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Any Time is Grillin Time

Unforgiven said:
@olbriar, did you get your hands on some beef ribs? If so, I can't wait to hear how you like them.
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No sir... no luck. I did my shopping by phone today. My two known outlets were both sold out. Both Sam's Club and Whole Foods receive beef short ribs on Fridays. Both were sold out early this morning. I've got to figure out how I can shop for ribs on Friday. It seems odd that they both receive beef ribs on Fridays. I also think that it's odd they receive so few that they immediately sell out. Every butchered cow has ribs... There can't be a shortage or I'm missing something.

Tonight I'm grilling some bork steaks. (80% beef and 20% pork) Diced onion and bell pepper, mushrooms, egg, and crackers will be mixed with the bork. Pressed into patties with a bit of bbq sauce and spiced with garlic and coarse salt and pepper. The wife is making her cucumber salad to go with it.

I went to the market AM looking for something to smoke tomorrow. They had BB ribs buy one / get one that tempted me. There were some nice looking pork shoulders to be had as well. I took a long look at some super thick slicked pork chops. I came home with nothing to smoke. I want some beef ribs. :)
 
Proof that grills aren't happy when they are left alone

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I was left to my own devices tonight so I ran to the store thinking pork chops. However in the cut out bin was a package of two 7oz hamburger patties for two bucks. It was 80/20 and looked like a deal. I came home, spiced up the patties and tossed them to the flame. I thought that without eating today and having nothing to go with the burgers that I could eat them both.
NOT :) I gave it a good go but my dogs shared half of the second burger. They were very good but that is a lot of burger for one guy.

The wife and I are hosting another couple at the cabin this weekend. I'm thinking about smoking a brisket and some flank steaks the other. I saw the market had some nice looking pork loins on sale. Might plug that in one night instead. Everything tastes great when cooked out in the woods. I can't go wrong.
 
I'm smoking half a pork loin at home now. I froze the other half. Brats and flank steaks for the river this weekend. I'm trying a honey glaze on the loin chops instead of bbq sauce. I have them wrapped and according to the remote thermometer it's steaming in honey and apple juice at 226° at this moment. Smells some kind of wonderful.
 
I smoked a pork butt today. Low and slow is my typical smoke and I did not deviate from the norm today. I did change things up a bit however. Instead of my normal rub I simply generously peppered the shoulder prior to smoking. I did not spritz the meat while cooking and I smoked it with the fat cap down the entire time. I removed the fat cap and poured off all of the rendered fat juice when done. The end product was a bit dry but it
was perfect for a bbq sauce or horseradish spread. My wife liked it much better than my normal pulled pork so I'll likely be doing this cook more often.
 
Cast iron hold the heat too. Takes less coals. If I were going to buy a charcoal grill as such, I'd buy the cheapest thing that stood up in the wind. They all burn out so why waste money on a high dollar model. I've come to the same conclusion on propane grills. I have a beautiful four burner Gen-Air that I've burned up twice. Now it's so cooked out it's just an ornament on my patio. It cost a small fortune and lasted no longer than a cheap grill. :( Lesson learned.
 
olbriar said:
Cast iron hold the heat too. Takes less coals. If I were going to buy a charcoal grill as such, I'd buy the cheapest thing that stood up in the wind. They all burn out so why waste money on a high dollar model. I've come to the same conclusion on propane grills. I have a beautiful four burner Gen-Air that I've burned up twice. Now it's so cooked out it's just an ornament on my patio. It cost a small fortune and lasted no longer than a cheap grill. :( Lesson learned.
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I've learned to leave a place in my shed. Roll it out when it is time to cook, roll it back in when the cooking is done.
 
Unforgiven said:
Short ribs are embarrassingly simple.
  1. Peal the membrane on the back
  2. Apply your favorite rub
  3. Smoke 10 hours at 225. No wrapping, no temp targets, no basting, nothing.
TLDR; Peel , rub, smoke 10 hours at 225.

My notes:
  • I've now cooked six racks, half the time the membrane comes off and leaves about 1/8" of fat on the bone site, the other half the fat comes off too, I've noticed no difference in the final product, so don't worry about it.
  • Rub was pretty much 2 cups turbinado sugar (sugar in the raw), 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup paprika, 2tbsp course fresh ground pepper, 1tbsp garlic powder, 2 tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper. I think next time I'll cut the pepper in half, but that's my taste. I was experimenting with the rub for this smoke as I didn't have any store bought KC BBQ. I was complemented on the bark with the rub recipe, and there is enough for probably 6 ribs. I wound up having enough to do 4 baby back ribs the next day with a little left over.
  • I used apple pellets for my smoke because the first recipe I saw for these recommended it.
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An addendum to the instructions above that may vary depending on how your grill deals with grease drippings. This is for @olbriar as I know how Traeger / Green Mountain pellet smokers handle grease. You will want to start with the grease capture bucket empty, and depending on how many racks you have on, and the size of the bucket, you may need to empty the bucket mid smoke. My big Traeger smoking two racks generated about 2/3 - 3/4 full grease bucket from empty. My little tailgate Traeger (pictured a few posts above) smoking that single rack I needed to empty the bucket about 8 hours into the smoke.
 
You are quite right my friend. A clean grill is a happy grill. I don't keep the cleanest grill in town but I've learned through the years that a cleaning routine will add to a grill's life. The Traeger and GM are designed to rid the smoker of the drippings. That's the easy cleaning.
The smoke and grease that accumulate on the cold surfaces inside take a bit more care.
My old Traeger had a major flaw. The hopper was inside the grill area. It collected grease bad and was difficult to keep tidy. With the hopper outboard on the GM, cleaning is a snap.
I know that your Traeger has the hopper outboard as well. A far superior design.
 
Unforgiven said:
My tailgate version has the internal hopper. I find a quick wipe down after each smoke keeps it in check.
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Mine is very bad in the winter. Something about most of it being outside the heating area just wicked up cold and collected grease like crazy. Wipe it down during and after smokes and give it a good washing with a degreaser now and then worked. The hopper outside on the GM just needs wiped down now and then to remove the accumulated dust.

Did I mention that I had to replace my controller on my Traeger? It was giving me trouble when I had it here at the house. It refused to raise the cook temp over 325° which only created a problem when trying to grill. Smoking meats I never required sear temps. Anyway, got it down to the cabin and about the third smoke it wouldn't turn on the grill. I was able to find a third party controller for it and it was a matter of just plugging it in and it was good to go. It fixed both of the smoker's problems. Smoking meats in the woods adds a certain level of pleasure to the experience. I love that old Traeger. A great smoker and has lasted longer than any outdoor cooker I've ever owned.
 
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