Grilled Asparagus & Onions with Balsamic Vinegar and Oregon Blue Cheese
I do not do a lot of Vegetable side dishes on my site, probably because I focus on the main and the side dishes are just a part of the program. However, this one is very good and involves a Green Egg and BBQ so I could blog it without the risk of losing my Man Card. This one is a winner, winner chicken dinner. Give it a try. Serves 4
- 2 lbs. of asparagus (two bunches) trimmed, cut the ends off.
- 8 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp of sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1 large sweet onion, I love my Walla Walla onions.
- 2 Tbs of Balsamic vinegar (use the good stuff).
- 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup crumbled of Oregon Blue Cheese from Rouge Creamery if you can, if not get the best quality you can find.
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced dried black mission figs (the small ones) Do not be afraid, just try it…trust me it brings the dish together.
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted.
I use my charcoal Green Egg grill, but you can use pretty much any grill that has good heat. Charcoal does however, gives it that smoky taste. Get the coals nice and hot and burned down to a good gray charcoal.
Put the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet, and drizzle with 2 Tbs of the oil, and season with 1/2 tsp of the salt and pepper. Turn to coat. I use a nice vegetable grill that I highly recommend. However, if you do not have one feel free to use skewers on the asparagus and onions so you can flip them all at once. Grill asparagus until they have nice grill marks, about 4 minutes. Turn and continue cooking until tender and browned. Transfer to a large platter.
Coat the onions with 2 Tbs. of the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill covered, until tender and browned, 8 to 10 minutes then return to baking sheet.
Please do not leave these two rock stars out of the line up. They are essential. Make sure to toast the pine nuts it brings out their flavor.
In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil, the Balsamic, and thyme. Toss the asparagus with about half the vinaigrette and then arrange neatly on the platter. Scatter the onions over the asparagus and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Sprinkle the blue cheese, figs, and pine nuts, and serve. This was the side dish I made for my wonderful father on father’s day. I was in the kitchen and he was out fixing my water feature pump. A great way to spend the day together, yelling thru the window at each other all day.
This has wonderful grilled smoky flavor, with a little twang of vinegar, and a bam of blue cheese. The figs bring out a little sweetness to nicely balance the dish. I hope you try this one folks, summer dinners out by the bbq will not be the same. The Hunting Chef
Sundried Tomato Pesto with Andouille Sausauge, Mushrooms, and Prawns
After our recent successful spotted shrimp season we had last weekend, I thought what can I do with these prawns/shrimp? I had left over Andouille sausage from my oyster competition. I had a nice jar of sun-dried tomato pesto in the pantry. No problem, I got this. First I clean my shrimp. What I do here is I take them out of the freezer, bring a pot to boil, add 1/4 of salt, then add shrimp. They will begin to float in 3 minutes. I remove them and place them in a bowl of ice water, then I clean them by removing their shells, etc. Place them on a plate and put in fridge.
This is a pretty easy recipe and it goes quick and easy. Less than five minutes if you have your shrimp ready.
Servings for 4:
- 1 pound of fresh fettuccine noodles. (I make mine, but try to buy the best quality of fresh fettuccine noodles you can).
- 1/2 pound of fresh prawns
- 1 cup of sliced button mushrooms (I have not gone morel hunting yet, but when I do they are going into this dish).
- 3 chopped garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 3/4 cup of sliced Andouille sausage, about an 1/8 inch thick. I cut enough to layer the pan I am using to cook them in. The sausage is like a big hot dog, not ground meat.
- 1/4 cup of sun-dried Tomato Pesto, or an 8 oz. jar. You can find this anywhere, usually in the Italian section. You can also make it using sun-dried tomatoes, instead of Basil.
- 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese to touch up the dish after plating.
- sea salt for touching up dish.
Bring a pot of water, seasoned with salt to boil. Place mushrooms and garlic and butter in pan and sauté for five minutes.
Layer another pan with the sliced Andouille sausage, bring to medium high heat and cook both sides of sliced sausages for 2 minutes each side or until brown. Then remove, leaving the little bit of grease in the pan.
Add pasta to boiling water for 3-5 minutes based off what kind of fettuccini you have.
Add shrimp to pan you removed sausage on and stir shrimp in sauce for 2 minutes on medium high heat. Then add your mushrooms and garlic and sausage to that same pan and remove from heat.
Drain the pasta, and put back into pot and mix in your sun-dried tomato pesto. Just a tablespoon at a time until all the noodles are coated. Mix well then plate the pasta, then a good scoop of the mixture in the pan on top. Finish with a little touch of sea salt and parmesan cheese on top and serve.
