Mike's Tennessee Scratch Cornbread

What does cornbread and Mini Coopers have in common? I'm glad you asked. Mike and I are Mini Cooper enthusiasts and have been driving rally's together for many years (Team Rick and Mike). He lives in Tennessee we are in Texas. Mike shared his incredible recipe with me on a visit recently. I tried it and everyone loves it and even went for seconds. This cornbread is delish and stays together and does not crumble when you pick it up. That's always a good sign!

 

INGREDIENTS

2 cups self rising cornmeal (yellow or white)

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 and 1/2 cups buttermilk

12" iron skillet is required for this recipe

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour 2 tbs of vegetable oil in the skillet and warm on medium for a few minutes. Make sure you spread the oil all over the skillet.

Preheat the oven to 430

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and using a whisk, mix it up thoroughly to the consistency of pancake batter. I like it a little thick and not runny.

Pour the mixture into the skillet and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. 

NOTE: if the first time the bottom is a little burnt, try a slightly lower oven temp like 400.

Let cool 5 minutes and cut into slices and you are ready to enjoy!

Serves 8 

 

Rickys Kicken Chicken

My son Ricky is an avid griller and tried this recipe on us the other night. It was amazing! It is simple to do and adds a little kick instead of plain chicken on the grill. The new ingredient for me is the baking powder in the mix. It gives a  little crusty texture to it and the oil gives it some color. Give it a try today!

First make the paste / coating for the chicken.

INGREDIENTS

Paste Recipe

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup your favorite seasoning
  
• 1/4 cup another favorite seasoning 
• or 1/2 cup of one seasoning
• 2 Tbsp Baking powder
  

Mix this all together into a paste. Adjust thickness with more oil or more seasoning. 

My Seasoning rating I have used so far by Weber
Kicken Chicken - too spicy
Cowboy - spicy ok
Honey Hickory - good
Honey Garlic - my favorite not very spicy

NOTE: the paste will do 24 wings. For more chicken just double the receip

De-thaw the chicken and rinse in water then lay out and pat dry both sides.Trim excess fat from the chicken pieces. Place the chicken in a large pan and pour the mixture over all the chicken.Wear some latex gloves if you like, but then massage each piece making sure the mixture is all over the chicken.

NOTE: I have used this on legs, thighs, wings, drumettes, and even grille shrimp. You are now ready to add to the grill. If using charcoal, use indirect heat to avoid burning. Cook until the center of a piece is at least 160 degree. You should only flip the chicken once midway. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

My Stick Burner Refurbish Project

It has been over 5 years since i sold my stick smoker in a move. I was supposed to purchase a new one after the move and well, here it is 5 years later and I finally make the purchase. I research purchases to death and after tons of reviews I landed on the Oklahoma Joe reverse Flow smoker. However, they are very proud of those and the price reflects it. So, I started looking on-line on FB market for a pre-owned smoker. I hit the jack pot with this one. I make the deal and when I arrived to pick it up BINGO! It was the exact same brand and model of the one I had pre-move that I loved using. 

I picked up this Brinkman stick burner in fair condition meaning it had not been used in awhile but in great shape. I wheeled it home and started the refurbish process. Power wash, two coats high heat primer, two coats high heat semi-gloss black, new gauge plus one added for the firebox end, new spring handles, gasket seals for the body and fire box, and here it is.

My maiden smoke was 4- one inch thick pork chops smoked with hickory / mesquite wood. Very tasty! Now I am set up again withe the stick burner, a Treager pellet for quick smokes, and a Weber 22in charcoal grill for fire roasted grilling. Lets get grilling!

NOTE: notice the incredible wood tray in front? A friend of mine gave me that piece of wood with live edge that is from a 100 year old cypress tree from Louisiana.I sanded and oiled and waxed it like a cutting board. Its the best part of this project!

3-2-1 Smoked Baby Back Ribs

My favorite way so smoke ribs is the 3-2-1 method. It get that name from the time it takes to cook. In a nutshell, you smoke the ribs at 180 bone side down on the smoker grill for 3 hours, then cover the ribs in a pan covered with aluminum foil and cook at 225 for 2 hours, then replace them bone side down on the open grill for 1 hour at 180. The first three hours is cooking and smoking, the 2 hours covered is for tenderness and juiciness, and the last hour is to firm them  up and cook until done.

You can google Treager 3-2-1 ribs and follow that or use what i have hear as i have tweaked it a little to my taste.

FEEDS 6 adults

Items needed

• 2 rack baby back pork ribs
• dry rub mixed
  
• mob sauce and mop
  
• aluminum foil
• aluminum pan 1/2" deep or more

Dry rub ingredient

    There are hundreds of dry rubs for ribs. Use or create your own or save time and use what i use . Salt Grass Seven Steak Spice. It has seven ingredients that most rubs i have seen have already. Mop Sauce is the key to taste anyway in my opinion. Mix all that together and stir well until dark brown. Use this to mop the ribs every hour and right before you wrap them.  

