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Any Time is Grillin Time

The chili idea worked for the most part. The wife liked it a lot and I was searching the fridge for some pickled jalapeno slices. The corn added a nice texture but it came with a bit of sweetness that I didn't want in my chili. Once I heated my chili with some peppers... I was plenty good with it for something a bit different. I will keep it in mind for a cabin dinner next late fall / winter.
 
Tomorrow night I'm firing up the Blackstone and doing a stir fry. I'm cutting up a beef and a andouille sausage for the meat and using fiesta style veggies. I'll have mine over fried rice and the wife will have hers over fried cauliflower rice.
 
@Unforgiven I'm too lazy to look back. I remember you talking about using a Blackstone while camping. I'm curious as to which model you have that's portable and your opinion on the griddle. I'm thinking about such a cooker for the cabin. I don't want to leave it outside. There is far too much fine dust from surrounding fields in the area that will gather on the cooking surface no matter how it's covered. Taking it inside for storage between use is a must. Is your unit a two burner? How complicated is the smaller cooking surface to use? I appreciate your insight.
 
I think this is a newer version of mine, but the concept is the same.
Here is mine, and you can see the props for standing it up like a dolly are on the legs where the one in the link are on the left side of the griddle. Not sure one way is better or not. Mine works fine as designed. It isn't cheap, still $300.
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Unforgiven said:
I think this is a newer version of mine, but the concept is the same.
Here is mine, and you can see the props for standing it up like a dolly are on the legs where the one in the link are on the left side of the griddle. Not sure one way is better or not. Mine works fine as designed. It isn't cheap, still $300.
View attachment 166927
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I assume a quick release to fold the legs and then roll from the shelf / handle? I have a chop saw on a similar platform if so... and it works well. Do you feel hand cuffed trying to cook on just two zones? Does that hood hinge and buckles down like a suitcase? I will admit, it's a nice looking unit.
 
Fajita on the Blackstone is a fun and easy cook. I was in the mood for both fun and easy so fajitas it was tonight. I had everything except the chicken. My market had packages of three boneless skinless breasts each at buy one get one $10 and change a package. Two breasts with peppers and onions is plenty for the wife and I so I vac sealed two packages two breasts each and froze. The last two were diced up and fried on the griddle with two packages of peppers and onion blend, fajita seasoning, and a third jar of fajita sauce. I ate too much. :)

Fajita1.jpg
 
olbriar said:
I assume a quick release to fold the legs and then roll from the shelf / handle?
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There is a quick release to unlock it from the folded position. From there you pull it open and it hooks into itself in the open position. I wish I could explain it better, but it is super simple

olbriar said:
Do you feel hand cuffed trying to cook on just two zones?
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So, would I rather have 36" and 4 zones? Of course. Can I do what I want with this? Yes.
The truth of it is I have a 36" griddle, so yeah, that's better for cooking. It isn't better for folding up and moving around. That said, I have a griddle where I wouldn't take one before. Seeing as they are close to the same price now, it would depend on portability for me now. I will say that the 22" stored in the camper survived the winter much better than the 36" in the shed. Both needed to be scraped clean and reseasoned though.

olbriar said:
Does that hood hinge and buckles down like a suitcase?
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Yes, the hood is hinged on the back and locks into place.
 
The stand sound quite similar to the bench I have a chop saw mounted to. Push a lever and it unfolds and you rock it into a locking position. A lever releases it so it can collapse and it locks into that position to transport. A well designed stand that works well without lifting.

I'm spoiled by the real-estate of the 36" model.. I will not lie. However, smaller is a lot better than being without. It should be large enough to fry a couple of pounds of bacon at a time that can be kept warm. Plenty big enough to make pancakes in two batches and eggs take no time at all to fry. When I'm trying to do breakfast for a large group, I use two electric griddles and a skillet on the stove. Breakfast is a hard cook for the masses. I know I could do stir fries and fajita like meals on a smaller surface.
I'd just have to bring up the meal before frying rice or toasting tortillas.

I wish my 36" had a hinged lid. I can live without for the money difference between the two models. I do like the idea of the hinged lid on the portable unit and particularly fond of it latching down for transport. It sounds like a great little cooker. I wish it wasn't so expensive. :) I didn't pay that much more for my four burner.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I really do appreciate it.
 
I pulled a rack of St Louis style ribs out of the freezer for tomorrow. I'm going to try smoking it 3-2-1 but at 250° instead of 225°. I like the ribs but they always seem greasy to me. I'm hoping the added temp will dry them up a bit more and be more to my liking. I'll bake some beans to go with the ribs... maybe some potato salad. I'm considering using a different rub. I'm running low on my go-to pork rub and have a couple of gifted rubs I've yet to try. Unless I change my mind, I'll be trying something new to me tomorrow.
 
