Gift Guide for Cooks - 2016

December 8, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

FCC notice: The links in this post are affiliate links. If you click on the link to Amazon.com and buy something before you close the browswer window, I get a small commission from the sale, and you support DadCooksDinner. Even better - you don't spend any extra; the prices are the same on Amazon either way. Thank you for supporting DadCooksDinner!

So…had enough gift guides yet? I planned mine a few weeks ago, scheduled it for today…and then every website IN THE WORLD sent theirs out over the last week. 1 If you've seen too many gift guides already, I apologize.

I went a little crazy with my gift guide this year. I started picking out ideas for different kinds of cooks…and got a roll. By the time I was done, I had enough guides for a week of posts. But, then came the flood of gift guides, so I decided to just do one and get it over with. Thank you for your patience. (Have I apologized enough yet? I know, I know…get on with it.) OK, here we go:

[Update: If you are an email or RSS subscriber, the Amazon widget showing my picks might not be visible. To view this post on the blog, and see all my wonderful selections, click on the title at the top of this page (or this link right here) to go to my website. Sorry about that...]

Kitchen Basics

My list of essential Kitchen tools. (You may have a different list, but these are my essentials.) This list is for someone who is getting better at cooking, and has outgrown their current kitchen tools. Like, say, that cheap knife block or set of flimsy pots and pans we got at our wedding…because we asked for them in our wedding registry. (At the time, I didn't know I would become a cooking fanatic a few years down the line.) I lived with those pieces of junk for years, and was amazed when I upgraded to a good chef's knife and quality pans. Now, a good cook is a good cook, and can adapt to any tools…but it sure is easier when you don't have to fight your equipment to get dinner on the table.

Essential Gadgets

These are the kitchen widgets I reach for every day. Perfect for the cook who has everything…almost.

Pressure Cooker

Are you one of the hundreds of thousands of new Instant Pot owners from Black Friday? (Or Cyber Monday? Or last summer's Prime Day?)2 Looking for the essential accessories for your new toy? Here are my favorites. (And, if you don't have a pressure cooker yet...wow, you are patient with me. I've been on such a pressure cooking roll recently...maybe you should get one? I love mine...)

Sous Vide

My new favorite cooking technique is Sous Vide, especially when I need a steak, medium-rare plus. (Which happens fairly often - I love my steaks.) The Joule is my new favorite Sous Vide circulator - I love the sleek shape - but if you don't want to use your phone to set the temperature, go with the Anova, which is almost as good, and has physical controls on the unit to set the temperature.

Grilling

My essentials for being a backyard hero.

Rotisserie

Want to move from backyard hero to legend? Then you want these rotisserie tools. (Or, ahem, maybe a copy of one of my Rotisserie Grilling cookbooks?)

And that's it. Phew. Did I miss anything? After all those lists, I'm sure I didn't - but, still, there will be something that makes me slap my forehead and say "Oh! I can't believe I forgot that one!"

Happy Holidays, everyone, no matter what holiday you celebrate!

Rotisserie Duck With Drip Pan Potatoes

December 1, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 4 Comments

My friends at Maple Leaf Farms sent me a care package of duck, so I set out to shoot a video of my rotisserie duck recipe. Unfortunately, I didn't really pay attention to the recipe as I was filming. "I know what I'm doing" I thought to myself…hah.3

I grill the duck and the potatoes, serve dinner, and everyone loves it. A few days later I edit the video, and only then do I notice things I missed. Like…the glaze. And the herbs to stuff in the cavity. Turns out, I made a grilling basics video - rotisserie duck with drip pan potatoes.

So…here's the recipe that actually goes with this video. A few points:

If you only eat duck breast medium-rare, this is not the recipe for you. These duck breasts are well done - if not, the legs are too tough to eat. (If you want medium-rare duck breast, buy them separately, and use this recipe on the grill.)
Make sure you have a sturdy drip pan. Duck renders out a lot of fat - which is good, duck fat potatoes depend on it - but you don't want a flimsy pan. Um…not that I ever had an aluminum foil pan full of duck fat buckle when I grabbed it one handed. And I certainly didn't dump duck fat all over the inside of my grill, resulting in a huge grease fire, even after a thorough cleaning. Oh, no, never happened to me…
Don't skip the drip pan potatoes! Duck fat potatoes are amazing. For my other rotisserie recipes, I suggest drip pan potatoes; for rotisserie duck, they are mandatory.
One duck will feed two big eaters, so I give each diner a half duck. (Yes, that means this is usually a dinner for just myself and my wife. If I want to serve anyone else, I have to add a second duck to the spit.)

Equipment

Grill (my jumbo Weber Summit gas grill is great for rotisserie)
A drip pan to catch the drippings (I use a Crow Canyon enameled roasting pan), but an aluminum foil pan is fine
Instant Read thermometer (I love my Thermapen)

Rotisserie Duck, Peking Style
Beer Can Duck
Pan Grilled Duck Breast with Duck Fat Paprika Potatoes
Sous Vide Duck Legs
My other Rotisserie Recipes

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Pressure Cooker Pinto Bean and Turkey Drumstick Soup

November 29, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 4 Comments

Do you have a Black Friday Instant Pot on the way? And a leftover turkey drumstick from Thanksgiving? Pick up some pinto beans at the grocery store, and I've got a recipe for you. (Or, use the extra broth from last week's Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup.)

Now, I've had enough of Turkey leftovers - hard to believe, I know, but it was a LOT of turkey - so I sealed a drumstick in a zip-top bag and stashed it in the freezer. In a week or two, once Thanksgiving turkey overload has passed, I'm going to pull it out and make this soup again. (A frozen drumstick doesn't change the recipe. The pressure cooker thaws the drumstick as it cooks the beans, so everything still works.)

Want to make this recipe, but don't have a leftover leg? Check your grocery store's meat department. Mine has smoked turkey drumsticks next to the smoked ham hocks. Or, have a leftover thigh or a few wings instead of a drumstick? Throw them in the pot - they are a perfect substitute for the drumstick.

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker…I go with my bigger, 8 quart Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
Stick blender (or regular blender - but don't overfill it)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

What should you use that extra 2 quarts of turkey broth with? Here are a few suggestions:
Pressure Cooker Bean Mix Soup
Pressure Cooker Tuscan Bean Soup
Pressure Cooker Lentil and Bacon Soup
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Cyber Monday sale on Instant Pot Duo - In case you missed it Friday...

November 28, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 9 Comments

Amazon's Black Friday sale on my favorite pressure cooker had some glitches, so they are repeating the sale on the Instant Pot Duo at $68 for Cyber Monday. If you missed the sale Friday, now you have a second chance. Don't delay - I believe that supplies are limited.

Instant Pot IP-DUO60 [Amazon.com]

Picking up other Cyber Monday deals on Amazon? Any Amazon purchases through that link support DadCooksDinner. Thank you!

Support DadCooksDinner through Cyber Monday - 2016

November 28, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

On Cyber Monday, a brief request for support.

DadCooksDinner is a labor of love. I spent over 800 hours in 2016 working on it.

Over time, I've picked up readers, and the blog has gone from making no money to making...some money. Not enough to quit the day job, but enough to make filing taxes a mess. As the blog grows, I try to be more professional (professionalish?). As a result, I pick up more expenses. A test turkey here, a pressure cooker to try out there…it all adds up.

So, we have operators standing by to take your call…um, no. I'm not going into full-on pledge drive mode. Let me start again…

To support DadCooksDinner, please consider contributing in one of two ways:

Holiday purchases through my Amazon.com links

If you buy anything on Amazon after clicking through one of the Amazon links on this page, I get a small commission. You won't pay any more for your purchases, so this is an inexpensive way to help me out. This is the win-win solution for supporting DadCooksDinner if you're an Amazon shopper.

(Inside Blogging info: Amazon's Prime Day deal on the Instant Pot Duo led to my best Amazon commission month ever, and Black Friday is also looking good. Thanks to everyone who used my links in the past.) 2

Holiday Thermapen Sale

I am also a Thermoworks affiliate - if you are thinking about getting my favorite thermometer, Thermoworks has a bunch of Cyber Monday sales, and I'll get a small commission if you buy through this link.

Direct support through my tip jar

Not an Amazon kind of person? Want to help me out directly? You can tip me through PayPal. Tips can either be a one-time payment or a recurring subscription. Tips are processed by PayPal, but you do not need a PayPal account to donate - PayPal does credit card processing even if you don't have an account.

Special thanks to reader Martha H for her ongoing tip jar subscription!

Thanks again for reading, everyone!

Working For Tips (Blog Economics 101 for DadCooksDinner)

Black Friday Sale on Instant Pot Duo - 2016

November 25, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 4 Comments

Amazon has a 2016 Black Friday sale on my favorite pressure cooker, the Instant Pot Duo. Check it out quickly, it is Black Friday's "Deal of the Day", and once they're gone, they're gone:

Instant Pot IP-DUO60 [Amazon.com Black Friday Deals]

And, if you are just doing your regular Black Friday shopping, any Amazon purchases through that link - not just the Instant Pot - support DadCooksDinner. Thank you!

Giving Thanks 2016

November 24, 2016 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
- Leonard Cohen

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
On this Thanksgiving, please consider a donation to fight hunger in my home town:

Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank

Donate to the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank [AkronCantonFoodBank.org]

Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup

November 22, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 71 Comments

Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup

Save the bones!

Time again for my Thanksgiving rallying cry. Every year, I beg you to save the carcass from your turkey. Why? So you can make my favorite soup ever, day-after-Thanksgiving turkey carcass soup.

