Thought I'd start a thread where everyone can just quickly mention what they're makin' on their cookshack equipment. Any model, any method, any type of grub, etc. Pictures encouraged!
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I currently have an overabundance of fresh peppers from my garden, so I stuffed and smoked some last nite on my PG500. Some were hot, some were just sweet peppers.
Stuffing was hamburger, cheese, rice, tomato soup concentrate and some simple seasoning.
Turned out very good although a couple of the hot peppers kicked my butt...
I just finished a Bologna Blunt that needs to be sliced. I am doing Johnny Trigg style ribs today. I have to pick up a Chuck roast and get some smoke on it so it can go in the crock pot on Tuesday. This will be for tacos. The weather here is too hot to cold smoke so am waiting to salmon, cheese, summer sausage, and bacon.
Well, for the holiday weekend, not much. Green chile cheese sliders on the grill last night, wings tonight (my preferred technique of grilling with the Amaz-n tube smoker alongside putting out lots of apple wood pellet smoke) tonight, and tomorrow hasn't been determined yet, but I'll do a batch of almonds while I think about it. Happy Labor Day!
Just threw an eye of round on the pellet grill... Going for a sear then smoke.
Will probably end up tossing on some okra for a side dish.
@idahomike - love me some smoked bologna!!!
Weather was beautiful here yesterday, so did all my oven cooking outside on my PG500...
Cooked up some bacon in the morning and did some roasted diced potatoes and some baked tilapia for dinner.
I haven't been really happy with my smoked almonds until now. I use raw almonds from BJ's (about $7 for 11 or 12 oz, just enough for one level of frog mat in my SM066). I've tried various flavors and combinations, knowing you need a liquid "wetting agent" to let the dry spices or herbs adhere. I finally found a really good version! I used (for 11 - 12 oz of raw almonds) 1 tablespoon of Sriracha sauce, stirred well to coat every nut, followed by one teaspoon of sea salt, also stirred well. Placed in the smoker on a frog mat on one level, used a one oz hickory chunk, and smoked for about 2 hours 15 minutes at 225 F.
The result was fabulous smoked almonds, good smoke flavor, enough salt to make them addicting, enough time to make them crunchy, and enough Sriracha to make them just spicy enough to be interesting. Will do again!! Simplicity is good!
That sounds awesome @jay1924!
I cooked some sliders on a salt block tonight for supper... Tasted great, but man I hate cleaning that dang salt block...
Today I smoked my last batch of wild salmon for the season - 6.5 lbs of Coho (from Costco, a real find). That makes about 25 lbs total for the summer, a bit low since wild Alaskan sockeye salmon was not available until July this year vs early June most years, and Copper River sockeye was not available at all. I used Mr. T's brine as always and cut the salmon to three pieces per side (I try to get sides about 1.5 lbs each), so 12 pieces on two racks in my Amerique. I used 2.5 oz of alder (two small chunks) at 200F for about 55 minutes, for an IT in the thickest piece of 145 by the Amerique probe.
We use smoked salmon all year from the freezer (it freezes great in Foodsaver vacuum bags), mostly for breakfast, but over the holidays we make lots of smoked salmon spread with cream cheese and sour cream for bagels and toast in the morning or on crackers for a snack. A freezer full of home-smoked salmon is a beautiful thing. Try it!
@jay1924 That sounds awesome dude! I got lazy this weekend and did some salmon under the broiler. It was ok, but man you got my mouth watering...
When you freeze, do you leave the skin intact?
jobiewan - yes, I leave the skin on while I cool the pieces to room temp on racks and then freeze them individually in foodsaver bags cut to size from the roll. I think (without real evidence) that it helps retain moisture in the freezer. I've found that if the freezer bag vacuum holds, the pieces can go well over a year and still be great. I'm currently eating a batch I made in July last year.
Did a pork shoulder last weekend. Got a late start so cooked at 300. Turned out just as tender and juicy as going low and slow. Decent bark and decent smoke flavor...
