A new cooking thread...

My father-in-law gave me a smoker he'd only used twice. I'm semi-interested in testing it out. I don't know anything about it, except it's an electric one.

Probably will do wings as my first tester.

Smoked a brisket on the 4th; turned out great .....did mop it several times.  Smoked some wings as well, and also some olives for a tapenade. Made gazpacho also, smoked the tomatoes ahead of time and let them rest overnight .......I like the gazpacho a bit chunky  --- turned out great; damn refreshing in this heat.

Old thread but not sure where to put it. Does anyone have one of those outdoor pizza ovens? They look pretty cool

posted by iclfan2

Old thread but not sure where to put it. Does anyone have one of those outdoor pizza ovens? They look pretty cool

I don’t, but I do have a brevel pizza oven. Takes about 5’ for the pizzas to be done. Amazing.

posted by Laley23

I don’t, but I do have a brevel pizza oven. Takes about 5’ for the pizzas to be done. Amazing.

Damn that looks good.

posted by justincredible

Damn that looks good.

Dont get me wrong, we still order pizza. But probably just make it ourselves at home more than half the time. Toppings, sauce, cheese and dough makes 3-4 (depending on how thin you roll the dough) and costs about the price of a single pizza ordered. Maybe less after delivery fee and tip. We have saved a ton.

Those look legit. I was eyeing the Ooni Frya which cooks with pellets, which I already have on hand (can only make 12 inch pizzas). They also have gas versions. Not sure how much we’d use it but could be fun for the kids. 

posted by iclfan2

Old thread but not sure where to put it. Does anyone have one of those outdoor pizza ovens? They look pretty cool

U have a smoker don’t you? U can do them in there also 

posted by geeblock

U have a smoker don’t you? U can do them in there also 

I do, and it can get to 500 (supposedly), but wasn’t sure if it would be as good as something that can get to 900. 

posted by iclfan2

I do, and it can get to 500 (supposedly), but wasn’t sure if it would be as good as something that can get to 900. 

Imo the techniques of making the dough are more important than the cook temp of the oven, but I haven’t successfully hit the perfect pizza mark with either 

Smoked some jalapeño poppers this weekend for our 2 year olds party. They were legit. Hot Italian sausage, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese, stuff into half a jalapeño and then wrapped it with half a piece of bacon. 

posted by iclfan2

Smoked some jalapeño poppers this weekend for our 2 year olds party. They were legit. Hot Italian sausage, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese, stuff into half a jalapeño and then wrapped it with half a piece of bacon. 

Temp and time in the smoker?

posted by justincredible

Temp and time in the smoker?

It was around an hour at 225 but the bacon wasn’t crispy, so I raised the temp to 350 for the last 20-30 minutes until it was crisp to the touch. Makes  enough to fit about 34 halves. And they were good sized peppers. I scooped out the membrane and seeds but might leave some next time to spice it up more. Also added some dry rub into the filling mixture. 

Got the idea from Texas twinkies I’ve been seeing, which uses brisket instead of sausage, and fills the whole jalepeno instead of halved. 

I usually cook the bacon halfway before wrapping it. Gotta be quick though, cause its hot to the touch when wrapping lol. But that helps the bacon get crispy while keeping everything else from getting overdone.

posted by Laley23

I usually cook the bacon halfway before wrapping it. Gotta be quick though, cause its hot to the touch when wrapping lol. But that helps the bacon get crispy while keeping everything else from getting overdone.

Ditto

So saw a deal for some Waygu beef (Kobe)....I've had it a few time before, and thought it was nothing special (much less for the price).

Anyway, I bought 3 - 6oz steaks for like $150, and got 4 - 4oz steaks for free.  With shipping and handling, still like $80/lb all in - roughly $30 for a petite 6oz steak.  A little cheaper than a steakhouse, but you'd never have convinced me this was high quality beef.

Again, I've had way better.  Will see how the others go, but completely unimpressed with Kobe beef.  IMO, my go-to dry-aged choice for $20-$25/lb still blows it away.

Also didn't have a great experience with Omaha steaks, at least what I bought.  My local store isn't bringing in my steaks anymore (which were my all-time go-to favorites).

Wondering if I'm not thawing these things wrong and it's messing up the taste.

How are you thawing it?

microwave for 5 minutes.

posted by QuakerOats

How are you thawing it?

1-2 days in the fridge.  But thinking I should take the plastic off.  The ones I used to get from the store shipped and sold the same way, but they were always as good as I got from a restaurant.  So I really don't think it's anything other than the meat itself.

Obviously won't buy again....possibly I'm tasting a little freezer burn.  These came frozen solid in dry ice.  Same with Omaha steaks, just tasted a little off.