The Birth Of Left Coast Q...

Well sorry for such a long layoff from blogging.I have been super busy trying to get our team off the ground.Since my last post we have been all the way back to Little Rock,AR,two reasons the first was to pick up our Jack's old south whole hog cooker,the next was to attend the highest paying bbq comp in the country total payout was $!00,000 grand and we also got to hang with Myron and his team all weekend..such great people and down to earth!.I also want to give a shout out to Rhoda Brown of smokin fatties and also all the guys from Redneck Grillers..you guys saved me with the sunscreen and Kevin your rig was awesome!.Also a shout to Mellisa at gate 1!..so on to some pics sorry no recipes right now just trying to get in comp mode and pratice,pratice,practice!..ok so I'll stop ramblin


here are a couple of pics from the contest,the first one is Euporkia's rig this thing was a converted 40 foot storage container with smokers all around..this guy was in the way!

this is Chatty from myron's team..such a sweet lady but a hell of a straight shooter.and don't let her size fool ya..

I wish I got more pics from this comp but I was really trying to do a lot of networking and drinking beer..Ha HA..anyway we picked up our buddy Josh that lives in Oklahoma and on the way back we stayed with him and his family and got to check out his very cool surroundings..this is old town Guthrie,ok


Lake Liberty


Later that evening we went into Oklahoma City to eat at Cattleman's at the old stockyards.then we stopped by the OKC bombing memorial..it was a sombering experience to stand there and to think one of our own did this terrible act..a sad day in our history for sure!

these chairs represent those that were killed that day..the saddest part is the little ones they represent little kids

look at these cowboys..thought this was funny but you gotta have boots in Oklahoma.so much red dirt it's like paint

the next day on our way out of town we stopped by the oldest bar in Oklahoma,not to drink but to eat their world famous fried chicken.The place is called Eischen's in Okarche it's been there since 1896.

at some point it burned down(can't rember the date) and this is all that is left

well we had a great time..thank's again Candace and Josh and sweet little Ali!..And I truly see why the only thing you miss here is us

now once we made it back we have been cooking it up every weekend,my dad has been working on our logo's and Moe's mom has been doing embroidery on aprons and shirt's,our buddy Larry is working on our web page,the whole Miranda family has been helping in many ways too..thanks to all of you for all the love and support!








well we're about to hit three comps in the next two months so i'll be very busy..I'll try to keep up this blog more often too!

Southern Hospitality

"Southern Hospitality"is a phrase that i've heard many times but never really knew what it meant.When I would hear it it made me think of colonel Sanders and aunt Jemima..don't know why but you get the picture right?..growing up in So Cal most of my life i'm used to stuck up,snobby,arrogant and disrespectful people,not to sterotype there are plenty of nice people in California, but there are just as many assholes too!..Well people are different down in Georgia and probably the south in general..Nice,respectful,courteous and helpful, I really could go on and on..anyway on to my post.. my reason for going was to attend a competition BBQ school at Myron Mixon's house.We had a few extra days in Atlanta before going down to Unadilla,so i took a bunch of pictures to share with all of you that read this blog..hope you enjoy!

Some cool people I met in Atlanta

This is Regis..thanks for all of the love!



Starting from the top are Firke and Michael from the downton Marriott..very nice guys!.next is Ertan..keep spinning that vinyl!..and finally Sacha what a sweetie!
we also went to the Georgia Aquarium and world of Coca-Cola(which are right next to each other)

sea turtle

sturgeon

an otter..they train them with the leash

hammerhead

giant grouper..this guy was big as a love seat!

12 foot wide manta ray

these whale sharks are the only ones in the northern hemisphere..this tank holds over 8 million gallons!..Now on to the World of coke





bottling robot


this is the famous Varsity the burgers were pretty small but we had to at least check it out


Now on to the highlight of the trip..BBQ school!.let me start off by saying Myron and his whole family and crew were awesome!..such nice people and also very helpful.I learned so much and it was a humbling experience for me..I've been grilling and BBQing for a long time but this class just took it to a whole other level!..

whole hog prep

this is Nick C. Myrons right hand man..very smart and super cool!..lookin forward to seeing you soon Nick!

finished hog..22 hours in the smoker..Awesome!

this is bacon!..talk about melt in your mouth..this was killer!

finished ribs ready to cut for the box

Me and the Man!..hope you enjoyed this post and now I know what "Southern Hospitality" really means!

