- Nov 10, 2016
- 5
- 11
A little wrap up of my weekend fun. Usually when a 285 pound, middle aged, construction working guy with a tractor, shotgun, and 4 wheel drive says he went biking, people automatically assume it involves a Harley. I enjoy them trying to make sense of the situation when I tell them it involves spandex and pedaling. So, when I say I went for a 35 mile bike ride before firing up the smoker on Saturday, I do mean that I heated up my muscles before heating up the muscles of other animals.
Jerky-I used to have a dehydrator and made jerky pretty often. This was my first attempt at doing it with the smoker. I used the ever popular Thai Jerky recipe with eye of round, smoked for 4 hours at about 170 and finished in the oven at 160. The flavor is a definite repeat, needs a little heat (maybe peanut sauce?), but I'll probably go back to London Broil for the meat for ease of slicing.
Brisket-Trying to zero in on perfection. This was attempt number 2. Used the same cut of meat that I can easily get (just the flat, getting a packer is an hour drive), turned the heat up to 270 with a pan of water in the smoker, same spice mix as before (whatever is in the cabinet). Still missing the crucial magic to make it fall apart when finished, but still awesome.
Mac N Cheese-Same recipe a second time, different results, but awesome none the less. I've been missing real mac and cheese for a long time, settling for the box stuff (which ain't bad), but putting it together myself and cooking it in the smoker adds a serious level of satisfaction and deliciousness.
Pork Tenderloin-Pretty hard to screw up, predictable, delectable, consistent results. As I am not 100% confident in my smoking abilities, I've been mindful to have a back up plan in case something goes wrong, and why not take advantage of having the smoker already going.
Smoked Cheez-Its-Decided to give it a shot. We're not huge Cheez-Its fans, and I wasn't sure if smoking them would change that or not. They are good, and this is definitely something to play around with.
All of that smoking has netted me leftovers for lunch at work all week, dinner tonight, and a pretty big meal frozen for a future date. It was a good weekend.
Jerky-I used to have a dehydrator and made jerky pretty often. This was my first attempt at doing it with the smoker. I used the ever popular Thai Jerky recipe with eye of round, smoked for 4 hours at about 170 and finished in the oven at 160. The flavor is a definite repeat, needs a little heat (maybe peanut sauce?), but I'll probably go back to London Broil for the meat for ease of slicing.
Brisket-Trying to zero in on perfection. This was attempt number 2. Used the same cut of meat that I can easily get (just the flat, getting a packer is an hour drive), turned the heat up to 270 with a pan of water in the smoker, same spice mix as before (whatever is in the cabinet). Still missing the crucial magic to make it fall apart when finished, but still awesome.
Mac N Cheese-Same recipe a second time, different results, but awesome none the less. I've been missing real mac and cheese for a long time, settling for the box stuff (which ain't bad), but putting it together myself and cooking it in the smoker adds a serious level of satisfaction and deliciousness.
Pork Tenderloin-Pretty hard to screw up, predictable, delectable, consistent results. As I am not 100% confident in my smoking abilities, I've been mindful to have a back up plan in case something goes wrong, and why not take advantage of having the smoker already going.
Smoked Cheez-Its-Decided to give it a shot. We're not huge Cheez-Its fans, and I wasn't sure if smoking them would change that or not. They are good, and this is definitely something to play around with.
All of that smoking has netted me leftovers for lunch at work all week, dinner tonight, and a pretty big meal frozen for a future date. It was a good weekend.