[dustinst22]

 jjbrr, on 2011-July-16, 18:26, said:

Weber Smoky Mountain is the correct answer to any question about smokers in this thread.

Glad to see you know your smokers, brr. Didn't realize there were any bridge players who knew smoking

Nothing better than a pork shoulder smoked in a WSM.

Also, a "reverse seared" Ribeye (Finney method) using a WSM is the nuts. If you try this you'll never cook steak the traditional way again. Take a bone in ribeye (after letting it rest with Kosher salt for about 40 min to reach room temp first -- btw this should be done regardless of method, you want the steak room temp before you grill it), use indirect heat (WSM) set to about 200-220 degrees and smoke the steak (i prefer hickory) until the internal temp is about 115 degrees or so (this is for rare, the final sear will bring the temp up another 10 degrees, so simply remove once it reaches 10 degrees below your desired final temp). Remove the steak, tent it and let it rest for about 15-20 min. Take off the top of the WSM, stoke the coals and get the fire as hot as possible and move the grate directly over the fire. You may even need to add more coals -- you want that fire super hot. Now you sear the steak for about 1-2 min max on each side. Best steak you'll ever eat. With a traditional method, you get a lot of gray spots and the cook is very uneven with red towards the center and gray on the outer part, this method produces a nice uniform cook throughout with the outside seared.

I did this one a few weeks ago http://forumserver.t...&postcount=3204

More info on the "Finney Method" or "Reverse Sear" for those interested in trying it -- http://www.swfl-news...skabutcher/id/7

[ggwhiz]

I'm very much an amateur but this worked.

I did up a bunch of skewers with green pepper, red onion, (lots of) ripe mango, large shrimp and salmon. Largish chunks of the salmon.

Sauce was 2 cups light soya, 1 cup teryaki and 2 cloves minced garlic. Brush 1 hour before cooking and baste often on medium heat.

Portobella mushrooms marinated in Italian salad dressing overnight grill cap side down first and then flip and fill with chopped shallots and a mound of parmesan.

That and a avocado, apple, walnut, blue cheese salad got good reviews.

I was supposed to use scallops instead of the salmon but thought that I would be a cinch to overcook them on the grill.

Any thoughts on how to do scallops properly?

[hrothgar]

 ggwhiz, on 2011-July-23, 08:53, said:

Any thoughts on how to do scallops properly?

Please note: The recipe consists of three parts:

A recipe to make “red oil” (a hot chili oil that is the base for many Sichuan recipes
A recipe to make the sauce that will top the scallops (this sauce works equally well on chicken, pork, shrimp, broccoli, you name it.)
Instructions for preparing the scallops

All of the recipes are all dirt simple. Here are the “issues” that might cause some trouble.

First: The dish is very dependent on the quality of the scallops. Flavor and safety both depend on having nice fresh scallops.

Second: Some of the ingredients are a bit uncommon. You'll probably need to wander down to a Chinese grocery store. The chili oil really should be made a couple days in advance.

Third: The scallops are cooked sous vide. You're going to need some mechanism to keep a water bath at roughly 122 degrees. (this recipe is actually fairly forgiving... Some people who like rare scallops will cook them as low as 108. People who like well done poach them at 140. 122 gives you medium rare). I am a strong advocate of rare scallops.
With this said and done, here we go:

Chili Oil (hong you):

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut oil
½ cup chili flakes or coarsely ground chilies with seeds
1 inch ginger sliced and crushed
2 star anise pods

Heat the oil with the ginger until smoking hot (use a cast iron sauce pan if you have one)
Let the oil cool until its between 225 and 250
Add the ingredients and let sit
When the oil has cooled a bit, transfer everything to a gasket topped gas jar.

Store in a cool, dark place

(Modified) Fish Fragrant Sauce (yu xiang ji si)

Ingredients

2-3 scallions, green parts only (finely sliced)
1 tablespoon very finely chipped fresh ginger (ginger grater)
1 tablespoon very finely chopped garlic (microplane)
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinking or black Chinese vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons chili oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon Sichuan pepper (crushed)

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar
Add the oils, followed by the ginger, garlic, and scallions and stir well

(A traditional fish fragrant sauce would substitute 1-2 tablespoons of pickled chili paste for the Sichuan pepper corns)

Scallops

Fill a large bowl with water.
Place scallops into a ziplock bag.
Optional: Add a small amount of mustard oil
Slowly submerge the bag into the water with the opening facing towards the ceiling. Submerge until the ziplock seal is under the water but the opening is above the water (You are using the weight of the water to force all the air out of the bag). Seal the bag and remove from the water.
Push the scallops around until they are in a single layer

Get your water bath to somewhere around 108 degrees (You'll need to figure this one out for yourself. I bought a sous vide set up. I've heard that quality crock pots / slow cookers work decently)

Submerge the scallops (bags and all) into the water bath for 14 minutes. While the scallops are cooking, get a cast iron pan screaming hot and add a small amount of high smoke point oil (grapeseed and sunflower works well). Alternatively, if you have a kitchen torch for crème brulee, now's the time to drag it out...

Use whatever method you prefer to carmelize the scallops.
Plate and serve

[y66]

A metal sheet is placed over the pit to make an outdoor oven for cooking pork. Story here.


Photo: Andrew Testa for NYT

Putting this on the to do list.

[matmat]

steak tartare, obv.

[ggwhiz]

I tried grilling Portabella mushroom caps oiled with garlic salt and when flipped filling them with chopped shallots and Parmesan.

Worked really well as a side with steak or on top of a burger.

[shintaro]

When I lived out in Oz we used to Barbie Pineapple Rings lovely

[hrothgar]

Feel obliged to post a picture of my new baby
http://www.qualityma...-p/qmvp-210.htm

[Winstonm]

I found out today that eggplant on the grill can be truly delicious - the key is in preparation. Heavy salt draws out the bitter flavor of the juices.

Cut eggplant into rounds, keeping skin on.
Salt each side heavily and place into colander for 1 hour
Rinse thoroughly and pat dry on each side
Brush on olive oil to each side
Pepper to taste
Grill for about 10-12 minutes or until flesh is soft
Serve with garlic butter

[y66]

A colleague at work married a woman from Turkey several years ago. She taught me this trick. You are on your way now man.