Made some Hub's Quick and Easy Pastrami

Mar 13 2015

I am a little slow at getting back to posting after a long cold winter. I had a back operation in December and was getting some back to normal and then the wife and I both caught the cold-flu bug and that took a couple weeks to get rid of. The winter was colder than normal so didn’t get much outdoor cooking done.

The past week is the first warm weather we have had. I was glad back in Dec. we had a warm spell and I got my new Savannah Stoker v.3 controller installed and this week I got a new auger motor installed so I should be set for some good outdoor cooking this summer.

I have used Hub’s, from Lets Talk BBQ, quick and easy recipe for a long time now and I have never been disappointed. With Hub’s quick and easy recipe you buy a corned beef brisket and save the process of doing the corning yourself. If you really want to do it in a hurry you can have pastrami in three days. I like to let mine set in the fridge with the rub on at least overnight before smoking it.  I have had good luck buying a corned beef from Wal Mart, either a point or a flat. This time I bought a point and it was only two pounds, now I wished I had bought a bigger one.

I put it in to soak in the fridge Monday afternoon and changed the water twice overnight. Tuesday afternoon I rinsed and dried it and in the fridge to air dry about an hour. I cut back on the amount of rub since it was just 2 pounds. I used 2 Tbs. ground black pepper and 2 Tbs. ground coriander. I added a Tbs. of yellow mustard seeds for a change. I sprinkled on some of Penzey’s roasted garlic and smeared the dry rub over. I double wrapped it in plastic wrap and in a zip lock bag and in the fridge for two nights. I turned it several times.

I had got my new auger motor installed Wednesday so I was all set to smoke the pastrami Thursday. I did it for four hours at 225 deg. Then it was double wrapped in foil and in a zip lock bag and in the fridge overnight.

I made some red skin potato salad and some Lexington style red slaw to have with the sandwiches. I baked the pastrami, in the foil at 250 deg. for 4 ½  hours and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing. I had some good light rye bread for the sandwiches and toasted some for my wife’s Rachel. I smeared on a mix of Kraft thousand island dressing and mayo, topped with the pastrami and some sauerkraut.

I just wanted mustard on my sandwich and did not toast the bread. My wife thought the mustard seeds were a little too much heat for her but I liked the extra depth of heat. The potato salad was good but my red slaw was not that great, back to the drawing board on that.

Printable recipe by Hub

Brisket after soaking, rub applied and in the fridge

 for two nights

Ready for some smoke

New controller working great!

4 hours of smoke and in the fridge overnight

Baked 4 1/2 hours. and sliced for sandwiches

Wife's sandwich

My sandwich

Installed a new Auger Motor

Mar 12 2015

Back at the end of December when it was warm enough that I installed my new Savannah Stoker v.3 controller I noted something wrong with the cooling fan blade on the auger motor. Looking close I could see it was actually broken. I was able to place it back on the shaft and get that days cook done with no problems.

I got a new auger motor ordered from Traeger and thought while I was at it I would get a spare hot rod too. The auger motor fan probably could have been glued and repaired. It had lasted me over four years so I wanted a new one and will keep the old for a spare.

I got the auger motor changed out yesterday and did a four hour smoke today on some pastrami that I will finish tomorrow.

The Traeger is pretty easy to work on and changing the auger motor is about a half hour job. First empty all the pellets from the pellet bin down to where you can see the auger. You will need a small table to lay the pellet hopper on. There should be enough wire harness you can leave all hooked up and lay down while you change the motor.

You will see 4 phillips head sheet metal screws holding the pellet hopper to the barrel; two in the front and two in the back. When you get them out the pellet hopper will lift off the auger feed tube and you can lay it down.

New Auger Motor installed

You simply unplug the old auger motor and there is one allen head machine bolt holding the motor shaft to the auger bushing. It has a nylon lock nut on the bottom. Since you won’t have the auger loose from the bushing it should stay in alignment. When you get the old one removed just bolt the new shaft in place and plug in the electrical hook up and you are ready to reassemble.

Broken fan blade

When you get the pellet hopper re-fastened in place check underneath and make sure all the wires are clear of the fans and you are ready to go.

Crockpot Beef Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes

Feb 18 2015

It feels like we are in a deep freeze here in NW Ohio! It is 3 deg. right now and a high of 5 deg. tomorrow! I just looked at the temps across the US and its cold everywhere! The only place that looked half warm was CA a high of 59 deg.

One of our favorite winter meals; a beef pot roast sure tasted good tonight. I knew when I picked out this beef chuck roast at Sam’s it would be tender. I got up early and got it in the Crockpot at 7:30. I seasoned with a little salt and pepper and seared; then on some sliced onions, deglazed the skillet and added that to the pot. I then added a half a lager beer and beef broth to come up half way on the meat.  I put it on high to get heated for a half hour then set it to low and I went back to bed a while.

I got up at 9:00 and cleaned about 6 carrots and two parsnips and added them to the Crockpot. After lunch I made up a pint of Creole mustard. I will post the recipe for it tomorrow.

At 4:00 I removed the roast and got rid of the fat and skimmed some of the fat from the pot; then added the meat back in.

At 5:00 I baked a take home baguette and made some mashed potatoes. At 5:30 I mixed a packet of Pioneer brown gravy mix with a half cup of water and added that to the Crockpot to make some good gravy.

