Iron Chef International

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
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in the South kitchen..............Iron Chef International Keltin

in the North kitchen............. Iron Chef International Bam




All right! Kitchen Stadium welcomes the first challenger representing Southern Style Pit BBQ, aiming to take down Iron Chef Bam.

BBQ vs. BBQ .

Keltin vs Bam......This is going to be a great one.

We should be expecting a lot of the same techniques.

These two chefs show alot of similarities in the kitchen and on the grill.

This should be a fairly good match.

We are going to do it a little differently. Today is a one dish show.

Todays secret dish is...................... Smoked Chicken Lasagna

Doc, are you ready?









So now Friends, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of my uncle..................... Allez cuisine!
 

Keltin

New member
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Crap! It's raining here, and has been all day! Doesn't look like I'm going to be able to do the Smoked Lasgana today, so it will have to be tomorrow. Bummer!
 

TexasGirl

The Invisible
Super Site Supporter
that looks freaking good!! Even those nasty shrooms!!now, who is going to eat all of that??
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
couldnt do lasagna with the chicken today... it was 28*,very very windy and snowing today...

i used all the same ingredients but stuffed them into shells instead...
 

Keltin

New member
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Rain be damned, I decided to do this anyway. I started late, and it ran late, but hey, I’m a night owl!

Ok, Iron Chef Time!! This is a big pictorial since it’s an Iron Chef thing, so it is split between 2 posts.

I pretty much stuck with the recipe shown in a Smoked Lasagna video Bam posted a while back, but I added 4 Cornish Hen Leg Quarters to mine to make it a bit different. To get the Cornish Hen leg quarters, I had to take 2 Hens and cut them myself. I then cut the backbones out and froze the breasts with wings attached. I’ll cook them at a later time.

The chicken was smoked in an 18” Weber Kettle with 30 coals, 15 per side, for just over 1 hour with hickory. I measured the temp, and 30 coals in the 18” Weber Kettle produces a dead on 300 degrees.

I later baked the constructed Lasagna in the kettle with 40 coals which gave me right at 350 degrees in temp. I let it cook for 1 hour.

I used an 8” x 11.5” baking dish…..and it was TOO small for this recipe! Argh! So make sure your’s is a bit bigger.

There is some work involved in this. Total, I’ve got 3.5 hours invested in this dish which includes 1+ hour of smoke time and 1 hour cook time for the construction. But, it is worth it. This is very, very yummy! I hope you try it. Thanks Bam!! :thumb:

This one ended up being quite the challenge for me. There is a lot of work involved if you try to do this all in one day. To make it easier on yourself, I’d suggest smoking extra chicken during a Q and save it for this on another day…..unless, of course, you start early and have all day! Also, this is the first time I’ve ever made Lasagna…..sad, but true. I was thinking my baking dish was big enough, but it turns out it wasn’t. Time to get a bigger one!

So, here it is, my Southern Kitchen entry into this, NCT’s first International Iron Chef Challenge! It was fun, and I look forward to doing more IC challenges in the future! Thank God we weren’t restricted by the 1 Hour time limit!

Smoked Chicken Lasagna

Ingredients

8 Boneless & Skinless Chicken thighs
4 Cornish Hen Leg Quarters

16 oz Cottage Cheese (small curd)
15 oz Ricotta Cheese
8 oz Cream Cheese
16 oz Mozzarella Cheese
Grated Parmesan and Romano blend

24 oz Spaghetti Sauce
15 oz Alfredo Sauce
1 pack sliced Baby Portobello Mushrooms

10 Lasagna Noodles, cooked
3 Tbsp Butter
Seasonings – Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Mrs. Dash original.

Procedure

Smoke the chicken thighs and Cornish Hen Leg quarters for 1 to 1.5 hours or until done. When cool, chop the meat and reserve.

In a skillet, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and sauté over medium high heat until tender, about 10 minutes. When done, drain and reserve.

Place the cottage cheese in a strainer and allow to drain excess moisture, about 15 minutes. Once drained, in a large bowl, add Cottage cheese, Ricotta cheese, Cream Cheese, and half (8 oz) of the Mozzarella. Stir to blend well and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine Spaghetti and Alfredo sauce until well blended and set aside. No need to heat it up. It will heat during the final cook.

Build-1
In a large baking dish, add enough sauce to coat the bottom of the dish. Now add 3 cooked lasagna noodles.

Build-2
Add the smoked and chopped chicken on top of the noodles in an even layer. Next, add the mushrooms on top of the chicken. Now, add 3 more noodles over the chicken and mushrooms.

Build-3
Spread the cheese mixture over the noodles. It’s best to pinch bits off a bit at a time and scatter it about. It will melt and spread when it cooks. Once all the cheese is down, add more of the sauce mixture to semi-cover and fill in the gaps between the drops of cheese. Now cover this with 4 lasagna noodles. You want a complete and tight seal here.

Build-4
Next, use remaining sauce to cover the tops of the noodles. Now add the rest of the Mozzarella in an even layer. Now, sprinkle generously with the Parmesan and Romano blended cheese. Finally, bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Once done, let rest for 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

-------------Pictures-------------

International Iron Chef Challenge – Smoked Chicken Lasagna (Part 1)

The original recipe called for a jar of Alfredo sauce. I used jarred sauce for everything. With so much other work going into this, I appreciate the short-cut. Sorry purists!

