Pork and Chicken BBQ- Bare Essentials

Sometimes you just get together and BBQ at the spur of the moment. Unplanned as some would say. But do you ever notice those are some of the best times? And that is exactly what we did on this day.

Our good friends Rita and Peter Carbullido invited us to their home for a little impromptu BBQ. Peter told me he had dry rubbed some pork belly, pork chops and pork country ribs. PORKALICIOUS is what we are talking about!! My favorite meat. Our contribution would be a couple of dry rubbed chickens and of course some finadene' denanche' (hot pepper paste). So I went over looking forward to some good eats!! 

When I arrived, Pete, who has quite an open BBQ pit setup in his backyard patio, was under a tree in the empty land across the street with a few blocks and a grill with the fire already going. That's what I like.....bare essentials. Here is a photo of the elaborate BBQ set up!!

Prep table, a few chairs, some concrete blocks and a grill. Now who wouldn't love that. But the most important ingredients to a great time are great company and BBQ. We had it all!!

Enough with the speech. Don't we always say that pictures are worth a thousand words. Well here are a couple thousand worth.....

Maple rubbed chicken.

Super simple but efficient set up.

Chicken is looking awesome!!

Pete is slapping down the pork rubbed with salt and pepper...

Master griller in action!!

Slicing the chicken because they are hungry. Pete's nephew... a protege in training??

Nope, he is an eater. Must have sampled about 5 or 6 times.

Now he is getting serious!!

Pete's youngest son, Brandon, is polishing off his plate.

Our gals, Lupe and Rita are really enjoying their food. Looks like Lupe is either yawning, sneezing or is enjoying her hot peppers. Hehehehe!!!

To round out the menu, we had a delicious macaroni salad, turkey stuffing and Spanish rice with finadene' denanche' on the side.  Of course we had our share of refreshments. 

We were joined by Rita's parents, Mr and Mrs Blas and another nephew. We had a great time and we were blessed with great weather. 

Just another Guam day.

Until next time....

Guam Chicken Chalakiles

If you like chicken and want to try something different, you definitely have got to try Chicken Chalakiles. A very popular dish here on Guam, this basically is a stew made with chicken, toasted ground rice, coconut milk, and colored with achote/achuete or annatto seeds or powder. It is a great dish and one that needs to be on your "must try" list!!

Chicken Chalakiles

So I had some for lunch the other day over white Jasmine rice. I was told that I needed a bigger plate. What do you think? I didn't think so. I just filled this plate up 2 more times....

Anyway, here is the recipe that I used...

Chicken Chalakiles 

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken cut into small tablespoon sized pieces 
• ½ medium onion, diced 
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 2 tbsp of oil 
• Water to cover chicken in pot 
• ½ cup of cream of rice (approximate) 
• Achote/Annatto seeds for coloring (I used one 1/3 oz. packet of Mama Sita’s powdered achuete) 
• 1 can, 15 oz., of coconut milk 
• 10 fresh hot peppers, crushed (optional but we love hot pepper) 
• Salt to taste… 

Directions:

• In pot over medium-high heat, sauté onions and garlic in oil; 
• Add the chicken and brown; 
• Add water just to cover chicken by 1 to 2 inches; 
• Bring to boil and reduce heat to low and until chicken is cooked (about 20 minutes); 
• After about 15 minutes add the achote (powdered), stirring until it all has dissolved; 
• Add the cream of rice until you have the consistency that you like. You don’t want it so thick that it will not readily flow onto and over your plate; 
• Add the hot peppers. These are optional but add greatly to the flavor. Reduce amount to your taste; 
• Then add the can of coconut milk and stir; 
• Salt to taste. 

Enjoy over white rice. We use Jasmine in our home. Not as sticky and has a great flavor.

Give this dish a try. You will love it....I'm sure!!!

Until next time....

Pork Spare Ribs BBQ

I did a little BBQ for my daughter, Naomi, because she had just graduated from Nail Technician class. This was a 3 month course to become certified for something that she has been doing for a long time, and that is nail art.

