More Hot Tub Hens ....and Tater Corn Cakes

I love game hens and the Big Poppa Smoker drum is a poultry cookin' son of a gun. The two were made for each other. :)

I let the birds soak for two hours in a mixture of water, turbinado sugar, kosher salt, leeks, garlic, black pepper corns and dried cayenne peppers.

Rubbed the hens with butter, (under the skin too), then sprinkled with Big Poppa Little Louie's Seasoned Garlic Salt.

Into the drum at 325F..

while the birds cooked I made a batch of tater corn cakes...

I combined chopped onions, leeks, garlic, cooked cubed potatoes (2), about one cup of corn, two eggs, pepper and smoked salt.

Made patties and rolled them in panko.

placed the tatoes into a skillet with melted butter...

I let the tatoes brown in the drum. Added more butter when needed.

The tato corn cakes were pretty tasty!  Crunchy on the outside and tender in the center...

...and the game hens were so moist and tender. Really love them. :)

I'll have to admit....it's hard to beat any kind of poultry cooked on the drum.  Chicken, turkey, quail, etc....they come out so moist every time. It's got to be one of my favorites!

Venison Andouille Sausage, Hoppin' John.....and some hash. :)

I've been using up the venison from last deer season. Made a batch of andouille (which I love :))
Added a bit of pork to the venison before grinding..

combined my seasonings... this was for 5lbs of meat.
10 cloves chopped garlic
1 1/2 TBS cayenne
3 TBS salt
1 TBS thyme
2 TBS black pepper

added the spices to one cup of beer to make a slurry, mixed with the ground venison and chilled overnight.

I made a braid with part of the venison...it was a gift for a friend.

I sauteed onions, garlic and peppers for the Hoppin' John...

added chicken stock and seasonings.
This is when I usually add a hunk of ham but went with the spicy andouille instead.  I had planned on simmering the andouille in beer before grilling but thought the added flavor in the Hoppin' John would be nice.:)

into the BPS drum...

made a batch of jalapeno cornbread. Didn't have much room in the drum so I set the bread on top of the simmering Hoppin' John pot.

worked just fine. :)

After the brats simmered for awhile, I set them on the grate to grill and added rice and beans to the Hoppin' John pot.  I didn't have black eyed peas so I used cooked pintos instead. ( they are my favorite :))

The venison andouille...

jalapeno cornbread.  ( I ran it under the broiler to brown the top a bit)

jalapeno cornbread, venison andouille and hoppin' john...

It was pretty tasty!

The next day I made a hash with potatoes, onions, garlic and cubed venison andouille...

I liked it a lot! The spicy andouille seasoned the hash just right, I didn't need to add anything else.


I really am behind on cooking but hope to catch up soon. :)

Grilled Codfish Sliders

Another favorite of mine, and they are so easy to make!

As a Char-broil All Star member, I was asked to post a quick and easy fish recipe for the month of July and I decided to share this one.
 I'm sure everyone has their favorite version of salmon patties, this is a slight variation of the patties I remember from my childhood. (I use cod)

I cut the cod into 3/4" cubes..

Mix with seasonings, egg and cracker crumbs...

Form into patties, brush with butter as they grill...

They are quick to make and a nice change from salmon.

The recipe is posted on the Char-Broil site Please take a peek if you get the time.  Thanks! :)


p.s.  I'm still behind on my cooking, posting and email but am trying to catch up.  Feeling stronger every day too! :)