Ttogull

OliverB, I agree. When I first read your post, I had not heard the term baby garlic. The farmers market I get them from calls them something different, I forget. But they sure are tasty. Tonight's grilling session was a favorite - lamb meatballs. I cook meatballs because I have been spectacularly unsuccessful at ground lamb kabobs, with the meat falling off the skewers - although I might know a fix. Anyway, this is just the highest quality lamb - the smell even raw was intoxicating - seasoned just with salt. High heat until medium. Quite a show with the whole grill looking like it's on fire during flip time. Served with a garlic yogurt sauce. But the surprise of the night was roasted fresh fava beans. Roast them right in the pods, and even the skin that one normally peels off (as I have always done) is quite edible and tasty. We roasted in the oven, but I think grilling them would have been even better. The pods do a great job of protecting the beans from the heat. I need to get more just to experiment.

The link is in post #51 along with a description of where to find the discussion on the rather lengthy page. Here is the link again. http://virtualweberbullet.com/waterpanusage.html I do not foil my water pan (and I've never had water in my coals as well). From the Virtual Weber Bullet link above, it sounds like one might be able to foil given a good quality foil and proper technique. So I should have said "water is dripping because the water pan is not properly foiled." My bad. Also, improperly foiling the *outside* of the pan can also cause water drips, as explained in the link.

You have water dripping down *because* you foiled the inside of the pan. It's a no-no. The link explains why.

I second the use of a good meat thermometer, and Thermoworks (the one Mache recommends) is my favorite. They are accurate, come with a certificate of accuracy, and approved for professional/inspection uses. I love my Thermopen, but I do not use it for smoking. I am very much a no-peek hands-off BBQer. I therefore use probes like http://www.thermoworks.com/products/probe/tc_hightemp.html You'll need a thermocouple meter too. I have 4 probes/meters of them and 2 Thermopens. If you have any questions, call them. They are very, very friendly. I once had an issue, and they let me talk directly to the engineer that designed it and I was fixed in minutes.

Did you put foil on the water pan, either outside or inside? That can sometimes cause water to drip into the coils. See the recommendations of the "How to Foil the Water Pan" if so in the link http://virtualweberbullet.com/waterpanusage.html If the water pan is somehow overflowing, there is a risk of a grease fire since grease floats on water.

One more suggestion: I've found that with the WSM especially that I also get smoked. My clothes, hair, skin all smell like smoke. I get desensitized to the smell, and cannot taste the smokiness when eating. So I usually take a shower during the rest and try to stay away from the smoker until after the meal. My laundry basket then makes me hungry for a few days.

Depending on the context, right off the grill can mean after a rest. I interpret it so anyway. Certainly the juices need to redistribute. I've never served literally right off the grill, but since ribs are usually eaten with your hands, I would imagine a 200+ degree bone would be a nasty bugger to hold. You probably want the bones to cool down to around, what, 110 or so? I think that in this context, right off the grill means not holding in a cooler. But even then your ribs will probably be better than most will have ever eaten. Your approach seems conservative and safe. For me, ribs are almost formulaic and turn out great every time. Butts for me are unpredictable. I've cooked two butts side by side, nearly equal, and had one done in 9 hours and the other 15. Once a BBQ butt dinner missed dinner time so badly that it had to be rescheduled for the next day. I always plan to cooler a butt for a few hours just to give myself some leeway. I would not worry about how much smoke the ribs get. If you can smell smoke, the ribs will be plenty smoky even if you cannot see smoke. If you cannot smell smoke when you add the ribs (unusual in my experience) adding one chunk on top of lit coals will give lots of flavor and should not over smoke the butt. Don't worry about relatively minor things like whether foil is good or bad on your first try. Do what your instincts tell you. I am reminded of a saying in race car driving when confronted with a new car, teams, etc. Dont try to win the race - just bring the car home. Just bring that meat home.

I don't have much to add, except that I have smoked butt and ribs together and the advice here is spot on with what I would have said. FeChef, I am the same about my meat as Hassouni. It's not an organic issue. It's about how the animals were treated during their lifetime, under what conditions they were slaughtered, and how the meat is handled. A big issue for me is that a lot of meat for sale to large grocery stores is injected with a brine and this is not always labeled at the ultimate consumer level. I talk to a lot of butchers. I've been told that they can usually get chicken that has not been brined, but unbrined pork at the industrial scale is almost impossible to find. You pay more at a butcher, but it's worth it if the butcher knows who grew the animal, who processed it, and what was done to it since. And butchers that cater to some cultures must show respect to the animal at all steps in the process, which I am willing to pay for. ETA: The book Omnivore's Dilemma turned me off of industrial-scale meat. Also, the book Pandora's Lunchbox has an ironic chapter on why industrial-scale chicken doesn't have enough flavor to be used as a chicken flavor in processed foods.

