Category Archives: Classic Recipes

Smoke Bag recipe for Corn on the Cob

One cannot complain about the addition of a tasty corn on the cob when added to a plate heaping with grilled chops. Especially if that corn on the cob wafts up with a distinct flavorful aroma of smoked wood.

INGREDIENTS:
4 ears of corn
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Prep ears of corn by dehusking and washing. Soak the ears for 20 minutes in cold water. Remove from water and pat dry.

Rub the butter or margarine over the corn. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place the corn in a Smoker Bag, seal it and cook on a hot grill for about 40 minutes.

Green Beans Casserole

There are so many variations on this popular casserole, however Mom and you will love this one.

INGREDIENTS:
1 – 1/2 teaspoons butter
1 – 1/2 cups of milk
3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
4 teaspoons of ranch style dressing mix (my fav; Hidden Valley)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup chopped onion
1 – 1/2 cups of sliced fresh mushrooms
1 – 1/4 pounds of fresh green beans, cooked or steamed until crisp but tender
1 cup of fresh bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:
Make a rue based on the traditional white sauce recipe. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the flour. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Cook, whisking constantly for 1 to 2 minutes more. Stir in the dressing mix and the white pepper and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Apply non-stick cooking spray to a medium skillet. Heat the skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook stirring for 2 to 3 minutes or until glassy. Remove half of the onion mixture and set it aside.

Add mushrooms to the remaining onion and garlic mixture in the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Combine mushroom mixture, green beans and white sauce in a 1 – 1/2 quart casserole. Combine bread crumbs with the rest of the onions (set aside) and sprinkle over casserole. Bake uncovered until hot, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Serve and enjoy.

Blue Cheese Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Excellent as a dip or topping for crackers and toasted french bread.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 Cup butter, room temperature
1 – 8 ounce package of cream cheese also at room temperature
1 – 4 ounce package of crumbled blue cheese
2 Tablespoons roasted red pepper, drained, chopped into fine pieces
2 Tablespoons chopped green onions
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the above ingredients in a bowl suitable for dipping. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed. Fold over into the bowl to mix evenly.
Cover and refrigerate. Serve this mix slightly chilled with crackers for spreadinf or vegetable strips for dipping

Attributed to: a pacakage of Land O’ Lakes butter

Pasta Primavera Kraft Mac and Cheese Style

Everybody, or at least most bodies enjoy pasta at parties. Here is a quick (very easy), very tasty recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
1 package (14 ounces) KRAFT Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 cups frozen vegetable blend, (broccoli, cauliflower and carrots or similar)

DIRECTIONS:
Bring 2 – 1/3 cups water to boil in a large skillet. Add macaroni and seasonings; mix well. Return to a boil.

Add vegetables. Stir until well blended, Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover. Simmer for 10 minutes or until macaroni is tender.

Add the cheese sauce and fold it into the other ingredients. Cook until heated through and blended smoothly by stirring frequently. When hot, serve it up to hungry attendees.

Attributed to: My fascination for easy Mac and Cheese recipes, and Kraft foods of course.

Seared Chicken Breasts with Red Onion Vinaigrette

Tangy and sturdy treatment for chicken.

INGREDIENTS:
4 whole boneless chicken breasts with skin on
1/2 cup olive oil, reserve 1 Tablespoon more
1 cup red onions, diced
2 Tablespoons freshly chopped thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup Burgundy or any red wine
3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
3 Tablespoons canned tomato puree
1 Tablespoon corn oil

DIRECTIONS:
Bring 1 Tablespoon of olive oil up to popping hot temperature and saute the onions over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until tender. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

In saucepan add (chicken) stock, wine, tomato puree, garlic. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Pour into a bowl, cool for about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup olive oil, vinegar and onions. Keep warm.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Season chicken breasts to taste. Heat the corn oil in an oven proof skillet or pan. Add chicken skin down. Cook for 5 minutes until skin is golden brown. Turn them over. Place skillet in oven and roast for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and place over low heat. Add vinaigrette, baste on top. Spoon vinaigrette over the top when serving.

Attributed to: I found this recipe on a hand written piece of paper. So I have no clue. It’s a great recipe though.

Fried and Spicy Chicken Wing Drumsticks

Don’t just dust off that Turkey Fryer in November. Fire it up for this lip smackin’ wings recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds chicken wings
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
BATTER:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 – 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup beer
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
Vegetable oil for deep-frying, peanut oil is one of the better choices

DIRECTIONS:
Cut off wing tips. Save in the freezer for chicken stock. Halve the wings at each joint. Separate the shoulder to elbow piece from the elbow to the wing tip joint (the one you chopped off earier. Start at the smaller end of the drumstick, with a sharp knife cut the tendons and grasp the clean joint end with a towel or kitchen pliers, carefully scrape the skin and meat down the length of the bone as far as you can.

You want to make a plump drumstick tip leaving the upper end as a handle. Take the elbow to wing tip bones and do the same by cutting the cartilage, removing the smaller of the two bones and scraping the meat down the larger bone to make a round drumstick tip. Arrange the drumsticks in a shallow glass dish or non reactive bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Marinate, covered in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Combine the batter in a bowl. Whisk flour, paprika, salt, cumin, pepper, cayenne pepper and thyme. Make a bowl shaped impression in the center of the pile. Pour in the beer and the oil in a thin stream whisking the batter until smooth. Let the better set at room temperature for 1 hour.