I just had to grill some pork spare ribs because that is what she likes to eat. Naomi prefers baby backs, but for some reason I just couldn't find any that I liked. But big, fat, juicy pork spare ribs are not too bad either.

Anyway I sparked up the grill with some local tangantangan wood and grilled a couple of slabs. Of course first I rubbed them down with Rib Rub (in recipes section) because I planned on saucing these puppies up. 

The sauce that I used on these is a great little concoction of 2/3 cup of Sweet Baby Ray's Award-Winning BBQ Sauce and 1/3 cup of Kraft's Catalina Dressing for a little more tang. Applied 2 coats. Bam!!!!! Sinimple and great tasting.

Anyway the final result was very tasty ribs.

I also grilled some chicken for added variety. Just used regular salt and pepper for seasoning.

Had plenty of meat for the party.

I had a blast!! They even got me to try that Wii Game, Dance Party 3. Those kids almost killed me.

Until next time....

Chicken and Pork Adobo

Well last night, Wednesday, is my wife Lupe's weekly Scrabble night. She invites friends and family over for a few intense games. Of course this means, that I get the opportunity to cook. I love it!!!

On the menu were a couple of recipes given to me by one of my friends from FaceBook's 671 Recipes, Maria Puno Ravela. She gave me a chicken adobo and a pork adobo recipe. The chicken adobo recipe is credited to Jean Jasmin. Anyway, I could not decide which one I wanted to cook, so I cooked them both. Problem solved!!

Here are pictures of those dishes:

Chicken adobo with achote powder for the color.

Pork adobo with added achote, tomato sauce and potatoes.

Here are the recipes for both:

Pork Adobo - Maria Puno Ravela

2-3 lbs pork (with some fatty parts, like butt, or belly)

8- 10 cloves garlic

1 tsp coarsely cracked pepper

2 pcs bay leaves

1 1/2 cups white vinegar (datu puti when available)

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoon sea salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a thick saucepan

2. Cover and simmer over medium heat. Check occasionally and stir to prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

3. Allow liquid to reduce. Cook until fully reduced and only the oil is visible, with the sauce dried into tasty bits clinging to the meat.

4. Turn up the heat to crisp the meat and cook until crispy golden brown.

5. Adjust heat occasionally to prevent the meat from scorching.

6. Serve warm over rice. Allow to cool and store in refrigerator or cool dark part of pantry. When submerged in pork fat and properly cooked , it will keep for several months in the refrigerator.

I did add in one packet of powdered achote (Mama Sita's Achuete [Annatto Powder] 1/3 oz. packet), one 8 oz. can of tomato sauce and two large russet potatoes cubed. 

Chicken Adobo

Recipe by: Jean Jasmin

1 lb chicken wings

1 onion chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

2 Bay leaves

1 bag achote powder

1/4 Cup Vinegar

3/4 Cup Water

Salt

Pepper

Oil

1. Heat oil and Sauté garlic and onion

2. Then add your achote powder stir until dissolved.

3. Add chicken wings. Seasoned with salt n pepper. Let it cook for about 10-15mins

4. Add 1/4 cup vinegar and 3/4 cup water and bay leaves.

5. Simmer until done. You can tell when the soup is thick it's 
cooked.

The directions were easy to follow and the results were delicious. Just about everything was wiped out. There was just enough left over for me to enjoy a taste for breakfast.

If you have the opportunity, give yourself a treat with something different but delicioso....try these adobo dishes. They may just be your new favorites.

And for more fantastic recipes, pay a visit to 671 Recipes. Click on the photo and document buttons on the top of the page just under the 671 Recipes title. That where it is all happening.

Adios for now,

Until next time....

Video- How to cut up a Chicken

I get a lot of folks asking me how to cut up a whole chicken. Even at the fire station, there are some firefighters that do not know how to cut up a whole chicken. Can you believe that????

