snowangel

Bruce, how did your family like the sour curry? Did you use canned or vacuum-packed bamboo shoots? I'm craving Thai food, having just "catered" (catering implies, IMHO, that one was paid for more than the ingredients) a graduation party for 125 (!) and Thai was not on the menu).

I'm fridging them, totally foiled, reheating and getting a mess of kids to have a wonderful time pulling butt!

Amazing, isn't it, how many beautiful bits just seem to "fall off the butt!"

Wow. If I were doing an all-American meal for overseas visitors, I'd be thinking pork (either a butt or country ribs; pulled), not beef. With South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce, squishy white buns, cole slaw and potato salad. Top it off with a rhubarb pie and ice cream. Classic, and a sure hit.

I don't have a vacuum sealer. Any other suggestions? Note: my butts are beautiful, although the fat cap cracked slightly. I have kept a household of little boys totally amused today with butt talk. Since they are boneless (read boy laughter), I tied them, which led to even more laughter.

Good luck, Susan. My first smoker was a Brinkman and I hated it and soon discarded it. No way to regulate temps as it had no vents. Perhaps your loaner is an upgrade from the one I had. In any case, have fun! 30 lbs of butt is nothing to sneeze at no matter how it is done. ← I have opted for tried and true, the Trusty Old Kettle. I have two butts on, and maintained heat at 200-225 until they reached 160, and have opened up the vents to get those babies done, so I can get the other two butts on tonight, and hopefully go to bed at a civilized time. I know the Trusty Old Kettle, and it performs well for me. QUESTION (yes, I'm shouting): I'm assuming I should freeze these butts for Saturday, pull them out on Thursday into the fridge to thaw, gently reheat and then pull late Friday night for Saturday's Soiree? My friend, BTW, says I'm catering, but doesn't that imply being paid . BTW, it's an honor to do this for the particular grad.

Actually, with the last butts I did, I pulled them at 1:30 am, as they were in the stall, foiled and fridged them and put them in the oven the next day. Once they were in the oven, they continued through the stall to that nice point where they emerge from said stall. They pulled beautifully. And, yes, I believe that magic temp is 140. I'm borrowing my neighbor's smoker (one of those upright Brinckman's) tomorrow as I'll be doing 30 pounds of butt.

Crap. I'm thinking 50 kids and 40 adults. Oh me, oh my! Can anyone guess what I'm doing this next week? I'm actually thinking about augmenting with a chuck roast braised dish from one of Bayless's books that is augmented with onions, tomatoes and lots of jalapenos. No reason not to do that with the mess of crock pots I can procure at a moments notice. And, those teens can sure stash it away, can't they?

I'm "catering" a graduation party for a friend's child (oh! young adult!) who has requested butt, tortillas, and all of the fixings. I'm trying to get a handle on how much folks will eat. This will be a stand-alone graduation party, at dinner time, and I know we'll offer hard and soft shells. Although I think I can get my arms around now much cooked meat I will need, has anyone weighed a butt after smoking to know how much loss there is? I know that every butt is different (snicker), but anyone have any rough guidelines?

I've quit subscribing to magazines, preferring to purchase them at the local newsstand or market if they interest me. Now, I'm just wondering how many folks are going to pick up a copy of Bon Appetit, since they don't give much of an indication on the cover of what's actually in the magazine? If I'm buying a copy of a magazine at the supermarket (most likely), I'm busy unloading the cart, and want a quick glance at the cover.

Now that's a quote! May I use it as a signature line? giving proper credit to you of course. ← Absolutely! For the first time ever, I did boneless and skinless butts last week, and also for the first time, I rubbed my butts (using this rub. I was surprised that these two butts (each 6 pounds) took longer than bone-in butts (perhaps the bone helps to conduct heat?). I put them on at 1:30 pm, and at 2:00 am they were just crawling out of the stall, and I was so exhausted I just yanked, foiled and fridged them. The day was windy, rainy and cool, so I struggled to keep the temp on the Trusty Old Kettle at 200-225. The next morning, the morning of the party I was doing food for, I stuck one in the oven and the other in the freezer. Once the one in the oven was up to temp, I pulled the thing (from the oven and into shreds), stuck it in a crock pot and headed off to the party for which I was doing food. Butt, buns, sauce (this one); two kinds of slaw; the Thai cuke, shallot, vinegar, sugar and bird chili salad; fruit salad; and bars. Now, this was not a big party, nor did we expect folks to eat a lot. It was a HS graduation party, and there were many other graduation parties that same day. Typically, folks just have a nibble at each party. Not this one! Folks ate and ate and ate, and four guests actually returned to the party for more. But, most surprising was the vegetarian who "fell off the wagon" for smoked butt. According to the hostess, this person let her know that she had bacon the next morning. Butt rules.

