BBQ

Dear readers, I am here to tell you that you have been tricked. Bamboozled. Flim-flammed. By McDonald’s, of all places. The most universally trusted fast food restaurant in the world. Okay, that’s probably not true. Neither is the idea that you’ve been tricked, per se. The truth is, McDonald’s has, rather quietly, removed the Angus Third Pounders from their menu and replaced them with three new Quarter Pounders. The old Angus Third Pounders were Bacon and Cheese, Deluxe, Mushroom and Swiss, and, later on, the Chipotle BBQ Bacon and Cheddar Bacon Onion. A lazy amount of Internet research seems to indicate that the Angus Third Pounders weren’t doing that well, possibly due to their high price – $3.99 – in relation to the rest of their menu and the current trend towards value menus. This idea is directly contradicted by the fact that the new Quarter Pounders are the exact same price, so I’m just going with “nobody seemed to like the Angus Third Pounders so we’re trying something else”. The new Quarter Pounders are Bacon and Cheese, Deluxe and Bacon Habanero Ranch. Guess which one I chose to review? …Oh, right, you don’t have to guess. It’s in the review title. Gosh darn spoilers. The Bacon and Cheese and Deluxe varieties are just as boring as you can imagine they are, containing ingredients like…bacon, and…cheese. I’m not even sure what I’m supposed to be impressed with in the Deluxe – it’s got mayo, and lettuce, and tomatoes, and zzzzzzzzzzzz. So I find myself with the Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder, which, in stark contrast to the other two, actually sounds interesting. “A quarter pound* of 100% beef topped by smooth white cheddar,** thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, tomato and leaf lettuce, and a spicy-cool habanero ranch sauce, all on a toasted, bakery-style bun.” If you’re curious about the asterisks, the first lets you know that’s the weight before cooking and the second informs you that the cheese is pasteurized process. There, I’ve done my boring due diligence. At this point I was about to launch into the part where I actually eat the fucking burger, but I stumbled upon something on McDonald’s website that I just could not, in good conscience, ignore. In recent times I’ve made a point of not poaching pictures, because I’m pretty sure there’s copyright issues involved. But a picture is worth a thousand words, which I’ll probably end up writing anyways, and I just couldn’t help myself on this one. So up it goes until I get a cease and desist email from Ronald. Look at it. Love it for its ridiculousness. HABANEROS SLAPPING YOUR TONGUE! ZING! Bacon shaming! The tongue-slapping is my obvious favorite, but I’m also very fond of, “I see you looking at me?” With some different punctuation, it could be construed as an amusing threat from the aggressive habanero pepper. But phrased as a question, it a.) makes no goddamn sense and b.) makes the habanero sound insecure. I’m lovin’ it. (Please kill me.) Okay. Burger time. Hab. First off, I took pictures and ate my Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder before I did all that researchy stuff, which led to me being surprised by the lack of habanero peppers on my burger. I thought it was bacon, habanero and ranch, not bacon and habanero ranch. I was a little disappointed, but that’s okay. As far as I can remember, this is the first time a major fast food chain has gone habanero, in any form. In case you didn’t know, habaneros are pretty serious business. To give you a point of comparison, jalapeño peppers rate between 3,500–8,000 units on the Scoville scale, while habaneros are between 100,000–350,000 units. Even if you don’t know what the Scoville scale is, and you should, you can see the impressive disparity in those numbers. What I’m trying to say here is that habaneros are hot. Let’s

Waist-high weeds at Casa Duck Lake, new consulting business, graduation festivities, kid’s bowling tournaments (on Fathers Day, no less), and a myriad of other things conspired to consume most of the last few weeks. And delay the posting of a stir-fry from last Tuesday. Some weeks are like that. Some months are like that. It appears summer will be like that. But it also appears some of my evenings will be freeing up and I can get back to making more meals like this. Stir fry chicken breasts and mixed veggies with a sweet chili-teriyaki sauce. Who knows, I might even find time tomorrow to cook up something a bit more traditional on the grill. And post it before a week goes by. And for those interested, Younger Daughter took 5th in her division at the Tournament of Champions on Fathers Day. She should have been in the step-ladder finals and competed for a higher spot, but as we say on the lanes “split happens” and she missed out due to some issues with another participant’s status that weren’t discovered until the final match. Long story, not worth telling here, and not worth losing sleep over. Especially when sleep has been at a premium lately…

Fluffy 3-egg fresh herb scramble, sausage & buttermilk biscuits wit honey butter Don't ya hate when yer honey butter slides off yer sausage biscuit???

