Dave the Cook

1:45 Looks like rain. beer count: 3

1:00 Distracted by other eGullet threads, have neglected rig. Temp has fallen to 145. Add a few more lumps of charcoal and open the side vent. After ten minutes, I decide the fire is not responding. I set up the chimney and light another two quarts, which seems like the least amount that will light efficiently. This is going in less than five minutes. I cover the meat with a quarter-sheet pan and dump the contents, then remove some of the larger chunks to the standby foil pan. I add a piece of hickory, remove the sheet pan and close the lid. I go inside and get distracted by video game younger son and friend are playing. Excuse myself to download beer. Return to video game and eventually realize that constant ringing sound is not related to the game. Dash outside to find oven temp at 325 and climbing rapidly. I close off the side vent and open the grill. The hickory is flaming, but not actually putting off much smoke. I remove it along with a few more pieces of charcoal, attempting to restore previous 5 x 5 x 1-1/2 size. By now the hickory is down to a smolder, so I place it next to the fire and close the lid, after rotating the meat. The thermometer, which has sunk to 130 while the grill was open, comes back up to 230. Pretty good. Of course, I now have this nuclear waste pile in the foil pan. I set the pan in a galvanized bucket. Strategic problem coming up. I will need to take the older son to pick up his car at the repair shop. This will take 45 to 60 minutes. how to maintain a reasonable temperature during this time? I decide to soak some hickory chunks in water. I'll let the fire get up to about 275, then add the soakers and hope for the best. I should check the internal meat temp next time around. Beer count: 3 and holding (pending vehicular operation).

11:56 Having been distracted by an escaped beagle, I return to check the rig. The oven temp has fallen to 164! No smoke! Don't panic. I don't want to over-react and end up with big temperature swings--going from 160 to 325, then back down again as I attempt to maintain control. I add a few smaller pieces of charcoal that I hope will light up quickly. I also add a few smaller pieces of hickory, as I have noticed that it flames faster than the charcoal. My hope is that the hickory will light the oak and revive the fire. I open the side vent all the way and close the lid. Decide to skip rotation this time. Set timer for another 30 minutes. Wonder: how I could set up a low temp alarm. Panic is assuaged by another beer and a check after fifteen minutes. The oven temperature is back to 204 (though climbing slowly), and wisps of smoke are coming out of the chimney. Pat myself on back. Wonder: too soon to celebrate with another beer? Beer count: 2.5

11:30 At 30 minutes, the oven temp is, amazingly, still at 213. I duck in, rotate the meat and check the fire. I am astonished at how small a fire is needed to maintain the oven temperature. It is a pile about 5 x 5 x 1-1/2 inches. It's no longer billowing smoke, but I'm still getting very strong wisping action. I move the hickory chunks to the edge of the fire. Close the lid. The oven temp has dropped to 164, but is back to 204 in a little over two minutes. Whether it's the bricks, the water or both, the heat mass buffer is definitely working. Set timer for another 30 minutes. Beer count: 1

10:30 a.m. I have overslept, so I rush to get the smoking act together. Grill is cleaned (well, the grates have been brushed and the charcoal pan is empty, anyway), and I have two quarts of oak charcoal alight in the chimney. I prepare the grill by setting an aluminum foil turkey roaster on the left side of the charcoal pan, lay two bricks along its right side, and add one gallon of water to the roaster. I lay the grates on the rails over the roaster. I open the side and top vents halfway. I turn to the charcoal. It is half gone! Having cooked with briquets and chips all summer, I have forgotten how much faster and hotter real charcoal burns. I believe combustion has also been accelerated by the Weber charcoal chimney, which is clearly superior to the Home Depot chimney. Concerned at being down one quart already, I dump the charcoal into the right side of the grill, mount a probe thermometer on the left and close the lid. I set the temp alarm for 250 and go inside to get the meat. When I come back out, the temp alarm is shrieking. We're at 255 and climbing. I close the side vent. After about 10 minutes the temp levels off at 272. This is a problem. According to CathyL, I want the oven temp to be between 200 and 250, though I am not to be concerned about temporary dips and spikes. Obviously, the oven will cool over time, but it seems to me that I want the initial temp to be as low as possible, in order to maximize the smoking time. Assuming an initial meat temp of ~40, I have 100 degrees before the meat no longer accepts smoke. I want this to last as long as possible. I dig out another foil pan and remove a few pieces of charcoal to it. The temperature comes down to 245. Figuring that I will cause a significant dip when I put the meat on, I decide that this is a good starting point. I place the meat, fat side up, on the grates over the water pan. Thinking about Beer Can Chicken, I wonder of using some other liquid will give me a flavor boost. Not sure what I would use. There are already so many flavors going on in the meat, the dry rub and the smoke that I am indecisive. Finally I decide that it is a variable that I am not going to deal with this time around, and leave the water alone. Meat is on. Meat surface temp 39 degrees, internal temp 35; oven temp 220. I put a half-dozen hickory chunks in an aluminum pie plate and set them on top of the charcoal and close the lid. After 10 minutes, the oven temperature has dropped to 204. I decide am smothering the charcoal. Anyway the hickory is not smoldering, and I am losing valuable meat degrees without benefit of smoke. I put the hickory directly in the fire. It begins smoking almost immediately. Five more minutes. Great plumes of smoke, but the temp is tailing off. I slide a couple of chunks of charcoal in through the side vent. The temperature comes up to 213 and settles. Very nice. Set timer for 30 minutes, when I will rotate meat. Wonder if I should flip as well. The Colonel made a point of letting the fat cap baste the meat as it cooked. If I flip, the fat will be on the bottom. Decide there is time to figure this out later. Beer count: 0 No beer before breakfast. Decide it is time for breakfast.

