123 Chili

Ingredients:
5 lb chuck roast
2 dried habanero peppers
4 guajillo (New Mexico) peppers
6 ancho peppers
6 cloves garlic (optional)
unsalted chicken stock
oregano (optional)
cumin (optional)
southwestern seasoning (optional)
oil (optional)
salt (optional)

Preparation:
Dry brine the chuck roast overnight.
(optionally) rub with oil and seasoning
smoke for 2-3 hours
cube the meat and add to a slow cooker with the chili paste
cook on low for 3-4 hours

Chili paste directions:
The name of this recipe is based on the 1:2:3 ratio of habaneros, guajillos, and anchos.

• Cut up dried chiles removing the seeds.  Size isn't critical but smaller makes things easier.
• Roast the dried chiles.  I use the microwave for two minutes, stopping to stir every 15 seconds.  You could do this in a pan on the stove.
• Add enough chicken stock to cover and microwave for 3-5 minutes.  Again, you could do this on the stove.  The concept is to soften all the peppers.
• Blend the pepper mix into a paste.  You can optionally add garlic and/or other seasonings at this step.

Helpful hints:
I wear disposable vinyl gloves while handling the chiles, especially habaneros or hotter peppers.

A pair of kitchen shears is an easy way to cut up the peppers. I usually trim around the stem, then cut down the middle the long way.  Then you can open up the pepper and remove the seeds easily.

Barbacoa Beef from Smoked Chuck

I'm a big fan of Pepper Stout beef which involves smoking chuck and then braising in a mix of onions, garlic, peppers, stout, and Worcestershire sauce.  The other day I stumbled on a recipe for barbacoa beef (in the Chipotle burrito sense).  This is my attempt at combining the two recipes.

The barbacoa recipe can be found at the Serious Eats blog here.

I started with two USDA Choice chuck roasts, totaling about 5 pounds, and the Pit Barrel Cooker.  I added two small handfuls of cherry chips to the charcoal at the start.

While that was going, I went inside and made the sauce.

I started by cutting up the dry peppers - one ancho, one New Mexico, two cascabels, and one habanero.  Here they are after toasting and simmering in chicken broth.

Got the onion, garlic, and spices - oregano, cumin, cloves - together and started browning the oxtails.

Once the sauce was finished and blended, I put it in the pan with the oxtails and bay leaves to simmer.

I got tired of waiting for the chuck which seems to have stalled out at 145, so I pulled it.  I put the roasts in a pan with the oxtails and sauce, covered it, and put it in a 350 degree oven.

After 3 1/2 hours, it was ready.  I tried it alone in some corn tortillas.  It has a nice flavor and a little heat from the habanero.

I expect it will be even better tomorrow after it has had a chance to rest in the juices.

First Time with The Pit Barrel Cooker

The Pit Barrel Cooker (PBC) has been around for a few years and I recently decided to get one and try it out.  As you can see in the photo above, it's not very big.  It can, however, hold eight racks of ribs hung vertically.

The PBC is a charcoal fueled variant of the Upright (or Ugly) Drum Smoker (UDS).  Unlike most UDSs, it's purpose built and made to be used literally right out of the box.  In the box you get the cooker body with lid, a horseshoe stand, a sturdy charcoal basket, a grill grate, two pieces of rebar, eight hooks, a hook pulling tool, and two jars of seasonings.  You get all that for $300, including Fedex ground shipping.  You can get an optional cover for an additional $30.

To set up the PBC, you just have to take everything out of the box, set the barrel on the stand, fill the basket with charcoal, then add the grill grate or rebars.  The first time, you need to adjust the damper near the bottom to control the airflow.  It's meant to be set once and then left alone.  The size of the gap varies with altitude.

My first attempt with the PBC was a pork shoulder.  I dry brined it overnight.  About an hour before cooking I rubbed it with olive oil and Meathead's Memphis Dust.  I used two hooks, one below the shoulder bone and the other through a thick portion of the meat.  I did not use any twine to tie it up, I just hung it as-is.

This is when I added the pork to the PBC.  You'll note I didn't do the best job of spreading the coals evenly over the unlit charcoal.  This time I put the basket of unlit coals in the bottom and shook the lit ones out of the chimney.  I'll either need more practice at that or to pour the coals outside of the cooker before adding the basket.  You can also see the two probes from my Maverick grill thermometer.  The grill probe is just hanging through the rebar hole on the right.

During the course of the cook, I monitored the grill temperature.  At first it was in the 240-250 range.  Ambient temps were in the 40s with a slight to moderate breeze.  After a couple of hours I readjusted the intake and temperatures went up to 250-260.  An hour later I adjusted it again and started seeing 270.  I final adjustment, after it started getting dark brought the grill temperature up to close to 300.  I'll probably want to back that off a little for my next barbecue.

In total, this ~3 pound pork shoulder took 8:15 to cook.  Some parts measured 207 degrees, some as little as 190.  Most of the meat just fell apart when I used a couple of forks on it.  It had an amazing bark and a good smoke ring.  It was quite delicious.

