Dan C. FL
TVWBB Pro
Saturday I went and did groceries with the misses. First stop was the Earth Fare, where we got a whole chicken. I was planning on doing rotisserie chicken and wanted to get a similar bird to what we got the first time I used it. I also got a beautiful London Broil. On the way home, we also stopped at Publix. We didn't want Tri Tip because it was time for a change. I thought about it and decided that I wanted to see about making a roast. There weren't any good ones out, but Publix being Publix, the butcher offered to cut me a roast. He asked what cut I wanted, which threw me off because, to my recollection, I've only ever had eye round. He advised that bottom round would be better. So, I accepted his suggestion and he cut me a 3 pounder. I was ready for lots of cooking on Sunday.
Saturday night, though, meant wings. I'm still dialing in my vortex wings technique. Last time I filled the vortex, and cooked the wings for an hour like the recipe that came with it said. That produced some crispy, not in a good way, wings. I remembered people saying anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, so I figured this time I'd try 40 minutes, turning the lid a quarter turn every 10 minutes. I coated mine in lots of Owens' BBQ Buffalo rub and the misses in ranch dressing powder (per her request). Fired the grill up, and loaded the wings on.
This time they turned out quite a bit better. The drumettes were a tad on the dry side, but totally edible. The flats were still dry.
Maybe next time I'll try them for 30 minutes. I love the crisp skin, but the meat shouldn't be quite so crispy.
Next was Sunday Funday. The last couple of weeks, I've done big cooks on Sunday and we had lots of leftovers for the week. It's worked well for us. I'll keep it up until football season starts up, then it'll probably drop off some.
Our plan for the chicken was to make this dish: https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/recipe/french-potato-and-chicken-salad-1/5626a5f7f79cf9120df38dec. It's a great, light dish and gives us oodles of leftovers for work.
One thing that is bugging me about these chickens...I think they're packed with water. When I pulled mine out of the cryobag, It drained a steady stream for about 30 seconds, and dripped for another minute. I looked all over the labeling, and it didn't say anything about being stuffed with additional water, maybe it was hidden by the price sticker. Anywho... buttered up the skin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, nutmeg and thyme and away she goes (with a few handfuls of cherry chips for good measure).
After about 50 minutes, she was reading done at the breast and the thighs.
(I love the color that the cherry chips gives a bird.)
There's no after pics of the meat as I left it on the counter while I took care of chores (read: picked up dog poop in the backyard) and started prepping for the next cook. Wife pulled the chicken by hand. She was a little concern that it wasn't done enough, but I told her that the temps read right and that the coloring was probably from the cherry chips. It didn't matter if it was a hair under done as it'll be reheated when we put it in the dish above. Tasted good anyways.
After I was done with my chores, it was time to cook last night's dinner. We had 3 potatoes and a sweet potato to cook on the grill. I've taken a liking to doing it on the charcoal. But, the last couple of times the skin was a little charred for the wife's tastes. So, this time, I decided to do a quarter turn every 10 minutes instead of 15. On their charcoal bed:
While they were going, I fired up the 22" kettle with the rotisserie attachment for the roast, covered the roast in salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I also decided to use some of the hickory wood from the Maine Grilling Woods sampler.
Here she goes!!!
I wanted the roast to be really rare. I can't slice it sandwich thin since I don't have the tools, or the patience to slice that thin with a knife, so I knew I'd be reheating it. When I pulled it off, it read 135 about 1/2" in on the big side, 140-ish on the thinner side, and about 125-130 right in the middle. I expected it to go up about 10 degrees while it rested. I didn't test the temp again to confirm, but when I sliced it, it was just on the Pittsburgh side of rare. I don't think it came up that much.
Here it is plated:
I'm pretty happy with the roast. Just had it for lunch and it was still good. The smoke flavor has settled quite a bit. Lots of red meat for this week. In fact, I think I might be cooking that London Broil tonight.
Saturday night, though, meant wings. I'm still dialing in my vortex wings technique. Last time I filled the vortex, and cooked the wings for an hour like the recipe that came with it said. That produced some crispy, not in a good way, wings. I remembered people saying anywhere from 30 to 40 minutes, so I figured this time I'd try 40 minutes, turning the lid a quarter turn every 10 minutes. I coated mine in lots of Owens' BBQ Buffalo rub and the misses in ranch dressing powder (per her request). Fired the grill up, and loaded the wings on.
This time they turned out quite a bit better. The drumettes were a tad on the dry side, but totally edible. The flats were still dry.
Maybe next time I'll try them for 30 minutes. I love the crisp skin, but the meat shouldn't be quite so crispy.
Next was Sunday Funday. The last couple of weeks, I've done big cooks on Sunday and we had lots of leftovers for the week. It's worked well for us. I'll keep it up until football season starts up, then it'll probably drop off some.
Our plan for the chicken was to make this dish: https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/recipe/french-potato-and-chicken-salad-1/5626a5f7f79cf9120df38dec. It's a great, light dish and gives us oodles of leftovers for work.
One thing that is bugging me about these chickens...I think they're packed with water. When I pulled mine out of the cryobag, It drained a steady stream for about 30 seconds, and dripped for another minute. I looked all over the labeling, and it didn't say anything about being stuffed with additional water, maybe it was hidden by the price sticker. Anywho... buttered up the skin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, nutmeg and thyme and away she goes (with a few handfuls of cherry chips for good measure).
After about 50 minutes, she was reading done at the breast and the thighs.
(I love the color that the cherry chips gives a bird.)
There's no after pics of the meat as I left it on the counter while I took care of chores (read: picked up dog poop in the backyard) and started prepping for the next cook. Wife pulled the chicken by hand. She was a little concern that it wasn't done enough, but I told her that the temps read right and that the coloring was probably from the cherry chips. It didn't matter if it was a hair under done as it'll be reheated when we put it in the dish above. Tasted good anyways.
After I was done with my chores, it was time to cook last night's dinner. We had 3 potatoes and a sweet potato to cook on the grill. I've taken a liking to doing it on the charcoal. But, the last couple of times the skin was a little charred for the wife's tastes. So, this time, I decided to do a quarter turn every 10 minutes instead of 15. On their charcoal bed:
While they were going, I fired up the 22" kettle with the rotisserie attachment for the roast, covered the roast in salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I also decided to use some of the hickory wood from the Maine Grilling Woods sampler.
Here she goes!!!
I wanted the roast to be really rare. I can't slice it sandwich thin since I don't have the tools, or the patience to slice that thin with a knife, so I knew I'd be reheating it. When I pulled it off, it read 135 about 1/2" in on the big side, 140-ish on the thinner side, and about 125-130 right in the middle. I expected it to go up about 10 degrees while it rested. I didn't test the temp again to confirm, but when I sliced it, it was just on the Pittsburgh side of rare. I don't think it came up that much.
Here it is plated:
I'm pretty happy with the roast. Just had it for lunch and it was still good. The smoke flavor has settled quite a bit. Lots of red meat for this week. In fact, I think I might be cooking that London Broil tonight.
