Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About meReal name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan - near Clare (dead center of lower peninsula).
Occupation:
Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Staring it off here's the beginning of a 6lb chuck roast smoke for pulled beef. Jealous Devil XL briquettes, using the fat trimmings on the coals, incrementally, for that extra sumthin' special, and one thin stick of ash wood spanning it all.
Did a bacon comparison between some bacon from one of my local butchers and some Smithfield thick-cut from Harris Teeter, and used some of each for turkey bacon club sammiches. Cooked the bacon in the oven at 225/105 for 2.5 hours, comes out so great that way. Sliced turkey from the Giant grocery's deli counter and tomato from a local farm stand, so they actually *gasp* taste like tomatoes.
Butcher's bacon on the left, Smithfield on the right.
Butcher's:
Smithfield:
I have SO much more room to work in this kitchen! Not only is there a lot more counter space, the counters are almost twice as deep as those we had in our former home. They measure 25.5in/65cm from lip to backsplash, and our former ones were no more than 14in/36cm. Thus we can have small appliances on the counters and still have room to work in front of them, which was completely impossible in the old house. Woo hoo!
Both types of bacon are delicious; the flavor of the butcher's bacon is more subtle and its slices not as thick. Both completely delicious. Sammies came out great as well. I just lit my SnS kettle for my first outdoor cook, a rack of baby backs, so I shall return this evening with more
I suggest trying Wright's bacon. It's thick sliced and in a 1.5 lb package. Walmart has the best price around here, but all the local groceries carry it. It's the only bacon I buy now.
SheilaAnn , the chorizo was outstanding. Fresh, natural casing, of course. Lots of good garlic flavor, some heat but not overwhelming. I love almost all of Tia Angelita's products.
My first outdoor cook at the new home: Baby back ribs from one of two local butcher shops, Hickman's. Dry brined 48 hrs, liberally doused with Jenni In A Bottle rub, on the SnS kettle with B&B coals and some chunks of cherry wood with a grate temp of 225-250/105-120. On shortly after 1pm and we sat down to eat at about 6:20.
Oh look! A hunk of meat came out stuck to the temp probe when I pulled it out. Oh DARN. Whatever should I do with it??
Plated with McCain's fries and some broccoli, along with the de rigeur Rudy's Sause.
The ribs were (yes I'm going there) amazing. Incredible flavor, super juicy, and my lovely bride proclaimed them the best pork ribs I have made. I don't think she's wrong My only nit to pick is they were more fall off the bone than tug off, but it really didn't matter. A very good first impression from this butcher
I don't doubt those ribs were amazing but I'm going to suggest that maybe, just maybe, retirement makes them taste that much better (Insert jealousy here).
Andrrr The stress release from events of recent months is indeed enormous, and I'm sure you're right that everything tastes just a little better these days
My daughter went to a friends house in Lake Geneva last night. She hated sleep overs btw. Going into senior year too. But I get it because I hated sleepovers.
woke at 5 this morning to a bakers dozen of text messages. Basically her phone went in the pool at 2 am. What are the odds?
we got her new iPhone this afternoon. Her punishment? Learning about red meat and fire. I loved this. I taught her about meat grades and what to look for. I had her compare choice vs prime and I agreed that the choice steaks were better. I went over temping with her too. Oh so much fun! Her losing the phone meant nothing. It was almost paid off. But yeah I used that to further my cause. Dad’s….take note. Guilt is good 😊
I didn't get a pic of the cooking part, but here's what I used my Blackstone griddle for tonight. 2 x 1/2 lb beef patties, Jarlsberg Swiss cheese, slices of smoked pork belly, and jalapeños.
Smokin-It 3D
Weber Kettle with an SNS
Masterbuilt kettle that I call the $30 wonder grill
Bullet by Bull Grills gasser
Anova WiFi sous vide machine
Thermoworks Thermapen and Chef Alarm
WIBS!!!!!! This cook should also count for all the rib cooks that I haven’t had the chance to participate in as well. I know there are a number of cooks I’ve missed…so…these ribs are for those! One rack of SLC rubbed with Dominator Rib Rub and then because all I had at the lake house was Sweet Baby Ray’s…I cut it with apple cider vinegar and it was an excellent sauce!! Served with German potato salad and some Busch’s Baked beans! What a great meal on the $35 wonder kettle!!!
