So as I’ve mentioned in previous posts I am new to barbecuing. I am not new to barbecue culture, but the physical act of being in charge of the grill. I’ve been trying to fine-tune my skills to understand proper meat handling, cooking times, heat management, spices, differences between cuts, meat types, and regional specialties. I based my first barbecue on what I’ve grown up eating, for me a traditional barbecue, consisting of boudain, ribs, chicken, sausage, potato salad, rice, beans, guacamole, and tortillas. To focus specifically on grilling I cut this menu down to the basics of boudain, chicken, sausage, rice and beans. Trying to make sides and barbecue in the same pocket of time was way too much work. I have been considering different options to streamline this process and I am sure I’ll have it down in a few weeks. If you’ve never had it, boudain is a mix of spices, rice, and sausage in a sausage casing. They hail from Louisiana and are usually spicy to really spicy. A distinctive flavor note, is that many contain liver and can be fried into boudain balls the holy grail of boudain! If you’ve never had a boudain ball - find one and eat it! You cook boudain the same as regular sausage, grilling it for about 15-20 minutes turning it occasionally. For barbecue one, both the boudain and sausage came out great! I marinated and seasoned the chicken, but fumbled around with cooking it a bit. I used my low salt spices for the rub and it just did not have a strong enough flavor. I was also confused about skin side up, down or both? I got through it, unburned, house intact, and the chicken tasted pretty good. It was a bit dry, but I corrected it on the second try the following Friday. I also think I fussed with it too much on the first round and roughed up the skin a bit. It was not a huge deal, but didn’t look really pretty and may have messed with moisture levels. The following Friday, I skipped major sides and made German potato salad (which I love) and changed from spicy to less spicy boudain (just for fun). I timed the chicken to only turn it once while cooking, which seemed to work well. Steaming it at the end of the process making it super moist. The only changes for next Friday will be leaving the chicken on the grill longer, I guess I got too excited and took it off early. I’ll also be burning my sausage a bit, it just taste better a little burnt. Something new I'll be trying out is my cast iron skillet, which has lots of queso in its future! For this week, I’m going to baking a cherry dump cake on the grill along with my barbecue. Updates to come. . . Happy BBQ’ing! A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA: There are lots of favorites and opinions, even to the spelling of boudain or boudin. One of my favorite spots for boudain is Burt’s Meat Market in Houston. They sell regular boudain, seafood boudain, boudain balls, gumbo, and dirty rice. The other is Don’s Specialty Meats in Scott, Louisiana. We always stop on our way to New Orleans to pick up their amazing pepper jack cheese boudain balls. You can read a little more about the history of boudain in this article from the Smithsonian https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/louisiana-boudin-180960105/
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Check out Fajita Bonita + My Kitchen is Open Podcast! It was a lot of fun to chat food with my cooking cousin Leslie. Hear about her blog My Kitchen is Open, recipe sharing, and BBQ memories with her dad. Also, listen to my jump into learning to BBQ and my love for panaderias. https://satexas.podbean.com/ Happy BBQ'ing! The first grill we purchased several years ago was a Weber Ranch Kettle and it was huge! I think my husband was going for bigger is better and being able to grill 100 hot dogs in two minutes. It was definitely a conversation starter and envy of the neighborhood, but not really a functional every day grill for two people. I don't think it was a bad grill, just not the grill for me. Its large size made the top awkward to handle and it took pretty much a full bag of charcoal to start and maintain. It was overwhelming and a lot of work for our hot dog menu. I also didn’t like that it had one cooking surface, no attached table surfaces, and thin metal making it ridiculously hot. So logging this experience, I was determined to find a grill that would work better for me. For this endeavor, based on the space I have available and past experiences I was leaning towards a smaller grill. I scouted the local market and defaulted to my father’s collection of grills for research. He has two charcoal grills, a charcoal and propane grill, a large and larger smoker. I am used to smoking meat on a charcoal grill, smoking meat in a traditional smoker is new to me and maybe not something to get in my new grill. I’m also not a big propane fan (Sorry Hank Hill), it’s just personal preference and not something I wanted. Some of the things I wanted in a grill included: a possible flat cooking surface, an attached work surface, multiple grill areas, solid construction, and ease of use. One of the things I noticed in smaller grills is that the metal always seemed to be really thin. I wanted something that was going to last more than one Texas summer (114 degree heat and high humidity) and that was going to perform given the large potential for user error. I considered a few different brands and models, some standouts were the combination smoker grills (love them) and the Helotes Pits (these were amazing, but super heavy). I was super excited to find the All Season Feeder 24” x 20” BBQ Pit. This grill has good vibes and pretty much blew everybody else out of the water! It checked off nine of the ten items on my list and the only one it didn’t (flat grill area) you can easily work around (aka just throw your tortilla on the grill surface). It has a solid metal construction, two vents to control heat, two grill surfaces, a small table surface, four hook areas, and hook handles to hang things on or move it. I’m not sure why, but the pit area seems larger and deeper than some of the other grills of this size. I also love that it’s a local Texas company and was built about 20 miles from my house - gotta love that! So far, I’m super happy with my purchase. The grill is working wonderfully and delivers all of the things I wanted. I was also nice to see that replacement parts, should I need them, are reasonably priced and there were several available upgrades if I wanted them. My team (aka the family) all really like the grill and dad mentioned that he may now need a smaller grill for “every day grilling.” I hope you enjoyed the blog and I’d love to hear from you! You can reach me at [email protected] or follow my journey on Instagram at fajita_bonita or twitter at fajita_bonita! If you're curious about All Season Feeders here is there website, also check out there steel fire pits that double as bbq pits (NEED!) https://www.allseasonsfeeders.com/collections/bbq-pits
Welcome to Fajita Bonita a food blog about learning the art of barbecue! It’s been a long time coming, and I am really excited to finally be picking up the torch to begin this barbecue journey. I am a third generation southern Texas barbecuer and have been eating barbecue forever. Growing up my parents house was the place to go for fajitas, ribs, and amazing chicken. While the menu has changed subtly over the years, the family, friends, fun and great food have not. I was inspired to begin this journey by a simple question, “do you barbecue?” It really got me thinking about why I don’t since I love barbecue. I bought a locally made pit, which was an adventure all on its own (I’ll post on that later) and have begun firing it up! Just to be clear, I have seen this done over a thousands times and have been walked through the process one time over 13 years ago. For reasons beyond my control I was stationed on sides. I’m a hell of a sides maker, but I am putting that aside ;) and moving to the grill. I spent Wednesday (grill purchasing day) and Friday barbecuing chicken. Right now my biggest issue is managing heat and I’ll be workshopping after each session with my dad (Tio Joe). He’s got the inside track on working the grill (40+ years), and is always trying new techniques and flavors. I’m also getting some help from my husband Alex (so I don’t burn the house down) and my pit dog J (he’s seasoned at BBQ’s). What to expect from upcoming blog post: calamity, smokiness, no makeup, fire, meat, meat, and meat! While I grew up eating a set barbecue menu, I anticipate my BBQ’s will get adventurous. I’m thinking tofu, Korean BBQ, trompo, and grilled cobbler; the end goal is to make some amazing food and pick up a few new skill along the way. I’d love to hear your thoughts and any tips would be welcomed. You can reach me at [email protected] or follow my journey on Instagram at fajita_bonita! |
AuthorThird generation southern Texas barbecuer diving into the world of BBQ! #eatmeatrepeat Archives
September 2018
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