Sis in Law is the Judge Im doubling the money this weekend! Enter!

[Chuckster]

Thanks for the info everybody..If I had known of this site last week I would have entered my ribs and Tri-tip I did at a campground.

BIG POPPA: Not to brag but I have shipped my signature sourdough english muffins to Nebraska,Ohio and Arkansas! I can be coaxed into making some and shipping!!

 

[smoker pete]

First Brisket!!

Been wanting to do a Brisket for the longest time but just never got around to it until I spoke with Scooter at the Way Out West BBQ Championship. He asked me "why" and I didn't have any good reason except ... confidence and fear of the unknown!! ... Got some great info from Scooter and this is the result of his tutoring

Picked up a little 12 lb Brisket from my local butcher. Rubbed it with Annie's Roasted Garlic EVOO for the glue and applied some Fagundes Prime Rib & Roast Seasoning along with a liberal amount of pepper. Not sure why everyone calls for lots of pepper but they know a lot than I do so I done did sprinkle a bunch of pepper!! Wrapped it in plastic food wrap and popped it in the fridge for about 2 days.

Removed Brisket from fridge an hour before cooking. Pre-heated to 225ºF using American Broadleaf 60/40 Hickory. Estimated 18 hours @225º and 3 hours FTC. Eating at 7PM so I put the Brisket in the night before at 10PM. Here's what it looked like when I decided to take a snooze at 1AM.

Pulled when IT hit 197º. Five minutes shy of 18 hours! Talk about a tutoring job This is right before a 3 hour FTC.

After 18 hours at 225º and 3 hours FTC it was time to slice it up and reap the fruits of my labor of love

Chow time!! Soaked me a few beans, threw in some fixins, and simmered them all day. Gotta have a little Cole Slaw and of course, corn on the cob goes with everything

The money $shot ... Bon Appétit!! ...

Got my first of many OMG!! Our guests and my bride of 38 years could hardly get enough Brisket between all those OMG statements. I must admit that I hit a Grand Slam with my First Brisket. Very moist, tender yet firm enough to hold it's shape, and the flavor of the beef was well complimented by a delicious bark. Don't really think I can improve on this effort except cook/smoke 3 Briskets next time. This Brisket was wolfed down ...

 

[Chuckster]

That plate wouldn't last long enough for a photo if it was in front of me!!!

 

[squirtthecat]

Double Hickory Shagbark-ed Dumpster Butts

The glue. (Hickory #1)

The rub. (open a bunch of rubs and 'dump' it in - Salt Lick Clone is the primary component)

Make a mess... (about 35 pounds of butts)

Hickory pellet (Hickory #2) mix in the hopper. MAK is set at 245°. We'll check back after some coffee tomorrow AM!

--

7:20AM check...

Bottom ones were done, so I've pulled them off and wrapped up tight in the cooler for transport to my buddy's house. The others are climbing out of the 170s now..

I had a nibble of the 'weld' off of the frogmat, and they are very tasty. Just a hint of sweetness from the syrup.

--

Last 2 are done. Right as the rain moved in. These ones got an extra coating of shagbark syrup last night.

--

Bavarian Butt Hauler is loaded, and ready to head N to our friend's house around Noon.

cont...

 

[squirtthecat]

Double Hickory Shagbark-ed Dumpster Butts continued..

Time to pull..

--

My buddy broke out his commercial sandwich smasher, and we had a quick lunch.

They were tasty........


We put about 10 pounds of pulled pork in a couple big plastic containers, and 2 entire butts are still resting in his garage fridge. I might run back up again tomorrow and help him pull/vacbag the rest.

 

[sparky]

FATTIE

a little something just for me.

lets put it together. started w/ some apple bacon and some rub.

some jimmy dean, hash browns, pepper cheese and more rub.

wa la. not as good as jeanie's but okie dokie.

into #69 @ 275º

put some spam on ala jeanie. fattie is browning nicely.

spam gone wild. i tried one piece and it came apart. no problem. fattie is looking good cisco.

done.

yummy.

