Barbecuing Memories

Several years ago, Bob, my son Mikey and my nephews Rob and Larry decided to have a cook-off. (I told you we were all competitive in the kitchen!) It was August and about 105 in the shade here in the city of the sun – El Paso. We set up a couple of grills and the BBQ competition began.

This post is really about my son Michael, Mr. BBQ, Jr. He loves to barbecue, just like his father. I love looking at pictures of him when he was just a baby. Look.

Now he’s all grown up. He got his degree from UTEP, has an excellent career, is married to my wonderful daughter-in-law Jennifer and has a love of video games, cars, all gadgets of a digital nature, and Barbecuing.
Back to the BBQ Cook-off. Da Boys grilled their hearts out – then jumped into the pool to cool off. We invited some family and friends to judge the entries. These guys were serious.

Surprisingly, Bob won for his now (family) famous Ribs and Homemade BBQ sauce. Mikey came in second for his BBQ Chicken. I declared them all winners, the food was fantastic. As you can imagine Lily and I supplied the sides and desserts.

We took a picture of the four smoky-hot grilling maniacs.
Not long after I had this picture up for all to see, I got an email from my son with a picture back.
He said I had messed up the photograph and had just “cleaned it up” for me. Well, what he did was switch faces all around so that he would be shown as Mr. BBQ. I tell you, these kids don’t have anything better to do!

But it didn’t stop there. I’m always putting up pictures of my kids on the computer, just like you guys do. Here's one I had of the two of them. He looks like a giant next to Lily.

Sometimes I alternate between them. So, my son said he had the solution.
Half him...half her!!!

Am I sad that he and Jenn moved to Dallas? Yes a little. Am I sad that Lily is moving to Dallas to finish school? Yes a little. But both my children will be in the same city and they will be able to watch over each other. PLUS, when I go visit, I can see them both at the same time. I was feeling a little guilty about always posting about my daughter while making few references to my son. If you haven't gotten the idea yet, I adore my kids. Bob and I are very blessed to have them.

May your relationship with your children be strong and loving. May it last as long as you do. Hugs to everyone. Here is a photo and the recipe for the real Mr. BBQ Winner...Bob.
Ribs with Bob's BBQ Sauce

Ribs, ribs, ribs, as many as you want, beef or pork
1 recipe Bob's BBQ Sauce, recipe follows

Bob's BBQ Sauce

1 medium onion, finely chopped
¾ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup ketchup
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
½ tablespoon vinegar
½ tablespoon apple cider
¼ cup water
Dash of pepper
3 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 tablespoon pineapple bits
Juice from ½ a lemon
2 teaspoons mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Sauté onion in unsalted butter until soft but not brown, about 5 minutes on low medium heat. Add remaining ingredients one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

Prepare the night before barbecue and allow to thicken overnight in refrigerator.Ribs:Boil ribs in beef broth or seasoned water for one hour (that's one hour after the water starts to boil), covered, over medium low heat. Prepare grill 15 minutes before ribs are done boiling. Boiling the ribs does three very good things for the meat: it gives it flavor, it tenderizes it and it then takes much less time on the grill and avoids burning the meat.

Place ribs on medium heat on the grill for 5 minutes on each side. Then, put heat to low and generously mop barbecue sauce over tops. Turn frequently and each time you turn them over, add more barbecue sauce. Cook until desired doneness of meat and the barbecue sauce is just moist. Serve with anything...and lots of napkins!

Here's a picture of the second place winner...Mikey's BBQ Chicken.

BBQ Chicken with Piri Piri Sauce and Marinade

Surfing through the web checking out other blogger's tasty posts, I found this amazingly delicious barbecue chicken marinated in Piri Piri Sauce. The blog where I found this recipe is at LIVE. LOVE. EAT.
I’d never heard of Piri Piri before, so I went on the hunt for more information.

Apparently Piri Piri was the name given to a particular chile used in cooking in Mozambique, Angola and Portugal. The name is used to describe a special chile plant called the African Bird’s Eye Chile. Here is a picture of it.

There is an excellent review of Piri Piri at David Leite’s website: Leite’s Culinaria.


According to Wikipedia:
"“Nando's, the Portuguese-themed chicken restaurant, originated in South Africa from Portuguese who left Mozambique after the independence in 1975. The chain uses piri-piri in many of its dishes, and helped popularise them worldwide. The company, however, prefers the common South African spelling peri peri on its menus and branded sauces.”

The Congo Cookbook website also gives you a fascinating and detailed history of Piri Piri.

