Tonight is pork tenderloin with a teriyaki/ginger/sesame marinade, Texmati rice, and broccoli. Tomorrow will be soup with ground pork, rice noodles, kale, ginger and Sichuan peppercorns. Of course some fish sauce as well. I usually make this with mustard greens and sometimes with collards, but trying a change of pace. Wednesday will be posole rojo, but I will have to go in search of dried ancho chilies to make the chili sauce. I have more than enough dried arbol chilies. My Publix no longer carries dried ancho chilies.
Tonight I’ll be grilling chicken halves seasoned with coarse black pepper and Everglades seasoning. Correct, it’ll be Pat’s Homade on the last two turns. Our sides will be fresh steamed green cabbage, fresh zipper peas, and rice pilaf. Jalapeño cornbread will be on the side. Another beautiful day here today so it will be a nice afternoon/evening on the back porch including the sunset. Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are available as desired. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Tonight I get the night off as Ms. Jan is putting together her homemade chicken pot pie. Boy, is it good! W/D has both shank and butt portion hams on sale this week. I picked up a 9.75 lb shank ham for $13.62 (1.39 lb). I will put it on the BGE one day this coming weekend. Another really nice day here today so we will look forward to spending time on the back porch and catch the sunset. Ice cold longnecks and chilled wine will be enjoyed at your pleasure. Life is good in Gator Nation!
It’s a Smithfield and they come pre-cooked as you know. I use 250* as my target steady temperature for smoking ham. My rule of thumb is 30 minutes per pound and my target internal temperature is 165* so it will be somewhere around 5 hours smoking time. As you well know every fire is it’s own individual “hot” so with that in mind my internal temperature is more important than straight cooking time. (That’s why we get to monitor everything with a col’beer in hand) As you have noted yourself it will reach a point where you feel like your internal temperature “stalls” and this can vary the cooking time as much as anything. I will use applewood chunks for my smoke with a water pan of half water/half apple juice.
Precooked means that you cannot fail with an under cook. Totally agree with internal temps instead of time. One of the best things I ever bought was a Thermapen,
Questions about Bone Broth. Does anyone here eat it? Has anyone here made their own? My friend Marty gave me some soup he made about 2 months ago he said was made with bone broth he got from a friend. It was very good soup! Then just last week I was researching some stuff about canine health and bone broth was mentioned in reference to what they called a "bland diet". Any input welcome!
I have made my own bone broth using bought bones and bones saved from beef at home. I use some herbs and spices in boiling it, like bay leaf, basil, etc. I then put in small containers and freeze some, use some. Good to eat for dieting. Also good to cook in. Far better than bone broth that is pre made and sold at store OTC.
I had to hit the local Latin market to score some ancho chilies. They will be my "go to" source from now on as the quality was WAY better than the Badia anchos I used to get a Publix. Dried but not desiccated with a wonderful aroma. When I make posole rojo I always make my chili sauce from scratch. Too bad that they are on the other side of town and campus from where I live so always a bit of a slog to get there. I just wish that they sometimes would have fresh and not dried epazote.
Lucky me as I get two nights off in a row from cooking duties. Ms. Jan will be making one of her three recipes for fresh baked meatloaf. The one that she is cooking tonight goes together similarly to a pot roast with potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions surrounding it. The meatloaf will be centered in a Lodge Kettle with those listed vegetables around it with the gravy she makes for it. There will be a pot of freshly steamed green cabbage for our other side. I will be in charge of frying the cornbread. We have another beautiful day here with a pleasant afternoon and evening ahead. Adult libations are available as desired. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Tonight will be brats for watching the game. Tomorrow I will make oxtail ragu with rigatoni and a salad with endive, escarole, tomatoes, and English cucumbers.
Ms. Jan’s meatloaf was good enough last night with plenty left over that we’re going to make meatloaf sandwiches for supper tonight around the game. Looking at another beautiful day here to wind down to the sunset and enjoy the ballgame. The ice cold longnecks and chilled wine are ready-set-go on the back porch. Life is good in Gator Nation!
Lurk— I just got back from W/D here. For the weekend they have Angus W/D whole beef briskets, untrimmed on sale for $2.99 lb. Obviously they come vacuum packed, so I got two… They are the biggest challenge to get right (for me anyway), they are a long cook so very time consuming, but when you get it right boy howdy are they good. Like everything else there’s a bunch of different recipes on how to smoke’em, if anyone needs advice google Franklin’s Beef Brisket…his method has never disappointed.
Whole briskets are HUGE. Never did a whole one, but I have smoked some big ones. My favorite method for brisket is not to smoke it, but to only get a 4 pound flat, braise it, and finish in the broiler with a peach and bourbon glaze.
I’ve learned to pick out a certain length (13–13 1/2”) to fit across the grill surface of my BGE. Then always pick out one with the thickest “thin” end that also has a good fat cap. If I get one of the typical briskets that has that longer thin end well, it burns up anyway so I only buy one like I described. Normally that ends up being a 13-14 lb piece of meat. These two are 15 lb each—they were the right length, just a lil’ thicker. They are still my biggest challenge every time I smoke one. You really want to pull it in that “right” window….
Burnt ends are a prize with brisket. Kind of like in my youth when the ladies at the family farm were cooking fried chicken on Sunday morning after I helped plucking them. They ate all the livers whilst cooking. Frankly I am not a huge fan of smoked brisket and smoked beef in general. I would rather braise beef ribs than smoke them. Same thing with brisket. Pork and chicken are different. I really loved smoked, especially pork. But everyone has their own taste.
Can I come over sometime and have your oxtail ragu? I love it as does my family. I start my oxtail in analog old fashioned pressure cooker (no led) and then transfer it to my home made ragu to simmer for 1-3 Hours. Serve over pasta like penne or farfalle, not spaghetti. Yummy
