Food and Drink Chicago

We were lucky enough to be featured recently in Food and Drink Chicago, a food blog by award winning Chef J. Joho. We were humbled and grateful to be included in his reviews, and we wanted to share our success with you!  Please follow the link below to the Chef’s blog.

http://foodanddrinkchicago.com/4-food-and-drink-products-youll-enjoy/

 

Miners Mix Podcast

We recently had a very nice lady recommend to us that we should try our hand at podcasts in order to accommodate those who may not be able to easily access the written versions of our stuff on this site.  Seemed reasonable to us, so we thought we’d give it a shot.

No doubt it’ll be a learning process for us, and with luck, we’ll get better at it as we go, but for now you can access the first attempt at our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7QH8FetViknb-d7SNqcLYQ), or just search for us on YouTube.

As a note, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook, and at MnersMix.com.

We appreciate the suggestions, like this one, and we are listening!  Now we think you should too.  Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hEQvk6KdOQ

Miners Mix Buttermilk Brined Turkey

NOTE:  This recipe produces spectacular results with oven roasted or smoked turkeys.  

 Prep Time: 25 minutes  

• Brine Time: 10-12 hours or overnight 

• Cook Time: 4-6 hours  
• Smoker Temp: 240 to 300°F  
• Meat Finish Temp: 165°F (Poultry must attain 165°F or higher to be safe to eat) 

 What You’ll Need  

 Turkey (we prefer them to be under 15 lbs for smoking) 

• Buttermilk  
• Salt 
• Miners Mix Seasonings 

• Cooler 
• Ice 
• Brine container or large plastic bag  

 Thaw your frozen turkey:   

The following thawing advice is from http://dish.allrecipes.com/how-to-safely-thaw-frozen-turkey/  

Three Ways to Safely Thaw Frozen Turkey 

1. Slow: Thaw in the Refrigerator 

Timeline: Allow approximately 24 hours for every 5 pounds of turkey. A 10-pound bird will take about 2 days to thaw completely. 

Tips for fridge thawing: 

• Keep the turkey in its original wrapping while it’s thawing. 
• Place breast-side-up in a baking pan to keep any drips from contaminating other foods and refrigerator surfaces. 
• You can hold the thawed turkey in the fridge for up to 2 days before cooking. 

2. Medium: Thaw in Cold Water

Timeline: Allow approximately 30 minutes for every pound of turkey. A 10-pound bird will take about 5 hours to thaw completely. 

Tips for cold-water thawing: 

• Keep the turkey in its original wrapping, and place it in a larger, leak-proof plastic bag. Squeeze out extra air and seal the bag. 
• Place the sealed bag breast-side down in a sink or bucket large enough so the turkey will be completely submerged. Fill with cold water. You may need to cover the turkey with a plate and place some heavy cans on top of it to keep it totally submerged. Change the cold water every 30 minutes. 
• Cook or start to brine turkey immediately after thawing. 

It is also possible to use a combination of the two methods: Use the fridge for the first two days of thawing, and finish in the sink early Thanksgiving morning. 

3. Fast: Thaw in a Microwave Oven

Timeline: Read the user manual for your oven to get instructions for thawing a frozen turkey. Times and power settings will be vary from model to model. In general, it could take an hour or more on the defrost setting, depending on the size of the turkey. 

Tips for microwave thawing: 

• Take the turkey out of its wrapping, and remove metal clips or tags. 

• Place the turkey breast-side up in a microwave-safe pan to catch any drips. 
• After the turkey is thawed, wash the inside of your microwave to prevent cross contamination. 
• Cook or start to brine the turkey immediately after thawing. 

Turkey-Thawing Times 

The times shown are approximate, and are based on thawing a whole frozen turkey. 

• Thaw time in the fridge requires about 24 hours for every 5 pounds in a refrigerator set at about 40° F. 
• Thaw time in cold water requires about 30 minutes per pound in cold water, refreshed every 30 minutes. 

