I finally found the time to try to perfect hanging ribs on my 22″ Weber Smokey Mountain. Once again ribs were on sale at my local Sprouts and I purchased two racks for $7 each. To prepare the ribs, you want to remove the membrane from the back of the racks. This take a little…
Hanging Ribs
This was the my first smoke hanging ribs with the rack I received for my birthday. The concept of the rack is to turn a Weber Smokey Mountain into a pit barrel style cooker. The rack could be used to smoke ribs or chicken, or pork belly to be used for bacon. The concept is…
Birthday upgrades
I asked for and received a couple of upgrades from my newest smoker my 22″ WSM. I received the Cajun Bandit stainless steel door and latch and installed it on this weekend. It is really a big difference between the original, and people have raved about them for years. I have to admit I am…
Sous Vide Eggs – Smoke Free
Sous Vide eggs are definitely not smoking related, but this is something that I have been playing around with lately. I made my third batch this week, and it makes for a delicious grab and go breakfast. I have been making two version, one with with bacon and Gruyere cheese and a second version with…
Smoked Ribs
I decided to smoked some ribs on this fine spring like day. Temps were in the low 60’s today and no rain in the forecast. I fired up my 22″ Weber Smokey Mountain to complete the three racks of baby back ribs. I purchased the ribs in the 3 pack at my local GFS location…
Smoked nuts
I really enjoy smoked nuts, and decided to smoke a couple of batches as the holidays approached. Cashews are my favorite, but they are normally pretty pricey. I picked up almonds and cashews at Sams both containers under $14. My next stop that day was Walmart that was actually selling the same container of cashews…
Turkey Day Turkey
I have smoked a turkey for Thanksgiving for the last several years and this year was no exception. Since it was just the three of us, I did not buy a large bird, I looked for a small bird and purchased one from Publix for $.59 a pound, so it was $7 for a 12…
Chicken Wings – Throwdown
I am a fan of chicken wings and have smoked them many times and they always turn out great. I was looking to try to improve on my normal wings and use my Sous Vide to help. I decided to do a Bobby Flay style throwdown where I would prepare them two ways combining the…
Smoked Pork Belly
I have only tried to smoke pork belly once, and at that time I did pork belly burnt ends with minimal success. This time, I tried to just do a standard smoked pork belly. I purchased the skinless pork belly from Sams and it was approximately 4 pounds and was under $15. I sliced the…
Tuffy Mat – sponsored post
As I am building my blog and social media presence, I was contacted by Dan from Tuffy Mat. He offered to send me a sample of the product, if I would write a review of the product on my website. I received the product several weeks ago, but really have not had an opportunity to…
And then there was 3
I have been smoking for 10 years. My original purchase was an 18″ WSM and it has delivered time after time. I had been watching Craigslist for a deal on 22″ for a long time and never could find one. I stopped in my local Lowes for a small purchase and as my normal tradition…
Smoked Cheese time in TN
As the holidays approach, I decided it was time to smoke some more cheese. This will be the first of several batches. I purchased the cheese from Sams, and they were variety packs of three different types of cheddar. It came with a standard Sharp Cheddar, the Vermont Sharp White, which I prefer and new…
Sous Vide Chops
My obsession with the Sous Vide cooking process continues. One of my favorite things to cook has been thick cut pork chops. To complete this I purchased a pork loin on sale that was close to 4 lbs and was just over $6. This was a great buy, but even when not on sale, pork…
Smoke Free Sous Vide Chuck Roast
It was a washout of a weekend so instead of smoking something, I did a long Sous Vide cook. I purchased a large thick Chuck Roast, over 5 pounds. I did do a light sear prior to the Sous Vide and then seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder. I then vacuum sealed it ,…
Fall Brisket
Although the calendar says fall, the temps still stay feel like summer. Brisket prices have finally comes back to earth, and I was able to purchase this brisket for just under $26 from my local GFS paying $2.49/lb. I did trim some of the hard fat off of the brisket which removed about 1.5 lbs…
Cherry Smoked Cinnamon Almonds