This is my favorite Thanksgiving tradition. Every year, after all the dishes were done, my dad would pull out the gigantic enamelware pot - the one designed for entire clambakes. Into the big pot went all the turkey bones, onions, celery, and carrots. The pot would simmer on low overnight; the next day, the house smelled like heaven.

This is my take on dad's big pot of turkey carcass soup. I make mine in the pressure cooker, of course. My pressure cooker is my favorite way to make broth, and that is the first step in the recipe. I reach for my bigger pressure cooker - 8 quarts is good, and if you have bigger, use it. The broth part of the recipe yields 4 quarts of broth, and we only use 2 quarts in the soup. I freeze the excess, and use it to make a quick weeknight pot of noodle soup a few months later. In the middle of January, a warm pot of soup on a weeknight is a blessing.

Top to bottom: Breaking up the bones; adding the aromatics, straining the broth; sauteing the aromatics

The tricky part of this is making the turkey carcass fit in the pot. Actually, I should say "the messy part", not the tricky part. It's not hard, if you're willing to rip and tear and get dirty. (I do use a pair of kitchen scissors to help cut through bones.) I cut the backbone out of the carcass, like I'm butterflying the turkey, then break up the larger pieces enough to get them below the max fill line. 2

No pressure cooker? No worries. Instead of an hour under pressure, simmer the turkey broth on the stovetop (or, even better, in a 200°F oven) for 4 to 6 hours. The soup part of the recipe is non-pressured; it works just as easily on the stovetop as it does in an electric pressure cooker.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup

Video Time Lapse

Pressure Cooker Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Carcass Soup - Time Lapse [YouTube.com]

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker…I go with my bigger, 8 quart Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
Kitchen scissors or poultry shears
Fine mesh strainer

Notes

No pressure cooker? No worries. Make the broth by putting everything in a large oven safe pot, bringing it to a boil on the stovetop, then cooking it in a 200°F oven for 4 hours. (Or, simmer on the stove for 4 hours - but the oven method is less work.)
This is a great make-ahead meal - step one can be completed in advance, leaving about fifteen minutes of actual cooking time. Stock can be refrigerated for up to three days, or frozen for months.
It also makes great leftovers - freeze the soup in 2 cup containers, and you have a lunch from the microwave in about 6 minutes.
You don't want to make turkey stock, but you still want soup? Sigh. I guess you can use two quarts of store bought chicken broth. But…it's so easy…try making your own stock, just once, then see if that cardboard carton of stock seems like a good idea.
Don't be tempted to add more noodles to the soup. They will look lost in all that broth when you first put them in the pot. Don't do it! The noodles soak up the broth as they cook; any more, and you're left with noodle stew, not soup.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

What should you use that extra 2 quarts of turkey broth with? Here are a few suggestions:
Turkey Soup with Chickpeas and Vegetables
Southwestern Turkey and Black Bean Soup
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Turkey Ramen Soup
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Thanksgiving Q&A 2016

November 21, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

Question: I've always eschewed "dry" brines, as I don't have confidence that I can spread the salt evenly under the skin, and, also, I don't want too much sodium in the final product. With wet brines and chicken I've learned that about one hour of wet brine is about right to balance, for me, juiciness and taste. What do you think an equivalent wet brine time would be for a 13 pound turkey? Three hours? Less? More? Thanks. - Warren, via eMail

Short answer: For the low end of brining a turkey, brine for 4 hours. (On the high end - I usually let it go overnight.)

Long answer: When I wet brine a turkey, I cut back on the ratio of salt to water. With chicken, I brine with a ratio of ¼ cup (1 ½ ounces) of Diamond Crystal kosher salt to 1 quart (32 ounces) of water. For a turkey, I cut that ratio in half - ⅛ cup (2 tablespoons, ¾ ounce) of salt to 1 quart of water. Reducing the brine strength lets me brine the turkey longer, so the brine has time to penetrate deep into the thick turkey breasts. Also, I like the convenience of overnight brining. Everything I can do the night before Thanksgiving is good - it’s one less thing I have to worry about in the rush on Thanksgiving day.

(This question about wet brines inspired last Thursday’s recipe: Rotisserie Turkey stuffed with Herbs.)

Icing the turkey breast while I set up the rotisserie

Question: So what is the best way to "wrap" a turkey for the rotisserie? I used to put an ice packet on the breast to cool it and so the turkey could get done at all the same time. But with a rotisserie, I'm not sure that evenness is possible or obtainable. - Commenter Gary

Answer: An ice pack on the breast is a great idea for the rotisserie! I pull my turkey out of the refrigerator an hour before cooking, and put a gallon zip-top bag full of ice on the breast while it rests and I get the grill ready. (More details here.) Now, if you leave the ice pack on while you’re cooking? That definitely won’t work on a rotisserie. But that’s OK - icing the breast before cooking is enough to even out the cooking between the breast (Which we want cooked to 160°F, no more) and the legs (Which are best at 175°F to 185°F, if not higher).
As for trussing the turkey, see my Turkey Trussing Video for how I wrap up the bird so it doesn’t flop around on the rotisserie.

Sous Vide Grilled Duck Legs | DadCooksDinner.com — The closest I've come to Sous Vide turkey - Sous Vide duck

Question: What do you think about cooking a turkey sous vide for Thanksgiving? - Commenter Justin

Answer: Sous Vide, and its precision temperatures, is perfect for cooking a turkey. You can cook the legs at a high temperature until they are tender and shreddable, then drop the temp in the Sous Vide and cook the breasts at the exact temp to keep them juicy.
I’ve wanted to try Sous Vide Turkey since I watched Chef Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas, co-owners of the famous Modernist restaurant Alinea, cook Thanksgiving together in this video [YouTube.com].

Unfortunately, being the Rotisserie guy means my family expects things from me - one of them is a grilled turkey. (I even bring my Weber kettle in the trunk when I’m visiting for Thanksgiving, just so I can give them their grill-smoked turkey.) I’ve never had a chance to go full-on modernist Thanksgiving.

When I finally get to go mad food scientist, the first place I’ll turn is friend-of-the-blog Jason Logdson at AmazingFoodMadeEasy.com for How To Sous Vide Turkey instructions.

There are lots of other good resources, too. As you mentioned in your comment, Kenji Alt has done it at SeriousEats.com, and Grant Crilly of ChefSteps.com teamed up with Meathead Goldwyn of AmazingRibs.com for a Sous Vide/Grilled turkey.

Question: I'm planning to follow your basic dry brine turkey recipe; grilling with my Weber kettle rotisserie. My question is, what do you do for your gravy? Will the pan drippings from the dry brine bird be too salty? Any suggestions would be appreciated. - Commenter Andy

Answer: So, I have a couple of different thoughts on this one.

Thought the First: I use the drippings from brined turkey in my gravy all the time. I know this bothers some people - they say the drippings come out too salty - but I don't notice that at all once it is mixed in with the rest of the gravy. (That said, to be safe, don't add salt to your gravy until after you've added the drippings, and taste as you go when you do add the salt.)

Thought the Second: I rarely use the drippings from my Weber Kettle in gravy. Why? Ash. I almost always wind up with charcoal ashes in the drip pan in my kettle grill. (Adding the batch of coals after an hour to keep the grill going seems to knock ashes all over the place.) That said, check out the drippings - if they clean, go right ahead and use them. (I use the drippings from my gas grill all the time.)

Question: What does Thanksgiving at DadCooksDinner.com look like? - Mike V, via email

(OK, so I may have sent myself this question.)

Answer: So, what does a DadCooksDinner thanksgiving look like?

I make gravy ahead of time, using the Turkey giblets in the pressure cooker. Pressure Cooker Giblet Gravy recipe here.

Rotisserie or Grilled Turkey? Why not both?

I cook two dry brined turkeys - one a “plain” turkey on my gas grill rotisserie, and the other a grill-smoked turkey in my kettle grill. (The kettle grill turkey is also cooked on a rotisserie…if the weather cooperates. Here in Northeastern Ohio, Thanksgiving has a 50% chance of gorgeous fall weather, and a 50% chance of gray and cold and wind and sleet. Guess which way the forecast is pointing this year?)
Rotisserie Turkey, Dry Brined with Orange and Spices recipe
Grilling Basics - Dry Brined Grilled Turkey recipe

Rotisserie Pan Bread Stuffing with Apples and Cranberries

I take advantage of the drip pans under the turkeys and make drip pan stuffing.
Rotisserie Pan Stuffing recipe
I put my pressure cooker back into action, and make a big batch of sweet potatoes. (I pull out my 8 quart cooker for this one, and double the recipe.)
Pressure Cooker Sweet Potato Puree

And, I make a big batch of mashed potatoes. (Which, yet again, I don’t have a recipe for basic mashed potatoes on the blog. Geez, I’m such a slacker.)

Finally, I save the turkey carcass for day-after-Thanksgiving-turkey-carcass-soup. (Save those bones! Recipe coming tomorrow!) I enjoy the leftovers meal the day after Thanksgiving as much as I enjoy the big turkey dinner itself.

(Oh, and if you have a spare Turkey Drumstick, wrap it up and throw it in the freezer. I have a bonus Thanksgiving Leftovers recipe coming next week…)

Any last minute Thanksgiving questions? Leave them in the comments section below.

Good luck with Thanksgiving, all you cooks out there!

Rotisserie Turkey Stuffed With Herbs

November 17, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 6 Comments

This recipe is inspired by Rick Bayless - he cooks his turkey with a hint of Mexican flavors to give it a south-of-the-border feel. Rick wet-brines the turkey, then stuffs the back cavity with herbs and aromatics to perfume the bird. I had to try it.

