Grilled Jerk Pork Tenderloin – Because We're All a Little Jerky

Whenever I make this incredibly flavorful jerk spice marinade for chicken, I think to myself, “Man, I bet this would be great on pork tenderloin. I’ll have to try that next time.” Well, a few dozen summers have come and gone, and since I still hadn’t experienced that “next time,” I decided to finally try it, and it was great!

As expected, the spicy, aromatic marinade worked wonderfully with the lean, mild pork, and as long as you heed my warnings not to overcook the meat, you and your guests will be very happy with this. Of course your guests' happiness should be the most important thing to you, but let’s face it, it’s not.

No, a stunningly successful grilled recipe like this is all about you standing next to that platter of perfectly cooked pork – beer in one hand, tongs in the other – soaking in waves of compliments and adulation. Does that make you a Jerk jerk? Yeah, a little bit. Anyway, I hope you give this very easy recipe a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 portions:
2 (1 1/2-pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed, cut in 3 pieces each

1/2 bunch fresh thyme, about 1/3 cup picked leaves

1/2 chopped onion

1 to 4 Scotch Bonnet or Habanero peppers, seeded

4 garlic cloves

2 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1/4 cup white vinegar

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp fine salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*cook until at least 145 F. internal temp

Jubilee Coronation chicken (for Harriet)

Yes I know I've done coronation chicken before, but it was at the end of a long boring post about me having a mental breakdown and I didn't use a picture so I feel I didn't really do it justice.

So this time, things are going to be more upbeat, okay? Ready?

This is also a special devotional post for my sister, Harriet. You haven't seen much of Harriet here. She is my eldest sister: blonde, mysterious, powerful in ways no-one in my family really understands. She has a degree in physics. She has two children and Kitty is always so excited to see her that she SCREAMS at the top of her tiny little tinny baby voice. Harriet is a master of not only Play-Doh but Mega-Bloks.

Anyway so Harriet is knocking about in North London quite a lot these days as she is waiting for her youngest, Emily, to start nursery in September and has sort of had it with all that swings/Rhyme Time/zoo crapola. So she mostly comes round to my house and sits in my new giant scary, over-bright kitchen extension and we talk about soft furnishings while Emily teaches Kitty about "sharing".

As we sat there gently photosynthesising, she mentioned that she has a flipping great shitload of people turning up at her house this Jubilee weekend and was pondering what to cook.

"Coronation chicken!" I cried.

"Is it on your blog?" she said, flicking through the Osborne & Little collection on my iPad.

"Yes but I must re-do it," I said.

And I thought maybe some of you also have a flipping great shitload of people turning up at your house like gannets, pointing at their mouths and expecting to be fed and you are quite at a loss of what to do. 

So - do this.

Take a large serving dish and arrange a lot of salad leaves around the edges, dollop a lot of coronation chicken in the middle (recipe below), and serve with mini baked potatoes. It is important that the baked potatoes are MINI, not big ones so that people don't think they are being given a JACKET BLOODY POTATO for their lunch and just think "my word, these potatoes are quite delicious".

This is not my recipe, this is courtesy of Julia Churchill and I am grateful to her for allowing me to reprint it here not once but twice

Julia Churchill's Coronation chicken
This makes enough for 4 people and the leftovers are really wonderful

I know I always say this, but please try not to be put off by the long list of ingredients, they are all readily available.

1 small chicken
4 large tablespoon dollops of mayonnaise
3 heaped teaspoon dollops of mango chutney
1 fresh red chilli (seeds discarded in only a slapdash way) or a pinch of chilli flakes
1 handful of chopped coriander
1 medium onion
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black onion seeds
1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cardomom pod
1 clove
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 lemon for juicing to taste
salt and pepper

1 Roast your chicken as you normally would - I'd say at about 180C for about 1hr15-30 depending on the size of your chicken. Leave to cool and then strip until you have a bowl of chic

2 Chop and fry the onion very slowly until quite dark - this will take at least 20 minutes.

3 Mix together your spices, including the chilli then scatter over the onion and cook on a medium heat until your kitchen is smelling like the Taj Star. Let it cool.

4 Mix together the mayonnaise and the chutney and then add your spice mix. Give it a good stir. Stand back and admire it a bit. Throw in the coriander and then add the lemon juice, salt and pepper until it tastes nice. Combine with the chicken.

I used biggish Jersey Royals for my baked potatoes. Prick them all over and put them in a 180 oven for 45 minutes. It is VITAL that you prick them all over because otherwise they will explode in the oven, as one of mine did the other night. I'm sure you all know this already but I didn't and it was quite a shock when the potato blew up.

I believe in overcatering when it comes to carbohydrate so allow 4 potatoes per person.

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!!!

A Strawberry Rhubarb Custard Pie Worth Brawling Over

Because I grew up listening to baseball on the radio, whenever I heard the word “rhubarb,” I wouldn’t think of something edible and delicious like this amazing Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, I’d think of fights.

Back in the early days of radio, when they wanted to get the sound effect of an angry mob, they’d tell the performers to repeat the word “rhubarb,” over and over. It sounds heated and contentious, yet the listener doesn’t hear any specific words.

Baseball announcers of the same era began to call baseball fights “rhubarbs,” since they sounded so much like those radio effects. I didn’t learn about this until recently, and it made me think of all the games I’d listened to during all those summers, and how never once when I heard “rhubarb,” did I think of pie.

That was until I got this wonderful recipe from my mother Pauline, who I believe got it from my Aunt Angela. As you longtime readers know, both are fantastic bakers and while I love all their pies, this might be my favorite.

