Greek Roasted Chicken on the Recteq

Posted on by February 13, 2024

2/13/2024 – This quick smoke turned out very moist and flavorful. Used it first for lunch today in wraps with cilantro, red onion, fresh tomato, and sriracha. It was great as were the warmed-up leftovers.

  1. Thawed a whole chicken and spatchcocked it.
  2. Preheated Recteq to 325?.
  3. Seasoned the outside of the chicken and under the skin with a Greek Seasoning blend from the Spice Sage, Za’atar and Ladolemono (Greek Salad Dressing by TheMediteraneanDish.com)
  4. Placed on the Recteq and cooked for about an hour until 165° in the breast. Covered with foil and allowed the chicken to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Try this with our Mediterranean Seasoning Blend.

Rump Roast Recipe

Posted on by February 14, 2025

2/4/2024, 2/27/2024, & 2/13/2025 – The roast was great, simple, and quick to get into the oven. It also cooked quickly. The cook was inspired by the recipe by Juliea Huffaker here. On 2/27/2024, Mary tweaked Juliea’s recipe and those adjustments are included below.

Ingredients

  • 4-5 pound boneless beef rump roast.
  • Rub
    • 2 tablespoons EVOO
    • 1 tablespoon Salt
    • One TBS fresh ground black pepper
    • 3-4 teaspoons granulated garlic
    • 2 teaspoons onion powder
    • 1-2 tsp dried thyme & 2 tbsp fresh rosemary minced
  • One tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • Enough garlic cut into slices to be inserted deeply into knife slots in the roast
  • 1 onion chopped into long thin slices and caramelized.
  • Red pepper flakes from our garden-grown cayenne peppers

Instructions

  1. Mix Rub ingredients to make a seasoning paste.
  2. The day before, salt the roast to dry brine.
  3. Pierce the roast with a paring-style knife and insert slivers of garlic about 2″ on center, all over. Push the garlic in deep so it does not pop out while roasting.
  4. Remove meat from the fridge and let sit covered on the counter for at least ½-1 hour to get closer to room temperature.
  5. Rub the roast with the seasoning paste so it is well coated with the paste.
  6. Preheat your convection oven to 425°F.
  7. Sear the roast with EVOO in the hot cast iron pan. Set aside.
  8. Caramelize the onion with red pepper flakes in the EVOO in the same skillet, until lightly wilted. Move to a bowl.
  9. Pour into the skillet: 1 cup beef broth and 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce that have been mixed together.
  10. Place the seared and seasoned rump roast back into the hot skillet and place into the preheated 425°F convection oven.
  11. Roast for 20 minutes at 425°F.
  12. Add the caramelized onion with red pepper flakes on top and around the roast.
  13. Turn the temperature down to 225°F and slow roast to 135° IT.
  14. Insert oven’s temperature probe into the meat and set to 135° IT.
  15. Remove the roast, cover it with aluminum foil, and let it rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing thin and across the grain.

Greek Chicken

Posted on by April 27, 2026

1/13/2024 – This dish turned out great and will be one we make again more than once. It was inspired by a recipe by Suzy at MediterraneanDish.com here.

Note: We dry-brined the boneless/skinless thighs 24 hours before this cook.

Ingredients

For Greek Salad Dressing aka The Ladolemono (how to pronounce)

  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice Juice of 2 large lemons
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 large garlic cloves minced
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

For The Chicken And Veggies

  • 1 large red onion, halved and sliced into ½ -inch pieces
  • 1 medium zucchini, halved and sliced into ½-inch pieces (half moons)
  • 1 large orange bell pepper, cored and sliced into ½-inch thick slices
  • 1 large tomato, cut into 8 wedges
  • 1 yellow squash
  • fresh green beans
  • Kosher salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 6 large boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • ¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives
  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled roughly
  • ¼ cup of our homemade Italian Seasonings.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Mix the lemon juice, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper and whisk vigorously to combine. While whisking, drizzle in the olive oil and continue whisking until emulsified.
  3. In a bowl drizzle about half of the dressing on the veggies and stir to coat. The coating will be light as there is not that much dressing.
  4. On a large sheet pan, spread the onions, zucchini, squash, and green beans. Season well with salt and pepper, then spread the vegetables out so they are all touching the surface of the pan.
  5. Season the chicken on both sides with salt, pepper, and our homemade Italian Seasonings. Nestle the chicken, olives, and chunks of feta in between the vegetables and drizzle with the remaining sauce, making sure the chicken especially is covered with the sauce.
  6. Bake on the center rack of your heated oven until the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes.
  7. Finish and serve. Remove from the oven, plate, and spoon the pan juice over the chicken.

