OT Southern BBQ Ribs

[ssh]

Seti,

They only take 25-30 min total @ 350 in an oven. Use a meat thermometer to 150 or 155, then rest to 160. Cooking for myself, I don't take it quite that hot- 145 on the smoker to 150+ rest.

SSH

[seti]

I was fortunate as the temp was just right for 40 minutes not too hot they ended up right at 150 when I took them off. They were just right and the jerk flavoring was killer. The smoked onions, garlic and jalepenos should make a great salsa.

I doubt the regular grill will get much action this summer.

Thanks,

Seti

[Tarheel]

Seti.....we may have to promote you to grillmaster ll. You certainly pay attention to details. I have trouble planning that far ahead....but have a friend like you who knows the devils in the detail. Good smoking.

[EM3]

I bought a smoker not the one I planned on but for starters I thought I would go with the trusty brinkman.

I like the versatility of this one. Tomorrow is an early trip to the grocery store should be fun.

I have that same exact smoker in my basement. It served me well. Just remember never use any charcoal that has been treated with any lighter fluid.

[Daddy Dee]

Seti,

wow. the pork tenderloin sounds fabulous. I never have cooked with jerk seasoning, but need to try it out.

[seti]

Seti.....we may have to promote you to grillmaster ll.  You certainly pay attention to details.  I have trouble planning that far ahead....but have a friend like you who knows the devils in the detail.  Good smoking.

I wish don't think I am there yet. It was fun. I like to modify every step in the process just abit..... It is fun.

[seti]

I bought a smoker not the one I planned on but for starters I thought I would go with the trusty brinkman.

I like the versatility of this one. Tomorrow is an early trip to the grocery store should be fun.

 

 

I have that same exact smoker in my basement.  It served me well.  Just remember never use any charcoal that has been treated with any lighter fluid.

I used a little charcoal fluid to get it started.... The oderless kind. Is there another way?

[seti]

Seti,

wow. the pork tenderloin sounds fabulous. I never have cooked with jerk seasoning, but need to try it out.

It was better than expected. The Jerk sauce was from The Great Sauce Company on Kavanaugh. It is funny the Jerk container is very small but the flavor is enormous as a little goes a long way but didn't learn that until later. Perhaps I used a little too much but the taste is superb sweet spicy and hot. You gotta love caribbean cooking.

Bennets on Markham and Shackleford have lots of grilling goodies for sale apple wood chucks, pecan wood chunks, plus jack daniels wood, and many other types of wood.

I think I have the temp behavior of the smoker down for meats that can cook longer. The temp seems to spike at first and then slowly comes down and then the water pan pretty much does the work for the last couple hours with the temp being lower there isn't much of a chance of over cooking. Is this a good take on the process?

[kaiser SET say]

Dang, did you invite me to that[*-)]

Slower equals more flavor, or pleasure depending on what you might be doing at the time[] [:#][A]

[seti]

Dang, did you invite me to that[*-)]

Slower equals more flavor, or pleasure depending on what you might be doing at the time[] [:#][A]

It was my first run through with a new piece of cooking equipment. I usually spare people my first experience with that so no invites for anyone ...  Get them La Scalas running!

[kaiser SET say]

After I put all new (right sized) spades on, I guess the answer is no[:S]

[EM3]

I bought a smoker not the one I planned on but for starters I thought I would go with the trusty brinkman.

I like the versatility of this one. Tomorrow is an early trip to the grocery store should be fun.

I have that same exact smoker in my basement. It served me well. Just remember never use any charcoal that has been treated with any lighter fluid.

I used a little charcoal fluid to get it started.... The oderless kind. Is there another way?

No thats fine after about 15 minutes put the food on because by that time the fluid has burnt off. I should of been more specific by syaing don't use charcoal such as Match Light or any presoaked charcoal.

[Daddy Dee]

Those little charcoal chimneys are excellent. They will get charcoal going with a couple of pieces of newspaper. The venturi effect drafting air up through the chimney gets the charcoal going in short order.

I also have sometimes used the little fire starter sticks. They are essentially sawdust and paraffin, I think.

Using a little lighter fluid works, fine, in my experience. I think it burns off quickly enough. Don't think I"ve ever thought I was tasting the flavor of fluid.

[thebigonion]

Try using an electric starter. It's just an three prong electric cord with a heating element on the end. You can get them at Home Depot for about $15. Put down a layer of brickettes or wood, lay the element on top and put another layer on top of the element. Gets the coals white hot in about 15 minutes, even on a cold day with no wind.

Also, the reason the temperature spikes is because because you need a hotter fire at the start because the meat is cold. When you put the meat on the grill it lowers the temperature of the smoker so you need a larger fire to quickly bring things back up to the required temperature. When the meat starts coming up to temperature it has less of an effect on the overall smoker temperature, so if you are maintaining a large fire there will be a spike. There is a transition period after about 30 minutes when the temperature may become hotter than required. The key is to start with a large amount of coals, put the meat on and let them burn down for about 30 minutes. Then then add only a small amount of new coals and keep the fire smaller for the rest of the duration. You will still have a temperature spike but it will be smaller with less risk of getting the fire too hot and overcooking the meat.

[mark1101]

I swear by the charcoal chimney. It takes about 15-20 minutes at most and starts with 2 pieces of newspaper as D mentions. I quit using lighter fuild long ago.

