tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157179082024-03-20T19:23:20.715-07:00Playing With Fire and Smoke<em> This site contains a collection of techniques for barbecuing, smoking and cooking over fire. The techniques shown here are not the only way or the best way to prepare a certain item. This site is just a starting point and these techniques are a guide to creating your own recipes. Recipes included here come not only from personal experiences, but from many knowledgeable folks kind enough to share their secrets.
~thirdeye~
</em>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-1124915063021897852021-07-07T04:00:00.008-07:002021-11-16T15:31:14.199-08:00Welcome<b style="color: #000066; font-size: 20.8px;"><i>The most popular page on my site is the <a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html" target="_blank">RECIPE PAGE</a>, click to open the link in a new window.</i></b><em><strong><span style="color: #000066;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /></span></span></strong></em>
<em><strong><span style="color: #000066;"><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /></span></span></strong></em><div><em><strong><span style="color: #000066;"><span>If you are looking for my tool site... here is the link </span><a href="http://thirdeyeq.com/"><span>thirdeyeQ.com</span></a><span>. <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Due to COVID-19 related material issues and price increases, I have halted fabrication.</span></span></span></strong></em><div><br /></div><div>
<em><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Website statistics are showing over </b><span style="color: #3333ff;"><b>590 visits a day to my site</b></span><b>. A special welcome to my international friends. I have received visits from readers from 163 countries......WOW!! Barbecue is global..... and I'm proud to be just a little part of it.</b></span></em><br />
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<br /></photo><div align="left"><photo>My cookin' site features a variety of recipes, tips, photographs and other information I hope you find enjoyable. Just like many of you, I am a backyard barbecuist that enjoys this wonderful hobby, cooking for family & friends. <br />
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Just click on any of the links in the Table of Contents to go to that page. To return to this homepage, just click the <span style="color: red;"><em><strong>thirdeye's cookin' site</strong></em> </span>banner at the top of any page. There is an e-mail link in orange at the bottom of the page.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><em style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red;">Keep your eye on your vent!! "If it's puffin' white ..it ain't right.</span></em></div>
<em><span style="color: red;">If it's blowin' blue, it's good for Q"</span></em><br />
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<em><span style="color: red;"> ~ thirdeye~ </span></em><br /><br /><div align="left"><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" height="105" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Collage/TABLEOFCONTENTS01copy-2.jpg" width="700" /> </div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2004/02/introduction-to-barbecuing.html">INTRODUCTION TO BARBECUING </a>- This is a good place to start for newbies and old hands alike. This write-up will give you some of the basics and cover a few of the terms you may encounter in other areas of my site. <br />
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html">RECIPES</a> - Cookin' is what my site is all about. Mostly outdoor cooking, but I've included a few things that can be cooked indoors too. Here you will find 50+ recipes of all kinds featuring everything from brie to pig's feet. A list of recently added recipes appears at the top of the Recipe Page. <br />
<space><br /></space></space></space></space></photo><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/10/thirdhand-grate-lifting-hanging-tool.html">TOOLS</a> - I have designed a number of BBQ tools over the years. Here is a peek at <span style="text-align: center;">some of my creations. </span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><space><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/weber-smokey-joe-tall-boy-smoker.html">WEBER SMOKEY JOE "TALL BOY" SMOKER MODIFICATION</a> - Follow these instructions to turn your Smokey Joe Grill into a smoker.</div><space>
<space><br /><div style="text-align: left;">MY COOKERS - I use Big Green Eggs, Big Drum Smokers, Big Chief Smokers and an SnS Deluxe Kettle. I'll tell you what they are and why I like to cook on them. I also discuss some other types and brands of cookers that I really like. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)</div>
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<space><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/picture-gallery.html">PHOTO GALLERY</a> - Here you will find a variety of cookin' photographs</div>
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<space><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1994/02/smoking-woods.html">THE WOODPILE</a> - Information on different flavors of smoking woods, chunks, splits, chips and planks.</div>
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<space><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/guide-to-meat-cuts.html">GUIDE TO MEAT CUTS & CUTTING MEATS </a>- Find out where that certain steak, or roast comes from. Also see some tips for trimming and cutting a variety of things. I even show you how to de-bone a trout or salmon - -(STAY TUNED FOR PAGE UPDATES...)</div>
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<space><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2009/08/pepsi-wyoming-state-bbq-championship.html">CONTEST - Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Competition - 2009</a> - My first competition as a KCBS Certified BBQ Judge.</div>
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<space><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/eggfest-wild-west-eggfest-casper.html">WILD WEST EGGFEST 2010 - Casper, Wyoming,</a> - A collection of Eggfest photographs</div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1990/01/questions-suggestions.html">QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS </a>- Your comments are important to me, here is the place to post them. <br />
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<space><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/06/web-sightings.html">WEB SIGHTINGS</a>- Links of all kinds can be found here.</div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/thirdeyes-poll-page.html">POLLS & SITE STATS</a> - I know what I like, and you know what you like....What about everyone else? Results of various polls and site stats can be viewed here...... You might be surprised what you find. <br />
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</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-87946457162578692372017-07-12T05:00:00.028-07:002022-11-14T17:00:22.311-08:00Recipes<!--- Comment: This is the code to copy and insert to change the link from blue to GREEN: ><span style="color: #33cc00;" --->
<div> Using these before and after a line of code will tell the webpage to ignore the content in between </div>
The green highlighted links In the RECIPE SECTION will take you to some of my favorite recipes. All of them have been tested by yours truly and many include some history, personal cooking notes or variations that you may want to try. <br />
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Several recipes or techniques featured have come from other folks who have achieved the special status of <b>Guest Pit Boss.</b> Following testing, these recipes are published "by invitation only". The contributions may be a full recipe, another version similar to one of my favorites, just some tips, or maybe something like a sauce. Some of Guest Pit Boss recipes have their own page, and some are a part of an existing page. Here is the list so far:<br />
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GUEST PIT BOSSES <br /><div align="center"><br />
<li>Bobberqer's Pastrami<br />
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<li>DobieDad's Stuffed Lamb Shoulder<br />
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<li>Fishlessman's Country Ribs </li>
<li>Bobbyb's Paella </li>
<li>Richard's Key Lime Pie </li>
<li>Juggy D. Beerman's Pork Steak Marinade </li>
<li>Chubby's Planked Brie </li>
<li>SmokinCoyote's Tamales </li>
<li>Car Wash Mike's Baby Back Ribs </li>
<li>Rocky Richmond shares his Buckboard Bacon technique </li>
<li>RRP's Au jus for standing rib (prime rib) roast </li>
<li>BBQinMaineiac brings Austrian potato salad to the party </li>
<li>Norcoredneck shares his Mom's rice recipe. </li>
<li>Goose gives up his Hi Heat Brisket technique </li>
<li>Old Dave's Turkey Injection </li>
<li>Lynne shows us how to start the day with Breakfast Bacon </li>
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RECENT ADDITIONS to the Recipe Section</span></div><div align="center"><br /><li>thirdeye's Dry Cured Belly Bacon</li><li>Pop's Curing Brine - A wet curing brine</li><li>Lukainka - A French Basque "farm style" sausage
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<li><span style="text-align: left;">thirdeye's Lite Brine & Injectable Lite Brine</span></li></div><li><span style="text-align: left;">Chislic - If you're from South Dakota you know all about chislic and beer. </span></li>
<li><span style="text-align: left;">thirdeye's Guide To Smoked Cheese and Butter</span></li><div align="center"><br /></div><span><div align="center" style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">
RECIPE SECTION</span></span></div><div align="center">
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APPETIZERS </div>
<div align="center"><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/07/bacon-wrapped-pepper-rings.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Bacon Wrapped Pepper Rings</span></a></div><div align="center">
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/maple-planked-brie.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Maple Planked Brie </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/cold-smoked-cheese-and-butter.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Guide To Smoked Cheese and Butter </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/chislic.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Chislic </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/pig-candy-pig-tails.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pig Candy - Pig Tails </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/plum-pork.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Plum Pork </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/01/smoked-bologna.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">thirdeye's Smoked Bologna </span></a><br />
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CHICKEN <br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/05/chicken-wings.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Chicken Wings </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/05/lemon-breasted-beer-can-chicken.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Lemon Breasted Beer Can Chicken </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/01/beer-pan-chicken-aka-fallen-down.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Beer Pan Chicken aka Fallen Down Drunken Chicken </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/05/perfect-thigh-work-in-progress.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">The Perfect Thigh - A Work In Progress </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/07/chicken-skinless-breasts-thighs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Skinless Breasts & Thighs </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/08/stuffed-chicken-breasts.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Stuffed Chicken Breasts</span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #33cc00;"></span><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/03/slow-cooked-drumsticks-thighs-wings.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Slow Cooked Drumsticks, Thighs & Wings </span></a><br />
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BEEF <br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Brisket</span></a></div><div align="center"><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/11/wet-aging-beef.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Wet Aging Brisket</span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/07/cajun-rice-and-gravy-with-brisket.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cajun Brisket with Rice and Gravy</span></a></span></div><div align="center"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/02/gooses-hi-heat-brisket.html" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Goose's Hi-Heat Brisket</span></a></div></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/07/beef-burnt-ends.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Burnt Ends</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2012/04/quest-for-perfect-burger.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">thirdeye's Guide To The Perfect Burger</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/sloppy-joe-s-thirdeye-style.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Sloppy Joe's - thirdeye style</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/05/beef-pastrami.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pastrami (smoked corned beef)</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/12/beef-chuck-roast.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Beef Chuck Roast - Pulled or Sliced</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/07/pepper-beef.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pepper Beef</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/02/beef-steak.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Steak</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/beef-standing-rib-roast-prime-rib.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/06/beef-rump-round-roasts.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Rump & Round Roasts</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/12/beef-smoked-tongue.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Smoked Beef Tongue</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/01/beef-tri-tip.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Tri-Tip</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/09/beef-beef-ribs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Beef Ribs</span></a></div>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;">LAMB</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1993/02/lamb-stuffed-shoulder.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Stuffed Shoulder Roast</span></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">PORK</div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/buckboard-bacon.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Buckboard Bacon & Buckboard Chops</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/lynnes-breakfast-bacon.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Lynne's Breakfast Bacon - Home Made Bacon from Pork Belly</span></a></div><div align="center"> <span><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/thirdeyes-dry-cured-bacon.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">thirdeye's Dry Cured Belly Bacon</span></a></span><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/09/pork-country-style-ribs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Country Style Ribs</span> </a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/02/pork-hocks-shanks-jowls-trotters.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Hocks, Shanks, Jowl & Trotters</span> </a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/pork-steaks.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pork Steaks </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/02/pork-pork-shoulder-butt-picnic.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Shoulder Roasts - Butt & Picnic </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/01/pork-spare-ribs-preparing.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Spare Ribs - Preparation </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/06/baby-back-rib-class.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Baby Back Ribs - Car Wash Mike's Rib Class </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/12/ezbb-ribs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Baby Back Ribs - thirdeye's Original EZBB Rib Method and "Cook Ahead / Reheat" EZBB Rib Method </span></a><br />
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SAUSAGE <br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1991/03/sausage-fatties.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Fatties </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1991/03/sausage-bulk-and-links.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Links and Bulk Sausage </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/sausage-recipes.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Sausage Recipes </span></a><br />
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SEAFOOD <br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1995/02/seafood-dry-cure-for-salmon-trout-or.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Smoked Salmon - Dry Cure Method </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1995/01/grilled-salmon-and-planked-salmon.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Grilled Salmon and Planked Salmon </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1995/01/fish-tacos.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Grilled Fish Tacos </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/08/thirdeyes-nova-lox.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">thirdeye's Nova Lox - Double Cured and Cold Smoked</span></a></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">
TURKEY <br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/04/turkey-breast-preparing-for-roasting.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Turkey Breast - Roasting or Smoking Preparation</span> </a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/04/turkey-drumsticks.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Turkey Drumsticks</span> </a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/04/pastramied-turkey-breast-with-help-from.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pastramied Turkey Breast & Old Dave's Turkey Injection</span> </a><br />
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ONE DISH MEALS <br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2008/08/gumbo.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Gumbo </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2003/09/paella.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Paella </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/big-green-eggplant-parmesan.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Big Green Eggplant Parmesan</span> </a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/06/green-chili.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Mrs ~t~'s Green Chili </span></a><br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/07/old-fashioned-chicken-and-noodles.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Old Fashioned Chicken And Noodles </span></a><br />
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SIDE DISHES <br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/07/austrian-potato-salad.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Austrian Potato Salad </span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><br /></a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/pig-candied-yams.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pig Candied Yams </span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><br /></a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/cowboy-potatoes.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cowboy Potatoes </span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><br /></a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/cream-corn.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cream Corn</span></a> </div><div align="center"><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/07/barbecued-bean-cheese-chili-rellenos.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Poblano Rellenos</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/elote-mexican-grilled-corn.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Elote - Mexican Grilled Corn</span></a></span> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2008/01/three-forks-fried-corn.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Three Forks Fried Corn</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/side-dish-vidallia-onion-pie.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Vidallia Onion Pie </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-tamales.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Tamales </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-pinto-beans.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pinto Beans </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/05/side-dish-ranch-style-beans.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Ranch Style Beans </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-beans-ham-with-corn-bread.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Ham & Beans with Corn Bread Croutons</span> </a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/09/norcorednecks-moms-rice.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Norcoredneck's Mom's Rice</span> </a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/side-dish-senate-bean-soup.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Senate Bean Soup</span> </a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;">DESSERTS</span> </span></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/key-lime-pie.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Key Lime Pie </span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;">RUBS, MOPS, BASTES, INJECTIONS & SAUCES </span></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/rubs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Rubs - Curing Salts - Seasonings </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/07/brining_29.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Flavor Brines - Traditional Brines, Lite Brine <br />& Lite Brine Injection </span></a></div><div align="center"><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/07/pops-brine-universal-curing-brine.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pop's Curing Brine & Pops Corning Brine</span></a></div><div align="center"><span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/07/mops-and-sprays-for-barbecued-meats.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Mop's and Spray's for Meats</span></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/05/injections.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Injections for Briskets and Butts </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/03/sour-orange-mojo-6-to-10-cloves-of.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cuban Mojo </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/02/green-chile-sauce.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Green Chile Sauce </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/01/reheating-liquids-for-barbecue.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Reheating Liquids For Barbecue </span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #330033; font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Smoke Rings - What Are They & How To Get One?</span> </span></div>
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/smoke-rings.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">The Smoke Ring Page </span></a></div>
