Smoked Sausage Penzey's Chili w/Beans

Aug 23 2015

It was just me & the dog home today so I wanted to make some chili. Our son was at a golf outing so my wife went with the daughter in law and grandson to his soccer game an hour south of here. Our son met them after the game for dinner.

My chili was a half day making and that meant a nice lazy beer sipping afternoon outside listening to music as I was cooking. I did up the tomatoes on the smoker early to get the peels off; an easier way than boiling water. I had about a pound of smoked sausage to use up so that was my meat. I prefer pinto beans for chili but had some little red beans to use up.

After lunch I smoked the sausage on my Traeger for an hour 15 minutes at 225 deg. I measured out my spices, chopped the onion and diced up the bacon. I started out outdoors using my gas burner; I did the bacon, sausage, onions and dry spices then took the pot inside to deglaze and add all the other stuff.

After I got all in and simmering I let it on for 3 hours adding some water as I went and stirring as it cooked. I had a big bowl of it about 6:30 topped with some shredded Mexican 4 cheese blend and a dollop of sour cream along with some buttered saltine crackers. It was a little warm for me but tasted great.

I think ground meat would make it more chili like but I had the smoked sausage to use up.

Click here for printable recipe

The tomatoes

Smoking the sausage

Penzey's spices

Ingredients, beans not shown

Bacon's in

Sausage in

Onions in

Seasoning in

Beer for deglazing

Beer's in

Tomatoes, dried pepper and bay leaves added

Beans were added and simmered for 3 hours

My supper

Bacon Stuffed Maple Syrup Chops, Fried Cabbage and Pierogies

Aug 22 2015

When I was at Kah Meats the other day to get bacon for my BLT’s I needed something for this week-end. He had some nice 1 ½ inch thick bone in pork chops so I got two of those. The last time I did thick chops I stuffed with some bacon and maple syrup and they were good.

I had some pierogies frozen so I thawed them and got a head of cabbage for some fried cabbage to have along with the chops. I brined the chops in 2 quarts of water, 1/3 cup of coarse salt and ¼ cup of molasses overnight.

About 11 AM I rinsed the chops and dried and put them on a rack and in the fridge to air dry. An hour and a half before cooking I cut slits in the chops, added a teaspoon of maple syrup and the bacon then secured with a couple of toothpicks. I seasoned them well with some Blues Hog Rub and back in the fridge.

I preheated my Traeger to 190 deg. and got the chops on at 4:00; I planned to eat at 6:00. I let them on smoke 190 deg. for an hour then eased it up to 275 deg. that was 300 deg. grill level. At 5:15 I brushed on some maple syrup.

At 5:00 I got a cast iron skillet going on my gas burner with some chopped onions and butter. When they started to brown a little I added the pierogies and warmed on both sides then removed from the skillet. I added a little bit of diced bacon I had and then added some chopped cabbage with salt and pepper.  It needed a little more grease so I added a little olive oil. When the cabbage started to wilt down and get soft I added the pierogies back on top along with the onions. I then placed the skillet in my smoker to finish cooking with the chops. It was in the smoker about 40 minutes.

I had placed a temp probe in one chop and at 5:50 it was up to 160 deg. IT. I double checked the chops with my thermopen and it was right on. I placed the chops on top of the cabbage and pierogies and let set a few minutes before carrying all inside.

We had it with some bread and butter. The chops were tender and delicious. I was pretty heavy on the Blues Hog Rub but adding the maple syrup near the end balanced out any heat so it was tolerable for the wife. The cabbage and pierogies went well with the chops.

The chops

Brined, stuffed and seasoned

Sauteing the onions

Pierogies added to heat up then removed to the side

A little bacon added

Cabbage added

Pierogies added and then in the smoker

Done and ready to serve

My supper

BLT's w/Garden Tomatoes

Aug 21 2015

It was not a good year for my tomatoes. I had six plants in a raised bed garden but way too much rain in early summer. I was finally getting some tomatoes but they were not ripening very well and most had split tops. Looked like I was getting my last batch to pick so that told me I better have BLT’s!

I did up 10 slices of thick sliced bacon from my butcher on my Traeger. I like doing it on the smoker then I don’t have any clean up to do. I had some white bread to use; I would call it an old fashioned BLT. That’s how I remember having them when Mom fixed them. I think she did toast the bread sometimes. I sliced up a yellow and a red tomato for on top and had some iceberg lettuce.

We had asparagus for a side; added some olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning. I did them for 4 minutes in the microwave; tender crisp.

My wife had mayo on hers and I had mayo and mustard. I toasted the bread lightly. Man those were good, probably my last with fresh garden tomatoes for this year!

Last of my tomatoes

 

Bacon on the Traeger

 All done

My supper

Pork Burnt Ends, White Yam and Tomato Casserole

Aug 18 2015

I had to try Old Dave’s pork burnt ends; I had the same rub and sauces he used, Blues Hog. I followed his recipe pretty close but I started with some already cooked pork butt. I had over a pound of pork butt leftover so I cut it in 1 inch chunks and trimmed most all the fat. I seasoned it with Blues Hog rub a couple of hours before cooking.

