Topic: Tis the season, BBQ anyone?

[notyourmomslx450]

That's kinda like the "what's better, Toyota, Jeep, Chevy, Ford, etc?" debate.  However, here are my top three cooking knives.

Forschner makes some good knives.  They're the kind we used in the slaughterhouse.  Good quality, and hold an edge well.
http://www.swissarmy.com/forschner/Pages/default.aspx

There's also Wusthof, amazing knives:
http://www.wusthof.com/desktopdefault.aspx/wlang-2

And my all-time favorite, Henckels:
http://www.j-a-henckels.com/en-US

Also, do yourself a favor and get one of these to replace the crappy steel that comes w/ most knife sets:
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/f-richard-multicut-steel.html

[Toymin8r]

Also, do yourself a favor and get one of these to replace the crappy steel that comes w/ most knife sets:
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/f-richard-multicut-steel.html

    $100 for a knife sharpener?  

***edit***  I ened up ordering a set from a company called Calphalon.  http://store.calphalon.com/calphalon-contemporary-cutlery-21-pc-cutlery-set/612453

It was on my business credit card's reward list.   I haven't been able to find anything on the rewards list for over year so as far as I'm concerned it was free.

[Cheesemaker]

I've spent good $$ for knives.  And the ones I use the most are my cheapie ones that I've had forever and I paid less than $10 for.  I spent $40 for a knife that was supposed to be a really good knife.  And talk about garbage.  I have to sharpen it all the time.  It will not hold an edge at all.  It has difficulty cutting hot dogs. 

What makes the difference is a good stone.  I don't use a steel.  My stone is over 40 years old, it's dual sided, and even though its a dry stone, I get a better edge with some oil on the stone. 

[46&2]

I think I am going to do a carribean mango glazed chicken sandwich for dinner tonight. Maybe something else. Looking for a good mango glaze recipe.

[Shamb [OP]]

For the wood chunks, what you need to do is find out if there is any farmer or somebody that has an orchard.  I've got a friend that trims up his apple tree periodically and I'll try to snag what I can.  But the only other way is to order it.

There's a good 100+ acres of Peach about a mile from my house, I used to know the owner but its changed hands a few times since then. I'll have to try and get in contact with someone.. i've thought about going out there to see if I could find some cut scraps or dropped branchs. Does that stuff need to be dried out for a certain period of time?  i'd imagine green "living" wood doesnt burn very good or taste good.. .. or maybe.. ?  ?? ?


On a side note the rib's turned out good, very saucey which is what i was going for. For comp standards it was way over cooked but I enjoyed it!

I'll post pic's when I get home from work. Also I couldnt taste any of the smoke in the meat, if you look at a Kingsford mesquite charcoal it looks like the wood is only pressed on the outside of the briquette not on the inside... maybe that's why it didn't work as well.. i dunno.. i'm going to stick to wood... a little more work but much better results.


For knives I use cutco, they're expensive but worth it in my opinion. Gets sharpened for free every year and it's worked very well for cutting anything i've needed to cut with it. I've got a pretty big collection now and enjoy them all.

[Cheesemaker]

The wood needs to be somewhat seasoned.  I've tried some of those kingford mesquite, and I hate them.  Around here they draw moisture really bad. 

When I smoke, I use Kingsford briquettes, mixed with Cowboy Lump.  And I just keep Adler or Maple wood on the fire continuously.  Except, towards the end, when I feel that the meat has had sufficient amount of smoke.  I don't like to have the smoke flavor take over the flavor of the meat.  It's almost a fine line of too much and not enough.  I've had smoked meat, that all you can taste is the smoke, none of the natural flavor of the meat. 

[Shamb [OP]]

Yea i've definently been there and done that Cheesemaker, my first pork shoulder I smoked was way over smoked... it tasted good at the time but when I think back on it.... the smoke over powered the flavor of the pork itself.


I would like to upload these photo's to show you guys but photobucket is being a PITA and won't let me upload any pictures for some reason.

Looks like i'll be finding a different web-site.

[46&2]

I did up some bomb BBQ mango chicken sandwiches last night. I forgot to take pictures though. Next time I make them I will give you my recipe because I modified and have a few more plans for it....

[Shamb [OP]]

Went to Rib Festival in Lincoln CA today. Good BBQ and ton's of people, took me nearly an hour and a half to sample two different teams.

Tried B&B BBQ from Lincoln and Max's Black Bear BBQ from Plumas Lake. Enjoyed both but preferred B&B BBQ. Which I found out later is a co-worker of my wifes which I thought was funny.

Alot of people for such a small town, one of my co-workers band was playing so that was cool too.

Really looking forward to the Rib Comp in Live Oak next weekend. I'd love to compete but it's just not good timing for me right now w/ work and lack of people to help out. Maybe next year though.

[Shamb [OP]]

Following weekend has a comp in Colusa as well!  Anyone that lives in the area should show up, i'll be there.

[Shamb [OP]]

Just got back from the Live Oak Rib Cook Off... wasn't that great. There where only 3 teams competing and no tasting.

Colusa's next weekend hopefully it'll be much better/bigger.

[Shamb [OP]]

Colusa this Saturday!  I'll be up there with the wife and kid, anyone else coming?

"Who's coming with me man?  Who's coming with me?"

[Shamb [OP]]

Colusa was "okay" only saw 1 person BBQ'n and it was for donations to the local police station. Rib's where good.. nothing spectacular.

[Shamb [OP]]

Anyone use pre-made rub's?

I've tried Rub Co's competition style rib rub and it was great.

I just ordered a 2lb bag from TexasBBQ of their Grand Champion rub..

I also ordered a 1lb bag of Hungarian Sweet Paprika from Penzeys.

Had the wife pick up a few racks today at the store and a Turkey, can't wait to try these rub's out!

[notyourmomslx450]

good call on the TexasBBQ rub.  it's good shizz.  I'm on their forum as cowburners (my bbq team).  Also, check into texaspepperjelly.com.  They have some amazing jellies, and a product called texas rib candy that makes an amazing glaze for ribs.  I even brush it on my bacon after I cook it

[Shamb [OP]]

Got the rub and paprika in the mail today.

funny the rub looks like a bomb squad went through it, the package was completely ripped open and the smell of rub was everywhere.... even in the mail box..

smells really good, cant wait to try it out.

[notyourmomslx450]

I'd call Bill and let him know that.  He'll probably send you a new bag.  My company is finishing up a new roof on his house.

[46&2]

Got the rub and paprika in the mail today.

funny the rub looks like a bomb squad went through it, the package was completely ripped open and the smell of rub was everywhere.... even in the mail box..

smells really good, cant wait to try it out.

Funny age we live in where ya can't order a 2lb bag of rub without the damn Feds going through it! Hahaha

I have tried a few rubs from the supermarket but not too impressed so far. I have this pork Grill Mates one that I don't have very high expectations of that I haven't tried yet. Might give it a shot tomorrow. Doing ribs, corn and beans for my nephews birthday tomorrow. Trying to dial my personal recipe in but I try random stuff every time. Also going to take another stab at using foil.

[Shamb [OP]]

 I'm doing up a rack of rib's today, tomorrow I might finally get to smoke my turkey!

Buddies got a wedding coming up and he was gonna have it catered by a BBQ place but apparently it got a bit too expensive so they're gonna do some tri-tips, chicken, pork etc..

I asked him yesterday how they're gonna do the pork and when the word "crock pot" came out I wanted to smack him.

I told him i'll do the pork shoulders for pulled pork the day before. I've gotta cook for a large crowd so i'll be on it all day long w/ my BBQ.

Anyone have tip's for keeping the shoulder and reheating so that it still tastes like it just came off the Q ?

[Shamb [OP]]

 Doing some research this morning,  anyone ever heard of this company or tried any of their products?

thought about do an injection on a pork shoulder so I don't have to wrap them

http://www.kosmosq.com/order

[notyourmomslx450]

why do you wrap your shoulders?  I'm doing a bone-in pork butt and maybe a couple of racks of ribs tomorrow.  I'll try to remember to snap some pics.

[Shamb [OP]]

I got a pic of the leftovers before I wrapped 'em in the fridge.

I usually only wrap the shoulder to get it tender, same thing w/ the ribs... one thing i've noticed though is it gives this odd look to the top of the rib like it's been boiled almost... and the seasoning is seperated a bit... hard to explain.

Typically once they're done I toss 'em on high direct heat, giving them a few flips and saucing.



Also been looking into getting an injector and some shakers, what do you guys use?

[Shamb [OP]]

Been in the mood for some chili beans lately. I'm thinking about making either a chicken or turkey chili.

Anyone have experience in either?   

My only question is do you precook the chicken/turkey before you put in on the pot to simmer w/ everything else or do you just toss it in?

