my spares and ABT's sucked for some reason tonight..

psych.

one of the best batch of spares i have done,

I cant take all the credit the pork that butcher in Morris has is very good.



thanks for checkin' out the pics, good day on the deck.

did a smoked chuckie yesterday, turned out pretty good, nice smoke flavor. Rubbed the chuck with chiptole & adobo, ketchup(maybe 1/2 cup at most, needed some sugar for the crust), cinnamon, salt, blck pepper, thyme and rosemary I ran through the food processor, recoated the chuck 2 x during the smoke, no mop, or spritz. Took about 5.5 hours for the 3#'s Pulled off the smoker @ 195 degrees, double foiled, wrapped in a towel, and tossed it in a cooler for 45 minutes. pulled really easy. Made for some good enchiladas

How funny, smoked my first chuck yesterday! Just made a rub with some garlic, pepper, vulcan salt and threw it on. It cooked for about 8 hours with a shoulder. And tonite, it too will be a mexican feast - tacos!

jleblanc05 wrote:How funny, smoked my first chuck yesterday! Just made a rub with some garlic, pepper, vulcan salt and threw it on. It cooked for about 8 hours with a shoulder. And tonite, it too will be a mexican feast - tacos!

that is funny, that chuck sounds good with your rub ,

I am doing spare rib fried rice tonight with the meat off the leftover spares from Saturday.

here was my plate last night:

MelT wrote:Hey all -

I just ordered a whole lamb shoulder from the butcher, and plan on throwing that thing on the WSM this weekend. It is an 8.5 lb cut that basically looks like the whole front quarter of a small lamb, from the neck down the front leg to the knee and back to where the chops would start. Anyone ever do anything like that?

I am thinking I can't go wrong low and slow to internal temp of about 185-190. Please let me know if I am way wrong.

I am thinking about a rub heavy on garlic, cumin and dried Mexican oregano.

so how did your lamb come out? how did you end up cooking it??

BB ribs on the menu for Saturday for sure aklong with some bbq spaghetti. Sunday will probably be smoked meatloaf. Monday might just fire up the weber.

For those interested, A couple good sale prices on BB's this week:

Caputo's has 3 packs of BB ribs on sale for $2.69/Lb.
Brookhaven Markets has BB ribs on sale for $2.89/lb for their family packs.

looks like its shaping up to be the perfect weekend to BBQ weatherwise. Time to clean out the freezer..
a couple butts and a packer Sat night into Sunday then will be throwing some spares and tips on for friends Sunday afternoon. Jalapeno cornbread, smoked green bean casserole and mac and cheese for sides.
Also found a nice Thai cucumber salad recipe on Amazing Ribs site that I am going to try so I can get rid of the cucumbers that have been piling up from the garden. Im not sure how well it will go with BBQ ..

Head's Red BBQ wrote:Also found a nice Thai cucumber salad recipe on Amazing Ribs site that I am going to try

Meathead's cucumber recipe is tasty, and I've made it a few times, though I am partial to the following recipe from Low & Slow


Thai-Style Sweet and Sour Fresh Cucumber

SERVES 6

2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons sugar
1⁄2 cup water
5 tablespoons white vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

Place the cucumber slices, onion, and pepper flakes in a heatproof mixing bowl.
Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, and gently simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and salt.
Pour the liquid over the cucumber mixture and stir.
Cover and refrigerate.
Allow the salad to marinate 1 to 2 hours before serving.

I've been making Gary's recipe lately in order to use up some of the cucumber bounty that we've been haivng. The cukes are just about the only thing that did well in our garden this year (compared to a "normal" year). It's a great recipe, but I've been using a little more vinegar (or a little less water) than the recipe calls for. I find the OEM version to be a bit watery for my taste.

