Baked Crab Cakes on the Stumps Baby

Back when I made the Crab Stuffed Baked Steelhead, I had a lot of crab meat left over.  So, with the leftover meat, I made crab cakes for the smoker.

Here is the recipe that I used:  Crab Cake Guy Maryland Blue Crab Cakes.

The only change that I did was I used corn flake crumbs instead of cracker crumbs and I upped the Old Bay content to a heaping tsp...

Can O' Crab...

Before mixing...

Formed patties and placed on a cookie sheet.  The cookie sheet went on the second rack down in a four rack Stumps Baby.  After 20 minutes at 350, I flipped...

20 more minutes and they were a perfect brown and hot the whole way through.

A little sriracha on top and they were the perfect side to the stuffed steelhead...

I have a friend that uses potato chips instead of crackers or corn flakes and that works nicely.  Next time, I will whip up a batch of tartar sauce spiked with sriracha sauce...

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

BRGR, an Outstanding Burger Joint...

Well, time for a new restaurant review.  We have been going to BRGR for sometime now after work for great beer and even better burgers.  There is a great local chain in Pittsburgh called BRGR that is outstanding.

They have an outstanding draft beer list.  My favorite is the 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die.  I like hoppy beers and quite seriously, this is better than Dogfish 60 Minute by a whisker...

They have an extensive list of gourmet and specialty burgers, as well as the option to build your own.  I have tried many of the burgers on their list.  My favorites, in order:

1. The Double Yoi:  Burger, thin sliced pastrami, swiss cheese, fried egg, and pickled cole slaw on a fresh challah roll.  Great stuff.  My new favorite.  Pic below...

2. The Button Buster: Burger, braised beef short ribs, white cheddar, aioli, and onion rings.  Second on my list by a french fry.

3. The Cease and Desist: Think gourmet Big Mac.  The caramelized onions make it for sure.

The wait and bar staff at the Cranberry location are knowledgeable and friendly.  The prices are reasonable enough that you can take the family for dinner.  As an added bonus, the music selection rocks...

Here is the full menu...

Finally, if you have room, I suggest one of their spiked shakes, which can be ordered alcohol free as well.  May I suggest the Salty Caramel?  The only think that would make that shake better is bacon crumbles...

Overall, 3.5 out of 4 stars.  BRGR should be on your Bucket List.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Going Whole Hog. A Little Bit of History...

This video was posted over on the Stumps Forum and I thought you might enjoy having a look.

Cut, Chop, Cook

It is a documentary about Scott's Bar-B-Q in Hemmingway, South Carolina.  It is 14 minutes long, but it is worth your time.  

The movie tells a little about the history of Scott's and goes over the process about cooking a whole hog in a pit.  

I hope you enjoy...

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

This IS a Fattie your Grandma would have Made!

The thing that I love about a BBQ Fattie is that the possibilities are endless.  You can use any meat with any stuffing.  I have had a taste for stuffed cabbage lately, so, why not?  Here is a step by step method for making a Stuffed Cabbage Fattie...

First, I cleaned, peeled, and diced 3 small potatoes for mashed potatoes.  Only homemade here folks...

While the potatoes were cooking, I cleaned and diced 1 small sweet onion and some cabbage.  I caramelized in some olive oil, salt and pepper...

I cooked 1/2 cup of white rice to get 1 cup of cooked rice, then cooled down in the freezer...

Once cooled, I mixed with 2 pounds of ground pork, 1 tsp of minced garlic, and some salt and pepper...

Mixed it all up, placed in a plastic bag, flattened out, and put in the frig to firm up...

While the meat and rice mixture was chilling, I made my mashed potatoes, mixed in the cabbage potato mix, and placed in my "mold".  Once molded, I put in the frig to firm up...

For the tomato sauce, I sauteed 1 tsp of minced garlic and 1/4 of a small sweet onion with some salt and pepper.  Added 15 oz of canned sauce, brought to a simmer, and let cook down by 1/4...

While the sauce was cooking, I prepared the fattie...  I cut the plastic bag and placed the pork mixture on some wax paper.  Remember, wax paper is your friend...

Then, onto the middle rack of the Baby at 250 F with a piece of oak in the ash pan...

Flipped after 30 minutes and raised the temp to 300 F.  As you can see the seam came apart a bit.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  It allowed the tomato sauce to get at the potato mixture inside...

Then, after another 30 minutes, I placed in a foil pan, covered with the reduced tomato sauce, and raised the temp to 350 F...

Finished product...

As you can see, it fell apart a bit.  But the flavors were there for sure.  Moist, juicy, with a hint of oak.  Good stuff.

Some things I will do differently next time:

1.  3 lb of ground pork
2.  I will wrap with a bacon weave
3.  More cabbage in the potato

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill