My First Tri-Tip

Smoked my first Tri-Tip on the Big Green Egg. First off  it came out being one of the best chunks of Beef I have ever eaten. I can tell you I was kinda spooked not ever smoked this cut of meat before.  But after doing some reading and talking with some forum members, I said OK lets do this.
 This is how things happened:
I already had the meat trimmed of most of the fat and all the silver skin. I seasoned with Fiesta Brand Uncle Chris steak seasoning with added course ground black pepper. Then wrapped the whole thing in plastic wrap and placed in the refrigerator over night and most of the next day.
Removed from refrigerator and let come to room temperature.
 Fired up the smoker to 550°-600° , using oak lump charcoal. Placed meat on the grill over direct heat and seared each side for about 3 min. Removed from heat and wrapped in foil.
Now I have to cool down the smoker to 350° to do the finish cooking. Added couple chunks of hickory wood to the fire for flavor and placed heat deflector over fire. Smoked until internal temperature was 135° remove from smoker, wrap to Finish at 140°, med. rare. Slice across the grain  and enjoy some mighty good smoked beef. Thanks Bill
   
Note: Should of done a reverse sear, cook at 350° then crank up the heat to sear after cook.
Reason being it takes forever to cool this smoker down but the heat comes up really fast.

Seasoned:

Just off the smoker:

Sliced and ready for good eats:

 
 

Fodder for the smoker, Fresh Meat

Yes Sir: some Akaushi beef, much like Kobe beef so I am told. This beef comes from HeartBrand Beef. Received this beef from one of our vendors Ben E. Keith food service co. One item I am looking forward to smoking is the Tri Tip cut. Never have smoked one before but have been reading it is wonderful.
 The other is some of the most beautiful rib eye steaks I have ever seen. Looking to grill these on the BGE. Gonna be some good eats. Hope to post photos of more mouth watering cooks. Thanks Bill

Tri Tip Beef: 

Rib Eye Steak:

Got 41 steaks from 2 whole rib eye cuts.

freezer ready: 

Just a few things that have been going on.

Been Kinda under the weather, having breathing trouble and blood pressure is out of control. But things are looking better. Bill

You know my wife won this large BGE smoker. So I have been trying to learn how to use it and do a good job on the smokes. Yeah, some have been better than others. I do however love the heat control that this smoker provides.
So here goes, first up more ribs and a pork butt. Seasoned with my favorite rub. That being SuckleBusters Hog Waller.
Ribs on the smoker:

On the way to some great eats.

Spare Ribs, Man I love these things.

Pork butt, my first on the BGE. I love the color and just right amount of smoke.

 
Spatchcock chicken:
I really like smoking chicken this way. The temp and doneness is more evenly cooked. It also makes for a nice presentation. Dang I may do another one today.

I have a new Smoker!!!

My wife is the most lucky person I know of. Some time ago we both bought tickets from the local American Legion to win a new pistol. I bought 5 tickets wife bought 1. Yep, she won the pistol, 357 S&W hammerless, stainless steel engraved. Worth about $750.00.
 Several weeks ago she calls from the casino in La. I just won a large Big Green Egg smoker. Do you want it? I say heck yeah, I have never cooked on one but know people that do, and they say that it is one great smoker. So now we have a new smoker.
 Guess what it just got delivered, in a box and unassembled. So after more time than I want to admit to I finally got it put together.
Test Run:

Thin Blue Smoke:

Moving up to 250°:

Loin back ribs:

Finished, time to test:

Nice smoker I like it, just the right size for the wife and I. Past the taste test. I just had to throw on one wild hog sausage for me. Wife doesn't care for them.

 Really need to say this "Lucky", calls again from the casino. I just won a riding lawn mower, it will be delivered in couple weeks. I sure hope it is assembled.

