Chicken

Haven't posted about Chicken lately. Although we eat chicken often.
 Most of the time I cook chicken parts on the grill. Or maybe spatchcock style in the smoker.
But today I wanted to do something different. So Rotisserie chicken it was. Simple and easy to do. I trim most of the fat, use my own rub and I always truss my bird for rotisserie cooking. This keep it from flopping around. I cook it until the thigh temp is 165° to 170°. I cook indirect so as to not burn, but still gets crispy.
This bird came out, nice and moist with good flavor. I would of liked the skin a little more crispy though.
 Rotisserie Chicken: 

And y'all know with any great meal you have to have desert. And a good Southern Pecan pie can't be beat.
Pecan Pie:

Pecan Pie recipe:

Classic Old Fashioned Southern Pecan Pie

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup of light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 heaping tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup of pecans, coarsely chopped


• 
  
• Instructions
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• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pie crust by placing it into an un-greased, regular 9-inch glass pie plate and fluting the edges.
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• Whisk the eggs together, then whisk in the sugar. Stir in the Karo syrup and the softened butter; mix well. Add the flour and the vanilla; combine well and fold in the pecans.
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• Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Shield outside edges of the pie with a pie shield or aluminum foil about halfway through cooking to prevent over browning.
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Nothing Fancy

Not a real fancy cook but it sure taste fancy. Beef and pork ribs. Sad to say the beef ribs didn't have much meat on them. Wife picked them up at Walmart, guess that speaks for itself. I buy most of the meat and get beef ribs from the Mexican store. Beef has gotten so pricey I haven't been buying much anywhere. There were a few sales over memorial day (very few).
 Used my own homemade rub and sauce. Dry rub goes on before the cook and the sauce goes on at the end. I sauce and leave on the smoker just long enough to set the sauce. That is the way the wife like them. Happy wife, happy life.
Finished rib cook:

The Dry Rub:

Southern pork or chicken Rub

1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar or brown sugar
1 Tablespoons table salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper Or more of what ever you like for some heat.

Mix ingredients thoroughly. Makes enough rub for one pork butt

The finishing Sauce:

Bill’s Chipotle Bar-B-Que or Wing Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses, honey or cane syrup

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoon yellow mustard powder

2 tablespoon Chile powder

4 teaspoon black pepper

4 teaspoon onion powder

4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup chipotles en adobo sauce (chopped fine or run through blender)

4 cups catsup = 32 oz.

3 cups raspberry, apricot, strawberry, blueberry or what ever preserves you like. I like the apricot best.

Procedure

Combine sugar, vinegar, molasses, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, Chile powder, allspice and cloves.

Bring to simmer over med. heat. Cook uncovered, stirring until all ingredients are dissolved. Stir in catsup and bring to low boil. Reduce heat add preserves and chipotle pepper. Bring back to low boil. Pour up into pint jars and cap hot.

Should make about 3 pints.

Boned and Tied

The local market had these boneless and bagged pork butts on sale. $.99 pound. Now you know I can't pass up a good deal so managed to buy several (6) I have cooked couple just as an oven roast, turned out pretty good. Moist and tender. Decided to do one in the smoke house. It was OK but nothing to write home about. I am thinking it was because the weather was cold and the smokehouse is outside. So had some trouble keeping my temp up to 250°. Trying to cook it slow hoping it would be still moist and tender. Anyway we ate it, no choice that was supper.
Rubbed with Hog Waller Seasoning:

Supper Time:

Tripped and fell

Not really cooking but will be soon. This young hog tripped and fell right in front of my bullet. Not to big I am thinking maybe 50-60 pounds. Didn't get to weight so am guessing. Dressed out nice. I can't understand why more people don't eat these wild hogs. Yeah, they are some trouble to dress and get ready for the freezer. I am going to bone this one and grind the whole thing into sausage meat. Will make several kinds I am sure. Right now she is resting  in my freezer. I don't any pictures of the dressed product. I was just to cold by the time I finished dressing her out. Here is the photo of the fresh harvest.
Bleeding Out: 

