A pair (of Chucks) beats a full house (of 7): recipes and qview

[forluvofsmoke]

Today’s offering to the “Smoke Gods” is an experiment with a first run on a brand new rub, and a continuation of trial runs for a recently developed rub.

I finally convinced my wife last-night to release her grasp (authority of ownership…LOL!) on a 8.5# double-pack of boneless chuckies yesterday. She bought 2-twin packs (I didn’t know about the second pack until after work yesterday). So, last night was a turning point of sorts, as I haven’t smoked a chuck for…well, long enough that I can’t remember when it was. Anyway, this gave me an opportunity to play with seasoning and smoke again, and I find these chances extremely difficult to pass up.

I ran across some dried/chopped Jalapeño in a box of bulk spices in our kitchen last night while looking for some more Red Bell Pepper to grind. Hmm...time for another dry rub...so, I thought I’d toss one together, keeping things relatively basic and to the point. This was a spur of the moment idea, but, that's when many of my best creations come to life.

I’m also giving my Red Bell Pepper rub another run, as it has given such good results on everything else I‘ve tried it with. Here’s that recipe, if you've missed it:
http://smokingmeatforums.com/forums/...ad.php?t=92566

I wanted the Jalapeno Rub to have some heat, and knew it would need some added heat, as the seeds were not present in the chopped/dried product. I also added a few ingredients which should aid in balancing out some of the bitterness of the Cayenne and Jalapeño by offering a subtle sweetness to the blend…that’s where the Onion powder and ground Cinnamon came into the equation. The minced Garlic offers a bit of somewhat milder and smoother heat as well, along with it’s well-known aromatics.



Jalapeño Rub

4 Tbsp (pre-grind measure) dried chopped Jalapeño, powdered

1-½ Tbsp crushed Red Pepper

1 Tbsp Chili powder

½ Tbsp Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp (pre-grind measure) Black Peppercorn, medium/fine grind

2 Tbsp Dried minced Garlic

4 Tbsp (pre-grind measure) chopped dried Onion, fine to powdered grind

½ tsp ground Cinnamon

4 Tbsp Kosher Salt


The above blend yielded enough to rub approx 10-12lbs on all surfaces. I coated the top/bottom only, with one heavy coat, and had 2/3 of the mix left after hitting a 4+ pound chuck. The powders in the blend give very good coverage and there are a few coarser particles to add to the texture. The salt draws a bit of moisture out of the meat to adhere the rub, so no oil/mustard is needed. Just sprinkle it on and rest a few minutes until the rub is damp, then turn over and repeat. I like a bit of salt with a fairly high fat content as with a chuck anyway, so this should do fine.


Here’s the spices before I ground anything in order of listing above (left to right, 1st, 2nd & 3rd rows):



After the grind:



Mixed and ready for my beef:



Jalapeño Rub, 2 hours into the Smoke Vault 24, @ ~235-250* with a wet pan & mesquite:



And, the Red Bell Pepper rubbed, along for the same smoky ride:



Yes, that is a flap off the Jap-rubbed in the front-center of the rack, for tasty snack.

My chucks weren’t completely thawed this morning, but the “Smoke Gods” demanded meat, so I will oblige.


Finish pics of pulled beef and a review of the rubs to follow later today.

Thanks for peeking on my experiment!

Eric

 

[richoso1]

Nice soiunding rub my friend, I bet the cinnamon gave it a nice off-set twist to the flavors. Points to you on the rub.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Here's the pair, on my custom accessory racks, just for the Vault...I use these for smoking large quantities of Jerky, and now for transferring meats to a steam pan & back to the open smoker, etc:



The Jalepeno rubbed, 4.5 hours in:



The Red Bell Pepper rubbed:


I just stuck 'em with therms after this visual check, and temps are now in the mid-130* range, so they've got some time before the smoke is over and the steaming begins.

See ya then!

Eric

 

[rbranstner]

That is looking great. Nice looking rub.

 

[south jersey bbq tim]

great pics thanks for shareing

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks brother, I've done a similar twist in the past...Canadian bacon, if I remember correctly...oh, I did a corned beef pastrami with a bit of cinnamon...both were pretty good stuff. We'll see how this one goes...

Thanks, I like to experiment quite a bit, so today's smoke is another fresh look at beef for me.

Thanks, gotta play nice and share when we can...LOL!!!



I'm pushing the time too long for pulled beef for tonight's dinner, as it's 4:45 pm here now, and we try to eat around 7:00 or so.

With only a couple hours until we'd like to be eating, I decided to take 1/2 of each chuck for slicing, and pan/tent the other half of each to hold @ 200* for pulling tonight. I can toss this in the fridge for dinner on Thursday...haven't had sliced smoked chuck for a long time, so we'll still get an enjoyable meal from it tonight...just a little different than I had planned, is all.