Dino Bones

Beef ribs again per wife's request. But I like them also. I am still buying my ribs from our local mexican store. That is the only place I find beef ribs with meat on them. They are not cheap on sale, $3.95 pound. Untrimmed just like they came off the cow.
 Meaty Beef Ribs:

You won't find ribs like these in you local market, at least not walmart and other super markets.Got them trimmed up and ready.
 I rubed these with salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Let them rest the night in ice box. Then on to the smoker, smoking with hickory wood. Smoking indirecte on the kettle smoker at 275°. Although it was up to 300° couple times.
One hour in the smoker:

Now its just a waiting game. Beef ribs are a tough piece of meat, so is takes about 6 or so hours cooking time. As one of my friends says, don't rush it, it's ready when its ready.
Ready to chow down:

Plate full of rib:

Just some things I have been cookin' or curing

Not gonna bore you with a lot of details. If you see something you like or need a recipe just comment. And I will do the best I can. Also if you see something that could be changed or a better way to cook post a comment. I am always wanting to learn. Thank Bill

Beef Ribs

Chicken Leg 1/4

Pork Butt July 4th meal

Pork Spare Ribs

Chorizo Sausage

Sugar cured hickory smoked Bacon

Bacon packed and ready for freezer

Hope you enjoyed the photos, Maybe something interesting next time.
Sausage coming up and have more bacon curing. Thanks for looking. Bill

Just For Something Different

Chorizo: I like most any kind of sausage, and spicy is some of my favorite. Chorizo is a Mexican and spanish sausage. I think most all latin countries have there own version. Here in Texas the Mexican and spanish are the most popular ones. The Spanish being a more firm sausage. I favor the Mexican one. It can be used fresh as in patties or stuffed in pork casing for links. Most of the time I just pack it in bulk packs. If I am going to smoke the chorizo then it will be in links. I like it both ways.
 The hardest part of making any sausage is the prep and clean up time. But the end results is well worth making it. And you can have it your way, plus you know what quality of ingredients went into it. Most every region of Mexico has there own style or recipe so at times they will differ some.I have a few recipes that I like and will post them here. If you happen to have one of your own I would love to try it.
 I always chop my meat then add the spices them grind and mix. I also test cook a patty just to check the taste. Now is the time to make corrections if needed.
My recipe:
 Mexican Chorizo

10 lbs Ground Pork
1 C. Cider Vinegar
2 T. Garlic Powder
3 T. Paprika
1 T. Black Pepper
2 T. Mexican Oregano
2 T. Granulated Onion
4 T. Cumin
5 T. Kosher Salt
4 T. Ancho Chili powder
1 T. Cayenne
4 C. Chile Colorado (Red Chili sauce)

Making the Red Chili sauce

8oz Dried chile pods; stem removed
1 Onion, coarsely chopped
1 head garlic, peeled
2 C. Water

Place all ingredients into a pot & bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer 15 minutes. Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add more water to achieve desired smoothness. Return to stove & simmer for 15 minutes more. Salt to taste.

Making the chorizo:

Partially freeze cut-up pork and then grind with a 10 mm plate (coarse). Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined, and mix into pork until incorporated, transfer to nonreactive container covered and refrigerate overnight. ready to use or package and freeze. 

Grinding the seasoned meat:

Ground, Mixed ready to package:

Good eats. Bill

Pork Spare Ribs Experience

I have cooked lots of ribs, both pork and beef. Some good and some not so good. But this was a surprise cook.
 My wife likes to sometime BBQ chicken, but never wants to fire off one of my smokers. So way back when she bought the most el-cheap-o kettle grill she could find. I am sure it came from wal-mart its a sunbeam brand. Anyway I wanted to smoke some spear ribs but didn't want to fire off one of the bigger smokers either. The sunbeam is setting there covered in dust and pine pollen, although it is under the patio. I says well ok then, lets give it a try. Wifes chicken always comes out good. I drag it out and give it a good bath, check it over (just to see how it works) looks simple.Air in and air out with a grate for the ribs. All I need is fire and smoke. Start my charcoal in the charcoal starter. add a few more coals and some pecan wood. Got the ribs all seasoned up and the fire going (No temp gauge).
Ribs Trimmed & Seasoned: 

 Used a temp gauge stuck through the exhaust vent,bottom air completely closed off temp was at 350°. Way hotter than I wanted was looking for about 250°. Knowing not to close the exhaust vent I did close it most of the way. Temp dropped to 300°. At this point I think what ever. After 2.5 hours I got this surprised result.I was thinking crispy critters.
Ribs just from the smoker and Saused:

 Some of the best ribs I have ever smoked, tender, moist, bite through and just the right amount of smoke. Yep I learned something, I need to cook with more heat And milder smoke. Lets have some good eats: Hope you enjoyed the story it was a fun and rewarding experiencce. Bill

Beef its whats for supper.

