Archive for the ‘indirect grilling’ Tag
I love a good pastrami sandwich. The salty, peppery, thinly-sliced meat on a toasted bun with a little mustard kind of pastrami sandwich, like they serve at a place in West Los Angeles (Culver City) called Johnnie’s Pastrami. Amazingly, my dad used to go there when he was a single dude in the 1950s. . . . and he brought us kids there. I still remember the bowl of pickles and the giant box of French fries – and of course, the pastrami sandwich. On the Johnnie’s Pastrami “About” page, it says, “Johnnie’s Pastrami was established in 1952 and has become a Southern California landmark. The juke boxes on the counters and booths are all original. So are some of the waitresses.”
So when I saw the Turkey Pastrami on the first season of Primal Grill (on DVD), I had to give it a try. It was several summers ago, and I looked at several supermarkets for a turkey breast, but couldn’t find any. So I made it with chicken breasts instead. And it tasted great!
Earlier today, I made turkey breast pastrami – and it is equally good, although a little on the too salty side for me. I think this is because I marinated the turkey breasts too long (almost 2 days) instead of 24 hours. I will try it again to see if I can get a better result.
Here’s how we did today. . . . .. .
Dry rub marinade for turkey pastrami
On the Big Green Egg – 250 degrees F, with some hickory chips.
Slicing the turkey pastrami – so juicy it squirts!
A plate of turkey pastrami slices
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The gasket on my Big Green Egg finally wore out. After three years, the gasket hardened and had a few “bald” spots.
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Rather than working upside down, I removed the lid portion of the BGE from the hinge assembly.
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The old gasket was scraped off to bare ceramic. Acetone was used to de-grease and clean the surfaces.
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New gasket in place. Easily done in a few minutes.
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3M super strength adhesive (a spray-on contact cement) was used to fasten the gasket to the bottom and top rim. Butcher paper was used to help limit over-spray going into the interior of the BGE.
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My secret for a juicy and tasty turkey: Brining. I use the Orange Brine recipe from Primal Grill, Season 3. (Orange-Brined Turkey Breast)
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The 20-lb hen swimming in the orange brine. I started late, it is best to soak the turkey for at least 24 hours – I brined for only 12 hours – but it was still moist and tasty!
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The BGE is set up for indirect grilling, and a drip pan is placed underneath. Unfortunately, this set up usually burns the drippings – will try using a traditional roasting pan to catch the juices next time. Not this bird has one of those pop-up doneness indicators – I usually ignore those and test for actual internal temperature.
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Pop-up indicator says this is done, however, it is not. Total roasting time at 325 degrees F was 3.5 hours.
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After the turkey was finished, there was plenty of heat and lump charcoal, so I decided to cook the stuffing in the BGE, too.
It’s been a while since I made something special on the Big Green Egg, so I decided to take out a four-pound rib roast taking up space in my freezer. This recipe is from Steven Raichlen’s Primal Grill, Season 2, and originally uses the rotisserie on a gas grill. However, since the Big Green Egg does not need (nor can it fit) a rotisserie, I used the indirect method, using the Platesetter.
I substituted the romano cheese with some habanero jack cheese, since it was on sale, and I thought some hotness would taste good with the beef. For the sausage, I used some Louisana hot links, the same sausages I use when I make matambre.
In Raichlen’s version, you poke a knife through the roast, then stuff the stuffing items in. After almost poking my hand with the knife, I decided to butterfly cut the roast, add the stuffing, and roll it, just like a matambre. Much easier.
Here is a link to Raichlen’s version – click here.
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. . . .
Someone asked me where my BBQ information and pictures are on this site. I have not posted any of my BBQ projects lately, but here is something from the archives. This is a pair of tri-tip roasts on my Big Green Egg ceramic cooker. This was my first cook using a new Maverick wireless thermometer. It allows me to roam around the house and yard while monitoring the grate as well as the meat temperature. It includes a low- and high-temperature warning. One unit stays with the cooker, and the other unit has a wire belt clip and looks like a cell phone.
Here is a picture of the setup:
Beef tri-tip smoke-roasting on the Big Green Egg. The wires you see in the picture are for the Maverick remote thermometer. One probe goes into the item being cooked, and the other probe monitors the grill temperature. The remote unit has a digital display for timing and high- or low-temperature.
And here is one of the roasts being sliced:
Santa Maria Style Beef Tri-Tip – amazingly juicy and tender.
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