Dbl. Smoked Ham On New RecTec

Posted on by December 4, 2021

11/4/2021 – This is the second smoke today on our one-day-old RecTec 700. We removed the heavy fat and cleaned up a small ham partially splitting it open between muscles to get rub and smoke into the center. Rubbed it moderately with Stubb’s Hot Pork Rub we had mixed likely back in Houston. It has been in a glass jar with a tight lid.

Put the seasoned ham into the RECTEC that was set at 235°. There was more smoke than earlier today with the thighs when it was set at 350°.

Pulled the ham after 2.5 hours and it was great. The time in the Rectec made an average ham something special.

Smoked Chicken in New RecTec

Posted on by December 4, 2021

11/4/2021 – The RecTec RT-700 wood pellet grill arrived yesterday. Today we smoked chicken thighs and legs with the Ultimate Blend all-natural food-grade Red Oak, White Oak, and Hickory hardwood pellets that came with the smoker. The chicken was part of a 10 lb. bag that we had cleaned up a few days ago and dry brined. They have been waiting for this smoke so had a long time for the salt to work.

Set the PID to 375° and let it come to temperature. The ambient temperature was 60°.

  1. 10:15 – Placed the meat on the righthand half of the grate. Insert both probes into the two largest thighs. Closed the lid.
  2. 11:55 – Probe A was at 173° in the smaller thigh near the center of the grate. Probe B was at 166° in the back righmost position. Pulled them to rest about 15 minutes.

The thighs and the leg were very moist and had a light smoke flavor.

Next Time – Try the Extreme Smoke setting for the first 30-45 minutes then turn it up to 325°.

Leftover Country Style Ribs

Posted on by September 17, 2021

9/15/2021 – The dish was created by Mary to use the meat from bone-in, country-style pork ribs (CSRs) leftover from a large package we made a few days ago. This turned out great and will be made again as we will make sure there are leftover ribs with the next BBQ.

How the CSRs were made was an important part of the flavor profile of this dish. They were salted to dry brine and at the same time were covered well with 6POGS. After about 4 hours in the refer they were grilled on the gas grill to get that grilled flavor. Then laid in an aluminum foil wrap, seasoned with more 6POGS, some apple cider vinegar was added, and then the foil was folded over tightly and baked at 300° until tender. After a great meal of CSRs, the leftover ribs were refrigerated.

Directions after the CSRs are cooked:

  1. Prepare:
    1. Remove the bones and any heavy fat from the cold leftover ribs and thin slice the meat.
    2. 1 medium onion, sliced
    3. 1 medium green bell pepper sliced
    4. 3 large garlic cloves diced
  2. In a large castiron skillet add bacon grease and heat until warm.
  3. Add onions, bell peppers and saute until translucent.
  4. Add garlic and sliced meat.
  5. Add So Good BBQ sauce.
  6. Saute covered on low until tender.
  7. Serve over rice made with a flavorful broth.

Okra Fermented No.6 2021

Posted on by August 28, 2021

8/22/2021 – This ferment is a repeat of Okra Fermented No. 6, and the first okra ferment in 2021, because the one in 2019 turned out great.

Stuffed a half-gallon jar with large and small okra and added about 3 teaspoons of crushed peppers, 2 garlic cloves before the okra, then one with garlic at half full; then the last teaspoon of pepper, and the two last garlic cloves when full.

Filled the jar with a 5% brine made with canning salt and our well water. Topped the okra and garlic with the plastic keeper and continued to top off the brine as the air filtered out of the okra.

Pickled Refrigerator Okra

Posted on by August 19, 2021

This preparation was inspired by the one at The Ranch Kitchen although ours has a lot more spices.

Ingredients

Fresh okra from our garden
3 cups 5% white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Morton Canning and Pickling Salt
2 tablespoons sugar
6 average garlic cloves cut into large pieces
1/2 teaspoon Dill Weed per pint
1/2 teaspoon Celery Seed per pint
1 teaspoon of our Red Pepper Flakes per pint
1 teaspoon Yellow Mustard Seeds per pint
1/4 teaspoon Ball Pickle Crisp Granules per pint

Instructions

We had on hand inside a pint and a quart jar so used them and did not go to the grain bin for empty pints.

Packed okra pods tightly in each jar until you can barely squeeze another in.

On your stove bring your white vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Heat the filled capped jars under the hottest tap water to preheat the jars. Pour the almost boiling brine into the jars with okra pods and spices.

Place in the refrigerator for 2 weeks for optimal flavors to develop.

Note: The original recipe said the brine was enough for 4 packed pints. The amount we had leftover after filling the packed pint and quart was maybe enough to fill a packed pint. It would have been close.

Pickled Okra – 2021

Posted on by August 3, 2022

8/3 and 8/10 and 9/9/2021 – This post is for the three water-bath picklings that were done the same and based on what was done in July 2019 that was very good. On 9/6/2021 Kelley opened a pint made on 8/10/2021 (almost a month old) and liked it a lot. Besides being great pickled okra the recipes provide guidance on how much brine to make for jars of raw okra.

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Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Posted on by August 7, 2021

8/6/2021 – The Tiburon Poblano Peppers from our garden were stuffed with this cheesy spicy ground beef and were great. This recipe was inspired by one at the Certified Angus Beef website.

  • 1 pound 80/20 ground chuck
  • 1/3 cup jasmine rice
  • Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chipotle pepper in adobo
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 cup mild HEB salsa
  • 2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese, divided
  • 5 poblano peppers from the garden this morning, cut in half vertically and one large white scalloped squash hollowed out and stuffed.
  • Grated white and yellow cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Cook rice according to package directions to yield approximately 1-cup cooked rice. Set aside.
  2. Brown ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Add onion and garlic, sauté for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, chipotle and oregano; cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in rice, salsa and adjust salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in 1-cup of shredded cheese.
  3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange pepper halves in parchment paper lined large baking sheet so they have about an inch of space between them. Fill each evenly with the beef blend, packing tightly. Cover with foil and bake 30-40 minutes until the peppers are beginning to softed but not too long for the meat.
  4. Uncover peppers, top each with remaining cheese and return to oven 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Refrigerator Jalapeno Peppers

Posted on by September 15, 2021

8/1/2021 – Another good harvest of Jalasco Jalapenos and a few others were pickled in the same brine used with Peppercinos last week and that was very similar to the jalapenos the week before. The taste test of the peppercinos, just before these pickling, found they have a good flavor and some crispness, although since they are thinner, they were not as crisp as the Jalapenos of 7/11/2021. As of 9/15/2021, this prep has been enjoyed at least three times. The peppers have a good flavor without being too hot and, most importantly, they are crunchy.

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Shrimp with Tomato and Feta Cheese, Greek Style

Posted on by July 29, 2021

7/25/2021 – Mary made this great dish and gave it our highest ratings; i.e. To-Die-For (TDF) and Favorites. The flavors of the tomatoes, feta cheese, and olives made the sauce fantastic. Red pepper flakes from the garden gave it a bite that came on slowly but not too much. One of the advantages of this preparation was using ripe fresh homegrown tomatoes from our garden. It also uses fresh mint from the iron pot by the grain bin. This great dish was inspired by the recipe here.

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