Discussion Thread -> "And Now For Something Completely Different!" Throwdown (Entries and Quality ON TOPIC *CLEAN* Discussion Only)

Just to clarify, you do not have to make something weird, like Spamfish, although you may, if you choose.

You can do a serious dish, or something funny -- as long as it is a dish you have never done before.

As you were.

CD

My entry...

I have never cooked Jamaican food, and I can't recall even eating Jamaican food, so I decided that would be my challenge.

I did a lot of Google searching, and came up with my best guess at what my entry should be. I decided on Jerk chicken, Jamaican rice and "peas," and some sweet slaw.

I made the slaw on Friday, a day in advance. IMO, slaws need to be made at least a day in advance. I didn't take pictures -- it's slaw.

2 Tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil
2 Tbsp (30 mL) cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon mustard
2 tsp (10 mL) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp (1 mL) salt
1/4 tsp (1 mL) pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
6 cups (1.5 L) shredded green cabbage
1 carrot, shredded
2 green onions, chopped


On to the meat -- jerk chicken leg quarters. I made up a jerk marinade, and soaked some leg quarters in it for 24 hours.

1/2 cup white vinegar
3 Scotch bonnet peppers
1 red onion, chopped
4 green onion tops, chopped
1 Tbsp dried thyme
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons ground allspice
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons Steen's pure cane sugar
1 (5 or 6 pound) roasting chicken, cut in half, lengthwise
1/2 cup lime juice
Salt and pepper



I gotta tell you the allspice, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg had as much impact as the peppers. The heat of the peppers did NOT drown out the flavors of the spices and herbs one bit. And the allspice, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg were awesome.

On to the Weber they go, on indirect heat, with some Orange and Pecan wood to create some smoke.



I also made some Jamaican "rice and peas."

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cups long-grain rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 cup water
1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
2 cups coconut milk
1 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 whole Scotch bonnet chile (can substitute a whole habanero)
Lime

The Scotch Bonnet pepper is sliced open, but goes in whole, kind of like a bay leaf. It does its job, and then you take it out and discard it.



Here is the final plating...



The chicken was a big surprise. I expected it to burn my taste buds, but it was actually a lot like cajun spice -- the flavor was very good, and the heat snuck up on me. The peppers did not overwhelm the herbs and spices. I loved it! It really was a lot like Cajun cooking, which has a shared heritage.

The slaw was good, but not great. It was a good balance to the heat of the chicken, but on its own, it was nice, but not the star of the show -- but it wasn't meant to be the star of the show.

The biggest surprise for me was the "rice and peas." WOW, that chit is GOOD. When I read the recipe, I had some serious doubts -- the liquid to rice ratio had me expecting rice soup -- but dayum, that is some seriously good rice and beans. The coconut flavor was subtle, but there. I would definitely put this up against my favorite cajun rd beans and rice.

All-in-all, I am so glad I embarked on this cooking adventure. I will do this jerk chicken again, and the Jamaican Rice and Peas is now on my regular cooking list.

I am now seriously interested in Jamaican food. It is not just heat. It is heat plus some seriously complex flavors. I like it for the same reason I like genuine cajun cooking. Both styles of cooking seem to know the right balance of heat and flavor.

CD

Ron_L said:

That looks great, CD!

Click to expand...

Thanks, Ron -- no pickles, but it was still pretty good.

CD

That looks Fantastic CD!

Never made this before!

Official Entry..

My wife loves to make this because its easy (Mabbq).


I cooked a prime brisket yesterday and asked her if she could put this together but instead of using hamburger lets put brisket in there and see how it turns out.

Brisket..






Ingredients to go into a crockpot. Yes, I said it. Crockpot..


After it slow cooked a few hours I put some chips in the bottom of a bowl.

Put the stew/chili/taco soup/ whatever you want to call it in the bowl and added some cheese on top.


Then added some Louisiana GOLD pepper sauce I got from Toast to complement it while I watched the Saints Football game.


The end result was amazing. The smoke flavor from the brisket really took this meal to another level. Loved this cook and will be doing this again real soon!

Money shot please!


Thanks for looking.

Oh Lord! You got the Better half involved and it shows! ;D Mighty Fine!

Them are 2 dang great looking entries there.

I'm still trying to think of something for this TD..........
















thinkin hurts sometimes :tsk:

I was really happy to see this throwdown, since I happened to be making pastrami, something I had never done before.

Here is a link to the cook thread: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2756545

And here is my official entry, home-made pastrami on home-made rye bread.

MY official entry into the Throwdown. I had smoked lamb left over from New Years and no desire to shovel more snow, so I made lamb stew.

It's a first for me and so it will qualify as "different", I have never cooked with beer. Please use the above photo as my entry.

silverfinger said:

Official Entry..

My wife loves to make this because its easy (Mabbq).


I cooked a prime brisket yesterday and asked her if she could put this together but instead of using hamburger lets put brisket in there and see how it turns out.

Click to expand...

OK, who's entry is this anyway? :heh:

And how is it completely different? (I know, let the voters decide...)

Still though, I'm stealing the recipe. :becky::thumb:

I want to do a whole roasted Tapir stuffed with lama testicles and dressed with a sauce made from palm nuts excreted by an Asian civet but I'm having trouble sourcing ingredients.
Bloody Australia, so far behind in the future.
Might have to go with something weird like Tamales.

Well, I happened to receive this Egyptian cookbook about food of the Nile so...

deguerre said:

Well, I happened to receive this Egyptian cookbook about food of the Nile so...

Click to expand...

So you're cooking Mosquito's? West Nile Rub?

buccaneer said:

I want to do a whole roasted Tapir stuffed with lama testicles and dressed with a sauce made from palm nuts excreted by an Asian civet but I'm having trouble sourcing ingredients.
Bloody Australia, so far behind in the future.
Might have to go with something weird like Tamales.

Click to expand...

I LITERALLY laughed out loud when I read that!

I'm in one of those moods, it appears.

:crazy:




:yo:

deguerre said:

OK, who's entry is this anyway? :heh:

And how is it completely different? (I know, let the voters decide...)

Still though, I'm stealing the recipe. :becky::thumb:

Click to expand...

Thanks Guerre,
By putting smoked brisket in it instead of hamburger meat.
We've never done that. It was fantastic by the way!

My wife will usually cook a pound of hamburger meat and brown an onion and drop it in the crockpot with all the other ingredients in the morning.
She calls it taco soup.


If you would like a list of ingredients I would be happy to post them.


Btw, we had grandmas redhot peas this weekend and your ham for Christmas!:thumb: excellent!

Awesome Pictures!

buccaneer said:

I want to do a whole roasted Tapir stuffed with lama testicles and dressed with a sauce made from palm nuts excreted by an Asian civet but I'm having trouble sourcing ingredients.
Bloody Australia, so far behind in the future.
Might have to go with something weird like Tamales.

Click to expand...

Sending the Lama Testicles soon, have some left from my adventures in Chile.
P.S. Soak them well