Tag: smoker

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Back to Bassics – Mother’s Day

I woke up today and tried to choose joy, or at least keep myself hyped up enough to get the house in order for guests. Summer got up for some coffee and went to the gym, and I blasted some music throughout the house and got to cleaning. Eaddie eventually got up and left for church, and I had to prep the grill for some twice-smoked potatoes, asparagus, and New York strip steaks for the family.

Summer got home and I tried to accept a minimal amount of help from her, but she did lend a hand a few times. The grill was stubborn to get going again, but after a few starter cubes it finally picked up some heat. I smoked the potatoes for about an hour at 400º and then dropped them to about 225º while I took a shower. Then I smoked the steaks at 200º for about an hour before they got a little hotter than I intended. I pulled them off to rest and then cranked the heat up to 700º to cook the asparagus before throwing the steaks back on to sear.

Julie and Kevin showed up first, but Mom and Dad weren’t terribly late. I was in a rush to get everyone eating though, since I knew the steaks didn’t take on very much heat from the sear and would likely be a little cool to eat. Julie brought a salad and Dad brought a pumpkin cake. I thought my steak was pretty tough, but it wasn’t bad. It was by far the best I had cooked for them though. I failed to replicate the greatness of what I grilled for Noah and Michael a couple months ago.

After we ate, people started griping at me about still having things at the old house. I’ve been paralysed for a number of reasons that ultimately don’t matter, and I need to get it done. Then somehow we got onto the topic of money/rent/equity again, and for as hard as I’ve tried to just let it all go at a loss, they just kept wanting to dig in more like I’ve just always been in the wrong. Somehow, Julie said she had missed the singular point that I had ever made during every single argument we’ve ever had about it, and didn’t realize I was of the understanding that I was building equity. Mom kept asking to show her the paperwork where we officially agreed to anything at all. I ultimately had to just close my eyes and concentrate on breathing until it passed.

Once everyone left, I pushed Summer out of the kitchen because she was trying to clean up. Then I took Muad’Dib out for a long run and brushed him out a bunch at the basin before we circled around and made it home. He must have been tired from all the scraps, because he didn’t want to run much. Once we got home, I finished doing the dishes and then cleaned up everything outside before winding down for bed.

I’m sure it’s nothing but some heartburn, baby.

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Low Steaks

I actually woke up pretty early this morning in spite of wanting to sleep in a little bit. Eaddie left super early for a robotics tournament, and Summer and I had to get the house cleaned up and go grocery shopping so we could feed Noah and his friend Michael. I got started early, but I think my iron made me queasy again. I waited a couple hours before I ate something, and that helped marginally. Summer went to the gym when she finally got up, and we eventually made it out of the house together.

We went to Kroger first, and it seemed like everything was higher and less good than the Neighborhood Market. I definitely didn’t care for any of the steaks I saw there, but we picked up some fruit and frozen shrimp. I think even the shrimp was cheaper at the Neighborhood Market, but the steaks were for sure, and they looked like better cuts of meat, too.

As soon as we got back home, I got to work cleaning the grill so it wouldn’t catch on fire like it has the past few times I’ve tried to cook on it. It wasn’t that difficult, but I hate getting that black grease all over the place. Summer prepped zucchini, squash, asparagus, and made mashed potatoes. I smoked two T-bones and six strip steaks to temperature before pulling them off to rest before searing. My grill died at one point, and I thought it was the outlet, but it still did it even after I plugged it into the outlet inside. It may have been an issue with the temperature sensor, because I reseated that and it eventually got things reset.

I grilled the veggies and shrimp, then threw the steaks back on to sear both sides, and the four of us sat down to eat. I got pretty upset when Summer made a comment about hoping the boys weren’t slowing down, because it prompted both of them to each eat another whole steak to the point of complaining about having to blow up our bathroom. At that point, I was done having company, or housemates.

I gave the dogs a bunch of scraps and fed them dinner, but we didn’t get to take a walk. I’ll have to make it up to them tomorrow, and it’ll probably be a really long one for all three of us. Summer and the boys sat down in the living room and watched brain-rot YouTube compilations while she tried to paint her nails and I cleaned up the kitchen. Then Eaddie got home just minutes after the boys left, and told us about her day. After that, I didn’t waste any time wrapping up for bed.

Collector Gadget

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Those Christmas Lights

Summer got me up around nine this morning so I could get the turkey going. To my surprise, we were approved for the zero percent loan for my new car with a low down payment, so I took care of that and made the final payment before I got started. Then I kept Summer nearby because I wasn’t sure what I was going to need at any given moment. I used my new grinder to grind the spices down for the injection. It worked better, but still ended up clogging. I think it had more to do with the fact that the butter was solidifying in the syringe since the turkey was still cold inside. We eventually got it on the smoker though, and then it was a race to get everything else going. I oiled and salted the potatoes and threw them on the grill as well.

Summer did a bunch of other cleaning and worked on her deviled eggs. I took a shower and then pulled the potatoes off the grill so I could gut them, mash that up, and re-smoke them. We were getting down to the wire, but had a reasonably good morning until I got a text that Mom wasn’t coming. I had my hands full of potatoes, so I had Summer call Dad on speakerphone. I instantly blew my top at her because she wanted to blame my blood pressure, but changing plans at the last minute was what really got me hot.