Ericpo - I meant to respond to your post about veggie burgers earlier, but forgot. The very best veggie burger I've had is this one http://www.ciaprochef.com/northarvest/recipe17.html My family loved them too. It does not attempt to simulate meat. The romesco sauce called for in the recipe is a very nice addition.

Just In case someone is interested, I made an amazing version of this tonight but it is not fat free anymore. Instead of cauliflower, I used Kubota squash. I caramelized the Kubotaby using the first few steps of the recipe for caramelized carrot soup (instead of carrots) and thinned it a bit with no-fat evaporated milk and carrot juice. (The soup recipe calls for butter, which I used.) What I got was a thick purée of essentially caramelized kubota. I used this in place of the cauliflower purée in the M&C recipe. I loved it as did my taste testers, but unfortunately they are tiring of my "guess the secret ingredient" game. I just happened to have Kubota around; butternut would work well too I think.

Here's the link for an introductory video. The video is for hot smoking, but cold smoking in theory should be about the same. http://www.finecooking.com/videos/how-to-make-tea-smoking-packets.aspx

I have not used a cold smoker, nor have I smoked tea. I always wanted to though. I've seen instances of people smoking duck, etc., and what I saw involved tea plus other aromatics, like (IIRC) star anise, jasmine rice, and some other stuff. Fine Cooking mag I know did some articles on this. My recollection is that it was a good article, recommending various types of tea, etc.

I save the rind from Parmesan for long periods of time. As long as it doesn't get moldy, I like to put it into a pot of dried white beans, like flagolet or cannellini. Add to it some nice olive oil and some herbs, and it makes a great pot of beans. You can use a fair amount of rind because it does not break apart, but the non-rind part will melt (even if it is dry and hard now) so you might want to be careful on the amount. I have no tips on storage.

Thanks for the burger recipe. I love bacon and cheese, and putting it in a burger sounds pretty good. I'll definitely give it a go - i think my kid would get a big kick out of a stuffed burger. I am getting into the grilling groove more quickly than I anticipated. Tonight I made one of my favorite easy meals, but with one small change that made it better. I make a Mexican "Gulf Coast" rice pilaf from a recipe by Rick Bayless that I adapted to brown rice (and using rendered fat and beef stock made with some incredible ox tail), some mustard greens with rice vinegar, fish sauce, and sesame oil, and then: awesome Halal thin-cut ribeye with Korean Ssam Jang. My Halal butcher simply has the best meat I've ever had. This will be my first grilling season to use his meat, and so far it takes everything to another level. I don't think the meat is graded or anything; it just tastes and smells like meat. Really good fresh meat. Anyway, the ribeye was about 1/8" thick. I put my Lodge pizza pan directly over hot natural lump charcoal. I didn't measure this time, but in the past the pan gets to 750-800 degrees. Put the ribeye on in batches to avoid crowding. Awesome browning, and the fat content kept everything moist and lubricated.

I am relatively new to PCs. I had a problem I solved, and others have mentioned similar problems in various threads. The problem is that one has to constantly fiddle with the burner knob to maintain the correct pressure and it's hard to find the sweet spot. My solution works for both my Presto and Kuhn Rikon PCs and will hold pressure for at least two hours without any adjustment. I don't know if it is well known, but I have not seen it before. I don't know if it will work for any one but me. I have used it at least a dozen times now. So like most instructions say, bring the PC up to pressure in high, then turn to low. My theory is the PC is at this point unevenly heated. When the pressure drops usually in a couple of minutes, do not try to adjust the low flamebut instead turn the temp back to high until fully pressurized again. Continue this. I've never gone beyond three times. After this, at least for me, the PC can go for at least two hours on low with zero adjustments. There is also less risk of over pressuring the PC on a low but too high flame. As I said, everyone else might know this. But it is not in my instruction manuals or anything else I've read. ETA I should have said that I have a gas stove.

This is definitely something I'd use Adam Perry Lang's clinching method on. I have no idea why it's called clinching. Basically, it's putting the steak directly on the coals. Natural hardwood lump, of course. A few minutes directly on the coals, and then put the steaks on the grate and gradually back away from the fire. You'll probably get charcoal stuck to your steaks, but you can pluck it off with tongs. And there won't be flare ups since the meat is on the coals - there isn't enough oxygen between the meat and the coals. But depending on the fat content, there will be lots of smoke. Your life will be incomplete if you do not try this with pork chops. Or lamb chops.

