tony b

Burnt Ends = Meat Candy!!

Good luck with that one, Robert. For that kind of coin, you keep your fingers crossed that you don't mess it up!! Have you tried their "regular" brisket or their corned beef? More on my budget than the Gold line.

Sounds exotic! Upload some vacation pics, too, while you're at it, please!

If it looks like bacon, smells like bacon, and tastes like bacon - I call it bacon! Yeah, the "no nitrate" thing is kind of a myth, since most folks use celery juice (i.e., "natural seasonings") to claim there's no pink salt in it. But it's super tasty bacon, which is the main reason that I buy it!

A 5 hour brisket? How did you pull that off? What was your cooking temp, direct or indirect heat, and you must have been using the "texas crutch" (wrapped in foil).

I've done gastriques (agrodulce) before, but never for a marinade. Interesting idea!

Just ordered my Ringer. Thanks for the tip!

On my "to do" list. Problem is, my local butcher at the farmers' market has excellent no-nitrate bacon made from heritage pork, so I just keep loading up the freezer (they're 2.5 lb packs). But, he does sell the bellies from those piggies, too! So, I might have to give it a go. Have made my own corned beef and pastrami, so this one's a no-brainer!

Seriously, dude! Those looks righteous. How did you manage enough self control to hold one back for lunch?

They should be called "Elvis' Paradise!"

Nice use of the basket splitter for a simple, small, short cook!

First, my bad, forgot the pics! Got busy entertaining my guest and dropped the ball. But, to the steaks, nice cut of beef. Good marbling and grilled up nice. Similar to sirloin, but a tad more "beefy." One tidbit, cut on the bias across the grain. It is slightly more tender that way. I had a touch too much red wine vinegar in the marinade, but overall nice flavors. Will back off the vinegar and add more soy sauce next time (or maybe some gochujang). It was marinated overnight. Cooked as planned at 350F dome, 400F at lower grill, with red oak - 10 minutes total (flipped every 2 - 3 minutes). Came out a nice medium rare in the middle. If I read correctly, this is a single muscle cut from the interior of the chuck, so about 3/4" thick is a big as it gets. Just wish is was a tad thicker. Overall, I'll buy it again.

My local supermarket just started getting these. I was not familiar with this cut and none of my cookbooks, including my Lobel's Meat Bible, had anything about them. Good old internet to the rescue. New cut from the chuck primal courtesy of the Beef Check-off Program. So I'm going for it after checking them out in the butcher's counter. It's a nicely marbled cut. Internet says to marinate them and grill over medium-high heat (400F) medium rare (130F). Have 2 marinating in red wine, red wine vinegar, EVOO, soy sauce, fresh garlic, Vidalia onion, fresh thyme and rosemary, dried bay leaf, salt and course ground black pepper. Will toss on the grill tonight - lower grill, 350F dome, with red oak. Will post follow-up pics and tasting notes.

Good one!!

Now it's turned into a Viagra joke!

Reasonable guess, Porkchop. I was thinking pineapple, myself.

Porkchop, that is just sick, man! Seriously, seriously sick!!

And here I was afraid to make a "boner" joke about Porkchop's post about "can't beat meat on the bone."

Sauce looks "chunky." So what's in it??

Classic, Porkchop!

Will definitely look for the lardon next visit to TJ's. Unfortunately, the closest one to me is in Des Moines (150 miles), so I don't go very often. But when I do go, I generally load up. Love their pre-marinated carne asada. And, usually several cases of 3 Buck Chuck!

Great looking pics! We just got local sweet corn this weekend, so had to throw an ear on the grill. My favorite part of summer, along with homegrown tomatoes! I did a pork loin to go with, but didn't take any pics; struggled to get the cook done in between showers! Seems like the rain is unrelenting this summer!

Great advice, normstar. Last tri-tip, I was going for just good sear marks and a medium center, not trying to develop a crust. I have to remember that this is a different cut of beef from the usual steak cuts and needs roasting, not just high temp grilling. Thanks again!

There's always Dizzy Pig's Red Eye Express, if you're looking for a good coffee based rub. I've never thought about using garam masala as a BBQ rub, but it makes good sense. I have done Sate seasoning from Penzeys before. Love it as a chicken and pork rub. Just discovered their Berbere rub - nice Moroccan flavors (sort of like a Ras El Hanout) with a nice heat to it. Huge Penzeys fan - most of my spices in the pantry, outside of my BBQ rubs, come from them.

Good Luck, Susan. I know how lucky I am to have a great butcher at my Farmers' Market. I just tell him what I need and he gets it. Sure, I'm paying more than at the local supermarket, but it's better quality and I get exactly what I want. So worth it!