So, when Matt Cain drills Matt Kemp in the back this summer, and he charges the mound prompting an ugly benches-clearing brawl, and the play-by-play guy says, “we’ve got ourselves a real rhubarb now,” I will think of this pie. This delicious, rough and tumble pie. Enjoy!

3 cups sliced rhubarb

1 cup quartered strawberries

3 large eggs

pinch of fresh nutmeg

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

*I didn’t mention, but I added a very tiny pinch of salt
1 tbsp butter for "dotting"
pie dough for one 9-inch crust 
For the glaze:
2 tbsp jam with 1/4 tsp water, warmed in microwave

Chicken & Dumplings – Stewed Chicken with Thyme Crème Fraiche "Dumplins"

I’m calling this chicken and “dumplings” for search engine purposes, but these came out so well that internally we going with chicken and “dumplins.” That’s right, if your dumplings really rock, you’re allowed to drop the “g.” It’s the highest honor one can bestow on this humble dish.

The wonderful thing about this dumpling recipe, besides its ease, is how truly versatile it is. I’m not even referring to the actual dumpling batter, which of course can be tweaked with various herb and/or dairy substitutions, but to the delivery system beneath these puffy pillows of pleasure.

These dumplings can be steamed over virtually any flavorful soup or stew-like substance. The rule of thumb is; if you can simmer it, you can cook a dumpling on it. However, as I mention in the video, the thinner the liquid, the easier and better the dumplings will steam.

If you do prefer a thicker stew, simply fortify your mixture with a standard roux before you add the picked chicken back in. We’ve made like a hundred rouxs, so I’ll assume you can cook 1/4 cup of butter together with a 1/4 cup of flour for a couple minutes without major incident. 

If this is your first batch of dumplings ever, then I'd recommend going with the soupy base you see here. Once you get the dumplin(g)s down, you can start to experiment with thicker, more interesting stews.

So, whether you go thick or thin, crème friache or buttermilk, thyme or rosemary, or any another other approved variation (FYI: all variations are pre-approved), I hope you give this classic American comfort food a try. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 large servings:

For the stewed chicken:

1 whole chicken (about 3.5-4 pounds)

1 onion, cubed

1 large celery rib, cubed

1 large carrot, cubed

1 bay leaf

3-4 springs of thyme

2 1/2 quarts cold water

salt, cayenne, and freshly ground black pepper to taste

*thicken mixture slightly with 2-3 tbsp chicken fat mixed with 2-3 tbsp flour

For dumplings:

1/2 cup crème fraiche

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

2 tsp fresh chopped thyme leaves

2 cups self-rising flour

* If you don’t have SR flour (which does work better here) you can use 2 cups all-purpose flour sifted with 3 teaspoons baking powder and1 teaspoon fine table salt.

Celebrating Memorial Day

Photo (c) Flickr user Vince Alongi

On this Memorial Day, as we honor those who gave their lives serving our country, let’s take an extra moment to remember all the countless military cooks and chefs that made the ultimate sacrifice feeding our troops in times of war. They say an army travels on its stomach, but more than simply providing calories, these brave souls are serving up a visceral connection to home.

We have a lot of servicemen and women that visit the blog from around the globe, and the emails I get from them are some of the most inspiring of all. Words can’t express how much we appreciate all your hard work keeping us safe. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America!

12 Memorable Memorial Day Grilling Ideas

I hope you're all headed toward a fun and festive Memorial Day weekend! Here are 12 of my favorite grilled recipes, just in case burgers and hot dogs aren't going to cut it this year. And don't forget the side dishes! Everyone knows they're the real secret behind any epic cookout. That, and beer. Enjoy!!

Santa Maria Tri-Tip	Grilled Lamb Chops
Grilled Pickled Veggies	Grilled Korean Short Ribs
Grilled Flank Steak	Grilled Lemon Chicken
Cornell Chicken	Grilled Barbecue Chicken
Grilled Pork Tenderloin	Grilled Asian Skirt Steak
Spicy Tarragon Grilled Chicken	Grilled Calabrian Chicken

Turkey Shish Kaburgers! A Seriously Not Horrible Turkey Burger

Usually when I post a recipe, I want it to be fantastic, awesome, incredible, inspiring, and/or mind-blowing. With this turkey shish kaburger, I was only shooting for not horrible. Happily, we achieved that and much more.

I’ve received countless food wishes for turkey burgers over the years, but just the mere thought of that dull, pale, insipid lump of meat (aka “the Mitt Romney of meat”), had me reaching for the delete button. Even when I’m out for a cheeseburger, and I see someone in front of me begrudgingly order the turkey burger (hold the mayo), I think to myself, “that poor bastard.”

So, how do you turn the dreaded t-burg into something that would cause envy instead of pity? When in doubt, go ethnic! I figured if we borrowed from the famously flavorful shish kabob, but used turkey instead of lamb or beef, we just may be able to pull this off. I know I lot of you think chunks of meat when you hear “shish kabob,” but ground meat is also used, and I’ve always preferred that version anyway.

As I mention in the clip, I used the “rising juice method” to test for doneness, but since ground poultry isn’t something you want to take a chance with, I suggest you use a thermometer to ensure an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Just keep in mind, since turkey is so low in fat, no matter how incredibly well you season the meat, if you overcook these, even a little, they will be dry.

But, the good news is if you don’t, and remove them with most of their precious moisture intact, you’ll be enjoying a turkey burger that’s not only not horrible, but is actually delicious. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 turkey burgers:

1 1/2 lb ground turkey

1 1/2  tablespoons plain breadcrumbs

1 1/2  tablespoons ground almonds

1 or 2 tsp hot chili paste, or minced fresh hot peppers

2 cloves crushed garlic

1 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
*I garnished mine with mayo, topped with red onions and tomatoes I tossed in lemon juice, and more cilantro leaves.