NJ BBQ (was: BBQ cooking/competition school in May)

[voyager9 3,434]

13 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Thank you!
 

But, we can all strive for improvement, and learning new techniques!!

 

 

And adding pineapple.  

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

11 hours ago, voyager9 said:

And adding pineapple.  

I know where you can put the pineapple….

 

 

On Tacos Al Pastor!! That’s really where it belongs. 

[10X 3,296]

I changed the thread title, to make it more inclusive of all things NJ BBQ.

I've run the smoker a couple of times recently.  I waited for a very cold day to smoke 9 lbs of assorted cheeses.  Keeping the smoker below 85F for 4 hours is difficult on a warm day, but if it's cold enough and the fire is limited to three or four charcoal briquets, plus a small lump of smoke wood, it works fine.  This turned out great, but it is necessary to wrap newly-smoked cheese in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a month to let the smoke flavor penetrate fully.

I also smoked a mixed batch of drumsticks, simply rubbed with jerk seasoning (this is a favorite!) plus a batch of thighs done to competition standards, which involves removing the skin, trimming both thigh and skin into neat rectangles, carefully filleting all of the fat from the underside of the skin, injecting with a liquid seasoning, applying rub, and re-assembling with the trimmed skin, then more rub and finally a custom sauce applied towards the end of the cook.  It's a pain in the neck, but the results are pretty.   They'd be better still if the Cosco thighs were more uniform in size.

Today I smoked two whole chickens, one a beer can chicken rubbed with a paste of dijon mustard, chili powder, garlic, and brown sugar.  This was misted during the cook with Coke and a bit of lime juice.   For the other, I omitted the beer can (some say it really doesn't keep the chicken more moist) and applied a glaze of harissa paste, honey, and a few spices.   The harissa paste is crazy hot if not cut with something sweet but it adds great flavor.   The glaze was re-applied a couple of times during the 4 hour smoke, on pecan and a little mesquite wood.    Both chickens turned out great.

All of these were done on an 18" Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.

 

  

  

 

 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

Man, that looks awesome! Wish I had known, I was in Philly last week for my job! I’d have invited myself over to ‘judge’ your cooking. Lol! 
 

I haven’t fired up the smoker yet myself, but have been trying some local bbq. 
When work slows down a little, and I’m not on a plane every week, I’ll fire it up and do some cooking. 
I’ve got a hankering for some smoked wings. And maybe a brisket. 

[10X 3,296]

So, I’ve dabbled a bit in competition BBQ.  I’m still not sure how deeply I want to get involved, as is a lot of work and there aren’t many competitions in this part of the country.   But, oft-repeated advice for competitors is to get certified as a judge early on, so that in competitions you know what the judges are looking for.  The Kansas City Barbeque Society finally held a judge’s class in the northeast this past weekend, and I headed up to Rhode Island to attend.

The training covered judging the four main competition meats:  chicken, pork ribs, pork shoulder, and beef brisket.   Entries are judged on appearance of the turn-in box (some good examples are below), taste, and tenderness; six judges taste each entry.  

                   

          

One of the top local competition teams spent the night cooking the samples for the class; some truly exceptional, some intentionally flawed in different ways so we could learn to spot them. 

It’s a tough job; eating BBQ all afternoon and filling out score sheets, but somebody’s got to do it.

Since I’m now a Certified Barbeque Judge, I’m happy to give back to the NJGF community.   If you’re smoking meat, feel free to invite me to your BBQ, or just drop off samples after the fact!  

[10X 3,296]

I smoked a 6 lb boneless leg of lamb today; it's always been a family favorite.  I use a rub of thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bit of olive oil, then today followed up with a mop (similar ingredients plus diced onion in an apple juice/apple cider vinegar base).   Four hours smoke over apple wood, brought in to rest when the interior temp hit 138F yielded perfect rare/medium rare lamb.  I carved over board sauce (olive oil, splash of red wine vinegar, plus thyme and oregano), and it was a big hit.  It was my 75th cook on my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.

  

[brucin 923]

That looks delicious. 

Cindy and I love lamb. 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

I also love lamb, and that looks incredible!! 

[Bklynracer 1,263]

Also like lamb, looks awesome 

[10X 3,296]

Thanks for the kind words.  Costco is a great source for the lamb; unlike beef, pork, and chicken, their boneless leg of lamb prices haven't shot up; I think I've been paying $6.99/lb for a couple of years now.   They're mostly in the 4-6 lb range.

To hold them together after the bone is removed, they come bundled up in a mesh bag.  You can actually apply rub through the bag and smoke or roast them right in the bag, but I removed it this time, trimmed it up a little more, rubbed it inside and out, then tied it back into a bundle.

