In a world where... (movie trailer guys voice)

there's one man, one grill, and only ten days to clear the fridge, can he do it?

Mrs. SpecialEd and the two SpecialEd boys are flying out tomorrow morning (July 4th) for sunny, southern, California for ten days. That leaves me alone with the two SpecialEd dogs and the GrillDome for ten days!

I've already stocked up on ribs, lamb, chicken, the makings for "Fatties," BBQ beans and a tandoori, yogurt marinade for the chicken and lamb. I even have a commission for pulled pork for next week. All I need now is a little cooperation from the weather.

What am I going to do with all this food? What better way to bribe people into helping me getting a few things done around the house while the family is away!

BTW, "Fatties" has nothing to do with illegal substances, (though as deadly as they are, they should be!) Here is a recipe for Fatties from a great BBQ site by a fellow "Domer," Mike Stines of Cape Cod Barbecue.

Enjoy!

(I'll post pics as I go)

Did you say "Extra Cripsy?"

Jaden's Roasted Chicken with Sweet Plum Sauce

The day after I read this recipe on Jaden's Steamy Kitchen, I went out and bought a bottle of plum sauce. Today, nearly three months later, I finally got around to trying it, only I did it a little differently, outside on my GrillDome... of course!


I also did mine upright, think beer in the butt chicken without the beer can(I have to agree with Dr. BBQ on this one, see page 140-141 of Dr. BBQ's BIG-TIME BARBECUE COOKBOOK for his theory on Beer Can Chicken).


I have a set of Spanek vertical roasters, which work very well. Instead of stuffing the cavity of the chicken, I put the lemon quarters, onions and spices in a water pan under the chicken. As you can see from the pictures, I should have heeded Jaden's warning a little more seriously about covering the bird with foil if the skin starts to get a little... extra crispy! When I Opened the Dome to check on the bird about 40 minutes into the cook it was already well caramelized on the top. I guess the top of the bird was much closer to the Dome-lid ceramics than I realized. I covered it with foil then. (Better late then never.)


Not to worry though, I brushed it with the plum sauce a few times in the last few minutes and let it rest under a tent of foil while still sitting in the pan, on the stand. All in all, no more then 90 minutes start to finish for an average size bird.


It went very well with some curried couscous and since we are not much of a "skin" eating family there was no problem with the "extra crispy" parts. I will certainly do this one again (probably tomorrow as I bought a double pack of roasters at Costco and still have the other one in the fridge!)



Thanks again Jaden!

D'oh!

I forgot to take pictures!

I cooked up a feast this past weekend but I was so wrapped up in cooking I forgot to take pictures. Nobody's going to read a blog about food with out pictures!(food porn).

Anyway, I cooked a boneless leg of lamb in two pieces. One with a Tandoori marinade and one with a Persian yogurt & saffron marinade. I also cooked up two pork loins and several burgers for the kids and other non risk takers. For those that ate the lamb, the Tandoori was the big hit. For the others the pork loins were their usual, smoky, spicy, goodness! (Burgers weren't bad either.) All cooked on the Grilldome, of course.

Turkey Time

Yesterday I smoked a turkey breast. Now that might sound fairly basic and it is how I got my smoke-cooking start about 25 years ago, but I haven’t smoke-cooked a turkey in probably 15 or more years. Actually until I got my Grilldome cooker this past July, I hadn’t smoke-cooked anything in at least 15 years.

That all changed, obviously, when I bought my cooker this past summer and started making up for lost time. Even though I went at it like a man possessed, I never got around to doing turkey, especially since they are not always readily available in the summer months. I have cooked lots of pork,(shoulders and loins), chickens, (whole, spatchcocked, drumsticks and breasts), a couple briskets, burgers and even smoked some BBQed baked beans. But no turkey.

This past week my FIL brought over a turkey breast he got free from racking up points/dollars at his supermarket. My wife probably won’t let me cook the Thanksgiving bird on the Grilldome so I jumped on this opportunity to finally get back in the turkey game.

Back in the old days, I knew nothing of rubs, injections or brining. I just threw the bird on the grill heaped on the wood chips and let it go. I always enjoyed the results but these days I am trying to take things to a new level. So, for the first time ever I have soaked this bird overnight in a brine solution; Kosher salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, garlic, and a few other dry seasonings. I put it on the grill after stabilizing the temperature at 300 degrees. That’s a bit high for normal smoking but a good temperature for a turkey breast. Three hours and 15 minutes later, the breast was done at a temperature of 170 degrees. Very moist, no dry spots, a hint of sweetness and a good smoke flavor. I think I will be doing some more experiments with brine solutions in the coming weeks.

Why am I here?

I don't really have anything to say. At least nothing of interest that anyone would want to hear. Basically I'm here to learn how to use Blogger efficiently. My wife has a Blog Let Me Say This About That, and I am tired of listening to her bitch and moan every time she tries to post a new entry or pictures, etc. She sits in a corner and uses her laptop so I can't see what she is trying to do so I can't help her. So, here I am to sort this all out for her (and my) peace of mind!


Here is a picture of a recent pork shoulder cook that I did.


This is two "Boston Butts" that have just been put on my Grilldome cooker. Injected the night before with a homemade concoction, smeared with mustard and rubbed with some Dizzy Pig rubs. One with Dizzy Dust and one with Swamp Venom.



A little while later when the hickory chunks start doing their magic. Time to shut the lid because... "If you're lookin' you ain't cookin'!




Finally done! The first one came off and was wrapped in foil and towels with TLC and sent over to my sister's house for her annual cookout. The second one (pictured) is for me! Well actually, I did give half of that to another sister for her birthday present.

This was after about 20 hours at or very near 225 degrees. Some truly Hellacius pulled pork!