Big Man, Little Kitchen

Summer is in full swing and our weekly dinners with friends are all about the grill. Another reason to love the Traeger – it can grill anything and all things!! Tonight I did some Cedar Plank Salmon with lemon dill aioli, Crispy Parmesan Potatoes and Bursted Tomatoes with Asparagus. Best part of this meal is everything can be grilled at the same temp, just have to have the correct timing – Taters – 45 minutes, Salmon – 30 minutes, Tomatoes – 10 minutes.

Our buddy Fal, who just moved here from Southern California, is now a part of the weekly dinners and so far we think he is enjoying it. Great to have you here Fal!!!

Start with some good salmon. We got this from Whole Foods – Wild Sockeye – on sale for a limited time! Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Don’t need too much as the cedar plank will add a ton of flavor. Be sure to soak the plank for at least 2 hours before cooking.The lemon dill aioli is simple to whip up. Just a few ingredients combined in a bowl and you have a great sauce for the salmon – better than anything you can buy in the store:)I got the recipe for the crispy parmesan potatoes from the Traeger website but I used smaller golden taters instead of russets. I think the smaller size works better plus golden potatoes are just better. These are simple as well. Just slice in half, brush with melted butter and top with a parmesan, pepper, thyme mixture and grill. The bursted tomato asparagus salad is easy and so tasty. Just toss together, season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss on the grill (in a veggie grill bowl) for the final ten minutes.Finished product – salmon. Cook this on the plank for 30 minutes and you will have some of the best salmon you have ever tasted!The potatoes are crispy for a reason – when you pull them off the grill the top is crispy, salty goodness! Just top with some sour cream and you are set. Cheers!

Salmon:

• salmon fillet
• cedar plank, soaked 2 hours
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

Fire up grill to medium heat – about 350 degrees. Place salmon on cedar plank, season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill for 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork. Do not over cook!!

Lemon Dill Aioli

• 1/2 cup mayo
• juice from one lemon
• 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
• pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 T fresh dill

Directions:

Dice onion and dill. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix well, Chill until ready to serve.

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 8 golden yukon potatoes, sliced in half
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• A generous 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme or basil leaves
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the butter and lemon juice in a small bowl and brush on the cut sides of the potatoes. Mix together the grated Parmesan, dried thyme, and black pepper on a sheet of foil or wax paper. Dip the cut side of each potato in the Parmesan mixture, pressing firmly to encourage the cheese to adhere. Transfer the potato halves, cut sides down, to the prepared baking sheet. Grill for about 45 minutes, until taters are fork tender

We have not had the best spring, rain, cold and lots of wind so the other day when it was 80 and sunny we decided to celebrate with steak night! It was a perfect night night for grilling and have dinner on the porch.

Perfect grilling menu – filet mignon,  baked potato and grilled asparagus.Start with the potatoes. Poke some holes in the taters with a fork. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Now fire up the grill to a high temp and place the potatoes directly on the grill. These will take 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes.

For a perfect medium rare on the steak – grill for 6-8 minutes per side, depending on thickness. Season the asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper, Toss on the grill for about 8 minutes (add to grill after flipping the steak). Toss some  mushrooms in a grill pan with some salt and butter and grill for about 10 minutes. Remove to a platter and dig in! Man I love summer cooking. Cheers!

Kris and I were have a great weekend. We ran the ‘Run of the Mills 5K’ on Saturday morning (followed by mimosas and bloody marys) . watched our neighbor run his first 1/2 marathon, and did some work outside. So yes it was a great weather weekend. On our way back from watching the 1/2 marathon I thought it would be a good idea to smoke some ribs. We stopped by Whole Foods, grabbed the goodies and headed home. The weather man was calling for afternoon storms but since they are usually wrong, I went ahead with the rib plan.

For some ribs may be intimidating but the 3-2-1 method is almost foolproof. Just 3 steps to smoky goodness:

3 – smoke the ribs
2 – wrap the ribs
1 – sauce the ribs

That’s it. Now onto the details…….Start with some good ribs. If the butcher has not already done so, remove the thin papery membrane from the bone-side of the ribs. First brush on the mustard sauce then add some dry rub. I usually make my own but today I tried some ‘Island Breeze’. A mix I picked up at Lunds grocery, and it did not disappoint!

Time to fire up the Traeger and just leave it on ‘smoke’. Drop the ribs on the grates and smoke for 3 hours. Smoker temp should hang around 180 – 200 for this stage.After 3 hours remove the ribs and get ready to wrap. Turn your smoker up to 225 degrees for stage 2. Grab 4 large sheets of tin foil.Lay a slab of ribs on 1 sheet of the foil, folding up the side s bit to keep the liquid in. Now just 3 ingredients to add for the wrap – sprinkle with brown sugar, squirt on some honey then add about 1/4 cup of beer.Wrap the slab up tight in 2 sheets of foil and back to the grill for 1 hour. Halfway through this stage is when the weatherman decided to be correct for a change. We had a massive thunderstorm blow through. Wind, hail and heavy rain!! I was praying the Traeger would keep smoking. By some miracle, the storm was gone in less than 30 minutes, the Traeger was still smokin and we were in business!

After an hour remove the ribs from the grill, carefully take them out of the foil. Be careful of escaping steam! Brush with your favorite sauce and back to the grill to ‘set’ the sauce. This will take 30 – 60 minutes and you are done! perfect smoky ribs. I served this with a side of beans, and Kris made an awesome salad. Cheers!