.

 

[HogSmoker]

I hope that is 2 percent milk Sparky ! This I must try sometime soon looks mag-na- feat..

 

[SisInLaw]

Everything is looking like winning entries so far. Keep up the good smokin' work!

 

[Rip]

20th Anniversary Dinner

My wife and I recently celebrated our 20th anniversary by spending a week at Walt Disney World (her favorite place in the world). We had a great time! Last weekend was kind of hectic, but this weekend we finally had time to cook a proper anniversary dinner.

First though, here's a shot of me bringing the BPS message to the masses in front of what could have been the worlds largest kettle smoker.

We decided to have Filets, Lobster tails, asparagus, twice baked potatoes, champagne, and something special for dessert.

First up was preparing the dessert, Bacon Pralines. Here's the ingredients.

A pound of bacon was smoked in the MAK and then finely chopped. Meanwhile 3tbs brown sugar and 3 tbs of butter were melted in a sauce pan, a 1 and 1/4 cups of chopped pecans were then stirred in until they were fully coated. This mixture was spread out in a pan, in to the MAK @350, and baked until they were golden brown. About 10 minutes.

Next, 2 cups of brown sugar, 2 tbs butter, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup heavy cream were combined in a larger sauce pan over low heat until the sugar melted, ~15 minutes. Then using moderate heat the mixture was brought to 236 degrees, removed from the burner, and allowed to cool. At 220 degrees the chopped bacon and pecans were mixed in. The resultant mix was spooned out onto parchment paper and allowed to cool.

Bring on the main course!

The filets were rubbed with Garlic Cayenne EVOO and dusted with BPS Double Secret. Then on to the MAK @300. They were pulled @IT135. While they rested the aparagus, lobster tails, and twice baked potato peaks were cooked.

A rose from the garden, a bottle of Korbel, and Happy Anniversary!

As wonderful as this dinner was, (and it was awesome,) we couldn't wait to finish and have some Bacon Pralines. These things are Awesome!! Sugary, smokey, buttery pecan praline bacon goodness. They're like Super pig candy. Highly recommended!

 

[CarterQ]

Smoked Gyros

Been wanting to mix it up lately and do something different so tonight we gave gyros on the pellet cooker a whirl-

Started with some fresh lamb shoulder and ground it up along with some sirloin

Seasoned with Majoram, Thyme, Oregano, Garlic, Onion, Salt and Pepper

Mix it up real good and palce in a loaf pan

Onto the MAK @275 for about an hour

While the meat is cooking make the Tzatziki

Greek yogurt, dill, honey, cumin, white pepper, and lemon

Whisk it up

Take a cucumber and deseed it

Chop the cucumber add salt and place it on plastic wrap, wrap it tightly for about 30 minutes (this will help remove the liquid from the cucumber)

Drain the liquid of the cucumber and whisk in with the sauce

 

[CarterQ]

Smoked gyros part 2

Back to the meat, pull the meat out of the loaf pan and back on the MAK @325 for about an hour

Meat is ready, off the grill and rest for a few

Slice the meat

Serve in a pita (we went the pocket route) with Tzatziki, lettuce, onion, and tomato along with a nice brew

Good stuff!

 

[bflodan]

Memorial Day Eve all day cook out Part 1

Lunch:
Turned the MAK on at about 10am and I dont think I shut it off till just before dark...Looking back at it now Im mad at myself that I didnt cook my breakfast on it!! For lunch I made some Chicken Kabobs with just a simple Teriyaki Marinade, a Prime Flat Iron steak with a Balsamic Reduction Marinade and seasoned with BP Little Louies with pepper, Grilled Romaine with Caesar Dressing and some Beans!!

Threw the Chicken on the MAK at 250 then added the steak about 20min later..

Pulled the steak when it hit 130 put in the warmer then cranked her to high heat.. Put it on the grill grates for about 5 min per side....Pulled and rested while I did the Romaine..

Sliced, Plated and Served

Came out GREAT!!

