The OFFICIAL NC 4x4 cooking thread!

72Rockcruiser

LETS GO BRANDON!
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Location
Charlotte, NC
Ok the other threads have got me thinking. We should def. start a grilling. smoking, cooking thread. I will start with some of my best.
Smoked beer can chicken:

1 whole chicken, rub with your choice of rub. I use lots of garlic, cumin, paprika, pepper,(black and white) brown sugar, red pepper, and ground mustard. If time allows, let chill in the fridge overnight to let rub get crusty. If no time, it still works. Get the smoker ready. Grab a can of beer, and shove it up that chickens butt. Place on the smoker and let it smoke for about 3 hours. Pink chiken is ok to eat here, as long as temp is ok, dont kill it. :beer:
 
Here is a decent rub for ribs. Its also good on chicken.


Memphis Rub
from the Barbecue Bible

¼ cup paprika
1 tablespoon firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon Accent (MSG optional)
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
 
I'll chime in - our recent theme has been tomatoes, since that's one of the few things that hasn't dried up in the garden with this drought.
I made a big pot of vegetable soup Sunday night, that'll probably last through the rest of the week, plus some in the freezer. Recipe is pretty much off the cuff, but involves a bucket of tomatoes, diced so there aren't big chunks of tomato skin in there, probably 8 ears of corn, cut off the cob, whatever okra hadn't already gotten too tough, green peppers, and then some fresh basil, oregano, thyme, and sage...
from the grocery store 1 onion, diced, 1 lb dried pinto beans, and 2 big spoonfuls of minced garlic, plus salt, black pepper, and red pepper to taste.
:)
 
heart healthy baked flounder(or other fish)

1 med sized flounder
1 cup of carrots
2 med onions 1/4" sliced against the grain
6 red potatoes 1/4" slices
2tbl spoons of old bay
1tbl sp of black pepper
1tbl sp of salt (if you want)
1tbl sp of Italian seasoning
1/4 cup of lemon juice
A few dashes of Frank's hot souse

Place ingredients in a foil pouch covered w/ Pam or Promise. place in oven or grill on 350 for about 30 to 45 min or until potatoes are done. We microwave the potatoes & onions when we are in a hurry. Open the bag during the last 15 min if you are using your grill… you can also do this in your camp fire coals. just watch the temp.

Bon appétit
 
Good Venison Chili

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground venison
2 Cloves Garlic, smashed then chopped up
1 Diced onion
1 small can tomato paste
1 16oz can whole tomatoes
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 can beef broth
About 12 or so diced
Shredded cheddar cheese
I always throw in about a dozen habanero(sp) peppers for a little extra bite.

In a large skillet add the meat, garlic, onion, & chili powder. Cook over medium high for about 15 minutes. Then put this in a crock pot and add the rest of the stuff (except cheese). Cook on high or 350 for at least 4 hours. I usually bump it down a little bit and cook it for about 6 hours. Put in a bowl w/ some cheese on top, grab a cold one, and enjoy.
 
for grilling chicken, my wife marinates it with, aflac, italian dressing and ill keep brushing some on while grilling
and for steaks, we use peedee river swamp sause. damn thats some good stuff.
 
venison + Allegro = heaven Just dont overcook it.
 
my recipe for perfect pasta.

fill small pot with water.
break large ramon noodle chunk into 1/4's
dump the chunks into pot of water
(be sure not to put the seasoning pack into the water)
bring pot to a boil for a minute or two, until the noodles are nice and soft
strain the noodles (be sure to leave a little water in there)
dump the noodles and that little bit of water into a bowl (one you can eat out of, they wont all fit into the other kind)
then take that packet of seasoning that you didnt put into the water, tear it in half over the noodles and shake and thump it as you see fit onto the noodles
mix the seasoning from the pack into the noodles
let cool for a minute, then enjoy.
 
Serves 1

1: Place Macaroni into 2-cup microwavable bowl. Add 2/3 cup water.

2: Microwave macaroni and water, uncovered, on HIGH 3-1/2 minutes or until tender. DO NOT DRAIN. Use Caution, contents will be hot.

3: Add Cheese Sauce Mix; mix well. Cheese sauce will thicken upon standing.

4: ENJOY!
 
my recipe for perfect pasta.
fill small pot with water.
break large ramon noodle chunk into 1/4's
dump the chunks into pot of water
(be sure not to put the seasoning pack into the water)
bring pot to a boil for a minute or two, until the noodles are nice and soft
strain the noodles (be sure to leave a little water in there)
dump the noodles and that little bit of water into a bowl (one you can eat out of, they wont all fit into the other kind)
then take that packet of seasoning that you didnt put into the water, tear it in half over the noodles and shake and thump it as you see fit onto the noodles
mix the seasoning from the pack into the noodles
let cool for a minute, then enjoy.
That's an original recipe. Right off the Ramen noodle package.
 
Sirloin tip and black bean chili

I don't cook much but I love making chili.
One of my favorites is sirloin tip and black bean.
Takes a week to make.

First you have to make sure you have a a 6+ qt crock.

