Show Us What You're Cooking! (SUWYC) - Volume 42, SUMMER 2026

[jfmorris]

Well, I had a total of 3 cooks over the 3 day Labor Day weekend.

Friday night, I cranked out 2 home made pizzas, even making the dough from scratch.



Saturday we ate leftover pizza, but on Sunday I was craving burgers for lunch... because for the FIRST TIME this year my Sam's Club had those prime rib burgers (not the sliders) that Mosca turned me onto years ago. I fixed mine up with Hatch Chile bacon, and other goodies....



And finally, Labor Day itself... was also one of my son-in-law's birthdays (34th), and I offered up burgers or ribs. He chose ribs. The PBX got the nod for its quick results, and I cut 2 slabs of baby backs and 2 slabs of SLS spares in half and hung them on hooks. Treatment was a brush with apple cider vinegar/water as a binder, then the Rendezvous dry rub from the free side.




I love hanging on these hooks!



And that's about it. I grilled some corn, on the Genesis, and that was about it...

Right now Yvonne's doctor is pushing her to a high protein diet (120g or more per day), and she is being forced to eat a lot more meat than usual, so I am happy to oblige....

Hope everyone else had a great weekend!

[fzxdoc]

Migosh, those ribs look delicious. I love your PBX action shots.

And thanks for the heads up on those burgers at Sam's Club. I look for them every time I go but so far no joy.

K.

[jfmorris]

Kathryn fzxdoc Labor Day weekend is the FIRST time all summer that I saw these burgers. Not the slider ones I was buying - just the full sized patties. I feel like they did not taste quite the same either, as the labeling was a little different than I remember. Something like "Prime Rib Steak Burger". They were still good.

[jfmorris]

Con't

Most of my beef this year has been 80/20 ground chuck bought on Tuesdays at Fresh Market, when it is $4.99 a pound. I make 4 "balls" per pound, freeze on a sheet pan for an hour, then vacuum seal in 1 and 2 pound portions for the freezer. Do that about once a month. The balls work for burgers, or 4 of them for a batch of spaghetti or something else.

[bbqLuv]

Traegerized St. Louis rack of ribs at 300*F
7/10 not my best. The first time this cook was fantastic--per my notes.
Didn't remove but scored the membrane, left on the flappy thin end and didn't remove the extra patch of meat.
This made for an uneven cook. I know better. Bad BBQLUV.
The Cook only took 3 hours.
8:00 trim and season
13:30 on the Traeger at 300*F
Spritz, 50/50 Apple Cider Vinegar and water, every 30 minutes like clockwork
16:15 Glazed at the end with 30/70 honey to no sugar add BBQ sauce
16:30 Done at internal Temp. 203*F
Messed up carving, too hot to hamdle

[jfmorris]

Wait, so if there was loin meat, these were baby/loin back ribs, and not St. Louis style spares. That might have been your problem. I cooked 2 racks of baby back and 2 racks of SLS yesterday, and the SLS were thinner than the baby backs, with no thick loin meat issues. I prefer the SLS, so was glad to see the kids eat all those thick/fat smaller ribs...

[bbqLuv]

jfmorris those are st louis spareribs.
Your right the extra patch of meat on top of the thick end may not technically be loin meat, but that is what I call it. 😂
There is a layer of fat between that meat and the ribs. For me racks cook better if it is removed.
Is there a name for that extra patch of neat? Part of the belly meat???
Thank you for your input and clarification.

[jfmorris]

Ah. I do not think I've bought a rack of SLS that had that extra meat layer on top. You are right - if there is a fat layer between, it is not part of the ribs, and I would remove it next time. I wonder if it was a layer of pork belly? Might be...

[TWBarbecue]

Marinated a Flank Steak with orange and lime juice, minced garlic, cumin, ground coriander, onion powder and Chipotle Pepper for about 5 hours. Let it warm up for about 30 min while the coals were lit and the grill came to temp. Placed direct on a smoking hot cast iron skillet until the internal temp reached 125°F, flipping as needed. Rested the steak while the peppers & onions cooked. Sliced and built fajitas. Delicious! 🌮

[fzxdoc]

Absofrigginlutely delicious-looking.

Kathryn

[Hulagn1971]

That looks terrific! Nice work on the slices too, perfectly cut against the grain.

[Carolyn]

Those fajitas look amazing.

[Smoked Transistors]

Decided to give these pork spare ribs the direct-fire treatment instead of the traditional low-and-slow approach.

