Steak on a Stick

We have been making a push lately to work off the excess inventory in our chest freezer.  Chest freezers are great for allowing you to pick up meat in large quantities when on sale.  Just vacuum pack your bounty and they keep your treasure almost like new.  The bad thing is you tend to forget what inventory is inside and items tend to get lost.  Last weekend while rummaging through the meat cave, I found our last half rack of beef ribs.  So, that was dinner.

First, I took the rack, peeled the membrane off of the back, then washed and dried.

Usually I add some sort of BBQ rub that is made with beef in mind. This time though, I had the steak on the stick theme in my head.  So, I seasoned them just like I would a steak going on the grill.  Sea salt and cracked pepper, as well as some onion powder and granulated garlic.

I brought my smoker to 250 F and added pecan wood to the ash pan.  The ribs went on the top rack of the smoker.

Here they are after about two hours.  Notice the heavenly light that is bathing this meat treat?

My target for beef ribs is about four hours of cook time.  This is usually a temperature of about 180-190 F internal.  I go out and check my ribs after three and a half hours and start probing with my thermometer.  When it slides in like butter, you know you are done.  This rack took about three hours and 45 minutes and had an internal temperature of 187 F.  I brought them inside and let them rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

Served with a baked potato and a side salad.  These ribs lived up to my expectations of Steak on a Stick.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Smoked Short Rib Pot Roast

I had a request a few weekends ago to make my Smoker Pot Roast.  Here is the base recipe:

1 Chuck Roast.
2 ribs of celery, diced.
4 potatoes, diced.
4 large carrots, peeled and diced.
3 cloves of garlic, minced.
1/4 cup of flour.
Enough beef broth to cover everything.  I used 2 quarts.

But, as I am prone to do, I mixed it up this time.  Here are the changes:

3 x Beef Short Ribs instead of chuck roast for the meat.
1/2 cup of flour to thicken it up a little more.

Here is the method and results.

First, I trimmed the fat off of the short ribs that was easily trimmed.

I then seasoned all sides with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.

Looking for scraps...

Then, onto the top rack of my smoker at 250 F with two pieces of pecan in the ash pan.  Then pull after one hour.

While the short ribs were getting happy in the smoker, I prepared the veggies.  I prefer a coarse chop and dice for my pot roast.

Add the flour and mix.

Add the broth and stir until smooth and incorporated.

Pull the ribs from the smoker, place in the broth, and cover.  Cook for five hours at 250 F.

Come back five hours later, remove lid, and stand back as the herd comes to graze.

Hope actually took the time to pull the meat from the bones.  Believe me, it was fall off of the bone good.  Adding an hour of smoke time to the beef really put this "pot roast" over the top.  Also upping the flour by 1/4 cup thickened the both to the perfect consistency.  This turned out to be a great Sunday dinner on the first real cold weekend of the fall.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Moo Cow Ribs

I may be sacrilegious here, but I prefer a beef rib over any pork rib.  If cooked correctly:  crispy, rendered fat, the perfect rub creating a nice bark, lightly sauced or not, a beef rib can be heaven.  As a matter of fact, there is a place around here that takes the ribs from their weekend prime rib special, roasts them with some rub, and serves them as a special on Monday.  Outstanding.

Unfortunately, It is hard to find a full rack of beef ribs.  You usually get short ribs at the grocery.  Those are beef ribs cut across the bone.  They can be tough and hard to cook.  Or, you can get shorties:  single bones that are just not made for grilling or smoking.  For a full primer, check out this post from Amazing Ribs.

The last time we went to Restaurant Depot, they had full racks of beef back ribs.  So, into the cart they went.  We cut into racks of four bones and cyropacked for later consumption.

Don't those look beautiful?  I didn't know whether or not to smoke them or make the best pot of beef noodle soup ever.  I decided to smoke them, but soup in in the future this winter.

After pulling the membrane off of the back, I placed a light coat of rub on the underside of the rack.  Then, I flipped over and massaged some olive oil on the top, then placed a liberal coating of rub.  I used Oakridge Special Ops brisket rub for this cook.

While the ribs rested at room temperature, I brought the smoker up to 250 F and placed pecan in the ash pan for flavor.

The ribs took about 4 hours at 250 F to come to 184 F internal.  The probe was sliding through the ribs like butter.  This sweet spot can happen anytime between 180 and 190 F.  Once I hit this BBQ sweet spot, I pulled and let the rack rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

No sauce today.  I was looking for a nice, smoked beef flavor accented by a good beef rub.  I did not want to hide those tastes in even a light coating of rub.

Served with some fresh corn, this was a great holiday weekend treat.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Mexican Roadside Turkey

This past Cinco de Mayo, I was just going to BBQ a turkey breast.  But, I we were invited to a friends for a Cinco de Mayo celebration, so I decided to go Mexican.  After a short search on the Internet, I found a great recipe for Mexican Roadside Chicken that I adapted to make Mexican Roadside Turkey...

Here is the recipe that I found: Mexican Roadside Chicken.  It combines vinegar, garlic, and various spices into a great baste for your poultry of choice.  The only difference is that I smoked the turkey and did not grill.

First, I made a batch of my stand by poultry brine:

BOS's Chicken Brine:

Ingredients:

1 gallon Water
¾ cup Kosher Salt
¾ cup Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp Granulated Garlic
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
¼ cup Orange Juice
⅛ cup Worcestershire Sauce

Mix and bring to boil.  Cool and place in frig overnight.

