Two Wood-Fired Recipes to Kick Off Your Summer

Our friend Ted (@wellfedted) recently stopped by the office to help us kick off the start to summer with a backyard BBQ. As the team headed outside to enjoy the warm weather, Ted lit a couple of FirePits and grilled us a meal packed with flavor. Here's how to re-create this delicious meal on your FirePit.

"BioLotes"

Elotes are a traditional grilled corn snack often grilled over wood or charcoal served with a variety of condiments ranging from mayo, ketchup and mustard to lime juice and salt. The most important thing is that your corn is as fresh as possible. As soon as corn is picked, it starts converting it’s natural sugars into starch losing it’s bright, sweet flavor that contrasts so well with the char from the grill. As tempting as it may be, ditch the pre-shucked, plastic-wrapped corn and go for the stuff still in the husk. In fact, the name “Elote” comes from the Nahuatl word “ēlōtl” meaning “fresh ear of corn”. Tip of the cap to the BioLite engineering team who designed a grill grate that perfectly fits an ear of corn!

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 ears sweet corn, husked 
• 1 stick salted, room temperature butter
• 1 tablespoon Tajín seasoning (chili powder can be used as a substitute)
• ½ cup chopped cilantro (leaves and stems)
• ½ cup grated cotija cheese
• Lime wedges for serving
• Optional: 4 x skewers or caramel apple sticks, soaked in water for 10 minutes

Steps:

1. The entire cooking process happens very quickly so it's important to set yourself up for success before anything hits the grill.  Start by filling your FirePit with charcoal and lighting it.
2. While the FirePit is coming to temp, shuck the corn removing as much of the stringy floss as possible. If using, insert the skewer/apple stick into the core of the corn cob. This will make turning the corn easier but tongs will work as well.
3. Next make the seasoned butter by adding the Tajin seasoning to the softened butter and mix well until there are no streaks of unseasoned butter left. Spread butter onto a plate or shallow dish slightly larger than your pieces of corn. Note: butter can be made up to 3 days in advance and is also delicious on toast, eggs, asparagus, or a spoon.
4. Finally, mix cilantro and cotija in a small bowl.
5. When the grill is hot (about 15 minutes after lighting, or once all the coals are glowing) place corn directly on the FirePit's grill grate. Once you begin to hear popping sounds (about 2-3 minutes), rotate the corn a ¼ turn every couple minutes until the entire cob is evenly charred.  Carefully remove corn from the grill and while hot, roll the cobs in the Tajin butter and sprinkle liberally with the cilantro/cotija mixture. Serve immediately with lime wedges and enjoy.

Jerk Pork Sandwiches with Mango Slaw

What's so great about this Jerk seasoning is that it can be used for anything! Pork, chicken, mushrooms, cauliflower. Combined with the smoky flavor from the BioLite FirePit, this recipe hits all the sweet, salty, spicy, smoky notes you could ever want from a grill session.

Prep time: 4-24 Hours

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Pork

• 1-1.5 lbs pork shoulder or loin sliced ½” thick
• 2 tablespoons ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground clove
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons ground black Pepper
• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, picked
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pureed
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
• ¼ Scotch Bonnet pepper, seeded and deveined, minced
• ½ cup Canola oil
• Juice from one lime
• 1 Tablespoons Kosher salt

For the slaw:

• ½ head red cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly
• 1 mango, peeled, sliced thinly or shaved using a vegetable peeler
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons mayo
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• Additional: 4 potato rolls or bun of your choosing

Steps:

1. Make the jerk rub by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until a thick paste forms. Be careful when working with the scotch bonnet pepper. Avoid touching your eyes and wear gloves if possible. Spread about a teaspoon of rub on each slice of pork, transfer to a Ziploc bag and place in the refrigerator to marinate. Overnight is ideal but anything more that 2 hours is fine.
2. To make the slaw, core and slice the cabbage as thinly as possible. Mix the sliced cabbage, carrots, scallions, and mango in a large bowl. Sprinkle in kosher salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar and massage the the vegetables until they start to leach out some of their water. Let them sit in a bowl for 15-20 minutes and then drain off any excess liquid. While you’re waiting for the vegetables, whisk the buttermilk, mayo, vinegar and remaining tablespoon of sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Toss the drained cabbage mixture with the dressing and place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
3. When you’re ready to cook the pork, light your FirePit and allow the coals to get white hot. In the case of thinly sliced pork, you can pull the meat out of the refrigerator as soon as the grill is hot and start grilling. For chicken you may want to let your meat temper so that it cooks more evenly.
4. Grill the pork for about 4 minutes on each side or until an instant thermometer reads 140F. Transfer cooked pork to a clean dish, cover with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.
5. Once the pork is rested, slice thinly, pile about ½ a cup onto each potato bun, top with slaw, and enjoy!

Looking for more recipes? Follow @wellfedted or visit Ted's website to stay up to date on his latest creations.