Had to strip the vegetable plants yesterday bcuz we had our first hard freeze last night so I've got a bunch of hot peppers that I'm going to smoke this weekend. Will dehydrate some and make some chipotle sauce out of the rest.
Hoping to give jay's smoked salmon recipe this wknd too!
Thanks for the mention jobiewan, but I have to make sure the credit goes to Mr. T. It's all in the brine!
got a smoked meatloaf going right now and gonna grill up some asparagus to go with it!
I mixed up 30 pounds of sausage yesterday I need to get it stuffed and smoked of the next couple of days.
I did a "smoked pot roast" yesterday, adapted from a recipe from andyj here a few years ago. Got a angus chuck roast (about 3 lbs, about 2.5 inches thick) from Shoprite. Coated lightly with Smokin' Guns BBQ rub (thanks again, cal!), and used about 2 oz of pecan at 225 for about 2 hours, to an IT of 140F. Removed and placed in a dutch oven over one sliced red pepper and 1/2 sliced vidaia onion, and poured over one can of stout and 1 cup beef broth. Into a 300F oven for about 3 1/2 hours (covered) until pullable with a fork. Removed the meat to a pan and covered with foil back in the warm oven while I used a stick blender to puree the sauce and reduced it down for about 10 minutes. The sauce (now a great gravy) can be pretty intense if you don't go lightly with the rub in the beginning. Served with mashed Yukon golds and steamed green beans. A real weekend treat! My SO says "don't ever do pot roast any other way."
got a 13 lb brisket in process. threw it on at 6:30 last night at 225 on my PG500. just did a 12 hour probe and sitting at 170ish.
edit: tell ya what, this might have been the best brisket I've ever made. wrapped in butcher paper at about 180 internal took it off at 200 internal and FTC'd for a couple hours. Total cook time was about 20 hours.
Entire thing was fall apart tender and extrememly juicy. good bark, good smoke ring. was tough to get slices or burnt end cubes it was falling apart so easy.
OK, now you got my attention! Whole or flat? Choice or prime? Where did you get it? 225 the whole time? Inquiring minds want to know!
it was a full packer. trimmed it up real nice applied basic montreal steak type seasoning just before putting on the smoker. cooked fat side up whole time.
setpoint was 225 the whole cook. had to adjust LHT/HHT a couple of times due to fluctuations in ambient temp. I think overnight got down to 20 ish F daytime was in the 50's and windy.
so now for maybe the surprising part... was just a cheap ole walmart brisket. packaging was pretty non-descript... angus choice i believe.
just as good as leftovers for lunch today and I froze half of it to enjoy months down the road.
I am jealous. The only place I can find a brisket packer is in a Sam's Club a 45 minute drive away, and then only sporadically, and when they do have them (sometimes even prime), the flat end is so thin it seems like not worth my money or time. Very frustrating, since I am not willing to spend $100+ on a Creekstone or Snake River brisket. But I'll keep looking. Meanwhile, chuckies seem to satisfy the need for smoked beef.
Yes with the quality and price issues I've pretty much given up on briskets also.
I find Whole Packers at Costco and they have both prime and choice. I also find them at Albertson's and Wally World (they will order them in for you). I have a pretty good eye for judging beef. I have done Prime brisket, and can't tell the difference between the hand selected Choice brisket that I do. I have even done a select grade once or twice and they were pretty good. Jobiewan hit the nail on the head with his cooking method. you can use your thermometer right up to the end of the cook. I usually start probing my brisket at 190 degrees IT. I have actually had some that probed as done at that temp. I probe again at 200 degrees IT and pull the ones that are done. I have had one or two that that went to 215 degrees before they probed right. I don't wrap my brisket until it is ready to go in the cooler.
Thanks Mike - good input. I actually saw a really good looking choice flat at Costco today, seemed like the thickness was two to three inches throughout. It was just over ten pounds, at $6 a lb. Maybe should have bought it. I wonder what they do with their points? I'll look again when the weather gets a bit better. I No packers available anywhere near me, sad to say.