Greek Salad Dressing – Ladolemono

Posted on by June 7, 2024

January 2024 – From TheMediterraneanDish.com

This basic homemade Greek dressing or sauce is made up of a few key ingredients: lemon juice and olive oil, with garlic and dried oregano, whisked together until emulsified. The basic ratio to make ladolemono is 1:3–one part lemon juice to three part excellent extra virgin olive oil. But, you can add a little bit more for flavor–I like to use a pinch of dry oregano and minced garlic. – Suzy

  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice Juice of 2 large lemons
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2 large garlic cloves minced
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil

How to Pronounce? Click here.

Cabbage Soup with Ground Beef and Veggies

Posted on by January 6, 2024

1/5/2024 – This turned out great and was inspired by a recipe on Facebook.

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
3 cups cabbage, chopped
1 cup green beans, cut in half
1 cup celery, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 qt. homegrown and canned tomatoes
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
3 cloves minced garlic
1 Box (2 lbs) of Swanson’s Beef Broth
Jasmine rice

Instructions:

  1. Cook ground beef until done and place in the slow cooker.
  2. Place in all the vegetables, and top with the stock, and tomatoes.
  3. Add the spices, cover and simmer.
  4. Serve over rice

Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries, Bacon, & Pecans

Posted on by January 7, 2024

This was a great dish that was very flavorful. It was inspired by the recipe at https://juliasalbum.com/brussels-sprouts-and-bacon/

Ingredients

  • 12 oz Brussels sprouts ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 4 slices bacon cooked and chopped
  • 1 cup pecans
  • ½ cup dried cranberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Slice all Brussels sprouts in half.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine halved Brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and salt, and toss to combine.
  4. Place Brussels sprouts on the baking sheet cut side down.
  5. Roast in the oven at 400 F for about 25 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, turn them over for even browning, the cut sides should be partially charred but not blackened.
  6. While the sprouts are roasting, fry the bacon to crispy then chop it into ½-inch pieces.

Toast Pecans

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add pecans in one layer.
Toast the pecans for about 5 minutes (maybe a bit longer) in the preheated oven at 350 F until they get darker in color and begin to smell good.

Prepare Dried Cranberries

Briefly soak the dried cranberries in hot water. 1. Bring a small pot of water to boil. 2. Add dried cranberries to a medium bowl. Pour hot water over the cranberries and soak them for about 10 minutes says the original recipe but that turned ours too soft. Should have been 3 minutes or less. Drain.

Assembly

In a large bowl, toss everything together. The olive oil from Brussels sprouts and fats from bacon should be enough to coat the ingredients. If not then add EVOO.

Rib Roast Like Ina’s

Posted on by December 30, 2023

12/29/2023 – Rouce’s had a $10 Off coupon just before Christmas for a Rib Roast so I bought a 2-bone, 3 lb. roast. Dry brined it on 12/24/2023, wrapped in plastic on the foam tray and it brined in the outside refrigerator until 2 PM today. Pulled it to warm up at room temp per this recipe courtesy of Ina Garten. It was tender, as much as almost raw meat can be, and the flavor was ok. Not worth the extra cost.

Ingredients:

  • One 2-rib roast that weighed 3 lbs whereas she had a 3-rib standing rib roast (7 to 8 pounds).
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • Mustard Horseradish Sauce, recipe follows

Directions:

  1. Two hours before roasting, remove the meat from the refrigerator and allow it to warm up
  2. Place our large oven rack in the second lowest position.
  3. Preheat a very clean oven to 500°.
  4. Place the roast in a pan large enough to hold it comfortably, bone-side down
    • Spread the top thickly with the salt and pepper.
    • Roast the meat for 30 minutes. She said 45 minutes for her large 3-bone.
    • Meanwhile, make the sauce.
    • Without removing the meat from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and roast for another 20 (she said 30) minutes.
    • Increase the temperature to 450 degrees F and roasted for about 15, until the internal temperature of the meat was at 125 degrees F.
  5. Remove the roast from the oven and transfer it to a cutting board. Cover it tightly with aluminum foil and allow the meat to rest for 20 minutes. Carve and serve with the sauce.
  6. The meat was very dark red in the center and right for Mary but too rare for Tom.