Weight of Bird	Thaw Time (Fridge)	Thaw Time (Cold Water)
10 to 18 pounds	2 to 3-1/2 days	5 to 9 hours
18 to 22 pounds	3-1/2 to 4-1/2 days	9 to 11 hours
22 to 24 pounds	4-1/2 to 5 days	11 to 12 hours
24 to 29 pounds	5 to 6 days	12 to 15 hours

 We cannot over-emphasize food safety when it comes to thawing turkey. It’s important to keep the whole turkey at a safe temperature throughout the thawing process to prevent bacterial growth that can lead to foodborne illness. That’s why you never thaw a frozen turkey at room temperature on your kitchen counter, or in hot water. 

 Your turkey must be completely thawed for the brine to work correctly.  

 Miners Mix Brining Method:

Soaking meat in a particular ratio of salt and water causes salty water to be pulled into the bird. The water molecules attach themselves to the protein strands which results in a more succulent bird in the end.  

 How much brine do you need to make? 

Place your turkey in the brining container such as an empty ice chest, large bowl, Jumbo 2-1/2 gallon Ziploc, etc. and pour plain water over it to see how much brine it will take to cover it. Take note of the amount of water necessary to cover the bird, then discard the water. 

 Most birds of 15 lbs or less will need less than 2 gallons to cover them completely if using a small ice chest.  

 Now that you know how much brine you’ll need, go ahead and mix it up, adjusting the recipe to make less or more than 2 gallons.  

Buttermilk Brine for Poultry Ingredients:  

• 1 gallon buttermilk  
• 1 gallon water  
• 2 cups kosher salt  
• 6 TBS Miners Mix Maynard’s Memphis Rub  

 Brining Procedure: 

• Pour buttermilk into the brine container.  We refill the empty cartons of buttermilk with water as an easy way to measure the amount of water.  Add half the salt into each carton with the water and shake or stir the carton until the salt is dissolved. 

 Add the 6 tablespoons of Maynard’s Memphis Rub into the brine container and stir again until well mixed.  

 Submerge that Turkey! 

Remove the turkey from the packaging and remove the neck, giblets or anything else that might be in the bird’s cavity. Rinse the bird before brining. 

Place the turkey in the brine and use a non-metal heavy plate, bowl or even a bag of ice to weigh down the turkey if it tries to float. The turkey must be completely submerged during the process.  

The turkey must stay between 33 and 39 degrees for safety.   

The fridge is the best place to keep the turkey while brining, but our fridge is always too full, so we resort to using a cooler as shown in the accompanying video.  First, we pour the brine into a large plastic bag, then submerge the turkey into the brine and squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible.  We drape the open part of the bag over the lip of the cooler and cover the bag containing the turkey and brine with ice.  Close the cooler lid on the draped bag to seal the bag and you’re done.  The ice should keep things cold enough for the 11-12 hours needed to successfully brine a turkey, however, it would not hurt to check on the ice status and replenish after 5 hours or so. 

After the 10-12 hour brine time has passed, remove the turkey and rinse well under cold water and begin to prep it for cooking. 

Preparation of the turkey for Smoking or Roasting: 

The brined turkey can either go into an oven or into a smoker.  However, NEVER stuff your turkey if it’s going into a smoker.  Stuffing a turkey increases the risk for food-borne illness, even if roasted in the oven, but smoking a stuffed turkey is a definite no no.  Bacteria grow and prosper up to 140°F, so it’s very important to get your bird above that temperature as quickly as possible.  Smokers tend to operate at lower temperatures than ovens, so as result the bird remains in that danger zone below 140°F long enough for bacteria to proliferate and cause nasty problems for your guests a few hours later.  Smoking a stuffed bird greatly exacerbates the problem of getting past that danger zone ASAP.  That’s why we prefer to smoke turkeys at higher temperatures (around 300°F or so) than do most other folks. 

