BLT's fried green tomatoes & squash blossoms

Today my wife, Nancy & I have been married 45 years. I sure don’t know where all those yrs. went! We had a great time raising 2 children, a boy & a girl and we have a grandson. I have done some good cookouts in the backyard over those yrs. Some good brat & pulled pork parties while the kids were in high school & college. I sure miss those days.
Tonight we are going to Red Lobster & treat ourselves to some lobster, a favorite of ours.
Last night we had 3 of our favorite summer foods, BLT’s, fried green tomatoes, & squash blossoms.
I did up 10 slices of Kah’s bacon on the Treager earlier for our sandwiches, 300 deg for about 40 min. I had ciabata buns left to use & I broil toasted them w/a little olive oil. I dipped the green tomato slices in flour, egg & milk wash, then Panko bread crumbs & fried in olive oil & a little butter. I repeated this process for the squash blossoms. I did both at med heat. The sandwiches were the toasted bun, bacon, a slice of beefsteak tomato, Romaine lettuce, & Hellmann’s mayonnaise. It might not have been heart healthy, but it sure do taste good! This was the first batch of squash blossoms I did & hope to get at least one more picking this summer.

BLT fixins, green tomatoes, & squash blossoms

Some good eats!

Smokin Don

Grand Champion Pulled Beef

Yesterday was a busy day for me, trimming & mowing grass plus smoking my English roast for pulled beef. Early I went to the grocery to get ingredients for my corn pudding. I had seen a recipe somewhere of cheesy corn pudding that also had tomatoes on the top. I did not save it & could not find it so I had to wing it & make my own. I had a yellow squash & some tomatoes from my garden to use in it. I also needed more pellets so stopped by my butchers to get some. He told me the roast I had bought came from the Grand Champion Steer of the Auglaize Co. Fair a week earlier. He had put the pressure on; I would have to do this beef with honor!
I would do this roast like Italian beef, but I didn’t follow any recipe. I decided to put some goodies in the center & fold over and tie. I seasoned half with, salt, pepper, oregano, chopped Vidalia onions, 4 cloves of garlic, & pepperoncinni peppers, folded & tied. Seasoned the outside w/salt, pepper, & oregano. I got it on my smoker, direct on the grates, at 10:30 on the smoke mode, 170-180 deg. I started my mowing grass. I did it on smoke for 3 hrs then went to 225 deg. In 4 hrs it was 165 deg IT, time to place in a roaster & foil pan. To the roaster pan I added thick sliced onions to place the roast on, a green pepper & a yellow banana pepper around the roast. I added 2 tsp. of better than beef bullion & a quart of beef stock, covered pan w/foil & went to 250 deg. I kept edging up the temp setting to 300 deg near the end. At 5:00 it was up to 200 deg so I pulled it, foiled & into a 180 deg preheated oven to rest. Total cook time was 6 ½ hrs.
I pulled the beef & munched on the rib bones, sure was good. I had done the Grand Champion honor! It had good bark, some smoke ring, & was tender.
I then proceeded to sauté the yellow squash & onions, added to a casserole, mixed up the corn & cheese, added over the squash, then sliced some tomatoes to cover the top. I got this on the smoker at 325 deg. along w/some baby yellow potatoes at 5:50.
The corn & potatoes were done at 6:50. I served the beef on an onion, poppy seed ciabata, bun along w/some Au Jus, onions & peppers over top of the beef. My corn, & a smashed potato, w/butter on the side. I dipped my top half of the bun in the Au Jus for a tasty sandwich.

English Roast

Goodies in the middle

Lassoed & tied

After 3 hrs. smoking

Ready for beef stock & back on the smoker

Ready to rest

Pulled beef

Au Jus

My Plate

Squash & onions for the corn pudding

Ready for the smoker

Just about done

Ready to serve

Printable Corn Pudding Recipe

Baked Sirloin & Baked Potatoes

I have been spending time at Cowgirl’s Country Life, blog, looking at all of Jeanie’s cooks. Now that gal had my mouth watering for some gravy! I do not make gravy well, even though I love it. My Mother-in-law used to make gravy for me, she was a great cook. I like it over bread and potatoes. I bought some nice pieces of sirloin to make baked steak on my Traeger. My Mother used to make baked steak; she browned up sirloin or round steak, with salt, pepper, & flour. Then in a casserole & topped with mushroom soup & in a 350 deg oven for an hour. Now Jeanie would have made her own gravy, but when you get old you use shortcuts. My gravy would be a can of Campbell’s mushroom, & a can of beefy mushroom soup mixed together, w/a little Gravy Master for color. I also wanted to try Jeanie’s baked potatoes, w/a slice of bacon & onion in the center & wrapped in foil. I would add carrots & onions to the sirloin & gravy.
I figured to cook all at 300 deg. on my Traeger & would do the potatoes for a half hour then add the skillet of steak & gravy for two more hrs.

