Enter This Weeks contest and win EVERYBODY WINS!

Big Poppa

Administrator
Susan is getting the hot seat....She is judging for this upcoming weekends contest...

you know the drill...

First place $25.00 Big Poppa Smokers store credit
Second Place $15.00 Big Poppa Smokers Store Credit
third place $10.00 Big Poppa Smokers Store Credit

EVERYONE ELSE THAT ENTERS GETS A $5.00 store credit. You can save them up and use them all at once!
 

Sirius76

New member
Seis de Mayo

So after missing last weeks contest, the wife and I figured we better do something special. Yesterday being Cinco de Mayo would have been perfect but alas, we couldn't cook. So here is our Cinco de Mayo fiesta.... a day late!

Last night I spatchcocked and halved two chickens and marinated using Stubbs chicken marinade. Placed all four halves in vacuum bags, sucked out the air and let sit over night. (No pics, sorry)

This morning my wife starts her incredible home made guacamole. One of the secret ingredients in her guac is bacon. Well what better way to prep the bacon than on the Lil Tex...
IMG_9282Small.jpg


And finished....Boy oh boy was it excellent! Then again, when isn't bacon excellent?? I think it also goes without saying that quite a few were sampled
IMG_9283Small.jpg


She also prepared two traditional homemade sauces. One is a black bean sauce and the other a very authentic mole sauce. Both were very very tasty. The flavors and aromas are quite striking...
IMG_9284Small.jpg


The chickens went onto Lil Tex at 250 for 20 mins. Then 325 until IT of 150 and then bumped up to 375 until IT of 165.

Before...
IMG_9286Small.jpg


After...
IMG_9289Small.jpg


Pooh Bear, our 8 yr old Husky is standing guard...
IMG_9288Small.jpg


The chickens came off and rested for a bit before shredding. During the rest we warmed up some tortillas and smoked some corn for another traditional Mexican side dish, Elotes.

Now for anyone who has never had Elotes, let me explain. Elotes is a Mexican dish served as a side. I know of nowhere else to get it other than street vendors in Chicago, LA and in Mexico. (though I'm sure you can find it elsewhere) Elotes is made with fresh cooked corn, mayo, butter or margarine, chile and cayenne powders, Parmesan cheese (in mexico another cheese is used but here parmesan is a suitable substitute) All the ingredients are mixed together served scraped off the cob in a cup or the entire is cob is impaled on stick and the ingredients are smothered onto the cob. (very messy. I like the cup better. especially on the street) We thought it would add a nice twist to cook it with some smoke. Well, it surely didn't disappoint!
IMG_9285Small.jpg


IMG_9292Small.jpg


So here is the money shot.... Shredded smoked chicken with black bean sauce and a mole sauce. Homemade guac with smoked bacon. Smoked elotes. Limes and accessories. And last but definitely not least, authentic Mexican cervesa...Sol!
IMG_9294Small.jpg


And finally, for dessert. What kind of Seis de Mayo fiesta would it be without something sweet.

Flan!
IMG_9295Small.jpg


The meal was fantastic!! What can I say?? We are loving smoking more and more with every cook! And the best part? We only shredded one chicken! We have another whole smoked chicken for tomorrow! Yes!

Now...

Gracias & buenos noches!
 

Rip

New member
Looks awesome Dragan! Nancy says we now have the first menu item for our next visit to Chicago.
 

TentHunter

Moderator
Seis de Mayo

Well what better way to prep the bacon than on the Lil Tex...
...Boy oh boy was it excellent! Then again, when isn't bacon excellent?? I think it also goes without saying that quite a few were sampled ...

LOL, I was comparing the Before & After pics and thought, "Boy I've heard of bacon shrinking before, but..." He he ;)

It looks great Sirius!

Interesting Note: We get elotes (served on the cob with mayo, chili powder & Parmesan) in season at our local Mexican restaurant. The cheese used in Mexico is called Cotija cheese - Wikipedia (basically Mexican Parmesan). The restaurant owner just happens to be from the town of Cotija, Michoacan, Mexico.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Susan didnt know that there is no free pellet lunch! The winner of a current week is the next weeks judge!
 

sparky

New member
time for fire up the grills and have fun trying to beat carter, rip, deb, susan, TH and the rest of the crew here. just be glad BP isn't cooking against us. the BBQ guru is a great chef. i am really glad were not going up against jeanie. we would all lose every week if we did. :(
 

Rip

New member
Pretty straight forward...you cook, you take pics, you post your pics to the contest thread with details about your process...we all get to enjoy seeing what you're doing...and at the very least you get $5 store credit at BigPoppaSmokers.com...just for entering! The top three entries, as judged by last weeks winner, win a little more store credit. You can enter as many cooks as you like. You have to use a pellet cooker or use pellets in a foil pouch etc. It's implied you post cooks from this week. I think that's about it. I'm sure others will chime in with anything I left out.

You can go look at the last few weeks contest to get a feel for it. The main idea is to encourage people to share their cooks! Big, small, fancy, simple, it's all good and all good for $5! Thanks BP!
 
