This is a repost of my July 4 "What's for Dinner? Independence Day Barbeque" diary. I posted at an odd time and was asked to republish the diary this week for the benefit of the community. I've also taken the opportunity to add a couple of photos to the diary as well. Chow down on your leftovers below the fold.
The 4th of July is renown as the king of all cookout holidays. IMHO, this celebration of our history and values calls for more than your typical fare of store bought burgers and franks. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good hot dog as much as the next guy, but given the thing we know, and don’t know, about manufactured foodstuffs, I prefer to make them myself. I thought this would be a great opportunity to finally share some of my professional experience with my fellow Kossaks. I have prepared an imaginative, unique, and tasty cookout menu, that is sure to make you the envy of your neighbors this Independence Day. Bon Au Petit.
Menu
Cedar Plank Roasted Wild King Salmon
Home Made Hot Dogs
Beer Brats
Tofu and Porcini Mushroom Kabobs
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Sweet Potato Salad
Curried Cole Slaw
Pickled Watermelon Rind
Smokey Chipotle Peach Tart Tan with Avocado Ice Cream
Sounds yummy, doesn’t it? The good thing is, that these recipes are more simple then they seem.
Cedar Plank King Salmon
King salmon is my favorite fish, and is probably one of the healthiest things you can eat. Cedar roasting is a traditional Pacific Northwestern Native American method for preparing salmon. This is pretty easy; you just need to find some nice salmon. This time of year is the heart of the wild Pacific Salmon season. Look for something that hasn’t been previously frozen and has a bright firm flesh. Whole Foods should carry this but if you don’t have a Whole Foods in your area, then you can order beautiful salmon online at Copper River Seafood or FishEx. The next things you need are some cedar planks. You can purchase these at Williams Sonoma or online at Amazon.
Now for the "easy" part: cooking. First step is to soak the cedar planks in clean water for an hour. This prevents the planks from burning on the grill, while helping to impart greater cedar flavor to the fish. As for prepping the salmon, you can cook the salmon skin on or skin off. If you haven’t purchased boneless salmon, be sure to remove all pin bones with needle nose pliers. Be sure to portion the fish into servable pieces, approximately 6oz. If you are using a gas grill make sure, to have your smoking rack attached. You will be roasting the salmon in the grill, not char grilling the fish. Season the salmon with kosher salt, cracked pepper, and fresh dill. Place 3-4 pieces of salmon skin side down on the cedar plank. Place the plank on the smoking rack of your grill and roast the fish with the grill cover closed for 5-8 minutes or until the fish is cooked to a medium doneness. If you are using a charcoal grill then you should probably roast your salmon in your oven at 375 F for 8-10 minutes. Remove the plank from the grill and serve with fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Home Made Hot Dogs
Hot dogs or frankfurters are nothing more than ground meat with seasonings. They are easy to make at home with about an hour of time invested. You can make these with all beef or all pork. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to suit your own personal tastes. You can find casings at your local butcher shop.
Ingredients:
3 feet of sheep or small (1-1/2-inch diameter) hog casings
1 pound lean pork shoulder, cubed
3/4 pound beef brisket, cubed
1/4 pound fat back, cubed
1/4 cup very finely minced onion
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard seed
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon freshly fine ground white pepper
1 egg white
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup milk
Snip off about four feet of casing. (Better too much than too little, because any extra can be repacked in salt and used later.) Rinse the casing under cool running water to remove any salt clinging to it. Place it in a bowl of cool water and let it soak for about half an hour. While you're waiting for the casing to soak, you can begin preparing the meat as detailed above. After soaking, rinse the casing under cool running water. Slip one end of the casing over the faucet nozzle. Hold the casing firmly on the nozzle, and then turn on the cold water, gently at first, and then more forcefully. This procedure will flush out any salt in the casing and pinpoint any breaks. Should you find a break, simply snip out a small section of the casing. Place the casing in a bowl of water and add a splash of white vinegar. A tablespoon of vinegar per cup of water is sufficient. The vinegar softens the casing a bit more and makes it more transparent, which in turn makes your sausage more pleasing to the eye. Leave the casing in the water/vinegar solution until you are ready to use it. Rinse it well and drain before stuffing. In a blender or food processor, make a puree of the onion, garlic, coriander, marjoram, mace, mustard seed, and paprika. Add the pepper, egg white, sugar, salt, and milk and mix thoroughly. Grind the pork, beef, and fat cubes through the fine blade separately. Mix together and grind again. Mix the seasonings into the meat mixture with your hands. This tends to be a sticky procedure, so wet your hands with cold water first. Chill the mixture for half an hour then put the mixture thorough the fine blade of the grinder once more. Stuff the casings and twist them off into six-inch links. Parboil the links (without separating them) in gently simmering water for 20 minutes. Place the franks in a bowl of ice water and chill thoroughly. Remove, pat dry, and refrigerate. Because they are precooked, they can be refrigerated for up to a week or they can be frozen. Grill and serve in fresh baked whole grain buns.
