RSS

Category Archives: Barbeque

Grill Mods: Dual Zone Thermometers

So we did this a while back but I never posted it…partially because it was in the winter and I was pretty ashamed that we had no grass at that point. Our yard looked super white trashy at the time, but after putting a pool in the middle of our front yard and waddling my huge pregnant booty out there in a bikini, I figure that my white trashiness has reached the point of no return, so here goes.

The common question seems to be “Why the front yard?” Because the dogs are in the back and it would take them all of 3 seconds to have torn this thing apart.

Anyways, we went down to our local BBQ store to look for a couple of thermometers to add to the lid of our 22.5″ Weber kettle so we could monitor the temperature and have better control over our dual zone cooking. We picked up two thermometers and a silicone sealant safe for high temperatures. You are also going to need a power drill, marking pen, and possibly measuring tape(if you want things to be all nice and symmetrical)

We (meaning Derek, I just stood there and took pictures), measured out the desired distance and drilled a pilot hole, which is a small guiding “starter hole” before you start putting holes in your grill lid with a giant drill bit.

We also noticed that there was a small notch on the back of the thermometer, to keep it from turning I am assuming? Not really sure, but it required the drilling of yet another hole as well.

It doesn’t have to be pretty, it just has to work

Put your sealant around the top of the holes and install your thermometer. Then seal up around the inside of the grill and you are done!

Let this dry for at least 24 hours before using, and enjoy your new customized Weber grill!

Better Know a Smoker Part 3: So You’re a Yuppie…

25 Apr

Since it has been a while, you might want to catch up on Part 1 and Part 2 before starting with this one. This is my final piece of advice for someone looking to buy their perfect summer BBQ; and that advice is not to buy pellet and electric smokers, they are not real smokers.

The Pellet Smoker

This piece of [worthless] equipment does all the work for you….sounds like a BBQers dream come true, just set it and forget it. Of course not everything that is easy is better. Case and point fast food. Enough said. Many pellet smokers have built-in temperature control, keeping the smoker between 225 and 250 which is really a problem if you want to cook anything besides pork. We like to smoke our famous briskets around 300 to break down the connective tissue and trust me we have tried cooking brisket low and slow…it ended up like shoe leather. Smoked salmon or jerky on the other hand needs to be around 175 so having the ability to control the temperature yourself is imperative.

Also, check out any BBQ message board and you’ll see that people tend to complain about the lack of smoke flavor from these compressed processed pellets. In fact, even if you have a pellet smoker that you can crank the heat up with, the higher the temps cooking with these pellets, the less smoke flavor you get because they burn very cleanly.

Just like a big mac is not food…this is not wood!

And don’t forget, since pellet smokers are automatic, they have parts that can break, like a motor and electronics systems.

Even the man himself, Myron Mixon said at a pitmaster competition, “Man I know I got this thing won when I see the other team fire up a pellet smoker.”

The Electric Smoker

Is that a mini-fridge? Nope, that is the saddest excuse for a smoker that you can possible waste your money on. Sure, they do have a place in resturaunts, since the people cooking can’t maintain the temps on dozens of racks of ribs at a time…unless of course you are in the south, we still cook over open flame pits down here. However, these have no place in your backyard. In fact, if you own one of these get off my blog, close out this window immediately, you are not allowed to use any of my recipes.

The flavor on these is inferior to even the pellet smoker, and don’t ever expect to get that beautiful bark or crispy chicken skin on one of these machines. Hell, most competitions wont even allow electric smokers. Enough said…just dont do it.

3 Comments

Posted by Primal Smoke on April 25, 2013 in Barbeque, basics

Tags: barbecue, Barbeque, bbq, cooking, food, meat, Paleo, Primal

Better Know A Smoker Part Two: The Offset Box

23 Jan

There is one main reason why people what an offset box smoker…because they look really f*cking cool! You look like a serious BBQ professional with one of these big bad boys in your backyard. Lets figure out what an offset box smoker really is, and the pros and cons of owning one.

