Smoked Chipotle Turkey Breast

Smoked Turkey is one of my favorite meats. I love to eat it straight from the pan,& so does everyone else in our family! We smoke whole turkeys when we have lots of time, but if you want the smoked turkey experience & have less than a few hours to get it, try a half turkey breast.

Williamson Bros Bar-B-Q has a chipotle sauce that is really great. The chipotle taste is prominent but it also has a cumin and garlic note that is very pleasing. This sauce adds a smoky flavor to your meats from the inherent taste of the chipotle itself.

If you haven't tried chipotles, you should give them a chance. These little wet, wrinkled chili peppers come in a can & are packed in adobo sauce. It isn't necessary to remove the sauce, it actually adds incredible taste to any dish.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/416613-chipotle-pepper-benefits/?utm_source=popslideshow&utm_medium=a1

We marinated our half turkey bone-in breast in the refrigerator over night in a mixture of 2 tablespoons of Williamsons Spicy Chiptole BBQ sauce & 2 teaspoons of pecan flavored liquid smoke. If you have never used a smoke flavoring, you can find it in the grocery isle with the steak sauce, bbq sauce etc. I like the pecan because it doesn't overpower the other seasonings.

Injecting a mixture of half sauce & half olive oil into the breast will keep the meat moist while smoking. It's also healthier than butter, but if you need the butter...it's your call!

When you are ready to start smoking the turkey breast, remove it from the fridge & let it sit on the counter & come to close to room temperature. About 15-20 minutes will usually be enough time. While it is resting, start your wood pellets in your smoker box on your gas grill. I turn my grill to high & sit the smoker box in the back corner. Do not wet the pellets or wood.

I like to smoke my turkey breasts in an iron skillet. I do not wrap in foil, that tends to steam the meat & you don't get the results you are looking for.

After about 30 minutes the grill should have enough smoke to start the smoking process. Reduce the temperature to medium indirect heat. With the turkey breast in a well seasoned iron skillet, coat it on all sides with the sauce before placing it on the grill. 

What I like about Williamson Bros sauce is the consistency. It isn't thin, but it isn't thick & sticky. This type of sauce is the best for gas grill smoking because of the lower sugar content of the sauce.

During the smoking process I apply sauce to all the sides every 10 minutes.

Remember that you should have your grill on medium indirect heat. The temperature inside the grill should be about 300 degrees. The skillet should be sitting in the middle of the grill with no flame under it. Although this is only a breast, it can dry out quickly so keep it well marinated with sauce.

I cook my turkey breast to a temperature of 170 degrees. This usually takes about 30-45 minutes on my grill, but ever grill is different & the outside air temperature is a factor also. Just judge your doneness on that meat temperature...this is just a really great reason to go buy a cool meat thermometer!

 After it cools a little, I remove the meat from the bone, leaving the skin intact. You can remove the skin but it really adds to the taste & look of the smoked turkey.

We added Williamson Bros Spiccy Chipotle Bar-B-Q sauce to the top of the turkey breast. Simple turkey taken to another level. Healthy & delicious, we had baked sweet potatoes from the grill to complete this meal. Oh & we had salad...just hard to do on the grill! Although I am wanting to do the grilled romain lettuce so who knows...we just might do that!

Williamson Bros Bar-B-Q sauces impressed me in many different ways, but one of the things I loved was the low sugar content. Many people who are on a sugar restricted diet must avoid bbq like the plaque. Being a RN & working with diabetics I can say this sauce is a great choice for sugar & carbohydrate counts. Best part is they are really good!

Visit Willamson Bros Bar-B-Q website today!
www.williamsonbros.com

Grilled Chicken & Spinach Roulade with Williamson Bro's Honey BBQ Sauce

Contrary to popular belief we Southerners really do know how to cook things with style, even on the grill. The days of backyard cooks only producing meats that are so tough you could let the dog use them for a chew toy are over! We cook with style & class now...even if we do hang out at Bass Pro shop or Cabela's discussing the best wood pellets or wood for smoking. Also never think it's just the men doing this, we ladies are a force to be reckoned with!