Nick--how would you go about straining?

Nina, I'm with you. For a martini, you want gin. Those overly refined liquids are for people who don't really like the taste of gin. Rather than Tanqueray, I prefer Bombay or Beefeater, or Boodles, when I can find it. Here's my recipe: Makes 2 3 ounces gin 1-1/2 T dry vermouth (I like Noilly Prat, but Cinzano and even Martini and Rossi are fine) Cracked, not crushed, ice 2 sections lemon peel with pith, about 1/4 x 1-1/2 inches 2 strips lemon zest, about 1/4 x 1 inch 1. Put some ice in two martini glasses and add water to fill. 2. Put a handful of ice in your mixing container. Add the gin and vermouth. 3. Shake a little more than gently for about five seconds (count it out--it's longer than you might think). 4. Empty the glasses and shake to dry. Don't get anal about it--a few drops of h20 will matter less than letting the glasses warm up. 5. Twist one lemon strip over each glass; this should deposit about one drop of lemon oil. 6. Strain half of liquid into each glass. 7. Curl the zest and float on liquid. 8. Drink. 9. Repeat as necessary.

Colonel: Thanks for all the advice. I'll call Char-Grill next week and give them the upgrade pitch. Are you saying that the firebox is simply another grill that gets grafted onto the firebox of the bigger grill? Very clever. I found a six-pound hunk of brisket at Costco for $2.69/lb., so I'm pretty pleased. I'll give it a rub tonight and throw it on the grill Sunday. Do you want a report? John and Nick: thanks for the new sites. I've heard of both gentlemen, but hadn't had a chance to track down their web-based whereabouts. btw, we kept the wood, but not for a fire--it was Southern pine, and not really suitable for anything but mulch, and that only in certain beds (very acid). The rule was that anything over 4 inches in diameter was protected by the neighborhood covenants. This is an absurd rule, because a Southern pine will grow from a seedling to four inches in two years or less--they're like weeds here in Atlanta. The rule is designed to maintain a certain greenspace, and in particular protect hardwoods, of course (I am in complete agreement with this, actually), but we got caught taking out a tree that we were afraid would fall on the house in the next ice storm. Later, with permission, we cut down a lightning-struck oak, but it had gotten infested. Such is life in the 'burbs. Thanks again, everybody. (8^Dave

OK, you're a demigod. I had planned to use a foil pan under the brisket, but I hadn't thought about putting water in it, though for some reason, I always think about it when I take ribs off the grill. Then I forget about it until I'm done with the next batch. Using it as a thermal buffer is very clever. Makes one wonder if a few well-placed bricks would help stabilize the temperature. That's sort of what a brick pit does, isn't it? I'm on board with chimneys--but the tip of starting with half a load is helpful. Obvious when you think about it, but I hadn't. I'm also on board with brining, but I'm always looking for new information. Thanks for the link. And the link to the Char-Griller was particularly spooky, as that is the grill that I have, too. I simply haven't gotten around to buying the side box yet. Glad to know you consider it a good purchase. And don't laugh about the NN's. Last year we had to pay a $300 fine for cutting down a tree without their permission.

I was thinking this, too. But there is so much fat in avocado (sorry to bring it up!) that it would be a tricky business. Not that it's not worth trying... By the way, I have to thank all of you, not just for an interesting thread, but for making me consider avocados in a new way. I have always thought of it as a vegetable. But last night, I made guacamole for my wife's office party. When I tasted it, it was OK, but didn't quite harmonize. With this thread and it's "avocado is a fruit" mantra on my mind, I added a pinch of sugar--not enough to taste explicity, but what I thought was enough to have an impact. What a difference! The whole thing came together--the lime juice softened, the veg note of the jalapeno perked up, the onion became more of an underpinning, and the whole thing was more well, avocaddish. I was stunned. Raves all around at the party today. Thanks again.

