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!

Memorial Day

It is getting close to Memorial Day and Welch’s has there Sirloin Strip Steak on sale for $5.99 lb!(thru May 26th)

You may ask “what can I do with Sirloin Strip Steak?”
Well here are a couple suggestions:
The first thing you can do is put a little Garlic and Season Salt (or soy sauce is good as well) and grill it over medium heat approximately 5 minutes per side. (cooking times vary by how done you would like your steak)
You can also cut your Sirloin Strip Steak into about 1 inch pieces and make your own Shish Kabobs. With the steak you can cut an assortment of vegetables (we recommend Peppers, Onion and Mushrooms) , Sausage, Chicken and even Pineapple .If you don’t feel like doing all the work we do have premade Shish Kabobs at the store but if you feel adventurous here are a couple of recipes to help you out:
SHISH KABOBS

Cut into bite-size pieces:
2 med. green peppers2 med. onions3 med. tomatoes, cut in wedges1/2 lb. mushrooms, do not cut
1lb. Sirloin Strip Steak cut into 1 inch pieces
MARINADE SAUCE:
1 1/2 c. oil3/4 c. soy sauce4 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce1/2 c. wine vinegar2 tsp. parsley flakes2 cloves garlic, crushed2 tbsp. dry mustard2 tsp. salt2 tsp. pepper1/3 c. lemon juice1 can tomato soup (undiluted)
Combine all marinade ingredients; blend well. Add meat; cover and refrigerate overnight or make in morning and refrigerate until dinner time. To prepare, alternate ingredients on skewers and grill or broil 4 inches from heat 7 minutes or until done on each side. Brush with marinate while cooking. Serve with rice.
TERIYAKI SHISH KABOBS
1/2 c. dark corn syrup1/3 c. soy sauce1/4 c. dry sherry1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced or 1 tsp. ground ginger2 cloves garlic, minced1/4 tsp. pepper1 1/2 to 2 lbs. Boneless Sirloin or New York Strip Steak Small mushrooms, zucchini wedges, water chestnuts, cherry tomatoes, pineapple chunks, onion chunks, or other vegetables of choice
Cut steak into 1 or 2 inch cubes or thin strips, as desired. In large bowl, combine corn syrup, soy sauce, sherry, ginger, garlic and pepper. Stir to mix thoroughly. Add steak strips and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate, turning occasionally, several hours or overnight. Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade. Thread steak onto shish kabob skewers alternating with vegetables. Grill about six inches from hot coals, turning and basting with reserved marinade about six or seven minutes, or until desired doneness. Do not overcook. You may parboil the mushrooms, onion and zucchini for 5 minutes before grilling, if desired.

Pork Steaks!

Welch’s has pork steaks on sale! They are on sale from Tuesday April 28th thru Wednesday May 6th. Here are a couple recipes for pork steak:

PORK STEAK DINNER

4 pork steaks
10 new potatoes
1 onion chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 sm. can mushrooms
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 pkg. frozen peas & carrots

Brown pork steaks in skillet (drain). Add potatoes and onion. Mix soup, mushrooms with liquid, salt, Worcestershire sauce. Pour over pork and potatoes. Cook on simmer until tender, about 50 to 60 minutes. Rinse peas and carrots under running water and add to mixture in skillet. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

SAVORY GRILLED PORK STEAKS

4 to 6 pork steaks, cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 c. naturally brewed soy sauce
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 c. chopped onion

Blend brown sugar and curry powder in small saucepan. Gradually add soy sauce, tomato sauce and onion stirring until blended. Bring to boil, reduce heat and cook slowly for 5 minutes. Cool. Place steaks in large plastic bag. Add marinade. Press air out of bag and close tightly. Place in pan or dish. Marinate 4 to 6 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
Remove steaks and place on grill over hot, glowing coals. Broil steaks at low to moderate temperature basting and turning occasionally for 30 to 40 minutes.

**You can also season Pork Steaks with Garlic Powder and Season Salt, cook on medium grill approximately 30 to 40 minutes and add your favorite barbeque sauce.

What is it we see outside? Could it really be the sun shining?
Time to fire up the grill! Maybe some brats, maybe some burgers, chops or steaks.
How about one of Welch’s marinated chicken breasts? They come in three flavors-Butter Garlic, Italian, or Santé Fe Salsa. They are tumble marinated right here at Welch’s. Guaranteed to be tender, juicy and bursting with flavor! You can put the cooked chicken breasts on a bun, cut it up and put it in a salad, or eat it plain on your plate. Maybe try skewering them and alternate the raw cut up chicken breasts with your favorite vegetables and brush with olive oil before placing on the hot grill to cook. YUMMY! Who can resist a kebab?

For grilled chicken breasts preheat grill to medium and cook 5-7 minutes per side or until done thoroughly.

Happy Easter from Welch's!

Its Easter time and you may be wondering what to fix for your holiday dinner. Here at Welch’s we offer our own privately labeled delicious ham. It is a semi-boneless, skinless-shank less ham that melts in your mouth. We recommend that you pour a can of crushed pineapple and brown sugar over the top before baking. We also offer homemade sausages made several times daily. Our most popular Easter sausages are Fresh and Smoked Polish. Both are excellent served with sauerkraut.

We wish all our customers a Blessed Easter!

**Our hams are fully cooked and only require reheating at 325 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes per pound.**
Enjoy!!