Beef...Its what the Chicken recommends for dinner.

Spicy Fajita Tacos on the grill

March 22, 2016 Kings Reyes Chapa

Spicy Fajita Tacos on the grill.

“Spicy fajitas on the grill?” That was something different for me. Let me tell you how that came about.

Back at work (Lowe’s) in Weslaco, Texas; we were planning our end of the year celebration and we were doing a fajita cook-off to see who had the best fajitas in town, or the store at least. Here is a small recap of that.

DECOR AT LOWE’S

Cowboy-decor...or Cowgirl? — Cowboy-decor…or Cowgirl?

Whoever decorated sure did a good job, but I had to run and light up the grill and what not. The outdoors beckoned at me, it was time to have some fun.

Grilling-time! Hope-none-of-my-hairy-chest-hairs-fall-on-the-grill!

“Yeah-yeah, it is a fake mustache! And yep! No chest hairs fell anywhere since I don’t have any!” As for the mustache, it never had a chance hanging around that big hot grill, it was fun while it lasted though.

THE COWBOY

Cowboy Rick; one of our ASM’s , who not only helps out at our cook-outs, but who also won the fajita cook-off. This fellow introduced me to smoking and grilling with Oak wood. More on that at a later post.

CHICKEN, A WHOLE LOT OF CHICKEN!

I was glad I showed up early to check things out. “Don’t tell anybody this, but most of the chicken was frozen solid! YIKES!” After we moved the Big grill into place I found it had a super big hole to the bottom right of it. “CA-RAM-BA!” No Texas size, super strong aluminum foil was gonna fix that. There was no time to waste. Things had to be moved into place and the fire started. Good thing this grill had a smoker so I wrapped most of the chicken in foil and tossed them in the upright smoker to thaw out (it was desperate times) and I’m sure some of you have gone thru some type of “near miss” experiences like that.

STONE COLD CHICKEN!

I put chicken everywhere to include the right side of the grill; above that useless hole.

FAJITA TIME!

We had too many fajitas and had to resort to adding a few at a time due to the grilling space. I put mine on the smoker after slightly grilling them to finish the cooking process and to get more flavor. We were grilling with Kings ford charcoal and smoking with Hickory wood. What is so great about been a cook is that you get a chance at tasting the food before anybody does. I sampled all the competitors fajitas and I gots to admit; they were all pretty darn good.

No need for explanation here, the horde came and devoured almost everything!

HEADING BACK TO THE RANCH!

Back-on-the-saddle-again! To the ranch we go!... "I wonder what happened to my mustache?" — Back-on-the-saddle-again!
To the ranch we go!…
“I wonder what happened to my mustache?”

One of the coolest things happening for the day was that our boss Richard hired this cowboy with a dancing horse. The cowboy was nice enough to let us mount the horse to take pictures. Well with a hard days work done, its time to head back. Back to the ranch that is and to that “Spicy Fajita Tacos on the grill!”

“Spicy Fajita Tacos on the grill!”

This fajita tacos have some bite to them, but they were good. So, for my spicy fajita recipe…I had marinaded over-night with the following. A 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1 cup Apple cider vinegar, the juice of 3 Texas size Valley lemon (really big lemons), 1 tablespoon each of the following; coarse pepper and salt, Cheyenne red pepper, and paprika. I added 2 table spoons each of Chili Garlic Sauce, Sriracha hot chili sauce and 1/4 cup of soy sauce. The last 2 sauces can be very hot if added too much and has a somewhat sweet flavor to it. I finely chopped 6 jalapenos and 4 Serrano chili peppers, and 1 full onion.

THE FAJITAS

I sliced 8 pounds of old style fajitas into tortilla size portions. and added them to the marinade for an overnight bath. Normally 1 hour to 3 is what I would normally do, but I decided to leave them longer to give them more bite.

OAK WOOD BATHING

I soaked some chunks of Oak wood for 2 hours , could have been 3 and started cleaning out the grill.

SPICY FAJITAS

I started the fire and let the coals ash over , added the Oak chunks, waited for the smoke, and grilled one side of the fajitas for 7 minutes and flipped over and grilled an additional 7-9 minutes. This is after 14 minutes of grilling. I sliced them against the grain and returned some of them back to the grill.

Here the added spicy fajitas are grilled to the person’s preferences. Some like them like this and others like them fully cooked. It really boils down to who is eating them. Same goes for the spicy flavor, the smokiness flavor, and any other spice you might have added to them to get them the way you like it. While they might be perfect for you; some one else might not like them. So…if you don’t like Chile; I would advise you not to add them to the marinade.