I then let the breast go for an overnight swim.  The next afternoon, I pulled the turkey breast from the brine and patted dry.   Then, I rubbed olive oil all over to promote a crispy skin.  

While the beast was coming up to room temperature, I lit the smoker and brought to a temperature of 350 F.  Once at temperature, I put two pieces of pecan in the ash pan for some smoke.  While I was waiting on the smoker to come to temperature, I mixed my basting liquid...

I place the breast on the middle rack, skin side down and basted.  Then, I flipped over and basted the skin side.   I then basted after 30 and 60 minutes.  Total cook time to get to 160 F internal was 1 hour and 20 minutes...

When done, I double wrapped in foil and placed in a cooler to keep warm during the driver over to our friends place.  Sorry, no sliced pictures.  I can tell you that the bird was outstanding.  Moist and juicy.  the cider vinegar mixes nicely with the Mexican spices for a tasty treat.  I will be trying this with a chicken on the grill.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

KCBS Competition Practice, Brisket. Part 4 of 4, and a Product Review, Oakridge BBQ Black Ops Brisket Rub

Three down, one to go.  Brisket.  Up until Nelsonville last October, brisket has been the category that we have done the worst in by far.  I have made some great brisket at home.  But in competition, we have been lacking.  But, mid-season last year, we did a little research and some talking with some fellow teams and changed up what we were doing.

The two biggest changes we made that improved our score were:

1.  Changed our rub.  We went to Oakridge BBQ Santa Maria Rub.
2.  Strained our juices, separated out the fat, and dredged the brisket slices through the au jus before putting in the box.

These two steps added an average of 30 points to our brisket score.

So, over the winter, we are trying a new Oakridge product, Black Ops Brisket Rub...

Upon opening the package, we knew this was not your standard brisket rub.  The aromas were rich and complex.  The finger test was not a disappointment.  Coffee and shitake mushrooms are just two ingredients that add a complex flavor to any piece of beef.  Enough of the rub for now, here are the details on our practice session...

Hope went to the butcher and purchased a nice 4.5 lb brisket flat.  It was trimmed nicely with a thin layer of fat on the top.  We injected with a mix of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and beef stock.  Then, we wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the frig for some overnight happy time...

In the morning, I fired up the smoker and brought to 250 F.  While this was happening, I pulled the brisket out and applied a liberal coating of the Black Ops Brisket Rub...

I allowed the brisket to sit on the counter for 2 hours for the rub to moisten and the brisket to come to room temperature.  Then, I placed some pecan in the ash pan of the smoker and placed the brisket on the second rack down on my smoker...

I also placed a toothpick (bottom right corner on the brisket) into the brisket perpendicular to the grain so I would know which way to slice when done.

I then cooked the brisket until the internal temperature reached 175 F, then I placed in a foil pan with some of the reserved injected and covered with foil.

Brisket at 175 F before the pan...

In the pan...

Once covered in foil, I cooked until an internal temperature of 195 F.  The temperature probe was sliding into the brisket like butter in about 80% of the meat.  Now, we usually place the brisket in a cooler with towels to rest for two hours.  But, we were hungry and it was late.  So, I only let the brisket rest for 30 minutes on top of the stove sitting in the pan.  When you do pull the pan out of your cooker, crack the foil to release the steam.  This will give the bark a chance to set up.  And set up it did.  Look at this beautiful bark.  It was the best bark I have ever produced on a brisket...

I sliced and dipped in some of the strained au jus.

My impression?  For the first time, I made something at home that I thought was trophy worthy in competition.  The Black Ops Rub was made for beef.  The rub made an outstanding bark.  The flavors of the rub mingled with the au jus and the natural flavor of the beef producing an outstanding taste.  I am sold!

Bottom line:

Brisket needs to rest at least two hours.  While the flavor was outstanding, it was not quite as tender as I would like.

Oakridge BBQ Black Ops Brisket Rub gets 4 stars out of 4.  While their Santa Maria rub is a outstanding product, the Black Ops rub is superior!

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

The Best Turkey I Have Ever Made, Period!

A friend of mine said, try pecan on your turkey.  You will never try any other wood for smoking a bird again.  So, why not...

First, I made a batch of Poultry Brine and let old Tom Turkey go swimming for two days.  Then, I pulled the turkey out of the pool and let sit in the sink, "head" down, until all of the brine in the cavity had completely drained.  Then, into the cavity, I stuffed:

2 stalks of Celery, cut in thirds

1 Sweet Onion, skin removed, cut in quarters

4 medium Carrots, cut in thirds

1 Apple, quartered, skin on

After stuffing, I coated the skin with olive oil and seasoned with sea salt and pepper.

Ready for the smoker:

I lit the smoker and brought to 350 F and placed pecan in the ash pan.  The bird went on the 2nd rack down...

After one hour, I added more pecan to the ash pan and checked on the bird...

After two and a half hours, the bird was done.  165 internal.  It was a 13 lb bird...

Brought Tommy inside and let rest for 30 minutes before slicing...

The sliced product...

The skin was nice and crispy, the meat was juicy and tender.  The pecan and the apples mingled perfectly.  Outstanding all the way around.  The apples in the body cavity even tasted great.  I will be doing this again for sure.  

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill