BarBQBoozers

Yay, The Dutchess is back! Back in the cold and rainy Netherlands after a trip to the sunshine state of CA! Gimme another week to get my laundry done and to get some extra sleep, and I’m ready to leave again! Ehm no, that’s a joke, and a bad one too. While I was there, one of my daily routine jobs was to make pics of menus. Since I couldn’t eat it all, I had to take some ideas back home. And of course it wasn’t only menus and food that I made pics off.  The regular tourist things were photographed too, and lots of wineries and glasses (full or empty) and oh yes a certain cop (but that’s another story for another website in another life hahaha).

Since “jetlag” is still written all over my face (geez…why didn’t anybody warn me upfront?? Ugh), I’m having a hard time typing a long story,  thinking and concentrate at the same time, and well the only thing that goes perfect these days is drinking and sleeping in an unusual schedule (more than before so we can call that unusual I guess yes). Hahaha I don’t have a problem with it, but everybody else around me seems to dislike it, weird….

Well anyway, it’s time to make dinner, you’re hungry? I hope so, because I have the most delicious hot oven fried chicken for you. With a crispy crust of cornflakes! I’m wondering if that could be considered now as  breakfast too?? I mean, if you can get fried steak for breakfast (and I had it!!!) why not this….hmmm… okay I’ll be honest, the leftovers taste great as a late night snack and yes, for breakfast too. Busted. Owww where’s that cop when you need him?? Damn, I’m sooo guilty!

Let’s go, oh and this is so easy to prepare, you can even do it with a jetlag!

Chicken breast, cut into large chunks, larger than “bite size” I’d say
1 egg
A large shot of Malibu (yeah booze baby!)
4 cups cornflakes, crushed
Pepper
Salt
1 tablespoon chile chipotle seasoning
1 tablespoon of your favorite chicken seasoning
Some fluid butter (or melted butter)

Mix the egg with the Malibu in a large bowl. Mix the cornflakes with the pepper, salt, chile and chicken seasoning in a large plastic bag.

Dip the chicken chunks into the egg, and then transfer them to the cornflakes and shake it (ooh shake baby shake!) until all chunks are covered with flakes.

Place them on a oven tray (use parchment paper) and put them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In the meantime preheat the oven to 375F.

Before you put the chicken in the oven, drizzle them with a bit of butter. Put them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until done (depends on how big your chunks are baby…).

I served mine with fries and a few different bbq sauces, I love to dip yes, don’t you??!

And now I need some sleep again, cheers!

Enjoy!

Last week I received an awesome package from Jason Day from BBQ Addicts! Thanks again guys!

A jar with Burnt Finger Private Stock Pork Rub, a bottle with Burnt Finger Private Stock Barbecue Sauce plus the book they’ve published: “ BBQ makes everything better”.

As soon as I had time I sat down, with a drink yes, and then what did I notice in the book: a section of cooking with booze: The Liquor Shelf!! Hallelujah!! I almost spilled my drink in my enthusiastic behavior and thought: that’s what I’m going to do! And here I am, with a first review. But…..without a recipe, for that you’ll have to buy the book, I can only show you mouthwatering pics, otherwise I would end up in trouble (even more than usual)! But I tell ya: keep some napkins available!

Because the Dutchess is a very busy Dutchess with only two hands (yeah really, but that’s enough I tell ya!) some things had priority but that gave me also the opportunity to try the pork rub and the sauce in the meantime. The seasoning I used on two slices of pork belly, served with a chili con carne. And I dare to say that I have the best way to make the ultimate crisp slices out of these, if I may say so myself…

You start with sprinkle some seasoning of your choice (I used the Burnt Finger Private Stock Pork Rub of course), rub it in and let it rest for about half an hour. This rub smells good, and when you taste it you can tell there’s paprika in it, pepper, sugar and I definitely could taste the molasses. I think it's a very good mixture for pork!

Grease a wide shallow pan with some butter, let it melt and when it’s hot add the slices of pork belly. On a medium heat the trick is to turn them every 5 minutes and discard the grease in the pan. If you do this consistently you end up with delicious crisp (no not burned if you keep the heat medium) slices, crunchy and delicious!! The seasoning gave it a sweeter taste than the pork seasoning I usually apply but it was not over the top, and it was a bit spicy too.  And even though the sugar in the rub made the slices a bit more darker than usual these crunchy bits were awesome!

