Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson talk about the classic French dish Duck à l'Orange, and take it up a notch by cooking it on the Kamado Joe Classic II Ceramic Grill.

Duck a l'Orange on the Grill

---

Ingredients

• 2 duck breasts


• 1 cup duck or chicken stock


• 1 tbsp white sugar


• 1 tbsp champagne or white wine vinegar


• 2 tbsp orange liquor


• 1 1/2 cup orange juice


• juice of 1 small lemon


• 1 tbsp unsalted butter


• 1 tbsp orange zest

Instructions

Preheat your charcoal grill for high heat (400ºF) direct grilling. Place 3-4 fist-sized chunks of hickory wood on the coals. Place a Lodge 12” Cast Iron Skillet on the cooking grate to preheat.

Place the duck breasts skin side down in the skillet. Cook until seared and browned, flip and close the lid of the grill. Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 150ºF. Remove the breasts from the skillet, cover and put in a warm place.

Deglaze the skillet that the breasts were cooked in with the duck/chicken stock. Scrape up the fond from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Remove from the grill.

You may also like: Cooking with Fire Episode 34: World's Greatest Sandwich

Place a smaller cast iron skillet on the grill. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook until the sugar begins to caramelize. Remove from the heat and whisk in the orange liquor. Return the skillet to the heat. Add the stock, pan drippings, and orange and lemon juices. and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened; about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Add the butter and swirl until incorporated. Strain the sauce.

Slice each duck breast and top with the orange zest. Ladle the sauce over the top to serve.

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson talk a bit about a food with almost no history, pork belly burnt ends, and discuss what makes them so fantastic.

Pork Belly Burnt Ends

Ingredients

---

• 5 lb pork belly, skin off


• BBQ Rub (recipe below)


• 1/2 cup apple juice


• 6 tbsp wildflower honey, divided


• BBQ Sauce (recipe below)

For the BBQ Rub:

---

• 1/4 cup brown sugar


• 1 tbsp kosher salt


• 2 tsp black pepper


• 2 tsp smoked paprika


• 2 tsp onion powder


• 2 tsp garlic powder


• 1 tsp ground mustard


• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

For the BBQ sauce:

---

• 1 cup ketchup


• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar


• 3 tbsp brown sugar


• 2 tsp kosher salt


• 1 tsp celery seeds


• 1 tsp cayenne


• 1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions

---

Preheat your smoker to 250ºF.

Slice the pork belly into 2” cubes. Rub the cubes with a light coat of oil. Season with the BBQ rub. Transfer to the smoker, leaving space around each cube. Smoke until a mahogany brown bark is formed on the outside, about 3 hours.

Remove the pork cubes from the grill. Place on a sheet of foil in a single layer. Pour the apple juice and 3 tablespoons honey over the pork. Wrap tightly with the foil. Return the foil to the smoker.

Increase the grill temperature to 300ºF. Continue cooking until the cubes are very tender, nearly falling apart, about 45 minutes. The internal temperature will be around 205ºF-210ºF.

While the pork cooks, combine the bbq sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce to low heat and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Open the foil packet. Pour about 1/2 cup sauce over the pork burnt ends. Drizzle the remaining 3 tbsp honey over the top as well. Toss gently to coat. Return to the grill and cook until the sauce is tacky, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove from the smoker and serve warm.

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson discuss the precarious history of the Seelbach Cocktail, the not-so-lost classic that originated from the bar of the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid-1990s.

Seelbach Cocktail with a Grilled Twist

---

Ingredients

• 1 oz Kentucky bourbon


• 1/2 oz Cointreau


• 7 dashes Angostura bitters


• 7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters


• Champagne


• Lemon twist

Instructions

---

Preheat your grill for high heat direct grilling. Wrap your twist of lemon around a wood skewer, pinning the ends with toothpicks to hold in place. Grill the lemon peel over direct flame until lightly charred on all sides and aromatic.

Pour the bourbon, Cointreau, and bitters into a cocktail mixer with ice. Stir. Strain into a chilled champagne glass.

You may also like: Smoked Old Fashioned

Top the liquor with champagne. Garnish with the grilled twist of lemon.

-- A special thank you to Scott Hill of FlightClubICT.com for running over the Peychaud's bitters when we realized we did not have any!

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson discuss one of the unsung heroes of the holiday dinner table... gravy! From red-eye gravy to country gravy to the classic brown gravy made with turkey drippings, it all gets covered.

Turkey Stock & Gravy

Ingredients

---

For the turkey stock:

• 1 turkey neck


• 1 turkey backbone


• 2 tbsp vegetable oil


• 1 large yellow onion, diced


• 2 carrots, diced


• 2 stalks celery, diced


• 1 bunch parsley stems


• 4 sprigs thyme


• 1 bay leaf


• 2 tbsp black peppercorns

---

For the Turkey Gravy:

• 1/4 cup butter


• 1/4 cup AP flour


• 2 cups turkey stock and turkey pan drippings


• black pepper and salt, as needed

Instructions

---

To make the turkey stock, cut the backbone into 3 pieces. Preheat a stock pot over high heat. Put a couple of tablespoons of oil in the stockpot. Sear the neck and backbone pieces in the hot oil, turning until browned on all sides.

Remove from the pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula until all of the browned fond on the bottom of the pot is released from the pot. Add the neck and backbone back to the pot, along with the remaining ingredients. Cover with one gallon of cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until reduced by half. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Discard the solids. Refrigerate the liquid.

To make the gravy, melt the butter in the 8” Lodge cast iron skillet, over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly until lightly toasted and fragrant. Slowly whisk in the turkey stock/drippings. Season with black pepper and salt, as needed.

Country Cream Gravy

---

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb sage sausage


• 2 tbsp unsalted butter


• 3 tbsp all purpose flour


• 2 cups whole milk


• kosher salt, to taste


• black pepper, to taste

Instructions

---

Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Break up into fine pieces. Add the butter. Melt. Add the flour. Stir constantly for about one minute. Don’t brown the flour. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Adjust consistency with more milk, if needed. Taste and season with the salt and pepper.

Posted in Recipes, Sides and Podcast

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson talk about the "Vegan's Nightmare," the Turducken and Tom gives step by step instructions to cook one yourself!

Turducken Recipe

---

Ingredients

• 1 (15 lb) turkey


• 1 (6 lb) duck


• 1 (4 lb) chicken


• Your favorite poultry seasoning

For the Sausage Stuffing:

• 2 lb French bread, cubed


• 1 lb country pork sausage


• 1 cup leeks, halved, sliced 1/4” thick


• 1/2 cup carrots, peeled, diced


• 2 tbsp garlic, minced


• 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves


• 1 tsp fresh sage, minced


• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced


• 1 tsp red chili flakes


• 1/4 cup white wine


• 1-quart turkey stock


• 2 eggs, beaten

[display_magento_products]

You may also like: Turducken Recipe (Video)

Instructions

To make the stuffing, set your grill to 250ºF. Place the cubed bread on a sheet pan. Cook until dried out, about 1 hour. Set aside.

Brown the sausage in a 12” cast iron skillet. Remove the sausage from the skillet when cooked through, but leave behind the rendered fat. Add the leeks and carrots and cook until the carrots are tender. Add the garlic, thyme, sage, rosemary and chili flakes and cook another minute, stirring. Add the wine to deglaze. Cook until the wine is almost completely reduced down.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dried bread and sausage mixture. Mix well. Slowly add the turkey stock until the stuffing is completely moistened, but the bread cubes still hold their form. Add the eggs and mix well.

Debone the chicken, starting by cutting alongside the backbone and following the rib cage around to the breastbone. Do the same from the other side of the backbone. Remove the flat of the wing completely and save for another cook. Cut around the bone of the wing drum, working your way toward the knuckle. Pull the bone out and slice free. Next, debone the thigh. Slice along the thigh bone, down to the joint where the thigh meets the leg. Slice around the bone until it is freed. Then, slice around the knuckle of the leg drum, scraping the flesh away from the bone and working your way toward the end of the leg. When the bone is exposed enough to grab ahold of, pull it until it turns the meat of the leg inside out and slice the tendons to free the bone. Discard all bones.

Repeat the deboning process on the duck.

Repeat the deboning process on the turkey, with two exceptions. Leave the wing bones and leg bones in place.

Season the flesh with your favorite poultry seasoning. Place the turkey skin side down on your prep surface. Press a layer of stuffing over the meat, distributing evenly across the surface.

Lay out the duck, skin side down, on top of the turkey. Season the duck with your poultry seasoning. Press a layer of stuffing over the meat, distributing evenly across the surface, and filling the leg and wing cavities.

Lay out the chicken, skin side down, on top of the turkey. Season the duck with your poultry seasoning. Press a layer of stuffing over the meat, distributing evenly across the surface, and filling the leg and wing cavities.

Pull the sides together, meeting where the backbone once was. Sew up the cut along the backbone using butcher twine and a large needle making sure to go through flesh as well as skin, so it will not tear out. Sew up the ends (top and bottom cavities), to keep the filling from spilling out.

Place the turducken on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Place in the refrigerator to dry out the skin overnight.

The next day preheat your grill to 350ºF setup for indirect heat. Remove the turducken from the refrigerator. Rub a thin layer of oil over the skin. Season the skin with your poultry rub. Cook the turducken on the cooling rack, over the sheet pan in your grill.

When you achieve your desired color on the outside of (3-4 hours into the cook), tent a large sheet of foil over the turducken. Continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF. Rest 20 minutes before slicing to serve.

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson finish up their series on recipes inspired by films about food with the classic sandwich from the 2004 film Spanglish.

World's Greatest Sandwich (from the film Spanglish)

Ingredients

---

• 3-4 slices thick cut bacon
• 
  
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
• 
  
• 2 (3/4” thick) slices of bread from French Boule
• 
  
• 2 slices Monterrey jack cheese
• 
  
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 
  
• 1 egg
• 
  
• 2-4 slices tomato
• 
  
• 1-2 leaves butter lettuce
• 
  
• kosher salt
• 
  

Instructions

---

Cook the bacon in a skillet or on a rack over a pan, in the oven, to the desired doneness.

Melt two tablespoons butter in a skillet, over medium-low heat. Place the two slices of bread over the melted butter. Place the two slices of jack cheese on one slice of bread. Cover the skillet and cook until the cheese is melted and bread is lightly toasted.

Spread the mayo over the not toasted side of the slice of bread without cheese. Layer on the bacon, then the tomatoes. Season the tomatoes with a pinch of salt. Top the tomatoes with the lettuce.

Melt the one remaining tablespoon of butter in a skillet. Cook the egg over medium-low heat until the thick white is nearly set. Turn and cook another 10 seconds to set the white. The Slide the egg out of the skillet and onto the lettuce. Top with the cheesy bread. Slice through the yolk, and enjoy!

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson talk about the history of the American, not Italian, classic Spaghetti, and Meatballs, and Chef Tom cooks up some from scratch Italian meatballs with marinara sauce.

[display_magento_products]

Meatballs and Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

---

For the meatballs:

• 1 lb ground beef


• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs


• 1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated


• 1 egg


• 1 clove garlic, minced


• 1 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning

For the marinara:

---

• 1 (28 oz) can San Marzano tomatoes


• 3 tbsp tomato paste


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 2 tbsp fresh basil, minced


• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar


• 1 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640 pellet grill to 375ºF, set up for indirect grilling.

To prepare the meatballs, combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, parmesan, egg, garlic and Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning in a mixing bowl. Mix well by hand, working quickly so as not to warm the mixture, until all ingredients are well incorporated. Roll the mixture into roughly one ounce meatballs. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 160ºF, about 20 minutes.

While the meatballs cook, combine all ingredients for the marinara sauce in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook to desired consistency, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, as the sauce cooks.

Transfer the meatballs to the saucepan with the marinara sauce. Serve hot over spaghetti.

You may also like: Cooking with Fire Episode 30: Seafood Risotto

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson cook up some Chèvre Stuffed Portobellos inspired by the 2007 animated classic Ratatouille and talk about the Limburger Cheese War.