Well I decided to go out and buy a whole chicken and produce a video on how I do it. So let's not waste any time. I'm gonna get right to it.

I'm just blabbing away about cutting up chicken.

This is the final product......"sinimple.

I hope you enjoy the video...

Here is the link to the video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/VmMTvGJp4qw

Until next time....

Chicken Soup on a rainy day.

We are right in the middle of the rainy season on Guam so our days of being able to BBQ are limited. But I like nothing better than to eat a fresh, hot bowl of chicken soup on a rainy day. Put this over hot white rice and top with lemon finadene and you have one satisfying meal.

That's just what I did yesterday. As a matter of fact my wife, Lupe, has been down with a cold and congestion so I felt a good soup would be just what the doctor ordered.

Here is what I made...

Chicken soup with cabbage and green onions and topped with lemon finadene. My wife also added fresh cilantro to her soup.

And here is the after photo...

I don't think I need to tell you all how much we enjoyed this hot soup on a rainy day.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 ea. Chicken fryer cut into small pieces

½ head of cabbage

3 green onions

4 cups corn

1 can cream corn

6 chicken bouillon cubes

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

12 cups of water

Directions

Cut the chicken into bite–size pieces.

Sauté the chicken in a stock pot with the oil until browned.

Add the 12 cups of water along with the chicken bouillon cubes and boil for about ½ hour.

Add the black pepper while the chicken is boiling.

Cut up your cabbage. I cut the half head in half again and then into 1 inch strips.

Dice up your green onions.

Rinse your corn.

When the ½ hour is up add the corn and can of cream corn.

Cook for another 5 minutes.

Season with salt to taste.

Add in the cabbage and green onions and turn off the heat.

Stir the soup and check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Hope you enjoy this basic recipe.

Until next time....

Fried Chicken Tenders

My daughter Naomi and her husband Brandon were coming over for the weekly Tuesday night dinner. Also a very close friend of the family was to join us. I wanted to cook something that we haven't had in a while. This was a tough one to call because we are always cooking up something different. After pondering the big "question", I decided on Japanese breadcrumb encrusted fried chicken tenders and chicken wings.

I love to cook bite-sized food, because they are so convenient and easy to eat and you just keep eating these morsels until they are all gone. No leftovers. Works every time.

So here's what I did....

When I fry, I double dip so first I dip the chicken in the egg-milk mixture.

Next I dust the chicken in my 1 to 1 mix of flour and masarina (corn meal) with my Santa Maria Seasoning mixed in.

*Santa Maria Seasoning

1 tablespoon sea salt1 tablespoons granulated garlic powder

1 tablespoon of Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, fine grind 

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, medium grind

1/4 teaspoon Accent (MSG) (this is always optional)

Chop the parsley or crush it between your fingers to make it small enough to mix well with the other ingredients. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

Then I dip the chicken back into the egg-milk mix.

Finally dip into the Japanese bread crumbs and into the oil (350 F).

This is what the bag of Japanese bread crumbs looks like...

Fry them up for about 5 min. for the tenders and 10 min. for the wings.

Let drain for about 10 min. and serve.

That's all there is to this. Chicken was nice and juicy inside and crispy outside. The seasoning was just right.

Served this down with some fresh macaroni salad, homemade chile beans and white rice. And for dessert we had plantain bananas steamed in coconut milk with a touch of salt added in. 

Another Tuesday night meal with the family on Guam.

Until next time....

Mean Wings aka 7-Alarm Hot Wings!!!

Hey everyone!!! Just made a batch of my Mean Wings, aka 7-Alarm Hot Wings, for a fundraiser. I didn't BBQ them so that is why I did not post them here. But I did post them on my Guam Firehouse Cook blogsite. Here is the link: Mean Wings.

Take a peek at the post. I think you'll like the recipe.

Until next time....

