From the moment I purchased the book Smoke N Spice, I have been wanting to try a Crown Roast of Pork on the grill.  I finally did get a chance this past weekend, but used a recipe from one of the Weber cookbooks as the fresh herbs intrigued me.  I was actually lucky as I decided to do this on short notice and the local butcher shop was able to get me one the day I planned on cooking it.  Normally you will need to give a butcher 2 to 3 days notice, as it takes a good amount of preparation time for them to prepare the roast.

The recipe is pretty simple:

• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns, finely ground,
• 1 crown roast of pork, 7 to 8 pounds, tied in a circle

Instructions:

• Mix together the garlic, rosemary, sage, salt, and peppercorns together in a small bowl, mix well with a fork.
• Spread the rub all over the roast and let sit at room temperature for one hour before grilling.
• Grill over high indirect heat for 30 minutes, then reduce the temp to medium and grill indirectly until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.
• Remove from the grill and wrap with aluminum foil for about 30 minutes.
• Remove string and cut between the rib bones and serve

Well I got a 10 pound roast as the butcher says it is the smallest they can do it.  Plus I wanted a bit more rub on the roast.  I ended up using about 4 tablespoons of rosemary, 3 tablespoons of sage, and a full teaspoon of pepper.

To be honest, it had a good flavor, but I was not overly impressed.  For the price of the roast, it really was not worth it.  It was basically a fancy way of doing pork chops.  Plus the flavor of the rub did not get into the meat at all.  Here is my recommendation for a grilled crown roast of pork:

• Brine the roast, using a brine that will inject a lot of flavor into the meat, such as Smokin' Okie's Holiday Turkey Brine.  I would probably let it brine for a full 24 hours, if you don't want to brine, inject it with some flavor.
• Need a good BBQ Rub and lots of it, I would use Jay's BBQ Rub (yes mine), rub it good, and let it sit on there for probably 8 hours before grilling.
• Next you will need a good mop.  I would probably do something that would be a mixture of apple juice (2 cups), cider vinegar (4 tablespoons), and about 1/4 cup of the BBQ rub.  Then mop it every 30-60 minutes on the grill.
• When the temp reaches about 130 degrees, sauce it up with a good Carolina BBQ Sauce.

Now that sounds like a good tasting roast!

On my post about suya, one of the comments were how easy it is and a good weekday dish.  This one had me laughing a bit, because this recipe is about as simple as you get and is truly for the weekday grilling.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/2 bottle Greek Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Directions:

Before you go to work for the day, place the chicken breasts inside a large zip lock bag and pour the dressing into the zip lock bag.  Let it marinate in the refrigerator till time to cook.  Prepare the grill for medium direct grilling and grill the chicken until done.  Flip the chicken at about the 1/2 way point.

Sometimes, simple is good!

I have come across a few posts about Nigerian Suya and each time I kept saying I need to give this a try sometime soon.  Well I finally did, the strange thing about it though, every recipe was fairly different, so I kind of combined a lot of the common parts and used the best portions from each recipe I have seen.  Suya is a popular food from West Africa and originated in northern Nigeria and is a common late night delicacy, but is also sold during the day by street vendors.  You can use chicken, beef, or pork for this recipe.  I do have to stay it tasted fabulous and will definitely do it many more times.  I served with with some couscous and grilled red onions.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons grated ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 cup peanuts

Directions:

Grind the peanuts in a food processor or blender, being careful not to grind them too much.  Give the peanuts 4 or 5 good quick pulses, else you will end up with more of a peanut butter from all the natural oil in the peanuts.  Mix in the ginger, garlic, onion powder, chili powder, and paprika and mix well.

Cube the chickens into small chunks and mix the chicken in with the peanut mixture, making sure the chicken is evenly coated.  Place the cubed chicken onto skewers and place back in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.

Prepare the grill for medium direct grilling and placed skewered chicken onto the grill.  Grill until the chicken is done,make sure to flip the skewers occasionally and make sure that the peanut mixture does not burn too much.

Serve over a bed of couscous topped off with some grilled red onions