I got the potatoes back on the smoker and cranked up the heat a bit, which turned out to be a big mistake. I guess there was still some grease at the bottom that caught fire, and my temperature shot up from my set 350ºF to over 500. We pulled the potatoes off and Summer finished them in the oven. I was going to drive over to talk to Mom, but just then Kevin showed up, followed by Julie with various things to unload from the car. Dad wasn’t far behind with even more stuff.

We got everything settled and then I took Dad’s car to go talk to Mom, since he and Julie were parked behind us. I talked to her briefly and apologized for blowing up, but reminded her that a big reason that I agreed to buy our house was so we would have room to entertain the family for the holidays, in a house with as little travel from theirs as possible. It didn’t take much more for her to come back with me, but she insisted that she didn’t want to stay long.

Noah was running behind in the most characteristically unpredictable way, so the seven of us ate. I thought all the food turned out pretty good. After that, we took a break to open presents. Eaddie had the biggest haul and wanted to know what she did to deserve to be so spoiled, but I think everyone felt pretty satisfied. After that, it was a bit of a struggle to decide what to do. I wanted to either watch Red One or start on some dessert, but Summer was busy cleaning up in the kitchen and became unresponsive to anything I asked. Julie ended up putting on Elf and they watched that while a few of us got some dessert.

Dad took Mom home, and Eaddie had Eli come over for some presents. Then they put on the Michael Jordan documentary series or whatever on the TV again. Noah finally showed up at some point and ate food and opened presents. I wasn’t terribly upset that he didn’t end up staying the night. Once everyone else left, the girls and I watched Red One together before bed. We all really enjoyed it for being so creative and unexpected.

I wrapped up the night by making some more turkey soup from the new bones we had. I was up pretty late waiting for it to cool down enough to refrigerate, but I was happy to be done with it right away instead of letting the bones sit for weeks.

Light up the street.

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Smokin’ Breasts

I woke up a little bit before my alarm today and got up to start prepping the turkey breasts for smoking. Summer was up on the couch doing some work, and then left to open one of her stores because multiple people called in, or didn’t show up. Eaddie got home from her father’s and hung out in the kitchen with me so she could lend a hand while I tried to season the turkey. This was only the second time I’d tried to use my baster, and I completely forgot to blend my dry spices so they wouldn’t clog the syringe. That ended up being a big mess, so I finally just put the breasts on the smoker and used my butter concoction to baste it instead.

Summer got home and started making deviled eggs, and I tried to pick up some of the rest of the house. I think Michelle and Phil were the first ones to show up, just before my parents. I kept shoving things into the laundry room, and the house filled up pretty quickly. Alie and Chance made it, and even Julie and Kevin showed up. Uncle Rick and Ginny were the last to show.

I had a fire going, and the smoking was pretty much done before anyone showed up, so I just had to carve the turkey while everyone else arranged food on the dining room table. Then everyone visited and ate in the living room. Julie and Kevin left pretty early, and I threw out my back at some point during the afternoon, which slowed me way down for the rest of the night.

Sometime during daylight hours, I took the dogs out for a quick run before wrapping up with everyone at home. It wasn’t our most entertaining event to host, but hopefully everyone enjoyed it. The whole thing just kept shrinking more and more until we could fit everyone our house instead of an aircraft hangar.

Eaddie wanted to go out to see Wicked again with some friends. Summer went to bed super early while I cleaned up and eventually made it to bed. Maybe my sleep schedule won’t be too far out of cycle by tomorrow.

No deals!

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Snoop 8-Double-0-Double-g

I got up this morning and made myself a coffee in my shiny new, white Ember Mug. Summer wanted me to smoke some ribs, so I had to get an early start for the over six-hour process. When she got up, she seemed to be having a rough day, and we could never quite put a finger on why. I think we both just feel a little stuck in a house that we can’t fully unpack in yet, and to be honest, I think maybe she’s starting to feel how I’ve felt at her house for the past several years.

I got the ribs onto the smoker, but struggled to get anything connected or updated properly. The Ember Mug refused to update its firmware, just as my other one did for years. Then the Gravity 800 smoker wouldn’t connect to the new wireless network. It took me nearly two hours to get everything connected properly.

Eaddie left for band practice pretty early in the day, so Summer and I ran to my old house for my barbecue spray bottle. We had to get back to spritz the meat, but then we went to Zaxby’s for some lunch before going to Walmart to pick up some potatoes and Brussels sprouts for dinner.

When we got back to the house, I wrapped the ribs for two more hours on the grill. Then I unwrapped them for one last hour with a maple glaze. I was pleased that we got rid of a whole bottle of Larry the Cable Guy seasoning and the ribs didn’t turn out too salty.

We also moved the cabinets out of the laundry room and into the building out back. I’m having trouble coming up with a good name for it, and I think we need another “shed” for lawn equipment. Eaddie brought Eli over for dinner, and nobody complained about any of the food. Afterward, I cleaned up the kitchen and got the smoker prepped for next time.