Beer Brats
Preparing Bratwurst:
3 ft. (1 1/2") hog casings
1 1/2 pound lean pork butt, cubed
1 pound veal, cubed
1/2 pound pork fat, cubed
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon crushed caraway seed
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Soak and prepare the hog casings. Grind the pork, veal, and fat separately through the fine blade of the meat grinder (you can leave veal out of the recipe if you would prefer.) Mix together the meats and grind again. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stuff the mixture into the casings and twist off into 4 to 5 inch lengths.
Note: these are fresh and should be kept in the refrigerator no longer than two days.
In a deep stock pot bring an inexpensive (cheap) beer, like Yuengling, to a boil and add some fresh sauerkraut and the brats. Cover the pot and simmer the brats until they are cooked throughout. Cool the bratwurst and hold for your event. Grill on either a gas or charcoal grill until hot and smoky. Serve with mustard and a whole grain hoagie roll.
Tofu and Porcini Kabobs
Ingredients
Tofu, cubed 1"
Fresh porcini mushrooms, cubed 1"
Red onion, large chop
Red Bell Pepper, 1" chop
8" bamboo skewers
1 cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
The most difficult ingredient to procure are the porcini mushrooms. They are available for home delivery form Earthly Delights. Soak skewers in clean water for 30 minutes. Skewer ingredients in the order of mushroom, onion, tofu, pepper, mushroom, onion tofu, pepper, mushroom on each skewer. Marinate skewer in the balsamic vinegar and olive oil for 20 minutes, then grill until peppers and onions are semi soft.
Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
4 Large sweet potatoes, peeled ¾" cube
2 cup and ¼ cup maple syrup
2 qt water
3 tbs whole grain mustard
½ yellow onion, small dice
1 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped
Kosher salt to taste
In a large pot, add 2 cups maple syrup, water, and sweet potatoes. Bring liquid to a simmer and cook potatoes until fork tender. Strain potatoes and cool in refrigerator. Sweat onions in sauté pan with vegetable oil until translucent. In large mixing bowl, add cooked onion, ¼ cup maple syrup, mustard, and tarragon. Mix, then fold in potatoes. Be sure not to break potatoes. Add salt to taste.
Curried Cole Slaw
Ingredients
Green Cabbage, 1 head shredded
¼ large carrot, grated
¼ cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 cups heavy duty mayonnaise
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs yellow curry powder
In a large mixing bowl, add; cabbage, carrots, and vinegar. Mix continually by hand until cabbage softens slightly. Strain excess liquid from cabbage, then add mayo, sugar, and curry. Fold mixture until sugar is fully incorporated and no longer grainy.
Corn on the Cob
This is the easiest item to produce. Ready for this...buy fresh corn in the husk, grill it in the husks till slightly soft to the touch, remove from grill, shuck, and serve. This takes about ½ hour.
Pickled Watermelon Rind
1 quart 1" diced watermelon rind
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 qt water
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbs whole clove
3 whole allspice berries
This item must be prepared 2 weeks ahead of time for proper pickling. In a large mixing bowl, whip together vinegar, sugar, water, cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Put rind in mason jars and pour pickling liquid over rinds to submerge. Seal jars and store in a refrigerator for a minimum of two weeks for proper pickling.
Smoky Chipotle Peach Tart Tan with Avocado Ice Cream
This is a decadent dessert with some unique savory and spicy additions to add complexity to your traditional peach pie.
Tart Tan Ingredients:
12 large Carolina peaches
1 chipotle pepper, rinsed
1 cup dried sour cherries
1 cup sugar
½ cup corn starch
1 sheet puff pastry (available in grocer’s freezer isle)
1 pinch kosher salt
½ cup sugar
Preheat oven to 375 F
Peel, pit, and slice fresh peaches. Mince pepper and add to peaches in large mixing bowl. Add cherries, 1 cup sugar, corn starch, and salt to peaches. Stir until sugar and starch are completely incorporated. Grease large cast iron skillet or oven safe sauté pan. With rolling pin roll out thawed puff pastry large enough to cover skillet. Place pastry in the skillet pressing to the edges, forming a pie crust, and let the extra pastry hang over the edge. Add peach filling to skillet and fold extra pasty over filling. Sprinkle remaining sugar over the pastry and bake in oven for 30-45 minuets (until pastry is golden brown.) Remove, cool, and slice to serve.
Avocado Ice Cream Ingredients:
2 ripe green avocados
1 cup sugar
1 qt Whole Milk (or substitute rice milk)
¼ tsp kosher salt
Peel and pit avocados. Add all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour liquid in metal mixing bowl and put in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from the freezer and, using a wisk, stir the cold liquid. Pay careful attention to scraping the frozen particles off the sides of the bowl and back into the liquid. Do this for about a minute. Return the bowl to the freezer for an additional 20 minutes and then repeat the wisking. Continue this 20 minute freeze and wisk cycle until you have a smooth, frozen ice cream texture. Once you have the correct consistency, store the ice cream in the freezer until time for serving. Serve a scoop of the avocado ice cream over each slice of warm tart tan.
Well, that’s it. Have a great 4th!!!
If you have any questions about these recipes you can send me a message at here or hit me up on Twitter