To prepare the bird for cooking we prefer to make a paste of the seasoning rub blended with melted butter.  Miners Mix Maynard’s Memphis Seasoning and Rub is great on turkeys cooked any way you want to cook ‘em.  Working from the cavity end, loosen the skin around the breast and down toward the thighs.  We like to spoon several spoonfuls of the rub/butter paste into loose skin area so it’s directly on top of the meat.  Once it’s under the skin, you can actually kind of work it down toward the thighs and all around under the skin by massaging the skin above the rub.  Finally, we’ll paint the skin with the rub/butter paste and it’s good to go.  If going into the oven, time to stuff the cavity.  If going into the smoker, feel free to toss an onion, an apple, a bunch of garlic and/or some fresh rosemary into the cavity.  Just don’t pack it in there like one does with stuffing. 

If your smoker has a water pan, use it. You can also add juice, beer, broth and spices, onions, garlic, etc. to the bottom of the roasting pan to help flavor the meat.  For smoking we prefer white wine and apples.  The resulting drippings make fantastic gravy! 

Remove the bird from the smoker or oven only when the thickest part of the thigh and breast read 165°F.

A step by step video of this process is coming to the Miners Mix YouTube channel shortly!  Look for it here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7QH8FetViknb-d7SNqcLYQ

Miners Mix Keto Oven Fried Chicken

We recently ran a photo – this photo, in fact – on our social media feeds (by the way, if you’re not following us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and/or YouTube, you should be!!).  When we ran the photo, we promised to share the recipe for all our keto friends.  Here it is!  Have fun, and eat well!

Miners Mix Keto Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• ½ c. almond meal 4 gr carbs
• ½ c. vital wheat gluten 6 gr carbs
• ¼. c. Parmesan cheese (powder-like) zero carbs
• 1/2 TBSP baking powder
• ½ TBSP Miners Mix XXX-Garlic 6 gr carbs
• ½ TBSP Miners Mix Original Steak and Veggie or Poultry Perfection 6 g carbs
• 1 teaspoon Miners Mix Wholly Chipotle 4 gr carbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 TBSP butter
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. Place the skin-on chicken parts in a ZipLock plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. Squeeze as much air from the bag as possible and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
2. Preheat your oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl mix together all dry ingredients and the Miners Mix seasonings. Set aside.
3. Put the butter into a large cast iron skillet or oven proof baking dish and put into the oven to get hot for about 10-15 minutes. While pan is heating up remove the chicken from the buttermilk and shake off the excess. Dredge each piece in the seasoned flour mixture.
4. Arrange the chicken pieces on the skillet or baking dish top with plenty of room on each side. We want the chicken to fry and get crispy. If the pieces are too close together they tend to steam and end up soggy.
5. Depending on the pieces of chicken you’re oven frying, the bake time will vary. Thighs take longer, about 20 minutes per side, uncovered. Boneless chicken or breasts don’t take as long to reach an internal temperature of 165F. Turn the chicken pieces over and bake another 20 minutes or so (thighs) until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F. Remove from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes and then serve.

 NOTE: There will be about ½ C left of breading mix after coating an entire chicken.  26 grams carbs for the entire mixture above.

Smoked Chicken Soup

When we featured this on our social media feeds, folks seemed to like it, so we thought we’d share the specifics.  The really good thing about this dish is you’ve got to start with a smoked chicken!  In this case we smoked the chicken and the potatoes together.  The potatoes went on to the smoker about an hour before the chicken was done.  We did get a question or two regarding the stripes on top of the chicken.  Rest assured this yardbird comes by them honestly.  When we prepared the chicken for smoking, we  rubbed the bird with butter, and then GENEROUSLY rubbed on Miners Mix XXX Garlic rub all over the bird.  We refrigerated for about half an hour and the rubbed it again lightly with Miners Mix Maynard’s rub.  We cooled the bird again, and when it was time, we put a generous amount of XXX inside the bird along with a big helping of diced onion and cold butter.  Then the bird went on to the smoker upside down for the first hour of so (hence the stripes!).  We think it gives the white meat a nice flavor.  Then we flipped the bird (no pun intended) and smoked it until it was done (about 165 – 170 internal temperature). Dinner was GREAT.

