Elote is the Mexican name for corn on the cob. Ingredients needed for 4 or 5 ears of corn:
The Slather:
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
3 teaspoons fresh lime juice
The Seasoning Rub:
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (my favorite is Texas Red Dog from Penderey’s)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan, shredded Mexican blend cheese, Cotija anejo, or Queso fresco. (these last two cheeses are mild Mexican cheese that crumble easily)
Cooking oil spray
Melted butter
Preparation:
Prepare grill with a medium hot fire. Combine mayonnaise and juice in a small bowl, check the taste … there should be a nice lime flavor… adjust the lime juice if needed. Combine chili powder, cayenne, cumin and salt in the second bowl, adjust any seasonings to suit your taste. Have a third bowl with the grated or shredded cheese.
Spray corn with cooking oil spray. Place corn on grill and baste the upside with melted butter. Grill corn 12 to 15 minutes or until tender, turning frequently and basting with butter after each turn. (You are always basting the corn AFTER turning to avoid burning the butter). Some of the kernels will begin to char and this is an indication you are approaching doneness. When corn is done, remove corn from grill; brush with mayonnaise mixture, sprinkle on some of the seasoning, then sprinkle with cheese mixture. Serve immediately.
June 5, 2016, smoked with apple chips along with pork loin bone-in.
Rubbed the tomatoes and peppers lightly with EVOO so the smoke would stick. [Not sure that worked.] They smoked for 1 hr 15 minutes on the top rack on the SS tray. The skin was beginning to crack and so that is why I pulled them. The peppers have a smokey look and are a bit soft to touch as are the tomatoes.
Put the whole tomatoes in the blender along with the red onion, garlic, jalapenos, fresh cilantro, black pepper and kosher salt. The salsa is too thin. Should have cut the tomatoes up so some of the liquid would have drained.
The four jalapenos were twice as much as needed for the amount of tomatoes.
For the updated method see Mary’s Roasted Tomato Salsa 2024.
Next time:
Review – http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/106374/salsa-with-smoked-roma-tomato-serrano-and-garlic
Review Salsa part of http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/81096/chuckie-enchiladas-and-smoked-tomato-salsa-w-q-view
Try cutting all in half and pour out tomato liquid then smoke with cut side up. Also try pecan as the apple was not as distinctive as when we did it with hickory pellets.
Very nice fresh 5# bone-in roast bought at Randall’s for $0.99/lb. Night before dry brined with APL’s Four Seasons. About an hour before putting in MES added Cayenne, paprika and dried minced garlic.
Ambient temp stayed around 76° and humidity was 85+%. Pre
heated MES40 to cook at 240 on the third rack from the top.
12:30 PM – Put roast in pan with 1/2″ chicken broth into smoker on third rack from the top.
1:15 – MES has been set at 250 but seems like grate temp is staying over 260 so reset to 235. after a while grate temp stabilized at ~244.
2:10 – Pulled tomatoes and jalapenos I was also smoking for salsa so the door has been opened at least twice more that it had to. See separate post about that smoke.
2:30 – Grate 254, MES probe reads 244 – TBS
3:20 – Grate 252, MES probe reads 245 – TBS
3:40 – Grate 261, MES probe reads 244 – TBS, Inserted MES meat probe and IT is 134. IT with RT600C is 128.
4:00 – Grate 256, MES probe reads 255, IT 139 – TBS
4:20 – IT with MES probe is 135, and in two places with RT600C is 148 and 128.
4:45 – Pulled from smoker as IT with MES probe is 161.
Let it rest for about 30 minutes under a foil tent. Cut off two “chops” from the end where I had cut off two for Kelley. They were not as done as we like and the rest–further into the middle–were less done. Put it into the oven wrapped in foil at 300 for 30 minutes. When it came out it smell done.
Good but not great. Final roast in foil seemed to wash it out–or off. Needed bolder bark.
This smoked followed one done by SmokinAl at SMF where he said he always smokes meat in an aluminum pan with a broth. This cook began the afternoon before, June 3, 2016, when Mary dry brined it with Adam Perry Lang’s Four Seasons.
March 4, 2016, 3:00 PM Removed it from the refer and top dressed the cross hatched thin fat cap with cayenne and soy sauce.
4:00 – Had preheated MES40 to coast up to 255 so set at 250 and inserted loin in an aluminum pan with canned chicken stock about 3/4″ deep. Box is lightly filled with smoke from the AMZNTS with hickory pellets. Have ChefAlarm air probe on back side of third rack from the top just behind the meat pan. MES meat probe inserted into loin read 52°. [should have heated the broth and not inserted meat probe until after 2 hours for hygiene reasons].
