tony b

I've posted several times about using a converted cast iron dutch oven as a smoking pot. It works well and has the advantage that you can put it on top of coals at the beginning, then add your grates/deflectors/drip pan and not worry about disassembly/reassembly when time to put on the meat. The cast iron take time to heat up to the point where the smoke generation starts, so you don't worry about burning up your wood chunks too quickly. It produces a steady smoke - no worries about distributing chunks in the coals that may/may not ever burn and it doesn't affect the temperature control at all. The holes in the bottom direct the smoke back into the fire, so any volatiles are burned off, producing a clean smoke. My only downside is that it's a bit messy setting up - you use a flour/water paste to seal the lid on the dutch oven. However, no complaints on how it works on longer lo & slo cooks (brisket, butts, ribs). I'm curious to hear how this pellet tube does on very low (cold) smoking applications where the dutch oven might not work well. If folks find that this new gadget works for them, my favorite source for wood chunks (www.fruitawoods.com) also sells chips and pellets.

Sorry, quaffed the last of it last night!

I tossed on a rack of lamb for the old birthday dinner. Thought I'd share some pics - I remembered for once!! Hey, it was my birthday, so got out a nice bottle to go with - '88 Ch. Haut Marbuzet. Sipping on the last of it while I type this!! Lamb was rubbed with Grey Poupon (but of course!) and equal parts of Penzey's Greek and Turkish spice blends. Greek is oregano/mint based, Turkish more cumin and spicy pepper. Cooked direct @ 375F on the main grate for 20 minutes - bones down, flipped, and another 5 minutes (130F internal) to crust the tops. A healthy chunk of pecan and apple woods for smoke. As you can see, a beautiful rare center!

Thanks for the suggestion, as I have several chuck roasts in the freezer. Have never grilled one before, but WTF, let's go for it!!

Welcome and hang on for the ride of your life! Audi - BAH! This thing is a BUGATTI, baby!!

Well, I tried it yesterday. Sorry, no pics; too damned hot/humid to be dinking around with a camera!! The KK was running at 350F to cook the corn on the cob and sourdough bread on the main grate. When they finished, I pulled off the main grate and put on the sear grate and tossed on a chunk of red oak. Cranked it up (500F in the dome, raging at the sear grate). Was using the split basket left (hot)/right (cool). Took the NY strip (1.25" thick) out of the freezer, rubbed on some oil and Dizzy Pig "Raising the Steaks." Tossed it on the sear grate for 1 minute on each side, then 30 seconds on each side, to get a good sear. Internal temp was still only about 45F, but thawed out. Put the main grate back on and put the steak on the hot side for 10 minutes (Internal now about 105F), flipped it for another 5 minutes, then pulled it off (internal temp in the 130F range). Rested for a few minutes while I shucked corn and plated the sides. Steak finished out at medium. Tasty, especially when topped with bourbon glazed mushrooms! Can't say that this has any distinct advantage over any other style of steak grilling, other than the "Oh, sh!t, I forgot to thaw out the steaks!" scenario. If I do it again, I'll leave it on the sear grate longer to build up a bit more crust and back off on the main grate time - maybe 5 minutes each side (direct), check the internal temp, and then finish on the cool side (indirect) to final temps.

I was just on the Bourbon Trail. Didn't bring home any barrels, but did bring home several bottles of the "good stuff"!!

Very good advice for newbies. I will add one thing. If you want to add smoking wood at the beginning, so you don't have to wait to put in your deflector and grates - use a smoking pot. There are commercial ones available, but it's just as easy to make your own. It can be as simple as an aluminum foil pouch with 3 - 4 pinholes in it. I "upgraded" to a modified cast iron dutch oven. You drill 3 small holes (3/16") in the bottom (Yes, the bottom, not the lid). You seal the lid on (after putting your wood chunks in first of course!) with as simple flour and water paste - think Playdoh. Place the pot directly on the lit coals, then add your grates, heat defector, drip pans, etc. The pot will heat up along with the rest of your grill and will begin to produce smoke about the same time as the meat goes on. This way you don't burn up your wood before the meat goes on. Now, why are the holes in the bottom? It does 2 major things. First, the small holes limit the amount of oxygen inside, so your wood smolders, not burn. This prolongs the smoke generation. Second, by forcing the smoke downward, back toward the fire, you burn off any harsh volatiles that can make smoke bitter. A side benefit is that when you're done, you've actually converted the wood chunks inside to charcoal that you can then toss onto the coal pile for the next cook! You can always bury several chunks of wood in your coals, strategically place around the grill, so they burn at different times. However, that is haphazard, since you don't know how the coals are actually going to burn and you can end up not generating any smoke when you really want it or generating too much smoke if several chunks catch at the same time. Remember, meat stops absorbing smoke at about 140F - meat temperature, so you don't need to generate smoke for the entire cook. One last tidbit about smoking wood - don't bother soaking it in water first. It does nothing for you and is a complete waste of time. The water only barely penetrates the surface (unless you have the foresight to soak it for days in advance!) and it quickly evaporates/boils off. It doesn't prolong your smoke generation - it just delays it, since the wood can't smoke until it dries out again and you're back to exactly where you started to begin with. It's one of the classic "myths" out there about BBQ. Check out www.amazingribs.com for some of the other myths and why they are false. Like my new favorite T-shirt says -

But, Syz, you're always on the path less taken!

