Basic Tri-Tip

Last weekend, when Hope came home with the Cheeseburger on a Stick, she brought this beautiful piece of beef home:

A beautiful tri-tip if I say so my self.  I was in a simple mood, so I seasoned all sides with salt, pepper, and granulated garlic.  I lit the grill and brought to high heat.  Then, I placed the tri-tip on direct heat for seven minutes a side.  Then, I pulled off of direct heat and let go for another seven minutes a side.  This brought the internal temp to 135 F.  Then, I brought inside, let rest for 10 minutes, then sliced.

Perfect rare to medium-rare.  We served with a nice baked potato.

Nice, simply seasoned beef, grilled to perfection with the ultimate grilled beef side dish.  What more can you ask for?

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Cheeseburger on a Stick

The other day, Hope made an impulse buy at our local butcher and bought some of their Cheeseburgers in stick form.

What is cheeseburger on a stick?  Well, it is ground round, Hi-Temp Cheddar Cheese that you put in your smoked sausage and beef sticks, and meat loaf seasoning.

So, I tossed them on the grill for about 3 minutes a side and gave them a try.

How were they?  Not bad.  The cheese stayed in place and the meat loaf seasoning was not over powering.  These flavors mingled nicely with the flavor of the ground round.  With a dipping sauce, perhaps a nice chipotle sauce, these would be a great game time appetizer.  Time for some experimentation!

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill

Smoker Baked Mac and Cheese

One dish that we like around here is baked Macaroni and Cheese.  Baking it on the smoker only makes it that much better.  Here is how we make ours.

Boil 2 cups of elbow macaroni.  Boil for 8 minutes, drain, and set aside.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan.  Then, add 2 heaping tbsp of flour.  Raise the heat to medium and incorporate the flour with the butter, stirring constantly.  Once the flour is brown, your roux is complete.

Slowly add 2 cups of milk to your roux while stirring with a whisk.  Whisk until the lumps are gone.  Then, cook on medium low heat until the mixture thickens slightly.

Turn off the heat and add 2 cups of shredded cheese and stir until melted.  Then, you can season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add in the cooked macaroni and stir until incorporated.  Then, pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover mixture with 1 cup of shredded cheese and sprinkle with paprika.

While this was going on, I heated the smoker up to 350 F.  Once at temp, I add one hickory split into the ash pan for smoke flavor.  Then, the dish goes into the smoker on the middle rack.  Bake until brown and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes.

For cheese choices, we mix it up.  Sometimes we use co-jack.  Sometimes we use cheddar.  I even add caramelized onion and jalapeno on top for a little kick.  

We love the addition of a little hickory smoke to this dish.  And who doesn't like baked mac and cheese?  Crispy on the top, gooey on the inside.  This is the perfect accompaniment to a pot of beans. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill 

Italian Style Baby Backs with Hot Pepper Vinegar

Folks, BBQ Silly Season is here!  That means experimentation without sauce and BBQ rub.  Just good old experimentation with other flavors.  Settle in and enjoy the ride.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to post or send an e-mail and we'll give it a try.

A few weeks ago, Hope and I went to Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza for dinner.  They have a great menu and a good beer selection.  One item on the menu that popped out were the Italian Style Spare Ribs with Hot Pepper Vinegar.  The ribs were great.  At that moment, I vowed that this would be my first experimentation after the BBQ season was over.  So, here is our recreation.

First, I pickled some hot and sweet peppers with garlic cloves and olives.  My pickling liquid was just a basic pickle brine:

1 1/2 cups of white wine vinegar.  I used the white wine variety as I did not want the vinegar to be overpowering in the dish.
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp of sugar.  I used Turbanado
1 tsp of kosher salt

While the above was coming to a boil, I cut some sweet and hot peppers, then packed into 1/2 pint jars with:

2 garlic cloves
A mix of green and kalamata olives
1/2 tsp oregano

Once the brine was boiling, I poured into the jars and sealed and let pickle for 24 hours.

The next morning, I fired up the Stretch and brought to 250 F.  While the smoker was coming to temperature, I pulled the membrane off of three half racks of baby backs, rubbed with olive oil, and seasoned with kosher salt, pepper, granulated garlic, thyme, and rosemary.

I placed the ribs on the top rack and put two hickory splits in the ash pan.  Here is what they looked like after two hours.

After three hours of cook time, I placed the ribs in foil pans, covered with the vinegar/pepper/olive mix, sealed tight with foil, and placed back in the smoker for one hour.

After one hour in foil, I pulled from the smoker, removed the foil, and let the ribs rest.

Then, I sliced and dug into the ribs with anticipation...

Outstanding.  The peppers and olives soaked up the smoky pork fat and the pork fat soaked up the spicy vinegar.  The meat was tender and almost 100% fall off the bone, but not quite.  Still some of that tug I am looking for in a rib.  They turned out better than I could have hoped for a first time experiment.  This is on the to-do again list for sure.  I may try with a pork butt and serve on crusty bread with melted provolone on top of the peppers and olives.

Thanks for stopping by,

Bill