It begins...

Today turned out to be just nice enough for a quick grilled dinner. Wife and son are in Florida for the week, so I have the house to myself. Most meals are already planned out, but I couldn't pass up the chance to take advantage of a few hours without rain today, so I went shopping for a good old man's meal - steak and potatoes.

I bought what is probably my third cast iron skillet today, as I think the best seared steaks come from a skillet on the grill. I really want to get one to the point that it's so seasoned that nothing will stick to it, but I never have the discipline to take the full care that's needed - it always winds up left out in the grill getting all rusted. I've done a bit more research and now know that no pan is beyond repair, so I'm making sure this is the last one. It came pre-seasoned, but I seasoned it in the grill anyway. I may have done some damage to the pre-seasoning, but it will all work itself out in time.

Those scratch marks are just from some waxed paper I used to put in some shortening to season it. It also seemed to take off something, though I'm not sure what, which is why it looks like a half-moon sort of. Either way, it's on its way.

Here's my 8-oz filet freshly put on the grill, which was around 650^. The selection at the grocery store was pretty poor, hence the string to round it out. I rub some olive oil in on both sides, as well as kosher salt and pepper, and then let it sit in a container on the counter for about 30 minutes. I know people who say let the meat come to room temp, and others who say it doesn't matter. I had the time to prepare my salad anyway, so I did it. I'm sure it doesn't matter much on such a thin cut of maybe 1-1/4", but for a whole roast or a nice 2" filet from Lobel's, I'd certainly let it rest. Letting the salt and pepper soak in a bit anyway is a good thing, and helps form a nice crust.

After 4 minutes, you can see how the edge is no longer raw.

I finished the steak on the grates for another 5 minutes over medium heat. I made the potato in our new Advantium microwave oven, which took all of 18 minutes. Came out like one of the potatoes you can find in stores that come in plastic for microwaving; these take only 8 minutes, and I'd stick with these in the future for quick baked's. But for a real meal, I prefer to do a real baking for the 45-60 minutes or so for a real crisp skin. Nevertheless, drench anything in butter, salt and pepper and I'll eat it.

And to think some people are vegetarians.

Finally, one of my favorite salads - spinach leaves, crumbled Roquefort cheese, chopped walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette. Sometimes I'll add granny smith apples too. It's painfully easy with all the good pre-packaged product available today. I like to let it sit for about 20 minutes to let the dressing soak into everything. Usually, I like to use only half the amount of dressing that most people do, as I prefer to actually taste the lettuce and veggies in a salad. But this one is very rich with the cheese in it, and needs a good dressing (and wine) to cut through everything on the palate. Being alone for a few more days, there's plenty ingredients left over for another serving!

 

I'm getting excited over the prospect of warm weather and more grilling time. Just to take an afternoon in the crisp spring air, and give the grill a nice cleaning, actually sounds like fun. It hasn't had much use over the winter and while I was seasoning the skillet today, the flames actually went out - fortunately I was checking on it every few minutes, so there wasn't a build-up of gas. Still, not a good thing, though I partially blame it on the windy day. For dinner though, everything worked fine. I've already got a recipe ready for the first big BBQ weekend - St. Louis ribs and baked beans, on the charcoal kettle, of course.

Walk the flank...

Flank steak with wife's churrasco. We're into portion control as our New Year's resolution, trying to shed a few pounds gained by the recipes of previous entries.

Medium rare-ish, of course. I love flank for it's ability to take marinades so well and lend itself to any tasty concoction.

Today was the kind of day I love living in the northeast for - mid 40's, sunny, crisp and clear. Perfect grilling weather, especially when the steak is on for all of 7 minutes. I did a grill burn-off just to prepare for coming months of more grill time. Doesn't matter what Punxsutawney Phil says...

For heaven's sake

Made a pilgrimage up to Edgewater, NJ, to visit Mitsuwa Marketplace yesterday, after a sake recommendation from our server at Sakagura restaurant in NYC that wife took me to for my birthday last month. The place had over 200 bottles of sake, and I was in heaven. It was actually more a japanese tapas bar than a sushi place. They only serve sushi for lunches, but the dinners consist of ordering a bunch of little dishes. It was fantastic, and our waitress was a certified sake sommelier and paired each dish with some great sake. She recommended the market, which is almost 2 hours from home, hence the big purchase.

The bottles on the top left are Himezen sake, which was dry and sweet, almost like a dessert wine. The genie-like bottles I had at the Sapporo restaurant in New Brunswick, NJ, were good and only $7 each for 300ml. The twisty bottle looked too cool to pass up, and the other two just sounded good.

Mitsuwa was horrendously packed, impossible to park, but had a sake isle as long as a grocery store's dairy isle. I almost cried. Might have been the pre-New Year's rush, but I didn't want to have to go back any time soon, so I bought what I knew I'd like plus a few other things to try. I'd like to go back in the off hours sometime though, because they had a noodle bar inside with a line that went outside, so it must be good. And, almost everyone shopping inside was Japanese, or at least with someone who was; can't go wrong with that kind of customer base.

To find a place that specializes in sake, even two hours away, makes life that much better. Kampai!

Success!

The turkey fry sans rub came out beautifully. The brown sugar in the brine added plenty of flavor to the skin, and the color was gorgeous. Usually the rub would make the bird come out pretty dark, looking burnt, although it never actually was.

After a 30 minute rest, it was still really hot. The mark of a good fry is that the thighs just twist right off the bird.

 

Meaty glory. Unfortunately the carcass did us no good, because we're leaving for Miami on Wednesday and there's still soup leftover from a roast chicken we did earlier this week. I think someone actually took it home for their own use. Just as well.

 

Unfortunately though, there was quite a bit of splatter from the oil on my patio - I'm hoping that it won't stain, but I know bluestone is quite porous. As it is, I can't see how bad it is, nor have I cleaned up the fryer, because everything is coated in half an inch of ice and slush. Although, we have a 3-pound chicken frozen since summer, as well as leftover brine and oil... There just might be one more fry to be done before vacation.

Wanna take a bath?

It's turkey-fry time! I'm trying out a recipe from Alton Brown where the brine is made from kosher salt and brown sugar, plus some ice to keep it cool. No rub or seasoning is put on the bird afterwards, which is a first for me. But honestly, most times I've fried a turkey, it's hard to tell if any of the rub even stays on, or if it boils right off.

Either way, his recipe calls for starting the fry temp low and increasing it once the bird goes in. I'm going to stick with the 3-minutes-per-pound-plus-5 rule instead. Since the weather is going to be barely above freezing tomorrow, I'm going to try air-drying it for an hour or so before the putting it in the oil as I heard that helps the skin dry out for a good crisp when roasting, and I'm going to separate the skin from one breast side, to see how that affects the crisping as well. Have to experiment...

Once nice thing about it hitting only 20* tonight is that our porch steps make a perfect temporary fridge and freezer.

We're expecting 15-16 people tomorrow for our holiday party, also called Chrismukkah. Yes, we're religious mutts in this house.

Off to start cleaning the house. After almost two straight weeks of Chinese food, it's nice to get my fry on.

Come, waste more time on the internets...

I decided to start another blog to capture dining experiences outside of my patio - check it out here. I'm in China now until December 9th, and hope to get some posts in if the web here will allow me. Lots of pictures to show, but they may not get posted until I get back home. Chinese food is a totally different experience when you're actually in China.

Ho hum

Been some boring weekends lately. We had a block party over the weekend with a great turnout and fantastic weather. Met some new neighbors with young kids, always a welcome addition to the block, as well as some neighbors I've been waving hi to for over five years and never actually met. To keep it simple, we did another batch of chicken drumsticks marinated in Goya's mojo sauce - it's darn near impossible to make that go wrong. Wife spent way too much time making cookies and things. I'll stick to the stuff that requires fire.

I actually have the next couple of weekends off, for now at least, so I want to plan another good day of Q soon... I just need to figure out what to make and who to invite. I think I need to try some pork shoulder, and I'd like another round of grilled pizza. But, it's going to start getting cooler here, and cold soon enough, so beyond a few weeks I'll probably have to just stick with grilling instead of barbecuing.