I had a white yam leftover to have and a tomato, pretzel bun and cheese casserole I made up from tomatoes from my garden. I layered the bun halves in a buttered casserole dish; wet each one with some chicken broth and a pat of butter. I then sliced up some red and yellow tomatoes on top and added seasoning. It went in a 350 deg. oven covered for 40 minutes, then removed the cover and added a little over a cup of mixed shredded cheddar cheese and in another 20 minutes.

The pork went on my smoker on a frog mat to smoke for an hour at 180 deg. about 200 deg. grill level. I then placed it in a foil pan and added sauce; I just eyeballed it and used about 2 parts Blues Hog Original to 1 part Tennessee Red Sauce. I upped the controller to 200 deg. for another hour. I then added a little brown sugar and 3 pats of butter. It went another hour for a total of 3 hours. The last 2 hours it was at 225-230 deg. grill level.

 The burnt ends and the tomato casserole were done at 6:00. I heated up the yams and served the wife and me. I did not think I would be crazy about the burnt ends, since I am not a fan of overly sweet meats. I loved these and will definitely fix them again. I liked Dave’s choice of the sauce and rubs, the sweet and heat was about evenly balanced. I would like the heat to stand out but then the wife would not like them. These are good Dave, thanks for the recipe!

Seasoned Pork

On the smoker

Sauces added

Buns with chicken broth and butter

Tomatoes and seasoning added

Cheese added the last 20 minutes

Burnt ends done

My supper

Roast Pork Butt, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Aug 15 2015

We have been eating a lot of sandwiches lately and I was hungry for some meat and potatoes with gravy! I had a piece of pork butt I had cut off a whole one thawed out. It was just over 2 pounds. I decided to just cook it as a pork roast.

For sides I would have some mashed potatoes, Pioneer brand country gravy mix and some fried corn. I made up the mashed potatoes while the roast was on with some red potatoes, butter and sour cream.

The corn was a day old that I nuked two ears and cut off the cob. I mixed in some chopped onions and red peppers and fried in a little oil and butter.

I started my Traeger and heated to 200 deg. I cut some slits in the pork roast and stuffed in some garlic then seasoned well with some Rufus Teague rub. It went on the smoker at 4:00 and after a half hour I stared easing the temp up and ended up at 325 deg. grill level temp. It took just over two hours to get the roast to 170 deg. IT

I had the gravy made and the corn on when the roast was done; I tented it with foil to rest while I finished the corn and heated the mashed potatoes up.

My wife thought the roast was a little too fatty, I liked it, and it was a good pork fat taste. She would prefer a little dryer loin roast. The only thing missing for me was a big slice of bread and butter to make it perfect!

Pork seasoned

Pork butt is done

Country gravy

Fried corn

Pork resting

Sliced

My supper

Shrimp Boil 2015

Aug 14 2015

Tonight I had another must have meal during corn season, a shrimp boil. With our Son in a new job all summer and his wife working it was hard to get together. Then they stay busy with the grandson’s soccer; he is in a tournament this Sat. & Sun. about 1 ½ hours south of here. They finally made it tonight for the shrimp boil.

My recipe was:

2 lbs. Key West shrimp, raw with shells on

4 large red potatoes cleaned and cut up

1 pound smoked sausage, cut 1 inch pieces

4 ears fresh corn, shucked and broke in half

1 lemon cut in half

1 onion, top cut off and cleaned

1 head of garlic, top sliced off

2 Tbs. Zatarain’s liquid shrimp boil

1 Tbs. Old Bay seasoning

1 Tbs. sea salt

It’s best to have a large pot with a strainer basket. Heat enough water to cover all to a boil. Add all except the corn and shrimp; continue to boil 20 to 30 minutes. Add in the corn for 5 minutes then add the shrimp for another 5 minutes. Pull out the basket and pour on a large platter or tray and serve. It’s that simple.

I toasted some flat bread on my Weber gas grill to serve. I had garlic butter made to dip the shrimp in and extra butter for the corn and potatoes. We all enjoyed it and it doesn’t get much better!

Ingredients

Corn fresh picked this morning

Shrimp

All in but the corn and shrimp

Corn and shrimp added

Served

My first plate!

Panzanella and Toasted Cheese Sandwich

Aug 13 2015

This is a good dish to use up those garden tomatoes and bread; I had both. I adapted a recipe from Giada of Food Network and had it made up at 3:00 to set until supper time at 6:00. I cooked the tomatoes and pepper strips on my Traeger and toasted the bread on my Weber Spirit.

I had two hamburger buns to use so told the wife I would do some toasted cheese sandwiches to go with the tomatoes. I sliced the tops off the buns, added two slices of baby Swiss cheese, sprayed with some olive oil and toasted them on my weber. I got them a little over-toasted!

My over-toasted cheese wasn’t too bad and the panzanella was delicious!

Click here for printable Panzanella recipe

Ingredients

Toasting the bread

Roasting the tomatoes and peppers

All in to mix

Mixed up

The layered dish

My supper