Texas Smoked Hot Links

I love a good Texas style hot link sausage, in my area of Texas really good ones are hard to find. Now if I lived closer to the Texas Hill country things would be different. There are many German sausage makers located there. So whats up, I made my own. I have made lots of sausage but never hot links. I will admit I need to hone my sausage stuffing skills. I didn't take many photos Just forgot until I was almost finished.
These were pretty good but something was missing. So if anybody has a hot link recipe you are proud of and don't mind shearing it, please post it. Here are the photos I did take, and the recipe. I finished with 20 pounds of links mostly already gone. Thanks Bill

Out of the Smoker:

Packaged Freezer Ready:

The Recipe:

Genuine Texas Hotlinks

5 pounds Boston butt
2 pounds lean beef
1 bottle ice cold beer
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons ground thyme
6 teaspoons Morton's Tender Quick

Mix all the spices, cure, and garlic into the beer and place in refrigerator while you cut up the meats into grinder sized pieces. Pour the spiced beer on the cut meat and mix it up good. Run spiced meat mixture through the grinder coarse or medium plate and stuff into medium hog casings. Smoke or slow grill till they are done

Venison Sausage

This was one of those projects that was sure to bring some rewards. GOOD EATS !!
I thought why not I have every thing I need. So I kept busy in the pantry for a while gathering all the spices I might need. Now to bring out all the equipment, I have to keep it in the garage. (Wife's instructions)
Not really true, we just don't have room in the kitchen. Someday I hope to have a smoking and sausage making space just for me.
Anyway, got the venison and pork fat ground. Mixed the spices with water and poured over the ground meat. Added Red Chile Flakes and Cheese.  Began the mixing process but the meat was pretty dry, added more water. Stuffed into 3" collagen casings. Got my son to help, our stuffer is not motor powered. Enjoy Bill

Ready for smoke:

Ready for some good eats:

The Recipe:

 Beef or venison Sausage

This recipe is for 5 pounds meat plus fat. Fat content should be at least 20%

Ingredients

5 pound of venison or beef

1 pound of pork fat

5 teaspoon table salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon ground marjoram

1 teaspoon ground sage

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 Tablespoon red Chile flakes

8 oz. high melt cheddar cheese (can also use grated cheese)

½ cup cold water

* 1 teaspoon of cure #1 if sausage is to be smoked

Option: whole pepper corns can also be added

Directions

Cube and grind the meat through medium size plate.

Place ground meat into a large container.

Add all spices with the water and mix well. Add cheese and spice mixture to the ground meat.

Mix until well blended.

Reminder: Be sure and add the cure #1 if sausage is to be smoked.

This recipe makes great links or can be made into logs or patties. 

Rib Roast

I have never cook a rib roast before, so this is something new to me.
 Our Mexican store runs bone in rib eye steak on sale ever now and then $3.99 pound. There meat is always select grade.
Anyway, I asked the butcher if he could cut me a roast, no trouble he says. Brings out a whole frozen rib eye bone in. I have him cut me off 3 bones from the small end. Total cost about $23.00, I am thinking man I hope this is good.
 Here is the way it went, I didn't trim it at all left the fat cap on. I rubbed it down heavy with salt and black pepper. Left it to sit until room temp. I wanted a little smoke flavor, so headed to the smoker (400°) seared on all sides using some pecan wood. Coming off the smoker with a nice bark and some smoke flavor. I had my oven set to 325°. My new ovens also have a meat probe. Set the internal temp to 145°. (med rare) Cooked with the bone down leaving the fat cap up, thinking the rendered fat might keep the meat moist.(it did) After several hours the alarm goes off and the oven turns off. I am thing this is pretty nice device to have.
Remove from oven. Sure looks great here is the finished product. One of the best roast I have ever cooked. Came out med. rare just wonderful tender and moist.  I am now wondering if this same process might work on any beef roast
Bone in Rib Roast: