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!

Mesquite Charred Corn & Poblano Salsa

This recipe is for a cold salsa made with mesquite smoked fresh corn, poblano peppers, garlic, fire roasted tomatoes, cilantro & spices. I added chipotle in adobo sauce for ours, we like it a little kicked up!

This recipe requires the following ingredients:

• 4 ears of fresh corn
• 2 large poblano peppers
• canola or olive oil
• 1 pod of garlic
• 2 Tsp mesquite liquid smoke
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 15oz can chopped fire roasted tomatoes, or fresh if you have them
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (leave out if you don't like the heat!)
• 1 tsp Texas Chili Blend, or your favorite chili powder
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 cup mesquite wood chips
• salt to taste

Mesquite Charred Corn & Poblano Salsa

• Shuck & remove silks from corn, rinse corn & poblano peppers & pat dry
• Rub corn & poblano peppers with oil, place in plastic zip bag with 1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke
• Let rest in fridge for 1 hour
• Soak mesquite wood chips in hot water with 1 tsp mesquite liquid smoke added . Soak 1 hour
• Drain wood chips. Heat gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Place wood chips in smoker box.
• Rub oil on outside of garlic pod
• When smoke is present, remove garlic & poblano peppers from plastic bag & place on center of grill
• Turn center burner to medium low to char for 2 minutes on each side, this should char the flesh, if not leave it several more minutes until it is charred
• Once the pepper is black, turn off center burner & cook corn & peppers over indirect heat to continue the smoking process
• Place garlic beside corn to smoke
• Limit how much the grill is open to retain the most smoke you can.
• Smoke for 15 more minutes at low heat
• Remove from grill on to a heat proof dish & let it cool on the kitchen counter.

• When corn has cooled to touch, remove corn from the cob by standing it on the flat end in a large bowl.
• Begin with knife at the top & cut from the cob, turning after each cut.  
• Continue to cut until all corn is off

                           

• Poblano peppers will char black, then you need to remove the charred skins, veins & seeds. Try to remove as much as possible.
• Slice into small strips, then chop into bite size pieces.
• Add to corn in bowl



• Roasted garlic will squeeze out of the papery skins without much effort
• Discard the papery skins then chop or mash & add garlic to salsa



• To the corn, poblanos, & garlic, add the chopped red onions, tomatoes, cilantro,chopped chipotles in adobo sauce & seasonings
• Add salt to taste.
• Finish by squeezing the juice of the lime over the dip
• Stir well to blend
• Cover with plastic wrap & place in fridge to chill at least 1 hour for the full flavor blend.
• Serve with your favorite chips. Great on taco's or burritos. Also a great topping for taco salads

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!