caliking
is Blowin Smoke!
Whew! The holidays are over, and I need some time to recover. We had some very old friends of ours visiting for the week and their 2yo girl kept us on our toes. She loves 'cue, so I had to step up to the plate.:-D
I brought my new LBGE home about 2 weeks ago, so I was dying to put it to good use. I built a cart for it after I couldn't stand to see it in the box and unassembled.
Started with an overnight pork butt. Rubbed with SM Sweet and Spicy, 280°F on the egg, and she cruised for about 10hrs. Pulled it when it hit 203°F internal and probed like butter. Coolered for 3-4 hours then pulled. Was mighty tasty with Head Country Hot bbq sauce and Hawaiian King rolls.
Somehow a fatty snuck in, most likely after I pulled the butt off and the egg was still going. I think I got about 14hrs of cooking off of one fill.
Next night we did some cornish hens. Pretty simple - 4 hens, some lemon and rosemary in the cavity, A LOT of garlic (6-8 per bird). On the egg indirect at 450°F for 30mins then decreased the dome temp to 350°F for another 30 mins or so until the thigh read 170°F. The sauce was just awesome garlicky goodness.
It was then time to put the newly repaired UDT through its paces. The following night we fired it up and made some killer chicken and goat kababs, fresh naans from scratch cooked the ol' skool way on the walls of the tandoor. Chicken mughlai and goat korma were cooked inside, but no pics, sice we were too lubricated with more than a few Belgian brews. That's sad, because my friends goat korma is one of the best kormas I had last year. I goofed a bit with the UDT - fired it up with briqs and the temp just didn't get high enough. I have always used lump and so was trying something new this time. Don't think I will ever use briqs again. (My new outdoor lights make so much of a difference when cooking at night now - one set by the pool, and one set by the UDT and pizza oven).
The day before my guests left, we decided to fire up the pizza oven. It is "portable" - no mortar anywhere so if I move I can take it with me (well, that the plan anyway). It is not insulated, is leaky as heck, but it gets the job done and is fun to cook with. We did a margherita pizza, elk sausage, and pepperoni. The dough was homemade by my friend ( I need to get the recipe) and the bufala mozz was excellent (from Costco).
I also learned some things about the egg. The dome temp is pretty close to the temp in the front of the grate (towards the handle). There is a hot spot towards the back of the grate, between the legs of the plate setter, so I will have to be careful when doing things like brisket or ribs to keep the ends from getting burnt. If laid horizontally (side to side) things should be okay.
Wait - i forgot that I did some ribs while the pizza was fired :doh:. Untrimmed rack of spares, Smokin' Guns Hot & SM Cherry. on the egg at 300°F for about 3-4hours. When wibs started weeping, I shut the cooker down and let it ride for the last hour so. These were the best ribs I have ever made. The rub was gret and the texture was amazing. I cooked without the daisy wheel top damper (completely off) because I think it adds a layer of unnecessary complexity. Managed temp with just the bottom intake, like I have usually done with my drums and kettles.
I need to make a grate extender to get more cooking area on the egg. If any brethren have any cool mods, I would love to see them.
Lastly, the festvities were sponsored by these fine fellows, and yes it was cold enough in Houston to actually light up the fireplace! The Balvenie was done by the end of the last night.
Thanks for looking! :thumb:
I brought my new LBGE home about 2 weeks ago, so I was dying to put it to good use. I built a cart for it after I couldn't stand to see it in the box and unassembled.
Started with an overnight pork butt. Rubbed with SM Sweet and Spicy, 280°F on the egg, and she cruised for about 10hrs. Pulled it when it hit 203°F internal and probed like butter. Coolered for 3-4 hours then pulled. Was mighty tasty with Head Country Hot bbq sauce and Hawaiian King rolls.
Somehow a fatty snuck in, most likely after I pulled the butt off and the egg was still going. I think I got about 14hrs of cooking off of one fill.
Next night we did some cornish hens. Pretty simple - 4 hens, some lemon and rosemary in the cavity, A LOT of garlic (6-8 per bird). On the egg indirect at 450°F for 30mins then decreased the dome temp to 350°F for another 30 mins or so until the thigh read 170°F. The sauce was just awesome garlicky goodness.
It was then time to put the newly repaired UDT through its paces. The following night we fired it up and made some killer chicken and goat kababs, fresh naans from scratch cooked the ol' skool way on the walls of the tandoor. Chicken mughlai and goat korma were cooked inside, but no pics, sice we were too lubricated with more than a few Belgian brews. That's sad, because my friends goat korma is one of the best kormas I had last year. I goofed a bit with the UDT - fired it up with briqs and the temp just didn't get high enough. I have always used lump and so was trying something new this time. Don't think I will ever use briqs again. (My new outdoor lights make so much of a difference when cooking at night now - one set by the pool, and one set by the UDT and pizza oven).
The day before my guests left, we decided to fire up the pizza oven. It is "portable" - no mortar anywhere so if I move I can take it with me (well, that the plan anyway). It is not insulated, is leaky as heck, but it gets the job done and is fun to cook with. We did a margherita pizza, elk sausage, and pepperoni. The dough was homemade by my friend ( I need to get the recipe) and the bufala mozz was excellent (from Costco).
I also learned some things about the egg. The dome temp is pretty close to the temp in the front of the grate (towards the handle). There is a hot spot towards the back of the grate, between the legs of the plate setter, so I will have to be careful when doing things like brisket or ribs to keep the ends from getting burnt. If laid horizontally (side to side) things should be okay.
Wait - i forgot that I did some ribs while the pizza was fired :doh:. Untrimmed rack of spares, Smokin' Guns Hot & SM Cherry. on the egg at 300°F for about 3-4hours. When wibs started weeping, I shut the cooker down and let it ride for the last hour so. These were the best ribs I have ever made. The rub was gret and the texture was amazing. I cooked without the daisy wheel top damper (completely off) because I think it adds a layer of unnecessary complexity. Managed temp with just the bottom intake, like I have usually done with my drums and kettles.
I need to make a grate extender to get more cooking area on the egg. If any brethren have any cool mods, I would love to see them.
Lastly, the festvities were sponsored by these fine fellows, and yes it was cold enough in Houston to actually light up the fireplace! The Balvenie was done by the end of the last night.
Thanks for looking! :thumb:
...man I want to home build a tandoor...
