I love it here. I am more of the rural area and the peace and solitude is perfect!
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I use this recipe I adapted from one I found online, works well with chicken wings and thighs. This is usually enough for 1 - 1.5KG of wings or thighs, place mixture in a ziploc bag and leave to marinade in the fridge for between 4 hours to overnight, I then put the wings on the smoker @ 225F for an hour and then turn it up to 375-400F till they are cooked and the skin has crisped up (turning once or twice). The lemon can be substituted for lime as well if you prefer that flavour profile.
Mix together in a bowl
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 cloves of minced or chopped garlic
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
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Made this sauce/glaze to go with some ribs today, sweet with a little sharpness, but has worked really well with them and a definite sauce, I will use in future. Very different and more flavourful than some of the shop bought ones you can buy
The sauce took about 45 minutes to reduce down after the initial boiling, to become a thick sauce that was bubbling hot, I would say this would cover 4 good sized racks of ribs and have put half in the fridge for next time, as meant to keep for a fortnight in an airtight container. (I used Date Molasses and Red Pepper flakes, but followed the recipe as is otherwise)
Cooked on a 3- 1.5 -1 method
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My BBQ journey was a little differentā¦
As a young guy, my only outdoor cooking mentor was my step-father. I learned over the past few years he didnāt know JACK about cooking on a grill, and even less about smoke. Heās passed on for over 20 years now, so even his specter canāt respond to my criticism.
He would douse charcoals with lighter fluid. I even saw him soak a few coals in fluid a few times to give his initial ignition a little extra umph. Naturally, when I started my backyard journey I just followed his lead, thinking he was the man. So petroleum fires for many of my adult years. And yeah, I accidentally cooked some halfway decent stuff, but thenā¦
A few years ago I bought a Rec Tec pellet smoker. First cook and it was DAMN, I DID THAT? Pulled pork and chicken leg quarters was my first cook -
https://i.imgur.com/KMJq0cp.jpg
Time went by. I learned more and more, and delved into smoking different things I had never dreamed of before. Brisket became a favorite, as well as other things like the Pork Fatty, ribs, poppers etc -
https://i.imgur.com/19Wm2n8.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MO42MjW.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LwdzWsg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8ntx4zN.jpg
Did prime rib for Christmas one year - a huge hit -
https://i.imgur.com/5PiZLfz.jpg
Then I got an Oklahoma Joe Bronco drum smoker. See - backward experience. First cook was another pork butt -
https://i.imgur.com/ZR9XCw5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Mkln1KV.jpg
Had a lot of hobbies over time, but this is by far my favorite. I love the set it and forget it part of my pellet smoker, but thereās something so rewarding about the Bronco. I love the tinkering to get the right smoke, the right temp and all that goes with it. Next stop - offset smoker.
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Next time, try your poppers with strawberry cream cheese. We did it once when we had guests on a Sunday evening. My wife had run out of regular cream cheese and only had strawberry. I was likeā¦make em! We both thought it was going to be a disaster, and she only made about 10 of them with the strawberry cream cheese. But we were all fighting over them. Huge hit and weāve been making them that was now for years.
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You seem to specialize in Jamaican barbecue. As in, Jamaican me hungry!!!
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Well I donāt specialize in anything except eating. But I have made this recipe a number of times. I got to where I donāt make the pineapple bowl, but do make the salsa. This is fantastic!!
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Very nice Robert.
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Did a homemade Lime & Coriander marinade for some chicken wings tonight, really nice citrus tang to them.
Split the wings at the joint (tips were already removed) Marinated for 4 hours in fridge, took about 15 minutes prep, used stalks and leaves from the coriander
Cooked for 1 hour at 225F and increased temp to 425f for 30 minutes after that, turning once
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Sunday dinner on the Smokefire, all but the peas and Jersey Mid Potatoes (first of the season) done on the smoker
Sirloin joint cooked to an internal temp of 145F cooked at temp of 210F a gravy made from the drippings, veg, red wine and beef stock adding cornflour. Yorkshire Puddings and asparagus cooked at 425F for just over 15 minutes. Very nice.
