Buckboard Bacon

Buckboard bacon is a Canadian Style bacon that is easy to make.  It is also somewhat better for you as you can use a leaner piece of pork.

I use the Buckboard Bacon cure from Hi Mountain Jerky

Basically, you just rub the cure on your meat following their instructions.  Bottom line, 10 days in the frig in a ziplock bag, flipping everyday.

This is what is looks like when ready for the smoker...

I threw on the Baby per the instructions above.  Here is the finished product...

Sliced and packaged for the freezer...

Scratch made biscuits...

Fried some bacon...

Breakfast for dinner.  What could be better?

Enjoy,

Bill

Pulled Beef

Every once in awhile, I get the taste for pulled beef.  I have perfected a great recipe.  If you have something to suggest or a recipe to share, I would appreciate it if you could pass it along.

First, I take a chuck roast, slather with yellow mustard, and dust with rub.  For this one, I used Stumps Classic...

I smoked until 205 internal in the foil pan.  I used oak as the wood and the temperature was 250...

I poured the liquid into a measuring cup and skimmed the fat off the top...

I removed the bones from the chuckies and pulled the beef, adding in the liquid from above.  I also added some BBQ sauce.

I took this batch into work for a pot luck and served with buns, diced onion, and dill chips.  Nice smoky flavor.  Not a bit left in the pan after lunch.

Enjoy,

Bill

Brined and Smoked Spatchcooked Chicken

Spatchcooked?  Whats that?  Well, for those who don't know, it is where you cut the backbone out of a whole chicken, butterflied if you will.  You spread it out on your smoker or grill, inside down.  I like it because you can cook a whole bird uniformly and faster than if whole.  It works really well on a grill.

First, I made a batch of Poultry Brine.  Then, I rinsed the chicken inside and out, then patted dry:

Then, I flipped the bird over on its stomach, with the neck facing me:

Then, you just insert the scissors alongside the neck, under the skin, and start cutting.  If you have good kitchen shears, it will cut right the bone.  The spine comes right out:

Threw the kids in the pool for an overnight swim:

I took some Stumps Platinum rub and dusted the bird, inside and out:

The Stumps Platinum works really well with chicken.  It gives a nice flavor with some bite and melds really well with any BBQ sauce.

I fired up the Baby and brought the 350 and added hickory wood in the ash pan.  You can use any wood, peach would work well.  So would a mix of peach and hickory.

I tossed the birds on the second rack down and put to potatoes on the bottom rack:

After an hour and a half, the breast was at 165.  I then glazed with a mix of Butchers BBQ and local honey and let the glaze set for 20 minutes:

The bird was tender and juicy.  Served with some steamed brussel sprouts and the baked potato:

An outstanding meal with some lunches for the week.

Enjoy,

Bill

Cooking for Novices Part 4: London Broil

From time to time, I like to tackle the challenge of a tough cut of beef.  Flank steak and london broil fall in those categories.  With the right marinade, a tough cut of meat can be just as good as a more pricey cut.

I like my london broils in the Montreal Steak Marinade:

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp white vinegar.
1 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning

Whisk together and pour over the top of your meat.  This one marinaded about 3 hours.  The longer the better.  I shoot for 1 hour minimum.

Get your grill good and screaming hot...

Toss on your london broil on the rack.  Flip after 10 minutes:

Any scraps?  ;)

10 more minutes after the flip.  I know that sounds long for beef, but this was a thicker cut than most london broils.  You can go by temperature or feel.  For something half this thickness, 5 minutes a side for medium would be good.

Let rest 5 minutes, then slice...

Perfect medium.  Nice a juicy.  The corn wasn't bad for early season as well.

Enjoy,

Bill

Pulled Pork Practice, Number 1...

Well, I needed to do one more pulled pork to dial in the final recipe for this year.  Here is how it turned out...

Ingredients:

Injected with the following:

Three Dogs BBQ 2012 Pork Butt Injection

Ingredients:

10 Ounces Apple Juice
2 Tbsp Rub
2 Tbsp Turbinado Sugar
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tbsp Kosher Or Sea Salt


Slathered the outside with Herlochers Dipping Mustard:

Rubbed with the following:


Three Dogs BBQ 2012 Pork Butt Rub

Ingredients:

1 Cup Turbinado Sugar, Ground
8 Tbsp Paprika
4 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
4 Tbsp Mild Chili Powder
3 Tbsp Black Pepper, Ground
3 Tbsp Kosher Or Sea Salt
2 tsp Celery Seed, Ground
1 Tbsp Dry Mustard
1 Tbsp Onion Powder

Wrapped for overnight happy time in the frig...

Unwrapped in the morning...

Placed on the 3rd rack from the bottom on the Baby.  250 F with a mix of hickory and peach wood...


Pulled and lightly sauced with our Yeungling Lager sauce.  

It had nice bark, good flavor, and was nice a juicy inside.


Served with tater salad...

And my famous Honey Mustard Slaw...


Honey Mustard Slaw


1/2 Small head of Green Cabbage, diced
1/4 Small head of Red Cabbage, diced
1/4 Red Onion, diced
1/4 Green Bell Pepper, diced small
1/8 tsp Celery Seed
Ken's Honey Mustard Dressing, to desired taste

The slaw goes really well with the pulled pork.  So do dill chips and diced sweet onion...


Enjoy...


Thanks,


Bill

Brisket Practice, Part 2...

For the next to last brisket practice, I went back to my stand by injection (The Colony Sauce) and a hybrid rub...

