Wild times were had in Sweetwater at the Annual Rattle Snake Round Up. Julie Richards, of Waco and Julie fame, was on the winning team. Midkiff Mafia BBQ had a great day. They place 1st in rattle snake, 2nd in brisket and 10th in chicken. That gave them just enough points for the Grand Champion call in this Lonestar Barbeque Society event. Julie was going to make a snake meatball using my Chipotle Bomber recipe as a guide, but they were thrown a curveball and had to change the recipe at the last-minute. This year the judges decided to make the teams turn in snake on the bone, so they could be sure it was indeed snake. So it’s a little tough serving meatballs with bones, so she changed at the last moment. I will try to get some pics up later of the winning team. Julie had to take off early because her and Waco were singing over in Midland. So she missed the awards. Check out the link from here to Waco and Julie’s site and go see them sometime if they are in the area. Congratulations to Bernie Phillips and the Midkiff Mafia BBQ team.
Entrees
Picante Fish and Red Chilie Shrimp
I had some old friends drop by and visit the other night. They showed up hungry and expecting something great. I chose a recipe I got from a friend and one of my own. While I was in the outdoor kitchen taking care of the seafood the wife fixed a couple of sides in the house.
Picante Fish
- 1 Onion
- 1 Stick of butter
- 1 Bunch of cilantro
- 10 tilapia fillets
- Picante Sauce
- Fajita seasoning
- Start fire
- Slice onions into rings
- Slice butter into thin slices
- Season fillets
- Make a foil boat to cook fish in
- Place onions on boat over the fire
- Spread butter pats around on the onion rings
- Place fish on the rings
- Pour sauce over the fish
- Sprinkle cilantro across fillets.
- Cook till the fish heats through and becomes flakey
While the fish was cooking I prepped the shrimp and started cooking it. I had already peeled and deveined the shrimp, I just had to season and cook the shrimp, the shrimp cooks much faster then the shrimp. Remember shrimp is cooked when it curls into a C and is overcooked when it curls into an O.
- 3 lbs Shrimp (peeled and deveined w/tail)
- 4-6 Serrano Chilies (red if you can get them) sliced thin
- 6 Garlic cloves minced
- TT Spanish Paprika
- TT Sea salt
- Olive Oil
- White wine or sherry
- Heat oil in cast iron skillet
- Add chilies and saute
- Add garlic
- Add shrimp
- When shrimp is almost cooked, add paprika and salt
- Toss shrimp in the hot oil and seasonings
- Add wine till warm
With the shrimp and fish finished we headed to the house. We had a great salad, squash and red potatoes.
Texican Paella
I spent the day teaching the kids how to make paella. Paella is a dish from Spain, it originates from the Mediterranean Coast. Many people consider it the national dish of Spain. Paella is make up of rice, vegetables, and usually sea food, although rabbit, chicken, pork and chorizo are also found in it. Today we are making a Texican style of the dish. We have included shrimp, oysters, crawfish, and muscles for our seafood. I have used these items because this is the type of seafood immigrants would have found when they came to Texas. I have also chose to use polish sausage instead of chorizo and chicken wings. I also have used some roasted poblano peppers, cilantro and seasoned with cumin to give it the Texas flair.
First we added about a cup of oil and browned the wings in the paella, the pan is called paella also. Then we added the sausage cut into rounds, about 1/4 to 3/8 inches thick. next we sautéed the vegetables. When all the vegetables were translucent we added the rice and cooked it until translucent also. Then we add the stock.
sauteing the chicken, sausage and vegetables.
Adding rice
Adding the seafood stock and seasonings. The yellow color comes from saffron.
Next bring everything to a boil. Let it boil for about 5 minutes then turn down to a simmer. After 5 minutes you can now add the seafood. I will now tent the pan and cook it for about another 10 minutes.
Bringing stock to a boil.
Chicken Fried Chicken with Cream Gravy
I had the media Dept. come by today to get of shot of my kids in action for the website. The problem was we were cleaning the kitchen today. So I quickly put together a little demonstration and the filming began. The had three of the students prepare chicken fried chicken and a cream gravy to go with it. These were culinary one students and they had never done it before, but they did an excellent job. I got some pictures of the process so I figured I would post it up on here for everyone to give a try.
