My Traeger & cook area

Below you see my cooking equipment, my Traeger 07E, to the left is a gas cooker w/cast iron skillet & to the right is a fish friar on the cabinet.
Since this photo I have added a Weber Q100 gas grill. Below that you see a photo of me & my faithful companion. Click on any photo to view larger size it opens in a slide viewer with all the photos in the post.

My Smokin Deck,I can cook rain or shine.

Set up for winter weather

Let's Talk BBQ, One Great Forum

Let’s Talk BBQ; no matter what you cook on this is one great forum for discussing BBQ and learning about BBQ. Whether you use a grill, smoker, or other type of cooker, using gas, wood, charcoal, or electric for fuel there is a place for you there.

Their rules are pretty simple; just treat others the way you want to be treated. Leave your ego at home and have fun learning and discussing cooking and food in a family way.

Most members are from the USA but they are slowly getting some international members. I know of two from Australia and one each from Germany and S. Africa. There may be some from England. I like this since we can learn about other recipes and ways to do BBQ than in our own country.

The forum is laid out well; there are different sections for each style cooker, a recipe section, a general section, a place for sausage making and a place for other hobbies. There are a lot of knowledgeable members there now.

I do most all my BBQ on my Traeger wood pellet smoker; but can adapt most recipes from other types of cookers. I use it year around and do most all of the cooking for my wife and I.

So; if you want to talk BBQ get over there sign up and join in the fun of cooking and eating some good BBQ.

Leftover Meat Hash over Rice

Here in the Midwest when you talk hash you think of corned beef hash. I recently watched a BBQ show and Sweatmans in South Carolina was featured. Some great looking BBQ and one of their favorite food served was hash. It was made of different cuts of meat with sauce all cooked down to a thick consistency and served over rice.

It looks like this kind of hash is popular in the south, some cooked with a BBQ type sauce and some with a mustard based sauce. One of the Sweatmans said the recipe for hash changes every 30 miles in S.C.

I had some leftover meats in the freezer I needed to use up. I had about a pound of pulled pork, a pound of beef, ½ pound of chicken, and ¼ pound hunk of my homemade goetta. I ground it all up in my grinder with the coarse die. I chopped a Vidalia onion, sautéed in olive oil, added some dried garlic flakes. I added in the meat and about a quart of beef broth, salt, pepper, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and four dashes of Cholula hot sauce. I brought it to a boil and then a low simmer. It took about two hours to cook it down, stirring often.

It took a little prep but my final meal was quick and easy. I cooked some Zatarains dirty brown rice in my rice cooker, about 45 minutes. I heated up some of the hash and served it over the rice along with some cheese bread and butter. I had some chopped Vidalia onion on mine.

My wife and grandson liked it. The grandson said it’s a little spicy but it’s good. The heat was from the dirty rice. I didn't tell them it had some goetta in it or they might not have liked it. I thought it was pretty good but might like the mustard added.

Meat ground


All cooked down


Ready for the fridge


My Supper My Plate

Italian Beef Sandwiches and Spinach Salad

I made some Italian beef Friday. I used a package of Louie’s Italian beef seasoning for the au jus. I had a recipe that was getting pretty good but Louies makes it a lot easier and tastes great.

I like to use a beef eye of round roast, all nice lean meat. My butcher didn’t have any cut but had this rolled rump roast in netting that looked good so I bought it, 3 ¼ pounds

I did the roast up Thursday. I seasoned it well with salt, pepper, dried garlic and onion flakes and oregano. I did it on smoke mode 175 deg. for one hour then went to 250 deg. for the rest of the cook. 3 ½ total cook time. I pulled it at 135 deg. IT and let it cool unwrapped. I then wrapped in saran and foil and in the fridge overnight.

Friday AM I got the roast sliced using my new Chef’s Choice Mod. 610 slicer for the first time. I would recommend it for a good light duty slicer.

I mixed Louie’s seasoning pack w/a cup of cold water. Sliced a red, yellow, red pepper and a med. Vidalia onion. I layered half the peppers and onions in my Crockpot, half the sliced beef and a couple Tbs. of sliced pepperoncini’s with some of the juice. I poured half the Louie’s juice over then repeated the layer. I added enough water to almost cover. This was at 11:00 AM. Cooked on high for an hour then low until supper time at 6:00.

I made up our favorite spinach salad to serve along with the beef sandwich. We got the recipe from my wife’s cousin Suzie. I’m not sure where she got it but I have been making it for over 20 years at least. If you like fresh spinach this is delicious.

I prefer hard crust buns for the Italian Beef to soak up that good au jus; but had some soft mini subs to use up. I toasted them before; ladled the beef and au jus over both halves so it was a knife and fork sandwich. Tasted great with the spinach salad.

The rolled rump roast was very tender even though some of it was sliced with the grain.