When I started at 3:00 there were dark clouds in the NW so checked the radar & a front would come thru so it was a rush to move the smoker to my garage. I had rigged up a section of flexible dryer vent to add to the stack & vent the smoke outdoors. A step stool would hold the vent in place. We use the garage for storage & don’t want smoke smell all over. As soon as I get my covered deck built I won’t need this anymore. I prepared my potatoes & got them on about 3:30. I mixed my two cans of soup & browned up the sirloin. I added ½ the soup to a cast iron skillet & added the sirloin. Deglazed the other skillet & added some chopped onion to cook a few min. Added carrots to the meat then poured the onions & liquid over the meat. I then added the rest of the soup & some garlic granules over top. The skillet went on the smoker at 4:00 & I covered it with foil. All went well, the front went thru with a downpour of 8 tenths in about an hour for some much needed rain. All was ready at 6:00 the food was great, I had some of the gravy over my potato & a piece of bun for gravy bread. My hunger for gravy was satisfied, for awhile anyway!

My rainy day setup

Potatoes ready to foil

Deglaze & onions

Sirloin & gravy skillet

On the smoker

Ready to serve

My plate

Smokin Don

BLT's

It was obvious what we would have for supper. I had bacon, lettuce & buns left from making my cheeseburgers and fresh tomatoes from my garden. So a BLT it would be. I also had some Alexia frozen sweet potato fries that would go well with them. Just follow the directions on the package & they come out nice & crispy on the outside & soft in the center. I used to spray them with a little olive oil cooking spray but I think they come out better without any oil added. They are very lightly seasoned but I usually add a little Lawry’s seasoning salt. They also make some chipotle seasoned ones if you want spicy. I would do the bacon on my Traeger, my wife likes that since I don’t mess up the stove. The only bad part is I don’t get to save that good bacon grease! I did the bacon at 300 deg for 35 min. Turned & flipped half way thru. That’s one thing I like about doing it on the pizza pan, I just use my tongs to rotate it 180 for even cooking.
My wife would have hers with traditional mayo, Hellmann’s, and an Arnolds whole wheat flat bun, makes her feel better about eating the bacon fat! I would use a white bun because I had some left. I would use the Santa Fe Philly crème on mine, I am sure liking that stuff for sandwiches. This was our first BLT this summer with the fresh tomatoes, we both enjoyed them!! Besides this was a pretty easy meal!

Bacon on my Traeger

Bacon done

LT

Wife's BLT

My BLT

With Fries

Smokin Don

My Special Cheeseburger

It seems signature burgers are popular everywhere. Last year I tried a couple & wasn’t satisfied, but this one, at least to me is a winner. I am particular about how well done it is, I like pink in the middle but no red! I would rather have it over done than any red. I love them on my Traeger, 300 deg. 15 min. flip, another 15 min., add cheese & bun for another 2 min. then pull. My cheese ends up on the bottom because I add the cheese then bottom of bun, then top of bun & when I remove I just pick all up with a spatula, place top of bun under spatula, & pull spatula out for an assembled cheeseburger. A good way to serve if you are serving right from the grill. Done this way I don’t get pink but they are plenty juicy.
My burger would have to be a cheeseburger, with Swiss cheese. Seasoning would be Weber’s Gourmet Burger. Bacon, lettuce, & tomato, would be added. I recently discovered Kraft’s Philly cooking creme in 4 flavors. It makes a good salad dressing, dip, or sandwich topper. I chose the Santa Fe Blend for my burger. It leaves a pleasant heat in your mouth. To assemble my burger after grilling, remove the top bun, add a heaping tsp. of the Santa Fe cheese, then two half slices of bacon. Next would be a single layer of Lays potato chips, this adds flavor & crunch plus soaks up some moisture from the tomato which goes on next. To finish, a couple pieces of romaine lettuce. I usually use a COWB, Cheap, Ole White Bun. To me the bun is just a tool to hold all together while you eat it.
I bought 1 ½ lbs. of ground chuck from my butcher, and a lb. of his smoke cured bacon, thick slice. His ground chuck is always fresh & the bacon is better than my own. I divided the ground chuck into 4 equal parts. Formed into balls then flatten & indent the centers. Then on a plate, some dried garlic flakes & Weber’s Gourmet Burger seasoning on top. Covered with saran wrap & in the fridge until ready to grill. I cut the bacon slices in half & did on my porcelain coated pizza pan at 300 deg for 35 min. to get crisp. The bacon grease left on the pan would help flavor my burgers. I put some fresh white corn, on at 275 deg for a half hour before doing my burgers. The corn husks were left on & soaked in salted water several hours. I also did a yellow squash from my garden on about 10 min before the burgers. I did the burgers at 300 deg 15 min. flipped & added more Weber’s seasoning, on for 15 more min. Added Swiss cheese slices, real not processed, & the buns, on another 2 min. Removed & assembled the burgers. Served with the corn & squash. The burgers were great, this would be my burger. My wife even said they were good & juicy. They also held together well while eating. What would I call it, I guess Don’s BLTCCPCCB, bacon, lettuce, tomato, cream cheese, potato chip, cheeseburger.
On second thought I think just “Don’s Special Cheeseburger” will do!

