BARDSLJR

My Aussie comrades are probably familiar with Bunster's sauce products- I just discovered it and their excellent Facebook website that showcases a lot of different uses by Bunster fans in various cooking applications , often using them like a glaze or slather. I just got a sampler pack delivered yesterday- can't wait to try on some of their "Shit the Bed" sauce on grilled/smoked chicken. I (accidently) got some of their PoshBlack Truffle BBQ sauce- anybody have any experience with it? Can't wait to start working my way through this assortment pack. My wife, who is spicy-averse, is going to hate me for a while.

I most often use apple wood, too. I wouldn't have thought of olive oil. I usually use Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust for my rub- it's a good workhorse for anything porkish. I also use the 2/1/1 method, and have until now always cooked meat side up- I think will try meat side down a couple more times before I reach a conclusion.

Last weekend I tried an experiment, this time cooking the babyback ribs with the meat side down, under the hypothesis that smoke is coming up from below, will hit the meat first and circle around it and exit through the roof vent. Should this give us a better, stronger smoke penetration? Answer is, from this one trial, I can't tell. And also, I was using plum wood for the first time, and I have no experience with what to expect. What do y'all think? Jim in Denver

NICE. Well, as far as filets, go, I stand by my choices. They also say "real" scotch drinkers prefer the peaty ones- Tallisker, Laphroig, Lagavuillion.....but I prefer Glendrinach, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich. So there....

Well, as luck would have it, we were in Costco this afternoon (to my Aussie friends: Costco is a huge buying cooperative, run practically like a non-profit, that has a very large national presence in the US, enormous buying power that extracts razor thin discounts in bulk buying and passes them along to their "members"). Passing along the meat counter, I found they had- and this is in my experience unusual - these huge Cowboy/Tomahawk ribeye cuts for sale for $11.99/lb. This is about half of what I would pay a good local restaurant supplier or Snake River. Did I mention, "prime"? So I brought one home, and had my first experience cooking....not bad. I probably could have moved it farther away from direct heat and cooked slower, but overall, it was good experience and I think I have this cut at least partially figure out. PS, Don't hate me, but I still like filet mignon (tenderloin) better.

Yes, I have a basket splitter (that I have never used)- I can try doing it that way, thanks. This will be probably a weekend project.

Yes, I think I am hearing the same thing everywhere: quick sear, then cooking over moderate heat for 12-15 minutes per side, flipping frequently. The problem is, if I sear on the 32" KK, I will not be able to get the temperature down again- there is no "hot side/cooler side like in a charcoal grill. So I am thinking maybe I use the infrared broiler on my gas grill for the initial sear, and then finish on KK with a nice combo of charcoal and wood, probably mesquite.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I saw one of those barbecue competition shows the other day, and the pitmasters were challenged to cook brisket point for burnt ends and big huge old Cowboy Steaks- big ribeye Tomahawk type steaks. So, inspired by that, I ordered a couple of prime ribeye Cowboy Steaks, one cut 3" thick, and the other 4". This should be interesting and fun. So, does anyone have any experience cooking these monsters and tips on how to conduct this cook? The smaller one is 2.3 lbs and the bigger one about 4.1. Any tips or recommendations would be welcomed.

I hear it is an excellent year for both Hatch and Pueblo (Colorado) chilis this year.

Every fruitwood I've ever used has matched nicely with any pork product- I would think persimmon would, too.

I've used maple and alder with success, too. Maple is light and relatively neutral; alder is, in my experience, very similar to apple.

Thanks, this is very helpful. I've used orange and peach before- as you said, a lighter smoke, similar to apple or alder. I did not know what to expect of the plum- may have to try that next. Apple and pecan are generally my go-to choices for most of my smoking, since most of the meats I smoke are various pork cuts. I do find that for brisket and beef ribs, post oak seems to be the best match. Hickory is pretty versatile, too.

Well, Ora, (or is it "Aussie"?), I actually DID manage to somewhat dry them out, even in the 32" KK, even with disposable water pans filled in the KK. I think I probably should have done them just like the 2/1/1 recipe I use for babyback ribs- although country-style ribs have a big bit of fat on them, the meaty portion is very lean and prone to drying out. It's a challenge to cook them to the proper temperature for tenderness (195-205) and at the same time not dry them out- especially here in Denver, where we have desert-levels of humidity, often down to 10% or so. So I think next time I will be slathering, mopping, and spritzing a lot more, and using a foil wrap with some moisture in it for at least an hour of the cook.

Me neither. I am guessing apricot is more like orange. Oh well, I have till around noon tomorrow to decide.

Very cool rub. I know it is not unusual to use mustard as a slather- Franklin uses it on his brisket, although very sparingly, just to help the salt/pepper adhere to the meat. In the case of the country-style ribs, I know one of my challenges is keeping pork from drying out at the same time we're trying cook it through and flavor it. A liberal slather and rub coating would probably help to let it cook moistly.

