Because Beef is Boring

Madras Curry Lamb Burgers with Chipotle Grilled Corn

For the lamb burgers (makes 3):

-1lb ground lamb
-madras curry powder (most any other type of curry would likely work fine too)
-chopped fresh mint
-crushed fresh garlic
-salt and pepper

Mix together in a bowl and divide into 3 even burgers. Grill for ~7 minutes on a side (actually took a little longer than I expected). Toast buns. Serve with whatever you like on your burger.

For the corn:

-Several ears of corn
-1/2 stick of butter at room temp
-lime juice
-chopped canned chipotle peppers w/o seeds
-chopped cilantro
-salt and pepper

Combine everything but the corn in a medium bowl and mush together with the back of a spoon. Set aside.

"Clean" the corn. Pull back the husks leaving a few leaves attached to the stalk at the base. Remove the silk. With a knife or spoon "butter" the corn and then pull the husk back over the ears. Grill ~20 minutes turning 3 or 4 times. The kernels should pop easily with a fork and there should be a few char marks.

If you have leftover ears, strip the corn from the cob and use it to make a salad or something. Works great.

Smoked Turkey

Maple-Cider Smoked Turkey

Maple wood chunks for smoke with fresh apple cider in the water pan. Brilliant.

It took about 3 hours.

3 Men, 5 Racks of Ribs

Apricot Glazed Pork Ribs

I did this to ribs rather than pork loin. It was really good. I only "brined" for a couple hours. It was fine.

City Grill Eats Out

Dyer's Bar-B-Que
Amarillo, Texas

Man at the bar: "You're not from around here."
Me: "I'm not."
Man: "Are you a long way from home?"
Me: "Yeah, I'm from Boston."
Man: "Really? Austin's not so far."
Bar Tender: "No Worm, he said Boston."
Me: "Yes, Boston. In Massachusetts."
Worm: "They have a lot of democrats there."

Just for the the record:
-These were some of the nicest people I have ever met
-Yes, I ate everything in that photo
-No, I don't feel well now and
-Yes, I bought a t-shirt.

Prime Rib: A Photo Essay

Dry aged, bone in rib roast. Rubbed with garlic, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper. In the charcoal smoker. No wood, no liquid. Just dry heat.

3 hours later. Started at ~450F for the first 40 minutes. Then turned the heat down to about 325. Taken off the grill when then center reached 120F. Perfectly done.

2 ribs sliced thick served 5.

Steak porn

City Grill Goes Asian

Thai Beef and Noodle Soup

I rarely cook Asian food. I'd just as soon pick up some sort of take out, but this was good. Recipe here. Use a grill instead of a grill pan, just don't cut the peppers and scallions up too fine or they will fall through.

The Miracle of Italian Dressing

Italian Dressing Chicken with Swiss and Guac

Growing up, my mother used to marinate chicken breasts in Ken's Steakhouse Italian dressing before putting them on the grill. It's really easy and makes a killer sandwich. Make sure you have an hour or so, because part of the charm here is the degree to which the chicken sorta "ceviche's" in the acidity of the dressing. Ken's doesn't seem to be available everywhere, but I find that most Italian vinaigrettes seem to work fine. Creamy Italian likely wouldn't, but I don't really think creamy Italian is good for much of anything.

Here I added some swiss cheese and homemade guacamole which adds a ton of flavor. Apres photo I added a little hot sauce too.