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Did beef short ribs yesterday. First time for me. They turned out amazing!
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That is absolutely cruel! Those look too damn good. Iām sitting here staringā¦ and drooling. Not goodā¦
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Actually thatās not the finished product. I also wrapped them in foil and cooked another 6ish hours at around 225F. The pull back on the bones resulted in the meat about half the length of the bone. Very tender and surprisingly moist. This was my first time smoking with mesquite and I learned for beef I should let it stay in the smoke a bit longer. These had around 3-1/2 hrs exposure and I think it could go up to maybe 6 without turning bitter. Someone with more experience could probably clarify that.
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Did this today, it was originally a whole gammon bought for a family Easter, but due to covid had to shelve those plans. So cut it into 2 quarters and a half piece. Cooked a quarter piece today and froze the rest.
I removed the rind and soaked the gammon overnight and patted dry before putting in my pre-heated Smokefire at 215F with Hickory pellets. Cooked to an internal temp of 172F and rested for 15 minutes, it took just under 7 hours . I basted in it mix of an equal amount of honey & marmalade, stirred together, 4 times during the cook. It produces a lovely sweet orangy flavour to the finished gammon along with the smoky taste to the meat. I also did a baked potato alongside it for just over 5 hours at that temp, it was soft enough, but think it could have gone even longer without overcooking it tbh
The only thing missing was the parsley sauce, but couldnāt get any on my last visit to the shops.
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Your food porn is killing me!!
Today I did the recipe from post# 468 - Jerk Pork. This never gets old.
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Made a Paella on the Smokefire today, winged it a bit as never done a Paella at varying temps outdoors before, but it worked really well and I know you shouldnāt blow your own trumpet. But it was by far the best thing I have cooked on it so far. 
Started cooking the thigh fillets whole and the red pepper sliced into quarters at 225F for 40 minutes to get some smoke flavour and char and heated the olive oil in the pan at the same time
on them
I then cut them into small bite size pieces and added to them to the pan along with some pancetta, turned the Smokefire upto 425F and cooked them off for another 15 minutes, then added 250g of Paella Rice to soak up the juices and oil first for a couple of minutes. I also added a skillet to the top rack and melted some butter, 2 cloves of garlic chopped and some lemon juice for the prawns later.
The only thing I couldnāt do on the grill (as I need to buy a decent cast iron saucepan) so whilst the chicken etc was browning, I boiled 650ml of chicken stock, with 2g of Paellero Valencian Paella mix and a little more saffron on the hob, then added it to the pan and left it for 30 minutes till all the liquid had dissolved.
I then turned it up to 525F & 10 minutes before the liquid had dissolved and the dish was ready, I added the prawns to the skillet and cooked them both sides for 6-7 minutes
Then added the prawns and some peas for the final 3 minutes. The paella rice was soft and really flavourful and just slightly baked on the bottom and the meat and prawns had a lovely smoky flavour.
I normally add about half a dozen Green Lipped Mussels in shells at the end, but unfortunately none to be found at the moment.
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Pulled Pork Carnitas
Did the rub and left it overnight in the fridge
After a few minutes in the smoker under 12 hours reached an internal temp of 203F, took it out and rested it in a cool box for an hour. took it out and poured the juices and pork into a ceramic dish and pulled it
Turned the gril up to 550F and fried the pork in a skillet with rapeseed oil and a squeeze of lime and did the tortilla on the plancha for about 10-15 seconds each side (nice char and still fluffy) But just as easy to do it on the cooker in a frying pan,
Added radish and spring onions along with some broken up Monterey Cheese slices (forgot i hadnāt got any grated cheese in the fridge)
Enough for 6 full sized Tortillas and some left over for Pulled Pork Cannelloni tomorrow
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Well worth ago if you like pulled pork, but want to try something different to a bap and coleslaw
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