We ate at 6:00 and with some bread and butter it all hit the spot! That was some of the most tender beef I have had in a while. The gravy had great flavor too.

My supper

The beef

Searing

In the pot

After nine hours

Fat removed and beef added back

Pulled Pork Enchilladas

Feb 17 2015

After seeing several Lets Talk BBQ forum members make some great looking tacos the last few days I was hungry for some Mexican style food. I had some pulled pork thawed out that I had done in a peach sauce. I used some for my stuffed cornbread. What was left would work for tonight’s supper.

I bought some flour tortillas, Old El Paso enchilada sauce and some Rico’s Con Queso white cheddar. I heated up the pork and added a little of the enchilada sauce. I sautéed a sliced onion and some sliced red and green peppers.

I covered the bottom of a casserole dish with some enchilada sauce. I made up the enchiladas with some of the pork some of the onions and peppers and some shredded cheese. I made four and they went in the casserole dish; I poured some enchilada sauce over both ends and some of the white cheddar in the middle. I sprinkled some Cajun seasoning over all. It went into a 360 deg. preheated oven for 25 minutes. I then turned the broiler on to brown the cheese some. While I was watching the cheese the tortillas was getting almost burnt on the ends. When I saw that I got it out quick. It didn’t get bad enough to affect the taste though!

My wife had a side salad with hers; I had an avocado with a little lime juice, Penzey’s sandwich sprinkle and sour cream. Some sliced lettuce and fresh salsa. It was not as pretty as some of the other dishes I saw cooked in LTBBQ but tasted pretty good!

My supper

Heating the pork

Onions and peppers sauteing

Making an enchillada

Ready for the oven

Ready to serve

Pork Stuffed Cornbread and Mac N Cheese

Feb 15 2015

I have fixed cornbread many ways; adding bacon, cheese, peppers and onions to the batter in any combination. I got the idea for stuffing it with pulled pork from Regina Charboneau’s Mississippi Current cookbook. She used a square muffin pan and filled halfway with her cornbread mix, added a Tbs. of pulled pork and some chopped mustard greens then more batter and baked. It looked delicious.

I had found a muffin pan that had 8 oblong mini loaves to use.  I cheated some and used my favorite cornbread mix; Miracle Maize Sweet. I had some pulled pork I had done with peaches thawed out. I chopped it up some and added a little BBQ sauce. I didn’t add any greens to mine. I baked them at 350 deg. for 30 minutes.

For our sides I had peas and some baked Mac and cheese that was supposed to be a recipe from Sam and Daves BBQ in Marietta, GA. It had three cheeses and I used half and half instead of cream; and topped it with some Savor’s Savor All. I just made a half recipe that served four.

Our daughter in law and grandson came to eat with us. I made 4 of the cornbread loaves plain for her. We all thought it was all good. I thought the Mac and cheese could have had some more half and half added to be creamier. The cornbread and Mac and cheese were easy to fix together; they both baked at 350 deg. and was done in 30 minutes.

Click here for Mac N Cheese recipe

Some ingredients

Mac N Cheese ready to bake

Making up the cornbread

Cornbreads done

Mac N Cheese done

My supper

Beef Tenderloins, Baked Potatoes and Corn

Feb 10 2015

A couple of weeks ago the wife was supposed to by tenderloins at Sams Club and came home with eye of round steaks. She finally made it back there and bought the right ones. They usually come in a two pound package and 3 or 4 steaks. The pack she bought was two large ones and two small ones. I wish they would pack them the same size. These are full of flavor, tender and better than any you can get in a restaurant. They were $13.88 a pound.

I had baked potatoes and corn on the cob with the steaks. Corn on the cob is not in season here but I bought some in the store that looked pretty good. I steamed them in my rice cooker and they were pretty decent; not as good as fresh picked but good.

I seasoned the steaks with a little grey sea salt and they went on a rack, covered with plastic wrap and in the fridge for 2 hours before cooking. I heated a skillet on med. high and seared the steaks in a little olive oil 4 minutes and then turned for another 3 minutes then skillet and all went in the 350 deg. oven with the baked potatoes for 5 minutes. I let them set for 5 minutes before cutting into.

I had used this method and times before but should have known I usually was doing steaks 1 to 1 and ¼ inches thick. These were 1 ¾ inches thick. They were too rare for both the wife and I so a quick nuke in the microwave took care of that. If you can get your times down, a sear in a skillet and then in a 350 deg. oven is the best way I have found to cook steaks indoors.

It all was delicious! Even after nuking mine was a little rarer than I usually like but was tasty!

My Supper

Tenderloins

Salted and in the fridge for two hours

Browning

My plate and corn

Before nuking, a little rare

Last two bites! Good!

Pannekoeken by Pam

Feb 10 2015

I just finished eating some of Pam’s pannekoeken. Pam is a fellow member of Lets Talk BBQ. The wife and I loved it; it’s to die for good! Pam & I both saw it on DDD and she came up with the recipe.

I fried up some of Kah’s thick cut smoked bacon to have with it and made whipped cream. I made the whipped cream from a pint of heavy cream, a tsp. each of sugar and vanilla. Pam flipper hers out of the skillet but to save time and effort I just cut and served it from the skillet.

Click here to see more pics by Pam and her recipe.

Finished baking

My brunch