Some Useful Tips for Summer Grilling (Or Any Season) and more...

Here are some tips for grilling I’m sure we all can use now that the summer grilling season is upon us. I know I’ve been breaking out my grill more and more even if the weather is well always summer here in Los Angeles. I don’t know what it is but when June hits, it’s time for grilled meats and vegetables.

Source by JES Restaurant Equipment

    

Making a juicy grilled chicken is not an easy undertaking, even by someone with some serious grilling skills. It’s not difficult getting some great grill marks, but keeping the inside tender while the grill marks are forming often makes for a fairly dry chicken breast. This is where sous-vide cooking can add a guaranteed juiciness to your chicken grilling.

Sous-vide cooking is a French method that slowly cooks vacuum sealed meat or vegetables in a water bath. It keeps meat nice and tender plus it allows for a wide range of cooking time to so the food can cook while you carryon about your day.  This worked really well for me this weekend as I spent most of the day at work. To come home to most of my meal already done was a nice way to enjoy the rest of my Saturday.

The chicken and strawberries came from the South Pasadena Farmers’ Market. The strawberries are perfect right now full of rich redness and  I found an organic Fragaria Virginiana variety. These sweet, smaller species of strawberries have a much better flavor than what you find at most grocery stores.

This is my second dish using the SousVide Supreme and I really do like how tender everything is that comes of out of it. The slow cooking water bath technique is simple. Cutting into tonight’s chicken, even after putting it on the grill to get some nice grill marks, I could see the juices run down the chicken after slicing each bite.  Combined with the rich flavors of the balsamic strawberry sauce the meal was easy to make after a long unusual Saturday at work.

It only took about 20 minutes to sear the chicken and prepare the sauce. It looked like I spent a lot of time on the dish, but it didn’t take away time I want to spend with my wife and boys.

Later this month, I’m competing with several other BBQ bloggers at http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/sousvidebbq.htm. Check back after June 25 to see what recipe I decide to enter and send me a vote if you want. As a bonus, each person who casts a vote for their fan favorite will be entered to win a $200 gift certificate to www.sousvidesupreme.com.

DISCLAIMER: I was sent the SousVide Supreme to try as part of a blogger outreach program from the company.  The opinions are my own.

Balsamic Strawberry Chicken

Prep Time: 20 Mins Cooking Time: 6 Hours 30 Mins Total Time: 4 Hours 50 Mins

Ingredients:

• 4 bone-in chicken breasts, skinless
• 2 cups strawberries, halved
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 shallot, mined
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup red wine, Chianti or Cabernet work best
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Seal chicken breasts in vacuum bag. Heat the vacuumed chicken in a SousVide Supreme at 146 degrees for 4-6 hours. 
2. Heat the grill on high.
3. In a small sauce pan on medium-high heat add olive oil, garlic and shallot and cook for about 4 minutes, careful not to burn. Add 1 cup of strawberries, thyme, bay leaf and balsamic vinegar for about 3 minutes reducing vinegar by half. Add red wine and chicken stock and reduce by half for about 7 minutes. Smash the strawberries in the pan using a potato masher or fork to crush strawberries while leaving some small chunks. Reduce pan heat to low.
4. Remove chicken from SousVide Supreme and pour a small amount of balsamic strawberry sauce over breasts to coat before placing on grill.
5. Grill chicken on each side for about 7 minutes each side to get some nice grill marks.
6. While on grill, add the rest of the strawberries to the sauce and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes before serving.
7. Plate the chicken adding the rest of the sauce to the chickens.

    

A conversation at home.

What are we going to do this long weekend?
How about picking blueberries?
Why? Can’t we just buy them already picked?
But It’s fun.
Really?
Let’s just do it. What else is there to do today?

And that is how we ended up at the Underwood Farm in Ventura County the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

I honestly was looking forward to the drive more than the farm. I had picked strawberries a long time ago when I was 13 years old in Gresham, Oregon.  We had a couple strawberry farms near our subdivision that kids would hear about how you could make money filling baskets of berries. With only a meager paper route at the time, yes I had a paper route – boy do  I feel ancient, making some extra dollars picking berries sounded like a great idea.  That is until a couple friends and I decided to do it one morning.

