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Any Time is Grillin Time

I attended my great grandson's third birthday party today ( yes I know... that's old :)) On my way home I ran by Costco and scored a couple of ribeye cap steaks. So no flat iron or pork steaks for me. I'll put the smoke and then a reverse sear on them tomorrow.
I picked up some fresh caught cod fillets too.
 
Ribeye cap... Incredible. I can say no more.

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I cooked my cod fillets tonight. They weren't ribeye caps but they were pretty darn good. I've used butter, a pinch of salt, and lemon pepper on them in the past. Tonight I changed that up. Butter, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cajun seasoning. I was super happy with the flavor, with cod not having a great deal of flavor of its own.

My new phone lost its connection with my GM smoker since my last cook. I didn't take the time to set it up again tonight. The task is on my must do list however. I've forgotten how handy it is to turn on the smoker and set the temp. Then knowing I'm up to temp before going out to start my cook. It's not a big deal on most cooks. I'll put my meat on when I start the smoker and turn the temp up once it's reached its startup temp. But for the fillets, I wanted a 450° grill for my 12-15 minute cook.
 
dontpanicbobby said:
OT: @olbriar Have you ever tried Bluefish?
It's one of the 5 fish I've ever eaten.
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I have not, Bobby. I'm a lover of fish so I'll have to check it out. I like shell fish but not crazy about them like my wife. Cod, salmom, and snapper are more up my alley. I love sardines and kippers as snacks. Fresh water favorites are channel cat... especially flat head and rainbow trout.
 
Love flathead... simply love the flavor. As for red snapper, it's a saltwater fish. I've never fished for them.... living in Kansas :) I've only experienced the sweet taste of snapper at restaurants. It is always baked and served with a complimentary sauce. I've eaten it with a dominate garlic taste, sweet sauce, and spicy almost hot sauce. I've never experienced the fish just baked. I suspect it could stand alone but would be pretty mild flavored... like cod.
 
I debated some whole snapper on the smoker, but I had too much going on this weekend. I haven't had that in about 20 years, but I can buy it frozed for about $7 / lb, so cheap enough to experiment.

I do have some peppered jerky smoking at 180 today.
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And whenever you hear me say if you are outlaying $8-900 for a pellet smoker and the big version is $200 more, get the big one, this is why. A 4lb roast *just* fits. I'd prefer some more airspace between the pieces of meat.
 
Well, it looks good. But I've got chicken cordon bleu about ready to cook, so I can't fill up on jerky.
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Your jerky looks very good... y e s Sir. Your chicken sounds great as well.

I don't get to cook out today. :( Wife shopped and we get chicken fried steak. Oh well... no big deal... temps near 60° ... no wind. Who wants to smoke out on a day like this?? ME! :)
 
I smoked some chicken thighs and livers tonight. The thighs I rubbed with some sweet hot cajun rub. I've used the rub before on a pork butt and it was good. It is now my go to rub for chicken. Just spicy enough without the wife complaining with a bit of sweet finish. Chicken livers is not on most peoples like list. However, the wife and I love them chicken fried or wrapped with bacon and grilled. My wife bought some the other day but forgot the bacon. I went ahead and grilled them along with the thighs in a shallow tin.
They were still tasty.
 
Unforgiven said:
I debated some whole snapper on the smoker, but I had too much going on this weekend. I haven't had that in about 20 years, but I can buy it frozed for about $7 / lb, so cheap enough to experiment.

I do have some peppered jerky smoking at 180 today.
View attachment 147229

And whenever you hear me say if you are outlaying $8-900 for a pellet smoker and the big version is $200 more, get the big one, this is why. A 4lb roast *just* fits. I'd prefer some more airspace between the pieces of meat.
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How much did that meat cost! Looks like a months worth to me?

Nobody but me grills indoors?
I must be frying. :(
 
Some fat in jerky is okay but leaner cuts are best IMO. The price of meats to smoke aren't necessarily bargain cuts. Very little goes to waste however so meats aren't out of my budget. I like to shop for bargains all the same. The butcher at my local market informed me today of what was going on sale for the weekend. I always take note of the items and often take advantage of the sales price.
Today he informed me that chuck roast was going on sale. I like to smoke a Chuckie so it piqued my interest. I'll likely buy a couple. He then told me that his baby back ribs were going to be buy one get one Saturday and Sunday. Ribs sound great for Superbowl Sunday so I'll likely buy four racks. Two I will smoke and two racks I'll freeze for another time. Sales don't always influence my cooks but they do quite often. Why pay top dollar, especially if you plan ahead and have a freezer? I've had a desire to smoke out some flank steaks since Christmas but they have not been on sale. I've passed them up though I'm hungry for them. When they go on sale again I'll stock up. That's just how I roll.
 