I also had that same smoker and it worked well. The only issue that they don't tell you (and that you have to figure out) is that the fire bowl does not hold enough coals to smoke for very long. You have to have a second fire and keep replenishing the smoker fire bowl periodically. It was never a problem for me.....I just needed to figure it out. I got some great tasting stuff from that smoker. I have a friend that uses that same one and he does better than I did with it. Nice moist chickens and port butts. Really impressive.

One other thing I did was drill a few holes around the top of the fire bowl just below the lip. That helped it breath a little better.

I've seen the same one as an electric unit. I bet that might work well. You are supposed to add wet wood chips to get the smoke.

[Daddy Dee]

I ordered a few things from the Tabasco catalog recently. Got a gift bucket with various tabasco products for a housewarming present for my daughter and son in law. It's in a nice red bucket with a tabasco label on it, if one likes the idea of placing a plant in there later.

One thing I was curious about was the Tabasco chocolate. It's about $12 and comes in three tins 1.75 oz tins. Cute. That's a piece of chocolate about the size of a cookie and sliced into 8 pieces. I'd rate it just OK. The novelty of the idea is pretty cool and the tin looks good. The chocolate was sort of disappointing. It does have some hot flavor and is not over sweetened, just not a great combo for flavor I suppose... at least to my tastes.

It had been a while since I'd tried the smoked chipotle Tabasco, but it is good to use as a splash on alternative to regular tabasco. It is dialed down a notch in heat from regular tabasco and does have an impressive rich chipotle flavor.

They threw in a bottle of their new "sweet and spicy" sauce. It is the mildest of all tabasco sauces, even more mild than the green jalapeno sauce. It is a thick pour on type sauce consisting of mostly corn syrup. Thought it was tasty, but didn't think of any great uses for it. Still, for someone who has not acquired a taste for Tabasco, it could be a fun experience for them.

Got the habanero sauce for the first time. Tasting it outright, it was not as hot as I'd expected but is indeed kicked up a notch from regular tabasco. I've taken a tbsp of Tabasco for a headache before. Wasn't quite ready to take the habanero in that volume. The idea is tongue and mouth pain so intense that it releases endorphins to take the edge off the headache. Actually works.

I think the gift catalog is worth browsing on tabasco.com. The aprons are cool, IMO. On the regular part of the website some interesting info on tabasco history and products.

[seti]

I make pepper sauce like my dad taught me grow at least 5 different kinds tabasco, jalpeno, habenero, Cayenne, and Serrano. You want to have more tabasco plants and homegrown tabascos are an entire different story from whatever they put in tabasco. Pick peppers until your pot is mostly full then add vinegar, boil, and run through a blender. There are some recipes that have you thin it ot but I like it just barely pourable. This will beat anything you can every buy. BTW I am still have a couple gallons of my dads sauce stashed until I can master that recipe.... YUMMY!

There is a pepper I had in the Caribbean called the Scotch Bonnet and it is one of the best flavored peppers I have ever had.

[Daddy Dee]

Seti,

That is very cool. Pardon, the mixed metaphor.

Does your dad can his pepper sauce to preserve it?

What's your take on the Scotch Bonnet?

[sivadselim]

[seti]

Seti,

That is very cool. Pardon, the mixed metaphor.

 Does your dad can his pepper sauce to preserve it?

What's your take on the Scotch Bonnet?

 

It is not canned and I have been using them. I was told that there is enough natural preservative to not have to can. If I should add something let me know. I have been eating them this way for 10 years and most batches are aged a few years. I find I can not wait that long!

The Scotch Bonnet or Piment Ma Jacques is a sweet fruity fiery pepper. A little goes a really long way but it is the sweet fruity flavor that is killer but start slow as the heat has a 20sec delay then BANG! It is not the hottest pepper I've had but it is the most flavorful. I would love to smoke a batch of peppers and then make some sauce. 

from wikpidia

The Scotch Bonnet (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) is a variety of chili pepper similar to and of the same species as the habanero. A cultivar of the habanero, it is one of the hottest peppers in the world. Found mainly in the Caribbean islands, it is named for its resemblance to a Scotsman's bonnet. Most Scotch Bonnets have a heat rating of 150,000325,000 Scoville Units.

These peppers are used to flavour many different dishes and cuisines worldwide. Scotch Bonnet has a flavour distinct from its Habanero cousin. This gives Jerk dishes (pork/chicken) and other Caribbean dishes their unique flavour. Scotch Bonnets are especially used in Caymanian and Jamaican cooking, though they often show up in other Caribbean recipes. Eaten raw, these peppers are also known to cause dizziness, numbness of hands and cheeks, and severe heartburn.

Fresh ripe Scotch Bonnets or Habaneros change from green to colours ranging from pumpkin orange to scarlet red. Ripe peppers are prepared for cooking by cutting out the seeds inside the fruit which can be saved for cultivation and other culinary uses.

Scotch Bonnets look almost identical to a similar pepper called the "seasoning pepper", often eaten whole and raw, but this species has much less spice, and is used for its flavour, not heat. Eating whole, raw scotch bonnet peppers is not advised for those unaccustomed to eating very spicy food. As well as the symptoms mentioned above, diarrhea may result.