Now, I made a few changes to Mr. Bayless’s recipe - he uses mesquite, a controversial smoking wood. That’s right—wood can be controversial. Want to start an Internet war? Mention mesquite in a barbecue forum. Oh, the rage! Mesquite has a very strong flavor—used in large quantities, it can overpower food. I substitute pecan, another traditional Southwestern smoking wood. (If you want to use mesquite, you can - the small amount of wood in this recipe won’t overwhelm the bird.)

I wet brine the turkey overnight2, then stuff it with herbs2, truss it, and let it rest with a bag of ice on the breast while I prepare the grill. I concentrate the heat of the grill on the leg side of the bird, add the smoking wood, and then rotisserie grill with the lid closed until the turkey reaches 155°F in the thickest part of the breast. Done!

Recipe: Rotisserie Turkey Stuffed With Herbs

From my cookbook: Rotisserie Turkey

Adapted from Mesquite-Smoked Grilled Turkey by Rick Bayless

Equipment

Grill (I love my jumbo Weber Summit gas grill)
A drip pan to catch the drippings (I used an 11- x 13-inch aluminum foil pan)
A container large enough to hold the turkey
Gallon-size zip-top plastic bag full of ice
2 fist-size chunks of pecan smoking wood or 2 cups wood chips (or substitute oak)
Instant Read thermometer (I love my Thermapen)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Rotisserie Turkey Dry Brined with Orange and Spices
Rotisserie Turkey Breast with Spice Rub
Rotisserie Turkey with Cajun Dry Brine
My other Rotisserie Recipes

Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken in Black Mole Sauce

November 15, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 8 Comments

Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken with Black Mole Sauce | DadCooksDinner.com — Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken with Black Mole Sauce

I love mole, Mexico's complex sauce of dried chili peppers, seeds, and spices - always including a little chocolate. I went to Oaxaca to take cooking classes, specifically to learn how to make the real thing - Oaxaca's black mole, Mole Negro. We spent the whole afternoon making it - grinding seeds, toasting chili peppers, and so, so much simmering.

Real deal mole is amazing, but I cheat on weeknights, and buy buy pre-made mole paste at my local Mexican mercado. But it is Authentic Cheating - home cooks in Mexico also buy pre-made mole paste at their local market. (The Mole stalls in Oaxaca were impressive - piles of mole paste, as tall as I am, shaped into pyramids or domes.)

Black Mole Paste (Mole Negro) from my local Mexican market

My favorite mole paste is from Seasons of my Heart in Oaxaca - the aforementioned school I went to - but the tubs of mole at my local market work just fine. I went with the Mole Negro paste, so I could revisit my trip, but any mole paste will work with this technique.

My other weeknight cheat is boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of the whole bird. Quick mole for a weeknight, thanks to the pressure cooker.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Shredded Chicken in Black Mole Sauce

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric PC)

Notes

For this recipe, make sure to get mole paste, not "ready to serve" mole sauce. Ready to serve comes with the liquid already mixed in to the sauce - we want to make it ourselves from chicken stock. (Especially if you have homemade chicken stock - it is so much better with homemade stock as the base.)
Want to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs? Increase the pressure cooking time to 10 minutes.
The mole sauce is thick and sweet, and will want to burn in the bottom of your pot. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot smooth before locking the lid for pressure cooking, or you may go into overheat mode in an electric pressure cooker. If that happens, open the cooker, thoroughly scrape the bottom of the pot, then lock the lid and try again.
This recipe makes extra sauce - freeze it for future use.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos (Tinga de Pollo)
Pressure Cooker Boneless Beef Short Rib Tacos with Dried Chile Pepper Sauce
Pressure Cooker Cochinita Pibil - Yucatecan Pit Cooked Pork
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Any Thanksgiving Dinner Questions?

November 10, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 8 Comments

Thanksgiving snuck up on me this year. Life has come at us hot and fast for the last month or so. I just realized - it's the second week of November? Already?

For the blog, in a normal year, I have already cooked a turkey, shot pictures, and have a Thanksgiving recipe ready to go. Not this year. (My turkey is on order for this weekend. I'm trying to get caught up.)

I want to do a Thanksgiving Frequently Asked Questions post. Help me out. What questions does everyone have? Leave them in the comments, on Twitter, or in Facebook. Thanks!

Sous Vide on a Busy Weeknight

November 3, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 1 Comment

Sous Vide Filet Mignon with Shallot Rosemary Butter | DadCooksDinner.com — Sous Vide Filet Mignon with Shallot Rosemary Butter

This has been a week. Seattle, home to tailgate, my beloved Cleveland Indians keeping me up late in the night (I'm writing this a few hours before Game 7 starts...oh, please, let it turn out well...[UPDATE: Ugh.]), a sinus infection. Life got in the way, and I don't have a recipe to post today...or even a dinner planned.

As a dinner planning kind of guy, that really bothers me. Especially since I am writing this in the car, while the kids are at music lessons, and I need to have dinner on the table as soon as I get home.

Luckily, I was ready. Before we left, I got out my secret weapon - my sous vide immersion circulator. I grabbed vacuum sealed steaks from the freezer, dropped them in a container of water, and set the sous vide for 133°F - medium rare plus. I found a frozen roll of compound butter in there, too, so all I have to do is sear off the steaks when I get home, add a pat of butter, and set the table with mini sweet peppers, baby carrots, and potato chips with french onion dip. (Yes, I know, potato chips? Hey, the starch is the hard part when you need dinner on the table in 15 minutes...and you're a nervous wreck about the baseball game tonight.[UPDATE: Darn. Congratulations, Cubs.])

That's why sous vide is a go-to technique for a busy day. Sous vide lets me stock the freezer ahead of time, ready for a quick, mostly hands-off weeknight meal. And, if we're late getting home? That's OK - sous vide keeps the food exactly the temperature you want it. Give it a try - you'll be amazed.

Sous Vide recipes on DadCooksDinner.com

Pressure Cooker Pork and Cider Stew

November 1, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 4 Comments

Fall is apple season here in Northeastern Ohio, and apple season brings apple cider. I grew up drinking regular apple cider, so hard cider was a revelation. My favorite is Normandy style, from Northern France, bone-dry and sparkling. Unfortunately, even with the explosion of hard ciders at the grocery store, a true, dry cider is hard to find. 3

Normandy cider led me to Normandy pork, their long-simmered stew with pork, cider, and onions. (Normandy cider also led me to Calvados, their apple brandy…but that’s another story.)

Now, which cider should you use for cooking? My preference is for a dry cider - look for something with Dry, Crisp, or Brut in the name. That said, whatever hard cider you find will probably work. We need a little alcohol for complexity, and apple flavor for depth. I also try to get a straight apple cider - mixing in honey, maple, pear, or ginger is good for drinking, but I worry it will mess with the flavors of the recipe. If you can find a bottle of Normandy cider - it’s probably in the wine section - that is traditional for this recipe. 2

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric PC)
Collapsible steamer basket (Cheap and available almost everywhere.)

Pressure Cooker Pork and Sauerkraut
Pressure Cooker Chili Verde (Green Pork Chili)
Pressure Cooker Pork Belly Beer Braise
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Road Trip: Seattle

October 27, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 7 Comments

I'm on a road trip! Which, this time around, is a euphemism for "At a conference for the day job."

An army marches on its stomach. - Napoleon Bonaparte

I travel to see new places, meet new people...oh, who am I kidding. I travel to eat. Seattle has a fantastic food scene, and I have too many suggestions to do all of them justice. But I've been eating a lot! And taking pictures! So I have to show them to you now!

(Pulls out slide show, sees everyone edging towards the exits, reluctantly puts slide show away.)

OK, how about just a few highlights:

Caution: Low Flying Fish

Watch Out for Low Flying Fish [YouTube.com]

My favorite place to visit in Seattle is the Pike Place Market - and not just for the flying fish show at the Pike Place Fish Market. (Though they have a great time, flinging fish around and chatting up the crowd. Check 'em out. And get an oyster shooter while you're there. Or a whole sockeye - they ship anywhere in the US. They are there to actually sell fish, after all.)

Right around the corner from the market - or, maybe in the market, I'm unclear as to the actual boundaries - is the original Sur La Table store. This is a dangerous place to visit - there are always more kitchen gadgets that I HAVE TO HAVE RIGHT NOW GIMME GIMME GIMME...ahem. Sorry. I restrain myself by thinking about going through airport security. 3

As for dining options, there are too many to count. I got multiple suggestions for the Steelhead Diner, right across the street from Sur La Table, and it was fabulous. My other favorite is Miller's Guild, a steakhouse right around the corner from my hotel. The center of the kitchen is a massive Grillworks wood grill, and they specialize in aged beef - the aged tomahawk steak look amazing. (But my wallet chickens out at the throat-clutchingly high price of aged beef, so I get by with the bavette steak - which is also great.)

I'm here for a few more days, and planning to eat my way across the city. And take the http://www.seattlemonorail.com - it runs right outside my hotel window. I don't care where it goes - I have to ride it. It's a Monorail!

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Fun Food Finds October 2016

October 20, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

Cousin's wedding last weekend, kids events every night this week, business trip next week…it has been a struggle to keep the blog moving forward. In other words, it’s time to share some fun food finds to entertain you until I can get back to a regular schedule.

Christopher Kimball is back

Milk Street Charter Sign-up Form [177MilkStreet.com]
I picked the charter issue of Milk Street magazine today on my way home from work. I can’t wait to check out Christopher Kimball’s comeback after he was pushed out of Cooks Illustrated. And, no, I’m not just getting it for The Drama - Mr. Kimball knows home cooks, and I want to see what he has planned for his new venture.

