Hot From The Pit is the newsletter for members of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club from David "Pit Boss" Parrish, and Sarahlynn Pablo, Assistant Editor. If you like it, forward a copy to a friend and hint that they should join. And remember what Meathead always says: No rules in the bedroom or dining room!
Prime Rib For Christmas
There's a first for everything, including Prime Rib! When your spouse throws you to the fire of relatives' expectations, what's a Pitmaster to do? ASK THE PIT, OF COURSE!
Wrote Member rip1877, "There are a few people coming over for dinner and the majority will not eat turkey, so in my wife's infinite wisdom (and true test to making me push my boundaries) she told everyone I would smoke Prime Rib for dinner. So lets get a few things out of the way... Oh and did I say that this scares me to death that it will be my first time doing this and my wife is hyping me up to the family? I am looking for help from all that care to jump in..."
Of course Meathead has written about the subject here, but great advice and encouragement came in the form of tips and temperatures, to how to dress and trim, to where to buy the prime rib, and even photos like this one from Pitmaster Club member smokinfatties.
He mentioned that he couldn't stay until the finish but, "We will make a few small changes to the disc to make it cook more even. Sheetmetal ring around the top edge of the disc to stop wind and reflect heat. Also a stainless lid like an umbrella that will go above the leg to reflect the heat back down onto the upper portion of the leg. More testing required!"
Christmas Comes Early For One Pitmaster And His Granddaughter by AZRedneck
"Today, I got a BBQ sauce recipe from a co-worker and stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get a couple things I was short on. I was blinded by wanting to cook it up so went straight into it. It was in the simmer and the doorbell rang. PBC IS HERE!!! YAHOO!
"I finished up the sauce which was pretty danged good, and then rushed to the PBC box to bust it open. My 5 year old grandbaby helped me move it to the back porch, and I explained what everything was for and why it worked that way. She had fun hanging the hooks on the rebar, and she noticed it was easier to get them back off with the wooden stick if you hung them with the meat towards the middle. Even though we had no meat on the hooks, her imagination showed her the path to success. (I think she may be a future pitmaster).
"She asked me if she could have the box it came in, and of course I said yes. She built herself a pretty sweet little fort in the living roon, and pretended she had her own cooker in there. She whipped me up a "smoked" Pop Tart (from a package we had in the pantry) and I thanked her and told her how good it was. (FYI, IMPORTANT NOTE!!! Smores Pop Tarts are not good with beer.)
"Pictures were taken and I was ready to send the good news to you folks and then I noticed... yet another box was on the table. Hmm, YES! The Anova arrived too! I was compelled to take new pictures, so I did, and they are attached.
"So, although I absolutely know nothing about SV, I'm diving in. I promised Mrs. Redneck the first thing I would make is creme brulee (Thanks Jerod Broussard , you said it was good, I looked at the recipe, and it sounds like it probably is) Next will be 2 rib eyes I have sitting in the freezer, but I plan the do the sear on the gasser just cuz it's quicker."
"I have a 18" WSM, a Karubecue C-60SS and just got another 18" WSM.
"I am in a predicament. I have the opportunity to buy either a BGE XL @$600, or a 2014 Yoder YS640 with second rack, probe ports, and larger wheels (but I don't think the comp cart) @$1,000
"I would buy both, but the wife would probably kill me. I have the stoker unit for the WSM."
troymeister's Friday Night lights up with these al pastor tacos:
A gourmet meat party? Yes, says bbqoaf: "My parents are hosting their annual gourmet meat party tomorrow night, so I've cured a pastrami as well as two legs of lamb to make lamb ham. Smoke starts at 5 am tomorrow, I'll post pics of the finished product and let you know how the lamb ham turns out.
"I'm extra excited for this pastrami as I saw a monster sized perfectly marbled packer and successfully got them to cut off part of it as I didn't need one so big. I instructed them where to cut, and so I ended up with a brisket that's probably 75% point!"
Besides your butcher, perhaps the person any Pitmaster should know is your farmer raising the animals. Henrik makes a good case for that: "I have found a new supplier of top quality meats. It is a local farmer, I visited him last weekend. He has mostly cows, but his swine 'collection' is growing. He let's them breed naturally (no stress), and the cows reach an age of 30-36 months before they visit the butcher's. They have plenty of space. All in all it was a great visit, he knows what it takes to get good quality meat.
