Hot Off the Grill - December, 2006

Friends, customers and grilling enthusiasts,

Happy holidays from all of us at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, and welcome to the December, 2006 issue of Hot Off the Grill! We have a fantastic winter grill menu for your holiday table with the sweet and sophisticated flavors of pomegranate and orange.

Regardless of what you grill for your holiday dinner, we'd love to hear about it. Please share your stories, suggestions, photos and comments by emailing hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com.

Hot Off The Grill! Archive

December, 2006
Inside This Issue...

'Tis the Season

Grilling Year-Round

Holiday Grill Menu

Pomegranate-glazed, Brined Pork Loin Roast

Orange-glazed Sweet Potatoes

Seared Garlic Chard

Martini Bar Recipe

Peppermint Kick Martinis

Gift Idea

We Want To Hear From You

About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Contact Us

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'Tis the Season...

For Winter Grilling

According to the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA), 50% of Americans grill during the winter months. Of course, many of these year-round grillers live in warm climates, but not all of them. Here in the frozen midwest, we at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet are diehard grillers regardless of the season or even the weather. The flavors you can achieve off the grill are unbeatable, especially for entertaining, so the winter holidays are prime grilling time for us.

Personally, I have decked my deck with holiday lights and garland to make grilling this season even more enjoyable. The festive atmosphere makes up for the early sunset and occasionally nose-numbing temperatures.

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet on Mexico - One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless

Your newsletter author's Bread Breaker gets into the holiday mood.

I personally grill at least three to four times a week during the winter months, and there are a few key things that help make it a pleasant experience for me despite the cold...

Enjoy Your Winter Grilling

Location, location, location: Winter grilling is far more pleasant if your grill is close to your house door. I located mine so that I can see the hood thermometer through the kitchen window for quick temperature checks without even going outside.

Lighting: It gets dark early in the winter months here in the midwest, so ample lighting of your outdoor cooking area is a must for pleasant grilling experiences. I installed a motion-sensor flood light over my grill that clearly illuminates the cooking surface as well as much of the deck. If a permanent/hard-wired light isn't an option for you, there are a number of grill lamps available on the market that can be very helpful.

Get some warm winter shoes that are easy to slip on and take off: I have shearling wool slip-on shoes that I wear specifically for grilling during the cold months. They're from Ugg, and this time of year they live in the mud room between the kitchen and the grill. I got them about a half-size too large so that they slip-on easily (without hands), and they keep bundling up from being a hassle. The grill will keep your hands warm while your working, so toasty toes can be the real secret to happy cold weather grilling.

Take advantage of seasonal vegetables: Winter vegetables are great for grilling, and offer a welcome change of pace for the outdoor gourmet. Winter squash, parsnips, rutabagas, butternut squash and even carrots can all be fantastic off the grill. Because most winter vegetables are quite dense, it can be helpful to parboil them before grilling, but not necessary once you become more acquainted with their grilling characteristics.

Regardless of the climate you live and grill in, I hope you enjoy our December issue of Hot Off The Grill! and our holiday grilling menu.

Cheers,

Russ Faulk, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Holiday Grill Menu

Last year we shared my recipe for a savory holiday roasted rack of lamb. This year we're exploring the sweeter side of grilling with a pomegranate and orange theme. With a little bit of cloves, a little bit of brandy and aromatic cherry smoke, this is a holiday menu your guests won't soon forget.

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Brined Pork Loin with Pomegranate Orange Brandy Glaze

I have tried just about every holiday-worthy grilled dish for our annual family dinner. Up until now, smoke-roasted beef tenderloin or Frenched rack of lamb have been the favorites, but this year I think we'll have a new winner. This is a very festive dish with a beautiful presentation—studded with cloves and glazed with a ruby red pomegranate, brandy and orange sauce.

The roast is relatively simple to prepare, but plan ahead. The roast needs to brine for at least 4 hours, and the cooking time is over an hour.