We went down to the field and were given large wooden buckets to fill with berries.  We were told what to look for and to be gentle placing them in so as not to bruise them.  I believe each bucket paid us 50 cents or some small amount like that.  Bending over and squatting to get each tiny berry off each plant was tedious.

What was more frustrating was watching the berry pickers who did this all the time.  They picked a heck of a lot faster than us and it seemed like forever to fill the bucket meaning we were not going to make the money we had hoped for.

My time at Underwood Farms wasn’t about speed or making a few dollars.  It was all about getting outside and spending time with the family. Oscar and Theo had a great time walking through the fields finding blueberries and asking mom “is this one good? How about this one? Is this one blue enough?”

Underwood Farms takes you out to the blueberry bushes on a tractor train and then you fill large plastic containers.  They also have raspberries and strawberries you can pick too; though, Memorial Day was just blueberries and a small amount of raspberries.

The farm also has some barn animals you can feed where a small twenty-five cent vending machine will give your kids some food for the sheep, goats, chickens and alpacas. There is also a wooden play pickup truck that all of the kids were climbing on next to a small market full of fruits and vegetables.

It really was a fun excursion from the city, plus it’s less than a hour away. Most importantly we came home with some beautiful, tasty blueberries!

Learn more about Underwood Family Farm.

    

I’m a very lucky person. There are many reasons: a wonderful family, a loving wife, and once a week the Kogi Korean BBQ taco truck makes a stop right behind the building I work. An order of three short rib tacos makes any day better. It makes life better.

Now I love traditional Mexican street tacos, so much so I have written a ton of reviews on a particular kind of taco – the gas station taco. This passion has led me to appreciate what makes a great taco. The perfect taco combines the elements of a slightly oily handmade corn tortilla, perfectly cooked meat, and the right amount of spices with just enough cilantro and chopped onions to compliment, not overpower the meat, then topped with a smooth, spicy hot sauce. That’s the perfect Mexican street taco.

The Korean taco is an entirely different beast.

Fusion cooking is the mixing of various cultures and is something that can go massively wrong or massively right. The Korean BBQ Taco is fusion and Chef Roy who owns Kogi does it massively right.

Fresh made corn tortillas

If you’re unfamiliar with the Korean BBQ taco, you’re missing out. It’s sweet, spicy and crunchy. The meat is sauced with a good wet marinade that caramelizes the meat complimented by cilantro-onion-lime relish, topped with lightly pickled cabbage and hot sauce. It’s pure fusion. Combining the elements of Korea’s most famous food this decade – Korean BBQ – with Mexico’s most famous dish – tacos.

A stack of tortillas after they’ve being heated.

I have been meaning to attempt the Korean BBQ taco at home.  Not copying Kogi, but rather making my own version that’s inspired by the Kogi truck.

This recipe is just that. It’s my own creation of the Korean BBQ taco and to make the meat as tender and flavorful as possible I decided I’d try a new style of cooking while I’m at it. I was contacted by SousVide Supreme who wanted to see what I could do using the sous-vide method (translates to “under vacuum”.) This looked like an excellent opportunity to make a tough meat, I used flat iron steak instead of short ribs, into something tender and juicy. Plus how more fusion can you get then a Mexican taco + Korean BBQ + French cooking method.

SousVide Supreme with vacuum pouch sealer

Sous-vide involves cooking a vacuum sealed bag of meat or vegetables submerged in water at a consistent temperature. The method produces food that is cooked on the outside and inside at the same “doneness” without overcooking, while keeping the food juicy.  The consistent temperature of the water allows you to have the food ready in a large window of time. For example, the flat iron steak I made is ready anytime between 8 to 24 hours great for a long Memorial Day weekend when our family is running around having fun not knowing exactly when we’ll be home for dinner.