Grilling and cooking to one;s taste is one of the main benefits of been the “Chief of the House!” Gotta love that! Til next time partners. “Giddi up !” Or something like that…

Uncategorized

“Salami Tacos on the Mystique Grill”

June 5, 2015 Kings Reyes Chapa

“Salami Tacos on the Mystique Grill”

“Salami-Tacos-on-the-Mystique-Grill”

“Have you ever lit up that grill and just throw anything on it that normally you would not?”

After having cooked some chicken and fajitas (flank steak) for our dinner, I set up the prepared plate in the warmer while I waited for the girls to come home so that we could eat as a family. They were running late, which is something that I have gotten used to.

Nevertheless, as I was getting ready to close the lid on my grill, I noticed the coals were to good to pass by. I quickly cleaned the cooking grates and threw in some salami and tortillas for a snack while I waited on the girls to come home.

Almost ready

"Salami-tacos-on-the-mystique-grill" — “Salami-tacos-on-the-mystique-grill”

A quick five minutes and my snack was ready in no time! I would recommend you have a plate for any prepared dish, even for the simple ones. Anything coming off the grill would be hot enough to cause discomfort when holding it.

“Voila”

Serve with your favorite beverage and enjoy!

Memoirs

Eating simple things cooked over an open fire or grill reminds me of my childhood when my brothers and I would cook stuff on a small cast iron pan outdoors directly over mystique coals and at times directly over a mystique fire.

I talking about the preteen age years when kids were kids and would go out on their little adventures to have plain good old fun. I recall we had an old small ax with a wooden handle that we would use to chop pieces of old mystique branches for the fire. I was very fortunate to have grown up out in the country where the area had mystique trees all over and where we could start fires directly on the ground and not have to worry about neighbors and the like complaining about the smoke.

Needless to say, we would go around gathering fallen mystique branches and chop them up to build a small fire big enough for the job at hand.

I have always wondered what happened to that old ax.

“Salami Tacos on the Mystique Grill”

Makes a good snack mainly meant before the main course or just because.

Ingredients

salami
torillas

Instructions

When coals ash over add salami and tortillas, flip over after 30-60 seconds, cook an additional 30-60 seconds.
Serve on a plate with your favorite beverage.

https://www.smokefirespice.com/salami-tacos-mystique-grill/

Uncategorized

“Short-ribs on the mesquite grill”

December 14, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

“Short-ribs on the mesquite grill”

A beautiful day for a BBQ here in The Rio Grande Valley! We ended up buying chicken, some funny looking ultra-thin beef, fajitas, and short-ribs. Normally, I know what I’m getting, but today I went to one of those local meat markets and ordered a package deal. Not to smart on my part, especially on those thin beef “what-cha-we-call-it!?” Don’t know. They were ultra thin beef strips with bone and resembled bacon (didn’t taste much like bacon though). Needless to say, I learned! Next time I am hand picking the goods.

At times when I cook ribs, I like to season them before they hit the grill with a multi-spice mix. For today, I used paprika, coarse salt, freshly ground pepper, a dash of Cheyenne pepper, and garlic salt.

Normally I grill them over indirect medium heat for one hour or until I am satisfied with how well they are cooked. Today I grilled them over low heat. My personal preference for ribs is well done, but juicy. I do not cover them with aluminum foil, but instead let them get as much smoky flavor during the cooking process.

Do close the lid to prevent flare ups which could ruin your meal; should the ribs catch on fire. If there is too much unwarranted smoke, check out the meal; it might be on fire. Be at the ready to dose flames with H2O (water) just in case there is a fire or with a plate to pull them out until the flames die down.

WHEN THE GRILL IS SMOKING TOO MUCH, AND IT IS NOT SUPPOSE TO.

This grill was smoking and it was suppose too! Unfortunately, it was also on fire… I was smoking brisket for the next day and had placed our dinner there to keep it warm until the ladies got home. The excessive grease on the ribs and sausage caught the attention of the fire.

THE RESULT

Everything burned to a crisp! Ouch! At the very least, the top two briskets survived and the bottom one had to get leaned up a bit (I sliced off the burned area after it had cooled off the next day). More on how I prepare my mouth watering briskets later. That day we ended ordering out. Well, at least I learned a bit. If you are keeping stuff warm on the grill; wrap it in aluminum foil and put it away from the heat source, its already cooked and just needs to keep warm.

Til later. Go grill something will ya!

Chicken...its what the chicken of the sea recommends for dinner.

“GRILLED CHICKEN ON STEROIDS!”

June 1, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

“GRILLED CHICKEN ON STEROIDS!”

“Whoa this three whole chickens were one of the biggest I have ever seen!” Makes you wonder what do they feed these chickens now a days? There were at a get together party for Mother’s Day and this is but one of the meats that day being offered at my Brother’s home.

