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Any Time is Grillin Time

Tonight I smoked a bland meatloaf. Nothing but cracker crumb, an egg, and some tomato sauce. Salt and pepper was all that was used for seasoning. I made it bland because I was looking for the smoke flavor. Though it wasn't fancy with peppers and onions or mushrooms, it was pretty darn good.
 
Cooler weather is finally here and man some smoked meat sounds good. Baby back ribs were on sale today so I'm putting some smoke on a couple of racks tomorrow. I have to work in the morning but I'll be home in time to do the ol 3-2-1 cook on them. I'm going with a fairly spicy hot rub and will finish them with some sweet bbq sauce. I may bake some beans to go with the ribs but I'm leaning more towards a nice tossed salad. Ribs and football. Life is good!
 
I'd suggest a George Foreman grill if you want to grill indoors. I'll be smoking my ribs on the patio. Smoking with a pellet smoker doesn't take much attention. I'll be inside watching football with my BT temp probe keeping me updated on my cook. :)
 
I had one too Bobby. I do think they are superior to frying in a pan. They are engineered to wick off the natural grease of the meat. A healthier burger in the end. I have found nothing that will put a decent fake charcoal taste on meat but there are a lot of off the counter spices / rubs that will definitely enhance the burger flavor.
I'm a fan of Montreal Steak seasoning on burgers. It doesn't take much or it will cover the natural beef flavor.
With a dash of seasoning and some salt and pepper, the Foreman grill makes a burger that's pretty good for a product cooked indoors.
 
Tomorrow I'm smoking a brisket flat. I'll cook it the same way I smoke the flank steaks. First I'll rub it down with avocado oil. Then I'll season it with coarse salt and fresh ground coarse pepper. I'll smoke it at 250° until it reaches 160° then I'll wrap it in foil with some apple juice. I'll pull it when it reaches 195° - 200° and let it rest for an hour or so in a hot box. Sliced thin across the grain should make for some great sandwiches with a bit of horseradish or bbq sauce.
 
Made some Jamaican Jerk jerky this morning. It's cooling now.
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My buddy makes jerky on his smoker all of the time. After seeing your pic, I think I need to do some. It's something I've never tried on the smoker. We had or perhaps still have one of those electric jerky makers with the racks that you place on top of the dryer. It's something my wife messed with and I reaped the benefit. She hasn't made any in years. What cut of beef did you use?
 
olbriar said:
My buddy makes jerky on his smoker all of the time. After seeing your pic, I think I need to do some. It's something I've never tried on the smoker. We had or perhaps still have one of those electric jerky makers with the racks that you place on top of the dryer. It's something my wife messed with and I reaped the benefit. She hasn't made any in years. What cut of beef did you use?
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Bottom round. Nothing fancy. :)
 
Your charcoal grill has enjoyed a long life. It speaks volumes for the Brinkman brand. I've never owned one. I had a Weber years ago but gave it to the neighbor when I purchased a gas grill. I think it was into it's second summer when I made the change. Not that I didn't like the Weber, I just had the hots for a gas grill. I haven't owned a charcoal grill since. My recent adventure to turn my Jenn-Air into a charcoal burner turned out just fair. I haven't much invested but time in the conversion so I'm not upset. I may break down and buy a designated charcoal burner and toss my high dollar used up Jenn-jAir. If I do, I'll definitely be giving a Brinkman serious consideration.
 
Tomorrow I'm going to lay some smoke on a couple of nice looking KC strips and then do a reverse sear. I normally smoke something on Sundays but these steaks caught my eye. I hope they are as good as they look.
 
I love a good steak. Working two jobs as I do, I rarely have the daylight to grill a steak. On the weekends it's fun to smoke out something and it's usually a pork cut or chicken. Last weekend I did a brisket flat for a change of pace. I was going to do ribs or something tomorrow but... man those steaks looked good. Next weekend I'm having a welcome home party for a life long friend that's just moved back to town to help take care of his aging mother-in-law. I'll be smoking out a couple of pork butts and grilling some kielbasa. With that in mind, pulled pork was out of the question for this weekend. And man those steaks look good. :)
 
My son likes to chop his up with a cleaver. I prefer to pull mine and use a set of tools similar to these.
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My set has longer claws and fewer tines. You simply interlock the tines and stick them into the pork and pull them apart. The meat is tender and pulls apart easily. Repeating the process over and over reduces the pork to shreds. I've owned my set for years and have looked for another set like them without success. I'm sure the above set will work great.... I might have to order some. What I ultimately purchased for my smoker at my cabin are these.
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They work okay but your hands are nearly in the meat when using them.
 
My steaks turned out fantastic. I rank these KC strips in the top five steaks I've grilled in my life. They marinated in Allegro marinade and beer most of the afternoon. They did not enjoy the cook I had intended because I was late getting home to cook. I just put a traditional grill on them and they were fall apart tender and juicy. Wonderful steaks... luck of the draw.
 
I had a big party at the cabin this weekend. I smoked the largest pork butt I could find and grilled a huge tray of kielbasa. Baked beans, potato salad, tossed salad, chips and dips, and a couple of great deserts were brought by the guests. Everyone over ate and was pleasantly miserable the rest of the night. Man it was fun sitting on the deck, soaking in the rays, swapping lies, and smelling that pork butt smoking.
 
i have not bought my treager just yet. i saw that home depot had the smaller one for $360......seems pretty cheap. should i get the small one or save up for the bigger bad boy? i really do not cook for large crowds any more. it is usually just my family and a few friends that come over every now and then.
 
ocnbrze said:
i have not bought my treager just yet. i saw that home depot had the smaller one for $360......seems pretty cheap. should i get the small one or save up for the bigger bad boy? i really do not cook for large crowds any more. it is usually just my family and a few friends that come over every now and then.
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@Unforgiven is your best bet for Traeger smoker opinions. I have an older cabinet model Traeger smoker down at the river. It has served me well for many years. I do believe that Unforgiven has both the smaller Traeger and the Tailgater models. I'm not sure which model you are talking about. He is familiar with both and knows his Traeger grills. You can take great stock in his opinion and advice.

I have used two different sized Green Mountain smokers. Larger is nice for that rare cook when you need the extra grill space. Do keep in mind that a larger area to heat will consume more pellets. It's not a huge factor to consider but if you never anticipate the need for the extra space it is just wasted money. The larger smokers operate the same as the smaller units and will do a small cook without any issues. They cost more and they consume more pellets.

No matter what you ultimately buy.. I'm betting you will love it. Keep us posted.
 
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