The trick is to smoke the meat and not make the meat smoke
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FAVORITE FOODS - Panini
Date:October 2, 2014 Info:ClickHERE to jump to additional Info about this Favorites Section & Quick Links to other Favorites Sections.
BEST PANINI - 1 of 6 Unranked-Alphabetical Order:
PHOTO ENTRY NAME:CROQUE MONSIEUR PANINI SOURCE:Panini - More Than Just a Sandwich DATE FIRST COOKED: March 16, 2009
This is a panini version of a classic French sandwich. It is an upscale version of a ham and cheese sandwich served with an additional layer of cheese sauce on top. The ham and cheese sandwich is cooked on the grill as a panini. When this phase is done the sandwiches are brought indoors and the top slice of bread is brushed with the cheese sauce. The sandwich is then finished in the broiler. This has become one of my favorite sandwiches as well as a favorite panini.
BEST PANINI - 2 of 6 Unranked-Alphabetical Order:
PHOTO ENTRY NAME:CUBANO PANINI SOURCE:Panini - More Than Just a Sandwich DATE FIRST COOKED: March 24, 2009
This classic sandwich is basically a Cuban version of a an Italian style panini. A Cuban or Portuguese sweet roll is brushed on the inside with mustard. Then thin slices of ham, pork and cheese are added. These are topped with thin slices of pickles cut lengthwise. The outside of the rolls are brushed with butter. Even with these few simple ingredients this makes a most amazing panini.
BEST PANINI - 3 of 6 Unranked-Alphabetical Order:
PHOTO ENTRY NAME:GRILLED PASTRAMI PANINI SOURCE:My Own Concoction DATE FIRST COOKED: November 23, 2010
The inspiration for this panini was a pastrami sandwich I had at a restaurant. The pastrami was grilled and seem to achieve an extra layer of flavor in the process. I decided to try my own panini based on grilled pastrami. I used marbled rye bread, Dijon mustard and imported Swiss cheese as the other ingredients. I had the pastrami thick cut to make it easier to grill over the open grill grate. Once again, the grilled pastrami had the extra layer of flavor I found in the restaurant's grilled pastrami sandwich. A pastrami sandwich is one of my favorite sandwiches and this Panini version is quick and easy to make.
These Panini's are great use of leftover pulled pork. The panini recipe included a recipe for the coleslaw to be used with the sandwich. The panini is basically as good as your pulled pork turned out. This was one of my early experiments in using the heavy BGE cast-iron Half Moon Grill Griddles as a panini press. I preheat them when I warm up the Egg and use one above and one below with the raised ridges turned inward towards the bread. It actually looks a bit like a panini press. If additional weight is required a foil wrapped fire brick can be used on top.
This sandwich marked a totally different and interesting take on a classic Reuben. The corn beef was thick sliced and grilled ahead of time. Then it was diced and added to a mix of sauerkraut and grated Swiss cheese. This mix of the main ingredients was what was spread on the sandwich. A second twist was the bread was brushed with a mustard, mayo and garlic mixture which infused bread with its flavor as it melted. The last twist was the Russian dressing was not served on the sandwich. Instead it was served as a condiment for dipping on the side. This different take on the classic Reuben was excellent.
BEST PANINI - 6 of 6 Unranked-Alphabetical Order:
PHOTO ENTRY NAME:WOOD GRILLED PARTY PANINI SOURCE:Wicked Good Barbecue DATE FIRST COOKED: July 8, 2013
The authors of Wicked Good Barbecue not only included recipes for their award-winning competition barbecue dishes, they also included recipes for foods they made for themselves while at the competitions. Or sometimes they were things they made when they went tailgating. The original recipe was intended to make a 36" (90 cm) long panini for parties or tailgating. I cut this quantity in half. The panini used a wide variety of meats, veggies and cheeses. Some of the veggies were used for a salad-like vegetable mixture tossed with dressing, which were used as a topping over the layers of meats and cheeses. This is not a simple sandwich to prepare but the amazing variety of complex flavors make it worth all your efforts.
Motivation:
People are always asking me what my favorite recipes are. This section had it's origins in a seven part BLOG entry I wrote in 2011 called A Few of My Favorite Things. I have made many great dishes since then and also started making other types of foods such as Stir Fries. This section needed to be updated and expanded to stay current or be dropped. I chose the later and you have the results of my reworking the section in the Fall of 2014
Panini Info:
The PANINIsection of the site has a wide variety of different types of paninis. Frankly I like them all, some a little more than others, but they are all excellent. I am listing a half dozen here with no ranking, just in alphabetical order which represent the best of the best.