On the left you see where the barrel where charcoal or wood is burned, we use ours almost exclusively as a stick-burner. The larger barrel is where you cook all of that delicious meat. One can imagine that the obvious problem with these grills is one side ends up much hotter than the other, this can lead to some pretty depressing sunday afternoons when you end up eating takeout staring at all of the beautiful meat you ruined. There are dozens of cheap offset box smokers out there, and you really do get what you pay for. Cheaper metals, and poorly designed leaks and gaps around the door and chimney can cause you to lose heat, and have temperature variations of up to 100 degrees from end to end.

Don't use your good bone-broth for this, as you are just going to discard it later

Our big boy BBQ

If you already have one of these you are in luck, you can use any heat safe silicone sealant to close up the gaps. Remember, the only place smoke should be coming out of the smoker is the chimney, so if you see it leaking out the door, run to the hardware store as fast as you can and seal that thing tighter than a pair of hipster jeans. There is also a great way to test for hot-spots found here, those can easily be fixed with a convection plate in the bottom of the smoker. If you are in the market for one of these smokers but don’t feel like doing modification, there are several high-quality brands that will make a great addition to your backyard.

Ok, maybe you don’t have to go that high-end, but please consider that a smoker is a serious investment. If you get one that does not work properly, you will not use it, and then you have just wasted a substantial amount of money on something that will turn into a rusty eye-sore that could probably get you fined by the home-owners association.

Don’t be a victim!

Horizon and Oklahoma Joe make an incredible product, definitely worth the investment, or you could swallow your pride and get yourself barrel smoker, you wont have the ego inflating large size that we love to brag about in this country, but you get consistent temps and a very user-friendly design with little to no modification needed. If you still have your heart set on an offset box smoker, look for one that is made out of thick metal, to help keep temperatures consistent. A little shopping around at any BBQ store and you can feel which ones are made with high-quality materials and which ones are Chinese pieces of crap. Thin metal simply cannot hold the heat the same. Inspect the smoker and look for tight seals, or prepare to modify the smoker yourself with a little sealant, it really takes less than an hour to give yourself a superior meat machine.

And remember…BBQ is not a hobby, it is a way of life

8 Comments

Posted by Primal Smoke on January 23, 2013 in Barbeque, Random

Tags: barbecue, Barbeque, bbq, food, Paleo, Primal

Better Know A Smoker Part One: Our First Baby

11 Jan

Our Weber 18.5 inch bullet smoker is and will always be our first love. Fondly refered to as R2D2 in our house, this baby is the best investment for a beginner interested in smoking. Seriously, I know the big offset box smokers look really badass, but this one is much better suited for the average person, both in ease of use and size. Trust me, when they smell those wonderful clouds of smoke and the aroma of BBQ pork coming off this baby, you wont care that you didn’t get the one that makes you look cool.

The inside of the smoker features two levels for maximum meat cooking and a water pan below. A water pan is great for the novice because it keep the meat moist, and also helps R2D2 maintain a stable temperature.

The exterior breaks down into three parts for easy access to all levels, and there is a door on the front for adding more charcoal or running the cords for your probe thermometers. The Weber brand uses better metal than many other bullet smokers, which will help you keep your temp up on those windy days.

Also similar in looks to this the ceramic Big Green Egg cooker. This thing is the Le Creuset of smokers, with a price tag to match. Amazingly high quality if you are prepared to pay for it. People that own them swear by them, in the same way that we will always recommend a Weber.

There is our baby, proudly displayed in the back yard as a monument to our first adventure in to BBQ! If you are considering an investment in a smoker, I can not suggest anything other than an 18.5 in Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.

6 Comments

Posted by Primal Smoke on January 11, 2013 in Barbeque, basics, Random

Myron Mixon’s Cupcake Chicken

04 Jan

Now, we love the show BBQ pitmasters, but you cannot watch this show without being subjected to the loud mouthed jackass pitmaster known as Myron Mixon. I personally find him a bit too abrasive, but the hubbs loves him. Anyway, the show got me thinking, all the people on there have really badass BBQ names, and Derek and Michelle just doesn’t sound quite as cool as Hickory Rick and Shotgun Chelle. Ok, that was the best I could come up with…maybe they’re not the best pitmaster names, but maybe theyre at least as cool as Paul Diablo, Johnny Trigger, and Tuffy Stone. I am still working on the names…I need some help. What do you think?

I know its gross that they cat is on the table, you try telling a cat what to do.

