Sent out late morning but forgot to send to list...just in case anyone's gonna be in the area! Continuing the antithesis roasting style of coffee, that be low and slow. Yesterday got 40# of boneless skinless chicken thighs trimmed and cherry wood smoke grilled in two 20# flights of 2 1/2 hours each. FWIW an hour at 180f then upped smoker temp to 225f for the rest of cook. Turned out great, still need chopping and the apricot finish sauce made. Got the 4, 41# total, pork butts on about 12:30 last night/this morning. My butts get a blend of pecan/apple/maple for their low-n-slow smoke cook, 180f 'til got up 7am upped to adjust to 225f. Butts were progressing nicely smallest of the 4 up to about 145f then, now 195f 5f from finish, another half hour or so. After resting and pulling butts will be finished with a Caribbean style Q sauce for the sliders. There will also be Nathan doggies slow smoke grilled Monday using same blend as butts. (doggies "slow" is more like 30 minutes not 3 or 10 hours!) Two gallons of my baked beans going in the oven for about 6 hours shortly. And of course huge batch of my infamous macaroni potato salad to make. Vegetarians you've not been forgotten! Bry and Sarah are doing smoke grilled fresh mozzarella, roma tomato, basil and red onion pizzas! Homemade dough of course, brushed with EVOO. I may be a "king of Q" but gonna munch some of them myself too! Oh, and while the gauntlet was thrown down all over town for the Latte Art Competition, Katie threw down a homemade pie gauntlet of her own:) PS added now. All butts finally off and resting yet to be pulled, sauced and vac bagged for easy heating tomorrow. (vac bags in simmering water) Just finished the 40# of chicken turned into 7 vac bags about 1/2 gallon each of the smoked chopped chicken. Apricot sauce turned out killer. Confession: for years have been using Traegers Apricot Q sauce 'cuz we really like it and it's easy. Not this time, mine from scratch turned out just as good if not better. Slave to the Bean miKe mcKoffee www.CompassCoffeeRoasting.com URL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who have gone before. Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Sounds great. Neighbor gave me a bag of apricots, so I'm making a sauce for the chicken. Smoking ribs, grilling sausage and veggies and some corn and taking over some coffee to brew tomorrow. Gotta clean up the grill, but it's just still so got here. Watching anime in the yard projected on a sheet helps when it's cooler outside. Happy Fourth, all. -Chris Pecked out on my mobile phone. On Jul 3, 2011 4:31 PM, "miKe mcKoffee" wrote: Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
My son has to work Monday afternoon & evening, so we had our cookout today (Sunday). Three slabs of babyback ribs, dusted with kosher salt and fine black pepper, seared on the gas grill (total about 14 minutes with lots of movement and turning, with smoke, too), then off to one side of the grill while two burners on the other end applied indirect heat for another 70 minutes. One of those two burners was under the smoker box, applying some flame to the wild cherry chunks that I used for flavoring. No sauce. Just meat, salt, pepper, heat and smoke. These were some of the best ribs I've ever had, let alone cooked. A long time ago, I became a coffee snob courtesy of the homeroasting the good stuff from Sweet Maria's. I can tolerate coffee "out" but seldom order it in restaurants. I've become a rib snob, too - same thing, I can tolerate ribs at restaurants, but find that most restaurants concentrate on "falling off the bone" and not flavor. Ugh. Once the meal was over, I sat back to enjoy a single origin espresso of Brazil Joao de Campos Yellow Catuai. Yum. I've been using it for Americano's until now. The kitchen is progressing - new cabinets are in, countertops and floors not yet, so the Vivaldi II is still idle. Good thing I didn't sell my Silvia! Terry Stockdalehttp://terrystockdale.com/coffeeOn 7/3/2011 6:38 PM, Yakster wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
On Sun, Jul 3, 2011 at 4:28 PM, miKe mcKoffee wrote: <Snip> Now there's a USEFUL tidbit! Mike you've been using a pellet grill a lot longer than I have... I know you like to use the various flavor wood pellets. I used to cook on on an offset firebox type smoker using an all wood fire, and I know whatever wood I used played a big part in the flavor. So far, I've been disappointed that the Traeger pellets I've used have all been very similar to each other, nearly indistinguishable in fact. Have you tried other brands? Which do you like? Thanks! Dave Some days... It's just not worth chewing through the leather straps Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Different Mike here, but I also have used pellets for many years, first in a Traeger and now in a FEC-100 by Cookshack. I buy my cooking fuel pellets from BBQr's Delight. They have an online website at http://bbqrsdelight.com/ They make theirs with 1/3 flavor wood and 2/3 oak. Traeger uses 10% flavor wood and 90% oak in their pellets from their southern plant or 90% alder from their west coast plant. Shipping is high on small orders, but if you buy 400 lb. or more, BBQr's Delight discounts the price and ships by truck which is much less than UPS. I find their pellets to be well made, with little dust and they provide a good flavor. Another trick to get more smoke flavor is to put a foil pack of pellets (preferably pure flavor wood, also available from BBQ-D) on top of the heat deflector plate when cooking. This adds more smoke flavor. Mike Chester |