Here's the recipe:

Grilled Chicken Piri Piri

• 2-3 lemons, zested & juiced plus 2 sliced for garnish
• 1/2 head garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 red peppers, seeded & roughly chopped
• 5 chili peppers like serrano or jalapeno
• 2 cups fresh parsley leaves
• 1 1/2 tblsp paprika
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup olive oil
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3 pkgs cut up chicken pieces, skin on

In a food processor add lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, red pepper, chiles, parsley, paprika, red wine vinegar & oil. Process until it becomes a paste (wasn't too pasty to me, it was pourable). Season with salt & pepper. Reserve 1 cup of the sauce as set aside for garnishing cooked chicken later.
Divide chicken pieces into 2-3 large resealable plastic bags. Divide the marinade into both bags & seal. Turn the chicken around in the bags to distribute the marinade. Place chicken in the refrigerator & let it marinate for at least 1 hour & up to 1 day. I did mine overnight after baking it (see my thoughts).
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from bags with tongs & drain well. Season with salt & pepper. Place on grill, skin side down first & grill for about 15 minutes on each side turning occasionally until cooked through.
Serve with lemon wedges & the reserved piri piri sauce.

{Her Thoughts}
Whenever I grill out with chicken I always bake it first for about 25 minutes with just a bit of salt & pepper in a 375 oven. (I totally agree with her on this point. It does cut down on the cooking time over the coals therefore keeping the chicken from getting that “burnt” look and taste.) Not only does this cut down on the time on the grill it also allows the marinade to really penetrate the chicken better. And it’s still on the grill long enough (about 15 min) to get that delicious grilled flavor. My Dad & I have been doing this for years & swear by it!!!!! For this recipe, I needed 2 baking sheets, one for the thighs & legs & the other for the breasts.I halved the original recipe & it’s reflected above. 3 pkgs of cut up chicken feeds about 6 for a BBQ at my house. As for the peppers, I used about 4 jalapenos because I didn't want it to be too spicy for my in laws. It was perfect.

{Back to me}
After combining the ingredients for the marinade and leaving the chicken to absorb the sauce in the fridge, I decided to add the left-over piri piri sauce to a cup of barbecue sauce. I love chile, but my tummy cannot tolerate anything too spicy. The results were quite delicious. The heat of the marinade had been infused into the chicken and when over the hot coals, a slathering of BBQ sauce with the remaining Piri Piri made it mouth watering.
***********

We roasted some corn and Lily cut up a fresh pineapple and removed the pits from a couple of nectarines. She squirted the fruits with limejuice and sprinkled some paprika over them and roasted these as well. This lovely meal was topped off with a root beer float and we were all quite content…and sleepy after the meal.

I decided to do this recipe after posting about all the delicious chiles available to us for our cooking adventures. I hope you try this magnificent sauce. I guarantee you’ll like it. Hasta luego my friends.
Come check out our latest chocolate indulgence -- Chocolate "Caliente" Souffle.
**********************
A smiley, just for you! :)

THE SENILITY PRAYER :
Grant me the senility to forget the people
I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and
The eyesight to tell the difference.
**********************
Always Remember This:
You don't stop laughing because you grow old,
You grow old because you stop laughing!!!

Picnic in a Box

A box, or a container, or a mason jar; anything with a lid or cover. If you’re going to eat outside and you don’t want flies or mosquitoes buzzing around your food, keep it covered. It’s been so hot and humid here in El Paso after our storms last week that we just wanted to sit outside for a nice and cool weekend meal. But, it was still too hot to BBQ. What to do? I decided to cook a small pork roast I had in the fridge in the crock-pot overnight. After checking to see what would go with it, I saw I sill had some of the red chile BBQ sauce I had made for the brisket last weekend. Hm? Shredded BBQ Pork, some cold Pineapple Coleslaw and Borracho Baked Beans with a little Pico de Gallo. Ok, that was settled. Dessert. I had bananas I was saving for some Buttermilk Banana Bread I was planning to make during the week. When I saw there was more than enough for the bread I decided on our picnic dessert…Banana Pudding. So there you go, our picnic in a box, El Paso style.

BBQ Pork
1 (3-pound) Pork Rib Eye Roast
1 cup of water
2 tablespoons BBQ seasoning

Combine in slow cooker and cook on low for 12 hours. Allow to cool and shred, using two forks. Combine shredded pork, 1-cup red chile BBQ sauce, and ½ cup beef broth in a large pot. Stir to combine. Heat thoroughly.

Borracho Baked Beans
1 large can of BBQ Baked beans
1 12-ounce can beer

Combine beans and beer in sauce pan and heat over low heat. Simmer over low for 15 minutes.

Pineapple Cole Slaw
1 package pre-shredded cabbage and carrots
1 (8 ounce) can of crushed pineapple
½ cup mayonnaise
1-teaspoon cider vinegar
1-tablespoon sugar

Combine cole slaw mix and pineapple in a bowl. In a smaller bowl combine mayo, vinegar and sugar. Whisk to combine. Stir into slaw mix. Cover and chill.

Now put your picnic box together. Layer beans, pico de gallo, cole slaw, and pork in your container. Provide covers for the containers to keep the pests away and off your food.























Make your Banana Pudding. Everyone has a favorite recipe for this delicious dessert. I’m no different. The only thing I do a little differently is I add 1 tablespoon of vanilla vodka to the pudding along with the sweetened condensed milk. I also add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cool whip before folding it into the pudding. Layer in your container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Ah, summer nights can be so cool when hot.