I have not ignored this topic for lack of interest, but rather of lack of the Weather God or Goddess. The weather has been crappy, but we do plan to go up this coming Sunday or Monday (assuming that the Midwestern Gods align) and stay for more than two days. Menus are in the making (pending a friend who need to find out if a trial settles). So, a question Can I store homemade marshmallows for more than a day? If so, how? We are also thinking of a Tuesday night steak that is way, way bigger than we need so we can have a larby/yammy (sp?) thing. There is toasted rice powder at the cabin, and a brand-new bottle of Tiparos (fish sauce)! We're thinking it will be a weekend of quick dips in the lake, some pork, some beef, and a lota just flat haning out, recovering from a wicked winter, and getting to know each other again. Oh, and maybe, just maybe, an exploratory trip to see whether the blueberries will be all they should be. We're just hoping for some greenery Way Up North (akaOur Little Bit of Heaven) this coming week. Me thinks a swim, late at night, is far more than in order.

This year, in Northern Wisconsin, I don't think you are going to have any trouble finding baby milkweeds (I'n in the southern part of zone 3, perhaps the nortern part of zone 4) and they are all over the place. But, I've merely used them to a place for the monachs to lay their eggs, and not thought about food uses. Do talk Wernda, about more of the preparation (boiled for how long, to what tenderness)! I know from experience that they are finiky plantts, very selectively choosing where they will reside.

Rob, what kind of noodles are you using? Wheat or rice? If rice noodles, check out the Pad Thai cookoff.

Yes, indeed, the cockles of my heart have been warmed during a spring that really hasn't been a spring. But, due to several events for which I'm doing the food (gratis for a coupla teens HS grads -- the teens are very near and dear to me and actually requested some butts!), I'll be smoking either tomorrow or Friday. So, for the first timeever, I'm going to do boneless and skinless (I've done a lot of bone-in, skin-on), but they do have very nice fat caps. I have two butts, totalling 18 (!) pounds). My butts have been rubbed and are loosely wrapped. Tomorrow am, I will pour my first cuppa and tie them -- don't want butt cracks, do we? And, snoke as the weather permits on the trusty Old Kettle. We got the Trusty Old Kettle as a wedding present 27 years ago come this Friday and is still going strong; I sort of think the reason it is such an ideal smoker is that the vents are a little looser than they were then -- unlike us . Wood for the butts -- I'm going to do a 2/3 apple and 1/3 hickory. Let's just hope I have the sharpening ability of Paul and the axing ability of Diana (noted here). Or, perhaps I'll luck out and find some chopped wood in the garage! Ah, it's been way too long since I did a butt.

Stash, care to talk about protein, fat, veg, beans, legumes in regard to the HIV thing? Oh, and yes to living life to it's fullest and enjoying every day. Because of my daughter Heidi, my dad's precarious health and the fact that we are beginning Diana's last year of life at home, the message has been even more drilled into me. Oh, and have you tried the sticking the beans in the oven in a cast iron pot method?

I agree with NYC, but the piece of paper (red and white) on the right side of the second photo certainly looks like a chopstick wrapper. ????

When this lass thinks of a big gathering, her heart immediately flutters to the thought of smoked and pulled butt. It is forgiving, easy and just about as cheap as it gets. Serve with those dollar rolls from costco, a coupla sauces and coleslaw, or with tortillas, some shredded cabbage, pico and queso. Kids like it, adults like it. Butt can easily be smoked in advance and reheated gently in a low oven.

Mike's words are words of wisdom. No one should deny themself the joy of a nice smoky butt (or brisket or ribs) just because they don't have fancy expensive equipment. And, let's face it, if you have a high maintenance smoker like I do (the trusty old Kettle) that requires more "fiddling," once the meat reaches about 140-150 degrees (F), there's no reason not to move it to a low and slow oven. I'm doing the food for three HS graduation parties next month, and all three kids wanted me to smoke butt. Some want buns and sauce, and some want tortillas and salsa, but I'm thinking I'm helping raise another generation that will truely appreciate that nice smoky pork -- the succulent and crispy bits!

No photos to share of my last larbing, but the other night, we grilled hamburgers. Diana ended up not being home for dinner, and so we ended up with two extra burgers (the two that were, ahem, medium rather than rare (my preference). So, I crumbled those two medium burgers -- which did indeed have great char -- and larbed them. Wow. Next time you do burgers, get some extra char on a couple of them, and take them to the medium stage and larb them. The nice char/smoke flavor. It takes larb to a new level. I've larbed (yamed?) leftover steak before, but the burger was a revelation.