ThermoPop sale

ThermoPop-A-Looza Sale! [Thermoworks.com]
Sorry about all the Thermoworks love recently - I am an affiliate, and I’m also a big fan. Their high end, high cost Thermapen is my go-to thermometer. If you want to find out why I’m such a Thermoworks enthusiast, but don’t want to spend too much money, get a ThermoPop. I keep a ThermoPop in my kitchen go bag…or at least, I did, until I left it behind somewhere. (That’s why the ThermoPop is in my go bag, and not the expensive Thermapen.) The redesigned ThermoPop is on sale for $24 for a limited time.

ThermoPop-A-Looza (Pic courtesy of Thermoworks.com)

The Food Lab on pressure cooking

Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup [SeriousEats.com]
Another genius idea from Kenji Alt - intentionally quick releasing the pressure on split pea soup. The vigorous boil you get with a quick release purees the peas for you.

Easy Modernist Foam

Chicken Piccata With Lemon Caper Air Recipe [AmazingFoodMadeEasy.com]
My friend Jason over at Amazing Food Made Easy has a great technique for lemon caper foam in this post - no whipping siphon necessary. (You do need Soy Lechithin, though, to hold the foam together.)

Did it have to be deep fried?

Crispy Pressure Braised Pork [ChefSteps.com]
The one recipe step that makes me back away from the cookbook and say “Nope, nope, nope”? Deep frying. Then the mad culinary scientists at ChefSteps combine pressure cooker braised pork with deep frying to get crisp-tender carnitas…and suddenly I’m thinking about buying a big jug of peanut oil.

And a nightcap

Michelada [MexicoCooks.typepad.com]
Want the real Mexican cocktail? Try a Michelada - kind of like a beer bloody mary, with a distinctly Mexican twist. Trust me, it tastes better than it sounds.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Greek Lamb Shanks with Tomatoes (Arnaki Kokkinisto)

October 18, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 13 Comments

Pressure Cooker Greek Lamb Shanks | DadCooksDinner.com — Pressure Cooker Greek Lamb Shanks

In my mind, I’m a culinary vagabond, traveling the world for exotic ingredients and new flavors. In reality...not so much. I’m a dad who lives in the suburbs, with a loving wife, three kids, and a day job. I don’t get to travel that much. I live out my travel fantasies with local ethnic eateries and food fests. I love getting a taste of a faraway land without leaving town.

I go to the Greek festival at Akron’s Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church every September. One of their specialties are Lamb shanks. They only serve them on Saturdays, they sell out quick, and I never make it before they’re gone.2

This year, as I stood in line on Thursday night, the “Lamb Shanks! Saturday only!” poster was taunting me - my schedule was booked on Saturday, and there was no way I could make it back. I decided to make my own Greek lamb shanks for sunday dinner. Opa!

(Serve these shanks with Orzo pilaf, pita bread, and a Greek salad.)

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric PC)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker 7 Hour Leg of Lamb
Pressure Cooker Irish Lamb Stew
Pressure Cooker Braised Lamb Shoulder Tacos (Cordero Guisado)
Instant Pot Moroccan Lamb Shanks
Instant Pot Lamb Stew
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Wish List: Thermoworks Smoke 2 Channel Wireless Thermometer

October 13, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 8 Comments

Thermoworks Smoke [Photo courtesy of Thermoworks.com]

FCC Notice: I am a Thermoworks affiliate - any Thermoworks products you buy through the links on this page will give me a small commission, and help support DadCooksDinner. Thank you for your support! That said, I love Thermoworks. I used their thermometers for years before becoming an affiliate, and highly recommend them.

My friends at Thermoworks announced a new thermometer…and my gadget lust is strong for this one.

The Thermoworks Smoke is a 2 channel wireless thermometer, perfect for backyard grilling and barbecue…especially if you want to grill year-round.

The Smoke is a souped-up version of my ChefAlarm probe thermometer, with two heat-resistant probes instead of one, and a wireless receiver.

Let's start with 2 probes. Why is that second probe important? Two probes let you track the temperature in the food and in the grill at the same time. If you have long, outdoor cooks with charcoal (like, say, pork shoulder, turkey, or ribs), then you want to know the temperature of both the food and the grill.

Thermoworks Smoke Details [Photo courtesy of Thermoworks.com] — Thermoworks Smoke - Details [Photo courtesy of Thermoworks.com]

Even better, the Smoke has a wireless receiver, so you can keep an eye on the temps from as far as 300 feet away with line-of-sight. I have had a few wireless thermometers, but none of them had anywhere near that range. Those old receivers would lose their connection if I went into the TV room to check on the football game.2 Walls will cut down on the distance the signal can travel…you won’t get 300 feet through concrete, brick, and wood…but I believe Thermoworks has a remote that will let me get me away from the window right next to the deck without losing its signal. And, believe me, if you’re an all-weather griller, you want to be able to go inside. After all…Winter is Coming.

Now, 300 feet is fantastic, but there is more coming in 2017. Thermoworks is working on the Smoke Gateway, a WiFi link and app that add on to the Smoke. The Smoke Gateway will connect the Smoke to your WiFi network, transmitting the temperature to the app on your phone, no matter where you go. This is it. We’re living in the future.

Looking for a Christmas gift for the backyard barbecuer? Or, want to help them on Thanksgiving, when they’re running in and out of the house, trying to check on the grill and the rest of the meal? The Smoke is perfect for them. (And, if you *are* the backyard barbecuer in the family? Treat yourself!)

The Thermoworks Smoke is shipping on October 20th. I’ve already got my pre-order in.

Thermoworks Smoke [Thermoworks.com]

Time Lapse Tuesday: A Return to Pot Roast

October 11, 2016 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

There are many ways to cook perfect beef; a medium-rare ribeye steak, boeuf bourguignon in red wine sauce, slow smoked beef brisket.2

My favorite? Pot roast. A big hunk of chuck shoulder, slow-simmered until it is fall apart tender, served with the pan sauce and a baked potato. This is one of my comfort meals, and I asked for it over and over as a child.

Time marches on, and I discovered the joy of pressure cooking in my 30s. It took me a while to perfect Pressure Cooker Pot Roast, but once I did…oh, my. Pot roast in a couple of hours, instead of spending all day? When I open the lid, and the smell of pot roast hits me, I get so excited. (That's actually the blessing and the curse of this recipe; the sealed environment of the pressure cooker keeps a little more of the flavor in the pot roast, instead of letting it escape into the air…but you don't get to smell it all day while it cooks. That's OK - I'll take the faster cooking time.)

Pressure Cooker Pot Roast - Time Lapse [YouTube.com]

Here is the original recipe: Pressure Cooker Beef Pot Roast

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms
Pressure Cooker Beef Shank (Osso Bucco)
Pressure Cooker Beef Carbonnade
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

October 6, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

I just have to get outside and grill this evening - blue skies, the sun setting behind the trees, and the crisp smell of fall in the air. My oldest son is on a teriyaki kick - whenever I grill something, he asks if he can put teriyaki sauce on it. So, what’s for dinner tonight? Teriyaki pork tenderloin on the grill.

Pork tenderloin is a little trickier to grill than, say, a pork chop. The thick tenderloin needs to be seared, then moved to indirect heat to cook through without burning. For the searing step, I treat the tenderloin like it has four “sides”. I grill it over direct heat until it is browned on the bottom. Then, instead of flipping the tenderloin, I give it a quarter turn - rolling it 90 degrees, onto its side. I repeat this three more times, until the outside of the tenderloin is covered in grill marks.

Now, the tenderloin looks great - nice and seared on the outside - but it’s not done cooking on the inside. To finish, I move the tenderloin away from the heat, to an indirect zone on my grill, and close the lid. This lets me grill-roast with indirect heat until the tenderloin is cooked through. My probe thermometer makes this easy - I stick the probe into the deepest part of the tenderloin, close the lid on the wire, and set the temperature to 145°F. When the thermometer beeps, the pork is ready. Don’t overcook pork tenderloin - it is a very lean meat, and dries out if it goes much beyond Medium doneness on the grill. If you don’t have a probe thermometer, use a regular thermometer to check the pork’s temperature every five minutes.

Recipe: Grilled Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

Equipment

Grill (I love my massive Weber Summit)
Probe thermometer (I use the ChefAlarm with its high-heat safe probes)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Gochujang Marinade
Grilled Teriyaki Ribeye Steaks, Reverse Seared
Pork Tenderloin, Brined and Pan Basted, Adam Perry Lang style
My other Grilling Recipes

Longer Term Testing Notes: Instant Pot Duo60 vs Duo80

September 29, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 73 Comments

Longer Term Testing Notes: Instant Pot Duo 6 Quart vs 8 Quart | DadCooksDinner.com — Instant Pot Duo60 vs Duo80 - who wins?

I was all excited when I got my Instant Pot IP-Duo 8 quart pressure cooker. It pushed my IP-DUO 6 quart out of the location of honor, under my kitchen island, ready to be pulled out at a moment’s notice. My IP-DUO 6 moved to the basement, on the shelf of backup pressure cookers. (Next to the Fagor Lux 8 quart, the Instant Pot Smart, the Kuhn-Rikon, and the Cuisinart.) I loved the extra space in the 8 quart; I didn’t mind that it barely fit under the kitchen island. That’s how things stayed for a few months. The IP-DUO 6 quart would come upstairs when I needed a second pressure cooker for a side dish, but otherwise was relegated to the minor leagues.

