Foiled Smoked Chicken

I often get questions from friends and co-workers on how they can get a smoked flavor in their food when they don't have a smoker and without use of the dreaded "liquid smoke". This process required an outdoor gas grill.

I posted about a year about cheating when preparing a smoked chicken. Since then, I have further developed the concept. This involves a similar process to using a "stove top" smoker similar to the Cameron version substituting the stove top with a gas grill.

What did I do?

I started with a large aluminum pan(full pan) and heavy duty aluminum foil. From the foil, I made an envelope in which I added hickory wood chips (one large handful). The foil pouch/envelope was sealed. I then used a knife to make 5-8 one inch piercings on the top of the pouch. The pouch was then placed on the botton of the aluminum pan. I layered heavy duty foil over the pouch and then placed two square grates on top. This is to keep the chicken from laying directly on the foil.


To mimic a water pan which I use in my Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker (WSM) I took a small aluminum loaf pan and filled it halfway full with water to which I added a couple of sprigs of Rosemary.


I took two whole cornish chickens and cut them through the back to lay flat. The cornish chicken was simply seasoned on the inside with a chicken rub (any store bought rub will suffice). I seasoned the skin side with only salt. The purpose of using only salt was to minimize the possibility of rubbery skin which is a dreaded consequence of smoked chicken. The theory being that the salt draws out the moisture from the skin and increases the potential for a more crisp skin (less rubbery).



The cornish chickens were smoked for about 35-40 minutes. I did keep the inside of the grill temperature at 400 degrees but I did not verify the temperature inside the aluminum pan or the temp of the chicken. My estimate was based on indirectly cooking a chicken on the grill where I usually go for 45 minutes.


I opened the pan and found two beautifully browned cornish chickens. I felt a need to add grill marks so I quickluy placed the cornish chickens skin side down over direct heat for less than 10 seconds.


The cornish chickens were moist with a mild smoke flavor. The skin was tasty and not rubbery.

Yes, you too can have real smoked flavor with a simple smoking process.

La Caja China at the First So. Calif Brethren Bash 2007

What a great weekend. I got to spend some quality time with some fellow BBQuers at the First Southern California Brethren Bash hosted by Pat in Norco. This was a most anticipated event where we knew we were in for some artery clogging superb BBQ and side dishes.


The highlight of the event was the cooking of a 29 pound suckling pig prepared on the "La Caja China" by Big Brother Smoke. For me, the "pig picking" of the suckling pig was my first ever. I must say, I really enjoyed this.
We had some trouble getting the skin crisp which required a little torch action, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of it. The meat was moist and very flavorful. Pat and BBS added a mod to the La Caja China which allowed the meat to cook with smoke infused.
A selection of ribs rubbed and seasoned using varying techniques and preps by multiple Brethren. (sorry this is all displayed after we tasted).

Food was continuously being cooked and served. Bacon wrapped pork, habanero sausage, brisket, teriyaki wings, ABTs, fatties, more ribs, cole slaw, peach cobbler, apple cobbler, cake, corn, salsa,Bagna Cauda, chips, Filipino rice, burnt ends, jello shots, margarita's and all with a helping of luv of Q.

See my flickr photos for more highlightsof the weekend. I also encourageyou to visit some of the other links below for photos taken by others attending.

Sylvie's Bash Photos
Thawley's Photos
Big Mista's Photobucket

Brethren Site Forum Thread

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin
Peach cobbler

Ziggy Blogging

Cookbook Purchase- Charcoal Grilling

In this past weeks L.A. Times, Charles Perry reviewed a couple of BBQ cookbooks. I had quickly thumbed through one of the books, Webers Charcoal Grilling by James Purviance a week ago while I was last at Costco but thought, I'm not buying a book which highlights trade named products. However, after reading the review I thought maybe it would be a quirky addition to my library.

I was again at Costco yesterday and picked up the book again. Fortunately for the author, the first page (pg 92) I opened to was a team of charcoal fanatics called the "Dueling Bubbas". Out of my mouth came "hey, I know these guys". At this April's past "BBQ'N at the Autry", the "Dueling Bubbas" campsite was right next to our "Four Q BBQ" site. They actually took an overall second place for Grand Reserve in the competition.

The book cost $11.99 at Costco, so I broke down and purchased it. Haven't tried any recipes but some look interesting.

Father's Day Weekend 2007

Saturday- BBQ At Ron's

Ron put together a BBQ contest featuring three of us preparing varying meats.
I did ribs and pork butt. Bill did brisket and chicken, Bernie did a meat platter featuring smoked turkey and sausage. Judging by an unbiased threesome who fell in love with my ribs prepared using the technique of my Four Q BBQ team member Professor.

