Smoke Hollow Smoker-Grill-Sear Combo Unit

I got a new cooker this week – a Smoke Hollow combo unit.

It's going out on the deck as soon as I get a cover for it.

I know, I know, like I need another grill. But look at it this way – I'm consolidating. This is replacing the two Brinkmann units that have been living in my garage for 2 years. So I am actually going from 6 grills to 5.

Rod from Florida asked me last week, if I have two Big Green Eggs, the “world's best smoker/grill/oven” why do I need anything else? It's a great question. I don't NEED anything else. But here's why I like using other grills at times:

• Nostalgia – I learned to smoke on a cantankerous offset smoker and it's fun to revisit that.
• Challenge – I like the skills test of handling fire management on other cookers.
• Readers – I don't want people thinking, “I can't cook that, I don't have a Big Green Egg.”

Why the Smoke Hollow?

I looked at other gas/charcoal smoker units such as the Char-griller and Brinkmann models but chose the Smoke Hollow for quality and design reasons. I liked the larger size of the Smoke Hollow's fire box (which came included, not an add on purchase like the other two). The charcoal tray in the grill is adjustable, giving another level of heat control besides just the vents.

Assembly

I have to give major kudos to the folks at Outdoor Leisure Products because despite having a lot of parts, this was one of the easiest assembly jobs I have done. The screws/bolts/nuts were in a blister pack and plainly identified. Everything was labeled to avoid confusion.  They designed it to be easy to put together by doing little things like using one size/type of bolt 90% of the time. The instructions are clearly written, easy to understand and get this...in real English. I put this together by myself in 2 hours at a leisurely pace and with minimal inadvertent swear words.

First Run

You have to season new cookers by coating the interior with a coat of oil and burning a medium hot fire for an hour.

The fire box is much more spacious than the SnP.  Using peach logs and coal here.

I had 4 almost empty bags of different types of Kingsford.  Used them all! 

About halfway through the burn in, I couldn't bear to let it waste all that heat for nothing so I threw on some Italian sausage, onion, and peppers for a quick, tasty dinner. 

Initial Impressions

I like the quality of the unit and how it cooked the first time.  The charcoal grill runs like I expected. I think the fire box is going to handle small logs and split wood easily.  The sear burner gets HOT almost instantly. It gives me plenty of options for cooking for a crowd. This is an upgrade from my two Brinkmann units that it replaced.

There are two modifications I will make.

1. I plan to install a Rutland or similar gasket around the lid of the grill/smoker chamber to close the air gap between the base and lid. It doesn't matter while grilling so much but would be an issue when smoking.
2. Seal the two 1/4” openings at the base of the grill/smoker chamber on the left side where it meets the gas unit. I'm just going to put a small ball of JB Weld there.

I'm happy with our purchase and know I will enjoy using the Smoke Hollow cooker. 

[Standard Disclaimer] We bought ours at Sam's Club for full price.  I kept waiting for them to lower the price later in the season but they got down to two units so I pulled the trigger.

Review: Draper's BBQ Smokin' Sauce

This might surprise some of you but I rarely make my own BBQ sauces.   In fact I am bit of a sauce ho.

I do make my own pulled pork sauce and my mustard sauce, but I generally use prepared sauces for other things.   I have about a dozen open sauces in my fridge right now. Alexis picks up sauces (usually based on the names), I buy them at festivals, and I get people sending me samples. 

So the last thing I need to be doing is ordering sauces by mail. But that's what I did last week. I had been hearing so much about Shane Draper's BBQSmokin' Sauce from folks on the forums and BBQ circuit that I had to try it.

I bought a bottle of the rub and sauce online and was amazed to receive it 36 hours later. Turns out Shane lives across the state line from us and was rushing to get his holiday weekend orders out so his customers would have them in time. The small sauce bottlers are all about quality and customer service.

I tested the rub and sauce out on your average yard bird this weekend. I seasoned the spatchcocked chicken with a good dose of Draper's A.P. Rub. 

Then I gave the bird a little over an hour of “applied charcoal therapy” bone side down over a 325f fire on a raised grill grate (8-9” from the heat source).

I mopped the chicken every 10-15 minutes with a mop mixture made of...

½ cup cider vinegar

½ cup Draper's BBQSmokin' Sauce

½ cup beer

1 tsp Draper's A.P. Rub

1 splash hot sauce

When the bird reached an internal temp of 150f, I brushed some straight Smokin' Sauce onto it and let it finish out to 160f.

The aroma of the sauce cooked on to the chicken filled the house as I brought it in to rest. I didn't even have to call Trevor upstairs to come eat, the smell brought him down.

The sauce's consistency is thicker than the vinegary Carolina style sauces but thinner than the corn syrup laden commercial sauces on your grocery store aisles. Cooked on to the chicken it was right where it needed to be.