I know its gross that the cat is on the table, you try telling a cat what to do.

So, Myron Mixon does this competition chicken in a cupcake pan, so that the end result is perfectly round and uniform, making for a nice presentation. So, we got Myron’s top-secret method…which you cannot get from watching the show, you have to shell out 30 bucks for his book of course. Anyway, we adapted it for Primal Smoke, since we are not too keen on following any recipes that call for 5lbs of sugar and 1 cup of MSG “flavor enhancer.” Seriously, you cannot help but laugh when you read that!

You will need:

A cupcake pan with holes drilled in the bottom, as a bonus, now you cant scarf paleo cupcakes because you don’t have a pan to cook them in.
a cookie sheet (we used disposable)
enough chicken thighs to put one in each hole…in this case 12
bbq rub
bbq sauce
chicken stock

Ok, so the holes help the meat drain, so that it does not get “water-logged,” A collection of liquids in the muffin pan will ruin your perfect, slightly crisp skin that is so sought after when cooking BBQ chicken. You can start prepping your meat by cutting the knuckle end off of the bone and trimming the bone down until it fits in your pan. Trim all the big chunks fat off the edges of the chicken, and especially off the edges of the skin. I know fat is good for us, but too much fat =soggy, rubbery skin. Sprinkle a little BBQ rub, or just some salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken thigh and place it skin side down in the pan.

Be sure to trim off any excessively large chunks of meat that stick out of each little nest and then throw those babies on your smoker. We used our stick-burner for this one, which is a large offset box that we burn whole logs of wood in, instead of the usual charcoal-wood chips combo that I use for the bullet. Put the cupcake pan onto a cookie sheet and pour a layer of chicken stock into the cookie sheet, being very careful not to get it on the meat.

Don’t use your good bone-broth for this, as you are just going to discard it later

Smoke the meat at 275 using a strong wood, we used mesquite which is traditionally not for chicken, but the meat is only in the smoker about as long as the media cared about John Travolta flashing his junk to a hotel masseuse…not very long, so it makes a stronger wood acceptable. Smoke the chicken for about an hour, or until the internal temp gets to about 140-145, then pull it off, flip the chicken and put it back in the pan skin side up. Before returning it to the smoker sprinkle the skin with more rub, or salt and pepper, then put it back on the cookie sheet and let it cook for another 30 minutes or so. Once the internal temp hits 155-160, brush some sauce on top of the chicken and close the lid for another 20-30 minutes.

When they come off the smoker, cover them with some foil and let them rest for about 3 minutes, then glaze again with sauce one more time before serving. Here is a perfect recipe for BBQ sauce, this stuff with make your meat sweet and juicy, like JLo’s backside.

That’s it for this week, we have been Qing up a storm of Whole30/Sugar Detox compatible foods, so check back next week for more smokey goodness. Shotgun Chelle signing out!

7 Comments

Posted by Primal Smoke on January 4, 2013 in Barbeque, Chicken

Tags: barbecue, Barbeque, bbq, crossfit, food, healthy, low carb, Paleo, Primal

Oh Jeez, She is Angry Again…

27 Dec

Definition of barbeque

abbr. BBQ
NOUN

1.outdoor party with food cooked outdoors: an outdoor party where people eat food cooked on a grill

2.food cooked on grill: food, especially meat, poultry, and fish, cooked on a grill

3.equipment for cooking outdoors: an apparatus, including a grill and fuel, used for cooking food outdoors

[ Mid-17th century. < American Spanish barbacoa, probably < Arawak barbakoa “frame of sticks” ]

Guess what the definition of BBQ does not include:

1. Meat covered in a sugary-red sauce that you cooked in your crock pot

2. Pulled meat products of any kind that were cooked indoors

3. Anything that requires electricity to cook.

I really tried not to start this post with another pissed off rant, but it did not happen once I started looking at recipe blogs this morning. I do not care what you call it, but if you are cooking indoors you are not making bbq. You can make pulled pork inside, but you cannot make BBQ pulled pork. Do you understand? Real barbecue is a friggin art and takes time and dedication to master. It makes me angry when you people throw that term around just because there is some sugary red crap on your meat. I want to beat them with a slab of baby backs until they change the name of their recipe to not include the word barbecue!