We were, however not done!  We took the carcass and any left over meat (there wasn’t much!) and put it all into a large pot.  We added just enough water to cover the carcass, and put it on the range over medium heat.  We added a teaspoon or two of Kosher salt, and a little more XXX (just ‘cuz) and we added a sliced onion.  We dug out a tea ball and put 6 or 8 black peppercorns and a bay leaf inside and dropped it into the soup. Once the soup started to boil, we gave it a good stir and the turned the heat down to low.  We let the liquid reduce by about an inch and then added water back to cover the carcass again.  We stirred again and then let it go until it tasted right (you may need to reduce and add water a second time).  Once it tastes right (and trust us, you’ll know!), remove from the heat and drain the broth into a large pot.  When cool enough to handle, strip all the meat from the carcass and put the meat and the cooked onion back into the broth. Remember to dig out your tea ball before you discard the bones. Store the soup a day or two in the fridge, or pour into a freezer safe container and freeze for 2 or 3 months.  This stuff is amazing, and we highly recommend giving it a shot.  Enjoy!

A lamb’s gotta do what a lamb’s gotta do!

One of the best things about being a rub and spice company is that we get to cook (and eat!) a lot.  Recently, we had the pleasure of dining at the Ol’ Miner’s place and watching him do his magic with the Big Green Egg sitting on his spacious deck.  Most of us at Miners Mix cook.  Some of us are pretty durn good at it.  He’s better. He’s a master alright, but when we ask him how he does it, he just grumbles “I cooked it”.

So we watched.  And asked questions (most of which he either shrugged  at or grumbled something unintelligible).  On this memorable evening, lamb was on the menu.  now we’d like to show you pictures, but we ate it so fast, there were none.  The pictures herein are from a previous cook (although if you follow us on Twitter, Instgram or FaceBook – and you SHOULD!- just go back to our October 10 posts, and see the real deal on the film clip there).

Lamb done on a grill, or BGE with Miners Mix XXX Garlic is just hard to beat!  In this case The lamb rack was well rubbed and rested with XXX, and slipped into the BGE at about 350 – 400 degrees and grilled (with a little smoke).  It was slipped off of the grill when the internal temperature was at around 140 degrees for a perfect medium rare piece of lamb!  We should also note that we’re pretty sure we heard the master grumble that sometimes he uses our Roast and Prime Rib Rub instead of XXX.  In any case, grill lamb with Miners Mix!  We can promise that you’ll be glad you did!

Miners Mix Alfredo Sauce

Those who follow our culinary exploits, either here or on our web site, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Facebook (or, hopefully all six) are well aware that the Miners Mix family of products means great, gourmet outdoor cooking.  If you’re new to our brand, we invite you to explore the Miners Mix world with the links above for an introduction to the very best in barbecue!

Having said that, as you peruse the pages, you may notice that our products are pretty versatile.  We’ve mentioned sauces before, but we wanted to share this one especially, because it was developed by the Ol’ Miner himself, and you know that means GOOD!

Our version of Alfredo Sauce features one of our flagship products, our multi-faceted OMGarlic Bread Mix!  This stuff is a big seller at our trade shows and mobile events, and for good reason!  It makes absolutely incredible garlic cheese bread, fantastic Jalapeno poppers, an irresistible dip and memorable mashed potatoes, (for all of these recipes, see our web site or drop us a line at info@minersmix.com) among dozens of other uses!  Well, the Ol’ Miner decided to see if he could use it to create one of our favorite sauces; an Alfredo.  The results are nothing short of epic.  Feel like giving it a try?  We thought you might, so here’s the recipe!  Enjoy!

Miners Mix Alfredo Sauce
 ½ cup butter
 1 pint heavy whipping cream (2 cups)
 8 ounces cream cheese
 1 pack Miners Mix OMG Garlic Bread Mix
 ¼ teaspoon salt
 ¼ teaspoon pepper if desired
 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
1. In a medium saucepan over very low heat add butter, heavy whipping cream, and cream
cheese. Cook over medium heat and whisk until melted. Add the pack OMG Garlic Bread
Mix, salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until smooth. Add the grated mozzarella cheese
and whisk additional time to insure the cheese is fully incorporated into the sauce and the
sauce has ceased to be stringy like pizza topping.
2. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes or until it starts to thicken.
Toss it with your favorite pasta!

