What's cooking today? 🔥 Pics are necessary!

[GrillMeister]

Stopped by Costco today. They had some filet mignon, choice that is for $15/lb, but they looked good, so I picked up a pack.

Reverse seared these puppies. Wow! Serious Yum factor.

 

[FireTechMike]

Smoked Halloween Pumpkin Seeds (Complete with ghost)

 

[Timmy]

My wife’s birthday is Monday. I asked her what she wanted do do. She told me she wanted me to fix food and have family out. We had brisket ( I forgot to get a pic) chicken quarters and thighs, pork belly burnt ends, baby back ribs, elote.

 

[RonM]

Smoked a pile of boneless/skinless chicken thighs. Brushed with olive oil, moderate spice (Fiesta Rib Rub), let sit for about 45 minutes so they wouldn't be too cold. Used B&B hickory pellets, smoker tube. Cooked at about 320 (actual temp, indicated by ThermoPro) until internal was 170. Yum. Very tender and juicy. Will nibble on them all week.

 

[randog311]

Stopped by Costco today. They had some filet mignon, choice that is for $15/lb, but they looked good, so I picked up a pack.

View attachment 10439

Reverse seared these puppies. Wow! Serious Yum factor.

View attachment 10440

Currently I'm Smoking a Costco USDA CHOICE Chuck Roast RARE on my Laredo 1000 Pellet Grill set to "S" (Smoke Setting / Approx. 160F) along with a Smoke Tube filled with enough Pellets to last 1-2 Hours, after the thickest portion of the Roast reaches 108F-114F (MAX), I remove the Probe, crank the Grill to "H" (Maximum Burn Pot Output), slide open the Deflector Plate Fully and proceed to "Reverse Sear" the Roast on all sides until nicely "Caramelized and slightly Charred". I will POST Photos when I'm finished with the Cook.
Delicious, certainly not "Filet Mignon" but at a third the price per pound I can feed 3 times as many people for the same cost. Randy AKA randog311

 

[Shedd]

Spatchcock BBQ Chicken.
Chicken turned out pretty good. I tried using a pan of water underneath to make clean up easier. Not sure if I’ll do that again. It seemed to make the heat uneven and the skin didn’t crisp up as usual. In fact I had to crank up the heat to max at the end to try to crisp it up (with one casualty, see “must have” accessories thread.

Although I’m new to pellet grills I’ve been smoking meats a long time. I always raise the meat above the pan height to allow heat/smoke to circulate around the meat. By sitting your rack directly on top of the water pan you won’t get the crispy skin but it’ll be moist. I use a shallow pan and sit my rack on brick’s to get a good circulation. I’ve always brushed my chicken with melted butter to help crisp the skin and adding a little extra flavor. However like I said I’m new to my Traeger and trying to see if I’m going to like it as a smoker or just a oven for my outdoor kitchen, so my suggestion is based on my Egg. Don’t give up though, you’ll never know unless you experiment some.

 

[FireTechMike]

Mac n cheese with lollipop chicken.

 

[RayClem]

The ambient temperature reached an unseasonably high 70 F in Chicagoland, so it was a great day to fire up the Traeger.

Today’s cook involved two beautiful Certified Angus Beef top round London Broil steaks around 2.5 pounds each. I started last night by seasoning the steaks. One was seasoned using McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning and the other was seasoned using The Spice Lab’s Chicago Chop Seasoning. The Montreal Steak seasoning is coarse, so it develops more bark. Both were quite tasty, so I cannot say that I favor one seasoning over the other. The two thick steaks were wrapped in parchment paper and rested in the refrigerator overnight. I pulled them out about an hour before grill time.

I smoked the steaks on the Traeger for about 2 1/2 hours at a cook temperature of 200F to develop smoke flavor and color. The 1st photo is about ½ way through that time. I pulled them off the grill when the internal temperature reached 125F. The 2nd photo shows that stage. The color of the two steaks is different, I suspect due to the different seasoning methods.

The two steaks were each vacuum sealed in a 1 gallon bag and then placed in sous vide at 135F for a period of 5 hours. They were then left to rest for 20 minutes. The 3rd photos shows the steaks after the rest. The long cook time was intended to tenderize the lean meat without overcooking. Both turned out tender enough to cut with a fork.

The final stage of the process was to pat the steaks dry and then reverse sear them in a carbon steel skillet. The steaks were seared in peanut oil and basted in butter flavored with rosemary and garlic. Here is the final product.

The steaks were sliced diagonally across the grain in thin slices using a brisket knife. The slices could be cut with a fork, no steak knife needed at the table.

If meat is grilled conventionally, my wife wants beef with no pink. However, she will tolerate some pink if the beef is cooked sous vide for several hours. Thus, for me, the combination of smoking, sous vide, and reverse searing is a a great way to get tender, flavorful steaks, even when less expensive cuts of beef are used.

Of course, no meal would be complete without a side dish. Since fresh squash and zucchini is still available, I combined them with onions for a nice complement to the beef. I posted a photo of an earlier cook of this same dish, so I skipped the photo this time. Cook time was about 45 minutes at 375F.

 

[Shedd]

The ambient temperature reached an unseasonably high 70 F in Chicagoland, so it was a great day to fire up the Traeger.