Then, one night, the kids did not clean out the 8 quart pot. (Darned kids!) It was crunch time, and I had to get dinner started right away. I don’t have a spare pot for the 8 quart yet - Instant Pot says they are coming, but keeps pushing off the date - so I went downstairs and grabbed the IP-DUO 6. When we were cleaning up the kitchen, out of habit, I put the 6 quart back under the island, and moved the 8 quart downstairs.

That was it. Without really paying attention, I switched back to my old standby, the 6 quart cooker. Turns out, for a family of five, I don’t really need the 8 quart size, except for special occasions. The 6 quart does fine, and slightly smaller size, and availability of spare pots and a lid, make it a more versatile cooker day to day. I still bring up the 8 quart when I need it - large batches of stock, or chili for a crowd - but the 6 quart is back as my regular cooker.

Now, I’m glad I have both - I love the day-to-day usability of the 6 quart, with the size of the 8 quart available if I happen to need it. And, it’s great to have a second cooker. If I want a main course and a side dish, both under pressure, I can pull out my backup. Now, the fact that I also have a third, fourth, and fifth pressure cooker available? I may have a problem. (And I’m thinking about the high-end Breville Fast-Slow Pro pressure cooker. I want to try the auto-pressure release, but I can’t get over the lack of a stainless steel pot. Ok, Ok. I admit it. I definitely have a problem.)

Why am I sharing this? Because, I have been asked in the comments a lot recently: 6 quart or 8 quart? If you can only have one, the 6 quart is more than enough to cook for my family of five. If you have bigger needs, the 8 quart is also an excellent cooker - and they’ve got to have spare pots eventually, right? - but I don’t think most people need the extra size. Stick with the 6 quart to start, and when you fall in love with pressure cookers and have to get a second one, go for the 8 quart for the extra space and versatility it adds.

In the end, there can be only one. (Or, in my case, five.)

What do you think?

What is your go-to pressure cooker? Talk about it in the comments section below.

Time Lapse Tuesday: Revisiting Pressure Cooker Short Ribs

September 27, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 5 Comments

Pressure Cooker Short Ribs | DadCooksDinner.com — Pressure Cooker Short Ribs

My Pressure cooker short ribs recipe is one of my original blog posts about pressure cooking 2, and my first PC recipe to get ranked by Google and read by people who weren’t family or friends.

Now, don’t get me wrong - I love the recipe, and cook it often. But, after years of blogging, I cringe when I look back at those early posts. 2 I’ve learned so much since then.

For example: the prep pictures look pretty good, because I took them with natural light. My original “beauty shot” 3and I use that term loosely of the meal ready to serve, however:

Yikes.

Complaining about Past Me aside 4, there’s a reason this is an evergreen post on Google. Short ribs in the pressure cooker are a killer recipe. They just work. So, this post deserves a tune up and a video:

Pressure Cooker Short Ribs - Time Lapse [YouTube.com]

And, here is the recipe: Pressure Cooker Short Ribs

Now, if only I had the time to go back and rewrite all my other posts from year one. And year two. And year three… Sigh.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Short Ribs with Mexican Flavors
Pressure Cooker Short Ribs Braised with Beer
Pressure Cooker Korean Short Ribs
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
My other Pressure Cooker Time Lapse Videos

Blender Disaster

September 22, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 10 Comments

Sometimes your purpose in life is to be a warning to others.
[Paraphrasing a demotivational poster from Despair.com]

Every blender I own comes with a statement like this in the manual:

WARNING, DO NOT BLEND HOT LIQUIDS OR OTHER HOT INGREDIENTS
Starting blend cycles with boiling or very hot liquids may result in burns or cause the lid to blow off (emphasis mine)
[From the BlendTec instruction manual]

I know this. I have known this for years. From my Mexican Hot Chocolate recipe, back in 2010:

If you use a traditional blender, watch out! Hot liquid plus blender equals lid shooting off and hot chocolate spraying all over the place. Why? Hot air expands in volume by about a quarter. When you put hot liquid in a blender, you have room temperature air above it in the blender. Turn the blender on, and that air gets mixed into the hot liquid and heats up. This causes two things to happen: first, the air in the top of the blender, heated by the liquid, increases in size by a quarter. This causes a blast of air pressure, which will shoot the lid off the top of the blender if it can't escape. Second, the air mixed into the liquid causes the liquid to expand as well, and climb up the sides of the blender. If you have a tight seal on the lid, or too much liquid in the blender…kablooey.
Safe blending tips are: don't fill the blender more than half full, leave the feed tube cap off the lid to let the expanding gases escape, and hold the lid on tight with a kitchen towel to force the expanding gases out through the hole in the feed tube.
[Mexican Hot Chocolate, DadCooksDinner.com]

Video

Blender Disaster [YouTube.com]

Some day I will follow my own advice.

I am shooting a time lapse video of my Pressure Cooker Short Ribs Tacos recipe, and everything looks good. The meat is done and shredded; all that’s left is blending the sauce. And…I didn’t follow ANY of those directions I list above. My feeble excuse? I'm hungry, and want to eat faster. So, I:

Use hot liquid
Use a small blender jar (when I have a much larger one available), so I…
Fill the blender all the way to the top
Don't remove the plug
Don't hold down the lid with a towel

I hit the “Sauce” button on my blender. It slowly ramps up to speed, and I relax…too soon. When it kicks into super-blend overdrive, the force of the expanding liquid and air in the blender pops the lid open - even with my hand resting on it - and sprays an arc of partially blended pepper sauce across my kitchen. I fumble for the “Off” button. Then I look around. From my coffee maker, across the dish drain, across the windows…everything within a 6 foot arc is dripping sauce. It is in a narrow band, about one foot wide, and about a 270° arc - I was standing close to the blender, and my body blocked everything behind me. Keeping my hand on top of the lid forced the spray out in a narrow band, at about chest height. Thank goodness, because my good blogging camera was mounted about a foot directly above the blender. If the sauce had fountained straight up, I’d be in the market for a new camera and lens.

I look around, and the mess oozes down the walls for a few seconds. I sigh, then call the kids in from the back yard. After a lot of paper towels and mopping, the kitchen is mostly back to normal. (Everything in the dish drain goes back in the dishwasher…including the dish drain itself). The only casualty is the blender itself - the oozing liquid gets into the control panel, and it has to dry out overnight to get working again. I pour the dregs of the sauce from the blender jar into a Pyrex measuring cup, and use my stick blender to finish blending the sauce.

Once again, let me serve as an example - a negative example. This isn’t the blender’s fault - it was entirely user error. Don’t do what I did: fill a blender with hot liquid and hit the “make it blend!” button. Or, if you do, have lots of paper towels handy…

What do you think?

Questions? Leave them in the comments section below.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps Korean Style

September 15, 2016 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

Hello, my name is Mike, and I have a gochujang problem.5Hi, Mike!

In the past year, I have used this Korean chili paste on shrimp, pork tenderloin, chicken wings, and even a whole ham. But that’s not enough gochujang for me. I’m sneaking it into one of my go-to weeknight meals, turkey lettuce wraps.

This is an American home cook's mashup of Korean food. It is far from authentic...especially the turkey. But, it gets the flavors of Korea on the dinner table fast, and satisfies my gochujang cravings.2

The best part? I can sneak a few extra vegetables past the kids - and lettuce is right there in the name. When I say "lettuce wraps for dinner", and they get excited? I don't know how to deal with it.

One thing to note - this is a spicy dish. (Especially if you drizzle it with even more gochujang, like my daughter.) If you can’t take the heat, make Chinese style lettuce wraps instead.

Recipe: Turkey Lettuce Wraps Korean Style

Equipment

12 inch skillet or 14 inch flat-bottomed wok

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Turkey Lettuce Wraps, Chinese Style
Turkey Lettuce Wraps, Thai Style
Grilled Korean Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps (daeji bulgogi)

New video series: Pressure Cooker Time Lapse

September 8, 2016 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

My Time Lapse Setup | DadCooksDinner.com — My Time Lapse Setup

A quick programming note: you may have noticed the time-lapse videos embedded in my last few pressure cooker recipes. I’m making an effort to do more videos; they are becoming more and more important to food blogs, and my current pace of one video every six months is just not cutting it.

My goal is a Time Lapse Tuesday video every week…for the forseeable future. I’m playing with the time lapse setting on my camera, picking out theme songs, and wrestling with learning how to use my video editing software. It’s a lot of fun, and a new challenge.

My Time Lapse video playlist - more to come.

As always, the recipes will be here on DadCooksDinner, with the video embedded in the recipe post. If you want to follow along with the videos themselves, please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Thanks, and see you next Tuesday with a new recipe and video!

Pressure Cooker Corn Soup

September 6, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 5 Comments

I live for fresh corn on the cob in the summer - I’m a Midwestern boy, born in Wisconsin and raised in Ohio. At the start of corn season, I’m a minimalist - boiled (for exactly 4 minutes!) or grilled are the only two ways I will make corn. In other words - don’t mess it up, and let the corn flavor shine through.

As happy as I am with simply cooked corn, as August passes and we begin September, I start to want some variety. What can I do that is different, but still does justice to fresh corn?

Pull out my trusty pressure cooker, that’s what.

I could not believe how much corn flavor the pressure cooker extracts from corn cobs. This is summer in liquid form. I don’t want to mess it up, so I keep the rest of the ingredients simple - a little bacon, a sautéed onion, and salt and pepper. Everything goes back in the pot for a second blast of pressure to cook the corn kernels, and I have a soup that is the essence of corn.

Now, I use bacon in this recipe, because…well, because bacon. I love the salty, smoky undertone it adds to soups and stews. If you really don’t want to add bacon, substitute 2 tablespoons of butter.

