Pulled pork

 This is really what I wanted to do when I built a smoker out of my little Smokey Joe.  This is about a three pound Boston Butt.  For the rub I just used salt, fresh ground black pepper and minced onion.  Just the basics for the first butt.


The smoke took 6.2 hours to be fully done.  Butt was put into an aluminum tent to rest for about 20 minutes.


It pulled apart real nice and had a well defined smoke ring.

Vinegar Sauce  (make at least 24 hours ahead of time.)
    2 cups apple cider vinegar
    3 tablespoons crushed red pepper
    1 teaspoon pepper
    2 teaspoons salt

Vinegar Coleslaw (make dressing 24 hours ahead.)
    dressing:
        1 cup apple cider vinegar
        3/4 cup vegetable oil
        1 cup sugar
        2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
        1 teaspoon salt
    slaw: (make and add dressing 3 hours before)
        cabbage
        onion
        celery finely chopped

Bacon wrapped meatloaf

So this is the first time I have smoked a meatloaf, also the first time bacon weaving. I made a bacon weave then placed 1 lb of ground beef and pork on it. It was seasoned with dried oregano, garlic salt, black pepper, minced onions, cumin, paprika, kosher salt, allspice, one egg and some water. I placed feta cheese, sliced onion and green olives on the meat.


Roll the meat to a loaf shape with the bacon wrap on the outside.


Wrapped her up and put on the smoker for about 2.5-3 hours at 220.   Yes that is a multimeter I am using for monitoring temperature.


Fully cooked and ready to be sliced open.


Came out pretty good except next time I am going to use less smoke.

Side dish - Pasta salad

Here is a recipe I have been fooling around with for about 15-20 years now.  I really like it and everyone I have served it to compliments me on it.  Sorry no pictures on this one, but trust me it is good.


Pasta salad ingredients:
1 box tricolor pasta
6 ounces hard salami
6 ounces provolone cheese, cubed
2 1/4 ounces ripe olives
1 small red onion
1 small zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup green bell pepper
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 clove garlic minced
1.5 teaspoons ground mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
2 medium tomatoes cut into wedges

Cook the pasta according to the package, rinse in cold water and drain.  Place in large bowl and add the salami, cheese, olives, onion, zucchini, peppers, parsley and Parmesan cheese.  In a jar mix the dressing.  Stir well.  Pour over salad.  Cover and chill for 8 hours or overnight.  Toss before serving.  Garnish with tomatoes if you want to.

My crack at a Smokey Joe Smoker - part 2

Today we are going to make something to block the ash from covering the bottom vents.  This is just a strip of aluminum of 1" wide cut from the cookie sheet.


Then a temperature gauge was fitted.  I did not want to put the gauge directly on the hood as the probe would hit the meat.  Thus limiting the size of the food I could smoke.  So going through the home improvement store in the plumbing section I found a copper pipe hanger.  It is a drip bell.  The hanger was drilled out and the gauge fit nicely.


A step drill bit was used to drill a hole in the lid. Masking tape was used to minimize chipping in the porcelain finish.


Then four more holes were drilled to hold the gauge.


And painted with BBQ black spray paint on the outside only.


This is the view from inside the lid.


Next I will show you what it can smoke.

Side dish - Refrigerator pickle recipes

This is a dual post it also on my SW Florida Home Garden blog.  Here are a couple of my refrigerator pickle recipes:

Lazy Jalapeno Pickles

Cucumbers
Jalapenos
Garlic
kosher salt
white vinegar
pickling spice
hot tap water
pint (16 oz) sized mason jars (Ball mason or similar)

1.    Cut cucumbers into chip.
2.    Slice up garlic about 1 large per jar.
3.    Fill with cucumber wedges make it packed.
4.    Put 1/8" slices of jalapeno into jar.  I used 2 large per 3 jars.
6.    Add 1 tsp kosher salt to each jar
7.    Add 1 tsp pickling spice to each jar
8.    Fill each jar 1/2 way with white vinegar.
9.    Fill the rest of the jar to the collar with hot tap water.
10.  Put lid on and put in fridge for a couple weeks at least.

Garlic Dill fridge pickles

Cucumbers
kosher salt
white vinegar
pickling spice
garlic
hot tap water
pint (16 oz) sized mason jars (Ball mason or simular)

1.    Cut cucumbers to 1/4 slices enough to fill the amount of mason jars you want.
2.    Add one and a half cloves of garlic sliced to each jar
3.    Fill with cucumber slices 1/2 way
4.    Add dill, I used alot
5.    Add cucumbers to collar of jar, if not enough use some carrots or cauliflower.
6.    Add 1 tsp kosher salt to each jar
7.    Add 1 pinch pickling spice to each jar
8.    Fill each jar 1/2 way with white vinegar.
9.    Fill the rest of the jar to the collar with hot tap water.
10.  Put lid on and put in fridge for a couple weeks at least.

My crack at a Smokey Joe Smoker - part 1

So a few years ago my friend sent me a link to a website called the The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board.  On the site was a smoker made from a Weber Smokey Joe made by a someone named D.L. Whitehead.  This looked like a neat idea so I replicated it with a few improvements.  First I made it from a single piece of aluminum, a cookie sheet to be exact.  Then a template was made.  I used the charcoal grate to draw the circle then made a the rest as pictured below.


Then it was cut out and bent.


Holes were grilled in the charcoal area to pass heat.  A couple holes were drilled in the bottom so that it could be attached to the charcoal grate.


Next I had to cut the grate out.  I used a pair of bolt cutters as it is what I had convenient.  A Dremel tool, angle grinder or hacksaw would have worked as well.


Here it is assembled all nice and clean.  Next time I will show the lid thermometer. 

Sirloin tip roast

Here is a little more substantial of a meal.   This will be a sirloin tip roast.  The roast I have selected is 2.3 pounds and around 2" thick.   There will be three steps.   First make a rub and let sit.  Second a high heat sear.   I will be doing it on top of the charcoal chimney.  Lastly we will cook it indirect with a little smoke.

Rub ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Kosher salt
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary or 1 tbsp dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 3/4 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp ground white pepper

Mix all ingredients well then apply to the outside of the sirloin tip roast.




Let this sit for an hour to overnight in the refrigerator.  About an hour before putting on the grill take out of the fridge and place on the counter to allow it come up to room temp.

Sear it on the grill.  Here I am using my CI insert on top of my charcoal chimney.  I let it go about 2-3 minutes then flip for a total of 4 times.  This makes a nice "X" pattern on the steak.




Then it is moved to indirect as well as a potato.  I let it sit for 20 minutes then flipped it.  Waited another 20 minutes and stuck a digital thermometer in it.  It was at 120° so I let it go another 20 minutes.  When I pulled it, it was about 134°.  That was a little higher than I wanted it but it was ok.




The steak was put inside under a foil tent to rest.  It will need to rest 15-30 minutes.  While the meat is resting I grilled some asparagus and cooked some rice.  When the veggies and rice were done I plated it.




A little butter on the rice and potato and it is a meal well done.  Check out the color on that cut. It is somewhere inbetween med-rare and medium.