Normally I would grill a normal size chicken until clear juices run out when a toothpick in the meatiest part of the thigh is inserted (roughly 1 hour). On a chicken this size that time would probably double to two hours grilled over indirect heat.

Turns out this trio were seasoned with thyme, salt, pepper, and were marinaded in an orange mix. The combination of orange, smoke, and grilling gave them that golden beautiful color. They sat on a really big homemade grill away from the hot coals for two and a half hours. I will see about getting some of those photos for you and myself later on.

MY WAY TO GRILL A REALLY BIG CHICKEN

This is one of my recipes for grilling a chicken.

Fire up that grill. Whether you use mesquite or another wood for flavor; the choice is really up to you. I suggest using a different type every time you grill to see what your taste buds like the best.

Rinse the chicken inside and out under cold running water and pat dry. In a large bowl mix your choice of spices with olive oil. For a bird this big I used 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon of thyme, 1 tablespoon of crushed black peppers, and 1/2 tablespoon of coarse salt. It is a very simple recipe that will make the chicken really tasty plus the added flavor from the smoke will pick it up as well.

Get the bird on a large cutting board and remove the backbone with a cleaver or heavy duty kitchen knife. Press the chicken flat on the cutting board. Get the mix and work some of it with your hands between the skin and chicken breasts. Rub the mix all over the chicken and let rest until the coals are ready.

Grill breasts up for 40-70 minutes over indirect heat and flip over for an additional 30-40 minutes with the breasts down or until the juices run clear at the thickest part when poked with a tooth pick.

Serve with your choice of sides and enjoy!

“GRILLED CHICKEN ON STEROIDS!”

Rating: 31

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Yield: 1 grilled chicken

Serving Size: 1/2 chicken

Calories per serving: 120 calories

Fat per serving: 6.5 grams

“GRILLED CHICKEN ON STEROIDS!”

Don't be a CHICKEN says the Chicken of the SEA, chicken is a whole lot tastier than fish and a whole lot healthier than beef and pork! This easy recipe will bring the "Chicken Lover in your family and friends alike!"

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon crushed black pepper
1/2 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon thyme
1/4 cup orange juice

Instructions

Prepare grill.
Rinse chicken under cold running water and pat dry.
Combine and mix ingredients in a large bowl.
Remove the chicken's backbone using a cleaver or a large heavy knife.
Rub the mix all over the chicken to include the areas between the breasts and skin.
Grill for 40-70 minutes breasts up over indirect heat and flip over for an additional 30-40 minutes or until the juices run clear when poked with a toothpick.
Enjoy with your choice of sides!

Notes

Most of the calories comes from the skin, so if you are watching the Figure, remove before consumption. The cooking times vary depending on how big the bird and grill are. Always test for by using the toothpick method for best results.

https://www.smokefirespice.com/grilled-chicken-steroids/

Chicken...its what the chicken of the sea recommends for dinner.

“GRILLED CORNISH HEN STUFFED WITH WHITE RICE AND ROSEMARY HERBS”

May 27, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

“GRILLED CORNISH HEN STUFFED WITH WHITE RICE AND ROSEMARY HERBS”

The day was perfect for barbecue…then again; what day isn’t? The temperature felt like the mid-80’s, which is unheard of? I don’t recall the month of May feeling this cool in past years? “Let’s not complain, but cherish this wonderful day before SOMEONE up there feels like we here don’t appreciate a day like this. Thank You Lord and AMEN!”

THE FIRE

Mesquite Coals from across the border, works pretty well but they tend to pop every once in a while; so moisten the floor if you have something that can catch on fire (like dry grass).

The chunks of mesquite were a pretty decent size and provided several hours of grilling heat. As usual, I started the fire before to let the grill come up to heat and to let the coals ash over.

THE BIRD

In a large bowl I combined the following seasoning; 1 1/2 teaspoon of crushed Rosemary leaves, 2 teaspoons Paprika, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Rinse Cornish hen under cold running water, pat dry, and coat hen inside and outside with seasoning mix.

Stuff hen with cooked white rice which has been seasoned with a tablespoon of butter and honey. You can use a moistened string or bamboo skewers to secure the hen’s legs to prevent the rice from coming out during the grilling. I use metal skewers myself because they can be reused and they don’t require soaking in water.

I ended up adding zucchini to the meal. For that, all I did was to cut zucchini lengthwise and lightly coated them with olive oil and seasoned with the remaining seasoning I had used for the hen.

AT THE GRILL

Place hen and zucchini on grill and cover. Grill for 30 minutes turning during the halfway time has passed.

