Where's There Smoke - There's Flavor

A cute little video from Alton Brown about using smoke for flavor when cooking.

This is also posted at the NEW - WhiteTrash Barbecue - Check it out!

Thanksgiving Recipes: Smoked Cheddar and Apple Pie with Smoked Glazed Pecans

I found this on the Cookshack website. The directions are for cooking in a Cookshack Smoker, but with a little ingenuity, you could adjust this to your cooker. Have fun!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. cheddar cheese
• 2 C. pecans
• 6 Tbsp. honey
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese; softened
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 C. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4 lbs. Granny Smith apples; peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• Unbaked crust for 1 large deep-dish pie

Directions:
Preheat smoker to 175 degrees with 2 oz. apple wood.

Place the cheese directly on the top rack of the smoker. Place the pecans in a disposable aluminum pan and place on the bottom rack. Fill another disposable pan with ice and place on the bottom rack. When you see smoke coming out the vent hole in a steady stream, turn off the smoker. After 1 hour, taste a pecan to see if it needs more smoke flavor. If so, repeat the cold-smoking process. Thinly slice the cheddar cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put the smoked pecans on a baking sheet and toss with the honey and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until lightly toasted. When cool, chop 1 1/2 C. of the pecans and set aside the remaining whole nuts. Leave the oven on.

In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, 1/2 C. of the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. In another bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 C. of sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, flour, the remaining cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.

Toss in the apples and chopped nuts and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.

Spread the cream cheese mixture on the bottom of piecrust. Cover with a layer of sliced smoked cheddar, and top with a layer of the apple mixture. Repeat with layers of the cheddar and apple mixture until the crust is very full (the filling will decrease in height as it bakes.)

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the apple mixture is bubbly. Garnish with the whole glazed pecans.

Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

BBQ Recipes: How to Smoke a Turkey

For those of you who heard my Food Talk premier on WOR yesterday, know that I shard the microphone with my friend Josh Ozersky, the editor of Grub Street. Mike Colameco, the host of Food Talk, mentioned that Josh, along with Robbie Richter of Hill Country BBQ, had just posted a quick clip on smoking turkeys. Here it is, copied right off the Grub Street site. Take it away boys....

Mr. Cutlets's Crash Course: Turkey

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, not a few readers have written in to ask for advice about turkeys. Though we would never consider abandoning the big bird, we've had it grilled, boiled, deep-fried, stuffed with a duck, and just about any other way you can name — usually with little improvement to show for it. But smoking seems to be the one technique that brings turkey to the next level, and so we turned to our old pal Robbie Richter, pitmaster at Hill Country BBQ. We grabbed a turkey, a big syringe, a few other supplies, and headed out to Rego Park to Robbie's mother's house to do the backyard turkey thing par excellence. The results are here to see; the list of ingredients is available after the jump.

For the Rub:
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup black pepper
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

For the Mop:
6 oz. clear apple juice
6. oz lager beer
2 tablespoons infused schmaltz or duck fat

Cooking Whole Hog

Contrary to what my last post may have implied, I had a great weekend. We were out on the North Fork of Long Island enjoying th company of great friends, good food, beer, fire, beaches and farms. I haven't had a more relaxing weekend in a long long time.

In our travels I picked up an interesting little book called Best Barbecue Recipes by Mildred Fischer. It's an interesting book filled with recipes from cooks all over the United States. It also includes a lot of information from various meat producers.

Here's a guide to cooking the whole hog, courtesy of the North Carolina Pork Producers Council via Best Barbecue Recipes.

I: Select your menu:
II: Select a method of preparation: for whole hog or shoulders, etc. using wood, charcoal or gas.

Methods for cooking

Weight of Pig Charcoal Wood Approx Cooking Time
75 lbs 60 lbs 1/3 Cord 6 - 7 Hours
100 lbs 70 lbs 1/3 -1/2 Cord 7 to 8 Hours
125 lbs 80 lbs 1/2 Cord 8 to 9 Hours

InPORKtant:

• Cooker Temperature is between 225 degrees and 250 degrees.
• Cooking time assumes a closed covered cooker.
  
• DO NOT exceed 225 degrees for the first 2 hours of cooking.
• If using an "open" grill allow 1 hour of cooking time per 10 lbs of pork.
• When using charcoal or wood, distribute more coals under the hams and shoulders and less under the belly, ribs and back fro more uniform cooking. Additional coals started outside of the cooker should be added as needed to maintain proper temperature.
• If using a gas cooker - read the manufacturers directions.

III: Determine the number of people you plan to serve allowing 1 1/2 pounds of carcass weight per person.

• 75 lbs dressed pig = approximately 30 lbs cooked, chopped pork.
  
• 100 lbs dressed pig = approximately 40 lbs cooked, chopped pork.
  
• 125 lbs dressed pig = approximately 50 lbs cooked, chopped pork.
  
