Chicken Legs

Chicken Legs on Big Green Egg

Bought this nifty hanging rack off Amazon by Bayou Classics.

1. Brine chicken legs, preferably overnight.
2. Take out of brine, rinse, pat dry and put them back in the fridge for several hours to tighten back up
3. Mix up a batch of flour and your favorite spices (salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, etc)
4. Lightly dust all sides of legs
5. Recommend a drip pan with a little water in it
6. Indirect setup, 400 degrees for approx 45 min to 1 hour

Spicy Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 Serrano pepper, minced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup medium salsa verde
• 1/2 cup fat free sour cream

• 3 cups shredded chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
• 8 oz Cabot Monterrey Jack Cheese, shredded & divided
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 3 avocados, peeled and chopped
• 8-10 flour tortillas

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Saute serrano pepper and garlic, for 1 minute. Stir in flour, constantly stirring, and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the chicken broth, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a low boil. Once boiling, whisk in the sour cream, salsa verde and cilantro. Remove from heat. Spray/grease a 9×13 baking dish. Add 3/4 cup sauce to the bottom of the pan. Add chicken, Cabot Monterrey Jack Cheese, onion and avocado to the center of each tortilla and roll, placing seam-side down in the dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with leftover cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling. Serve immediately.

Creamy Mac & Cheese

For the bechamel sauce:

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)    
• 1 1/2 cups packed sharp aged cheddar cheese *see note
• 1/2 cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese
• 8 ounces (2 cups) sturdy macaroni noodles *see note
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Add Paprika and Rosemary to taste   

Instructions

1. Cook the macaroni noodles in a large pot of salted water according to package directions, draining them a minute before the "al dente" cooking time.
2. Heat the milk in the microwave or on the stove top until very hot but not boiling. 
3. In a heavy bottomed sauce pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture turns a light brown color, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Slowly start pouring in the milk, whisking constantly. The mixture will look very thick at first and will thin out as you whisk in the remainder of the milk. Return the pot to the heat and cook the mixture, whisking continuously, another 3-5 minutes or until thickened. The sauce should coat the back of the spoon. If you put a little bit on a spoon and run your finger through it, the line from your finger should remain. Stir in the salt, garlic powder, and ground mustard. 
4. Return the remaining sauce to the stove. Over low heat, add the cheeses, stirring to melt. If you're unable to melt in all the cheese, add a bit more milk, a Tablespoon at a time, until the cheese is melted completely. Stir the sauce into the pasta until your desired level of creaminess is reached. I find I use all of the sauce sometimes and sometimes I have a little leftover. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed or simply serve hot with a sprinkle of parsley. 

Notes

I recommend using large elbows, cavatappi, wagon wheels, or gemelli pasta for this recipe. For the cheddar cheese, look for a good quality aged cheddar, preferably aged over 9 months. I recommend Tillamook.


Variations:
For a milder, classic flavor and more yellow color, substitute 1/2 cup of the cheddar for 1/2 cup of yellow American cheese.
For a bit of a kick, try subbing the Pecorino Romano for hatch chile or pepper jack cheese.
You can also try Gruyere in place of the Pecorino Romano.

Pork Carnitas

This is my take on this recipe because I don't think you need all the confusing details of adding things and waiting, and covering and uncovering, yada, yada, yada.  This recipe takes about 3 hours all told, but my version, I pretty much dump it all in and let the heat do the cooking.

4lbs pork shoulder in 1 inch cubes or smaller (get boneless and make it easy on your self)
1 white onion
4 poblano peppers
4 cloves garlic (sometimes I use more)
2 tsp salt and pepper respectively (I really just do this to taste)
2 cans of diced tomatoes (14 oz)
1 cup of a good resposado tequila
1 dark mexican beer like Negro Modelo

Olive oil or spray dutch oven
Dice 4 poblanos and 1 white onion, add salt, pepper and garlic and saute for a few minutes.
Cube 1 inch pieces of pork shoulder and add to pot.  Cook covered for 30 min on a lively simmer stirring frequently
Few minutes later, sir in tequila
Few minutes later stir in beer
Cook uncovered for a few minutes to let it thicken up
Move to oven (optional) but continue stirring frequently
Bring back to stove and cover or uncover based on how "liquidy" the sauce is and what you are looking for (thicker sauce, cook uncovered longer, etc.)