Disaster Relief Dinner: Blackened Filet Mignon (Lotsa Pics @ Lotsa Dialog)

[seenred]

Delicious-looking meal Robert! Those steaks look spot-on!

As another old guy who has always done most of my own work, I definitely feel your aches and pains! It's gettin harder to recover from a day of hard labor...my wife laughs at how I walk for a day or 2 after I've worked on the place.

And I agree 100% about unscrupulous a-holes who try to take advantage of peoples' misery in hard times - despicable gouging, pure and simple!

Red

 

[schlotz]

Both Cyd and I feel for you and Tracy, Robert. Cleanups of that magnitude are a nightmare for many couples. The amazing part to me (I have difficulty even with good instructions) is your ability to put together the chipper without them, and then know how to tinker and get it connected to the tractor. Kudos!!! What's not amazing, your ability to put together a scrumptious dinner! Spot on brother, I'd eat that any day.

Don't forget the ibuprofen and remember you two are not in a race to get it done.

 

[tx smoker]

I feel ya on the soreness Robert! Been doing a barn tear down all month and finally finished yesterday.

Yep, it's rough duty Keith. I ready your barn tear-down thread. Sounded like a ton of work but you got a bunch of good material from it.

Excellent meal too my friend!

Thanks buddy. I appreciate it.

Mud clean up is the WORST though. Have to get that out with a shovel and a wheel barrel....and it gets EVERYWHERE! Even between the wall...

I'm all too familiar with that. When I lived in VA I did fire and flood restoration work for about 10 years and had the "pleasure" of cleaning up after a couple of hurricanes. Nasty, nasty work and back-breaking. That mud is HEAVY.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Anything we had done in our primary house cost us twice as much as what we’d get at the 2nd house.

Kinda sad, isn't it...or maybe we should say pathetic.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

I'm on the way, any leftovers??

There were but the tenderloin got cut up and made into Migas for breakfast the next morning Sorry. I'll just have to get more out of the freezer when you get here.

I've also come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to live with shoulder pain for the rest of my life, but it is what it is.

Over the course of my illustrious career I've managed to break almost every bone in my body. Had a total of 12 reconstructive surgeries, more stitches than I can count, and there's not been a time since I was in my early 20's that something isn't always hurting.

Excellent meal, my friend and I'm glad that you're getting y'all's life and yard back in order from the storm...

Thanks so much my friend. We still have a long way to go though.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Hell of a good looking meal Robert! Steak is beautiful.

Very much appreciate it my friend. The steaks came out rather well.

Good luck with the clean up my friend. Don't rush it. Slow and steady wins the cup!

Thanks. We keep telling ourselves that if we just go at it a little at a time, it'll eventually get done, but we're tired of looking at the mess and want this nightmare behind us.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Beautiful steak Robert

Thanks buddy!!

And a hell of a chipper too

It was a whole lot more $$ than the one Tracy looked at but it's much stronger, larger capacity, more durable, and we don't have to drag it all over the property. Money well spent IMHO.

Is that the tractor that has the 21.5 HP Kawaski engine in it? That thing is a beast.

The tractor with the chipper on it is a Kubota BX2370. It has a 23 HP 3-cylinder diesel engine on it and yes, it's a beast. Tracy's tractor, the smaller one in the background, does have the Kawasaki engine on it. That's the sole reason I got that particular tractor. Took a long time to find it and it was the only one in TX. Had to drive 3 hours each way to get it but glad I did.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

A great lookin' meal Robert, you nailed that steak as usual!

Thanks so much my friend.

Goes without saying you want to be real careful with that new tool

Before I even fired it up, I fabricated a wooden push stick so we wouldn't need to reach into the hopper in case stuff needed a little nudge. Not taking any chances!!

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Looks really good from my angle

Thank you Mike. your angle might be a little warped though. not one of my prettiest plates, that's for sure.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Perfect cook on that beef . Love me some green beans and bacon too .
Nice work as usual

Thanks so much Rich. I've only recently discovered fresh steamed green beans but figured out real quick that there's not much in the way of veggies that's any better. We love them and the bacon is the icing on the cake.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Awesome there Bud I even come help for a meal like that.

