Tonight was the first night after the rains totaled our patio roof that we could get back outside. We didn’t need one, but I built a fire anyway. I call it “Fire for Effect”.  And Patti’s tiny and always cold. I found citrus marinated carne asada at the Mexican market on sale and I could not resist. With the patio cover gone we can now enjoy the stars. Saw two shooting stars tonight…awesome.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Pellets: Mesquite

Note Cook Time: (I can speed this up, but I wanted everything to spend time in the smoke.)

Ingredients:

3 lbs. citrus marinated carne asada
2 or 3 sweet peppers, sliced (we like the color they add)
1 large sweet onion, sliced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
shredded  cheese of choice
sour cream, to taste
package of tortillas (we like flour)
red pepper flakes, to taste
Country Bob’s season salt, to taste
Coarse ground black pepper, to taste
1 large tomato, diced
5 or 6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
2 limes, sliced
Olive oil

Directions:
 
Cut the peppers, onions and garlic.  Place in a bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil on them and place them on a small cooking grate, then onto the grill to smoke a bit. (30 minutes) You can cut the tomato and cilantro at the same time.
 


          Season the veggies to taste

 

Season the meat with the season salt and red pepper to taste.

Cooking Directions: Traeger

Open the lid and set the dial to “smoke”, after about five minutes shut the lid. Give it about 10 minutes to heat up. Patti has lined the drip pan with foil for me, it makes for easier clean up. Place everything directly onto the grill and just let it hang out in the smoke and get happy for 30 minutes or so.

After 30 minutes, turn the digital control up to 250 degrees. It will take the veggies longer to cook than the meat. Just let the garlic and onions go for ½ hour. (Stir every now and then.)

After a ½ hour pull the veggies and cover to keep warm. Turn the digital control to the high setting and add the meat for another 15 minutes or until it is done to your taste. Be careful here because carne asada is cut thin and will cook fast. It will be done before your Traeger reaches high heat, keep an eye on it.

Note: I use a spray bottle when cooking on the grill filled with a Worcestershire sauce and liquid smoke mix that keeps things moist and adds tons of flavors. (Mix is 3 parts Worcestershire with 1 part liquid smoke)

Note: I get a lot of questions about the kind of pellets you can use with a recipe. Keep in mind that a recipe is just an outline. Some you need follow closely like when you are making bread, but most you can do anything you can dream. Our favorite way to cook is with heavy doses of imagination. Feel free to mix and match the pellets until you find a combination you really like.
 


           Gotta love these Pig Tails

Directions: Gas Grill
Grill: Direct Medium & High Heat

Veggies:
Preparing Grill: Indirect Medium heat with a cooking grate

Preheat your grill to medium heat (300 - 350) and turn off one side so you will be cooking with indirect heat. Add your wet wood chips to the fire and oil the cooking grate. (You’ll want to use a cooking grate with small holes that sets on your grills large grate.) A cooking spray is easiest for this.

(Note: you can add your hickory directly to the great or you can use foil smoke packets.(Two handfuls wet chips and one dry, fold foil into a packet, poke holes in it with a fork and you’re good to go.)

Your cooking times and temps will be the same as above.

Meat:
Preparing Grill: Medium Direct Heat

Preheat your grill to medium heat (300 - 350). Add your wet hickory chips to the fire and oil the grill. A cooking spray is easiest for this.

Note: you can add your hickory directly to the grill or you can use foil smoke packets. (Two handfuls wet chips and one dry, fold foil into a packet, poke holes in it with a fork and you’re good to go.)

Your cooking times and temps will be the same as above.

Preparing Charcoal Grill
Get the grill ready, you will want your temperature of around 300-350 degrees. Remember, you are going indirect medium heat here for about 14 minutes. Bank your coals over to one side of your grill. Add your “drained wood chips” and you are good to go…

Your cooking times and temps will be the same as above.
 


Slice the meat across the grain into thin strips ¼ - ½” thick.
 


        It is ready to come together now…
 

Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone.
Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste.
Take it and run with it….

Enjoy,
Ken & Patti

Hey, if you are interested in learning more about Traeger Grills or for fine meats and sausages for your grill, go see Jacob. He is a Sausage Meister and we are not kidding. If you get a chance, go and see him. It will be a fun day trip. (Take an ice chest; we always fill up a big one.) Or check him out @ www.tandhsausage.com or call him 760 471- 9192.

Al Malekovic makes a fine all purpose sauce. Patti uses it for seasoning all kinds of things. But I like it on burgers and steaks, or any meats. “Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce”

Check it out, for a free bottle go to his web site or email him. If you email him, tell him that you saw it here and we used it all up and to send us more. LOL.
www.countrybobs.com     
Al@countrybobs.com