cooking thread...

[mamona]

Interesting... From where are you getting garlic for planting?

[misfish]

Going to try the ribs in the smoker this weekend. Will finish on the grill as Shane says to get that sticky glaze . What is the best smoke chips for pork ? Also whats the dif between the chips and pellets ? Do the pellets smoke longer ? The concern I have about the pellets is they are formed and held with some kind of binding solution.  The wood I want to use,  will be  organic kiln dried  . Not really interested in that whiskey barrel stuff.

 

Thanks

[mitch seguin]

No binding solution in making pellets.  Pressure formed.

[smitty55]

6 hours ago, mamona said:

Interesting... From where are you getting garlic for planting?

I initially bought some from a garlic grower but since then I just plant my own so its all free. I grow mostly music which has large cloves and not many, so around fifty bulbs used for replanting in November.

[misfish]

I had to beat the rain more then twice. Coming off the water and getting my smoke done .

I am not sure butt chops are the best choice to put in the smoker, but I do know a good butt chop, put on the high grill and slowly BBQ,ed for a couple of hours  , allowing the fat to cook and drip away ,works out just fine and dandy. Just needs a few minutes after on the hot grill to get a char and some sticky sauce on it.

So rewind to yesterday. I went to get ribs, but the sale was over. Found these 2 great pieces of butt and said , you will do. First try at this, so giver I say. Dry rub and put in the fridge till the next day. I had other things to so as well. Fishing in the AM.

Did  a few peppers for a friend and a glove of garlic. It was a small task, compared to the one I will be doing come a month from now. 

Packaged away in the fridge, my attention  turned to my chops.

 

 

 

An Asian bbq sauce

 

 

 

 

Smoked away for 6 hours. My plan was to grill after this. Knowing the smoker would not cook the fat away, they would need grill attention. Attention they got and they turned out good. I am not going to say this is my favorite smoke, as it was ok. Trial and error with this smoking .

 

The rain came, just as I finished.

 

[misfish]

And as i sit here finish eating,  the flood waters open up..............

[Old Ironmaker]

Looks great Brian. I am not a lover of smoked meat. I do like it but not on a regular basis. I once bought a medium size Shunka (sic), a Croatian smoked prosciutto. I liked it but it lasted almost a year. I know guys from the plant that ate smoked something everyday. Smoked fish is my favorite smoked meat. 

As far as butt chops they are far tastier to me than loin, more fat means more flavour more moisture, I kill myself over a hot Q or stove to keep the meat moist without adding water, wine yes, even Beer, learned that in Belgium they cook everything in Beer, why not, I do.. I really like butt chops on the Q. I marinate them in different flavours overnight or even only a few hours. Sometimes Mexican style with a mole sauce or red pepper sauce, Italian style just EVO and dry garlic, rosemary a whole fresh sprig  to use as a BBQ brush dipped in garlic, oregano and basil. I've never heard of BBQing something after being smoked. Is this a common thing to do? I would like to try a portion of smoked pork shoulder or butt roast. I like pork butt over loin or rib chops, much more flavour and hard to overcook. Nothing worse than ruining a pork loin chop that is as dry as a 2X4. Easily done. My wife is famous for it and I dare not say a thing. She was brought up thinking pink pork will kill you, it can't. 

When I had a garden the critters didn't feast on I planted varieties of purple garlic. French garlic to me is best. A well toasted clove can be eaten whole. Ask Big Ugly about planting garlic and varieties, he knows his garlic he does. 

Edited August 19, 2019 by Old Ironmaker

[Spiel]

When your Chef buddy gives you a 4.5 lb Beef Short Rib, you smoke if for a few hours before braining it in homemade sweet and sour sauce.
Hand cut Russets and steamed Broccoli on the side.  Delish!

 

[akaShag]

I have been off-line mostly for the last few weeks.  Back to Brian, I generally use apple chips for smoking pork.  And I often marinate the pork in apple juice, garlic, and maple syrup before smoking.  Smoked roast pork loin is FABULOUS.

 

Doug

[misfish]

I,ll have to try that Doug.

Chris, I do not have the heat like you get from your smoker. I was able to reach 165 yesterday. That was my top temp.  I think the double smoke I did was a bit over. One smoke pan would of been better. I am finding the same with my fish. Need to learn which fish need more  or less.

 

Edit to add

 

Chris, try that 3 speed if you get a chance. Nice lager from Amsterdam brewery . You get it at the LCBO.

Edited August 19, 2019 by misfish

[smitty55]

5 hours ago, misfish said:

I,ll have to try that Doug.