I switched to Bear Mountain pellets 75% Alder base. Local so easily sourced (now available 20# $10 @ Cash & Carry) When wanting boo-koo smoke, or cold smoking, I use 8" Smoke Daddy I added. Cold smoking run the Traeger with no pellets for it's convection fan, works great for cheeses etc. Temps just a few above ambient. Slave to the Bean miKe mcKoffee www.CompassCoffeeRoasting.com URL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who have gone before. Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Glad you enjoyed your babybacks. There's a fine line between falling of the bone and being able to twist the bone free with meat having good texture. Ribs to get really good texture and smoke infusion take 4 to 6 hours low & slow depending on the type of rib. (Babyback vs St. Louis mostly for pork) Higher temp grilling is for finishing a glaze. Yes, I AM a Q snob :) And there's oft' more than one way to skin a cat! Get yourself to Q competition sometime and you'll see what I mean. Flavor counts most assuredly, and part of eating enjoyment is proper texture. And seasoning is king. Unlike what commercials say, sauce doesn't make the Q, it's like a garnishment. FWIW a good Q restaurant doesn't take short cuts like pressure cooking just so the meat falls off the bone but yes some do, just not good ones. A good rib isn't mushy (too high finish temp or cooked under pressure or foil wrapped which can work ok but not too long and not the way I rock), isn't overly chewy either (too low finish temp and/or too fast cook). The meat is buttery moist yet with a good chew texture. Same for pulled pork, which doesn't need cutting, couldn't if you wanted to, literally pulls apart. But ribs a bit more texture, more firmness, than pulled pork. ('bout 5f finish lower ie 195f for ribs 200f for butts) Unless you like yours different with lots of chew then disregard all of the above, just don't enter 'em in a competition! Slave to the Bean miKe mcKoffee www.CompassCoffeeRoasting.com URL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who have gone before. Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
I hadn't heard of the smoke daddy. That looks like a great attachment! Thanks for the info on pellets. I haven't been in yet, I just recently heard of them, but these guys are local to me:http://www.californiapelletgrills.com/Right now I have about 80# of Traeger pellets. I'll go up there soon though. Ribs & chicken for tonight... Dave Some days... It's just not worth chewing through the leather straps On Sun, Jul 3, 2011 at 9:41 PM, miKe mcKoffee wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Absolutely agree. I am a certified BBQ judge with the Kansas City BBQ Society the largest sanctioning organization in the US for BBQ contests. I have taken classes in their standards and how to properly judge BBQ and miKe is absolutely correct about rib tenderness. A rib with the meat falling off the bone will receive lower marks as overcooked. When you bite a properly cooked rib, the meat will be tender but will not pull off of the bone. When you look at it, there should be a perfect impression of your bite remaining in the piece. We give 3 scores for each entry; appearance, tenderness (which I prefer to call texture) and flavor. These scores are weighted differently with flavor being the most important, but no matter how good it tastes, you have no chance of winning unless the other scores are decent. The only thing that miKe said that I slightly disagree with is he stated absolute temperatures for doneness and each piece of meat cooks differently with some getting done at a lower or higher temp. I know that he was only giving average finish temps, but he did not say that. It sounds like a smart ass answer, but the correct answer to how long do I cook it or to what temp, is "Cook it until it's done." In a butt, you should be able to poke a fork into the meat and twist it with relatively little resistance. If it is a bone-in roast, the bone should slide out easily. For ribs, when you pick up the slab, it should sag and just begin to crack where the support ends. If a piece breaks off, it is over done. If it sticks straight out, it is not done enough. I also agree on sauce. A properly cooked piece of meat can stand on its own and sauce is just a condiment to enhance the flavor. A good sauce cannot save a poorly cooked piece of meat, but a bad sauce or too much sauce can ruin a good piece of meat. The biggest mistake people make is drowning the meat in sauce, so all you can taste is sauce. Having said all this, home cooking is not the same as competition cooking, and its beauty is you can do it exactly how you like it. If you prefer falling off the bone tender, cook them that way. If you prefer your butt sliceable instead of pull-able, cook it less. (some comp cooks submit sliced butt rather than pulled and it is perfectly acceptable, but the margin for error is smaller with sliced, so most pull or chop their butts) Mike Chester |
I have to admit it. I'm jealous, miKe. Hope you (& everyone else) is having a terrific time. My day is quiet - working on a dining table (painting, distressing, making not-too-old looking older). Had a terrific time visiting my daughter in New Haven, though - recent weight loss made my near constant knee pain disappear. The possibility of knee replacement surgery made me very serious about getting this excess weight off - and worth the temporary sacrifice of not eating stuff like described here (says I as my stomach growls... hahaha). As a result, I've lost quite a bit already (still have a lot more to lose, but I'm doing it) - and, my health has improved already!! So - my dear daughter took me walking all over New Haven - hours upon hours - and.. I didn't die, lol! In fact, I now realize I can do this often. I'll salivate reading your menu, miKe. For now, I'm all set with what I'm eating - but, who knows - maybe another year I'll actually fly over & join you guys (and I'll be able to add some of my own baked favorites to Katie's list!!). Happy 4th to you & all!! Lynne Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
