Came down with one of those colds that just slaps you down for a day and a half.So comfort food is called for.
Hadn't made chicken and dumplings in awhile.
Hadn't made chicken and dumplings in awhile.
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Something out of the ordinary happed tonight. My wife made dinner 🤯
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Time once again for a round of Rita's Fajitas. Shrooms, onions, bell peppers marinated all day (not the shrooms though), reheated some leftover 2-zone picanha in the sous vide to add to the veggies (I could have cooked them a bit longer though). Flour tortillas and fixins of shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, guac. Super yummy!
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Awesome pictures this month folks! Keep them coming! We greatly appreciate and admire all your hard work in the backyard and in the SUWYC thread!
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Well, I had some leftover mushrooms from doing the stir fry the other day (Sunday), and omelettes on Monday, and was pondering what to do with them, and SWMBO asked "do you have any beef?" So I dug out 2 vacuum sealed NY strips (Sam's Club choice Angus), let them sit out for a couple hours, hit with salt and pepper, and fired up a chimney of coals on the Performer. Only to THEN be told that SWMBO was busy cleaning out some closets and was NOT gonna sit down and eat with me until she was done. So.... I dumped the coals in the SNS, closed the vents down to about 1/4 top and bottom, and let things roll for 45 minutes while I helped her get done. THEN the cooking commenced, and I opened the vents back up.
The Performer got the nod because of ease of use. Propane ignition under the chimney, then a quick dump into the SNS. Finished off a bag of B&B briquettes for this cook. I think I like the kettle for quick grilling more than I do the kamado in some respects.
The steaks were still frozen on the inside, so I went indirect for a while until they were thawed and pushing 80-90 degrees. While that was happening, I went inside and mixed up a "concoction" of butter, beef broth, Worcestershire, Dijon, butter and such to saute and simmer the whole baby portobello mushrooms on the stovetop....
By then the steaks were thawed on the indirect side, and I moved to just flipping every 30 seconds over hot coals until done.
Of course, that 45 minute delay to help SWMBO cost me my daylight for the cook. But we engineers/chefs know how to improvise! Ryobi battery powered work light to the rescue! Sure, I've got a flood light out there on the corner of the house, but its motion activated and turns off every couple of minutes, requiring me to leave and reenter the detection zone... And of course, since I had to walk past the kegerators and stack of solo cups in the garage.... an adult beverage was mandatory!
Finally plated. There was also a bowl of some green stuff that I think some people call "salad"?
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Finster it is a Ryobi One+ 18V cordless LED work light. What is cool is that it takes EITHER the 18V battery packs *OR* you can plug the end of a regular extension cord onto some prongs that are recessed on the base, and run from 120V.
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Way to improvise Jim! And not to steal your thread, but knowing how to cook indirect on a grill is the best power move there is, specifically for a scenario like you describe. I still talk to regular folk who only knows direct grilling. When I tell them I fire up my kettle one hour before I plan to cook to have flexibility they can't really take it in. Like "How"? "Why"? -
Thanks Henrik ! I started to say something to my wife when she introduced that 45 minute cooking delay, but thought better of it, and told her to give me a second to "turn down" the grill, and that I would help her get done with her chores, so that we could both relax. It was probably an hour after I lit the charcoal that I started as well.
Going indirect for a while was the best way to get these frozen steaks thawed and almost to temp before searing them for the finish.
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Yesterday, I prepared a quart of Lexington Dip, a North Carolina sauce. I like to make a few adjustments each time, so this time I used green and red hatch chile pepper flakes from Trader Joe's and replaced Frank's hot sauce with Aldi's Blood Orange sauce.
I ground the chile flakes using my Flat Iron Pepper Co. grinder, which fits perfectly on the container!
Although it’s best to let the sauce sit in the fridge for a week to let the flavors blend, I have a feeling tomorrow will be a rib day.
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Not sure how to take a pretty picture of this, but I do want to say that the Provencal Smoked Fish Pate recipe on the free side is a real gem. I have found that it is a great way to use canned tuna, as shown here. Of course, it's better when you smoke salmon for it, but on a workday for me and a school day for the kids this works really well. I would say you could shred a tennis shoe and put it in this recipe and it would tasted good! Taragon is the most underrated herb I can think of, and it truly shines in this.
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First experiment on cooking some meats at home that we can slice up for sandwich fixins. We'd been a regular consumer of Boar's Head cold cuts for years, but no longer after their recent serious production/health problems (the nearest BH plant to us, a couple hours away, is the one that was summarily shut down after the recent listeria outbreak and other serious problems). So first up, trying out a boneless turkey "breast roast" from Wild Fork, basically a deboned turkey breast wrapped in a string mesh to hold it in shape.
Biggest hurdle on this approach is that we do not have a meat slicer, and there is absolutely no scope for getting one - we simply do not have the space for it, or for any further gadgets/appliances at all for that matter. It's our number one wish for our house, that it had a LOT more storage and counter space in the kitchen...
Dry brined the cut overnight and then hit it with my foodie pal Jenni's rub a while before going on. Ran it in the Pit Boss Copperhead pellet rig with the set point at either 300 or 350 (there is no 325 setting, which I would have preferred), toggling back and forth every so often to keep it between those temps. Ran until IT reached 160/71, then pulled and rested it in a warm oven (fired up to its lowest setting for a few minutes then turn it off and let it drift slowly down) for half an hour or so while I got the sandwich fixins together, then sliced it as thin as I could with my slicing knife. IT drifted down to about 150/65 by then.
Came out great!!
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You done good! Looks great! I need to smoke a turkey breast. To-date, I've just done whole turkeys, and only for Thanksgiving. I think you are right in that making our own lunch meat will be healthier in the long run.
And while I have a deli slicer ($49 on woot!), it's a pain to clean after use, so I find myself mostly using my Victorinox 12" granton blade slicer instead. The last time I used the deli slicer was when I made a 16# brisket into pastrami, and froze in 1# portions. -
jfmorris Yeah, the cleanup is also an obstacle, both of the slicer itself and the work area. The one possibility would be to set up out on my cooker deck, where I have a stainless work table where cleanup would be about as easy as it can get. But still work! My slicer is also a granton blade but it's just 10".
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Glorious Pork Belly just hit the grates!
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Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and a few San Marzano Tomatoes at the end. Sausage was homemade and Veggies are all from the Garden.Comment
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SV tri-tip with sautéed peppers, pickled onions and jalapeños, avocados, rice, and chimichurri sauce with the help of the family. My son plated and took the picture.
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Pork Country Style Rib. On the Kettle. I followed Meatheads recipe. Indirect and finished direct. I used his sauce. Tatars were a bust I need to stop seasoning and include oil they never get that crisp crunch. Ribs very moist and great taste.
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I didn't bother editing the picture to get light reflection out.
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1/2 a chicken on the kettle, wet brined in buttermilk for 4 hours and sprinkled with some Harley's Texas All Purpose Seasoning. Frozen corn with some smashed red taters, skin on….
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Panhead John Good deal, and I agree, the placement of the SnS kettle lid thermometer is so much better than on the old Webers, and it's always the same as my grate probe to within 20 degrees, whenever I've checked. -
Panhead John Bodacious cook on the chicken, is there any other way to present taters?? Proper!!
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