Thanks everybody--a lot of great information. Charcoal grill--Check. It's a serious grill that I bought to handle burgers and dogs for the hordes at swimming meets over the summer. The construction details are not as nice as a Weber, but it has the things I think are important (I'd welcome critique here): adjustable charcoal pan, adjustable vents top and bottom, cast-iron grates, work space. John: You seem concerned about the lack of a dedicated smoker. Does this grill sound workable to you? Charcoal--Check. I've got lots of oak charcoal, and some sugar maple I got on special at Whole Foods, but I save that for pork. Rub--Check. I do my own for steaks, ribs, chicken. Do you expect any penetration from the rub, or is it mostly a crust/aroma thing? Wood chips--check. In doing back ribs (about four hours), I find that mesquite gets unpleasantly pungent, so I'll go for hickory. Fat cap--check/Internal trimming verboten--check. Pit--not unless I want the Neighborhood Nazis knocking on my door. It sounds like the biggest challenge is maintaining the temperature: too high and you cook it before you get it smoked, too low and it never gets done. Any pointers here? Klink, you are a god. And CathyL, you may be a goddess.

Cathy: can you confirm that 140 degrees is the external temperature? It seems like it would reach this pretty fast. And if it stops absorbing smoke at this point, is there any reason not to move the brisket to the oven, like Dana suggests? (A reason, of course, besides the extended opportunity for traditional alcoholic beverage consumption that attends the keeping of a fire.)

ChefJeff: Thanks. This is my fallback plan. In fact, I've done pork shoulder in an almost identical manner. It's great shredded, stuffed into soft rolls with a little sauce, wrapped in foil and stuck in the jacket pocket for retrieval about halfway through the second quarter of Saturday's football game (not receommended if you're actually playing). Dana: do you use hardwood charcoal, briquets, or a combination? Do you pay much attention to temperature, or just wing it because it always turns out good anyway? (8^D

The middle child has been yammering all summer for "brisket like we used to get in Texas." I don't have a smoker, but I've got a reasonably-sized (~ 22" x 36") grill. I'm pretty accomplished at ribs and chicken and the usual stuff, but I've never done a big hunk of meat on the grill, and I've never cooked fresh brisket in any form. Make my little girl happy and pass along some tips--I know there's some heavy smokers out there.

I believe this is evidence of gender bias.

People who haven't lived there wouldn't believe what a great donut town Houston is--I swear there are more donut shops than there are McDonald's, and many of them are independent, family bakers. But what I really miss about Houston are kolaches...

I feel I must defend the honor of this Southern delicacy. How is this possible? What do you expect? They come from the region that elevated pork fat to one of the major food groups. How else could you be expected to eat six before getting out of the parking lot? This is much better than another Starbucks. Sweet they may be, but Krispy Kremes will never try and convince you that a burnt donut is in any way authentic.

I started out with the old apron wrap, but it seemed every time I went somewhere to cook, I found myself more deeply attached to my tools, and less willing to rely on whatever version of it I might find where I was going. Then we started renting houses on the Florida panhandle with some regularity, and I could never predict what might be in the drawers. Finally, this summer, we 'volunteered' to handle concessions for the neighborhood swim meets, and I found myself carting a load of stuff twice a week for six weeks. I started looking for a tackle box/tool box. I was about to pick one up at Sears when, while at a craft store, I saw this: It's plastic (a bit of a drawback in my book), but that does make it lighter than metal. But what's really great about it is its expandabilty and configurability. Each of those bottom sections can be removed-housing and all- or you can add more sections (I have four). Each is a divided slide-out plastic box that can be subdivided with hard plastic tabs. I got some foam rubber and cut some rudimentary blocks for holding knives, and divided the rest off to hold other stuff. The bulky things go in the top, where they can be cushioned, if necessary, by an apron, or towels, or welding gloves (the oven mitt of choice in my kitchen). If I'm going to my mother's, where I know the lay of the land, I can take the top and the section with my knives. If I'm headed for Destin and lots of fresh seafood and huge family breakfasts, I can add two or three sections, with whisks and measuring cups and hemostats, so that I'm sure I'll have what I need. This works for me, but I'm really interested to see other solutions.

nearly new Wusthof Classic 10" cook's knife...came in at 9 3/4 oz. Are they starting to skimp on the steel? For purposes of comparison, my 10" Henckel (made c. 1979) is 9-3/4 ounces.

I'm confused. Is this terrine better than the tete de veau at DB Bistro Moderne? (Nick, I'm with you. The hurrieder I go...)

Right. And it's been mised by somebody making ten bucks an hour. (And will be cleaned up by somebody making even less, but I digress.)

Boy, you got that right. It's one of my pet peeves. I think it partly explains the success of the Food Network--watching somebody execute is so much more informative than reading about how to do it, especially the way cookbooks are usually written. Of course, many cookbooks by TV chefs have this same shortcoming.

The bastards. Onions fall of the knife pretty much by their own weight, don't you think? And the pieces are bigger than minced garlic. Plus, onions are watery, rather than oily like garlic.

Well, I meant my question half as a joke and half to get back on topic, but you're I think you're right. And as for: I have to thank you for helping me figure out these: And one does not even have to guess which Jacques. The answer is either something out of La Technique, or "payunt eet wis zee whyut shocolot and let eet coool." Either way, you get a great answer. Oops. Off topic again.

I was about to write that such elementary procedure went without saying. But then I realized that the insouciant introduction of a second lean and smush lifts your technique above the mundane. Thank you. But don't you get a lot of little bits sticking to the knife?