INGREDIENTS:

2 racks baby back pork ribs (about 5 pounds total), trimmed
1/3 cup yellow mustard
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
BBQ sauce
1/3 cup honey
beer

Directions:

If your butcher has not already done so, remove the thin papery membrane from the bone-side of the ribs.

In a small bowl, combine the mustard, 1/4 cup of apple juice, and the Worcestershire sauce. Spread thinly on both sides of the ribs; season with your rub..

When ready to cook, start the Traeger grill on Smoke with the lid open until the fire is established (4 to 5 minutes). Smoke the ribs, meat-side up, for 3 hours. Transfer the ribs to a rimmed baking sheet but leave the grill on. Set the temperature to 225 degrees F.

Tear off four long sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil. Top with a rack of ribs; pull up the sides to keep the liquid enclosed. Sprinkle half the brown sugar on the rack, then top with half the honey and beer. Lay another piece of foil on top and tightly crimp the edges so there’s no leakage. Repeat with the remaining rack of ribs. Return the foiled ribs to the grill and cook for an additional hour.

Carefully remove the foil from the ribs—watch out for hot steam—and brush the ribs on both sides with BBQ Sauce. Discard the foil. Arrange the ribs directly on the grill grate and continue to grill until the sauce “tightens”, 30 minutes to 1 hour more.

It our turn for the weekly dinner and the weather was perfect for grilling. We had Rindy and Aaron plus our good friend Fal, who just moved here from Southern California. A great time of year to move to Minnesota! For the turf we went with a smoked Tri Tip – this is becoming one of my favorites. Grilled shrimp for the surf, grilled skewered red potatoes and a beet salad. A great menu!I got the potato recipe from traeger.com and it is a keeper. Easy and tasty. You will just need to wash the taters, slice them in half and toss in a microwave safe bowl. Try to use potatoes of the same size for uniform cooking. Drizzle with 2 T olive oil, season with salt, pepper and oregano. Microwave for 4 minutes. Remove and toss around. Microwave for another 3 minutes and it is time to skewer.Use water soaked bamboo skewers and put 4 taters on each one. Crank your grill up to a high heat and grill the potatoes cut side down for 7 minutes. Flip and grill skin side for about another 10 minutes or until the taters are tender. Pull off grill and sprinkle with some parmesan cheese.Grilled shrimp is super easy as well. Use raw, tail on shrimp. Toss in a bowl and add 1 T of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Skewer the shrimp and grill over a high heat for 2-4 minutes a side.

Now it is time to eat! Grab a plate, load up and enjoy. Cheers!

INGREDIENTS (potatoes)

8-10 red bliss potatoes, halved
4-5 bamboo skewers, soaked in water
1/2 cup olive oil (you could use an herb infused oil and then omit the garlic and rosemary)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 springs rosemary, leaves minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

PREPARATION

Halve the potatoes and poke each several times with a fork or skewer. Put the potatoes in a large bowl and toss with the minced garlic, rosemary leaves, a few tablespoons of the olive oil, kosher salt and pepper.

Microwave the potatoes for 4 minutes. Then gently toss them and microwave for another 3 minutes.

Skewer the potato halves threading about 4 or 5 potato halves on each skewer. Brush the potatoes with a little more olive oil.

Start the Traeger on Smoke with the lid open for about 5 minutes or until the fire is established. Turn the heat up to High heat and let preheat, lid closed, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Place the potato skewers on the Traeger, cut side down, and grill until the sides begin to brown (4-7 minutes).

Flip and grill another 7-10 minutes skin side down. They are done when a sharp knife tip easily penetrates the sides.

Remove the potatoes to a platter and top while warm with some grated parmesan cheese.

It is finally warming up here in Minnesota so that can mean only one thing – Smokin Season is upon us! For the first smoke of the year I decided to go with a Tri Tip roast and man this turned out excellent. Unlike brisket, a Tri Tip only takes about 4 hours of cooking time. Served this beauty with a caprese salad.Start with a nice 2-3 lb Tri Tip roast. Pull out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you plan to cook it. Cover it with a good smoking rub.I normally mix up my own rub but I have some Famous Daves Steak seasoning and this stuff is good. I used about 1/4 cup of it and added a 1/8 cup of fresh ground coffee. The coffee adds great flavor to the rub.

I set my Trager to 180 degrees for the smokin temp. Once your grill is up to temp, drop the Tri Tip right on the grill grates and smoke for 3 hours.After 3 hours pull the roast and wrap it tightly in foil. Turn up your grill to 275 degrees and put the roast back on. Cook for an additional 45 minutes to an hour, until the internal temp reaches 170 degrees.I have a wireless meat thermometer to make sure I get to the correct temp. Not much longer now!!Unwrap the roast, and let rest 10 minutes before slicing. Look at that smoke ring! Now grab your plate and dig in! Cheers.

Ingredients
1 2-3 lb. Tri Tip Roast/Steak
1/8 cup Coffee Grounds
1/4 cup Steak Rub

Directions
Start your Traeger grill, get the temperature to 180°F.

Rub Tri Tip with Steak Rub and coffee. Place on the grill grate and smoke at 180 °F for 3 hours. Remove Tri-Tip and turn the temperature to 275°F.

Double wrap the Tri-Tip in foil, return it to grill and let it cook for 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, or until the internal meat temp. reaches 170°F. Once it is finished remove from grill, unwrap it, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes Cut and serve.