Tried something new yesterday. Smoked some pork country style ribs which I have never done.
Cajun themed rub applied about 4 hours ahead of cook. Smoked at 225 for about 4 hours. Basted with a cider vinegar based mop every 45 minutes or so.
Wasn't really sure how to determine doneness, so just did a poke and probe test until i thought it was good.
Was impressed that with such a lean cut of meat it still came out tender and a little juicy. Cajun rub was a little hot for the missus, but I loved it.
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Wow, that looks incredible! I've never done that cut in the smoker, but also, the name "country style ribs" is used in stores for many cuts of pork, from slices of bone-in butt roast to ribs from the loin, to rib cuts across the bone of the lower rib, etc. If you know what meat you are looking for, you can get the juiciness and tenderness you want, but be aware not all cuts with that name are the same. Anyway jobiewan, you done good! When I get a good package of fatty butt "ribs" I'll try it.
I did smoked meat loaf on Sunday. I found the recipe on here years ago. Equal parts of ground beef, and Italian sausage. I mixed everything up on Saturday so the flavors would mingle. This ended up being a total of 6.5 pounds. I put them in the smoker with pecan and oak. 210 degrees to 150 degrees IT. Pulled and rested them for 20 minutes and bumped the smoker to 250 degrees. Moped them with BBQ sauce, and back in the smoker for 20 minutes. This is seriously good stuff.
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@jay1924 - great point! these were cut from the butt...
@idahomike - I LOVE smoked meatloaf! i've always left mine dry, so curious what style BBQ sauce you finished with?
Logan's Roadhouse puts a good mushroom sauce on their grilled meatloaf which is something I have always wanted to take a swing at but never got around to it.
those pictures look awesome! I might have to make one this weekend!
Great stuff Mike! Is that red pepper I see in the mix? I haven't done smoked meatloaf (yet).
Jobiewan - here's the mushroom gravy we use on our (baked) meatloaf. we like it a lot. The longer you let it simmer, the thicker it gets.
just put a meatloaf in. 35mph sustained winds with gusts to 50 plus here in the heartland today, so we'll see how that affects things...
I think this thread you cooked up (
) should require pics.
@jay1924 I agree, but i get so dang anxious to shove the finished product down my face i forget to take pictures!!!
Jobiewon and Jay: I used Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce over the top, and used onions and red bell peppers in the meat mixture. I used half regular Italian sausage and half hot Italian sausage. I need to cut back on the hot sausage as the meat loaf did have a bite to it.
Mike - Sweet Baby Ray's is my new favorite for loin backs if anyone wants sauce. I also use it on my baked meat loaf ( a Julia Child recipe but using beef, pork, and lamb 1 pound each), but I spike it with my favorite NM hot sauce Santa Fe Ole 3 pepper hot sauce.
So I'm going to try to post pics of some beef cheeks I did a couple of weeks ago. I started with about 7.5 lbs cheeks cryovac from Sam's Club. After (a lot of) trimming of fat and gristle, I had about 5 lbs of good clean cheeks. I froze half for later and put a light sprinkle of Oak Ridge Back Ops brisket rub on the 3 lbs or so:
Then in the smoker (SM-066 Amerique):
After about 5 hours in the smoker at 225, with 2 oz of pecan wood:
Another 5 hours in a 225 oven foil covered to finish with a braise, then pulled and ready to eat. We used a good hot fresh salsa and guacamole with a bit of lettuce on flour tortillas.
If you can find beef cheek meat (otherwise known as barbacoa) it is fantastically flavorful beef. Try it if you can!
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@idahomike - I've never tried an all sausage meatloaf... will have to give it a whirl. i've either done 100% beef or 60% beef/40% sausage. Red bell peppers chopped up in the mix is good and I usually mix a little hot sauce in too with some worchestire
@jay1924 - wow that looks and sounds fantastic. something to add to my wish list!
made some quesadillas yesterday... veggies in cast iron pan and steak on a salt block. turned out awesome!
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