• 14 lbs uncooked Shoulder = 10 lbs cooked with a cooking time of 6 to 7 hours.
• 6 - 7 lbs uncooked Boston Butt = 3 lbs cooked with a cooking time of 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
• 14 lbs uncooked Ham = 6 to 7 lbs cooked with a cooking time of 6 to 7 hours.

Well, folks there you have it. I really question the cooking times and the meat yields. In my humble experience their cooking times and the meat yield are a bit low, but this comes from the experts. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

WhiteTrash Christmas Eve Dinner: Prime Rib

Funny thing Christmas Eve Dinner. I've never had a traditional food for the holidays. Many of my friend know exactly what they're going to eat on every holiday because they've always eaten the same things. Me, I never know. I think I'm cursed because I like to cook and I like to experiment. The only tradition we have is that there has to be a lot of food. So I just decided what I'm going to make tomorrow night. Now I just hope the butcher has some Prime Rib left.

Here's a link to an interesting twist on Prime Rib - Salt Crusted Prime Rib that my friend Curt posted on Get Your Grill On. But if you don't feel like surfing, here's a few recipes for Prime Rib that I've found on the net. I'll probably do something similar, but as you know, I never follow recipes exactly. They're just starting off points. The first two are from our friends over at Texas Barbecues.

Best Prime Rib Recipe - Oven Version
Remove roast from the fridge and let stand for about an hour.

• 8 to 10 lb. Standing Rib Roast(bones in)

Mix together:

• 2 Tablespoons onion powder
• 2 Tablespoons dried rosemary
• 2 Tablespoons black pepper
• 1 teaspoon tarragon1 Tablespoon rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1/4 cup salt(I like Kosher salt for a nice crust)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

If rib roast is dry, wet hands slightly and pat down roast before you put the dry herbs on.

Rub dry herb mixture all over and into the rib roast.

Place roast on a wire rack inside a roaster pan, and with the ribs down. Put the meat in oven and roast uncovered for 1 hour. After the hour turn off the oven without opening it.

In about 4 hours, turn on oven to 370°F and roast 30 minutes more for a medium rare, and a little less for rare. Remove the roast from oven and let it rest for about 30 minutes before carving into steaks. Serves 10 people.

Best Prime Rib Recipe - Smoker Version

Herbs and spices stay the same. I do rub the roast down with oil with the herbs. The actually cooking times and methods differ this way:

Get your smoker preheated and ready with soaked wood inside. I like to use hickory or mesquite, and apple will work great too. Push a meat thermometer into the meat but not against a bone. A thermometer with an external reading is best so you won't have to open the smoker to look.

Place the roast on a grate in the heated smoker. Put the lid on and when the thermometer shows 130 degrees it is rare. Pull it off the smoker and let rest 30 minutes. Yes, you guessed the next step. Carve and eat.

*Here's another recipe from my old friend Phil Rizzardi. I've had this numerous times in the past and it's pretty good. It's a fairly confusing recipe, but knowing Phil, I know what he means. I'll try to simplify it, or I should say translate it for you. All measurements are approximate.

Phil's Prime Rib

• 1 cup Teriyaki Sauce
  
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
  
• 1/2 small bottle gravy master
• 1/2 small bottle kitchen bouquet(or you can use a whole bottle of either if ya cant find one or the other).
  

Combine all ingredients and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then pour this all over the roast and rub it in. Pierce the beef with a wide blade fork in several spots to allow the marinade to get into the heart of the meat a little bit. If your prime rib has heavy fat cap, use a knife to slice it open in a few spots to allow the sauce to penetrate through the fat to the meat.

Besides the sauce, you will want to to rub your Prime Rib with 2 cups or more of Turbinado Sugar (you will want to use a heavy hand with the sugar when seasoning the meat) and 3-4 Tablespoons of Montreal Steak Seasoning. Rub the meat well and let sit for about 5 minutes. When the roast is covered with rub and you find it dissolving, then some additional rub on the roars. You will want a layer of wet rub and a layer of dry rub on your meat before cooking. Let the roast sit for about half hour, covered.

Cooking Instructions:
During the first half hour to 45 minutes of cooking, place your roast in the hot spot of your cooker where it is at 375 to 400 degrees. As soon as you put the meat in the cooker, damper down your vents so that your cooker temperatures drop slowly to 275degrees. Leave the meat and your cooker alone until internal temperature of the meat reaches between 90 and 100 degrees, approximately 40 minutes. Move the roast to your normal cooking spot in your cooker where the temperature is about 275 and cook until the meat reaches an internal of 125 degrees.

At this point, either remove the roast from the smoker, cover it loosely with tin foil and let it rest until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees. Or, I prefer to roll it around over hot coals, searing the meat to make a crust. Bring the meat to an internal temperature of 130 degrees or so, but no higher than 135. Then take it off and let it sit, wrapped loosely in aluminum foil. Let the meat rest about 20-30 minutes.

The internal temperatures of the roast will continue to climb into the 140s. This will yield a prime rib with rare meat on the inside and medium meat on the outboard slices.

I hope that makes sense. Good luck and enjoy folks. Merry Christmas!