“GRILLED CORNISH HEN STUFFED WITH WHITE RICE AND ROSEMARY HERBS” This dish was so good that when it hit the table, the hen, rice, and zucchini were all gone before I knew it…so much for a dish picture. “Oh well, next time!”

“GRILLED CORNISH HEN STUFFED WITH WHITE RICE AND ROSEMARY HERBS”

Rating: 31

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Yield: 2

Serving Size: half a Cornish hen

Calories per serving: 170 calories

Fat per serving: 9 grams

“GRILLED CORNISH HEN STUFFED WITH WHITE RICE AND ROSEMARY HERBS”

Cornish Hen, white rice, and zucchinis on the grill are an excellent choice for a light tasty dinner! The added herbs and spices blended with the olive oil plus the smokiness of mesquite takes this dish to a higher level of deliciousness! Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Ingredients

1 1/2 teaspoon crushed rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 Cornish hen
1 cup cooked white rice
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon honey
3 zucchinis cut length wise

Instructions

Prep grill beforehand.
Combine all seasonings in a large bowl with olive oil and mix well.
Rinse hen under cold running water, pat dry, and coat the inside and outside with seasoning.
Stuff hen with cooked white rice which has been seasoned with honey and butter.
Coat zucchinis with the remaining seasoning.
Grill hen and zucchinis over direct medium heat for 30 minutes turning over at the halfway point.
Remove when ready or until the juices run clear when a toothpick is inserted in the meatiest part of the hen.
Enjoy!

Notes

The calories and fat are for half a Cornish hen. You might want to add more for the rice and zucchinis.

https://www.smokefirespice.com/grilled-cornish-hen-stuffed-white-rice-rosemary-herbs/

Fish...its what Porky recommends for dinner.

LOBSTER TAILS ON THE GRILL

April 29, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

LOBSTER TAIL ON THE GRILL

Lobster-tails-grilled-over-Alder-coals. — LOBSTER-TAILS-ON-THE-GRILL

This dinner was actually lobster tails and red snapper fillets grilled over Alder coals with a honey buttery sauce, which also had a white wine in it. While I had posted in the past about the recipe on the red snapper fillets at http://www.smokefirespice.com/grilled-red-snapper-with-a-honey-butter-sauce, my comrades at work suggested I post again covering the lobster tails in depth to do them more justice. Both turned out to be a quite tasty meal which the family enjoyed and “I may note…it tasted better than The Red Lobster restaurant.” Here it is…“LOBSTER TAILS ON THE GRILL”

MEMOIRS

“Lobster!?” My initial reaction at the time was shock. I had never been a big fan of the lobster or shrimp for that matter. Eating food like that reminds me of the “gaminess” of deer meat; instead, eating lobster reminds me of the sea; kinda of the “gaminess” of the sea or ocean, if you know what I mean. Nevertheless, the Princess wanted lobster for tomorrow’s dinner and “WE” as PARENTS know…if at all possible, we supply what we can to them.

ENTER…THE CHEF.

Yes, I had never really liked eating lobster or shrimp before… until I decided to cook them myself for my daughter and her mother. Turns out home cooking tastes better then at restaurants, not to mention a wood fire just adds loads of mouth-watering flavor! Its great been able to cook and grill; the food just taste like you want it every time…or at least most of the time.

THE RECIPE

I started by rinsing the lobster tails and red snapper fillets under cold running water and patting them dry. I combined my ingredients in a large enough bowl to fit the tails in. The ingredients were a 1/4 cup of cooking white wine, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon Chile powder, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed oregano, 1 crushed garlic, the juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon crushed cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grounded black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and a tablespoon of McCormick’s Grill Mates “Apple wood Rub.” I combined the rough seasoning and ground them fine mixing everything together.

FOR THE SAUCE

I combined a tablespoon of cooking white wine, 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed parsley leaves, and 1 tablespoon honey in a grill proof sauce pan. Yes, I warmed that up on the grilling grates while cooking the red snapper and lobster. I used this mixture to lightly coat both the red snapper and lobster in the last two minutes of cooking time. “Ouch; talking about sweeeeet! “It’s great being the Chef!”

TODAY’S FIRE…

“Cowboy Brand” of mesquite coals was used today which proved a little tougher to start at first, but once the coals got started they kept burning for a while longer than regular charcoals. The added benefits of mesquite are that they not only burn hotter, but gives off that rich strong mesquite smell and flavor. You can use a charcoal starter chimney to help start your coals a lot easier. I also added alder wood chips which I had soaking in water for 30 minutes; for that extra punch in flavor.

