Outside the dugout: What's cooking?

Reheated paella leftovers tonight.

 

You are a good neighbor. Enjoy those longnecks. I am enjoying a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

I have fired up the KJ for grilling bone-in pork chops and Brussels sprouts. Additional veggies are on the evening menu.

I will need to make a run to Home Depot for some Royal Oak lump charcoal soon as I am running low.

BTW, what do you do with all of the ash? There must be a good use for it. I have been saving it and I have a lot.

 

Defrosting some chuck to grind for burgers tonight.

 

Freshly ground chuck is the way to go for burgers. I think that they taste better when ground with an antique hand grinder that I get ice cold in the freezer so the meat doesn't stick.

There was too much chuck for tonight's burgers so I haven't added Lee & Perrins or salt to the grind as of yet. And it looked fatty enough so no need for added butter. Adding butter to ground beef that is too lean is a common trick that I rarely have to use, but have gone to on occasion. I will need to divide it into tonight's burgers and freeze the rest for something else, but I will need to know the order first to know how much to use tonight.

This was supposed to be the Vandy baseball weekend. I had been looking forward to it for over a year and the highlight of the home schedule, but it was not to be. To make lemonade out of lemons I would have been eating crappy food at the Mac if it was on and I will be eating much better tonight.

 

Going out to light the KJ soon. I have two slabs of St Louis cut pork ribs that need attention.

 

Oh, I also made pesto this morning with garden fresh basil.

Corn on the cob and black eyed peas will be the dinner sides tonight.

And I have a six pound brisket to cook this week. So many good ways to do that.

 

I know that there are lots of different ways to cook pork ribs. I like to do them Memphis dry rub style and finish with a coating of honey very late.

I don't yell at people that also slather them with the BBQ sauce of their choice before eating. I wouldn't do that, but to each his own.

 

I discussed how to cook the brisket with my wife. One way that I do it is braised in stout and veggies and finished with a bourbon and peach jam glaze. The other way is Texas style. We are going Texas style. Either way is great.

Since I have been told it is a six pound brisket I am thinking that it is only the flat with the point removed. That makes it tricky to do right.

 

What I will miss is the fat that is normally on the point and my experience with briskets that are only the flat is that too much fat is removed by the butcher rendering it not great for smoking. Braising can be OK. To melt all the connective tissue might require more fat than is there. I might add some bacon if I have it. I do have lard that I use for making bird blocks and might use some of that if it looks like there isn't enough fat.

 

Good news! The fat cap was ample.