Digging around in the freezer , I found a brisket. Just looking at it, I says man I need to smoke this thing. Yep so I did.
I sure don't know how I missed seeing this brisket, but I had.
Got it all thawed out, trimmed and rubbed good with salt, pepper and garlic. This is a new rub from sucklebusters.com products. Its called SPG. Dan was kind to send me a nice sample. So here it is.
Beef Brisket Smoker ready: 

This is CAB choice 17 pound Brisket. I don't usually buy brisket this big But I had bought a case and this one was in it. Rest assured I have not bought any lately, beef is just priced to high for me right now.
 Got the UDS smoker going temp set at 275°, thin blue smoke coming from smoker. Using Royal Oak charcoal and hickory wood for heat and smoke. Man, just the smoke smell makes me hungry. Smoked until internal temp was 195°, removed from smoker, wrapped in brown paper and towel and placed in cooler to rest couple hours.
Ready to slice and dice:

I like the bark color, and the poke test was like very soft butter. So lets have a look at the inside.
Sliced, now for some taste test:

Yes its good, what more can I say, but You need to cook yourself one. As this one is now all gone. Bill

Pork Loin, Cured and Smoked

I really haven't done much with pork loin. Most that I have cooked were very dry and with little fat. Well, I bought another one couple weeks ago, hey, they were on sale. ($1.99 whole loin, not tender loin).
 Anyway I wanted to do something different, was thinking canadian bacon. But I already had regular bacon cure made up so that is what I decided to use.
Trimmed it up just to remove a few loose thin pieces. Did have to remove any fat because it didn't have any.
For the something different: After washing and patting dry, I rubbed it down real good with Pure Cane Syrup. Then applied my goto dry bacon rub.

 Recipe: 

Bill’s Homemade Bacon

Ingredients:

One 5# pork belly, rind removed

¼ cup of salt

1 teaspoon pink salt, “the curing salt containing sodium nitrite, not pink-colored salt”

Flavor, ¾ cup of Honey, maple syrup or brown sugar.

Mix all flavor ingredients together.

 Rub pork belly with your cure. Be sure and cover completely and rub in good.

Place pork in a large ziplock bag and place in refrigerator. Turn over every day for at least a week. Some liquid will form in the bag, this is good, do not pour off liquid.

At the end of the week, remove from bag, and rinse under cold running water (several times) Pat dry with paper towels. Place back in refrigerator in an open container so that it dries well . It should be tacky to touch. Coat with course ground black pepper.

Smoking Bacon.

Heat smoker to 150° Place bacon in smoker hang or place on grates. Add your smoking wood, your choice, I like pecan or hickory. Fruit woods are nice also. Smoke for color and flavor. When the color you like is reached, increase pit temp to 200°. When the internal temp of your bacon is 156° remove from smoker. We are not trying to cook the bacon, just trying to kill off any bugs.

Cool before slicing, I put mine back in the refrigerator.

I placed loin in zip lock bag, cured in the refrigerator for 15 days, turning everyday. The cure time was longer than bacon because the loin was thicker. I didn't inject the loin so wanted to be sure it was cured all the way through. 

Pork Loin after Curing: 

After washing and drying I added a nice coat of course ground black pepper:
Smoked with hickory and pecan wood. Smoke time was about 6 hours, raised the smoked temp to 200°. Pulled from smoker when internal temp was 160°.

Just out of the Smoker:

Let it cool until room temperature, wrapped with cling wrap and refrigerated over night.
Next morning, on to the slicer. I sliced it about 1/8" thick. You can be sure I had to have a taste. It is moist, tender, peppery and quite good eats.

Freezer Ready:

I will be doing this again. Hope you try it, its good eats. Bill

Getting low on most every thing.

Sausage is about all gone so is the bacon. I have been reading where pork prices are coming down. This is at the wholesale level, don't know if it will help consumers
much. Checked pork belly Friday (1-30-2015) was not good $3.70 pound skin off. He had another belly called compart (never heard of that) vendor said it was much better pork. Yeah at $4.00 something a pound it would have to be real good. I didn't order any.
But gonna have to have a bacon feast soon.

 So what I have been doing is smoking some? I have been BBQing some freezer treasures. You know like pork butt, chicken and ribs. Things I have been saving for hard times, well its time.

