This summer I went on my first fishing trip with a bunch of my college buddies. Seriously, I don't think there's a better time than a weekend with boys : no network: to strengthen ties, to remake the world in our own way and to have fun en masse. It was in a remote corner of Lanaudière that our fishing weekend took place. In my mind, who says fishing or nature, also says barbecue! I am not used to trusting the mention "BBQ included" of resorts, rental cottages or outfitters, I always have the impression that I will arrive at the cottage and that a wreck/dinosaur/decomposing BBQ will be waiting for me. That is why I prefer to bring one or two portable BBQs on my picturesque escapades. This trip being no exception to the rule, I had in addition to my fishing "rigs", my fishing hat and my beer, my portable BBQ, my little Weber Jumbo Joe (not to name it), a stainless steel grill (no less) to make a wood BBQ, a little more "redneck" and obviously my BBQ "gear". Each planned meal represented a feast in the making.
Day 1. Burgers
After a fruitful day of fishing accompanied by "Radler" type drinks well placed below the tie, what could be better than good juicy burgers to regain the energy left on the lake during the day. Nothing complicated. We light the charcoal with a chimney starter and a little newspaper, we prepare the fire in the small Jumbo Joe and the BBQ is ready to welcome the meatballs. We used the Montreal spice mix from BBQ Quebec to season the meatballs, we sear them and then put them in indirect cooking. Then brushed with Expresso BBQ Quebec sauce, we waited for them to reach the magic temperature of 165°F. Little secret here: do not plan more time for your cooking, equip yourself with a good meat thermometer and know your temperatures. You will never miss your meals on the BBQ again! (120°F = rare, 130°F = rare, 140°F = medium-rare, 150°F = medium and 165°F = well done and this is true for all your meats) In short, the day ended well with good homemade burgers made with love on the charcoal.
Day 2. Filet Mignon
It's Saturday, the sky is blue from east to west, we spend a good part of the day on the lake teasing trout. That evening, it's one of Max Lavoie's favorite recipes that I wanted to introduce to the guys: filet mignon injected with cognac butter. The day before, I injected (using the BBQ Québec injecter) my entire filet mignon with melted butter and cognac. Since beef filet mignon is very lean, it's good to add a fat to it in order to have a juicier and tastier end result (like most wild meats, by the way). So I had to prepare my BBQ to welcome the beast; I dug a hole in the sand that I filled with hot coals and then placed my grill in it. stainless . I had my perfect "wood" BBQ for my size needs! The monster (the piece of meat), having rested soaked in cognac and butter in the fridge for 24 hours, was ready to meet the fire. All that was left was to cut the filet mignon, apply the Argentina and Montreal spices from BBQ Québec on the entire surface of the meat and cook our meal. For cooking, we seared the steaks on both sides and then placed them in indirect cooking. We then added maple butter and a slice of blue cheese to top it all off. I didn't ask for the doneness for my friends' filet mignons because, as Gordon Ramsay once said on Masterchef, filet mignon is lean and should be eaten rare. The guys have tripped on the recipe, we ate like kings, with full bellies we were ready for another great evening.
Finally, this fishing trip did me a lot of good and I hope that this tradition will be repeated for many more years to come. I wish everyone to experience fishing trips and BBQs without network with friends. Don't forget your portable BBQ, you never know what awaits us as a barbecue included on the porch of the cottage you rent. Oh! and when we returned we also cooked our catch, good fresh trout on my Mastertouch with butter and BBQ Québec ocean spices simply, but simply delicious. Can't wait for the cottages without network, can't wait for the BBQ!