The grease that you discarded can be used later for any recipe, don’t throw it away it’s full of taste!!

And then the Burnt Finger BBQ Private Stock Barbecue Sauce, the first thing that you’ll notice is the smoky smell (and taste)! Much stronger than any barbeque sauce I’ve tried before. I used it for baked beans and on some slices of meatloaf. The taste can be described as Kansas style sauce: smoky, tangy but not too overwhelming, sweet but acceptable, and hot! Overall a great choice!

And now…..tatataaaaaa!!! The pics ladies and gentlemen!! Enjoy and keep the napkins near by!

The recipe: Grilled Chopped Chicken with Vodka Sauce

And ooow yes....this recipe is a keeper!!! The only thing I changed was the pieces of chicken. I used a whole chicken and cut it into 8 pieces instead of the directions in the recipe. But it was still chicken… awesome!!
 
Okay baby, hit me one more time....

You better keep an eye on our website (of course you do, as you should!) because the Dutchess will be trying more recipes from the book “BBQ Makes Everything Better”!

Cheers and enjoy!

The other night I had a dream and an Angel visited my bedside, and.... well...you get the picture.... I don't think I need to give ya'll the details, but that dream made me start thinking of WINGS! Okay, okay............give The Burgerman a break... I was hungry afterwards..I had worked up an appetite! -- Sometimes BarBQBoozer recipe inspirations happen in weird ways..and usually after too much to drink! Don't even ask how my mind works; and what made me also think of the Tequila Shrimp Kabobs! 

Now I just happened to have some Captain Morgan Spiced Rum lying around and as the ad above says" Captain Morgan Always Hits the Spot" so I figured I would make some Hot Rum Marinade for the "Angel" Wings. A few shots of "The Captain" for the Marinade and a few shots for me!

Then of course we need Hot Sauce for our Hot Rum "Angel" Wings and Frank's Hot Sauce is the best! Nothing can make an "Angel" Wing "POP" like Frank's Sauce! I wanted them really hot, so I used about 1/3 of the bottle in the marinade and added it to those wings.

Here is the key to success of this recipe. You must put your Hot Rum "Angel" wings undercover in the fridge overnight. Staying overnight in your Marinade is the only way to get all the juices flowing and allow time for the "Angel" Wings to draw in the essence of the spices. Overnight & undercover together, with any dish, is the key! (And yes there is a pun in that line if you look closely.)

Now fast forward 24 hours..The "Angel" wings were undercover all night and it was time to fire up the grill and cook those tasty poultry morsels. I won't bore you with the details of grilling...but you should grill the "Angel" Wings slowly over low heat until they reach 165 degrees. Then it's time to add the magic ingredient. HONEY! Nothing says Hot Rum "Angel" Wings, more, than a coating of sweet honey. This is the last part that does the trick everytime! (Honey always works- on "Angel" wings and also works wonders on  breasts, legs, thighs..etc....but that's for another post..for another day) .

If only this Bear could talk!

Then it was time for the Tequila Caribbean Shrimp Kaboobs.. and like I said before..don't ask where this idea came from.... (Let's just say, I think the angel was from a deserted island and she liked being poked with a stick) Hey lighten up..it was just a dream...so don't judge!

First I used Lawry's Caribbean Jerk "30 minute marinade". If you have never tried this, it's time to go to the store and get some. I'm not sure how Lawry's makes this, but they hit a homerun with this recipe. Skewer your shrimp with cherry tomatoes, pineapples, and peppers or any other veggies you prefer and then let them soak in this marinade for as long as possible.  Use the excess to pour over the kabobs when you place on the grill.

Also add my favorite ingredient..to the marinade...2 shots of tequila and, of course, a shot or two for the chef! Be careful though...remember you are about to play with fire and you might get burnt.....

Grill the kabobs until the shrimp turn pink..for about 20 minutes. You will know when they are done when the tomatoes and pineapple start to sizzle and char!

Here is what I ate... and I was so glad that "Angel" came to visit that night in my dreams. She told me I was Ooooooo So Grilliant-and of course The Burgerman doesn't argue with such Heavenly Inspirations.... She should know..right?

Sometimes when I come up with a recipe it seems so weird (in my mind) that I just have to try it!! Is that normal? Okay, what's the definition of normal...I know I know...we BarBQBoozers have a slightly different standard for that, and you will have to get used to that (we could, so you can do it too haha!).