I hope you try this one, it is a good way to enjoy your bounty from the Hood Canal shrimping season. The dish is simple, with lots of flavor and a little touch of heat from the sausage. It is balanced well and there was no plate empty left behind.
The Hunting Chef
2014 Hood Canal BBQ Oyster Championship
We have been having this BBQ Oyster Championship with the Hester’s for a while. This year, we invited them to have the competition in Hoods Canal, Washington where the best oysters in the world reside. They have never been there before, so they accepted the challenge and looked forward to joining us for shrimping season. Last year Mike barely squeezed off a victory, while I came in second.
This year, I was going to knock Big Hess on his hiney. First we had to get the oysters at low tide right in front of the house.
We get the BBQ rolling and everyone goes to their work station. But first we are a little hungry from spending 5 minutes getting oysters.
Jan and Mike go out on the deck to begin shucking oysters for everyone.
Something happens here soon after this picture is taken. It happened earlier in the day shrimping as well. Notice when the rain comes, Mike disappears? Watch this video and see if you can find Mike.
Everyone to their battle stations. We draw numbers so the judges (Erin, Stephanie, and Becca) do not know who each oyster entry belongs too.
At this point no one is really talking, just focused on their one bbq oyster entry.
At this point, I notice the champ putting corn on the bbq and I think to myself “Corn on an oyster??? I got him”.
I have to admit at this point I am very tired. I was on the water all day, cleaned a ton of shrimp, then processed them for travel. I know that I have to dig deep and that the best answer for me is to throw Ben’s lemons deep into the ocean from the deck.
Meanwhile I find Jan digging to China looking for Steamer clams. I am telling you, she is Hardcore Marine Corps.
Back in the kitchen the battle still rages.
Ben places his oysters on the bbq lemon, and adds his secret ingredients.
Meanwhile, the others are getting ready to put their oysters in front of the judges…at a slow rate. I have no idea at this point what Trevor is doing. He is in the pantry looking at ding-dongs, and potato chips talking to himself.
Mike goes second, then Jan to the judging panel. Jan made a jalapeno smoked bbq sauce. I have no idea what Mike did on his, although it looked like the kitchen sink recipe. He had everything on it….but the kitchen sink.
Trevor is up, his looks like he put skittles on his. I didn’t take a picture because I was so embarrassed. I plate mine, I made a little mistake I forgot the Whiskey marinade on the bottom of the oyster.
The votes came in, Ben Hester wins the 2014 BBQ Oyster Championship-Hood Canal. I came in second, the reigning champ falls to third. Trevor limps in ahead of Jan. Let the record show that this is the second year in a row that I came in second, and Jan came in last. However, in her defense. She did work the back of the boat on two tours in horrible weather, she shucked 566 oysters, and put 40 steamer dig holes in the rock beach, and changed her clothes 4 times in 6 hours.
Ben put his heart and soul into this dish, along with some serious culinary creativity. He deserved to win, and I was proud to lose to him. Next year, I am coming to the table with something big and robust. It is one of my favorite times of the year, and I cannot tell you how many we ate after the competition. These are the days worth living for. Good Job Champ.
The Hunting Chef
Return to the Hood Canal for Spotted Shrimp
One of my favorite times of the year is the late Spring up at the Hood Canal. We have some friends up there that have been generous enough to be patient with us Oregonians and teach us about shrimping. When Trevor and I think we know exactly what we are doing, we learn a little more. Like for example, how to stick a boat into a very narrow and tight boat slip that is designed for 12 ft. boats.
Then the pots have to be prepared, and the “Chode” has to be made. This is basically the nastiest thing on the planet. Basically cat food, and shrimp pellets with a bunch of old greasy fish.
The chode is what extracts the spotted prawns to the pot.
Once you have the chode put into a bucket you have to mix it up. This is when “Ricky Choder” comes to work.
Then you let the chode marinade itself all night before you put it into the bait tubes.
Trevor works the back of the boat with his new best deck hand Jan Hester. She is one person that could actually do a tour no problem on the Deadliest Catch. I also think she could easily win Naked and Afraid.
The season is only fours long. So once 9 am hits, the pots go over and soak for 45 minutes. The pots are down 300 feet, so you have to make sure you watch the drift and put the pots out without tangling your lines. Then the rains came, and they brought a nasty beat down of epic proportions. Jan, Trevor, and Steph worked the back of the boat during that storm. Mike and Ben got their limits and went back to the house to make room for the kids. They were enjoying music, and fresh sauté shrimp we later found out. My job though it was dry, was to keep us from drifting into all the other boats and their pots, and keep an eye on ours.
I also have to keep a wary eye out for local pirates.