Still, there are worse things than perfecting some steak recipes over the winter.

Patio party

Our patio party yesterday came off really well. Everyone we invited made it, the weather was unbelievable, though a bit windy, and there was more food and drink than we knew what to do with. I guess that means we did it right.

I set up the Smokenator as such, with two racks on the bottom grate and a 6-rib rack on top. Temperatures fluctuated between 220 and 300 the whole time, and I was feeding it a lot of new, already-lit coals. I was ready to ditch the whole thing and just pile some charcoal inside the kettle, but fortunately I planned enough time for something to go wrong, and in the end was able to get the ribs off in time. They were tender but still meaty, great flavor too. The only downside was that I didn't have time to get that back membrane off like I usually do, and it really needed to have been removed. Still, they were a hit.

As I told my guests, this is why you have a big grill. This is all the chicken we marinated overnight in Mojo sauce. Cheap and easy, and a world of flavor when you let it sit in the marinade for at least 12 hours. I'd even recommend going 24 hours - ours went about 18. It's so juicy and flavorful, and cheap. Sometimes, store bought is good. And, although the skin looks burnt, it was really tasty and crispy.

Burgers, dogs, fresh Jersey corn, and some chorizo sausage in case a grown-up wanted something a little different.

      

More pics of festivities - the bounce room was some of the best $200 ever spent three years ago. Who doesn't like to bounce?

What was nice was that even with kids, some people stayed until about 8, so we were able to get the firepit going when it was about 60 degrees. That is the best way to end the night for me - food, fire, and drinks. In all I think we had 24 people over - our largest party yet. And I've got all four October weekends open - probably a first. So I guess it's time to work on beating the numbers....

You got 16 pounds and what do you get?

Smoked baby backs!

We're hosting a patio party tomorrow for friends we used to work with. Total of 27 people expected, kids and adults. Should be a blast - it'll be our biggest party ever. I've got 8 racks of ribs in a neighbor's fridge - there's not enough space in ours. Come to think of it, there's probably not enough space on my kettle for all of them. I've got a standing rib rack that should hold 6, and maybe I'll jury rig the other two on the Smokenator's second grate level. Somehow...

We've also got chicken thighs and drumsticks marinating in mojo sauce overnight, and your basic burgers and dogs... you know, for kids. Wife is making her specialties for app's - salsa and guacamole, plus a chili cheese dip I could eat all day, and a crab dip I won't touch.

I know there are other sides she bought (you can only prep so much), but I just finished 2 pounds of BBQ macaroni salad, a recipe from Cook's Country. It is quite simply the best macaroni salad I've ever had. Considering it's only the third or fourth I've had, it doesn't really say much. But it does rock.

Tomorrow I only need to make my BBQ sauce, which hopefully won't be necessary, and do a ton of setup work before people start arriving around 2:30p. Fortunately, the Hoegaarden beer is already in the cooler....

I. Love. Fall.

OK, it's not really fall yet, but it's been a fantastic couple of days here in central NJ, with sunny skies, low humidity, and highs in the 60's and low 70's. I can't think of any better weather to spend a few hours outside, firepit a'blazing, and ribs a'smoking. Son and I played some golf this morning, right after I seasoned some baby back ribs I bought yesterday and threw them in the fridge. The kettle temps were kinda high, mostly around 400 degrees,and I forgot to soak my wood chunks so they smoked out pretty quickly. I also didn't brine these ribs, which my favorite recipe says to do.

They were a bit over done, I will admit. Certainly low and slow is the best way to go, but I also needed to feed the family at a reasonable hour. I may try again next Sunday, as on the last Saturday of the month we're having a pretty big patio party here, and my goal is to have a couple racks of ribs to serve as an accompaniment to your basic burgers, dogs, and chicken dishes. Those are easy to cook but don't impress friends much. And I'm looking for an ego boost.

Side note...