This happened to the following recipe. Who on earth would combine this... I did, yeah you an expect (almost) anything from the Dutchess....Sometimes you gotta live dangerously in order to move ahead! Trust me!

First we start with Ranch Dressing (found this one in our local supermarket here...wow...that's world news!!) and a bottle of Vodka.

Oh and chicken and panko and chicken seasoning (but that's less important). Mix the seasoning with the chicken and add the Ranch Dressing (about ½ cup depending on how much chicken you got, of course) and add some … Vodka. 

Then it's time for the S&S. That's stir & sip, so get yourself a glass and a spoon and take your time! This is my favorite moment!

Add the panko, enough to cover all the pieces, and arrange the chicken pieces on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 325F.

The chicken will need 20-25 minutes.

In the meantime...have a sip of vodka and cut some bacon and mushrooms, and boil some water for the pasta.

In the pan, with butter and oil, cook the bacon and mushrooms until almost done. Add a shot and take another shot of Vodka yourself and let it simmer for 1 minute.

Add 1 cup of cream and bring to a boil. In the meantime cook the pasta. When done, add a few tablespoons of the water to the sauce. Drain the pasta and mix pasta and sauce in the same pan. The pasta will soak up all the sauce (oowww!), make sure to add some grated Parmesan Cheese and some pepper (no salt).

Okay....dinner is ready! Weird but very tasty!!

Cheers and enjoy!

When life gives you lemons… you need this recipe! The recipe is not new but I gave it a twist (yeah with booze, what else?!) and it turned out great! You should try that too, give your regular recipes a twist with booze because anything will be much better (or at least more fun)! 
Oh yeah and I have to "warn" you, this is a recipe that needs to be cooked in the oven for 2 hours…sooo that gives you enough time to relax while all the cooking work gets done for you!

Let’s take a look at the booze I used: Limoncello, an Italian lemon liquor. Wow I can tell you some stories about that, but my reputation is already ehm…right, all I can say is: drink shots of this, ice cold, after dinner and then find out yourself what might happen...

What I do need to tell you is this (nothing juicy so you can skip this if you want) I asked the butcher for a chicken that was cut into parts (yes the lazy chick that’s me haha). But all he had were frozen chicken (no problem for me…) but since he had to cut the bird into pieces the butcher had a problem. And as you can tell from the pics below (that sounds weird) he could only cut it into 4 pieces. How great. I wasn’t happy with it, but ok. Sorry for that, it could have looked much better… 
Note: the chicken was much too large (I'm not complaining!) so I made chicken fajitas the next day, and chicken salad the day after that...I think I'm chickened out...

Let’s go over to the recipe: chicken with lemon and garlic. What are the ingredients:

1 large chicken, cut into parts
½ cup Limoncello
4 tablespoons of your favorite chicken seasoning
1 tablespoon lemon/pepper seasoning
Olive oil
1 cup (wooh) dry white wine
½ cup Limoncello (yes more Limoncello)
1 garlic bulb, leave the cloves unpeeled
2 tablespoons thyme
2 lemons, each cut into 8 pieces

Start with mixing the ½ cup Limoncello, the chicken seasoning, the lemon/pepper seasoning and the olive oil, and marinade the chicken for a few hours.

Preheat the oven to 325F.

Put the chicken pieces (skin down) in a roasting pan, divide the garlic, thyme and lemon and sprinkle with the Limoncello and white wine.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil. Put it in the oven for at least 1.5-2 hours, depending on how large the bird is. For a 4 lbs chicken you need 2 hours. In the meantime you can do whatever you want to pass the time.

Remove the foil and rise the temperature (of the oven) to 400F.

Place the chicken back (skin up) into the oven for 30 minutes (or until the chicken has a nice color).

Woah!! Your dinner is ready!!

Serve it with fries and some green salad and whatever you do….don’t forget the Limoncello in the freezer!!

Oh before I forget: this dish is a sweet dish (the lemons have caramelized) so don't worry about that! Just don't eat all the garlic....!!

Cheers!

We had a two day heat wave over here in The Netherlands, ow yes, we´re really having a great summer so far!! And with temperatures of 95 and higher, I´m not really in the mood to cook something. All the extra heat is a bit too much sometimes! But I wouldn’t be a good BarBQBoozer if I didn’t have a great solution for that: a boozy pasta salad, made the day before (yes sometimes you have to plan things ahead…you know how it goes!).

