Kitchen "Candy" ~ Or, Look What I Just Got!

[msmofet]

DD picked this up for me from Ikea. I love it.

Bamboo cutting board (17"X11")



She also picked up a 1 1/2 liter pitcher.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I mentioned that we stopped at BB&B when we were out on my birthday. These are my latest kitchen toys: heavy duty loaf pan, spring form pan, and a set of folding cutting boards.

 

[GotGarlic]

I got an unusual kitchen haul recently: a friend of mine is moving cross-country to Seattle and had a happy hour at her house where she was giving away all kinds of opened and unopened pantry ingredients that she didn't want to pack and take with her. So I went over with a going-away gift for her of a pint of our backyard honey. She said she'd find a place for that! [emoji38]

So this is what I came home with:

* Large container of jasmine rice
* Barely used bottle of imported Greek white wine vinegar
* Partial bottles of La Tourangelle avocado and stir-fry oils
* Unopened bag of almond flour
* Three flavors of baking extracts - mint, peppermint and almond
* Partial jar of pickling spice
* Jar of Major Grey's Chutney
* Pace queso dip
* Half a dozen novels

Thanks, K! [emoji2]

 

[Cooking Goddess]

That is a great idea, GG! When my SIL and her hubby moved, they brought all of their open bottles to us, including cleaning supplies. I need to keep this in mind for whenif we finally move.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

What a fantastic idea GG!

If/when we ever move again I'm so stealing that one too!!

 

[tenspeed]

The Slow n Sear arrived yesterday. According to the manufacturer, it will turn the Weber kettle into a smoker. It supposedly allows you to maintain a low temperature (225 - 235 F) for hours. Amazingribs.com has high praise for it, so succumbed. I'll give it a dry run to learn how to control the temperature, and then will smoke some ribs on it.

 

[Vinylhanger]

The Slow n Sear arrived yesterday. According to the manufacturer, it will turn the Weber kettle into a smoker. It supposedly allows you to maintain a low temperature (225 - 235 F) for hours. Amazingribs.com has high praise for it, so succumbed. I'll give it a dry run to learn how to control the temperature, and then will smoke some ribs on it.

View attachment 35537

Dont waste a smoke with a dry run. Just put something in it that will cook easily.

Boneless pork ribs, veggies, a small tenderloin or tougher beef cut.

Wasted smoke is sad.

 

[GotGarlic]

Dont waste a smoke with a dry run. Just put something in it that will cook easily.

Boneless pork ribs, veggies, a small tenderloin or tougher beef cut.

Wasted smoke is sad.

I had the same thought [emoji2] I have a recipe for smoked corn relish. Chicken would only take about an hour and a half.

 

[bbqcoder]

The Slow n Sear arrived yesterday. According to the manufacturer, it will turn the Weber kettle into a smoker. It supposedly allows you to maintain a low temperature (225 - 235 F) for hours. Amazingribs.com has high praise for it, so succumbed. I'll give it a dry run to learn how to control the temperature, and then will smoke some ribs on it.

Have you smoked before? I'm new to the smoking game. I got a free 18" Weber Smokey Mountain that is in great shape from someone on LetGo last fall.
My first smoke was a 3lb pork butt. Took 8 hours at 225 to get to 190.

So be forewarned that it can take a lot longer than expected. We didn't eat the pork butt until 9pm that night.

I have 3 smokes under my belt (pork butt, pork ribs, and beef ribs).

Do you have a temp probe to monitor the temps? I have one with two probes: 1 to monitor the grate temps. The other to monitor the meat.
It's wireless so I can keep an eye on the temps while elsewhere.

Good luck with the new toy!

 

[Vinylhanger]

Don't feel bad. I'm a prolific smoker and we still tend to eat at 9 or 10 at night many times.

 

[tenspeed]

Have you smoked before? I'm new to the smoking game. I got a free 18" Weber Smokey Mountain that is in great shape from someone on LetGo last fall.
My first smoke was a 3lb pork butt. Took 8 hours at 225 to get to 190.

So be forewarned that it can take a lot longer than expected. We didn't eat the pork butt until 9pm that night.

I have 3 smokes under my belt (pork butt, pork ribs, and beef ribs).

Do you have a temp probe to monitor the temps? I have one with two probes: 1 to monitor the grate temps. The other to monitor the meat.
It's wireless so I can keep an eye on the temps while elsewhere.

Good luck with the new toy!

This will be my first smoke, and I'm planning to smoke some pork ribs. The recommendation from amazingribs is to drop the probe through the vent holes in the lid, as running it under the lid will allow too much air to flow. Others seem to be fine with running the wires under the lid with the Slow n Sear. I have a single channel temperature probe, which I will drop through the top to monitor the kettle. Ribs are too thin to monitor with an internal probe. If I decide to smoke a big chunk of meat I can always add the internal probe under the lid when it's nearly done.

 

[bbqcoder]

The recommendation from amazingribs is to drop the probe through the vent holes in the lid, as running it under the lid will allow too much air to flow. Others seem to be fine with running the wires under the lid with the Slow n Sear.

I'm not familiar with the Kettle but I wonder if you can notch it for the wires. I do this on my WSM. See the first picture in this thread.
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?75499-Old-WSM-notch-or-grommet-for-temp-probes

I have a single channel temperature probe, which I will drop through the top to monitor the kettle. Ribs are too thin to monitor with an internal probe. If I decide to smoke a big chunk of meat I can always add the internal probe under the lid when it's nearly done.

