What We’re Smoking (or Grilling, or Curing)!

[TripleLindy]

Got an 11 lb pork shoulder prepped and ready for the smoker first thing tomorrow. I like to trim most of the fat cap because there’s a layer of silver skin underneath that won’t render and I want to get it off. Same thing in that fold/separation area. Pork shoulder has plenty of fat, so the fat cap isn’t needed.

I slathered it up with Cholula Sweet Habenaro hot sauce as a binder and gave it a healthy coat of Q-Nami rub, which is the only commercial rub I buy instead of making myself. The Kamado Joe is loaded up and ready to smoke. I’ll cook at 250° and hit it with an apple cider vinegar based mop sauce every 2-3 hours. Tomorrow is supposed to get into the low 90s, so I may even jump in the pool for the first swim of the season, assuming the water warms up a little more.

 

[braumeister]

Just before before I took it off the smoker:

View attachment 63386

Looks great. Do you separate the skin from the meat? It's sometimes a bit of a challenge, but it does get extra crispiness. For Peking Duck, restaurants will use an air compressor to blow air in there to get the skin away from the flesh, but you can do a decent job with just your fingers.

 

[audreyh1]

Looks great. Do you separate the skin from the meat? It's sometimes a bit of a challenge, but it does get extra crispiness. For Peking Duck, restaurants will use an air compressor to blow air in there to get the skin away from the flesh, but you can do a decent job with just your fingers.

No, and I could have gotten it crispier putting it under a broiler, but I’m not trying to replicate Peking Duck and don’t mind having some soft skin, it’s still very tasty. A lot of it did render well. Overall very satisfied. We love duck.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

It was almost 70ºF here today so I grilled hamburgers the old-school budget way today on our $69 Wal-Mart charcoal barrel grill.

DW and DMIL really enjoy charcoal-grilled burgers. DW made some (probably from Florida) corn-on-the-cob to go with the burgers tonight.

Felt like summer!


Too bad it's only going to be in the 40s and 50s the rest of the week.

 

[pacergal]

Last night after working in the yard. Lit up the pellet stove and grilled venison top loin steak, about two pounds, seasoned with McCormick Honey Brown Sugar seasoning, after coating with olive oil. Grilled it hot, flipped it and got it more hot. 135 degrees internal. 10 minutes later I basted it with butter along with the left over seasoning. Let it rest 10 minutes and sliced.

The best venison, possibly the best meat, I have ever had.

I don't like venison, but this recipe actually sounds tasty.

 

[TripleLindy]

I’ve gone way off script from my normal pork shoulder, which is more of an Eastern Carolina style. The Sweet Habanero Cholula has a pretty good kick, as does the Q-Nami rub, but both also have a sweet touch to them. I mopped with apple cider vinegar during the cook. When it came time to wrap, I used a foil pan, added more apple cider vinegar, put about 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and a healthy dose of Mike’s Hot Honey on top of the pork shoulder. Covered it with foil and now back on the smoker (although oven would also work once wrapped.)

It took 5 hours to reach 165° so I’m expecting 2-3 more hours in the pan covered with foil. I’ll reserve the juices, which will be flavored with the butter, brown sugar and honey, and pour it over after I pull the pork. That might serve as a sauce.

I’m anxious to taste it! Looking for a sweet and spicy flavor. My wife will make a cole slaw with jalapeños and we’ll have pulled pork sandwiches for dinner.

 

[audreyh1]

Last night after working in the yard. Lit up the pellet stove and grilled venison top loin steak, about two pounds, seasoned with McCormick Honey Brown Sugar seasoning, after coating with olive oil. Grilled it hot, flipped it and got it more hot. 135 degrees internal. 10 minutes later I basted it with butter along with the left over seasoning. Let it rest 10 minutes and sliced.

The best venison, possibly the best meat, I have ever had.

I don't like venison, but this recipe actually sounds tasty.

DH and I love venison! Dearly departed MIL used to batter and pan fry slices of axis backstrap and serve with a mushroom gravy. It was so good and one of DH’s favorites so we were treated often. Axis venison is particularly tasty, and since it is not native to the US, it’s always open season in TX. They were introduced to the TX Hill Country in the 1930s and have thrived since. Very pretty deer.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

DH and I love venison! Dearly departed MIL used to batter and pan fry slices of axis backstrap and serve with a mushroom gravy. It was so good and one of DH’s favorites so we were treated often. Axis venison is particularly tasty, and since it is not native to the US, it’s always open season in TX. They were introduced to the TX Hill Country in the 1930s and have thrived. Very pretty deer.

Not to hijack this thread, but oddly enough, the best venison I ever had were tenderloins that came from a spotted fawn near Minocqua, Wisconsin.

I was riding as a passenger in a restored 1965 Mercedes Benz 190C and that fawn unexpectedly ran out from between two cars in the lot of a roadside car dealership. We were going less than 30 mph, but that little fawn pushed the grille into the radiator and the radiator into the fan, which ended up doing internal engine damage. I think the total bill was $6,000.00 and this was back in the late '80s.

But the guy I was with called the DNR and got a tag for the deer, quickly got his pickup, brought the deer home and salvaged only the tenderloins.