And while thunder provided some back ground noise I enjoyed this dish… until a strong wind and lightening made it clear that I was heading for a rough evening and that had nothing to do with the booze this time!

Now let’s see if I can remember how I made this Vodka Salad…eh Pasta Salad I mean…

Marinate a chicken breast, using your favorite chicken seasoning and olive oil. I used Rooster Booster, mixed with dried Italian herbs.

Boil the pasta of your choice. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set it aside.

Grill the chicken, and cut it into bite size pieces (oww…!) and let it cool.

In the meantime, cut a zucchini into pieces and marinate this in the leftover marinade you used for the chicken and grill these too. Let these cool too.

Make a dressing of ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup Vodka, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, some salt/pepper and a few drops of Worcestershiresauce. This is some dressing I tell ya!!

Cut some small tomatoes (I used wild tomatoes in different colors), green olives, artichoke hearts, dried chili flakes and fresh basil leaves. Add one small can of tuna (drained) and 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

In a large bowl mix everything together. Put it in the fridge for at least one hour (or longer, you can even make this one day ahead as I mentioned before! Awesome idea!).

Serve with some extra grated Parmesan cheese and a few basil leaves. Ooooh this is a deliciousss creamy dinner!!!

Okay Burgerman, hope this will satisfy you on a hot day, remember there´s enough Vodka in it so I guess it will!! Oh and I made too much, so guess what's on the menu today???

Cheers!

I know..you're wondering what the 43 means, right?? Hehe no it's not a number like 69, stay calm, it's as easy as booze: it's a liquor called Licor 43. Easy huh?? The booze went on a roll with a chick(en) and the result was a real fiesta!! Arribaaaa! Un pollo con frutas! That's a chicken with fruit btw... Now all we need is a hot grill and the party can get started!

Now what do we have here: lime, orange, passion fruit and a nectarine (peach will do too):

Tadaaaa! Here's the liquor, what a party....

Marinade the chicken in the juices of the fruit: half a lime, half an orange and the passion fruit mixed with ½ cup Licor 43, 2 tablespoons of your favorite chicken seasoning and some hot chilepepper. Marinade for at least 8 hours.

Stuff the chicken with the pieces of the fruit halves that you didn't used for the juices, and add the nectarine and 2 garlic cloves.

Cook the marinade for a few minutes, you'll need this to baste the chicken a few times.

This bird took about 1,5 hours and then......

An awesome fruity tropical chicken! And that, my beloved, makes this chicka verrrrry happy!! Served with fries and a simple green salad, woah... can we have this party again??

Okay, now let's see what the Burgerman has to say about this.....

Oh damn wrong picture…

Is there anything better than hot legs, beer and a barbeque?? Hardly…  I can hear you say it!

What I’m talking about  here is chicken legs marinated in beer, root beer!

And yessss I know, most of you will be more interested the other “leg story” but I’m sorry….

I still had two cans of root beer and I wanted to see how that would turn out in combination with the chicken, and oh my….almost as good as…well….ya know!

How did I get there....(that btw is a question I ask myself often…)

Make a marinade of:

1 T smoked paprika
1 T oregano
1 T garlic powder
1 T dried chile flakes
And 1 cup root beer
And a bit of olive oil

Marinade the legs for a few hours, or over night in the fridge…brrr that’s cold for the legs…but good for the meat!

Prepare your barbeque. Grill the legs for about 40 minutes indirect. Don’t forget to brush them with your favorite hot bbq sauce a few times!!

The corn (oooh mmmm!!) I drizzled with melted butter seasoned with some Cajun Seasoning (Chef of the Future)…awesome!

These legs can make you thirsty, so what to drink?? Beer of course!! But since I don’t like root beer (only for cooking haha) I was in the mood for a white wine, a Chardonnay that came all the way from France. And yes I ate all 4 legs and I drank the whole bottle….

Perfect!

Now, what's for dessert Burgerman???

