(ZA) Zero Alpha's in control again! (Minimax burgers)

Turk is out at work, earning a crust, so Mrs Turk is in control again! This time I decided to make burgers by adding some very finely chopped parsley, scotch bonnet chilli (phew!) and onion granules to prime minced chuck steak and formed them into half pound patties ready to rest for a while.

This was our first chance to use the little table we bought, second-hand, for £15 on the local Facebook selling site. It was robust enough to handle the minimax sitting on it and was sturdy enough that it didn't move around when I opened the lid of the egg. It meant the cooking height was spot on and using the little egg was an absolute breeze.

I set the egg up for direct cooking, cast iron grid flat side up and around 350 deg F. It literally took 15 minutes to heat up and then the burgers went on. Turk placed some onion slices on the griddle for five minutes each side too and these were served, with the cheese-topped burger in a toasted bun...lush when served with a crispy iceberg lettuce, red onions and a home-made potato salad.

(ZA) While the Turk's away, Zero Alpha's cooking cajun pork!

Another outing for the egg while Mr W is at work....a pork joint marinated in cajun spices, injected with a mix of warm ham stock, melted butter and cider vinegar.

Egg set up indirect, using the digiQ to maintain a pit temperature of 225 deg F. The pork went on unwrapped for around two hours until it reached an internal temperature of 140 deg F and was then wrapped. It stayed on until the internal temperature reached 180 deg F as I wanted to slice the pork to serve. After resting in a towel & cool box until the breadwinner returned, I served it with long grain and wild rice and a homemade tomato salsa to add a fresh twist to the rich spices - get a load of that smoke ring!

The salsa is brilliant with any heavily spiced cajun, mexican or north african meats. it's great on lamb kofta or doner meat. Half a tin of good quality, chopped tomatoes, 1 clove garlic finely chopped, 1 red or green chilli chopped, 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp white wine vinegar. Stir well before serving.

(ZA) "Very special secret" sausage rolls

School holidays have always been a time when I unleash my inner Mary Berry - when I'm bored, I bake - so today I'm going to share something very special with you all....my recipe for amazing sausage rolls. As a teenager, I worked at a baker's shop and I was privy to a few of their baking secrets; this is one of my favourites.Work colleagues and friends will, literally, be begging for you to make more so feel free to double the quantities if necessary!

You will need:
300g rough puff or shop bought puff pastry
400g minced belly pork or 6 good quality pork sausages removed from skins.
salt & pepper
a large handful of fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg beaten
a good grating of fresh nutmeg
a sprig of sage leaves
1 onion chopped
a generous knob of butter

Set up the egg for indirect cooking with the stainless steel grid and the pizza stone from cold then saute the onion in butter, over a very low heat, for around ten minutes until soft and caramelised.

 then chop up a sprig's worth of sage leaves into small pieces

 Add the sage to the onion and saute for two more minutes to soften the sage leaves. Don't be tempted to add too much sage...it's very strong and can taste "soapy" if you overdo it. Mix the sausage meat with a handful of fresh breadcrumbs and the onion and sage mixture. If you are using minced belly pork then season with plenty of salt and pepper. If using sausages, you don't need to season.

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface till you have a rectangle around 12"x6" and then cut it in half lengthwise. Spread the sausage meat evenly along the centre of each rectangle. Add the nutmeg to the beaten egg and mix well. Brush one side edge of each rectangle with beaten egg and roll to form a long sausage roll pressing the two edges together with the back of a spoon. 

Press the edges together again with the tines of a fork to give a patterned edge.

Cut each long sausage roll into 6 and slice across the top of each smaller roll with a sharp knife to allow the pastry to expand. Place on baking parchment on the pizza peel and brush liberally with the beaten egg/nutmeg mixture. Place on the pre-heated pizza stone and cook for around 45 minutes till golden and cooked through. (I cooked for 25 mins, then checked every ten mins) 

Delicious hot or cold!

(AW & 0A) Kefta Mkauara revisited

We were so impressed with this quick dish last time, we did it again! 

Only this time we used the left over Kebab meat we made last month, to make the meatballs.

We also cooked the eggs for less time to get the perfect mix of runny and solid yolk.

(AW) BGE McMuffin (again)

Yet another Saturday brunch.
The EggMcMuffin made with treacle cured 'Baldock Black Bacon' from our local butcher.

Nothing complicated, but so worth the effort.

(MN) Sliced Ribeye Manwich

As I'd had a huge slab of Ribeye in the freezer a while, I deemed it's frozen state to be too solid for steaks... So what to do? Stuff with Garlic, cover with Mings SPG and cook at 275f until it hits 135! 

It took just under two hours to hit the sacred temperature.. To be honest I'd go a little longer next time so I can slice thinner..

Rest for 20-30 mins and slice..

Remove garlic!!!!

Bag it on a baguette with cheese and horseradish... You have yourself a man which!

The left overs will be cool and sliced!

(ZA & AW) Gorgeous lamb-y goodness!

It is well-known that Karl Webster (Mini-Turk) is a leg man....a leg of lamb, that is, so we decided to egg a quick roast before he left for home on Sunday afternoon!

