Mmmm…goat cheese. And that fried rice looks like it came out of a magazine.
This week on adventures in bbq: short ribs!
Trimmed and dry brined:
Rubbed up and ready to hit the smoker:
18 hours later:
Oh…yeah, baby:
These were an unqualified success. There’s a sweetness the meat had that was distinct from what you get with brisket. The only word I can use to describe the thicker sections of meat is unctuous. Then, in thinner spots, the bark and meat combined to make something approximating jerky.
Though they were terrific, and I’m glad I made them, I have no intention of doing these again, not when I can make 4x the food for about half the cost by making brisket.
At a scout camp over the last weekend we did some pit cooking on the beach. The most interesting thing to me turned out to be the onions. The ribs and potatoes were great too but the purple onions were split into quarters down to the root, had a third of a stick of butter crammed into the top of the split, then given a touch of sea salt and wrapped in foil and left in the pit for a while. The final product tasted more like peach than onion…delicious but for me it was totally unexpected.
Skipper
3843
Bernie I’ve had cabbage done that way, essentially cut into 1/8 wedges with the core removed, placed in foil, butter/olive oil and seasonings added (salt/pepper/garlic), wrapped and thrown to the side of campfire, not directly on the coals, or onto the side of a grill. 15 minutes or so and it is absolutely divine, almost unlike any cabbage dish I’ve ever had. I would LOVE to try onions that way.
CraigM
3844
So I do a camping dish that may be right up your alleys. So what I do is pre dice a bunch of carrot, celery, potato, and onion. I then make an aluminum foil pocket that is the veggies mixed in a 3:1 ratio with ground beef. Then add 1-2T butter (depends on packet size) and season with garlic salt.
Place directly on coals, flipping every 10-15 minutes. It is done perfectly when the onions take the carmelized brown color and veggies are soft. One of my camping favorites.
Skipper
3845
I’m getting hungry now thinking about camp cooking. Everything always tastes so damned good for some reason. This sounds awesome. Especially so because potatoes and onions with butter and seasonings are already a dish we do just about every trip. I take an older cast iron skillet and can essentially put it nearly on the fire or nearby rocks if there isn’t a cooking grate handy. It’s usually a day 1 dish and reheats well.
None
3846
I learned something once while camping with a friend: cooking meats by placing them directly on the coals of a campfire. I was skeptical when he told me of his method but it works incredibly well. There’s hardly any ash and whatever coals might stick onto the meat brushes right off. This is good to know if you ever forget to pack a skillet.
You’re welcome. Seriously. :P
Skipper
3848
Mother of God. These should be a NSFW warning. I think I messed myself a little. I love the style too. Let the food and prep speak for themselves.
CraigM
3849
I’m drooling here @Eric_Majkut, about to start licking the computer monitor.
In the same vein as @Eric_Majkut’s excellent suggestion, I’ll also put forward Jas. Townsend & Son:
His schtick is really Colonial-era cooking, but he does some great outdoors videos, using equipment and styles from that period. It’s super cool and informative to watch!!!
e.g… his awesome fried chicken video:
Skipper
3851
I’ve watched a few of these before. Kind of a neat and geeky foodie watch combined with a History Channel style delivery and story.
I know! It’s ridiculous. I can’t even watch them because it makes me want to eat everything in my apartment haha :) It also makes me sad that I can’t go live in the woods somewhere and cook amazing food all day.
I got an email today from Anova that their sous vide circulator is on sale - $99 with a code that looks sufficiently complex that it is probably either single-use or tied to my email address (I used my code to buy one as a Christmas present). If you’re interested, try signing up with your own email and see if they send you a code.
Wow. Thanks for the link!
Timex
3855
I made a pizza on my pizza steel.
The steel itself does an awesome job. I got a metal peel though, and I am having issues with it sticking (hence the kind of odd shape).
Slather that peel in cornmeal!
Timex
3858
Yeah, I’ve used corn meal, but i think that what is happening is that I’m taking too long to put the pizza together, and the metal peel really likes to stick.
I guess i could use even more corn meal. Maybe flour the crust more while tossing it.
Zylon
3859
So on a whim last night I launched a crock-pot pork shoulder. 5 pounds, bed of onions and garlic, layer of seasoning atop, and filled about halfway with cider and cider vinegar.
This morning, turned out fine. Shredded easily, yadda yadda. But for the most part it doesn’t taste of anything like what it was seasoned with. Which makes sense-- in any decently-sized block of meat, only a very tiny percentage of the total mass has any exposure to the seasoning. Contrarian empiricist that I am, this makes me wonder if there’s much point at all to seasoning a slow-cooker roast. In the end most of the flavor enhancement will come from whatever sauces, gravies, etc are applied after the meat has been cut. At least with a grilled or smoked roast you get a crust for your trouble.
If you plan to use the drippings/leftover liquid to make a gravy, or as the basis for a BBQ sauce, I think there’s a lot of value for having some slow-cooked flavors like onion and garlic in there aside from the pork.
Starting the seasoning process early probably doesn’t hurt, but you’ll be adjusting salt/pepper at the end, post-shredding, anyway.