Printable Spinach Salad Recipe

Roast seasoned and ready to smoke


Done at 135 deg. IT


Ingredients for Italian Beef


Slicing the beef




Peppers and onions added to the Crockpot


All in and ready to slow cook


Ingredients for spinach salad


Dressing ready to mix


Spinach salad


My sandwich and salad

Brats and Kraut W/Mac and Cheese

Today was a warm 88 deg. and windy. I trimmed grass this afternoon so I wanted something fast and easy for our supper. I went this morning to my butcher, Kah Meats and got some brats. I had a little of my homemade kraut left that would go well on a brat. I had some shredded cheese, several opened packages, to use so I would make some use up your cheese mac and cheese.

When the grandson got home from school he said he would eat with us. I had a couple of hamburgers thawed so I made him a cheese burger. At 3:30 I cooked some elbow macaroni, mixed in some sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, mozzarella, and provolone cheese. I put it in a casserole dish, added some half and half cream then topped with some shaved parmesan.

I preheated the Traeger to 250 deg. and got the brats and mac and cheese on at 4:30. I put the burgers on 15 minutes later. At 5:00 I went to 275 deg. I checked at 5:30 and the meats were done so topped the burgers with some cheese to melt. I took all inside to serve after the cheese was melted.

I served the grandson a cheese burger and some mac & cheese. For my wife and I it was a brat, cut in half, a slice of crispy bacon in the middle, topped with mustard and homemade kraut on a mini sub bun and some mac & cheese. Sandwiches were great; I either cooked the mac & cheese too long or not enough half & half. It was a little dry and crispy on top. I kind of like it that way so for me it was all good!

When my daughter in law got there she had some mac & cheese and liked it too. I sent some leftovers with her for our son to have.

Ready to smoke


The brats


All done


My Plate

Bacon Wrapped Kassler Ham

May 12 2013

I don’t usually cook for just myself on Mother’s Day but I did this year. Our son took us all out for Mother’s Day on Saturday, a lot less busy. On Mother’s Day we all went to see my 91 year old Mother after lunch and took cake and a pie over to have dessert with her. She gets too nervous for all of us to have a meal with her.

Our son works a second part time job some evenings and had to work on Mother’s Day so our daughter in law and grandson came down to eat supper with us. They all wanted a broccoli pizza from Sandman’s carry out. I wasn’t hungry for pizza so I fixed my own.

I had some of the Kassler ham left so decided on a pablano pepper; sliced in half, a slice of ham, a slice of Swiss cheese, a slice of onion and wrapped in bacon. I made two more with just a slice of ham, a slice of Swiss cheese, folded over and wrapped in bacon. The pepper ones I seasoned with some Penzey’s Cajun, and the plain two with their sandwich sprinkle.

My side was Alexia brand frozen sweet potato fries seasoned with some Lawry’s seasoned salt. That is my favorite brand; I had plain but they also make spicy ones that are pretty good.

I did the peppers on a wire rack in a pan for easy cleanup of any cheese run over. The fries were in a wire basket. I preheated my Traeger to 325 deg. and put the peppers and ham in, twenty minutes later I put the fries in, they had set out for 15 minutes. In another 30 minutes all was done.

That hit the spot for me and everyone else was happy with the broccoli pizza. My daughter in law tasted the fries and said the best she has had and could taste the smoke.

Pepper stack


Ready for the smoker


All done


My Plate

Kassler mit Kraut

May 08 2013

I made my Kassler ham and kraut today. This was a pretty easy cook. I had sliced the Kassler early today. I found a recipe for this dish at germanfoodguide.com. Most recipes have dry white wine added but this one also had milk. I would never thought of using milk with kraut; I had to try it.

The recipe called for doing this dish on stove top. I decided to use my Crockpot. I decided to do it 1 hour on high then low for about two hours.

I added two pats of butter to the Crockpot and enough chopped onion to cover the bottom. I added six slices of Kassler and topped with about 2 pounds of my homemade kraut. I added ¾ cup each of Riesling wine and milk. I cut back some from the original recipe. The wine was Lucky Duck Riesling rivaner Germany.

I had some red and gold potatoes to use up and added some Idaho’s for about two pounds. Peeled all but left some on the golden potatoes, diced to about 1 ½ inches and boiled for 20 minutes, drained and mashed with a stick of butter and some sour cream. I could reheat these at supper time.

I made some garlic toast and served some cold beats for a side.

I served it all about 6:00 pm. The grandson wanted to eat some pork and kraut. He had two pieces of the meat. Our daughter in law got here and had some of the kraut before they went home. My wife would have liked it sourer, the wine and milk had cut the sour some.

I liked it, the Kassler and homemade kraut makes it extra good. I had some of my homemade German mustard on the meat and the cold beats added nice color to the plate. I was going to have some fried spaetzel noodles too but Wing Commander suggested I drop those. He was right, really didn’t need them. Maybe he will let us know if milk in kraut is typical German.

Wing Commander is a friend and good cook who lives in Germany. We both belong to Lets Talk BBQ forum. He said that milk in kraut is not typical German. It’s nice to have input from someone who knows German cooking. That is the trouble with some cooking sites that say they are ethnic recipes they are really Americanized versions. So if you want to have Kassler mit Kraut and stay typical German omit the milk.

Onions and butter added to the pot


Kassler ham added


Kraut added, then the wine and milk


Mashed potatoes


My Plate