To continue my review of Willamson Bros. Bar-B-Q sauces I created a new recipe to showcase their Honey BBQ sauce. After opening it & tasting it ...my cook's mind went into high gear. I like this one because as a whole, it's incredible, but the honey taste is so smooth on the tongue. It has a gentle mustard flavor, very mild but it blends so well with the honey. I taste the chili powder, garlic & spices but nothing is overwhelming to the palate.

After tasting the sauce I choose to make a chicken thigh stuffed with spinach & smokey provolone cheese. I marinated my boneless, skinless chicken thighs in pecan liquid smoke & seasoned them well with New Southern Pantry's Rustic Chef Seasoning.

I let my meats marinate overnight usually, but if you don't have that long, an hour or so will work.  Remove them from the fridge about 15 minutes before you get ready to roll them. Never put meat straight from the cold of the refrigerator on the grill. it will greatly change the cook time & make your food either under or over cooked. Neither is a good option!

Roll the chicken thighs with a stick of cheese & about 2 tablespoons of chopped spinach inside. Wrap a piece of bacon around the outside and secure with a wooden toothpick.

I cooked these on a direct medium high heat on my Weber gas grill. I cooked them about 4-5 minutes on each side then tested for temperature.They should cook to an internal temp of 180 degrees. Invest in a good stick style thermometer if you don't have one. You will need to check the temperature at least once, but probably twice. All grills cook different depending on type & also on the thickness of the thigh. 

Before placing my roulades on the grill I brushed the top side with Williamson Bro's Honey Bar-B-Q sauce. I didn't brush the bottom to prevent the initial side from sticking to the grill due to the sauce. I also brushed the bacon that is wrapped around the chicken thigh with BBQ sauce to caramelize it.

After cooking for about 4 minutes I turned the chicken over & brushed the top with sauce. You need to continue to baste the roulade while cooking to keep it moist. Chicken is so easy to dry out on the grill at this heat so don't hold back on the sauce!

These made a delicious dish out of simple chicken thighs, spinach, cheese, & bacon. So easy & so elegant looking when plated



And when you add the delicious Williamson Bros Honey BBQ sauce, it's an elegant dinner to serve for any occasion! I like to heat the BBQ sauce to serve on the table also if someone wants to add more. There is just nothing worse on warm chicken than cold sauce!

Slicing into this Chicken Roulade shows the melting cheese & the spinach. You can use any type of hard cheese in this dish. I think a cheddar with grilled red onions would be delicious. That's the fun of cooking, no rules...just try it!

Visit Willamson Bros Bar-B-Q to order this great sauce. You won't be disappointed if you like real Southern BBQ with full flavored sauces.

http://www.williamsonbros.com 

For the New Southern Pantry Rustic Chef Seasoning we used to marinate the chicken, visit our website.

http://www.newsouthernpantry.com

Williamson Bros Classic Carolina BBQ Sauce

Slow Smoked Pulled Pork & Williamson Bros Classic Carolina BBQ Sauce

about to join this crusty bread to become a Carolina styled sandwich!

Being from Texas, we didn't smoke as much pork butt as we did beef brisket. I will never forget the first time I tried to make a pork butt/shoulder. I watched someone pull that delicious looking meat & knew it would be no big deal, I'm a cook, worked in restaurants...well I was so wrong! No one told me you have to do it while it is extremely warm...hot to be exact. Also no one shared with me the fact that this is best done with your God given forks..your fingers. So the first pulled pork we had was hideous & I swore to never try that again. 

Fast forward about 5 yrs, ate at a BBQ joint in Kentucky & had a Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich. When it came out it had green stuff falling out the sides of it. I soon realized it was Cole Slaw...on my meat. No respectful Texan would ever throw wet veggies on perfectly good smoked meat that was slathered in BBQ sauce. I was pretty sure they would take my native Texan card for doing that.

Being the polite Southern girl that I am (no comments) I smiled at the waitress & in my head was trying to figure out how to take that Cole Slaw off the sandwich & make it into what it was..a side dish. My husband picked up his sandwich/salad in his hand & proceeded to take a huge bite. I watched as juices started to run down his hands like a broken pipeline! BBQ sauce mixed with Cole Slaw dressing...oh this couldn't be happening!