Mean Wings aka 7-Alarm Hot Wings

Everyone loves hot wings. And I am no exception. Whenever we have a fire department fundraiser, I like to take my "Mean Wings" or also known as "7-Alarm Hot Wings". I will make the 7-Alarm Hot Wings extra hot so that everyone drinks more to douse the flames. We make a little extra per drink at our fundraisers at the local pubs so everyone is happy......literally!!!!

Anyway, we just happened to have another firefighter fundraiser yesterday at a local watering hole named "Ralphy's" located in Hagatna, Guam. Had a great time and the event was very successful.

Here are some pictures of the Mean Wing process....

These wings have been dusted with my Wing Dust and I am tossing them very thoroughly to make sure that they are all coated very well.

My Wing Dust made fresh as needed.

I use Frank's Hot Pepper Sauce. Great flavor!!!

Melted one cube of butter and added 1/2 cup of Frank's Hot Sauce and 2 tbsp of my Wing Dust for my marinade sauce.

I spoon out all the wings into a plastic zip lock bag, pour in the marinade sauce, toss it all around and refrigerated until about 1 hour before I start my cooking. In this case I baked them.

Here is one tray all ready to go into the oven. I cooked two trays total. 400 F for about 1 hour. Of course this may be adjusted as all ovens have a mind of their own.

Here are the wings after about 1/2 hour of baking. The last 1/2 hour I give the wings about 4 coats of my basting sauce. This adds color and more heat. You can spike up the heat in the basting sauce for extra "fire"!!

Unfortunately, those are all the pictures that I took. I was running behind schedule for the fundraiser and I was only able to taste the wings to test for doneness, this is my favorite part of cooking, pack them up and drive down to the fundraiser 1/2 hour away. But don't sweat the small stuff. Just make your own and get a bird's eye view.

Here is the actual recipe for the Mean Wings....

Mean Wings aka 7 Alarm Hot Wings (Depends of the pika/heat)

Marinade

5 lbs Chicken Wings

3 tbsp of Wing Dust

1 stick of salted butter melted

½ cup of Frank’s Hot Sauce

Basting Sauce

2 tbsp Wing Dust

2-3 tbsp of Finadene Denanche (Homemade fresh hot pepper paste)

1 stick of salted butter melted

½ cup of Frank’s Hot Sauce

Wing Dust

1 tbsp- Black Pepper

1 tbsp- Cayenne Pepper Powder

1 tbsp- Smoked Paprika Powder

1.5 tbsp- Sea Salt

1 tbsp- Chili Powder

1 tbsp- Onion Powder, Granulated

1 tbsp- Garlic Powder, Granulated

Hot Pepper Paste (Finadene’ Denanche)

½ cup of fresh hot peppers with stems removed

4-6 cloves of fresh garlic

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

1 tsp of Santa Maria* seasoning

Place all ingredients into a Bullet blender and blend into a paste.

Adjust salt to your taste.

*Santa Maria Seasoning

1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoons granulated garlic powder
1 tablespoon of Kosher Salt

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley, fine grind
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, medium grind
1/4 teaspoon Accent (MSG) (this is always optional)

Chop the parsley or crush it between your fingers to make it small enough to mix well with the other ingredients. Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. 

Directions for Mean Wings

Marinade the chicken wings in a large heavy duty zip lock plastic bag or bowl.

Toss the chicken well enough so that the wings are coated thoroughly and evenly.

Refrigerate and then remove  1 hour before cooking.

Let wings warm up to about room temp (1 hour).

Bake in the oven on ungreased cooking tray for about 1 hour at 400 degrees.

Baste with basting sauce numerous times to your liking. Coat them real good.

Remove when you like the color.

Of course I always taste test to verify doneness. (My favorite part!!!)

Special thanks to Firefighters Pete Perez and Jeff Soriano, Guam Fire Department, for supplying the name for this recipe.

Well, I hope you all can try this out. These wings are party friendly so you won't burn everyone out, but I just adjust the heat a bunch for true 7-Alarm Hot Wings.

Until next time....

BBQ'd Chicken Breast for Dinner!!