When I tasted the sauce by itself earlier, I thought it had too strong of a fruity and tomato flavor. But when it was grilled with the meat I think it had just the right balance of sweet, smoky, and a small bit of heat. I've also tried this on brisket and I liked it even better on beef.

I can't say how Draper'sBBQ Smokin' Sauce and AP Rub will do used in a competition since that's not my gig. But it works great in the back yard.

[Standard Disclaimer] blah blah blah, the usual.  I have no affiliation and get no compensation from Drapers' BBQ and paid full price for the sauce and rub.  

Master Forge Wireless Thermometer

Remote probe thermometers are a vital tool for barbecuing and roasting large cuts of meat. Unlike instant read thermometers, these units stay in the meat during the cook and give you constant readings of the internal temperature.

Unfortunately, the hail storm at the end of April broke my drawer containing my remote probe units and all of them were ruined by the rain. I recently purchased my first replacement, a Master Forge Wireless Thermometer (Model0023557). Master Forge is Lowe's Home Improvement Stores' brand of grills and grilling accessories. I purchased it for $29.99 which is about $10 more than the usual wired models I have bought in the past.

Here's what you get for $30.

So far I have used it about 28 service hours. I have used it for bbq and roasting pork butts, brisket, chicken, and beef roasts. It is early but I have formed some initial impressions of this unit. 

• It registers accurate temps. I double check with my Thermapen at the end of cooking.
• It works within the 100ft range advertised. I can leave my grill and get readings on the receiver anywhere in my house, even on the second floor.
• It has a braided wire lead to the probe. The plain braided leads be used in higher cooking temps. Several cheaper units have plastic or rubber sheaths around the cable but those are typically limited to cooking temps below 400f.
• The pre-programmed settings are useless to me, I just use the manual programming mode to set the target temps. For example, the lowest preprogrammed target for pork is 160f. That is pork dust if you are doing a pork loin.
• Battery life is okay so far.
• I like the styling and size of the unit. The downside is that it is the size and shape of a smart phone so be careful not to try to answer your thermometer when your phone rings :)

Love the portability of the wireless receiver.

This seems to be a good unit and I am satisfied with it so far.  It works as promoted.

For about $5 dollars more and plus shipping, I could have bought a Maverick ET-73, the gold standard for remote probe thermometers. That unit includes a dual probe so you can monitor the meat temp AND the cooking temp. I'll get one of those too, it was just easier to buy the Master Forge unit since it was readily available at Lowes.

UPDATE:  I have gone through two of these units and found they aren't durable.  Both have developed quirks, such as displaying some temps as Celsius when the actual temperature shown is actually in Fahrenheit, display blanking out, and locking up.  Others have reported not being able to get any support for this unit in terms of replacement parts or assistance despite it being Lowes store brand.  I would recommend that you look at other units than the Master Forge. 

[Standard Disclaimer]

Fire Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Have you ever made one of those recipes where at the beginning, you question the quantities of on or more ingredients? And then during the process, you question the quantities of on or more ingredients?

Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Smoky Tomato-Chili Salsa from Wolfgang Puck's Live, Love, Eat! was one of those for me last week. The quantities of the liquids for the salsa seemed ridiculously out of proportion. Fortunately, Alexis and I adjusted on the fly and ended up salvaging the salsa by adding more chunky ingredients to balance out the soupy mess into a reasonable salsa.

The end result was a buttery tender beef roast and a flavor filled salsa that were a food marriage made in heaven.

Perhaps there was a conversion error when they were writing the book. Maybe they just had huge roma tomatoes. Either way, Puck can cook circles around me and it is still a good cook book. I've had it for 5 years or so and everything else I have made from it has been quite good. 

Here is what we ended up doing.

Fire Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Smoky Salsa

Inspired by Live, Love, Eat! By Wolfgang Puck

2 lb beef tenderloin roast (I used a center cut section)

1 Tbsp Dead End BBQ beefrub (sub 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder)

10 small Roma tomatoes, cored

1 small onion, sliced

2 ea chipotle, seeded and diced

½ cup basil, chopped

6 cloves garlic

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp salt

½ tsp black pepper

½ cup olive oil

Prepare grill for direct heat at 400f or medium high heat. Roast the tomatoes, onion slices and garlic, turning every few minutes until the onions are tender and the tomatoes and garlic are blackened and blistered. Remove from heat and let cool. Cut your grill heat to 250f and set up for indirect heat.

Veggies fresh from our garden.

Don't freak out if they split.

Use a cocktail toothpick to make grilling garlic easy.

Meanwhile, whisk the lime juice, balsamic vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper together. Slowly add in the oil while you continue to whisk.

Chop the veggies once cooled. Add the chipotle and basil, tossing to mix. Add the liquid mixture until you have the consistency you want for the salsa.

