Turkey Day!

Here is what happened on Thanksgiving:

I found out last minute that my upright smoker needs a new part and is out of commission. This is why I ended up having to smoke the turkey on my Weber Kettle.

This was kind of scary, since I've never done it before, so I asked for some tips from my good friends at the Barbecue Bible forum. Everyone was very helpful.


I started by injecting some marinade and covering the turkey with Steven's Jamaican Jerk Spice Paste.

 I set up the turkey for indirect cooking using the Minion Method.

I used a combination of soaked cherry wood and dry hickory.

The end result was a wonderfully smoked turkey that was still juicy and tender.  I was absolutely delicous. To accompany it, I made a Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce.

Burgers! Burgers! Burgers!

This weekend I got to grill one of my all-time favorites; my green chile cheeseburger.

Before I start on the burgers, I roast poblano peppers on a cast iron skillet until the outer skin chars and separates from the pepper. I remove it and the seeds, then chop the pepper. This is a great pepper to use because it isn't very hot, but has a great and very distinct flavor.

I Form some nice, firm parties and covering them with a layer of Steven Raichlen's basic barbecue rub (recipe at http://www.barbecuebible.com/featured/howtogrill/basic_barbecue_.php). I like making a small hole in the center of the patties the help them cook more evenly.

Then I use a mister to lightly coat the buns with extra virgin olive oil. I always use buns with sesame seeds. Putting these on the grill toasts the buns as well as the seeds. The result is a great tasting, crispy toasted bun.

Birthday Ribs!

Julie had a birthday this weekend and asked me to make some ribs for her. Of course, I was more than happy to do so.

I started by removing the membrane on the back, then cured them with a basic BBQ rub and let them sit overnight. The next day I fired up the kettle, set up for indirect cooking, and added soaked cherry wood chips to the coals.

The end result was delicious. I look forward to the next cook.

 

 

 

 

Beer Can Turkey

Have you decided on how to cook your Thanksgiving turkey this year? Try beercanning it. Use the same procedure as you would for a chicken, but use a can of Foster’s. This will keep the bird from drying out.

New Weber Sear Grate

Hello everyone. Here is my second cook on my new sear grate, and I took plenty of pictures.

First of all, here is the new kettle with side table. I added a little tool rack and the Weber Slide-Aside (in the back so it’s not visible in this picture).

This sear grate is a part of the Weber BBQ System

I used some of Steven’s Columbian Spice Paste, which by the way, is just awesome. In this case I slathered it on two NY Strip steaks 4.5 hours before cooking time.

To start the chimney, I use starters that I made. I learned how to make them from my good friend, Bob BQN.

I placed my charcoal baskets in the center of the grill and poured the charcoal in.

This puts the heat directly below the sear grate. It gets really hot!

After letting it heat up for some time, I put the steaks on. I seared for 3 minutes on each side, then moved them off the sear grate and onto the side for indirect grilling. This cooked them perfectly, giving the best sear marks I have ever gotten.

Jalapeño Jeaven!

I recently got a jalapeño grill at First Monday in Canton, TX. I usually walk right past these things, but this one caught my eye. What got my attention was the design. The holes in this cooker were different. There is a number of tabs around each hole. It turns out that this design not only allows for you to use different size jalapeños, it also allows heat to come up around the sides of the jalapeño, allowing for even cooking. The grill included a coring tool that makes gutting those peppers a breeze! 

I picked one up to try out and I have to say that I’m very pleased with the results. I actually use this a lot more often than I expected to, both in the oven and in the smoker, and it's great every time.

More info on their website.

http://www.jalapenojeaven.com

   

Pulled Pork!

I prefer hickory or Jack Daniels chips for pulled pork. Cook indirectly at a low temperature until you reach 180 degrees. Take it out of your smoker and stick it in a small ice chest (without the ice of course) for an hour. Then take that pork and pull it apart (should be easy by now).

I prefer North Carolina style pork, so I make a vinegar based sauce, along with some coleslaw. I personally like to pour the sauce into the container holding the pulled pork. The sauce breaks it down a little more and adds great flavor.