I wrote: <Snip> Arrggh!! *are are ARE* having a terrific time. Google is supposed to let me undo to correcct my stupid grammar mistakes... Lynne Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Lynne, You sound like a pirate. :-) I did the baby backs with sauce on the side, but finished the chicken with an apricot glaze from the neighbors tree. Happy Fourth! -Chris Pecked out on my mobile phone. On Jul 4, 2011 12:08 PM, "Lynne" wrote: <Snip> me <Snip>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20Homeroast mailing list">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Arrggh, arrggh, arrggh mate-y!!! Gonna make yer walk the planks if you tell me one more delicious thing yar cookin'!! ;-) Happy 4th to you, too! Lynne apricots!!! mmm.... On Mon, Jul 4, 2011 at 4:38 PM, Yakster wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Yes I sit corrected, temps were example target temps. Just like in roasting coffee may have a bean roasted many times with a usual target EOR. Sometimes may take it a hair higher or lower finish temp depending on how it's reacting that session. BTW great turn out. Great fun. Dead tired! Slave to the Bean miKe mcKoffee www.CompassCoffeeRoasting.com URL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who have gone before. Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
Having been a vegetarian for the last 26 years the meat stuff didn't appeal, but the smoked cheese, now that sounds yummy. Time to go to the Co-op and get some non-pasturized smoked cheddar and then read up on smoking my own cheeses, man now I've got another thing to sort of master. Anyways, thank you for the descriptions of the BBQ, reminded of me Memphis' May Festival and the watching the competition and secrets and stuff when I used to live there in the early 80's. Peter -- Sent from my Palm Pre On Jul 4, 2011 2:05, miKe mcKoffee <mcKona> wrote: I switched to Bear Mountain pellets 75% Alder base. Local so easily sourced (now available 20# $10 @ Cash & Carry) When wanting boo-koo smoke, or cold smoking, I use 8" Smoke Daddy I added. Cold smoking run the Traeger with no pellets for it's convection fan, works great for cheeses etc. Temps just a few above ambient. Slave to the Bean miKe mcKoffee www.CompassCoffeeRoasting.com URL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://www.mckoffee.com/Ultimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path. To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who have gone before. Sweet Maria's List - Searchable Archiveshttp://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/ > |
Peter, I eat very, very little meat at all - but the ONE thing (regarding meat) that really tempts me... is... (of course) barbeque. My two daughters were vegan for various times in their lives (my oldest `still is). I wanted to attempt to make 'aged' nut cheese - a small company in NY makes some that is coveted by many), but never did try. Now smoked cheese... any kind of cheese... sounds like that would really be my downfall! Was discussing w/my younger daughter how we both seemed to have inherited that love (my mom lived for cheddar, I think, lol). *getting back to homeroast..* Before I visited my daughter in New Haven I roasted two extra batches for her & her fiance. Would have been a great gift, bagged in SM's cotton bags - if I hadn't left it on my bedroom dresser (placed wisely *way* above the reach of Emma "I will consume everything in my path" the Wonder Dog... [as in *I Wonder How She Can Eat *{insert food, drink, and/or coffee beans} *and Not Get Sick*]. Mixed three kinds of greens (don't ask what beans - forgot in the rush) and... and... and.. drank a great cuppa this morn. Sigh... well, at least I finally got the roast down right! hope everyone had a nice fourth - mine was nice & peaceful.. Lynne On Tue, Jul 5, 2011 at 2:18 AM, Peter Louton wrote: <Snip> Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |
A vegan is someone who can' hear a tomato scream when you cut into it. :) Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T |
Besides the corn cooked on husks, the star for me was the grilled veggies... Got me a grilling basket for them this year and grilled up pearl onions, globe tomatoes, mushrooms, and pineapple with some olive oil drizzled over them and it tasted soo good. Most of the family don't appreciate the veggies, but I love them, having been a vegetarian for a year-until I started dating my wife. She's starting to come around and made a delicious eggplant parmesan last week. I think I need to grill and roast more veggies this summer. I'm tired and sore from my BBQ workout, swimming, and coffee brewing, but happy. Put back all the weight I sweated out yesterday. -Chris Pecked out on my mobile phone. On Jul 5, 2011 7:54 AM, wrote: <Snip> list,available athttp://www.sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html<homeroast> <Snip> this <Snip> company <Snip> be <Snip> have <Snip> - <Snip> *and <Snip> stuff <Snip>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20Homeroast mailing list">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20<Snip>http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.com<Snip>http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20Homeroast mailing list Homeroasthttp://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20">http://lists.sweetmariascoffee.com/mailman/listinfo/homeroast_lists.sweetmariascoffee.comHomeroast community pictures -upload yours!) :http://www.sweetmariascoffee.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemIdx20 |