Chicken Fried Chicken
- 2 chicken breast
- 2 C flour
- TT salt, pepper and garlic ( for flour, egg wash and chicken)
- 2 C butter milk
- 2 eggs
- Set up breading station. one pan flour, one pan egg and milk wash with seasonings and one with seasoned flour.
- Trim breast and pound to an even thickness. (use a rolling-pin to pound the breast)
- Season chicken breast.
- Cover with flour in first pan.
- Dip in the egg wash.
- Place in third pan and coat with seasoned flour. Press hard on the flour and chicken to coat well.
- Place breast in skillet of hot oil to cook. The oil should be deep enough to cover 2/3rds of the chicken breast.
- Cook until golden brown. The chicken should reach 165 degrees.
Place the breast in a bag or under plastic wrap when pounding
Flouring the chicken
Looking for a nice golden brown
Cream Gravy
- 1/4 C Flour
- 2 Tbl Chicken drippings
- 2 C Milk
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Place oil and flour in skillet heat and mix to form roux. (for a proper roux mix equal parts of fat to flour by weight)
- Stir and heat roux until desired color is obtained. The longer you cook the darker it will become. (heating the flour will get rid of the raw flour taste in your gravy)
- Add cold milk and stir rapidly untill the mixture is thickened and smooth.
- Add seasonings.
Making the roux
Adding the milk to make the cream gravy
Alpine Cowboy Gathering
West Texas Sunset
Libby and I headed out west to see the boy and enjoy time with friends. The drive was excellent, a beautiful day for the 350 miles out to Alpine. We hit town about 3:30 and went straight to the football field to catch some of the teams workout. When that was finished we greeted John, his friends and a couple of the coaches. We headed to check in at the motel and John headed home to clean up. We had reservations at The Reata for 5:30. now for y’all that have not heard of it is the claim to fame for Grady Spears. Grady is the author of a series of cookbooks on Cowboy Cooking, the most popular I would say is Cowboy in the Kitchen. Now last time we were there I was less than impressed, but this time it was excellent. Sorry for no pictures at the Reata, I was so excited about seeing the boy and celebrating his 21st, which was last Friday, I forgot all about it. The place was packed and we sat out on the patio. It is still a little cool out but with the help of a nice fire and some propane heaters we had a wonderful time. We started out our meal with some bacon wrapped shrimp, served with pico and onion jam. John ordered a New York strip with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans, Libby got the chicken fried chicken with he same sides and I got the carne asada and enchiladas served with rice and beans. The food and service were excellent and we had a wonderful time.
Jeff Gore and some of his family were in for the weekend also, Jeff was performing at the Cowboy Gathering. So we met up with them and had a great visit and we decided to meet at 7:30 the next morning for a chuckwagon breakfast. Saturday started with a beautiful sunrise and a cool temperature of 34 degrees. Jeff, Libby and I were the only ones to wake and make the breakfast. The chuckwagon folks were serving scrambled eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy along with some stout coffee.
One of our host with a big pot of coffee
Might not be gourmet but it's good
Jeff at the campfire getting a coffee refill
A couple of the dutch ovens our breakfast was cooked in
After breakfast Jeff headed to pick up his family and get ready for his performance, Libby and I headed downtown to the Grandada to look over the items in the auction, that was supporting the Museum of the Big Bend. There were many nice items but nothing that got us really excited so we headed down the street to some of the shops on the main drag of Alpine. After picking up John we headed to the Cowboy Grill a new place out on the Marfa highway for burgers. We had a nice meal, then headed to the campus of Sul Ross for some of the cowboy entertainment.
Jeff performing in the University Center
John wanted to have supper at his house instead of going out. So we headed to the grocery store and picked up some supplies for the evening meal. Libby grabbed items for baked potatoes and green bean casserole. John and I went to the meat section and picked up 10 T-bones and 4 New York strips. I had brought some stuffed jalepenos and roasted corn and poblano salsa with me. So we got to John’s and started cooking. Well actuallyl we started cleaning the kitchen so we could cook. John had invited a few of his friends, Jeff Gore brought his family over along with Robert Barge so we started the fires outside and the ladies got going in the kitchen.