 

[bflodan]

Memorial Day Eve all day cook part 2

Dinner:
Not long after we finished lunch dinner was already in the works!! Went to the local Butcher Shop and picked up some wonderful lookin Ribs and a whole rack of Kobe Beef Short Ribs!! BP, yours was so good last weekend I hade to try it myself!

I did the Ribs with a little CT glue and added some Little Louies with pepper and Obie Cues Sweet n Heat..

For the Short Ribs I used CT as glue and added some Little Louies with Pepper and also some Double Secret Steak Rub..

Set the MAK to smoke and threw them on for 30min then bumped it 270 and let ride..

Pulled the ribs at about 3 hrs and foiled with Butter, Honey, and Brown sugar for about 45min...Pulled from foil and back on the MAK for about another 45min to an 1Hr with a couple sauce bastes.. Pulled everyting at once and let cool for a few...I let Short Ribs rest about 20 before sliceing!

The ribs where fall of the bone tender and those Kobe Short Ribs where excellent!!! I could have sworn I took a plated pic but I couldnt find it!! Maybe we just really wanted to eat!!

 

[bflodan]

Memorial Day Eve all day cook part 3

Dessert:
This is a first for me. I have not done one dessert on my MAK until today, and Oh there will be plenty more!! I couldnt believe how good it came out...Pretty sure I might not even need a oven anymore!

Made a Raspberry/Blackberry Crisp... Bought 3 containers of Raspberries and We had some left over Blackberries so i decided to add them also...

Mixed the Berries with some Sugar and Corn Starch and let them rest for about 45min, took some Oatmeal, Brown Sugar and Butter and pulsed it in the food processer till mixed.. Pressed some into the bottem of a baking dish then topped with the berries..Then added the rest of the Oatmeal mixture to the top..

Preheated the MAK to 350 and put it in for about 45min..

Served with a little Ice Cream..

What a great day!!! Im going to have to put a pellet order in after this one!!

 

[TTNuge]

Porkapalooza!

I've smoked many a butts in my MAK but the most I've ever done was two. Well a co-worker who I've shared some pulled pork with in the past has been bugging me for some more. He wanted enough for his family of 5 to have about 8-10 meals. We went about figuring out a good trade and it was decided that if he bought me a Roman Power Pork Puller I would give him 8-10 packages of pulled pork.

So armed with 4 bone in butts I picked up at the latest grocery store sale for $1 a pound and another 2 packages of cryovac'd boneless butts from Costco I went to work this weekend.

I prepped all the butts the same way, gave them a good slather of Carolina Treet and then a rub that consisted of a mix of 3 Eyz, Cimarron Docs, Blues Hog and some Texas BBQ Grand Champion rub. I mixed together various amounts until I got just the right flavor I was looking for. I didn't want too much spice as he has some young ones in his family and I think I got a great combo.

Here is a picture of half the butts..

By far the most meat I've had on my MAK at once. As you can see there was a bit of a lesson learned as 2 butts rubbed on my lid. Don't worry, I trimmed that part off a bit later.

Starting to come along nicely now.

Getting closer, used all 3 MAK probes as well as my ET-732, nothing geekier than 4 meat temps and 2 smoker temps... Well I did have to go out for a little bit and I would have loved a Stoker device just for monitoring smoker temp and having it Tweet me... Maybe soon.

First four coming off

Close up of the last 4 coming off, all 8 were done within an hour of each other which was nice.

All pulled, thank god for the Roman power puller, my hands would still be hurting if I would have had to use bear claws for all this.

And the finished product, 36 vacuum packed bags, each with 1.5 pounds in them give or take. It was a lot of work but damn it was fun. Can't wait to do it again but since I'll have about 20+ packages of pulled pork in the freezer it may be a while until I get the chance. I'm sure I'll find a way.

Many more photo's were taken and all can be seen in my online photo album here...
Porkapalooza album | TNEUTGENS | Fotki.com, photo and video sharing made easy.
Trent

 

[squirtthecat]

A Full MAK is a Happy MAK! Great job! (and nice score on the Roman..)