He pan-fried them up with some type of seasoning blend and they were very good.

Expensive at $3,000 each, but good.

Here's what that car looked like before the deer got to it. (not the exact car, but similar)

 

[ERD50]

Not to hijack this thread, but ....

Here's what that car looked like before the deer got to it. (not the exact car, but similar)

View attachment 63419

OK, then I'll hi-jack it! I had a similar car, a 1959 220S, in 1974. Like below, but in black. Wood trim dashboard, wood trim around windows, and 4-speed manual on the steering column (a '4-on-the-tree').

 

[Winemaker]

Venison backstraps grilled on wood or charcoal is as good as any beef tenderloin. You just can't overcook venison as it is extremely lean and has very little fat to render.

 

[38Chevy454]

Grilled a nice tri-tip last night for dinner. Trim off the fat layer, then marinate in Lawry's steak and chop liquid marinade for about 1/2 day. Cook on low heat around 25 minutes per side. Take off grill and let rest about 10 minutes. Slice thin across the grain. Used to be a lower cost cut, now hard to find for less than $9/lb on sale; my tri-tip last night was a $31 purchase from the store. Got hooked on the tri-tips from college on CA central coast, and they are now getting more popular over rest of the USA.

 

[Lorenzo]

Grilled a nice tri-tip last night for dinner. Trim off the fat layer, then marinate in Lawry's steak and chop liquid marinade for about 1/2 day. Cook on low heat around 25 minutes per side. Take off grill and let rest about 10 minutes. Slice thin across the grain. Used to be a lower cost cut, now hard to find for less than $9/lb on sale; my tri-tip last night was a $31 purchase from the store. Got hooked on the tri-tips from college on CA central coast, and they are now getting more popular over rest of the USA.

I, too, learned about tri-tip when I lived in CA. I had heard something about how they do it in Santa Maria, a place I never had the opportunity to visit. There is a store near me now that almost always has it available, and the price, while not low, is at least lower than some other cuts I like. I don't marinate but use a simple salt and coarse pepper rub.

 

[audreyh1]

My favorite recipes for Tri-tip are based on the Santa Maria CA style BBQ which has its own adjustable open wood fire grill setup. I like smoked beef so I smoke the tri-tips at a quite low temp to get 2 hours of smoke in to maybe 115 degrees, rest, then reverse sear on my gas grill to reach 125 degrees center. So good!!

Traeger Smoked Tri Tip

This tender and juicy Traeger Smoked Tri-Tip recipe is beyond delicious! That's because the tri tip is perfectly seasoned with my made from scratch Santa Maria Seasoning, then smoked for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, depending on the size.

hildaskitchenblog.com

This rub is to die for:

Santa Maria Seasoning

Santa Maria Dry Rub is a mixture of spices used to flavor meat, most often tri-tip. Santa Maria barbecue originated in Santa Marica, Calfornia.

hildaskitchenblog.com

 

[Dtail]

It was almost 70ºF here today so I grilled hamburgers the old-school budget way today on our $69 Wal-Mart charcoal barrel grill.

View attachment 63398

View attachment 63399

DW and DMIL really enjoy charcoal-grilled burgers. DW made some (probably from Florida) corn-on-the-cob to go with the burgers tonight.

Felt like summer!


Too bad it's only going to be in the 40s and 50s the rest of the week.

Nice. Square burgers instead of round.

 

[pacergal]

Treager smoked/grilled beef kabobs last night, very good.

 

[braumeister]

My favorite recipes for Tri-tip are based on the Santa Maria CA style BBQ which has its own adjustable open wood fire grill setup.

I was lucky enough to live in that area one summer back in the 80s (Vandenberg AFB), and Santa Maria BBQ was something I looked forward to every weekend. I should really go back there one of these days.

 

[Winemaker]

I made some jerk chicken thighs on the grill last night, delicious!

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Boneless pork chops and foil-tent potatoes over charcoal today.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Same grill, different protein...

Today I grilled marinated chicken breast strips. We enjoyed them with (microwave) baked potatoes and an incredibly tasty tomato-mozzarella salad that is a copycat recipe of what we used to get at TGI Fridays™.

I paired my meal with a 12 oz. can of Shasta root beer served in a fresh-from-the-freezer frosty A&W mug.

Ahh, it feels like summer.

Too bad it's going to dip back down into the low 30s next week for a couple of mornings.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Looks like I'm the only one grilling these past couple of weeks.

Monday I made hamburgers on the charcoal grill for DW, DMIL, and myself for Memorial Day.

Today I grilled marinated tenderloins and some frozen garlic toast over charcoal.

3rd day in a row that it's been over 80ºF so I'm taking advantage of the warm weather.

 

[pacergal]

Plan to do BBQ ribs tonight--DGS request! I will cook them in the oven initially, DH will finish on the smoker.

 

[Winemaker]

Did some baby backs last weekend, already had them for 2 meals. One big rack left!

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Grilled some boneless pork chops last night. They turned out perfect!

Tonight I'm trying marinated shrimp skewers on the grill for the first time.

Wish me luck!

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

 

[Pointby2]

I made this on our Weber gas BBQ grill, does that count?

Wisconsin bar style on a pizza steel.