I only have one operable digi-therm right now, so these pocket therms I have will do the job. I did a shift of the chucks (right to left, left to right) as my Vault has a warmer area on the left side near mid-level. I/T's were about 7 degrees difference when I first stabbed into 'em @ 4.5 hours, so that was time for a rotation. Temps are within 2-3* now, and should be identical in a few more hours.

The Jalapeno rubbed:



The Red Bell Pepper rubbed:



Well, minor change of plans, but not a problem, and it won't be a disappointment, either, as we will get sliced and pulled from this smoke.

More coming soon!

Thanks all!

Eric

 

[caveman]

Your qview looks great as always as is your commentary. The rub looks good as well.

I was wondering; How do you determine which smoker you're going use for any particular smoke?

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks Caveman.

I choose my smoker based upon just a few things. If I have a great rub/smoke combo for a particular cut of meat, but am looking for a bit of extra flavor to take it over the top, that's when I dig out a charcoal chimney starter. For basic smokes and experimenting like today, I like to go with propane fired smokes, just so I can really get an idea how the rub and smoke go with the meat.

For really large cuts (16# brisket, etc), I need the SNP as it will handle anything I've thrown at it, having a 38" wide x 18" deep grate. I don't use the SNP as much as I'd like to, just because the horizontals w/sfb are heavy fuel users, where the verticals use much less fuel. I can do a quick propane conversion with my SNP, or burn lump/briqs. There are pros/cons to each style, but for quick accessibility for fire/smoke/water pan tending, I'd go with the horizontal, especially if it was the only smoker I could have. I've done Jerky on the SNP with a charcoal fired smoke...man, that was the best tasting Jerky I have ever had...gotta do that again, soon.

My Smoke Vault 24 will handle the 7-bone whole beef rib (20-22#), or a ~14# brisket with it's 23"+ grate width, and has turned out some really great smokes for me in the short time I've had it (well, since father's day last year).

My small GOSM is aging, and I rarely use it any more. I have done a charcoal conversion on it, just for the added challenge and great flavor of the charcoal fire. It works great for butts, picnics, sausage or salami loaves/chubs and halved pork loin Canadian bacon smokes, whole chickens, etc. It is 16" wide x 14" deep...3 racks and 4 rack positions...my first rig...still a nice little smoker, too, and I can remove the charcoal set-up and go back to propane if I want, with about 5 minutes of simple work and a #2 phillips screw driver.

I will say this without any doubts...if I want to spend the extra time to tend a fire, I can't beat the flavor of charcoal fired smokes/grilling. So, sometimes I just go for it, knowing it will be the best eating I can create with the resources I have on hand. Man, how I wish we had hardwoods available in our area...I'd be running a stick burner by now.

And, I really like to have a varied size, fuel type, etc for those occasions when I have a lot of meat to burn and need a way to fit it comfortably without crowding the grates too much. Being able to fire up which ever I feel like at the time helps me keep up with the little niches each smoker has also...keeps my memory sharp so I know how they like to cook...then, we always get along fine, and don't have to argue over who the real boss of the smoke is...LOL!!!

I digressed here...anyway, with 3 smokers in my arsenal and dual-fuel capabilities for two of them, I can play with many more variables, and it keeps things even more fun!

Eric

 

[meateater]

Looking Good!

 

[forluvofsmoke]

The Jalepeno Rub could stand for more heat, IMO, but the flavors seem nice and smooth, and any bitterness from the cayenne/jalepeno is almost null...nice change from a typical rub. Man, I wish I had space, weather and a decent soil for gardening...fresh peppers and chilis would be nice to smoke/dry/powder.

The Red Bell Pepper rub is very mild and light as I expected...nice with the beef chuck and mesquite...I'll keep trying this recipe out, as it's been turning into my all-around "go to" lately.

OK, Red Bell just out @ 160* I/T:



After a brief uncovered rest, the masses were demanding a taste:










And, the Jalepeno @ 160* as well:



Short rest with this fella, too:










I sliced what you saw in the pics of each chuck and foiled the rest for holding to pull it later tonight. I may not get that far though, as the sliced has all but disappeared from my in-house samplers (OK, OK, I had a couple slices of each, too), and we haven't actually got started eating dinner yet. I sure would love to have some pulled chuckie tonight...

Thanks all!

More to come in the form of PB, I hope. If not, then this will have to satisfy the Smoke Gods...LOL!!!

Eric

 

[beer-b-q]

Those are nice looking Chucks. They Look Delicious...