Patio Daddio BBQ - Musings of barbecue, cooking, and life -- served hot, fresh and saucy

This is a cheater version because I started with store-bought corned beef, as opposed to corning the brisket myself. I'll try the "real" version sometime, but for now this at least gives me a baseline for comparison when I do.

This might look like a lot of work for a "cheater" approach, but it's really pretty straightforward. Here, let me show you.

Ingredients
4-5 lb Corned beef, flat cut
2 Tbsp Yellow mustard, the plain stuff
3 Tbsp Brown sugar, light
1 Tbsp Ground coriander (not six months old, please)
1 tsp Ground allspice
1/4 cup Black peppercorns, coarse ground

Method
Combine the mustard, brown sugar, coriander and allspice in a small mixing bowl and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove the corned beef from the package, rinse very well under cold running water, then pat dry with paper towels.

Coat all sides of the corned beef with the mustard mixture then coat it completely and evenly with the pepper. Place in a lipped non-reactive pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.



Note: Some folks recommend soaking the corned beef in water for about 24 hours, changing the water a few times. I decided to skip that step this time, so I don't know how that might have affected the final product.

Remove the corned beef from the refrigerator about an hour before you're ready to start cooking.

Start your smoker and prepare for indirect cooking at medium heat (300-325º).

About 15 minutes before you're ready to start smoking add three medium-sized chunks of smoke wood to the fire. I used 2/3 cherry and 1/3 hickory.

Cook the corned beef indirect until it reaches 175º in the center of the thickest part (about 2-3 hours).



Move the pastrami to a steamer rack in a large non-reactive stock pot with about 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, cover, and steam over medium heat until the center of the thickest part reaches 195º (about 30 minutes).



Move the pastrami to a lipped pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let cool.

Slice thin, pile it on some good dark rye smeared with mustard, add a couple slices of Swiss cheese and warm until the cheese just starts to melt.



Serve and enjoy!

Teriyaki chicken is one of my wife's favorite meals. I typically serve it with grilled pineapple and zucchini, as you see here. The rice is Vigo Yellow Rice, which I highly recommend.

This chicken was outstanding, if I do say so myself. In fact, it was so good that I'm seriously contemplating using this recipe as my chicken turn-in at my next barbecue competition. The sauce takes some time to make, but your effort will be well rewarded.

Ingredients
10-12 Chicken parts, (skin-on/bone-in is best)
Brine (recipe follows)
Teriyaki sauce (recipe follows)

Brine
1 quart Boiling water
1/2 cup Kosher salt
2/3 cup Brown sugar, light
1/8 cup Soy sauce (I used Aloha brand)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart Cold water
7 cups Ice

Teriyaki Sauce
46 oz Pineapple juice
1 cup Brown sugar, light
1/3 cup Rice wine vinegar, seasoned
1/2 cup Soy sauce (I used Aloha brand)
1/3 cup Dark sweet soy sauce (I used ABC brand)
1 tsp Ground ginger

Note: If you can't find sweet soy sauce, just add another 1/8 cup of soy sauce and 1/2 cup more brown sugar.

Method
Combine all of brine ingredients, except the cold water and ice, in a stock pot. Whisk well until the sugar and salt are dissolved, then add the cold water and ice and stir to cool.

Add the chicken parts to the brine, cover, and refrigerate 4-6 hours.

Bring the pineapple juice to a boil in a large non-reactive sauce pan. Reduce the heat to a high simmer and let cook until the juice is reduced by half, stirring occasionally (about 30-40 minutes).

Reduce the heat to a low simmer, add the remaining sauce ingredients, stir well, and let cook another 15 minutes.

Remove for the heat, cover and set aside to cool.

About 2 hours before you want to serve, start your grill and prepare for indirect cooking (heat to one side) over a medium fire (325-350º).

While the grill is heating, remove the chicken pieces from the brine and pat each dry with paper towels.

Grill the chicken over indirect heat until the internal temperature in the thickest part of each is about 140º. Gently remove the skin from each piece, brush each side with the sauce, and continue cooking with what was the skin side up.

Continue cooking, saucing each side about every 10 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165º.

Remove the chicken from the grill, tent with foil, and let rest five minutes.

Brush each piece with sauce, serve and enjoy!

I'll admit that, seasonally speaking, this is probably a little premature, but the mood hit me and I went with it.

Ingredients
3 lbs Ground beef, 80/20 please
1/4 cup Water, ice cold
1 Tbsp Montreal steak seasoning (I used McCormick brand)
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
6 Rustic hoagie rolls
12 slices Pepper-jack cheese
2 large Sweet onions, sliced to 1/3" (12 slices)
1 1/2 cups Chunky funky guacamole (recipe follows)
Canola or vegetable oil

Guacamole
2 Ripe avocados, diced to about 1/3" (approx. 1 1/2 to 2 cups)
3 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1 Lime, juiced
1 jar (4 oz) Pimientos, drained
1 can (4 oz) Fire-roasted green chiles, drained
2 tsp Garlic salt

Method
Combine all of guacamole ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, stir well, and refrigerate at least one hour.

Put the beef, steak seasoning, soy sauce and water in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix the ingredients very well. Yes, it'll be messy.

Divide the meat into six equal portions and form them into evenly-sized balls.



Gently roll each ball between your hands to form a log shape about four inches long. Lay the log on wax or butcher paper and press to form a long patty about 2 1/2" wide, 5 inches long, and 1/2" thick.

Use your index finger to put three holes evenly spaced lengthwise along the center of each patty and set them aside.



Lightly oil both side of each onion slice.

Start your grill and prepare for direct and indirect cooking (heat to one side) over a medium-hot fire (375-400º).

Grill the onions over direct heat for about two minutes per side, then move them to the cooler side of the grill.

Lightly oil both sides of each burger.

Grill the burgers over direct heat for three minutes, then flip them and cook another three minutes.

Move the burgers to the cooler side of the grill and top each with two slices of the cheese and two grilled onion slices.

Toast the rolls over direct heat.

Smear the lower half of each roll with about a tablespoon of the gaucamole, add a burger, then top with another 3 tablespoons of guacamole.



Serve and enjoy!