Every fall the planning starts and many Canadians pack up the essentials and travel to sun destinations to stay for the winter. Maybe after observing birds and animal behaviour for years they’ve learnt a soul saving thing to do.
In Abbotsford every fall right before these people make their road trek is the Snowbird RV Show and Sale. Depending on the show floor plan, there often is a stage where industry professionals demonstrate or present sessions on various topics for those that travel. Or in the case of BBQ Brian and the House of Q they demonstrate recipes and cooking tips. This fall there will be two sessions:
Session 1: Grilled Soup – The Perfect Fall Comfort Food
and
Session 2: It’s Turkey Time! Everything You Need to Know to Cook Turkey
As the hours of sunshine start to diminish each day and the days get colder, the meals that gather the hungry seem to change as well. However it doesn’t mean cooking outdoors needs to stop. It’s easy to keep the char-flavoured goodness to continue throughout the year. That is what BBQ Brian wants to share and hopefully inspire while at the Snowbird RV Show.
Here are the recipes for each session.
Pulled Turkey with Cabbage, Radicchio and Apple Slaw
6-10 lbs Turkey thighs, boneless (or half of a whole turkey)
1/3 – 3/4 Cup House Rub (or your favorite, top-secret BBQ seasoning)
10-12 French rolls, sliced
Place the turkey in a foil tray and generously season with House of Q House Rub or your favorite BBQ seasoning – maybe you have a secret family recipe.
Prepare your grill for indirect cooking on medium heat. Place a foil packet of wood chips under the grill grate on the hot side of the grill. Place the foil tray on the “cool” side, close the lid and allow the turkey to smoke for 2 to 3 hours changing the smoke chip packets as they burn and turn to ash.
Check the turkey with an instant read thermometer and when the turkey reaches above 150 F, cover with foil and continue cooking. Once the meat has reached 195 F or more, the turkey is now ready to be removed from the grill. Let cool so it is easier to handle. Pour off some of the liquid in the pan – keep to re-moisten the pulled turkey. Using two forks, shred the turkey removing bones, cartilage and any inedible bits. Pour some of the reserved drippings onto the shredded turkey to add flavour and moisture to the mixture.
Cabbage and Radicchio Slaw
2-3 lbs Green cabbage, shredded
1 Radicchio, rinsed, shredded (these are seasonal and thus optional)
2 Granny Smith apples, grated
1 Cup Mayonnaise (real stuff, not dressing)
1/4 cup Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce (mustard)
1 TB Grandma’s Garden Premium Seasoning Mix
Rinse, trim and shred the cabbage and radicchio. Shred the apple and mix all of the vegetables thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, pepper and sugar. Pour the dressing on the vegetables and mix. Keep cold in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Caution to serve the salad within an hour or so from when you add the dressing. If it is too long of a wait, the vegetables can become soggy.
To assemble a sandwich, place a generous portion of the pulled turkey onto the sliced buns. Add on top the dressed slaw. Add BBQ sauce if you like… we love the contrast to the turkey with some House of Q Slow Smoke Gold BBQ Sauce on top. Enjoy!
Basic Brine
4 L Water
1 Cup Brown sugar (or honey)
1/2-2/3 Cup Salt
Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water thoroughly and taste it… more salt needed? more sugar? If too salty, add water. Whatever the brine tastes like now is how the turkey will taste when it is cooked.
Immerse the turkey in the brine and keep chilled, very cold for one hour per pound of turkey. For example 12 pound turkey will brine for 12 hours.
BONUS! How to Make Pulled Turkey Video
Here is Corinne sharing the steps to making pulled turkey:
Chicken and Black Bean Chili
Chili is one of the most common competitive cooking entries. Thousands of competitor’s around the world craft top secret recipes with a wide variety of ingredients – some really common while others appear rather unusual such as chocolate. Nonetheless, this is a chili I like making because it has three of my favorite ingredients: chicken, black beans and Ancho chilies.
6 Chicken thighs – cut into small cubes
1 1/2 TB Gusto D’Italia Premium Seasoning
1 large can Black beans – drained and rinsed
3 TB Olive oil or butter
1 Large Onion – diced
6 cloves Garlic – minced
1 Red bell pepper – diced
2 TB Dried Ancho powder
1 TB Cumin
1 TB Oregano
1 L Chicken stock
1 large can Diced tomatoes
Juice of 1 lime
Season the chicken with Gusto D’Italia and grill on medium heat until the chicken is crisp and even charred a bit. Remove from the grill and chop into bite size pieces. It doesn’t need to be thoroughly cooked.
Heat olive oil or butter in a stock pot and add the garlic, onions and diced peppers. Cook until the onions are softened and add the chili powder, cumin and oregano. Add the remaining ingredients including the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid removed. Stir occasionally over the next hour making sure the beans are not sticking to the bottom. Once the chili has reduced and thickened, squeeze the lime into the chili and taste for seasoning.
The perfect toppings include fresh cilantro, cheddar, salsa, green onions or sour cream.