Forman and Kirkland prepare our dinner-

Sometimes you just don't want your meal to be particularly involved. Sure, fresh ground and blended meats cooked as burgers over an well laid charcoal fire are a fine meal. However, tonight we invited Foreman and Kirkland to provide us with a meal.

My daughter, Beth, did a lot of the preparation. Slicing tomatoes and red onion. "Why didn't you use the mandolin?" I asked. My wife had given us a mandolin slicing tool for Christmas. "I forgot we had one."

I like my onions sliced thin. So, I got out the mandolin. It is a V blade model. I used the safety grip to push the onion through the blades. Ah, nice and thin. Not as well shaped as I wanted. The onion was just a bit wide for the guides on the mandolin, and hit the blades at a sleight angle.

The meat was Kirkland brand ground beef, formed and frozen into uniform patties. I broke off half a dozen meat bricks and tossed three onto the George Foreman grill. We hadn't used this particular cooking tool on the frozen patties. I guesstimated eight minutes, based on grilling experience on the barbecue.

The first three were well done, a bit more than I care for. The next three were done for six minutes. The George Foreman grill does not require turning the meat. The drippings run off into catch trays. Easy-peasy. Paper towel clean-up, most of the time. Not a bad tool. Very little smoke, and set-up is pretty easy.

"Bacon." said Beth. She set up a half-dozen slices on the Foreman. We closed the lid. After a few minutes we peeked. Hmmm. Turning black at the tips, still white and fatty in the middle. I closed the lid and let it go a couple more minutes. The finished bacon was not particularly nice. The middle of each slice was still just barely cooked, the ends burnt (but still edible to a bacon mad eater such as myself).

The components brought together with inexpensive factory buns, honey mustard, ketchup and whatever else anyone wanted, and it was a fast and reasonably satisfying meal. Don't forget those cheese slices that come in little plastic jackets. Great burgers? By no means. A good meal? Unquestionably.

So, what did we learn, Dorothy? Kirkland burgers done from freezer to Foreman are best cooked about six minutes. George does not do bacon well. If you like to slice your vegetables on a mandolin, be sure they are the right size to fit between the guides. The George Foreman grill is not a bad grilling tool for indoor use, quick set up and fast clean up.

I still want to experiment with mixed freshly ground meats. I want to experiment with that for the rest of my life. However, for a quick meal, the team of Foreman and Kirkland make an adequate burger.

Holy Mackerel, it's the Fourth of July!

We did some fishing on the Santa Cruz Wharf here in California last week. I froze the Mackerel and single Perch when we got home, since there was not time to cook them prior to the beginning of my work week. I am away from home during my three or four day week, alternating. It is a strange schedule.

So, before I got home the fish were put in the refrigerator to thaw. Thursday I went out and got some fish baskets to use to grill the fish, and got set up to cook when my son-in-law got home from work. He and I went together on the fishing trip, and it was a meal for us to share.

I popped the fish in the baskets and set them on the grill. I had prepared a full starting chimney of Kingsford charcoal and set it up in the fire box of my Char-Broil Silver Smoker. I was using the fire box as a grill for this one. The coals were free of flame and had an even heat.

This was my first attempt at direct grilling fish. They cooked rather quickly, being rather small and the fire being perhaps a bit hot. It was no more than two minutes to a side and they were about done. I gave the Perch a bit more time, but it was only a matter of seconds.

The fish turned out rather nicely. I had done no seasoning since I wanted to experience the flavors unaltered. We are not big fish eaters in our household. None of us had experienced Mackerel before, and most of us were also new to Perch.

I liked both fish. The Mackerel, being small, were hard to eat without getting some bones. The Perch was a bit easier to eat. Most of the family found them too "fishey." I had expected them both to be a bit stronger, actually.

I look forward to catching more Perch and Mackerel, since they are common to our wharf. I suspect I will be eating the larger fish and devoting the rest to serving as bait. I will continue to fish in hope of the rare Halibut or some other special treat, but surely won't be disappointed by a nice mess of Mackerel or Perch.

Two days later and I am grilling again. The Fourth of July! Family and food! Hot dogs and hamburgers, with all of the trimmings and traditional sides. Potato Salad, beans, chips and more. The hot dogs were from Costco, as were the frozen burgers. The dogs cooked up nice in the main cooking chamber. The burgers were pretty good, as well.

The burgers I tossed on frozen. Once the juices were flowing on the top of the burger I gave them a flip. I liked the well-shaped patty, and the flat surfaces rather than the thick lumps most home made burgers have. However, the flavor proved rather monochromatic. It was a burger, but just a burger.