Mustard Horseradish Sauce for her 3-bone roast. See the notes below before making it again.

  • 1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
  • 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustards, horseradish, sour cream, and salt in a small
bowl.

The sauce was ok but not what we like. Likely missing the Worcestershire Sauce and too much Mayo. Next time reduce the mayo to ½-cup and increase the sour cream by 1 cup.

Tuscan Shrimp with Creole Seasoning

Posted on by December 28, 2023

12/27/2023 – This was a great dish inspired by the recipe at Julia’s Album here. The protein could be chicken or fish.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb raw shrimp (large, peeled, and deveined – 16 or 20 count per 1 pound of shrimp)
  • Creole Seasoning
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Creamy Tuscan sauce

  • 4 oz sun-dried tomatoes chopped (about ¼ cup)
  • 14 oz artichoke hearts drained and chopped (1 can or about 1 cup)
  • 4 oz fresh spinach
  • 1 cup Half-n-Half
  • salt to taste

How to sear the shrimp

  1. This recipe uses 1 lb of large raw shrimp seasoned with Creole Seasoning.
  2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet until hot. Add shrimp and minced garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes per side.
  3. Remove from heat. Remove shrimp to a plate.

How to make Tuscan sauce

  1. To the same, now empty, skillet, add chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and chopped artichokes. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute on medium heat.
  2. Add fresh spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts, for a couple of minutes, on medium heat.
  3. To the skillet with sautéed vegetables, add 1 cup of Half-n-Half and paprika. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 1 minute, stirring. Season with salt, if needed. Adjust seasoning.
  4. Add seared shrimp to the skillet with the cream sauce.
  5. Spoon the sauce over the shrimp, and simmer for about 2 minutes (or more), until the shrimp is warmed up and completely cooked through.

Smoked Salmon Patties

Posted on by December 27, 2023

We smoked a large salmon fillet yesterday for Christmas dinner with the Creels. Tonight we made salmon patties with 1 lb. of salmon inspired by a recipe here.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb. smoked salmon skin removed and flaked. Smoked in the Recteq yesterday using Recteq’s Texas Pellets (oak and mesquite)
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup finely minced red onion
  • 3 large cloves garlic minced
  • 1/4 cup Blue Plate mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 ex-large eggs
  • 1 tsp dried dill although she used 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1/2+ cup pre-grated Parmesan Cheese
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil to fry the patties

Dill Mayonnaise – She served it with this but we had fresh Tzatziki and that went well with the patties.

3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Stir everything together and shape with your hands into 3″ diameter patties about ¾ inch thick.
  2. Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Fried gently in a No. 8 Cast Iron skillet until golden brown on both sides.
  3. Made 7 patties.

Next Time – Add 1.5 tsp of creole seasoning to the mix. Then sprinkle some on patties before frying and after they are removed from the oil.

Asparagus Baked with Cheese and Bacon

Posted on by December 30, 2023

12/25/2023 – Mary made this for the first time on Christmas Day 2023 when Digger and Carol Creel came for lunch. It was fantastic and was inspired by the recipe here. Go there for lots of advice and photos.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb asparagus
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ of a fresh lemon
  • 1 cup mixed Asiago and Parmesan cheeses, grated [the original recipe called for shredded Gruyere and Parmesan]
  • 5 slices bacon, fried and chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Trim asparagus by breaking off the tough end. Place asparagus in a medium-size casserole dish sprayed with PAM, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Top with minced garlic.
  3. Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven at 400 F for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
  4. Squeeze ½ fresh lemon over the asparagus
  5. Sprinkle half of the shredded asiago + parmesan. Then, add chopped cooked bacon. Top with the remaining half of shredded cheese.
  6. Bake for 10 more minutes, uncovered at 400 F. Serve immediately while the cheese is nice and melty!
  7. Important note: Pay attention to how thick (or thin) the asparagus stalks are. Thinner asparagus will cook faster. Thicker asparagus will take longer to cook. The cooking times should be adjusted accordingly.