My entry for the Spring Fattie Throwdown - a running account

[tasunkawitko]

one last thought - i know that mint and lamb are supposed to go together, and i didn't mind it this way, but the flavor was a little strange for what i am used to. if someone is used to middle eastern food, i think they would have no trouble leaving the mint in, but if you're not that adventurous, you might want to leave it out.

rivet, i apprecciate all the advice and words of encouragement, from you and many, many other members here. this SnP is a really fine smoker - i just had bad luck with temperature control and temperatures in general!

 

[suprfast]

I agree that this is a fine smoker, especially for beginners. I almost gave up yesterday and returned it but decided to give it a shot with the minion setup and its been great since(okay so its only one smoke:)). Did you have any pics of the finished product?
kris

 

[fire it up]

Ok, between the SnP and GOSM, what would you guys suggest buying? I hear the SnP can give you issues with the thin walls in the fire box but I also heard the GOSM has issues with the back bottom rack getting too much heat but that it is easily fixed. They are both beautiful and am definitely buying one or the other.
Thanks guys.


Oh, and I do agree with TasunkaWitko on the mint. If it's not something you are used to in that kind of food you would do best to go light or leave it out completely.

 

[tasunkawitko]

yep, i sure do! pix of it on the grill, when finished and also cliced and plated. will upload them to my site (www.baitshopboyz.com, for those of you who enjoy hunting and fishing etc.) and will post them probably tonight, tomorrow morning for sure!

 

[tasunkawitko]

FiU - even a newbie like me did well with this, ins pite of the temp issues. it seems that if outside temperatures or holding a temp is a problem, all one has to do is remove (yep, remove) the waterpan that tey put in. the waterpan helps regulate, but if that regulation is too low, ditch it. the mods will defnitiely help or even fix this problem. plus, i think i was using much too little fuel, not enough charcoal.

i would easily recommend this SnP and the price is hard to beat. this may sound crazy, but if temperatures are hard to hold due to outside temp or wind, wrap a heavy blanket around it, being sure to keep it from firebox. i got a pic of this setup and will post it. it is kind of a last resort, but then again, so is living in north central montana, which is nearly the same latitude as siberia.

 

[tasunkawitko]

here's some Q-view -

on the grill -

gettin' some smoke (apple/hickory) -

starting to look really good (btw, how's that shoulder looking?)!

160 degrees and resting....

i think this turned out really well ~

stuffed into a pita - was too busy with temp control on smoker to chop veggies to go with it.

 

[fire it up]

Now that is one fine looking fattie, nice ring! And I have to say that that was one fine job you did rolling it up, any special way you did it? Also a great idea to put it into the pita, nice finishing touch.

Oh, almost forgot about the shoulder, looking goooooood!

 

[tasunkawitko]

FiU - that's only the second fattie i've rolled. the first was about 3lbs and went all over the place with blowouts all over. this one seemed to roll much easier

i laid it out on two overlapping pieces of saran wrap on a cookiesheet, flattened, stuffed and rolled. i also twisted the ends tightly in order to compress and tighten the whole fatty. not sure if these are normal procedures, but that's what i did.

the only other factor i can think of that was different from the norm is that as part of preparation of the meat, i ran it through the food processor to make it into a fine mixture, almost a paste rather than normal burger or sausage.

either way, it sure turned out great and that smoke ring was worth the wait!

as for the shoulder, it was my first and it was good!

 

[rivet]

Beautiful food there! Wow. You sure had a professional looking fattie-roll too. Glad your smoke went well, and I like the idea of greek pita fattie. Real nice. Thanks for the Q-Vue!

 

[grothe]

Great lookin Fattie....roll came out perfect!!
Really nice job...

 

[liquorman]

What exactly is in that fatty????

 

[tasunkawitko]

hi, fred -

this fatty was made from lamb and done with a greek theme. if you read through the pages of this thread, it goes through the ingredients and the method. i started out with a plan which is on the first post as as far as the fatty is concerned i followed it, although i didn't have the time to do the sauce that i had intended to accompany it. the only addition i made to the original plan was cutting back the rosemary just a bit and added some mint. for the stuffing, i used chopped tomatoes and spring onions with feta cheese, garlic, and a few herbs such as fresh thyme and mint. i also sauteed the onions and garlic before adding them to the meat mixture and to the stuffing.

i smoked it over apple and hickory to an internal temperature of 160 degrees while basting occasionally with a 50/50 mixture of lemon juice and olive oil.

the end result was very, very good but i might cut back or eliminate the mint next time as it was a flavor i am not used to.

hope this helps - read through the thread and if you have any questions, just ask.

 

[the dude abides]

That's a perfect looking fatty on the grate. It looks like it's still wrapped in Saran Wrap. It's so smooth and shiney and perfectly proportioned.

Granted I'm not the "king of fatties", yet, but I've yet to see one look so perfectly round. Especially without bacon to help hold the shape.

Seriously, it looks like a tube of summer sausage

Good job outta you!

 

[tasunkawitko]

dude -

i think the biggest help with that came from the recipe itself, which called for running the meat mixture through a food processor. it resulted in something that is more like paste than sausage, but had a great texture, just like gyro meat.

 

[tasunkawitko]

BTT cuz this turned out tasting SO DANG GOOD ~