4 lbs sirloin tip (do not brown it first)
2 lbs dry black beans (soak for 24 hours)
Dice tomatoes
Tomato sauce
chili power, salt and cumin to taste, personally I put in 3 tbs CP, 2 TBS Cumin, 1TBS salt.
1 cup of vinegar.
Select a blend of fresh peppers. I like it hot so I put in at least a half dozen habenero pepper along with sorrenno, jalapeno, cherry peppers and red and green bell pepper.
1 softball size onion.
Mix everything in the crock pot.
Start 4 hours on high then 4 hours on low or until the black beans are cooked (don't cheat by using canned beans)
Cool off and put in the fridge for 4 to 6 days.
Put the crock pot back on high until bubbling through again then leave it on low for at least 2 hours before serving.

Sirloin tip makes a very tender chili. It does not easily dry out.
The few days of "aging" takes the sharp edge off but not the heat.

And that is my contribution to this thread.:bounce2:
 
Pizza is still my favorite!!
I just made pizza from scratch tonight.

Here's how, starting with the dough:

1 cup warm water (slightly warm to the touch)
1/2 teaspoon honey or molasses
1 pack of yeast
splash of olive oil.

Mix together, let sit 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy.

Now, I use one of those big Kitchen Aid mixers with a dough hook, but you could do with with a wooden spoon or your hand:

3 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour (can be bleached, too, doesn't matter except the color)
1 good palm-full of chopped Rosemary
1 small palm-full of salt

Put in mixer with dough hook....I actually activate my yeast in the mixing bowl.
Put in about 1/2 the flour and the Rosemary and Salt. Start mixing. When it's incorporated, add the rest of the flour.
It'll pull the dough off the sides of the bowl.

Dust some flour on a cutting board and put the dough there. Fold it over on itself several times, until it's not sticky and you have a nice dough ball.
Place in a large bowl with the bottom covered with Olive Oil. Roll the dough around in the oil. Cover with plastic for about an hour, or until the dough doubles in size.

Note: The above process takes me less than 10 minutes from the start of the yeast activation to covering the dough in a bowl. It's really easy, despite how much I just typed.

In the meantime, take a small can of Tomato Sauce and one small can of Tomato Paste, put in a small pot and turn on medium.
Add 1/2 cup red wine
Italian seasoning, or use some Pizza Seasoning to taste.
Stir while cooking....needs to be partially covered, it will splatter. Do this for about 10 minutes.
Let cool.

After the hour is up:

Oven on 500*
Spray a pizza pan with some Pam.

Take your dough ball and spread it out in the pan.

If you have a small pan, you can cut the dough in half and make two pizzas.

Spread some sauce on the pizza. Add toppings you like.
Put on top rack.
What I do is, bake for 5 minutes, then shake the pizza out of the pan onto the rack...this helps the bottom get crispier, but it'll still cook fine in the pan.

Total cook time is 10 minutes, give or take.

Remove and enjoy. Everyone who has eaten my version of this has said it is the best or some of the best they've ever had. You can take the sauce recipe and alter it to your own tastes.
 
I'm gonna have to try the pizza dough soon...
 
i made the bacon explosion a few weeks ago and i really liked it but my wife not so much
1 pack of bacon
1 lb of Italian sausage
bbq rub and sauce
start off by weaving the bacon in a basket weave type design probably 5 rows
the mush the italian sausage down on top of the weave basket
sprinkle the bbq sauce on top of that
cut up whatever bacon is left. cook it and crumble on top of the sauce
roll it up on a tube shape sprinkle the rub on outside of the tube
throw on the grill off the heat for about a hour on super hot
enjoy
319107_1720347707968_1816582609_1177501_2667043_n.jpg
 
Best wings ever.

First make the rub.

.25 cup chili powder
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp sugar
2 tps salt
1 tps celery salt
1 tps black pepper
2 tps crushed red peppers
1 tps dry mustard
1 tps garlic powder
1 tps onion powder

Put ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

grab a gallon zip lock bag, add a couple large spoon fulls of rub and a couple wings. Coat the wings evenly and as thick as possible with rub. Once all wings are covered, put them in the smoker with hickory or apple wood till done.

I have not tried this in the oven or on the grill, so results may differ.
 
For juicy grilled chicken, I take boneless chicken breasts and marinate them in Bold Italian dressing for three days. (Not hours, DAYS). Grill them over medium flame. I typically don't have to call anyone to supper when I grill these - the minute they are in the door the smell brings em to the table.
 
I don't have an exact recipe...but the OL and I made a wonderful wonderful wonderful cold weather meal the last couple of weekends. We call it smokehouse stew. It's a cream base, with half a smoked sausage in it (diced into fine cubes), about a pound of bacon (diced finely), a couple smoked chicken breasts (pulled from bone) and finally add two finally diced jalapenos (I prefer fried, but raw is good too). I use garlic (powder), cayenne (powder) and black pepper to flavor to taste.

Then we pulled out one of our camp site recipes and fancied it up. We grabbed some mini bagels from the Harris Teeter bakery, Boar's Head meat(s) and cheese of your choice. I prefer the smoked ham and cajun turkey, along with muenster cheese. So when you get home, preheat the oven to 350*...open the bagels up, butter both halves, garlic powder to your liking, then place face down on an 8x10 or 10x13 pan. Leave in until both sides are browned. Then apply meat(s) and cheese accordingly. Then I decided to throw them on the George Foreman to heat/crisp them up panini style...at the camp site, we just throw them back in the cast iron and cover.

Then plate it and serve with the stew. The bagel sammiches are great dunked in the stew or eat them both separate...you won't be disappointed either way.
 
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