Applewood Smoked Gouda and Cheddar

I am not looking for winter to come but was happy to get cool enough weather to cold smoke some cheese. I had a new toy, the Amazin Tube Smoker, to try out. It was made to give added smoke to pellet smokers. I used it for hot smoking a couple of times but too early to say if it actually made the meat I did any smokier tasting. I also installed a manual fan switch on my Traeger 07E so I could run the fan only. I use it when shutting down and just new it would also be great for cold smoking.

I had 2 pound each of Dutchmark Gouda and Vermont white cheddar I bought at Sam’s Club. I cut the Gouda in 3 pieces 1 inch thick and the cheddar in 6 pieces 1 inch thick and set it out 2 hours before smoking. I planned to do some for a single smoke of 2 hours. Then I would double smoke the rest for another 2 hours after a 2 hour rest.

I was using some Smokin Brothers 100% apple wood pellets that my brother had given me. I filled the tube smoker with the pellets and got it lit. I laid it across the back and placed the cheese on a frogmat, turned the fan on. After 15 minutes I was not getting any smoke from the stack, just some at the top of the lid. I turned the fan off and within a minute I got smoke from the stack. It smoked well the whole two hours, nice blue smoke coming from the stack and some from the top of the lid. Whenever I opened the lid the barrel was full of smoke.

After the two hours I took the cheese inside and covered with saran wrap to rest for two hours. I had to go out and empty the tube smoker to stop the fire and refill for the second smoke. When I went inside I smelt the sweet smoky smell of apple wood; and my smoking deck never smelled so good before. I tasted a small slice from each, a mild smoke taste; I cut the 3 pieces of Gouda in half so I had six. I saved out 2 pieces each of the Gouda and cheddar to vacuum pack for a single smoke; so I ended up with 4 pieces each for the double smoke.

After the 2 hours I relit the tube smoker, placed it across the back and put the cheese on. After 15 minutes was not getting much smoke so had to relight the tube. The trick is to get it lit right the first time. All went well for the second smoke. All the cheese is now vacuum sealed and in the fridge for two weeks to mellow out, if I can wait that long!

Note: One tip is after lighting the tube smoker and you want to move it do not grab it in the middle but on the opposite end or use some tongs to move it! Never too old to learn, even the hard way!

Link to Tube Smoker Site

The Cheese

Sliced & ready to smoke

Smoke after turning the fan off

The pit temp

The smoke I was getting from the tube

The first smoke

After the second smoke

All vacuum packed

Smokin Don

Brunswick Stew and Smoked Korean Crackers

The past week-end was busy for me. In between cooking I was trying to keep tabs on the pellethead BBQ team, on live video, competing at the American Royal in Kansas City, the largest in the world. They finished in the top third overall and had a third place in ribs.

The rest of us pelletheads on the home front were cooking a lot of comfort food with the cooler fall weather starting. We have had frost here in Ohio the last three mornings getting down close to freezing.

The other day when measuring out Korean red pepper flakes I thought I have to try this in my Cajun crackers. Yesterday I mixed up two sleeves of crackers and soaked them over night in 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 package Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix and a good Tbs. of the Korean red pepper flakes. This am I smoked them to have with some Brunswick stew. The smoked Korean crackers came out with a very mild heat. I thought they would be hot but the US red pepper flakes are a lot hotter.

My wife liked the Korean better, our d-i-l said maybe a little better but she liked the Cajun too. To me the Korean flakes are complex. Eating Kimchi cold they are very hot to me, in a sandwich it becomes mild and on the crackers they are subtle.

I mowed grass then about 3:30 I started my Brunswick stew. The stew can be made with
squirrel, rabbit, chicken, pork or beef. Fellow pellethead, charray made some and his recipe is very close to the one I used. I had already saved one from my favorite southern cook Mary, at Deep South Dish blog. He had some Cajun crackers with his.

I used 3 slices of Kahs bacon for the stew; I had 4 slices left from a ½ pound. In between sautéing and simmering the stew I cooked the 4 slices of bacon on the smoker to use on top of the stew. Mary called for a cup of smoky BBQ sauce, I used ½ cup of Kahs which is sweet & tangy with just a touch of heat. Tasting mine at the end seemed a little sweet so I added a Tbs. of cider vinegar, could have used two.

The stew hit the spot on a cool fall day, my wife liked it and the Korean crackers were a compliment to it.

Link to Mary's recipe

Printable cracker recipe

Olive oil with seasonings

Crackers w/oil

After setting overnight

On my smoker, 1 1/2 hours at 170 deg.