Author:	Russ Faulk, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Servings:	8
Ingredients:	One 3-4 pound bone-in Frenched pork loin
	1/2 cup plus 7 cups water
	2 cups pomegranate juice
	1/4 cup demerara sugar ("sugar in the raw")
	1/4 cup fine sea salt
	1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
	About 100 whole cloves (less than 1/4 ounce)
	For Glazing:
	2 tablespoons butter
	6 tablespoons demerara sugar ("sugar in the raw")
	1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
	1/4 seville orange marmalade
	3 tablespoons brandy
	For Smoke Roasting:
	Olive oil
	2 cups soaked cherry wood chips
	2 cups dry cherry wood chips

Brining the pork: Rinse the pork loin under cool water and then dry with paper towels.

If the butcher has not already done it for you, use a sharp knife to remove the "silver skin" ( a shiny, thin, white membrane that runs the length of the tenderloin).

Bring 1/2 cup water to a simmer in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk in the sugar, salt and ground cloves. Stir until the mixture returns to simmer and the sugar and salt are completely dissolved.

Transfer the sugar, salt and clove mixture to a high-sided roasting pan, deep enough and large enough to fit the entire pork roast, but not too large (or use a Reynolds brand roasting bag). Add the remaining water plus the pomegranate juice and stir to combine. Place the pork loin in the brining mixture. The entire roast should be submerged in brine solution.

Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours.

Setting up the grill for smoke-roasting. Soak 2 cups of cherry wood chips in water to cover for at least 1 hour. Prepare the grill for indirect cooking at about 350 degrees. For hybrid grills, light a charcoal fire on one half the grill and let it burn just until the coals are covered with gray ash and very hot.

When the grill is ready, add some of the soaked wood chips and some of the dry to the grill (see a variety of techniques for using the wood chips in the techniques section of KalamazooGourmet.com).

Preparing the roast for the grill. Remove the pork loin from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels. Discard the brining solution. Stud the top and bottom of the roast with whole cloves, but not the ends. Align the cloves in rows following the direction of each rib bone. By aligning the rows of cloves with the rib bones, you will be able to slice between the bones without dislodging cloves, and each serving will have a ring of cloves studding the perimeter. Lightly brush the prepared roast with olive oil on all sides.

Smoke-roasting the pork. Place the roast on the cooking grate with the bone-side down in the indirect cooking zone. Close the grill and cook at about 350 degrees, maintaining an even temperature. Add more cherry wood chips about every 20 minutes to maintain the smoke.

The pork roast should be removed from the grill when the internal temperature measures 150 degrees, which should take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours at the 350 degree cooking temperature. Glazing should be done during the final 30 minutes.

Preparing the glaze. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat. Stir in the sugar, pomegranate molasses, seville orange marmalade and brandy. Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, but do not boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

Glazing the pork . Check the roast after 45 minutes to see if it is browning. If it has begun to brown, it should be time to glaze. If not, close the grill and check again after 10 more minutes. If it has still not begun to brown, use tongs to move the roast over direct heat and brown each side for a few minutes. Return to the indirect cooking zone.

Once the roast has begun to brown, and you are about to glaze, increase the heat of your grill to as much as 500 degrees (still working with an indirect cooking technique for the roast). This will aid in caramelizing the glaze. The temperature should remain higher for the remaining 30 minutes.

Baste the top of the roast generously with the pomegranate glaze, then turn over to baste the bottom. (NOTE: Now is the time to put the sweet potatoes on the grill.) Close the grill for 10 minutes, and then glaze the roast again. Turn it over to glaze the top, and then close the grill for another 10 minutes. Glaze the top again and close the lid for ten minutes more. The roast should cook for about 30 minutes once the glazing has begun, but be careful not to overcook the roast. The glaze should get bubbly and very sticky, perhaps even crisp. Your goal is for this to happen right when the roast reaches 150 degrees internal temperature.

Remove the roast from the grill and let it rest, loosely covered with foil for 10 minutes. Slice between the rib bones into thick chops, each with one bone and serve. Advise your guests to discard the whole cloves as they enjoy their succulent and flavorful pork.

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Grill Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Orange Brandy Glaze

Author:	Russ Faulk, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Servings:	8
Ingredients:	3 garnet yams, scrubbed, peeled and sliced into 1/2" thick discs (discard the small ends)
	Olive oil
	Fine sea salt
	Coarse sea salt
	For the Glaze:
	2 tablespoons butter
	1/2 cup seville orange marmalade
	3 tablespoons sugar
	3 tablespoons brandy

Brush the yam slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Grill over direct heat for 2 to 5 minutes per side until the flesh is about 30% charred.