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<br /></div><div align="center">CANNING</div><div align="center"><a href="https://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2017/07/canned-trout.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Canned Trout</span></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-15599633496685789432017-07-10T11:17:00.005-07:002021-07-08T11:33:02.456-07:00Canned Trout<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJbL652koBtNdBNmBXYBLq0T9GnljViChfzIqtHwI7p_Q-bnNF1fpv-5L9L1TNateEaqdbsUYpkd-xijjPWil4eqsmmk_orV90JA97r1CUVjjEtUihpQEGTuwpDPQR7fyfPdxeA/s800/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJbL652koBtNdBNmBXYBLq0T9GnljViChfzIqtHwI7p_Q-bnNF1fpv-5L9L1TNateEaqdbsUYpkd-xijjPWil4eqsmmk_orV90JA97r1CUVjjEtUihpQEGTuwpDPQR7fyfPdxeA/s320/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have been canning fish for over 40 years, my favorites being trout, steelhead and salmon because they have a higher fat content and the meat holds up well during processing. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Not unlike home curing or sausage making, pressure canning is easy provided you understand some basic principles and follow tested and approved procedures. The procedures for canning fresh meats and fish have not changed much in 50 years, but canning smoked fish is a different story.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">BACKGROUND - When the USDA conducted testing of canned foods, they used common and popular products of the day, and the testing was performed using quart and pint Mason style jars with flat lids and sealing rings. Fresh meats including fresh salmon were used, but cured meats did not undergo testing. This meant that meats like ham, corned beef and smoked salmon did not have an official approval, and therefore were not recommended for the pressure canning technique. The basis for this decision was the fact that cured meats (including cured and smoked meats) may have a different moisture content and density, and may not reach the safe temperatures during processing. Because home canning of smoked fish is very popular in Alaska and the Northwest, several State Extension offices have conducted their own testing and developed procedures that are approved. I will discuss how I can both fresh and smoked fish below. Please note that I bend the rules about additional liquid in the jars. I do not think of this as an 'un-safe' practice but rather a practice un-tested by the USDA.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">FRESH FISH</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5Ge-nkL1R5cfV1GgEs_Kla3rinGJ1ERoGL3x4e4uCZIjCxVxfXTsBDpqYsGFxgtFru56x83E_97qrydQJ5fG5fmB4pqrL4ciwEpqq8cTUtdBMDttYvz9xOF9Wd4rH142516nfA/s840/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+4.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="840" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5Ge-nkL1R5cfV1GgEs_Kla3rinGJ1ERoGL3x4e4uCZIjCxVxfXTsBDpqYsGFxgtFru56x83E_97qrydQJ5fG5fmB4pqrL4ciwEpqq8cTUtdBMDttYvz9xOF9Wd4rH142516nfA/s320/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Canning FRESH FISH in the salmon family: </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Keep your fresh caught fish on ice, and if using store bought fish buy the freshest available. The majority of the recipes you will see recommend pint or 1/2 pint jars because of the density of fresh fish.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Using jars larger than a pint may not heat thoroughly during processing. Processing time is 100 minutes for either size of jar using the recommended amount of water for your brand of canner.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">I use wide mouth 1/2 pint jars. And my canner allows for double decking jars. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">And here is the recipe I use.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ingredients for canning FRESH FISH:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">1/2 pint jars, lids and rings<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fish, boneless, skin-off, cut into strips about 1” shorter than the jar height<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Bottled water<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Garlic pepper seasoning<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Seasoned salt<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Black pepper, coarse or cracked<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Jalapeno peppers, cut into 1/4" rings. Remove seeds for a milder flavor<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Olive oil<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcLQR3bJ2Q1yHSaMKE61qtg-Bu0gzZ9v3yFfgkmqO2-RlimfIexqcKC6l-p2CBylmNK-KqEBcaRaS7KQe9ZzapnQb9asuk9hwDVi6IWDDVyOyo1qd9-grbqMn3ZarVngMndogCA/s640/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="469" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcLQR3bJ2Q1yHSaMKE61qtg-Bu0gzZ9v3yFfgkmqO2-RlimfIexqcKC6l-p2CBylmNK-KqEBcaRaS7KQe9ZzapnQb9asuk9hwDVi6IWDDVyOyo1qd9-grbqMn3ZarVngMndogCA/s320/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Load your jars as follows: (You need to maintain 1” of head space in the jar.)</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. Jalapeno ring<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Pinch of black pepper<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Strips of fish, cut to fill gaps in jar.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">4. A second jalapeno ring<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">5. 1/4 teaspoon of garlic pepper<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">6. 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">7. 1/2 tablespoon of bottled water*<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">8. 1/3 teaspoon of olive oil*<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">*Canning procedures for raw meats (called raw pack) of all kinds say “do not add liquids”. This is because none of the procedures tested by the USDA used additional liquid.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Many procedures state that fish canned in 1/2 pint jars “may be less acceptable than fish canned in pint jars”.</span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;">SMOKED FISH</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLpcdvV6Gxh0B4TNvRtGQ7rWOmsuLcUu_Wn5JngUMhv4_jGpoWppuwQw5ci8Sc1qYRX4J3BFSNZGhd7a6xZj9t0fwmxXRQkXSi07OYl0mLG4l1JP40kf-nxIdCP-oEoDgCoFfZg/s800/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="800" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLpcdvV6Gxh0B4TNvRtGQ7rWOmsuLcUu_Wn5JngUMhv4_jGpoWppuwQw5ci8Sc1qYRX4J3BFSNZGhd7a6xZj9t0fwmxXRQkXSi07OYl0mLG4l1JP40kf-nxIdCP-oEoDgCoFfZg/s320/Canned+Steelhead+Trout+Salmon+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><p class="MsoNormal">Canning SMOKED FISH in the salmon family: Keep your fresh caught fish on ice, and if using store bought fish buy the freshest available. The majority of the recipes you will see recommend pint or 1/2 pint jars because of the density of lightly smoked fish. Using jars larger than a pint may not heat thoroughly during processing. Processing time is 110 minutes for either size of jar. It is recommended that 4 quarts of water are used in the canner. The processing time is increased, and more water used in the canner because the density of cured and lightly smoked fish is different than raw fish. I use a silicone trivet in my canner to keep the 1/2 pint jars from being submerged. I use wide mouth 1/2 pint jars and my canner allows for double decking of jars. And here are the recipes I use.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Smoking your fish is all about flavor, and this process firms the flesh slightly and produces a very light smoke flavor, and the fish remains in the semi-raw state. This process will take 2 days.</p><p class="MsoNormal">This is the recipe for the dry cure I use. <b>This makes enough cure for about 10 pounds of fish,</b> so adjust accordingly. This is the same cure I use for hot smoked salmon. My "Dry Cure for Trout, Steelhead, and Salmon" page has a full set of detailed photos showing the curing process. Extra cure can be stored in the freezer.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Dry Cure Ingredients</p><p class="MsoNormal">1 cup Mortons kosher salt (if you use Diamond Crystal, you will have to use more as it has larger grains)<br />2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped<br />2 cups firmly packed brown sugar<br />2 teaspoon ground ginger (I prefer to grind this myself in my mortar and pestle from cracked ginger)<br />1-2 teaspoons ground white pepper<br />1/2 teaspoon pulverized bay leaf<br /><br />On a cutting board, sprinkle a little of the salt onto the chopped garlic, and mash to a paste with the point of a knife. In a small bowl, combine the garlic mixture with the remaining salt, the sugar, ginger, pepper and bay leaf. Mix this very well. Extra can be stored in the freezer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Procedure - Take a piece of plastic wrap at least 6 or 7 inches longer than your fillet and lay it out on your counter. In the center of the plastic, sprinkle a layer of cure about 1/8" to 1/4" deep onto the plastic wrap, making sure the layer of cure is a little longer and wider than your fillet. (You will be using the extra plastic on the ends when wrapping the fillet). Place one fillet on top of the cure (skin side up), then fold the sides up and then the ends, leaving the seam on top. The wrapped fillets can be stacked. (I put them on a shallow tray just in case one leaks). Put the fillets into the fridge to cure using the curing times above. Follow instructions for rinsing, soaking and pellicle formation.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Day 1: I use a dry cure method with fish fillets wrapped in plastic wrap. Curing time is based on thickness, a trout fillet cures for 1 to 2 hours. Steelhead fillets cure for 3 to 6 hours, and thicker salmon fillets cure for 6+ hours. After curing, the fish is rinsed, and soaked in water for 15 minutes, then placed on a tray on a rack and refrigerated overnight or up to 20 hours so it forms a pellicle before smoking. You can add some cracked black pepper at this time.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Day 2: Set up your smoker for cold smoking. Smoker temps of 80° or less are ideal. Remove the skin with a fillet knife, and trim off the blood line if needed. Be very conservative with smoking times on your first batch. Smokey flavor is intensified during processing. Trout fillets may only need 60 to 90 minutes of cold smoke. Steelhead will need about 2 hours, and thicker salmon fillets need 2.5 to 3 hours. After cold smoking, return fillets to the refrigerator for a couple of hours to cool down. The fish is now ready for canning. If you wait until the next day to can your fish, just wrap in plastic.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Ingredients for canning SMOKED FISH:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">(There is no salt added to the jars because the cured fish has retained some saltiness, garlic powder is used because garlic pepper blends contain salt).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">1/2 pint jars, lids and rings<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Fish, cold smoked, boneless, skin-off, cut into strips about 1” shorter than the jar height<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Bottled water<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Garlic powder<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Black pepper, coarse or cracked<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Jalapeno peppers, cut into 1/4" rings. Remove seeds for a milder flavor<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Olive oil<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Load your jars as follows: (You need to maintain 1” of head space in the jar.) See photo above.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">1. Jalapeno ring<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">2. Pinch of black pepper<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">3. Strips of fish, cut to fill gaps in jar.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">4. A second jalapeno ring<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">5. 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">6. 1/2 tablespoon of bottled water*<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">7. 1/3 teaspoon of olive oil*<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">*Canning procedures for raw meats (called raw pack) of all kinds say “do not add liquids”. This is because none of the procedures tested by the USDA used additional liquid. Many procedures state that fish canned in 1/2 pint jars “may be less acceptable than fish canned in pint jars”. </p><div><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-28220618504031099842007-07-24T08:08:00.024-07:002021-07-24T08:16:30.936-07:00Trout - Caring For Trout To Be Smoked Or Canned<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk0EjM2XRKxqD5pmPEuIN_ZaMc28xJHYhrGS0AC6soE8VW-ht0f127ZUfXdnpCV3JDj7Ye0H5b9BTmo1FjWeXf8WgW8-lesbrsR2bICjCmzBj_TQQ0VJ7D7oPRcjm2pSWA9DcUA/s2048/trout+fillet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1285" data-original-width="2048" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghk0EjM2XRKxqD5pmPEuIN_ZaMc28xJHYhrGS0AC6soE8VW-ht0f127ZUfXdnpCV3JDj7Ye0H5b9BTmo1FjWeXf8WgW8-lesbrsR2bICjCmzBj_TQQ0VJ7D7oPRcjm2pSWA9DcUA/w400-h251/trout+fillet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p><b>CARING FOR THE FISH</b>
– Quality begins as soon as the fish is
landed. Fish need to be killed, field
dressed <b>and put on ice immediately</b>. This is especially true with fish that will
be <b>dry cured and smoked</b>. Ice will lock in the true flavor, and keep
the meat firm and moist. If you loose the firmness and moisture, the curing
procedure will suffer big time. The dry curing
process relies on a moisture exchange (osmosis) to draw the salt, sugar and
spices into the meat. Later, the smoking process dries the meat which concentrates
the natural flavor and the flavor from the seasonings. Store
bought fish should feel firm and have no “fishy” odor. Farm raised salmon will have some color
added, but that’s no big deal for smoking.
Just make sure you buy fresh fish, or better yet… <b><i>catch your own! </i></b>The next couple of pages are
instructions on how to process the fish you catch. Store bought fish will have
the ribs removed and maybe the pin bones removed.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Preparing the fish
you catch</b> -<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I field dress my fish
and get them in the cooler before putting the line back in the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I smoke fish for other folks, I won’t
even take them if they feel mushy or look like they have stringer shock. (the
one exception is during ice fishing, I leave trout on the ice about 15 minutes,
then gut and bleed them, and store in an empty cooler so they will stay cold,
but don’t freeze solid) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I use an electric fillet knife and I leave the skin on for
best results.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you purchase store
bought salmon or steelhead to smoke, try to get fillets with the skin on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although wild salmon is better for you and
supports the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Alaska</st1:state></st1:place>
fishing industry, I have found that farm raised Atlantic salmon has a better
level of fat when it comes to smoking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It will remain moister than wild salmon, and it’s a lot cheaper too. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <b>Here
are the tools I use.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl06zGhiO9CgYxghiMT2EN9hbSi6XxNoXnbO-IPKniYko5qVXjkkIriFUd1xsIXhLqsBli8hzhKXdB8Shpnm-xzUc14hRfib2vmvGegDda-fdJuCXK0ZePAqtL7g5sbxEMH21zeQ/s2048/Trout+fillet+tools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl06zGhiO9CgYxghiMT2EN9hbSi6XxNoXnbO-IPKniYko5qVXjkkIriFUd1xsIXhLqsBli8hzhKXdB8Shpnm-xzUc14hRfib2vmvGegDda-fdJuCXK0ZePAqtL7g5sbxEMH21zeQ/w400-h300/Trout+fillet+tools.jpg" width="400" /></a></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p><br /> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b>1. Remove the ribs</b>
– With a very sharp fillet knife cut as close to the ribs as you can and fold
them out of the way. Then use the
utility knife cut to cut off any fins and also to cut the ribs and a strip of
meat off the belly to even out the fillet. (see third picture)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cNsnJPYENkazPHLgf26CMewaxUSzVWmXCeJcUB95ET4An76ymqRX4q1FL3Rk5p_ugmBKtRLgkS2cUgcwHFVSfNxogNuCmysNUyrPqTtajpn_-PQ4QRMPzPw4-Duj0yO7M46L1w/s2048/trout+fillet+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cNsnJPYENkazPHLgf26CMewaxUSzVWmXCeJcUB95ET4An76ymqRX4q1FL3Rk5p_ugmBKtRLgkS2cUgcwHFVSfNxogNuCmysNUyrPqTtajpn_-PQ4QRMPzPw4-Duj0yO7M46L1w/w400-h300/trout+fillet+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b>2. Remove Pin Bones</b>
- Run your finger along the fillet from the head end toward the tail end, this
will cause the small pin bones to stand right up. Use a small pair of needle
nose pliers to pluck them out. The hardest ones to find are the ones on the
head end of the fillet. You really need to feel for them.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pLnExrwzR2OFuWkPtbzGmdKvl8aD2tOlqYXO8orqAO2TzSDmb5smf2NdLfFwYy82vWxelJ5Fu0iJkrFBAHXfJ40EG5m4DK3MnuyI3RvPZ-4wxFIHXgie_YhzKaYYo7MrDKkFrg/s2048/trout+fillet+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pLnExrwzR2OFuWkPtbzGmdKvl8aD2tOlqYXO8orqAO2TzSDmb5smf2NdLfFwYy82vWxelJ5Fu0iJkrFBAHXfJ40EG5m4DK3MnuyI3RvPZ-4wxFIHXgie_YhzKaYYo7MrDKkFrg/w400-h300/trout+fillet+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b>3. Before & After</b> - On the bottom fillet, the ribs are off, the
pin bones have been plucked out, the backbone fat or cartilage has been trimmed
away and the belly has been evened out.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bCXEh5YDr_t0oyQNpcSk1gTcIINk23owUH4G31KuXS22g8D-g8sCNhQzTsEn0EmTvO4DmgI9v5F_d_hLNHuZWXdE49yYROlLjrsVPwUYupv1Z7TbtXQkSoP_U2rnVWTQ4SBl2Q/s2048/trout+fillet+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bCXEh5YDr_t0oyQNpcSk1gTcIINk23owUH4G31KuXS22g8D-g8sCNhQzTsEn0EmTvO4DmgI9v5F_d_hLNHuZWXdE49yYROlLjrsVPwUYupv1Z7TbtXQkSoP_U2rnVWTQ4SBl2Q/w400-h300/trout+fillet+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-87500340805430205802007-07-23T08:18:00.035-07:002021-07-24T08:24:39.606-07:00Trout - Tips, Tricks & Good Habits For Caring For Fish<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 16.0pt;">How To Properly Care
For Your Fish<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-variant: small-caps;">tips,
tricks and good habits to get the most out of your fish<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">by ~thirdeye~<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">I’ve been a
fisherman my entire life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My earliest
memories are fishing in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Corpus
Christi</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Bay</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
the <st1:place w:st="on">Gulf of Mexico</st1:place> off Mustang and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Padre</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Islands</st1:placetype></st1:place>,
as well as the Laguna Madre (an intracoastal waterway between <st1:place w:st="on">Padre
Island</st1:place> and the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Texas</st1:state></st1:place>
mainland).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned to fly fish in
Colorado and Wyoming in the late 60’s, and have fished the Rocky Mountain
streams, rivers and lakes for over 40 years.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This article
is </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>not
about</i></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> catching fish, I know many anglers that can out fish me any day
of the week.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am, however, a serious
fisherman and have no qualms in choosing a fly, a lure, a worm, a minnow, or
some kind of engineered dough-ball bait to get a fish to bite my line.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I also enjoy keeping a few fish to eat or
share with others…. So, this article </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>is about</i></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> caring for your catch, even
if the only fishing you do is at Safeway.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">ICE</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Caring for your fish requires
planning begins before you drive to your favorite fishin’ hole, or before you
stop by Safeway. The first thing you
need is a cooler and plenty of ice. On a fishing trip, take one pound of ice
for every pound of fish you plan on harvesting.
Two pounds of ice for every one pound of fish you expect to hold is even
better. This does not count the ice in
your lunch cooler, or beer cooler, you need a separate fish cooler (or a big
cooler capable of holding your fish, your beer and more ice than you think you
will need). There is much more on
chilling your catch later in the article.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">STORE BOUGHT FISH</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - If you are shopping at Safeway for
fresh fish, at least take an insulated shopping bag or soft cooler and a couple
of Blue Ice packs (the plastic re-useable containers of goop that you freeze at
home and use for keeping stuff cold). I
like to select fish that is firm (when you press it with your finger, the
indentation should disappear in just a few seconds). Next, I look for the
following: good color, shiny appearance, clear eyes, and no milky liquid on the
surface or in the package. If possible,
ask to smell the fish…. It should not be fishy or have a disinfectant
odor. Purchase your fish right before
checking out, then place it into your cooler before leaving the parking lot. Get your fish into your refrigerator as soon
as possible, keeping the Blue Ice under the fish for a couple of hours is a
good idea. Cold is good for fish.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">STRINGERS AND
LIVEWELLS - </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Trout
are NOT a stringer fish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
recommend using a stringer at any time. My experience with a livewell is
limited, so I can’t make any comments on them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">FIELD DRESSING &
HANDLING ~ BLEED / CLEAN / COOL</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> - </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fish should be de-slimed, bled, field
dressed, and put on ice <u>immediately after landing</u>. I don’t even re-bait my hook until I have
taken care of a fish I plan to eat. First off, your fish has been stressed out
during the fight. Once landed and field dressed, enzymes and bacteria go to
work which can rob your fish of flavor, and affect the texture.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dispatch
(kill) your fish, using whatever method you like.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Popular methods are the “head bonk”, “cutting
the lateral line behind the head”, “the spine snap”, “boring them to death by
reading passages of The Complete Angler by Issac Walton”, or “shooting them”.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first three are recommended, the forth
one takes some time, and the last one should only be used in self defense.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bleed the
fish by lifting the gill plate, inserting a knife over the gill cluster and cutting
out the gills. The fish can be bled out in a bucket of cold water or onto the
ground. De-sliming is not applicable to all fish, but a hand brush will remove
quite a bit of slime pretty quick.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">If you have a
fillet board or fillet table set-up, and provided there is no length regulation
of harvested fish…. there is no need to field dress your trout. After I remove
both fillets from the carcass, I rinse them and place them meat-to-meat in one
twist tie plastic bag and into an icy cooler. Having two fillets in the same
bag helps you (and the Game Warden) keep count of your catch.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you elect
to field dress only at this time, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">make a
slit along the belly and remove the intestines, then make a cut along the
membrane covering the kidney (the dark streak along the backbone) and scrape
out the kidney.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a chief source
of flavor destroying enzymes, so get it really clean.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I use my fingernail or a toothbrush in this
area. Removing the head is optional at this time.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I usually rinse my fish in the stream or
lake, but you could carry a water jug for this if you prefer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now it’s time
to chill out…. not you!! the fish.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Get
your fish in the cooler.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I use large
plastic bags so I can spread my fish out on ice, then add a layer of ice atop
the fish (or a few Blue Ice packs), then cover with a towel, and close the
cooler.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">A few observations on ice:</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
The best ice for cooling seafood is crushed ice. It’s easier to pack around fish or to layer
in between fish. (All the professional fisherman use crushed ice on the boats
if they are not freezing their catch.
Fish markets also use crushed ice for holding their fish). Your next
choice would be the store bought ice in smaller cubes. Block ice does not work very well. When ice is made, a huge amount of heat is
removed from water in order for it to freeze.
As ice turns back into water it absorbs the same amount of heat it gave
up. Now, you probably are saying “cheap
ice melts too fast!”. And you are
correct, but that is what you want. You
want your ice to steal the heat from your fish quickly, and the heat pulled out
of the fish is what melts the ice. Seeing your ice melting in the cooler is
telling you that it’s chilling the fish quickly. From a practical point of view, chipped ice is
tough to maintain at the lake, and it takes a lot of it. Store bought ice in small cubes is the best
value. Block ice it too big to pack
around the fish and it will not cool the fish down as fast as the other
choices. Use block ice in your food
cooler to keep the lunchmeat cool. </span><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;">Think about a hand crank ice cream maker. The cream mixture in a center canister is
warm, and ice is packed into an outer canister. The ice absorbs heat from the
cream causing it to freeze, the absorbed heat causes the ice to melt, which is
why you have to keep adding ice... Rock salt is usually added to the ice which
lowers the melting point of the ice which draws heat out of the cream
faster. Rock salt added to the ice in a
beer cooler will chill the beer faster.
Rock salt is used on sidewalks and streets to force the ice to melt at a
lower temperature.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">RIGOR, aka RIGOR
MORTIS</span></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"> – When a fish
is killed its muscles are relaxed for awhile because they are using up stored
energy. Sometimes fish will still twitch for a few minutes because of this
stored up energy. Anyway, when the energy is exhausted, the muscles contract
and stiffen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might have noticed
stiff fish at the end of the day in a cooler…. This is rigor. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The colder
you keep your fish, the longer it takes for rigor to occur. Then after a while
in rigor, the muscles relax again and stay that way.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don’t ever use force to straighten out a fish
in rigor, just keep them cold and allow the muscles to relax on their own.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This might take a few hours, maybe overnight,
or a full day or two if you have large salmon or steelhead.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just transfer the fish from your cooler to a
tray in the fridge, put an ice pack on top and let the rigor pass. Commercial
producers might ice fish down for 2 or 3 days before filleting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Temperatures above
65° will induce “heat rigor”, this is sometimes seen in the summer when fish
are in shallow water on a stringer.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Heat
rigor is harsh and </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>really damaging</u></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
on flavor and texture because the temperature allows rigor to come on really
fast.…. Don’t use a stringer unless you have absolutely no other choice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you freeze
fish before rigor sets in, it will take a month or two in the freezer for rigor
to set in, then pass.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you thaw a fish
before the rigor has passed, it might be a little tougher than normal.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A slow thaw in the refrigerator might be all
it takes to allow the rigor to pass.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">When to fillet or de-bone a fish</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> – You can fillet your fish following
field dressing (and before rigor sets in) to save room in the cooler and to
cool the fish down faster. This will work just fine. Salmon, trout and
steelhead have small pin bones in the forward end of the fillet which are
usually plucked out with a pair of needle nose pliers. These will come out
easier after rigor has passed. <b><i>Never</i></b> try to fillet a fish in rigor
or you will damage the flesh. If you
have ever seen a fillet that is ragged looking and has “gaps” in the flesh,
chances are it was not properly cooled or was filleted and de-boned while still
in rigor. If you smoke a bad fillet like
this it will be noticeably drier and more chewy. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">HOLDING IN THE
REFRIGERATOR</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"> –</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">FREEZING</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> – If you look at a <b>commercial freezer</b> you will notice two
important things: The refrigeration unit produces really cold temperatures,
like -30°. And commercial freezers have fans driving the
cold air across the food, or have super cold plates on each side of the food. Because
of this, a commercial freezer freezes food quickly. Commercially frozen fish is a good value, has
good flavor and moisture and has a decent “freezer life” once you get it home. Often fishing vessels can process and freeze
their catch on board for maximum freshness and efficiency.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Home freezing</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> is a different story. Everyone assumes
freezing food at home is easy….. it’s not.
