1st Cen Tex Que & Brew Event Day Two: The Main Event (More Insane Q-View)

[Misplaced Nebraskan]

You have been invited for boating and Tomahawk Rib Eye steaks this weekend. If you're able to make it out you can test taste the ones I have going :-)

Robert

Will be tough to pull off as I'll be in my sister's wedding... hmm... decisions... tougher than you know!

 

[tx smoker]

Zach, it's not a decision, it's a no-brainer. Sisters are forever but Certified Piedmontese Beef Tomahawk rib eyes cooked on the Santa Maria over Mesquite (with all the sides of course) after a day on the lake is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime experience I'm sure your sister would understand you missing her wedding....and maybe even forgive you one day :-)

This is easy for me to say because I dont have any sisters,
Robert

 

[Misplaced Nebraskan]

Zach, it's not a decision, it's a no-brainer. Sisters are forever but Certified Piedmontese Beef Tomahawk rib eyes cooked on the Santa Maria over Mesquite (with all the sides of course) after a day on the lake is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime experience I'm sure your sister would understand you missing her wedding....and maybe even forgive you one day :-)

This is easy for me to say because I dont have any sisters,
Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Well folks, so much for patience Tracy is out of town for a few days on a business trip and I was in a bit of a quandary wondering what to cook for dinner last night. I had a bunch of shrimp left from the event that never got cooked because there was already WAY more food than we'd ever need. I bagged in into 8 half-pound portions on Sunday, vac sealed it, and put it all in the freezer. Well, with her out of town, it was the perfect time to cook some seafood....but somehow I just couldn't keep my fingers out of the goodies that I have in the brines. Started out I was just gonna get a cucumber spear to go along with the shrimp but somehow a few other goodies managed to appear on my plate and I got a sampling of everything.

Shrimp defrosted and in a grilling wok to go on the grill

Shrimp on the grill and about done

Dinner plated with all the goodies that fell out of the jars

Got the shrimp, some cauliflower, an egg, a cucumber spear with onions, and some pickled garlic. Taking into account that everything except the garlic had only been in the brine for 2 days, everything was absolutely incredible!! Cannot believe the flavors that have developed so quickly. It's hard to say which will be my favorite but this sure was a worthwhile experiment!!

Gotta keep hands out of the jars now!!
Robert

 

[Steve H]

Wow! That looks fantastic!

 

[tx smoker]

"Wow! That looks fantastic!"

Thank you Steve!! Once again, I have you to blame for that

P.S. you just got tagged in a different thread along with a few other folks.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Ok guys ( Steve H and @forktender )....I have a stunningly brilliant idea that y'all are gonna love!! We've shared some great ideas and recipes for brining stuff so here's what I believe we should do. Between now and next May, use your imagination and come up with some interesting stuff to pickle / cure / brine. Make notes and keep records of what you've done. I'll do the same. Some time next May (I'm just guessing here) pack the stuff up really well and ship it to Lago vista, Texas a few days prior to your departure to come down here for our 2nd annual event. On the day of the main event, we will put it all out and let folks sample a bunch of different things that they may have never experienced before. Here's what I'll plan on doing. Steve and I discussed in a PM conversation that a flip-flop would probably be good in his spicy brine. I have a few pairs of flip-flops that I've used the last several years while working in the yard. They should be getting pretty righteous by now. I'll get those into Steve's brine post haste. I'll also do some fresh okra and baby corn, both with different brines that I come up with. Anybody else that wants to jump into this fracas, please feel free. The more the merrier!! Steve and i have already started chatting about his possible attendance so let's just hope it comes to fruition. now we gotta get Dan on board

What y'all think??
Robert

 

[Steve H]

Coming to TX maybe a tough one. But I'll be more then happy to contribute both ideas and samples. But, who knows what next May may bring.

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

4 large cucumbers cut into spears

This sounds like a great recipe I am going to give it a shot. When you say four large cucumbers do you use just regular cucumbers you buy at the grocery or do you buy the small pickling cukes?

 

[tx smoker]

"This sounds like a great recipe I am going to give it a shot. When you say four large cucumbers do you use just regular cucumbers you buy at the grocery or do you buy the small pickling cukes?"

It was 4 large cukes I got from the produce section at the grocery store. Cut the ends off, peel, cut in half, then quarter each half to make the spears. You'll get 8 spears from each cuke. I just used 4 of them because that's how many it took to fill the jar I had. You can use as many as you want of course.

Robert

 

[SmokinVOLfan]

"This sounds like a great recipe I am going to give it a shot. When you say four large cucumbers do you use just regular cucumbers you buy at the grocery or do you buy the small pickling cukes?"

It was 4 large cukes I got from the produce section at the grocery store. Cut the ends off, peel, cut in half, then quarter each half to make the spears. You'll get 8 spears from each cuke. I just used 4 of them because that's how many it took to fill the jar I had. You can use as many as you want of course.