Warren, if you were to ever show up at our house, there's no way I'd make you work for your meal. It'd be an honor cooking something nice while you and Tracy chatted and fell in love with each other

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

Looks like a very good well deserved meal. Hopefully you can take your time doing the clean up and not have to work so hard for so long

Thanks so much Jerry.We keep telling ourselves to take our time and it'll eventually get done. Problem is that we just want it over with. Tired of staring it in the face and looking at the mess all over the property.

Is that a Kubota tractor?

Yes sir. Both of them are Kubota. The one with the chipper on it is the BX2370.

Robert

 

[tx smoker]

That sounds like like some back breaking work.

It's not fun Brian, that's for sure. you need to get that BS back down, the Jeep cleaned up, Load Gretchen for a road trip, and come on down. I promise not to make you work though

We had 80 mph winds come through Sunday night.

We had some pretty fierce winds but not that bad. Some folks actually lost more trees over the weekend from the winds.

Robert

 

[jaxgatorz]

Thank you Mike. your angle might be a little warped though. not one of my prettiest plates, that's for sure.

Robert

Good point. My angles have been warped for quite some time now.

 

[tx smoker]

You sure deserved a nice meal after all that work & those steaks look amazing.

Thanks so much sir. It was a gratifying way to end the day. Steaks came out pretty well.

Can you post the recipe for your rub, it looks peppery & spicy, maybe some coffee too?

Be happy to. What you're seeing is mostly activated charcoal that makes it dark in color but there is some coffee in it. You certainly could add more coffee to it though.

3 T Chili powder
3 T Activated charcoal
3 T Smoked paprika
2 T Garlic powder
1 T Onion powder
2 t Oregano
1 t Rosemary (crushed finely or run gently in a spice grinder)
1 t Cayenne
2 t Black pepper
1 ½ T Coriander
1 t White pepper
1 ½ T Cumin
2 t Ground coffee

Please note that there is no salt in this. It was put together for my friend SmokinVOLfan because his wife has issues with salt. Although the rub looks intimidating, it is not. The flavors are pretty subtle so don't be afraid to go heavy with it.

Robert

 

[SmokinAl]

Thanks so much sir. It was a gratifying way to end the day. Steaks came out pretty well.

Be happy to. What you're seeing is mostly activated charcoal that makes it dark in color but there is some coffee in it. You certainly could add more coffee to it though.

3 T Chili powder
3 T Activated charcoal
3 T Smoked paprika
2 T Garlic powder
1 T Onion powder
2 t Oregano
1 t Rosemary (crushed finely or run gently in a spice grinder)
1 t Cayenne
2 t Black pepper
1 ½ T Coriander
1 t White pepper
1 ½ T Cumin
2 t Ground coffee

Please note that there is no salt in this. It was put together for my friend SmokinVOLfan because his wife has issues with salt. Although the rub looks intimidating, it is not. The flavors are pretty subtle so don't be afraid to go heavy with it.

Robert

Thanks Robert!
Bookmarked!
But where do you get activated charcoal?
Al

 

[civilsmoker]

Robert in my book you always celebrate new tools not mater the reason! Nice cook and cool play toy!

 

[Gonna Smoke]

But where do you get activated charcoal?

Several options, but here's one...

 

[tx smoker]

But where do you get activated charcoal?

I got mine from Amazon. Careful though. The stuff is VERY messy to work with.

Robert

 

[pineywoods]

Thanks so much Jerry.We keep telling ourselves to take our time and it'll eventually get done. Problem is that we just want it over with. Tired of staring it in the face and looking at the mess all over the property.

Yes sir. Both of them are Kubota. The one with the chipper on it is the BX2370.

Robert

Robert I know about having to stare at the mess all over the property I do it everyday as I haven't gotten ours to where I want it. I have learned that no matter what I do I can't get it all done as soon as I want but it will get there eventually. I just bought a Kubota myself however it is slightly larger lol