4:15 Grate temp with ChefAlarm is back to 261. Box set at 250 and it just cut off.
5:00 – Grate is 260 and IT is 93.
5:30 – Grate is 243, Box reads 255 and IT is 112.
6:30 – Grate is 262, box reads 253 and IT is 143 so pulled it out. Rested for maybe 15 minutes.
Sliced in half and center is slightly pink.
Very moist. Looks like all the chicken broth has evaporated and only jus left. Ate dinner.
Sliced the loin at 1/4 – 3/8″ and put into plastic storage container then pour jus over it. [Should have added a little cider vinegar.]
Cook it until you reach an IT of 140-145*
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mixed 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) of mayonnaise with 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) dijon mustard and 2 ml (1/2 teaspoon) dried dill weed and spread over fillets on a small sheet of aluminum before smoking at 350 for 25 min in a pellet smoker.
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For what it’s worth, I eat a lot of salmon living here in Alaska. The cook depends on the type of salmon. I generally like to keep the temperature around 230. The best way I use to tell when the salmon is done properly is that it flakes and when I stick a knife into the flesh it is warm but NOT hot. Salmon will dry out in a hurry and readily takes in smoke. I like to smoke it over alder for 45 mins low and slow and then wrap with rub, lemon juice, grated ginger and clarified butter in foil OR searing it quickly with the same ingredients on a cast iron skillet. Personal preference here, but I also do not cook with the skin on. I also primarily cook with Red (sockeye) or Silver (coho) salmon. I prefer to bake Kings, and if I have fresh pinks they smoke fine, but are softer than the others. Red salmon have an almost shellfish taste to them while Silvers are more mellow.
By BearCarver with a lot of photos
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/244780/pork-loin-jerky-step-by-step-with-pics
Recipes by DirtSailor with a lot of photos.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/227772/london-broil-we-aint-gonna-let-spoil
By CrankyBuzzard
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/235473/dry-cured-pork-jerky
By SQWIBS with good Q-view of finished product
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/174131/sqwibs-jerky-recipes
See also Chef JJ’s advice in post Curing Parameters.
Based on advice from Aaron Franklin and Adam Perry Lang I made my first rub for the May 21, 2016 Pork Butt for the Farm smoke. The course rub to catch the smoke seemed to be a good idea and rubbing it in with wet hands per APL. The simple recipe is based on advice from both but has less salt that APL and Aaron due to the brining.
June 18, 2016 – For 2 bone-in Pork Loins and slab of spare ribs. Put this on APLang’s Mustard Moisturizer.
1/4-C fresh ground black pepper
1 T kosher salt
2 t cayenne [Normally would have 1T but the girls will be eating with us as this is the week they are staying with us while K&R are in Cancun.]
1 T paprika for color
1 T dried minced garlic
Note – Rub has a reduced salt level to not over salt as the pork was dry brined with APLang’s Four Seasons.
May 21, 2016
- For a 10 lb. Butt
- 1/4-C fresh ground black pepper;
- 1 T kosher salt;
- 1 T cayenne;
- 1 T paprika for color;
- 1 T granulated garlic.
Note – Rub has a reduced salt level to not over salt as the pork will be brined and placed over yellow mustard to bind it to the meat.
Check out this rub – http://www.patiodaddiobbq.com/2009/02/all-purpose-bbq-seasoning.html
Prep began on the evening of May 17th, 2016,by taking the 9.48 lb. Boston Butt out of the freezer and into the refer to start defrosting. The evening of the 18th removed it from the cryovac and salted with kosher at about 1t per pound with the total as a little less than 1/4 C. The layer on the meat was more than I usually do. Back into the refer under plastic wrap on a small baking sheet.
Veggies were dismal failure due to too long in the hot smoke
Saturday, 5/21/16
- Ambient Temp is in the low 70’s at the start and low 80’s when pulled and wrapped. Smoke was thin white to blue from the AMZNTS filled with hickory pellets.
- 4:30 AM – Removed from refer onto cooling rack on counter. It has been dry brining for 2-1/2 days.
- Butt had a thin (max 1/2″) fat cap so scored it in diamond pattern to the meat. Coated butt with yellow mustard. Rubbed in a pepper blend made of: 1/4C fresh ground black pepper; about 1 heaping T paprika; about 1 level T granulated garlic. Rub is much more course that the usual as trying Adam Perry Lang’s idea of a course rub gives the smoke something to grab. Rub has no salt to not over salt due to anticipated salt from the long brining. Note in Conclusion that the salty brine plus no-salt rub left the smoked butt wanting a bit for salt. Next rub make with 1/8th C kosher and 1/2T Cayenne. Note that my rub recipe is getting its on post at this time.