My father ordered some Lobel's brisket that we had Monday night. It was tender for sure, but for all the $ spent, it had no char, no taste of rub, a lot of sauce, and an odd recommendation for a vinegar-based mopping sauce to drizzle on it.

Again, I stand by anything I've ever bought from them (what little I do because it's so expensive) - their steaks are unbeatable. But I wasn't too pleased with their brisket.

Especially knowing what I can do with one.

Guess what? Chicken Butt.

Had a nice weekend off. Sunday and Monday were spent in the Poconos where my Uncle has been building and renovating a cabin for 30 years or so. Aunt made a great whole tenderloin, and my cousin and I contributed grilled potatoes that needed about 30 more minutes on the grill, and lightly grilled romaine lettuce. There's nothing like crisp mountain air on a cloudless day to do a person good.

But Saturday we had some friends over and Wife asked if I would grill something. I wanted to do a tri-tip, but the butcher was sold out. Mental note - don't go food shopping around noon on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. So I picked up 2 fryer chickens, some asparagus, corn, and hamburger meat, and started prepping. I've learned that there isn't a whole lot that needs to be prepped for beer can chicken, and I made a bunch of seasoning a few chickens ago so it's always on hand.

I'm slowly learning how to manage the temperatures correctly...

So that I get results like this.

The 620 with a burger for the kid, grilled corn basting in a butter/BBQ sauce, and marinated asparagus.

Mmmm, corn....

Some olive oil, lemon juice, pressed garlic and minced rosemary does wonders for asparagus. You almost can't leave it on the grill long enough, because it tastes good even when charred.

Had some leftover challah bread and an idea...

 

For Jewish Toast. It was a little stale to start and not as tasty as the frozen stuff, and it may not be the best bread for a Texas toast substitute, but I'd like to try it again with fresher bread.

With some time off this weekend too, I'm looking to try my hand at some grilled pizza. Salud!

Results are in

Yesterday's schedule was just plain hectic. Since Wife and Son were leaving for Miami early this morning, Wife spend all day prepping for her 20th HS reunion, and all night packing. Dinner was pretty much her time off. So I had Son with me most of the day, taking him to tennis, getting my haircut, having lunch, doing some food shopping - all while making the brisket.

I wanted to really give it the time in the grill it needed, but because of the cooler temperature and the constant wind, the kettle was cooling off much faster than I expected. So I did spend quite some time reloading briquettes to keep the temperature up. And as good as the Cook's Illustrated recipe is, if the procedure deviates from the recipe, they don't really tell you how to get back on track. Honestly, I'm still pretty new at all this to be able to throw caution to the wind and play it all by ear.

Nevertheless, 7 hours on the grill gave a great char and a brisket just on the north side of getting dry. It had great taste, but just wasn't as tender as I was hoping. I did take it off heat at around 195 degrees internal temp, but that was at the thickest part, and the thinner areas were the ones that were a little drier. Still, that simple salt/pepper/sugar seasoning crisps so well, and their Texas-style BBQ sauce is such a perfect blend of tomato-sweet and vinegar-tang, that putting the sauce on made for a fantastic combo.

The goat cheese toast points came out really well - just a hunk of softened cheese with chopped parsley, chives, and thyme mixed in. Not much different than what you can find in a store, but fresher.

Asparagus was really good grilled, but I lost 2 or 3 spears through the grates on the gas grill. Will be cleaning that today.

And although I had forgotten about them and was too full anyway, the smoked potatoes were awesome. My mom and I pecked at half of one while we were cleaning up. The skin was really crisp, the the potato inside was just perfectly done. They took over three hours, so I should have put them on earlier in the brisket's timeframe, but then the temp inside the grill may have been too hot and they may have cooked too fast. Since the brisket is so big and needs to stay away from the heat, the potatoes naturally must be placed closer to the coals. Experience will tell, because I'll definitely try them again.

All in all, another really pleasing meal, especially given that I just didn't have the time all day to nurse and watch over the kettle. No pics either, unfortunately. But I'm sure I added a few pounds to the waistline yesterday as a nice memory. That's a picture no one needs to see.

