Hi I’m the Burkester, I’m a PBC chicken addict, is this where the meeting is tonight?
Yep, it’s been 5 straight weeks of chicken on the Pit Barrel!
Tonight it was dry brined with Pit Barrel Pit Rub for 5 hours, cooked over B&B oak lump at 350-375 for an hour an 45 minutes. Also hung a couple skewers of zucchini and red bell pepper the last half hour. Perfect every time. The family loves it. I guess it could be a worse addiction!
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
One of my favorites - Paella with chicken and a seafood medley. I’m at the lake house this weekend, and like the rest of the country the weather turned to crap. Had 25-30 mph winds this afternoon, so had to cook this on the stovetop and oven. Didn’t have the Smokey flavors the charcoal and wood grill provides, but still turned out great!
Once in the summer I was making paella and I didn't like the look of the weather, so I turned on the oven. Got everything inside just in time to avoid the thunderstorm. Nothing wrong with giving the indoor equipment some love. That food looks great.
Panhead John around here it's cook in the cold or only cook 6 months of the year.
Dr. Pepper Here's my recipe for salt-cured pork belly. It's pretty simple. Because it has no nitrates/nitrites, it's hot smoked to prevent spoilage or biotoxins. You need ample fridge space and some wire racks - stainless steel or the salt will rust them.
Cut pork bellies to size so they fit on your wire racks and remove any ragged edges
Rub with a thin coat of maple syrup and sprinkle liberally with coarse kosher salt. How much salt? I don't know - a little more than you think. Sometimes I add other seasonings (black pepper, cayenne, etc.), but honestly I really like the maple syrup and salt, plus I'm lazy.
Put in the fridge on wire racks so air can circulate - use drip pans or you'll have a mess.
After 2-4 days, repeat the syrup and salt
After 3-4 repeats, slice off a small chunk. Fry it and taste it to see if you have reached the desired saltiness and texture - should be more like bacon than like a pork chop. If it's not there yet, continue with syrup/salt and dry curing until it's good. Usually 3-4 repeats over 10-14 days is about right.
Smoke at low temperature (200-225 is ideal) until it hits 150-155 F internal temperature. I don't find that the type of wood is critical, but others get very excited over their special blend of apple or hickory or whatever.
Put it back in the fridge to firm up. As tempting as it is, don't dive in while it's still hot.
Vacuum seal (or wrap well if you don't have a sealer) and freeze whatever you won't be using within a week or two. Because of the lack of preservatives, it will mold/spoil if left in a ziploc or sealed container in the fridge. But it keeps well unwrapped in the fridge - it slowly dries out, but is good for a week or more. Or if you continue to let it dry, it can get pretty hard but is stable unrefrigerated - great for camping if you just wrap it in some paper. (I think this is safe - do your own research.)
Because it's precooked, you can eat it as-is -- it's pancetta. You can slice it and cook it like bacon. Dice it in an omelet. Put it on pizza. Sauté with brussels sprouts. Generally go crazy with it.
HouseHomey sorry to report that IHOP shut down several years ago. The other one near me - Tustin marketplace - also shut down. A couple Denny's gone, too. Irvine Company doesn't like traditional, affordable, family-friendly restaurants taking up their valuable space - it's got to be trendy and overpriced.
The IHOP in downtown HB is still on the corner or Orange (I think orange) and main across from the old post office. Too bad. Although I don’t eat at those places anymore they sure served a greater purpose for us then. My daughter and I would go for not much money. Sad but I think you are right about that.
barelfly Green lipped mussles are from New Zealand, although they may be farmed elsewhere now. The flavor is similar to other mussels. The big difference, and why we love then so much, is that they are much meatier and succulent than other varieties.
theroc Whew! Glad to hear your explanation about green lipped mussels. For a moment, I thought they were what happened if you leave a bucket of mussels in the Altadena heat for a few days. 🤢
LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Genesis E335 Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Anova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
John "JR"
Minnesota/ United States of America
******************************************** Grills/Smokers/Fryers Big Green Egg (Large) X3
Blackstone 36" Outdoor Griddle 4-Burner
Burch Barrel V-1 Karubeque C-60 Kamado Joe Jr. (Black) Lodge L410 Hibachi Pit Barrel Cooker Pit Barrel Cooker 2.0
Pit Barrel PBX
R&V Works FF2-R-ST 4-Gallon Fryer *******************************************. Thermometers
FireBoard (Base Package)
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Cuda 7' Fillet Knife Dexter 12" Brisket Sword Global Shun Wusthof ********** Next Major Purchase Lone Star Grillz 24 X 48 Offset
Weber Silver A (fixer upper project, currently sitting dead in my garage)
KBQ C-60
Accessories
Fireboard 2
Weber iGrill Mini
Weber Instant Read
Random Digital Instant Read from the Grocery Store (in a pinch)
Weber Charcoal Chimney
Slick University of Michigan apron w/built in bottle opener
Beverages
Favorite beer(s): Bell's Oberon, Founders All Day I{A, Corona Extra, Heineken, Guinness
Red Wine: Anything dry and under $15 per bottle
Whiskey: Makers Mark French Oak, Buffalo Trace.. anything purchased by other people and shared
About MeReal name: Jesse
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Favorite Football Team: Michigan Wolverines (NCAA) and the Detroit Lions (primary NFL) / Baltimore Ravens (secondary NFL, after the Lions are statistically eliminated from the playoffs... usually by Thanksgiving)
Greetings from cold and rainy NC. Making Italian meatballs on the meat ferris wheel for subs for dinner. First time using this contraption and it’s total overkill but kinda fun.
awsop I’ve got a rotisserie as well for my 22†kettle. Can you give me your thoughts on it when you’re done? I bought the shiskabob skewer wheel for mine, but it limits what you can put on the skewers. I’d like to try that Ferris wheel thing a ma jig.
Ohhhhhhhh, the RIB-O-LATOR is back!!!! I love that thing. IDC what people say about it. I also think "Meat Ferris Wheel" Is a way better name, my friend.
Panhead John The ferris wheel is from bbq guys. I had read some of the stories of the ribolator and trays/food falling out. The bbqguys version is cheaper and they claimed to solve those shortcomings. With the cajun bandit rotisserie thing everything fits perfectly on the weber 22. You just have to make sure the lid vent is not directly over the spit or the tray will hit the hook on the underside of the lid. The only downside is that you have to loosen the thumb screws up when inserting and removing the contraption to get the spit in/out of the motor. But that only is a pain if you preload the trays and then try to put the spit in the grill like I did today. Doh!
awsop Thanks for your very informative reply! So...to remove the spit when done cooking, you have to loosen the "hot" thumbscrews in order to remove it from the grill and motor? I’m assuming you’re removing the food from each tray first, when done cooking? I have the Weber rotisserie kit and not the Cajun Bandit. Not sure if there’s any difference between the two.
Prime NY strip, S&P, sous vide at 133, seared in ghee. Shiitake mushrooms sauteed with onions,garlic, S&P.
Carrots with a butter, honey, vanilla, and salt sauce.
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