Sharing a little vintage BBQ.  Simpler times.

New BBQ Event listed on www.bbq-festivals.com. The 7th Annual Smokin’ Oldies BBQ Cook-off in Port Allen, Louisiana on Sept 13-14. 2013. Find more information on this and other #BBQ Festivals at BBQ-Festivals.com Click here for pdf information on this event

Jalapeno slaw - for dressing a blackened catfish poboy Garden fresh asparagus gratin - asiago mornay Fresh spices from Penzeys Whipped honey butter - local honey Scratch hot rize buttermilk catheads ~ for schmearin' wit honey butter

My friend, Christo, made grilled bananas last week on the Weather Channel, the same day I was going to do these, so I held off a few days. They’re so good and so easy, though, that I just had to make them. It’s another great dessert to fix on Father’s Day that gives you time to spend with your dad! Using good, ripe bananas, simply place the whole banana, peel intact, on a medium-hot grill (around 350 degrees or so) until the skin turns black, about 5 minutes a side. Then slit the peel and kind of mush the banana to make the peel into a bit of a banana boat, add the ingredients you want, and share it with your dad! I added bourbon, chocolate syrup and dulche de leche. In full disclosure, the bourbon was given to me to try out and review, by Four Roses. My opinions are my own, though, and are in no way biased by the fact that the samples were provided at no cost to me. My opinion is that it’s a really good bourbon, though! I used the small batch version, instead of a more general use, as the bourbon isn’t cooked and the flavor is more prominent than in a glaze. The mix of the rich dulche de leche, chocolate syrup and very good bourbon made the bananas that much better! Just take a spoon and scoop out all the good stuff from the peel. Joining me in grilled desserts this weekend are some of my fellow All-Stars from Char-Broil. I’ll be updating this with links to their grilled creations!

After a two month absence, Camden came to visit this weekend. Even though his tumor is still quite large – Camden still gets excited to sniff everything he can at the park.After an appropriately short walk, I wanted to use the visit to the park as a way to take some more pictures of my big puppy. And while we both had a lot of fun; I only came away with one photo I like. Here it is…

What will your legacy be? Last week I had the privilege of seeing a man building his legacy at the Meyer Natural Foods Company Ranch near Helmsville, Montana. I went there expecting to learn about beef but I think I learned more about what one person's passion can build. Cowboys leading a herd of about 80 cows and calves to the corrals.I can't get the kernel of what I experienced and learned in just one post so I want to do a series of three posts about the passion, people, and product from the Meyer ranch. Today I will tackle the product, Angus beef, and what I learned about it as a consumer.After two days of being fed all natural, dry aged, prime beef meals prepared by Executive Chef, John Enright, you might think I was ready for something a little different than more beef right? Wrong. I daydreamed this recipe up on the flight home from Knoxville. It is a variation on a dish that Chef John made for us that had Manhattan fillets, asparagus, and polenta with portobello mushrooms. My spin is a reverse seared Manhattan fillet with a Cajun bearnaise sauce, grilled asparagus, and cheesy stoneground grits.Manhattan Fillets with Cajun Sauceby www.nibblemethis.comdocument.write('');Ingredients (4 steaks)You'll Need2 all natural NY Strip steaks, cut 1.5 to 2 inches thickSalt and pepper to tasteFor The Sauce3 eggs1.5 T cold water2-3 tsp Cajun seasoning rub1/2 cup clarified buttersalt to tasteFor The Grits2/3 cup stone ground grits2 c water1/4 cup butter2-3 tsp Cajun seasoning rubInstructionsSet up a charcoal grill for indirect heat and preheat it to 250f. Trim the NY Strips into Manhattan fillets by cutting them in half, forming two 7-8 oz fillets per steak.Grits - Use only stone ground grits and cook according to directions. Add the butter, cheese, and Cajun seasoning at 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper as desired. Finish cooking until the grits are thickened.Roast - Slow roast the 4 fillets over indirect heat until they are about 5 degrees less than your desired finishing temperature. Flip periodically. For example, I want medium rare so cooked mine until they were an internal temperature of 127f so they would finish in the 130 to 135f range. This should take about an hour.Make the Cajun Sauce - This is similar to making a bearnaise sauce. Whisk the egg yolks and water together vigorously until the mixture is thickened and frothy. Place in a double boiler (water in the bottom simmering lightly) and continue whisking over medium low heat until doubled in volume 4-5 minutes. Slowly pour in the melted butter into the egg mixture while you continue whisking. Continue until texture coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the lemon juice, Cajun seasoning, and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Like hollandaise or bearnaise, the sauce needs to be kept warm to avoid separating. I keep ours warm in a thermal insulated coffee mug.Grill - Change your grill to DIRECT heat once the steaks finish roasting and increase the temperature to 500f. Sear the steaks over direct heat for 1 minute per sideServe by slicing the fillets vertically and fan the slices on the plate. Serve with the cheese grits and drizzle with the sauce.Powered by Recipage First of all, WHY the Manhattan fillet if it is just a Strip cut in half? I like it for 3 reasons. Appearance - I like the shape of the fillet on a platePortion Control - You get a 7-8 oz steak but it is still extra thickTexture - The thickness yields more of the medium rare (or whatever doneness) texture than a thin steak cooked the exact same way.If you don't have a double boiler, make one. Find a metal mixing bowl that fits the opening of a medium sauce pan. If you are really lazy, you can just do the 250f hour of roasting in an oven on a resting rack and then do the finishing sear over a very hot grill. You'll miss out on some of the smokiness.Excellent before even adding the sauce.So what did I learn about beef production from a consumer standpoint? I went in

