Here are some of my favorite BBQ items (other than the standard ribs, pulled pork, brisket fare) in the order of my liking.
Smoked sausage gravy
Took one of those lil’ 1# tube thingies of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage...snipped the end off the plastic tube & squeezed the sausage out in one piece.
Rolled it in a lil’ my rub...and put it on the smoker yesterday...took about an hour & half. I thought it might fall apart...but it stayed nice & firm. After it was smoked & cooked...I crumbled it up & stuck it in fridge.
This morning, I fried a lil’ bacon in a skillet...left the bacon grease in the skillet & threw that smoked sausage in there...
a lil’ finely diced onion...
and about 1/3 cup of flour...
cooked the flour a bit...
then started adding milk,
making a nice smoked sausage cream gravy!!
Had it over fresh baked buttermilk biscuits!! Mmmm - mighty fine grindin’ (this is great breakfast food)
Bigwheel’s World Famous Top Secret Prize-Winning Pinto Beans
2 lbs. washed pintos
1/3 lb. salt pork..or few strips bacon..or pork hock
1 onion
2 split and seeded japs or serrano peppers
3-4 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. wooster sauce
3 Tbsp. chili powder (Try mix and match Ancho, Gebhardts, Chimayo, etc)
1 can extra Hot Rotel Tomatoes with Habs
salt and pepper to taste
Cover beans with 2" of water and soak 1 hr. Drain and refill to same level. Add the salt pork and bring to a rapid boil. Reduce heat and put on the lid. Simmer till nearly done but not quite then add the other stuff and cook another 20-30 mins. Once you add the tomatoes they dont tender up any more. Add water anywhere along the way if they get too dry. Veggies can be chopped..purreed or floated depending if your comp cooking or eating at home. If you feeding wimmen, chillin, or yankees you can use only half a can of the maters. If you want them smokey..stick them in the smoke in the coolest part of the pit with the lid off for at least a coupla hours. (best beans I’ve ever had. I don’t even like beans, but these are good)
Don’s Spicy-Orange Grilled Shrimp
2 lb Shrimp jumbo shelled & deveined
1 cup Lime juice fresh
4 Jalapeno peppers seeded & minced (I use 2)
2 Tbsp Tabasco sauce (I use 1, it still comes out nicely spicy)
1/3 cup Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp Black pepper fresh ground
1/2 cup Orange marmalade
1/2 cup Peanut oil or corn oil
4 Garlic cloves minced
2 tsp Salt
4 Tbsp Cilantro fresh & chopped
Mix oil, vinegar, & lime juice together in a sauce pan & heat on a medium setting. Add marmalade, tabasco sauce, salt, & black pepper then mix well. Add Jalapeno peppers, cilantro, garlic. Remove from heat. Arrange shrimp in a deep glass dish, pour marinade mixture over them, cover, refrigerate for 6-24 hrs.,then grill on BBQ until done. This marinade is also good on fish, lobster, crawfish, etc. (great for an appetizer)
Texas Armadillo Eggs
1/2 lb. Shredded Jack cheese
1/2 lb. Shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 lb. Hot sausage
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
1 egg — beaten
1 pkg. Spicy Shake n Bake
20 jalapenos
The peppers can be fresh or canned, just be sure you drain well if canned. You can also use the round mild cherry peppers instead. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise down one side only and scrape out the seeds. If you accidentally cut all the way through, just try to keep the two halves together. Mix Bisquick, sausage and cheddar in a large bowl. Get your assembly line ready: the peppers, the shredded jack cheese, the sausage mixture, the beaten egg in a shallow bowl, the Shake N Bake in a shallow bowl, and a baking rack on a cookie sheet, both coated with cooking spray. Stuff each pepper with shredded jack, then stick the halves back together, if separated.
Grab a handful of the sausage goo and wrap around the pepper in the shape of an elongated egg. Dip in beaten egg and roll in Shake N Bake to coat evenly. Place in the smoker, cook at 350 F for 25 minutes or till crisp. (interesting change from ABTs)
Grilled Pork Skewers with Ginger
2 lbs. boneless pork loin
2 red bell peppers, cut 1 12 x 34-inch strips
2 red onions, cut in 1 1/2 x 3/4 x 1/2-inch strips
Marinade
1 Tbsp pineapple juice
1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ancho chili powder
2 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 oz. soy sauce
Mix all marinade ingredients well. Cut the pork butt into 1 inch cubes and marinate, covered in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Remove the meat from the marinade. Discard the remaining marinade. Thread the pork, red pepper and onion on skewers. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat 5 minutes on each side.
Baked Stuffed Brie
1 lb. Brie
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 egg — beaten
Filling (use one): cranberry chutney, some sliced capacola or Genoa salami, mushroom duxelles, some sauteed fennel or leek.
Defrost pastry and roll out. Slice Brie in half or in thirds horizontally and put in desired filling. Place in center of pastry and cut off the four corners of the pastry a couple of inches down. Completely wrap the pastry around the Brie, brushing with beaten egg whenever you put the pastry together. Flip the assembly over and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush top with beaten egg. Bake in smoker with one piece of smoke wood at 400 F until pastry is golden brown. Serve with water crackers. (I like it stuffed with salami or cooked italian sausage)