Mediterranean Feast - Lamb and Couscous

Yes I know I have a lamb addiction but I can't help it. It's just that good. And with any new thing I come across I have to share it with Dad. So he and I did guy night again, but this time with a Mediterranean theme. Grilled French Cut Lamb Chops on top of a bed of Couscous. I cannot come close to expressing in words how good this stuff is but hopefully my words and a few pics will help convey the message...

To start I picked up two packages of French Cut Rib Racks from the local Sam's:

Each package contains two half racks:

I was looking at the skin along the meaty side of the racks and thought it looked like silver skin from a loin which is very tough. I decided to remove it from one of them to see if it made a difference:

Don't worry about this. It made no difference at all. Skip this part.

I did two different marinades - red wine/honey mustard/fresh rosemary and basil pesto/garlic - as I have done before to see which one Dad liked better. The ingredients for both marinades are below:

For the red wine/rosemary marinade I combined:

1 half cup of honey mustard
1 quarter cup of red wine
2 teaspoons of rough chopped fresh rosemary (You can use dried rosemary but use less as dried herbs are more potent than fresh herbs)
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
3 turns of a pepper grinder

If marinating more or less lamb just keep the mustard to wine ratio at 2:1. You can add more or less rosemary or garlic as you feel appropriate according to your taste.

Since I let my rosemary bush die (sad) I had to buy some from the store. I'm not someone who stresses about organic products but it was all they had that was fresh. As you can see below the rosemary was quite woody so the stem could not be used for this:

Peal the leaves off:

After a quick rough chop the rosemary is ready for the marinade:

Now combine the rosemary with the mustard/red wine/garlic concoction and whisk or fork to mix well. I realize the color and consistency of this is not the most appetizing, but have a little faith and you will be blown away:

The other marinade was simply enough of the pre-made pesto to coat each side of each half rack and a teaspoon of garlic per side per rack as well. I ran out of gallon ziplocks so I had to marinade those two separately. Place the lamb in the bag, spoon in the garlic and pesto to each side, close ziplock and smoosh (yes, that's a technical term) the pesto around to get complete coverage. The mustard marinade is much less dense and will coat much easier:

Put these in the fridge for a few hours up to 24 hours. These were done overnight.

The next day I pulled the lamb from the fridge and let them come up to temp in the kitchen while I prepped the grill and lit the charcoal:

While the charcoal was lighting Dad and I were partaking in a little vino. Rombauer merlot for during the meal as lamb is not a very overpowering meat and neither is merlot in terms of wine so they pair nicely together. We got into the Water Wheel Shiraz after dinner during the Dark Knight but did not finish it. That stuff is stellar but maybe a little too bold for Lamb. Oh, and both bottles were provided by Pappy:

Again, two zone cooking, coals on the left nothing on the right. Normally when I do lamb I put the fat part of the lamb rack over the heat with the skinnier part (closer to the bones) towards the edge so that the skinny part does not overcook. Well, as you can see below I did not have enough room on my Weber for that so the thickest one went right over the coals with the other three conforming to my usual method:

As you can see below the one right over the heat cooked the fastest and was flipped first:

In order to keep the heat away from the thinner part of the rack I propped the meat up against the other rack with the mustard/red wine marinade:

All I'm looking for is a nice char to the lamb. The lamb will not be finished over the high heat. I want to caramelize and char those amazing marinades onto the outside of the meat.

The two marinades provide two little snags when cooking due to their nature. The honey mustard marinade has a lot of sugar in it so it will blacken more quickly than the pesto marinade. A little blackening is OK. Just be mindful not to let it burn.

The pesto marinade represents its own problem. It has a lot of oil in it and can easily cause flare ups in the charcoal so you need to keep an eye on it and rearrange accordingly so that the pesto marinated lamb does not burn.

Once all 4 racks have a nice char Ipulled them from the heat and put them on the side with no coals. If one half rack is nicely charred, then pull it to the side while the rest get to that point. This does not have to happen all at once.

Make sure to put your largest racks to the outside, closest to the heat, and close the lid:

They baked about 250-275 for about 15 minutes. Since they were touching they insulated each other. If I were doing just two half racks and had room for them to be apart I probably would've only needed about 10 minutes.

In the mean time, time to make the couscous. First off, couscous is a grain. Do not look for it in the pasta aisle as I did. It's with the rice. Pine nuts are in the baking aisle with the other nuts.

