Big Christmas Dinner - Food P@rn

*Results are coming in! See the end of the thread*

Hi all... thanks for all the helpful posts today answering my quesitons. I have begun the long process of preparing all the dishes for our big Christmas dinner which we ended up scheduling tomorrow evening due to all the gigs my wife and I have on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. (we are both musicians)

Here are the BEFORE pics. This is my first time to post photos here, so I hope I do it correctly.

Meat #1 and #2 - Two Briskets and Two butts. The butts are going straight to the freezer.. not eating them this meal. They went on the smoker at 7:30 - using hickory for first three hours - then some pecan. Should come off and cover with foil and into the oven to finish at around 1 or 2. While I sleep. One brisket is injected and marinated over night with a brisket marinade I got at Wally World.. the other is just rubbed - trying Adams Brisket rub this time. Butts are both rubbed with Adams and one is injected with apple juice to compare. Should I freeze them whole or pull them apart some or completely pull then freeze?



Meat #2 - Stuffed pork loin. Stuffed with Johnsonville mild italian sausage mixed feta cheese, avacado, garlic and red onion. Rub is Montreal Steak Rub - I know it is intended for beef, but it looks really good. This goes on at 8:00 AM with the fatties. (below) pecan wood.



Meats #3 & 4 - My first try at ABTs. Stuffed with cream cheese a little feta, chopped shrimp and red onion - forgot garlic dangit!

5 Fatties - three are covered with fritoes and 2 are covered with White Cheddar Cheese-its. They are stuffed with a variety of yummy items.. one is sage otherweise, they are all mild sausage.. don't like the strong chit.



Also might do some almonds in the morning as well.

Phew.. that's a lot. I will put up after photos tomorrow. All comments welcome!

B

Man.. that is such a nice thing to say. You'd be welcome any time Thirdeye. Your photography inspired me to do it.

I also made a brisket burnt end sammich this afternoon with some left over point chunks I had in the freezer because of your photos of that dish. it was realy yummy.

B

yeah.. Thought they were the same but cut differently? I've cooked both.. taste the same to me. I leave the fat cap on.

I just took everything off at 3:30... all the meat was around 165... foiled it and it is in the oven at 225. Took longer than I thought it would, but the fire got way down at one point.. not sure what happened there.

Going to bed for a few hours and then putting the Loin and fatties on around 9.

Yawn

B

It took the brisket and pork a LONG time to get up to 165... about 8.5 hours. I took it off, wrapped and into the oven at 225.. to get a couple hours sleep.

Got up and put the pork loin and fatties on...

It is 10:30 now and I have bumped the oven twice since I got up.. this meat is being stubborn.. The brisket is only up to 183 now after another 6.5 hours in the oven! Less than 20 degrees in 2 hours. I was expecting to cooler it by now. The probe isn't going in easy either.. it is into the pork shoulder and it is into the point, but the flat is still tough and needs a push.. got the oven up to 275 now.. I think I'll pull it out of there at 195 regardless of how it feels.

Any other suggestions?

B

EDIT - I think I discovered the problem.. the oven door wasn't closly all the way at the bottom.. when you open the door all the way down, you have to close it a certain way for the door to seal. So, maybe it was like that for hours and hours. That would explain the slow cook time. It is hummin' no.

Here are pics of the first results.. the two pork *shoulders.*

The briskets are in the cooler.. pork loin and fatties have been on for 3 hours.. about to foil the fatties.

The shoulders fell apart while trying to foil them for the cooler, so I decided to no cooler at all. They taste amazing. Going straight to vac seal when cool.

Enjoy!

Hawgsnheifers said:

Gotta ask, why was all that meat in pans while on the smoker?

Click to expand...

Good question. I am trying a new technique plus, I wanted to save drippings.. any advice on how to use the drippings? I have already chilled and skimmed all the fat off.. what now?

Hawgsnheifers - I decided to try the pans after reading this guy's web site:

http://www.kickassbbq.com/index.html - he recommends and uses pans for all his roasts.

What do you think? What's the trade off?

B

Forgot to mention the pot of beans.



Here's a shot of the finished almonds.. I wish I had put a bit more bite into them, but they are really good.. family loves em. Won't last the day me thinks.



Fatties and Brisket are in the cooler... so, more p*rn coming later. Once dinner comes at 7, the smoker will have been burning 20 of the last 24 hours.. wow.

Blutch