Inspired by: Pressure Cooker Corn Soup by Kenji Alt at SeriousEats.com

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric PC)

Notes

There are all sorts of fancy corn stripping tools - I even own this one - but I can't find it, so I went with my trusty knife.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Grilled Corn
Sous Vide Corn on the Cob
Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Grilled Mexican Hot Dogs

September 1, 2016 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

National hot dog day is today…um…was last week. I’m late on this one, but trust me, it’s worth it.

Mexican hot dogs are cross-border pollination at its best. Take a hot dog, wrap it in bacon, and serve it in a thick bun with beans, salsa, jalapeños, and a drizzle of crema. These dogs are from the Sonoran desert region, Northwestern Mexico through Southern Arizona. No one really knows where they came from - there are all sorts of rumors - but my bet is on the hot dog carts around the University of Sonora in Mexico. A hot dog wrapped in bacon, topped with everything else that is available? It sounds like the perfect food for a starving college student. These dogs spread through the Sonoran desert region, ignoring the political border and establishing themselves as a local delicacy in Tucson, Arizona.

There are three keys to cooking hot dogs wrapped in bacon:
1. Assembly: Wind the bacon around the hot dog in a single layer, like you are wrapping a candy cane.
2. Low and slow: Cook the dogs low and slow, turning them often. Dripping bacon fat is just looking for an excuse to flare up and cause a grease fire, so keep the dogs moving, and don’t rush them. You don’t want burnt bacon.
3. Flip with the wind, not against it: When you do turn the dogs, make sure you twist them in the direction of the bacon. Until the bacon is well cooked, it is loose on the hot dogs. Turn them in the wrong direction and the bacon will unwrap itself and flop onto the grill. (Not that it happened to me. Over and over. Ahem.) Make sure you turn with the wrap, which keeps the bacon tight.

The final key to these dogs? Toppings. What goes on (or with) a taco? Beans, diced tomatoes and onions, and a drizzle of crema are traditional; some people favor avocados (great!) and mayonnaise (what?); I’ve heard of dogs topped with all of the above, plus a dusting of crushed potato chips (yikes). Like most hot dogs, the toppings aren’t really a recipe, they’re more of a suggestion. “Drag them through the garden” and go nuts with whatever Mexican themed toppings you like. In my house, one kid liked sour cream and Mexican shredded cheese; another preferred beans, salsa, and Mexican crumbled queso. Me? Bring me all the toppings. I want everything you’ve got, and that jar of pickled jalapeños hiding in the back of the refrigerator, too.

Recipe: Grilled Mexican Hot Dogs

Equipment

Grill (I love my massive Weber Summit, but any grill will work for this recipe.)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Grilled Chicago Char Dogs
Grilled Foot Long Hot Dogs
Pressure Cooker Refried Pinto Beans
My other Grilling Recipes

Pressure Cooker Red Pepper Hummus

August 30, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

We’re on our way to a concert under the stars at Blossom Music Center. We will spend the evening on a blanket, with a picnic basket and a couple of bottles of wine. What should I bring?

My go-to recipe is a dip. It’s quick and easy - basically, toss everything in the blender and go. Now, I am crazy enough to pressure cook my own chickpeas…yes, I’m “that guy”…because home cooked chickpeas are noticeably better than canned.3

Normally, I’m even more “that guy” and roast my own red peppers - like the chickpeas, homemade is much better than jarred - but I cheated for this video. Jars of red peppers were on sale at my local grocery store, so I took the easy way out. Yes, I know, shame on me. The dip was still fantastic.2

What do I serve this dip with? Almost anything that will hold it - crackers, cucumber slices, carrots - but my favorite is a thin-sliced french baguette. Enjoy!

Video: Pressure Cooker Red Pepper Hummus Time Lapse

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Red Pepper Hummus

Equipment

6 quart pressure cooker (I use an Instant Pot Duo electric PC)
Blender or food processor (I use a BlendTec blender)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Hummus
Pressure Cooker Yellow Split Pea Dip (Greek Fava)
Baba Ghanoush
Instant Pot Lamb Tagine
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Pressure Cooker Korean Beef Stew (Beef Doenjang Jjigae)

August 23, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 8 Comments

Pressure Cooker Korean Beef Stew (Doenjang Jjigae) | DadCooksDinner.com — Pressure Cooker Korean Beef Stew (Doenjang Jjigae)

Back in May, I was chatting with Tina of FusionCraftiness.com at the Everything Food conference. I mentioned my love of gochujang, and she said “Have you tried doenjang? It makes a great stew.”

Why no, I haven’t heard of it…[pulls out notebook]…what is it, and how do you spell it? 3

Doenjang is a soybean paste. I’ve seen it for years - it is in the brown tubs that sit right next to the red tubs of gochujang at my local Asian market. Doenjang is the base of Korean stews and soups. I’m using it in Jjigae, a stew that also includes zucchini.2 I add the vegetables after the pressure cooker has done its work, for a last-minute simmer, because pressure cooking zucchini would turn it in to mush.

My kids love this stew - it has the big, bold flavors of Korean food, without the heat of gochujang. The two that can handle the heat will drizzle some gochujang on top, to spice it up; my oldest can’t handle hot food, so he leaves it off. Serve with white rice to soak up the sauce.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Korean Beef Stew (Beef Doenjang Jjigae)

Equipment

6 quart pressure cooker (I use an Instant Pot Duo electric PC)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew
Pressure Cooker Irish Lamb Stew
Pressure Cooker Massaman Beef Curry
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Rotisserie Eye of Round Roast, Baltimore Pit Beef Style

August 18, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 7 Comments

Rotisserie Eye of Round Roast | DadCooksDinner.com — Rotisserie Eye of Round Roast

I get the occasional question about less expensive beef roasts on the rotisserie: “That prime rib roast looks great, but what about something cheaper, like a rump roast? Or a round roast?”
3

The problem is, cheaper roasts are tougher. They come from harder working muscles in the cow, and have more connective tissue. But, we can work around that. Cook the roast to no more than medium and slice it as thin as possible, and you have the makings of great sandwiches. Sure, it’s not a ribeye, but it *is* big, beefy flavor for a lot less money.

My local grocery store has a sale on Certified Angus Beef eye of round roasts - $2.49 a pound, but I have to buy the entire 7.5 pound roast - so it is time to try it on the rotisserie.

This recipe is inspired by Baltimore pit beef sandwiches. 2 Thin sliced beef, piled high on a bun, and topped with sliced onions and prepared horseradish sauce. I cook it with a reverse sear, starting the roast out low and slow, then finishing with high heat to brown the outside. Enjoy!

Recipe: Rotisserie Eye of Round Roast, Baltimore Pit Beef Style

Equipment

Grill (I love my jumbo Weber Summit gas grill)
A drip pan to catch the drippings (I used an 11- x 13-inch aluminum foil pan)
Instant Read thermometer (I love my Thermapen)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Rotisserie Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish-Mustard Crust
Rotisserie Boneless Ribeye Roast with Garlic Crust
Rotisserie Pork Shoulder with South Carolina Mustard Barbecue Sauce
My other Rotisserie Recipes

Video: Pressure Cooker Feijoada Time Lapse

August 15, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 4 Comments

I shot a time lapse video while I was working on the last week’s Pressure Cooker Brazilian Black Bean Stew:.

Video: Pressure Cooker Feijoada Time Lapse [Youtube.com]

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Feijoada - Brazilian Black Bean and Meat Stew

Notes

I should be jaded, but...I can't stop watching this time lapse. Especially the bacon. At first, nothing is happening…then it starts to render some fat. At that point, I'm hooked, and can't stop watching until the end. I just wish the 40 minutes of "under pressure" were more interesting than watching the sun slowly set in the reflection on the wall.
I was also surprised…or, should I say, I am always surprised…at how long it takes to edit video. Even one as minimally edited as this one. After years of blogging, I feel like I can knock out a recipe post pretty quickly - I have my photo editing and writing workflows down pat. But when it comes to video, I'm a raw beginner, fumbling my way through the process every time. I'm trying to do more video, but it's a process. Hopefully it gets better as I do it more…which, of course, means more than one video every six months. Sigh.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Pressure Cooker Macaroni and Cheese
Pressure Cooker Roasted Sweet Potato Puree
Should I cancel “Keep Warm” mode for a Natural Pressure Release? No.
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

I'm a Thermoworks Affiliate!

August 11, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 2 Comments

Thermoworks ThermoPop | DadCooksDinner.com — Thermoworks ThermoPop (photos courtesy of Thermoworks)

You may have noticed a new entry on my sidebar: links to Thermoworks thermometers. I’ve recommended Thermoworks thermometers for years, and am a long-time user of their top-of-the-line Thermapen. Thermoworks recently approached me about being an affiliate; of course I said “YES!”

What does being an affiliate mean? If you click on a link to Thermoworks on this site, I get a small commission on anything you buy. It doesn’t cost you any more, and it helps support DadCooksDinner.

So, need a thermometer? Click on one of the links on my site, and thank you.

Thermoworks Thermapen
If you are looking for the top-of-the line thermometer, the workhorse I reach for every day, the fastest thermometer in the west, you want the Thermapen. I use this thermometer daily - if not multiple times a day. My opinion on thermometers is “buy the best, and only cry once.” The Thermapen is the best.

Thermoworks ThermoPop
That said, the Thermapen is expensive. If it’s too much for you, check out the ThermoPop, pictured at the top of the page. It was recently updated to increase its speed, and now reads temperatures in 3–4 seconds. I love the extra-long probe on the ThermoPop when you compare it to other thermometers in its price range, and I keep one around in my culinary go-bag in case of emergencies.