Young and single or recently married? I'm long time married. We won't talk about about getting rusty at...um...bicycle riding. The chicken I've made a few times. It is the most insanely garlicky and flavorful I've had. It is part of Heston Blumenthal's Tikka Masala, but the masala sauce isn't really necessary. HB shows how to make a makeshift tandoor oven on a Weber, but I just grill it. I'll give you the bare bones. The scale is 8 boneless chicken thighs. I get mine from a Halal butcher whose chickens massively smell like chicken and have tiny breasts. Awesome stuff. Anyway, 8% salt brine for 6 hours. Then soak in fresh water for 2 hours, changing the water every 30 minutes. Then prepare a rub consisting of 3 bulbs (!) of raw garlic, 2 bulbs of roasted garlic, olive oil, and salt, and rub onto the chicken. Leave for 5 hours. Then prepare a marinade of masala powder (homemade and toasted), yogurt, chili powder, and olive oil. Shake off the rub (honestly, not a lot comes off)' and marinate for 10 hours. Then I just direct grill it. But be prepared for neighbors to be running to your house with plates. I don't know if it's the yogurt, the olive oil, or chicken fat, but this produces some serious smoke. Good smelling smoke. My kid called it the "best chicken perfume ever" and proceeded to run around in the smoke. I could barely see through my glasses when I was done. You can use the chicken for a lot. Tikka masala of course, or good old fashioned chicken sandwiches. Chopped onto pasta. Lots more. Tell me about your Juicy Lucy. I need a good burger story after tonight's disappointment with the premade crap. It did come from a supposedly good place and was a blend of chuck, short rib, and sirloin. Tried to take a shortcut and paid for it. ETA. I forgot to include 200 g of ginger in the rub.

I am with you in spirit. This week was fantastic, temperatures in the 80's. Opened the pool, turned on the fountains, and got started grilling. Did yogurt and garlic marinated chicken thighs earlier, and hamburgers today. Had fat-smoke billowing over the neighborhood, making the neighbors hungry. That said, this is my transition period from inside cooking to outside cooking. It's going to take time to get back in sync. My timing is rusty. The sides and mains are off. I have to go into the house a dozen times to get stuff I forgot. Oil for the grate, a flippin' plate for the meat, so on. Things like remembering a weight for my wax paper sheets so they don't blow around the yard while I'm getting the burgers on. Or getting back into grinding my own meat instead of the bland premade stuff I had. Gotta put the braisers and pressure cookers away in my head, and start thinking about fire and smoke. But that beer certainly helps me laugh at myself until I get the rhythm back. Then I'll want to grill everything in sight. Got a new BGE that I plan to use as an outdoor oven. Can't wait to get to grips with that! Then Fall will be here too soon, and I'll have to transition back to indoor cooking...

Haha, I was thinking about this earlier. I was also thinking about a mozzarella cookie (or even a basil one) but thought maybe a tomato cookie with "mozzarella cloud" might be cool. Sounds like a fun experiment.

I like the idea of tomato butter. Another possibility might be tomato salt. http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/808151/making-flavored-salts

I don't soak. Don't use chips either. Just chunks. The way I see it, chips and chunks are just like split firewood on a smaller scale. I've put wet firewood into the fireplace before. Burns terribly. Until it dries out, it just puts off steam and doesn't burn correctly, no matter how hot the fire. Whistles just like a tea kettle. That being said, I met an old-time Texas BBQ guy selling wood one time. Guy never stopped talking about building his own pits, etc. I told him I was look for smoking wood. He got all excited and took me all around his lot. His point was that smoking wood cannot be dried out - the wood needs weight or heft. It needs to be seasoned, but not wet or dry. If its light and airy, then the smoke won't be as flavorful. He took me all around his lot showing me the good and the bad, and then gave me a bunch for free. Good stuff. Every bit of wood I've seen in chain stores has been beenfar too dry according to what this guy said. Like styrofoam. Maybe soaking helps a little in this regard by correcting poor quality wood. I smoke on my Weber kettle all the time. I just throw a chunk on the coals. If the lid is on, the wood won't burn, for long anyway. Don't put the food directly above the wood. I get beautiful thin blue smoke every time.

I know next to nothing about baking, but a relative always added a bit of Bailey's Irish Cream to her lemon poppyseed. It was always a huge hit and the first to disappear at gatherings.

Most of the MCAH recipes have "Storage Notes" at the top. It seems the mayo will last 3 days refrigerated.

From his shows, I gather that is something that interests him. I don't know if you've seen his shows - the only way to see them in the US is YouTube snippets - but his In Search of Perfection treacle tart show discusses a really old recipe. He also has the Fabulous Feasts that are a lot of fun to watch (but are not suitable for kids I learned the hard way - my 6yo loves HB) and showcase foods from several periods. I have not been disappointed by any of his books, so I've preordered this one. Thanks for pointing it out - I hadn't seen it.

Todd (or anyone else) - Would you comment on the quality of the reheated food, particularly highly seasoned food? I am having a cinco de Mayo party with barbacoa, chile con carne, cochinita pibil, etc. I would love (and my wife would love) being able to spread the prep over weeks instead of a few days. I tend to use a lot of curse words and become a bit maniacal. I've heard salt might be an issue, but not from a trusted source. It would be great to have everything ready and taste tested beforehand. Just to be clear, very little of the food will be cooked sous vide, just reheated sous vide. In fact, if this works, I might be motivated to cook more outside than I would otherwise.