Now, while we are on the subject of BBQ, do you want to learn how to do a St. Louis style cut on spare ribs? Of course you do! Now that we are nice and pissed off let’s go grab a knife!

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a slab of the finest spare ribs. Wrapping around one half of the slab is an extra hunk of meat that is not actually part of the ribs themselves, and for aesthetic purposes it is often trimmed off.

With your fingers you will be able to feel where the excess meat is that is not directly attached to the bones.

Trim the excess off in an L shape and throw that sh*t in your crock pot for some BBQ pulled pork! Haha.

Now, we cooked these exactly the same as we always cook spare ribs, because there is no sense in messing with perfection. So you can follow these instructions. What you end up with is a nice rectangular slab or ribs that you can use to impress your neighbors, or to stick it to that b*tch at a potluck who brought a tofu salad.

8 Comments

Posted by Primal Smoke on December 27, 2012 in Barbeque, Pork, Technique

Tags: barbecuq, Barbeque, bbq, food, grilling, healthy, low carb, Paleo, Primal, ribs

Smoked Deer Jerky

10 Dec

Do you want to know why I hate the rain? It drives my little fur babies inside where they just sit around and look depressed in between random bouts of tearing up the house. If I put on Animal Planet the big one is fine, but the munchkin hasn’t quite caught on to watching TV just yet. I know, I am a terrible parent letting them watch TV all day.

Alas, not Caesar Milan again!

While they have been busy driving me crazy I was making smoked jerky. My spoiled yuppie dogs would not even eat any raw venison. If there is anything a dog should like it is freshly killed wild game, but no. They wanted the nicely seasoned and cooked chicken thighs that were sitting on the counter for lunch. Spoiled little monsters. To keep the puppy entertained I just throw a lemon on the floor, which you can see here . I am not sure if that is for the her entertainment or mine, but this went on for a solid hour before she got bored. The lemon is like crack to her, she knows it will make her suffer, but she just can’t stay away.

Why do you torture me ma?

If you want to make them feel better, you can of course share some deer jerky with them, but first you have to make it. So, get some mesquite wood soaking and your BBQ set to 175, only use about 1/4 of a chimney full of briquettes. You want to cook on very very low indirect heat here, because you are just trying to dry the meat, not cook it. Remember, because the meat is still technically raw, you will want to store your jerky in the fridge. You don’t have to use deer, any small beef roast or cut of steak will work too, I have not tried this with poultry yet though.

Cut your meat into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick, it really helps if the meat is slightly frozen. Put your slices in a bowl with a marinade made from

2 cups water
2 TB Worcestershire sauce (optional, you can add more salt to the marinade if omitting)
1 TB honey
3/4 TB – 1TB salt
1 TB BBQ rub

Add extra water if needed to cover the meat. This recipe makes enough marinade for up to 2lbs of meat. Let it soak up the awesome juice for 1-2 hours, then discard the marinade. Cover your cooking grate with tin foil and then poke some holes in it to let the smoke through. This is just a precautionary measure, but I was worried about some of the smaller pieces falling through the grates as they shrunk up a bit. It is part redneck ingenuity, part BBQ genius.

The setup

You only need to add smoke in at the beginning, since meat this small cannot continue to pick up smoke flavor through the whole drying process. Leave the strips on there until they start to look dry and brittle, ours took about 1 hour and 50 minutes. If you need to add more charcoal, remember to add lit briquettes, as the ones in the smoker will not be hot enough to light them.

After you are done, let it cool for an hour or so and then dig in.

2 Comments

Posted by Primal Smoke on December 10, 2012 in Barbeque, Game, Snacks

Tags: barbecue, Barbeque, bbq, cooking, food, healthy, Paleo, Primal

Green Eggs and Ham

16 Sep

I do not like them Sam I Am! Ok, so I haven’t been feeling too motivated to write this weekend. I made myself a huge batch of cookies and forgot about BBQ altogether for a few days. Nobody should ever consume them at the staggering rate that I did though. I would make competition eaters jealous, which of course resulted in a bit of a tummy ache.

