liner cards start to seem like a good idea… It’s almost like they are trying to make you fail.

You could fill your trunk cheap chocolate and helium-filled love mementos. Or just skirt the aisle of Valentine Day merchandise, sneak past the lurking pallet of Easter egg dye and peeps patiently waiting for shelf space- just stay near the perimeter of the store. With a few easy ingredients, you can make a lasting memory for your loved one. With this no-fail idea, you can have your sweetie bragging about how you hit it out of the park, while their co-workers sulkily eat the contents of those heart-shaped boxes.

Ingredients

1 Red Rome Apple

1 6x8 Cedar Plank

½ cup rolled oats

2 tablespoons melted butter

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons golden raisins

2 tablespoons chopped pecans

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ tablespoon agave on top

2 scoops vanilla ice cream

First: Soak your Cedar Plank in water for an hour our more. (We have heart shaped planks for the occasion.)

Next: Cut one Red Rome apple in half, scoop out insides in shape of a heart. Cut off a bit of the bottom so it won’t roll around on the plank.

Then: Mix all other ingredients together. Fill apple halves with oat mixture and top with two pecans cut to fit together like a heart. Pre-heat grill to 300-350 degrees. Place stuffed apples on planks and close the grill lid.

Finally: Allow apple and planks to smolder for 10 minutes. (Approximately the time it takes to open a bottle of wine and light the candles for the table.) Carefully remove from grill and serve with a scope of ice cream. Garnish with cinnamon.

-->

Happy Valentines Day!