I know the rules: :worthless
. . . but I have to report on cooking our T-Day meal. Being on this high protein diet, we haven't cooked much of anything lately; but I bought 3 small pork tenderloins that had been seasoned and shrink wrapped by HEB. I also got sweet potatoes at Sam's and we always have sweet onions on hand.
Wednesday afternoon I decided to get the cooking done ahead of time. I set a ring of charcoal around the outside of my 22" Weber and placed smallish chunks of pecan about every 6 inches. I left the ring open and dropped in a few well-lit briquets in a modified Minion. I had never done this before. Much to my surprise, the smoker temp shot up past 350° very quickly. I got it under control with the vents and placed the 3 loins in the middle over a hand formed foil tray. I then circled the meat with smallish sweet 'taters and the onions - all in their peels. The loins got up to temp in what seemed like no time at all. I took them out to rest and left the taters and onions on until they got soft.
I probably could have done as well or better with a hot side and cold side, but I wanted to try the ring of charcoal. It worked perfectly and I'll probably try it again. The potatoes were forked before I put them on. They absorbed just enough smoke to be tasty. We used our new crock pot to reheat everything after it had sat in the reefer overnight. A little coleslaw, sliced tomatoes with basil and oil, cranberry sauce with a few jalapenos added whilst cooking, raw cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, and cucumber.
It made a damned good meal. Even my 20-something SIL said it was better than turkey.
. . . but I have to report on cooking our T-Day meal. Being on this high protein diet, we haven't cooked much of anything lately; but I bought 3 small pork tenderloins that had been seasoned and shrink wrapped by HEB. I also got sweet potatoes at Sam's and we always have sweet onions on hand.
Wednesday afternoon I decided to get the cooking done ahead of time. I set a ring of charcoal around the outside of my 22" Weber and placed smallish chunks of pecan about every 6 inches. I left the ring open and dropped in a few well-lit briquets in a modified Minion. I had never done this before. Much to my surprise, the smoker temp shot up past 350° very quickly. I got it under control with the vents and placed the 3 loins in the middle over a hand formed foil tray. I then circled the meat with smallish sweet 'taters and the onions - all in their peels. The loins got up to temp in what seemed like no time at all. I took them out to rest and left the taters and onions on until they got soft.
I probably could have done as well or better with a hot side and cold side, but I wanted to try the ring of charcoal. It worked perfectly and I'll probably try it again. The potatoes were forked before I put them on. They absorbed just enough smoke to be tasty. We used our new crock pot to reheat everything after it had sat in the reefer overnight. A little coleslaw, sliced tomatoes with basil and oil, cranberry sauce with a few jalapenos added whilst cooking, raw cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, and cucumber.
It made a damned good meal. Even my 20-something SIL said it was better than turkey.