I've heard that before that it's hard to monitor temp in ribs but I didn't have any trouble. I carefully placed it between the two ribs in the center. The temp was accurate as I double-checked it with another instant read thermometer.

Still, good luck with the first cook!

 

[msmofet]

The Slow n Sear arrived yesterday. According to the manufacturer, it will turn the Weber kettle into a smoker. It supposedly allows you to maintain a low temperature (225 - 235 F) for hours. Amazingribs.com has high praise for it, so succumbed. I'll give it a dry run to learn how to control the temperature, and then will smoke some ribs on it.

View attachment 35537

Can you please post a link for that slow n sear. TIA

 

[caseydog]

This will be my first smoke, and I'm planning to smoke some pork ribs. The recommendation from amazingribs is to drop the probe through the vent holes in the lid, as running it under the lid will allow too much air to flow. Others seem to be fine with running the wires under the lid with the Slow n Sear. I have a single channel temperature probe, which I will drop through the top to monitor the kettle. Ribs are too thin to monitor with an internal probe. If I decide to smoke a big chunk of meat I can always add the internal probe under the lid when it's nearly done.

Dropping through the top vent will work fine. Just make sure you get the probe down near the meat, and not at the top of the dome. The top of the dome will be hotter than at the meat.

Yes, putting a probe in ribs won't work. You will know when the ribs are done by "the bend test." pick them up in the middle, and they should bend into a nice arch, and just start to show some cracks, but not break apart. The meat will also shrink back on the bones. You can also do a "probe test." A thermometer probe should slide through the meat with almost no effort.

Good luck!

CD

 

[tenspeed]

I'm not familiar with the Kettle but I wonder if you can notch it for the wires. I do this on my WSM. See the first picture in this thread.
https://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?75499-Old-WSM-notch-or-grommet-for-temp-probes



I've heard that before that it's hard to monitor temp in ribs but I didn't have any trouble. I carefully placed it between the two ribs in the center. The temp was accurate as I double-checked it with another instant read thermometer.

Still, good luck with the first cook!

I've seen videos on notching, and have also seen videos on drilling a hole for a silicone grommet. I'm going to hold off modifying the kettle until I figure out what I need. I'm hesitant to notch or drill, as I expect it will be a source of rust. If I'm just doing ribs I think dropping a probe through the lid will work just fine. I've done it with bone-in chicken and it seems to work just fine.

 

[caseydog]

Can you please post a link for that slow n sear. TIA

I have watched several YouTube videos on the Slow and Sear, and I can replicate the same thing with stuff I already have on my Weber Kettle. It does work, but I just can't see myself spending money on something I am already doing without it.

CD

 

[caseydog]

If anyone has questions about Weber grills, I've got a little bit of experience with them...

 

[tenspeed]

If anyone has questions about Weber grills, I've got a little bit of experience with them...

I see that WSM in your collection! I don't have one, just a Weber kettle. The Slow n Sear is a third of the price of the WSM. I doubt that it is as good as the WSM, but if it does a decent job on ribs, I'll be happy. I'm about to find out.

This will get your grill envy going:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19rRJgY5uAM

 

[caseydog]

I see that WSM in your collection! I don't have one, just a Weber kettle. The Slow n Sear is a third of the price of the WSM. I doubt that it is as good as the WSM, but if it does a decent job on ribs, I'll be happy. I'm about to find out.

I got over grill envy when I realized I had bought too many grills.

The WSM is a good smoker. You need to do a few cooks to get a feel for it. It is not "set it and forget it." You have to manage the heat. You also have to keep an eye on your ribs, or they will dry out. You may want to consider the "Texas Crutch," wrapping the ribs in foil with some apple juice after the first two hours. After two hours, the meat is not going to absorb any more smoke.

Honestly, for small cooks, I can get the same results on my 22.5-inch kettles, and use less fuel. Most of my cooks are small, since I cook mostly for myself. I can do one rack of ribs on a kettle so much easier than on a WSM. For six racks, a WSM is obviously a better fit.

CD

 

[bbqcoder]

I got over grill envy when I realized I had bought too many grills.

You do have a nice family there. So no gas grills? I have the Weber 1300 that is in rehab, S320 which is my primary grill, another 1000 that is my oven and was recently refurbished. The 1000 is my newest addition and got it for free. Last year, I picked up my first 18” WSM, also for free.

The WSM is a good smoker. You need to do a few cooks to get a feel for it. It is not "set it and forget it." You have to manage the heat. You also have to keep an eye on your ribs, or they will dry out. You may want to consider the "Texas Crutch," wrapping the ribs in foil with some apple juice after the first two hours. After two hours, the meat is not going to absorb any more smoke.

I was surprised how little fuel my 18” WSM uses. I smoked for 8 hours at ~225 and probably used a 1/3 of the charcoal ring. I do very little adjustment of the vents. Probably 3-4 times max. I do spray the ribs every two hours with apple juice but I do not foil them.

Honestly, for small cooks, I can get the same results on my 22.5-inch kettles, and use less fuel. Most of my cooks are small, since I cook mostly for myself. I can do one rack of ribs on a kettle so much easier than on a WSM. For six racks, a WSM is obviously a better fit.

CD

You do have a very large WSM. How do you like Jumbo Joe WSM smoker you made? Of the grills in your family, which is your favorite?