Father’s Day is the one day that the World can revolve around Dad. Let’s face it, your little Princes and Princesses (sometimes “of darkness” more so then angels) and Queens (Disney has demonstrated there are two sides to that coin) become the focal point of the majority of Holiday’s throughout the year. However this ONE day Dads should be able to kickback, relax and have a culinary treat that will solidify his place as the King of the house (not just based on the amount of time he may spend on “the throne”). To the Al Bundy’s of the World…this is YOUR moment!

veg burger

Can’t Beet this Burger

For the Fathers out there who enjoy vegan cuisine this recipe is PERFECT for a back yard BBQ or any time of the year really. The original recipe calls for this to be deep fried as to create a crust all around the patty; however, I used a cast iron pan with 3 types of oils (sesame, garlic and chilli) to sear it and 40 minutes in a smoker to elevate this veggie burger into a whole new category of awesome! Plus as cauliflower can take on any flavour you impart on it, the skies the limit for flavour profiles with this. The cauliflower spent 30 minutes alone in the smoker before it was added to the recipe for my burger.
Ingredients
4 red beets (peeled and cubed)
½ head of cauliflower (I smoked mine with hickory)
1 C cooked quinoa
1 C black beans (rinsed)
½ C cooked brown rice
1 shallot (minced)
6 garlic cloves (roasted)
½ scotch bonnet pepper (to taste really…just gives a bit of kick.
½ C gluten free breadcrumbs (you may need more to bind everything)
1 Tbsp paprika
¼ tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp chilli powder
1 Tbsp thyme
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Mix quinoa, rice, breadcrumbs and beans together and set aside.
Either dice by hand or put EVERYTHING else into a food processor and blend into a fine dice that will look like ground beef. Make sure it is seasoned well to your taste.
Combine both bowls of ingredients and shape into patties. If you need to feel free to add more breadcrumbs and if need be consider adding some coconut oil to help bind. You need a good pressed patty otherwise it will fall apart when you sear it or smoke it (or deep fry it).
Let patties set in fridge for about 4 hours.
Add oil to a cast iron pan and sear well on both sides (you want a nice crisp crust on the exterior).
Place on the top rack of your smoker with the wood of your choice for about 40 minutes to get a deep BBQ flavour.
Place on a good quality bun and top with whatever you would like…plus bask in the compliments.family steak

Next up is a Fred Flintstone style steak that will turn heads and make a visual impact like no other. The tomahawk steak is basically a rib steak with the rib still attached. Aged, huge flavour from the bone being attached and minimal seasoning will make it worth every penny. Talk to your local butcher, they will help you select the perfect steak. You can do this in the oven but a BBQ and smoker will blast this into the stratosphere of culinary pleasure. Indirect heat to finish is in my opinion the key and once you nail it, your guests will be yelling “Yabba dabba doo!”
Tomahawk Steak with Grilled King Oyster Mushrooms, Asparagus and Horseradish Chimichurri
1 Tomahawk Steak
4 cloves of garlic
Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Pre-heat a BBQ, smoker, or oven. Keep your meat thermometer handy for this.
Cut the garlic cloves in half and rub each one over the entire surface of the steak.
There are two way to approach this…
First option is to season to your taste with the salt and pepper and immediately either place on the grill or in a hot pan to sear the exterior (all sides) THEN place in a smoker with the wood of your choice at 225F for about 90min or until desired internal temperature is reached. (135F for medium rare or 145 for medium)
Or
Second option is using indirect heat to slowly bring the meat to your desired temperature in stages. Rotate the meat off the direct heat from the BBQ (you will be turning this about every 3 minutes) exposing ever side of the meat to the indirect heat until you reach an internal temperature of 100F. (Depending on the temperature you get your grill up to, coupled with the thickness of the steak it may be as quick as 15 minutes.)
Pull the meat off the grill and tent under foil for about 15 minutes.
Crank the heat on the BBQ and sear each side for about 30 seconds before turning the meat. You will need to be vigilant with your grill skill to ensure the perfect cook.
Let rest for 5 minutes, slice thin and enjoy!
Hopefully you can multi-task and while the steak is resting so as to grill your asparagus spears and mushrooms to get lovely grill marks. Once off the grill add a Tbsp of butter and season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
Horseradish Chimichurri
½ cup washed parsley
2 Tbsp horseradish (bottled is fine)
6 cloves of roasted garlic
1 green onion
EVO as needed to thin the mixture
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Place everything into a food processor and blend. Pass through a mesh sieve and set aside as a finishing sauce.

bacon ice

Last but not least is a decadent desert that involves booze and bacon. This requires an ice cream maker (maybe that one you got as a wedding gift and have never used.) Making your own ice cream is not that hard and it allows for some unique flavour combinations such as this bad boy. This requires some preparation particularly, if like me, you need to chill your ice cream making bowl for 16 hours prior to use.
Bourbon, Banana, Bacon Ice Cream with Candied Bacon
13oz bourbon (your choice)
2 bananas
6 slices of thick bacon (or side pork works)
1 C brown sugar
3 C whipping cream (or heavy cream)
1 ½ Tbsp vanilla (or 2 vanilla beans)
2 C milk
6 Egg yolks
½ C brown sugar
1 C maple syrup

Set your oven to 400.
Line a baking sheet with foil and cook bacon in the oven until crispy (you may need to turn it over once or twice).
Set bacon aside and place rendered fat into the fridge to cool.
Reduce heat of the oven to 350F
Set aside 2 strips of bacon
Place the remaining bacon strips on a wax paper lined cookie sheet
Baste with ½ C of maple syrup and sprinkle ¼ C of brown sugar onto bacon
Bake until sugars begin to bubble. (use a brush to baste the slices and remember to flip them over and get both sides. Once sugars have caramelized set bacon aside to cool (ideally on a wire rack)
Put the last 2 slices of the cooked (non-candied) bacon into a heavy bottomed pot with the bourbon and banana. Bring to a slow boil and reduce the liquid by 2/3.
Stir in the cream, milk, ¼ C brown sugar, vanilla, and ¼ C of maple syrup. Add just a pinch pf sea salt. Leave on burner for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and strain (use a spoon to push banana through a sieve. Remove the bacon and throw away)
Set aside and cover with plastic. Let rest for at least 1 hour (longer if your kitchen is humid because this NEEDS to be cooled or you will get grainy ice cream that may not set properly)
Using a mixer (I used a stand mixer) whip the 6 egg yolks until volume has doubled.
Add the remaining ¼ C of maple syrup plus 1-2 Tbsp of the rendered and cooled bacon fat (Trust me fat = flavour)
Mix for about 1 minute before reducing speed and slowly incorporate cooled bourbon liquid.
Pour into ice cream maker and let freeze completely.
Serve it up in a bowl with the candied bacon and some crumbled maple fudge and enjoy as you try to figure out why you never tried this sooner!
Happy Father’s Day!

Filed under: #BBQ, #ChrisMask, Father's Day