THE GRILL

I had started my grill before I had even taken dinner out so that the coals would ash over. I then added Alder chunks for more added flavor. I grilled the red snapper and lobster tails for the same amount of time (just in case someone is wondering), which was a total of eight minutes directly over hot coals. I started with the skin up and the shells of the lobster facing up as well and flipped the red snapper and lobster tails over after four minutes had gone by. Grilled an additional four minutes basting with the honey-butter sauce in the last two minutes. I reserved the leftover sauce to be used for dunking the lobster as well. “LOBSTER TAILS ON THE GRILL” was a very super tasty dinner, which I intend to redo, but this time I’m buying a lobster tail for myself also!

LOBSTER TAILS ON THE GRILL

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Yield: 1

Serving Size: 1 lobster tail

Calories per serving: 90 calories

Fat per serving: 1 gram of fat

An outstanding and delicious meal anyone can prepare with ease that will impress any seafood lover!

Ingredients

1/4 cup of cooking white wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Chile powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano
1/2 teaspoon coarse slat
1/2 teaspoon fresh black pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
the juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove "crushed"
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon of McCormick's Grill Mates "Apple wood Rub."
For the sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon white cooking wine
1/2 teaspoon crushed parsley
1 tablespoon of honey

Instructions

Rinse lobster tails in cool running water and pat dry.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl big enough for the lobster tails and marinade for at least 30 minutes.
For the sauce:
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and lightly heat, keep warm.
Grill lobster tails for a total of 8 minutes flipping once at the half way point of the grilling time. Baste with sauce in the last 2 minutes and serve warm with the remaining sauce so your guests can use it as a dumping sauce.
Enjoy!

Notes

Remember you can use wood chips in a gas operated grill to add to the flavors of an already flavorful dish.

https://www.smokefirespice.com/lobster-tails-on-the-grill/

Beef...Its what the Chicken recommends for dinner.

“BEEF…ITS WHAT’S FOR DINNER!”

April 12, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

“BEEF…ITS WHAT’S FOR DINNER!”

“T-Bone steaks and french fries…can’t go wrong with that.” Especially on a beautiful Saturday evening with the temperature hovering around the mid-seventies; definitely a beautiful day to fire up the grill. Grilled over hot mesquite coals and slightly seasoned, this T-bone steaks were just what the Good Doctor ordered!

MEMOIRS; MY VERY FIRST T-BONE STEAK!

Back in 1992, before I left the military I was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, which is located in El Paso, Texas. I had the opportunity to visit an Indian Reservation in New Mexico where they had a most excellent restaurant. My friend Boian and his wife took me there for my going away gift. The place was out in the desert and took us an hour to get there, but it was well worth the trip. I had what must have been a grilled 2 inch thick T-bone steak with sauteed mushrooms in a red wine plus the usual sides. It was my first T-bone steak ever and my first mushrooms too.

I will never forget that place; they had this massive old hardcover sign-in book at the restaurant, it had a small zoo where they had rattle snakes and desert animals. We stayed there the whole afternoon and most of the evening. Even driving home was memorable, the stars were sticking out at us; especially since we were away from city lights. It had reminded me of the deserts of Arabia where the stars of the night appear so close like as if you can just reach out and grab them. Unforgettable.

TODAY’S T-BONE STEAK…

This is a lovely T-bone steak with just a little bit of fat on the sides. Standing just at 1 inch thick and only 14 ounces; it will be a perfect dinner with you choice of sides should you wish any.

GETTING DRESSED UP FOR DINNER

My choice when cooking meats, but any oil would be good to use. “Okay-okay-okay…DO NOT USE MOTOR OIL!” LOL. Just joking.

I had used enough olive oil to coat both sides of the T-bone steaks (roughly a tablespoon for each steak)and lightly seasoned them with McCormick’s Grill Mates. I like to use the Smoke House Maple type, its just sweet. This seasoning has a mix of really good spices and even molasses to give your grilled meats a really good flavor.

AT GRILL…

After the coals ash over clean the grill with wire brushes and do the final cleaning with half an onion. Cover grill while you get all the grilling utensils and the T-bone steaks out to the grilling area.

Grill T-bone steaks over direct heat over the hot mesquite coals for a total of 8 minutes, flipping over after 4 minutes (the halfway point).

When I am not in a rush, I like to get that X pattern on my steaks. They just really dresses them up. Start by placing the steaks on the hot grates and grill for 2 minutes, pick up steaks and turn 45 degrees or quarter turn and place on an unused grate area and grill an additional 2 minutes before flipping over for the additional 4 minutes. The time is set for medium-well steaks; so adjust your timing to suit your taste buds. I always leave the half onion to cook as well and chop it up to serve with the steaks, it just adds to extra flavor.