Just as I finally had a chance to settle down, Eaddie made it back home and came into the bedroom to tell me she had gotten a flat tire. She had some story about getting scared by another vehicle, which didn’t seem to make any sense. We went out to take a look, and the front-passenger wheel was sitting on the ground with a completely flat tire. We didn’t see a tear in the tire anywhere, and I especially don’t know how she managed to hit the front and not the back. Luckily Summer will be able to take her to school in the morning, and get the tire replaced tomorrow.

I need a substantial break, and that dog needs to shut the hell up. These new neighbors are ruining our outdoor vibe.

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The Host that Smokes

Summer spent all morning getting ready for everyone to come over for Thanksgiving dinner. We struggled to get Autumn to help as usual, and we’re just counting the days until we show her, imperically, that she’s not pulling her weight around the house. In fact, she’s completely delusional, as is often the case.

Summer really wanted to get a table and chairs set up early, so I took out some trash and dumped it at Dwight on the way, and brought back a big and little table, as well as chairs. Then I quickly made the butter and seasoning concoction that I would be injecting into the bird. I made it about a block down the road before I realized I forgot to actually take the turkey with me, so I had to turn back.

The smoker started reliably well, but I kind of forgot how foolproof it was and unnecessarily started it twice. It got up to temperature much more quickly than I prepped the bird. I wished I had done all of that at Summer’s where I had more room to work. I was in and out of gloves to get the grill set up, and then had trouble getting the drip pan in under the grates. I just needed to think my process through better before starting. My syringe clogged during my very first attempt to inject the first breast, but I was eventually able to clean that out and made it work.

The turkey seemed to be rising in temperature pretty steadily, but it was pretty clear it wasn’t going to be done by 4 when we told everyone we would be eating. I eventually had to crank the heat up from the already-high 295 all the way up to about 350 to finish it off, because I wasn’t sure of the accuracy of the temperature probe, and I didn’t think to use my wireless Meater probe alongside the one integrated into the smoker. Ultimately I lost the apparently cool part that I was measuring, and every other part I probed tested over 160.

Just before it finished, I glazed it with some of the leftover butter and seasoning from the injection, and mixed in some honey and bourbon. The skin was super crispy, and I think the glaze softened it up a little bit, but it could have also been the covered ride back over to Summer’s.

Mom, Dad, Bác Vân, and Doug were all there with the girls. Julie was somehow last after I told her not to rush on account of the turkey. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait any longer than it took me to carve the turkey, and we all dug in.

All of the food was great. Summer made a bunch of sides and a ham, and the turkey was at least done, and I thought it presented well. I thought it was a little bit salty, could have used some more smoke, and ended up not being as moist as I expected. I assumed that was all because of my cook time and temperature, so next time I’ll take much more care to start earlier. Hopefully we can pick up some more turkey on clearance in the coming days.

After we ate, Julie wanted to play a game, so the girls brought out Phase 10. She had to teach Mom how to play, and the game wasn’t entirely without drama, but I think most everyone had a good time while Dad, Bác Vân, and Doug watched from the couch. We played through more phases than I expected, and then everyone filed out relatively quickly. Summer was proud of how quickly everything broke down and cleaned up, and then she was off to bed while the girls started on another jigsaw puzzle before bed.

Less heat; more smoke!

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Super Cheesy

It was a crisp sort of frosty this morning, lugging my cheeses back home for smoking in the evening. I made it in to work without event, but Gary messaged to say he would be out for a few days after slipping on ice and breaking his arm. It was pretty quiet, otherwise. Thomas sounded significantly better, and said he was finally nearing normal.

I spent a large portion of the day finishing up some work for CPPC, between helping Brody with random things. I thought I’d make it to Oakland at some point, but I never did.

Zach, Thomas, and I went to Arby’s for lunch. I had thought to myself recently that it had been a while since we’d eaten there, so it was a treat. Their new Brisket, Bacon, ‘n Beef Dip was awesome, and then Zach bought us all turnovers for dessert.

When we got back, I printed off some copies of the CPPC email and changed policies, and walked them over to Transportation, as well as all the way out to the bus barn for the drivers less likely to read their email. The rest of the afternoon just got quieter and quieter until quitting time.

As soon as I got home, I rushed to get things ready to smoke my cheese. I did some quick research, sliced up all of my big blocks, and loaded them onto a metal rack to stick in the grill. My A-Maze-N Tube Smoker lit off like a champ, and we were off to the races.

I stuck around for about an hour and flipped the cheeses, then went to Taco Bell to pick up dinner. I video called Summer while I waited in line, and then made it home to eat. I flipped the cheese some more, then did a couple miles on the treadmill before coming back in to finish things up.

It took me a bit to get the vacuum sealing right, but I was pretty pleased with the results. All of the cheeses looked pretty good, but I won’t know until at least the end of the week how good they really turned out. They’ve got to rest a bit while they’re all wrapped up, so the smokey flavor mellows out. I did sneak a couple pinches of the shredded cheese though, and it was pretty good.

Sucks to suck.