Grill Interrupted

When I heard our friend Mike (@phenom1984) and his boys were coming for a visit this summer I knew it was time to roll out another “twitter-handle sandwich.” I’ve already whipped together a bunch of these as you may know…

Mike comes from Detroit, MI and and they are hardcore sports fans. Now if you are not from Detroit you likely don’t  know of one of their most famous eats: the Coney Island Dog. A Detroit Coney starts with a grilled hot dog which is covered in mustard, diced onions, and “Coney sauce.” Two neighbouring shops in the downtown core, American & Lafayette, duel over who has the better  version of this Motor City classic. Mike confirmed what I had heard: Lafayette takes it hands down thanks to their awesome Coney sauce.

I decided I couldn’t possibly try and take this classic dish head on, so opted for a little spin on the original. So, here is The @Phenom1984 Lafayette Coney Island Burger. Sloppy, messy, delicious.

The @Phenom1984 Lafayette Coney Island Burger

Serves: 8

Ingredients:
2 white onions, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
250 grams ground beef
150 grams smoked meat, diced
150 grams all-beef hot dog, diced
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Salt & pepper, to taste
8 1/4 lb hamburgers
8 hamburger buns
Yellow mustard, for serving

Preparation:

1. Place chopped onion in a bowl of ice water to reduce sharpness. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge until ready to use.
2. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a medium sized pot and brown the ground beef until no longer pink. Add smoked meat and hot dogs and heat for 2 minutes.
3. Add stock, spices and tomatoes and stir to combine. Heat until it comes to a simmer.
4. Use an immersion blender to blend until the sauce has the consistency of a Bolognese sauce, about one minute. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Place cornstarch in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons cold water and stir until a smooth paste forms. Whisk into the hot, simmering Coney sauce to thicken. Bring to a boil and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Grill hamburgers over high heat to you liking.
7. Serve hamburgers on bun. Ladle a generous amount of Coney sauce on top and finish with onions and mustard. Enjoy!

Filed under: Recipe on July 21st, 2013 | Comments Off on The @Phenom1984 Lafayette Coney Island Burger

Having spent the better part of the last 20 years grilling, it isn’t always easy to surprise me with something new or innovative on the grill. So when I heard that chefs Michael Allemeier, Devan Rajkumar and Richard Julien were teaming up with Dairy Farmers of Canada to launch a series of easy and unique grilling recipes featuring cream I was intrigued to say the least!

Each chef developed two recipes that can be found at www.AnyDayMagic.ca including this delicious dessert developed by Chef Allemeier. I baked a nut-free version of the cake and really loved the use of fresh lemons, raspberries and peaches in the recipe. The cake was gobbled up by my kids and their friends as quickly as I cut it. The sweet caramelized peaches go perfectly with the slight tartness of the raspberry syrup and lemon in the cake. The whipped cream ties the whole thing together with a cool, velvety finish that puts this whole dessert over the top.

Grilled Peach Trifle with Lemon Buttermilk Cake

Prep Time: 30 mins; Cooking Time: 35 – 40 mins
Serves: 8 to 12
Recipe by chef Michael Allemeier

Ingredients:

4 to 6 freestone peaches, cut in half and pitted

Lemon Buttermilk Cake:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cups butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp each, baking soda, baking powder and salt
6 tbsp buttermilk
1 lemon, zest finely grated and juiced (about 3 tbsp)

Raspberry Syrup:
2 cups fresh raspberries
1/2 cup each, granulated sugar and water
1 tsp lemon juice

Whipped Cream:
1 1/2 cups 35% cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preparation:

1. Lemon Buttermilk Cake: Pre-heat oven to 325°F (160°C). Lightly butter a 10-inch (25 cm) non-stick springform pan; line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together sugar, butter and vanilla, until creamy and smooth. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk until well mixed. Add lemon zest and juice; mix well. Spread into the prepared pan; smooth top.
4. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove from pan and cool on rack completely.
5. Raspberry Syrup: In a medium saucepan, combine raspberries, sugar, water and juice; bring to a simmer on high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes or until raspberries are completely broken down. Strain through a fine meshed sieve, pressing on berries to extract juice. Discard seeds and refrigerate syrup to cool completely.
6. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place peaches cut side down on greased grill; grill covered for 3 to 4 minutes or until grill marks appear. Turn peaches over and grill 1 to 2 minutes longer. Cool to room temperature or up to 6 hours.
7. Whipped Cream: In a chilled bowl, whip cream, icing sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
8. To assemble: On a serving platter, place cake. Drizzle with 3/4 cup (175 mL) of the raspberry syrup. Spread cream to the edges. Place grilled peach halves on top. Drizzle remaining raspberry syrup. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Tips

• Prepare components of this recipe ahead and when ready to enjoy, whip cream and assemble.
• The Lemon Buttermilk Cake keeps well for several days, wrapped well in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature.
• If fresh peaches are not available, substitute canned peach halves, well drained.

Filed under: Recipe on June 23rd, 2013 | Comments Off on Grilled Peach Trifle with Lemon Buttermilk Cake

1. Heat the marinade ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and completely dissolve the sugar. Allow to cool.
2. Remove thin layer of membrane from the back of the ribs.
3. Slice into the meat between each rib, but do not cut all the way through. This will help them absorb your marinade.
4. Place the ribs in a large roasting pan or plastic bag and add cooled marinade to them. Allow to marinate overnight. Flip and rearrange from time to time so that the ribs marinate evenly.
5. Remove the slab of ribs (saving marinade) and pat dry.
6. Put the marinade in a saucepan and bring to a boil, reducing by half. Add tomato sauce, cider vinegar, and molasses and continue to simmer until thickened (by about half again).
7. Soak the wood chips in a bowl of water for about 30 minutes.
8. Put a handful onto the middle of a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil. Fold all ends of the aluminum foil together to make a pouch. Turn the pouch over and poke about 10 holes in the bottom of the pouch with a fork.
9. Lift the grate on one side of the grill and insert the pouch over a burner shield.
10. Light the side of the grill with the wood pouch and turn it to Medium-Low heat. When the pouch starts to smoke, you are ready to grill. Keep the lid closed as much as possible to allow for the smoke to circulate around the meat.
11. Place ribs bone-side down on unheated side of the grill and smoke at about 225°F for 2 1/2 hours (adjust heat control as necessary to keep temperature steady). Flip the ribs over and smoke for an additional 30 minutes.
12. Brush ribs liberally with half of the sauce.  Flip and smoke bone side down for another 30 minutes.
13. Turn grill to High and grill ribs for a few minutes to sear. Remove ribs from the grill, cut into individual ribs and brush them one more time with sauce.

Filed under: Recipe on June 11th, 2013 | Comments Off on Ontario Craft Beer Smoked Beef Ribs