And when freezing meat or fish at home you really have to pay attention.
The reason is simple, a home freezer (<b>upright
or chest model</b>) is not designed to freeze things, they are designed to keep
frozen things frozen. Most home freezers operate around 0° to -5° and have circulation
coils on the walls or the top. Some <b>refrigerator freezers</b> have a small fan
to push cold air into the refrigerator.
As you will see later, this small fan will come in very handy.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remember how
I explained that ice in your cooler steals the heat from just caught fish in
order to cool it down, and that in the process the ice melts a little?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, guess what, the same thing happens in
your home freezer.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When you put fish
into your freezer, the already frozen food begins to steal heat from the fish.
In the process the frozen food gains heat while the fish looses heat and
eventually freezes. Without air circulation, the process of freezing a fish
takes some time.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Trying to freeze
several fish takes more time. Then it takes some time for coils to steal the
heat from the frozen food (the same heat that it stole from the fish).
Eventually, all the food in the freezer settles out at the same temperature. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Until a new batch of fresh food enters the
freezer, then the cycle starts over again.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How much
fresh food does it take at one time to harm the already frozen food in your
freezer?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can’t say for sure.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How many times can I freeze fresh food before
the number of temperature cycles in the already frozen food begin to show up as
a loss of quality?</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can’t answer that
one either.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The point I’m
really making is that we want to freeze fish as quickly as possible to slow
down and stop the damaging actions from enzymes in the fish…. and a home
freezer is not the best equipment for doing that. In fact, the freezer in your
refrigerator might be better suited for freezing fish because of the
circulation fan. The movement of cold air often helps freeze things faster.
Then the frozen packages can be moved to your chest or upright freezer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some adaptation
and planning on our part can speed up the freezing process, and give us a
better product when thawed.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If we fillet
(or steak) a fish, there is less mass to freeze. Small packages of fillets (or
individual steaks) will freeze easier than large dense packages. Arranging
packages throughout the freezer until they are frozen is better than stacking
them all on one shelf.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a real
shocker… one of the oldest methods for freezing fish might be one of the worst
methods.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m talking about freezing
fillets in a milk carton filled with water.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It might take 10 hours for the already frozen food to steal enough heat
from a</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4 X 4 X 8 container of water and
fish to freeze it, then many more hours for the freezer to steal that heat from
the other frozen food.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would like my
fish well on the way to frozen in 2 or 3 hours.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">PACKAGING FOR FRESHNESS</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> – </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All the effort you’ve applied so far
won’t mean a thing if you don’t package your fish correctly. You need to
protect your fish from air, and if you catch fatty fish like trout, salmon or
catfish, packaging is really important as air reacts with fat and can make the
flesh go rancid. Proper packaging also
helps with moisture retention, because when any fish looses moisture it will
freezer burn.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A tight wrap
in a “cling” type of stretch plastic wrap followed by an overwrap in freezer
paper or aluminum foil is one method many folks use.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Zipper bags come in many sizes, some are
heavy duty just for freezing.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be sure to
force as much air as possible out of the bags before sealing. Vacuum bagging
systems are my favorite.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bags are
heavy duty and the machine sucks out almost all the air.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you
partially freeze fillets before vacuum sealing you can get a really good vacuum
on the bag.</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be sure and
label your packages and include the date.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I like to eat frozen fish within 3 months of the catch date.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-33650085690521464632006-08-16T19:20:00.001-07:002023-11-04T08:12:39.160-07:00~thirdeye's~ Nova Lox<br />
If you are a regular reader you know I really field test any recipe, or technique before publishing it here. My technique for Nova Lox was developed from many sources and for well over a year I continued to refine my method. It's now December of 2012, and I'm ready to publish Revision 3, which I have been using for 11 months.<br />
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<strong>Fish:</strong> Salmon or Steelhead fillets, normal thickness, de-boned and skin-on. The fresher the better. I repeat..... the fresher the better. I suspect that larger trout fillets could also be used, but to date I have not utilized trout.<br />
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<strong>History:</strong> <em>"Nova lox is less salty than other varieties of lox, and it should have a light smoke flavor." </em> When developing my method below, I began working from descriptions like the one above of what Nova lox was to certain folks. And I sorted through a lot of descriptions, the funny thing was I discovered that Nova lox meant different things to different folks. Even my friend and Guest Pit Boss <em>Lynne</em> in Nova Scotia couldn't nail it down. Now, to some this would be a dead end street..... to me it was an education in preparing salmon which had ties to several cultures.<br />
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My research led me to numerous curing methods dating back more than 100 years. Many of these older methods used large quantities of salt, long curing times and required long soak-out times,…I reasoned they were sort of a carry-over from the days of “preservation curing” when refrigeration was not available to everyone. My goal was to keep some of the principles of the Nova lox methods intact, but utilize a modern approach with respect to the curing process, especially when it came to the amounts of salt used. <br />
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Unlike other techniques, my process uses a two-stage (or double) cure, two periods of overnight resting and 5 to 8 hours of cold smoking. This procedure takes about 60 hours from start to finish. The fish is in the refrigerator during the curing and for both overnight rest periods. I think a safe shelf life of the finished product is 4 to 5 days, although mine rarely lasts longer than 3 days. Contrary to the majority of lox recipes I found, I prefer some seasoning on my Nova lox, both for flavor and appearance. And I also like just enough of a distinct smoky flavor to overcome any issues folks might have with eating un-cooked fish.<br />
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<strong>PREPARATION OF THE FISH</strong><br />
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Often food safety experts will recommend fish which has been commercially frozen when making lox. The quick freezing and well below zero temperatures will kill any baddies associated with uncooked fish you may worry about. That said, I prefer using extremely fresh fish which has not been frozen. I'll let you decide how to select your fish.<br />
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When starting with a whole side, I will remove the tail section and cut a strip off the belly section – this leaves a rectangular section that is somewhat uniform in thickness which will be used for lox. Run your fingers from the head end toward the tail end feeling for any small pin bones. Pluck them out with a pair of needle nose pliers. Rinse the fillet in cold water, then pat dry. Use a knife at 90° to the fillet and lightly scrape the surface of the fish... this will remove the little bit of flesh which was disturbed when the fish was filleted, and it will also close some of the gaps in the grain you may notice. (this is similar to lightly scraping any bone dust and loose fat off a steak or pork chop that was cut on a band saw)<br />
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<strong>Dry Cure – 10 to 12 hour cure time</strong>.<br />
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50:50 mixture kosher salt and brown sugar. (For a 7” long fillet I use 1/3 cup of kosher salt and 1/3 cup of brown sugar) Sprinkle a thin layer of the mixture onto a long piece of plastic wrap, the area should be slightly longer than each fillet. With the remainder of the dry cure, cover the surface of the flesh side of the fish (including the sides and ends), then turn the fillet flesh side down onto the wrap. Cure is not needed on the skin side of the fillet. Fold up the sides and ends of the plastic wrap forming a pouch, place fillet on a tray or platter in case the plastic wrap leaks. The skin side should be up. <br />
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Note: If you have any safety concerns regarding cold smoked fish (which is technically not cooked) you can add pink salt (Cure #1) to the salt/brown sugar mix. The proper amount is 2.5 grams for every 1000 grams (kilogram) of fish. This equals .25% and for the calculation, use .0025 for the multiplier. For example, if you had a 1 pound fillet (454 grams) the pink salt calculation would be: 454 X .0025 = 1.135 grams of pink salt.<br />
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Here are several fillets in the dry cure.<br />
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You can place a weight on the wrapped fillet to insure good contact of the salt/sugar mixture and the fish during the curing time. I use a small cutting board with a couple of cans of soda on it for weight. Cure time is 10 to 12 hours in the refrigerator. During the dry cure step the salt and sugar will liquefy and form a syrup. At the end of the cure time, remove the fish from the wrap, rinse under cold running water and lightly scrub the fish with fingers in order to remove the syrup and any un-dissolved sugar. The fish will be a darker red and feel slightly firm. Next, the fillets move into the wet (brine) cure.<br />
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<strong>Wet Brine Cure Recipe:</strong><br />
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Large batch: 1 gallon of water, 10 ounces of salt and 1/2 cup of white sugar. <br />
Small batch: 1 quart of water, 2.5 ounces of salt, 1/8 cup (or 2 Tablespoons) of white sugar. <br />
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Mix your brine ahead of time using warm water, then allow it to cool down in the refrigerator. Keep the brine in a non-reactive (plastic or glass) container. I like canning salt because it dissolves easier, but kosher will work. Whichever you choose, weigh the salt for accuracy. The white sugar will keep your brine really clear, its main purpose is to knock the bitter edge off the salt.<br />
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Brine Cure Time - 7 to 10 to 12 hours. Single fillets can be brined in a zipper bag. For larger fillets I use a small plastic bucket. The brine cure will make the texture of the fish relax, but will not wash out the color or cause the fillet be mushy. I prefer the 10 hour brine time unless I have thick fillets, then I go with 12 hours. A good tip would be to experiment with a couple of pieces and different brine times.<br />
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<strong>Soaking and Equalizing – 8 hours to overnight:</strong><br />
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<strong>Soak-out:</strong> Rinse the fish under a gentle stream of cold running water from your faucet (this is called “freshening”) for 3 or 4 minutes. I put the fillet on a plate, flesh side up, and allow the water to flow across the meat. Next, soak the fillet in cold water for 4 or 5 minutes in a bowl or plastic bag. Freshening is an old technique which was used because early Nova Lox brines were very, very strong. (An alternate to freshening + soaking would be a longer soak-out, say 10 minutes)<br />
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<strong>Equalization</strong> : Dry the fillet with paper towels and place on a dry tray or plate. Use a small rack or a couple of chopsticks under the fillet. Do not cover the fillet. <strong><em>At this point the curing is complete and you have lox</em></strong>. It will need an overnight rest in the refrigerator to allow it to firm and to allow the salt to equalize within the fillet. Following the “equalization time” you can cut a thin slice to sample it for texture and flavor. Lox becomes Nova lox when it undergoes cold smoking. There are a variety of seasoning options including using no seasoning at all. I prefer to season the dried fillet lightly with white pepper, black pepper and dill weed before the overnight rest. I like the hint of seasoning combined with the light smoke.<br />
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<strong>Cold Smoking – 3 to 8 hours:</strong><br />
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<strong>Background information</strong>: My current choice of equipment for cold smoking in the A-Maze-N cold smoking tray which can be used in almost any cooker provided you have adequate draft. It requires special sawdust and provides a gentle smoke for hours with almost no heat. No other heat source is used, the sawdust in the cold smoking tray is lit and the unit is placed inside your smoker. The fillets are placed on the smokers racks. <br />
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Prior to using this method I used a Big Chief box smoker, but the Big Chief created more heat due to its hot plate smoke generator. Ideally the temperature of the cold smoker should be below 100 degrees. I would often unplug the Big Chief several times while cold smoking to allow it to cool down, or fill a pan full of ice below the rack of fish to help cool the smoke. On several forums I have seen positive comments about using a soldering iron placed through a hole in a tin can containing some wood chips, but I have not tried out this method. <br />
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<strong>Cold Smoking Method</strong>: I prefer an Apple/Hickory mix of sawdust in the A-Maze-N cold smoking tray. Smoking time is a personal preference and the style of smoke generator you use as well as the draft characteristics of the smoker have a big impact on flavor delivery. The only way to determine the correct amount of smoke flavor is to experiment the first time you make Nova lox. Cold smoke the fillet for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, then removed the fillet and sample several thin slices. Use additional smoke time as needed. <br />
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<strong>My Smoking Times</strong>: Spring, summer and fall - I can tell you when using my Smokey Joe “tallboy” smoker, my cold smoke times are around 3 to 4 hours. The draft is different in my Big Chief so I need more like 4 to 5 hours of cold smoke time. <br />
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During the winter I set up the A-Maze-N cold smoke tray in my Big Chief and found by plugging in the burner for 15 minutes every hour I could raise the temperature of the box from 30 degrees to 70 degrees. (I was afraid the 30 degree temperature would be too low). My winter cold smoking time was around 5 hours.<br />
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<strong>Second Smoke Option</strong>: Sometimes I have removed my Nova Lox from the cold smoker and chilled it for an hour or two, then sampled. Sometimes it needs a little more smoke flavor.... no problem, just return it to the cold smoker for another dose of flavor. An hour or two usually does the trick.<br />
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<strong>Preparation For Eating</strong> – <strong>Overnight Rest Recommended</strong>: After cold smoking, the Nova Lox needs to mellow overnight in the refrigerator to have the best flavor. The chilling also allows for easier slicing. Make the slices as thin as possible, and serve them on a chilled plate. The texture can be described as “candied”, and the smoke and salt should be noticeable but subtle. The amount of saltiness can be adjusted by more or less time in the rinse/soak step. Smoke flavor is adjusted by wood selection and/or cold smoke time. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-22915503696123512032006-07-18T16:55:00.873-07:002021-11-16T16:11:07.298-08:00Competition Barbeque ~ Cooking My First Comp ~ KCBS Master Judge<p>NEED TO GET ON BOARD WITH SPELLED OUT NUMBERS OR DIGITS. </p><p>SHOULD 2009 FIRST COMP BE CHANGED TO 'FROM FIRST COMP TO MASTER JUDGE'?</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I took a KCBS Judging class on a Thursday back in August of 2009, two days later I judged my first competition and I was hooked. </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Competition 'barbeque' in the KCBS world is way different from the backyard "Bar-B-Que" as my grandmother referred to it in the 1960's and the 'on-sale' meats or wild game my Grandfather smoked almost every Saturday with his neighborhood buddies Bo, Sonny and Joe. I liked judging so much, the next logical step for me was to take a competition cooking class, which I did a couple of years later. This is an important step for future competition cooks, plus it really opened my eyes to some of the nuances that can take good barbecue and improve it. In the meantime every contest where I judged or did a 'volunteer' assignment (being a Table Captain, or helping with one of the other tasks) counted toward my Master Judge certification. The Master Judge requirement is to have 30 signatures from KCBS Reps, with at least one as a volunteer, cook with a team at a sanctioned contest, and take an online examination. I officially became a Master Judge in October 2021. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Fast forward about 5 or 6 years to a Friday afternoon happy hour with some of my cookin' buddies. One happened to also be a Judge and we were talking about a new competition starting in our town. Someone mentioned forming a cooking team and the idea stuck. Not only would this be fun, there would be no travel involved and two of us would get a 'team cook' credit toward becoming a Master Judge. We set our sights on 2019 so we would have plenty of time to practice. We had all the equipment, and a cargo trailer so the ball started rolling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The four KCBS barbeque meats are chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder and brisket which are turned into the Judges in that order every thirty minutes starting at noon. At first we thought a 4-man team would work best, and each person would take the lead on their favorite meat. We had a lot of interest but in the end we wound up with 3 cooks, so one of us would have to pick-up the last meat. I got the first pick and chose brisket. The next pick was pork shoulder, and the third man chose ribs. This left chicken available. Because chicken is the first 'turn-in' at noon, and brisket is the last turn-in at 1:30, I offered to take the chicken category. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The hardest thing for a new competition cook is to forget how they cook barbecue at home. Family and friends tend to be very polite and are usually not critical to your face.... so you may get rave reviews or brag that "everyone loves my ribs", but they are probably not competition grade ribs. Competition barbeque must look appealing, have a well balanced savory flavor, and as perfect of a tenderness as you can get. The flavor in fact tends to be a little bold, as a judge is only required to take one bite, and the cook wants to get the judge's attention. My buddies sort of got this...., but it would take some test cooks for this to sink-in. A picture is worth a thousand words, so before making any more plans I saved about 100 turn-in box photos from various online sites to a thumb drive and we did a little show and tell. People usually don't post photos of sloppy turn-in boxes, so I was able to explain the logic and presentation of many boxes. Seeing what they would have to cook and mimic for the competition didn't scare my buddies away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Rules - This is the starting point for any competitive activity. The KCBS contest rules are short and to the point, with very little wiggle room. They describe the legal cuts of meat, when and how they can be prepped, the minimum amount of meat to be turned in, the legal garnishes which may be used, how sauce is defined and used, and a list of things that are not legal to use, and things in the turn-in box which could be a penalty or disqualification. Cooks should know the judging rules and procedures too, so I did a review using my CBJ Handbook. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The How To - Combined with my competition cooking class notes, a handful of YouTube instructional cooking videos were our main source for hands on demonstrations, tips and tricks. We watched more Harry Soo videos simply because they are very detailed. Butcher BBQ has a couple of great brisket prep videos. I also cruised the Competition Forum archives on the BBQ Brethren forum, and asked a lot of questions there. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Game Plan - One of the best tips for a first time team was to keep it simple, stick with standard presentations, and use products that have demonstrated success among barbecue competitors. I'll break down the exact products below when I discuss each meat. Our early practice cooks focused on taste and tenderness, and we all kept very good notes on cook times and pit temps. Each of us picked out a couple of turn-in box photos we wanted to replicate, and I had enlargements made. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Later, when we included assembling the turn-in boxes to the practice runs, we used the photo's as a guide. And.... we took the photos to the competition and and had them taped to the wall of the cargo trailer.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Practice Time - If your friends and family aren't complaining, you are not practicing enough. Chicken was the hardest because thighs might look like perfect clones before cooking, but they change during cooking. I could usually get 4 or 5 that would match up.... getting the 6th one was hard. Rib practice was mainly for cook time and tenderness, the flavor was very good from day one. Pork Shoulder practice was not too bad considering the pork cook had never smoked a butt until we began practicing. Here is where the YouTube videos paid off, he didn't have to learn from his mistakes. Brisket may have been the easiest practice cooks because I had been using competition methods on my backyard brisket for years. I did experiment with several injections, and decided on pre-trimming for box-width, instead of trimming after cooking. On sound advice from several cooks, we decided early on to only turn in slices and serve the burnt ends to the friends and family that showed up to cheer us on. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Best Tips For Contest Day - We had a running list of every item we used when practicing, we took all of it to the competition. Other than knives, injectors, thermometers, timers and the like, we used a lot of disposable things. Paper towels, gloves, wipes, foil pans, even disposable cutting boards. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Cost and Budget - We were lucky because we didn't have to buy any equipment. Besides registration, our costs for practice and contest day were meat, rubs, sauces, injections, foil and other supplies. We did not even consider wagyu briskets or Duroc pork, but did wet age some prime briskets. Our ribs were Smithfield and we bought family packs of thighs from Sam's club. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chicken - After a few test cooks I decided on bone-in thighs, six in the box on a bed of chopped kale. Using 14 thighs, I did a traditional trim, first squaring up the thigh and skin, then removing obvious fat. I also cut off part of the knuckle. I filleted the fat off of the skin, then weighed each thigh as I wanted them at 4 ounces each. Chicken can be prepped at home but can't be seasoned until after meat inspection on Friday. Saturday morning I injected each thigh with Kosmo's Chicken Soak and rested, then seasoned with The Slabs Birds & Bones. For cooking I used a 275° drum smoker with the butter broth bath method. They cooked uncovered for 20 minutes. Next, they were sprayed with Parkay and covered until they were tender, about 20 more minutes. The final internal temp was around 180°. Saucing was a thinned out Blues Hog </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Original sauce</span><span style="font-family: arial;">, and glazed on a rack. As I boxed each thigh I seasoned the bottom side with a fine grind of Birds & Bones. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Ribs - The rib cook decided on St Louis spare ribs with a 4 on 4 (8 ribs) arrangement in the box with kale as garnish. For prep, the membrane was removed and all three racks were sized to 4.5" wide. The rub was Cimarron Doc's and the ribs were hung in a 275° drum smoker for 2.5 hours. They were sprayed with water with a shake of Worcestershire early in the cook, then spray butter, then toward the end a mix of water, guava nectar and apple juice was used. Wrapping was in foil with brown sugar, honey, guava and rice wine vinegar for about 90 minutes. <i>The Harry Soo competition rib video showed about fifteen potential ingredients when wrapping ribs. </i>The ribs were sliced with meat side down, then the best ones were put on a rack and sauced with a thinned out Blues Hog Original sauce and the sauce was set in the smoker in about 5 minutes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Pork Shoulder - The cook taking the lead on pork had never cooked a pork butt before we started practicing. He pretty much used tutorials by Harry Soo, Chef Tom, and Girls Can Grill as a guide for prep and cooking. He had a recently purchased Treager, which is legal in KCBS competitions, and the presentation would be money muscle slices and some pulled meat from the tubes or the horn muscles which are around the bone. The selected injection was Kosmo's Pork, the rub was Cimarron Doc's and sauce was Blues Hog Original cut with apple juice. The butts were cooked in foil pans at 275° and sprayed with water and spray butter several times. At about 160° some smoked pork broth was added to the pans and they were covered for the meat to tender up. A pork turn-in box takes the longest to build, but there is a lot of meat to work with.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Brisket - I had the lead on brisket and the night before I trimmed two flats down to 7" wide and four pounds in weight. I also butterflied two points, but we had decided on slices only for turn in. I planned on 7 or 8 slices on a bed of kale for the turn-in box. My injection was Kosmo's Reserve Blend, the rubs were Smokin' Guns Hot and a Prime Rib Blend purchased at a local market. I did a hot and fast cook in my drum smoker at 300°, then a wrap with butter and Minor's AuJus along with a tablespoon of Worcestershire. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">The Scores - We finished 11th in Ribs, 19th in Chicken, 20th in Brisket and 26th in Pork. Looking back, our seasonings/sauce could have been a little bolder as the Taste scores were sometimes 1 point lower than the Tenderness scores. Overall I was happy with the scoring. There were seven new teams cooking, and we finished ahead of them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-24318674120828574102006-07-16T06:38:00.000-07:002020-02-25T16:24:19.671-08:00Old Fashioned Chicken and Noodles<div align="center">
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This is a great main dish, real comfort food. The recipe was never really written down, so one evening I followed Mrs ~t~ and recorded her recipe and technique for you to enjoy here. <br />
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FOR THE CHICKEN & STOCK - Using a Whole Chicken or Chicken Pieces<br />
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A <strong>whole chicken</strong> can be cooked two ways. You can use a stock pot, or a pressure cooker. <strong>Chicken pieces</strong> cook so fast in a stock pot I don't recommend using a pressure cooker on them. The cooking methods below involve letting the meat rest in hot broth, so its okay if the meat is slightly underdone before sitting in the hot broth. The "rest finish" will complete the cooking and also helps keep the meat moist and tender. <br />
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<strong>Stock Pot</strong> - <strong>Whole Chicken: </strong> Add 2 cans of chicken broth, 1 can full of water, 1 tablespoon of chicken soup base, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 bay leaves. Add the bird, then adjust the water level as needed so the bird is mostly covered. The total amount of liquid should be 6 to 8 cups. Cook at a simmer or low boil until the meat is just tender. Remove the pot from the burner and allow the chicken to rest in the hot broth for 20 or 30 minutes. Remove the meat from the bones and shred, reserve for later. The bones can be returned to the stock and simmered an hour. <br />
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<strong>Stock Pot - Chicken Pieces</strong>: If you prefer to use chicken pieces, they are actually easier to prepare. Start with some boneless chicken breasts and a couple of boneless thighs if you like. Sprinkle them with kosher salt, refrigerate for 2 hours. Using 2 cans of chicken broth and 1 can of water, bring the liquid up to a simmer. Add additional water and chicken soup base so your total liquid is 6 to 8 cups. Add your boneless chicken and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes only. Remove the pot from the burner, cover and allow the chicken to rest in the hot broth for about 30 minutes. (this is a great way to prepare chicken for chicken salad)<br />
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If you want to use bone in split breasts the simmer time is about 8 minutes. For chicken quarters, full breasts, or chicken halves, the simmer time is 10 to 12 minutes. In all cases, cover and allow the meat to rest in the hot broth for 30 minutes.<br />
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<strong>Pressure Cooked</strong> - <strong>Whole Chicken</strong>: Add Add 2 cans of chicken broth, 1 can full of water, 1 tablespoon of chicken soup base, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 2 bay leaves. Process the bird for 25 minutes (35 minutes if you use a stewing chicken) and use a natural release. Remove the meat from the bones and shred, reserve for later. Discard the bones. The stock will be concentrated, so add 2 or 3 more cups of water and simmer about 15 minutes. This will give you enough broth to cook the noodles.<br />
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PREPARE THE MEAT & BROTH<br />
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Remove the chicken and discard any bones and skin, allow to cool enough to handle, then shred the meat and set aside. Strain the broth and reserve.<br />
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FOR THE NOODLES <br />
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This amount of noodles makes 6 to 8 servings and will only require about 1/2 of the chicken. <br />
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3 cups of flour <br />
3 eggs <br />
1-1/4 teaspoon of salt <br />
1/3 cup of milk (you may not need all of this) <br />
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Mix the salt into the flour, add the eggs and begin to mix together. Add some milk and continue to mix until the dough comes together. Knead until smooth and let it rest about 10 minutes. Knead again for about 3 minutes and rest a second time for 5 minutes. Roll out the dough and let rest about 15 or 20 minutes. Cut to size, then dust with flour. <br />
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FOR THE CHICKEN AND NOODLES <br />
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Heat 6 to 8 cups of stock to a low boil, add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes. Add some chicken until the amount looks right (you will not use all the shredded chicken), lower the heat and cover for 15 minutes. Return to a boil and serve. They can simmer a few minutes if the noodles are not tender. <br />
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Serve with boiled potatoes. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-48284284733174468792006-05-23T15:06:00.000-07:002013-01-27T14:27:30.718-08:00Quest For The Perfect Burger<div>
Whether at home, in restaurants, or in burger joints I guess we've all eaten our share of hamburgers. Some of my oldest memories go back to the 1960's and a burger stand called Whataburger. I lived in Corpus Christi, Texas which is where the first Whataburger stand opened in 1950. <br />
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I recall there was only one burger, you could specify the toppings or have it "all-the-way". Ones with mayonnaise were called "sissy burgers". The buns were toasted, and these guys had no fries or onion rings... all you could get were bags of Frito's and some other chips. You could also buy a jalapeno pepper in a wax paper bag that was stapled to a poster-board sitting by the cash register. If they had soda pop, I don't recall ever having one because I always got a chocolate malt. It was a real treat going out for one of these burgers, not because we didn't have good burgers at home..... but because it was a grand experience for a seven year old. And also because of those malts.<br />
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Because burgers start off, for the most part, as kind of a plain sandwich, it's not uncommon to see many varieties of them, however..... mostly the differences are focused on different toppings. You know the drill. Some places have signature burgers with names like the Wild West, or The Hawaiian. Other places let you add your own toppings from a list of 8 or 10 items. Then there are the franchise burger places that have a nationwide menu which might include double and triple patties, bacon strips and extra cheese. Sheesh, these are worse than a pizza with eleven different toppings. Only in America right? The last steer out of the gate in the burger rodeo are the burger bars or "burger bistro's" that are opening up in trendy neighborhoods. Here you can get a $30+ gourmet burger and choose from fifty kinds of beer to wash it down with. Good? I would hope so. Are these for me? No way...<br />
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So, the quest for the perfect burger begins. What am I looking for? Good texture, beefy flavor, even doneness and lot's of moisture would be a good place to start. Once I achieve that, the addition of a few fresh toppings, and of course a bun and I'm good to go.<br />
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THE BEEF<br />
For starters, it's all in the beef, everything else compliments the beef. If the beef is not good, the burger won't be good. There is all kinds of beef out there, but I'm going to break it down into two main categories. Store ground and home ground. If you can grind it at home, do so. <br />
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<b>GRINDING TIPS: </b>Keep the meat very cold throughout the entire process (grinding, seasoning, forming and holding before cooking. This will help with moisture retention. You can add a little cold water or some minced onion to the meat for more moisture. <br />
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<b>Pro-Tip:</b> <i>Don't over process your meat by grinding it too fine. Instead of grinding through a coarse plate and then a fine plate, try grinding it through the coarse plate twice.</i><br />
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<b>Pro-Tip: </b><i>When forming your patties, be gentle and keep compression to a minimum. The patties should be handled enough to shape them, and firm enough to keep them intact during cooking. Some folks will use two forks to when forming and shaping patties.</i><br />
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REGULAR GROUND BEEF<br />
This is the standard in the supermarket. It comes from pieces of meat that can't be sold as something else and from trimmings from a variety of cuts. About your only choice with regular ground beef is the fat content. It will be marked 70/30, 80/20, 90/10 or something along those lines. The first number represents the amount of lean meat, the second number represents the amount of fat.<br />
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SPECIAL GROUND BEEF<br />
The next step up on the ground beef ladder is meat ground from a particular muscle or muscle group. Ground round, ground sirloin, ground chuck all, and ground brisket come from a particular area of a beef. These choices are common in the meat case or at your butcher shop. You can also grind these at home.<br />
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Ground chuck is usually 15% to 20% fat.<br />
Ground sirloin and round is usually 10% to 12% fat.<br />
Ground brisket will be 20% + fat.<br />
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It is possible that USDA Choice meats will have too high of a fat content for burger. USDA Select meat is often a better value for grinding.<br />
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CUSTOM GROUND BEEF BLEND<br />
This is a high end choice. You won't find these "blend" options in the meat case, and it will be special order for the butcher shop. Unless they are doing something like this for a restaurant customer, you will have to supply the ratios. But just like the special grind, it's really easy for you to grind this at home. I'm going to give you some recipes to get you started. Don't be afraid to experiment.<br />
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1. 50% brisket - 50% sirloin<br />
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2. 50% chuck - 50% sirloin<br />
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3. 33% brisket - 33% chuck - 33% sirloin<br />
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4. 40% chuck - 40% boneless short ribs - 20% brisket </div>
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5. 50% sirloin - 25% chuck - 25% brisket<br />
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One thing to consider is supplementing some flank steak for brisket. For example #1 calls for 50% brisket and 50% sirloin. You could make that 25% brisket, 25% flank, and 50% sirloin.<br />
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BUFFALO & BISON BURGER<br />
Well, it's the same thing. It's technically bison, and of course there are some varieties like beef-a-lo, but for the most part bison is buffalo and buffalo is bison. It's a wonderful option to have because it's lower in fat than most beef burger and has just a hint of wild flavor. I live in the heart of buffalo country and can honestly say buffalo burger is an excellent value. I enjoy buffalo burger as much as other upscale cuts like steaks or tenderloin roasts. Sometimes I use it in sandwiches, but usually I make a hamburger steak with it. <br />
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Seasonings are about the same as ground beef, it's best not to season heavily as you risk hiding the natural buffalo flavor. Because of it's lower fat content, I also recommend cooking it medium rare to keep it as moist as possible. In fact I like to add a little water or beer to the ground meat (I do the same thing to sausage). Some finely chopped onion blended into the meat will add some moisture and flavor.<br />
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LAMB BURGERS <br />
These could be one of the most under burgers there are, a real sleeper. Lamb has a unique flavor, and it will take a variety of seasonings. Garlic, onion and rosemary are good choices, but don't be afraid to add in some heat from chilies or peppers. Beer or water are good liquids to mix into the meat before forming patties. Finely chopping the onion will work fine, but for some reason I like a coarser chop for lamb burgers. <br />
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PORK BURGERS. <br />
Ground pork from the shoulder (butt, Boston butt) is an outstanding ground meat to season with salt and pepper and cook on the grill. In addition to being flavorful and moist it combines well with melted cheese and grilled onions. A pork patty-melt is wonderful. All-in-all pork burgers are a nice change-up from beef hamburgers. We often see ground pork made into sausage, which is fine... Sausage sandwiches are great. In fact when I make my link sausage I will reserve a few pounds and package it in bulk just for sausage burgers. My favorite seasoning recipe for pork burgers is the "Farm Sausage" on my sausage page. It's mild enough that it can be complimented with a slice of onion and some mustard on a hamburger bun. <br />
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WILD GAME BURGER. <br />
I guess venison is the most popular game meat around, but in my neck of the woods we also have pronghorn (antelope), elk and moose. When your animal is processed it's common to wind up with quite a bit of ground meat. Not everyone is partial to wild game so some hunters I know play a game called "hide the wild flavor". In other words, they use that burger in spaghetti sauce, chili or in summer sausage. The best advice is to not overcook or over season wild game burgers, and tell folks up front you are serving wild game. Sausage is a great way to utilize your ground wild meat. I will often mix 60% wild game to 40% pork to improve the fat content and add moisture.<br />
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HOW TO COOK A BURGER<br />
I guess the two main choices are pan fried or grilled. Both have advantages and as long as the grill or pan is not too hot either one is a good choice. I do like to brush or spray a light coating of oil on the pattie before cooking to insure against sticking. Be sure and let the pattie firm up before the first flip, then turn as needed to balance color and doneness. <br />
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If I want some smoky flavor, I'll start my burgers off with a raised direct or an indirect set-up, then finish closer to the coals. Otherwise, a medium-high bed of coals works fine.<br />
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A shake or two of Worcestershire sauce toward the end of cooking is a nice flavor bump. Any cheese should be added 3 or 4 minutes before the burger is done, and I'm not just talking about a slice of cheese.... try some blue cheese crumbles. Rest your burger just like you would a good steak.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-1171901102805110182006-02-19T07:47:00.000-08:002021-07-06T08:19:46.306-07:00Welcome to the NeighborhoodMy cookin' site features some recipes and other information I hope you find enjoyable. Click on any of the green underlined links to go to that page. Visit the Question & Suggestion page to read or leave a comment or ask a question. For links to other sites, check out the Web Sightings page in the TIPS section.
~thirdeye~
<div align="center">NEW for 2008 - Videos !!!!
<startvideopagelink>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/video-page.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Cookin' Video Page
</span></a>
<endvideopagelink>
<div align="center">NEW in the Recipe Section:
<li>Au jus recipe from RRP added to the Standing Rib Roast page
<li>Austrian Potato Salad - BBQinMaineiac's favorite recipe
<li>Stuffed Chicken Breasts
<li>Gumbo - Traditional & EZ Gumbo
<li>The Rice - Norco's Mom's recipe with a twist
<li>EZBB Ribs - Easy baby back ribs
<li>The Chuck Roast page is finally up
<li>Pig Candied Yams - A classic, modified by thirdeye
<li>thirdeye's Grilled Fish Tacos
<li>Plum Pork - A Chinese Appetizer
<li>thirdeye's Dry Cured Bacon
</li>
</div>
<rightscrollmessage>
</li><ul></ul><p></p><fontcolor="#ffffff" size="+5"><div align="center"><marquee direction=" right?loop=" width="75%"><i><strong>
~Keep your eye on your vent!! "If it's puffin' wihite, it ain't right, If it's blowin' blue it's good for Q"~</strong></i></marquee></div><div align="center"></div></span><blockquote></blockquote><aspaceholdingdeal><p align="left">
<hold>
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<div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">GRATE TOOLS</span> </div><p align="center"><img height="209" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/Image2.jpg" width="250" /></p><div align="center">
</div></span><!-- Grate lifter picture--><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><!-- Grate lifter picture--><lifter>
If you have questions about the <a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/10/thirdhand-grate-lifting-hanging-tool.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;"></span></a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/10/thirdhand-grate-lifting-hanging-tool.html"></a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/10/thirdhand-grate-lifting-hanging-tool.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">ThirdHand, ThreeFinger, Wiggles or Custom Tools .....</span></a> Click this link for more information.
4 NEW demonstration videos have been added. Check them out.
</LIFTER ad>
<span style="font-size:130%;">SNAPSHOTS </span>
<a>
It's official.....I'm a MOINK Baller
</p><div align="center"><p align="center"><img height="500" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/MOINK_Baller_thirdeye2.jpg" width="600" /></p><div align="center">
Here is a nice birthday greeting I received in November of '06
<p></p><div align="center"><p align="center"><img height="300" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Misc/0b535c50.jpg" width="400" /></p><div align="center">
Blast from the Past!
<div align="left">This is a picture of one of the first pits I ever played with fire on. It is a front loading stick burner and the grate was about 20" from the coals. A wooden cover was used for slo cooks.
</div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbeque/e41fd3cc.jpg" width="485" /></p><div align="center">
<div align="left">Here is a home-made drum barbecue/smoker my grandpaw made in the late '60's. It had a layer of concrete in the bottom and two cooking grates.
</div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbeque/DrumPit1966.jpg" width="485" /></p><div align="center">
Pork Shanks
<div align="left">Pork shanks are a great way to flavor a pot of beans. These are twice smoked shanks
</div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%203/30724c98.jpg" width="485" /></p><div align="center">
Standing Rib Roast
<div align="left">Here is a bone-in Prime Rib roast cooked in a barbecue pit at 225° with a simple rub and light smoke. this one was removed at an internal temperature of 125° and rested before carving.
</div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/7c5d8921.jpg" width="485" /></p><div align="center">
Loin Back Ribs
<div align="left">The ever growing popularity of traditional style barbecue cooked at home has grown to an almost cult-like status. "Barbecue" to most people means pork, cooked long and low. Loin Ribs also called Baby Back Ribs, are one of the quickest cooks for the backyard pit boss requiring a short prep time and 4 or 5 hours of cooking time. Here are a few racks cooked "dry" or "Memphis Style" meaning no sauce or glaze was added during cooking. All the flavor comes from a dry rub and smoke.
