Hi Jamie! Big fan of yours and am very grateful you're willing to help us out on Chris' great site. Thank you! And thanks for making things so easy to understand and less intimidating! Could I humbly ask a few Q's?
1. Got some great Aleppo pepper from Penzey's after hearing about it on Chris' site, and I love the stuff. I went back and ordered Arbol Chili and Cascabal too, but they arrived whole and not ground up. Do you just grind them in a spice grinder, or do you "toast" them first and remove certain parts? Would be grateful for some tips!
2. If you could be perfectly candid (no sponsor pressure), what rib rack would you recommend? I've tried several, including Weber's, and I don't like any of 'em b/c the ribs tend to flop or slip through the bottom (hard to describe) when I'm loading the rack, and a lot of the seasoning gets rubbed off. I was thinking of Steve Raichlen's rack b/c it has supports underneath that would help keep 'em in place, but I sure would be grateful to know what you use and how you avoid this problem.
3. Not a Q, but a comment: Your "Weber's Smoke" book is very good (I also have Big Book of Grilling and use it all the time!). First tip that helped me was your 50/50 tip on smoke wood. When I use hickory, the smoke can be overbearing; when I use apple, it's too subtle. Using your tip, I combined the two and it's like heaven! Thank you! Also love your tip about using rosemary branches for smoke. Haven't tried it yet, but I have plenty of rosemary so I will give that a shot! Another great tip, from Steve Petrone who frequents Chris' site, is to use whole pecans for a delightful smoke. Thanks again, Jamie, for making this all so much fun! Gratefully, Mickey.
1. Got some great Aleppo pepper from Penzey's after hearing about it on Chris' site, and I love the stuff. I went back and ordered Arbol Chili and Cascabal too, but they arrived whole and not ground up. Do you just grind them in a spice grinder, or do you "toast" them first and remove certain parts? Would be grateful for some tips!
2. If you could be perfectly candid (no sponsor pressure), what rib rack would you recommend? I've tried several, including Weber's, and I don't like any of 'em b/c the ribs tend to flop or slip through the bottom (hard to describe) when I'm loading the rack, and a lot of the seasoning gets rubbed off. I was thinking of Steve Raichlen's rack b/c it has supports underneath that would help keep 'em in place, but I sure would be grateful to know what you use and how you avoid this problem.
3. Not a Q, but a comment: Your "Weber's Smoke" book is very good (I also have Big Book of Grilling and use it all the time!). First tip that helped me was your 50/50 tip on smoke wood. When I use hickory, the smoke can be overbearing; when I use apple, it's too subtle. Using your tip, I combined the two and it's like heaven! Thank you! Also love your tip about using rosemary branches for smoke. Haven't tried it yet, but I have plenty of rosemary so I will give that a shot! Another great tip, from Steve Petrone who frequents Chris' site, is to use whole pecans for a delightful smoke. Thanks again, Jamie, for making this all so much fun! Gratefully, Mickey.