Miners Mix Carolina Style Barbecue Sauce

To be honest, when we cook, we normally cook sans sauce.  Not that we don’t like sauce, but when you make the world’s best gourmet spices and rubs, there’s not all that much call for sauce in your cooking.  When we DO want sauce, we have friends like Rob’s Frog Sauce, Hutch’s, and Pa Paw’s who do pretty damned good sauces.

Having said that, we think you can make some pretty spectacular sauces using Miners Mix products.  We’ll post some of our favorite recipes here from time to time, and we invite you to try them.  First up, our Carolina sauce using Poultry Perfection!

A word here:  all of our sauce recipes are aimed at the mainstream palate.  To heat it up, add a half teaspoon of our Hotbanero to any recipe!

Place the following ingredients into a blender:

1/2 C yellow mustard

1/2 C honey

1/2 C cider vinegar

2 Tbsp ketchup

2 Tbsp Poultry Perfection

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp Worcestershire

1 Tbsp melted butter

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp whiskey (we use Jack Daniels)

Blend on low until well combined.  Really good stuff, friends!  It’ll be a little sweet when it’s done, but when you get it on your cook, it levels out nicely.

Miners Mix Oven Fried Chicken

As summer closes, many folks ask us if there’s any way to use Miners Mix indoors.  Now, our first thought is yes, but why would you?  Then we realize that most folks don’t enjoy the weather advantages of living on the West Coast.  Now we still know some die-hard folks who cook outside regardless of weather.  Our friends at Patrons of the Pit  in Minnesota leap to mind!  Still, there are a TON of ways to use Miners Mix inside.  One of our absolute favorites is oven fried chicken.  Want to try it?  It’s pretty easy:

Miners Mix Oven Fried Chicken

 Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs chicken (we prefer thighs)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 TBSP baking powder
• 1 TBSP Miners Mix XXX-Garlic
• 1 TBSP Miners Mix Original Steak and Veggie or Poultry Perfection
• 1/2 TBSP. Miners Mix Wholly Chipotle
• 1/2TBSP salt
• 4 TBSP butter

Instructions

1. Place the skin-on chicken parts in a ZipLock plastic bag and pour in the buttermilk. Squeeze as much air from the bag as possible and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to overnight.
2. Preheat your oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, panko, baking powder and the Miners Mix seasonings. Set aside.
3. Put the butter into a large cast iron skillet or oven proof baking dish (we avoid glass here – the darker the pan, the better the result) and put into the oven to get hot for about 10-15 minutes. While pan is heating up remove the chicken from the buttermilk and shake off the excess. Dredge each piece in the seasoned flour mixture.
4. Arrange the chicken pieces on the skillet or baking dish top with plenty of room on each side. We want the chicken to fry and get crispy. If the pieces are too close together they tend to steam and end up soggy.
5. Depending on the pieces of chicken you’re oven frying, the bake time will vary. Thighs take longer, about 20 minutes per side, uncovered. Boneless chicken or breasts don’t take as long to reach an internal temperature of 165F. Turn the chicken pieces over and bake another 20 minutes or so (thighs) until they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.  Remove from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes and then serve.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skin On Pork Belly

Recently we posted this picture on our social media feeds, and the overwhelming response was “How did you do that?”  In truth, it ain’t hard, and much to our chagrin, the method doesn’t use any Miners Mix product at all!  Anyway, here ya go!  Enjoy.

Place in smoker, skin side up.  Apply a thick (1/4-1/2″) layer of salt on the skin surface.  Smoke 5 hours at 250 degrees.

Remove from smoker.  Salt will have formed into a solid layer.  Remove salt cap/layer.  Save for smoked salt (this is a seriously good condiment!).

Brush off the little remaining salt from the skin.  Skin will be dry but not crispy yet.

Place in oven at 465F for an hour or so to crisp up skin and so it becomes crunchy.

Remove from oven and flip upside down so you can cut through belly and then crisp skin.

The result is going to be delicious and DECADENT! We cut ours into inch and a half cubes.  One or two at a sitting is about what we can handle! Have fun, and, as always, eat well.