Yet another shis-kabobless tonight. It's just easier than skewering everything.
And from the other day - wings, sprouts and M&C. The M&C was portioned 'cause SWMBO tries to eat gluten free so she had GF pasta while I had the real deal.
Shishkabobless! What a fantastic term, a whole lot easier (and more fun) to say than "deconstructed shish kabob" This looks like a great idea!
RonB Did you brown the meat at all before adding it to the basket? Ostensibly it would be difficult to get any maillard going on the meat if it's coated in the juices from the other ingredients...?
DaveD - If I had used a steak, I would have seared first, and then cut into bite sized pieces. However, Publix had one package of tenderloin tips that was a third the cost of a steak, so I used that. I did let the pieces sit in the pan to sear on at least one side.
As hot as that pan gets, I don't marinate anything 'cause it would just burn onto the pan. As each ingredient is cooked, it goes into a bowl and after everything is cooked, I add marinade to the bowl, stir, and reheat.
Decided to give Swedish brisket a last go. The meat is fine and all, it's just that Swedish butchers don't seem to be able to cut this part right. Doesn't look like this is done right either.
A few things to note, compared to US briskets:
- There's no fat cap. Basically nothing to trim.
- It's hard to tell where the point and the fat meet (where the deckle of fat is). And the deckle of fat is very thin.
- As I've seen before, when unpacking it literally folds out. It's like there's a massive flat in terms of width/length, but it's only 1 inch thick.
This brisket weighs 5.3 kilos according to the label on the package. That is 11.7 lbs.
Unpacked
Unfolded
That ain't a small cutting board, let me tell ya.
So, what to do? Well, I just trimmed aggressively, or split it I should say. Half of it (the monster flat) goes into the grinder for burgers, and the (mostly) point part goes on the smoker.
I applied a dry brine, and later Malcolm Reed's Grande Gringo rub. Really like that flavor, plus it's low sugar. Which is good since I use it for beef here.
I'll report back later. I'm sure the brisket will turn out great flavor-wise, I'm just disappointed that I can't find a properly butchered Swedish brisket.
The cook
I'm using my PK300, since the brisket is small. Plus I really really like this cooker. It's just rock solid. I didn't have any charcoal left, none. I do have some briquettes, and figured this low 'n slow cook is perfect for some briquettes. Two years ago I did fabricate a 5mm thick steel wall that I just place on the charcoal grates. It has small tabs extending vertically about 1/3 inch so it "grabs" the grates and won't move. As you can see in the photo I did a straight snake. This setup is rock solid, and it just goes on for hours and hours in this little cooker. I use cherry wood for smoke flavor. I have the Pit Viper fan hooked up to my FireBoard 2 Drive just in case it needs a little nudge, but I don't think so.
Getting the fire started, will place 8-9 briquettes on top of the tumble weeds
Cookers:
Large Big Green Egg with a Ceramic Grill Store rack system, and the SnS setup.
Weber Genesis SA-E-330 LP INDIGO with SS Grates, Weber Crafted frame kit, baking stone, griddle (2/3), all from Ace Hardware.
For the first time in a long time I have no kettles as I gave them all away.
Everything Else:
SnS #3 with certificate. I was their first customer.
Sous Vide equipment.
SnS and Thermoworks instant read and leave-in thermometers.
Grill Grates for BGE.
Kingsford Blue Bag, Weber lighter cubes, Weber charcoal chimneys.
Rubs with salt: Meat Church Holy Cow.
Rubs without salt: Home-mixed versions of previously sold SnS Grills Rocky's Rub and Not Just for Beef using their recipe. SPOG.
Spices: Lots of 'em.
This is a small frozen cauliflower thin crust pizza from Walmart that my wife transformed into deliciousness with her toppings. My job was to cook and add some flavor. The lid thermometer was 475 when I pulled it after about 15 minutes. I used my MasterKettle, FireBaskets back to back with some apple wood and a ceramic indirect piece. Cooked on my rotisserie grate.
My only nit to pick is they were more fall off the bone than tug off, but it really didn't matter. A very good first impression from this butcher 
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