G Wiv wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote:Also found a nice Thai cucumber salad recipe on Amazing Ribs site that I am going to try

Meathead's cucumber recipe is tasty, and I've made it a few times, though I am partial to the following recipe from Low & Slow


Thai-Style Sweet and Sour Fresh Cucumber

SERVES 6

2 large cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons sugar
1⁄2 cup water
5 tablespoons white vinegar
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

Place the cucumber slices, onion, and pepper flakes in a heatproof mixing bowl.
Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, and gently simmer until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and salt.
Pour the liquid over the cucumber mixture and stir.
Cover and refrigerate.
Allow the salad to marinate 1 to 2 hours before serving.

looks even easier..thanks Gary

stevez wrote:It's a great recipe, but I've been using a little more vinegar (or a little less water) than the recipe calls for. I find the OEM version to be a bit watery for my taste.

Steve,

Are you using white vinegar?

Glad you like the recipe, its one of my favorites.

Enjoy,
Gary

stevez wrote:I've been making Gary's recipe lately in order to use up some of the cucumber bounty that we've been haivng. The cukes are just about the only thing that did well in our garden this year (compared to a "normal" year). It's a great recipe, but I've been using a little more vinegar (or a little less water) than the recipe calls for. I find the OEM version to be a bit watery for my taste.

i had a ton of cukes but the plants started dying off quick..I did get a decent supply of tomatos although not as much as past years ..just as well though as i usually have way more than I can use or give away

G Wiv wrote:

stevez wrote:It's a great recipe, but I've been using a little more vinegar (or a little less water) than the recipe calls for. I find the OEM version to be a bit watery for my taste.

Steve,

Are you using white vinegar?

Glad you like the recipe, its one of my favorites.

Enjoy,
Gary

As per your suggestion, yes. I haven't tried it yet with rice wine vinegar, but I will.

P.S. I'd suggest trying the recipe as written first. I'm a known cucumber hater. I feel that they contribute nothing to any dish they are used in other than dilution of flavor (Crunch you say? That's what carrots are for), so my evaluation of this dish might be skewed. The lone exception to my disdain is when they are the featured ingredient such as in this salad.

getting my 3 pack of BB ribs @ Caputos(best price, and I cant have too many ribs) , gonna do 2 slabs on Saturday, and save 1 slab for the allnighter next Saturday night when I am doing the (2) pork butts for the LTH picnic. I am getting those butts from Sages Butcher Shop in Morris, althought they cost a little more, I am getting them there, I was really impressed with the spares I got last week.

Think I'll scrub out the smoker, re-season it and get it ready for winter this weekend. With the big travel schedule I have in front of me I can't see wanting to fire it up again until Thanksgiving for my turkey. Which this year will be done with post oak... I've had that Louie Mueller cracked pepper, light salt & oak smoke flavor stuck in my head since this summer!

stevez wrote:

G Wiv wrote:

stevez wrote:It's a great recipe, but I've been using a little more vinegar (or a little less water) than the recipe calls for. I find the OEM version to be a bit watery for my taste.

Steve,

Are you using white vinegar?

Glad you like the recipe, its one of my favorites.

Enjoy,
Gary

As per your suggestion, yes. I haven't tried it yet with rice wine vinegar, but I will.

P.S. I'd suggest trying the recipe as written first. I'm a known cucumber hater. I feel that they contribute nothing to any dish they are used in other than dilution of flavor (Crunch you say? That's what carrots are for), so my evaluation of this dish might be skewed. The lone exception to my disdain is when they are the featured ingredient such as in this salad.

i assume i can substitute rice vinegar?..i dont usually keep white vinegar in the house..mainly use rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar

abf005 wrote:Think I'll scrub out the smoker, re-season it and get it ready for winter this weekend. With the big travel schedule I have in front of me I can't see wanting to fire it up again until Thanksgiving for my turkey. Which this year will be done with post oak... I've had that Louie Mueller cracked pepper, light salt & oak smoke flavor stuck in my head since this summer!

i need to get a sample of those post oak chunks from you to see what all the fuss is about..
scrub the smoker???

