Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff
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@phoenetia O.K. You both get a pass. Chips from airfryer were actually bloody good - perhaps not the same as ones soaked in fat but crispy , possibly healthy, so a definite win.
Pizzas were the best that I have ever made and seriously quick. Cheated a bit and didn't make my own base this time but the Bakerstone box is the business. Was walking out of Bunnings and a woman stopped me to tell me how good they are and what a great purchase I was making! I didn't tell her that it was recommended by some bloke on the internet.Anyway thanks guys and a good thread to keep alive.
I can also recommend Kenwood chefs as @TeWaio mentioned. I was given one as a present about 10 years ago and have every conceivable attachment for it (there a lots - from potato peelers to standard blenders and food processors). Expensive to start with but does everything and you only have one machine on the bench (shitloads of stuff in the cupboards).
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First decent Saturday so I finally got my new Akorn Kamado out to season the grill. Brushed it up with flaxseed oil, as per some "expert" on the web and it looks great. The most exciting thing was my new Tip Top Temp, https://tiptoptemp.com. The device is essentially an old fashioned thermostat.
This isn't mine but you attach it onto the top vent of your weber/akorn/green egg and once you dial it in, using the very helpful online temperature chart as a guide the rest is a piece of piss. I got the grill up to 400F for one hour by leaving the lower vent wide open and dialling up the TTT. Once it got close to target I adjusted to get it just right. I checked it periodically over the hour I was seasoning and the thing barely wavered. Amazing, I think this will transform my slow cooking experience. Only problem Mrs CF will wonder why I need to stay outside for 6 or 7 hours when the TTT holds temperature perfectly.....
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@canefan looks pretty good. Those Akorns are good wee cookers.
I trialled a big new offset yesterday - smoked up a couple of racks of decent meaty ribs, and two pork shoulders. Went surprisingly well - it's really old school smoking, but I was cautious on the smoke and it needed more.
Having used a cheapo offset, and the more expensive yesterday, you can see where the $ goes. Chalk and cheese - offset smoking is not for me, but if I had to do it I'd be using the decent, heavy gauge steel.
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@canefan said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@nzzp Sweet. As you say you can feel the weight of the steel on a more expensive cooker. Did you use charcoal or go hard out and use wood?
Charcoal. I don't have a good source of hardwood for smoking, so wood only is tough. It was very pleasant - an afternoon beside a fire, in the sun, with smoke, beer and a book.
Edit: I liked it so much I tried to like my own post
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Wagyu short rib trimmed last night. Dusted with salt and pepper and put on grill using ezilite lump charcoal from foxton which is big chunky and excellent. 7 hours 30 minutes and the meat was the most tender and moist I've ever cooked. Cooked sausages indirect for 30 minutes and they were brilliant. Never had a sausage with a smoke ring before
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@crucial said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@canefan said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
Never had a sausage with a smoke ring beforeYou aren't going hard enough then
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I B-B-Q some tri tip on Sunday. Not a cut I'm used to but there wasn't a lot of choice. All the things I've struggled to find over the last month were of course available but I just wanted a slab of meat that wouldn't take too long as I only had a couple of hrs before food had to be served.
I had read that tri-tip was unforgiving as it is very lean. Used my go-to rub (allspice and smoked paprika) gave it a quick sear went light on the smoke (saved that for the roasted aubergine and tomatoes) and then indirect as low as I could get it for about 45 minutes. Rested it for 20 minutes on a board covered in smashed garlic ands chopped herbs which I then sliced in into. It was freaking fantastic. Lovely char, hint of smoke, rich and moist. Clearly with this cut you can't get perfect uniformity of rareness, but it would be a good piece if you were cooking for any philistines who like their meat medium while you can still get a lovely rare piece as well.
Definitely going to give it a go again.
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@dogmeat said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
I B-B-Q some tri tip on Sunday. Not a cut I'm used to but there wasn't a lot of choice. All the things I've struggled to find over the last month were of course available but I just wanted a slab of meat that wouldn't take too long as I only had a couple of hrs before food had to be served.
