Wow, it’s been a while since I last did a post, however today I have a wonderful shrimp, tomato and sausage kebab that will be perfect for the summer BBQ’s!
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bbq
Fourth (4th) of July – An all you need Menu Plan
With the 4th of July being on a Tuesday this year I’m thinking BBQ’ing might be happening over the weekend so I wanted to remind you of some really great recipes to make your celebration a little easier!
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Baja Chicken…A Healthy Alternative
I love my sister, she has always been there for me, all my life and I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s also an amazing cook, who shares her favorite recipes with me, including this recipe for baja chicken.
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Zucchini/Squash with Coconut Oil
Who would of thunk…I had some zucchini/squash that was going bad and had to make them for dinner. I remembered my best friends husband Mark (he also made potatoes and onions for me) always made me zucchini/squash on the bbq, Mark would season the zucchini/squash, wrap the zucchini/squash in aluminum foil and let them cook for about 20-25 minutes. I always loved Mark’s zucchini/squash on the bbq.
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Barley Salad with Eggplant, Onion and Tomatoes
If you love roasted eggplant, onions and barley then this is the recipe for you! This is one of my most favorite recipes, especially for the summer as it compliments every meal! My barley salad is great for picnics, as a side dish for your dinner and it works great with any BBQ.
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Venison (Deer Meat) on the BBQ
I know that living in California it is not frequent to go to a friends house for dinner and have venison. For that matter, even to go to a restaurant and find venison on a menu is not common, people don’t even talk about venison or recipes for venison out here.
I grew up around hunters and my grandmother was a farmer so we pretty much tried everything from rabbit to venison. What I do recall in eating venison as a child are the following 3 things:
- I didn’t like it
- It was gamey (I didn’t know that term back then but I knew I didn’t like it)
- If I never ate it again, it would be too soon
Going to culinary school, we had a session where we had to make venison and of course anything we made we had to eat or try…did you just read my number 1, 2 and 3??? I did prepare a recipe for venison and I tried it and immediately I claimed that I did not like it. I really didn’t have a chance to like it because of my memory from my childhood so I barely took a bite and immediately shared with the chef that it wasn’t good.
Boy have things changed for me…in the last year, I have been exposed to venison and I have to say, if prepared correctly, it is amazing! I was visiting Mississippi and Brannon (a 19 year old son of a friend) was so excited to share some of his venison sausage for me as he just had the meat processed. I was freaking out as I knew I did not like venison, so what was I going to do???? Because Brannon was so excited to prepare it for me that I knew I had to try it and guess what? I ended up LOVING it!!! He gave me a sausage link which had pepperjack cheese mixed in with the meat. So in my mind I thought “maybe the cheese disguised the meat as the meat did not taste gamey” and honestly, if I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t have known I was eating venison.
Recently I was in Mississippi and was fortunate enough to try the “back strap” of venison, the back strap is the most tender and desired piece of meat on the animal. I did take photos of how they prepared the meat but I have to say I was not prepared to do a post on it so the photos show you an idea of how the back strap was prepared.
The “head chef” at the camp was “Frog”. Here is Frog removing the silver muscle lining from the back strap, it’s really important to remove the silver lining on any meat. In this photo of the back strap, Frog is using the knife to remove the silver muscle lining on one of the two pieces; he had already removed the lining from the other piece as you can see from the photo
Frog then cut the meat in half and tenderized the meat, using the end of a beer bottle. I thought it was pretty creative in using the beer botter and I found that the beer bottle did a better job tenderizing the meat than any tenderizer I had ever purchased
Peyton then did a weave pattern using bacon, because venison has no fat in it the bacon adds the fat to keep the meat tender and moist
they put the venison on top of the bacon and put cream cheese in the middle
they rolled up the meat nice and tight (sorry about the blurry photo)
and put it on the BBQ…along with all kinds of other meats…Frog took care of the BBQ and gave some great tips (I’m a newbie with BBQ’ing)
He cooked it until it was cooked through
While it was cooking, I got to go on a “mud ride” and so when I returned everyone was so excited for me to try venison. I have to be honest, I was a little nervous as what if I changed my mind and I didn’t like it again and what if it was gamey, I didn’t want them to feel bad if I didn’t like it. I walked over and looked at the cooked meat, sliced a piece off and figured “no matter what just chew and swallow”. I took my first bite…OMG…it was amazing, I even ate some more of the venison as it did not taste gamey, it was moist and very flavorful.
