Dave the Cook

Will the return of taste make it any easier? I'm waiting for my taste to return. Today has been hard. Smoking while smoking is one of the hardest habits I've had to ignore. ← Ditto, on all counts. Which isn't to say that I'm not thrilled for you, Maggie!

Pretty. Tasty, too (also made with homemade grenadine. And Wild Turkey rye.):

I'm hardly an expert. But I have to ask why there's a target temperature. What's happening between the time the stall passes and the time you reach 185 - 190 that won't happen more gracefully during a rest?

Time to take it off! ← I thought it didn't come off until 190? \ ← Others may disagree, but I say it comes off when the temperature starts to rise. All that's going to happen from this point on is that the gelatin will start to leak out.

To catch up a little, here's the early afternoon beverage, the Manzana: Tequila, spiced syrup and lemon juice, with a float of sparkling apple cider (which I already had open for the younger boy). I salted the cabbage (this is about 1/3rd head each green and red, plus about half a cucumber): Four-hour pork check: Internal 107; grill 230.

Time to take it off!

Congratulations, Marlene! (Tell me who called you a wuss, and I'll beat them up.) Grill at 240. Pork at 82.

Of course, there's the Varmint Method:

This is what I do, using whatever stock I've got around. I'm thinking Arne's steaming idea is worth trying, too. Preferably in pajamas or skivvies.

The chamber was stuck at 155, so I moved the fire from the sidebox into the grill. We're at 250. Of course, now the ambient is rising. It's quit snowing, and it's probably about 40 F now.

Well, I'd wait for the stall-and-temp rise. Since it's going to be done before the butt, the venison is the thing to watch, I think.

Have you got a thermometer in it? I've dumped a second load of charcoal into the sidebox and crossed my fingers.

You yankees were right when you said it takes a lot to keep the fire up to temperature when the weather's cold. The grill temperature stalled at 155, with the vents wide open. In the summer, this much charcoal (about 2/3rds of a large chimney) would tend to go high. I've started a second chimney.

As long as you don't take up snuff or chewing.

After your drink (and after you close your vents), check out Grillmaster's Garden. Shipping to Canada no problem.

Meat's on: This is a six-pound half-shoulder. The chamber is at 150 F and rising steadily.

You're right. One of each, please. Amazon link for Maverick RediChek Remote Wireless Smoker Thermometer.

Marlene, go back to W-S and trade in your Oxo mandoline for one of these. They're great for sitting inside and drinking while the smoking goes on out in the cold.

Wow. It's really been too long. I think I'll open that bottle of cava I've been saving, and make one of Janet's Old Spice pig pickin' cocktails. I'm thinking about six hours. Well, hoping, too, since I started so late. But it's a small hunk (pictures in a few minutes). Yikes! The sauce!

Wonderful Marlene. I have one on my WSM. However I woke up to a foot of new snow this morning so I got alate start. Yours looks lovely. You will no doubt hit the famous butt stall soon. Just wait and watch you cooker temp. 225 is perfect on the grill ← Nice work, Marlene! I don't know about adding water. I wish I could help. We've got a lot of bulletheads watching, though.

I got a late start, too. Only coffee and the Sunday paper to digest so far. It's kind of cool that three of us are using three different types of smokers. Marlene has her bullet, Susan her trusty Weber, and I'm using an offset smoker: Here's another view, which isn't all that interesting, except that if you look closely (see the white streaks against the grill lid?), you can see that it's snowing! Otherwise, starting the charcoal is starting the charcoal. I've had chips in water for quite a while, though nothing as fancy as Susan's outdoor-aged soak: One thing I do differently is to make a longer-burning wick out of the newspaper by drizzling it with a little oil: This helps it burn longer, which is great when the charcoal is damp or just plain stubborn.

I still want one with morning coffee, and after dinner, and with cocktails. Also, the rest of the time I am awake. I've managed to avoid bringing cigarettes into the house, though, so I'm safe for now. Like you said earlier, smoking without smoking is going to be tough.

Ladies, I'm sorry. I don't think anyone needs to apologize for or explain anything. I've used tons of shredded cheese, I just don't use it these days. I also buy tortillas for fajitas and quesadillas (and now I will for tortilla crisps); I simply don't know what they cost.

I thought about mussels, actually, and that sounds good. But I felt cheated for gulf fish, so I sniffed out a couple of decent filet pieces (please don't ask for a proce comparison on this, Susan; this was by far the most expensive thing I've purchased in the course of the blog). I rinsed, dried, pinboned and salted them, and set them aside for a while: I hate paying out-of-season prices, but Marlene's early-blog asparagus has haunted me. These spears aren't quite as fat as I like them, but at least the tips were intact, and the stalks were crisp. I trimmed them, splashed them with olive oil and sprinkled salt and pepper. I set them aside, too: Then I made a cocktail, my first disappointment of the week. This is an Applejack Daisy, a combination of applejack (duh), brandy, lemon, sugar and grenadine. It was a lot of work for something that tasted like apple juice with lemon in it: Kind of pretty, though. I decided on a variation of the Really Simple Potato Gratin I did in my first blog (thanks for the entry, Susan!) I was short of the requisite cheddar, so I used a combination of blue and gruyere, and subbed some of the cream with sour cream (a suggestion made by zilla369). First, boil red potatoes (golds or waxy whites work fine, too) until almost done. Drain and let them cool enough for handling purposes. Very lightly crush them in an oiled baking dish: Pour the cheese/cream mixture over and toss just a little. Shred some parmesan on top: While prepping this, I had put the asparagus on a low shelf under the broiler for seven minutes, turning after four. When I took it out, it was very slightly blistered and brown (bit otherwise as bright green as it would have been had I blanched it), with crunchy tips: I ratcheted the oven down to 375 F, then put the potatoes in. At the 15-minute mark, I put a saute pan over medium heat. Once it was really warm, I added about a half-ounce (free-poured) of olive oil, and a tablespoon of butter. While the butter foamed, I floured the fish on both sides. Just as the butter started to brown, I added the fish to the pan, presentation side down: Four minutes, then flip: Three more minutes (I turned down the heat, becasue it seemed to be cooking too fast) and out. I made a pan sauce with white wine, scallion ends, thyme and butter. A quick run under the broiler to brown the potatoes (maybe I should bake them at 400?), and 30 seconds in the microwave to heat the asparagus: As you can see, the fish was a little overtoasted, but grouper is forgiving, and it was still moist inside.

Milk is on sale here: $2.50/gallon. Lately, it's been around $3.60. I should add that it's a rare week that we go through even a half gallon. Eggs: $1.09/dozen. I don't price shredded cheese. Call me a snob (puts hands over ears). The local grocery flyer has it at $3.33/pound. Likewise, tortillas are not on my radar screen. Gas (regular) is $2.24/gallon. According to GasPriceWatch.com, that's dead average. Yes, Americans get off easy. Marlene, that's a beautiful bird. What Susan means about the tendons is that if you run a knife around the bone just above the knob on the drumstick, the tendons are severed, and shrink into the leg, giving you a much nicer finished product without the strings and stretchy things. (It doesn't work for turkey, unfortunately. Sever all you want, and a denuded turkey leg still looks like a broken umbrella.) Susan, I'm confused. Did you do venison curry or just chicken? I rarely think about dessert, either, but those dishes look great. It won't surprise anyone by now that a couple of hours after dinner, I want something salty and crunchy. Now I want something sweet. Followed by something salty and crunchy.