The main cooking chamber has a greater distance between the coals and the cooking surface. I used the firebox as a place to keep the starter chimney going. Prior to cooking I laid out a layer of charcoal in the cooking chamber. I then got a chimney of charcoal going. Once it was well started I moved most of the coals over onto the unlit charcoal in the cooking chamber.

I left a few hot coals in the chimney. To this I added enough charcoal to fill the chimney. In short order I had plenty of hot coals to add to the fire, as required. I kept cooking as long as people kept eating. When necessary I pulled either the left or right grate, loaded in coals, and dropped the grate back in place. I really love my cooking gloves for this. Lodge brand, in my case. With reasonable care I can handle some pretty hot stuff with these gloves.

Today I just fired up a double handful of charcoal in my chimney. Once they were started I popped the grate from the fire box on top of the chimney and cooked a burger right there. This worked fine, but I think I would add another hand full of charcoal next time. I was getting workable heat, but a little more would have been nice.

So, a week of lots of cooking, and some new experiences. It was fun, and tasty!

Boned Leg of Lamb and Memorial Day Brats-

Last week we fired up the old Char-Broil Silver Smoker and cooked up a nice boned leg of lamb. Due to our chronic lack of detailed planning we got it out of the freezer and thawed it for two days, but did not have much in mind after that.


So, I fired up the coals and rubbed down the meat with olive oil and gave it a dose of my quickie rub. (That's equal portions Kosher salt, black pepper and seasoned salt). I cut slits in the meat to insert slivers of garlic, three cloves worth. Then into the cooking chamber.


I have gotten better at managing my fire and temperatures over the last year of using this particular barbecue. In the firebox I start with one chimney of charcoal. This run was Kingsford Mesquite, with an occasional dose of soaked mesquite chips. I get the fire going and dump the coals into the firebox. I press them toward the wall nearest the cooking chamber. Every twenty minutes I check the coals, generally finding that I need about ten new coals.


About every other check I add some wet wood chips. This continues until we reach target temperature, which was set on my probe thermometer at 160 degrees. I projected about four hours and was pretty close. I had sufficient Blue Moon wheat beer to see me through the whole process.


Once at temperature I placed the meat in a foil lined insulated box to rest for twenty minutes. The lamb finished moist and tender, and quite tasty. A more delicate fruit wood might have been better for smoking, but Mesquite is what I had, and I rather like the stuff. I sliced it thin and served it to the family. Everyone seemed to enjoy the lamb, and I was pleased.


Though it was quite moist, I wanted a bit of dipping sauce for mine. I mixed up my usual soy sauce and vinegar sauce, this time using red wine vinegar. It was quite good with the lamb, but I think that I would like to come up with a lighter sauce next time. This sauce can overwhelm the delicate flavor of lamb. I dipped the meat and shook off most of the sauce before eating each morsel.


Move ahead a week and we are into Memorial Day and a nearly spontaneous barbecue. Burgers, Brats and Hot Dogs were purchased. I used the cooking chamber for grilling this time, since I needed the room. I started my coals in the firebox, using a starting chimney. These coals I poured into the cooking chamber, and immediately refilled the chimney. I set it down in the hot coals for a few minutes to start it, and then moved the chimney to the firebox.

I formed the coals into a hot zone and a medium zone, reserving some space for warming. Due to a delay in getting the party started I had to rebuild the coals. When cooking started I had a bed of coals beginning to reduce in heat. The hot dogs and Brats cooked up fine. I also did my first grilled ears of corn, prepped with salt, pepper and butter and re-wrapped in the husks.

With several people started on dogs and Brats, I turned my attention to the hamburgers. I kept some corn going on one side just about all of the time. The burgers were cooking very slowly, which isn't bad but I did not care for the degree of shrinkage. I lost a lot of volume as they sat long on the coals.

In retrospect I should have had a third chimney of coals going to refresh the overextended bed I was trying to use. These particular coals were Kingsford competition grade charcoal, purchased in a double pack at Costco. They were satisfactory, and I think I could come to like this charcoal if I work with it a bit more.

I simply need more time doing direct grilling with a purpose. Not just building a raging fire and overcooking things in flames and flare-ups. Planned cooking with a masterful control of heat and time.

Better preparation is another factor. Having all of the preparation done before starting so there is no waiting. I waited on elements of the barbecue being prepared as I nursed the fire. I waited on party members, still nursing my fire. I waited too long before refreshing the coals, and lost some of my valuable heat.

That being said, we had fun and ate well. Everyone loved the dogs, Brats and burgers. Good times and good eats. I can't complain.