 The quality of this beautiful piece of meat from the butcher was evident from the moment I unwrapped it. It had a lovely dry, firm texture and fresh smell that you don't get from the supermarket, pre-packaged meat. I cut a criss-cross with a really sharp knife across the surface of the meat - quite deep, about 1cm in depth. I slathered the lamb with chopped, fresh rosemary, put slices of garlic into the slits in the meat and rubbed it all over with olive oil. It sat covered with cling film in the fridge overnight.

We set up the egg, direct, to reach 300 deg F and put the lamb in for approximately 2 hours to reach an internal temperature of 140 deg F which was a juicy medium. We wrapped in foil and a towel and left in the cool box to rest. When we were ready to carve and sit down to eat, it was still piping hot and beautifully moist. We served with roasted potato cubes, steamed carrots, asparagus and a gravy made with the juices from the foil that the lamb was rested in. Divine!

(ZA) Lazy Sunday tea & cake

Today, we decided to try something that we had been thinking about for a long time....Baking on the egg!

AW set up the egg for indirect cooking at 340 deg F using the digiQ for accuracy. I  used a basic lemon drizzle cake mix I have used many times before; Butter & sugar creamed together, self-raising flour, baking powder, eggs, milk and a dollop of lemon curd or marmalade. I poured the mix into a butter-greased, lined cake tin and popped it into the egg for 40 minutes. I then checked the cake and closed the lid again for another 15 minutes.

I would definitely, next time, use a slightly smaller tin but the resulting cake was a beautifully even in colour and rise. I drizzled a mix of icing sugar, lemon juice and zest over the hot cake and left to cool.

...served a little later with a nice cup of tea! We will definitely be baking on the egg again...is there nothing the BGE doesn't make better?!

(ZA) Condiment update!

We have discovered this stuff...

I originally bought this to make kimchi but we never got around to it and we started using this hot chilli vietnamese dipping sauce as a table sauce and it is brilliant...it goes with anything!!!! well worth a try but use with caution!

(ZA & AW) A pizza the action!

Influenced by a friend's post on Facebook, this one....he did pizza on the egg...we got food  envy and had to do the same!

Karl W was here this weekend so we decided to do three different varieties of pizza...

The first was a new topping - merguez sausages from our genius local butcher, the meat removed from the skins and fried until crispy (like meat crumbs!) with white onion, grilled chicken and mozzarella. Merguez is a moroccan lamb sausage with paprika, cumin, cinnamon and chilli that I had used to stuff a breast of lamb earlier in the year and we really liked how spicy it was.

The second was our left over short rib beef, red onion & mozzarella. The sweet, creamy texture of the beef with the crunch of the red onion was delicious.

The third was a tried and tested bbq chicken. Grilled chicken pieces, cooked "baldock black" bacon pieces, roasted peppers and a drizzle of barbecue sauce over it before cooking.

The big surprise for us was the merguez sausage pizza, which was absolutely delicious and we would thoroughly recommend giving it a go.

(ZA & AW) Slut fajitas

Slut fajitas....so named because, like your average slut, this was incredibly quick and easy! We had some leftover beef skirt in the freezer, simply seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked on a direct setup 350 deg F egg to an internal temperature of 135 deg F for medium rare. 

We used the cast iron griddle to cook sliced peppers and onions with the fajita spices (oregano, cumin, ground black pepper, paprika & hot chilli powder) and we placed ordinary baked beans, leftover from making a smoker last weekend, in a foil container on the grid to warm through and get smokey. Stir together the beans and the veg before serving with the sliced beef, salsa, grated cheese all in a warmed flour tortilla.

(ZA & AW) Did you cut the cheese?

We bought  beautiful, wood-smoked cheese from Orsom cheesemaker at Carfest last year and loved it so much we thought we'd give it a go ourselves! Most smoked cheeses that you buy from the supermarket are "smoke-flavoured" with chemical flavourings but the Orsom cheese was made the old fashioned way and you could really taste the difference!

First, we made our own smoker from a brand new soldering iron an empty baked bean tin with a hole in the side, near the bottom. We emptied the BGE of all ash & charcoal. We then placed the can in the centre of the base with out the fire pit base grid on and  put the soldering iron through the vent door into the hole in the can. We closed the bottom vent mesh door to hold the soldering iron in place. 

We soaked some hickory wood chips and then filled the bean can with them.

We placed the stainless steel griddle direct over the fire pit with the smoker beneath. we placed the pieces of cheddar resting between two long wooden skewers to allow maximum smoke circulation, turned on the soldering iron and closed the lid. The daisy wheel lid closed with the holes fully open.

The smoke took about 30 minutes to build up with the lid closed and, five hours later, the cheese was ready for wrapping...

We used kitchen towel to blot the cheese, as it had sweated during the smoking process and wrapped it in greaseproof paper and placed it in the fridge for one week to mature and absorb the smokey flavour before finally trying it. 

A week later....the moment of truth....absolutely delicious, creamy, smooth, smokey flavour with a gorgeous nutty flavour. Great with crusty bread, a selection of other cheeses and pickles for a ploughman's lunch.