I keep up with sales too. In fact, I grabbed a couple of pork butts on Sunday as they were on sale for $0.99 / lb. I already had a couple in the freezer, but what the heck. I can do pulled pork, grind them up into sausages, or put them on the band saw and make bone in country ribs. Any way I want, they are in my freezer and can be prepared at my whim.
 
dontpanicbobby said:
If you are a hardcore griller a separate freezer is essential. I'm just a dilletante.
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I have the regular fridge / freezer in the kitchen for everyday use, a beer fridge / food prep fridge in the shed (just an extra fridge / freezer that is mostly empty so I have room for large containers for brining meat or letting rub rest overnight, etc.), and a ~7-8 cf chest freezer in the basement.
 
You must have a generator @Unforgiven I'd be extremely upset if I had a system like that and all the food spoiled because the electricity was out. Thinking John Keller in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. He knew cooked food lasts longer but surprisingly not a prepped.

Using Cast iron pans on a stove counts as grillin.
 
dontpanicbobby said:
You must have a generator @Unforgiven I'd be extremely upset if I had a system like that and all the food spoiled because the electricity was out.
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I do now. It isn't wired in yet, but I can run a few extension cords to run the fridge, freezer, TV, Router, cable modem and a few lights. In Irene a few years ago I lost several hundred dollars worth of food.
 
I've vowed to purchase a generator through the years but have never pulled the trigger on one. I seriously shop after every outage. :)
I know it's something I need but something always seems to be higher on my want/need list. I would be more inclined to purchase if I had actually lost meats to an outage. I have been known to pack every cooler I own with meat and dry ice. Fortunately that has saved my food so far. Three days was my longest stretch without power.

What sort of generator did you purchase @Unforgiven ? Last time I shopped I was seriously considering a dual fuel unit. I wanted it to be portable enough to take to the cabin as well. Though I keep mower gas down there, I don't keep long term reserve gas. Propane is always on hand and it does not go bad. Dual fuel seemed the best option to cover all the bases. Being portable would make it fall well short of being a whole house generator. To have a few lights and protect the perishables would be my priority. At the river I would need it to power my well too. Power for the forced air heat systems would be a must as well.
 
Mine is actually a cheap POS, BUT, it is dual fuel, and I run it on propane. Since I got the Traeger I have little use for propane, so I have 6 bottles and usually at least 4 full, so when the poop hits the impeller I have fuel at the ready. Plus, AFAIK, propane doesn't go bad.

I think this is a current link.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sportsm...s-on-LPG-or-Regular-Gasoline-803266/304541553

I got it on a flash sale for like $200 and I've only had to press it into service once. It was only for 4 hours, but it was far less stressful for those four hours knowing I could get stuff out of the fridge, watch TV, and keep up with the web.

There is nothing to do but turn a switch to change from LP to gasoline, but I've never put gasoline in it (why worry about keeping it good). It aint a cadillac, but it does the job.
 
Unforgiven said:
Mine is actually a cheap POS, BUT, it is dual fuel, and I run it on propane. Since I got the Traeger I have little use for propane, so I have 6 bottles and usually at least 4 full, so when the poop hits the impeller I have fuel at the ready. Plus, AFAIK, propane doesn't go bad.

I think this is a current link.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sportsm...s-on-LPG-or-Regular-Gasoline-803266/304541553

I got it on a flash sale for like $200 and I've only had to press it into service once. It was only for 4 hours, but it was far less stressful for those four hours knowing I could get stuff out of the fridge, watch TV, and keep up with the web.

There is nothing to do but turn a switch to change from LP to gasoline, but I've never put gasoline in it (why worry about keeping it good). It aint a cadillac, but it does the job.
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As far as I know, propane has no shelf life limitations. I don't keep propane here at the house. Like you, I no longer have the need for the fuel. I could easily store some however. I have multiple bottles that I could cycle though the bottle exchange vendors to update their certifications and have fuel on hand. The cabin is fueled by propane and so is the trailer. The fuel is always on hand. Dual fuel is the way to go IMO. I like your generator and your purchase price was excellent.
 
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