</div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/9a19e849.jpg" width="485" /></p><div align="center">
Spare Ribs
<div align="left">This is a picture of some spares I cooked on my Big Drum Smoker.
</div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/1f1724ff.jpg" width="485" /></p><div align="center">
<span style="font-size:130%;">GUEST PIT BOSS
</span>
Several recipes or techniques featured below have come from other folks who have </div><div align="center">achieved the special status of Guest Pit Boss. These recipes are published </div><div align="center">"by invitation only" and personally tested by yours truly. Here is the list so far:
</div><div align="center"><li>Bobberqer's Pastrami
</li></div><li>DobieDad's Stuffed Lamb Shoulder
<li>Fishlessman's Country Ribs
<li>Bobbyb's Paella
<li>Richard's Key Lime Pie
<li>Juggy D. Beerman's Pork Steak Marinade
<li>Chubby's Planked Brie
<li>SmokinCoyote's Tamales
<li>Car Wash Mike's Baby Back Ribs
<li>Rocky Richmond shares his Buckboard Bacon technique
<li>RRP's Au jus for standing rib (prime rib) roast
<li>BBQinMaineiac brings Austrian potato salad to the party
<li>Norcoredneck shares his Mom's rice recipe.
</li><div align="center">
<!-- WellFed Post-->
<div align="left">Hey Everyone .... In addition to doing a little writing for <a href="http://thecookskitchen.net/">The Cook's Kitchen</a>, I've also been asked to contribute to <a href="http://getyourgrillon.net/">Get Your Grill On</a>. Both of these sites are part of The Well Fed Network. Feel free to drop by from time to time and check them out.
<!-- Well Fed Post-->
<!-- What I cook On -->
<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;">My Cookers</span></div>
<div align="left">What do I cook on? I get asked that a lot. Here is the lowdown on the cookers I currently use:
<div align="left">Big Green Eggs - These are ceramic cookers that can be used for barbecuing, grilling and baking. They are an upright design with a firebox in the bottom. The cooking set-up's can be direct, raised direct or indirect by using a heat barrier. Burn times on a load of lump charcoal can be 20 hours or longer. The Eggs are 4-season cookers and are unaffected by wind or cold. I have a small and a large Egg.
<div align="left">Big Drum Smokers - The BDS is a vertical design drum cooker. I own two of these cookers. The models I have are 43 inches tall. A charcoal basket sits near the bottom and either one or two cooking grates can be used in the upper 1/3 of the cooker. This set up allows for direct cooking in the "sweet spot", way above the coals. The fats and juices dripping into the bed of coals during the cook produce old time smells and flavors that remind me of pit style barbecue.
<div align="left">Big Chief Smoker - These are aluminum "box smokers" with an electric hotplate and chip pan in the bottom. They have a removable frame with adjustable racks. I use these for cold smoking cheese, smoke flavoring and drying jerky and for smoking fish. I have two of these also.
<!--- Intro post-->
<p></p><div align="center"><p align="center"><img height="350" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Misc/barbecuetipsClickBELOW2.jpg" width="250" /></p><div align="center">
<div align="center">Start by reading this page. It will answer some general questions and will identify some terms you will hear. </div><div align="left">
</div><div align="center"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2004/02/introduction-to-barbecuing.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Barbecue & Smoking Tips for Newbies
</span></a>
<div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;">FEATURED RECIPE PAGES
</span>
APPETIZERS
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/maple-planked-brie.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Maple Planked Brie
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/pig-candy-pig-tails.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Pig Candy - Pig Tails
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/plum-pork.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Plum Pork
</span></a>
CHICKEN
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/05/chicken-wings.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Chicken Wings
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/07/chicken-skinless-breasts-thighs.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Skinless Breasts & Thighs
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/08/stuffed-chicken-breasts.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Stuffed Chicken Breasts
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/03/slow-cooked-drumsticks-thighs-wings.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Slow Cooked Drumsticks, Thighs & Wings
</span></a>
BEEF
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Brisket
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/07/beef-burnt-ends.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Burnt Ends
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/05/beef-pastrami.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Pastrami (smoked corned beef)
</span><a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/12/beef-chuck-roast.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Beef Chuck Roast - Pulled or Sliced
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/07/pepper-beef.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Pepper Beef
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/02/beef-steak.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Steak
</span><a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/beef-standing-rib-roast-prime-rib.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/06/beef-rump-round-roasts.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Rump & Round Roasts
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/12/beef-smoked-tongue.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Smoked Beef Tongue
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/01/beef-tri-tip.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Tri-Tip
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/09/beef-beef-ribs.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Beef Ribs
</span></a>
LAMB
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1993/02/lamb-stuffed-shoulder.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Stuffed Shoulder Roast
</span></a>
PORK
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/buckboard-bacon.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Buckboard Bacon & Buckboard Chops
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/09/pork-country-style-ribs.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Country Style Ribs</span>
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/02/pork-hocks-shanks-jowls-trotters.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Hocks, Shanks, Jowl & Trotters</span>
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/pork-steaks.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Pork Steaks
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/02/pork-pork-shoulder-butt-picnic.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Shoulder Roasts - Butt & Picnic
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/01/pork-spare-ribs-preparing.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Spare Ribs - Preparation
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/06/baby-back-rib-class.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Baby Back Ribs - Car Wash Mike's Rib Class
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/12/ezbb-ribs.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Baby Back Ribs - EZBB Rib Method
</span></a>
SAUSAGE
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1991/03/sausage-fatties.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Fatties
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1991/03/sausage-bulk-and-links.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Links and Bulk Sausage
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/sausage-recipes.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Sausage Recipes
</span></a>
SEAFOOD
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1995/02/seafood-dry-cure-for-salmon-trout-or.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Smoked Salmon - Dry Cure Method
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1995/01/fish-tacos.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Grilled Fish Tacos
</span></a>
TURKEY
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/04/turkey-breast-preparing-for-roasting.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Turkey Breast - Roasting or Smoking Preparation</span>
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/04/turkey-drumsticks.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Turkey Drumsticks</span>
</a>
ONE DISH MEALS
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2008/08/gumbo.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Gumbo
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2003/09/paella.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Paella
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/big-green-eggplant-parmesan.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Big Green Eggplant Parmesan</span>
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/06/green-chili.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Green Chili
</span></a>
SIDE DISHES
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/07/austrian-potato-salad.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Austrian Potato Salad
<a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/pig-candied-yams.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Pig Candied Yams
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/cowboy-potatoes.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Cowboy Potatoes
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/cream-corn.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Cream Corn</span></a></div></span><div align="center">
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2008/01/three-forks-fried-corn.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Three Forks Fried Corn</span></a></div></span><div align="center">
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/side-dish-vidallia-onion-pie.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Vidallia Onion Pie
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-tamales.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Tamales
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-pinto-beans.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Pinto Beans
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/05/side-dish-ranch-style-beans.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Ranch Style Beans
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-beans-ham-with-corn-bread.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Ham & Beans with Corn Bread Croutons</span>
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/09/norcorednecks-moms-rice.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Norcoredneck's Mom's Rice</span>
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/side-dish-senate-bean-soup.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Senate Bean Soup</span>
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<span style="color:#333333;"><span style="color:#000000;">DESSERTS</span>
</span>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/key-lime-pie.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Key Lime Pie
</span></a>
<span style="color:#000000;">RUBS, MOPS, BASTES, INJECTIONS & SAUCES
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/rubs.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Rubs
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/07/brining_29.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Flavor Brines
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/05/injections.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Injections
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/03/sour-orange-mojo-6-to-10-cloves-of.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Cuban Mojo
</span></a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/02/green-chile-sauce.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Green Chile Sauce
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<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/01/reheating-liquids-for-barbecue.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Reheating Liquids For Barbecue
</span></a>
WOOD INFORMATION
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1994/02/smoking-woods.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Smoking Woods
</span></a>
<span style="color:#000000;">TIPS </span>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2004/02/introduction-to-barbecuing.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Introduction to Barbecuing
</span></a>
<span style="color:#000000;">FAVORITES
</span>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/06/web-sightings.html"><span style="color:#33cc00;">Web Sightings</span>
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1990/01/questions-suggestions.html">QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS
</a>
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1990/03/suggestions-for-links-page.html">Add Your Links Here
<p></p></a><p></p>
<span style="color:#33cc00;"></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-63147881062613651252006-02-19T07:24:00.001-08:002012-10-06T07:17:59.903-07:00Grate Tools for Lifting Hanging or RotatingApril 10th, 2012 - Please go to <a href="http://thirdeyeq.com/">thirdeyeQ.com </a>for current information and pricing on my line of BBQ tools.<br />
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What do you use to remove your cooking grate while cleaning out the ashes and reloading your grill or smoker with fresh charcoal? Are you tired of getting your hands dirty handling your cooking grates? An extra hand would sure make things easier, so with these questions in mind, I designed a couple of tools.<br />
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ThirdHand ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
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The first tool I designed and fabricated is the ThirdHand, a grate lifting tool that also works as a hanging tool if you have a table or deck railing close to your cooker. The ThirdHand works on standard cooking grates found most of the major brands of grills, barbecues or smokers. In addition, the ThirdHand works on large cast iron grates. The ThirdHand is the most popular and most universal of the two grate lifting and hanging tools. Usually, I have several on the shelf ready to go.<br />
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ThreeFinger ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
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A couple of years after introduction of the ThirdHand, I started getting requests for a tool specifically designed for lifting and hanging smaller cast iron grates and smaller standard grates on "tailgater" or camping size grills. The answer is a tool I call the ThreeFinger. It is a smaller design with shorter forks and a handle that is three fingers wide. The ThreeFinger is a special order and custom build, there may be a waiting list as I try to build several at one sitting.<br />
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SELECTION GUIDE & PRICES<br />
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Contact me at <a href="mailto:mail.thirdeye@hotmail.com"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>mail.thirdeye@hotmail.com</strong></span></a> for payment information, (including PayPal instructions) or if you just have a question about any of the tools. Please put the name of the tool or "tools" in the subject line.<br />
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<img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/GrateLifterCollage4.jpg" /><br />
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INSTRUCTIONS - The ThirdHand and ThreeFinger grate lifting and hanging tools are only effective when used properly. Here are some demonstration videos.<br />
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<movieclip><br /><movieclip><br /><br /><movieclip><br /><embed height="361" hostname="streammg.photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/remix/player.swf?videoURL=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><movieclip><br /><br /><movieclip><br /><embed height="361" hostname="streammg.photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/remix/player.swf?videoURL=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><movieclip><br /><br /><movieclip><br /><embed height="361" hostname="streammg.photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/remix/player.swf?videoURL=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="448" wmode="transparent"></embed><br /><movieclip><br /><br />REGULAR COOKING GRATE - Tip the handle forward and slip the fork between the cross members of the grate with an approximate even spacing on each side of the center rib or ribs. Depending on the weight of your grate, select the slot which allows you the best balance and control. Usually this is the 3rd, 4th or 5th slot from the edge.<br /><br />CAST IRON GRATES posed a particular problem because the unique shape of the cross members and the slot width varies a bit from each manufacturer. As you can see from the pictures, the handle must lean farther forward (almost touching the grate) to allow it to slip between the cross members. I find it easier to shift the fork to one side of the center rib, then shift back to center after they are in the slot. The fit can best be described as a "wedge fit" as the fork-to-grate contact is at the rear of the fork.<br /><br />CARE & CLEANING - Wash by hand and not in the dishwasher. You may notice a slight discoloration in the weld area. This is caused by the heat of welding and is normal.<br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/Castirongrate01-1.jpg" /><br /><br />****************************************************************************<br /><br />Q & A<br /><br /><strong><em>1. Will it work on all grills and grates?</em></strong>I like the word "most". I've tried it on the grates used by a very popular brand of kettle cookers, and on my two personal ceramic cookers. Heavy cast iron grates posed a challenge because the cross bars have a unique shape. The ThirdHand may not work on all cast iron grates.<br /><br /><strong><em>2. My ThirdHand won't work on small cast iron grates, what do I use?</em></strong>I designed the ThreeFinger just for smaller cast iron grates and grates used on table top and "tailgate" style grills.<br /><br /><strong><em>3. The handle seems backwards to me. Wouldn’t you get better leverage if it was reversed?</em></strong> Actually, it would take some leverage to use the ThirdHand if the handle was reversed. But I wanted a tool that did not require leverage. With proper positioning, all you do is lift.<br /><br /><strong><em>4. Is it stainless steel or can it rust?</em></strong><br />Yep, the ThirdHand and ThreeFinger is 1/4" diameter stainless steel and has one weld joining the two pieces. Stainless steel is just that, "stain less". It is resistant to rust and stains, not rust proof.<br /><br /><strong><em>5. I have big hands, do they come with a bigger handle?</em></strong>I thought about it, and that might be an option down the road. Remember, the tool is only in use a few seconds when removing or replacing your grate.... The handle on the ThirdHand is plenty long, which helps in the balance. The ThreeFinger needed a shorter handle to enable it to lean farther forward so the forks could slip between the crossbars. The handle is three fingers wide, hence the name. Both tools have a return bend on the end of the handle to prevent slipping.<br /><br />***********************************************************************************<br />TESTIMONIALS<br /><br />Feedback is really important, both positive and negative. A couple of months ago I made a "please give me your comments" post on several barbecue forums that I hang out on. I was afraid I had overlooked something in the design that would make this tool even easier to use. All the comments were really positive, I appreciated every ones comments!! To all you field testers, about 25 in all, thanks again for confirming that my idea was workable.<br /><br />Here are just a few of the testimonials I have received:<br /><br /><i><b>"...works like a charm...simple but functional"</b></i><br />thillin<br /><br /><i><b>"It's a great tool...way cool"</b></i><br />Norcoredneck<br /><br /><i><b>"You just lift and the handle does all the work"</b></i><br />Richard FL<br /><br /><i><b>"...it's my MOST USED Q'n TOOL!</b></i><br />swamprb<br /><br /><i><b>"...your lifter has made me fall in love with my cast iron grate again"</b></i><br />Retired Railroader<br /><br />*****************************************************************************<br /><br />DISCLAIMER<br /><br />The ThirdHand grate lifting and hanging tool was designed to lift and/or hang a cooking grate when adding charcoal or cleaning your outdoor grill or barbecue. Working around hot charcoal is dangerous. Wearing leather “welder type” gloves or special heat resistant cooking gloves is recommended. Use caution when moving or hanging a hot grate. Never set a hot grate on any surface which is not suitable for hot items, such as a wooden table or deck.<br /><br />All grills, barbecues and smokers are dangerous if not used properly and correctly, and can cause serious bodily injury and property damage. I advise you to read the instructions provided by the manufacturer of your particular cooker. You as the consumer and purchaser are responsible for understanding of all owner manuals, safety literature and fire safety provided by the manufacturer. Proper clothing, eye, face, ear, and hand protection is the responsibility of the consumer.<br /><br />ISC or myself are in no way responsible for any mishaps, damages, irresponsibility, loss of time, material and injuries incurred from misuse, poor training or accidents that are associated with any product sold or distributed.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><script src="http://tracksy.com/stats-js.cgi?host=t;user=thirdeye;site=01" type="text/javascript"></script><br /><br /><noscript></noscript></movieclip></movieclip></movieclip></movieclip></movieclip></movieclip></movieclip></movieclip>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-41026143324248364572006-02-18T17:11:00.000-08:002010-04-29T21:08:58.792-07:00Guide to Meat CutsSometimes I overlook the fact that cuts of meat as well as cutting and preparing meat can be confusing to some folks. To make things worse butchers just ain't what they used to be. There are still some real ones out there, and if you find one consider yourself lucky, but I'll just say they are not as common as you would expect. With this in mind you need to know your way around the meat case and not be afraid of a little cutting board work every now and then.<br /><br /><br />First I'm going to talk about names. In barbecue circles, the names we use a lot can be really confusing. Farther on down the page are some charts and some of my photographs illustrating some meat-cutting.<br /><br /><br /><li>For example, a pork butt comes from the front of a pig (the shoulder), not the end you would expect. And a Boston butt got it's name from the wooden casks (called butts) that the "Boston cut roasts" were packed in. The blade end of the shoulder is what we generally refer to as a "butt"</li><br /><br /><br /><li>You most likely know that a brisket comes from the chest of a steer, but did you know the point (or nose) is the forward end? </li><br /><br /><br /><li>And speaking of steers, that is the "beef" we use for barbecue...we generally don't use cows and we almost never use bulls. What's the difference between a steer and a bull you ask? Well, a steer is lacking some .....uh, hardware so to speak.</li><br /><br /><li> Tri-tip - There are often regional names and nicknames for certain cuts of beef, and there are also some new names born from marketing. A tri-tip is a perfect example of this. They come from the bottom of the sirloin, and there are only two tri-tip roasts on each steer. Very popular in California around Santa Maria, where they grilled over a hot fire, they are often hard to come by in the Eastern US. Your butcher may know them as a triangle roast.</li><br /><br /><li> Hanging Tenders are more uncommon than tri-tip, there is only one per steer and it's about 7 or 8 inches long, and weigh a little more than a pound. NO, it's not what you are thinking (that part of a bull is measured in feet!) A hanging tender is found between the 12 & 13th rib, and can be cooked whole or cut into Hanging Tender Steaks or Onglet Steaks. </li><br /><br /><li> A Flat Iron Steak is relatively new, uh...wait a minute.... I mean it's always been there, but some clever folks at the University of Nebraska led a marketing plan to produce this particular cut. Technically it's a beef shoulder, top blade steak that has had the tendon removed. It is well marbled and quite flavorful. They are well worth asking for at the meat counter.... If your butcher looks at you like you've been reading some fancy cooking magazine, just tell him to look up NAMP # 1114D. Now, if he says "What's NAMP?" You might want to find another butcher.</li><br /><br /><li> What is NAMP? It stands for North American Meat Processors Association.<br />This organization publishes The Meat Buyers Guide, which assigns a number to both large and small cuts of meat. It's the meatcutters and meat buyers bible.</li><br /> <br /><li>Surely, you have heard the expression "eatin' high on the hog", well that is referring to cuts of pork along the backbone like the loin, tenderloin and back ribs. You know the high dollar cuts.</li><br /><br /><br /><li>Ever wonder how a Porterhouse steak came by that name? They were served at "Porter Houses" along the early coach routes. And you know that little muscle, the really tender one, that's the tenderloin (which is the same hunk of meat that chateaubriand is prepared with) otherwise known as a filet, or is it fillet. Heheee, either one is acceptable.</li><br /><br /><br /><li>And guess what..... If you see Rocky Mountain Oysters on the menu, be advised they don't come from the ocean. Think of them as "swinging beef". I go nuts over them.</li><br /><br /><li>You most likely have had corned beef on St. Patrick's Day, but have you ever eaten pastrami? It's just corned beef that is seasoned and smoked. Corned beef got it's name because in the old days "corns" of salt were used to cure it.</li><br /><br /><br /><li>Pork "Country Ribs" are cut from the loin in the Eastern US and from the shoulder (butt) in the Western US.</li><br /><br /><li>Ever hear of an Airline Breast? It's a chicken breast with one joint of the wing left on. If was served on airplanes years ago, it makes the portion look bigger. </li><br /><br /><li>Did you know that City Chicken is not chicken at all? Nope, it's cubes of pork and veal on a skewer, then dipped in egg and crumbs, then sauteed</li><br /><br /><li>A city ham is still a ham. It's the general name for a very mild and not very salty ham. Your standard grocery store hams are all city hams. A country ham on the other hand is one that is salt cured for a very long time and develops a strong flavor and can be salty if not soaked in water before cooking</li><br /><br /><li>We see commercials for SPAM all the time, but what does it stand for??? No, I'm not talking about the annoying pointless e-mails that show up in your in-box, I'm talking about the tinned meat product made by Hormel. SPAM is an acronym for spiced ham. The residents of Hawaii are the biggest consumers of SPAM.</li><br /><br /><li>I make kebabs all the time, but why did the Middle Eastern Cooks come up with idea to cube everything and cook on skewers? Well, for kind of the same reason that Chinese cooks cut up their food in to smaller pieces..... Fuel. Or lack of it. When you don't have an abundant fuel source you cook smaller pieces, which take less fuel and cook faster.</li><br /><br /><li>Throughout history spices have always commanded a pretty penny. Peppercorns were even used as money in certain civilizations..... why were spices in such high demand? Sure a little of this or that can dramatically change the flavor of things. But in the old days (like before refrigerators) folks were kind of limited to what they ate. Lets say all you had to eat was lamb, after a few years it would get pretty boring. A few spices would let let you change things up a little. So I guess variety really is the spice of life. </li><br /><br /><li> Enhanced Meats - Do you read labels or do you select meats based on appearance and price? Some pork and poultry products have labels that say "Naturally Tender", "Moist and Tender", "Guaranteed Moist", "Self Basting" or "Deep Basted". These terms indicate that they have been injected with a solution to increase moisture, give a longer shelf life and make them more tender. This all sounds dandy, but the solutions can be up to 15% of the weight, so you are paying up front for chemicals in liquid. Buy only natural meats, season and cook them properly and you will be pleased. If you want to experiment with enhancing your own meat, look into flavor brining, which works on both pork and chicken. </li><br /><br /><li>Speaking of labels, "FRESH Pork" means it has not been frozen or cured. We usually think of a ham as a cured product, but you can buy a fresh ham. When it's cooked it is basically roast pork. </li><br /><br /><li> "Previously Frozen" - This means that the meat in the counter has been frozen and now has been thawed out. Meat should be frozen one time only to avoid drying it out. When you see previously frozen meat for sale, it's okay to buy it and cook it, but I would not recommend buying it and re-freezing it. </li><br /><br /><br />Charts<br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/chartbeef1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 656px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 800px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/chartbeef1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/chartpork.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 800px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 784px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/chartpork.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/chartlamb1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 800px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 702px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/chartlamb1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Porterhouse & T-Bone Steak<br /><p align="center"><img height="259" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/SteakT-BonePorterhouse.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br />Anatomy of a rib steak<br /><p align="center"><img height="400" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/RibSteakDiagram1.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br />Whole Beef Tenderloin<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%208/DSC06555JPGa.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br />Whole Beef Tenderloin - Chain Removed & Cut In Sections<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%208/DSC06558JPGajpgb.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br />Whole Beef Tenderloin - Steaked Out<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%208/DSC06326JPGajpgText.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br />Chuck Roll - Section Cut<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/DSC04326ajpgw.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br />Chuck Roll - Whole<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%207/DSC04415a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br />Chuck Roll - Cut Into Roasts<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%207/DSC04418b.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br />The shoulder clod is the next door neighbor to the chuck roll<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/chuckrollclod.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br /><br />Steps to de-bone a trout or salmon<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/DSC05878JPGtext.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br />The pin bones are simply plucked out with the forceps. Sometimes you can get 2 or 3 at the same time.<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/DSC05882JPGtext.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/DSC05883JPGtext.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/DSC05888JPGtest.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture><br /><br />What the heck is this? Maybe a happy meal??? I think it was called "Clown Meat"<br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/clownmeat.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><picture>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-79831341790601686522006-02-18T16:26:00.000-08:002009-01-30T06:19:51.948-08:00Picture Format & TemplatesView this information in Html in order to view codes.....
