St. Patrick’s day is one of my favorite holidays. No…no..no not because you can drink. Who needs a holiday for that when you can do that anytime. For me St. Patrick’s day is about the corned beef. This time of year is when it gets super cheap and I buy quite a few to make pastrami. I usually prefer the points.

Pastrami is traditionally brined and coated with spices. Corned beef is brined too but not usually covered with spices. This is a pretty simple and straight forward process.

First thing is throw that damn spice packet away. I have an aversion to spice packets included with food. I think that there is dead cat chunks leftover from the glue factory in them. I will admit the spices included here probably are o.k. but I’ll err on the safe side. Give them to your mother-in-law.

Anyway….you need to soak them in water for 2 days completely submerged. Change the water 4 times (if you only do it twice I won’t tell). This is to reduce the salt.

After two days your ready to rock and roll. Squirt some cheap a$$ mustard (yes I said cheap a$$ save the good stuff for later) and rub all around. This doesn’t really do anything I just want you to get mustard all over your hands. Well actually it is going to hold the spices on okay?

Sprinkle both sides with granulated garlic. Now in your spice grinder (you have one right?) you need a 2/1 ratio of black peppercorns and whole coriander. For the sizes I was doing I used 2 tablespoons pepper to 1 tablespoon coriander for each one (I did two). You want to cover it all over pretty good.

That’s it!

Toss on your smoker. I have a small Weber Smokey Mountain that I like to use for smaller things. The cut I used was the point (thick end of the brisket) and had on the smoker about 12 hours. I used hickory but I’m sure you can use whatever wood is your preference.

Mine shrunk almost in half! But it’s worth it trust me. I wrapped in foil and stuck in the fridge until the next day.

Now that it is chilled it is slicing time!

Yes you can use a knife but I finally found a reason to buy a slicer!

The two I made was enough to fill up a 1lb ziplock bag of sliced goodness. Now we need to get down to business here because I’m getting hungry!

Get yourself a nice loaf of crusty marble rye and some creole mustard.

Pile on the pastrami and add some swiss cheese. Okay quick story. When I was a kid I never liked cheese at all. None. Nada. Zip. I would gag on macaroni and cheese. The only exception was Swiss cheese on pastrami. I was a weird kid I guess.

And finally the end result that now is in my belly.

There are many ways to make a pastrami sandwich and the best I ever had was just a hunk warm pastrami on a roll with some au jus. I had that 30 years ago and to this day I still remember it.

If you have any questions about this let me know. Send your photos too!

Okay I know some of you Texans out there are thinking chili from Cincinnati? On Spaghetti? OMG with BEANS? Heck yeah! Would I serve it and call it chili in Texas? Hell no!

Cincinnati chili is a regional style unique to this part of the country. It is believed this style of chile was started by Greek immigrants trying to offer something else more “American” in addition to their ethnic style of food. Ingredients vary from place to place but are a long the line of Allspice, cloves, cinnamon, chocolate etc.

Every once in a while I truly crave this recipe. I know it sounds weird but this is a truly regional classic dish and I think you all will love it too!

Well lets get started. Here are the ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef
1 qt water
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
4 cloves garlic minced
1 whole bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 cloves whole
1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate (half square)
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp red pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
4 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon

Toppings:
Chedder Cheese shredded
Extra chopped onion
2 15oz cans kidney beans drained.

First start by breaking up the ground beef in in a 5 qt pot.

Okay this part just freaks me out but it is part of the process and if you can make it through it you will be rewarded. Add 1 qt. water….yes water. Remember it’s hamburger you tossed in the pot not a filet mignon. You want to totally stir and break up the ground beef with a spoon in the water. When you are successful it will look like this. Ugh!

Try not to look I know. Slow boil this glop for 30 minutes making sure it is all broken up fine. Texture is an important part of food sometimes and especially in this case.

Okay once that is done add the rest of your ingredients:

Chop onion fine. I used a red and yellow onion because that is what I had.

2 8oz cans of tomato sauce. Only from Ralph’s they make the best! No I’m just joking any brand will do.

Add worcestershire, vinegar, garlic (minced), bay leaf, salt and cloves.

