DizzyFest – June 2013 Recipes!

Brian had many responsibilities during DizzyFest, including photobombing Chris Capell!

Hard to believe it’s already time for the first DizzyFest of 2013.   We spent the first three weeks of May competing in KCBS BBQ competitions and with the help of our Dizzy Pig sponsorship we finished in the top ten in two of those three competitions.  There’s no better way to relax after a grueling month than an eggest and Chris and the Dizzy Pig crew put on one of the best eggfests in the area!  We had a great time, enjoyed some great weather, and yes, we’ve already signed up to cook for DizzyFest5!  Thanks to the entire crew for putting on a great event.

We had many requests for our recipes and instead of handing out recipe cards, we promised to post the recipe and cooking instructions for the dishes we served up at DizzyFest.  This way they can be accessed at any time, and if you use the recipe and find a way to improve it, you can interact with us and everyone else by posting what you’ve done!  If you know Erin at all, recipes are all in her head and rarely are actually measured or portioned out.  Because of this, we will mostly just list ingredients and when possible try to approximate a measurement.  Keep in mind it’s all done to taste and you should be tasting as you go!

Smoked Salmon over Grilled Salad

Smoked Salmon over Smoked Romaine Salad

Take one salmon filet and marinade overnight in an asian style marinade (recipe below).  Set up your egg to cook indirect at approximately 275 degrees.  We use alder chips over the coals for a gentle smoke flavor.  Dust the filet with a heavy coat of Dizzy Pig’s Raging River followed by a lighter coat of Dizzy Pig’s Pineapple Head rub.  Let sit for 10 minutes before cooking.  Place the salmon in the smoker and cook to an internal temperature of 138.  If you like it more firm, cook to 145.  This should take approximately 45 minutes.

Charred Romaine

For the salad, set up an egg for direct cooking at about 400 degrees.  Cut romaine hearts in half lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil and lightly dust with Dizzy Pig’s Shakin’ the Tree.  Place on grate to char each side.  This should only take a couple of minutes per side, just keep an eye on it.  Slice zucchini and treat it the same as the romaine using the oil, same rub, and char for a few minutes on each side over direct heat.  We like to throw a few green onions directly on the grate at the same time as the zucchini just to give it a little char as well.  Chop grilled ingredients and toss with salad ingredients and toppings of your choice.  We used Erin’s favorite green olive antipasto from Costco: Mezzetta Italian Olive Antipasto, crumbled gorgonzola, and our new favorite salad ingredient… roasted pistachios.  The dressing we used was really just a mixture of a pre-made caesar dressing from Costco, mixed with the juice from the olive mixture and a little bit of walnut oil and jalepeno olive oil.  You can use whichever ingredients and dressing you prefer.  Have fun with it!

One-pot Curry-ish Chicken and Grains

Curry-Ish Chicken and Grains simmering in the paella pan

We us a true 12″ paella pan as it really does a good job of cooking evenly over direct heat.  Set up your egg for a temperature of about 325 then put your pan on to pre-heat.  The goal during this cooking process it to just keep things simmering and adding ingredients as you go.

Start by cooking chicken in a little olive oil until cooked through.  Add chopped cauliflower and a generous amount (about a palm full) of Dizzy Pig Curry-ish seasoning.  Add rice or grain mixture of your choice, we used a Mediterranean grain blend, again from Costco, with enough water or chicken stock to cover all the ingredients.  Let simmer and add liquid if it begins to become to dry before your rice or grains are cooked.  Stir as needed to keep the bottom from getting overdone.  This process is similar to cooking a risotto.  Once your grains are close to finished, add 1/2 can of garbanzo beans and continue simmering.  Once the grains are finished and most of the liquid has been absorbed, add 1/2 can of coconut milk and continue cooking approximately 3 more minutes until the coconut milk has mixed in and had  chance to be absorbed.  Taste as you go and add season salt and/or Curry-ish if you think it needs it.  A quick zest of lemon would be great right at the end.  Hmmm… we’ll have to try that!

Again, this is approximate.  Be sure to taste as you go and make changes if necessary.

Salmon Marinade:

1 C Soy Sauce

2 T Brown Sugar

1/4 C Mirin (you can substitute maple syrup for both the brown sugar and/or mirin)

1/4 C rice wine vinegar

Generous squeeze of Sriracha

2 T Sesame Oil

Generous amount of freshly grated ginger

1 t Five Spice Powder

2 chopped scallions

A few people asked us about our PepperMonkey Lamb meatballs that we had cooked at other EggFests.  We were fortunate this year to have the recipe published in Paul Kirks newest book, “America’s Best BBQ – Homestyle: What the Champions Cook in Their Backyards.”   After the book was published, Epicurious selected our recipe as their recipe of the day.  Click here if you’d like to view this wonderful lamb recipe!

And Finally, we had many inquiries about the necklaces we make to include the butcher block cow, pig and the “Egghead” necklace.  As promised, here is a link to our Etsy site, OlivebyMC.  We have set up a discount code for all you eggheads so when checking out, make sure you put in the discount code: dizzyfest

Egghead Necklace by OlivebyMC