Beer Can Thanksgiving Turkey on the BBQ???

OK, we're finally going to post this because so many of our customers have requested it. Next Thursday, Ed will be getting the propane BBQ ready for his famous, and most requested, beer can turkey on the grill.  Depending on the amount of people we have coming over we may end up doing 2 turkeys. A 10-12 lb. turkey works the best. Set the grates on the lowest level and preheat the grill to 350 degrees.  In the meantime prepare the turkey as you normally would by cleaning the gizzards out.

Ingredients:

• 1 10-12 lb. turkey thawed (or fresh) 
• 1 Fosters Lager (large can) 
• 1/2 lb. butter
• seasoning of your choice (Slap 'ya Mamma cajun seasoning is our favorite, but you can do any dry rub you like or make your own with a little garlic powder or salt, pepper and favorite spices) 

That's it for the ingredients. Open the Fosters Lager and pour out (yeah, right) approx 1/3 of the can. There is nothing that says you can't start drinkin' here. Shove the beer can up the large orifice of the bird.  Melt butter with your favorite seasoning or rub and thoroughly baste or rub down the bird. Be sure to get under the skin and let it drizzle down the bird.  Once grill has consistent heat at 350 degrees, place your bird can up (which will serve as the holder too!) on the end of the grill turning off the burner directly under the bird.  (If doing 2 birds, you will need a 3 burner bbq lighting the middle burner only during cooking) This way it doesn't burn the outside before the inside is done. Basting generously through the cooking process let cook approx. 15 minutes per lb. We have found for a 10 to 12 lb. bird cooking times are 2-3 hours.  CAREFULLY remove bird from grill and let stand 20 minutes before trying to remove the beer can. Place bird on platter and carve. We typically do this with whole chickens and it is the moistest bird ever.  All the hops in the beer help to baste the bird from the inside and it doesn't taste like beer at all.  Leftovers are moist too! For those who prefer to use a soda can, Dr. Pepper works well too. You just need to find the large can for a turkey. For chickens, regular 12 oz. cans are fine. A lot of people don't like the idea of not stuffing the actual bird but we find it is just fine to do the stuffing on the side baked in the oven.  It doesn't get the stuffing greasy.  

So there you have it. On Thanksgiving day no matter what the weather brings, we'll be cooking the bird on the bar-be-que.  Wishing you all a warm and joyous Thanksgiving holiday with the people you love the most.

Happy Fall Everyone.

Hope this finds our favorite Chiliheads enjoying the slower season and getting back into the routines of everyday life. If you're like us, once the weather turns, it's time for comfy foods.  Check out the following recipes and get the kids involved in making dinner that they will also enjoy. Of course that means everyone in the family gets involved. We used to make it our focus with all 5 kids in the house to try and sit down to dinner together as often as possible.  Of course with school activities, sports and other busy "life" stuff, dinner isn't always possible together.  Just make it a goal to do it as often as possible. When they grow up and have families of their own, they will look back on it and make it a tradition with their kids.

Keep it simple so you keep their interests. It can be as simple as cheesy quesadillas with black beans inside topped with homemade guacamole or salsa and sour cream and of course your favorite hot sauce. Guacamole is super easy. Just keep it simple. Some mashed up avacado's some lemon juice, garlic power (or salt) and fresh tomato's or pico de gallo salsa add a wonderful flavor. Easy cleanup and leftovers can be hauled to school or work the next day. 

Meat & Gravy over rice is filling and satisfying as well as a family favorite.  You can use ground beef or ground turkey.  The only difference is that with ground beef, I add beef stock and with turkey I use cream of chicken soup as the gravy.  In a skillet saute onions and garlic in oil until translucent. Add meat and chop as you brown until cooked through.  Add either beef stock or cream of chicken soup (dilute with water to make gravy) I add a few tbsp. of habanero flakes (habby flakes of course available at the hot shop)  or you can add a little cayenne pepper to taste. A little black pepper adds a nice flavor as well.  While mixture is simmering I have brown rice cooking slowly (rice cookers work great but if you don't have one, a heavy duty saucepan works but allow enough cooking time (about 45 minutes) We prefer brown rice for flavor and nutrition. Forget the instant rice stuff.  I don't have a picture of this one but the kids call and ask mom for the recipe quite frequently.

