Monday, February 05, 2007
Hello
Did ya miss me last week? I kept thinking about posting, but never had time when I was thinking about it. I had mentioned (I think) that I was taking last weekend off (the 27th & 28th of January) from smoking stuff. I didn't, I had read all day Friday, on a new forum about how good these "chicken rolls" were, so that evening I hit the grocery store and picked up the pieces to make some on Sunday. One reason I was going to take that weekend off, was so I could do some Smoked Buffalo Wings on Saturday, February 3rd, to take to the Super Bowl party that I was going to. That didn't happen because it was c-c-c-cold outside.
I'm also still waiting on a new toy that I ordered, so that I can monitor smoker and meat temps from beside my chair in front of the TV. It's real similar to my current remote thermometer, but my current one sits on top of the smoker with the lead going into the meat, and I have to go out to look at it. The new one has a lead to go into the meat, and another to measure the air temp inside the box, hooked to a sender that sits on the smoker. The receiver can then be located anywhere within 100 feet (allegedly, will have to test as soon as I get it).
I also ordered some seasonings/cures, this past Saturday, but for some reason, my order was declined. I have a message in to them asking why, but haven't heard yet (only been about a half hour). Giving the company a chance to explain before I drag them through the mud. If it is handled satisfactorily (and if their product(s) are good), I'll even come back and give them a good plug. Just gotta wait for now.
The other day, possibly even a couple of weeks ago already (where does the time go?), Dad was talking to his cousin and they were talking about how their families used to butcher hogs and cattle, and make sausage. Dad's cousin still has a locker plant make him some sausage from the family's old recipe, and he smokes it himself. That got me thinking about making some sausage myself. Found a couple of good places to order the seasonings and casings from, but I would also need a meat grinder/stuffer. Cabela's just happens to have one close to my price range ($35).
I don't want to get carried away spending money on this stuff, but I'm also enjoying the smoking, and the eating of the end products, and want to expand what I'm capable of doing.
Now for the Super Bowl. I went to a neighboring town's Fire Station to watch with friends from there, and play some cards while eating, drinking, and watching the game. My buffalo wings turned out pretty good, even though I didn't smoke them. I used an altered recipe. Cut the wing pieces apart, dicarding the tips, spread them on a sheet pan and sprinkled with Chili Powder, baked them at 350 for about 45 minutes, then melted 1 1/2 cups butter, added about 2 cups of a combination of Red Devil sauce and Cookies' Wings & Things sauce and a splash of vinegar, and poured this mixture over the wings in a crock pot. Set that on low and let them be for about 3.5 hours before heading to the party, then it was another couple of hours before I sampled them. Man they were tender, and the pepper heat was perfect, not enough to set your mouth on fire, but you could taste it.
As for the game, I really didn't have a favorite. Was leaning toward the Bears because I don't really like Peyton Manning. I do happen to like Tony Dungy better than Lovie Smith though. All I really wanted was to see a decent game, and I think, for the most part, I did.
Well, that about covers the past couple of weekends, and some time in between. Stay tuned for the next round (when I get that far, lol).
I'm also still waiting on a new toy that I ordered, so that I can monitor smoker and meat temps from beside my chair in front of the TV. It's real similar to my current remote thermometer, but my current one sits on top of the smoker with the lead going into the meat, and I have to go out to look at it. The new one has a lead to go into the meat, and another to measure the air temp inside the box, hooked to a sender that sits on the smoker. The receiver can then be located anywhere within 100 feet (allegedly, will have to test as soon as I get it).
I also ordered some seasonings/cures, this past Saturday, but for some reason, my order was declined. I have a message in to them asking why, but haven't heard yet (only been about a half hour). Giving the company a chance to explain before I drag them through the mud. If it is handled satisfactorily (and if their product(s) are good), I'll even come back and give them a good plug. Just gotta wait for now.
The other day, possibly even a couple of weeks ago already (where does the time go?), Dad was talking to his cousin and they were talking about how their families used to butcher hogs and cattle, and make sausage. Dad's cousin still has a locker plant make him some sausage from the family's old recipe, and he smokes it himself. That got me thinking about making some sausage myself. Found a couple of good places to order the seasonings and casings from, but I would also need a meat grinder/stuffer. Cabela's just happens to have one close to my price range ($35).
I don't want to get carried away spending money on this stuff, but I'm also enjoying the smoking, and the eating of the end products, and want to expand what I'm capable of doing.
Now for the Super Bowl. I went to a neighboring town's Fire Station to watch with friends from there, and play some cards while eating, drinking, and watching the game. My buffalo wings turned out pretty good, even though I didn't smoke them. I used an altered recipe. Cut the wing pieces apart, dicarding the tips, spread them on a sheet pan and sprinkled with Chili Powder, baked them at 350 for about 45 minutes, then melted 1 1/2 cups butter, added about 2 cups of a combination of Red Devil sauce and Cookies' Wings & Things sauce and a splash of vinegar, and poured this mixture over the wings in a crock pot. Set that on low and let them be for about 3.5 hours before heading to the party, then it was another couple of hours before I sampled them. Man they were tender, and the pepper heat was perfect, not enough to set your mouth on fire, but you could taste it.
As for the game, I really didn't have a favorite. Was leaning toward the Bears because I don't really like Peyton Manning. I do happen to like Tony Dungy better than Lovie Smith though. All I really wanted was to see a decent game, and I think, for the most part, I did.
Well, that about covers the past couple of weekends, and some time in between. Stay tuned for the next round (when I get that far, lol).
# posted by Tiny @ 8:56 AM 
