Easy Dutch Oven Yeast Rolls

Easy Yeast Rolls

Slow rise scratch made rolls with yeast or sourdough will always be best.  This is a quick and easy version of yeast rolls that are far superior to anything bought at the supermarket.  


I first saw the crumb wrinkle from my buddy Ceedub.  I took it a step further by using salad dressing to add flavor and help more bread crumbs stick.


All you need is frozen dinner rolls, italian or Balsamic style salad dressing and some Italian or Garlic and Herb seasoned bread crumbs.  For this recipe I used 18 frozen bread rolls in a 14" Dutch Oven.  Any container will do and without a lid is preferable to brown the tops if cooking in a conventional oven.  If you've got a favorite scratch dinner roll recipe so much the better.


Allow the frozen dough balls to defrost separated (or they will stick together).  This is best done in your greased or non stick baking dish covered with a damp towel. If you thaw thew in the bag they will stick together and you have to roll them into balls again, no big deal.

Clean damp (not dripping wet) paper towel lining the lid

Makes a nice warm (not hot) and damp proofing (rising)
environment for the rolls

Once the rolls are defrost but before they rise,
Dip in salad dressing and then roll in bread crumbs

Allow to rise until at least doubled

BEFORE baking remove the damp paper towel!

If baking in a conventional oven follow the directions on the package.
Here the firebox was my heat source below and coals my heat source on top.  

Both surfaces were so hot you could not hold your hand 3" away for more than 2 or 3 seconds.

Bake till golden brown, You'll smell them. 

For those with a digital instant read thermometer 200°F is done.

Enjoy and "Que on,

Konrad "Teddy Bear" Haskins

BBQinstitute.com 

Thin Flour Tortilla Recipe

This tortilla was cooked on an inverted Dutch Oven lid.

There are two kinds of Flour Tortillas, the thin kind and the thick kind.  Most recipe books don't define it that way.  There are two clues that determine this: 

• If the recipe includes baking soda or powder then the recipe is for thick tortillas.  
• Thin tortillas require no leavening, therefore no baking powder or soda is required in the recipe.

4 Cups All Purpose Flour. King Arthur Unbleached is my favorite.
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1/2 Cup of shortening, Lard, Bacon Fat and Crisco Regular or Butter flavor all work.  Bacon is BEST!!!
1 1/4 Cup Very Hot Water


Blend dry goods and shortening by hand, with a pastry blender or in a food processor.  Blend until the shortening has a crumb like consistency.


Add very hot water and knead until smooth and elastic.  Cover with plastic film or a wet towel, allowing it to rest for 20 minutes covered.  Divide in half and repeat until you have 16 balls.  Again allow it to rest for 20 minutes covered.  Use or refrigerate.  NOTE: Resting is important to allow the dough to relax.  


Roll very thin into a 6"~7" circle and cook right away.  If rolling up a batch ahead put plastic or wax paper between them to prevent sticking and keeping them moist.  You can drop these straight on to a hot grill, cook in a dry cast iron skillet or use the inverted lid of a Dutch Oven. Do not over cook, 60 seconds on each side is ideal. Your cooking surface should be hot enough that a drop of water will ball up and dance around.

Here is a thin tortilla puffing up before flipping

Here it is after the flip

In the background is the reasons for fresh tortillas, Beef skirt for Fajitas.

'Que on,

Konrad "Teddy Bear" Haskins

BBQinstitute.com

Scratch Made Corn Bread

 Perfect with our Chili Recipe

This is perfect amount for a half baking sheet (commercial size).  For a 10" skillet or 10" Dutch Oven I'd halve the recipe.

2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
2 cup cornmeal
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
2 cups Buttermilk milk
• 4 to 5 large Eggs
• 1/2 cup Canola Oil or Melted Butter or Melted Bacon Grease 

Yes some Southerners will say any flour or sugar constitues this be Corn Cake and I'm OK with that.  

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. 
2. Beat eggs, Add the butter milk, and melted shortening
3. Fold together dry and wet ingredients unti just combined do not whip or beat this is not S&M
4. Bake in a half sheet pan at 425°F for 20-25 minutes or until bread is golden brown and tests done in the middle and both ends. Swap end for end at 10 min into baking.  For those with an instant read digital Thermometer the target temp is 200°F

Best made in a camp Dutch oven or Cast Iron skillet.  Both should be preheated before adding the batter.

'Que On,

Konrad "Teddy Bear" Haskins

BBQInstitute.com

Spaghetti Night

Spaghetti Night

Marinara with extra veggies and smoked pulled pork

Once a week I head over to my girlfriends house and cook. Normally but not always spaghetti in the winter. I agree that turning off the boob tube and sitting around a table is something folks should do as often as possible.

