A Grilladelic Christmas- Perfect Gift #5

Perhaps the most versatile Christmas gift of all:  Lazzari Charcoal.

For the individual who has been good the past year, Lazzari will reward him or her with the best charcoal experience ever.

For the individual who has been bad the past year….well a lump of coal in their stocking says it all.

I can speak first hand about this charcoal.  The Outdoor Cook was the first store in Michigan to carry Lazzari and we were the first area distributor.  Now, you can buy Lazzari at Herman’s Boy in Rockford and Kingma’s in NE Grand Rapids.

Here is an excerpt from Lazzari’s website that outlines a little about their history:

Company History
Lazzari Fuel Company was founded in San Francisco in 1908. Originally located in the city’s Cow Hollow district, Lazzari’s earliest business was the sale of heating coal and firewood to San Francisco businesses and residents. Daily deliveries throughout the city were made by drivers using horse drawn wagons.

In the 1940s, Lazzari Fuel began importing mesquite charcoal from Mexico as a specialty product for cooking food. Roy Lazzari, son of company founder Hugo Lazzari, discovered the appeal of mesquite during a chance conversation with a railroad worker just recently returned from the Sonora Desert in Mexico – one of the main geographic regions where the gnarled mesquite trees grow. Mesquite’s exceptionally high and long-lasting heat made it a favorite among Bay Area chefs, who viewed it as the perfect fuel for searing meats and fish. As the gourmet grilling trend exploded in the late 80s and 90s, the general public got in on the act – backyard barbecuers eschewed the conventional, chemically-treated charcoal briquettes of the 50s and 60s, and instead sought out the hot-burning, premium performance of Lazzari 100% natural mesquite lump charcoal.

This upsurge in demand, both from foodservice and retail customers, has shifted Lazzari Fuel’s focus primarily to providing mesquite lump charcoal and high quality firewood for cooking. Now located just south of San Francisco in Brisbane, the company is the nation’s leading supplier of premium natural charcoal. Several hundred restaurants nationwide use Lazzari charcoal, including such high-profile venues as the Tadich Grill, Chez Panise, Zuni and The Slanted Door in the San Francisco area, as well as gourmet grills, Brazilian churrascarias, and Indian tandooris from coast to coast.

Wings on the grill

Here is the step by step story of wings on the grill.

1. Buy quality wings, tips removed. (Go to a butcher or anfarmer’s market vendor)

2. Season with favorite rub. I use several commercial brands…no real favorite yet.

3. Create a hot fire. I use lump charcoal. Burns about 150 degrees hotter than briquettes. You need the heat to crisp the skin. Also, use indirect heat…creating a safe zone for the wings after the grilling stage.

4. Begin grilling. This is not for the feint hearted or multi-tasker. You need to be focused like a laser beam during this 15-20 minutes of grilling, turning, switching. You want the skin crisp, not burnt. Chicken skin burns easily and is very problematic for many folks to grill. (regarding skin…sorry, skinless chicken is not the most flavorful. OK for fajitas and sandwiches, but not much good for grilling.  This blog is not about eating healthy)

5. Once you have skin crisp- move off the coals. I use a tin foil landing pad, but you don’t need too. I then put the lid on and then basically turn the grill into an oven. About 45 minutes. Or more. I will check the wings out and place back on the coals to crisp as needed.

6. Create the sauce. I used Frank’s and Cherry Jam. I small bottle plus about 4 oz. of jam. I warmed in a pan to get the jam to blend.
7. Take off the grill and toss with the Cherry infused Franks and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I would rate this batch of wings a 7 on a scale of 1-10. Good. Not perfect. I would recommend a little more crisping on the grill. Perhaps add another 5 minutes to direct heat and another 10-15 minutes to indirect. Chicken is very subtle. It needs a lot of attention.

Pulled Pork

This show represents how you season, bbq, and finish a small butt (5-7lb) on a kettle.  A bit simplistic but you begin with a slather of yellow mustard, season w/your favorite rub.  Place on a grill, indirect heat.  Add several chunks of wood (pecan, apple, cherry, sassafras are my favorites) and slow cook.  Traditionally you would do about 1.5 hours per pound.  I cook a bit higher and faster on the kettle because of the grill and hardwood charcoal I prefer.  A bit non-traditional.

I bbq for about 3-4 hours until it looks “good” (art, not science) and then foil.  No liquids added, but I might in the future.  Wrap tight for another 2-3 hours, until internal temp hits 195 +/-.  Take off and let set.  You should be able to slice, chop and/or pull depending on your preference.  Sometimes pulling is the only option.  It is an imperfect art.  Still tastes good.

I sauce it after I pull/chop/slice.

Tasty…had a few ribbons in my time…no trophies.  Yet.

Technique

I didn’t want to get to far away from my brisket posts, so here is an outline of the technique I used. First, I have bbq’d briskets for several years. It certainly is not my specialty. Briskets are not what a native born Michigander typically barbecues. However, as a required category in the KCBS circuit, I will do a half dozen every year.

My preferred piece of equipment for a brisket is a Big Green Egg or Hasty Bake. The Egg is perfect because of it’s ability to maintain a steady temperature “forever”. The Egg is also a high moisture grill, so I don’t worry about drying out the meat.

With that said, I have been focusing on simplifying my bbq style. I wanted to be able compete (and win) with the basics…which led me to adapt all my recipes to a basic Weber kettle.

I have always tried to do my briskets at 2 hours per pound. Grill temp at around 225 degrees +/-. The kettle is an imperfect piece of equipment. Stripped down to fuel, grate and vents. More of an art form. No thermostaticly controlled pellet auger   I also have three young kids at home. Long cooks are almost out of the question. My challenge became, how can I do a brisket in the shortest possible time, but still get it fork tender and moist.

My “aha”moment for brisket came in reading a recipe for beef short ribs. Basically braised in a beef broth, wine and bbq sauce solution. Cooked in the oven at low temps. I tried the recipe and it was great. Now how to adapt for a Weber.

This is what I ended up with. A six pound brisket, seasoned with the rub posted earlier. A Weber kettle, lump charcoal banked on both sides. Four chunks of pecan wood. Once the coals were hot, I placed the brisket in the middle, directly on the grates and added the chunks to the coal. Vents open. Four chunks of pecan create a heavy smudge in a kettle…very heavy. After two hours, I opened the lid. The brisket looked like a meteorite. Burnt in it’s descension to earth. In other words, perfect.

At that point, I layed the brisket out on a piece of heavy duty foil. Big enough to wrap twice. I then poured on a concoction made of beef broth, spicy bbq sauce (Orgasmic Slabs brand) and a bottle of Harp beer. ( I bagged the wine from the original recipe). I crimped the foil lightly, allowing for some steam to escape and placed back on the grill. I did not add any more fuel. Closed the vents slightly and walked away. About 3.5 hours later I returned and closed off the vents. 45 minutes later pulled the brisket and let rest. 30 minutes later, sliced and served.

The words to describe it: moist, flavorful, smokey, and beautiful. A six pound brisket, in just over six hours, that kicked some serious .ss! I have duplicated this several times.