Which one is the Waygu?

This is my third time cooking Waygu briskets. I decided to do a side by side comparison of a Waygu brisket ($4.70 per lb.) and a choice CAB brisket ($1.98 per lb.). Can you tell the difference?

This is the Waygu:

This is the CAB

CAB on the left, Waygu on he right.

I'll post pics of the finished product later this evening - this is going to be a good day for eating at Monty's!

BBQ Brewday(s)

Time to Q also means time to brew. I am putting together a bunch of brews for KCBS BBQ Competition teams and if they are going to be ready by summer now is the time to get started.

Why would I brew beer for teams that will crush us on the BBQ circuit? Simple. I plan on delivering the beer at the precise moment each team is deep in preparation. They will feel obligated to let me into their camp and I will use those brief moments to shig mercilessly.

My first beer is brewed for Big T's Q Crew. They started competing the same time I did. The only difference - they managed to win a bunch of Grand Championships last year and ended up the Iowa BBQ Society's 2009 Team of the Year. Where did Holy and Oly's end up in the IBS rankings? Who knows! They don't calculate out places that far down!

Big T's Tongue Twister.

This beer is huge. It has a pound of hops. To put that into perspective here is the amount of hops used in a typical extra pale ale:

Here's a pound of hops - these are the additions I used in the Big T's Tongue Splitter:

The original gravity of this beer ended up at 1090. By the time it ferments it will be around 9% ABV. Needless to say once the Big T's crew lays into this brew they'll be flat on their backs. Then I'll sweep in and swipe their briskets!

Boondoggle Royal Pale Ale

Don and Bob Denner were the winners of the 2009 American Royal Open, thus the name Royal Pale Ale. This beer is a bit more subdued when placed next to the Big T's brew - but it still packs a lot of hops (5 oz):

I plan on delivering this beer right as they are saucing their pork shoulder. If neither of them are looking I may even snatch some of their sauce!

The original gravity on this is 1040 - making it a nice session brew.

Both beers will spend a lot of time in fermenters. I plan on bottling them in about a month in a half. Then they will age in bottles. The Big T's is big enough that it could be stored for several years - it will only get better.

More to come!

I don't want a holiday in the sun.

It's time for me to spend more time outdoors. I don't plan on doing any camping or fishing anytime soon. I'm thinking of outdoor activities that involve a lot of sitting and watching. So today I went outside and sat and watched my smoker burn through stick after stick of hickory. Here are some pics. Sorry for the dull colors (almost yellowish tint). But what do you expect for nothing?

Here's some pig candy - inspired by Ryan. http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=75577&page=2&highlight=pig+candy

Thick cut bacon. Dredge it in:

Brown Sugar

Cayenne pepper

Smoke it for 2 hours (250-275*)

Brisket with burnt ends. Maybe someone who knows something about photography can explain why my camera makes this brisket look like it's slathered in mustard (it's not, really!!).

A good day overall. We had ribs as well, but my sons destroyed those slabs - they hit them like rats on a cheeto!

Here's my fist in the face of winter. Listen to this over a nice plate of Q - especially if you are knee deep in snow!

Left-over Turkey Pot Pie

If you are like me you have had about all you can take of family this holiday season. You also probably have some left-over turkey waiting to be reused. I can't help you with your family problems. But here's an idea for your turkey!

Crust:

In mixer, mix 2 c. flour, 1 t. salt and 2/3 cup lard (sorry, no substitutes) till sandy.

Add one egg yolk, let mix till crumbly. Add cold water, 1 T. at a time, till dough just comes together. Turn out onto floured board and knead a few times till it holds together nicely. Wrap in Saran Wrap and stick in the fridge while you work on the filling.

Filling:

In pot, mix together 4 c. finely diced turkey, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1/4 c. milk or cream, 1 T. dried onion, 1 t. salt and a few turns fresh pepper, and 1 carrot (finely diced). Heat and stir now and then, overall about 20 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in 1 c. frozen peas. Let cool slightly.

Roll out crust on floured board till lightly bigger than pie pan, line pan with crust. Spoon in filling, spread evenly. Wet edges of top crust with water and place top crust over filling; crimp as desired. Cut a few steam vents in top crust, brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until golden brown and you can see the filling bubbling through the top crust. Let sit 5-10 minutes, then slice and serve. Yummy comfort food.

More than just another pretty face!

My wife has talent that is beyond description. To begin, she can find beauty in the most unlikely places (like me, for example). She can also bake like an angel. We actually have tubs of lard in our refrigerator - used to make the most wonderful pie crusts on earth. As you can imagine she loves holidays and uses them as an excuse to indulge her second greatest passion - baking. (Her first passion is hanging out with me. What can I say, I'm a catch.)

Here are some of her Christmas cookies:

Here's her recipe for shortbread.

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar

Beat with mixer till light and fluffy, like 10 minutes or so.
Add 1 t. flavoring, like vanilla or almond extract.
Add 2 c. flour and 1/2 t. salt, let mixer go for a while, like 5 minutes.
The dough might be crumbly at this point, so add cold water 1 T.at a time until the dough comes together (like a pie crust dough).
Turn out onto lightly floured surface and roll to 1/4 inch thickness.
Cut out with desired shapes.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
When cookies are cool, mix 2 cups pwd. sugar, 2 T. corn syrup, 1 t. flavoring and milk 1 T. at a time until the glaze is of pouring consistency. Tint to color if desired. Drizzle over cookies. I do this on a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet to catch the drips. Let set until dry.

Whole Hog White Chili

When my wife and I lived in Seattle a friend gave us a recipe for white chicken chili. That's the sort of thing they eat in Seattle in order to prove how different and interesting they are. However, as with most of the new foods we tried in Seattle, the difference was amazing.

I decided to use this recipe with one slight change for our Christmas chili. We have some leftover hog from my son's birthday:

So I substituted whole hog for chicken and the results are crazy (and good) enough to be a Seattle classic. Here's the recipe:

3 cans (or 1 lb. dry - but you will need to soak them overnight) Great Northern white beans

2-4 lbs. whole hog left-overs (you can use chicken)

Half of one large onion, chopped

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

3 cans of green chiles

2 t. cumin

1 1/2 t. oregano

1/4 t. cloves

1/4 t. cayenne

8 cups chicken stock

1 bottle homebrew (brown ale), or whatever beer you have around

Brick of Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Saute the onions, then add the garlic and spices. Add to chicken stock and beans. Then add the whole mess to the meat, including the beer. Let it simmer for hours.

If you wish, and I do, then you can thicken with flour. Then add the cheese.

This is the "kid friendly" version. I eat mine with Tabasco sauce.

You can serve with sour cream, but I don't.

Brisket Chili

I basically stole this recipe from Jeff in KC (from the BBQ Brethren forum). The recipe is pretty simple - though I used homemade salsa instead of Rotel. The beer is my hombrew stout. Here's an ingredient list:

2 lbs smoked brisket
5 strips bacon
4 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp red pepper flakes (I got kids to think about!)
1 TBS Lowrey's seasoned salt
3 TBS chili powder
1 TBS dry mustard
1 tsp oregano
1 quart homemade salsa
1 bottle Monty's Sweet Stout

1 small can tomato paste

1 can chili beans