Beef Rub

Posted on by January 25, 2017

Makes 5 tablespoons of dry rub, enough for a 10 pound roast.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons course ground black pepper:
  • 2 teaspoons crumbled dried rosemary leaves
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon spanish paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon chipotle or cayenne powder

Want the rub to be large grainy pieces to catch the smoke.

Uses

4/3/2016 – Used it on the Beef Chuck Roast this date. I liked the way it seared with the rosemary smell but after 6 hours in the smoker there was a dark crust although the rub flavor was not noticeable–as you would expect after that long in the smoke.

Based on a recipe for Cow Crust by Meathead Goldwyn at http://amazingribs.com

Beef CSRs on the Weber

Posted on by August 21, 2016

Mary got thick beef CSRs at HEB on sale. Rubbed them Friday afternoon with our Beef Rub that is a version of Meathead’s Cow Crust and Adolph’s Meat Tenderizer.

Got Weber kettle going with a 12-14 Kingsford blue bag charcoals lite and when burning added enough charcoals be topped evenly into the SnS with pecan chunks distributed from burn end to the other.

2:00   Placed CSRs on the indirect side that was at 275° per the ChefWorks air probe. At 3:00 it was 275 and still has a thin blue smoke.

4.40   Grate temp has been steady and is at 265°. Wrapped CSRs in foil and put into oven at 300. Looks very dark like the higher temp of 260-270 and steady medium smoke has them done.

6.00   Unwrapped and served with corn that had been grilled quickly. After all but two of the half cobs were warm and starting to show the heat mopped on 3T butter with 1T sriracha sauce.20160821_042801

The beef was not tough but firm, not dry but not moist, with the crust/rub still evident and flavorful to me. Mary was not impressed with the rub. The corn was good and moist despite the dark tips. But, there was no heat or color from the sriracha.  The next day, when cold from the refer the meat crust had a spicy tone from the pepper. The meat was still firm, not dry, but easy to chew. In these photos taken the next morning you can see the slight smoke ring.

Next time smoke at lower temp–maybe 225, baste during the smoke maybe with apple cider vinegar then wrap with a baste. Searing after the wrap could be nice but maybe not worth a new fire for 10 minutes of searing.

 

Tips for Smoking Catfish, Crappie & Redfish

Posted on by March 7, 2017

Pecan will be fine for the smoke.  I do hot smoked catfish at 250-300° until the fish flakes easily. For catfish, you may be OK with it on the grates, but I highly recommend that you use a fish basket for the catfish and DEFINITELY for the crappie.  Both will easily fall to pieces if you aren’t careful.

Another way I’ve done it without the baskets is to make a small tray out of heavy aluminum foil. Lay the fillet into the tray, add some seasonings and maybe a pat of butter to the tray and then smoke.

As a “rub” for the fish, I always slather them with a thin layer of EVOO or spray with Pam, and then add my seasoning of choice.  Wife likes it with lemon pepper, I like it with Tony’s.

just smoked fish for the first time.  I also used a curing brine for almost a day.  Then I pulled the fish out and rinsed it off and set it on the smoker grate to dry out a bit.  then placed it in my MES with the AMNPS full of apple pellets and smoked at 100* for about an hour then kicked it up to 130* another hour to two and finally up to 165* until it looked mostly dry. It was yummy!  Oh, and it was catfish and redfish.

 

Salmon quick recipes

Posted on by March 17, 2017

From SmokinAl in Central Florida (Sebring) “We love smoked salmon.”

No brine, just coat with EVOO and dust with Cajun seasoning.

Smoke at 225 with mesquite chips for strong smoke for about 45 minutes (don’t overcook). To IT of 140°.

From Disco the Canadian for a wild Sockeye salmon fillet.

  1. I just sprinkled on some SPOG (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder).
  2. I preheated my pellet smoker to 180 F with oak pellets and put the salmon on with my BlueTherm Duo thermometer.
  3. About 1-1/2 hours later, the internal temperature was 140 F.
  4. I let it sit for five minutes.

From Natej in Australia.  SmokinAl said this is how he likes salmon done.

4.8lb whole side of salmon, skin on.

Cut in half, Dry brined with 1 cup kosher salt and 1 cup brown sugar, just laid down a bed of the brine then put the salmon (skin on) on top and covered the top with the brine then put in the fridge for 3 hours.

