*This works for beef, but I am a firm believer is just salt and pepper rub for a nice chunk of beef.
Ingredients
2x .25 oz Parsley Flakes (.5 oz total)
2x .25 oz Cilantro Leaves (.5 ox total) – not pictured below
2x 2 oz Ground Cumin (4 oz total)
2x 3 oz Garlic Powder (6 oz total)
2x 2 oz Paprika (4 oz total)
2x 2-3 oz Onion Powder (4-6 oz total)
2x 2oz Black Pepper (4 oz total) – not pictured below
Instructions
Empty contents of containers into large bowl and mix well. Store in air-tight container for maximum freshness. Apply a generous amount of yellow mustard to meat prior to applying the meat rub. Grill or smoke to desired doneness. Enjoy.
16 oz Sour Cream
1 11 oz Can of pickled Jalapeño Peppers + Juice in can
Juice of a 1 lime
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
1 bunch of Cilantro, trim most of stem off
Fresh jalapeno peppers or serrano peppers to taste/heat
Instructions
Add pickled Jalapeno peppers and juice in the can to food processor or blender; blend
Add sour cream, ranch seasoning, lime juice and Cilantro and blend some more.
remove from food processor or blender and store in air-tight contain.
Enjoy with tortilla chips, on a taco or burrito and a whole lot more. This is a very versatile dip.
Bring pot of water to a boil; blanch ramps for 30 seconds
Drop them in cold water after and pat dry
Rough chop the ramps. A food processor will make the rest of the process much easier.
Add half the raps to the food process and pulse. Add the other half and pulse again.
Add butter a chunk at a time, pulsing after 2-3 chunks until all butter is incorporated.
Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and pulse some more
Remove mixture from food processor and pack into storage containers of your choice. I simply wrap a good amount in parchment paper and then store in freezer bag.
Ramp butter is excellent on toast or a grilled baguette. I also use ramp butter in scampi; simply add some white wine to the butter.
The basic formula for a homemade hot sauce is usually a combination of peppers, white or apple cider vinegar, spices, other fruits and vegetables, and salt. Making your own sauces can be a great way to experiment and create new flavors.
Basic steps:
Clean and roughly chop peppers
Combine 2 parts vinegar with 1 part water in a pot
Add peppers and other desired ingredients to vinegar (we like adding sweet fruits and sugars)
Boil for 5-10 minutes
Allow to cool
Blend until desired smoothness is reached
If sauce is too thick, add a few tbsp of water at a time and blend until it is the right viscosity
Recommended Ingredients to use in Hot Sauces:
Peppers (Habaneros, jalapeños, bell peppers, and ghost peppers are great)
Mix together the brine ingredients and place your fish in a non-reactive container (plastic or glass), cover and put in the refrigerator. This curing process eliminates some of the moisture from the inside of the meat while at the same time infusing it with salt, which will help preserve it.
You will need to cure your meat at least 4 hours, even for thin cuts from fish. Larger pieces of meat may need 8 hours; a really thick piece might need as much as 36 hours in the brine. Never go more than 48 hours or your meat will be too salty.
Take your fish out of the brine and pat it dry. Set the meat on your cooling rack. Let the meat dry for 2 to 4 hours (or up to overnight in the fridge).
Base
2 cups Soy Sauce
2 cups Water
6 limes
1 cup BBQ Sauce (I use Sweet Baby Rays)
2 cups Brown Sugar
Optional
Jalapenos to taste and heat; I add 4 whole to this mix
Garlic to taste; I add 2 whole cloves, minced
Green Onions; I add 6 chopped, but was out of them this time.
3 whole sweet bell peppers
Base
2 cups Soy Sauce
2 cups Water
2 cups Apple Juice
1/2 cup Ginger Tea
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Optional
Jalapenos to taste and heat; I add 4 whole to this mix
Garlic to taste; I add 2 whole cloves, minced
Green Onions; I add 6 chopped, but was out of them this time.