Ingredients:

1 ten ounce box of regular couscous
1 three ounce package of pine nuts (could use two of these if you really like pine nuts)
1 32 ounce container of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
Couple turns of black pepper

Put a little olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Put in the pine nuts:

As the nuts start to brown add the garlic, shaking the pot periodically to rotate the nuts so they don't burn:

Once 1/2 to 3/4 of the pine nuts are browned add the chicken stock. If you wait any longer you risk burning some of them. Bring to a boil:

Once it comes to a boil, stir in the couscous:

Remove from heat and cover. Every couple of minutes stir up the mixture. In around 5 minutes the stock will be completely absorbed. Remove the lid, stir up again a couple of times to fluff and it is ready to serve. At this point I put the lid back on to keep warm until my lamb was ready.

And here is that lamb inside resting for about 5 minutes:

Here we have it plated on a large scoop of couscous:

Dad preferred the pesto marinade just slightly over the honey mustard. I'm the opposite. Wanna know how much he liked it? He cooked it for mom about 3 days later. This stuff is a sure fire home run.

I realize that french cut lamb rib racks are not cheap. These ran about $10 per half rack. But if you have a special occasion and want something that is low risk with very high reward I highly recommend this...

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2008 New Year's Eve Feast - Lobsters, Prawns, and Escargot, OH MY!!

I realize I am the GrillinFool and this is a grilling website, but for NYE we did not grill anything. I did not pay for the lobsters and the man that did wanted them boiled. As I was eating my lobster for free, I obliged the man with the credit card. As someone who is cursed with an insatiable passion for seafood and stuck smack dab in the middle of the country I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed this meal. And yes, I was very worried I would screw up the cooking of the lobsters in my first attempt at this. It is so easy to do. I worried for nothing. Click the link below and see what I am talking about...


My menu planned on being lobsters, crab stuffed prawns, sauteed swiss chard, roasted red potatoes, cheesy potato biscuits, and clarified butter. As you can see in the pic above there is no greenery on the plate. The swiss chard at my grocery store was downright rotten. They had very little left and what was left was pretty much not edible. The good news is though that they did have escargot ready for the oven with a butter/garlic/herb mixture already added to the shells. The crab stuff prawns were also premade at the grocery store. Remember I was going for low maintenance for this meal.

This was the first time I have ever made lobsters myself. And I ran into a little problem. My largest pot is a 12 quart pot. That is not big enough for these beauties:


I want to expound a bit about the lobsters we had. Being in St. Louis, lobster is not on the menu very often except for very special occasions as it is normally extremely expensive. Well, we found TheLobsterGuy.com and these lobsters turned out to be pretty reasonable and more than that they were phenomenal. The lobsters were billed as being 1.5 pounds and they were every bit of that if not more. We ordered them on December 28th for December 31st delivery. They came with instructions on how to care for the lobsters up until cook time as well as a hand written note thanking us for our order. I don't pimp a lot of products here but this outfit deserves the props. Highly recommended. Now back to the meal itself.

Knowing that I didn't have the hardware to handle these bad boys I went to a local wholesale restaurant supply store and picked up this 60 quart monster (my 20 pound beagle in the background for perspective):

This problem was a little bigger than the lack of greenery for the meal. While this pot would easily accommodate the four lobsters my stove could not accommodate the 15 gallon pot:


Missed it by about an inch and a half. While I was not happy about the situation, my eight month old was ecstatic:

He played in that pot for a couple of hours. He really enjoyed himself in it. I almost don't want to take the pot back, but I just can't justify keeping it considering the price. Since he likes the pot better than the horse we got him for Christmas (in the background of the first pic) I suggested to Mrs. GrillinFool that we take back the horse and keep the pot. She didn't like that idea!?!

So, what to do about boiling these lobsters? We talked about firing up my grill outside and putting the big pot on that but I think it would've been hard to keep the temp up considering it was about 35 degrees and windy outside. So we pulled out my 12 quart pot and got a couple smaller pots which did the job:

The big pot took on two lobsters and the other two took a lobster each.

For the sides I cut up enough red potatoes to cover a baking sheet. I put them in a bowl, slathered them with garlic, olive oil, black pepper and a few pinches of coarse salt and put them in the oven for 45 minutes on 400:

The right third of the potatoes I added some fresh rosemary:


Here is a shot of the other two sides ready for that 400 degree oven. The prawns went in for 15 and the escargot for 10:

With 12 minutes remaining on the biscuits, the prawns in the oven, the escargot about ready to go I dropped these into the pot. ***Warning: picture of Dead Lobsters Walking:


Despite the lobster being very similar to the cock roach in terms of their species, I had a hard time with the notion of boiling something alive. So I split their heads in two to put them out of their misery about 10 seconds before dropping them in the pots.