Make dad a burger that is worthy of an Oscar this year. Wolfgang Puck’s Mini Burgers with Cheddar Cheese and Remoulade – Michelle Lara My dad is a movie buff he can watch the same movie over and over again. He spouts out random movie trivia it’s one of the quirky things about him that I love so much.  One of his favorite movies ‘Field of Dreams’ (which was nominated for 3 Oscars) combines his love of movies and baseball – and yes he’s watched it several times. It’s in honor of my dad that I’ve re-created Wolfang Puck’s Mini Burgers with Cheddar Cheese and Remoulade. It’s what was served at The Governors Ball, the most coveted Oscars after-party earlier this year. I slightly tweaked this recipe by omitting the cornichons and added bacon and thinly sliced onions. Ingredients 3/4 pound prime ground beef Pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 12 small slices of cheddar cheese 12 mini burger buns Remoulade (recipe below) Cooked bacon (your favorite kind – I used a cured maple one) Sliced cooked onions (about 1/2 a cup – I cooked mine in some of the leftover bacon fat) Instructions Preheat grill or grill pan. Put the ground beef in a bowl and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands to combine. Take a small amount (about 2 tablespoons worth) of the ground beef and roll it in the palm of your hand like you are making meatballs. Flatten the top slightly and put the mini burger patties on a side plate. Drizzle the burgers with oil and season the tops with salt and pepper. Turn the burgers over and season the other side. Place the burgers on the hot grill. Cook for 3 minutes, then turn them over. Place slices of cheddar cheese on top of the burgers, allowing it to melt. While that’s cooking, put the buns on the grill. Let them toast slightly on both sides, about 2 minutes total time. To put the burgers together: Put the toasted buns on a platter. Top each with a small spoonful of Remoulade. Put the burger on top (cheese side up), add the cooked onions and bacon. Remoulade | Yield: 1 cup Combine 3/4 cup of store-bought or home made Thousand Island dressing with 2 tablespoons of bottled barbecue sauce and a little bit of cooked onion (I cooked the onions in some of the leftover bacon fat). Stir to combine. For more of Wolfgang Puck’s recipes click here >> Michelle Lara is the newest contributor to GrillGrrrl.com. She’s a curious-about-food-writer and has created the “GrillGrrrl Take Two” Series where she takes an original GrillGrrrl recipe and puts a new spin on it by turning it into something completely different. Read Michelle’s full bio on the contributor’s page. You can follow Michelle on Facebook or at her blog Cupcakes, Cocktails and Kids Share on Facebook Related posts: Hawaiian Aloha Chicken Burger with Pineapple Sriracha Mayo Sauce The summer is here and burger season is upon... Gourmet Cognac Burgers Here’s an awesome burger recipe from contributing writer, Jesse Black.... Winner Announced! 4th of July Giveaway: Genuine Choice Grass Fed Beef Burgers Winner Announced!: Thanks to all who contributed your awesome Burger... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.