Here it is; “BEEF…ITS WHAT’S FOR DINNER!”

Enjoy, Kings Reyes Chapa Jr.

“BEEF…ITS WHAT’S FOR DINNER!”

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Yield: 1

Serving Size: 1 steak

Calories per serving: 841 calories

Fat per serving: 24 grams

“BEEF…ITS WHAT’S FOR DINNER!”

Beautiful and savory on the outside; unforgettable outstanding flavor in the inside! These T-bone steaks are sure to impress the party with their good looks and their hungry busting powers!

Ingredients

1 T-bone steak per person
1 tablespoon olive oil per steak
McCormick's Grill Mates in Smokehouse Maple

Instructions

Fire up the coals and let them ash over.
Meanwhile; prepare T-bone steaks by lightly coating them with olive oil and seasoning.
When grill is ready; place steaks over direct heat on grill and grill for 2 minutes, pick up and turn 45 degrees or 1/4 turn to get those good looking X grilling pattern on them. Grill an additional 2 minutes for a total of 4 minutes. Flip over for the remaining last 4 minutes for medium to well done steaks. Adjust your timing to suit your taste buds.
Enjoy with your favorite sides...or alone!

Notes

30 minutes of the prep time goes to letting the coals ash over, so start the fire before prepping the steaks.

https://www.smokefirespice.com/beef-its-whats-for-dinner/

Uncategorized

“DAVID LETTERMAN’S; 10 SINS YOU SHOULD NOT IMPOSE ON A RIB-EYE STEAK!”

March 26, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

“DAVID LETTERMAN’S; THE 10 SINS YOU SHOULD NOT IMPOSE ON A RIB-EYE STEAK!”

“What!? You did what to the rib-eye steaks!? ” and the violins play in that oh so sad heart broken tune of…? “You get the picture though.”

This was a scene a year ago. I had saved enough money to buy four 14 ounce rib-eye steaks for our after Church Sunday BBQ. They were chilling in the fridge doing fine until the “wifey” decided to put a knife into two of them for some beef stew she wanted to create.

By the time I found out it was like…too late. The irreversible had been done. I had to say; any dish served with rib-eye steaks does taste good, but we were now a rib-eye short for Sunday’s BBQ. “CRY BABY!” To the list…

Number 10. Thou shall not take someone else’s rib-eye steak to do God knows what to it!? “Like slathering it with ketchup, it is just not the right thing to do.

Number 9. Thou shall not deep freeze thy rib-eye steak. What’s the point of buying a juicy steak if you gonna throw it in the freezer!? “You risk getting your tongue stuck to it while trying to eat it…or worse; your tongue might suffer frostbite! “OUCH!” Buy it and grill it instead!

Number 8. Thou shall not forget thy rib-eye steaks in the fridge…they will spoil and foul up the place; “YIKES! The pain…the pain!”

NUMBER 7. Thou shall not gulp down your rib-eye steak at the dinner table! “For Heavens Sake; chew it son before it goes down the pipe!”

NUMBER 6. Thou shall protect thy rib-eye steak from man’s best friend. “THAT MUTT of a DOG!”

NUMBER 5 of 10 SINS YOU SHOULD NOT IMPOSE ON A RIB-EYE STEAK. Thou shall not grill your rib-eye steak over unashed coals! It will taste damn awful!

NUMBER 4. Thou shall not drop your rib-eye steak on the grass and feed it to the in-laws expecting them to believe those funky looking grassblades are seasonings! “IT DOES NOT WORK!!!”

NUMBER 3. Thou shall not forget about the rib-eye steaks are still on the GRILL after the hour has passed! You dumb-dumb!!

NUMBER 2. Thou shall not entrust your rib-eye steaks to a guy who has no idea what a grill is! “This GUY is not only gonna char the steaks; but is likely to burn down the HOUSE!!”

NUMERO UNO of “THE 10 SINS YOU SHOULD NOT IMPOSE ON A RIB-EYE STEAK”…

“Who gives a *%#^!!!” Eat YOUR rib-eye steak anyway you want to!!! You bought it!, Your the cook!, Who cares what other people think!, etc…etc…

JUST BECAUSE;

KINGS REYES CHAPA JR.

Beef...Its what the Chicken recommends for dinner.

“HAWAIIAN RIB-EYE STEAKS”

March 18, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

“HAWAIIAN RIB-EYE STEAKS”

These juicy pair of rib-eye steaks could have been called “The Pineapple Duo Rib-eyes!” or “Juicy Rib-eye Steaks With Flavors of the Tropical Islands!” Hmm, that doesn’t sound too bad? After all, does Hawaii even have pineapples or tangerines oranges?