Printable Cheeseburger Recipe

Burgers made & seasoned on one side

Bacon on the grill

Burgers, corn, & squash on the grill

With Santa Fe cheese & bacon added

Potato chips & tomato added

Finished Cheeseburger

My Plate

Smokin Don

Spatchcocked Chicken, Fettuccine, & Aspargus

Yesterday was another hot & humid day, with a heat index of 100 deg. I had a chicken in brining overnight I would smoke. The raccoons had been in my tomatoes again so I put a small fence around them to try to deter them. In spite of the heat I had some other chores I needed to do. My extension ladder has been lying out since I worked on my spouting a few weeks ago. I had a section of spouting that still needed cleaned so I did that, got a live trap out of my shed & put the ladder away. I am going to catch those pesky raccoons & get rid of them. My neighbor is away this week so had her flowers to water.

The chicken I had spatchcocked, cut out the back bone, my favorite way to do chicken. Laid flat on the grill they cook more even. I have done them without brining & they are pretty good but brining lets it stay moister. I do them at 300 deg until IT of 160 deg. then up to high to finish to 175 deg IT, & brown up the skin. I baste with the garlic butter after ½ hr. & again when I go to high. They are done in just over an hour so you don’t get much smoke taste. Smoking them for any length of time usually dries them out & the skin is rubbery. We discussed, on the pelletheads forum about using liquid smoke or smoked paprika to get a smoky taste. Even though liquid smoke is made naturally I agreed with most that it tastes artificial. I do like the smoked paprika & starting to use it on meats more often. I decided to try the liquid smoke in the brine. Colgin, a maker of liquid smoke has a recipe on their site that calls for 1 TBS per gallon of brine. I made my usual mild brine, ½ cup kosher salt, & ½ cup brown sugar per gallon. I went easy on the liquid smoke, 1 tsp. A gallon was enough for my 1 chicken, & I brined it for 12 hrs. At 1:00 pm I removed it from the brine, rinsed & dried well & in the fridge for 2 hrs. to dry. I used ½ stick of butter & 1 Tbs. garlic granules & melted to rub on the chicken & baste later. At 4 pm I added the garlic butter under the breast skin & rubbed all over. Seasoned with Lawry’s seasoning salt, no MSG. I had a bunch of asparagus, marinated for an hour with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, salt, & pepper. I used some hi heat silicone rubber bands to secure individual bundles for the wife & I. I would add near the end of the cook. The rubber bands worked well & made them easy to turn. I also cooked some fettuccini & added some Kraft’s Philly cooking sauce, savory garlic flavor. All was very tasty. I could only taste a tad from the liquid smoke so next time will try 2 tsp. I was tired so didn’t take as many photos as I usually do & some didn’t turn out that great & even forgot to take one of it on the grill. I usually dish up my wife’s dish first the take a photo of my plate, but she always gets a breast, it looked purdier so used her plate for the photo. I like the leg & thigh better.

Backbone removed & ready to brine

Brined, seasoned, & ready for the grill

Marinated asparagus

Chicken resting

My wife's plate

Smokin Don

Unskewered Beef & Veggie Kabobs

My wife’s trip back from St. Charles, Il did not go as planned. Sat. morning our daughter took her to catch the train into Chicago where she was to get on a bus non stop to Toledo & I would be there to pick her up. The train was late & she missed the bus, so took a cab to the airport. Earliest flight was at 4:45 pm to Dayton, arrive at 6:45. She had flown there for $100 & the bus was $40. The airlines scalped her cost her $360 for the flight since it was same day + charged her $30 to print the ticket, said since it was late, she was checking in 6 hrs before the flight! She arrived on time but had to wait an hour to get her bag, it didn’t come out with the others. She checked at the desk & said it was coming on a later flight, but they checked & it was in the back room. Oh well I got her back home & getting back to normal now!

For Sundays cook I decided to do my unskewered sirloin & veggie kabobs. I always had trouble keeping all the food on skewers when turning or some pieces refused to turn.
I find it much easier to just do them in my Pampered Chef grill basket, the one my wife bought me. I made fun of it at first saying I’ll probably never use it, it will be too hard to clean. Now I use it a lot! I would serve them over rice, Zatarain’s New Orleans style yellow rice. I would also do a couple of grilled peaches to serve alongside.
After lunch I cut up the sirloin & veggies, made the marinade, & got them in the fridge.
I used ½ stick of butter, 1 heaping Tbs brown sugar, & ¼ heaping tsp cinnamon, melted in the microwave & stirred, I would put this on the peaches after turning.
Just before time to start the kabobs, I got the smoker fired up & set to 325 deg, this would give me about 350 deg grill temp. Usually kabobs are done over direct flame, but the Traeger is indirect heat so I decided to do them slower for 30 min, turning & basting halfway thru, this method suits an old cook better than hot & fast! The peaches I would do cut side down for 10 min. turn & add butter mix, and do another 10 min. I got my rice on simmering & all came together pretty good. Wife & I both liked it. The sirloin was melt in your mouth, veggies tender crisp & the marinade added great flavor. The peaches went well with it. I used white peaches & would have been better if they had been riper, but still pretty tasty.

Printable marinade recipe

White peaches

Kabobs marinating

On the smoker

My plate

Smokin Don