Bruce, what kind of rub did you use, and did you think it added much? (We're fans of nekked butts here). Boneless, or bone-in/skin-on? Oh, and for the thermometer, if you need a gadget, the one Marlene linked to is the one to go to. Me, I just use an old fashioned oven thermometer for the Trusty Kettle and an old fashioned meat thermometer for the butt itself. The Thai salad -- ard jart (many spelling variations abound) -- with Eternal Cukes/shallots/hot peppers and a vinegar/sugar dressing is another fabulous choice. There are several butts in my near future -- three friend are having graduation parties for kids, and all have enlisted me to provide smoked butts! It's been way too long. All families want to offer slaw, buns and sauce as well as tortillas, salsa and queso. Good thing I have a ton of charcoal, an ample suppl of wood and easy access to butts.

I'm thinking, after all of the butts, briskets and ribs I have smoked that the point at which it stalls, and for how long it stalls, has less to do with the type of meat (pork or beef) or the thickness that the gristle and collagen that the particular piece of meat has. Patience is indeed a virtue when it comes to smoking meat, and I have been known to pull a hunk off the trusty Weber Kettle (my smoker) at midnight, stick it in the fridge and finish it in the oven the next day () .

Back when Varmint remodeled his kitchen (here, he installed a Magic Corner -- if you click on the link, you can see a nifty little movie clip of the contraption in action. I had a lazy Susan in a corner cabinet at our old house, and didn't particarly like it -- it's dark down there!

First off -- my cabin list: We hit the road last Friday for our opening weekend of the cabin (the weekend after the official State opening of the Walleye season – almost an official holiday here in MN). We choose to go the weekend in between ‘Da Opener and Memorial Day, as we have learned to stay home on major holiday weekends. Just too many people up north then. But, there were a few differences from previous years. For the first year since she was just a few months old, Diana was not with us; she’s to be a counselor at a YMCA camp this summer, and she had a work weekend at camp, so five teens piled into a small car, complete with assorted duffles, two guitars, and more Ipods and cell phones than there were people. Second, we normally go up with a close friend and her family; but they were unavailable, so it was just Paul, Heidi, Peter and I. Third, we did not buzz up in a 1990 Ford Bronco or a Taurus SHO. The SHO was replaced with a mini-van this year (no comments, please – we’re both rather horrified that we own a mini-van). But, a mini-van is a nice way to travel. Plenty of power ports for cell phone, Ipod, DVD player, and the cooler can sit between the seats in the middle. And, the final difference -- oh, my, what a difference a year makes. I will note that this has been a very long and brutal winter. We had more snow than in years, and it did almost noting but snow all winter up north, and rain all "spring" (we're still waiting for that, BTW). If you scroll to the second photo in this post, you'll see what we faced 5/13/07 (last year). This year, on 5/18/08, this is what it looked like: Note: there really are two big rocks out there. No, we did not get the dock in. The water was so (explicative deleted) cold that an ankle-high wade led to a Mr. Misty headache. Never mind that the water would have more than lapped over the one pair of hip-waders we had. Oh, and had one of us dropped a bolt in the lake -- well, that's a 30 mile trip for another bolt (and I always manage to drop a bolt or nut). Things are way behind what they should be. On the drive home, we had to get to Moose Lake before we saw the Marsh Marigolds bloom. But, we did have, despite the wind, thunderstorms and hail, a spectacular weekend. Food. There are no photos. Peter was in charge of food photography, and he decided to play with the camera, having no idea what he was doing. But, Friday evening, we had really great local meat market hot dogs, homemade baked beans, and a big salad. Saturday morning, waffles and bacon. Lunch was munchies – tuna salad sandwiches on good bread with greens, chips, bananas, and cookies. Dinner Saturday night was seared venison chops, twice baked potatoes and a bit salad, with s’mores for dessert. We did have a super-nice bottle of wine with dinner, courtesy of a dear friend: Sunday morning, it was french toast and sausages. We left early, intending to get a map and find the Savanna Portage, but for some odd reason, you can't get a state map up north (unless you want to buy a worthless one at a gas station) on a Sunday, so it was an early arrival home. Now, no opening weekend at the cabin for us would be complete without the chainsaw (in fact, Paul asked Peter and I to walk out to the point looking for something to chainsaw. He did put on protective head/ear/eye wear before doing the deed. It was an unbelievably windy weekend, peppered with occasional thunderstorms. The advantage of the high wind was watching the trees bend! And the fact that the storm moves through. It was cold enough that we had fires Friday night and both mornings just to warm the place up so our feet didn't freeze, and we were glad we have extra blankets up there, as the cores of the mattresses are rather chilly when they've been locked in a cold cabin since early November. Since the weather was dicey, we played lots of Yahtzee, poker (for matchsticks) and Milles Borne. I knit a cap, did some crosswords. We had naps and read. But, most of all, we loved being together without any tasks for maintenance. The deafening silence, unless the radio was on. Oh, and my, the star display at night, and visibly watch the moon wax every single night. We all breathed huge sighs of relief when we first spotted the cabin. Yes, food comes in many, many forms.

Chris, I'm thinking prik king (stir fry) on Sunday night. I think you're right about the paper towel, in a duh moment!