Recent content by Andy Rowland

Don, you didn't mention the most important part. How did it taste? Was it too smoky?

I'd be curious if anyone has weighed the trimming vs St. Louis rib. I recently bought 3 whole spares on sale at the grocery store for $1.79/lb. and spent around $25 IIRC. I looked at the local Costco and they have three packs of St. Louis cut for $2.79/lb. and the total price was in the same...

Rytek Kutas says that properly drying the sausages around 130* before smoking is very important for color. He also says that letting the sausage bloom at room temp after they've cooled off will add color. The longer you allow it to hang, the darker it will become.

I made some venison pastrami following this recipe: http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/hunting/2011/01/recipe-venison-pastrami and it turned out really well. I butterflied two backstraps because I was worried about the thickness preventing cure penetration. After 5 days curing, I rinsed and...

You can get 30 half size aluminum hotel pans at warehouse stores for around $6. They take up about half the charcoal area on a 22" kettle and I use them whether cooking indirect or not. When direct grilling, it keeps a cool safety zone available. A great bonus is that grease and fat either goes...

No pan and no heat shield? You're not really indirect cooking if heat can radiate directly from the fire to the food. Do you have to flip the food?

Luckily, I found it on Google Books. Ruhlman's book says to smoke (heavily) to an internal temp of 150 then simmer for 2-3 hours until tender. This is before slicing. Your question was about reheating though, so my reply was misguided.

I live in beautiful Huntsville. Harvest, actually.

Thanks for the feedback. It doesn't sound like freezing raw or cooked ribs diminishes the product very much. This is why I love making BBQ. After a little practice, it's hard NOT to make something delicious.

Costco sells ribs in packs of 3 which are too much for my family to eat. Which is better, to freeze the raw ribs that I don't want to eat or to cook the extra ribs and then freeze?

Chicken skin is the reason I bought a kettle. I could not get anything edible off of the WSM. I still can't get that "bite through" skin but at least it tastes good now. I refuse to peel the skin back and scrape it.

We always keep a bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's on hand, but it certainly is sweet. My son bathes chicken fingers in it and if you use it sparingly, it is great for quick re-heated pulled pork (with a little heat added). My personal favorite is Dreamland, however I doubt you will see it in stores...

I'm pretty sure Ruhlman's book "Charcuterie" agrees with Frank H. If memory serves, that book instructs you to simmer the pastrami in water for up to two hours. This might help if the meet is a bit dry or tough. I made some venison backstrap pastrami recently. After smoking for a few hours I...

I understand that you can put a container of crystallized honey in simmering water for a while and it will become smooth again. I heard this from a beekeeper, but never tried it.

I've purchased smithfield bone-in butts at Sam's and they were not enhanced. I liked the result.