I'm weird when it comes to raw chicken, I was under the impression that raw chicken shouldn't touch anything. Am I way off or?

Also if you do precook it, how long do you cook it for and do you chance it over cooking and turning rubbery while simmering in the pot for 1-2 hrs?

[Shamb [OP]]

Gonna be doing my first catering gig on the 30th of October. Wedding for around 150 ppl, should be fun!

Cooking a pork shoulder right now, I wanna see how it turns out if I don't wrap it because if I can get the same results then i'll be able to cook more at a time.

Loving the TexasBBQ rub, i've nearly gone through that 2lb bag already.

Edit:

Didn't mention but i'm gonna make pulled pork enchiladas today. Once i've got the pork shoulder cooked and pulled apart this is what i'll be topping it with.

Sauce:
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Salsa Verde
Salt and pepper
Cumin
Oregano
Cloves
Garlic
Roasted Anaheim chili
and Mexican Four Cheese

First time trying this sauce so not sure on the specifics of the seasoning yet, just gonna go by taste.

[Shamb [OP]]

Turned out good, not what I was expecting but still good. Ended up using some garlic salt in it as well and the original plan was to mix it all together and just toss it in with the stuffed tortilla's on 350* for 15 min's or so but it was really thin so I put it in a sauce pan medium/high heat and added a little flour to thicken it up then I tossed it all together with about a pound of cheese on top. The roasted chili's gave it a good vinegar type flavor that balanced out really well with the sour cream and salsa.

Cooked the shoulder for 6 hr's and it wasn't anywhere near done for some odd reason, cooked it at 275* for the first 45min to an hour then kicked it down to 220* for another 5 hrs but it needed atleast another 3-4 hr's to finish. I didnt feel like eating at mid night so I pulled it and cut enough off the outer edges to make the enchiladas.

I'm gonna try another one on Thursday probably but go for a good 8-10 hrs and rotate it because it seems like one side cooked alot more than the other. The side furthest away from the heat tasted like beef jerky! but it wasn't dry or any thing, very moist and a nice smoke ring but for some odd reason it tasted exactly like beef jerky. I'm thinking it got too much rub....

I was also thinking for going 4 hr's @ 250* directly on the grill then wrapping it for 2 hr's just to ensure it get's soft. I gotta come up with some kind of plan because they plan on eating at around 11 o' clock and I really don't want to be up at 1 in the morning cooking. Besides that we have chicken and tri-tip to do .... along w/ sides!

[notyourmomslx450]

my pork butt turned out great.  No pics, as it was a one-man show cooking the butt, beans, and baked mac and cheese.  Found a really good use for leftovers, too.  Saturday, while making breakfast, I warmed up some of the pulled pork with some of my sweet/spicy sauce, and served it on piping hot homemade biscuits.  That's a great breakfast sammich.

I started the butt on the pit @ 7:30am at about 275.  Kept it on the pit all day, and gave it a few late-cook sprays of apple/orange/pineapple juice to get a good crust.  Pulled it off at 185 around 5:30pm and let it rest for a while.  It pulled easily with a fork, was juicy, and had just the right balance of smoke, sweet, and spicy.  Gonna do some more ribs this week.

[notyourmomslx450]

Oh, and if you're doing a catering event, cook your pork the day before and just rewarm and pull it the day of.

edit:  and you should never flip your ribs once they're on the pit.  The heat should be all around them, negating the need for flipping.

[Shamb [OP]]

How big was the pork butt you cooked?  I was gonna ask if its okay to pull it apart later, I guess that answering that question. How long do you let it set before you put it in the fridge for the next day?

Also how do you prefer to reheat it?  Oven?   250-300* 

[notyourmomslx450]

I think it was somewhere around 11 lbs.  I rest it for an hour or so before I put it in the fridge, just to save the other stuff that's in the fridge.  Reheat in a roasting pan in the oven, loosely covered w/ foil.  I'd say reheat at around 350.

[Shamb [OP]]

I plan on saving around 8 oz of the pork juice as well so when I reheat it I can also rehydrate it so it tastes fresh.

If anyone's in the Yuba City area this Friday i'll be giving away free pulled pork! 

I've already got a few guys from work gonna take some. I'm porked out right now so I plan on giving it all away.



BTW, the TexasBBQ rub, I have a feeling i'm covering it a bit too much and that's contributing to the odd overpowering taste so i'm gonna cut down a little on that as well. Probably spray w/ OJ, applejuice and apple cider vinegar.