Ron prepared a smoked salmon platter with grilled shrimp, mango and deconstructed guacamole as the centerpiece of this bbq extravaganza. The whole salmon is layered with cream cheese, dill and cucumber.

Grilled Shrimp
Bill's Rotisserie Chicken
Bernie's Meat
Platter Featuring Smoked Turkey and Special Blended Sausage
Sylvie's Pork Butt
Sylvie's # 1 voted Spare Rib












On Sunday, I cooked a Father's Day Seafood Feast For G


Shrimp, scallops, clams, crabs, zucchini and green salad
Steamed Crabs
Zucchini

Shrimp and Scallops in garlic Butter Sauce

Clams

CBBQA Presents BBQ Class with Chris Lily, Pomona,CA

Ever thought about competing in the BBQ circuit? Ever watch Food Network competition BBQ shows and say I want to do that? Well here's your opportunity to learn from a pro. Or do you just want to be able to prepare authentic , great competition stayle BBQ? Here's your opportunity.

Chris Lily BBQ Class Information link.

Classes being held at the LA County Fairplex July 27th and 28th

Saturday Class is 7p-9p Friday night (7/27) and then 8a-4p on Sat. 7/28
Sunday Class is 7p-9p Saturday night (7/28) and then 8a-4p on Sun. 7/29
Cost $350 per person/$400 for a married couple

This is waht Chris states he will do during this class.

"The evening classes will focus of preparation of pork butt, pork shoulder and beef brisket. He will show the attendees what he does in competition and explain his methods in depth. He will also use this period as a question and answer session discussing the pros and cons of different BBQ philosophies. He will then begin the cooking process of the pork and beef. He will follow with a private visit to all individuals who are attending to give the more "confidential" advice.

He will begin the day with chicken and rib preparation. He will try out several methods of chicken preparation he has used in competition including the chicken used to win the American Royal. He will complete the cooking process of chicken and ribs. The day classes will also focus on finishing the large cuts of meat and will include wrapping, resting, and finishing techniques. During the day he will visit attendees individually to discuss BBQ procedure.

Garnish and box presentation will also be addressed in depth. He will be available to critique presentation and flavor profile of all attendees until I am fat with BBQ and unable to move.

The weekend like a contest and cover everything. "

Photos From "go For the Gold" June 2007

Check out below links for photo sets of Go For The Gold Comp in Victorville, June 8-9, 2007

BBQ Junkie

Big Mista

BBQ Junkie Post

Gary N's Photos

Four Q BBQ Team at the "Go For Gold"- Victorville June 8-9, 2007

Yea, I know I didn't alert you that Four Q BBQ Team was competing again. Gold for the Gold was held this weekend at the San Bernandino Fairplex in Victorville, CA. We competed with 20 other teams in what turned out to be a fun filled weekend. Once again we are award winning.

Ribs - First Place
Brisket- Fifth Place
Chicken and Pork Butt didn't place this time around.

Our next competition will be the first weekend in August in Thousand Oaks. I promise to provide more info on this one prior to the event.

Garden Update June 10, 2007

First harvest of tomatoes and bell peppers plus more zucchini

Memorial Day Weekend Cooking

Memorial Day weekend marks the official beginning of summertime backyard cooking. With one goal in mind for this weekend and you know that was to make sure I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen and doing backyard cooking. It's at these times that I wish I had a full outdoor kithen.

No particular menu in mind, just use what's in the freezer, refrigerator and pantry. I did pickup some things at Costco on my home from work Friday (wild shrimp U-12, some tomatoes and mozzarella cheese). I removed from the freezer a tri tip I had previously marinated (Professor's secret marinade) and then frozen for later use. For Easter, my son had boiled too much penne pasta so I froze some. This I removed from the freezer to make a pasta salad.

I find that cooking eases my mind and takes me away from all those stresses of work. No one can tell me what to do in my kitchen. I work at my pace and produce foods for the enjoyment of others. This past week at work was one of those that was hard to take. My desk was piled up with items which accumulated while I was vacation (no one to cover my workload) and to add to this, it seems everyone wanted to re-invent my priority list and bump their needs over mind. I'm thankful for a class I took a couple of years ago on how to say "no". Anyway, I'm digressing.

My daughter T is home for a week prior to moving to the location of her very first 100% off my payroll job. Friday, G and I took her to our favorite local sushi restaurant, Sushi Karen .