Pork Ribs:
These were rubbed with hoochie Mama rub from Sucklebusters. Then sauced with my own sauce. Just the way my wife likes them.

They were really good, sister in law made potato salad and wife cooked beans as side dishes.

Beef brisket:

Haven't cooked a brisket in a while. But we were having a Birthday party for my wife's mother. She was 97 years old on the 31st. Her request was for BBQ so that was what she got. It was one of those all night cooks, but worth it. All the guest were happy and I think Mom was to.

The Birthday Lady: Mrs. Helen Karam 2015

Happy 97th. Birthday Mom

Creole to me means native. So what I have made is Louisiana Sausage. Either way its mighty fine eats. When you get a recipe from the internet you can only hope that it is true to form. I have not found this to be true with sausage recipes. Not saying that I like them all. But most sausage people take pride in the product they make.
This sausage is made from pork, for the meat cut I am using pork butt and some rib trimmings from spare ribs. I like using pork butt or pork shoulder (same cut) because the fat content is just about what is needed for 20% fat in your sausage. Fat adds flavor and acts as a binder for your sausage. Not enough fat and you have a crumbly product. If you are smoking your sausage be sure to watch you internal temperature. I like to bring mine to 150 to 155 deg. higher than this and the fat will start to render. (not good). So the photos show what happened in my process.
I like to cube my meat, add my spices, mix then grind.
Ready for the grinder:

Ground and mixed:

Hanging in the smoke:

Smoked cooled & bloomed:

Packaged for the freezer:

Hope you enjoyed this process, here is the recipe I used. Try it, I found it to be some good eats. Thanks Bill

CREOLE HOT SAUSAGE

• 4 pounds lean fresh pork
• 2 pounds pork fat
• 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
• 3-4 tablespoons cayenne pepper (more or less for your taste)
• 2 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 teaspoons ground bay leaf (use a coffee or spice grinder)
• 3 tablespoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3 yards sausage casing (optional)

Grind the pork and fatback to a medium to coarse grind, and mix well with the other ingredients. Stuff into sausage casings, and tie them off so that each sausage is about six inches long. You can omit this step and make sausage patties if you like.

All Beef Sausage

Yeah I know beef is priced way out there about now. But I had some in the freezer that needed to be used. I buy all I can or all that I can afford at the time, when it is on sale. So, I am thinking (gets me in trouble when I do that) why not some beef sausage. So hear goes, first I cut the brisket like cutting steaks. I did this so the fat would be easier to trim. I wanted to weigh the fat and the lean to see what the ratio was. I wanted at least 1/3 rd  fat. Brisket being a fat laden cut of beef I didn't have any idea how much fat was in this brisket.
Cut Brisket like Steak:

Trimmed most of the fat:

Not knowing at the time I could of save all this trimming. Fat and lean was just right.
 Notice that the meat and fat are cut into chunks. I do this, then add my spices and mix before grinding.
After grinding I mix again. I think doing this makes for a better mix.
Ground, Spice mixed, Ready to stuff :

Now I discover I don't have casings. I was to let the sausage sit over night in the cooler and also soak my casing over night. Can't buy casings local. So start thinking again, yeah, I know. Off to the Mexican store, I know the manager and they make sausage. I was able to beg enough casings for this batch.
Stuffed and ready for smoker:

I forgot to take photos of the sausage being smoked. I used hickory for the smoke slow smoke because the sausage was cured. Smoked until sausage was 150 deg. Remove sausage and give a cool bath to stop the cooking. Hang in cool place to dry and bloom. Then can be packaged for freezer.
Freezer ready:

15 pounds of ready to eat all Beef sausage.
Recipe:

Brisket Sausage

Slice Brisket as for steak, trim fat, weigh fat and lean meat. Sausage meat should be 1/3 fat.

For a smoked sausage use a cure number 1,   rate:       1 teaspoon  to  5 pounds of meat.

Spice Mix

For 7-8 pounds meat

3 Ts course ground black pepper.

2 Ts ground cumin

4 Ts Chile powder

4 Ts crushed red pepper

2 Ts whole mustard seed

2 Ts pepper corns

3 Ts dry mustard

1 Ts onion powder

11/2 Ts salt

3 Ts brown sugar