Add chocolate, allspice, red pepper, cumin and chili powder. Did you guys ever give your kids a piece of bitter chocolate when they were little? Both of my kids fell for that. You get to see the look in their eyes that they can have chocolate then their reaction once they take a bite. Money can’t buy entertainment like that folks. Okay I’m mean sorry. Anyway….

Bring up to a boil and simmer for 3 hours without a lid.

When it starts to look like this:

It is getting close. You basically want it reduced down to a thick consistency. That’s it!

Now some fixins. When you order it you have the option of the following:

two-way: spaghetti and chili
three-way: spaghetti, chili, and shredded cheese
four-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, and either diced onions or beans
five-way: spaghetti, chili, shredded cheese, diced onions, and beans

I roll five-way because I always say go big or go home! I did use less cheese then most places usually do because i’m trying to watch my sexy figure.

I hope you enjoy it!

Who doesn’t like jerky? Only jerks right? (yes I was trying to be funny). Well I have been planning to make jerky for a while and was going to share an old time molasses cured jerky recipe. I am still planning on doing that in a future blog recipe.

Dave Peckham is an old BBQ buddy who passed away last year. Really nice guy. His brother emailed out a request for any recipes he had posted. Dave had sent this to me a few years ago. So I thought I would share with Y’all (said in my best Paula Dean accent)

First requirement is to try doing this when there is tornado warnings…(no I am not joking)

That’s how I roll for all of you. Rain or shine!

First off you need to start with these ingredients:

5 pounds lean beef London broil (or other similar lean meat)
1 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
1/2 cup Best Foods or Hellmans Dijonnaise
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp granulated garlic (or 4 cloves fresh, minced finely)
2 tsp granulated onion (or 1 large white onion, minced finely)
1 tsp Tenderquick
1 tsp white pepper

Make sure you use lean meat. You want to trim as much fat off as possible or it can turn rancid. Ask me how I learned this.

Slice the meat in 1/4 inch strips. I fine it easier to cut after you stick in the freezer to firm up for a little bit.

Whisk all the spices and the rest of the ingredients together.

A bit of useless information coming your way…

You see that white pepper to the right in this dish? Yeah, the one that wasn’t ground enough. That is from a huge bucket of white pepper corns I inherited from my grandfather 10 years ago. He got it from India probably in the early 70’s. Yes I still use it!

Where was I? Oh yeah whisk it all up and mix in with the meat. Marinade for at LEAST 24 hours…..24 HOURS…..24 HOURS….

I decided to smoke mine a little on an electric smoker called the Little Chief. They are pretty cool for something like this. I use this for smoking salmon too.

One problem I have when doing jerky on it is arranging the meat to not fall down the grates or keeping it flat. Mike Riblett over at www.frogmats.com solved that for me by sending custom mats to fit on my Little Chief rack.

Frogmats are a non-stick, food safe mesh that is pliable. Since it is non stick they are great for fish and vegetables. Simple to clean too! They worked great and will not be using this smoker without them in the future.

Everybody has their own way on how to dry jerky. What I did was put them in the little chief for about 2 trays of hickory chips (about 2-3 hours in-between rain storms) then put in my food dehydrator until they were sufficiently dried. Remember your not cooking the meat just drying it out.

If you want to spice it up more you can by adding cayenne or some crushed red pepper. Even using a habanero sauce in place or added also.

That is all for now time to get my waders on and hit the links. Sausage links that is!

Red beans and rice is mostly a creole dish but a good ole pot of beans has been a staple for various areas across our country and around the world. Check out this article on Brown Beans from a buddy of mine Dan Gill a Ethno-Gastronomist out of Virginia.

When I was a kid beans and rice was my favorite meal. Nothing like coming home from school and smelling a pot of beans on the stove. If I was stuck on an island and only could have one meal to eat it would be beans and rice. Of course, I would need the beer serving girl (That was the other wish right?), to serve me the beans and rice. Total comfort food.

There is no specific authentic recipe for red beans and rice and if anybody tells you otherwise they need some of THIS because they have been skiing down Bandini mountain with a PBR one too many times.