The stew ingredients

Peppers, onions, celery and diced bacon

Bacon and veggies simmering

1/4 inch diced potatoes

Stews ready

My Bowl and Smoked Korean Crackers

Smokin Don

Pulled Pork Sandwich w/Kimchi and a potato side

This was my Saturday supper using my cider injected butcher paper wrapped pork butt. I am getting behind in my posts. I was used to cooking for 5 and since the kids moved out, just over a week ago, this is my second cook just for myself. My wife went out to eat with girl friends then to see the Lennon Sisters, so I was home alone!

I fixed some cheese and caramelized onion scalloped potatoes, I concocted from several recipes. Basically it was about 2 lbs of russet potatoes peeled and sliced thin. I caramelized two thinly sliced onions in butter until just turning brown. Layerd half the potatoes in a buttered dish, sprinkled some Wondra flour. Spread half the onions over, then 4 oz. of shredded Colby jack cheese over that. Then a ¼ cup of buttermilk poured over. I repeated the layer and poured ½ cup buttermilk over the top. In a 365 deg. oven covered for 45 min. removed the lid and baked another 30 minutes.

I toasted my COWB, cheap ole white bun, in a skillet w/olive oil. Added a good portion of my reheated pulled pork and topped it with some of my home made Kimchi. I also heated some Freshlike canned small red beets for a side w/butter and salt. I find the Freshlike brand about as good as doing fresh beets and much easier to prepare. The older you get the more you look for shortcuts!

My sandwich hit the spot, loved that Kimchi on top. I didn’t notice the heat from the Kimchi being as hot as eating it plain. The potatoes & beets were good with it.


Caramelizing the onions

Layering the first layer of potatoes

Second layer added and ready to bake

Potatoes are done

My Plate

Smokin Don

Italian Meatballs and Cheesy Pull Bread

Friday was a big cook day for me. I was up at 1:00 am and got an 8 ¼ lb. pork butt on to smoke. I decided to have Italian meatballs and spaghetti along with some cheesy pull bread for supper.

For the meatballs I used a lb. of ground sirloin and a lb. of Bob Evans Italian sausage. I chopped a ¼ of a red and ¼ green pepper, two slices of onion chopped, and a garlic clove minced. I mixed in an egg, a ¼ cup of ketchup and 1/3 cup of Italian seasoned bread crumbs. That’s pretty basic and you could add seasoning if you want.

After I made enough meatballs I had about a pound left so I formed it into a mini meatloaf I could take to my Mother. At 3:00pm I pulled the pork butt off and in the oven to rest before pulling. At 3:30 I put the meatballs and meatloaf on smoke for one hour, then went in and pulled the pork. The pork went in a covered bowl and in the fridge.

At 4:30 I went to 225 deg for a half hour and then pulled the meatballs. I went to 300 deg to finish the meatloaf to 160 deg. IT. The frogmat worked good for the meat, came off nice & clean.

I browned the meatballs in a little olive oil then added a jar of Clasico tomato & basil spaghetti sauce. While it was simmering I made the cheesy pull bread. It all tasted pretty good.


Meatball ingredients

Onions peppers and garlic

Meatballs after smoking

Mini meatloaf

Meatballs and sauce simmering

Bread ready to bake

Breads done

My Plate

Smokin Don

Korean Kimchi

Kimchi or Kimchee is a Korean dish, fermented cabbage. The first time I tried it was from a small Korean restaurant and carry out called Sue’s. We usually got carry outs every week from there. My first bite of it I thought man this is too hot for me! I ended up eating all and it was the first really hot dish that I didn’t suffer from. I loved it.

Sue’s was run by a Korean lady and her two teen age daughters. It supported the family while the father went to ministry school. They lived just down the street from us. I really admired that family; with the daughters working they still managed to graduate high school with honors. They always knew it was the Ainsworth’s order when we ordered Kimchi; she said I was the only one that ordered it. They moved away after the Father finished ministry school and got a church. Before they left one day she showed up at my door with a quart of her Kimchi!

I finally found a recipe that was supposed to be authentic Korean. It is about as good and close to Sue’s Kimchi as I would get. It makes 3 quarts, just right for me. It is 5 to 6 lbs. of Napa cabbage, Korean chili flakes, kosher salt, sugar, grated carrot, minced garlic and thin sliced green onions. Small heads of cabbage I cut lengthwise in 4ths and large ones in 8ths then cut 1 inch wide. You salt it down heavily and let set for a half hour. Then you rinse well, mix in all the other ingredients, place it in a covered bowl and let set at room temperature for 48 hours.

To make Kimchi you need to use Korean red pepper flakes. I used to get it at a close by Asian grocery but they closed up. I finally found some on amazon.com that ships from Whole Spice Co. in CA. It was $23 for a pound that included shipping; I thought a little expensive but another place wanted $25 a pound before shipping. The Korean red peppers have a distinct taste unlike any others. Some of the flakes look almost crystallized. I took a pinch to taste; just a mild pepper taste at first but about a minute later the heat hits you!

