Grilling 101

Welcome back to Welch’s Blog!
Today, with the Labor day holiday coming up, we will be talking about the art of grilling.
There are two ways to gril so choose the one that best fits the type of grill you have. The two ways we recommend are charcoal grilling and Natural (or propane) gas grilling.

First we will talk about getting the grill ready:
A gas grill is relatively easy. Turn on gas grill, click the button and it is running. Be careful, if it doesn’t light right away-give time for gas to clear away before trying again.
A charcoal grill is a little more complex. First you arrange the charcoal in a pyramid at the bottom of the grill. Then pour approximately 2 oz of lighter fluid or until coals appear glossy over the top of the coals and VERY CAREFULLY light with a match. When charcoal is about three quarter of the way covered in ash and has a slight glow you are ready to start cooking.
Now you have to decide if you are cooking direct or indirect (or both if you are searing), which I will now explain.
Direct heat cooking is putting the meat directly over the coals or hot end of the gas grill. You would use this method for cooking thinner pieces of meat that usually take less than thirty minutes to cook, some examples are Boneless chicken, steaks, fish fillets, hamburgers and hot dogs.
Indirect heat cooking is similar to oven cooking. You would Place most charcoal on one side of the grill and cook on the other (or cook on the low side of the gas grill). Some examples are Whole turkeys, bone-in chicken, ribs and briskets.
Searing is a method in which you start cooking at a high heat (to seal the juices in) and then switch to the indirect method to finish cooking. This method provides doneness on each side while maintaining the rich, red color and flavors in the center—and creates a nice presentation when slicing individual servings for guests.
Here are some tips for cooking Beef, Pork and Chicken:
Beef-
* Turn steaks only once- when the juices start to bubble on the uncooked side (the clearer the juice, the more well done the meat).
* Second side of steak needs less grilling time than the first
* Internal grilling temps are as follows :
Rare-135 degree
Medium rare-145 degrees
Medium -160 degrees
Medium Well-165 degrees
Well done 170-degrees
Pork-
*Cook Thoroughly – Pork is ready when the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink along the bone.
*internal temp should be 160 degrees for medium and 170 degrees for well done.
Chicken-
*Chicken is done when juices run clear.
* Temperature should be 170 degrees for breasts and 180 degrees for whole chicken.

Well I hope this helps and have a fun and safe labor Day!

Loving the Burgers

This week we will be talking about the good old fashioned hamburger. Hamburgers have come along way over the last few years. Not to long ago a person would just fire up the grill(or pan) slap on some Ground Beef (or Chuck as we recommend) flip it a couple times, put on a bun with a little Ketchup and Mustard and eat away!

Times have changed some (even though we still enjoy the old fashioned way also) and people are getting a lot more creative. There's all the different kind of cheeses from American to Blue Cheese,there is Bacon and Swiss Mushroom,Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle and even Avocado!
Here at our store we have even started stuffing our hamburgers. There is Cheddar,Bacon,BaconCheddar and Green Pepper & onion stuffed Hamburgers.
We have seen recipes for Onion Soup Burgers and BBQ burgers and many more.
So we want to leave you with a little creative recipe that we hope will treat your taste buds. Here is a recipe for a Bacon Wrapped Hamburger:

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
6 slices bacon
6 hamburger buns, split

Directions :
Preheat a grill for high heat.
In a large bowl, mix together the Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble in the ground beef, and mix together by hand. Form into 6 patties, and wrap a slice of bacon around each one. Secure bacon with toothpicks.
Place patties on the grill, and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until well done. Remove toothpicks before serving on hamburger buns.

Wednesday Blog

Hello and Welcome again to Welch's Blog. We are going to start posting a Blog on Wednesday's with a some info on meat and a recipe to go with it!

We will start today with a little talk about the many ways to prepare Italian Sausage. Italian Sausage is a meat that consists of Ground Pork and Italian Spices mixed together and either left in bulk, made into patties or stuffed into a sausage casing.

There are many ways to use Italian Sausage for your meal, whether as the main dish or in sauces.

Here are some examples:

* Cook Sausage in casing on stove, grill or oven and add peppers and onions with a red sauce and serve on a bun.

* Cook Sausage in casing or patty and serve on a bun with sauteed Peppers, Onion and Mushrooms

*Make a "Pizza Burger" which consists of a Italian Sausage patty covered with pizza sauce and Mozzarella Cheese. (And veggies if you like)

* Italian Sausage is also great for using with pizza, spaghetti sauces, lasagna, mostaccioli, and many other Italian dishes.

Here is a easy slow cooker recipe that is nice for (unfortunately) a back to school meal:
8 links of Italian Sausage
1 26oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
1 onion sliced

Place the Italian Sausage links, spaghetti sauce, green pepper and onion into a slow cooker.
Stir to coat everything in sauce. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours.
Serve on your choice of roll or bun.
**Also great topped with mozzarella cheese**
Enjoy!