 

Brian I haven't bought back bacon since I started doing my own in my Big Chief. There is no comparison to store bought. I'm pretty sure I posted some pics in the past of the process I did with my loins. I buy them when they go on sale for like $2lb. Here's the recipe I basically use. http://nwedible.com/how-to-make-canadian-bacon-at-home/

I increase the garlic lots and all the spices, it's my own garlic and Bay leaf. I also find it has more flavour when marinated for 5 or 6 days rather than the 3-4 in the recipe. 3 or 4 pans of chips over 4 or 5 hours while rotating racks half way. Then finish in the oven to 150°.

I've mentioned this before too but next time you do pork chops try a good coating of curry on one side. I did it on a whim one time and now always use it.

Cheers

 

[Old Ironmaker]

15 hours ago, Spiel said:

When your Chef buddy gives you a 4.5 lb Beef Short Rib, you smoke if for a few hours before braining it in homemade sweet and sour sauce.
Hand cut Russets and steamed Broccoli on the side.  Delish!

 

OMG. 

[Spiel]

15 hours ago, misfish said:

Chris, I do not have the heat like you get from your smoker. I was able to reach 165 yesterday. That was my top temp.

Chris, try that 3 speed if you get a chance. Nice lager from Amsterdam brewery . You get it at the LCBO.

You don't to to cook it in the smoker Brian, just flavour it.
Braising it afterwards will do the cooking.

I'll look for it next time I'm in the LCBO Brian, thanks.

[misfish]

What chips are you using Smitty ? I have to admit, that pink salt scares the crap out of me. I would sooner just do one without .

[Canuck]

On 8/19/2019 at 4:24 PM, misfish said:

I,ll have to try that Doug.

Chris, I do not have the heat like you get from your smoker. I was able to reach 165 yesterday. That was my top temp.  I think the double smoke I did was a bit over. One smoke pan would of been better. I am finding the same with my fish. Need to learn which fish need more  or less.

Chris, try that 3 speed if you get a chance. Nice lager from Amsterdam brewery . You get it at the LCBO.

For my Chief smoker, I find that with fish one pan of chips is enough.  But I leave the fish in the smoker for the full time.  Less is more. 

For pork ribs they are lightly seasoned with a dry marinade overnight of a bit of sugar (not much), salt, chili powder, garlic powder and black pepper.   I smoke one pan of chips and smoke for about an hour.  Then into the oven at 275 for another 2 to 3 hours covered in foil to keep the moisture in.  Finish on the BBQ to get a nice crisp.  Sauce on the side at the table.

[akaShag]

49 minutes ago, misfish said:

What chips are you using Smitty ? I have to admit, that pink salt scares the crap out of me. I would sooner just do one without .

If you are going to do bacon (back bacon or side bacon) you need a curing salt.  PERIOD.  If you don't use a curing salt, you can have smoked pork loin (most delicious) or smoked pork belly (not my idea of a good time), but you won't have bacon.

As for chips, for bacon I use hickory.

Doug

[Old Ironmaker]

Did  a dry rub for pork back ribs and I have to say they were perty darned good. Yeaterday afternoon I gave them a rub of EVO, then a rub of Mont. Steak Spice, Sweet Hungarian Paprika, dry oregano, garlic powder, dry basil, chili powder all on both sides. Put in a baking dish cut in 1/2. Soaked them in Worcestershire and a few good shots of Pres. Choice Aged Cayenne (1st try of this stuff*). Then I poured enough Coca Cola (the one with sugar) to cover the ribs about 1/4 of the way up because that's how much Coke I had. Covered and marinated overnight. This afternoon I covered them in a tin foil tent and cooked for 3 hours at 295F. Took them out to cool on the counter in the juice. Fired up the Q, just before I put them on I flipped them into the left over juices just to wet them. Put them on the Q on high serving side down. Did not close lid. Latticed the ribs and finished bottom down. They ended up with a nice bark on the outside and moist inside. Not falling off the bone which ribs really shouldn't be but the bone slid out easily. They had a hint of heat at the back of your pallet but not hot at all. A baked tater and a cob of local Peaches and Cream picked this morning. 

They were good.  Better than I can get anywhere else at least, including down south I don't enjoy dripping wet ribs that are drowned in spiced up ketchup. I think you all know what a plate of ribs look like. 

The Presidents Choice Cayenne is pretty good. Not vinegar based sauce like Franks. It is spicy not hot unless you really pour it on. 

Edited August 21, 2019 by Old Ironmaker

[smitty55]

1 hour ago, misfish said:

What chips are you using Smitty ? I have to admit, that pink salt scares the crap out of me. I would sooner just do one without .

Like Dougie said you have to use a curing salt to prevent botulism. I wouldn't worry about it, if it was that bad for you we would all be dead with the amount of cured meats we've all eaten over our lifetimes. The pink in some curing salts is just coloring that is used to differentiate it from regular salts. Actually the one I buy from my local butcher is white, I just make sure to mark the bag. Mesquite and/or hickory works fine for pork, but in reality any wood will work, but the stronger flavours are preferred.

