Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

With summer upon us there are so many great light appetizers that can be made while we are getting the grill ready for the main course. One of my favorites is a lettuce wrap that is filled with grilled marinated chicken, fresh veggies, and topped with a spicy peanut sauce.

This basic recipe would work with 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts. A good portion is to start with 1/2 a boneless skinless chicken breast per person. After a quick wash and trim I marinate the chicken for a least an hour in a mixture of 1 can coconut milk, 1/4 cup teriyaki marinade (substitution would be 1/3 cup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons brown sugar), the zest and juice of one lime, two cloves crushed garlic, 4 tablespoons sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds.

While the chicken is marinating you can prepare the spicy peanut sauce which will be the dressing for the lettuce wraps.

1 cup fresh smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup hot water

4 cloves garlic, finely minced and mashed 2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix the ingredients well and set aside. After allowing the sauce to rest for a few minutes, taste for seasoning. You may want to add more cayenne pepper for spice for may need to add a little more water to reach the desired consistency. A good consistency for this sauce would be comparable to a salad dressing.

Grill the chicken in whole pieces until well done with a nice char and slice thin for serving.

Fillings for the wraps can vary but for these we used fresh bean sprouts, thinly sliced carrots and cucumber, and green onions. It all gets wrapped up and eaten like a taco, but in place of the tortilla we use a nice leaf of butter, bibb, or romaine lettuce. Top with a splash of lime juice and a drizzle of the peanut sauce.

Beef Brisket

Beef brisket is a very affordable and forgiving piece of meat to bbq. The brisket comes from the chest of the cow so it is a very large and tough muscle that requires long and slow cooking. 

I start with the large primal cut that comes in its original packaging. These usually weigh 12-18 lbs. I would say that the main factor that limits when you can cook a brisket is the cooking time. I started with a 15lb brisket and ended up with a total cooking time of about 12 hours. Start by washing the brisket and seasoning with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You can also use your favorite bbq rub in this step. Keep in mind that most commercial bbq rubs contain a large amount of sugar that will burn on the grill. This will require you wrapping the brisket up with foil to protect it sooner than normal. 

For cooking such a large piece of meat the grill needs to be well preheated. We are looking for 225-250 degrees Fahrenheit. I use both the side fire box and the main chamber on my grill. Once the grill is up to temperature and the dampers are closed down it will maintain its heat for several hours at a time. Having the extra coals in the main chamber come into handy for cooking appetizers or other side dishes over direct heat if so inclined. You will need to check and add fresh coals to the to the grill every 1-2 hours during the cooking process to maintain a constant temperature. The first 2 times that I add fresh coals I also add some mesquite wood chips that have been pre-soaked in water. 

Above is the brisket after 8 hours of cooking with indirect heat. At this time you will notice that the outside of the brisket starts to form a thick layer that is called "bark". To prevent the brisket from overcooking and also to further aid its cooking, we wrap it in foil. This process is known as the "Texas Crutch" on the competitive bbq circuits. This is similar to the process I use with my ribs. I wrap the brisket up in heavy foil with equal parts apple cider vinegar, apple juice, and water. Make sure that the brisket is well wrapped and no liquid escapes. The brisket is then left on the grill over indirect  heat for 2-3 more hours. After a few more hours on the grill the brisket should be done. I like to unwrap the brisket and give it one last quick sear over direct heat to give it a good final crust on the outside. Remove the brisket from the grill and tent with foil to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  

Thinly slice the brisket across the grain to serve. It will be pull apart tender, and juicy. You can serve it with your favorite bbq sauce if you want, but it really does not need any.

***Notice the pink ring around the outside of the meat. This is from the smoke penetrating the meat while cooking.

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

At my house we always say,"If you already have the grill going, you might as well be cooking something." My favorite appetizers to cook on the grill while waiting for dinner to finish cooking are bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers.

Ingredients

• 16 Jalapeno peppers, washed and dried
• 1 Block of cream cheese
• 1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 Green onions, chopped
• Dash each salt, pepper, and garlic powder

• 16 Strips of thick cut bacon
• 16 Toothpicks, soaked in water for 10 minutes

Start by combining the cheeses, green onions, and seasonings in a bowl and set aside.

Slice about 1/3 of the peppers off lengthwise. I like to leave the stems intact so that you have a handle to pick them up with. Scrape out the seeds and white membrane inside the peppers using a small spoon. Wash the peppers with water to get out any extra seeds and set aside. I suggest wearing some latex gloves for this step. The oils from the peppers do not wash off your hands very easily. You will find this out the hard way if you are a contact lens wearer like myself.

