Sloppy Jacks

 

       Everyone loves finger food and nachos are no exception.  This recipe offers a different twist of the "same-o same-o".  Originally a recipe I found online at Bon Appetite', I have modified this to fit our tastes, and it finds a place at our table about twice a year.  You can make this hotter with addition of some Jalapenos, etc.  An interesting fusion of nachos and sloppy joes.  Easy to make.   

2 tsp canola or vegetable oil

1 cup diced yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground Ancho Chili Powder

1 pound 95% lean ground beef

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup water

1 tsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp minced fresh parsley (optional)

salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

4 to 5 ounces corn tortilla chips

8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper

1/4 cup finely diced red or green onion

      Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add yellow onion; cook until translucent, stirring occasionally.  Stir in garlic and ground Chile; cook another minute, until the garlic softens.  Add beef; cook until crumbly and no longer pink, breaking up large chunks as it cooks.  Stir in ketchup and water. Reduce the heat and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The mixture should be moist and glazed, neither dry nor liquid.  Stir in vinegar, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

      Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F or preheat the broiler, placing the rack 7 inches from the heat source.  Arrange the chips on a 12-by-18-inch baking sheet or ovenproof platter. Sprinkle with half the cheese, then spoon on dollops of the meat mixture.  Top with the remaining cheese, bell pepper and red or green onion.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or broil until the cheese melts.

I'm a culinary gangsta with a very spiritual side, so when I was introduced to the 'spiritual gangster' line, I had to have it. 

Guy Fieri

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 pork butt and chicken and the Deez Nuts on salmon.  www.meatchurch.com

      My most important '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