The Grilling Thread

[Susquehanna Birder]

The last thing I made was on Mothers' Day. Something of a surf-n-turf johnson.  (heh)

Surf: clams. 200 of them. Not directly on the heat, like a lot of people do. I get a large foil tray (like what is used on a caterer's sterno table), put some water, olive oil, white wine, garlic, and parsely in it. Get the water good and hot, then dump the clams in, cover with another tray, and close the grill lid. In just a few minutes, all the clams open up and simmer in that liquid.*

Turf: filet minon. Usually not my choice, as I like the more marbled cuts...but the wife picked it out. It was a little tricky to cook because the weather sucked. Normally I grill a fresh cut of meat with the grill lid open, so as to avoid cooking the meat through too quickly. But because it was raining like crazy, I had to put the lid down, which required a bit more care.


* The clam liquid is a great broth for sipping later. And it's also good as a base for making a clam linguini.

[Zanshin]

I made yet another delicious batch of chili. After 7 years of experimentation I think I've finally got the recipe I like down pat. Of course I still use a store-bought spice pack so I'm no better than any other I-cook-once-a-week kitchen jockey, but the rest of my recipe is money.

I like different kinds of chili, depending on the occasion.  For your standard variety, what do you use? Ground beef, or chunks?  Beans?

Most often, I'll do a ground beef and some beans (some red, some black) variety...but I tend to stay away from the prepackaged spices. Often, they use too much salt, and I usually make a mega batch anyway. Garlic, garlic powder, Chili powder, cumin, onions and cilantro are pretty key to the flavor. I also like to use a mix of whole peeled tomatoes and diced tomatoes for some extra texture.  Nothing worse than a soupy chili.

[ice grillin you]

jesus sus how much did 200 clams cost

[Zanshin]

Probably about $100 clams.

[ice grillin you]

Probably about 100 clams.

fixed

[Zanshin]

Whew...thanks!  Nobody EVER would have understood that before.

[rjs246]

I like different kinds of chili, depending on the occasion.  For your standard variety, what do you use? Ground beef, or chunks?  Beans?

I still play around with the meat, but my go-to recipe is a pound to a pound and a half of ground beef and about a pound of spicy italian sausage. I've made batches using meatlof meat (ground pork, ground beef and ground veal), ground venison, steak chunks and venison tenderloin chunks. My coup de gras was a hot italian sausage/ground beef/venison tenderloin concoction that caused me to impregnate my pants, but I don't have the same kind of ready access to venison that I used to so that's recipe has sort of fallen by the wayside.

For beans I use one can of kidney beans and two cans of black beans. Not a huge bean fan, but that combo seems to work beautifully.

[Rome]

Beans have no place in chili.

None.

[rjs246]

I have a friend who gets all angry about adding beans to chili. I'll tell you the same thing I tell him.

Shut the farg up.

Simple, but effective.

[Susquehanna Birder]

jesus sus how much did 200 clams cost

They had 'em on sale at the local Giant for something like $15 for a bag of 50. Between the clams and the beef, it wasn't a cheap dinner. But we were also feeding some neighbor friends, and they kicked in a little to help the cause.

[Drunkmasterflex]

Today some Turkish dudes grilled us some meat that was on skewers.  I don't know what is was, but it was the first piece of grilled meat I have had in about five months and it was delicious.  I think someone said it was lamb. 

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Beans have no place in chili.

None.

Ah, a purist...  You are technically quite correct.

I have a friend who gets all angry about adding beans to chili. I'll tell you the same thing I tell him.

Shut the farg up.

Simple, but effective.

But I agree with this.  Beans are flavorful and an excellent source of lean protein, and they add value to my wife's delicious beef and turkey chili recipes.

[Seabiscuit36]

I like different kinds of chili, depending on the occasion.  For your standard variety, what do you use? Ground beef, or chunks?  Beans?

I still play around with the meat,

lol

[reese125]

Ive never been so hungry in my life after reading a thread. Good shtein with the recipes

[phattymatty]

i sometimes put maybe one can of kidney beans in my chili but never more than that.  and that's for about 3 lbs of meat, half steak/half ground beef.