Starting the fire in the Texas Hibachi, a barrel grill
The steaks seasoned up and waiting on the grill
Steak Rub
- Kosher Salt
- Course Ground Black Pepper
- Dark Brown Sugar
Steaks are ready and so is the crowd
Rob looks happy
Earnest with a full plate
John enjoying his birthday dinner with friends and family
Saturday finished great. Libby and I headed to the motel, so did Jeff and his family. Robert headed home and the boys laid back and rested a full belly. We will be up early Sunday for church then lunch and head back to Lytle before to late.
Founders Day Success
Clear Blue Smoke
I have had quite a week. The PTA had me cater their annual fund-raiser. Last year was not exactly a success, So they gave me and my kids a chance to provide the meal. We settled on a plate of brisket, sausage. rice, beans and potato salad for 450 people. Sorry but I did not get any pictures of us in action or any of the plates, but I did get a few of the briskets. I ran to Restaurant Depot Monday morning before school and picked up 267 lbs of superior Angus choice beef. The briskets looked excellent. I also got the fixings for 80 lbs of mexican rice, 75 lbs of ranchero beans and 150 lbs of potato salad. I also got the usual fixings to go along with the plate, jalapenos, onions. pickles, bbq sauce and ice tea.
I got the briskets back to school and showed the kids how to trim them up then we seasoned them with kosher salt, ground pepper and the Big Ron’s original after I did one I let the kids take over and do the rest. We wrapped them up and put them in the cooler for cooking the next day. Tuesday morning I got the pit to school about 4:30 and started the fire. The some of the kids got there about 6:30 and helped load the pit. I ran the fire a little hotter than usual and hotter than I like. We kept the pit somewhere between 275 and 300. The briskets were big and I did not want to spend the day and night up at school. Some of the smaller briskets were ready after about 9:00 hours, the others were ready about 2 hours later. We wrapped them up and put them in an ice bath to cool down, then into the frig. During the day when the pit was running we cooked the potatoes and diced them up. mixed them with my sauce and cooled them in ice baths and put them in the refrigerator. Wednesday we started off prepping the rice and slicing the briskets. The rice was browned and the onions and peppers were sautéed, seasonings were bagged and everything was placed in the cooler. We also prepped everything for the ranchero beans. This ended Wednesday and we were on schedule. Thursday started quickly, we got chaffing dishes ready all plates and cutlery packs, cups, sweet and unsweet tea was made. The beans went on at high noon, rice in th oven at 1:00, kiolbasa links went in the smoker at 3:oo. The briskets were wrapped in foil along with some broth and put in the oven for reheating. At 4:30 we started loading my cargo trailer and just after 5:00 we loaded the bus, headed to the Boggess Center for the Founders Day Banquette. After arriving we quickly unloaded and set up two serving lines on each side of the venue. We started serving at 6:15 and at 6:43 we had served everyone. Last year the place that catered it took over 2 hours to serve everyone, so they were extremely happy with us. Looks like we have a job for next year.
Fine looking briskets
Trimming up the first brisket
Adding the Big Ron's Original
The kids rubbing a brisket
Briskets loaded on the pit
Looking good and ready to come off
Spaghetti, Spaghetti and more Spaghetti
I think 500 plates of spaghetti would qualify for allot. I finished the week up prepping 140 lbs of spaghetti and 30 gallons of sauce. In preparation for a fund-raiser for the band. We par cooked the pasta for 10 minutes and then dropped it into a pot of ice water to stop the cooking. The meat was browned, sautéed the onions, bell pepper and mushrooms. Everything was cooled off and put in the cooler. Saturday morning started early, with pots of water started to boil and the sauce began heating up. Around 9:00 help arrived, we got the steam table going, to go plates ready, garlic bread heating up and the salad washed and ready to go. Just before 11:00 people started showing up and we had plates ready to go. It does not take long to cook the pasta so things can move real fast. The par cooked pasta is dropped in boiling water it only has to stay for about 3:00 minutes and it is done. After straining it went straight to the steam table to be plated. We had plenty of help and everything went real smooth. The band boosters were happy and so were th customers. The students in my class learned allot and the band boosters made some money for their kids. All in all an excellent day.
