Beer Brined Chicken

So first let me start with saying how excited I am to be back on the blog. After an almost 2 month hiatus I am back with recipes and ideas to share! It's been quite a busy 2 months in the Thetford household. Since my last post, Robert completed his last round of exams in law school, graduated from SMU Law, and we moved to a new home.

Our new residence is a duplex, we have the entire bottom floor and it's bigger than where we were before and we no longer share walls with SMU college kids. It's quiet, blissful, and feels more like living in a house than we've ever had before. One of the great benefits of our new place is a wonderful covered porch that let's us use our new Big Green Egg smoker/grill.

Our new duplex

Vegetable garden with squash, zucchini, bell peppers, watermelon, cabbage and mint

Pots that Robert's mom made in the sixties and seventies filled with herbs and peppers

Since we've moved in, we have been grilling up a storm and loving every minute of it. Our recent favorite is a beer brined chicken cooked in the green egg. The original recipe comes from The Big Green Egg Cookbook and we've made a few adjustments to suit our tastes. Mainly switching the light lager beer for chocolate porter beer (yum!) and New Mexico hot chili powder for cayenne pepper and dark brown sugar for light brown sugar in the spice rub.

So far my kitchen is the only room ready enough for pictures.

Our new home office is in the breakfast nook located just off the kitchen

We had a few friends over for dinner last night and made this chicken and there was nothing left at the end of the meal. The brine makes the chicken super moist, and the rub adds incredible flavor to this skin of the chicken that makes you have to eat it, even though you know you shouldn't. Even though we made this chicken in the Big Green Egg, you could easily replicate the process in an oven pre-heated to 400 degrees with a vertical roaster and drip pan.

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Beer Brined Chicken


Ingredients
8 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
14 ounces chocolate porter beer
1 3-5 pound chicken
1/8-1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 - 1/2 cup spice rub (ingredients below)

Spice Rub
3 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons spicy red chili (new mexico chili if available)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

Instructions
In a large stock pot combine the water, sugar, kosher salt, and beer and stir until the salt and sugar have completely dissolved.

Add the chicken to the liquid. Depending on the weight of your fryer, the chicken may or may not be fully immersed in the liquid.

Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning part way through if the chicken isn't fully covered like mine was in the picture above.

When it's time to cook the chicken, preheat the green egg (or oven) to 400 degrees. Meanwhile combine the spices for the rub in a bowl and stir to fully combine.

Remove the chicken from the brining solution, rinse with water and pat dry with a paper towel. Discard the brining solution.
Brush the olive oil on the chicken.

Generously season the entire chicken with the spice rub and place on a vertical roaster and set in a drip pan.

If using the green egg, place the plate setter into the grill and place the chicken on the plate setter.

Robert the grill master

Cover and cook at 400 degrees for an hour and fifteen minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees.
Remove and let sit for about 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Source: Adapted from The Big Green Egg Cookbook

Tacos al Pastor

Have you ever tasted Tacos al Pastor? If you have not, you should! These little tacos are the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, and the flavor is a fun change to traditional Mexican tacos. I order them all of the time at Taco Diner. This weekend we went to a Bourbon tasting party at the house of one of Bunker's bosses. Bunker really does enjoy Bourbon, but I personally cannot stand the taste or smell! However, we both had a wonderful time because of the people, the setting and the fun atmosphere. Rather than having someone come in and cater the event with the typical catering fare, the host and hostess hired a food truck, a taco truck to be exact, that set up shop in their front drive-way. They had homemade chips and salsa, and then a huge selection of unique tacos, including, tacos al pastor! They were the tastiest I had ever had. Therefore, I was inspired to try my hand at making these little treats.

Sleepy puppies...we were at the lake this weekend and that always makes for super sleepy puppies come Sunday night!

I found this recipe on Epicurious, and I changed a few things based on personal preference and the reviews written by fellow home cooks. Do you ever look at the reviews when you are using a new recipe? You really should. I find them to be so helpful, because people share far more than if they liked the recipe or not. They share wonderful tricks, ideas and suggestions.

I love Shafer's fluffly puppy paws!

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Ingredients:
1 pineapple, peeled and cut into rounds or chunks (I bought a pre-cut package of pineapple, I suggest this, as cutting a pineapple is not the most fun preparation task!)
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup chili powder
3 garlic cloves, halved
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons adobo sauce (you can also add a chipotle chile or two from the can, I opted not to as I didn't want it to be too spicy...as I have learned...you can always add spice later...but you cannot take it out once it is added! Bunker added some heat to his tacos but I thought mine were just perfect without any additional heat)
1 1 1/2 to 3 pound boneless pork loin, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Flour or corn tortillas

Steps:
1. Gather your ingredients.

2. In a food processor, combine the orange juice, vinegar, chili powder, garlic, salt, oregano, cumin and adobo sauce. This is now your marinade.

3. Slice the pork loin into 1/2 inch slices.

4. Place the pork in a ziplock bag and add the marinade to the pork.

5. Refrigerate the pork in the marinade for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day. The original recipe added pureed pineapple to the marinade, but many of the reviews complained that this addition made the pork mushy, as pineapple is rather acidic and broke the meat down as it marinated.
6. Grill or saute the pineapple chunks. You want them to be slightly charred, about 4 to 6 minutes per side.

7. Chop the pineapple into 1/2 inch cubes.

8. Grill or saute the pork slices. Make sure the let the marinade stick to the sides of the pork. I also poured a little pineapple juice over the pork as it cooked. Cook about 4 minutes per side.

9. Cut the pork slices into 1 inch cubes.

10. Mix the pork and pineapple together.

11. Spoon mixture into warm flour or corn tortillas and enjoy this special treat!

Banana Crumb Muffins: A midnight snack for new parents!

First of all, these muffins have given the whole house the most delicious aroma! Second of all, these are not too difficult to put together. Third of all, they are even more delicious tasting than they are delicious smelling! So, get some bananas, put them on your counter and forget to eat them for a few days, and make these muffins!

Why...yes girls...I am obsessed with both of you!

Dallas is in the middle of the most delightful cold snap, and I am trying to soak up every moment of the cloudy and chilly (60s and 70s) weather! 

Regal Cort at her favorite lookout spot.

These muffins are destined for the tummies of a new mom and dad. The happy family welcomed their little boy late last week, and I thought these muffins would be great treats for middle of the night feedings or mid-afternoon snacks. Muffins are so handy since they come perfectly packaged and proportioned. 

Is there anyone in your life that you think could use a smile? Muffins usually do the trick!

I found this recipe (with rave reviews) at All Recipes. I added a bit more cinnamon, but otherwise, stayed true to the recipe. 

Sweet Shafer snuggled up in her favorite chair. 

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Ingredients for muffins:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 over ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled

Ingredients for crumb topping:

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter, cut into small cubes

Steps for Muffins:

1. Gather your ingredients, prepare your muffin pan with muffin liners, and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2. In your mixer, mix together the mashed bananas, white sugar, egg, and cooled melted butter. 

I actually mixed together the sugar, bananas, and egg and waited a bit to add my butter because it was still a tad warm. 

3. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. 

4. Spoon the batter into your prepared muffin pan. 

5. Prepare the crumb topping by combining the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. The add the butter and "cut" the butter into the dry ingredients. I used a fork. You want a crumbly texture.

6. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the muffins. 

7. Bake for about 20 minutes. 

8. Enjoy yourself or share with someone and share a smile :)

All wrapped up and ready to go!