Porkchop

nice!

so, i used to be a fan of the boston butt, as i am a cheapskate, and thought it best to throw away as little as possible. so, i avoided the picnic shoulder for a long time. the bone does something to the meat that is just better imho than a semi-boneless cut like a butt. the thing that used to bother me was that you can't eat the bone or the skin flap on top. now, i think of both those items in the same way as i think of flavor wood or lump charcoal; i don't eat either of those items, but use them to make my pork tasty. same deal. for them that use foil, that skin flap accomplishes the same thing; it keeps that top moist and delishus. and the bone thru the center of the roast adds a flavor that you just can't get with a butt, and it cooks better and faster. anyhow, here's some pics on the prep. basically, i cut the skin flap away from the roast most of the way, apply copious amounts of rub, and then put the flap back over it. woooo. big secret.

so, one of the things i REALLY like about this forum is all the ideas, and wanting to share something new has a way of pressing me to up my game, so to speak. recently caught an episode of this new show on tv, and was thinking ABTs kinda qualified as a frankenfood, or would have like 5 years ago... recently saw an FB post on bacon wrapped donuts. i don't want to start down that dark path, but am increasingly tempted anyone have any cool new ideas. was thinking maybe doing abts with quacamole instead of cream cheese, or even slices of avocado. not mind blowing, i know... that's why i'm here. any ideas?

nicely done! skills!

mustard slathered butts! love that old school touch, daveco... i recently revisted that technique myself with a whole pork loin.

so, i'm in on the ground floor AGAIN!!!! (sorta...) don't know what i'm doing for noms this 4th, but i've got a cool new camera phone (still like two iterations behind the rest of the world) and will post the pics... still kinda broke-ish, but even burgers, brats, and yardbird are awesome on my cooker. it's gotta be 10+ years, and it still does it all, does it right, and gives that unique flavor. some people may think it's bs that a cooker could contribute so much to the overall flavor, and i'm not smart enough to explain how it does, but it does.

good lord, has it been this long?? the Larry is still going strong, and will be fed well this 4th! still have the birdbath i got from that other place, and still using it to store my tools

been away for a loooOOOOOoooong time... lookin good KK forum! is this firemonkey's work, or deej, or who? very nice!

Re: Xmas party Butts the picture on the bottom actually looks like a shoulder, not a butt. can't tell for sure with the top pic. personally i think shoulders cook nicer than the butts too. looking very nice! i actually like to trim the skin on the top away from the shoulder, but leave it attached at the leg bone, and put my rub on the meat, then cover it back up with that skin.

Re: Venison loin? we're doing some cleaning here in advance of a visit from my mom, so i didn't take the time to light the KK, but roasted this at 425 in my oven. cut the loin in 2 halves and roasted to internal of 150. beautiful medium rare, tender and delish!! i'm so happy i have another of these backstraps in the freezer!

Re: Venison loin? thanks, tucker! very nice link, lots of info. looks like the cut i'm thinking of is referred to as "tenderloin", because it's about the right weight as what i have. i was hoping for a smoked loin like what i do with pork, but i see that it is not a recommended cooking techinque. i may leave it as a roast and just do it like that on the grill at the recommended temp/time to get that grill flavor on it. looks like a minimum internal temp should be 145. thanks so much for the help.

hey guys, holy cow!! new forum, eh? anyhow, i've got my hands on some venison, and currently have a "backstrap" (looks analagous to a whole pork loin, not a tenderloin) in the fridge. it has been soaked for a couple hours in cold water, and a final soak in salt water, then rubbed down, wrapped, and put in the fridge. this was all last night. i am tempted to cut into chops, grill or panfry, and serve. i've been advised against rare, but told that "the more done you can get it without drying it out" the better. this stuff is LEAN, but the raw meat is like butter. i know it has "melt in the mouth" potential, but i am worried about ruining it. i am considering leaving it whole and throwing it in the smoker for a couple hours low and slow, like i would a pork loin, but maybe giving it a bacon fat cap to protect it. does anyone have any experience with this cut, any good advice?

i am detecting massive quantities of WIN in this sector, captain! this will forever be refered to as PGQ! we need a PGQ meter... or better yet, a PGQ gun. i'm sure it could be used for mind-control.

Re: I don't understand the short nuclear force, either. that's good advice. i don't know about short nuclear force, but i do know that erwin schrodinger was a big fan of beef brisket. IN FACT, the theory goes, a brisket wrapped in foil waits in an "in-between" state, neither pot-roast nor bbq, UNTIL it is unwrapped and observed by the chef and his guests. this postulation is refered to as "Schrodinger's Brisket", and is the basis of Quantum BBQ. i can't seem to get my head around this stuff...