Though the rain would hammer us, we would get some short breaks in the weather. Jason had to row out to his boat above at midnight to pump water out of his boat so it didn’t sink. We all mustered through the weather and caught each of our limits which was 80 per person. The kids had fun too. How many kids can say they pulled shrimp pots and ate fresh shrimp from the Hood Canal in the Olympic Peninsula.
Our friends in California got to experience the Hood Canal as well, but did not get to see the mighty Olympics.
There is over 700 shrimp that need to be cleaned and prepared for the freezer.
This is tedious work, but if you do it right it really makes the product better. We take their heads and legs off so there is just a tail. Then put the tails on a cookie sheet and freeze them before you bag them so they do not stick together. That way you do not have a lump of frozen shrimp in a bag.
That part of the day is over, the best is yet to come….the BBQ oyster competition.
Something to be said about walking out 40 feet and picking the best fresh oysters on the planet right off the beach.
One of my favorite places to visit. It is a lot of work, and a busy four hours on the water. However, our dinners and time together were spectacular. I hope you get the opportunity to visit.
The Hunting Chef
Mad Dog Nanna
My oldest daughter, Megan speaking about her sister.
I wanted to take a minute to post a little photo montage of my sister, MadDog Mady. I seem to have endless photos of her, since she’s always doing something photo-worthy. Her and I are seriously as opposite as it comes, but I sure do love the kid. Here’s to you, Mads!
She likes princesses, I liked stuffed animals.
She loves pink, I love blue.
She eats towels, I eat steak.
She likes Hello Kitty, I liked Rugrats.
She likes to be the model, I like to be the photographer.
She hits her face on things, I trip on everything.
But in the end, we like each other pretty well.
Springer Salmon Miso-Glazed with Sesame
Springer Salmon season came and went fast. We had high water with the heavy rains, then the sun came out to basically give us two weeks of good fishing. Those two weeks produced some good fish and great smiles.
I hate fishing the Willamette. Its dirty, full of dead trees, people, and other stuff. I even saw a 1941 tire and wheel from an old Ford floating down it. This is the first and last fish I caught on the big W. I stay on the Columbia River, makes me feel better about what I am eating.
If you ever get the chance to fish Oregon’s Columbia river for the illusive Springer Salmon, do it. It is by far, the best tasting salmon that exist. The fish feed on creole making their meat full of flavor and fat. The best cooking salmon there is. I always eat it fresh, never freeze it. Think of it, like gold. It is one of my favorite meats to work with. So on with the show…
Miso-Glazed Springer Salmon (recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine)
- 1/2 cup white miso
- 1/4 cup dry sake
- 1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine, you can get it in the Asian department along with the miso)
- 1 Tbs of honey
- 1 Tbs of soy sauce
- 2 Tsp of grated fresh Ginger
- 1 fillet of Springer Salmon (please remove the pin bones with needle nose pliers)
- 1 Tsp of Asian sesame oil
- 1 Tsp of Sesame seeds
In a baking dish whisk miso, sake, mirin, honey, soy sauce, and ginger until combine. Marinade the Salmon in the dish, flipping every 30 minutes for two hours. You can marinade the salmon up to 12 hours. Do not throw the marinade out, you will use it for brushing the fish later.
I use the Traeger grill for this next process. This is where I leave the Fine Cooking recipe, but thanks for the idea. I use a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Add the sesame oil to the bottom where you are going to lay the fish. I add some mushrooms, and asparagus that I put a little olive oil on, then sprinkle truffle salt.
I let the fish rest for 15 minutes why I bring the Traeger up to 400 degrees.
I put the entire sheet into the Traeger smoker grill. Keep it closed and forget about it for at least 15 minutes. I like a little cherry tomatoes with this dish. Cut them in half, sprinkle with olive oil and salt, then I add a little chopped fresh Oregano. After the 15 minutes I add them to the sheet along with the fish and cook until the fish is done, which means until it flakes.
The next thing is to plate the dish, sprinkle sesame seeds and serve.
The cherry tomatoes really brings the dish together.
I love the smoke taste to this dish as well, it has the Asian flavor, along with the smokey earthy taste. Did I say earthy? I don’t even know what that means. It is a great seafood dish to celebrate your victory on the water.
Get out on the water, get your bait on the bottom of the river, land your salmon, then get back to the kitchen. Nothing is more rewarding than putting your own harvested food on the table….nothing.
Hunting Chef
BBQ Oysters with Garlic, Shallots, Bacon, and Pepperjack Cheese
This is my second post of my 45th birthday celebration. The group had moved down to the fire pit while I was putting together some bbq oysters, they had just finished off four huge fresh Dungeness crabs.