Robert

Thanks Robert. Last ones I did turned out too salty think I accidently added too much pickling salt(might have had several cold ones in the process). Got 4 huge jars(using that brine) of pickled asparagus and about 12 pint jars of garlic dills in the fridge. Want to make sure I get the brine down right this time!

Do you heat the brine prior to adding and if so which of the ingredients do you add?

 

[tx smoker]

"Do you heat the brine prior to adding and if so which of the ingredients do you add?"

I put all the ingredients into a small pot and simmered it for 15 or 20 minutes to break down all the spices then just ladled it into the jar over the cukes.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Well y'all, this was interesting. I did this for dinner Thursday, which was my last night of bachelorhood while Tracy was out of town for her business trip. I wanted something that was good, gratifying, and had a cool element of some sort (temps were in the triple digits again). We all know cooking for one can be somewhat of a pain in the a$$ so also wanted to keep it simple. Here's what I came up with:

Got a NY Strip steak out of the freezer to defrost

Steak lightly seasoned, on the grill, and after the flip

Steak done and resting while I make the cool element

Here's where things get interesting. Wanted a salad for the cool element but didn't want the same ol' same ol' salad. Laid down some fresh baby spinach, sliced a few grape tomatoes, cut up some onions that were in the pickling jar with the cukes, and 2 of the cucumber spears. Dressing...such as it was, is just the brine that the cukes and onions are soaking in

Simple but good dinner all plated with a chunk of cauliflower that's been soaking in Steve's brine

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the salad came out. It was cool, refreshing, and had a nice little spice tingle from the cukes, onions, and brine as the dressing. All in all, it hit on everything I wanted for dinner.

Side note: I had one of the cuke spears yesterday all by itself to see how they were coming along. Nothing else was eaten along with it because I didn't want the "interference" of flavor. Although they don't have the full depth of flavor I'm hoping to get (only been in the jar for 5 days) they are taking on a fantastic flavor!! They also have a very nice and pleasant spice glow that builds slowly on the back end and hangs with you for a while. This is EXACTLY what I was shooting for when I put together the recipe for the brine. Thus far, I couldn't be happier.

Prolly gonna do some more today,
Robert

 

[Steve H]

Looks great! I had a strip steak last night as well with crab stuffed mushrooms. Didn't take any pics though.

 

[tx smoker]

"Looks great! I had a strip steak last night as well with crab stuffed mushrooms. Didn't take any pics though."

Never happened then. You've been here long enough to know the rules
Psssstt...hey....shhhh...I still believe you, but don't tell anybody

Thank you once again for the kind words and the like though. I did some crab stuffed mushrooms with our 65 day aged prime rib a few weeks back. Didn't get enough butter and garlic into them but they were good.

Hoping Steve can keep a secret,
Robert

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

Nice cook Robert, I did a chuck eye steak last night and am just fixing to post it!

John

 

[Steve H]

Soooo. I opened a jar of the lil smokies and garlic. And the smokies are almost ready. They took a nice garlic flavor and the heat was just about right. They'll need another week or so. The garlic will need another two weeks I'd say. They are getting flavorful. But need more time. So I vacuum sealed the jar back up. And will check again a two weeks.

 

[xray]

Wow, what a read! I need a nap now.

 

[tx smoker]

"Wow, what a read! I need a nap now."

If you read from beginning to end, I can see the need for a nap. This one got lengthy and covered a lot of bases!! Another fine example though of how a "derailed" thread can benefit so many people....to the point of almost being dizzying Now we just gotta get you on board for attendance next year (hint hint)

Setting the bait,
Robert

 

[tx smoker]

"Soooo. I opened a jar of the lil smokies and garlic. And the smokies are almost ready. They took a nice garlic flavor and the heat was just about right."

Steve, that looks nothing short of amazing!! You know I did a huge batch of the lil' smokies in your brine not long ago and absolutely loved them. Can't help but think that all the garlic on top of the spicy brine would be out of this world.

Now for an update on the hard boiled eggs I did. Had one yesterday and all I can say is LOOK OUT!! Holy smokes have they ever taken on the flavor of the brine. I was blown away by these. It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since I put them down to get happy, and happy they have become. No question I'll be starting another batch this weekend, and triple the amount. I only did one dozen with this batch because I had no idea what I was getting in for. I should have known better though and just done a bunch of them. If anybody wants to see a pic, just say so and I'll go shoot one and post it. Side note: the cauliflower is also insanely good. Even Tracy, who is not a huge fan of cauliflower loves this stuff. It's all about the flavor from the brine. Y'all gotta do some!!

I'm thinking it's time to go ahead and get some baby corn and fresh okra in a brine. Can't help but think those would be be a smashing hit.

Smacking myself on the wrist,
Robert