Transfer to the indirect cooking zone to cook for another 20 to 30 minutes with the grill closed until tender.

Preparing the glaze . Melt the butter in a small sauce pan over low heat. Stir in the marmalade, sugar and brandy and bring to a low simmer. Remove from heat.

When the pork roast comes off the grill to rest, it is time to glaze the yam slices. Baste each slice generously with the orange brandy glaze, and then turn over to baste the other sides. Cook 5 minutes with the grill closed and repeat. The glaze should be bubbly and form a crispy crust on the yam slices within 10 minutes.

Remove from the grill and serve with a pinch of medium-coarse sea salt on each slice to compliment the sweetness of the glaze.

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Seared Garlic Chard

Author:	Russ Faulk, Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
Servings:	8
Ingredients:	8 large leaves fresh chard (red chard will make for the best presentation)
	1/3 cup olive oil
	4 cloves garlic
	1/2 lemon
	Fine sea salt
	Blood orange vinegar

Place the olive oil in a small dish and use a garlic press to crush the cloves into the oil. Cover and let the garlic infuse the olive oil for about 4 hours.

Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon into the olive oil garlic mixture and mix well.

Wash and thoroughly dry the chard while being careful not to bruise it. Brush both sides of each leaf with the garlic lemon olive oil and then dust one side of each leaf with salt.

Grill each leaf over direct high heat for about 30 seconds per side or until it begins to char. Remove from the grill.

Cut off and discard most of each leaf's stem. Cut each leaf in half lengthwise, splitting through the primary rib. Stack all the leaf halves and then cut crosswise into 1/4" to 1/2" wide shreds. Plate and then drizzle lightly with blood orange vinegar.

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Martini Bar Recipe

Peppermint Kick Martinis

Servings:	2
Ingredients:	2 ounces Absolut Peppar vodka, super-chilled in your freezer
	2 ounces Godiva White Chocolate liqueur
	2 ounces peppermint liqueur
	2 small peppermint candy canes

Combine all the ingredients (except the candy canes) into a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for at least a minute, and then strain into martini glasses. Garnish with the candy canes and enjoy!

Holiday Gift Idea

Grillmaster's Apron and Kalamazoo Gourmet Grilling Rubs

For the outdoor gourmet in your life, we suggest our gift set of gourmet grilling rubs with a handy Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet grillmaster's apron. Our rubs are designed for quick, predictable and delicious grilling results and feature the finest in natural ingredients. The six-piece set is specially priced at $79. Order yours today.

Kalamazoo Garlic Rub (great flavors for chicken, fish and vegetables)
Za Za Barbecue Rub (earthy barbecue with a bit of coffee, fantastic on rib eye)
Big Boris Pepper Rub (bold pepper and garlic flavor)
Motor City Barbecue Rub (our sweeter barbecue, perfect as a base rub for ribs or on chicken thighs)
Big Shoulders Steak & Chop Rub (a new Chicago take on the classic Montreal seasonings)
Grillmaster's Apron (stain-resistant heavy twill black butcher's-length apron embroidered with the Kalamazoo grill badge)

We Want to Hear from You

As we continue our efforts to help you maximize the joy and satisfaction of your outdoor grilling and entertaining experience, we would love to know what you think:

Share with us your favorite grilling recipes or outdoor gourmet entertaining tips.
Provide us with pictures of your grill or grill setting.
Tell us what you like most about your Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet product.
Tell us which product features you would like to see added to or improved on our products.
Let us know if there are any services Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet should offer.

Feel free to drop us a line at hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com with your thoughts on any of the above, or just to say hello.

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About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet™ stainless steel grills and outdoor kitchens are hand crafted in Kalamazoo, Michigan by fourth generation stainless steel fabricators. We build an array of freestanding grills, grill islands, built-in grills and custom outdoor kitchens to meet the needs of the most demanding outdoor gourmet entertaining enthusiasts. The entire line is designed and built from the ground up for outdoor gourmet cooking and entertaining. You can learn more at www.KalamazooGourmet.com.