Light Up the Fire for Lag b’Omer Cooking

Lag B’omer, essentially a festive break during the solemn 49-day period between Passover and Shavuout, occurs on the 33rd day of the count of the Omer. This year, it takes place on the evening of May 8 through May 9.
Among other customs, it is celebrated by participating in family outings, picnics and bonfires.

“Lag b’Omer is the Burning Man of Jewish holidays,” Chef Jeff Frymer told the Journal. “If you’ve never been to Burning Man, let me just say that a [holiday] spent on the hot and dusty … or cold and muddy playa is not to be missed.”

All kidding aside, Fryer said he associates barbecue chicken wings with camping and bonfires.

Wings ala Chef Jeff

Place 1 to 2 dozen fresh organic chicken wings in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag.

In a measuring cup add the following:
¼ cup lime juice
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp Cholula hot sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 Tbsp minced onion
2 tsp Umami seasoning (I like Trader Joe’s)
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp sage
1 tsp shallots, finely chopped

Pour the marinade into the bag of chicken. Seal the bag thoroughly, while removing most of the air. Mix marinade into chicken by massaging it through the bag; basically squish, turn, squish and repeat a few times. Let it marinade for an hour or two in the fridge.

When you are ready to cook, place the chicken on the wire rack of a broiling pan. I like to cover the bottom of the pan with foil for easy cleanup.

Broil chicken (or BBQ over your bonfire) for approximately 10 minutes on one side. Then with tongs, flip the pieces and continue broiling for 7 to 8 minutes. Flip wings one last time and broil for about 2 more minutes.

“If I were to follow my grandfather’s barbequing chicken technique, I would triple the number of times I turn the chicken, resulting in a crispy, never burned, evenly golden browned skin,” Frymer said. “Mine has a bit more ‘char’ to it, which I like.“

He continued, “You don’t have to run out and buy all the ingredients, as wings in general can be amazing with just salt and pepper,” Frymer said. “Just not these wings. But if you do, I promise they will make their way into more and more recipes on a regular basis.”

For grilling season, halibut is Judy Elbaum’s go-to fish.

“It is a mild white fish with a firm, meaty texture that holds up well on the barbecue,” Elbaum, founder of LeaveItToBubbe.com, told the Journal. “I marinate the halibut in a soy honey mixture infused with citrus juices, and brush on the reserved marinade to glaze the fish while grilling.”

Judy Elbaum’s Citrus Grilled Halibut

4 halibut filets (about 6 to 8 ounces each)
Marinade
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup canola oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
pinch of red pepper flakes

Rinse halibut filets in cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Place them in a glass or ceramic baking dish.

In a blender or food processor, combine ingredients;process until smooth.

Pour about ½ cup of the marinade over the halibut and place in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes. Reserve the remainder of the marinade to use as a glaze while grilling.

When you are ready to grill the halibut, remove it from the refrigerator. Lightly brush a grill pan or barbecue grate with oil or spray with Pam before you turn on the flame. Preheat the grill for 5 to 10 minutes. With tongs, lift up the filets, allowing the excess marinade to drip back into the glass dish. Discard the used marinade.

Place the halibut filets on the preheated grill and cook them for a total of about 8 to 10 minutes per measured inch of thickness. Flip the halibut midway through its cooking time and brush on some of the reserved marinade.
Remove from the grill, place on a serving platter and brush on some more of the reserved marinade.

No cookout would be complete without a sweet treat.

Elbaum said she loves taking a recipe, putting a twist on it and developing variations.

Instead of making the same-old, same-old s’mores for Lag b’Omer, she subbed pizzelle for the graham crackers, Nutella for the Hershey’s chocolate and marshmallow creme or fluff for the traditional marshmallows.

Pizzelle Nutella S’mores

1 package Pizzelle (7 ounces) (I use Reko
Pizzelle)
1 jar Marshmallow creme or Fluff
(13 ounces)
1 jar Nutella (26.5 ounces)
Sprinkles
Royal icing flowers
Confectioners sugar

Place one pizzelle on a paper plate and microwave for about 30 seconds or until soft enough to shape. Working quickly, pinch the pizzelle circle in 3 places equidistant from each other, so that you have formed a triangle shape, making sure to leave some space in the center of the triangle to pipe the fillings.
Repeat this process of shaping the pizzelle into as many triangles as you like. One 7-ounce package will yield as many as 42 triangles.
Prepare two disposable pastry bags (you can use baggies as a substitute) with two pastry tubes with ¼” round openings. Place some of the marshmallow creme in one of the pastry bags and place some of the Nutella in the other. Pipe some of the marshmallow creme or Fluff into the center of the pizzelle triangle opening. Then pipe some of the Nutella on top of the marshmallow cream or fluff so that the triangle opening is filled slightly over the top. Repeat this process until you have as many of the Pizzelle Nutella s’mores as needed.
Garnish with your choice of sprinkles, icing flowers and/or confectioners sugar.

“These are easy, no bake, make ahead and my grandchildren are always eager to help me pipe the fillings into the prepared pizzelle,” Elbaum said.

“Whip up a batch of these for dessert on Lag b’Omer or just about any other festive celebration.”
– Judy Elbaum

“Whip up a batch of these for dessert on Lag b’Omer or just about any other festive celebration.”