So the boys were getting prime rib on the Auspit and getting a fire going.
- 12 medium to large Oysters, shucked, and taking a butter knife releasing the oyster from shell for easy removal.
- 3 shallots finely chopped
- 4 garlic sliced
- butter
- 6 slices of pepper jack cheese
- 4 slices of bacon
Cook the bacon over medium heat, then when done remove to drain the grease onto a paper towel, then chop the bacon. Add shallots to the pan and sauté until cooked, about 5 minutes on medium high heat. Take an oyster, put a teaspoon of butter underneath the oyster, along with a few slices of fresh raw garlic. Add chopped bacon, then the cooked shallots. Put a slice of pepper jack cheese on top and bbq for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and browned on top.
Bring some forks and some beers because this is amazing. You can save the shells and buy fresh jarred of oysters and repeat the process over and over again.
Just another way to enjoy the fire while watching the prime rib slowly roast.
I hope you enjoy.
The Hunting Chef
Steamed Clams with Chorizo, White Wine, and Tomatoes
I just recently celebrated my 45th birthday. For those of you that do not know me, on my birthday I like to give back and celebrate by cooking for a group of friends some where special. This year, as it was last year, we did this in Sisters, Oregon. One of the days was going to be Seafood Extravaganza. So I brought up some fresh seafood and we hit the kitchen. First up was this dish, and it was spectacular. Todd brought about 20 pounds of chorizo for his stuffed mushrooms (which was 19.5 lbs too much) so I said to myself, grab some of that and add it to this dish!
- 3 lbs. of little neck steamer clams in the shell, scrubbed
- 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine or Sherry.
- 1/2 cup of chicken broth.
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
- 1 (14.5 oz) can of diced tomatoes undrained.
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil.
- 1/2 cup of chopped onions.
- 2 diced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano.
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary.
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme.
- 1 tablespoon of Le Kum Kee Chili Garlic Sauce (you can get it in Asian department of any store)
- 1/2 lb. of Chorizo
- A lot of bread for mopping up the sauce with. French bread Baguette, or Sourdough which is my favorite.
Heat Chorizo in a skillet and cook, until done at high heat. Remove Chorizo from pan to a plate with a paper towel to remove excess grease. Clean skillet and add olive oil and onions, thyme, oregano, and rosemary, and garlic to skillet and sauté for 4 minutes over medium heat.
In a microwaveable bowl combine white wine, chicken broth, tomatoes, black pepper, and chorizo. Microwave on high for 1 minute.
Add the bowl of white wine mixture to the pan, and bring to a boil. Once boiling add the clams.
Cover and cook for five minutes, remember to discard any clam that does not open. Then also to remember to turn around with a slotted wooden spoon and fend off any black ninjas trying to get to your clam dish.
Plate the clams, you can add chopped parsley for looks, but I really didn’t have the time with these vultures all over my grill. Serve with toasted bread.
This is an incredible tasting dish that is full of flavor with a little heat.
This is a dish that I would give one of my top 10 seafood recipes. Adding the Chorizo was a good gamble and it paid off.
The next dish up was The Silver Fox Chili Bean Crab dish. You can find it here https://huntingchef.com/2014/01/05/dungeness-crab-with-black-bean-sauce/. This would also make my top 10 seafood recipes.
One of the best two power punches. We also did bbq’d oysters which is coming up later this week.
Hope you give this a try, it will not disappoint.
The Hunting Chef
Bison ribeye with Guinness Beer and Dijon Marinade and fresh pasta alla Carbonara
I love St. Paddy’s day…I love Corn Beef (actually Corn Elk Beef is far better) but I love the mood. This week it is on Monday so I thought I would do a little Pre funk St. Paddy’s day celebration. My wife ran the Shamrock run in the morning and I knew she would be hungry as she always is after a 15k so I knew she would be craving two things….Carbs and red meat. I have marinaded a lot of game with Guinness beer and this would work great with any red meat wild game.
Guinness-Dijon Marinade
- 1/2 of a can of Guinness beer (drink the rest)
- 1 1/2 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 tablespoon of Sierra grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon of thyme
- 1 chopped fresh garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper
Put into a blender or a food processor and blend for 15 seconds
I use a nice large gallon ziplock to marinade the meat for 2 hours, however, if you were using Venison I would do over 6 hours to overnight.
While the Bison rest, it is time to make the pasta. I have blogged about how to make fresh pasta. Search Fresh hand cut pasta on my sight and you will find the recipe that will change your life. I love Italian food, I love Italy and I have had the best Carbonara Pasta dish in the world, and I have been trying to duplicate it for years. This is so far my best attempt.