While I've never tried it, I would think that the Cornell chicken marinade/baste wouldn't be all that "yummy" on potatoes. I do believe that it would be an excellent idea with some different treatments. One that comes immediately to mind would be any lamb cut that has been marinated/basted with lots of garlic, oregano, mint, parsley, rosemary, etc.

CYM - cheap yellow mustard, is a standard in the BBQ tool box. It imparts almost no flavor to the final product, but is a great adhesive for your dry rubs.

For wood chunks, it was 2 large pieces of peach and a handful of small pieces of pecan. I use a smoking pot (converted dutch oven). Well, I did remember to break out the camera. Here's some pics of the Cornell chicken.

He's been back for a while now, FM. But, I could say the same about you! Where you been hiding out of late?

Gorgeous bird! Beautiful color! This thread got me inspired, so I whipped up a batch of Cornell chicken marinade yesterday. Will be cooking the bird tonight for dinner. If I can remember, I'll post pics. Forgot to mention. You'll need to use a drip pan for the Cornell chicken, as the marinade/baste has enough oil in it that it will cause flare ups otherwise. I like to put the pan on the lower grate and cook the chicken up high on the upper rack in the dome. Get better heat distribution that way. A good compromise over direct heat. It will take a bit longer to get crispy skin, but with the overnight marinade and basting, you don't worry about the meat drying out.

Peach, cherry, or apple are all good with chicken. Mix with some pecan or white oak. Love me some Dizzy Pig rubs, too. But of late, I've been using more of the Plowboys Yardbird rub for chicken, usually injected with Butcher BBQ Bird Booster Herb marinade. If you've never tried the "Cornell chicken" marinade, give it a try sometime, very similar to Big Bob Gibson's white sauce (which is also very good). Cornell Chicken 1 egg 1 cup vegetable oil 2 cups cider vinegar 3 TB kosher salt (Yes, this is correct. There's a lot of salt in this; but trust me, it's OK, it's a quasi-brine.) 1 TB black pepper (fresh ground coarse) 1 TB Poultry Seasoning (I like Penzey's) Place the egg in a blender/food processor (or you can hand whisk) with all the other ingredients, except the oil. Pulse to mix. Then with the blender running on medium speed, drizzle in the oil to make an emulsion. Think very thin mayonnaise. Set aside about a 1/2 cup of the marinade to baste the chicken with during cooking. Place the chicken in a non-reactive container (glass, plastic) or ziptop bag and pour the rest of the marinade over and let marinade at least 4 hours, overnight is best. Baste about every 20 minutes during cooking with the reserved marinade. Since there's a raw egg in it, you don't want to baste the chicken during the last 20 minutes. (There's so much vinegar in it that it shouldn't be a problem basting up to the end, but just to be on the safe side!)

De nada. It's what we do here.

Don't sweat small differences in target temperature. The worst thing you can do is "chase the temperature." The KK, when heated up, is like the proverbial "turning a battleship." All the temperature difference does is change the cooking times slightly, not the results. The other piece of advice that I offer is to cook to internal meat temperature, not to time (exception is high temperature searing). The excessive drawback on your ribs (picture before saucing) says that they were overcooked a bit. The best test for rib doneness is pick up the rack with tongs in the middle, bounce it a little, and see if the meat cracks near the bone. Check out www.amazingribs.com. It's a great resource!

Nice, especially the pooches! Just curious, did you get that color of tile to match the dogs??

So, Syz, when you gonna start making your own brews? Great hobby! Being doing it steadily for over 10 years now, but I brewed my first batch back in 1980, right after Jimmy Carter signed the bill making it legal again! It was a kit from an ad on the back page of the Parade magazine. I still have the plastic tub from that kit! In contrast, my contractor is coming over tomorrow with the plumber to give me a final estimate on building a dedicated brew room in my basement. Once that's built, I'll probably double my brewing output and will likely up my game from partial mash to full grain mash brewing.

If you mean the one that looks like a chain link on the second line of the menu, that's the one that locks up my browser every time I try to use it.

Now I get the "stabilize juices" part. Makes excellent sense. While I grind my coffee every morning (burr grinder), because there is a noticeable difference in flavor, not sure that I'm ready to go that far yet for flour. Partly because I have coffee every morning, but don't bake bread or make pasta every day - a few times a month, maybe. Is there really a taste difference between good commercial (King Arthur) and home ground? Plus, is sourcing the grain hard? I'm a homebrewer and can get lots of different grains, but they aren't what you'd make most flours out of, for example, barley.

SERIOUS sticker shock!

I cooked a whole one on Friday (sorry, no pics as I had house guests to entertain). Grass fed beef from local farmers' market. All day marinade in mustard/Santa Maria rub. Cooked on the main grill @ 350F dome until 130F internal temp (about 45 minutes) over red oak staves. Perfect medium. Great flavor. Would have liked a touch more bark, but again was still super tasty. Thanks again for the advice, Normstar!

I've cold smoked salmon and almonds, but not cheese. That's a real "cold" smoke in the 100F range. So, like dstr8, I'm looking for suggestions on how to get temps down that low and hold them.

I'm a little slow today. Not getting the "pressing in a bowl to stabilize juices" part?? Hey Syz, I'm not that hardcore, man. I'll make my own pasta, but grinding the flour, too? Serious! Have the technology (Vitamix dry blades), but have only made rice flour in it so far (for tempura). Think I'll stick to my King Arthur pasta flour for the time being.