Clark D

As for the look of the one we smoked after instead of tossing, a picture is attached....

Morning! The mold was very find strands, furry up to about one centimeter. Sanitation should be solid, dishwasher is checked twice daily for proper levels and bus tubs and cutting boards etc all go through before entering. Thanks again everyone. Was very weird to us we've been doing this for a ling time and never experienced it until the last two attempts Thanks! Clark

I was also wondering about th curing salt but with that amount of salt I figured it wouldn't matter. The bag is new but I don't know how long it was in the warehouse before we got it. On the salt sugar mix up it's unlikely since it happened twice in a row. The first time we trimmed the briskets down smoked them and ate them and they tasted and looked correct. The last time we tossed them as there was a lot more mold and they were fairly slimy. I was thinking it must be excess moisture somehow but no really sure how that would have ben introduced to the environment. Thank you for the idea and replies! Clark

Just looking for a few thoughts. We cure four briskets a week with a dry rub of 16 oz salt, 8 oz sugar and 2 oz of cure number 1. They go for 8 to 10 days before being rinsed and smoked. The least two times we have done this we ended up with large amounts of white fuzzy mold on the briskets. The briskets are stored individualy in bus tubs with lids and flipped every couple days. The fridge is at temp and sometimes a little cold. Looking for thoughts on what could be causing this? In the mean time we have started doing a faster more agresssive wet cure and injection process which works well. Just want to figure out whatis happening in our old process. Thank you for any thoughts! Clark

All your choices are good! There's a few threads on chowhound that are current as well. Is your trip done or are you leaving soon?

I have done what Carlovski has spoke about. Basically there is a coffee shop in town that closed for the day at 2. In February I started running a small full service restaurant out of it 5 days a week. You can see the coffee shop here http://cynamoka.ca/. It is very similar to what you are talking about. 4 burner electric flat top, basic oven, not a lot of equipment. Obviously this comes with it's own challenges but at the same time it allowed me to have minimal starte up costs (couple thousand dollars just for insurances, liquor licenses, business licenses etc....). It originaly caused some confusion, especialy amongst tourists who think it is just a coffee shop. Since I'm in a tourist based community trip advisor has been the best way to offset that. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g183794-d2502055-Reviews-Cyn_At_Night-Ucluelet_Barkley_Sound_Vancouver_Island_British_Columbia.html. There are other challenges such as prep times, not having control over how the premises really look, tables etc. At the same time you also have advocates for you that are open when you are closed, giving out menus and telling a couple hundred people a day that come through the coffee shop about you! Clark

It's just a short two hour detour on a road trip I'm taking in January, may have to stop in for lunch it give it a try myself! Clark

Thanks for outlining that Smittty! I'm going to give it a try, in the process of opening a new restaurant and looking for new ideas! Thanks again. Clark

Looks amazing! Can you tell me a little more about how you are making the smoked garlic and rosemary tator tots? Clark

Had the big Thanksgiving celebration on the weekend. Not as many finished pictures as I would have liked, way to many people at the house but here's the menu: - Squash ale and cheddar soup - Turkey on the WSM, salted and injected - Perogies with smoked swiss cheese - Mashed Potatoes - Roasted Squash with pecans and maple - Mushroom gravy - Cranberry Sauce - Stuffing - Brisket - Jerk Burnt Ends - Brussel Sprouts - Roasted Carrots - Yams - Cornbread - Pumpkin layer cake - Bourbon pumpkin tart - Home made vanilla ice cream - Carrot cake with walnuts, coconut and raisons And here's a few pictures! The Turkey first The Perogies Tossed on a couple racks of beef ribs with fried potatoes and leeks while I was cooking for a snack The brisket, uncooked no clue how I didn't get a finished picture My cooking campanion Cornbread Stuffing with sausage and maple Gravy Squash Pumpkin Tart Pumpkin Cake Carrot Cake Then made some stock And Soup And some fresh foccacia for a sandwich, turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy Have a good night! Clark

To make the stock on site we used ground meat, works in a pinch and much quicker. Grinding chiles and peppers is easy for us since we have poer (Like I say we only do the events that line up with bbq comps and they have power..... Clark

I'll start by saying that I've done absolutely horrid and reasonablly well in chili cook offs. Some Casi, some ICS and some sanctioned by a local group of chili folks from Seattle. I only do the ones that line up with our bbq competition schedule. When I make chili for comps I use all dried chiles and fresh whole spices that I toast and grind, as well as home made stock. Here's the thing it either wins or gets basically last place. I took second place in the Oregon state chili cook off and the next weekend took last in Vancouver. Basically what it boils down to is consistency in flavors, using all powdered and pre mixed stuff will come out the exact same every single time. If you want to win consistently this is the way to do it time after time, once you find the winning formula. Fresh peppers and spices taste a little different every time and are far more flavorful, often adding that one thing that the judges can't place, they often don't go for that and are looking for their notion of what chili is and what it should taste like. If you want to win you're better off knowing! We're in it for fun so do what we like to it, you do have 90% of the pot to yourself after anyways! Clark

I'm not gonna lie I would eat all of that! In fact I may just be craving it now! Clark

All three of those look amazing! I wouldn't know where to start! Clark

OK one more to add, not as obscene as the last couple but..... Needed a quick and tasty meal for some friends on Saturday. Basic story is it was Ukee Day (a town celebration) on the weekend and the beer gardens closed for two hours from 5 to 7 so needed something fast and good for a crowd. Started by pulling out 4 pounds of ground duck, mised it up with a few spices and a lot of green onions. Tossed the two meatloafs on the kettle and in the mean time baked up a few buns Also grilled some bok choy, red peppers, and daikon, and made a spicey plum sauce, leaving the plums nice and chunky All to make a few sandwiches! Went over well and we made it back to the beer gardens on time! Talk to you all soon! Clark