It was another great afternoon for a BBQ. My wife told me she wanted to eat something healthy so this set the gears in motion. The light bulb came on and visions of chicken breasts appeared. Perfect.....chicken breasts it was.

I broke out the small 14 inch kettle grill, I call the Smurf. It was only the two of us, so there was no need to light up the larger grills.

I got the lump charcoal started in the chimney lighter and set upon getting the chicken breasts all rubbed down with peanut oil. I then seasoned up both breasts my with Rueben's Rub (secret mix).

Once the fire was ready, I threw in a few applewood chips for a nice mellow smoke flavor then I slapped down the breasts.

Here are the breasts nice and seasoned.

You can see on the bottom half of the breasts that they are ready to be turned (4 minutes). I also rotated the breast about a quarter turn to get those nice grill marks.

Here are the breasts after the 1st turn with the grill marks.

Brushed on two different glazes. One is a home made sweet chili sauce and the other breast received a coat of homemade vinegar/brown sugar based BBQ sauce.

Glazed with the BBQ sauce.

Glazed with the homemade Sweet Chili Sauce.

Here are the breasts served with BBQ'd baby red potatoes, white rice, fresh cold cucumbers and hot pepper. This is just the type of meal we really wanted to eat this evening.

The chicken breast were hot, moist and spicy. The whole meal just kind of jelled together nicely and it only took about 45 minutes to prepare.

I'd do it again tomorrow but I've got to work.

Hmmmmm....maybe we can BBQ for dinner at the firestation tomorrow night.

Until next time....

BBQ'd Chicken Wings in Sweet Chili Sauce

Everyone loves chicken wings. You can bake them, barbecue them, even broil them. There are many ways to enjoy one of our favorite snack foods. But one of our favorites here on Guam are the Asian Sweet Chili Sauce BBQ’d Chicken wings.

Here is all you need:

2 ½ to 3 lbs of chicken wing drumlets and winglets.

2 cups of homemade sweet chili sauce.

For the Sweet Chile Sauce:

1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of sugar
2 fresh hot peppers minced
2 cloves of fresh garlic minced

1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tsp water

Procedure:

1. In a saucepan, combine together the water, vinegar and sugar.
2. Mix together until well blended. Bring to a boil until the sugar has been dissolved.
3. Add the hot pepper, garlic and salt, and boil for another 1 minute.
4. Add the cornstarch and boil until everything has blended together.

5. Allow this to cool before you use it for a marinade.

If you are going to use this sauce for a barbecue glaze, cooling is not necessary.

This makes about 1/2 cup of sauce.

You can adjust the vinegar, sugar and hot pepper to your particular taste however this recipe is usually friendly for all.

This BBQ recipe will take 2 cups of this sauce.

Putting it all together:

Wash and allow the chicken wings to drip dry.

Place chicken wings in a re-sealable plastic bag.

Add in one (1) cup of the sweet chili sauce.

Seal the bag and rotate to make sure the wings are well coated with the sauce.

Chill for at least 4 hours before barbecuing.

Start the fire in your BBQ pit. You want to BBQ with medium heat. This is at about 350° to 450° F. Use the thermometer in the lid/cover of your BBQ pit to measure the heat.

If you do not have a lid thermometer, here is another way to measure your heat. Hold the palm of your hand about 5 inches above the grill. If you can hold your hand there about 5 to 7 seconds, you can consider your heat to be medium.

Take you wings out of the chill box and allow them to reach room temperature before BBQing. This should take about 20 minutes.

Grease up your grill and place the chicken wings down. Barbecue your wings about 15-20 minutes per side but make sure that you constantly turn them so that the sugar from the sweet chili sauce marinade does not burn. Total cooking time should be 30-40 minutes.

The last 5 minutes of cooking, coat the wings with the remaining one (1) cup of sauce for a nice, thick glaze.

Serve with white rice and your favorite sides.

I hope you enjoy this very simple recipe for a great Asian BBQ experience.

Until next time....