Thermoworks ChefAlarm
Finally, my other workhorse is the ChefAlarm, my favorite probe thermometer. I rely on this thermometer every time I cook a roast in the oven, and it is a critical piece of equipment for reverse seared steaks. The probe is oven safe and high-temp resistant - I’ve burnt out a bunch of probes on cheaper thermometers, but my ChefAlarm probes are still going strong after years of use. (That said, I do keep the wire away from the flames on my grill - the probes may be heat resistant, but I don’t want to tempt fate.)

Thanks again to Thermoworks for taking me on as an affiliate!

Pressure Cooker Feijoada - Brazilian Black Bean and Meat Stew

August 9, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 34 Comments

Pressure Cooker Feijoada | DadCooksDinner.com — Pressure Cooker Feijoada

I’m celebrating the Olympics with Brazil’s national dish, Feijoada, a stew of black beans and meat.3 So much meat.

I learned about Feijoada the first time I went to Brazilian churrascaria restaurant - the kind where they bring skewer after skewer of meat to your table. There was a large buffet in the middle of the restaurant, and the centerpiece of the buffet was a huge platter of black beans. It was the one dish from the buffet that stood out against the tidal wave of meat; now, when I go to a churrascaria, I try to save some of my appetite for some Feijoada. 2

Now, a bean stew may sound like a vegetarian option, but Brazilians love their meat. This stew reminds me of chili - meat and beans in about equal measure. Feijao is Portuguese for beans, and the black beans make up the base of the stew. After that, the mix of meats varies from cook to cook. They almost always include smoked pork (I’m using bacon), fresh pork (pork shoulder), beef (I’m going with chuck roast, but salted beef is also common), and sausage (I’m using smoked sausage as a substitute for Brazilian linguica sausage).

Looking for a taste of Rio de Janeiro from your pressure cooker? Try some Feijoada.

Or, check out some other pressure cooker bean recipes: my Instant Pot Pinto Beans recipe is my most popular, and my Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup with Sausage is a recent favorite.

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Feijoada - Brazilian Black Bean and Meat Stew

Equipment

6 quart or larger Pressure Cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric PC)
Slotted spoon or tongs
Flat edged wooden spoon (for scraping the bottom of the pot)

Video

Video: Pressure Cooker Feijoada Time Lapse [Youtube.com]

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Instant Pot Pinto Beans
Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans
Pressure Cooker Mexican Pork Stew with Summer Vegetables
Pressure Cooker Irish Lamb Stew
Pressure Cooker Wild Boar Stew (Italian Spezzatino di cinghaile)
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Sous Vide Peppercorn Filet Mignon

August 2, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 6 Comments

I'm Home Alone. My family is at a cottage on Lake Erie…but I'm out of vacation days at the day job, so I go to work each day and come home to an empty house. I'm a big proponent of home cooking, but what do I do when I'm used to cooking for five, but suddenly only cooking for one?

In my case, I go out a lot more than usual - see my Instagram feed - but even that gets old. When I want to relax at home, and cook for one, I turn to my sous vide cooker.

When my local grocery store has their "7 Steaks of Summer" promotion, I stock up. I vacuum seal each steak in its own bag, and drop them in the freezer. Then, when I need an emergency steak dinner for one, they're ready to go straight from the freezer to the sous vide water bath.

Today, I'm going with a filet mignon. There are actually two filets in my vacuum bag - I'll have the second one for lunch tomorrow, if I can restrain myself and not eat them both. I like my sous vide steaks cooked to Medium Rare Plus, 133°F, about halfway between Medium-rare and Medium. I salt the steaks, add a peppercorn crust one one side, and sear them quickly in a cast iron pan. Then I slice the steak, fan it out on a bed of baby spinach, call it a "steak salad", and I'm a happy man.

Equipment

Sous Vide Water Bath (I used an Anova Sous Vide Circulator and a sous vide container)
Heavy frypan (I used an 8 inch lodge cast iron skillet)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Sous Vide Butter Basted Porterhouse Steak (from the freezer)
Sous Vide Flat Iron Steak with Baby Kale Salad
Sous Vide Strip Steaks with Maitre d'Hotel Butter
Sous Vide Chuck Steak Recipe
Sous Vide Top Sirloin Sandwiches
Sous Vide Porterhouse Steak Recipe
My other Sous Vide Recipes

Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos (Tinga de Pollo)

July 19, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 17 Comments

NPR included me in an article about busy parents getting food on the table last week. I’ve been listening to NPR since the 80’s - in fact, NPR helped kick off my food obsession. I was listening to a Thanksgiving interview of Barbara Kafka about her Roasting: A Simple Art cookbook. It was an ode to old school, high-heat roasting. I bought that book in 1997 on the newfangled Amazon.com website...and it was all downhill from there.

I was going on (and on) about my favorite pressure cooker weeknight dinner, quick shredded meat for tacos. When the article came out, I squeed with joy…but then I saw the links they had back to my site. I realized I have a lot of fancy, authentic taco recipes on DadCooksDinner, but not the simple, weeknight recipes that I use, week in and week out.3

It’s time to make up for my oversight, starting with Tinga de Pollo - shredded chicken tacos. Now, these are a little fancy - see the notes for the ultimate stripped down version - but even with the extra work of sautéing an onion, they’re ready in about a half an hour from my pressure cooker. Even better, most of that time is hands-off, waiting for the pressure cooker finish cooking. That leaves me plenty of time to finish up the rest of the meal.

Here it is, one of my weeknight go-to pressure cooker recipes. Enjoy!

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Instant Pot Birria Tacos (Quesabirria con Consome)
Pressure Cooker Boneless Beef Short Rib Tacos with Dried Chile Pepper Sauce
Pressure Cooker Refried Black Beans
Quick Red Salsa
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

IP-DUO60 on sale for Amazon Prime Day

July 12, 2016 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

[Image via Amazon.com]

Heads up, everyone - if you want my favorite pressure cooker, the 6 quart Instant Pot IP-Duo60, there is a fantastic deal today only (7/12/2016) for Amazon Prime day - head over to Amazon and check it out. Instant Pot IP-DUO60 on Amazon.com.

(If you are interested in the deal, don't dawdle - the sale on Black Friday last year sold out quickly. It looks like they have plenty in stock, and it is one of the "featured Prime Day" specials, but just in case, I'd get the order in ASAP.)

FCC disclosure: I'm an Amazon affiliate, so if you go through one of my links, you'll support DadCooksDinner. Thank you!

Instant Pot IP-DUO60 [Amazon.com Prime Day]

Pressure Cooker Lentil Sausage Soup

July 5, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 9 Comments

Pressure Cooker Lentil Sausage Soup. Hearty sausage and lentils cooked in my Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker).

Pressure Cooker Lentil Sausage Soup | DadCooksDinner.com — Pressure Cooker Lentil Sausage Soup

I wish I had a better story for this recipe. One about family traditions, a history of the old country, or a long-lost recipe. Instead, it comes from a “clean out the pantry” day.

I get overexcited by exotic ingredients. Months ago, I bought Lentils du Puy on a whim - “hey, I haven’t used French lentils in a while, let’s get some!” Unfortunately, like most ingredients that aren’t part of my meal plan, they were pushed farther and farther back in the pantry. I found them while digging through my bean supply, and figured I better use them.

I typed “Lentil Soup” into Google, and the auto-suggestion popped up “Lentil Sausage Soup”. Hey, what a great idea! I have Hungarian sausage in the freezer, another impulse purchase from months ago. Let’s go with that!

Recipe: Pressure Cooker Lentil Sausage Soup

Equipment

6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Recipe for Instant Pot Goulash
Pressure Cooker Lentil and Bacon Soup
Pressure Cooker Senate Bean Soup
Pressure Cooker Chicken Gumbo
Instant Pot Misir Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentils)
Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup Recipe
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Gochujang Marinade

June 28, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 12 Comments

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Gochujang Marinade recipe. Super-sized Korean barbecued pork.

Slices of grilled pork tenderloin with gochujang and green onions — Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Gochujang Marinade

[feast_advanced_jump_to]

This is super-sized Korean barbecue. Instead of traditional thin slices of pork, grilled quickly, I'm grill roasting whole pork tenderloin. As much as I love those thin slices, they're too much work for me on a weeknight.

Did I mention my family is addicted to Gochujang, the spicy Korean pepper paste? (I did? Sorry. Still, here's another Gochujang based recipe. I can quit any time I want.) I've been using it a lot, trying to satisfy their cravings…and my cravings.

Thermometer showing 145°F and pork tenderloins on the grill — Done - get them off the grill!

Tips and Tricks

If there's a trick to this recipe, it is properly grilling the pork tenderloin. You can't sear tenderloin over direct heat for the whole cooking time - they will burn on the outside long before they're cooked in the middle. (And the gochujang marinade will make that worse - the sugar in the sauce burns quickly.) The key is the sear-and-move technique. Sear the outside of the tenderloin over direct heat, to get some grill marks going, then finish them over gentle, indirect heat. A remote probe thermometer makes this easy - poke the probe deep into the tenderloin, close the lid, and wait for the internal temperature to hit 145°F for medium doneness, with a hint of pink.

Equipment

Grill (I love my massive Weber Summit 670)
Probe thermometer (I like the ChefAlarm by Thermoworks because it has high-heat safe probes…but even then, I'm careful with them.)

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Grilled Thin Pork Chops, Quick Brinerated
Grilled Pork Tenderloins, Adam Perry Lang style
Grilled Pork Tenderloin Skewers with Teriyaki Sauce
Instant Pot Pork Loin Recipe
My other Grilling Recipes

Grilled New York Pork Chops with West Indies Spice Rub

June 23, 2016 by Mike Vrobel 3 Comments

The Grill - Grill For It!