Poached Shrimp Rolls

These rolls are a take on Maine lobster rolls..instead of using lobster I'm using frozen deveined shell on shrimp.First the shrimp are frozen when just caught so they are way better than the giant pile of ones sitting on top of each other in the seafood case..I've always had the problem of a taste of iodine from the ones out of the case...so frozen is the way to go unless you live very close to the ocean..also for you non seafood types this would work very well with grilled chicken that has been cooled and diced small.Now on to the rolls

serves 6 rolls

2 1/2 pounds shrimp
2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 small shallot (minced)
3 tbls celery (minced)
2 tsp each fresh tarragon,flat leaf parsley and chives (chopped fine)
1/2 lime (juiced)
salt and pepper to taste
1 head butter lettuce(it's natural curve holds every thing in better)
6 good rolls from the bakery section

poaching liquid
1 lemon (sliced)
1 cinnamon stick
10 peppercorns
1/2 cup of wine
6 cups water

First rinse shrimp under cold water,with poaching liquid you want it to be between 165 and 180..so steaming hot but not boiling,let shrimp cook until their color changes and they slightly curl.about 4 to 8 minutes depending on how hot the liquid is.

While the shrimp is cooking set up a bowl with ice and water,once shrimp is cooked test one in the ice bath,crack it open to make sure it's just cooked through,it should be white not translucent,if this first one is done transfer all of them to the ice bath

Now drain the shrimp and pull off the shells(can be saved for stock)at this point these could be used for killer shrimp cocktails or maybe asian spring rolls..it's just a great way to cook shrimp,anyway back to buisness,cut shrimp in half lengthwise and toss with all of the other ingredients

Pop this in the fridge while you get the rolls ready,butter the rolls and lay open face down in a med.hot pan and cook until golden brown,lay the lettuce into the bread and fill with shrimp or chicken mix..These are really really good!..hope you like

Asparagus Coins (with chive oil and parsley water)

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables,it's best in the spring but the store has had some really nice stalks lately so I thought I'd do another recipe from ad hoc at home.The second time I made this I didn't make the water but used the chive oil and the citrus salt from the post below and grilled them whole..talk about a great flavor!..so basically what I'm saying is either way tastes great...Ok on to the dish

1 1/12 pounds asparagus
3 TBLS chive oil
1/4 parsley water
salt and pepper to taste

for the asparagus snap off the end where it breaks naturally,then trim the ends even,using a mandoline slice the asparagus into coins about 1/8 inch thick(mine were a little thicker but i just used a knife..I need to step up my mandoline skills!)until you have about 2 1/2 inches of tip,put the tips in a hot pan,add the chive oil and salt and pepper,swirl them to coat with oil,cook about 2 minutes,add the coins and cook about another three minutes,add the parsley water and cook another few minutes,remove from heat and serve.


chive oil
1 cup chives cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup canola oil

put half the chives in a blender(Keller uses a vita mix but I dont have a 500 dollar blender.HaHa!)add just enough oil to cover blend for 2 minutes,add the rest of the chives and oil and blend 2 minutes more,stretch a piece of cheesecloth over a bowl and secure with a rubberband so it's tight like a drum head.pour oil onto cheesecloth and let sit for an hour to let the oil drip through.dont wring out the cloth or it will cloud the oil..I didn't get a pic of this but it was an incredible hulk green color and smelled great


parsley water
6 tbls ice water
1 tbls canola oil
1 tbls honey
3 cups flat leaf parsley(small stems and leaves,washed and patted dry

heat the oil in a pan,add the honey and swirl and to lightly caramelize it for a few seconds,add the parsley and stir to coat and is wilted about 30 seconds,transfer to the ice water to chill it,add it to a blender and puree really well,strain it through a mesh strainer.
forgot a pic here too but this also smelled great..grassy with notes of the honey.


so like I said this dish was really tasty and was great on the grill too!

Whole Roasted Cocorico Chicken with Root Vegetables

My mom just gave me this cocorico cooker last week so I decided to put it to use..I'm using a recipe from Thomas Keller's book ad hoc at home,but instead of a roasting pan I'll be using the cocorico..I also made a herb citrus salt to season the bird with..so on to the dish

ingredients:
1 whole chicken 4 to 5 pounds
6 garlic cloves
6 sprigs of thyme
2 leeks
2 rutabagas
2 turnips
4 carrots
1 small yellow onion
12 to 14 fingerling potatoes
4 tablespoons room temp butter
1/3 cup canola oil
citrus salt and pepper


for the citrus salt combine the zest of an orange and lemon,1 tablespoon each of finely chopped rosemary and thyme to 1 cup of kosher salt..put in a spice grinder and pulse until well mixed

then the cooker needs to be soaked in water for half an hour,while it's soaking cut up all of the vegetables into about the same size,if the potatoes are to big cut them in half..once all of the veg is cut toss it with the oil,fresh thyme,salt and pepper.