While I am not posting an exact recipe, as the meat cuts vary, just follow the steps above and cook the meat until it’s cooked through. For those of you who are new to exploring cooking venison or a regular at cooking venison, please email me at Patty@MmGood.com and me know what you think of this recipe.
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Thank you again ~ Patty Limatola-Tanenbaum
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Rib Eye (ribeye) Steak vs Porter House (T-bone) Steak
Do you order a rib eye (ribeye) steak or porter house steak at a restaurant? And do you order that cut of meat because you know which steak you like best? Or because it’s what you always order? I know this may be a simple answer to most people but believe it or not I could not answer that question until I did my own taste testing.
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Smoked Shrimp with Orange Achiote Recipe
It’s been so hot here in California and making dinner is not something I’ve been wanting to spend a lot of time on so I apologize for the lack of “cooked” items lately, as I’m more about side dishes and snacks. I’ve also been doing quick cook dinners and usually it’s not something I plan for I just make…for example this smoked shrimp with achiote, I literally planned and cooked it all in less then 30 minutes.
Achiote is the paste I used for my chicken with achiote, it’s not spicy at all but adds a lovely flavor to most meats and fish, you can find it here in California in the Mexican aisle. I was originally introduced to achiote in cooking school, using it on shrimp and I always keep it on hand. I tend to pair orange zest with the achiote as I think it enhances the flavor.
I used my smoker for this recipe so the instructions and photos are directed in using a smoker. If you don’t have a smoker, you can BBQ your shrimp or you can bake your shrimp or you can even cook your shrimp in a pan so no worries there.
I basically added my achiote paste with my oil, orange zest and garlic…I apologize for the photo, I didn’t realize how bad of focus it was until it was too late 🙁
you add your shrimp to the mix, toss your shrimp and let it marinade for 10 minutes or so
while it’s marinating, you prepare your smoker by adding the flavored chips you like, I also added the peel of my orange
I laid the shrimp down on a single layer and covered, turn the flame to high and let it smoke for 10 minutes or so
I then turned the smoker off and let it sit (with the cover on) for about 8 more minutes…YUMMY, doesn’t it look amazing
This is a super easy, last minute dish that everyone will love. Again, if you don’t have a smoker, bake them in your oven or BBQ them out back or cook them in a pan on your stove top.
Thank you for visiting my site and I hope you enjoy this recipe. I do love comments so please feel free to leave me your comment or suggestion. If you would like to be kept up to date with all my new recipes, I only post twice a week, please subscribe in the box listed on the top of the page “Subscribe Via Email”. You will be emailed with a link to confirm you are interested in the subscription so be sure to click on that link too. Thank you again!
Smoked Shrimp with Achiote
Ingredients
- 1 pound Shrimp, shells left on
- 2 tablespoons Achiote Paste
- 1 tablespoon Garlic, chopped
- Zest from one Orange (save the peels for smoker, if using smoker)
- 2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
- Place your achiote, garlic, orange zest and olive oil in a bowl and mix until well combined. Add your salt and pepper and allow to sit out for 10-15 minutes at room temperature before cooking.
- Add your shrimp to the achiote paste.
- Smoker - If you are using a smoker, prepare your smoker with your favorite chips, I also used the orange peel, place your shrimp in and place your smoker on your stove top and turn your flame to high. Cook for 10 minutes, turn off your flame and keeping your smoker closed let your shrimp rest for an additional 8 minutes or until cooked.
- Oven - If you are using the oven, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, place your marinated shrimp on a foil lined sheet, single layered and bakes for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through
Recipe belongs to Patty @MmGood.com, please contact me to use for personal use