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<br />Click the 'Post Options' link in the bottom right corner of the post editor and make sure that you have allowed reader comments.
<br />From the Layout | Page Elements tab, click 'Edit' in the Blog Posts widget. A window will pop up, and from there make sure check the comments field.
<br />From the Settings | Comments tab, make sure that 'Show' comments is enabled. Then simply clear your cache and cookies, and then you should be all set!
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<br />2.) Icons are missing from my post editor!
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<br />Then notice that there are two different posting modes within Blogger: 'Compose' and 'Edit HTML.' In 'Edit HTML' mode, not all of the formatting icons appear, and this is usually what trips folks up. To fix this, simply click on the "Compose" tab and you should see those missing icons appear again.
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<br />First upload your picture to a post. Then switch the post editor into Edit HTML mode, and you can see the photo's URL inside an <img>tag. Simply copy that URL into the “link_to_photograph” part of the above code, fill out the rest of the code, and you’re done!
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<br />4.) How do I add Audio to my blog?
<br />First you will need to upload the audio file to a free file storage site. Two free media storage sites are OurMedia.org or Archive.org. Once your audio is hosted and you have a unique URL for the file, you can use this code to embed audio:
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<br />6.) How do I add a favicon to my blog?
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<br />Once you have created an icon using Favicon from Pics, save it to your computer. You will need to unzip the favicon to your desktop.
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<br /> Replace Your_Favicon_Url with the link to where you stored your icon. Place the above code between the <head>and</head> tags of your blog.
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<br />Save the template. Now refresh your page and you should see your icon in the corner of your page.
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-62643778362763563092006-02-18T14:30:00.000-08:002011-08-09T18:24:18.415-07:00Weber Smokey Joe "Tall Boy" Smoker ConversionAs anyone in grilling circles knows, Weber grills set the benchmark. I've had several over the years, and still have the Smokey Joe model which I use when camping or on fishing trips. It's a very portable grill and has always served me well.
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<br />For smoking, Weber makes a Smokey Mountain also known as a WSM. These are a bullet style smoker loaded with features and Weber quality. A couple of years ago on barbecue forums and websites I started seeing modifications that folks had done to a Smokey Joe to transform that grill into a smoker, similar to a WSM. I finally got around to doing that modification and here are the results.
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<br />The key component to this build is a IMUSA 32Qt Tamale / Seafood Steamer, which is available at WalMart in stores or online for around $25. This particular pot nests perfectly into the base of the Smokey Joe, and the lid is a perfect fit. The grate fits snugly inside the steamer.
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<br />The factory lid and perforated steamer rack were not needed in my build, but the rack did come in handy for finding the center of the bottom which must be cut out.
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<br />Once the center point is marked, drill a pilot hole and insert a self tapping sheet metal screw about halfway in the hole. Measure 7/8" from the edge of the steamer and make a reference mark. Next, using the screw as a pivot point, use a string and a marker to mark a circle.
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<br />Double check your measurement - "Measure twice, cut once" is the best advice here.
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<br />I opted to use an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel for the major cuts. A jigsaw with a metal cutting blade may also work. I made a series of relief cuts, then followed my circle.
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<br />After removing the bottom, use a sanding disk or Dremel tool with a grinding wheel to remove the burrs, then hand sand with 300 grit followed by 800 grit sandpaper.
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<br />Until I locate the "sweet spot" for my grate height, I opted to make some clips to hold the grate. This way, I can try several heights before adding some permanent bolts to support the grate. As you can see, the clips passed the weight test using 3 gallons of water.
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<br />For my thermometer I chose a Tel Tru 150° to 750°, 5" stem model with a calibration nut. It cost $20 and is the same model I use on my Big Green Eggs.
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<br />The next part of the build is a charcoal basket, because I prefer using natural lump charcoal. My basket has a bottom circle of expanded steel and a charcoal ring wired to the bottom circle. The original charcoal grate is still used under my charcoal basket. I also made a mini ring that will be used for shorter cooks, it just sits inside the larger ring.
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<br />I wanted an option of a drip pan / heat shield for cooking indirect, and there is a natural ledge toward the bottom of the steamer (that is where the perforated steamer rack fits), an additional grate would fit on that ledge and could hold a drip pan, however that location is really close to the charcoal basket. My next step was to fabricate a double ring. The large diameter ring sits on the ledge, the smaller ring is attached to risers to get it farther away from the charcoal basket and it's sized to fit a standard pie pan.
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<br />So far, I've only done a few test cooks so I'll be updating this page from time to time, especially if I make additional modifications. I would appreciate any and all feedback/tips/suggestions from my readers as this is a popular build and only set me back about $75.
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-21393223687909409642006-02-18T12:35:00.001-08:002021-07-07T10:30:31.213-07:00ThirdHand - Grate Lifting & Hanging Tool<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><strong>The Tool That Started It All........</strong></span></span><br />
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<em>It has always been the disposition, if not the prerogative, of mankind to boast of the tools with which he works. </em><br />
<em><span style="font-size: 85%;">Ramon F. Adams (1889-1976)</span></em><br />
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<space><br /><space>In 2006 I was tinkering around in my garage and came up with the idea of a grate lifting tool for my Big Green Eggs. My idea was a tool that allowed a no-touch approach to remove and hang the cooking grate while cleaning out ashes and reloading the cooker with charcoal. Later on I came up with my version of a 'wiggle rod' which is used to dislodge ash from charcoal in my Eggs and my BDS vertical drums. For some 14 years I have sold various BBQ tools as a hobby business to patient customers. Here are just some of my gadgets.<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <b>Tools</b> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br /><strong>ThirdHand</strong> - This lifting tool is used on all standard grates on almost every major brand of grill or smoker. In addition, it will also work on a cast iron grate on a large and XL Big Green Egg. This is the most popular lifting tool.<br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/GrateLifterCollage3.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC04523atitle.jpg" /><br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" height="522" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/usercollage2.jpg" style="height: 436px; width: 645px;" width="673" /><br /><strong>ThreeFinger</strong>- This tool is needed if you have a small or medium cast iron grate. It will also work on some of the tiny tailgate sized grills on the market.<br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC05470JPGawithname-1.jpg" /><br /><br />The ThreeFinger shown with a small cast iron grate. The fit is the same for a medium cast iron grate.<br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC05481JPGaawithname.jpg" /><br /><br />This view shows the typical engagement of the forks and the "wedge fit" in a small cast iron grate.<br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC05498JPGcwithname.jpg" /><br /><br /><strong>Wiggle Rods</strong> - The T-Handle wiggle are sized for a particular cooker. The Double-L wiggle rods can be used on two different sized cookers, each L is cut to a different length. Other "custom sized" wiggle rods are available, just contact me.<br /><br />Here is a picture showing the Double-L wiggle rods and the NEW T-Handle Wiggle Rod, which now features a loop handle. (Double-L wiggles will have custom cut "L lengths" on each end)<br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC08222awithtitles-1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/welding01/DSC07249copy-1.jpg" /><br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <strong>ThirdHand </strong>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br />Back in 2006, I called the first grate tool I designed and fabricated the ThirdHand, a grate lifting tool that also works as a hanging tool if you have a table or deck railing close to your cooker. The ThirdHand works on standard cooking grates found most of the major brands of grills, barbecues or smokers. In addition, the ThirdHand works on large cast iron grates. The ThirdHand is the most popular and most universal of the two grate lifting and hanging tools. Usually, I have several on the shelf ready to go.<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <strong>ThreeFinger</strong> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br />A short while after introduction of my first tool, I started getting requests for a tool specifically designed for lifting and hanging small and medium cast iron grates as well as smaller grates on "tailgater" or camping size grills. The answer was another original designed tool I call the ThreeFinger. It's a smaller tool with shorter forks and a handle that is three fingers wide.<br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <strong>Wiggle Rods</strong> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br />As I cruise around on barbecue forums, I just hate to see threads with a title something like "Help!!! My Fire Went Out". A wiggle rod is kind of an ash maintenance tool. Mine are fabricated from 5/32" diameter stainless steel rod. Wiggling your charcoal can help a stubborn fire get going, promote even burning, and is a little insurance during an all night cook when you want to catch some ZZZZZ's.<br /><br />The most popular style is the T-Handle Wiggle Rod. They have a "L" on one end and my version has a "T" handle on the other. The "L" reaches up through the charcoal grate on ceramic cookers, or up through the bottom of the charcoal basket on drum cookers to stimulate air flow, and dislodge ash. The overall length and the "L" length are sized to your specific cooker. I'll need to know what you're cooking on.<br /><br />The new Double-L wiggle rods have an "L" on each end, but they are custom cut to different lengths for different cookers. Perfect if you have a pair of cookers in your backyard. You just hold one of the L's in your hand in a pistol grip fashion while wiggling the lump with the other L.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><noscript></noscript></space></space>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-4760436688934393272006-02-18T08:44:00.000-08:002009-04-20T07:10:14.990-07:00Picture GalleryHere is a birthday greeting I received in '06<br /><br /><p></p><div align="center"><p align="center"><img height="400" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Misc/0b535c50.jpg" width="400" /></p><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">This is a picture of one of the first pits I ever played with fire on. It is a front loading stick burner and the grate was about 20" from the coals. A wooden cover was used for slo cooks.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbeque/e41fd3cc.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br /><div align="left">Here is a home-made drum barbecue/smoker my grandpaw made in the '60's. It had a layer of concrete in the bottom and two cooking grates. If you look close, you can see a little chair by the cooker.....that was mine.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbeque/DrumPit1966.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />I have been lucky enough to win some photo "Throwdown" contests on The BBQ Brethren Forum in '08 and '09. These contests get between 7 to 25 or so entries, and the winner is selected by peoples choice. These are really fun, and have improved my photo taking skills tremendously.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Collage/Throwdowncerts2copy.jpg" width="885" /></p><br /><br />It's official, I'm a MOINK Baller<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Cooking/MOINK_Baller_thirdeye2.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here are some of my favorite barbecue photographs I've taken over the years.<br /><br /><br />Pork Shanks<br /><br /><div align="left">Pork shanks are a great way to flavor a pot of beans. These are twice smoked shanks<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%203/30724c98.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Standing Rib Roast<br /><br /><div align="left">Here is a bone-in Prime Rib roast cooked in a barbecue pit at 225° with a simple rub and light smoke. this one was removed at an internal temperature of 125° and rested before carving.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/7c5d8921.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Loin Back Ribs<br /><br /><div align="left">The ever growing popularity of traditional style barbecue cooked at home has grown to an almost cult-like status. "Barbecue" to most people means pork, cooked long and low. Loin Ribs also called Baby Back Ribs, are one of the quickest cooks for the backyard pit boss requiring a short prep time and 4 or 5 hours of cooking time. Here are a few racks cooked "dry" or "Memphis Style" meaning no sauce or glaze was added during cooking. All the flavor comes from a dry rub and smoke.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/9a19e849.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Spare Ribs<br /><br /><div align="left">This is a picture of some spares I cooked on my Big Drum Smoker.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/1f1724ff.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />I use my Big Green Egg just like an oven. Here is some Big Green Eggplant Parmesan. A little smoke gives the cheese a great flavor.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC07205a.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas cooked on the Egg.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC07173a.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Potato Pizza with baked potato toppings - sour cream, green onions and bacon crumbles - cooked on the Big Green Egg<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC07133a.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Smoked Peppercorn Salmon, with red and green peppercorns. This was smoked in my Big Chief<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/td3DSC06996.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Pork Steaks with a raised direct set-up on the Egg<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC06797JPGbjpgbb1.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Hot dog lunch cooking on a cast iron griddle - using a spider in the Egg.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%209/DSC06608JPGathrowdown.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br /><br />Pork butts and smoked onions in Tom's big horizontal smoker<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC05307JPGx.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Butts and brisket cooking in a Big Drum Smoker<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC05286JPGc.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Ready to prep 62 pounds of brisket and chuck roll for an all night cook<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC05244JPGa.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br /><br />A skin-on picnic shoulder in the Big Drum Smoker<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC05112H.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br /><br />Buckboarded and smoked pork chops. These are fantastic.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC05026AB.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Beef Jerky with Hi Mountain jerky cure<br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC04953h.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br /><br />Drumsticks cooked on a rack in the Big Drum Smoker<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/IMG_0282b.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Thighs cooked the same day<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/IMG_0279b.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Smoked turkeys for holiday presents<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC04205a.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Cutting up points for burnt ends<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC03169a.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />Sliced brisket<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="359" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/BDS/DSC02856a.jpg" width="485" /></p><br /><br />To Be Continued...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-30496766607870671442006-02-18T06:35:00.000-08:002008-12-18T06:51:06.487-08:00ThirdHand & ThreeFinger Picture GalleryThirdHand on standard grate
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<br />ThirdHand on cast iron grate
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<br />ThreeFinger on small cast iron grate
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<br />ThirdHand on "Adjustable" from CeramicGrillStore.com
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<br /><embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://img.photobucket.com/remix/player.swf?videoURL=http%3A%2F%2Fvidmg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv377%2Fthirdeye2%2FMovies%2F79c87c41.pbr&hostname=streammg.photobucket.com">Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-51406592655939463112006-02-17T15:16:00.000-08:002008-12-06T15:19:04.680-08:00Video PageIn 2008 I'm going to have some fun recording some cookin' videos. I'm still learning the ropes, but here are some samples.<br /><br />Chile Roasting Video #1 - These peppers were roasted in my BDS using a weed burner. Once they are blistered on one side, the peppers are rotated and blistered on the other side. Next they move into a paper bag to steam.<br /><br /><movieclip chilie><br /><embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://img.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Movies/ChileRoasting01.flv"></embed><br /><movieclip><br /><br />Chile Roasting Video #2<br /><movieclip><br /><embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://img.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Movies/ChileRoasting02.flv"></embed><br /><movieclip><br /><br />Fire Starting Video #1 - Showing fire starting for a grilling fire in my Big Green Egg using a weed burner. The process is shown start to finish which takes 2 minutes. Starting different fires is discussed below, generally I will start either a 2 minute fire or a 1 minute fire. (A mapp torch or electric starter coil will require different amounts of time than with the trusty weed burner, and they are not as much fun!)<br /><br />Notice some smaller chips of flavor wood are mixed within the lump, and some larger splits are on top. The particular 2 minute fire shown will be used for cooking with a raised direct set-up, and a temperature at the grate around 275° to 300°. Perfect for medium temperature grilling for things like chicken or pork chops. In this particular set-up, the amount of lump used is the minimum amount needed for a good fire, while still allowing maximum distance from the coals to the grate. If I was grilling a steak or some thick chops, I would build and start the same (2 minute) kind of fire, but I would have the grate in the normal position, sitting on the fire ring. The actual cooking temperature at the grate would be 400° or higher, depending on vent settings.<br /><br />If I was using the same set-up (raised direct) for cooking something like a pork steak or some slow cooked chicken, the fire would be adequately started after about 1minute. This would give me 250° to 275° at the grate.<br /><br />If I was preparing a fire for a lo-n-slo brisket or butt cook, I would have the level of lump about halfway up the fire ring. I would start a one minute fire, concentrating the weed burner on the center of the pile, and adding larger pieces (several splits) of flavor wood last. A lo-n-slo set-up would involve the use of a heat barrier like a plate setter, pizza stone or some fire brick.<br /><br /><movieclip><br /><embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://img.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Movies/FireStarting01.flv"></embed><br /><movieclip><br /><br />Pork Steak Video #1 - Pork steaks are cut from a pork butt and a really easy cook. These were seasoned with salt and pepper, then brushed with mustard. I used a raised direct set-up and dome temps of 250° through 315°. This cook took a little over an hour and the steaks were pulled at 180° internal.<br /><br /><movieclip><br /><embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://img.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Movies/PorkSteakRaisedDirect01.flv"></embed><br /><movieclip>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-4954943034872017962006-02-16T11:28:00.000-08:002010-06-27T09:17:29.090-07:00thirdeye's Poll Page<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Stats - Here are some site stats in 2009 that I found interesting</span>.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Page views per day - 300 average</li><li>Most popular pages are: Pastrami, Car Wash Mike's Baby Back Rib Class, Buckboard Bacon and Brisket.</li><li>Visitors have come from 51 different countries/territories, the most popular are: United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and Denmark.</li><li>States where the most visitors live are: California, Texas, Florida, Georgia and New York</li><li>Cities where the most visitors live are: New York, NY - Atlanta, GA, - Alexandria, VA - Houston, TX - Los Angeles, CA and Dallas, TX</li></ol><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Below you will find the final results of the polls posted here on Playing With Fire and Smoke, as well as other polls that may be of interest.</span><br /><br />Christmas 2008 "What's on the Christmas menu for 2008" Poll. With 446 replies, here are the top 4 answers:<br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Prime Rib - 54%</li><li>Ham - 26%</li><li>Turkey - 25%</li><li>Brisket - 8% </li></ol><p>"How did you find my cookin' site poll - February, March 2009 - With 558 responses, here are the results:</p><ol><li>From The Big Green Egg Forum - 52%</li><li>From The BBQ Brethren Forum - 17%</li><li>From a Google search - 14%</li></ol><p>Visitor profile poll - February, March 2009 - With 477 responses, here are the responses:</p><ol><li>58% are first time visitors</li><li>23% are monthly visitors</li><li>22% come to my site to look for new ideas</li><li>14% have tried at least 3 recipes</li><li>5% are ThirdHand owners </li></ol><p></p><p>What's Cooking July 4th Poll - 2009. With 367 responses, here are the results:</p><ol><li>46% chose ribs</li><li>30% went with pork butt</li><li>21% are cooking chicken</li><li>20% picked brisket</li><li>Burgers and sausages tied with 18%</li></ol><p></p><p>What's your favorite thing to cook? A poll from September 2009. With 404 responses, here are the results:</p><ol><li>43% said ribs were their favorite cook</li><li>30% voted for pork shoulder</li><li>23% listed steaks and chops</li><li>Brisket came in forth place</li></ol><p>What's cooking for Thanksgiving? A 2009 poll. With 385 responses, the results say it all...</p><ol><li>72% are cooking a whole turkey</li><li>18% are cooking a turkey breast</li></ol><p>What's cooking for St Patricks Day. A 2010 poll with 109 responses, the results are:</p><ol><li> 48% Traditional corned beef dinner</li><li>24% Pastrami</li><li>17% Brisket</li></ol><p></p><p><br /></p><div align="center"><br /></div><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br /><tgiving><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Polls/T-GivingFinal2008.jpg"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-76787402087859802712006-02-15T15:48:00.000-08:002021-11-16T15:41:15.657-08:00Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championship 2009<p align="center"><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" height="459" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Contests/DSC08704xx.jpg" width="585" /></p>
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For me, the trip from Casper, Wyoming to the State BBQ Championship in Worland, Wyoming is not that bad of a drive. It involves heading due west for about 100 miles, then turning north for about 60 more. The funny thing is, it took me four years to get there.