The bigger your culinary repertoire the better your barbecue in my experience. The only way this post directly relates to BBQ is that it's a great way to use left over meat. If you want to get ambitious try smoking your Italian sausage. For Moink ball fans try substituting the faux meat balls below for regular meat balls. A Moo-Oink ball is a meat ball wrapped in bacon, dusted with rub and then smoked at 300°F +/- till the bacon is crisp and the meatball has reached 165°F.

Celery, Garlic and Onions

For me Spaghetti night is semi home made. I normal buy a a loaf of Pugliese bread from Safeway. Wet the outside with water and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes. This warms the inside and gives a nice fresh baked crust. For those that want cheesy bread I mix margerine, grated cheese and granulated Garlic into a spread. I slices from the warmed load but the chessy spread on and pop it under the broiler.

For the sauce I

Celery, Garlic, Onions, Shallots and Faux Meat Balls

Vodka, Good Black Pepper and Marinara

49'er Chili

Warm Up with BBQ Beef Chili(Perfect use for left over BBQ Beef)

How to Make 49'er Chili
This is 49 state home style chili with beans in it.  It's not true Texas "no bean" chili, I know that and am OK with it.  Not to mention Wendy's sells more Chili than anyone in the lone star state and it has beans in it.
Ingredients

• Step 1
  • 2 cups dry pinto beans
     
• Step 2
  • 1 large onions
  • 2 to 8 cloves garlic (adjust to taste)
  • 1 cup beef stock or chicken stock  (Canned works fine)
  • 1 to 2 cups water depending on how soupy you like your chili
  • 1 Tablespoon cumin
  • 1/4 cup dark chili powder
  • 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Chipotle powder (smoke and heat) or cayenne (just heat)
  • 1/2 Tablespoon paprika
  • 1 small can green chiles (drained and diced)
  • 1-15oz can tomato sauce
     
• Step 3
  • 1-15oz can tomato sauce (2nd can)
  • 1 to 2 pounds seasoned browned hamburger or diced left over BBQ smoked beef.  Left over BBQ is best.
  • Adjust salt and seasoning to taste with Kosher Salt or BBQ Rub.  Finish season at the end.

Step 1. In an 8 quart oven-safe pot (with lid) add 2 cups of pinto beans to 8 cups of hot water and bring to a boil for 3 minutes.  Let stand for 4 hours covered, adding water as needed to keep beans covered in water.  Drain off water.

Step 2. Preheat oven to 350ºf.  Sauté 2 large minced onions and 4 to 8 cloves of minced garlic in olive oil over medium heat, stirring constantly until the onion is translucent.  Add one 15oz can of tomato sauce to deglaze the pan and pour on top of drained beans. Add rest of Step 2 ingredients, stir, cover, and bake for 2 hours.

Step 3.  Add Step 3 ingredients and cook for half hour or more at lowest heat, stirring occasionally. Test for seasoning, adjust and enjoy.  Garnish with grated cheese, diced onions, and sour cream.  Serve with your favorite cornbread.

'Que on 

Konrad "Teddy Bear" Haskins

BBQInstitute.com

Dutch Oven Dump Cakes

Dutch Oven Dump Cakes

Recipes for Apple Spice Dumpcake and Cheery Chocolate Dump Cake are below.


These quick and easy cakes make a great dessert or stand alone with your cake complimenting beverage of choice. Dump cakes are more a technique than a hard and fast recipe.  I'm a big believer in using what's on hand.  In these recipes I used Parkay you can also use butter or when packing in camp supplies, Canola oil.


I'm a huge fan of cast iron and have a lot of cast iron cookware.  Travelling including flying around a lot has taught me the advantages of Aluminum cookware.  It is light, cooks great, the hard anodized is semi non stick and it does not demand cleaning right after cooking. The dutch oven in the Apple Spice recipe is a 12" GSI Silver aluminum camp oven I found on craigslist being sold as cast iron.  Cost was $20 about a quarter of what they cost new.  The Chocolate Cherry recipe is cooked in a 14" hard anodized. I bought it from Ceedub at the now defunct sportsmans show in Monroe WA many years ago.


While both of these cakes were cooked in camp style (with legs) Dutch ovens.  This recipe will work perfectly in enameled kitchen Dutch ovens that are all the rage right now.


Getting the liquid right is the trick with dump cakes. Some recipes use no soda and lots of butter.  There is a popular recipe floating around the web that uses a can of crush Pineapple in juice and a can of Cherry pie filling.  The liquid in the crushed Pineapple meets the liquid needs for that recipe.  I try to stay close to the liquids and butter or oil called for on the cake mix box.


These days I seldom cook just with charcoal.  I'll use my firebox as my base heat and a Dutch Oven Dome or natural charcoal from the firebox on top.  If you need guidance on cooking with charcoal briquettes the Lone Star BBQ Society has good advice on the ring method that Ceedub teaches here http://lsdos.com/outdoor.html

Apple Spice Dutch Oven Dump Cake

This is not the one recipe for Apple Spice Dump Cake that is repeated all over the web.   This is Dutch oven 101 dump cake technique and my own recipe.

