The Wood Pit, Spring Cooking, and the Rubs That Get Us There

 

      I love spring cooking, mostly because it allows me to get back outside and crank up the fire in the wood pit.  I use an Oklahoma Joe's Chuckwagon vertical and horizontal stick burner.  I can grill steaks right over the firebox or use the horizontal pit for smoking meats.  The vertical pit is strictly for fish as it runs 100-150 degrees cooler.  I have access to several types of wood here in NW Michigan:  cherry, maple, and apple for the most part.  This is different from the oak, pecan, and mesquite I use at our winter haven in Texas.   

      For different cuts of meat, I use different dry rubs.  Only in brisket, pork butt or turkey do I inject. For brisket I use Kosmos Reserve with beef broth.  For turkey I use Kosmos turkey brine and for pork butt I use simply butter and apple juice.   I use Kosmos and Meat Church dry rubs for the majority but also use Coopers Dry Rub for brisket as well.  The brisket injection is Kosmos. 

      Kosmos Dry Rubs originate in Oklahoma City and offer a wide variety of flavors for any application.   I use a lot of SPG, which is simply salt, pepper, and garlic, but a very unique and proprietary blend we enjoy, even in the kitchen.  Anytime a recipe calls for salt, pepper, and garlic it's SPG for us!  www.kosmosq.com 

      I use the SPG along with Coopers on brisket, Thor's Hammer, and picanha.  I love the Honey Killer Bee on chicken or pork and the Dirty Bird especially on chicken or ribs. 

       The other major rub I use is Meat Church out of Waxahachie, TX.  I like the Holy Voodoo rub on anything with a Cajun flair.  We swear by the Honey Bacon rub for chicken and the Deez Nuts on salmon.  www.meatchurch.com

      My last 'go to' is Coopers Seasoning.  This BBQ restaurant is located in many places throughout Texas with the BEST BRISKET I have ever eaten.  Plenty of black pepper bark and a juicy, tender inside.  I combine this with Kosmos SPG for my brisket.  cooperbbq.com 

     Of course, there are dozens of other commercial BBQ rubs and seasonings available these days as well as your own homemade variety.  For years I cruised along with the Kansas City Sweet n Smokey rub.  It was very good, but wasn't the 'end all cure' with any and all meats. It is still a good basic rub.  

⅓ cup light brown sugar packed

⅓ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup smoked paprika

2 tablespoons seasoned salt

2 tablespoons smoked salt

2 tablespoons onion salt

2 tablespoons celery salt

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground allspice

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

      These products are our personal choices, representing the best of BBQ throughout the south, the HOME OF BBQ, especially Texas.  I have been cooking the 'Q' for 30 years, but only in the last 13 years through our retirement travels have I perfected it.  

"Good barbecue comes from experience, and experience, well, that comes from poor barbecue."  Aaron Franklin

Arroz con Pollo

 

      This is another of Patti Jinich's Mexican recipes for sautéed chicken with chorizo and rice.  My variation of this recipe uses chicken drumsticks and orzo instead of rice.  This is due to my wife's inability to easily digest rice.  Orzo also provides a creamier texture.  

1 1/2 cup orzo cooked

4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

4 chicken drumsticks

Olive oil

6 oz bulk Chorizo sausage no casings

1 large green bell pepper cored, chopped

1 medium red onion peeled, chopped

2 garlic cloves peeled, crushed

1 large ripe tomato chopped

1 cup peas

3 tbsp tomato paste

3 cups chicken broth

For Spice Rub

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper more or less to your liking (optional)

      Cook orzo to directions and drain.    

      Make the spice rub. In a small bowl, mix the spices, salt and pepper.  Season the chicken.  Pat the chicken dry and season with the spice rub, be sure to lift the chicken skins and apply some of the spice rub underneath.

      Brown the chicken on both sides in a large deep skillet with a cover, heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.  Carefully add the chicken and brown deeply on both sides.  Remove the chicken and set it aside on a plate for now.

