Kinda screwed on this one, doing pork butt tonight for the monkeys and parents coming over tomorrow for trick or treating. Will have a Fat Tire for Sparky though!
Ok, here's what I got.... I tried to find some Fat Tire but apparently I am the only one that has heard of it in this part of CT... I even went to one place that had an entire aisle of foreign & microbrew singles............
I did a couple pork butts yesterday but since Sparky requested no pork butts I went to the Meat House (the place sisterinlaw wrote about in another thread, thanks SIL - cool place) and bought a huge prime ribeye.
First steak I have done entirely on the Traeger..... no grill grates either
simple seasoning -- Penzey's Shallot Pepper, more crushed black pepper, kosher salt, little garlic olive oil rubbed on
on smoke for awhile (?? maybe 45 minutes), took it off, cranked the Traeger up to 450 (which is usually ~425) , then back on and was happy to hear it sssssss , not sure of cooking time. Was shooting for 125 IT - it wasn't totally uniform in width so part was ~125, part ~130
Meat was very good. I had a hard time deciding between the prime and the dry aged which did not designate prime, I'll try the dry aged next time.
IF they dont designate it is choice or 'high choice' I have very good luck with the high choice programs out there Swift has a brand of high choice that is labeled 1865 which is outstanding. Those looked a perfect 130
This week was going to be brisket week if it killed me. I spent hours on Friday searching high and low for a nice brisket and ended up with my last option. There is a local sausage maker that has frozen briskets in his freezer all the time, didn't want to go through the hassle of thawing one out but it was my only choice other than some highly trimmed flats.
So after it was thawed it got injected with a mix of Butcher's Injection and a cup of FAT TIRE. Then it got a nice heavy rub of Texas BBQ Rubs Brisket formula, wrapped and in the fridge for about 5 hours until late Friday Night.
As you can see, 1 cup of FAT TIRE for the brisket, the rest for the cook.
Close up...
Here it is the next morning, IT was about 160* at this point. Decided to boat for a bit with some apple juice and some more FAT TIRE to get some liquid stored up for later.
I did cover it for a while when it was boated but then once the IT got up to around 175* I moved the brisket to the top rack, kept the pan underneath it to gather some more drippings and let her go until 190*
Once done I separated the point from the flat, flat got the foil, towel, cooler treatment and the point got cut up for some burnt ends. Added them back to the pan with some more rub and just a little Bone Suckin' Sauce. Then they went back on the grill at 225* for 1.5-2hrs.
Here they are just before getting attacked by a vicious toothpick which then forced them into my mouth. I'd say most of them made it to the dinner table.
The brisket itself was very tender, had great flavor but my only complaint was that it could have been a bit more juicy. Of course I was the only one who complained, I am my worst critic. Wife had a friend over for dinner and she was impressed so I guess that's what counts. It did have to rest a bit longer than I wanted since we had to wait a few extra hours for her friend to arrive.
All previous pics were by me. The next two are when the photog (wife) took over and tried to get some money shots. I admit that I was rushing her, dinner was already late and I was hungry.
And finally, all the FAT TIRE was consumed during the meal preparations so with dinner I broke out the limited edition Surly Darkness. This beer is very hard to get a hold of and is usually sold out before anyone knows it exists. Fortunately I have a nice liquor store in town that notified me it was in. Limit 1 750ml bottle per person, he only got one case in and it's not cheap. It was great, wonderful full flavor but I think next time I'll take the three 6 packs of FAT TIRE I could have bought instead! The bottle is cool though!
Topped with lettuce and mayo and served up with some steak fries
Money shot
These came out pretty good, a little drier than i liked but will definitely do again. Want to try it next stuffed with cheddar, bacon, and a little BBQ sauce.
wow!!! excellent looking food. i do appreciate all the hard work being but into the great food i am seeing. i will decide the winner after the giants game tonight. go GIANTS...
Before 2006, New Belgium distributed in only 15 states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado). New Belgium expanded operations in 2002 to be able to distribute to California. In spring 2006, the brewery began to distribute some of their beers in other markets. Bottles of Fat Tire distributed in Chicago claim "Chicago Inaugural: The 1st Fat Tire Ale served (legally) in the second city." In June 2007 Fat Tire, Skinny Dip, 1554 and Mothership Wit became available in Illinois. By the summer of 2007, New Belgium expanded distribution again to include select areas of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Minnesota metro area and Iowa. As of July 2008, Fat Tire, 1554, Mothership Wit, and seasonal brews are also served in Tennessee. In March 2009, these beers also became available in North Carolina.[3]. In April 2009, in response to huge demand, Fat Tire became available in Indiana[4]. In May 2009 Fat Tire became available in Georgia, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wisconsin.