• One Box Apple Spice Cake Mix
• Two cans Lite Apple Pie Filling (No Added Sugar)
• One can Lemon and Line soda
• 1/3 Cup Butter/Margarine/Canola Oil (One not all three)
• Couple pinches of ground cinnamon (about 1/2 teaspoon)
• Couple hand fulls of Pecans (about one cup)
• Preheat Oven to 350°F

If you have a sweet tooth use regular pie filling.I prefer less sweet for a more natural flavor and used Lite no sugar added pie filling.  One option is pour out a shot glass of soda and replace it with Whiskey, Bourbon or Rum.  You don't want soda sweetened with Aspartame or Nutra Sweet, bad things happen when it gets hot.  For diet soda use one sweetened with Splenda or just use fat free milk instead of soda. 

Dump filling in the dutch oven, level and sprinkle a few pinches of ground Cinnamon on top.  Greasing the pan is not required but if you feel the need go ahead. 12" Dutch oven.

Dump in the cake mix and level (does not need to be perfect.)

Pour a can of Lemon and Lime soda  on top using a spiral pattern.

Add approximately a third of a cup of Parkay poured on top.  You can also use butter chips or Canola oil.  Bake with the lid went on in a 350°F degree oven.

25 Minutes into the 50 +/- bake time gently open the dutch oven and sprinkled with two handfuls of Pecans.  You can see cake mix that the dump cake magic has not worked on yet. This is why Dump cakes are best cooked in a Dutch oven with the lid on. The picture below shows that the magic worked and it tasted amazing.

After 50 Minutes total baking time @ 350°F check the internal temp of the cake.  The target is 200°F.  

 Serve hot or cold straight up or with whipped cream or ice cream.

Yummy!!!

Chocolate Cherry Dutch Oven Dump Cake

• One Box Chocolate Cake Mix
• Two cans Lite Cherry pie filling (No Added Sugar)
• One can Lemon and Line soda
• 1/2 Cup Butter/Margarine/Canola Oil (One not all three)
• Couple hand fulls of Pecans (about one cup) optional and not pictured.
• Preheat Oven to 350°F

If you have a sweet tooth use regular pie filling.I prefer less sweet for a more natural flavor and used Lite no sugar added pie filling.  One option is pour out a shot glass of soda and replace it with Whiskey, Bourbon or Rum.  You don't want soda sweetened with Aspartame or Nutra Sweet, bad things happen when it gets hot.  For diet soda use one sweetened with Splenda or just use fat free milk instead of soda. 

Dump two cans of Cherry pie filling in a Dutch Oven and level.

14" in this case but a 12" is ideal and a 10" will work in a pinch

This was a two part Mix .Dump in the cake mix first and then sprinkled the topping packet on top.  A one bag Chocolate cake mix without topping works just fine.

Pour a can of Lemon and Lime soda on top in a spiral pattern.

Add a half a cup of Margarine or Butter or Canola Oil

Bake for 50 Minutes at 350°F.  The target is 200°FThis was baked on top of the firebox of my Gator Pit BBQ Smoker.

To trap the heat coming off the firebox I used a Camp Chef Dutch Oven Dome. Right where you see it was where it sat the whole time cooking.  It was done when I could smell it and lifted the lid to see bubbling yumminess.  In a conventional oven bake for 50 minutes @ 350°F then check the internal temp of the cake.  The target is 200°F.

Delicious hot or cold

'Que on,

Konrad "Teddy Bear" Haskins

BBQinstitute.com

Alternative spellings: Apple Spice Dumpcake, Chocolate Cherry Dumpcake, Chocolate Cherry Dump cake, Cherry Chocolate Dumpcake, Cherry Chocolate Dump cake

The Decline of Brisket

The decline of Brisket. Ten years ago USDA was strictly a guide to marbling not flavor. Having cooked, taught and won coast to coast I've noticed a speedy decline in Brisket quality. Ten years ago a USDA Select grade IBP Brisket did take first place going against world champions and USDA prime. I sincerely doubt you could do that again. In spring 2010 Sam's in Texas had full packer Angus USDA choice briskets. Cooked side by side with a USDA select from Wally World the choice won hands down and the USDA select was bland. Spring 2011 and Sam's in Texas had Angus USDA Choice flats and USDA select packers. By Fall 2011 the flats are nondescript choice and the packers select. I can still find Angus USDA choice packers at Sam's in Washington state. Costco has tasty USDA choice brisket at every location that carries Brisket coast to coat. For those in who have access to Costco business center they have a better selection of meat. Wagyu has won for me but I'm not a fan. I prefer USDA prime or Cargill Sterling Silver. Full disclosure I have been a paid spokesperson for Cargill. I know one of the root causes of a lot of calls I get from my students about disappointing Brisket results can be traced to where they sourced their meat. HEB and most other grocery stores fail to impress me. That's my $0.02 IMNHO.