This breakfast is as easy as it looks. It is eggs, swiss chard, and prosciutto all shoved into a muffin tin and cooked on the grill. I used hardwood charcoal for smoky flavor and made and spread my coals evenly to make the grill like a little smokey oven. My inside oven turns smokey sometimes, but then I have to deal with the worlds worst smoke alarm that is hardwired into the house. Seriously, I can’t even take the battery out…whose idea was that?!

Make your prosciutto cup (speck would work here too), Be sure to press it in there really firmly so it conforms to the sides of the pan. I used 2 pieces of prosciutto folded in half to make each little meaty muffin cup. Fill with a salt and peppered scrambled egg and chopped chard concoction and place the whole thing on an upside down foil pan. The secret to really amazing scrambled eggs is curry powder. I put a heaping 1/2 teaspoon in mine, if you don’t like curry then don’t obviously.

The setup

With grill-baking this is important to keep your pan elevated so things do not get burnt on the bottom.

Cook these b*tches for 20ish minutes or until they are set in the middle. If you poke them with a fork and there is still liquid in the middle, they aren’t set.

I hit a new PR on my power clean that morning so I also added a chocolate-coffee-banana shake that was mind-blowing.

1.5 cups cold coffee (I keep some in the fridge for these type of drinks)
1 peeled, then frozen banana
One serving of chocolate protein

That’s it! Blended all together it was the perfect post-workout addition to my breakfast. Oh shit, someone call the paleo police, I had protein powder!

Ok, there is breakfast. This post wasn’t funny or entertaining. I told you I was not feeling inspired!

1 Comment

Posted by Primal Smoke on September 16, 2012 in Barbeque, Breakfast

Tags: Barbeque, breakfast, food, healthy, Paleo, Primal

Shotgun Willie’s Braised Beef Chili

12 Sep

Perhaps there really is no Shotgun Willie, but if there were, he would totally make chili like this.

chili always looks like crap in pictures

It took me forever to fire up the grill today, I am pretty convinced it is because of a new disorder that I am pretty sure I have, and also just invented. ADCD: attention deficit cleaning disorder. I started to clean up the aftermath of hurricane Derek in my basement and prior to finishing I moved on to the drawers in my kitchen, and once those were dumped out and all over the counter I started on the cabinets. At this point I have crap everywhere and start thinking “F*ck this, I am going to cook instead.” So I had to make some room on my counter to start a fourth project for the day.

That is one sexy piece of meat

You start with a roast instead of ground beef for this recipe, that is what makes it so incredible. Salt and pepper that baby and set it off to the side.

I also used all of this stuff:

1 bunch kale
2 sweet taters- chopped into bite sized pieces
2 banana peppers
2 serranos (I keep them in my freezer at all time just for this chili)
1 bunch cilantro
onion, I used half, you can use a whole one, doesn’t really matter
one bell pepper
1/2 cup beef bone broth
a few cloves of garlic: smashed and roughly chopped
A pack of chopped tomatoes, you can also use a can or jar of salsa if you like

You also need all of this:

1/4-1/2 cup chili powder. It is a great thickener.
2 TB oregano
2 TB paprika
2 TB cumin
1 TB coriander
1 TB onion
salt and pepper
1 TB garlic powder(you can never have enough garlic)
crushed red pepper to taste (optional)

Before you start your prep work soak your wood. I used mesquite here because of its bold intense flavor. This is definitely a wood made to be paired with beef, as it would be too intense on a more delicate piece of meat like fish. After you have everything you need and some nice wet wood, it is time to start-up those coals. I used a lot, in a high heat fire. A thin layer in the bottom of the grill with a heaping chimney of hot ones. The unlit ones in the bottom simply gives you a longer burn time.

In a grill friendly pan (I use enameled cast iron), throw in your roughly chopped garlic, tomatoes, bone broth, spices, and taters in your pan, then throw your serranos in whole. You will take these out at the end (if you’re smart) but they just infuse a nice flavor and the perfect amount of heat.

Once your wood chips start smoking, put your meat directly over the high-heat to give it a sear, and your pan on the indirect side. As a bonus I also put my peppers on there to get a nice little sear. I then put the meat into the pot and deeply scored it with a sharp knife. You can skip this step if you want to cook your chili all day, if not then cut several very deep gashes into your meat to increase the surface area and therefore the speed at which it is cooked.