Head's Red BBQ wrote:i assume i can substitute rice vinegar?..i dont usually keep white vinegar in the house..mainly use rice vinegar and apple cider vinegar

Sure, though rice vinegar will yield a slightly softer flavor. (less vinegar bite)

Head's Red BBQ wrote:

abf005 wrote:Think I'll scrub out the smoker, re-season it and get it ready for winter this weekend. With the big travel schedule I have in front of me I can't see wanting to fire it up again until Thanksgiving for my turkey. Which this year will be done with post oak... I've had that Louie Mueller cracked pepper, light salt & oak smoke flavor stuck in my head since this summer!

i need to get a sample of those post oak chunks from you to see what all the fuss is about..
scrub the smoker???

No problem, next time I see you I'll give you some. As I recal that backwoods uses about ten 4"x2" size chuncks for an all night burn right?

abf005 wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote:

abf005 wrote:Think I'll scrub out the smoker, re-season it and get it ready for winter this weekend. With the big travel schedule I have in front of me I can't see wanting to fire it up again until Thanksgiving for my turkey. Which this year will be done with post oak... I've had that Louie Mueller cracked pepper, light salt & oak smoke flavor stuck in my head since this summer!

i need to get a sample of those post oak chunks from you to see what all the fuss is about..
scrub the smoker???

No problem, next time I see you I'll give you some. As I recal that backwoods uses about ten 4"x2" size chuncks for an all night burn right?

not quite that many..i usually use 4-5 good size chunks initially (hickory & apple mix) spread out among the unlit coal..unless im using straight apple wood then I may toss a couple extra in there half way through cook

Head's Red BBQ wrote: not quite that many..unless im using straight apple wood maybe

Oak is a softer smoke, you'll want to taste more of the wood and not as much of the lump

abf005 wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote: not quite that many..unless im using straight apple wood maybe

Oak is a softer smoke, you'll want to taste more of the wood and not as much of the lump

i never considered oak a softer smoke ..not as soft as fruitwoods ..unless this post oak is a different beast..but ill take as much as you want to give away

Caputo's mismarked all their bb ribs @ 2.69/lb., got 2 slabs for $11.... nice

also got 1# of ground pork for the bbq spaghetti, and 2 # of ground chuck for Sundays smoked meatloaf.

I am also doing a smoked artichoke, and snow crab dip tomorow, crabs were $5.99/lb, snacked on some tonight with a capicola, mortadella, and salami sandwich..

life is good. should be another great weekend of bbq.

heres what I turned out yesterday:

pork loaf for bbq spghetti sauce:


garlic for sauce:


finished ribs on the rack:


sliced ribs, really nice and juicy:


finished bbq spaghetti:


Crab and artichoke dip done on the "smoker":


thanks for looking, food was good, and the Sox won.. cant ask for more imho.

Jim, the crab & artichoke dip and the spaghetti remind me of an idea I've had to do a smoked mac 'n cheese, have you done one of those? Did you post it in this thread? Did I get the idea from you? I don't know but it still sounds like it'd be pretty great. Those look really good.

Today is my family's big annual hog roast in Missouri, my stepfather handles the heavy lifting of the hog roasting (along with roasting some cabbages and onions in the big roaster with the hog and also smoking some pork shoulder on the side) and my mom cuts and fries fresh potato chips and fries biscuits. The rest of us bring covered dishes and I think I did pretty good this year. I had some leftover smoked brisket and some pulled pork that I'd frozen and I made some chili out of it.

