grilled curried swai

I had an itch for grilled fish so I swung by the HT Oak Tree Asian market to see what looked interesting. They had really big fat fillets of basa catfish at the counter, but when I asked for a couple I was directed toward the frozen packages in a nearby cooler. English is not the first language of any HT employee I've ever spoken with, but I think the deal was that she was doing me a favor by steering me toward some that were still frozen and were two to a package. They may also have been less expensive.

Well, they weren't as nice and thick as the ones that caught my eye, but looked like they'd do fine so I grabbed them. At home, upon closer inspection, I noticed that they weren't labeled basa after all. They were swai, or Pangasius hypophthalmus. Swai is also a southeast Asian catfish, and is frequently sold as basa. Those two wikipedia links, as well as this Basa buyer's guide, have some interesting history about the "catfish wars" and fish counterfeiting.

In any event, I cut up the fillets, marinated them for 90 minutes in a curry sauce, and skewered them.

The grill wasn't as clean as it should have been so I lost some tasty bits, but they turned out decently. It's a very mild fish, of course, and I thought the combination overall was excellent.

I used a similar marinade for grilled chicken thighs the other night. Very, very good. The ingredients are:

• mayonnaise
• enough olive oil to thin it a bit
  
• mild curry powder
• ground cumin seed
• minced garlic
• cracked black pepper
• salt

I just wing the proportions. It's good with powdered ginger, too. It doesn't have much heat, so cayenne or another hot pepper can be added for that. It stands up really well to grilling, even at high heats. I think it would be great on lamb, too.

Bruce Frankel's grilled bread

After the success of the grilled foccacia I wanted to try another one of the grilled breads in The Barbecue Bible. This was Bruce Frankel's Grilled Bread, from his Panache restaurant.

It's one third whole wheat and has a bit of molasses, for a lightly sweet and nutty flavor. Takes a couple of hours to rise and each small bread is done in just a minute or two per side, so it can be done with little planning and is easily grilled after something else comes off and is resting.

It's topped with olive oil, cracked pepper, and fresh thyme. It was excellent with chevre. Next time I might make a smaller number of larger breads, and perhaps try for something a little thicker and softer.

grilled focaccia and Brazilian pork rollatini

It was definitely a grilling evening so I pulled out the BBQ Bible and looked for something interesting and that didn't require hours of marinating. I hadn't baked bread in a while so the grilled focaccia caught my eye. The Brazilian pork rollatini looked fun, too. A few garden herbs for a green salad and the menu was set.

This focaccia is unusual in that it's very thin, as it needs to be in order to be grilled. It's a simple and fairly dry yeast dough that rises for an hour or two. It has a touch of olive oil, and the yeast was proofed with some sugar. Other than that, just flour and salt.

After rising it's divided into eight balls, rolled into disks, and dusted with cornmeal.

Before grilling each bread is brushed with olive oil and a bit of kosher salt. I did not use the recipe's sesame seeds. At high heat it takes just a couple of minutes per side.

It turned out really nice. Stretchy and chewy, with good flavor. It almost tastes like a pancake, perhaps because of the very slight sweetness. Well received, and pretty quick and easy as breads go.

The Brazilian pork rollatini recipe comes from a restaurant chain in Rio, with the addition of Dijon mustard and cornichons by Raichlen. Slices of pork loin are rolled around ham, onion, pickle, Gruyere, mustard, salt, and pepper. I can't imagine how he manages to coat the pork in grated cheese and then successfully spread mustard on it, so I departed a bit from the construction instructions.

Before grilling the rolls are brushed with olive oil and topped with a bit more cheese. I rotated by 90 degrees every few minutes until done. I was afraid they would dry out, but they stayed tender and juicy.

Quite good! Not a super sophisticated or intriguing flavor combination, but tasty. Really similar to a Cuban sandwich, actually.

Mojitos made with mint from the garden (but not home-grown limes, sadly) were the final touch. I'm rather pleased to welcome Mojito season!

cherry-smoked steelhead and salmon

I can now report that cherry smoke applied to salmon is excellent. Same for steelhead.

Since I'm without a smoker box at the moment I have been using the foil pouch method. The chips dry out in just a couple of days once hacked from their trunky home, so I've rehydrated them for 20 minutes before pouching and placing.

The smoke is voluminous from a handful of chips and I've been pleasantly surprised to see it last for half an hour. I'm grilling over indirect heat on foil, with fish at the back and the pouch on the drip shield over the front burner on fairly high heat. The temperature is low enough to easily achieve medium-rare to medium for almost the entire thickness of a fillet.

smoke up, stumpy

Removing the cherry stump didn't take quite as long as I expected. It was surprisingly heavy, though. Over 150 pounds, probably.

Now the only evidence that the tree once graced the yard is the unremarkable patch of dirt, which blends in just fine on what is effectively a well-used soccer and football field.

I can't wait to try the wood chips in the grill. I've never used cherry but have heard that it's excellent. I collected some of the axe shrapnel for starters.

grilled lamb and mushrooms with spinach

I had a leg of lamb that was begging to be eaten and a grill just itching to be fired up after two consecutive days without rain. What could I do but oblige them both?

I rubbed the lamb with olive oil and dried Mediterranean herbs then grilled it very slowly over indirect heat. At about 125 degrees I turned up the heat and gave it a little crust. Very nice. If I did it again I'd take the meat off the grill while it heats and get a slightly crispier exterior.

The interior was a perfectly consistent medium rare.

 
Side dish was sauteed mushrooms and garlic with baby spinach, taken just past wilting. I sure like using All-Clad pans on the gas burner. Some day I have to replace the electric stovetop.