Today’s cook involved two beautiful Certified Angus Beef top round London Broil steaks around 2.5 pounds each. I started last night by seasoning the steaks. One was seasoned using McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning and the other was seasoned using The Spice Lab’s Chicago Chop Seasoning. The Montreal Steak seasoning is coarse, so it develops more bark. Both were quite tasty, so I cannot say that I favor one seasoning over the other. The two thick steaks were wrapped in parchment paper and rested in the refrigerator overnight. I pulled them out about an hour before grill time.

I smoked the steaks on the Traeger for about 2 1/2 hours at a cook temperature of 200F to develop smoke flavor and color. The 1st photo is about ½ way through that time. I pulled them off the grill when the internal temperature reached 125F. The 2nd photo shows that stage. The color of the two steaks is different, I suspect due to the different seasoning methods.

View attachment 10461

View attachment 10462

The two steaks were each vacuum sealed in a 1 gallon bag and then placed in sous vide at 135F for a period of 5 hours. They were then left to rest for 20 minutes. The 3rd photos shows the steaks after the rest. The long cook time was intended to tenderize the lean meat without overcooking. Both turned out tender enough to cut with a fork.


View attachment 10463



The final stage of the process was to pat the steaks dry and then reverse sear them in a carbon steel skillet. The steaks were seared in peanut oil and basted in butter flavored with rosemary and garlic. Here is the final product.

View attachment 10467



The steaks were sliced diagonally across the grain in thin slices using a brisket knife. The slices could be cut with a fork, no steak knife needed at the table.

If meat is grilled conventionally, my wife wants beef with no pink. However, she will tolerate some pink if the beef is cooked sous vide for several hours. Thus, for me, the combination of smoking, sous vide, and reverse searing is a a great way to get tender, flavorful steaks, even when less expensive cuts of beef are used.



View attachment 10468



Of course, no meal would be complete without a side dish. Since fresh squash and zucchini is still available, I combined them with onions for a nice complement to the beef. I posted a photo of an earlier cook of this same dish, so I skipped the photo this time. Cook time was about 45 minutes at 375F.

Sous vide is definitely a game changer in my house. It does add a lot of extra time before the meat hits the table but it’s well worth it. Delicious looking pictures!!

 

[Slimpicker]

EPIC JOB RAY!!!! Game changer for me, I got to give this a try!!!

 

[RayClem]

Sous vide is definitely a game changer in my house. It does add a lot of extra time before the meat hits the table but it’s well worth it. Delicious looking pictures!!

If you are cooking tender cuts of beef like filet, ribeye, and NY strip, there is no need for the extra Sous Vide step. I have found, however, that a couple hours of Sous Vide can make a sirloin steak far more tender. I love sirloin steak because it has great beef flavor, but without the extra Sous Vide step, even a prime sirloin can be a little chewy.

For fatty cuts like chuck roast and brisket, just leave the protein in the smoker (wrapped or unwrapped) until the fat and connective tissue are rendered.

For lean, tough beef like cuts from the round primal, the only way to get tender meat is to cook it at a low temperature for a long period. I tried cooking an eye of round roast like a chuck roast and almost had to throw it out. The only way I rescued it was to cut it into very small cubes and use it in a beef stew.

These London Broils turned out so well, I am considering going back to the store and picking up another couple while they are still on sale at my local Meijer. The beef is great on sandwiches, on a salad, or to eat as steak.

 

[Shedd]

If you are cooking tender cuts of beef like filet, ribeye, and NY strip, there is no need for the extra Sous Vide step. I have found, however, that a couple hours of Sous Vide can make a sirloin steak far more tender. I love sirloin steak because it has great beef flavor, but without the extra Sous Vide step, even a prime sirloin can be a little chewy.

For fatty cuts like chuck roast and brisket, just leave the protein in the smoker (wrapped or unwrapped) until the fat and connective tissue are rendered.

For lean, tough beef like cuts from the round primal, the only way to get tender meat is to cook it at a low temperature for a long period. I tried cooking an eye of round roast like a chuck roast and almost had to throw it out. The only way I rescued it was to cut it into very small cubes and use it in a beef stew.

These London Broils turned out so well, I am considering going back to the store and picking up another couple while they are still on sale at my local Meijer. The beef is great on sandwiches, on a salad, or to eat as steak.

I find even with filet and ribeye I still like to Sous vide them a couple hours at 130 degrees. That gives me time to get the sides ready along with waiting on the guest to arrive (always have a couple that is consistently late) then it doesn’t take long to sear them on my blackstone griddle to everyone’s liking. It also helps the flavor by adding aromatics with the Sous vide process. Now I’m making myself hungry and I just finished eating dinner, lol.
I’m going to have to give the chuck roast steaks a try for sure, thanks for sharing.

 

[RayClem]

I find even with filet and ribeye I still like to Sous vide them a couple hours at 130 degrees. That gives me time to get the sides ready along with waiting on the guest to arrive (always have a couple that is consistently late) then it doesn’t take long to sear them on my blackstone griddle to everyone’s liking. It also helps the flavor by adding aromatics with the Sous vide process. Now I’m making myself hungry and I just finished eating dinner, lol.
I’m going to have to give the chuck roast steaks a try for sure, thanks for sharing.

You can cook tender cuts of beef either on the Traeger or Sous Vide followed by searing, but it is seldom necessary to do both. With sirloin, if I cook it on the Traeger, a couple of hours Sous Vide afterwards will make it more tender. Cooking sirloin Sous Vide alone makes a great steak, but you miss out on the smoke flavor.

 

[RustyJake]

Pepperoni sticks and some honey garlic spicy sticks


New winter coat

 

[Torstenlaw]

Did some ribs and figs wrapped in bacon.