My First Bhut Jolokia

This morning I took my weekly trip up to the West Chester, PA Farmer's Market. As usual I worked my way through the various vendor stalls picking out some rhubarb and asparagus before finally made making my way down to one of my favorite vendors, Chile Spot. Though I have been buying their products for quite some time, today was the first day that I had a chance to talk to one of the owners. I even got the chance to sample their new Bhut Jolokia hot sauce which was incredible. It was wicked hot but still had a lot of flavor. After that he sold me me my first Bhut Jolokia plant. Even if it only produces one of two chiles it will be well worth it.

Reader Submitted: BBQ Pork Loin

I followed your directions on how to BBQ a pork loin based on your Christmas post last year. It turned out great even though I used a gas grill.

Here is what I did and some pictures.

We bought a 6.49 lb tenderloin from Safeway for only $13.00. I made a "dry rub" with Garlic Salt, Salt, Cumin, and Paprika hot pastes (see the picture).









We let it sit for about 1 hour at room temperature.



We fired up (isn't that what you always say?) our gas grill and heated it up to 350 degree. As you suggested, we used indirect heat for about 2 hours. I did this by turning the right most burner off, the middle one to medium, and the left most one to high. I tried to get the meat thermometer to read about 170 but it only got up to 155 degrees.




We served it with a simple green salad, tabouli salad (recipe from The Mousewood Cookbook), sour dough bread, and baked beans.

I got lots of compliments on the meat.

Reader Submitted - Grilled Chicken From Nashville TN

This one was submitted by a buddy of mine Greg from down in Nashville TN. He is actually one of the guys who turned me on to Hot Chicken. Speaking of which, the 2009 Music City Hot Chicken Festival is just right around the corner!

Grilled Chicken Salad

Some pre-planning will make this easy and delicious meal a huge success. For the chicken, start off with some boneless chicken breast from your favorite store. Then marinade the chicken in a zip-top bag in Italian Dressing for 2-8 hours. (The longer the better)

Put chicken on the grill on high direct heat to sear in the juices Cook each side for 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken. Make sure the juices run clear to ensure properly cooked chicken
Slice up the chicken and place on top you your favorite greens mix

Thanks Greg!

West Chester's Best Kept Secret

Avid readers of the BBQB Blog will remember that not too long ago I marked Buck A Shuck Night at Doc Magrogan's Oyster House as the best kept secret in the West Chester restaraunt scene. In fact I destroyed a dozen oysters, a few PBR's and a sea bass just a few days ago. That being said, I think I just found the best kept secret for Thursday nights: Avalon. Located on 312 South High Street in West Chester, PA, this place knocked my socks off.

Three friends of mine and I tried it out for the first time a few nights ago. For $27/person we each had a 4 course meal. Mine started with an appetizer of lump crab meat and grapefruit slices. I then went on to a pasts with scallops dish....and then a veal dish and finally rounding it out with a chocolate mousse. To top it all off, it is a BYOB so we were several bottles of wine as well.
Take the date, take the wife, this place makes the BBQB's top three list.

Google's Mother Day Menu Leaves Out the BBQ

I was surfing the web and noted that the chef for the Google complex in California was publishing his mother's day menu for the world to see.

I was disappointed that he left out the barbecue.

Official Google Blog: A Mom's Day menu

However, the Warm Mushroom Strudel looked good. See the recipe from them below. If anyone makes it, send pictures.

Warm Wild Mushroom, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onion Strudel

Ingredients
1 box Phyllo dough, thawed in refrigerator for 2 days
4 tbsp butter, melted
1⁄2 package soft goat cheese (I like Laura Chenel or Harley Farms)
1 onion, caramelized in advance
1 lb wild assorted mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin (remove any tough roots)
2 tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp parsley, minced
Kosher salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Procedure
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan and add the mushrooms. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are tender and their water has evaporated. Next, add the minced garlic and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool completely.

While the mushrooms are cooling, unfold the roll of the packaged Phyllo dough onto a clean dry surface. Cover the dough with a damp (not wet) paper towel to prevent cracking of the dough. On a cutting board, place a sheet of Phyllo dough and brush it carefully and completely with melted butter. Repeat this process with another sheet.

With a sharp knife, cut the Phyllo dough into equal strips in your desired size. (You will be folding them in half to make each strudel — see below.)

To assemble the strudels, place approximately a teaspoon of the mushroom mixture on the far right corner of one strip of Phyllo, top with a half‐teaspoon of the goat cheese and finish with a pinch of caramelized onion. Fold the rectangular strip diagonally to form a triangle.

Brush some melted butter over the finished strudel and refrigerate until needed. They will keep for 3‐5 days. When you are ready to bake the strudel, put them on a baking sheet and bake in a 350° F oven for 5‐10 minutes or until golden brown. Be careful when removing them from the oven — they are very hot!

Leg of Lamb

In my opinion, grilled leg of lamb is one of the best things you can do with your Weber Kettle grill. My go to recipe is to simply add some plain yogurt, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and cruched rosemary leaves to a bowl and mix it up. Next coat the lamb in your marinade and let it sit in your refridgerator for a night. Done and done.

One and a half hours on the grill under high indirect heat and you have yourself a perfect medium rare. I served this meal with some grilled asparagus and some bacon sauteed brussel sprouts.

Meat - Bring It On Home

I've been receiving hate-texts recently that I haven't been posting enough...and that I am in bed with Shop Rite. I'm writing to change all that. Last night I got midieval and dialed up four bone-in rib-eyes from Acme in West Chester: 2 20oz's for the dudes and 2 pounders for the ladies.

As always, I salted these babies up with a coating of sea salt for about an hour. After that, I washed the salt off and dusteed them with freshly cracked black pepper. No more no less.

5 minutes a side under wicked hot flames and these blocks of meat were perfected. A few bottles of Calvet Reserve and the meal was sealed.