Took it out rinsed it off and patted dry, left to hang out on the cutting board for roughly 40 mins for tacky pellicle to start forming then put skin side down on a sheet of aluminum foil and out onto the UDS at 220 over lump and alder/apple wood until beginning to flake and a soft pink colour, roughly 45 mins. Took off sprinkled with a little parsley and served.

Greek Marinated Chicken

Posted on by August 14, 2016

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ Tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 medium lemon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • freshly cracked pepper
  • ¼ bunch fresh parsley
  • 3½ to 4 lbs chicken pieces

 INSTRUCTIONS

  1. To make the marinade, combine the yogurt, olive oil, minced garlic, oregano, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper in a bowl. Use a fine holed cheese grater or a zester to scrape the thin layer of yellow zest from the lemon skin into the bowl. Also add the juice from half of the lemon (about 1-2 Tbsp). Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Roughly chop a big handful, or about ¼ bunch, of parsley and stir it into the marinade.
  2. Add the chicken pieces and marinade to SS bowl covered with plastic and left in the refrigerator.
  3. After marinating for 30 minutes, either cook the chicken on a grill OR preheat the oven to 375 degrees in preparation to bake the chicken.
  4. To bake the chicken, place the chicken pieces in a large preheated cast iron skillet. Convection roasted in the preheated 375 degree until IT was 145.

8/13/2016 – Roasted in the cast iron skillet. Used 1 T dried parsley and Greek yogurt.

Texas BBQ Sauces ToTry

Posted on by April 9, 2017

From Retread of Methuen, MA posted at SMF

¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp prepared mustard (I use Zatarain’s Creole Mustard)
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 thick lemon wedge (or 1 tsp)
2 or more ( I use a lot more) large cloves garlic, minced
Tabasco sauce (to taste)
1 diced onion ( fairly large pieces, julienne is good, too)
¼ cup (½ stick) butter or margarine
½ cup catsup
2 tbsp Worcestershire
1½ tsp liquid smoke (depending on the brand, really strong ones require considerably less)

In a sauce pan, mix vinegar, water, sugar, mustard, pepper (black and cayenne), salt, lemon, onion, Tabasco, garlic, and butter. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. Add catsup, Worcestershire, and liquid smoke and return to a boil. Then keep warm, but not boiling.

Makes a little less than 2 cups and can be refrigerated easily.

Texas Style Barbecue Sauce

From  on April 18, 2016

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb butter or margarine
  • 1 cup vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup tomato ketchup
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 crushed bay leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large onion, grated
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes. Makes about 2 cups.

4/8/2017 – Tried this for the first time. It makes almost a quart and took a lot longer than 15 minutes to cook down the onion that had been grated in the food processor. After an hour it was still lumpy so blended it. Flavor was ok. Need to see once it has aged a bit.

Big, Bold and Spicy Texas Barbecue Sauce

What You’ll Need

 How to Make It
  1. Whisk together the ketchup, vinegar, sugar, water, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cumin and cayenne in a saucepan, bring to a low simmer and turn off heat.
  2. Let the sauce cool to room temperature. This can be used as a basting sauce toward the end of the cooking time of your meat or brushed on after barbecuing, with additional sauce served on the side.

Sriracha Sauces & Recipes ToTry

Posted on by September 24, 2016

Zesty Ranch –  used as a dip

  1. 1 cup Ranch
  2. 1/4 cup Sriracha.

Sriracha Cajun Mayo – Used on fried oyster poboy

  1. 1 cup mayo
  2. 1/2 cup sriracha
  3. 1 tbs Cajun seasoning

Sriracha Hot Wings Blue Cheese Dip

  1. 1/4 cup Gorgonzola
  2. 1/3 cup sour cream
  3. 1/3 cup butter milk or use 1/3 cup of 1 tbs lemon juice to 1 cup milk
  4. 1/4 cup mayo
  5. 1/4 cup sriracha
  6. 1 tbs apple cider vinegar
  7. 1/2 tsp black pepper

Devilish Eggs

  1. 12 lg hard boiled eggs
  2. 1/2 cup mayo
  3. 1/4 cup sriracha
  4. 2 tbs milk
  5. 2 tbs Dijon mustard
  6. 2 tsp chopped cilantro
  7. 1 tsp sea salt
  8. 2 tsp smoked paprika

Above from Red Hot Sriracha by Melissa Petitto