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

We always had it Greek style, served with potatoes, warm pitas, tzatziki, and wine. Lots of wine. 
 

 

[10X 3,296]

I ran the smoker again today.  The entree was chicken breast smoked over apple wood.   Chicken breasts aren't smoked often; it's hard to keep them from drying out, but one of Mixon's cookbooks had a recipe I'd been meaning to try:  overnight marinade in Coca Cola with a bit of other seasoning, home-made rub, wrap in bacon, smoke in a pan, and sauce after about 1:45 at 275-300F.   I then did the extra step of putting them on a hot grill for a few minutes to crisp the bacon.

I also smoked a few andouille sausages, rubbed with yellow mustard as a binder and rubbed with a commercial chipotle rub. 

Both were great; I didn't get pictures of either on the smoker, and they disappeared soon thereafter. 

The highlight was the pork belly burnt ends; 4 lbs of pork belly cut into 1"-1.5" cubes, homemade rub, 2.5 hours on the smoker grate, then 1.5 hours in a covered pan, sauced with Head Country Spicy cut with some bourbon, then another 15 minutes to set the sauce.   

They were a big hit.  I even managed to have everything done at the same time.

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

Smoked some chicken wings today. We batch these up, vac seal and freeze them, and then crisp them up in the air fryer. Delicious. 
 

I popped a turkey breast on now. 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

Dry brined, smoked chicken thighs too. 
 

Turkey breast is still chugging along. 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

Turkey breast reached 160° so I pulled it. Has to rest for a few hours, and then I’ll divide it up. 
 

Not as pretty as 10X’s bbq, but I ain’t going after the beauty contest! 

[Bklynracer 1,263]

Looks like someone missed good home BBQ.

[10X 3,296]

That looks really good!  All of it!!

I assumed you served them over rice with some seaweed and daikon?  

I should have some more meat porn photos to post in a couple of days. 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

2 hours ago, Bklynracer said:

Looks like someone missed good home BBQ.

Yep. I was gonna do a brisket but the ones I saw locally are $90!!!!!! No way. 
Wife wanted smoked wings and turkey breast anyway. 
 

1 hour ago, 10X said:

That looks really good!  All of it!!

I assumed you served them over rice with some seaweed and daikon?  

I should have some more meat porn photos to post in a couple of days. 

I have banned rice and seaweed in my household for awhile….

Im so sick of Japanese food!! 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

Mrs Tex asked me to smoke up a few more batches of wings, so I’m going to do 20lbs today. 
 

I’m out of Dillo Dust, so I’m trying another rub. The quick taste test of it is excellent, and it doesn’t have any sugar in it (unlike Dillo Dust). 

 

[Bklynracer 1,263]

20 Lbs. What time should we come over and what beer do you like?

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

Lol. Late this afternoon, around 3. Shiner Bock works for me! 

[10X 3,296]

I’d promised to post more meat porn pics, so here they are. These are all restaurant meals, and while my trip was less epic than Tex’s, I did have some good dinners.  

 

Not quite two weeks ago, my boss asked on a Friday if I could pretty please  leave for Buenos Aires on Monday to help with a lab project.  I’d never been there, so…Sure!

This required a mad scramble to find flights,  figure out Covid travel protocols in 4 countries, brush up on my really bad tourist Spanish (it's still really bad), and watch Evita (my wife's contribution to the planning).  Once on the ground there,  I didn't have much free time other than over the next weekend when I finally got to sightsee. 

 

So that left dinnertime as my down time. 

 

And dinner in Argentina often means Argentine beef.  Steak and Malbec are staples.   So in a week, I hit five different steak houses! The pics include two strip steaks, two sirloins, and a ribeye.  The last night I substituted a caipirinha for the Malbec.  It’s hard to find caipirinhas in the US. 

 

All were wonderful!   The exchange rate isn’t great right now, but paying in dollars you could get a nice steak, a side, a glass of wine, and tip for about $35 (about 40% more if paying in Argentine pesos).   

 

You could also select from the Wagyu steak list, add a bottle of high-end Malbec and pay over 10 times that, but my employer isn't nearly that generous.

 

If you don't specify how you want your meat cooked, they default to something between medium and well done, which I found surprising for a country that is so into beef.  But if you specify medium rare, they nail that perfectly every time.  That thick sirloin was the highlight of the week!

 

On the first leg of the flight back, the in-flight meal was beef medallions, and on the second leg, a petit filet.   Not bad for airline food, but neither warranted pictures.  Now that I'm home, I've been told I'll mostly be eating salads for awhile.

 

Gas, in the city, was just under $4/gallon.  I read that nationwide it had only recently gone up to about $3.50, though it's always been low there compared to the US.

 

[CMJeepster 2,777]

Now I'm hungry.

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

1 hour ago, 10X said:

I’d promised to post more meat porn pics, so here they are. These are all restaurant meals, and while my trip was less epic than Tex’s, I did have some good dinners.  

 

Not quite two weeks ago, my boss asked on a Friday if I could pretty please  leave for Buenos Aires on Monday to help with a lab project.  I’d never been there, so…Sure!

This required a mad scramble to find flights,  figure out Covid travel protocols in 4 countries, brush up on my really bad tourist Spanish (it's still really bad), and watch Evita (my wife's contribution to the planning).  Once on the ground there,  I didn't have much free time other than over the next weekend when I finally got to sightsee. 

 

So that left dinnertime as my down time. 

 

And dinner in Argentina often means Argentine beef.  Steak and Malbec are staples.   So in a week, I hit five different steak houses! The pics include two strip steaks, two sirloins, and a ribeye.  The last night I substituted a caipirinha for the Malbec.  It’s hard to find caipirinhas in the US. 

 

All were wonderful!   The exchange rate isn’t great right now, but paying in dollars you could get a nice steak, a side, a glass of wine, and tip for about $35 (about 40% more if paying in Argentine pesos).   

 

You could also select from the Wagyu steak list, add a bottle of high-end Malbec and pay over 10 times that, but my employer isn't nearly that generous.

 

If you don't specify how you want your meat cooked, they default to something between medium and well done, which I found surprising for a country that is so into beef.  But if you specify medium rare, they nail that perfectly every time.  That thick sirloin was the highlight of the week!

 

On the first leg of the flight back, the in-flight meal was beef medallions, and on the second leg, a petit filet.   Not bad for airline food, but neither warranted pictures.  Now that I'm home, I've been told I'll mostly be eating salads for awhile.

 

Gas, in the city, was just under $4/gallon.  I read that nationwide it had only recently gone up to about $3.50, though it's always been low there compared to the US.

 

I love that you got to go to BA, and had some epic meals along the way! Awesome! 
 

I’m cooking steaks tonight, although nothing that amazing looking!! 

[Grapeshot 301]

5 hours ago, 10X said:

It’s hard to find caipirinhas in the US

You know these are incredibly easy to make. After spending a lot of time in Brazil, Columbia,  and Argentina, I make these at home all summer!

And Buenos Aires is beautiful - one of my favorite cities! 

 

[10X 3,296]

1 hour ago, Grapeshot said:

You know these are incredibly easy to make. After spending a lot of time in Brazil, Columbia,  and Argentina, I make these at home all summer!

And Buenos Aires is beautiful - one of my favorite cities! 

 

I know, and I do make them.   Once I realized it is possible to find cachaca up here.   And years back I raved about the caipirinhas at the Brasilia restaurant in the Ironbound enough that the server brough me a Cachaca Pitu muddler from the bar as I was leaving.

I do struggle with getting the lime-to-sugar ratio right, so they're not always as consistent as I'd like...but they are tasty!

Buenos Aires is beautiful.  It's a huge city; I was spending 2 1/2 hours a day in a car traveling back and forth to the lab, and it was about the same amount of time to get to the airport.   On the weekend, I walked a full 20 miles, but got to see parts of the Recoleta, Paloma, Monserrat, San Telmo, and Government districts, and quite a few of the major tourist draws.   The Recoleta Cemetery is incredible (Recoleta Cemetery  Recoleta, again) 

I've attached just two pics from the city, the Palace of the Argentine National Congress, and the Presidential Palace (Case Rosada), though with no one on the balcony singing 'Don't Cry for Me Argentina" when I was there.

 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

Coming soon to a smoker near you. 
 

Actually, I couldn’t resist it. Brisket was on sale, so I bought it to stuff in the freezer for later.

[JohnnyB 4,322]

7 minutes ago, Displaced Texan said:

Coming soon to a smoker near you. 
 

Actually, I couldn’t resist it. Brisket was on sale, so I bought it to stuff in the freezer for later.

That's a big brisket!

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

19 minutes ago, JohnnyB said:

That's a big brisket!

13 lbs is about average. 
 

I saw it today, and bought it now because meat prices have been on a steady upturn. 

[Displaced Texan 11,731]

22 minutes ago, JohnnyB said:

That's a big brisket!

13 lbs is about average. 
 

I saw it today, and bought it now because meat prices have been on a steady upturn. 
 

 

My new favorite BBQ rub. Slightly spicy. No sugar!