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They simply do NOT sell boneless and skinless chicken thighs down here. So, I had to buy bone-in and skin on thighs. Then I had to bone and skin them myself. I started with 7, but decided to add an 8th once they were done.

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Here are the thighs “marinating” in EVOO, salt, cracked pepper, thyme, basil, and oregano.

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I had to cut the leg quarters off the Cornish Hens. These got seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper, and Mrs. Dash original. Note: the skin was discarded.

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Smoke the meat!

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Here they are on the smoker nearly ready to come off.

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And now here is the meat before being chopped.

Step_13.jpg
 
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Keltin

New member
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International Iron Chef Challenge – Smoked Chicken Lasagna (Part 2)

Finally, the meat is chopped and ready. I actually had more thigh meat than I needed, so I kept the Cornish Hen meat in a small bowl by itself. The intention is to use enough thigh meat and ALL the Cornish Hen meat for the Lasagna. We want about a 60/40 blend between chicken thigh and Cornish Hen. Cornish Hen is in the 1st pic, and chicken thighs are in the 2nd pic.

Step_14.jpg


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Melt the butter in a skillet and then sauté the mushrooms.

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Add sauce and noodles to the baking dish.

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Now add the chicken and mushrooms.

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Final layer of noodles with mozzarella and the Parmesan and Romano blend. Notice my dish is too small, and I’m mounding over the top now. Argh! But there is no turning back now!

Step_18.jpg



Put it on the grill and let it cook at 350 for 1 hour. I didn’t add wood here. At this point, you’re using the grill as an oven and not a smoker. Yeah…..the dish is too small!

Step_19.jpg



It’s done and needs to rest for 15 minutes.

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Cut a square and plate it. Done. Unfortunately, it was runny. The taste is great, but it is a mess on the plate. Oh well, better luck next time!

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Keltin

New member
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Note: I over-estimated how much chicken I would need for this recipe and cooked 8 thighs and 4 Cornish Hen leg quarters. You can actually make this with 6 Thighs, or 4 Thighs plus the Cornish Hen. I ended up with quite a bit of smoked chicken that I froze for later use.

Step_20.jpg
 
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BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
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looks awesome Keltin

did you drain your cottage cheese? usually i put it in a piece of cheese cloth and turn the end of the cloth with a wooden spoon wrapped around it until no more liquid comes out.

yah did awesome for your first time making lasagna.... i slightly undercook my noodles as well, any excess liquid gets sucked up by the noodles..

this was also a first for me, i have never made manicotti by myself... now that is a long day and i had the smoked chicken already..lol

i was the picture taker,the developer,the prep cook,the chef and the assembler...oh and i was the waiter when it was all cooked..lmao

next time weather permiting;).. i will be able to stick with the theme..lol
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
Yeah, I drained the cottage cheese. I’m thinking my dish was too small, and there was a lot of oil from the cheese. Plus, I did the big no-no of lasagna and cooked the noodles till near done. I should’ve Googled BEFORE I started this. I imagine my noodles being so done means they didn’t absorb a lot of the liquid. Oh well. Mess on the plate, but good to eat. It does taste great, but dammit, that last pic was messy! :lol:
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
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i still remember my first lasagna... it looked and tasted like the stuff hamburger helper makes...lmfao

the biggest and most important question is this thought... did the DW like it?

cuz if she like it, then it can only get better when you make it again..lol

Yeah, I drained the cottage cheese. I’m thinking my dish was too small, and there was a lot of oil from the cheese. Plus, I did the big no-no of lasagna and cooked the noodles till near done. I should’ve Googled BEFORE I started this. I imagine my noodles being so done means they didn’t absorb a lot of the liquid. Oh well. Mess on the plate, but good to eat. It does taste great, but dammit, that last pic was messy! :lol:
 

Miniman

Mini man - maxi food
Gold Site Supporter
Maybe you could use no cook noodles, they will absorb a lot of liquid.
 

Keltin

New member
Gold Site Supporter
i still remember my first lasagna... it looked and tasted like the stuff hamburger helper makes...lmfao

the biggest and most important question is this thought... did the DW like it?

cuz if she like it, then it can only get better when you make it again..lol


Actually, she loved it. She's never been one to care about a neat plate, but flavor instead. She tore into this and said WOW and gave me a kiss. She loves it. It may not be pretty, but the flavor is there. But, I guess I'm taking a big hit on plating points now! :lol:
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
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well you make up those points with using the actual theme..lol

i tried this dish on a person who really doesnt care for chicken... she has now eaten the chicken i have cooked twice...once on mothers day and tonight... success..lol
 

BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
Maybe you could use no cook noodles, they will absorb a lot of liquid.

i find, this is just from personal experience that when i use the no cook ones, you get that "gummy" or "starchy" texture... flavor is still good but just not my favorite..

dont get me wrong, i have used them manyyyyyyyyyyy times..lol
 

Keltin

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Gold Site Supporter
i tried this dish on a person who really doesnt care for chicken... she has now eaten the chicken i have cooked twice...once on mothers day and tonight... success..lol

:thumb:

Excellent! It doesn't get much better than that! Love it and congrats!!

I've got a bit left, so I'll chill it in the fridge, and hopefully it will cut better cold. Then I'll pass it out to the neighbors. I'll report back once they begin talking.
 
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BamsBBQ

Ni pedo
Site Supporter
and the winner is......................













Iron Chef International Keltin
 

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chowhound

New member
That's a good looking meal, Keltin.
I think the only thing I would have done differently is use a bigger baking dish...
:yum::yum:
 
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