After the 48 hours place in sterilized quart jars; top with water to cover if needed. Place the lids on and store in the refrigerator. I would say it should be good for at least two months. I had to use two large bowls when salting down; but after rinsing it had wilted down enough for all fit in one Tupperware bowl to set for 48 hours.

I have just eaten Kimchi as a side dish. It is used to flavor soups, stews, and fried rice but my wife does not like hot so never used it that way. A fellow pellethead, Craft Service, has a business that he caters to TV actors and crew while they are shooting. He uses an FEC 120 pellet smoker for smoking meat. He recently served smoked brisket sandwiches topped with sautéed Kimchi. It looked delicious and it inspired me to use Kimchi in a cook coming up, probably this week-end.

Printable Kimchi recipe


Kimchi Ingredients

Korean chili flakes

Cutting up the cabbage

Carrots, onions and garlic

Half ready to mix

All mixed and ready to set for two days

After two days

Filling the jars

Ready for the fridge

Smokin Don

October is Oktoberfest and Bratwurst Time

October is Oktoberfest and bratwurst time. I was hungry for some so that’s what we had for supper tonight. Since the kids moved close by I am back to cooking for just the wife and I. While grocery shopping today I found some Italian sausage made from veggie protean so I bought a package for the kids. When they came to pick up the grandson from school I gave them the sausage and 4 hot dog buns. They were going to try them for their supper. I know mine was better than theirs! My brats were fresh ones from my Butcher Kah Meats.

I did mine on smoke 175 deg. for about 45 min. and then eased up to 300 deg. for the last hour. I had some smoked onion left and sliced some red and green pepper, Placed all in a pan and drizzled a little olive oil over and got them on the smoker with about 50 minutes left for the 2 hours I was doing the brats.

I had a bag of Or Ida’s frozen grillers to try. I decided to thaw them out & do on the smoker. I wasn’t sure how they would come out since all their frozen potatoes say do not thaw & do in a 375 to 400 deg. oven. I got them on the smoker with 35 minutes left and placed the brats on the onions & peppers and poured in a bottle of Yuengling Lager.

The brats were great; the grillers were nice and crisp. I also had some Green Giant cauliflower w/cheese sauce. All made for a tasty and easy supper.

Brats and potatoes on the smoker

My Plate, since I cooked with Yuengling I had to have one

Smokin Don

Beef Chuck Tender Roast

Life will be a little less complicated for me after this week-end. Our son, wife, and grandson are moving to their own place. They both found work and rented a home just three blocks away. They have been with us for six months. Other than keeping my nose out of their business, I didn’t do very well at times; the hardest part was cooking to please all their tastes. I do all the cooking. I did manage to please everyone a few times.

I only had to cook to please myself tonight. My wife left for an overnight trip to meet with two friends she worked with as secretaries for the FBI in DC in the 60’s. My son and grandson would be busy moving some to their new home and my d-i-l would be at work.

I usually buy all my meat from my local butcher but look for some good specials at Walmart when I shop for groceries. They had a cut I had never seen before, a beef chuck tender, 2.3 pounds. They had one marked managers special, wasn’t as pretty as the others but to me it had some marbling. The grain was running lengthwise so looked like it would slice up nice.

Chuck told me it should be cooked low & slow. I coated it with some olive oil and rubbed on some Penzey’s beef roast seasoning, covered & in the fridge for 4 hours. I got it on at 1:00 pm, on my new frog mat. I did it for ½ hour smoke mode; it was running about 190 deg. Then I went to 225 deg until an IT of 120 deg. I then placed it in a pan on some onion slices with a cup of beef broth; I made it with a cup of water and a teaspoon of better than beef bullion base. I covered it with foil and was looking for an IT of 160 deg.

I also put on two whole onions with butter and some grey sea salt to use in a sandwich.
I let it rest for about 45 minutes before slicing. I sliced it by hand, about 1/8 inch & back in the juice I had poured the fat off. It went in the fridge until I was ready to eat. The roast really shrunk and I figured I should have pulled it at 135 to 140 IT.

For my supper I made a small spinach salad with blue cheese dressing. I sliced half of a small baguette in half, some au jus on the bottom half, a generous portion of beef, some of my smoked onions and smoked sharp cheddar cheese. I drizzled some olive oil on the top half of bread and all went under the broiler to melt the cheese and toast the top half of bread.


The Roast

Adding the rub

After one hour on smoke

Ready to foil

The onions

Ready to slice

Slicing up

In the Au Jus

Cheese melted and bread toasted

My Plate

Smokin Don