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Recipes for Your Holiday Table

Pork Crown Roast with Savory Rub

Chestnut, Cranberry and Sausage Dressing

Cheese and Mango Puff Pastries

Rosemary Pear Sparkling Martinis

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About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

The Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet Newsletter

December, 2009

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We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we would love to hear about your outdoor holiday cooking experiences. Please send us an email to share your stories.

Smoke roasting is the order of business for this holiday menu. What could be more enticing than a wood-fired crown roast of pork? The beautiful presentation and the aroma of hickory smoke will be most welcome at the table. Accompanying the centerpiece is a delicious dressing with cranberries, sausage and roasted chestnuts, plus a casual little dessert your guests won't believe came off the grill. Finally, let's raise a glass to a safe and happy holiday season for all — a sparkling toast with a hint of rosemary.

Cheers,

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Pork Crown Roast with Savory Rub

The majesty of a crown roast belies the simplicity of its preparation — especially if the butcher ties it for you.

Complementing the pork is a savory rub. If you've followed the newsletter for long, this rub should sound familiar to you, as we love it on beef and lamb as well. Fresh rosemary, garlic and lemon zest combine with salt and pepper to create a delicious crust outside the roast.

This recipe is best cooked with a wood fire. I like to use hickory, but many different woods will do a great job. The secret is to keep adding wood to the fire for a constant supply of smoke. Real hickory flavor will penetrate the roast.

On a Kalamazoo K900 Series Hybrid Grill , you can start a single drawer of hickory chunks ablaze and then turn the two zones under that drawer to low. While cooking the pork on the opposite side of the grill, you will need to add two fresh chunks of wood every 20 minutes or so. The best part is that you can slip them into the drawer without opening the hood, losing heat and smoke in the process.

If you are cooking on a gas grill, use smoking envelopes above the burners to approximate the results.

Combine the first five ingredients in a small bowl to create the savory rub. Brush the pork roast all over with olive oil and then press the savory rub into the roast avoiding the bones. Allow the roast to rise to room temperature before putting it on the grill.

Prepare a grill for indirect cooking at about 400°F. For hybrid grills, light a wood fire on one half of the grill and let it burn just until the wood is covered with gray ash and very hot. For gas grills, prepare to use wet wood chips for smoking.

If you plan to make gravy for the roast or the dressing, a roasting pan and rack will be needed. For something as small as this pork roast, I like to place a wire rack across the top of a 12-inch cast iron skillet, cooking the roast on the rack. If using a roasting pan, place 1/2 inch to 1 inch of broth in the bottom of the pan. If not, the roast can be cooked directly on the grill grate. Either way, place the roast in the indirect cooking zone, close the hood, and cook at 400°F for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Rotate the the roast a few times along the way to ensure even cooking, but keep the hood closed as much as possible. If the bones begin to char, cover them with foil. Remove from the grill when the internal temperature measures 150°F. Loosely cover with foil and let the roast rest for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Gravy can be prepared during this resting period.

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Chestnut, Cranberry and Sausage Dressing

A hearty dressing is the perfect accompaniment to your pork crown roast. The mellow chestnuts are contrasted nicely by the kick of the sausage and the bright flavor of the cranberries.

This recipe can be started after the roast hits the grill (other than roasting the chestnuts, which should be done before this) and added at the end to cook at the same temperature.

To roast the chestnuts, prepare a grill for indirect cooking at about 400°F. Use a paring knife to cut an 'X' into one end of each chestnut. This will make the chestnuts easy to peel after roasting. Be certain to cut through both layers of the skin. Place the nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet in the indirect cooking zone and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until the skins are peeling back on their own. I like to err on the side of over-roasting for a richer flavor rather than under-roasting. Peel both skins off the chestnuts and quarter them.

Cook the sausage and garlic in a pre-heated skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve. Add the carrots, celery and onion to the rendered fat in the pan. Cook until tender and the onions are translucent. Stir the sausage and garlic back into the pan and heat thoroughly to help meld the flavors. Transfer, including some of the fat, to a large bowl and reserve. Discard the excess fat. Add the bread, cranberries and chestnuts to the bowl and gently toss together.

In another bowl, whisk together the vegetable stock, cream, eggs and butter. Pour the mixture over the bread mixture and gently mix together.

Pour into a greased, 12-inch cast iron skillet or other grill-safe roasting dish 12-inches round or 9 x 11. Bake in the indirect zone at 400°F for about 45 minutes, or until the tops of the bread pieces are crunchy and the cranberries are bursting.

Why dressing and not stuffing? More often than not, the use of stuffing leads to an overcooked roast or bird. The stuffing must be cooked to the safe temperature required for the meat because the stuffing is contaminated by the raw meat when you put it into the cavity. Heating the stuffing all the way through requires additional cooking time, which leads to an overcooked roast or bird. So, I like to prepare dressing instead. You can stuff the roast with dressing after the roast has been cooked.

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Goat Cheese and Mango Puff Pastries

Puff pastry on the grill? You bet. You can also cook these little gems in your pizza oven. I cooked these using the dying wood fire from the crown roast, and the hint of hickory was a welcome flavor note. The goat cheese adds complexity to the more traditional cream cheese. When the two melt together they carry the sweet and tart mango and lemon zest flavor throughout the pastry.

Directions:

Prepare the grill for indirect cooking at 325° to 350°F.

Use a spoon to combine the two cheeses in a medium bowl. Beat the egg with the brown sugar. Stir into the cheese mixture. Stir in the mango and lemon zest to complete the filling.

Roll the puff pastry dough out to a 1/4-inch thick rectangle about 9 x 11 inches. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Spread the filling into an even layer all over the dough, about 1/4 inch deep. You may have extra filling. Roll the dough and filling into a log, starting with the 9-inch side. Slice into 12 spiraled rings, discarding the 2 uneven end pieces, and place the spirals on a baking sheet in the indirect cooking zone.

Bake the pastries until cooked through and puffed out, about 40 minutes total. After 20 minutes, brush the tops with the egg white. Serve warm, reheating if necessary.

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Rosemary Pear Sparkling Martinis

To make the martinis, combine the syrup, lemon juice, pear juice and brandy in a cocktail shaker half full of ice. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into martini glasses and top up with Prosecco. Optionally garnish with rosemary sprig tips.

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We Want to Hear from You

As we continue our efforts to help you maximize the joy and satisfaction of your outdoor grilling and entertaining experience, we would love to know what you think:

• Share with us your favorite grilling recipes or outdoor gourmet entertaining tips.
• Share pictures of your grill or outdoor kitchen.
• Tell us what you like most about your Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet product or which product features you would like to see added to or improved on our equipment.
• Offer feedback on our website or service.

Feel free to drop us a line at hotg@kalamazoogourmet.com with your thoughts on any of the above, or just to say hello.

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About Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet™ custom outdoor kitchen equipment delivers the ultimate in performance, luxury and quality. From hybrid grills that cook with any combination of wood, charcoal and gas — to powerful and energy efficient outdoor refrigerators, wine chillers, ice makers, keg tappers and freezers — to countertop pizza ovens — to weather-tight stainless steel kitchen cabinets — to the one-of-a-kind martini bar — the entire line is designed and built from the ground up exclusively for outdoor gourmet cooking and entertaining. You can learn more at www.KalamazooGourmet.com.

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