For the rub:

1/4 cup paprika
1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup sea salt
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Onion Powder
2 tsp Mustard Powder
2 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Dried Thyme

Injected the brisket, rubbed, and wrapped in plastic wrap for overnight happy time...

After unwrapping in the morning, I gave a fresh coat of rub.  I will not do this again as I believe it makes the rub dry and takes away from the bark.

I brought the Baby up to 250 and placed on the 3rd rack up with straight oak wood.

Smoked for 9.5 hours.  The brisket was 200 internal and my Thermapen was sliding into 80% of the meat like butter.

I foiled, wrapped in a towel, and placed in a cooler for 2.5 hours.  Then pulled and sliced...

Nice bark.  Moist and tender inside.  Passed the Son of Texas test with my Texan friend at work...

I think this is our competition recipe for 2012 unless the scores say otherwise...

Enjoy,

Bill

Heinz Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup

Ever since I saw this was coming out at the end of last year, I have been keeping my eye open in the stores.  It was finally on the shelf today:  Heinz Balsamic Vinegar Ketchup...

First, I tried the finger test.  It tastes a lot like the regular Heinz red, but as it goes down, you find another layer of flavor.

So, I tried on a hot dog.  With something fatty, there is definitely another layer of flavor that adds to the overall taste of what you are eating.  It is hard to describe, lets just say it is a fuller bodied taste.  I have tended to move away from ketchup on my food as I have gotten older because I think it covers up what the food is supposed to taste like.  But, in my opinion, the Balsamic Vinegar variety adds something to what you are eating.

Bottom line is, I will be buying this instead of the old standby in the future.  I think it will make a nice substitute in BBQ sauces where ketchup is called for in the recipe.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, Clearfield PA

From time to time, in my travels, I will write a few restaurant reviews of places that I have been and liked.    The first review is Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield PA.

The location is convenient, only 4 miles off exit 120 on I-80 in Pennsylvania.  A friend of mine had seen this place on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and highly recommended stopping by.

As you can see they have a long list of burger challenges.  Everything from a 2 lb up to a 125 lb burger that they recommend for weddings and big groups.

The menu is just not restricted to burgers though.  There is a wide variety of seafood, salads, Mexican, and appetizers.  They also have a decent beer selection, both tap and bottle.  But, let get back to the burgers...

My wife had a Kobe burger that she built herself:  1/2 Kobe beef, LTO, mayo, ketchup.  All on a toasted kaiser roll.  Two thumbs up from her.

I had the Bacon Cheeseburger to use as a baseline...

1/2 lb patty served with LTO, American cheese above and below the patty, 3 strips of bacon, and a side of fries.  The burger rocked.  The fries were slightly above average:  not as hot has I would have liked and a bit oily.  My wife's Beer Batter Fries were better.  I will have those next time.

There is one whole page of specialty burgers:  pastrami, egg and cheese, Italian, French Dip, etc...  Or, you can build your own.  One thing to remember, they cook them well, so you have to request anything  medium or less.

The people next to us also did a 2 lb Pub Challenger.  Here are some pics...

That is a big burger.  1 hour to finish and it is free.  They also give you a t-shirt, take your picture, and put your name and time on the Wall of Fame.

After scanning the 3 lb Challenges, I saw someone who dusted one of those in 9 minutes, 7 seconds.  How do you do that?

Overall, this is a great place.  We will definitely stop when we are passing through.

Rating, 3.5 out of 4 stars...

Enjoy,

Bill

Marinaded Flank Steak with Rice Pilaf

My butcher had some great looking flank steak the other weekend, so I bought one and gave it a try on my Stumps Backyarder...

First, I rinsed and patted dry...

Then I used the flank steak marinade on The Pioneer Woman website as a base...

The Pioneer Woman Flank Steak Marinade

My take on the marinade...

Three Dogs BBQ Flank Steak Marinade

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

1/2 cup Mirin

3 Tbsp Honey

2 Tbsp Sesame Oil

2 Heaping Tbsp of minced Garlic

1 tsp Siriacha Sauce (Asian, garlic pepper sauce).  

1/2 tsp Ground, dried Ginger

I put all the kids in the pool and whisked to mix...

... and poured over the flank steak in a plastic bag for overnight happy time...

As you may know, Jeanie over at Cowgirls Country Blog makes some real good eats.  She makes this great smoked, fried rice.  So, I decided to try and make a pilaf in the Cowgirl style...

Three Dogs BBQ Rice Pilaf

1 Stalk Celery, halved and diced

1 Carrot, halved, pealed, and diced

1/2 Sweet Onion, diced

1 cup of Uncooked rice

1 can of Beef Broth

1 tsp Sriracha Sauce

1/4 cup of Pine Nuts

Olive Oil for sauteing

I fired up the grill and put the oil in veggies in a cast iron dutch oven.  Then, sauteed for 5 minutes...

Then, I added the pine nuts and sauteed for five minutes, then I added the rice and sauteed for 5 more minutes (15 total minutes of saute).

Jethro, dog number 2, wondering if it is done...

Then, I added the broth, covered and placed on indirect heat.  Then, I threw on the flank steak, 7 minutes a side...

Finished product...

I kept the rice on for 20 minutes total, then pulled and let rest with the flank steak.  I sliced the steak into thin strips and served.  A nice, perfect medium...

Thanks to Jeanie for the rice idea.

Things I will do different the next time:

1 Tbsp of Sriracha

2 Tbsp of fresh, minced Ginger

Enjoy,

Bill