@PWRRYD said:
I'll have to look around here and see if I can find beef cheek. How do you cook it?
Boil it until tender with onion, garlic and all the herbs you like. Commonly 1/2 onion, 1/2 garlic and 2-3 laurel leaves. But you can add more herbs as desired.
At home we pretty much add whatever we have at hand.
Once fork tender, chop as fine as you want and season (salt an pepper), if you go crazy in the chopping you'll end up with jello.
Now, once cold the fat congeals and does not look/feel nice, so, keep it hot, a steamer is a great way to do so.
You might want to serve it with hot (temp) salsa to help in this regard.
Pretty much the same with tongue, but you need to "peel" it as it has a hard/rubbery outer skin. and it is "leaner" and looks/feels more like meat.
You can also steam it from the beginning. I do prefer salsa verde as it's acidity works well with the fatty meat. But any salsa you like should work.
Not beef but...
Had one of those "This needs out of the freezer" moments.
I may have cut a little too deep through the fat cap. Still getting the hang of this.
Guess slicing so deep lets that smoke ring sneak way in there though.
Pork loin, Applewood rub, Hickory pellets, 225f for about 4.5hrs
Local rub. Some of my wife's favorite (no seriously lol): https://www.eatchub.com/
Guess slicing so deep lets that smoke ring sneak way in there though.
Pork loin, Applewood rub, Hickory pellets, 225f for about 4.5hrs
Local rub. Some of my wife's favorite (no seriously lol): https://www.eatchub.com/
I just picked up a couple of pork loins. I'm going to give that slicing a try. I might also lay a couple stips of very fatty bacon on top of them as these don't have much of a fat cap. Going fishing with my son today so will probably smoke them tomorrow.
My father tells me he cured some pork belly so he is coming over Saturday to smoke it. Next he wants to do pastrami... OMG yes, pastrami is king of sliced meats!
I might have to try brining a flank steak or something along with him to see how that turns out as pastrami.
I had a chuck roast in the freezer that he left with to brine. Otherwise I'd smoke it as "cheap brisket".
Picked up two 9.75lb pork butts to smoke for Saturday (Kroger BOGO free). That's going to be a long one... I think. I hear it takes 1-2hr/lb at 225F to get to finish temp for pulled pork. That's a huge variance for 10lb though. What are your experiences? I had one success with pulled pork but that was probably a year ago and I don't remember the details. Thinking of just getting started at 10pm Friday at 200F, then foil wrap it in the morning and kick the temp up.
I got my best results out of a simple Weber cooker/grill using fresh cut Hickory and White Oak wood over hardwood charcoal [as the base fire] but have been through a Chargriller "Acorn", Weber "Smoky mountain" smoker and a few contraptions of my own construction in the past.
Cooking for just myself these days so smaller batches needed - looking at getting another Weber cooker/grill to keep things simple.
I picked up a Camp Chef 24" pellet grill/smoker, used, off craigslist. Just has the basic temp selection knob, no digital stuff. Pellet seemed like the best combo of versatility and ease of use (auto temp control). Though it is probably up there with the most expensive options in both initial cost and running cost. Normally I'm more frugal and would have likely gone electric, but research told me 1500watts can only go so far. Could be an issue if it is cold out and trying to do a turkey quick enough to minimize time in the "danger zone".
Though, I found the achilles' heel of pellet is wind. In high winds it will make the pellets burn faster and the temp will spike. Probably depends on the specific design though as far as how susceptible it is. My area is very windy unfortunately so I'll need to figure out some way to give it some protection.
Rural king has Lumber Jack brand pellets that seem good and often you will find good sales on the stuff.
@jr@mac said:
I use a Traeger. I also fill a smoke tube and place that in it. Lasts a few hours and definitely makes a difference.
I was wondering about that since I saw the tube in one of your photos. I think I saw someone doing that recently in a vid. Guess it's not just for cold smoking.
Comments
I'll have to look around here and see if I can find beef cheek. How do you cook it?
Butt or Facial?
Facial
Trim some connective tissue, then low and slow.
Boil it until tender with onion, garlic and all the herbs you like. Commonly 1/2 onion, 1/2 garlic and 2-3 laurel leaves. But you can add more herbs as desired.
At home we pretty much add whatever we have at hand.
Once fork tender, chop as fine as you want and season (salt an pepper), if you go crazy in the chopping you'll end up with jello.