Saturday, T and I headed for some shopping at Ontario Mills. Girls day out and we found some great Memorial Weekend sales even for me. I guess you are wondering where the weekend of cooking begins. Well, after the shopping spree,we headed home where I began Saturday's dinner and prepared the ribs for the next days smoke.

I marinated the wild large shrimp (fyi- Costco had both farm raised and wild shrimp for the same price. I went for the wild shrimp after remembering a pod cast which supported wild U.S. shrimp versus farm raised and convincing me that wild shrimp would be more tasty and have a better texture). My marinade consisted of olive oil, parsley, salt, pepper and lots of minced garlic. I was going to grill these so I decided to skewer them.
Wild U-12 Shrimp
Marinading
Skewered and Grilled Shrimp












My pasta salad was adapted from a recipe I found in last AAA's Westways magazine. Caprese Salad with kalamata olives, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, zucchini and basil (from my garden), roasted bell peppers, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, penne pasta, garlic, salt and pepper. This salad was fantastic. Best served at room temperature. My substitutions were the balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar, roasted bell peppers instead of sun dried tomatoes in olive oil and I added the zucchini.















The marinaded tri tip was grilled over indirect fire until med rare. this is sliced and served with some of the marinade I had in the refrigerator. Can't divuldge the recipe for the marinade as I promised I would never publish it as a condition the Professor would give me the recipe. Let's just say, it is jam packed with Asian spices, sauces and herbs.




I found time to prepare some spare ribs. I cleaned them, removing excess fat and the membrane covering the ribs. I rubbed them with my Sylvie's Magic rub and then returned them to the refrigerator to smoke the next day.

















In that T is a pseudo vegetarian (she eats fish but no other meats), I also prepped some salmon filets to smoke for her.













For dessert, T requested that I make Cinnamon Bread Pudding. I used the same recipe posted previously minus the Nutella chocolate. I substituted the raisins with dried blueberries and added walnuts per T's request.






With all this food, by Monday (official Memorial Day), we are having leftovers.

Garden Update 5-20-07

My garden has really taken off. Upon return home, to my delight I found a huge zucchini growing along with quite a few regular sized ones. Many tomatoes are present along with, cayenne peppers and a couple of bell peppers.




I plan to make a stuffed zucchini today with this huge treat.
Tomatoes

Ziggy Blogging

While we were on vacation, Ziggy spent some quality time with my mother. I picked him up today and was greeted with a very excited and happy to see me Yorkie.


Upon return home, Ziggy found his stuffed animals and gathered them to play.

Ziggy is glad to be back home and says hello to you all.

Back on the West Coast

Hello all. I'm now back in Los Angeles after a wonderful vacation and time spent at my daughter's graduation from the University of Pennsylvania plus a visit to my son in Hyde Park at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

Penn bestowed honorary doctorate degrees to many deserving people including Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, Shirley Franklin (mayor of Atlanta, GA) and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg along with James A. Baker III, the former secretary of state. No, Aretha did not sing, but it was a honor to watch her receive the degree.

Penn Graduation- Wharton School of Business Standing
T with proud Mom and Grandma
View From front of Roth Hall at CIA

It was a food filled vacation though I did not get many pictures to document the great meals we had including dinner two evenings at the CIA's American Bounty and Ristorante Caterina de Medici. If any of you plan to be in the Hyde Park/Poughkeepsie, NY area, it is well worth it to dine at one of the CIA restaurants. Pricey but exceptional cuisine.

Busy Week Ahead

This entry will include just my ramblings to document a very uneventful food week.

As a matter of fact, this past week just flew by me. Strange how the older you get, the faster time flys. I've been busy planning a little vacation which includes attending my daughter's graduation this coming weekend from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business [Bachelors of Science in Economics]. (Did I mention that I'm soooo proud of her- congrats TNC.) She does have a job lined up and that possibly means G and I can get her off our payroll.

Saturday, I attended a baby shower for one of my cousins. It is always nice to get together with family. I heard they were going to serve a BBQ meal at the shower, so I was excited to try it. Well, it was oven baked (possibly even par boiled) with a generic unadulterated sauce and I will not say anything more other than I have been spoiled by eating Que cooked the right way.

I missed Weekend Dog Blogging- sorry Ziggy. At a lost for time, I have also been neglecting my kitchen and smoker. I haven't cooked anything exciting in a while but I'll have to make up for it possibly Memorial Day weekend.

Over the next week, I'll have limited access to the internet. When I can I will definitely update this blog.