Re: It's BBQ "...serutan spelled backwards is 'natures'..." i sure do miss Mad magazine! sorry for splittin your hairs, doc, but don't take it personally. cook how you like. you won't change my mind n i won't change yours. hopefully you can take a little ribbin about using that old texas security blanket. you can tease me about doin my briskets upside-down, or just for being a damn yankee... pobody's nerfect! we're all cheatin by using our KK's anyhow; who ever heard of getting sleep cookin butts and brisket?

syz, i have learnt to keep quiet about foiling briskets, so that more diplomatical sorts as yourself may prevail. the term is "braising", for sure, but i know you don't need me backin you up on it. i've also heard a similar story about cowboys and briskets, but that they would send all of them ornery briskets east for those suckers in NYC, while they chowed down on the best parts. that makes less sense than your story tho, otherwise, where'd NY strip come from?? which came first ya figure, pastrami or bbq brisket? i bet it was pastrami.

Re: Golden Gate Meat Company point taken. "expense" is one of those relative things... what is expensive to one is reasonable to another.

Re: Golden Gate Meat Company i just swallowed my gum. to me (as in, "my opinion", not everybody's), BBQ means the applications of sugar, spice, smoke, low heat, and sweet time turn a CHEAP piece of meat into tender victuals. that sorta price-per-pound is anathema to a cheapskate like me.

don't knock sirloin, paswesley. it is my personal favorite. better flavor than a ribeye, imho. other favorites are london broil (cut from bottom round, grilled rare and sliced thin) and tri-tip roast (ditto!). i tend to find ribeyes too greasy for me. a nice porterhouse is very good, but i haven't found that they are better (esp. for the money) than a nice, fat sirloin when done properly.

somebody needs to explain the allure... of eating oysters raw. i LOVE those little steamer clams or whole, fried clams and oysters, chowders of either or both, whatever. in fact, surf and turf SHOULD mean a beautiful steak and a plate fulla fried oysters. do you chew the raw oysters up when you eat them? so many folks i see eatin them look like they just swallow them. what's the point? if you chew them up raw, how does the flavor compare to fried or steamed? that being said, the above application makes me drool! oysters braised in compound butter in their own shells??? irony always makes food taste better...

if you want a balance between a smoked and a roasted chicken, try setting your drafts for 400 or so on the temp, set your fire, and set up for an indirect cook. as your cooker is ramping up, at around the 300 deg mark, throw on some smoke wood under the heat deflector, put in your food grate, and put the chicken on. while the temp is ramping up, and your smoke wood is just catching, your chicken will get plenty of smoke. the smoke will get lighter as the temp rises, or cease completely. flip after about 30 min and let it go for another 30. you will get crispy skin and smoke flavor. this works for spatchcocked or fryer pieces. bet it would work well rotis style as well, but that's a guess.

Re: disgusting i sure don't. the gross stuff i wouldn't want to eat, sure, but there's a bunch of that fat NEEDS to be in the pork. some of the fat cap on those butts, if you cook them right, is the consistancy of softened butter, and (i believe) should be incorporated into the pork. matter of fact, if i've got good drippings in my drip pan, i will pour some of that in to my pull when i finish. pork fat rules! the gadget is a RIOT!!! but nothing beats using your hands. i'd prefer some heat-proof gloves to that thing, for the same reason. no matter how well-cooked your butt is, there is still stuff in there that i'd rather not have in my sammich. i bet they use those gadgets at the factory when they make those plastic tubs full of porcine glop they try to pass off to the less edu-ma-cated as "pulled pork"...

wrapped my gauge! picture a swarthy, bearded man loading charcoal into a bomb-shaped cooker, muttering to himself, "let's do this... let's get CRAZY...". he reaches for a blowtorch to light his grill with dancing eyes and a dangerous smile. this was ME last night. if my neighbors had "danger-sense", it would have been tingling . rule for the future; no talking to yourself as you light the grill. anyway, got my grill white hot, and the tru-temp gauge read 350. ha. i will have to recalibrate after this cook. again. anyway, 3 min. per side for perfect rare steaks. just beautiful, juicy, delicious. was worth the $5 worth of lump i spent to get the temps up. can't do that on a weber gasser, am i right? dennis, when you say $5.40/lb. is crazy, you mean LOW, right? hard to be jealous when you have t-bones, but i have to admit, i was a little. ps - does anyone else get excited and start talking to themselves when they light their fires?

this guy is DOING IT WRONG http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1280469/Spanish-bullfighter-gored-Matador-Julio-Aparicio-narrowly-escapes-death.html