Any recipe that’s posted from now on will (probably) never be able to compete with the Nutty Burger Recipe from The Burgerman, I know… but damn…I’m going to try and beat him!! The Dutchess strikes back with Hot Chicken straight from the grill so beware! And if this doesn’t work….what else can I do…

But before you all get crazy ideas now, I think we better start grilling first, don’t you agree?? You want it hot you get it hot!
But wait! First, a little story (no not a dirty talk, but maybe a little bed time story?? hehe… ) there’s a restaurant chain here that serves the most amazing piri piri (or peri peri) chicken! And so many times (for years!) I tried to copycat the recipe, but every time it just wasn’t good enough. But you understand what happened this weekend….I did it!! I did it!! Copy the recipe I mean!

I’m sure they don’t use Tequila in it, but I don’t care, this recipe is exactly the way their chicken tastes and that’s what counts! Oh you’re going to make this recipe and you’re going to thank me (yes on your knees please) for it!

Are you ready? Then you better follow me and I promise you it’s going to be hot….mmm…we’re going to make some… ehm chicken baby!!

Buy a whole chicken and cut it into pieces (about 8-10).

For the marinade:

1 tablespoon smoked paprika powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon of your favorite mild chile powder (I used Chimayo)
¼ teaspoon Bhut Jolokia powder (or use another very hot chile powder)
¼ cup Tequila
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil (plus another ¼ cup after marinating)

Marinade the chicken pieces over night in the fridge.

Place the chicken pieces on a tray, cook the marinade and add another ¼ cup olive oil. Let it boil for a few minutes, then strain the marinade. This is what’s left in the sieve:

Add 1 tablespoon (more or less according to your own choice) dried chile flakes to the oil, and put it aside. Prepare your barbeque. Grill the chicken, (brush them with the oil), first directly above the coals for 10 minutes (turn once) and then place them away from the coals, brush them again.

Close the lid and let them cook for 30 minutes. Turn and brush regularly. For the finishing touch you can place them for a few minutes above the hot coals again.

Serve with the oil (for those who want more heat!!), fries and a Greek Salad (the recipe for this salad you’ll find on the Dutchess’ Website). A Shiraz or a beer makes a great combination!

Cheers!!
And please, don't forget to click that "like" button hehe...

You’re still drooling over that Sex on the Beach Chicken recipe, aren’t you?? I should have given you now the recipe for “After Sex Chicken” but instead I’m going to tease you a bit longer….you will have to wait for that one a bit longer because first it’s time for the Malibu Chicken! Because I’m thirsty hehe…

Odd, the most important question I get lately on Twitter is what booze I’m going to use for the next recipe, I think we got you all hooked haven’t we???!!  The booze for today is Malibu Rum, made in Barbados, seriously easy going as they say, well, if you eat enough of this chicken that could be right!!!

To be honest, if you don’t like it sweet and boozy (food!!), then you could consider to use regular white rum instead of the Malibu…but it won’t be same, and you want the real thing huh??? Yeah right, so forget that option!

The ingredients you need are:

2 chicken breasts (cut into large pieces), ½ cup Malibu rum, ½ cup Coca Cola, 1 garlic clove (mashed), 1 onion (cut in large pieces), 1 teaspoon lime juice, ¼ cup coconut milk, ½ cup coconut flakes, a few drops fish sauce (that's an Asian cuisine ingredient), 1 tablespoon dried red chili flakes (the amount you can adjust to your own taste), some cilantro and some oil for cooking.

Note: this recipe asks for a stir fry pan.

Marinade the chicken in the Malibu rum, the Coke and the garlic for 30 minutes.

Heat some oil in the pan and on a high heat stir fry the chicken (don’t throw away the marinade and, no, you can’t drink it, get yourself a glass and pour some new and leave out the garlic) and when the chicken starts to get brown you can add the onion.

After a minute or 2 remove the chicken and onion and set it aside. Add the marinade (see, here it is!) and bring to a boil, let it boil until it’s reduced to half the amount. But: be very careful and keep an eye on it! The marinade will start to foam and rise.. rise.. rise as quick as a.....ehm never mind, it will definitely boil over if you don’t lower the heat on time!!!

After it’s reduced, you can add the lime juice, coconut milk, coconut flakes, fish sauce and the chile flakes.

After a few minutes you can add the chicken and the onion and let it simmer for 1 minute until the sauce has thickened.

Serve this with steamed rice, add some cilantro to the chicken and a great meal is guaranteed!!!

Cheers, I’ll have another Malibu if you don’t mind, with ice :-))