this thing looks like a sombrero..OLE'!
let the chicken come to room temp(about an hour and a half)once room temp rub it with butter and season it inside and out with citrus salt and pepper..place the veg around the platter and put the chicken on head first and put a few cloves of garlic and a few sprigs of thyme inside..then tie the legs together

pop this beauty in a 475 oven for the first 20 minutes turning once..then reduce the heat to 400 and roast another 45 to 60 minutes..check it with a probe thermometer until it reads 165 in the deepest past of the thigh..pull it off and let rest..set a hot pan on the stove and finish the veg off until it's nice and crispy..thanks mom!..this bird was so juicy and flavorful!

Tom Yum Gai (Thai hot and sour soup)

Well first of I want to say this is going to be a dual post..The soup needs chicken stock as a base and I've been saving bones,wing tips and carcass since about summer time.Well it's time for stock, there are many definitions as to what stock is,some say stock is made with bones and broth is made with raw chicken meat.Stock is the base and broth is the finished product.Well I've done a lot of reading up on the subject and decided to kind of combine both techniques..First off I rinsed the bones and meat a few times under cold water to help cut down on the scum that forms while cooking.Then i put a standard mirepoix in the bottom of a roasting pan,added the raw bones and tips and roasted them @ 450 for about a hour and a half until they were nice and brown.I turned them a couple of times so they got even color.

Then I added some leftover meat and carcass to the pot

Then I added about 3 Gallons of water to my stock pot and brought it to a boil and reduced it to a simmer with the pot offset of the burner..this helps with skimming the fat and scum from the surface.While it was cooking I prepared everything else.First a standard sachet,bay leaf,garlic,thyme,whole peppercorns and parsley stems,then wrapped it up in cheesecloth and tied it with twine

I also made another mirepoix 2 parts onion 1 part celery and carrot.then I let the stock cook for about 4 1/2 hours while skimming the pot of fat and scum..once it stopped I added the mirepoix and sachet and let it cook for another hour and a half..after about 6 hours I strained it off into containers through cheesecloth..and this is what i ended up with.

Now on to the soup,this soup is a Thai classic that can be turned into many different versions.I'm doing Tom Yum Gai..if i added shrimp it would be called tom yum goong..if it was fish tom yum pla..mixed seafood tom yum talay..so forth and so on any way the protein really doesn't matter it's all about the broth or stock!..these ingredients cannot be found at your local supermarket(sorry)but any good asain market should have them and they are worth seeking out..everything cost less than 20 bucks not counting the chicken..Thai cooking involves 5 flavors..they are spicy/hot,bitter/aromatic,salty,sweet and sour..so most Thai dishes combine all of these things into one balanced marriage of flavors..Ok enough of my yapping..

Ingredients:
Galangal..looks like ginger but is more peppery..about ten slices
Lemongrass..three stalks sliced then beaten with the back of a knife to release the oils
kaffir lime leaves..3 or four they can be found frozen too
1 onion quartered
4 oz oyster mushrooms..its what they had that was fresh..you could use canned straw ones but they are kind of slimy
6 cups of chicken stock..plus 4 cups water
4 chicken breasts..pop these in the freezer until almost frozen and stiff.then slice as thin as you can
3 tablespoons of tamarind sauce..I used Por Kwan brand
3 tablespoons Thai chili sauce..I used Mae Pranom brand
3 tablespoons tom yum paste..Again Por Kwan brand
3 tablespoons of fish sauce..I used Squid brand
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch green onion
10 to 15 thai bird chiles
juice of two limes
20 cherry tomatoes..halved
In this picture I didn't have the chicken,onion or tomatoes out yet

Now once you have every thing ready..add the stock and water to the pot and bring up to a boil,add the onion,lemongrass,galangal,lime leaves,all of the sauces and paste and chiles..once back to a boil reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.

now strain it..the onion is really the only thing you should leave in if you want..I didn't
once strained add the thinly sliced chicken..it will cook in just a few minutes,next add the mushrooms,cook a few minutes more then add the tomatoes and the lime juice..give it a good stir and taste it..it should hit on all five flavors..i added a little sugar to bring up the sweetness and also added more fish sauce to up the salt factor..garnish with fresh cilantro and green onion..it should be served piping hot!..hope you enjoy.