Rub your beef tenderloin with the beef rub and cook over indirect heat (250f as previously noted) until it reaches the internal temperature for the degree of doneness you want. I wanted medium rare so I was shooting for 125f to 130f. This took almost exactly one hour on my Big Green Egg but go by temps, not times.

Change your grill to a direct heat set up and bring the grill heat to 450-500f. Now grill the roast directly over the heat source for about 1 minute per side just to get a darker browning for the outer crust. Let rest for at least 15 minutes. I had a little of the liquid left from the salsa mix and brushed it on as a glaze during the rest.

Slice and serve with the salsa.

We annihilated this dish. There was NOTHING left between the four of us. The salsa is not your normal tomato salsa since it uses basil instead of cilantro and has balsamic vinegar added.  But it is perfectly paired with the normally bland but tender beef fillet. It acts more as a "sauce-ah" than a salsa.

The benefit of the “reverse sear” technique is obvious in the picture above.  Instead of having varying degrees of doneness, the roast is medium rare almost all the way through.

So back to my question, have you ever had one of those recipes where you just KNEW one of the quantities was wrong before you started?

Don't forget, if you need ideas or recipes for the grill this 4th of July - check out Grilling.com.

Hamburgers: Size Matters

Are you firing up your grill for this Fourth of July weekend?

If so you aren't alone. Based on 2010 sales of Kingsford Charcoal, the #1 charcoal manufacturer in the USA, Independence Day is the busiest grilling day of the year:

Independence Day – 40,914,710 pounds

Memorial Day – 40,783,128 pounds

Labor Day – 29,327,990 pounds

A lot of those grills will be seeing the basics like hamburgers and when it comes to hamburgers,

SIZE DOES MATTER

The size of your hamburger patty has as much to do with the final burger as your ingredients do. Size affects

• the texture of the burger, 
• how long it takes to cook, and 
• the taste of the burger. 

So which size of patty is right?  That is still up to you and your preferences. Here are my thoughts about some of the usual sizes.

Yes, I actually made 5 different sized patties...sigh, I need help!

First, I like to weigh out my portions. It keeps your sizes consistent which is important for similar cooking times. It's hard to tell the difference between these two without the scale, isn't it? 

2 ounce patty

Perfect for making slider style or mini-burgers. Other than that, I almost never use this size.

3 ounce patty

If you like small, thin patties, these are the ones for you. These are the size I would use either for making a double patty burger (double cheese, Big Mac) or for making a Jucy Lucy where you put a piece of cheese between two 3 oz patties and seal them together. These grill quickly but they are so thin they can be difficult to handle without falling apart. These cook in 3-4 minutes per side at 450f.

Quarter pound patty

To me, this is a good “standard size” burger that properly fits the bun. It gives a good balance between the chargrilled outer texture and the juicy, meaty interior. These cook right at 4 minutes per side at 450f.

Third pound patty

This is what you want when you want a thick, juicy burger. You end up with a burger that leans towards a more beefy interior and proportionately less chargrilled surface, so you definitely need quality meat for these. These cook at 4 ½ to 5 minutes per side at 450f.   Be sure to temp check your burgers at this thickness.

6 ounce patties and larger

I call these “meatloaf burgers” because the balance of chargrilled meat and inside meat is out of whack, making the texture “meatloafy”. Plus when I see people make these behemoths, they usually throw everything but the kitchen sink into the mixture. It's also harder to cook these properly without burning the exterior. The exception would be if you get them rolled out as thin as other burgers and then served on a larger bun. Then you are getting the burger texture, just more of it.

If you need some burger ideas for this weekend, here are a few easy ones from Grilling.com

Photo courtesy of Grilling.com

Backstage Burger

Backyard Burger

The Other Burger

So what is your favorite sized burger?   What is the biggest burger you have ever eaten? 

Infinite Possibilities Pork Chops

One of my favorite "local" restaurants in is Rafferty's Restaurant and Bar.

It was one of the first restaurants I visited when we moved to Knoxville.  I could go on and on about why I like this place (friendly service, excellent food, fun atmosphere, and they cook with real hickory wood) but this post isn't about a restaurant review.  

Nope.  This post is about my interpretation of their hickory grilled pork chops with Six Shooter Cajun Butter that I had on a recent visit there with Alexis.  (Forgive the photo quality.  It was taken with a phone on their deck at night so the odd lighting is from nearby signs.)

Actually, I guess this is really just about the concept of pork chops and compound butter.  It's an inspirational idea for grilling and perfect for the upcoming 4th of July cookouts.  

This idea kicks butt because you can grill a bunch of pork chops all the same way for a crowd of guests.   Then you let them individualize theirs with their choice of some compound butters from a "butter bar" that you made ahead.  And you sit there looking like a grilling rock star!