Lessons learned: I need to get better at setting up the coals.  I need to dial in the air intake.  I probably should have tied the roast up.  That would have resulted in a longer but more even cook.

A Hungarian Goulash Variant

I've been slacking on posting here because I haven't been doing any grilling.  I still need to eat, however, and know other ways of cooking.  One of my favorite winter foods is Goulash, a beef stew.

The traditional goulash recipe I learned is as follows:

1. Chop 1 large onion, saute in 2 Tbsp oil
2. Season with 1 tsp paprika
3. Add 1 lb beef cubed, 1 green pepper diced, 1 tomato diced, and a little salt
4. Steam under a lid until tender
5. Add 1/4 pound carrots, 1/4 pound parsnip, 3/4 pound potato, and 5 cups water
6. Cover and simmer until tender
7. Add homemade egg noodles

Noodles are 1 beaten egg, a pinch of salt and approximately 1/4 pound flour

Some variations I'll use:

1. Add garlic and black pepper
2. Substitute 1/2 bag store bought egg noodles for homemade noodles
3. Substitute barley for noodles, about 1 cup
4. Add hot paprika or other hot pepper or hot sauce
5. Double the amount of carrots in lieu of using parsnip
6. Use some beef stock in place of some of the water
7. Any of the above but using a slow cooker.  I'll pre-cook the onion and brown the meat before adding those to the cooker

Today's exciting episode of Jim's failure to follow a recipe includes the following:

1. (Organic unsalted) Canned tomatoes
2. (Organic Pearled) Barley instead of noodles
3. Added garlic, oregano, and black pepper
4. Two New Mexico chiles plus one habanero in lieu of paprika, all seeded
5. Lightly browned meat in small batches, then deglazed pan and added to cooker
6. Double carrots instead of carrots and parsnip
7. Cooked in a slow cooker

Reverse sear for Chuck Roast or other thick beef cuts

I'm a big fan of slow cooking most things on the grill.  The exceptions are burgers, thin steaks and most seafood.  The following method will work for roasts (chuck, round, etc.), steaks at least 1 1/2 inches thick, briskets or any other thick cut of beef.

Preparation:
1.  The night before, dry brine the meat.  Sprinkle a fair amount of kosher salt on the top, bottom and sides of the meat.  If you need a measurement, maybe a tablespoon per pound.  I just salt it like I'm salting something I'm going to eat.  Put on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

2.  About an hour before grilling, season and oil the meat.  Seasoning is at your discretion.  Sometimes I use a blend like my Southwestern blend.  Sometimes I just use black pepper.  For oil, I like to spray extra virgin olive oil from a pump sprayer.  Put back in the fridge uncovered.

Cooking:
1.  Preheat grill to 225 degrees for indirect cooking.  Anywhere from 225-250 is ok.  Optionally, add wood for smoking.  I always like mesquite or something milder like apple.  You don't need a lot.  It's best not to overpower the flavor with too much smoke.

2.  Cook on indirect heat until meat reaches 110-115.

3.  Remove meat from the grill and crank up the heat.  When the grill gets hot, put the meat back on for 5-10 minutes per side to sear.  It's usually best to leave the grill open for that.

4.  Use a good instant read thermometer to check for doneness.  135 is a good target for a nice medium-rare.  The outside will be a little more well done.

Slow Smoked Iowa Chops

I found some thick cut pork chops, Iowa Cut, at the Jenifer Street Market.  They were a great candidate for slow cooking.

There are a lot of ways you can go.  The Amazing Ribs guy recommends brining, then slow cooking with sauce on from the get-go.

I did something different.  A few hours before cooking, I sprayed the chops with extra virgin olive oil and rubbed in a light coating of my Southwestern blend.  I used maybe a tablespoon per chop.

I grilled them using indirect heat and hickory smoke to a temperature of 145 degrees in the thickest part.  I think that worked rather well.  The meat was pretty tasty by itself but I used a little sauce on the side.  I like Jenifer Street Market's Sizzling Habanero barbecue sauce which isn't as hot as it sounds.  It has a little spice and a nice sweet flavor.

Southwestern Spice Blend

Everybody has their spice blends.  This is one I use a lot.  It's actually not mine but a slightly customized version of Emeril's that I got from the Food TV web site.

I use some whole ingredients that I grind in an old coffee mill when I mix a batch.  They are: cumin, coriander, black pepper and dried chiles.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp coriander
2 dried habaneros or 1 dried ghost pepper, ground
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 large or 2 small chipotles, the dry ones, ground
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

I actually use more black pepper than that.  If you want to try the official Emeril version, delete the habaneros and chipotles and add a teaspoon each of cayenne and crushed red peppers.

I use this blend as-is on steaks and in southwestern type foods like chili and fajitas.  I mix it with brown sugar and use it as a rub for slow cooked ribs.