Here's basically what went into it:

About 7 tomatoes out of my mom's garden, one good-sized big boy, 3 or 4 small ones, and a couple of plum tomatoes
1 green bell pepper from mom's garden
1 big yellow onion from mom's garden
3 cloves garlic
3 jalapenos from my garden
2 sweet banana peppers from my garden
2 hot banana peppers from my garden
an assortment of dried chilis (5 or 6 arbol, 5 or 6 japones, a couple of pulla, 8 or 10 pequin)
2 dried ancho chilis
3 negra modelos
2 tsp or so of cumin
1 large lime
1 30 oz can kidney beans
about 1.5 lbs smoked beef brisket, an end of the flat, leftover from my housewarming party
about 1.5 lbs smoked pulled pork, leftover from a more recent bbq
extra virgin olive oil

diced brisket to about 1/2-3/4 inch dice. chopped pork. combined and set aside.

roasted tomatoes, peeled and chopped, set aside, retaining any moisture from the tomatoes.

roasted peppers, put into a sack to steam for a few minutes(makes it easier to peel), peeled, chopped, set aside

brought 2 bottles of negra modelo to a simmer. hydrated ancho chilis in the hot beer for about a half hour. chopped and added to chopped roasted pepper mix, retained beer for later use.

diced onions, minced garlic, set aside

toasted dried chilis in a cast iron pan, put into a blender, powdered, set aside.

sauteed onions and garlic in some olive oil to soften. added diced peppers, toasted dried peppers, cumin, sauteed a few more minutes. added tomatoes, salted and added a pinch of sugar. brought to a simmer. added the beer used to soak the anchos and the meat and the juice of the lime. brought to a simmer, covered, simmered on low. added another beer when the level of liquid seemed low.

after 2 hours simmer, added drained beans. simmered another 45 minutes.

I cooked this yesterday and I'm reheating it in a crock pot now. It's really really good. Apologies if the writeup explains too much basic stuff, I typed it up for another site but thought I'd share it here too.

Jim,

I have not smoked a mac-n-cheese yet, but it is on the short list now.

that chili sounds awesome, and I appreciate the step by step.

Earlier today, i made some wontons with some of the left over bb rib meat, mozz cheese, chili sauce, and marinara. Deep fried them for a smokey snack.

Right now I am about to put the meatloaf on my "smoker", and have that for dinner with some mashed potatoes.

I am also doing a test run on a Frankenstein cake(saped like frankensteins head with green frosting, etc) for my daughter, she has been asking for it for Haloween.

got my pork butts for Sundays picnic from Sages today, (2) 6+ # butts ... if they are as good as the spares I got 2 weeks ago they will be great, unenhanced, fresh cut, local pork... mercy....

I am going to inject them tomorrow with a marinade that consistes of o.j., apple juice, worstershire, brown sugar, and hot sauce. Then I will rub them with yellow mustard, anda new rub I have. Then into the fridge until 10:30 p.m. tomorrow, thinking 12 hours on the "smoker" will get them to 195-200. Using Lump, Oak, and cherry in the GOSM. I also have a finishing sauce I may use after pulling(cider vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and cajun seasoning.).

jimswside wrote:got my pork butts for Sundays picnic from Sages today, (2) 6+ # butts ... if they are as good as the spares I got 2 weeks ago they will be great, unenhanced, fresh cut, local pork... mercy....

I am going to inject them tomorrow with a marinade that consistes of o.j., apple juice, worstershire, brown sugar, and hot sauce. Then I will rub them with yellow mustard, anda new rub I have. Then into the fridge until 10:30 p.m. tomorrow, thinking 12 hours on the "smoker" will get them to 195-200. Using Lump, Oak, and cherry in the GOSM. I also have a finishing sauce I may use after pulling(cider vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and cajun seasoning.).

Jim-

Sounds fantastic. Can't wait to try it!

The GP wrote:Jim-

Sounds fantastic. Can't wait to try it!

thanks,

got it injected, rubbed, wrapped and in the fridge, finishing sauce is done as well. Now outside to our garage sale(townwide garage sale today).

My brisket is rubbed and ready for tomorrow. *



* For those who care, it weighed in at 18.75 lbs and is rubbed with some Arthur Bryant's rub (with a tweak or two of my own design).