Finally getting to posting my Eggtoberfest Recipes. (long post)

ShadowNick

I know several people asked me for my recipes at the fest, but I did not have recipe cards.  I must have recited them to tasters about 75 times, and I promised a write up here of my cooks.  I had a crazy week last week after getting home, so just getting around to posting this now (and I'm bored at work )

Recipe Number 1, Buffalo Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs:
I love me some wings, but the last 6 months or so when I need my frequent buffalo fix I've been leaning on the boneless thighs.  For the amount of meat you get, they are cheaper, have a great flavor, and IMO easier to prep and get a consistent cook.  The fat crispies you get on them mingle with the buffalo sauce to create a nice unique flavor.  On to the recipe.

Buffalo Sauce:
 -  1 cup Franks Red Hot (original, not buffalo.  We are making authentic buffalo sauce here.)
 -  2/3 cup unsalted butter (people say to make it hotter decrease the butter so there is more Franks. I wholeheartedly disagree.  This proportion of Frank's to butter I think is just right to creating the right texture of the sauce.  If you want it hotter, I'd add cayenne powder or even a half drop your favorite pepper extract so you are not adding any amount of liquid to throw off the butter ratio.)
 -  powdered garlic to taste.  I probably do a 1/3 to 1/2 of a teaspoon

Preparing the sauce:
1.  Combine the above ingredients into an appropriate sized saucepan, heat slowly until all butter is melted, and bring to a low boil for around 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and remove from heat.  (I've never actually timed it, I just kind of know what I'm looking for in taste and texture and pull it when it is there.)
2.  Once the sauce begins to cool, you can see a lot of the oil has separated and is sitting on top.  I usually use a ladle to slowly dip into the oil, and ladle off as much oil as I can without any of the orange-y goodness that is the sauce seeping into the ladle.

*Note: This quantity of sauce will probably coat 6 pounds of thighs or wings.  Maybe as many as 8 pounds, depending on how saucy you like your buffalo chicken, so scale ingredients accordingly.

Cooking the chicken:
1.  I give the thighs a healthy dose of DP Swamp Venom on both sides and let them sit out for about 30 minutes before they go on the egg.
2.  Preheat the egg to 375-400 direct with standard height grate.  Right before I put the chicken on, I toss a handful of Jack Danial Oak chips on the coals.
3.  Load thighs on egg.  Since they a boneless thighs, they are kind of rolled up.  You want them to stay that way and not unroll and lay flat.
4.  Flip every 5 minutes or so. After about 20-25 minutes or whenever you feel "they're there," or around 170 or so for you thermapen guys, baste with honey and flip for 2 minutes, baste other side and flip for 2 minutes, then pull the thighs off.
5.  Toss the thighs in the sauce.  Any method works, nothing magic here.   I have a large tupperware bowl with a seal-able lid, so I put the thighs in, pour over the wing sauce, snap the lid on, and shake until everything is coated. '
6.  Serve and enjoy

Recipe Number 2,  Nick's "A restaurant would overcharge you 1100% for this" Pork Tenderloin (I really don't have a name for this, I'm open to any suggestions)
This recipe was a purely a product of drunken kitchen tinkering but has turned into a must-cook at family gatherings and has become my go-to entree for the first time I cook for a potential new lady friend.  Once again a liberal use of Franks (are we sensing a trend here?) but the prep and cook method mellows the heat quite a bit and really lets the flavors shine through.  The family says it taste like pork candy.  The marinade recipe here will cover 2 or 3 pork tenderloins I think, I've never actually measured the ingredients, just have done it by feel and taste, so I'm giving my best estimates here.

Marinade ingredients:
 -  2 cups Franks Red Hot
 -  5 tablespoons yellow mustard
 -  1 teaspoon garlic powder
 -  1/4 stick of unsalted butter
 -  Honey to taste

Marinade Prep
1. Combine the Franks, mustard and garlic powder into a small saucepan and make sure it is well combined
2. Simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning
3. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted
4. Add in honey until you have a nicely noticeable sweetness compliment the spiciness in the marinade.
5. Let cool on the counter for an hour or so

Tenderloin Prep and Cook.
1.  I hit the tenderloin with the Jaccard first.  IMO my Jaccard is one of the most valuable tools I have in my cooking arsenal, and I highly recommend picking on up from Amazon (Link Here) or your neighborhood Bass Pro Shop    Just make sure the blades are going in perpendicular to the grain of the muscle fiber.
2.  I put the tenderloins into gallon zip locks then pour in the marinade.  Let them sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours, up to 18, flipping at least once.  I've actually had it in the marinade as little as two hours and had great results
3.  Heat the egg to 375-400 direct with grate at standard height.
4.  You can take the pork straight from the marinade bag to the grill.  Roll the tenderloins every 5 minutes or so to ensure even cooks, pull them when they are at about 140-145 internal, and follow the standard 10 minute rest under foil and serve.

Pics or it didn't happen...  Attaching a couple from the fest

henapple

You had me at Franks and butter. I like Chalula better but it's $6 a bottle.

caliking

The tenderloin recipe sounds really good. I recently discovered how good tenderloin can be, so I'm bookmarking this.

jbreed

thanks for the tip on the Jaccard!  just ordered it.  I have been doing a manual fork approach before but am excited to use this.