While the smoker is hot after cooking the main courses, it is easy to get some additional use from the smoker. I have smoked nuts on multiple occasions, and actually prefer smoked cashews, I know the almonds are a healthier choice. I purchased a 3 Lb bag of raw almonds from Sams and wanted to…
Best Ribeye Ever
Decided to mix it up a bit and with my new Sous Vide. I purchased a couple of thick Ribeyes on closeout, nothing special, about $15 purchase. After doing some research I decided to cook it 2.5 hours in the water at 129. Normally this would then be removed and seared, but I decided to…
Eye Round – the French Connection
I am still playing around with my Sous Vide and purchased a Eye Round on closet out to try something new. The best I could figure out, the best way to prepare this via Sous Vide is 24 hours in the water. I added salt, pepper and garlic and bagged it. …
Smoke free – Sous Vide – Strip Steak
I finally got around to trying my new toy, I purchased the Anova Sous Vide – bluetooth edition. I have been doing a little research on this method, which is labeled as precision cooking. You take the product you want to cook and you season it, and it pick the target temperature that you want…
Smoked Cashews
While the smoker was still warm, I decided to smoke a container of cashews. This is an easy smoke, with great result. I purchased the container from Sams. I added a small amount of olive oil as a binder. I then stirred and added my normal seasonings of paprika, onion powder and garlic powder, and…
Pork belly burnt ends – first attempt
I decided to try pork belly burnt ends, since I was finally able to find some to work with. I noticed recently that Sams was now selling uncured pork belly. The price was reasonable (under $15) so not to bad on the risk reward scale. The recipe I was…
Brisket Sandwich
Plenty of brisket left over from a recent cook, decided to make a “special” sandwich. I took a couple of slices of red onion and some mushroom and I sauteed them. I then took some sourdough bread and buttered it and placed it in a medium pan and cooked to the consistency of a completed…
Brisket time in TN – Midnight Smoke
I completed a midnight smoke on the Sunday night heading into Memorial day. I started the smoker a little after 7pm and got the brisket in the smoke about 7:30 PM. I completed the cook using the minion method as follows: I filled the chamber a little over half…
Love the smoked cheese
Smoked cheese is a pretty easy process, that I do every couple of months. My family and friends really enjoy it, but it takes a little planning. Plan to start eating it about 3 weeks after smoking it, so plan ahead. Give it a try it is an easy process, with great results. Below is…
Patio Ribs….
My typical go to cook on mothers day is ribs. My wife headed out to California this mothers day to spend some time with daughter #2, but the tradition continued anyway. I smoked the ribs doing the 3,2,1 method. The ribs were reasonable priced and only $8 each at $2.88/lb. I removed the membrane from…
Smoked Chuck Roast
I picked up a prime chuck roast from Kroger the other day and decided to smoke it today. I was in a time crunch, since the weather had predicted storms late in the afternoon. I lit about 40 coals in the chimney started and added some fresh coals to what was left over from last…
Smoked Margarita Chicken and Smoked Mac and Cheese
It was a beautiful Master’s Sunday and I decided to smoke something since it has a couple weeks. I purchased some chicken thighs and small package of mild Italian Sausages. I decide to go with a marinade only and never applied any seasoning to the chicken (first time ever). For the marinade I used Tequila,…
Burnt ends… 2nd attempt.. nailed it
I used the lessons from my first attempt at burnt ends last weekend to improve the process this weekend. I started with the same product, a packer from GFS that was 11 lbs. I cut it about 2/3 of the way down and used the point and some of the flat. …
Burnt Ends
Decided to try to cook burnt ends for the first time. The normal process would be to cook a full brisket and then separate the point and use it for burnt ends. In this situation I used a fresh brisket and cut the point and some of the flat out and smoked it. I determined…
Smoked Chocolate
Decided to try something new, at the suggestion of a friends daughter. Completed via a cold smoke, used cherry and oak pellets. I have found that the easiest way to light the pellets is by using my gas grill. It only takes 3 or 4 minutes to get them going. The idea is generate a…