Started with a couple racks of spares, gave them a generous coating of dry rub, then fired up the cooker with Big Green Egg Oak & Hickory lump charcoal. Once the fire was rolling, the ribs went directly over the hot coals.

This cook required a little more attention than parking ribs over indirect heat for several hours. I kept them moving and flipping, letting the pork fat render down onto the lump charcoal. That created some occasional flare-ups, plenty of sizzling, and a nice smoky char that became part of the flavor.

Along the way, I mopped the ribs with a concoction of melted ghee, chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce, a touch of fish sauce, soy sauce, coarse black pepper, and a shot of Jack Daniel's. Basically, everything in the kitchen that sounded like it belonged near a pig went into the mop.

As that mixture hit the hot ribs and dripped onto the charcoal, things got pretty aromatic.

For the finish, I thinned some hickory BBQ sauce with vinegar, brushed on a light coating and gave the ribs a final trip over the hot fire. Just enough heat to caramelize and tighten the sauce while putting a little extra char around the edges.

The finished ribs had a beautiful mahogany color with crispy edges, rendered fat, a little sweetness, some vinegar tang, and that unmistakable flavor you get from cooking pork directly over a charcoal fire.

Definitely not my normal rib cook.

Sometimes you don't want perfect little bite marks. Sometimes you want to stand over a hot fire with a pair of tongs, a bowl of mop sauce and a rack of ribs while trying not to burn your eyebrows off. 😁🔥

I'd make these again.

[SheilaAnn]

“Anything that sounded like it belonged next to a pig” that’s delicious!!

[realdocBBQ]

Very good stuff, those look excellent! I'm curious how long these took you? Coupla my good friends build and sell the Smokeslinger direct heat cooker and they do 90-minute ribs all the time on those. They come out really good, but they caution against using anything more than S&P or maybe SPG (until the end), due to the risk of burning spices or sugars. If you're standing over them and constantly flipping, I'm sure they would work, but that takes a while. Good job!

[Smoked Transistors]

realdocBBQ Mine took about 2 hours. I used a limited amount of lump charcoal to keep the flames under control and avoid turning the grill into a blazing inferno.

I started with about 3/4 of a chimney, then added lump as needed during the cook. My 22-inch cooking grate was elevated about 18 inches above the fire.

Toward the end, I wrapped the ribs briefly to let them rest, then glazed them with BBQ sauce thinned with a little vinegar. Back over the direct heat they went.

[Hedgehog BBQ]

Pork loin butterflied with a balsamic glaze and grilled peaches. The peaches were also done with balsamic glaze and turbinado sugar(sugar in the raw). I prefer that sugar over brown sugar. it gives a much better flavor. I served it will multi grain wild rice. and I had extra peaches for grilled peaches and Ice cream

[fzxdoc]

Nice plate of food!

Kathryn

[Richard Chrz]

Oh my goodness yes!

[Andrrr]

Nice! I’ve wanted to grill peaches but we can’t get any here that won’t chip a tooth when you bite one. This looks great.

[klflowers]

Mediterranean taco! Chopped up some lamb, stuffed it in a pita with pickled red onion, harissa and tzatziki. Not a great pic, but it was really good.

[fzxdoc]

Ix-nay on the amb-lay. Would be good with pulled chicken in my house. How hot was the harissa? Did you break out in a sweat?

K.

[klflowers]

fzxdoc Kathryn I have a couple jars of harissa. One is "hot", the Mina brand. It is a little spicy to me, but my tolerance is pretty high. I have another that Brian, mrteddyprincess, gifted me that is from Tunisia. The brand is Kartago. It is not spicy but it is really good too. I used both.

[Richard Chrz]

Sounds and looks fantastic, nice cook!

[jayjordan]

”Grumpy Cutter’s Cowboy Chili Pie” - From author Marc Cameron in his book “Stone Cold”

[fzxdoc]

That looks comforting. I bet it was tasty.

K.

[jayjordan]

fzxdoc - it was okay. First time making it so followed the recipe exactly (except accidentally using more sour cream than called for). I think I can enhance the chili recipe to make it much better.

[RonB]

Another go at shish kabobless - no skewers for those who haven't seen this before.

[Richard Chrz]

Cool, Carbon steel pans and grills are a great pairing!