 

Cheers

[smitty55]

Not sure how many here are into preserving but we do a lot of pickling here. I used to a lot of dills but after discovering dilled carrots I always do those anymore. Always nice and crunchy and a huge hit at family gatherings. So the other day I picked up 15lb of fresh picked young carrots from a hobby farm a few miles away. I always make around half of the batches hot, adding 1 chili pepper to pints and 2 to a quart jar. This time the only peppers I could find locally were scotch bonnet, way hotter than chilies. So for the first batch of 6 quarts I added half a pepper to each jar and have my fingers crossed that they won't be too hot. The next batch was 9 pints with no heat added. There are enough left for one more smaller batch but I think I will just add some chili flakes this time. So for those who like their dills I highly recommend trying dilled carrots.

[Spiel]

1 hour ago, smitty55 said:

Not sure how many here are into preserving but we do a lot of pickling here. I used to a lot of dills but after discovering dilled carrots I always do those anymore. Always nice and crunchy and a huge hit at family gatherings. So the other day I picked up 15lb of fresh picked young carrots from a hobby farm a few miles away. I always make around half of the batches hot, adding 1 chili pepper to pints and 2 to a quart jar. This time the only peppers I could find locally were scotch bonnet, way hotter than chilies. So for the first batch of 6 quarts I added half a pepper to each jar and have my fingers crossed that they won't be too hot. The next batch was 9 pints with no heat added. There are enough left for one more smaller batch but I think I will just add some chili flakes this time. So for those who like their dills I highly recommend trying dilled carrots.

A friend of mine recently gave me some, delicious.
When I told him so, he brought me more. Yum Yum!

 

[Old Ironmaker]

2 hours ago, smitty55 said:

Not sure how many here are into preserving but we do a lot of pickling here. I used to a lot of dills but after discovering dilled carrots I always do those anymore. Always nice and crunchy and a huge hit at family gatherings. So the other day I picked up 15lb of fresh picked young carrots from a hobby farm a few miles away. I always make around half of the batches hot, adding 1 chili pepper to pints and 2 to a quart jar. This time the only peppers I could find locally were scotch bonnet, way hotter than chilies. So for the first batch of 6 quarts I added half a pepper to each jar and have my fingers crossed that they won't be too hot. The next batch was 9 pints with no heat added. There are enough left for one more smaller batch but I think I will just add some chili flakes this time. So for those who like their dills I highly recommend trying dilled carrots.

I'm going to ask why Carrots Smitty? Being a root veg. they can stay most of the Fall and Winter in a cool, dark, dry place with doing nothing to them. I don't jar anything but I do know it is a ton of work watching Mom years ago. I never have canned anything other than roasted Red Shepperd Peppers and then froze them in bags. Just wondering. 

[smitty55]

4 hours ago, Old Ironmaker said:

I'm going to ask why Carrots Smitty? Being a root veg. they can stay most of the Fall and Winter in a cool, dark, dry place with doing nothing to them. I don't jar anything but I do know it is a ton of work watching Mom years ago. I never have canned anything other than roasted Red Shepperd Peppers and then froze them in bags. Just wondering. 

OI it's just another variation of dill pickles, just like cukes or dilly beans. So long as fresh carrots are used they stay crisp forever. It's all about the taste and a fairly unique pickle to dress up the plate. They don't work well on a burger though, too crunchy compared to a regular dill slice. Like Spiel said they are delicious. Of course I use my own fresh garlic and at least double the amount.

 

Cheers

[Old Ironmaker]

Got it Smitty. They sound wonderful, I love carrots. I's a big world out there with some wonderful variations of foods. Not many foods I don't like. Snails and Eels on the top of the list of "I'll pass thankyou." but I have tried both. I get frustrated when I ask someone to try something and they say they don't like it but have never tried it, like Pike. I've had deep fried snake by mistake once overseas and believe me it was good. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by Old Ironmaker

[Old Ironmaker]

Don't want to start a new thread.

The question is what food if any do you really dislike? I tried both Snails and Eel, I do not like the taste and texture of snails and the eel tasted "off" to me. I despised then and now refuse to eat a spaghetti like pasta called Bucconcino. One pasta I have never bought. It is a thick spaghetti with a hole down the middle. My Noni used to serve it, regularly, and it looked like long red and white worms to me with blood coming out of the middle and ends. Makes my stomach turn 60 years latter. 

Edited August 22, 2019 by Old Ironmaker

[misfish]

On 8/21/2019 at 3:38 PM, Old Ironmaker said:

I never have canned anything other than roasted Red Shepperd Peppers and then froze them in bags

Thats how I do it as well. I am going to try off the wall and throw some in the smoker after roasted. Never know unless you try.