      In the same pan, add the chorizo.  Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly until the chorizo has nicely browned.  Add the green peppers, onions, and garlic.  Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, for 5 minutes.

      Now add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, peas, and chicken broth.  Add the browned chicken back to the pan.  Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a boil, then lower to medium and cover.  Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.

      Add the orzo and cook with the chicken.  Uncover the pan and remove the chicken briefly (set on a dish near the stove for now).   Cook uncovered over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the chicken back on top of the orzo.  Turn the heat to low, cover the pan again and cook the orzo and chicken together for another 20 minutes or until cooked.

      Let the meal rest in the pan.  Turn the heat off, but leave the pan covered and undisturbed for 10 more minutes.  Serve hot.  This is absolutely delicious.   

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness”

Mark Twain

First Camping Trip of the Year: Barb's Favorite

 

       This turned out to be our first trip this spring, as well as our first time with the new truck hauling "The Fox'".  This included syncing the truck's onboard computer with the addition of all specs of the RV.  My intro into new vehicle technology continues.  

      This is definitely NOT our first trip here, but Barb does love the location.  This campground is a fairly small campground associated with the Kewadin Casino Hessel location.  It is across the highway and about 100 yards away.  It has everything we want or need:  camping, hookups, firepit, and proximity to both Barb's passion for the casino and our proximity to the Cedarville area beaches.  It opens beginning in May to allow for de-winterization for the plumbing.  It is 168 miles from home across the Mackinac Bridge, but a pretty easy trip.  Once across the bridge, life is always good.  Prices for this campground run $30 a day with water, electric, and sewage.  The casino is quite small, but offers slot machines, services, and a snack bar with good food.  Northern Nook Deli – Kewadin Casinos

 

     I love my wife and understand her affinity for the 'one-armed bandits' but for me.......sanctuary is simply the solace of camping, a good book, spending time with the furbabies, and cooking for my bride on her return each day.  Give me an evening campfire with a cold beer; it is completely nirvana. 

      The village of Hessel is 3 miles south and the village of Cedarville is another 3 miles east of that.  All needed facilities including gas, laundry, and groceries are located there.  We did avail ourselves of the local grocery store to pick up some whitefish and cudighi.  We did bring along some firewood because, after all it is a camping trip.  

This is how we go camping

Survival TV

Yup, I'm a 'grass roller'

Mama's first time driving the new truck

      Meals for this trip include Chili Casserole, Fontina Crab Pasta, Frito Pie, and Sausage Kale Soup.  These are all OTR's (on the road leftovers) from home.

Chili Casserole

Sausage Kale White Bean Soup

Fontina Crab Pasta Salad

      For the week "Casino Barb" finished even.  The furbabies and I fared very well, relaxing at every opportunity, several hours daily.  Roux got to bark at some squirrels and deer, while Josie Wales like to sit for hours on end watching the robins outside.  We even scored some primo meats at the local grocery we can't get at home.  The weather was beautiful our entire stay in God's Country.  Another successful getaway from the hassles of everyday life.  Now, if I could just stop running into that damned truck hitch!

"There is this idea of 'north,' and if you're from Michigan and you wandered the Upper Peninsula, you know what it feels like. The sky has a particular vibe, a coldness, stretching into the upper reaches of Canada."

 David Means

Wild Leeks (Ramps)

 

      Ramps, also known as wild garlic or wild leeks, are a delicious wild vegetable and one of Nature's greatest gifts to foragers.  They are native and well available here in NW Michigan in the spring just ahead of the morel mushrooms.  Harvesting can take place anytime they are available, but I normally do this withing a week or two when first sprouting.  They are plentiful in our area.  

      These are delicious served in soups or stews as they offer a strong combination of onion and garlic.  They taste like a garlicky leek.  I have always dug them up easily exposing the entire plant of which I have always used just the bottom bulb, cleaned and dried.  However, if you dig up ramps they will take 6-7 years for the remaining seeds to reestablish the plant.  If you harvest on your own land or an area where they are plentiful this is not an issue.  But, if you live in area where Ramps exist, but not flourish there are alternatives.  