Barbecue in Wyoming is not that common, it’s usually cooked in backyards, and most folks get it confused with grilling. Championship barbecue is very rare. So when Worland hosted their first KCBS contest four years ago, I planned on driving up there and checking it out. As an added bonus that year, they offered a KCBS Judging Class. I had wanted to be a certified judge for years. Well, work got in the way and I didn’t get to make the trip. I don’t think there was a Judges class the next year, and for whatever reason I didn't make the following year either. 2009 was different. I signed up for the Judges class early, then made all the necessary arrangements with work. (actually things just worked out for a change) On the morning I was set to leave town, a foot injury was diagnosed as requiring minor surgery, which was scheduled for the following week. My choices were limping around the house, or limping around Worland and eating some really good barbecue. I picked the latter. On top of the Judges class, I had two online friends that were cooking this year, so I wanted to put a face to the name. About 20 miles outside of Worland, I came upon a motor home pulling an outfit that may have looked strange to some folks, but not to me. It was my buddy "T", pulling "Showtime", a custom built cooker of his own design.
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That first evening I was in town was the Judges class, and it went off very well. These things take about 4 hours and are 50% instructional and 50% hands-on. <span>My instructor was Ed Roith, PhB who is a true ambassador to the sport (or hobby) of barbeque, and a benchmark in the barbeque community. Ed did an excellent job explaining the rules and answered every question.</span> The hands-on portion involves the appearance, taste, and evaluating the texture of the four basic meats. Chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder, and beef brisket are the standard line-up at all KCBS competitions so we had samples of all these to work with. In addition to experiencing a wide range of quality, we really had to pay attention to technical details, as there were some intentional violations thrown in to make sure the Judges were paying attention.
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The reason for using certified judges is simple..... barbecue competitors deserve accurate, and consistent judging. They are serious about what they cook, take pride in their food and spend a lot of time and money when competing. They are constantly critiquing their own barbecue, both in practice and on the day on the event. Personal satisfaction and bragging rights are one thing, but in addition to a trophy or some prizes, the top places receive a check.
All that said, it’s important to point out that not everyone in the judges class would be judging in two days. Some of the folks were competitors. They told me it’s a good idea for them to become a certified judge, so they would know what to expect. On top of us new judges, quite a few other certified judges had signed up to judge this competition. Most had two to five contests under their belt and one had judged ten times. These folks enjoy traveling from event to event just like the competitors.
The day before the contest is the perfect time for wandering around the cooks area. It’s open to the public and most teams have their banners and an awning or tent set up. Some have items for sale or trophies displayed, and every one is super friendly. For me, it was great to renew friendships with T and Bossman.
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Until now, I had only visited with them on barbecue forums and through e-mails. We swapped stories, I got a tour of their cooker and of course had time to take a lot of pictures. I guess of the 30 teams on site, I visited with about half of them.
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Later that day the KCBS BBQ Tour did some grilling demonstrations, food vendors opened their stands, kegs of beer were tapped, bluegrass bands took the stage and the horseshoe pits were opened for business.
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Much later that evening, the teams would be firing their cookers and getting the heavy meats like shoulder and brisket prepped and on their cookers.
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A skilled competition cook knows their cooker (or cookers) like the back of his or her hand. They have already taken altitude, a variety of weather conditions, and fuel choice into consideration when putting their game plan together. During the night however, Mother Nature decided to shed some tears, actually a lot of tears. This can cause some problems when it comes to a steel pit with a wood or charcoal fire. I awoke about 2:30AM to serious thunder and a wonderful lightening storm, then drifted back to sleep listening to a light rain. Across town at the fairgrounds, the cooks didn't have it so easy.
Contest day is all business for the competitors and the judges. Judges are not allowed to fraternize with the teams on this day and frankly, the cooks were most likely too busy for that anyways. Food must be presented to the judges building on 30 minute intervals beginning at noon, so timing is a critical. Once the entries are delivered, a confidential numbering system is used to track the special turn in boxes and the Judges scoring slips. KCBS representatives are monitoring the entire process, and have final decisions concerning interpretations of rules. The support people were all local volunteers, and I guess we could have not asked for a better group of folks. As an extra bonus for this competition, two additional categories were added. These were lamb and sauce.
The quality of the food presented to my judging table represented the best of the best from a teams cooker on that particular day. Six individual portions are the minimum turn in amount for each category. If a meat is pulled or chopped, there must be enough to allow for six portions. The majority of the items I judged were well above average in appearance, taste and texture. Two entries that scored high on my card was a boneless thigh that had near perfect bite through skin, and a spare rib that had a wonderful texture and a sauce with a honey back flavor. A couple of shoulder entries were presented in slices instead of the more traditional pulled pork. Only one brisket entry out of the six I saw included meat from the point.
The award ceremony took about an hour. One cook, John from Parrothead Smokers was in the groove, taking two first places and two second places. It was no surprise that when the numbers were tallied, he also took the Grand Champion position. Several other teams were in the money two or maybe three times. </span><photo><p align="center"><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" height="459" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Contests/DSC08762bbbbb5.jpg" width="585" /></p>
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<p align="center"><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" height="459" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Contests/DSC08741bbbb5.jpg" width="585" /></p><p align="center"><br /></p></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></photo></story></photo2></story></photo2></story>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-31142411069544770992006-02-15T13:31:00.000-08:002010-11-27T15:51:20.136-08:00Eggfest ~ Wild West Eggfest, Casper Wyoming<p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00541a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br />The 2010 Wild West Eggfest was my first one and it was a blast. This first year was a parking lot fest held at Porter's, the local Big Green Egg Dealer. Each 2 person team of guest cooks were set-up with a new BGE, a covered shelter and tables. In addition to myself, my group consisted of cookin' buddies, Bart, Shawn and Phil. We had two large Eggs to cook on. Cooks provide their own food and this year it was BYOB. In order for folks to experience some traditional barbecue, I did an all night cook, smoking two pork butts which came off my Egg at home at 7AM and stored in an insulated cooler and pulled on-site. We served plates of pulled pork as well as pulled pork sliders. At the fest we cooked pizzas (traditional and ones with flour tortilla crusts), fatties, marinated flat iron steaks, planked salmon and grilled bananas. Phil brought along a 6 gallon keg of homemade beer to wet our thirst.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00540a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00536a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00558a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00561a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00546a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br />The morning started off with pizzas off the Papa Murphy's Egg, these were cinnamon swirl breakfast pizzas, and by mid morning regular pizzas were being served about every half hour or so. These are take-and-bake pizzas and were cooked on the same little trays like you use in the oven. They were delicious.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00550a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00549a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00575a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br />The other cooks really outdid themselves, and there was a huge variety of food cooked this day. My favorite was some domestic lamb. It was cooked to perfection and there was plenty to go around.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00557a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00577a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00574a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00581a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00566a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00569a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00578a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00552a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00551a.jpg" width="585" /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img height="459" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Eggfest%20-%20Casper%202010/DSC00582a.jpg" width="585" /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-61536999681577331582006-01-30T12:26:00.000-08:002007-07-30T12:37:47.083-07:00~This Page Is Under Construction~<p align="center"><img height="300" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Misc/4a3bb222.gif" width="700" /></p><div align="center">Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-9727395103963992722005-12-21T07:46:00.000-08:002013-12-21T07:49:52.981-08:00Recipe PageThese are some of my favorite recipes. All of them have been tested by yours truly and many include some history, personal cooking notes or variations that you may want to try.
<br />
<br />
Several recipes or techniques featured below have come from other folks who have achieved the special status of Guest Pit Boss. Following testing, these recipes are published "by invitation only". The contributions may be a full recipe, another version similar to one of my favorites, just some tips, or maybe something like a sauce. Some of Guest Pit Boss recipes have their own page, and some are a part of an existing page. Here is the list so far:
<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
GUEST PIT BOSSES
<br />
<div align="center">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<li>Bobberqer's Pastrami
</li>
<li>DobieDad's Stuffed Lamb Shoulder
</li>
<li>Fishlessman's Country Ribs
</li>
<li>Bobbyb's Paella
</li>
<li>Richard's Key Lime Pie
</li>
<li>Juggy D. Beerman's Pork Steak Marinade
</li>
<li>Chubby's Planked Brie
</li>
<li>SmokinCoyote's Tamales
</li>
<li>Car Wash Mike's Baby Back Ribs
</li>
<li>Rocky Richmond shares his Buckboard Bacon technique
</li>
<li>RRP's Au jus for standing rib (prime rib) roast
</li>
<li>BBQinMaineiac brings Austrian potato salad to the party
</li>
<li>Norcoredneck shares his Mom's rice recipe.
</li>
<br />
<div align="center">
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
RECIPE SECTION
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
APPETIZERS
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/maple-planked-brie.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Maple Planked Brie
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/pig-candy-pig-tails.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pig Candy - Pig Tails
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/plum-pork.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Plum Pork
</span></a>
<br />
CHICKEN
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/05/chicken-wings.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Chicken Wings
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/07/chicken-skinless-breasts-thighs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Skinless Breasts & Thighs
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/08/stuffed-chicken-breasts.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Stuffed Chicken Breasts
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/03/slow-cooked-drumsticks-thighs-wings.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Slow Cooked Drumsticks, Thighs & Wings
</span></a>
<br />
BEEF
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/brisket.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Brisket
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/07/beef-burnt-ends.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Burnt Ends
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/05/beef-pastrami.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pastrami (smoked corned beef)
</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=15717908">
</a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/12/beef-chuck-roast.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Beef Chuck Roast - Pulled or Sliced
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/07/pepper-beef.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pepper Beef
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/02/beef-steak.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Steak
</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=15717908">
</a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/03/beef-standing-rib-roast-prime-rib.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Standing Rib Roast (Prime Rib)
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/06/beef-rump-round-roasts.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Rump & Round Roasts
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/12/beef-smoked-tongue.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Smoked Beef Tongue
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/01/beef-tri-tip.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Tri-Tip
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1996/09/beef-beef-ribs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Beef Ribs
</span></a>
<br />
LAMB
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1993/02/lamb-stuffed-shoulder.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Stuffed Shoulder Roast
</span></a>
<br />
PORK
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/buckboard-bacon.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Buckboard Bacon & Buckboard Chops
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/09/pork-country-style-ribs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Country Style Ribs</span>
</a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/02/pork-hocks-shanks-jowls-trotters.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Hocks, Shanks, Jowl & Trotters</span>
</a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/pork-steaks.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pork Steaks
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/02/pork-pork-shoulder-butt-picnic.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Shoulder Roasts - Butt & Picnic
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/01/pork-spare-ribs-preparing.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Spare Ribs - Preparation
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/06/baby-back-rib-class.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Baby Back Ribs - Car Wash Mike's Rib Class
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/12/ezbb-ribs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Baby Back Ribs - EZBB Rib Method
</span></a>
<br />
SAUSAGE
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1991/03/sausage-fatties.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Fatties
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1991/03/sausage-bulk-and-links.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Links and Bulk Sausage
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/sausage-recipes.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Sausage Recipes
</span></a>
<br />
SEAFOOD
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1995/02/seafood-dry-cure-for-salmon-trout-or.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Smoked Salmon - Dry Cure Method
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1995/01/fish-tacos.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Grilled Fish Tacos
</span></a>
<br />
TURKEY
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/04/turkey-breast-preparing-for-roasting.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Turkey Breast - Roasting or Smoking Preparation</span>
</a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/04/turkey-drumsticks.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Turkey Drumsticks</span>
</a>
<br />
ONE DISH MEALS
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2008/08/gumbo.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Gumbo
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2003/09/paella.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Paella
</span></a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/big-green-eggplant-parmesan.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Big Green Eggplant Parmesan</span>
</a>
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/06/green-chili.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Green Chili
</span></a>
<br />
<br />
SIDE DISHES
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/07/austrian-potato-salad.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Austrian Potato Salad
</span></a></div>
</div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=15717908">
</a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/pig-candied-yams.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pig Candied Yams
</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=15717908">
</a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/cowboy-potatoes.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cowboy Potatoes
</span></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=15717908">
</a><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/cream-corn.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cream Corn</span></a>
<br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><span style="color: #33cc00;"><span style="color: #33cc00;"></span></span></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><span style="color: #33cc00;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2008/01/three-forks-fried-corn.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Three Forks Fried Corn</span></a></span></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/side-dish-vidallia-onion-pie.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Vidallia Onion Pie
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-tamales.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Tamales
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-pinto-beans.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Pinto Beans
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/05/side-dish-ranch-style-beans.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Ranch Style Beans
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/01/side-dish-beans-ham-with-corn-bread.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Ham & Beans with Corn Bread Croutons</span>
</a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/09/norcorednecks-moms-rice.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Norcoredneck's Mom's Rice</span>
</a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/04/side-dish-senate-bean-soup.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Senate Bean Soup</span>
</a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;">DESSERTS</span>
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/02/key-lime-pie.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Key Lime Pie
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><span style="color: black;">RUBS, MOPS, BASTES, INJECTIONS & SAUCES
</span>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1998/03/rubs.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Curing Salts, Rubs, Seasonings
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/07/brining_29.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Flavor Brines
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1999/05/injections.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Injections
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/03/sour-orange-mojo-6-to-10-cloves-of.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Cuban Mojo
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/02/green-chile-sauce.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Green Chile Sauce
</span></a>
</span><br />
<span style="color: #33cc00;"><a href="http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/1997/01/reheating-liquids-for-barbecue.html"><span style="color: #33cc00;">Reheating Liquids For Barbecue
</span></a>
</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-1139508548620412342004-02-09T09:41:00.002-08:002023-09-15T12:56:46.175-07:00Introduction to Barbecuing<div align="center">
<img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" height="425" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Misc/barbecuetips1.jpg" width="350" /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #993300;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">The nature of this page allows for plenty of additions because I never stop learning or asking questions, but the object is to keep it simple.</span>
</span>
<br />
<br />
<em>A lot of people don’t understand the difference between grilling, barbecuing and smoking.... and the terms are sometimes used a bit out of context. It's really quite simple .... Grilling seals in the juices from the meat you are cooking in just a matter of minutes because you use a high direct heat. This same direct heat cooks the product in a short amount of time. Items suited for grilling are steaks, hamburgers, chops and boneless chicken pieces. Barbecuing is a long, slow, low-heat method that uses charcoal or wood coals to cook the meat. When smoke is used for flavor you are actually cooking with smoke or "smoke-cooking". A barbecue pit design can be indirect by utilizing a heat barrier between the coals and the product or by the use of a firebox separated or "offset" from the cooking chamber. The set-up can also be direct, like in an open pit or vertical drum cooker, the key here being two or three feet of distance from the coals to the food. Barbecuing is ideally suited for large pieces of meat with a high fat content like whole pigs, shoulders, briskets or ribs. Smaller items like, pork steaks, chicken pieces or sausages can also be barbecued. Smoking on the other hand means smoking meats with smoke. Depending on the method (cold-smoking or hot-smoking) smoked products may or may not require additional cooking following smoking. Smoked products generally require some sort of a cure to enhance flavor, color and texture and also because smoking takes hours, sometimes even days or weeks. Bacon, hams, certain varieties of sausages, salmon and cheeses are examples of products that are smoked.
<br />
<br />Barbecuing is not an absolute science. It is an art form that takes patience and practice. There are many different styles, flavors and techniques to explore. This page is a collection of basic back porch tips along with some things you <strong><span style="color: #3333ff;">might want to do</span></strong>, and some things you <strong><span style="color: #ff6600;">most likely don't want to do</span></strong>. This information should help the beginner make barbecuing a little easier. Through trial and error you will discover your own likes and dislikes. Although cooking with hardwood coals is the most traditional form of barbecue, it probably is a little complex for a beginner so here we will concentrate on cooking with charcoal.