I like good ribs and baby backs are my favorite. They have less fat which makes them less greasy is why I like them. Years ago, a young man lived down the street that smoked ribs commercially. He didn't have a brick and mortar establishment. He had a huge barrel wood burner on a trailer that he would set up in the parking lot of a super Kroger store. He received a cut from Kroger for his efforts and he had nothing invested in the ribs. He also did parties by appointment. I hired him to do my oldest daughter's graduation party... his ribs were that good. He came from Tulsa where his uncle had a BBQ business and he claimed the secret to his ribs was the rub recipe that his uncle used. I begged but he refused to share that secret years later when I started smoking. He couldn't make a living smoking meats but used the gig to put himself through trade school to become an electrician. I still long for that secret rub recipe.

The Selmom brothers' (OU football fame) had a BBQ establishment in Wichita that also had excellent ribs.

To me it's magic when you get the perfect blend of heat and sweet that makes a rib so good. I don't glaze my ribs so the rub and meat has to supply all of the flavor.
 
Baseball is an excellent reason to miss out on some patio cooking fun. Number 2 daughter is flying in next weekend to assist number 3 with her last minute wedding stuff. We are having a blow out at my son's place. All I have to do is sit back, have a beer or two, and enjoy whatever he is grilling, smoking, or griddling. The family gets together so seldom that the fun of the day will be enjoying everyone at the same time. Have fun with your campout. Share a pic or two with the griddle in action... please.
 
olbriar said:
Baseball is an excellent reason to miss out on some patio cooking fun.
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Well, he just made our local Legion team, so that means more baseball.
olbriar said:
Number 2 daughter is flying in next weekend to assist number 3 with her last minute wedding stuff. We are having a blow out at my son's place. All I have to do is sit back, have a beer or two, and enjoy whatever he is grilling, smoking, or griddling.
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Have a blast. Sometimes its nice to let someone else man the grill(s).
olbriar said:
The family gets together so seldom that the fun of the day will be enjoying everyone at the same time. Have fun with your campout. Share a pic or two with the griddle in action... please.
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Will do, We'll be figuring out the weekend menu in the coming days, though I'm sure somehow a hibachi dinner will be on it.
 
My hotter cook was the answer for St Louis style ribs. The rack turned out to be very good. I think a longer cook at a lower temp would achieve the same results. I did not sprits my rack and it had a generous bark that might not happen if I cook longer and slower. I'll try that next time. Why not? I used a combo of two rubs today. I used mostly a sweet and smokey rub and then lightly laid on some hot pork rub. Between the two it was flavorful and not too hot for my wife. I will use the combination again on pork.
 
I'm smoking out a meatloaf now. It's half ground pork and half ground beef. I added onion, peppers, diced tomatoes, a bit of garlic and fresh ground pepper. I used just regular saltine crackers for breading and an egg for binding. The smoker is set for 225° and I'll put a chili sauce glaze on it after and hour of soaking up smoke and likely turn the temp up to 350° and serve once the internal temp reaches 160°. I'm serving it with mashed potatoes and whole kernel corn.
 
I meant to add the reason my loaf is half pork half beef but forgot. My go to ground beef is 85% and today it was $ 6.99 a pound.
I had made up my mind that meatloaf was tonight's dinner but dang..... It the cut out bin, ground pork was marked down to $2.19 a pound. My loaf became a half and half mixture. I deplore supporting the inflated price of meats and try my best to avoid the gouge. I can afford whatever but it just sits wrong with me. I would hate to be a young person trying to feed a family with seven dollar a pound hamburger... sheesh.

While buying my meat I noticed that the pork shoulders were marked down to $1.59 a pound. We just ate and froze some pork butt or I'd have bought one at that price. Typing this I'm thinking I should have bought one or two anyway. At one third the cost of hamburger....
 
Unforgiven said:
Jeez, you're giving me a complex. :p I just passed on a tip I got at some point.
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I've been passing it on as well. It is seriously delicious. That's why I said thanks.
I had tried smoking a meat loaf before. I smoked / baked it in a traditional loaf roaster that I've used for decades. The loaf was just okay and certainly not worth wasting pellets. You shared a pic of your loaf smoking on a cooking sheet. The light came on.
Smoke on all sides and the grease cooking out of the loaf. Then the magic... the venison / beef combination took the smoked loaf to an entirely new level of wonderful. My wife, who detests meatloaf, is now a huge fan of the dish. It's just that good and we enjoy it all because you shared the cook. Thanks!
 
I finally got around to fixing breakfast on the Blackstone. Bacon, eggs and pancakes. My wife likes her bacon so crispy that it sparks and shatters when you bite it. I like my bacon where it just starting to crisp and still has something to chew. She had her low carb pancakes and I had who gives a care pancakes. I like my eggs over easy and she wants hers hard fried. Zero problem accommodating the different desires on the Blackstone. I was very impressed and we both enjoyed having it our way and everything served hot.
 
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