AJ Cooks at Home

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AJ Cooks at Home Home-Cooked Meals from my kitchen. BBQ, Comfort Food, Backyardigans.

18/08/2026

🔥🍗 Smoked Tandoori Wings on the Weber Searwood

Tonight’s cook was all about homemade smoked tandoori wings—packed with bold spices and slowly smoked on the trusted Weber Searwood until juicy inside with perfectly rendered, smoky skin.

To finish them off, the wings were coated in a homemade glaze featuring fresh jalapeños picked straight from our garden, then finished with duck fat, Super Salt, and a touch of MSG for a rich, spicy, savory finish with just the right amount of heat. 🌶️🔥

On the side, red potatoes harvested fresh from our home garden, seasoned and cooked right alongside the wings on the Searwood until beautifully golden and tender.

Homegrown jalapeños and potatoes, homemade seasonings, smoke, and a little duck fat—garden to grill cooking at its best.

01/08/2026

🥩🔥 Throwback Dinner done right.

This USDA Prime rib roast was generously coated with my homemade prime rib seasoning and slow-roasted on my Weber Performer Kettle using the rotisserie, allowing it to self-baste throughout the entire cook. Every rotation locked in moisture while building a beautifully seasoned crust and delivering a perfectly tender, juicy roast.

The best part? Every drop of flavorful beef drippings fell directly onto a bed of Brussels sprouts and pancetta, roasting them to perfection and infusing them with rich, savory flavor you simply can’t recreate any other way.

The feast was completed with:

🥔 Homemade fully loaded garlic mashed potatoes topped with rich homemade beef gravy made from the prime rib drippings.

🦞 Creamy homemade lobster mac and cheese, loaded with generous chunks of sweet lobster and finished with just a touch of MSG to enhance the natural richness of the cheeses and lobster.

🌽 Grilled sweet corn.

🥗 Fresh garden salad.

🧂 Every dish was seasoned with my own homemade seasoning blends, and a touch of MSG was used where appropriate to enhance the natural umami without overpowering the fresh ingredients.

Cooking is about more than just the main course—it’s about building layers of flavor from start to finish. From the self-basting USDA Prime rib on the Weber Performer Kettle, to the Brussels sprouts roasted in the beef drippings, homemade gravy, and decadent lobster mac and cheese, every bite was made from scratch and meant to be shared.

What’s the first thing you’re putting on your plate—the prime rib, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, garlic mashed potatoes with homemade gravy, or the lobster mac and cheese? 🔥👇

29/07/2026

🌿 Rainy Day Pesto Chicken

Sometimes the weather changes your plans, but not the meal.

After making a batch of homemade basil pesto, I let bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs marinate for a full 24 hours, allowing the fresh basil, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil to really pe*****te the meat.

With torrential rain keeping me away from the grill, I brought the cook indoors. I heated a Lodge Cast Iron skillet over medium-high heat and seared the chicken skin-side down until beautifully golden, then flipped it to develop color on the other side. After adding 2 tablespoons of duck fat, I transferred the skillet to a 350°F oven and roasted the chicken until it reached an internal temperature of 190°F, producing crispy skin and incredibly tender, juicy meat.

Rather than letting any of the pesto go to waste, I served the chicken with the remaining homemade pesto as a finishing sauce, adding another layer of fresh herbaceous flavor.

The meal was paired with a refreshing cucumber salad and a classic Caprese salad made with tomatoes, basil, and herbs picked fresh from our home garden.

Sometimes the best meals aren’t the ones you planned—they’re the ones you adapt, creating something memorable with what’s already on hand.

27/07/2026

🔥 From the garden to the smoker—this is what backyard cooking is all about. 🥩🌽🌶️🥬

This entire meal was built from scratch using fresh ingredients, homemade seasoning blends, and plenty of patience.

The centerpiece was an American Wagyu brisket, injected, wrapped with rich Wagyu beef tallow, and smoked low and slow until it developed a deep bark, incredible bark, and sliced like butter.

The rest of the spread was just as memorable:

🌶️ Homemade bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers stuffed with a creamy cheese filling and smoked until the bacon was perfectly crisp.

🥬 Garden-fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños picked just before dinner for a crisp summer salad.

🌽 Sweet corn on the cob.

🥬 Homemade creamed spinach.

🥦 Grilled Brussels sprouts cooked in Lodge Cast Iron with butter and my own homemade seasoning blend until perfectly tender with caramelized edges.

🌿 Finished with my homemade Peruvian green sauce (Ají Verde)—a creamy, fresh, and slightly spicy sauce that brought everything together. It’s the perfect complement to brisket, vegetables, and just about anything off the grill.

🧂 Every dish was seasoned with my own homemade spice blends, crafted to let the quality of the ingredients shine.

Everything was cooked on my Weber Searwood XL 600 pellet grill, alongside my Collectors Edition Simpsons Weber Kettle, with the Brussels sprouts finished in Lodge Cast Iron.

For me, barbecue is more than cooking—it’s growing your own vegetables, making your own seasonings and sauces, taking your time, and sharing an incredible meal with family and friends.

What’s the first thing you’re putting on your plate—the smoked brisket, bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers, grilled Brussels sprouts with Ají Verde, or the fresh garden salad? 🔥👇

25/07/2026

Simple ingredients. Patience. Incredible flavor.
Comfort food doesn’t get much better than this.

This ribeye was smoked low and slow before finishing with a hot sear for a perfect crust and a juicy, medium-rare center. Sometimes the best meals are the simplest.

Tender beef, vegetables, rich broth, and one ingredient that takes the flavor to another level—a small amount of MSG. Used properly, MSG enhances the natural savory taste of the beef without overpowering the dish.

Slow-cooked for hours until every bite was packed with flavor. Perfect for meal prep or a cozy family dinner.

Do you use MSG in your cooking?

25/07/2026

Low and slow is always worth the wait. This brisket spent hours in the smoker until it developed a deep bark and sliced like butter. Nothing beats gathering around the table with family after a long cook.

What’s your favorite BBQ meat?

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