      You can just trim the leaves and leave the bulbs.  The flavor is still the same and can, like the bulbs be preserved for later use.  Ramp colonies with their leaves cut will often still make flower stalks that make seeds and reproduce, those that get dug up, won't. Secondly, it's just easier. These plants don't want to come out of the ground and digging them is hard work.  If you limit your harvest to 20% of a total patch the colony will easily survive.  If you harvest only ramp leaves, there's no digging, no hours of cleaning and trimming, and you can feel good knowing that your patch will be there the next year, and years to come, so that you can share your delicious onions with your friends and family.  

      Let's get down to preserving and storing.   To preserve ramps, the best methods include freezing (blanched or as pesto/butter), pickling, or dehydrating. For short-term storage, wrap clean, dry ramps in paper towels and store in a partially sealed bag in the fridge for up to a week. Popular long-term methods include creating compound butter, freezing leaves for pesto, or pickling bulbs in vinegar.  I have always dehydrated them and stored in sealed jars.  I only store as many as I will use for 1 year.  This year I also dehydrated leaves and stored much like Bay Leaves, stored in jars.  

      Preserve ramp leaves by freezing (blanched or as pesto), drying, or making compound butter. Freezing is best for retaining the fresh, oniony flavor. For short-term storage (1-2 weeks), wrap cleaned, dry leaves in paper towels and store in a partially sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator.

     As I have said I use them dehydrated in soups and stews or meals when you are looking for such a flavor.  You can also prepare them fresh accompanying meals.  

      Several other recipes for ramps:  

Killed Lettuce: This springtime Appalachian favorite calls for ramps. The hot bacon grease dressing will delicately wilt the stems and leaves for a special dish you'll crave for the 49 weeks of the year you can't eat it.

Sauteed Ramps: Cook them in a cast-iron skillet with prosciutto and serve over rice or grits. We also provide recipes for Ramp Pesto and Ramp Butter.

Ramp-and-Rye Focaccia: This no-knead bread gets flavor from ramps inside the dough and out.

      "To many, the arrival of ramps signals the end of winter and the start of a new growing season"

                                                                 Hunter Gatherer Rich Hilts

     

Boudin Chimichangas with Crawfish Cream Sauce

 

      This might be the perfect fusion.  Everybody loves Chimichangas as well they do Cajun food.  This is a delicious, easy meal served any season.  Guacamole and chips on the side complete the feast.  

For the Chimichangas:

 1-pound boudin sausage, casings removed

 6 soft taco-sized flour tortillas

 6 sticks pepper jack cheese

 6 teaspoons Creole seasoning

 Choice of oil for frying

 Chopped green onions for garnish

For the Crawfish Cream Sauce:

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning, such as Tony Chachere's

12 ounces crawfish tails

1½ cups half-and-half or heavy cream

1Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup diced tomatoes (optional)

Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

      In a skillet over medium heat, warm the flour tortillas until pliable.  Place 2-3 tablespoons of boudin in the center of each tortilla.  Lay a stick of pepper jack cheese over the boudin.  Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of Creole seasoning over the filling.  Fold the sides of the tortilla over the filling, then roll it up bottom to top tightly to enclose.  Secure each chimichanga with a toothpick.

Filling ready to go

Fold first from the sides and then roll

Keep rotating so they don't burn

      In a deep fryer or large skillet, heat oil or butter to 350°F.  Fry the chimichangas for about 4½ minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

Preparing the Crawfish Cream Sauce: 

      In a saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil.  Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in flour and green onions; cook for another minute to form a roux.  Add crawfish tails and Cajun seasoning; cook for 2 minutes.  Pour in half-and-half and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a simmer.  Let the sauce simmer until it thickens, about 5 minutes.  Stir in butter until melted.  If desired, mix in shredded cheddar cheese until smooth.

       Arrange chimichangas on a serving platter.  Spoon the crawfish cream sauce over the chimichanga halves.  Garnish with chopped green onions.

"Honey, I'm in the mood for a chimichanga!"

Bernie Focker