Cook the chili with the pot uncovered(but the cover on the grill) for the first 30-45 minutes to let the smoke flavor penetrate. Once you chop all the rest of your veggies you can set those aside until you after that 30-45ish minutes is up. Give your pot a quick stir, add the veggies, and put the lid on your pot.

This one takes time, so tell all the furry little scavengers to wait their turn for beefy goodness

Anyways, you are going to let your chili cook for about an hour, only stop to stir once or twice. After an hour you might want to check the heat and add more coals, you want to keep the fire at about 350, and you can read a bit more about grill temps here, just in case you are a newbie. Now, just let your chili cook with the grill cover on. In the meantime, why don’t you go play fetch, go for a walk, or clean up that epic mess you made all over the house. Whatever you do, just leave your chili alone.

After a couple hours, your meat should be fork tender. I broke mine apart into bit sized chunks with a wooden spoon. If you have a huge roast or didn’t score your meat(like a dummy), you will have to add more coals and let it cook until the meat is fork tender.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve! I almost forgot… be sure to pull those serranos out!

This is the fabled Shotgun Willie!

2 Comments

Posted by Primal Smoke on September 12, 2012 in Barbeque, Beef, Soups

Tags: Barbeque, beef, chili, healthy, Paleo, Primal

How To Build The Perfect Sauce: Carolina Mustard Gas

10 Sep

There are only 5 words you need to remember when trying to creat the perfect BBQ sauce

sweet
sour
salt
smoke
spice

The essential elements

Your sweet can be honey, molasses, maple syrup, fruit juice, or puree. Combine that will some sort of vinegar (cider, balsamic, red wine, ect), citrus juice, or even pickle juice for your sour. Salt seems pretty simple but it doesn’t have to be your boring ol’ sodium chloride. You can also use liquid amino, bone broth, fish sauce, or worchestshire…worcestershire….grr…whatever! The spice is that little kick that takes a sauce to the next level. It does not actually have to be painfully burning heat (although that is how I like mine). You can use black, red, or cayenne pepper, horseradish, wasabi, garlic or fresh peppers and chilis. The final addition is the smoke, it is that funk that makes a sauce really unique, but be careful here, it is pretty easy to overdo it. We like to use ancho chilis, chipotles, liquid smoke, bourbon, or mustard. Cooking your sauce over smoke will also infuse it with some pretty b*tchin flavor. Your choices are really only limited to your imagination.

Liquid gold baby!

Carolina Mustard Gas takes it name from a pork BBQ staple. Carolina barbecue pork is usually sprayed with a mixture of vinegar and red pepper, but why stop there? Seriously…I didn’t. I married in some German tradition, a place where pork and mustard go together like bacon and chocolate (or bacon and anything really), and made this sauce really pop.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cider vinegar (sour)
2 TB honey (sweet)
4 TB dijon mustard (smoke)
1 t coarse black pepper
1/2 t salt

I mixed all of those ingredients in a sauce pan and gave them a little whisk-y whisk-y. Brought them to a rolling boil and then let is simmer for 3-5 minutes. I don’t even like mustard and I thought this stuff was pretty effing fantastic. We were going to call it Dijon Branch in celebration of the start of football…but ya know, he got cut.

We drizzled the mustard gas all over our slow smoked pulled pork, and keeping with the German theme I added some sauerkraut and sprinkled with red pepper.

1 Comment

Posted by Primal Smoke on September 10, 2012 in Barbeque, Pork, Sauces, Uncategorized

The Primal Smoke

Category Archives: Barbeque

Grill Mods: Dual Zone Thermometers

Better Know a Smoker Part 3: So You’re a Yuppie…

Better Know A Smoker Part Two: The Offset Box

Better Know A Smoker Part One: Our First Baby

Myron Mixon’s Cupcake Chicken

Oh Jeez, She is Angry Again…

Smoked Deer Jerky

Green Eggs and Ham

Shotgun Willie’s Braised Beef Chili

How To Build The Perfect Sauce: Carolina Mustard Gas

Recent Posts

Top Posts & Pages

Categories

Archives

Like Primal Smoke on Facebook!

Follow Blog via Email