Some time later…

Yes they do! Gotta love Google Search; its just super fast and awesome! So I will stick to the original recipe name of “HAWAIIAN RIB-EYE STEAKS” And why not?! Its my post and blog; also, I’m the CHEF OF THE HOUSE! Ha-ha!

The Creation of the Hawaiian Rib-eye Steaks

Hawaiian-rib-eye-steaks-in-a-pineapple-and-tangerine-orange-marinade.

Have you ever gotten the “I don’t know what kind of sides I should cook syndrome?” You sometimes don’t know what to pick, you cooked that side yesterday, that side the day before, and it goes on and on. We home cooks run out of ideas of what to cook as sides; to include cook those sides with what?

So, going over the cans and stuff of “I don’t know what I have in the pantry”; in our kitchen cabinets I ran into the pineapple and tangerine-orange cans, plus a Lawry’s Hawaiian marinade.

“BAM!” It hit me! Marinade those rib-eyes steaks with all both cans and the Hawaiian marinade and grill the fruits with the rib-eye steaks. As a side all I added where french fries, which I had prepared before the rib-eye steaks hit the grill and kept warm in my George Foreman oven.

Success! The “HAWAIIAN RIB-EYE-STEAKS” were an instant winner. I even saved some of the juices from the marinade and brought them to a low boil on the grill to use as a basting sauce during the last two minutes of grill time and a dunking sauce at the dinner table.

So…this is what I did… I combined the juices of the pineapple and tangerine-oranges in a big container. I added a 1/4 cup of the Hawaiian marinade, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of white wine, and 2 tablespoons of McCormick Grill Mates in Smokehouse Maple. That’s it. I mixed the ingredients well and added the rib-eye steaks before I had started the fire on the grill to give more time to the rib-eyes to absorb the flavors of the marinade.

THE FIRE…

Todays fire was most successful; it was provided by Kingsford Hickory Charcoal which had Hickory chips imbedded in it. I also used my own Hickory chunks to add a more robust flavor.

“WHERE’S THE BEEF!?”

Final-cleaning-of-the-grill-using-an-onion.

After the coals got lit and ashen over, I used a stiff wire brush to clean the grates of the grill, and used half an onion to wipe down the grates for the final cleaning. I leave the half onion there on the grill; it tastes quite delicious, especially when thinly sliced and served with steak or chicken.

AT THE GRILL…

I grilled the rib-eye steaks for a total time of eight minutes. Four minutes per side for medium well. Adjust your timing to suit your taste buds.

FOUR MINUTES PLUS

I removed the pineapples on placed them directly on the grates to get grill marks on them. After basting the rib-eye steaks with the marinade for the past two minutes for a total of eight minutes of grilling time, the rib-eye steaks were ready to be removed and join the family at the dinner table. Another field goal scored! Yes! The HAWAIIAN RIB-EYE STEAKS were superb in taste!

“HAWAIIAN RIB-EYE STEAKS”

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 8 minutes

Yield: 1 rib-eye steak per person

Serving Size: 1 rib-eye steak

Calories per serving: 847 calories

Fat per serving: 63 grams of fat

“HAWAIIAN RIB-EYE STEAKS”

This Hawaiian Rib-eye Steaks are a major attraction at the dinner table. They are full of rich and tasty flavor that gets the family asking for more at the next BBQ time gathering!

Ingredients

1 twelve ounce rib-eye steak per person
1/4 cup of Lawry's Hawaiian Marinade
1 can of tangerine-oranges with its juices
1 can of sliced pineapples and its juices
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of white wine
2 tablespoons of McCormick Grill Mates in Smokehouse Maple

Instructions

Combine ingredients and mix well.
Add the steaks and marinade for one hour flipping the rib-eye steaks at the half way point.
Make sure to save some of the marinade and add to a grill proof sauce pan and heat up at the grill.
Grill rib-eye steaks over direct hot coals for four minutes and flip over and continue grilling an additional four minutes basting the rib-eye steaks during the last two minutes of grilling time with the marinade.
Serve and enjoy! You can use the remaining marinade as a dunking sauce.

Notes

The longer you allow the rib-eye steaks to marinade; the stronger and richer the flavor gets.

https://www.smokefirespice.com/hawaiian-rib-eye-steaks/

Fish...its what Porky recommends for dinner.