Mop Sauce ingredient

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup bourbon whiskey (i sub this for Apple cider that some people use)
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
• 
  1/3 cup warm honey
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce (your favorite)
  

PREP Work

Prep your smoker to 180.

Rinse the ribs from blood and lay out to prep.

Lay the rack of ribs out and remove the thin membrane on the bone side peeling it back and off. Use a paper towel to grab hold of it and pull. This allows the smoke in to the meat.

Pat the ribs dry on top and add the dry rub rubbing it in and adding as needed to coat the meat side. Turn over and dry rub the bone side as well.

Smoking 

Add a coating of mop sauce and your are ready to place on the grill. 

3 hours at 180

Mop the ribs every hour during the first 3 hours. 

2 hours at 225

Place the ribs in a pan and mop sauce them and cover with foil

1 hour at 180

Uncover and mop again and place bone side down for the remainder of the time.

Remove the ribs and wrap in cellophane and wrap all together in a towel and set aside to rest at least 30 minutes. Your done and ready to enjoy

 

A Dirty Monkey

If you are looking for a delish tropical drink this one will satisfy the urge. Becky first had this drink in Playa De Carmen, Mexico and loved it. Once she got back home she could not find anyone that had even heard of this drink. After a long hard search, our best friends David and Denise took the time and made the effort to find the ingredients and made this drink for her. It was a long search that came to an end that day they made this for her. 

To make it fun add the little tropical colored umbrella, a slice of pineapple on the side, a large colored straw, and play some Bob Marley music to add that tropical Caribbean feel.

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup fresh pineapple
• 1 banana
• 2 jigger Kaluha
• 2 jigger coconut rum
• 2 jigger banana rum cream
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 4 cups ice

INSTRUCTIONS

You will need a good blender for this like a NINJA

1. Gather all your ingredients to make sure you have what you need

2. Add in cut up pineapple in small chunks

3. Add in peeled and cut up banana

4. Add in Kaluha

5. Add in Malibu coconut rum

6. Add in Banana Rum Cream

7. Add in ice slowly and start blending

NOTE: you can more or less ice to give the consistency you like 

Serve immediately with a slice of pineapple on the side and the small umbrella and large colored straw.

Comments! Suggestions! Did you try it yet?

MIMI's Low Carb Taco Soup

Here is a great tasting soup super easy to make and good for you too. We make it for a quick and light stand alone treat for lunch or dinner or you can add it to a meal as a bonus dish. Its not a Chef Rico original recipe but we love the taste and its quick to make. So, take a few minutes and get your ingredients together and try this one out.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs ground pork, beef , or sausage
• 2, 8oz packages of cream cheese
• 2, 10 oz cans of Rotel or Mexican Diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons of Cilantro - fresh chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese for garnish
• OPTIONAL Shredded chicken Pre-cock 2 chicken breasts ahead of time and add in after step 4
  

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Brown the ground meat until fully cooked
2. While the meat is browning, place cream cheese, Rotel, and taco seasoning into a large pot
3. Drain any grease off of meat and put meat in the large pot. Stir to combine with cheese and Rotel
4. Pour chicken broth over meat and chees
OPTION Add a little shredded chicken to the mix if you like
5. Cook on low for 30 minutes
6. Before serving add in chopped cilantro
7. Garnish with shredded cheese

Serves 4-6

Comments? Suggestions? Have you tried this recipe yet?

Chef Ricos new grill day (finally)

Its been a while since i've posted here, just too busy after our move to Burleson, TX. In the move almost two years ago, I sold my smoker and after my gas grill exploded and caught on fire, I never replaced it. So, I has been using a Weber 22 charcoal grill ever since.

Let me tell you, the Weber is very versatile! I used the indirect grill method most the time to get some smoking and grilling at the same time. I smoked a ham, pork chops, steaks, and chicken that came out amazing. I have used mesquite chunks the most with some hickory and apple wood at times. I have been looking for the right smoker for a year now.

In all my research, I ended up wanting an Oklahoma Joe Reverse flow stick smoker. I have been researching them for a while and ready to buy now. They are expensive though! The craziest thing happened Saturday. I am a Facebook Market junkie and a pellet grill popped up that looked nice and affordable. Yes, i just bought my first pellet grill...a Traeger pre-owned in great condition with cover and all. I do not know what series i have just yet but will be smoking some ribs and chicken today using Chef Rico recipes.

I's sure to add photos today of the results. Ok, gotta fire up the Traeger first time for me and see what happens. Later....

Comments? Do you have a pellet grill and how do you like it?