"Naturally I left with a few hanger steaks, picanha (rump steak) and boneless inside round." Before and after pictures below!
Breadhead let us take a look inside his BGE and how he gets a great sear, "Searing on the BGE requires moving your meat down closer to the red hot lump. I have a grate that allows me to get my meat down very close to the lump. Then if I need to get the lump to Warp 10 heat after cooking at 225° for the first part of the cook I blast it with the BBQ Dragon."
Breadhead is one of our most valued members with lots of clever tips for Eggheads and bakers.
"I've had a 14 lb Angus brisket on since last night around 9:30, so close to 18 hours total cooking time. I've been using kettle/Slow 'N Sear with a Party Q. Temps have been rock steady at 225 F the entire time. Around four hours ago the brisket was temping at 180 F so I wrapped it in butcher paper. Now it's at 183 F.
"Physics tells us there will only be one stall given constant temperature. My brisket was past the stall, so we should have been done with stuck temps.
"I think the butcher paper changed the release of humidity from the meat enough that it caused a second stall even though temps were the same.
"So after 18 hours I have a pretty tender brisket even though temps are in low 180s everywhere I check it. Maybe even a few high 170s.
"About 10 minutes ago I double wrapped the brisket in foil, threw it back in the pit, and cranked the heat up to 280 F. I figure it's tender so it's probably done enough but I want to get some more heat in it so it carries better in the faux cambro.
Pitmaster club member smokinfatties volunteered in the KCBS judges tent at the Indio California State BBQ Championship & Festival in November.
"Overall, it was a wonderful experience. The California BBQ Association held a trimming class on Friday where four amazingly talented pit masters showed us how they prepare each of the competition meats..."
"The highlight of the weekend for me (besides getting to snack at the grazing table after turn in) was winning the raffled off Snake River Farm Gold Brisket that Darren [Warth- Iowa Smoky D's- winner of the American Royal and about a million other competitions..] trimmed! Not often that you get a wagyu brisket trimmed down by the #1 competition Brisket pitmaster. I attached some pictures of the flat that I cooked on the Karubeque, man oh man!"
And don't forget to tune in to Rempe and Meathead every second Tuesday of the month on The BBQ Central Show.
"Hello Jambo, My Old Friend":
In Memoriam Of All Our Old Cookers
We'll leave you pointing in two directions. Stories of smokers and grillers gone in "In Memoriam" started by Pitmaster Club member Nate "to say goodbye, pay tribute to, pay respect to, leave a eulogy for, share a memory of, share of picture of, etc... for lost, retired, destroyed, given away, replaced, sold, etc... smokers, grills, cookers, accessories." Read all about 'em, and add your stories of glory days gone in The Pit.
Hello Jambo my old friend
I've come to cook on you again
Blue-gray smoke is softly creeping
While the normal folks are all sleeping
And the smell of smoke is planted in my brain
I cook again
I'm cooking on, my Jambo
While others dream I cook alone
My only friend my new iPhone
Neath the halo of a Coleman lamp
I cook out in the warm and damp
The time creeps by upon a million clocks
Throw more oak into the fire box
I'm cooking on, my Jambo
Ev'ry 40 minutes I'm Myron-spritzing
Upon the brisket it is glistening
Nitric oxide hits the my-o-globin
Creates the smoke ring lying just within
And it's all looking better cuz we got vorticity
Bark's so pretty
I'm cooking on, my Jambo
The flavor in the brisket grows
So pleasing to the tongue and nose
While smoke coils skyward up into the dark
Imparting flavor deep into the bark
Got to tend that fire so it won't do any harm
iGrill alarms
I'm cooking on, my Jambo
What if they smell the Q next door
10,000 neighbors maybe more
But the Q it is for my family
Who'm I kidding it is all for me
I'll have the beef sweats, before it's even noon
I hope it's soon
I'm cooking on, my Jambo
If you like all the free information on AmazingRibs.com, please use our links when you shop. Many websites pay us a small referral fee when you click our links and purchase from them, especially Amazon. Please save this link and use it every time you go to Amazon.
It works on everything from grills to diapers, it has zero impact on the price you pay, but has a major impact on our ability to improve AmazingRibs.com. Without it we could not survive.
Comment