3 whole sweet bell peppers
Other
12 oz Whole Cranberry Sauce, happen to have it on hand; why not toss it in there
Marinade in blender
Add all base ingredients in the bowl. Add options ingredients to a food processor prior to adding to the bowl with the base ingredients. Too much volume to all fit in a standard size blender, but could blend in two batches.
I have been thinking about starting to smoke again; it’s been far too long without a proper smoker. I’ve made due smoke grilling ribs on a Weber kettle, but it just isn’t the same. I have made and bought all sorts of smokers over the years. The first few I made from old freezer units with a hotplate for heat/smoke sources. I experimented with charcoal and wood burning in an offset chamber as well. They all worked incrementally better as I gained more experience.
Bradley electric smoker
My last smoker though was a Bradley electric. It had a pretty slick wood biscuit feeder system. You could smoke for hours; eventually the discard pan would run over. I smoked a lot of homemade venison sausage and jerky in that unit. I didn’t care much for all the plastic in build though and eventually the plastic around the temp control broke.
After that mishap, it was just the Weber and smoke/grilling pork baby back ribs for a long while. Fast-forward ten or so years; It was time to get another smoker. I’ve done lots of research and have read posts from one end of the Interwebs to the other. There is quite a variety of smokers out there: bullet charcoal smokers, barrel and drum charcoal smokers, offset side firebox charcoal smokers, cabinet style charcoal smokers, Kamado, egg, and ceramic smoker/grills, propane gas smokers, pellet smoker/grills – the list goes on.
Electric Smoker
I had my eye on another electric smokers. This time I would look for something with a more quality metal build. Theelectricsmoker.com listed a total of three Masterbuilt smokers in their top 10 list, two of which were #1 and #2. I did a bit more research and liked what I
Wood chip port
saw. Reasonable price point and the build quality seem to be better than the other electric I had used. I especially liked the side port for adding wood chips. The one issue I read about with these smokers is that the digital control units were flaky at best – a lot of people commented on this. Sure there were likely thousands of people that had no issues, but that isn’t my luck. I would get a flaky one and I just don’t want to deal with that. I looked to the analog electric version, but that didn’t have the side port on it; I’d have to open the door to refill. I was thoroughly disappointed at this point and began to look at others makes/models of smokers.
Propane Smoker
Masterbuilt 340G open
I was set on an upright cabinet smoker. Given the reviews, I went back to Masterbuilt to take another look and started to look at their propane line. One of my homemade smokers had a propane burner in and it worked pretty well from what I recall. The Masterbuilt 340G40″ ThermoTemp XL smoker caught my eye. I immediately noticed that there was a separate firebox door
from the smoking cabinet. When you open the firebox door, the attached wood chip tray swings out
Masterbuilt 340G 40″ ThermoTemp XL Propane Smoker
for quick/easy filling. I really like the propane tank bracket on the right side as well. This was an easy choice for my next smoker. Sold. After approximately 2 hours of assembly time and a 3 hour seasoning Saturday evening I was readying to go for Sunday morning.
First Cook
I prepared a selection of chicken legs, rack of pork baby back ribs and small brisket. Chicken legs were rubbed with a creation of mine – little something I call Magic Sprinkle. It’s great on a hard boiled egg, steamed vegetables, avocados and it makes a nice rub for any sort of meat. It has six ingredients: white pepper, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder and dried cilantro leaves.
Mesquite smoked chicken
The baby back ribs rub is one I’ve created over the years; it shares some of the ingredients of Magic Sprinkle plus a few more. It consists of: onion powder, garlic powder, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, paprika, dried cilantro leaves, cumin, white pepper, black pepper and Mrs. Dash original blend.
Mesquite smoked baby back ribs
The brisket was rubbed with Weber Steak ‘N Chop seasoning and black pepper.
Mesquite smoked brisket
Mesquite smoked brisket
Overall I am very pleased with the results. Looking forward to the next smoke event.
