Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que

My Mom and Dad moved to Dallas from Colorado in 1997.  I've visited them several times over the last 16 years but we've never been to Ft. Worth.  You might find this hard to believe but I used to be a red-neck.

When my parents moved, I was living on a 660 acre ranch in a little community on the Pawnee Grasslands.  I had cows, dogs, cats and a huge garden.  I drove a truck and hauled water into my house from the stock tanks when my well caved in.

In other words, this isn't my first rodeo!

I knew my kids would enjoy the real cowboy experience and I was right!  Within 20 minutes of hitting main street, my kids had a stick horse, a cowboy hat and a couple of us had sat on a cow.

We knew for sure that to top off our real cowboy experience, we wanted some good bar-b-que! There were many place to choose from but we went the place with PIT in it's name.

We were not disappointed!  Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-b-Que was exactly what we wanted and I was thrilled that we'd picked this place without even doing any research.  I went by the seat of my pants which is totally unlike me.  I'm a planner.

We walked in the door to find the pit and a list of meat that was available for purchase by the pound.  Keith and I both really like ribs so I got the pork and he got the beef.  The kids meal came with a choice of brisket or sausage.  Both of my kids loved their choices and wanted more!

Once your meat is selected you walk into the dinning room but first you get to pick a couple sides to go with your meal.  All meals come with beans and bread but you can buy some other goodies like potato salad, corn, pickles and mac and cheese with jalapenos and bacon.  For dessert there is a selection of cobblers.  We got the peach and it was wonderful!

To wash it all down you can choose a soft drink or pop, depending on where you're from or a ice cold beer.

Can I interest you in a Hot Jalapeno Pepper?

Salmon Burgers

My friend Adrienne from Knoxville Pixie posted a delicious looking picture on twitter yesterday.  It looked so good and perfect for summer BBQ season that I asked her to please guest post and share her recipe with us. I'm hoping to try this recipe VERY soon because my bother in law just got home from a fishing trip to Sitka Alaska this morning.

My Hubs is a total carnivore and not the biggest salmon fan. However, since turning 35 this year, he has become a little more concerned about the kind of food he is eating and how better he can control his salt, cholesterol and fat intake. So after we scarfed down a smorgasbord of nachos, boneless chicken wings, french fries, and beer at a Sports bar on Saturday yet still awoke Sunday to a mean burger craving, I decided it might be a good time to try out a salmon burger recipe I’d previously been too intimidated to attempt.

I think I was nervous to try out a salmon recipe before due to the (what appeared to be) challenging preparation of the fish. But, it was seriously easy, even for me who owns only a food processor attachment for my blender as opposed to the real thing. So let’s get started, shall we?

After some research, I learned you want to get wild caught sockeye salmon if possible. Apparently it’s the best kind and the healthiest and if you want to know the reasons why, you’d have to ask my Hubs, I was too busy playing Angry Birds to pay attention when he told me. I actually found some on sale at my regular grocery store.  I picked up about 1.75 lbs of skin-on salmon fillets prepackaged at the fish counter. 

For starters, you want to remove the skin (I found it pretty easy to remove most of it by pulling it off by hand, and used a sharp boning knife if it gave me trouble). Once all the skin has been removed, cut salmon into chunks, and place in food processor or lame tiny food processor attachment and pulse until the fish is the consistency of ground beef.

Then transfer the salmon pulp into a large mixing bowl and add 1 tbsp poppy seeds and 1 tbsp grill seasoning. Mix with hands and form into 4 patties. Drizzle patties lightly with olive oil and yell at your Husband to hurry up with the yard work and turn on the grill because in the 6-yrs you’ve owned the pimped out piece of propane machinery, you’ve yet to learn how to turn the darn thing on. Hand the platter of raw fish patties to afore mentioned sweaty other half and bark at him to be sure to use the PAM for grilling spray before putting the burgers on the grill and not to cook the patties any longer than 3 mins per side.

While the burgers cook, make the super simple sauce. Combine ½ cup mayo, ½ cup sour cream and scallions in a bowl and place in fridge until burgers come of the grill.

After precisely 6 mins (or longer if you like your salmon more well done), remove perfectly cooked burgers from the grill, place on yummy crusty hamburger buns and top with scallion sauce, lettuce, and tomato. Serve alongside grilled veg and potato salad or whatever floats your boat. Enjoy!

Salmon Burgers Recipe
adapted from Rachael Ray

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 skinless salmon fillets (6 ounces each), cut into large chunks
• 1 tablespoon grill seasoning, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• 1/2 cup mayo
• 3 scallions, whites and greens, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Lettuce, for topping
• Sliced tomato, for topping
• French Hamburger Buns, lightly toasted

Directions:

Pre-heat the grill, to medium-high. 

Place the salmon in a food processor and pulse to grind the meat. Transfer the fish to a mixing bowl and season with the grill seasoning and poppy seeds. Mix and form four patties. Drizzle the burgers with olive oil. 

Cook the burgers for 3 minutes on each side for a pink center, or 3 minutes on each side for fully cooked fish.

While the burgers cook, in a bowl, combine the mayo, sour cream and the scallions. Top the burgers with the lettuce, tomato, onion and sauce and serve on crusty, toasted buns.