cooking

[redneck joe]

I also try to not wrap the brisket unless I need to get it done faster. I cook through the stall. Takes longer, but the bark on the brisket is a lot crunchier.

that is why i dont wrap but i always come out too dry?

i did get a smobot this year and the two times ive used it better but not 'it'

 

[FLATHEAD]

I’m not sure it’s even possible to get a really juicy brisket and a “crunchy” bark. Some guys are cooking it through the whole process at 275 unwrapped and then wrapping in foil with some butter in the bottom and letting it rest in a cooler for 5 hours or so to preserve the bark. Me I wrap and don’t mind a bark that’s a bit soft, but not soggy. Never had a complaint.

 

[sangerwaker]

I disagree Flathead. My last one contradicts your statement. Bark was crunchy (not overly so) and meat was incredibly juicy. Maybe I got lucky.

I feel the trick is in the trimming. I always use a whole packer brisket and leave about 1/4" of fat on the flat muscle. I try to trim some of the fat from between the two muscles from the one side of the brisket. Any harder type fat on the edges gets removed too. If you remove too much fat, the brisket will be dry. Made that mistake my first one. Always cook fat side up. Cook the brisket to an internal temp of 203-205 and then tightly wrap in butchers paper. Put it in a cooler with some blankets for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing and serving. It can stay in the cooler a long time and still be plenty hot for serving. I used to use foil instead of butchers paper for wrapping. Bark gets soggy with foil.

Nothing in the smoker this weekend. Heading to Hayward tonight to get molcajete at the Mexican joint in town. Sooo good.

Bought my wife a molcajete bowl for her birthday. She's been wanting one for a while. Gonna try to make our own soon, but have to season the bowl first. There will be some posting of that once we figure it out.

 

[redneck joe]

my breakfast the other day. Farm eggs (bugs as food not grain fed) with tomatillo and cotija, rice corn, bean onion, poblano leftover from night before and fresh fried corn tortilla. Pro tip: when frying corn tortillas for chips do not cut them (unless doing strips for a carnish) but rather tear them. Irregular sizes and a better edge cook.

 

[redneck joe]

Supper one night. Double decker with home make black refried beans. Had to do a nod to the taco bell so used premade shells. Not sure who remembers back in the early 80s you could order a 'skin' (flour tortilla) with your taco and a pintos and cheese. We taught TB how to make the double decker...

 

[redneck joe]

breakfast burrito






My version of huevos rancheros

 

[redneck joe]

for those paying attention yes that is a beer with breakfast however my day typically starts about 0300 and this was 0900 so this was technically lunch.

 

[redneck joe]

I had oyster she had shrimp on our po boys

 

[redneck joe]

and i was talking with our neighbor and mentioned we were having tacos for supper so the kids told me he was hungry so he followed me home. Got to feed the kids...


Tonight we are having a ramen party with both kids and mom.

 

[redneck joe]

Breakfast of naked red snapper (no breading) cooked in seasoned butter and topped with a cilantro lime sauce. And a V&T. I mean, its friday and all...

 

[redneck joe]

when you don't have kids at home anymore but make cookies>>>

 

[redneck joe]

tis the season

 

[redneck joe]

week 2 of NFL season, cool temps means this:







became this:

 

[redneck joe]

and for a snack steamed some dungeness

 

[redneck joe]

and well... Because. Jimmy.

 

[FLATHEAD]

5 pounds of pepperoni in the electric smoker. Think they might be wrinkled when finished. I struggled stuffing them for some reason last night as you can see. Stuck a water pan in there to try to avoid wrinkles. Will know tonight when they are done.

 

[KJM]

when you don't have kids at home anymore but make cookies>>>


View attachment 389434

Nice looking dogs! The one on the right looks to be a beagle?

 

[aspeck]

@FLATHEAD ... per your request in the hunting thread ... (the one I have in the fridge has been swimming in the brine for 7 1/2 days now ... I will be there for another week. It is a deboned hind quarter that weights about 14 lb)

Venison Ham

Ingredients

• 2-3lb venison hind quarter roast with most of the fat trimmed away (adjust recipe according to weight and don't be afraid to add or delete flavors to the mix)
• 1 gallon water
• 1.5 cup kosher salt
• 1 cup brown sugar or Real Maple Syrup (not the corn syrup based junk) or Molasses (I generally do 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 maple syrup)
• 2.5 tbsp pink curing salt (1 oz per lb of meat)
• 2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds (or a pinch of ground mustard)
• 2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 3 bay leaves
• Can add cloves of garlic if desired

Preparation

• Mix all ingredients except venison in a food safe container, stir, and bring to boil. Allow to cool completely before adding venison and make sure it is submerged completely, adding weight to the top of the venison if necessary. (I like to do it in a 5 gallon bucket lined with a clean garbage bag. Tie the garbage bag tightly so the entire piece of venison is submerged.
• Let brine for 7 days, or longer if you have time. The longer the better, a week for smaller hams and longer for larger hams (a 7-10 lb ham would be 8-10 days, etc). You can use a marinade injector to get the brine inside the meat if you don’t have the time to let it brine naturally, cutting down your marinade time slightly.
• After brine, remove and place in Smoker with apple wood (maybe a little hickory or mesquite added to the mix) at 180 degrees for an hour or 2. Then raise the temp to 225F until internal temp reaches 150F.
• Let rest for 20 minutes and enjoy! Or, chill in a fridge and slice thinly for sandwiches!

 

[aspeck]

5 pounds of pepperoni in the electric smoker. Think they might be wrinkled when finished. I struggled stuffing them for some reason last night as you can see. Stuck a water pan in there to try to avoid wrinkles. Will know tonight when they are done.

View attachment 391635

That drip pan is WAY too clean! You need to do some more smoking!

 

[FLATHEAD]

That drip pan is WAY too clean! You need to do some more smoking!

My wife wouldn’t agree. Ha ha I’ve smoked literally 100’s of pounds of cased meats, mostly venison, like these pepperoni are. Actually wore out two of these electric smokers but never ever used the water pan. Hoping the extra moisture will keep them from wrinkling. . Use my offset for everything else I smoke.