For the two smaller pots all I added was a large pinch of salt to each. For the larger pot I added two large pinches and a bag of crab boil for my FiL and I. I did not sample one of the lobsters cooked in the pot without the crab boil so I have no idea if it made a big difference. I will say this that everyone said theirs was delicious so it would seem that I couldn't go wrong either way.

The smaller pots came back to a boil pretty quickly so I pulled those lobsters first. The larger pot having two lobsters dragging the temp down required a little more time. Here we have all four lobsters on the cutting board waiting to be plated. The ones on the right were just removed from the water:


Here are the prawns out of the oven:


And the escargot. One fell over and leaked all the butter and herbs out:


Of course we did it up right for NYE so the wife broke out the Lennox and the Waterford. Or as my FiL calls them, "the fancy eatin' plates." The wife likes to break out the fancy stuff for events like this. As long as I'm not doing the dishes, as none of this stuff can go in the dishwasher, I'm OK with that:

And yes, those are actually nut crackers that we use for lobster (and crab legs). We just don't eat it lobster or crab enough, considering we live smack in the middle of the country to, to justify the proper gear here. The nut crackers and a good fork work just fine:


And the wine pairing is one of my faves - Pierano Estates Chardonnay - which is a rich buttery chard that played off the vast sums of butter that we consumed that night beautifully:


And of course the final plating before we luxuriated in some luscious lobster meat:



The obligatory, what would I do differently the next time:

1. I would measure the space between my stove top and the hood over my stove and get a pot that would fit in that space.
   
2. I would probably add the potatoes a little earlier so that I could broil them for about 5 minutes and get a nice crunch to them. I didn't want the lobster to cool and become rubbery so I had no time for that.

Other than that I doubt I would do anything differently...Oh, and we are definitely doing lobsters again next year and the TheLobsterGuy.com will get our business again...

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How about a splash of wine?

Let’s talk about wine. I’ve referenced wine on more than one occasion on this site. For some grillin and chillin means BBQ and beer. I completely agree. But it doesn’t only have to be beer. Wine can be an excellent way to accomplish the chillin aspect of this glorious hobby.

I pride myself on my wine knowledge, but I am by no means a wine snob. Sure I’ve met a Bundschu from the Gundlach-Bundschu winery. I’ve spent a few hours chatting it up with the Meekers who make some incredible stuff as well. And even met Todd Williams who is the Vintner of Toad Hollow. Todd has a very, very dry sense of humor which is a bit ironic since his brother is Robin Williams.

That being said I have two rules about wine.

1. Wine is not supposed to be pink. I know that Rose's and Blushes are making a come back after the backlash against White Zin, but wine is just not supposed to be pink.
2. Wine is not supposed to come in a box. I know some boxed wines are getting 90 points from Parker and WS, but don't go there. Inside that box is a plastic bladder full of wine. The only bladder wine should go through is yours!?!?!

Screw tops, synthetic corks, are perfectly OK. Pink and boxes are not...Find what you like and drink it. If it's two buck chuck or a 1998 Rosemount Balmoral Syrah, enjoy it...

Now a little about pairing wines. Basically think of the food you are grilling and find a wine that will complement that food. For the most part what we cook on the grill is not mild and full of subtle flavors. Usually BBQ has powerful flavor. In that case you need something that can stand up to the flavor of the food and not get overpowered by it. So let’s talk about wines that fall into that range. For the most part we are going to be dealing with reds, but I will touch on whites as well.

But first let’s talk about a sort of continuum of red wine in terms of flavor. At one end of the continuum we have Pinot Noirs. Very light, flowery, delicate, with many subtle flavors. Next variatal along the continuum you have a Merlot. Very smooth and velvety with strong fruity plums, cherries, blueberries and blackberries mixed with black pepper tones. It has more zip than a Pinot but not nearly what the Shiraz and Cabs have. At the far end of the spectrum we have Zins, Cabernets and Syrahs/Shiraz' (same thing). These wines are much more zesty, meaty, and spicy. These are often referred to as powerfully flavored and do well standing up against a very smoky slab of ribs or a beautifully done steak.