Now being polite is very important to me, especially in public, so I took a small bite to try to look hungry. First bite was hard to swallow, but when my brain got the signal that what I had just eaten may have been a little bit tasty, I took the next bite. The rest is history! Carolina style pulled pork sandwiches are one of my favorite things to make & eat.

Carolina Style Bar-B-Q Sandwich

Beautiful Williamson Bros Classic Carolina Sauce on Pulled Pork

make a Carolina Styled Pulled Pork Sandwich very authentic!

Williamson Bros Classic Carolina BBQ sauce is unique with a sweet mustard taste, full of spices & a little vinegar undertone. I really like the touch of bay leaf, it lingers after the other flavors mellow. Just a great sauce, not too sweet & just perfect for smoked pork butt. Can't wait to try it on some new dishes, I think a red potato salad may be on the drawing board with this one!

 http://www.williamsonbros.com/  

Try some of their sauces , I have three more to review next week, so watch for the new blog posts!

Williamson Bros BBQ Sauce

I always feel so honored to review a company's product on my blog. When you develop an item, it becomes so personal to you. When you put your families name on every bottle, that ups the game even more.

Williamson Bros.Bar-B-Q of Marietta Georgia were so very gracious to send me a gift pack of their BBQ sauces to review. I was so excited when I got the box from UPS, I had to open it right away. I know this is silly...sentimental...& totally Southern but it was like getting a little bit of home in Nebraska.

This company had it's beginning's when two brothers & one employee opened a Bar-B-Q place in Marietta Georgia with little money but lots of good food! That was in March of 1990 & they have three locations now serving great Southern BBQ.

Williamson Bro's Roasted Garlic B-B-Q Sauce

New York Strip Steaks patiently waiting !

When I opened the Roasted Garlic B-B-Q sauce, the aroma of garlic was intoxicating! I will admit, I immediately got a piece of bread & poured some on it right then. I expected a strong flavor of garlic, but what I got was a smooth, smoky, slightly sweet taste. The roasted garlic with the other ingredients was an incredible blend of seasonings & the sweet/savory mix was just right. I have never had a BBQ sauce that had garlic as the star, but this one should get an Academy award! It had the best garlic flavor & it just opened up my cooks brain to all kinds of uses for this delicious sauce.

Holding back my need to hide the bottle in the fridge, I poured about half a cup in a bowl, handed my husband the bbq brush & steaks & followed him to the (my) Weber grill. I cook my steaks on high direct heat & use a flipper to turn them. Never...Never...Never use a fork to turn meat on the grill please, when you pierce the meat all those wonderful juices go right down the grates...So use a flipper or tongs if you must.  Our steaks were a little more than an inch thick so we cooked them on both sides for about 2-3 minutes to get a medium pink center. The grill has to be smoking hot when you put them on to sear the meat & lock in those luscious juices!

Husband brushing the steaks, me giving unwanted directions!

After placing them on the grill we brushed them with a liberal amount of Williamson Bro's Roasted Garlic BBQ sauce. When we turned the steak to the other side we give it some of that wonderful garlic love too! 

The quality of a BBQ sauce shows when it doesn't burn on the grill

The temperature of my grill in this photo is about 500 degrees, the sauce is shiny & not burning

Great grilling techniques & high quality products produce the result you are looking for everytime. Williamson Bros BBQ sauce didn't burn, scorch, or change flavor as some sauces do. It produced a steak that had deep flavor, smoky after tones & sweet garlic notes that will be a dinner we will all remember for a good while.

Williamson Bro's B-B-Q sauce can be found online at
http://www.williamsonbros.com

When you order this sauce & it arrives at your front door, even if your not from the South...you'll still feel the Southern style BBQ love, I promise!
Watch for our reviews of the other 4 sauces soon!
Thanks again to Williamson Bro's BBQ for introducing me to their products!

Weber grills aren't just for guys anymore!

