Salmon on the grill

Summary from https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/articles/how-to-grill-salmon-a-step-by-step-guide

Prep

For even cooking, you’ll want to let the salmon come to room temperature for 20 minutes before grilling.

Set the salmon on a paper towel-lined pan and pat dry. A dry surface speeds up the searing process and prevents sticking. If it’s marinated, blot off as much marinade as possible before grilling.

Right before placing it on the grill, lightly rub the salmon with olive oil on both sides, and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Always season fish just before grilling to avoid moisture loss and flare-ups.

Grilling

Make two cooking zones: a hot zone for searing and another for lower, gentle cooking. For a gas grill, turn the burners on one side to high and the other side to low. If you’re cooking with charcoal, push the hot coals onto one-half of the grill. The two zones will allow you to sear the salmon on the high-heat side, then transfer it to the cooler side to finish cooking. Close the lid and preheat for 15 minutes. This will burn off the oil and make the grill nonstick and very hot, about 500 degrees. For a charcoal grill, keep the lid vents open for air circulation.

1. Open the grill lid and place the salmon, skin-side down, on the hot zone. Most of the cooking will take place on the skin side. Allow 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness.

2. Use a fish spatula to gently flip the salmon over onto the lower-heat side. If it sticks, give it another minute or two. When it’s ready, it will release easily. (Note that you should never use tongs to flip delicate fish.) Cook for an additional 2 to 4 minutes on the other side, depending on the desired doneness.

Salmon cooks quickly on the grill (usually no more than 12 minutes total), so don’t walk away or get distracted. The salmon will be medium-rare when an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest portion reads 120 degrees F. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving to allow for some carryover cooking.

Brazilian Limeade

Ingredients

2 lime (2" dia)s limes
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
3 cups water
ice

Wash limes thoroughly. Cut off the ends and slice into wedges. Place in blender with all of the remaining ingredients.

Mix blender, pulsing only a few times. Strain through a strainer to remove rinds and chunks. Serve over ice.

If you blend it too much, it will come out tasting bitter.

Turkey smoking times

I’m using this as my scratchpad for tracking cook times for turkeys I’ve smoked…

My target temperature is 165° F as measured in the breast
17 lb turkey, 1.5 hours at 450° F
17 lb turkey, 2 hours at 350° F

14 lb turkey, 2.25 hours at 300° F
14.7 lb turkey, 6 hours at 225° F

15.5 lb turkey, 6.5 hours at 225° F

Smoked chicken temperatures

The FSIS guide states that the safe minimum temperature of all poultry products is 165°F (73.9°C).
Alternate cooking temperatures/times are as follows:

  • 145°F for a minimum of 8 minutes, 24 seconds
  • 150°F for a minimum of 2 minutes, 42 seconds
  • 152°F for a minimum of 1 minute, 30 seconds
  • 154°F for a minimum of 56 seconds
  • 155°F for a minimum of 45 seconds
  • 157°F for a minimum of 28 seconds
  • 160°F for a minimum of 14 seconds

From https://www.smoker-cooking.com/temperature-of-smoked-chicken.html

Visit that site for more tips on checking chicken temperatures.

Pheasant Poppers

INGREDIENTS

  • 6 jalapeño peppers cut in half and seeded
  • 1 8 ounce tub of onion and chive cream cheese
  • 6 slices of bacon cut in half
  • 12 thin cut filets of pheasant breast
  • 1 can of sliced water chestnuts
  • Toothpicks

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut peppers in half length-wise and remove seeds.

2. Fill the cavity of the pepper with cream cheese.

3. Place a pheasant filet on top of the cream cheese.

4. Place a slice of water chestnut on top of the pheasant filet.

5. Wrap with a piece of bacon.

6. Secure bacon with a toothpick.

7. Grill at 350 degrees until the bacon and pheasant are cooked through.

8. Enjoy!

 

 

From https://www.cabelas.com/category/CWC-Pheasant-Poppers-Recipe/959131980.uts

Easy smoked ribs

Lightly sprinkle Rub seasoning on ribs.

When ready to cook, start your Traeger on Smoke, lid open, until the fire is established (4-5 minutes).

Place ribs on the grill for smoke for 4 to 5 hours.

Remove ribs from the grill and place in aluminum foil with your choice of BBQ sauce or 1/2 cup of water. Close foil and place back on grill grates.

Increase temperature to to 350 for 45 minutes. Take ribs off and let rest for 20 minutes & enjoy!

 

From https://www.traegergrills.com/recipes/pork/simple-smoked-ribs

 

Instant Pot rice

Cooking rice in the Instant Pot, the 1:1 water to rice ratio method:

  1. Measure dry rice, set aside. (about 1 “cup” minimum recommended, any “cup” you choose)
  2. Measure same amount of water, add to Instant Pot’s inner pot/liner.
  3. Rinse rice, add wet rice to the measured water in the inner pot.
  4. Lock on the lid, and set the steam release valve to “sealing” position.
  5. Select your pressure cooking time.
    ~The “Rice” button is timed for white or parboiled rice only.
    ~For other types of rice, set “Manual” to correct time (by pressing “-” to adjust the cooking time) for the type of rice you are cooking, in the case of brown rice, for example select 22-25 minutes depending on your preferences and any local issues, like high elevation.
  6. Let the rice rest for about 10 minutes after cooking is finished before releasing any remaining pressure, and serve.

(from https://instantpot.com/how-to-cook-perfect-rice-in-an-electric-pressure-cooker/)

Smoked pork shoulder (Boston butt)

  • put rub all over pork shoulder
  • cover with plastic and place in refrigerator for at least 2-6 hours.
  • put smoker on at 225 – put meat on grill and stick in your meat thermometer
  • close lid and cook until the thermometer reads 195F and don’t open the lid until it’s done.
  • use clean heavy rubber gloves to remove meat from smoker once it’s at 195.
  • let rest for at least 30 minutes. Then shred/slice and serve. Enjoy

For me, a 7.5 lb shoulder took 12 hours to get to 192 degrees.  I took it off at that time and it tasted great!
Another one, 8 lbs took 14 hours to get to 195 degrees…

Smoked burgers

Make patties (work the ground beef as little as possible)
Season right before putting on the grill
Smoke @ 225 degrees for 1.5 hours (until center of meat is 160 degrees)