Pinot Noir is excellent with fish. Yes you can drink reds with fish. A Pinot can be consumed with fish or meat. Pinot is excellent with salmon, chicken and turkey. Here is a great Pinot we had with some Salmon in Michigan last summer. John Taylor Russian River Valley Pinot:

If you were to smoke that salmon, chicken or turkey and thus the flavor will be more intense, then a Merlot might be a better idea. Steak? Cab, Shiraz or Zin are all good choices. Ribs would be the same as steak. Here are a couple great Shiraz'. Epsilon Shiraz:

Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz:

For seafood, you want to go with a white for the most part. And which whites are usually highly dependent on the palette of the drinker. In my experience people new to wine tend to like the sweeter wines such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Semillon, Fume/Sauvignon Blanc (same thing). For me, if I’m going with seafood I want a buttery unoaked Chard. Pierano Estates fits this to a tee and for only $13/bottle.

A couple of notes. For those that start off liking the sweet whites I have noticed, for the most part, as they drink more and more wine the sweet wines are not as enjoyable to them. As their palette develops they tend to appreciate the dryer whites more and more. This is not the case for everyone of course...

Also, red wine is not supposed to be consumed at room temperature and white wine is not supposed to be consumed at the same temp as a Budweiser. I prefer my reds between 55-60 degrees. I prefer my whites around 45-50 degrees. Without buying a wine fridge how does one regulate the temp? The 30 minute rule. Keep your whites in the fridge. Pull it out of the fridge for 30 minutes to let the temp rise above 34 degrees. Reds should not be kept in the fridge. But when you are ready for a bottle of red, toss it in the fridge for 30 minutes to drop the temp below room temp. The time varies from fridge to fridge but you get the idea.

There are a few exceptions to the temperature rule. For example. In the summer I keep a couple bottles of Pinot Grigio in the fridge. If it’s really hot I crack a bottle of that and drink it ice cold. It’s a very light and refreshing wine. I’m probably committing some wine sin by doing this but that’s the way I like my Grigio in the hot summers.

Food makes wine better. That uber dry Chard that almost makes you pucker every time you take a sip is a whole different animal if you are munching on something while drinking it. A decent wine can become a great wine if paired properly. A great wine can become phenomenal if paired properly.

Not all Rieslings are sweet. Alsace Rieslings are quite crisp and citrusy. Great for hot summers as well.

Ever wonder why you see people spitting out the wine at wine tastings? Because after a couple of glasses of wine the taste buds start to numb and thus all the flavors cannot be truly realized. Knowing this, when I am entertaining I generally have one or two really good bottles of wine, depending on how many people are involved, and then some second tier wine after the first bottles have been polished off. Why throw out a $40 Argyle Nuthouse Pinot for people to drink after they have already had 2 or 3 glasses of wine? That Argyle will be wasted on them. I will talk about second tier wines a little later.

Along with the Pierano Estates....

....I mentioned above here are a few wines that I really enjoy for under $20:

Marquis Phillips Sarah’s Blend Shiraz:

Shotfire Ridge Shiraz:

I know it sounds nuts but Little Penguin Cabernet Sauvignon is a 91 point wine and I find it on sale all the time for less than $6/bottle. The Little Penguin Chard is my tier two white that I keep on hand. Also around $6

Castoro Cellars Chard and Zin. This is the Zin with a NY Strip and some scallops:

Milton Park Shiraz – Some say that this is actually made by Shotfire Ridge but the company (Thorn-Clark) won’t admit to it. Still a really nice wine for the price:

Piccolo Cru
Stelzner Claret
Yangarra Shiraz
Red Truck and White Truck. Both very decent and only $10:

Rosenblum Chard -Fool's Pappy has been raving about this one
Pillar Box Red – Awesome for $10:

Vina Alabra – hard to find but GREAT!!
Ravenswood Zin and Shiraz are really good – And don’t go for the more exotic locations like Lodi that gets a 91 point rating for $30 when the $10 bottle gets an 89 rating. I’ll give you the extra 2 points and keep my $20
Penfold's Koonunga Hill Cabernet Shiraz has been running around $8-10 all over the place lately in St. Louis and is a 91 point wine:

7 Deadly Zins Zinfandel
Benton Lane Pinot Noir:

McManus Cab makes a nice tier two wine at about $9
Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

And here are a couple solid labels that makes good wine all the way around:

Rosemount
Yalumba
Wolf Blaas
Steele
Gundlach Bundchu
Meeker

If you are a wine person you will notice that I lean heavily towards Californians and Australians. I tend to avoid the Europeans because I don't know anything about them and they tend to run more expensive than the Californians and the Australians. Every now and again I will try a European wine on the recommendation of someone who knows them, but I'm not one to dabble in the Europeans other than Alsace Rieslings. Maybe one day but I could die a happy man just drinking Californians and Australians for the rest of my life.

If you are having a hard time finding wines you like call your local wine stores. Most of them do tastings from time to time for little or no charge. Go. Sample. Find what you like and enjoy it...

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