Any new methods or techniques you guys are trying? It seems like it's pretty difficult to be innovative and completely original in the world of BBQ nowadays.
Nothing really new or innovative, but here are a few things that I really liked from last year.
- Thanks to a bumper crop, I did a ton of jalapenos. ABTs are obviously awesome, but they're also a ton of work. Instead,
I stuffed them with pepperonis (2 of them curled up fit right inside and allow room for filling) plus a leaf of basil and a mixture of cream cheese and grated cheese. I also got this cool
jalapeno shaped stand to cook them on. Every bit as good as an ABT, IMO, and much quicker/easier to make. Need a good name for these (one that doesnt have the word turd in it).
- I also took boneless/skinless chicken breasts/thighs, chopped them into 2" chunks, put them in a foil pan and smoked on low heat for an hour. Then I heated up a mixture of big bottle of Franks Red Hot, half-stick of butter, 3oz cream cheese, 1/8C of sugar, lots of garlic, and 1TBL of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire. Poured it over the chicken and
smoked for another two hours. After it was cooked, it shredded up like
chicken you would cook in a crock-pot. The taste is out of this world and its great to throw small containers of leftovers in the freezer to have instant awesomeness whenever you get the craving. Still havent figured out the best way to eat it though. I think my favorite is served on top of a pile of basmati rice.
- Finally, if you have a lot of extra time on your hands, or really want to impress, I did
lollipop chicken legs and melt-in-your mouth boneless thighs. For the legs, you take a knife and cut through the skin/tendons down at the bottom of the bone. You then take a pair of needle nose pliers and pull out all the tendons. Finally, you push all the meat up to the top of the bone like a lollipop. For the thighs, you remove the skin. Score it down the middle on the underside and take a knife and scrape off all the fat so you're left with a nearly see-through piece of skin. Put the skin back on and it will melt in your mouth when cooked. If you have kids, be careful doing it this way because they'll expect/want it every time.
for griling
All great ideas that I'll use at some point.