“GRILLED RED SNAPPER WITH A HONEY BUTTER SAUCE”

March 14, 2014 Kings Reyes Chapa

“GRILLED RED SNAPPER WITH A HONEY BUTTER SAUCE”

Talking about a really tasty meal here. Dinner called for a marinated red snapper and lobster tails served with a sauce made from white wine, butter, honey, and parsley leaves. Served with slowly cooked cabbage with asparagus as sides. “GRILLED RED SNAPPER WITH A HONEY BUTTER SAUCE” was a home-run; straight out of the ballpark! Everybody loved dinner this evening; as I’m sure your family will too!

Remember, we are talking red snapper here; the recipe for the lobster tails will follow in another post. As for the cabbage and asparagus; that also belongs in another post which I will eventually create a link for very soon. The reason for this is that I have read that we are only suppose to put one recipe per post.

“THE INGREDIENTS”

This evening dinner called for a marinade of the following; 1/4 cup of cooking white wine, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon chile powder, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed oregano, 1 crushed garlic, the juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 teaspoon crushed cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of freshly grounded black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon of thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 bay leaf per fillet, and a tablespoon of McCormick’s Grill Mates “Applewood Rub.” I combined the rough seasoning and grinded them fine except the bay leafs and mixed everything together.

For the sauce; I combined a tablespoon of cooking white wine, 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed parsley leaves, and 1 tablespoon honey in a grill proof sauce pan. Yes, I warmed that up on the grilling grates while cooking the red snapper and lobster. I used this mixture to lightly coat both the red snapper and lobster in the last two minutes of cooking time. “Ouch; talking about sweeeeet!”

The recipe for the red snapper was inspired from a cooking book I bought while living in Germany called “Grilling. Where There’s Smoke There’s Flavor” by Eric Treuille and Birgit Erath. An excellent grilling cookbook which I felt should be mentioned. I used most of their seasoning recommendations, but added more to the list to fit my taste buds. “It’s great being the Chef!”

“AS FOR THE RED SNAPPER”

As for the red snapper, combine all ingredients and mix well. Rinse the red snappers under cold running water and pat dry. Add the snappers to the mix and marinade until the grill is ready for them (normally 25-35 minutes). “In case someone is wondering, I also marinaded the lobster tails in this same mixture.”

Today’s fire took an additional 10 minutes for me; must be the weather or the mesquite charcoal I was using. It is a local “Cowboy Brand” of mesquite coals. A little tougher to start, but once the coals get started they are good; and gives off that rich strong mesquite smell and flavor. I also added alder wood chips which I had soaking in water for 30 minutes; for that extra punch in flavor.

AT THE GRILL…

I grilled the red snapper and lobster tails for the same amount of time (just in case someone is wondering), which was a total of eight minutes directly over hot coals. I started with the skin up and the shells of the lobster facing up as well and flipped the red snapper and lobster tails over after four minutes had gone by. Grilled an additional four minutes basting with the honey-butter sauce in the last two minutes. I reserved the leftover sauce to be used for dunking the lobster as well. This was a very super tasty dinner!

“GRILLED RED SNAPPER WITH A HONEY BUTTER SAUCE”

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 48 minutes

Yield: 3 serving

Serving Size: 1 four ounce fillet

Calories per serving: 110 calories

Fat per serving: 1.0 grams

“GRILLED RED SNAPPER WITH A HONEY BUTTER SAUCE”

The Grilled Red Snapper with a Honey Butter Sauce is a must try recipe and a sure winner in anybody's book that likes fish. The red snappers goes to the grill already rich in flavor and comes out mouthwatering full of additional richer flavor! Gotta have some more!

Ingredients

3 four ounce red snapper fillets
1/4 cup white cooking wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed oregano
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed cumin
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
the juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon of crushed thyme
1 bay leaf per fillet
1 tablespoon of McCormick's Grill Mates "Apple wood Rub"

For The Sauce:

1 tablespoon white cooking wine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon crushed parsley leaves

Instructions

Gather the rough seasoning and ground fine.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
Rinse red snapper under cold running water and pat dry.
Add red snappers to the ingredient bowl and marinade until the grill is ready for them (25 35 minutes).
Grill red snapper skin-side up for 4 minutes over direct hot coals and flip over for an additional four minutes basting in the last two minutes with the butter honey sauce.

For The Sauce:

Combine the ingredients in a grill proof sauce pan and warm up stirring constantly on the grill. Baste the red snapper in the last two minutes of grilling time and reserve left overs for adding to the red snapper during dinner.
ENJOY!

Notes

Today's coals took ten minutes longer to be ready, but those extra ten minutes meant a longer marinating time for the red snapper making extra tasty.

https://www.smokefirespice.com/grilled-red-snapper-with-a-honey-butter-sauce/

This site is about creating flavorful-mouthwatering dishes with smoke, fire, and spice that anyone can create to impress that special someone in your life…or just for yourself!