 

[sparky]

all the food looks real good. Heh carter, your drinking the kids beer. Get yourself some FT.

 

[Sirius76]

The obligatory ribs and chicken

To be quite honest, after seeing all these cooks I'm a bit embarrassed to post mine. It wasn't for a lack of desire, it was just timing was off all week to cook anything special. Wife was out of town. She had the good camera so I had to resort to my phone for pics. Special training all week at work wouldn't allow any real planning as well. I was just glad to atleast get this off for an out of town visiting friend who came thru on his way to Wisconsin to buy a telescope. Lets just say he was pleased with his meal. So here we go.

Managed to rub on some EVOO and 3 Eyes the night before and smoke at the traditional 225 with Hickory for 4 hrs. Foil, brown sugar, honey and butter were used as well at the 3 hr mark.

Chicken was marinaded overnight in a vacuum bag with Smoke on Wheels and Desert Gold. Then cooked on Lil Tex using the 250, 325, 350 technique until IT of 165. .

Here is the serving tray... not bad for two guys to have, eh?

And the money shot...

Chicken and ribs were served with some potato salad and a homemade pasta salad.

Mark was extremely impressed with the tenderness and juiciness of the chicken. He had never heard of pellet smoking and says this is something he will look more into.

Don't be surprised if we have another member here in the not too distant future!

 

[SisInLaw]

Folks, this is an amazing week of food cooked simply and outdoors and delicious. Love the desserts so far (my soft spot). I need to get more rubs, marinades, sauces and pellets! Judging tomorrow night is gonna be rough.

 

[ht01us]

Pulled Pork Showdown - Part II

In March I pitted a couple of pork butts against one another. One was brined like I've done for years; the other no brine. The brined butt won handily. But when you hold the crown there are always others wanting to challenge you. A young, brash injected pork butt wanted to try his hand at unseating the champion. Since we were having a Memorial Day celebration with many of the same crowd to judge, the stage was set.

At the weigh in before the bout: the brined butt is on the left; injected on the right

The brine was molasses, pickling salt, and water. The injection was apple juice, water, pickling salt, sugar and Worcestershire sauce

Here they are suited up and ready for the battle; rubbed in coriander, cumin, fennel seed, chili powder, paprika, and onion powder. No salt in the rub since it's already in the pork.

Would you believe no cameras were allowed in the battle venue? Um, would you believe I messed up and didn't take a picture? I had the butts on the upper rack of the MAK over a couple of drip pans filled with apple juice, beer, and water. They went into battle at 8:00 Saturday night: smoke for 1 hour; 225 until IT of 145; then bump to 245 until IT of 195.

I think the drip pans and maybe being on the upper racks caused some of the heat not to get up there. It took a full 17 hours to get them both to temp. The brined butt hit 195 around 1:30 Sunday. The injected butt needed another hour. Late Sunday morning I put a Maverick smoke probe next to the butts and the temp was lower than the MAK gauge. I think they were both right, just measured different areas. Next time I cook over drip pans I'll bump the heat up in the program.

That shoulder bone pulled out so easy and clean...

Brined on the left; injected on the right.

Worst. Plate. Picture. Ever. So I'll skip it.

I tried a new "Piedmont" style sauce. The recipes I found called for 1.5 cups of KC style sauce with 1 QUART of apple cider vinegar. I couldn't make myself do it. A QUART? Are you freaking kidding me? I went with 2 cups. It has other stuff including 1 Tablespoon of red pepper flakes. I had about a cup of homemade KC sauce, but wanted to save that for serving on its own. I went with Sweet Baby Ray's.

This sauce is wicked good: sharp and tangy. It's on the redo list for sure. And I may even bump up to 3 cups of vinegar.

We also had some side dishes. Mac & Cheese and pinto beans. Other people brought healthy stuff like Quinoa salad and stuff; they tell me it was good .

Ladies and gentlemen; in a unanimous decision we have a new winner. The injected butt had plenty of flavor and good smoke penetration.