5/12/2018 – Decided to dump it as they became very cloudy with white clumps. LIkely due to the serranos being too tall for the pint jar and nearly sticking up out of the brine. Continue reading
5/13/2018 – This turned out well and was the first batch Mary began to eat every day (after a two-week ferment) as it helped her stomach. It has far less caraway and mustard than the recent ferments. Continue reading
5/13/2018 – This made a good kraut although it had no caraway seeds or other spices.
Began a ferment of white cabbage and grated carrots at a 3:1 ratio. Liked the idea of getting the probiotic value plus the health benefits of the carrots. At 11 days it was a bit tart but the sweetness of the carrots was behind the normal sauerkraut taste. The cabbage was crunchy and the slivers of grated carrot were firm. Continue reading
5/12/2018, Sunday – Bought a fresh ~8 lb. Smithfield pork butt at HEB for $1.49/lb. No trimming was needed as the fat cap with thin and not even there in places. About 6 PM scored the thin fat cap into diamonds and sprinkled on a liberal dose of kosher salt on all sides to dry brine until Monday. Also sprinkled evenly 5POGS.
5/15/2018, Tuesday – Forgot to put it in the MES this morning so inserted it into the preheated MES set at 250 and ready at 12:15 PM. Also inserted the Amazen tray with w blend of mostly pecan pellets and some ChefMasters blend that I still have too much of. Loaded the tray with the outside channels full and a little around into the center that was mostly empty, Lite both sides and when closed the door and it had started drafting the plume was still thin.
5:15 PM – Pulled it from the MES as smoke is over. IT was only 140–surprising after 5 hours. Wrapped it in foil with ACV and a liberal dusting of Kim’s Creole Seasoning. put it into the convection oven preheated to 300.
6:30 – IT is now 175. It is past the stall.
~7:30 PM – Chefworks alarm set at 200 sounded. Pulled back the foil and check the meat. Still hard to pull apart so rewrapped, reinserted probe and closed the door. Noted the IT is now only 194. Moved the probe and got 193. The oven is set to 325.
~8:00 PM – Rocky came to get the girls (Kelley is in San Diago on IT business) and carried on so about the great BBQ smell that I cut off on end for him. It cut easily and was clearly falling apart.
~9:00 PM – Chefworks alarm set at 200 sounded. Pulled back the foil and checked the meat. A fork stuck in and twisted, easily separated the meat fibers. Moved it to a wire rack to cool wrapped in the foil. Put it into the refer about 10 PM.
Note this cook did not start until noon. The overall time of 8 hours was ok.
5/16/2018 – Opened up the wrapped meat and tasted the outer edges with the bark. Good flavor but not great and not hot at all. The bark did appear darker likely due to two slots burning in the Amazen for 5 hours. Also notable that there was little congealed fat in the foil wrap and a normal amount in the aluminum pan below meat in the smoker.
Next Time – Top dress the meat with 5POGS AFTER finishing in the oven and before the rest.
This was an interesting experiment as it is our second smoke with a longer marinate in Frank’s ReHot Sauce and a 24-hour dry brine. It is worth trying again. Not as good as the first time we tried it but it was ok–just not as moist. Should have cut the thighs into 1/3’s as we did then to give more exposure to the marinade.
5/6/2019 – This dish was first made on 11/13/2018 but that post was edited to what is below as the changes made it even better. It was very good and is now tagged as a favorite.
Continue readingREDFISH COURT BOUILLON
 |
1 8 – 10 pound redfish, cleaned and cut into two fillets (snapper is a good substitute)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
1 pound large shrimp, shells reserved
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
5 stalks celery, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
6 bay leaves
1 24-ounce can whole tomatoes
4 cups shrimp stock
1 pint oysters
sliced scallions, for garnish
cooked white rice, for serving
homemade hot sauce, optional (recipe below)
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place fish fillets in a roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Peel shrimp and use peels to either make a shrimp stock or customize a store-bought fish stock by steeping the peels in the stock for 10 minutes. Keep warm on stove while assembling the roux.
2. Pour oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and stir in flour. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the roux becomes a deep brown color. Add diced onions and cook until translucent. Add the peppers, celery, garlic, spices and bay leaves and cook 5 – 10 minutes until vegetables soften. Add canned tomatoes (with liquid) and stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning. The sauce can be made to this point and refrigerated or frozen for future use. Return sauce to a simmer before continuing with recipe.
3. Pour warm sauce over fish in roasting pan, cover with foil and bake for 45 – 55 minutes. Check fish doneness to ensure it is nearly cooked through. Remove foil, scatter shrimp and oysters over fish and return to oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Carefully transfer whole fish fillets on top of a bed of white rice. Cover with shrimp and oysters and drizzle sauce on top. Garnish with diced scallions and hot sauce. Serves 8 – 10.
Inspired by a recipe in Mobile Bay Magazine here.
HOT SAUCE
From the same article as mentioned in the recipe above.
1 pound red jalapeño chiles
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups distilled white vinegar
1. Pulse chiles and kosher salt in a food processor until a coarse puree forms. Transfer to a 1-quart glass jar, loosely screw lid and stand at room temperature for 12 hours to ferment slightly.
2. Stir in vinegar and loosely screw on the lid. Let mixture stand at room temperature for 7 days.
3. Puree mixture in blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean glass bottle.
4. Keep refrigerated. It can be stored for up to 4 months. Shake before serving as the sauce may separate. Makes 2 1/2 cups.
This version of coleslaw was great with the chicken thighs cut into thirds that we smoked with jerk seasoning. It was inspired by a Caribbean slaw recipe at the Killer Hogs BBQ site. The meal with the thighs and cornbread-with-sausage was great. Continue reading
Inspired by this recipe at Saveur.com as published in Marisa McClellan’s cookbook Food in Jars. This turned out great although maybe a little thin. It was not sweet like jam or jelly and very full flavored. Continue reading
This was our first smoked jerk seasoned pork and it turned out good. Even though it cooked to 265 it was tender when sliced thin and did not dry out that much. Definitely will try it again with the jerk seasoning. Also went great with the Carribean Cole Slaw. Continue reading