</em>
<br />
<strong>PLANNING </strong>
<br />
First off, you need to allow plenty of time for barbecuing. Don’t get in a hurry. You will find that many times, preparation the day before will be worth the extra effort. Barbecuing means a long, slow cook. You will be cooking at temperatures from 225° to 275°, A rack of ribs will take 4 to 6 hours. A pork butt or brisket may take three times that long. Start the fire early. Cook more than you plan on eating, so you have a little to give to friends and neighbors or just for some leftovers. If you are doing a long cook, put on some wings or sausages for snacking.
<br />
<br />
<strong>PRACTICE</strong>
<br />
Great barbecue is a journey, not a destination. Barbecue may look easy when someone else cooks it. The recipes generally don't have a lot of ingredients. The cuts of meat are very common. Don't be fooled, there are a lot of hidden variables. There is a BIG difference between good barbecue and great barbecue. You will be very lucky if you make good barbecue on the first couple of cooks. It may take years before you make great barbecue. So before you serve barbecue to a house full of guests or the preachers wife...practice, practice, practice.
<br />
<br />
<strong>COOKING LOG</strong>
<br />
Do get in the habit of recording the details of your cooks. Keep track of the type of product, seasonings, preparation, cooking temperatures and times, basting, type of sauce etc. Accept any comments and criticism with an open mind. If you need to make changes, don’t adjust too many things at once. Change one or two things at a time.
<br />
<br />
<strong>THE COOKER</strong>
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Many pit masters agree that “it’s the cook, not the cooker” but you must figure out your cooker and its capabilities. Learn how to set the vents for different types of cooks. Practice temperature control. Learn how to set up for direct and indirect cooking. If your cooker can also function as high temperature grill, you have the best of both worlds.
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<strong>THE FIRE</strong>
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Use a good quality hardwood charcoal. If you are using a kettle, bullet or a horizontal cooker, you can experiment with briquettes and lump charcoal. Ceramic cookers work best with lump charcoal. You must use enough charcoal to have a burn time longer than your estimated cooking time. It takes around an hour for a fire to become established. Light the charcoal using a propane weed burner, a plumbers torch, a chimney, an electric coil, or starter cubes but DON’T use lighter fluid.
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The charcoal in my Big Drum Smoker, or my Smokey Joe Custom Tall Boy is contained in a charcoal basket. I use a small torch with the Smokey Joe, and a weed burner to light the BDS. It's easy to add more charcoal to the Smokey Joe, and the BDS has a large enough basket to have a 10 to 12 hour burn time. With either of these cookers flavor wood can be mixed within the lump before lighting, and/or added during the cook.
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Here is how I build a fire in my Big Green Egg. The process is more detailed because it's harder to add charcoal and wood to an Egg during a cook. I will use a handful or two of flavor wood chips, and 4 to 10 "splits", which are 3/4" X 3" pieces of flavor wood that I have split down from a fist sized chunk.
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Step 1. Add a few large pieces of lump to the firebox. Large pieces are less likely to choke off the air flow. Sprinkle a few chips into the lump, add a little more lump, then add a few of the splits. I prefer a wagon wheel arrangement with the splits. Notice only the firebox is full, and I lit the lump in one central spot. This would be a good fire for ribs or sausage. And if I wanted a higher temp "grilling fire" I would light the lump in 3 spots.
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Step 2. For a longer burning "barbecue fire" add another layer of lump, a few more chips, a couple of splits. Repeat this process until you have adequate lump for the length of burn you are doing. Then light the lump in one central spot. Here is a barbecue fire, this will be a long burning fire for ribs, butts or brisket. There is no need to add more charcoal or more flavor wood to this fire as it should cook for 16 or 18 hours in the 250° range.
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Step 3. Once the fire is lit, I add a plate setter. I use a couple of inverted pieces of 1/2" angle iron to allow an air gap for my drip pan. The empty drip pan goes on the plate setter, followed by the cooking grate. I don't use any liquid in my drip pan. If you want to add liquid to the drip pan, heat it up first. There is no reason to waste energy from your charcoal for heating liquid. Now all you need to do is wait for the bad smoke to burn off, and you can start cookin'. (see the next section on SMOKE)
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<strong>THE SMOKE</strong>
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Guess what, you don’t always have to use smoke when you barbecue!!! However, it’s no secret that most folks do like a smokey flavor on their barbecue. Everyone has a different smoke threshold so you must be careful that you don’t over-smoke your product. If you’re using lump charcoal, it gives off a little smokey flavor on its own. Make sure to let the smoke from wood chunks or chips settle down before loading your cooker. Keep a watchful eye on your top vent or stack. A white smoke plume, billowing from your vent will most likely impart a bitter flavor and maybe a residue on your product. A light gray or blue smoke whiff is what you are after. This is one of the hardest things for a beginner to grasp so here are two pictures that <em><strong><span style="color: #000099;">“thillin”</span></strong></em> took of his Klose smoker with an offset firebox. In this type of cooker, the smoke moves from the firebox, across the cooking chamber and out the stack.
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These pictures were taken just minutes apart and show the smoke in the final stages of settling down for a good long cook.
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The next two pictures are of my Large Big Green Egg. On this cooker, the firebox is directly below the grate. Again the top picture is blowin' too much white smoke. The fire has not settled down yet.
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About 30 minutes later, the smoke is just right. You can see just a whiff against the background of my neighbors roof.
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<span style="color: #333333;">Here is a picture taken by</span> <span style="color: #3333ff;"><strong><em>"Scotty's Inferno" </em></strong></span><span style="color: #333333;">showing a nice mellow smoke coming from his Big Green Egg. I think Scott described this sweet blue smoke perfectly saying "you almost wonder if it's even there".
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You can tell by the number of pictures of top vents just how I feel about getting the smoke right. Here are two more in daylight. The dome temperature is 350°. In the top picture the smoke is trying to settle down, but it is not ready yet.
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This picture was taken 15 minutes later. Now the smoke is ready to meet the meat.
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Here is one more that really shows off the "sweet blue" color of good smoke.
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Start experimenting with fruit woods like apple and cherry before using heavier woods like oak or hickory. Experiment with using your chips or chunks dry verses soaking them in water. Also try mixing small chunks or chips throughout the charcoal instead of using one or two large chunks. For a flavor twist, toss an onion into the coals.
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">An exception to this rule would be tossing a handful of chips into the red-hot coals just before grilling a steak or some burgers. When grilling, the vents are open more and the smoke will pass through your cooker faster.
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<strong>SEASONINGS
</strong>The goal is to compliment the flavor of the meat, without overpowering it. For starters, try out a few good quality commercial rubs or a mixture of your favorite seasonings sprinkled or rubbed into your product. Experiment to find the flavor combinations that you like.
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There are many starter rub recipes on internet recipe sites, internet Q- forums or in the many barbecue cookbooks. Explore marinades, basting liquids and injections too. DON’T apply sauces too early during the cook, wait until the end or serve them at the table.
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<strong>THE COOK</strong>
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Start out with easy cooks. Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature at the grate as well as your product. Remote "polder type" cable thermometers work well because the probe can be clipped to the grate and you do not have to open the lid to monitor the temperature. An inexpensive oven thermometer sitting on the grate works too. When taking internal temperature readings on meat, make sure the thermometer is not close to bone or stuck into a pocket of fat, both of these locations will give you false readings. Bone is a good conductor of heat and will give you a false high reading. Pockets of fat don't conduct heat as well as the surrounding muscle (meat) so they will show a false low reading early in the cook.... later on, the fat temp and meat temp equalize.<br />
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Chicken, sausage links & logs, or country-style ribs (cut from a pork shoulder) are good starters. Whenever possible, cook meat on the bone. Spare ribs take a little more time and effort. A pork butt is a good choice for your first long “low and slow” cook. Turn or rotate your product the minimum number of times for even doneness, even color or if you have a hot spot in your cooker. Keep a close eye on your first few “all night” cooks. Too often the fire dies out in the early stages of the cook and goes unnoticed, resulting in food safety issues. Until you learn your cooker and how meat cooks, don't be too concerned with using "low and slow" pit temps around 200°. They can be hard to hold. Considering an average butt or brisket, a pit temp between 230° and 250° is usually adequate to insure an internal temperature of 140° or higher in the first 4 or 5 hours of your cook. Some cookers are more reliable than others but another good rule is to check your pit temp every 3or 4 hours, especially on overnight cooks.
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Finding the right balance of pit temperature and time will make all of your grilled or barbecued meast tender and moist. Some meats have a higher fat content than others. A chicken breast for example is much leaner than a chicken thigh. Pork loin and tenderloin is much leaner than meat from the shoulder or rib areas. Fat does add flavor and helps keep meat moist, and generally speaking higher fat cuts have a broader window for doness than leaner cuts of meat. Going back to the chicken example, breasts are done when their internal temperature is between 160 and 165 degrees, much higher and they will be dry and tough. Chicken thighs on the other hand should be cooked into the high 170's or low 180's and they will still be moist and tender.
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Meat is made of strands proteins and when you add heat (energy) to a protein you are breaking down it's structure. This relaxes the strands of protein making it more flexable and tender. However, if you add too much heat or too much heat too fast, the protein won't relax the way you had planned, and the meat can be tough. A good example is a steak.... they are pretty tender to start with so they can be cooked at higher temps for a short period of time. As a steak moves from raw to rare to medium rare it gets more tender as the protiens relax. As it passes through the medium, then medium well, then into well done range, the strands of protiens are tightening up, and moisture is getting squeezed out of the meat, so it gets tougher the more it's cooked. The same thing can happen to pork chops or white meat on chickens or turkey.
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One thing you will notice when barbecuing heavier meats high in fat like brisket and pork shoulder is a stall in internal temperature during the cook. This "plateau" will happen around 160° to 170° and sometimes takes several hours. Then the internal temperature will begin to rise again. The plateau happens because moisture in the meat finds it's way to the surface and begins to evaporate. Above 170° collagen begins to melt and convert to gelatin. When this happens, we get a tender and moist piece of meat that is worth the wait. Wrapping your meat in foil (see below) prevents sweating and evaporation, so this can help getting through the stall. <div>
<br /><span style="color: #000099;">TEMPERATURE GUIDE - The temperature ranges below have worked for me when considering moistness and tenderness of the finished product. The USDA has a different range of temperatures they recommend for food safety. </span><span style="color: #000099;">Click on this link to learn more: <a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Use_a_Food_Thermometer/index.asp"><span style="color: #ff6600;">USDA</span></a></span><span style="color: #cc9933;"> </span>
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<span style="color: #000099;">Finding your personal sweet spot for doneness (target doneness) is what's important. To do this correctly, you must figure out the internal temperature to pull a particular piece of meat or fish off your cooker. Then allow for the rise (or carryover) in temp when resting.
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<br />A 5° to 7° rise can be expected in many grilled things like chops, burgers or steaks. Sometimes you might see a 10° rise. There are some exceptions..... A grilled salmon fillet may rise more than one that was hot smoked at a lower pit temp. A prime rib roast cooked at 350° may rise more than one cooked at 225°. A big roast like a pork butt, pulled at 200° may rise more than 10° because it has so much mass and a high fat content.
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<br />I tend to bend the temperature rules more often on poultry white meat, ground beef, lamb, steaks and pork loin. But you should decide your personal preference for doneness. <span style="color: #ff6600;">I would however, suggest the USDA recommended temperatures when serving guests.</span> Just remember that rise during the rest period. That being said, here are some guidelines that I use at home:</span>
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RIGHT CLICK THE PICTURE TO PRINT MY CHART
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<tempchart>Keeping an eye on the temperature won't so much good if your thermometer(s) are not calibrated. This goes for your pit thermometer and your kitchen thermometers that you use for monitoring the internal temperatures. There are some online boiling point calculators which take into account daily changes in barametric pressure as well as elevation, but here is a chart that will get you really close. (in other words, don't sweat a couple of degrees)
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<br />ELEVATION .....BOILING POINT
<br />sea level ........ 212° F
<br />600 ft ......... 211° F
<br />1,100 ft ......... 210° F
<br />1,600 ft ......... 209° F
<br />2,100 ft ......... 208° F
<br />2,600 ft ......... 207° F
<br />3,100 ft ......... 206° F
<br />3,600 ft ......... 205° F
<br />4,100 ft ......... 204° F
<br />4,700 ft ......... 203° F
<br />5,300 ft ......... 202° F
<br />6,000 ft ......... 201° F
<br />6,500 ft ......... 200° F
<br />7,000 ft ......... 199° F
<br />7,500 ft ......... 198° F
<br />8,000 ft ......... 197° F
<br />8,500 ft ......... 196° F
<br />9,000 ft ......... 195° F
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<br /><strong>FOIL</strong>
<br />Sometimes called a crutch, foil does have a place in barbecuing. Using it when cooking meats is not mandatory so, just look at this way, foil is a tool not a rule. One of the downsides to foil is it will weaken the bark. (see The Rest below). A few times where it comes in handy are: 1. Your barbecued meats are coming out too smokey. 2. You need some control in the color of your finished product (the bark). 3. You need to speed up the cook in order to meet your sit down time. 4. You want to change the texture of your product. Wrapping ribs with some liquid in the foil for example will steam/braise them making them more tender. Some folks sauce and foil thighs (usually a foil covered pan) at the end of the cook too. Following the cook, wrapping and resting meats in foil, especially if you are holding them in a cooler or Cambro-type device works great. Lastly wrapping (see above) can help shorten the stall. <br />
<br /><strong>THE REST</strong>
<br />Allow your meat to rest before slicing or pulling. The juices need time to re-distribute into the meat. A prewarmed cooler is a good place for resting or holding your product until serving. Wrap in foil and use some newspaper for extra insulation if you need to hold it for a couple of hours. If you are worried about the condition of the bark, and not interested in the juices that accumulate in a foil pouch, or if you are slicing to order but still want to keep the meat moist... a brown paper bag works good too. Put the meat on a metal tray (or a piece of foil) and slip into the bag.
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<br /><strong>SERVING</strong>
<br />Ok, now you are ready to dig in. If you are slicing beef, pay attention to the grain and cut across it for tenderness. The slice of brisket on the left is cut with the grain, and the slice on the right is cut across the grain.
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<br />When pulling or chopping beef and pork, remove some of the fat but be sure and mix some of the crust or “bark” in with the meat. If you have finished or rested your meat in foil, save the juices and use them to enhance the meat or as an adder to your sauce.
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<br />Don’t be alarmed if grilled and barbecued meats, especially chicken, has a pink color. This is a natural reaction from the smoke and does not mean that the meat is under cooked. If you monitored your finish temperature and any cutting board juices run clear, the meat is done. (Underdone chicken will not pull apart easily A simple trick is to blot a paper napkin onto the chicken or the juices, if it comes away pink, the chicken is underdone). This is a boneless thigh which was cooked to an internal temperature of 185°.
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<br />These baby backs were barbecued for almost 5 hours at 225° using a little cherry wood for smoke. Trust me....they are done.
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<br />You will sometimes notice a red or pink ring around the edge of slices on larger cuts of meat like this brisket. This ring is highly desirable in barbecue competitions, but it adds no special flavor.
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<br />Don't be too eager to slather on the sauce, it is not always necessary. I like to serve a couple of kinds at the table.
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<br /><strong>REHEATING</strong>
<br />For reheating barbecue use an aluminum pan. Add a diluted sauce, CocaCola, apple juice, broth or a mixture of any of these to keep the product moist, cover and place in a 250° oven for about an hour or until warm.
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<br />I have the results of a survey of favorite reheating liquids posted in the Rubs, Sauces, Mop section, check it out if you are looking for something new.
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<br /><strong>FOOD SAFETY</strong>
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<br />The nature of any outdoor cooking event, from grilling some burgers to smoking a brisket for 20 hours, sometimes allows us to let out guard down when it comes to food safety. And I don't just mean once we are in the backyard. I'm talking transporting and preparing raw meats, cooking, and serving.
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<br /><a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Barbecue_Food_Safety/index.asp">HERE</a>
<br />is a link to the USDA site that discusses barbecue safety issues. It's worth a read.
</tempchart></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15717908.post-1127064497820830512003-09-18T10:22:00.000-07:002007-05-10T20:59:08.342-07:00Paella<img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbeque/b802d186.jpg" /><br /><br />1C short grain rice<br />1 – 14 oz can of chicken broth<br />1 C of hot water<br />4 green onions, coarsely chopped<br />handful of frozen peas<br />½ C roasted red peppers<br />1 ear of corn, sliced into 1” rounds<br />½ can of clams and 2 or 3 ounces of the juice<br />½ lb. chorizo sausage, formed into meatballs<br />1 chicken breast, bone in with skin removed (wings are good too)<br />6 shrimp, peeled<br />1/4t salt<br />rub for chicken & shrimp<br /><br />Stabilize the Egg at 375 degrees dome. Season the chicken and the shrimp. Lightly grill the shrimp, grill the chicken and sausage about halfway done, remove from the grill and set the plate setter on the grill, legs down. Chop the chicken into several pieces, leaving the rib bones in place.<br /><br />Combine all ingredients in a pan suitable for the Egg except for the 1 cup of hot water. This can be added during the cook if needed. Cook until rice is done, about 45 minutes, rotating 90 degrees once or so. Remove and cover with foil for 15 minutes. I like a little of Tony Chachere's "Original Creole Seasoning" added at the table. It is great on the corn.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><em>Paella is like many things that can and should be adapted to your personal tastes. Since posting this page, a couple of folks have told me they are making vegetarian versions with corn, peas, mushrooms, snow peas, squash etc. I also like using all seafood especially when I can get fresh clams and mussels. </em></span><span style="color:#000099;"><em>~thirdeye~<br /></em></span><br /><br />In a message to me on the <span style="color:#009900;">Big Green Egg </span>forum, <em><span style="color:#333399;">"bobbyb "</span></em> posted a couple of photographs of his paella cook that looked so good I wanted to pass them along. He made a couple of changes to my basic recipe, so they are included as well. So here is a <span style="color:#ff0000;">Guest Pit Boss</span> version of <span style="color:#333399;"><em>bobbyb’s</em></span> paella.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em><span style="color:#333399;">Bobbyb </span>used skinless thighs seasoned with Ken Stone’s Red Rooster rub. He smoked the chicken and the chorizo with pecan wood. The shrimp were left unpeeled and seasoned with Old Bay seasoning.<br /></em></span><br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%203/be78a15b.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em>The raw seasoned shrimp were added to the dish during the last 12 minutes of the cook and appear to be cooked perfectly.<br /></em></span><br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v377/thirdeye2/Barbecue%203/d77f24cb.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />After reading a paella tutorial by <a href="http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramic.htm"><span style="color:#ff0000;">The Naked Whiz</span></a> on his website, I asked for permission to include a link here. His how to features two recipes and includes a discussion of the rice, sofrito, soccarat, equipment and techniques. <a href="http://www.nakedwhiz.com/paella/paella.htm"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Clicking Here</span> </a>will take you directly to the paella page published by <em>"The Naked Whiz".</em> Here are a couple of pictures of what I am talking about. The top paella is chicken and the next one is seafood.<br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://www.nakedwhiz.com/paella/paella.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><img alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com" src="http://www.nakedwhiz.com/paella/seafoodpaella.jpg" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0