Saturday, January 31, 2009

New rib method for the poker gang

January 24, 2009:

Woke up at 3:00 a.m. Got the BGE going and prepared some spare ribs. Used my Rub #1, see below. Rubbed the ribs. Put them on the egg at 250, indirect heat in a rack for three hours. Removed and wrapped in foil, back on the egg for 1 hour. Took off and put in the fridge, because I had to go to Kansas City. At 4:00 p.m., I fired up the egg again. I removed the ribs from the foil and put back on the grill (indirect) for ½ hour, removed my plate setter and cooked direct for another ½ hour. Very good. I did not use baby back because I was cooking for 8. Sixteen lbs of the spare ribs were half the price the baby backs at the same weight. They had more fat and more meat. Next time I will trim as much fat as I can from the ribs. They passed the poker buddy test. A couple days later they graced Henry’s palette and he seemed impressed. His final analysis was they were as good as Hap’s, as good as, but not better. Henry knows where is bread is buttered. Politics may be in his future.

homemade pizza dough--dissappointing

January ??, 2009;
Pizza. I threw a bunch of stuff in the bread machine the other night to make a whole-wheat pizza dough. Cut the dough in half, threw one in the freezer and kept the other out for pizza. I was not happy with my dough recipe. Here it is:

3 1/2 cups flour (2 cups whole wheat and one cup regular all purpose)
1-cup warm water (between 95° and 115° F.)
2 T yeast (2 tablespoons, I like my dough a little yeasty. You can use less)
2 T honey
1/4-cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt

I did not like the consistency of the dough. It didn’t really rise while cooking. The crust was heavy. Not what I was looking for. The rest of the pizza was fine. I mean I ate it. I want to keep experimenting with whole-wheat dough. There is a shop in Kansas City that does a honey wheat pizza crust and it is great.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Pork and Biscuits

While doing research towards the purchase of the BGE, I spent some time surfing the manufacturer’s website. There are several video/cooking demonstrations on the site. One that struck me was pork and biscuits. I’ve never had pork and biscuits and the grocery store had a sale on pork tenderloin. The kids are at their mother’s, why not?

I’ve learned with the BGE, as with most things, patience is a virtue. To heat it up, leaving it alone is the key. Light the charcoal and walk away. Come back later when the coals are glowing. Set up for cooking drop the lid and walk away. Come back later. In my initial firings I was trying to catch the temperature on the way up. Now I let the grill heat up beyond the desired temp and reduce the flow of air to bring the temp back down. This was a good lesson.

I took the BGE up to 600 and brought it back to 375, put the tenderloin on the grill, closed the lid and readjusted to 350. Forty minutes later I pulled the nicely cooked hunk of meat. I did peek half way though. I should have flipped it at that point. The meat rested for five minutes before slicing. Very juicy, very tasty. I bought a tenderloin that was pre-marinated. I won’t do that again. I’m happier with my rub.

While the BGE was doing its thing, I make some honey wheat pizza dough for tomorrow night. I don’t have the kids until Tuesday, so I’m going to try for an adult pizza. Spicy Italian sausage with whatever cheese I have left over from last week. I picked up some gorgeous little sausages that I’m going to grill and then crumble for the pizza.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Pizza, Pizza

Olivia really wanted to make pizza on the grill. She asked twice. What father can tell his little girl no? I only had the kids for the evening, so I didn’t want to mess with making homemade dough. We’ll do that next time. I picked up two tubes of prepared dough at the store along with cheese, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, and sauce. Oh and black olives, because the kids are my kids and we must have black olives.

We heated up the BGE and it came to temp very easily. I must have fixed my problem from the last firing. I did not purchase the cooking stone from BGE. I had my own, probably pampered chef. Olivia’s pizza was first. I don’t have a pizza peel, but will fix that before the next pizza bake.

One the grill, indirect, for 8 minutes. AWESOME. We did the same for Henry’s pizza, but the grill must have been hotter because 8 minutes was too long, it got a bit burnt on the bottom. I’ll have to keep an eye out next time.