Chèvre Stuffed Portobellos

---

Ingredients

• 2 (5” diameter) portabello mushrooms


• 4 oz chevre goat cheese


• 2 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced


• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced


• salt and pepper


• olive oil

Instructions

---

Preheat your charcoal grill for high heat (400ºF) indirect grilling.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Scoop out the gills with a spoon, hollowing out a bowl shape. Rub a thin layer of olive oil on the surface of the mushroom. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix the cheese, garlic, thyme and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper. Divide in half and place each half in the mushroom “bowl.”

Place the mushrooms on the grill. Grill for about 20 minutes, until the mushroom is softened.

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson talk about one of their favorite food films, the classic 1985 Japanese film Tampopo and then cook up some ramen noodles with a smoke roasted whole chicken.

Ramen Noodles with Smoke Roasted Chicken Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients

---

• 9 oz ramen


• 3-4 eggs


• 1 cup chicken, shredded


• 1/2 cup baby spinach


• 1/2 cup carrot, julienne


• 1/4 cup green onions, sliced thin


• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves


• 3-4 pieces nori seaweed


• togarashi or chile flake, to taste

For the broth:

---

• 1 1/2 qt chicken stock


• 1-2 tbsp soy sauce


• 1/2 oz ginger, skin on, crushed


• 2 cloves garlic, sliced


• salt, to taste

Instructions

---

To cook the ramen, bring a gallon of water to a boil. Add the ramen and cook until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Strain and set aside.

To cook the eggs, bring 1 gallon of water to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Carefully lower the eggs into the simmering water. Adjust the temperature so that the water continues to simmer. Cook for six minutes. Remove from the hot water. Place in a bowl. Run cold water over the eggs. Let the eggs sit in the cold water until cooled. Carefully crack and peel the shells from the eggs. Wait until ready to garnish your ramen to slice in half.

To make the broth, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Add the soy sauce, ginger and garlic. Let simmer at least 10 minutes to infuse the flavors. Spoon out the ginger and discard.

In a large bowl, begin layering in the chicken, spinach, carrot, green onion and noodles. Pour the simmering broth over the ingredients in the bowl. Top with cilantro, nori and the split soft boiled egg. Serve immediately.

Pitmaster Josh Cary and Chef Tom Jackson continue a new series of recipes based on films, this time with a risotto inspired by the opening scene of the 1996 film "Big Night." Chef Tom then cooks up a delicious Seafood Risotto with grilled shrimp and lobster cooked directly over the coals of our Kamado Joe Classic II.

Seafood Risotto Recipe

Ingredients

---

• 1 quart vegetable stock


• 1 cup clam juice


• 3 tbsp unsalted butter


• 1/4 cup shallots, minced


• 1 tbsp garlic, minced


• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice


• 1 cup white wine


• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, fine grated


• 1/4 cup parsley, minced


• 8 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined


• 1 lobster tail


• olive oil


• kosher salt


• black pepper


• lemon juice

Instructions

---

Combine the vegetable stock and clam juice in a small pot and warm on the stove top.

Heat a 12” cast iron skillet over medium low heat. Add the butter. When the butter is melted, add the shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic. Cook for about one minute. Add the arborio rice. Cook, stirring constantly for about one minute. Add the white wine and cook until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid, about 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add 1/2 cup of the stock/clam juice mixture to the skillet of rice. Stir constantly until all liquid is absorbed. Then, add another 1/2 cup of the liquid and repeat the process. Do this until the rice is tender and cooked through. Place a lid on the skillet.

Prepare your grill for direct, high heat grilling.

Split the lobster tail down the middle, cutting from the bottom side, down to the shell, but not through the shell. Pop the tail open so the cut flesh is exposed. Loosen the flesh from the shell, but leave attached at the tail end.

Slide the shrimp onto skewers. Rub a small amount of oil on the flesh of the lobster tail and shrimp. Season with salt and pepper.

Grill the lobster, flesh side down, until lightly charred, then flip so the shell side is down. Cook until all of the flesh is opaque. Grill the shrimp on both sides until lightly charred and opaque.

Squeeze a small amount of lemon juice over the seafood. Reserve half of the shrimp. Dice the rest, as well as the lobster.

Stir the seafood, parmesan cheese and parsley into the risotto. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with a whole shrimp, for garnish.