tony b

Welcome to the Obsession.

Did you order the cold smoker attachment for your KK?

Finally bottled this year's batch of aji yellow hot sauce. The color is natural. Just the homegrown peppers, some garlic, a dash of seasoning salt and Xanthan gum.

That's our @Poochie!

I'm pretty solid in the Jealous Devil charcoal camp now these days. Look for the bags labelled "chunx." Nice medium to large pieces. No colossal ones like in FOGO.

Welcome to the Obsession! Can't wait to see it in its final resting place, especially if you make it the centerpiece of your courtyard with a water feature for accent. Will be stunning!

Gorgeous steak everyone! Making me crazy hungry right now!

Those Dino ribs look awesome! Nicely done!

It's the tree that Allspice berries come from. I use the wood chunks, leaves and berries when I do jerk cooking. I put the leaves and berries in a foil pouch with a couple of small holes punched in. The wood chunks just go on top of the fire. In Jamaica they actually put the meats on pimento wood branches for the "grate" over the fire. I can't replicate that unfortunately but do the best that I can with what I can buy.

The cinder block pit and chicken wire rack reminds me of upstate NY's Cornell chicken. It's a staple at local fundraisers, fairs, etc. Very similar to Alabama white sauce chicken. Technique is also reminiscent of Jamaican jerk chicken, cooked on/over pimento wood. I used to be able to get pimento wood on Etsy, but the US Ag dept changed the requirements for importing it and it became too expensive for the folks that I bought it from to keep selling in the US. I think that you can get it on eBay, but it's a bit pricier. I'd always been lead to believe that to make "true" Huli-Huli chicken, that you had to have the red Hawaiian sea salt (same as used in Kalua pig). I've seen both Emeril and Fieri make it on TV. I have a recipe from Raichlen's BBQ Bible that I've used before. All use a similar mopping sauce - cross between ketchup-based BBQ sauce and teriyaki. I've not tried this twist, but I'm guessing that Yakiniku (yakitori sauce) would be excellent on it?

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I ordered their Santa Maria rub, as it was the one that I don't have another substitute for. I like their Competitions and Secret Weapon as well and ordered some Secret Weapon and Dominator Rib Rub. Black Ops and Carne Crosta are nice coffee rubs, but I have similar stuff from others that I like equally well (Lanes BBQ and Dizzy Pig). I prefer Jerk wet pastes from other folks better than dry rubs, but Oakridge's dry is decent. Their crazy hot ones are some of the hottest things around, if you like heat. I was intrigued by the Saigon one and threw it into the order for grins.

Been there, done that. As you noted, full briskets can be finicky about cooking times. That's why it's best to shoot for early and then hold in the cooler. If it goes a bit long, no worries about keeping your guests waiting for food.

I went over 4 hours on my last full brisket. It was still warm to the touch when I took it out of the cooler. Sliced super easy and separating the point from the flat was a breeze. I've read of folks advocating 8 hours or more resting time. I've never gone that long before, typically 2 hours. Just depends on when it finishes during the day.

Got an email notification yesterday from the Prez of the company announcing that Oakridge BBQ was going out of business due to all the usual factors that have caused many small businesses to fail over the last 2 years. So, if you like their rubs better stock up now. I just ordered some off Amazon.

Enjoy the family time over good food - take it while you can! I had been planning a trip back to SC to visit family/friends that I've not seen in person in 2 years. But I came down with a nasty head cold (not COVID thankfully) over the last week that put a damper on my travel plans.

I use Xanthan gum in my hot sauces to prevent separation. You could try that with your extract version. I don't know if it will have the same effect in an oil-based sauce?

My first thought watching this video was why in the heck is she taking all that time to poke holes in the peppers, just cut them in half and expose more surface area? It gets strained out at the end anyway, so any loose seeds will be captured, and you'll get more extraction. @tekobo I'd stick with your alcohol extraction method. If you have the sous vide machine, it's not that much actual work, just a bit more time consuming. I'm guessing that you're getting a much stronger oil than the lady in the video.

After watching a YouTube vid (Pitmaster X) on making your own injection liquids, I went out and bought a cheap drip coffee maker. You put your spices/herbs/bouillon in the coffee filter basket and "brew" it. Let it cool down and inject away. I've only done it a couple of times now, but it works well. Plus, you know what's going into it and not some random mix of chemicals.

Gorgeous looking bacon, @MacKenzie. Happy party guests, for sure, @Troble

While I obviously have carboy airlocks in my brewing room, I use these membranes for the Mason jars in making my pepper mash. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H7GI7V8/ You can see the pink tip of it in the picture that I posted. It's funny, but they look just like nipples - LOL. I sanitize everything that will come into contact with the mash with StarSan, which I use all the time in my brewing. It's a no-rinse sanitizer that kills just about anything with a couple of minutes of contact. I agree that the white stuff is NOT mold, but Kahm yeast. I should be more precise so as to not scare folks off from trying this. Plus, you mix the mash with a lot of vinegar to make the hot sauce, which drives the pH down to where no other preservatives are needed. I've never had a bottle of my hot sauce "go bad." Your best judge of whether it has turned on you, is your nose. It's very sensitive to the off smells when something has gone bad. Evolution got us here.

First time is always a learning experience. Sounds like you got some good "take aways" from this one for the next time. Eager to hear how Bird #2 comes out.

Woo, hoo! Love me some 'speriments! No worries about the white stuff on top. It's expected. Just skim it off. It's not "tainted." (Why do I have Soft Cell playing in my head!?) 😆

It's just overpriced Royal Oak charcoal.

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