Last edited:

Chili Head

New member
Today we had a belated Christmas diner with the wife's side of the family..yeah a little late I know. With the past illnesses and the snow storm we had back in december finally everyone is healthy and we were able to get together. The tradition has been rib-eyes on the grill, twice baked potatoes and all the trimmings. This year we had ribs to go with it! A Christmas / Mothers day feast!
First item on 390 today was almonds.. Smoked with hickory for 60 minutes and a dusting of MAK chipoltle rub with a teaspoon of Cayenne pepper for a little kick.
I used 2 cups of salted roasted almonds, 1 tsp olive oil, 2 Tbs of the MAK chipoltle and 1 tsp of cayenne pepper. Just the right amount of sweet and spicy from the rub and the perfect kick in the pants from the cayenne. Add cold beer and oh boy!!
The perfect before diner snack!

46e1abae-f4c4-15bc.jpg

46e1abae-f49f-316c.jpg

46e1abae-f4b0-47ab.jpg


Now I did drop the ball and didn't get pictures of the ribs..I didn't even think about it with the 10 other things going on in my head lol.

I did get pictures of the steaks and the one lone twice baked potato (mine) that was cooked on the MAK. The wife was afraid no one would like their potatoes cooked on the MAK so I only did mine.

46e1abae-f527-46ca.jpg


I also grilled some pineapple, I did some plain and some marinated in gunshot sauce.

46e1abae-f63e-5986.jpg


I gotta tell ya the sweetness of the pineapple and the spicy tartness of the gunshot sauce really surprised me how well the two complemented each other. This sauce is quickly becoming a favorite.

When I came into the kitchen with the grilled pineapple everyone was already digging in and I missed finished pictures of the entire spread. I did however get a picture of my plate before I got to eating.

46e1abae-f778-a7ea.jpg


The food was excellent and the family being over was even better!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

TentHunter

Moderator
I did get pictures of the steaks and the one lone twice baked potato (mine) that was cooked on the MAK. The wife was afraid no one would like their potatoes cooked on the MAK so I only did mine.

I'm willing to bet she's never had a potato baked on a grill/smoker. I'm also willing to bet yours was the best tasting one! :)
 

CarterQ

Moderator
Florentine Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Work has been crazy busy so I haven't even touched a cooker in over a week, had to fire up the MAK to stop the shakes.....

Decided to try some stuffed chicken breasts-

Started with the stuffing - Spinach, Ricotta Cheese, Parmesean Reggiano cheese, garlic, ginger, pine nuts, and salt and pepper

5c4e1205.jpg


Butterflied a couple boneless skinless breasts

5f075e33.jpg


Stuffed em with the spinach mix and closed back up

0d80bee6.jpg


Hit em with a light dusting of Little Louies w/ Pepper

915d4799.jpg


Wrapped them in Prosciutto to seal the deal

dcf4dd32.jpg


Onto the MAK at 275 for a bit and then up to 400

c7c0f98d.jpg


Season up some veggies with Desert Gold

5f1ad757.jpg


Veggies on the grill

8a882a14.jpg


Chicken done and resting

6addd0d2.jpg


Served the chicken and veggies with a Balsamic pasta salad and enjoy

d3472189.jpg


Very happy with this one and even happier with my time on the MAK!
 

ITFD#15

New member
Ribs for me

Yesterday was ribs for me day.
Back before I had the pellet smoker I used a kettle BBQ and a gasser and one of the recipes that I did quite often was one that I got from BBQ Pit Boys called Jacks Ribs. Of course I have modded it to suit my taste. They where always fun and taste so like everyone I am trying something different with the same Jacks Ribs twist..

Prepped ribs as normal used mustard and 3EYZ and on the Traeger at 180.
Temped the ribs and pulled them at 140 IT
IMG_8812.jpg
[/IMG]
This is where the old rib recipe kicks in, close to tinfoiling but a little more stuff. Prepared BBQ sauce 50/50 with pineapple juice added one large jalapeno, mid red onion and fresh pressed garlic. mix all ingredients and sinner on stove. I do this warm everything up and not cool the ribs
place ribs in tin pan, add mixure and cover with foil. Back on the Traeger at 250 for one hour.
IMG_8810.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_8814.jpg
[/IMG]
Back on the grill at the same temp with the sauce to finish. Glazing the ribs with the sauce, I mop two or three times in about 3/4 of an hour.
Taste taste they remind me of the rib that you might find in a bar and grill, I call them sticky ribs
Add some corn, rice, beans and stewed tomato's, fresh market bread and top that with the Dover Nascar race....
IMG_8815.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_8818.jpg
[/IMG]
IMG_8820.jpg
[/IMG]
Perfect
 

ITFD#15

New member
Thanks sparky they where good.
Just on a mothers day pellet smoking mission, got a pea meal bacon, chicken, and bannock.
O ya and a couple of nice strip loins for me done on old faithful
 
Top Bottom