In a large turkey fryer or deep fryer bring 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees F using a candy or deep fryer thermometer. Stir the batter. Dip 3 – 4 pieces in the batter and fry in batches, turning often for about 3 minutes, or golden brown. With a tong or spoon remove each batch and layer on paper towels. Let the oil come back to 375 degrees and repeat for each batch. Bring out the dipping sauce!

Attributed to: Foster

Overnight Sauerbraten

This overnight recipe will have you eating huge hunks of Sauerbraten in about 24 hours.

INGREDIENTS:
Two pounds beef chuck steak, 1 – 1/2 inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup cider vinegar
3 cups water
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tablespoons mixed pickling spice
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
4 whole cloves
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons shortening
All-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
Rub meat with salt and ginger. Put in large flat dish or bowl. Combine remaining ingredients except shortening and flour in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Allow to cool. Pour marinade over meat. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning once or twice.

Remove meat from marinade, reserving marinade. Pat with paper towels and brown in shortening. Add 2 cups reserved marinade and half of onion and spices from marinade. Cover and simmer for 1 – 1-/2 hour, or until tender.

Remove meat and thicken liquid with flour that has been pre-mixed with a little cold water. Simmer for a few minutes, then strain.

Potato dumplings or mashed potatoes.

Attributed to: Evelyn Johnson, from a faxed over article. From way back when we used to fax things.

Porterhouse Steak with Mushroom Bacon Sauce

Porterhouse is a favorite cut of my good buddy Mike Miller. Someday I’ll have to show him the ropes with this recipe that features a sturdy and tangy mushroom bacon sauce.

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup A.1. Steak Sauce
5 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 4 ounces)
3 cups sliced mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
1/4 cup sherry cooking wine
Two (1-pound) beef loin porterhouse steaks, 1 inch thick

DIRECTIONS:
Cook bacon in skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Remove bacon and pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings.

Cook and stir mushrooms in reserved drippings in same skillet for 5 minutes or until tender.

Stir in steak sauce, sherry and cooked bacon; heat to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Keep warm.

Grill or broil steaks for 7 minutes on each side or until desired doneness. Serve with warm mushroom sauce.

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Salmon Steaks with Fresh Rosemary Sprigs

This is a pleasant little seafood dish that I highly recommend. It has a light healthy flavor, and a subtle seasoning and aroma, that offers a pleasant change to beef and chicken.

* 3-4 Salmon Steaks (filleted) cut 1-1.25″ thick.
* 3-4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 8-10 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary
* Salt and Fresh Pepper

Take the Salmon Steaks and coat them with olive oil. Season with salt and seasoned pepper or freshly ground black pepper. I like to dust the top with a little garlic powder. Build an aluminum boat or individual boats, and cover the bottom(s) with a thin layer of oil. Place two sprigs of rosemary on the bottom of the boat or in each boat. Place the Salmon on top. Place two more sprigs of rosemary on the top of each steak. Using the Weber Smokey Joe and a medium to hot group of briquettes.

My 1 inch salmon steaks took twenty-five minutes until they were done. I checked every five minutes. You want to look for a whitish buttery fat that rises to the pink surface of the salmon. I give my steaks five more minutes after that fat rises. Discard the rosemary sprigs, especially the ones on top (they can dry out and become hard and brittle and can be confused with salmon bones).

I served the salmon with long grain rice and a good number of lemon wedges.

Smoked Catfish on Sauerkraut

Prepare a wonderful sauerkraut based dish on the stove and smoke it with catfish on the grill!

* 1-1/2 to 2 lb. Catfish filets, skinless, sliced or chopped into cubes
* 5 Cups Sauerkraut
* 6 Slices Smoked Bacon
* 1/2 Cup Chopped Onions
* 2 Tbs. Butter
* 2 Cups Chopped Green Pepper Rings
* Small Tomato or 2 Romas
* Coarse Ground Black Pepper
* 1 Tbs. Paprika

For the Rue:

* 1 Tbs. Lard or Crisco Shortening
* 6 Tbs. Flour
* 1/2 Bunch of Dill
* 1-1/4 Cup Sour Cream

Rinse the Sauerkraut well in cold water and strain. Chop smoked bacon into squares. Fry the bacon in a Dutch Oven (Use a utensil that can be placed on the grill – later, you can cover the bottom part in foil, to avoid having the heat and smoke stain the metal). Add the finely chopped onion with 2 tablespoons of butter. Add green peppers, peeled tomato or peeled romas and paprika. Stir, and add the sauerkraut, with a liberal sprinkling of black pepper. Simmer for one hour. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Prepare a rue by mixing the chopped dill with six tablespoons of flour, 1-1/4 cup of sour creme and one tablespoon of lard or shortening. Whip well. When the Sauerkraut is cool stir this rue into the sauerkraut dish. It will thicken the mixture.

Start the grill, and when the coals are perfectly gray, place a sheet of foil with the edges curled up to hold 2 tablespoons of butter and the catfish slices on the grill. Add butter first and then the fish, seasoned with fresh pepper. Sprinkle a light amount of salt. Be careful using salt because of the saltiness of the sauerkraut.

Place your favorite flavor of wood chips , (I prefer hickory with catfish – as a rule) onto the coals and then quickly close the cover. Smoke the catfish for 4 minutes on one side and then turn, add more chips for an even smokier flavor and grill the other side for 4 more minutes.

Place the sauerkraut in its Dutch oven on the grill and pour the catfish on top. Allow the dish to cook on the grill with the lid off, until the sauerkraut is hot again and the catfish is done through. Check it every eight minutes for doneness. It should be white on the outside, with the slightest amount of pink in the center of each slice.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes, or a light salad.