There are so many simple ideas to get kids involved and cook healthy meals that it's really fun once you get into it. Do you know how many ways there are to cook grilled cheese sandwiches?  One of our customers makes the traditional grilled cheese sandwich but he adds bacon hot sauce! Who'd a thunk it?  More family friendly recipes to come. 

Update coming soon!

Hi everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know we're super busy and just haven't been able to keep up with the blog posts this summer. We'll get an update out soon but wanted to also let you know that we do have the new Trinidad Moruga Scorpion sauce "Maruga Madness" and a salsa made with the new certified hottest chili in the world. Oh yeah, just have to tease you with a new product one of our favorite producers is concocting for us. It's called Eye of the dragon and all we can say is Habanero pepper, stuffed with a green olive, stuffed with garlic! Oh yeah. More to come soon.

Eddie & Genie

"I'm Not A Jerk" Sauce from the Z & Z Honey Co.

Just had to share this recipe with you.  Last year Sam and Tina McCanless came up with a Jerk Sauce marinade that, in our opinion and obviously our customers agreed, was the greatest chicken and steak marinade.  They've gone back into the kitchen and came up with "I'm Not A Jerk" Caribbean Rum Infused Marinade that Ed did chicken with last night and it was fantastic.  With some fresh veggies and orzo pasta on the side to soak up the extra juice it's fantastic.  So easy too! In a zip lock bag marinate your chicken or steak in the sauce overnight or throw it in the bag before you head off to work in the morning. You can bake it in the oven or crisp it up on the grill. So easy and your family will think they've got the best chef ever right in their own house. 

We will post more about the new products we are bringing in this season as we gear up for another busy season her on the island.  Oh yeah, just a quick note. Joseph Long from Heavenly Heat in Tacoma makes fantastic products and if you haven't checked out the Garlic Habanero Hot Sauce, drop by for a taste test and also take their Tequila Lime Jalapeno hot sauce for a test drive. Wonderful flavors and more to come from them this season too! If you haven't checked out our newest and hottest sauce for sampling, check out Heavenly Heat's "Meet Your Maker". Wow! 5 million SHU.

Wow! What a beautiful day and weekend ahead.

Just had to throw it out there that this weekend we are eperiencing the most beautiful weather of 2012 yet. If you get a chance to visit the island, do it. It's gorgeous! A lot of the shops that have closed for the winter are re-opening and town is bustling with smiling faces. 

WINTER WARM UP DISCOUNT

Greetings from the island.  As a way of saying thank you, we are offering a 10% discount on all internet orders over $25.00 now through February 15th. Warm up your winter season. We are gearing up for another busy Spring and Summer so we want to make room for some fabulous new products.  Tell your friends and by shopping together, you can save even more.  

As we have said in the past, we have the best customers anywhere and we look forward to another fabulous season with some really great new products.  Keep an eye out for Orca Poop coming soon! It will be a dark chocolate fudge made with the ghost pepper.

Happy 2012

Happy New Year to our favorite Chiliheads. Wow, what a year 2011 was, of course, thanks to all of you. We did a record year and we owe it all to the ones who share our passion for the flavorful and spicy stuff.  And, by the way, those of you that are new to the pepper world, how many of you actually got colds this year?  We would be interested in your feedback on that one.  Oh yeah, and we had to share the Christmas pic of the Cow and Pig wishing everyone peace this next year.  Thank you Steve and Laurie Duncan. We love these guys.

We are still working on the cookbook and as a reminder, we need your input.   If you've created a recipe using the stuff, please e-mail it to us with your name and hometown and state. You will get the credit in the book! We are hoping to have something this spring or early summer.

The holidays were busy and full of parties and now it's time to settle in and start thinking about the new products coming our way this new year.  Frog Balls, BluesMan BBQ Sauce, Rhino Peri Peri Sauce, and the new products from Heavenly Heat of Tacoma and of course the Z&Z Honey Company products continue to be some of our best sellers.  Speaking of Heavenly Heat, we just brought in their Pure Ghost Powder and Genie is experimenting with a fudge. The white chocoloate fudge will be called "Ghost Poop" and the dark chocolate and white fudge mixture will be "Orca Poop".  Of course they will be shaped in little turdlettes with special lables!

If you have any ideas, we would love to hear from you. Our next newsletter goes out in mid-January, so be on the lookout! And again, many thanks for helping us keep our little shop going. Expansion is on the horizon. More news to come..............