Now, once cold the fat congeals and does not look/feel nice, so, keep it hot, a steamer is a great way to do so.
You might want to serve it with hot (temp) salsa to help in this regard.
Pretty much the same with tongue, but you need to "peel" it as it has a hard/rubbery outer skin. and it is "leaner" and looks/feels more like meat.
You can also steam it from the beginning. I do prefer salsa verde as it's acidity works well with the fatty meat. But any salsa you like should work.
Big ol slab of beef short ribs going on smoker tomorrow. Got them rubbed down and sitting in fridge overnight.
Couple hours in.
you can overnight that to my address, right?
I might bring a big bag of smoky treats to Iowa, just saying...
About 172 internal. Maybe another couple hours.
Plate rib is my favorite cut that we smoke.
Here is the before
And the after
About 10 hours in the smoker at 275 until around 200 internal, salt and pepper only.
We don't wrap our plate rib, but we do wrap our briskets in butcher paper after about 8 hours or so.
That looks great! Last I temped, the fattest part was at 192 so it is getting close. Going to make some chili laced cornbread to go with it.
Ready for oven.
Not beef but...
Had one of those "This needs out of the freezer" moments.
I may have cut a little too deep through the fat cap. Still getting the hang of this.
Guess slicing so deep lets that smoke ring sneak way in there though.
Pork loin, Applewood rub, Hickory pellets, 225f for about 4.5hrs
Local rub. Some of my wife's favorite (no seriously lol): https://www.eatchub.com/
I just picked up a couple of pork loins. I'm going to give that slicing a try. I might also lay a couple stips of very fatty bacon on top of them as these don't have much of a fat cap. Going fishing with my son today so will probably smoke them tomorrow.
I am making French dips for the kid and her boyfriend tonight, it was their request. Will be the first red meat I have eaten in a couple months.
Maybe I will do a tomahawk steak next weekend for the wife and I to share.
That's a nice looking plate!
My father tells me he cured some pork belly so he is coming over Saturday to smoke it. Next he wants to do pastrami... OMG yes, pastrami is king of sliced meats!
I might have to try brining a flank steak or something along with him to see how that turns out as pastrami.
I do pastrami pretty often, love it.
Here's how my father's bacon turned out.
I had a chuck roast in the freezer that he left with to brine. Otherwise I'd smoke it as "cheap brisket".
Picked up two 9.75lb pork butts to smoke for Saturday (Kroger BOGO free). That's going to be a long one... I think. I hear it takes 1-2hr/lb at 225F to get to finish temp for pulled pork. That's a huge variance for 10lb though. What are your experiences? I had one success with pulled pork but that was probably a year ago and I don't remember the details. Thinking of just getting started at 10pm Friday at 200F, then foil wrap it in the morning and kick the temp up.
Meat on
What kind of grilles/Smokers are you guys using?
I got my best results out of a simple Weber cooker/grill using fresh cut Hickory and White Oak wood over hardwood charcoal [as the base fire] but have been through a Chargriller "Acorn", Weber "Smoky mountain" smoker and a few contraptions of my own construction in the past.
Cooking for just myself these days so smaller batches needed - looking at getting another Weber cooker/grill to keep things simple.
I have a cheap "Smoke Hollow" electric. Picked it up on sale at Menards a few years ago.
I use a Traeger. I also fill a smoke tube and place that in it. Lasts a few hours and definitely makes a difference.
Vegan chili.
I picked up a Camp Chef 24" pellet grill/smoker, used, off craigslist. Just has the basic temp selection knob, no digital stuff. Pellet seemed like the best combo of versatility and ease of use (auto temp control). Though it is probably up there with the most expensive options in both initial cost and running cost. Normally I'm more frugal and would have likely gone electric, but research told me 1500watts can only go so far. Could be an issue if it is cold out and trying to do a turkey quick enough to minimize time in the "danger zone".
Though, I found the achilles' heel of pellet is wind. In high winds it will make the pellets burn faster and the temp will spike. Probably depends on the specific design though as far as how susceptible it is. My area is very windy unfortunately so I'll need to figure out some way to give it some protection.
Rural king has Lumber Jack brand pellets that seem good and often you will find good sales on the stuff.
I was wondering about that since I saw the tube in one of your photos. I think I saw someone doing that recently in a vid. Guess it's not just for cold smoking.