Fresh Pasta alla Carbonara
- 1 Tablespoon of olive oil
- 1/2 pound of thick bacon or butcher cut pancetta. Do not use cheap American thin cut bacon!
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 3 whole eggs (if you can get farm raised eggs it will be 20 percent better tasting)
- 1/2 cup of Manchego cheese (I like the taste, but you can roll with all Parmesesan or Pecorino cheese)
- 1/2 cup of parmesan or pecorino cheese
- 1 pound of fresh pasta
- salt and pepper to taste.
Heat olive oil in pan and add the bacon or pancetta, and cook slowly until brown. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and add garlic and cook until brown, remove and add to bowl with manchego or half of the parmesan cheese and mix.
Heat water to a boil, and add salt. Add fresh pasta and cook for five minutes. Whisk eggs in a small bowl. Once the pasta is done, drain and add to the bowl of bacon and cheese. Instantly poor eggs into the dish with bacon and cheese. Take a fork and whisk together adding remaing 1/2 cup of cheese.
This dish is one that is to be served immediately so hit with a little sea salt and serve immediately because this dish needs warmth. I pull my steaks and let sit, then finish the pasta although my recipe does not show that in sequence.
If you just made the pasta you would be a superhero in most households. Simple, but has lots of dimensional flavor. This is what I love about Italy.
The bison steaks were put on high heat 10 minutes before. When cooking any ribeye direct high flame heat is good. What is important is that you keep an eye on the bbq so you do not totally burn your steaks, but do not panic when the flame is hitting your ribeye, it is okay, just be calm.
Keep in mind, the difference between beef and bison is about 50% cooking time, bison cooks faster and needs to be served medium rare, then let sit off the grill on a plate for 5 minutes to bring to medium.
Flame is excellent for cooking bison, flash flame heat. I put on Asaparagus that has white truffle oil and salt and pepper over the vegetables.
What a great dinner, there is nothing like sitting down with the family and enjoying a great meal. This had everything that my family lineage has in it’s blood. A little Irish, a little Itlalian and a lot of American.
Have a great St. Paddy’s day everyone. I hope you enjoy the day.
Hunting Chef
Grilled Bison T-Bone Steaks with Balsamic-Rosemary Steak Sauce
I was watching one of my favorite shows, BBQ addiction with Bobby Flay and I was watching him do this Bistecca Alla Florentine Beef Steak, and thought “Wow, that looks pretty good Bobby, let’s try this with one of my Bison T-Bones from the freezer”. I spent two days thawing these beauties in the fridge, and pulled them out to rest at room temperature for 45 minutes while I prepared the BBQ and the steak sauce.
I salt and pepper the steaks, and let sit. Then prepared this rub:
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of canola oil
- 2 tablespoons of chopped Rosemary
- 6 garlic cloves finely chopped.
Whisk in a small bowl and apply to steaks. You can do this the day before if you want too. I only marinated for an hour.
While the steak sit, I get the Green Egg rocking. You really want to get a good sear and burn the rosemary off. Bison is meat that you need to cook fast over lots of heat by searing the meat quickly. While the Marinade sets in I work on the sauce.
Balsamic-Rosemary Steak Sauce:
- 1 cup of Balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove smashed
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 2 large red bell peppers, grilled, peeled, seeded and diced.
- 2 tablespoons of honey
- 2 tablespoons of horseradish
- 1 tablespoon of molasses
- 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper.
First thing I do is char my red bell peppers. You can do this on the bbq, which is the easiest but I just was trying to get my charcoal lit so I did it on the gas fire on the stove.
Once the peppers are charred. Remove them and seal them in a plastic bag. This will allow the moisture to help you peel the outside of the pepper.
Once the peppers are ready, take out and scrape the skin and black off the pepper, then cut in half and remove seeds and cut the peppers into inch squares, doesn’t really matter you are going to put them into a blender.
Combine the balsamic vinegar, garlic, and rosemary sprig into a small saucepan and cook over high heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove the rosemary and let cool to room temperature.
Place the honey, peppers, horseradish, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper into the blender, and add half of the balsamic mixture. Blend, taste and season with salt and pepper, and add remaining balsamic vinegar.
Grill the steaks over high heat until Medium rare, I use the push on the meat method, but I strongly suggest a meat probe. Sear one side, then the other and cook until 135 degrees and pull and let rest for at least 5-7 minutes.
Add sauce over the steaks and serve.
Buffalo/Bison can be the best meat to consume as long as it is butchered correctly and is a good cut of meat. We hand select our Bison in Eastern Oregon and we always get a great product.
Hope you enjoy.
Hunting Chef
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