Oops

Totally slept through the alarm at 5am. Looks like we'll being eating 2 hours later than I had hoped.

Brisket prep

At 10pm tonight, I just finished rinsing the brisket and scoring the fat cap. Alarm is set for 5am to get it into the brine for two hours... hopefully I'll actually wake up before 6am (pinched spinal nerve + pain killers & muscle relaxants = tired grillguy).

My wood chunks are soaking as of now as well.

Tomorrow I'll brine some corn for the grill, and the rest of the menu should be:

• Grilled goat cheese garlic toasts
• Asparagus with goat cheese and rosemary
• Smoked potatoes
• Texas-style BBQ sauce

If all goes as planned, it should turn out better than my first (and only other) attempt at smoked brisket. Much of the main menu points are the same. This time though, I want to start earlier and let the whole thing finish in the kettle, as opposed to having to heat it in the grill to get to temperature. Hence the way-too-early start time.

Plus, I've got the pinched nerve, which does make maneuvering a little painful. What we do for good Q....

Saturday's weather report...

Calls for a short brine, lots of rub, steady heat in the 300's and some smoke in the air. Chance of mopping sauce about 80%. Moisture level in my brisket, high.

An hour or so later...

Target temperature was reached, but I was again unhappy with the charring. Not sure if I used too much rub or not, but thinking back to my first brisket, that was what I was hoping for - great char on the outside, awesome tender flavor on the inside. So, I took some quick action:

Some new coals at the ready, I put them down so I could finish the tri tip over some direct heat and get some searing. Worked pretty well after 10 minutes or so:

And I can't complain with the results:

My first smoke ring!

 

It smells a bit like jerky with the seasonings in the rub, but tastes pretty darn good. I think it would actually go better with some BBQ sauce, which I may whip up tonight. It is a very beefy-tasting cut of meat, and seems to be able to take some strong flavors. I'm not sure if searing last helped the smoke penetrate better or not, but it does have a smokey taste - I wound up using cherry wood instead of mesquite, just for kicks.

All in all, not bad for two hours work. Back to cleaning.

On your mark...

250, just as I wanted it. The thermometer on the side suffered an unfortunate heat accident, making it unable to switch to Fahrenheit. Thanks to the internets for conversions of a target temp of 135 or so.  

Smokenator setup

Here's the basic Smokenator setup. I use the coal grate to hold it in place on the bottom, and nudge it under the cooking grate tabs. Not how it says to position it in the manual, but that way doesn't work, at least in the Performer. Four dozen unlit briquettes placed inside, then the dozen lit coals are added with soaked wood chunks. The pan of water is put in place. I've used warm to hot water so far, figuring the heat of the coals won't be wasted trying to heat the water.

This does produce very consistent temps, and long smoking times, with very little charcoal used at all. However, I've noticed only a little radiant heat, so charring doesn't seem likely using this. But as I get more experienced with smoking, this will probably become a valuable tool.

Feelin' dirty

With wife and son gone, I've got about 10 useful hours to get stuff done around the house. I wanted to give the Summit a good cleaning, after receiving some Hot & Foamy cleaner. It works pretty well, but you definitely don't want to breathe the stuff. A simple wipedown with a vinegar/water solution cleaned everything up.

Here's the starting mess after I cleaned the grates.

I covered the burner tubes with the wide version of tin foil that fits perfectly front to back, which I thought was actually pretty smart of me.

After maybe 45 minutes total, it doesn't look half bad. I have some other product that would really get the grates clean, but I would need to let them soak in boiling water, and I don't have anything large enough to hold them.

I'm now soaking some wood chunks for the attempt at tri tip. I'm debating using the Smokenator or not, but since it's not even 11am, I can try smoking it and if it doesn't finish for lunch, then it's on until dinner. I'm just afraid that the Smokenator doesn't allow the rub to char any because it keeps the temp so low, but I'll try to keep it around 250 this time. I also just cleaned the Performer, and I'm still amazed at how little charcoal I used for that 7-hour first attempt at ribs last weekend. It'll at least pay for itself that way...

Oddly, more laundry beckons...