Well here is my recipe for Red Beans and Rice please change it up and make it your own!

First you have to get your measuring cup ready..

Oh did I forget to mention that I rarely use measuring cups when cooking? Don’t worry I’ll have some kind of measurements for the anal retentive folks out there.

Start off with these 3 nice cloves of garlic, 3 stalks of celery, one green pepper and one White onion. Why white you ask? Because that’s what I like! It may be because a white onion is more sharper and has a more oniony (is that a word?) taste to me.

Chop them up!

Okay now you need 2 lbs dry red kidney beans, 2 lbs Andouille sausage and about 12oz of salt pork. I use kidney beans because I like the larger creamier bean. I know there may be some traditionalists out there but hey this is my recipe! If you want to use regular red beans go for it.

Go ahead and rinse the beans. No I’m not going to tell you to soak them overnight. There is not enough flatulence in the world. Your significant other won’t mind trust me! I personally think soaking beans is overrated and not necessary. When you dump out the water you are losing flavor and various vitamins/minerals.

Slice up the sausage and salt pork into chunks. I can’t figure out why my store carries pre-sliced salt pork here. I don’t like it and don’t know why they do it. I would rather choose what size I would like on my own. Damn you Hormel!

Cover the beans with about 12 cups of water. See I measured for you! Nah not really.

Add the following spices to the pot:

1 TB Paprika
1 TB Salt
1 ts Granulated Onion
1 ts Granulated Garlic
1 ts White Pepper
1 ts Black Pepper
1/2 ts Thyme

If your manly spice it up and add 1 ts cayenne. I’ve been married 20 years for a reason so I left it out.

Dump the garlic, onion, celery, green pepper, salt pork and andouille in the pot. If I forgot something throw that in the pot too. Bring to a boil, cover and lower heat to medium for about 3 hours. Keep an eye on it after the beans start soaking up the water. Probably a couple hours in. Add a little water if necessary. You want the beans to have a little “pop” and be a little creamy at the same time.

Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. I like to add more salt while eating but that is me.

Grab a ladle and put over a bowl of rice. I told you to make rice right? I’m sure you got that handled. Topped with some chopped parsley. I used dried because I didn’t have any in the garden like I thought. Waaaa lahhhh!

Okay I know what your thinking. I’m a wuss for using Tabasco. I probably have at least 20 hot sauces in the fridge. Sometimes I like going back old school with Tabasco.

And if you didn’t make this to go with it you should be ashamed of yourself!

So since I’m tired of the word Chipotle I decided to make a burger with Chipotle in it and actually put the word Chipotle in the name! I’m just a rebel even against myself.

Next week I will get back to something southern. Red beans and rice so save your Beano until then.

Chipotle Olé! Peppered Bacon Burger

Recipe By: Robert King

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 8 oz can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 medium red onion
1 tablespoon garlic pepper
1 tablespoon season salt
1/2 lb peppered bacon
brown sugar
1 tomato, sliced
lettuce
pickles
1 package Tillamook Sliced Chedder (Go Beavers!)
Kaiser Rolls
1/2 stick butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place strips of bacon on a wire rack over a cookie sheet covered in foil. Sprinkle each piece of bacon with brown sugar. Bake in oven for about 20 minutes. Cook longer if you like crisper bacon but keep an eye on it. Put aside.

Slice onion in half. Take one half and slice for burgers and set aside. Finely chop the other half and add to ground beef. Add garlic pepper and season salt to ground beef. Remove chipotles from can and save liquid. Chop Chipotles and add them plus the liquid to ground beef. Mix by hand well.

Form hamburger patties by hand and set aside. Slice buns in half and set aside. Melt butter.

Fire up your grill and let it get to temperature. Grill hamburgers until desired doneness. When ready to pull off grill put one slice of cheese then remove from grill.

Baste insides of kaiser buns with butter and put on grill until toasty. Just takes a few minutes.

Put miracle whip on the buns (okay some of you are gagging use mayo then!) followed by burger, bacon, onion, lettuce, tomato and pickles (I used homemade but I’m sure Mr. Vlasic would appreciate your business). Put some nice deli mustard on top of that and eat!