Fast Steak Dinner

Posted on by September 2, 2017

9/2/2017 – Inspired by the recipe here but tweaked it to the process below. It turned out fine and worth doing again. Note the original process included advice on how to do a cheap steak.

Reverse-Seared Rib Eye or T-Bone.

* a 1.5- to 2-inch-thick rib eye steak
* Salt
* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* Pepper (optional)

1. Liberally season steak on all sides with salt and (optional) pepper. [The first try was 48 hours before cooking.] Place steak in fridge for 1 to 24 hours–[actually 48 hrs].
2. Preheat oven to 275°F.
3. Transfer steak to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 20–30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches about 95°F for medium-are. Used the meat probe with ChefWorks.
5. Preheat cast-iron skillet with olive oi on high heat for 10–15 minutes.
6. Once oil starts to shimmer but before it starts to smoke, carefully place steak in pan.
7. Cook for about 1–2 minutes per side, or until the internal temperature is a few degrees below 135°F/57°C and a dark crust has formed.
8. Rest the steak on a cutting board or wire rack for about couple minutes.
9. Slice steak and serve!

Beef Shoulder Roast Smoked

Posted on by August 25, 2017

Small pieces on the right became dog food

8/20/2017 – This smoke turned out good. Smoked a beef shoulder roast that was vac packed and frozen in mid-January 2017. Thawed it in a cold water bath starting about 6 AM then trimmed silver skin and fat. It fell apart into two pieces that we seasoned with Jeff’s Texas rub about 11 AM (as we did the last time and it was great) and tied it. The large piece likely did not need tieing but the small one definitely did.

12:30 PM – Put them into the MES that was preheated to 260 on the third rack from the top. Smoke was from a mixture of ChefMasters blend pellets (~75%) and Treflager Hickory (~25%). Ambient Temp is 94 and humidity is 53%.

1:30 – MES has settled down at a setpoint of 250 with the grate temp in the 250’s.

3:30 PM

  • The two slots of pellets in the tray had burned out although for the past hour plus the smoke has been heavy like when two rows are burning.  It must have jumped but I let it go as the extra smoke is often good.
  • The MES has been showing a temp of 260+ and the grate temp has been 250-260 for the past couple of hours.
    • Pulled the meat and the IT was 248 in the large piece and 250-255 in the small piece. Wrapped in foil and put in the cold over to rest until dinner.

Korean Fried Chicken Sauce

Posted on by June 7, 2024

Inspired by Recipe by Chef John – We made this to go with his Korean fried boneless chicken thighs that turned out tasty and crunchy with the 3:2 cornstarch to flour. But, the very starchy, thick, crunchy crust must have turned quickly to sugar and Mary had an intense headache later that night. I also felt it when eating leftover chunks by themselves so deleted that recipe from this site. This sauce below was good and could work well with a fried chicken or pork that does not have the thick, high carb crust. Continue reading →

BB Ribs Not Wrapped

Posted on by August 25, 2017

8/13/2017 – Smoked the rack of ribs–rubbed with Stubbs Hot Pork Rub–over the Butt done at the same time. MES set at 240 and smoke from a combination of pellets from Trafalger Hickory and ChefMasters blend.   Put them

Put them in the smoker about 8 AM. Pulled them at 2:30 PM when passed the bend test and were breaking apart. Wrapped in foil and had one for dinner with the butt. Tender but not falling apart or off the bone.

The thin smoke for the full time gave them a nice color and flavor. Note that the butt below them in the smoker was rubbed with a commercial cajun seasoning that turned out nice–especially from the bark flavor perspective. These ribs might have been influenced by the rising smoke around the cajun seasoning. That is a long shot but next time maybe try ribs rubbed with our creole seasoning.

Brined Chicken then Fried

Posted on by August 13, 2017

8/13/2017 – First wet brining of chicken thighs using Chef JJ’s Family Favorite Brine. Mary fried it in Smaltz made yesterday with only CBP after rinsing and with CBP and granulated garlic in floor/corn starch dredge. Not sure the brining made any difference other than making the fried chicken too salty. Mary also did not like the off color the brine gave the skin. See notes as this is worth trying again but not fried. Continue reading →

Jalapenos Fermented

Posted on by September 19, 2017

11/12/2017 – This is our first fermented jalapenos. Cut green jalapenos into 3/8″ slices leaving seeds, a carrot into 3/8″ chunks and yellow onion into 1/2″ squares enough to fill a quart canning jar packed up to the shoulder. Mixed a brine with filtered water and 2T pickling salt. Filled the loaded jar to a little over the veggies. They turned out fine. Continue reading →