This week, DadCooksDinner is sponsored by Grill For It and the National Pork Board. Follow The Grill at GrillForIt.com, at GrillForIt on Twitter (@GrillForIt), and at GrillForIt on Facebook (Facebook.com/GrillForIt) as he travels from coast to coast to get his grates on the country’s best pork recipes.

The National Pork Board asked me to create a recipe for their Grill For It program, and I’m dreaming of the West Indies. 2 A string of islands across the Caribbean, azure shores with white sand beaches that climb into tropical jungles. And pork, grilled roadside on the way to the beach.

Grilled New York Pork Chops with West Indies Rub | DadCooksDinner.com — Brining the chops

At least, that’s how it goes in my head. The one time I tried to visit the Caribbean, hurricane Joyce arrived on St. Lucia the same day my flight was supposed to touch down. 2

So, all of my West Indies experiences are lived vicariously, through cookouts in my backyard. Here’s where I have to do a shout-out to Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, authors of The Thrill of the Grill, one of the most influential grilling cookbooks back when I first got a grill. Mr. Schlesinger, a young chef in the ’70s, would take jobs in the Caribbean so he could surf during the day and cook at night. The flavors of the West Indies rubbed of on him, and from him to me. This spice rub is my own blend - I can’t find my copy of Thrill of the Grill - but I’ll bet it is heavily influenced by his recipes.

I’m rubbing the spices on brined, thick cut New York pork chops - also known as center cut boneless chops - and grilling them with the sear and move technique. Chops this thick, especially with a spice rub, will burn before they cook through (145°F (medium-rare) to 160°F (medium) internal temp, with a 3 minute rest) if I leave them directly over the fire. So, I get a good browning on the spice crust, then slide them away from the heat and close the lid, so they finish gently over indirect heat.

Want a vision of beaches, sea, and sky in your own back yard? Give these chops a try.

Grilled New York Pork Chops with West Indies Spice Rub

Equipment

Grill (I love my huge Weber Summit gas grill)
Instant Read Thermometer (A probe thermometer with a temperature alarm makes it easy to cook to the perfect temperature.)

Notes

Perfectly cooked chops are easy if you have a probe thermometer with an alarm. Push the probe deep into the chop, set the alarm to 145°F, and wait for it to beep. The only problem with probe thermometers is the wire will burn out if it gets too hot - I've burned a few probes out by letting the wire run over the direct heat part of the grill. Keep the wire away from the fire, and everything will be fine.

What do you think?

Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

Grilled Pork Chops with Knob Creek lemon glaze
Grilled Pork Chops with Ancho Chile Spice Rub
Grilled Double Cut Ribeye Pork Chops with Rosemary, Honey, and Lemon Glaze
How to Grill NY Strip Steak
My Grilling Recipes Index

Sponsor: The Grill and Grill For It - Pulled Pork Salad with Grilled Vegetables

June 21, 2016 by Mike Vrobel Leave a Comment

The Grill - Grill For It!

This week’s sponsor is my friends at the National Pork Board, where they’re doing something a little bit different. They’re encouraging people everywhere to give their grill a little thrill by sharing grilling season from the perspective of the most popular guy at the barbecue - The Grill.

I got to interview The Grill, to find out what lights his fire…ahem, sorry…and here’s what he had to say:

My interview with The Grill

How did you get started as a grill? What are some of your first memories?

I think you mean, “How do I get started?” I usually get started with a charcoal chimney. It gets my coals burning really hot really quickly and makes it easy to spread the coals evenly on my grate. As for memories, my first ones are of brats; my dad thought sausages were a good starting point for me as a young grill. I remember sinking my grates into that juicy, tender, pork-alicious sausage. After that first sear, I was hooked. I couldn’t get enough and have loved pork ever since.

What’s the easiest Pork recipe you’ve seen?

Beer Grilled Chops. Three syllables, five ingredients, and they only take 20 minutes to whip up. Doesn’t get much better than that.

What’s the craziest Pork recipe you’ve seen?

The craziest pork recipe I’ve seen is this Cheesy Maple Bacon Cajun Pulled Pork Sandwich. Try and say that five times fast… The name might be a mouthful, but you’ll crave a mouthful after you see this thing. It’s one of the best, most crazy delicious sandwiches I’ve ever had.

Do you have any requests for your owner? Anything you wish they would do more often? Cover you, clean you more, use you more?

Clean the grill?!? What, do I have burnt-grease in between my grates? Nah, I’m just playing. I get cleaned plenty. And used plenty! I’m truly happy with the amount of cooking I do, especially this grilling season. But, between you and me… a grill could always be cooking more ;). So, my one request would be to cook up these Double Smoky Ribs. We whipped them up on Memorial Day and I’ve been craving them ever since.

What’s your favorite time of the year? What’s your least favorite time of the year?

My favorite time of the year is easily grilling season. It’s when I thrive! My least favorite time of the year – oven season. I’ve got nothing against ovens; they make some of the most mouthwatering pork dishes around. To be honest, I just get jealous I’m not being used.

What’s your favorite accessory or tool?

I mentioned it before, but my favorite tool is definitely the charcoal chimney. It gives off a literal smoke signal of future deliciousness because when that thing gets pulled out and used, it’s a sign of good eats to come.

What’s your best tip for beginning grillers?

My tip for beginning grillers is to be patient. I know it’s tough. Everyone gets extremely excited when grilled food is on the menu, but you really need to wait for the coals to get burning hot to cook your food correctly. Trust me, delicious things come to those who wait.

What’s your best tip for intermediate grillers looking to take it up a notch?

As for intermediate grillers, don’t be afraid to try different techniques. For instance, you can throw a cast iron skillet on a grill and open a whole new world of flavorful goodness. It may seem counter-intuitive, but just like pork, I’m very versatile. So go ahead, use me like a stove.

I like to cook as much of the meal as possible on the grill - what’s your favorite grilled side dish to go with pork?

Wow, a man after my own vent! For side dishes, I always grill some veggies to accompany my main entree. You can’t go wrong with the classics: corn on the cob, asparagus and zucchini. And if you toss them all together with some pulled pork, you’ve basically got my favorite side dish, Pulled Pork Salad with Grilled Veggies.

Pulled Pork Salad with Grilled Veggies (Photo by PorkBeInspired.com)

Recipe: Pulled Pork Salad with Grilled Vegetables

Recipe courtesy of the National Pork Board

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 240 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients

1 boneless pork shoulder roast, about 3 ½ pounds
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 large handfuls hickory or apple wood chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes

Salad

1 ½ heads iceberg lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced
3 radishes, thinly sliced
½ cup honey roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed

Grilled vegetables

2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
1 sweet onion, cut in ½-inch rounds
Vegetable oil, for brushing
2 ears corn, husked

Honey mustard dressing

¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 clove garlic, crushed under a knife and peeled
½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

To smoke pork: Mix chili powder, garlic salt, onion powder, dry mustard and pepper together and season pork with spice mixture. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Prepare an outdoor grill for indirect cooking with medium heat, about 350 degrees F.

For a gas grill: Use a smoker box or create one using small, shallow aluminum foil pan. Remove cooking grates. Preheat grill on high. Turn one burner off. Place disposable aluminum foil pan over on burner, adding 1 handful of drained chips. Replace grates. After chips begin smoking, adjust heat to 350 degrees F.

For a charcoal grill: Place large disposable aluminum foil pan on one side of charcoal grate and fill with 1 quart water. Build fire on opposite side, and let burn until coals are coated with white ash. Spread coals in grill opposite pan and let burn 15–20 minutes (you should be able to hold your hand about 1 inch above the grate for about 3 seconds). Add 1 handful of drained chips to coals. Position cooking grate in grill.

Lightly oil grill grate. Grill pork with indirect heat, with the lid closed, for 45 minutes. Add remaining drained chips to box or coals and grill for 45 minutes more. Wrap pork in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Grill over indirect heat, with lid closed, about 1 ½ hours more. (On a charcoal grill, add more charcoal as needed to maintain temperature, leaving grill lid open for a few minutes to help charcoal ignite.) Unwrap pork and continue grilling until tender and spice coating is crusty, about 30 minutes.

Transfer to a carving board and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Using a knife and your fingers, pull the pork into shreds, discarding excess fat. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

While pork is resting, make vegetables: Prepare grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat, about 450 degrees F. Brush grill grates clean. Lightly oil zucchini halves and onion slices (no need to oil corn). Place onion slices, zucchini and corn on grill and close grill lid. Grill onion slices, turning once, until seared with grid marks and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; transfer to bowl. Grill zucchini, turning once, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes; add to bowl. Grill corn, turning occasionally, until kernels are lightly browned in spots, 10 to 12 minutes; add to bowl. Let vegetables cool. Chop zucchini and onion into bite-sized pieces, cut kernels from corn, and return vegetables to bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

To make dressing: Process all ingredients in blender together until smooth and thickened.

If shredded pork has cooled, you may reheat it in large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until warm, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, zucchini mixture with corn and onions, and ⅔ cup of dressing in a large bowl. Divide salad among 6 salad bowls and top each with equal amounts of warm pork. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve with remaining dressing passed on the side.

Thanks again to my friends at the National Pork Board and Grill For It for sponsoring DadCooksDinner, and for the recipe and interview.

PS: Don’t forget to follow Grill For It on Twitter (@GrillForIt) and on Facebook (Facebook.com/GrillForIt) for more grilling inspiration.

Kitchen Basics

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Happy Holidays, everyone, no matter what holiday you celebrate!

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Thanks again for reading, everyone!

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