I had read that tri-tip was unforgiving as it is very lean. Used my go-to rub (allspice and smoked paprika) gave it a quick sear went light on the smoke (saved that for the roasted aubergine and tomatoes) and then indirect as low as I could get it for about 45 minutes. Rested it for 20 minutes on a board covered in smashed garlic ands chopped herbs which I then sliced in into. It was freaking fantastic. Lovely char, hint of smoke, rich and moist. Clearly with this cut you can't get perfect uniformity of rareness, but it would be a good piece if you were cooking for any philistines who like their meat medium while you can still get a lovely rare piece as well.
Definitely going to give it a go again.
I can't picture a tri tip. What part of the beast is that?
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@dogmeat said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@hooroo It's the underneath of the sirloin. Triangular and weighs about 1 kg.
Nice! Cheers. If not saved for this type of goodness, what would have it otherwise been made into by the butcher?
Going to get one of our beasts done and I try and keep as many of these types of cuts possible but have to let him know. Basically I generally get minimal mince because anything on the bone that is 'rubbish' I get cut into roast size portions and put in slow cooker dry.
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Did a shoulder of pork at the weekend for the first time. Bought a really good quality one pre-rolled in butchers twine. Scored the rind and soaked overnight in brine with 3 parts salt + 1 part brown sugar. Did a dry rub of garlic, coriander seeds, pepper corns and lemon zest in a mortar and pestle. Cooked it for 5 hours on a spitroast in a hooded gas outback BBQ at about 160C, vegetables into the drip pan below for the last hour (potatoes, red onion, parsnips, butternut squash).
Was one of the best things I've ever cooked, amazing crackling on the outside, and the outer meat tasted almost like bacon due to the rub/brine, while the middle was really tender and juicy. There is so much fat / connective tissue inside a shoulder its almost impossible to overcook - internal temp was 95C when I started resting it and it was perfect.
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@hooroo said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@dogmeat said in Recipes, home grown goodness, BBQing and food stuff:
@hooroo It's the underneath of the sirloin. Triangular and weighs about 1 kg.
Nice! Cheers. If not saved for this type of goodness, what would have it otherwise been made into by the butcher?
Going to get one of our beasts done and I try and keep as many of these types of cuts possible but have to let him know. Basically I generally get minimal mince because anything on the bone that is 'rubbish' I get cut into roast size portions and put in slow cooker dry.
From an 'English Butcher' ie most NZ ones the tri-tip gets rounded up in the Flank meat and usually minced.
You need to find a butcher that is skilled in breaking down the primals to either US cuts or French cuts, especially in the belly area. Some of the tastiest grilling meats such as skirt, flank, tri-tip, onglet, bavette etc get turned into mince under the training our butchers receive.
Personally, I think the French style of butchery makes the most of the animal but a combination depending on the dishes you make is also a great way, you just need to know the muscles and instruct how you want them broken down.
Check out Brazilian cuts as well. They tend to break out any muscles suitable for grilling so they don't get wasted as a piece of another lesser cut. eg they take the cap off the rump and grill separately. That piece on the top of your rump steak that is tastier and more tender than the rest of it. It may be a funny shape but it can be as tender as eye-fillet with the meaty taste of rump. -
Had some friends over on Saturday and decided to do a turkey, Franklin style
(part 1 of 3)Got the turkey frozen at Countdown, dry brined lightly the night before (it was tender basted ie injected with brine by Tegel) then covered in maldon salt and fresh ground pepper. Meathead suggested injection so I injected the breast with olive oil. On the grill for 1.5 hours @ 325F then I cut up half a packet of butter and put it on the bird and wrapped it in foil in a foil dish to cook for another 40 minutes to 160F. The meat was the most tender and moist I've ever gotten a turkey and I used the turkey infused butter to make the gravy. Awesomeness
