Tilapia with Smashed Potatoes - Blackstone

 I forgot to take the picture while this was on the griddle, but I have one for the next post with sausage and smashed potatoes.

Fish is made for the Blackstone griddle. Cooks perfectly and the Tilapia is my favorite. I add lemon pepper seasoning and cook it using lots of butter. Gets a delicious outer coating and is light and fluffy on the inside.

The smashed potatoes are a perfect side dish. I microwave them until they are tender and slice them lengthwise. Do not cut the whole wat through. Squeeze them to expose the potato and place them on the buttered griddle, open face down, and smash them.

Allow them to grill for about 2 minutes and flip them. I put some butter on the open face and add cheddar cheese. Close the lid and let it melt.

Enjoy!!

Fried Mush on the Blackstone Griddle

 I love fried mush, but the splatter makes frying it in the house both messy and tough as hot grease splatters on you.

Not anymore. My first attempt at fried mush was last night for dinner. I learned not to use butter. Came out a little dry.

So today, I used vegetable oil. Worked like a charm. Then I put the sausages between the mush slabs so I could get all sides charred.

This Blackstone Griddle is really nice and, along with my grill, there's not much I can't cook outside. And with 90-degree temperatures, it's perfect for keeping the heat out of the house.

I'm putting up a shade sail today so it might be nicer cooking in this heat.

New Blackstone Griddle

 My daughter and grandson got me a Blackstone Griddle for Father's Day. I had been kicking around the idea of getting one but kept putting it off. Wasn't sure how much I'd use it.

Well, problem solved. They got me one and it is terrific. I followed directions from YouTube videos as to seasoning it and got a real nice cooking surface on it with about 3 seasonings. Now it's easy to cook on and after each use, I clean it and add a thin layer of oil.

My first attempt was smash burgers. Perfect. Can't do them on a grill but wow, they do great here. I forgot to take pictures but will next time.

My grandson did stir fry last night and I am doing sloppy joes tonight. I'll try to remember pictures.

I love cooking outside and now there are more opportunities.

Grilling Chicken Thighs

 Personally, I prefer chicken breasts. I like the white meat. That carries over to turkey as well.

Having said that, I do like barbecuing chicken thighs from time to time. The fact is they come out juicier.

To me, the skin has to be crispy, more so on chicken thighs than chicken breasts. Don't get me wrong. Crispy skin on chicken breasts is always my goal as well, but the taste of the breasts van overcome skin that's not as crispy as I might prefer.

Here are some thighs I barbecued. You can see the crispiness. The last couple minutes I brush on barbecue sauce, but I wanted you to see them before they get coated.

The secret is to cook them on lower heat until they are close to being done. I use a meat thermometer on chicken and pork because you don't want to undercook these meats. 

Once the meat temperature reaches about 130 degrees, I turn the grill to high so I can crisp the skin. Then, as I mentioned, about 2 minutes before they are finished, I add the barbecue sauce.

How to Make a Smash Burger

 

I'll admit it blew my mind when I found out a lot of people don't know what a smash burger is. Then again, I may have been late to the party as well.

Basically, a smash burger is just what it sounds like. A burger that is smashed. If you have read some of my previous posts, I always say when you grill a burger, you don't press down on it with your spatula.

Ever!

Now this is different. First, you're using a frying pan. You're also using ground beef. Make a large meatball. Put it in a pan with melted butter. 

Now put some parchment paper over it and get something that allows you to smash it down. I use a small plate.

Now press down on it and smash that meatball. I press down and the kind of move my hand around to make sure I smash the heck out of it.

The idea is to flatten it to your desire. Some like it a tad thicker, but I prefer mine thin. The thinner it is, the faster it cooks.

This is what it looks like. It browns on one side in a minute or so. Flip it and do the other side. Toss a slab of cheese on it if you like cheeseburgers.

Put it on bread or a bun with lettuce, tomato, mustard and ketchup and, I'm telling you, it'll taste like the burgers you use to eat at drive-ins or dives.

Try one and see if you don't love it. But remember, this is pan fried. If you grill, DO NOT press the burger.

Witness the First Barbecue?

 Could this have been the first barbecue ever? 

Or maybe an incident that started the caveman wanting to change the way he ate meat?

Curious? You should be. Check out this video and see what you think. Could this have been the start of barbecue?

First Barbecue?

Make Your Own Homemade Gravy

 One of the things I like most when cooking chicken or beef is gravy. But it's not always possible to get enough juices to make it.

Not to worry. Here is a gravy recipe I make all the time.

Pour your juices from the chicken or beef into a saucepan. If there's not enough to make gravy for the meal, you can add broth. I don't bother keeping broth. I use chicken or beef bullions and mix it in water. In this case pour a cup or so of the water you need to make a generous amount of gravy into the juices and add the bullions cubes. I'll usually add 2 or 3 cubes per cup. 

A little trick to make the gravy even better is to mix beef and chicken bullions. 

Now add some flour into a shaking container and add water. Shake until the right thickness. Bring the gravy mixture to a boil and slowly add the flour mixture to the juices. Keep stirring and only add a small amount at a time. Add until you reach the thickness you want.

This is delicious and when my chicken recipes call for mashed potatoes, I'm good to go.