- While MES is preheating took the small baking sheet–modified last week into a deflector shield–and flattened more the mid box lip so it does to interfere with the MES oval pan.
- 6:15 – Put butt on third rack from top with fat cap on top. Jalapenos cut in half and seeds removed plus garlic pods with top cut off and no oil on top rack on a mat. Lite full AMZNTS and reset MES from 225° to 250°. TS is slow to get going. Likely due to having loaded it last night and left it in the MES where it absorbed moisture from the air. Should have left it inside or dried the pellets in the microwave.
Note MES Meat probe hanging from top rack. Air probe is on meat grate back right.
- 8:00 – Got back from getting truck serviced and found the unit off and box temp in the 150s. Found that the plug had giggled and lost contact in the table’s outlet. Plugged it into another outlet.
- 10:30 – a) Removed garlic pods and they were on too long. Dried out some but have nice brown smokey color and taste smokey but no sweet baked garlic taste. b) The butt has a great color. Box still set to 250 and air probe on meat grate door side over coil is reading 235-240. MES’s meat probe hanging so it is near the meat on the left side reads about 5° higher as the heat is coming up on that side due to the deflector cookie sheet. Inserted ChefAlarm meat probe and IT is 132° surely due to it being off earlier. Left MES set at 250 to get it to 140° IT quicker as the 4 hours is up. Steady thin white smoke from the vent although hard to see smoke in the window.
- 1:00 about – No more smoke so pull TS and it was burned out. Added about 1/2 and lite. MES still set at 250° and grate temps are in the 225-230° range.
- 4:45 – IT is still 173° as about what it has been since about 2:00 pm. a) Removed from MES, wrapped and put in convection oven at 350°. Should have wrapped it now and it may have been done in less that the 12 hours it took; b) Removed jalapenos as they are black brittle sticks. Should have taken them off when the second photo above was taken–say two hours.
- 6:00 – IT has been climbing but slowly. When it got to 198° reset oven to 300°.
- 7:00 about – IT is 205° so pulled to check if tender. Looks great and pulls apart but does not fall part. Very little jus in the foil at this time.
Cold after a night in the refrigerator
- 5:00 AM Sunday – Took this photo of it in the foil but now there is a lot more jus jelled in the foil.
Conclusions:
- Do not do garlic and jalapenos with a smoke where you want to keep the door closed for long stretches to not loose time on a large hunk of meat. The garlic pod with top cut, no oil and gently broken open did seem to exposed it to the smoke better that not. Next time try husking large cloves with light thin coating of oil to catch the smoke and smoke maybe an hour. Also, try the SS pan with sides and holes so removal is quicker.
- The simpler rub with no salt (counting on the brine for saltiness) lead to an attractive bark and overall great look. Needed some salt and more cayenne but not bland. Just not quite enough. Will make a finishing sauce from the jus and have it salty enough to make the meat right.
- It was done too late to have for supper. But that did not stop us from enjoying pulling apart pieces of the moist warm meat with the great smokey taste and smell. The bark is firm even on the side in the photo that is what is left of the fat layer.
- As for the 2-1/2 day dry brining – The meat is moist and tender but the larger amount of salt used (1-t/lb) did not impart a salty taste to compensate for no salt in the rub.
- The deflector (modified small baking sheet) under the MES drip pan and about a 1/2″ off the right wall, did a great job of making the temps consistent across the box at the 3rd grate level. The MES meat probe hanging above left of the meat–to sense the air temp–and the Air-Probe with the grate clip in the front right of the meat were normally within 8° of each other.
- The third rack temp was about 20-25° less than the MES set temp. May want a better deflector to shield the box’s sensor on the back wall. Also need to be sure the deflector is tight against the back wall. Maybe double layer the deflector with vents out the sides to carry the heat from the main deflector away from the box’s probe.
- Next time raise set temp to 275. The rack temp will likely be about 250° but that is what it is.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Mary modified a recipe from myrecipies.com and made a GREAT casserole.
Ingredients
4 pounds yellow squash, sliced
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped fresh chives
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups soft, fresh breadcrumbs, divided. Ground up herbal bread dressing in a bag
1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Mary added:
Red pepper flakes
bacon
fresh garlic minced
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Saute yellow squash and onion in a covered skillet until tender;
2. Combine squash mixture, Cheddar cheese, next 5 ingredients, 1 cup bread crumbs, and 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spoon into a lightly greased 13×9 inch baking dish.
3. Stir together melted butter and remaining 1-1/2 cups breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over top of casserole.
4. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until set