[fzxdoc]

Just because I've seen it before doesn't mean I don't want to join you and your wife in polishing it off. The ingredients, mixing the beef, chicken, and shrimp and especially adding the pineapple, make the mixture intriguing. Like a stir fry paella. Is the sauce you use sweet or savory?

Kathryn

[RonB]

fzxdoc - this time it's Italian dressing. I also do, (and prefer), teriyaki style sauce made with GF tamari sauce. I do add some light brown sugar to cut the tamari, and it approaches being sweet.

[Richard Chrz]

I have not used my wok in what feels like forever, decided to change that. Shrimp fried rice for dinner.

[Carolyn]

This dish looks bright and cheery.

[Carolyn]

I was going for Crawifsh and Corn Chowder, but when I opened up the thawed
Crawfish tails, I didn't care for the way they smelled. I was going to add some Andouille sausage anyway, so I used it for my main protein, and it turned out really good.

[Richard Chrz]

Showed up now, looks fantastic!!

[Ace]

Nice save... Looks great! 👍👍👍

[klflowers]

I believe it is pronounced chowda. However you say it, I want some

[SheilaAnn]

Way too hot to do anything, I actually cooked bacon in the microwave. BAT sandwiches. Bacon-Arugula-Tomato



I did run the toaster oven for 5.5 minutes…..

[cruiseplanner1]

Perfect summer sandwich right there!

[jfmorris]

That looks GREAT! Nothing can beat a good BLT.

Yvonne and I have gradually gotten a little lettuce (Romaine) being sure to wash it good ourselves, along with some spinach, and avoiding pre-bagged cut/washed stuff. BLT's were on the menu a couple of days ago, using some Hatch Chile bacon I bought at Fresh Market. Mmmm. The next day I was eating burgers and ribs, and Yvonne made yet another BLT.

[SheilaAnn]

Hatch Chile bacon! Sounds so good

[treesmacker]

I precooked 12 racks of baby back for our RV group rally. These are vacuum packed and frozen. My plan is to reheat them sous vide in my cooler that has a modified lid for the heater insertion. I'm thinking I'll warm them to 203F - that is the original cook temperature. Then I'll dump the water and just keep them warm in the cooler until serving shortly thereafter. I'll serve them with the same sauces they were glazed with available on the side, and with baked beans and coleslaw. These were done on the pellet smoker at 265F for several hours and then wrapped in foil for 1 hour or so until internal temperature of about 205F; then glazed and cooked another 15 minutes. My goal is not fall off the bone, but rather chew/pull off the bone.

[Huskee]

Wow!

[treesmacker]

Draznnl Thanks for your input. I ended up heating the ribs to 150F for a short while in the sous vide and then placed in foil lined electric fry pans set to warm for serving. They were a big hit with everyone.

[klflowers]

I have an rv, and i like to rally. With a couple weeks notice... nice looking racks

[Jerod Broussard]

The thinner of the two Chuck roasts that's going to get topped with some bell pepper and onions and taken up to 210. Currenlty 189. Smelled so good. Gotta get me one for this weekend.

[cruiseplanner1]

Have not done a chuckie yet this summer. Probably won't now with the brisket here a week ago. Plenty in the freezer for winter. We do love them chuckies

[klflowers]

This spurred me to go ahead, get over the loss of the chimp, and make one. I guess you are inspirational lol

[DaveD]

Sous vide que ribeyes for a Wednesday night dinner. SV at 132/55.5 for three hours, seared on the gasser with the GrillGrates at about 450/230 after being patted dry and dusted with a little Uncle Chris's Extra Fancy. Baked potato, broccoli, and a nice Alexander Valley cab to go with. These ribeyes are from the Goodchop online retailer, which I signed up for a few months ago - so far pretty good, I'll put up my review/thoughts in due course.

[barelfly]

I love how you have so many different family rubs that you use for your cooks! Pretty cool and special!

[DaveD]

barelfly The Uncle Chris's is a commercial product... I don't even have any uncles! (The one I had passed years ago) It's from La Fiesta foods, "Uncle Chris's Steak Seasoning", subtitled, in italics: "Extra Fancy". I mean - if it's EXTRA fancy, you know it has to be good. Panhead John uses it too, it regularly shows up in his cook pics. Unless you were just pulling my leg, in which case... nevermind!

[Sdell]

I made Chud's BBQ Pastrami Picanha with homemade sauerkraut. I highly recommend giving it a try.

[barelfly]

Yes!!!!!!! And YES to the kraut!!!1

[bbqLuv]

Rueben sammis for the win