Pfft... sister, you better wait your turn, I would almost start batting for the other team just to get the chance to taste some of this stuff!!! Not really, but some of these guys are really talented on here. Not just on their ability to afford the cuts of meat that I cannot, but to accomplish the cooking to perfection. My heart mourns because the Alaskan crab that I do love so much will be inedible due to Japanese radiation.... Oh Well, just means you knuckleheads in Maine need to pick up the pace!

Well my resolution lasted less than 24 hours ;)

Things I will refrain from....

The s/o mentions that we have an invite for lunch at a friend of hers house....

Just four of us.... and some home cooked Chinese...Lamb,fish,pork,noodles,goose intestine,veggies....some "Ma La" some fruit....

This was for four..... I'm stuffed....

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Dinner was a leg of lamb on the smoker.

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Desert was Creme Brulee.

Very good start to the new year.

Dave

Lamb rack with red wine reduction sauce and turnip/potato casserole.

Maybe a New Year Day tradition;


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Red duck curry on black rice

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picked up a mini Boston butt tonight, just 4lbs. looking for ideas to make it ultra tasty.

Wet or dry cooking?

One possibility:
- Salt it, then heat up your dutch oven (or other large heavy pot), melt some butter and oil, brown all sides of the piece
- Add an onion, a carrot, some garlic, pepper, spices as you like (sage, tarragon, bay leaf, etc), then add beer or wine until the meat is mostly submerged, I like dark beer but could be white wine too
- Cover, bring to boil, reduce to simmer, simmer covered for four hours or until meat is very tender but not totally falling to bits
- Remove meat from pot (support it with a broad spatula etc as it will want to come apart), set aside
- Spoon off the fat/oil layer on top, then use blender to buzz the liquid and all the contents smooth (fish out the bay leaf if you can), immersion blender is ideal
- Bring liquid to boil, uncovered, and boil it hard until reduced by 1/2 to 2/3, to desired sauce-like thickness, takes an hour or more
- Cut pork into serving sized pieces and place in pot with the sauce, simmer until reheated
- Serve with mashed potatoes, rice, couscous, polenta, etc

I did something like that last night with beef short ribs and red wine, over mashed potatoes, was very tasty.

Something to do while you're reducing the sauce - get about 4 oz salmon, can be fresh or smoked, if fresh cook it lightly to just done (I'd be lazy and microwave it), then put in food processor with a scoop of greek yoghurt and a scoop of cream cheese, dill, a little salt and make a salmon mousse, add 1/2 & 1/2 or milk while processing to get appropriate texture. Top your porky saucy dish with a dollop of the mousse. It is pretty and contrasty in taste.

Tonight: smoked dino ribs.

Source: had to call them in at Sam's Club. Ours has a great meat department, their beef always tastes amazing. They seem to supply a lot of area restaurants. They usually put these out pre-cut for braising. They held out 2 cryo-packs for me, uncut. About 50 pounds. Pre-cook weight, approx. 2 lbs per bone. Post-cook weight, 1.25 lbs. Minus the bone, 14 oz. of pure heaven. Un-cut price was $5.26/lb, about $10.50 per rib. I'll be experimenting with these all winter!

Prep: slice ribs and age overnight (if I had more time, I'd have put the slab in the fridge, dry and uncut, on a metal mesh grate, and let them age a week or more. This is how I do my brisket). Bring out of fridge well before putting them on cooker, to let them come to room temperature (ok, 58 degF today). Remove silver skin and excess fat, leaving 1/8-1/4" fat cap when possible. Rub with vegetable oil and rub mix (1/3 cup kosher salt, 2/3 cup dark brown sugar, tablespoon each fresh ground coffee, chili powder, roasted cumin, yellow mustard). Sub cayenne for chili if you want results with more heat.

Cook: Wet smoke over mesquite and hickory. I was a little pressed for time, so I went about 3.5 hours @ 300-325 degF (I usually try to cook at around 225-250 degF). I pulled them off at 195 degF internal temp - next time I'm going to 205 degF.

Result: most all connective tissue melted, as evidenced by the way the meat pulls back from the bone. Soft, marbled, buttery texture inside, nice barky crisp outside. Delicious and tender, great beef flavor under smokiness under caramelized rub. Served with sauteed spinach and baked potatoes.

Sorry for the poor pic.

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Good suggestion John, thanks. I did something similar to this the last time I did a shoulder and it was phenomenal, also extremely versatile, you could strip away large portions and reinvent them.

Any suggestions for dry?

I know from experience Dave makes some of the best smoked meat you could ever have. If brisket shipped well, he could open a mail order service for it.

Basically you can roast it or smoke it.

Another option might be to feed your inner Mexican and turn it into carnitas or chilorio.

If you want to cut it up and eat it a pound at a time, you could do something Asian with it. There's a million ways the Chinese cook pork. The SE Asians turn it into a curry, or a satay.

Etc.

JR

Thanks :D

I have a 14lb brisket dry aging in the fridge, it'll go on the coals on Friday night and be done sometime Saturday afternoon.

I don't think FedEx does same day delivery on Saturdays. Just sayin

Santa Barbara harbor Jan 2014. Convinced folks to crack a couple on the dock. Wow was that delicious!

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MT930.


Please describe cooking method, I'm about to do a 5 pound bone in Prime Rib today.


I'm thinking a quick sear on all sides, then about 6-8 hours right at 120F in a digital smoker, but no wood chips. A standard kitchen oven only goes down to about 200.

It doesn't go above 120-130, so the meat is done pink.

I've also done a 500F oven preheated, and put the roast in for 20-30 minutes, then just turn the oven off, to sear then slow cook the interior of the roast perfect pink like yours!

Describe your recipe and that peppercorn rub!

I trying a new technique for a Prime Rib Roast tonight.

reversed.


slow slow roast to get internal temps up where you want them, THEN a blast of heat in an 500F oven to make my garlic/peppercorn/horseradish crust crunchy.

pics to follow

reverse technique, slow roast, then sear info:

The Food Lab: How to Cook a Perfect Prime Rib | Serious Eats

Slow-Roasted Prime Rib au Jus Recipe - CHOW

Our dinner last night...
 

Our dinner last night...
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Took John's advice and cooked the shoulder wet. About 6 hours in a gallon of apple cider, water, caramelized onions, garlic, bay leaf, black peppercorns.

Sauté a few carrots and celery, add some hunks of shoulder, add some of the poaching liquid to a roux, add the gravy, bring to a simmer, add the dumpling batter, cover, let simmer for 15 minutes. Done. Dumplings turned out nice and fluffy but could have been more flavorful. Maybe more butter. Next time I'll add some apples at the end too. The apple flavored gravy was great, only wanted more of it. Glad I left the fat on the shoulder.

Overall, perfect for a cold winter's day.

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Looks great. Lots of gravy is the key.