Make pizza on your BGE. It is great. This is actually what tipped the scale on the BGE for me. I’ve wanted to build a backyard brick oven for years.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Base Line Turkey

I purchased an appliance, or five, this fall. At some point, Sears gave me a coupon for $20 off a whole turkey. The kids and I picked up a 19 pounder on Wednesday and I let it thaw out in the keg fridge. Today was the day.

I wanted to get a baseline with just the bird…no brine or anything special, so I fired up the BGE with a bit of my mixed-fruit wood chips. Had a hard time getting over 350 degrees. I either had blockage in the firebox or there is an issue with the thermometer. Rubbed the bird with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the bird on for indirect cooking at 6:15 p.m. I checked the temp every 45 minutes or so. When I went out at 9:00 p.m., I noticed the temp was dropped and that I had run through my first load of lump charcoal. I pulled the turkey and reloaded. The turkey looked like it was done, so I did some temping and everything registered at 172 or higher, I pulled it off and brought it into the kitchen. Totally done. Nice smoke ring on the dark meat and the thigh…not so much on the breast. I did cook breast side up without flipping. Next time I’m going to get one of those upright stands. I could not imagine it would be done in less than three hours and hadn’t even planned to put my remote thermometer on until after the four hour, using the old 12-15 minutes per pound rule. The meat was not bad at all. Just as good as from the oven if not better. This was with no brine or rub, or anything. I need to read a bit more to see if the BGE cooks faster than an over and do some more experimenting. Not bad for a free turkey…well a $5.70 turkey.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

First Fire

January 1, 2009:
The morning was spent cleaning the house, so we didn’t fire up the egg until dinner. Followed the recipe on the BFE website for the steaks. Season with salt and pepper only, wish I had used a bit of oil. Firing up the BGE is as simple as they claim. Had it to 650 in very little time. Slapped on the meat, let it go for two minutes, flipped, two more minutes, flipped again, closed the vents and finished for three minutes. Wow. One of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten and I grew up on a steak farm. Seriously, when mom was out of town dad made steak for breakfast. A bit rare, but I like my meat bloody and the kids don’t mind. Henry ate a huge portion; Olivia doesn’t eat much anyway so we had some leftovers.
Henry was bound to get the ribs on, so after cleaning up from dinner, I did make a salad, we removed the membrane, added salt/pepper, and rubbed with my Rub #1, see below. Added a bit more charcoal and the wood chips, I had soaking. The chips were a combination of fruitwoods. Got the BGE up to 250 and put the ribs on in an inverted roast rack from my aluminum roaster pan. Three hours later they came off. I nibbled a bit, but at 10 p.m. didn’t care to gorge on ribs. I was pretty happy with the results. Not the best I’ve eaten, but pretty darned good for the ease. Nice crispy outer layer and tender meat. Better than most bbq places in Kansas City. Not as good as my dad’s, but he sets the gold standard on most things related to meat.

Rub #1
4 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
Mixes with healthy dose of Morton salt.

The Saga Begins

December 31, 2008:

(After a great deal of research, the Big Green Egg separated itself as the best choice for a combined use of grilling and smoking. )

The kids and I drove to KC to pick up a Big Green Egg. I spent the morning on the phone price shopping and finally found a pool/spa shop that sold the grills as a sideline. Their prices were super competitive, enough to warrant upgrading from the medium to the large. After the first use I am super happy to have gone with the larger size. Next stop Costco. We picked up three huge ribeye steaks, two monster pork tenderloins, and three slabs of baby back ribs. I also had a coupon for a free 20 lb. turkey so we picked it up as well.

எ நியூ ஹோப்...இ மேஅன் ஹோப்பி

Smoked meat plays a major role in the social fabric of my family life. Growing up on a farm, the son of a well trained, and practiced, meats expert sets this stage. My father began smoking meat about the time I entered high school. By the time I graduate, I knew this 'hobby' had become an issue. Instead of the typical family meal featuring a central meat dish and several side dishes, this meal consisted of a single salad and a variety of smoked meats.

Fast forward 15 years and I find myself teaching in the education department at a small, liberal arts college; my alma mater. Living over an hour away from two cities rich in culture, culinary experience, and entertainment has advantages, but all of them require a long drive. As winter establishes itself, I find myself less willing to engage in this commute. In short, it is time to find a new hobby. This year will begin my own experience with smoked meat.