I have a fantastic Weber grill. Everyone in this family knows it's Mom's grill! When we were building our home, the contractor offered a gas line on the deck for a grill. We had always had a gas grill that used butane bottles and they were always empty when you wanted to use it. My husband got those eyes that said "I want that!", so we had the gas line to connect the grill. When time came to purchase the grill he researched it like he was going to split an atom. I heard for weeks the pros and cons of all the gas grills on the market.

At our local home show a grandfatherly man from a locally owned hardware store had a display of Weber grills. As I listened to him explain that grill, it was like cherubs were singing in my ears and their harps were touching my soul. I had never felt anything for a gas grill. It was always that greasy thing in the backyard that never had any butane and the birds built nests in them. I had to have this grill on my new deck, but I couldn't let my husband know how much I wanted this very grill. I could see that little boy look in his eyes and will admit I didn't tell him I wanted it. Did I do that to just be mean, no...I just love to watch him when he acts like that!

When we walked in the hardware store, they had rows and rows of beautiful Weber grills, all shiny and new. My husband, knowing I'm very frugal, went to the less expensive grills. I looked at those grills acting uninterested but polite. The salesman was trying to convince me that even though it was smaller and had less bells & whistles, you still were buying a Weber. I walked around looking at the grills while he talked with my husband. I know they were developing a plan of attack to convince me we had to have a Weber. I looked up and said " How about this one?" It wasn't the top of the line because we didn't need a monster grill, but it was much better than the one they were standing by. Both of their jaws dropped and they both looked like little boys who just got that Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The salesman because he was making a better sale and my husband because he thought his frugal wife had been replaced by aliens!

We bought that grill and it sits on the deck right now. It is covered with snow and ice but if I wanted to be brave and use it..I could just light my grill and it will melt all the snow in a minute. Did you notice that I said my grill? My husband burnt the first three things he cooked on that grill. He always said he did that because of the propane and cheap grills! I took over the Weber and will give instructions to anyone that wants to learn to cook wonderful burgers, great chicken and most anything you want. My sweet husband refers to it as "my wife's grill". So I bought him the nicest steam cleaner for when he cleans it!

Vegetables were not created to be limp!

Resolve to Change #2
Don't kill your veggies...they've done nothing wrong!


Until about 20 years ago my vegetable plate would have been corn,green beans, and lettuce salad. I hated this seemingly unneccesary food group with a passion. Those funky colored English Peas could make me run crying from the table. Don't even begin to make me try greens of any kind. I ate salad that consisted of iceberg lettuce, bacon bits (those hard red kind) and cheese. I added the boiled egg and Thousand Island dressing to my salad. These were my "vegetables".

I have grown leaps and bounds since then, but still need work on a few of those greens! Upon examining what I hated about vegetables I discovered it was the way they were prepared. The overcooked, limp, mushy things on my plate really took away from my Southern meals. Why would you cook beautiful pieces of fried chicken and make fluffy mashed potatoes to only plop down mushy vegetable to complete the plate?

Over the years I have learned to eat so many vegetables I never thought I would enjoy. Cooking a vegetable until it loses it's color also drains it of all it's nutrients. Vegetables should be steamed, sauted, grilled or eaten raw to retain their health benefits. I am so addicted to farmers markets and love asparagus grilled with fresh garlic and olive oil. Frozen vegetables are the next choice after fresh for taste, but even canned veggies retain some nutrients to provide our bodies with what we need.

Be kind to the little green beans...love your asparagus...handle with care your sweet little carrots...don't send them to the party all limp and mushy!! Try this recipe this spring when the asparagus is fresh, it's so easy and guick, don't cook too long!...No limp veggies!

Roasted Fresh Aspargus with Garlic
Wash and clean the amount of asparagus needed to serve 5-6 spears per person.
Pat dry with towel, snap off woody ends and place in shallow ovenproof dish
Toss with 1 tabespoon of olive or canola oil
Finely chop 2-3 cloves of garlic, add to asparagus and salt lightly if desired, Toss well to coat.
Bake or grill at 325 degrees for 10 minutes or until spears begin to turn brown, may need to turn during cooking time,depending on your oven or grill.

Check out some really good information at the American Dietetic Association
http://www.eatright.org