Marinated flat iron steak submerged in SousVide Supreme

We spent the afternoon at Santa Monica Beach enjoying the warm California sun and flying our kites.

When we came home and removed the flat iron steak from the SousVide Supreme I sliced off a small piece to try it. It was perfect.  It really was juicy and full of flavor. I placed it out on the grill to give it some grill marks and crunch.

Cooked flat iron steak in Korean BBQ marinade

Look how nicely cooked it was after cooking in the water at 140 degrees for 9 hours.

A perfect medium

I did make my own tortillas for this recipe, but you don’t have to go that extra step. Just be sure to find some good quality corn tortillas and revitalize them in a saute pan with a little oil.  Heat the oil on medium-high heat and place a tortilla in for 10 seconds and then flip for another 5 seconds remove and place on some paper towels, patting off the excess oil. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Later this month, I’m competing with several other BBQ bloggers at http://www.sousvidesupreme.com/sousvidebbq.htm. Check back after June 25 to see what recipe I decide to enter and send me a vote if you want. As a bonus, each person who casts a vote for their fan favorite will be entered to win a $200 gift certificate to www.sousvidesupreme.com.

DISCLAIMER: I was sent the SousVide Supreme to try as part of a blogger outreach program from the company.  The opinions are my own.

Sous-Vide Korean BBQ Tacos

Prep Time: 20 Mins Cooking Time: 8 Hours Total Time: 8 Hours

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. flat iron steak

Marinade

• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sriracha sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Pickled Cabbage

• 1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon lime juice

Cilantro relish

• 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, diced
• juice from 1 lime

Directions:

1. Combine the marinade ingredients and whisk together. Place the meat in the marinade and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, remove the flat iron steak and place into a vacuum pouch pour in about 2 tablespoons of the marinade into the vacuum pouch. Seal the steak using a vacuum food sealer.
2. Fill up a SousVide Supreme with water and place the rack and sealed meat into the cooker. Set the heat to 140 degrees for medium doneness and let it cook for 8 hour or up to 24 hours. After 8 hours the meat is ready, the remaining time is just flex time that will keep the meat at the final cooked heat without over cooking.
3. Meanwhile before the meat is ready to be removed from the SousVide Supreme, make the pickled cabbage and cilantro relish.
4. For the cabbage, combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl and cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours for the flavors to combine.
5. The cilantro relish is made by simply combining the ingredients in a bowl and setting aside. This can be made right before taking the meat out.
6. When the meat is ready, remove from the water and cut the vacuum pouch open. Remove the flat iron steak and place on a hot grill for a few minutes to give it some char. Remove and slice into small cubes for the taco.
7. On each tortilla, place some meat followed by the cilantro relish and then the cabbage on top. Pour on some hot sauce too if you desire and serve.

    

Since adding vegetarian to about half our weekly meals several years ago, I have come to appreciate a casserole or in this case a “bake.”  There’s really no difference.  Combine a bunch of complimentary ingredients and top with some cheese.  So much right.

This dish can be altered by switching out lentils with couscous or quinoa.  Or you can replace swiss chard with any other green like spinach or kale. Some added cubed sweet potatoes would be a nice addition too.

It does feel more like a fall comfort dish than something to make on a 70 degree day in May. Even so, this dish has a lot of versatility and can be enjoyed anytime of year.

Swiss Chard, White Bean and Lentil Bake

Prep Time: 10 Mins Cooking Time: 35 Mins Total Time: 45 Mins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1bunch swiss chard, chopped
• 1 can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Heat onion and garlic in a small pot with olive oil on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, beans, basil, salt, and pepper to the onions and cook together for another 3 minutes then add the swiss chard and cook for a couple minutes to soften.
2. In a small baking dish, add the cooked lentils and then fold in the pot of vegetables. Add the pine nuts mixing everything together in the baking dish then top with grated cheese and cover with aluminum foil.
3. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for 5 minutes uncovered. Remove and serve.