Peeps....I got an excessive bounty of new woods for smoking this week. I have an excessive bounty of new woods, in part because when I made the order to Fruita and another N. Carolina source, I never received a confirmation....so, thinking maybe I had not hit the "purchase" button the night before, I made a double order to Fruita. Oh well....it takes up space, but it is not like it is going to go bad. I have a bunch of the usual suspects- post oak, apple, cherry, pecan (LOVE pecan); also have some, for me, unusual choices: plum, apricot, orange. Does anyone have any experience with the latter three? I don't really know what to expect of them. Thanks, dudes and dudettes.....

Excellent suggestion. Freshness is all about where it's at. Also, if you have a foodsaver, you can (1) buy your own meat in large cuts and trim it down to serving size, and freeze individual servings: then you can take them out later, put them in a bowl of water, and unpack them and you have a perfectly fresh cut of meat, ready to cut. It works quite well. You can also use the FoodSaver- vacuum packed portions to cook in a sous vide bath, if you so choose. (I haven't tried this with steak yet, but will soon.) (They also have great coffee sources in Seattle, and they all ship.....) Lastly, thank you Dennis. These KK smokers are incredibly well built, and worth, IMHOP, every penny. Good job!

That is very helpful, thanks. Yes, I was using prime brisket. I also have a tray of water in the smoker right over the heat source, both to keep the humidity up and to act as a shield between the fire and the cooking area. Perhaps a spritz or two during the cook before I wrap it might be in order, too. I use lump hardwood charcoal for my heat source and 3x3" wood chunks for the smoke. This last one was hickory and cherry. I prefer oak for brisket, fruitwoods for any pork.

So the problem was, I finished the brisket at 12:30, serving time eta was around 7, and optimum serving temp was 140. Hence the experiment with the soups vide, which I think worked pretty well.

Toasting your cumin seeds, and then crushing them or grinding them, is a very standard Indian cooking technique (actually, they toast and grind most of their spices, it seems, fresh.) I will have to try that maybe next time around- I love cumin in chili or in black beans (with garlic and lime). Parenthetically, I have found that cumin, garlic, and lemon all do not tolerate long cooks well, tend to bitter, and should be added close to the end. Most commercial chili powders will be savory, not hot, especially the commercially available chili spice blends that already have garlic, cumin, onion powder, etc. (Gephardt's, McCormick's, etc.) I get my chili powder as pure ground roast chili's of various types,(Fort Worth Light is a favorite) almost all from Pendery's, in Fort Worth, which was a spice company started by the eastern "dude" who is credited with creating the first versions of Texas chili to be consumed on the cattle drives. The company logo is a top hat with a bullet hole in it, because, as legend has it, when Mr. Pendery arrived in Fort Worth from Boston to make his fortune, he strolled down main street and someone shot his beaver hat off his head. Good tips, all. Thanks, mate!

Basher, chili would be a great idea, but it is summer up here, and temps running in mid-90s (30's C) in the daytime- I understand it is quite pleasant down in Brisbane right now. This chili recipe is interesting- as a former competitive chili cook, I always like to see how many different variations there are. I am a bit surprised that there are only 2 TBS of chili in a recipe that starts with 5 lbs of meat, and also only 1/2 cup of liquid (coffee). Most of the time I would use a lot more chili and probably more liquid. I would also hold back on the cumin until the last ten minutes or so of the cook- put it in too early and it tends to go bitter.

Brisket hash ...could work. One could substitute tater tots for fried potatoes to make it lighter and add some crunch.

Well, I have quite a lot of very brisket even after feeding 11 people with the 16-pound brisket last night: other than the obvious ( I am enjoying a very good sandwich with reheated brisket and barbecue sauce right now), choices like tacos, enchiladas and fajitas, what are your suggestions for using this pretty excellent leftover beef?

In your experience, which cooks faster, the point or the flat? What techniques have you used to get them to the finish temperature as close together as possible?

Oh. completely agree. I did not know what the effect of keeping the meat heated, even in a vacuum pack, might be for an additional two hours or so. Happily, it did not seem to do anything much, as far as I could tell, except maintain the temperature. The bark was nicely intact. The flat was a little dryer than I would have preferred, but pretty tender (it could have been better); the point was nicely cooked through and moist. Flavor overall was quite good, just the right combination of pepper, salt, and smoke. My guests were giving it a "10"- on a Franklin scale (brisket I have had at Franklin's and LA Barbecue, the best I've ever had)- I'd give it an 8.5. I'd rather serve it right off the smoker after a proper rest than warming it like this, but the sous vide proved an effective method for solving the problem I had.