Pots of boiling water waiting on the pasta
Plating up
Adding the salad
A happy customer
Spatchcock Turkey
Spatchcock is a great way to prepare poultry. I had never tried to expand it use to a turkey but it turned out fantastic. Spatchcock is a style where you cut out the backbone and the breastbone of the bird you are preparing. You then flatten it out and grill it. it is much faster then a beer can chicken and I believe much more flavorful.
My turkey was prepared by first brining it for 48 hours. I used a classic brine with salt and sugar. Seasoning added were salt, pepper, garlic, cominos, cayenne, and bay leaf. I started the fire using my chimney starter.
Going in the brine.
Starting the fire
While the fire was getting ready, I prepared the turkey. First I cut the backbone out, then the breastbone.
Cutting down the left side of the backbone.
Cutting down the rit side to remove the backbone totally
Cutting down each side of the breastbone
Bones removed
After removing the breast and backbone I seasoned the Turkey using olive oil, salt, pepper, ancho chili powder, cumin, garlic, and spanish paprika.
Oiled and seasoned up
Front side seasoned
Seasoning under the skin
I headed outside with the turkey. The UDS was up to 325, just right. I placed the spatchcocked bird on he grill bones side down.
On the UDS at 325
Closed up the pit, the temperature dropped to 300 a I kept it there for 2 hours. I was not sure about time since this was the first time.
2 hours were enough the thighs were at 174 and the breast as at 165. It looked great.
I was amazed the it was fully cooked after 2 hours
The turkey will go along with the sides. Libby cooked a squash casserole, fresh green beans with mushrooms and corn on the cob. For a warm up before the meal we put on about a dozen stuffed jalapenos. They are the classic, cream cheese stuffing and bacon wrapped.
Peppers on the grill
Off the pit and ready to eat
The meal should be great I will up date when its time to eat.
Blue Corn Chips, Kiolbasa and a Yeti
A qucik week night meal.
We were looking for something quick but hearty. I grabbed four hotdog buns, four sausages and put on some baked beans. I did not want a plain hotdog, so I stepped it up with a polish style Kiolbasa. After getting the beans on to cook I headed to the outdoor kitchen.
After turning on the gas stove, I walked over to the yeti which I had used Saturday. Bingo, there were a few still on ice. I am not sure if the yeti is worth what it cost, but it was great having something cold to drink that was unexpected.
- Saturday, 20 lbs of ice a 12 pack of Leinekugel’s a six pack of wine cooler. Wednesday we still have ice and cold beverages.
I grabbed a Leinenkugel Classic Amber and got to grilling. I got back into the house and my wife had the fixings ready. blue corn chips, cream cheese covered with hot sauce, sweet relish, onions, and sharp chedder cheese. This was a quick meal that hit the spot and it did not take long to fix or eat.
Cilantro Lime Shrimp and New York Strips
Ran up to the new HEB, they built us a nice plus store here a couple of months ago. They have a nice sea food section. I grabbed a couple of pounds of 10/15s and some new york strips.While there I grabbed a new beer to try with our surf and turf dinner. While at HEB I ran into a life long friend and her mom. So she grabbed a couple of bottles of wine and a cheese cake and headed to the house to join us. I went back o the adult beverage section and grabbed some Leinenkugel’s to try then stopped at the produce section for some red potatoes and zucchini squash.
When I got to the house I started a fire with my Chimney and a lump charcoal.
The outdoor kitchen has a steak grill that will raise and lower.
While the fire was starting up I rubbed the steaks down with a Spicy Chipotle rub I picked up at Williams-Somoma. After rubbing the steaks I peeled and deveined the shrimp, using a deveiner.
Steaks are on the grill. while they are grilling to a medium, and one medium rare for me. The steaks are cooked on a hot grill for about 5 minutes per side
While the steaks were grilling I started the shrimp. They don’t take long to cook and I wanted them the done the same time as the steaks. The shrimp are cooked in a hot cast iron skillet, with a little olive oil. The shrimp is seasoned with 4 cloves of garlic. some kosher salt and the juice of 4 limes. just before it’s through I toss in some chopped cilantro. Now remember shrimp is cooked when it looks like a C and is overcooked when it looks like an O. There is a key to chopping cilantro. Cut off the stems, roll it up into a tight ball and cut it into a chiffinade. Turn it 90 degrees and chop again. this gives you a nice small cut.
Steaks off the grill.
Picking he right beverage for the meal.
Texas Style Cuisine 