Spoon and pack the cheese mixture into the peppers. Wrap each pepper with one slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Make sure to wrap the bacon around the pepper so that most of the cheese filling is covered.

I like to cook my peppers on a charcoal grill but these can just as easily be prepared on a gas grill. These are usually something I like to make while I am slow cooking a pork shoulder or a beef brisket. 

Start by putting the peppers on the grill over indirect heat meaning that the heat source is off to one side of the peppers. Cook the peppers over the indirect heat for 20-30 minutes or until most of the bacon has begun to render down. This also gives the peppers a chance to cook through.
After the bacon has cooked down and the peppers are starting to feel softened, move the peppers over to the direct heat for just a few minutes to give them a quick char. Be very careful to watch these when they are over direct heat because the bacon can burn very quickly. Remove the peppers to a platter to cool. It is best to let the peppers rest for a minute or two before serving because the filling will be extremely hot.I promise that you will always find yourself saying that next time you need to make more!

Chicken and Dumplings

Chicken and dumplings is old school classic American comfort food. There is just something about its wholesome simplicity that I find myself craving from time to time.

The base of the dish is really good chicken broth. I start this by simmering a whole organic chicken with carrots, celery, onion, parsley, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Start with cold water, just enough to cover the chicken, cover, and bring up to a simmer until the chicken is cooked through. I pull out the chicken and set aside to cool. The broth gets strained and added into a clean stock pot. Once the chicken is cooled it gets pulled into large chucks with the skin removed and set aside.

The broth is brought up to a simmer and thickened slightly with some corn starch.

Diced carrots, celery, and onions get sauteed in some butter until softened and then added into the stock pot along with the chicken.

The stock can now be brought up to a low boil in preparation for cooking the dumplings.

The dumplings are a simple recipe consisting of flour, baking soda, buttermilk, butter, and salt. I roll the dough out into about a 1/2"thickness and cut into strips with a pizza cutter. The strips are added to the boiling stock, covered, and allowed to cook for 10-12 minutes.

We garnish with a little fresh parsley and black pepper.

Now that is some good classic comfort food.

Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

The votes were tabulated from the poll I had on my blog and the dish that people most wanted me to make was herb crusted rack of lamb. This lamb dish gets seared on a hot grill, coated with lots of fresh herbs, and then finished in the oven. The end result is super tender lamb with a crispy flavorful coating.

We were serving 4 people so I started with 2 small racks of lamb. The racks had already been frenched, meaning that the extra meat and fat around the bones had been removed. Having the bones exposed makes for a more impressive plate presentation as well as making them easier to handle and cook evenly.

The lamb was given a good coat of salt and cracked black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil to get it ready for the grill. We grilled the lamb over high heat on all sides. What we are looking for here is adding some good color and flavor to the meat. The lamb is removed from the grill while it is still rare and set aside to rest while we make our herb crust mixture.

I start the herb crust with some fresh bread crumbs. I used a store bought loaf of French bread that I sliced, toasted in the oven, and ground into crumbs using a food processor. The crumbs get set aside so that we can next make the herb mixture in the food processor. I started with a handful each of fresh mint and flat leaf parsley. I added in the leaves from a few sprigs of fresh rosemary 2 cloves of garlic, and 1/4 cup of fresh shredded parmasan cheese and gave it a few pulses. Next I added in 3 cups of the fresh bread crumbs and began to combine while adding a drizzle of olive oil to bring it all together. The end result is a bright green speckled breadcrumb mixture.

It is now time to bread the racks of lamb. I began by well coating the lamb with dijon mustard. The mustard is the glue to hold on the crumb mixture. Then I coated the lamb with the bread crumbs and pressed them tightly with my hands. The lamb is now ready to be finished in the oven. I placed the lamb into a 375 degree pre-heated cast iron skillet with a light drizzle of olive oil. After 10 minutes of cooking, I flipped the lamb and continued to cook in the oven for about a total of 20 minutes. I used an instant read thermometer to make sure we pulled the lamb from the oven when it was about medium rare. After allowing the meat to rest for about 10 minutes, I sliced the lamb into individual chops and served.

We served the lamb chops with a porcini mushroom risotto, mashed potatoes with parsnips, and toasted sesame seed asparagus.