With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, I know many folks who are certifiably grilladelic, and very picky about their turkeys. I have bought several fresh turkeys, through Heffron Farms, that come from Otto’s Turkey Farm in Middleville, MI. These birds are not injected full of saline and other stuff you find in the basic frozen Butterball. I have had great results with these birds. (to save a little money, I ask for “seconds” which are typically birds that might be missing a wing or have damaged leg. Tastes great, less expensive)
Another place to consider would be Creswick Farms. Nick and his wife were customers of The Outdoor Cook several years ago, when they were getting their farm off the ground. Check out their website. They are located in Ravenna, MI and are very active with local first and “farms without harm”.
I will post some turkey recipes in the upcoming weeks.
Cookshack makes a terrific electric smoker. One of the best for home use on the market. Their website is full of very useful information.
As folks begin thinking turkey, the art of brining should be in your consideration set. Follow Cookshack’s basic instructions, you should be able to get a handle on this flavor option for your bird.
I am considering abandoning my multiple-Weber-grills-plus-an-old-Hasty-Bake strategy for competitions (and home). I still like the old school feel to Webers and the artist in me enjoys the nuances of cooking with a kettle. Every cook is an unique, one-of-a-kind experience.
However, after lunch with my friend and fellow BBQ enthusiast, Harlan, and lamenting my poor showing at Silver Lake, I began thinking that life would be a lot easier, with one big grill, preferable a mobile unit. I do admit, one big portable pit would make my evening family barbecues an exercise in over kill, but over kill can be underrated.
Previously I posted my lust for a Weber Ranch Kettle. Heavy duty, stainless grates, a tremendous cooking surface. It still is number one on my chart, but I am trying to think this through with my head, not my heart. Here is a partial list of the grills that over the next several months, I will do my due diligence on:
The Grillery
Lang Smokers
Hasty Bake
Cajun Grill
Big Green Egg
Tejas Pits
Klose Pits
My plan is to research these units and share my thoughts. Trying to find the balance between home use and competition use, common sense and “grill-rational thinking” and affordability and wretched excess…
I am a big believer in lump charcoal. My fuel of choice is the Lazzari Mesquite Lump. I have used Royal Oak, Cowboy (the worst), Humphrey, Goose Island, Cleveland, Maple Leaf, and several others including a brand made near Clare, MI…using mostly poplar and aspen. (that was an operation!!! Pre- EPA if you get my drift)
I like this charcoal because of it’s clean, hot burn. It can be problematic for first time users, especially in kettles and grills other than kamados (ceramic grills like the Big Green Egg).
One of the main problems is that it does not lay flat…like a traditional bed of coals. But with a little fire tending, you can get a nice, hot bed to work with.
Some advice.
1. Never use lighter fluid. Either a chimney or starter cubes (Weber makes a nice product)
2. Don’t worry about it being too hot for slow cooking. The key is not to let it get too hot! (duh…) When I bank the coals, I use a fire starter cube and I just let a few pieces get going, then I cover with my lid and slightly vent. This charcoal is very sensitive to oxygen. I get a small hot spot, then vent down, and it cooks at a low temperature for a long time. A very long time.
3. Don’t to be concerned about the BIG chunks. Embrace them. Combine one or two big chunks with the small pieces and you have a six-eight hour slow cook.
4. Add wood chunks or chips for smoke flavor. If you don’t like mesquite smoke, don’t worry about mesquite lump charcoal. Two different animals. Using by itself, lump charcoal does not overly smoke food. It is charcoal. Not smoking woods.
I 
Even for a hardcore grilling machine like myself, I’ve had to raise the white napkin and surrender to the elements. It has been a brutal winter in Michigan. I have only fired up the Weber once since the new year. Even with the hot burning, Lazzari mesquite lump I use, I couldn’t bring myself to light the coals.
To make matters worse, the one time I did, I scorched (badly) six beautiful rib eyes. Beyond recognition. It was salad and potatoes for dinner. The steaks were sent over to my father-in-law for his German shorthair. That bad.
What happenned? I had the coals nice and hot. Glowing red. The grill was in the garage, sheltering it from the wind (it was still around 0 degrees). I placed the steaks on the grates but decided to leave the cover off while I went back inside to check on the kids. Typically I babysit steaks, not kids, but it was too cold. I was in for less than 6 minutes and when I looked back at the grill, it was a fireball. The nicely marbled rib eyes dripped their precious fat into the coals and created a roaring blaze. I rushed out but it was too late. It was so hot that it practically cooked the steaks through to well done, without even flipping the dang things.
Oh well…it was a rookie mistake made by an old master.
cuts_beef.pdf
There is NO QUESTION about it. The best food and travel show on TV is Anthony Bourdain’s, No Reservations.
Funny and informative. Last night’s show, set in Singapore, had me dreaming about food. The simple chicken and rice dish looked terrific. Especially the condiments: packed with chile, garlic, soy sauce…
Seeing a horseshoe crab being grilled over an open fire was especially awesome.
Here is a link:
http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bourdain/bourdain.html
My grill-cam has been in the case the last few weeks. Weather in Michigan is a bit on the nasty side (no excuse, I know) but I did grill some pork in the Bahamas that was terrific.
Here is what I did. Took a full pork loin and cut it into 1″ steaks. Soaked this in olive oil, a little garlic and lime juice for about 3 hours.
Got the coals hot in an open grill pit. Seasoned the meat with the a commercial blend, Cavenders Greek Seasoning. Really sensational.
http://www.greekseasoning.com/We grilled this for about 30-45 minutes, turning often and squeezing fresh lime juice on the meats every so often. I don’t know if it was the Kalik’s, but it was the best dang pork I ever ate!
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