First, make your compound butters.  Tonight I made two.  One is an attempt at Rafferty's Six Shooter Cajun butter and the other is Apple Pie Butter.  

Almost Rafferty's Six Shooter Cajun Butter

1/2 stick butter, softened

1/4 tsp thyme

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp granulated garlic

1/8 tsp onion powder

pinch of celery salt

Mix together thoroughly with a fork.  Scoop into 4 portions with a melon baller or teaspoon.  Freeze for 15 minutes and then keep refrigerated.

Apple Pie Butter

1/2 stick butter, softened

1/4 tsp McCormick's Apple Pie Spice

1/4 tsp brown sugar

Mix together thoroughly with a fork.  Scoop into 4 portions with a melon baller or teaspoon.  Freeze for 15 minutes and then keep refrigerated.

Infinite Possibilities Pork Chops

Inspired by Rafferty's Restaurant and Bar

2 ea piggy porterhouse steaks (aka 1" thick bone in pork chops)

Pork Chop Brine

2 cups apple juice

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

enough water to cover the pork chops

Pork chop rub

1 tsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp tri color pepper, fresh cracked 

3/4 tsp thyme, dried

Brine the pork chops for 4-6 hours in the refrigerator.  

Rinse and dry the pork chops.  Season with the pork chop rub.

Build a fire in your grill and set it up for indirect heat at 250f.  

Option 1:  Big Green Egg - lump coal, 2 hickory wood chunks, plate setter in, legs up

Option 2:  Charcoal grill - Kingsford w/ Hickory, coals banked to the sides of grill with a void in the middle.

Option 3:  Gas grill - Burners on but not under the meat.  Place a foil pack w/ hickory chips over one burner.  [See Patio Daddio for a perfect tutorial on gas grilling with wood smoke]

The raised rack over a pan is another way to do indirect heat.

Smoke the pork chops until they reach an internal temperature of about 135f.  This took about one hour at a cooking temp of 250f.  Next time I'd be tempted to go for around 300f to speed it up.  

Now turn the heat on the grill up to 450f.  If your coals have died down, you can add more pre-lit coals.  Grill the chops over direct heat for about a total of 4 minutes, flipping half way through.  You want them to be 140f when you pull them off.  

Now these chops would be a solid dish as is.  Perfectly acceptable and delicious.  

But as soon as they come off and while they are ready to rest for 5 minutes, if you add a pat of the Apple Pie Butter....

Or the Almost Rafferty's Six Shooter Cajun Butter.....

NOW you have a flavor party!  When you cut into that pork chop the butter and spices cascade down the meat and covers it with wall to wall "tastes so good".   The silky smooth butter and juicy pork chop just make my mouth do back flips.

These butters are just two possibilities, but as the title implies, the possibilities are infinite.  Play around with the taste combos and find something you like on your own.

Speaking of the upcoming holiday, if you need other inspiration for 4th of July cookouts, check out Grilling.com.

Grilled Big Mac

Filed under:  "Hell, why not?"

I think that a lot of people can remember when they were a kid and had their first Big Mac. It was kind of a rite of passage, graduating from a plain small burger to a “grown up” burger (or so we thought).

The Big Mac isn't really a bad burger in concept. Usually it's execution that's the problem. So on a whim yesterday, I decided to make grilled Big Mac style burgers for lunch.   These are intended to be a Big Mac clone, just a grilled version of them.

Photo taken "Pre-smush".  To fit it in my mouth I had to "smush" it so it wasn't so thick.

Want the recipe? Here is is

two all beef patties

special sauce

lettuce

cheese

pickles

onions

on a

sesame seed bun.

What? Seriously that was about it.

The special sauce I made was an adaptation from TopSecretRecipes.com

½ cup Dukes mayonnaise

2 Tbsp ketchup

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon sweet pickled jalapeno, diced

1 teaspoon dill pickle, diced

1 teaspoon Vidalia onion, finely minced

pinch of salt

pinch of black pepper

Whisk it all together and put in the fridge for 1 hour.

Instead of just using chopped onions on the burger, I grilled some and chopped them up. Grilling them concentrates the already sweet flavor of the Vidalia onion.

I grilled my buns. I cut the top off of a top bun and the bottom off of a bottom bun to make two “middle buns”.

My buns are toasted!

I used my normal burger mix (1 egg, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, and ¼ cup bread crumbs per pound of ground chuck) to make 3 ounce patties. Grilled them for 8 minutes total.

Then it is as simple as putting it all together.

I'll be honest. I grilled a Big Mac kind of as a spoof. I was killing time before I started to smoke a few pork butts overnight. Turns out it was a very good burger, not anything like what I've ever gotten at a drive through. Everyone devoured theirs and asked that I make these again sometime. 

It did put me in a “food coma” for an hour or more afterward though.