Lilac Smoked Meats

Over the weekend I tried a new wood in the new smoker, Lilac, well Texas Lilac.  It is a flowering tree that grows around this area.  Now that I know what it is I realize that I have known this tree for decades, but didn't know the name.  You probably know it also...

It has woody stems, and a fairly rough bark.  It's smoke smells kind of acidic but otherwise similar to a hardwood smoke.  I started up the smoker the way I usually do with charcoal, and let that burn until the briquettes are white, then added the wood.

So I smoked some Chicken Thighs as a baseline food so I can taste the smoke flavor well.  Then also smoked some Pork shoulder steaks.  So I think I like the Lilac smoke flavor, but I don't know if I can use it all the time because I haven't found a place to buy it.  To use it I would have to keep on the lookout for people trimming their Lilac trees.  I noticed some things about the new smoker this time as well.  The Thermometer glows in the dark.

This is a neat feature if you are out there schmoking in the middle of the night.  I am really impressed with this Oklahoma Joe's Smoker.  The other feature that I knew about, but hadn't got to work yet is the fat drain.  The smoker is on a incline, and was leveled the wrong way, so the fat moved away from the drain.  So, anyway the legs of the smoker are attached to tubes on the body of the smoker.

So I used my hydraulic jack to raise the side fire box to a level which let the fat drain toward the drain side of the smoker, then loosened these bolts which hold the legs onto the smoker.  This let the legs drop down to the patio, and I tightened the bolts again.  Then I removed the hydraulic jack, and the smoker was leveled in a way that let the fat move to the drain side of the smoker.

I think it's really neat that this smoker has leveling legs.  Now the fat can drain out of the smoker, and doesn't build up on the inside.  I had a grease fire inside of my gas grill a couple weeks ago, and I don't want to repeat that.  That happened pretty regularly in my last smoker.  This one is much better in that aspect.

Schmokin' in the middle of the night

Texas, August, yeah it's really hard to be outside when the Sun is looking at you...  So what do you do?  LOL!  Work in the middle of the night.  It's still hot, but not beat you down, relentlessly hot.  So, anyway, I'm making some smoked meats in the new Smoker, and got up around midnight to start it.

I'm making some Chicken Thighs, and a Pork Butt.  They get a nice rub with Adams Spices. I used the Texas Style Smoked Chicken Rub on the Chicken Thighs.

Then also used the Texas Style Smoked Pork Rub on the Pork Butt.  These spice mixes are very flavorful with not too much heat.  When they are mixed with the wood smoke are very flavorful, and really highlight the flavor of the meats.

Then they both go into the Smoker for an extended ride.  The Chicken was in there for a couple hours at about 225 F.  Then I let the Pork Butt ride out the rest of the fire overnight.  I pulled the Pork Butt out of the smoker the next morning, and let it ride in the Crock Pot for another couple hours.  Both the Chicken Thighs, and the Pork Butt were absolutely delicious.

Then I take my smoked meats, and integrate them into Lunch Bowls that I take to work, and sell for $3.  It's a 12 ounce portion that is about half smoked meats, and half side dish like my Frejoles del Fuego, Texacali Salad, or Mexican Rice.  They are all good, and I generally have good reviews.  Mainly the only complaint is that they are too spicy.  LOL!  Spice is Life...  Wutcha complaining about?

Tres Chiles

I've been playing with Chiles today.  Three things. Genuine Texas Red Chili, Fire Roasted Green Chile Salsa, and something I'm calling Inferno, a Serrano Hot Sauce.  I definitely had fun with it.  Now it's time to eat.  Gotta Go...

American Smoked Pork and Freedom Beans

Its late on July Forth 2019.  I've been cooking, and am extremely tired.  I had come to an impasse with this new product I've been working on.  I've been making packaged food lately.  Mainly Pork with Beans, and Rice.  So, I'm making another batch of food, and I get inspired by events as of late. So, I decided I had to get this one done tonight, it was imperative.  So, now I am finishing, just before midnight, and I've got the product in a labeled package.  It is Pecan Smoked Pork Country Ribs, which I then finish in the Slow Cooker with a side of Pinto Beans, and not to spicy.  I think it is great, and the timing fits the day perfectly.  So here it is, American Smoked Pork and Freedom Beans...

Another Batch of Notch

I had bought a case of 24 Sauce Bottles, and only used 14 for the Fuego.  So I wanted to make some more sauce.  I went and got another pound of Habaneros.  This batch of Notch went a lot smoother, and took less time.  I pretty much followed the same recipe with Onion, Garlic, Habaneros, Spring Water, Bragg Vinegar, and Sea Salt.  This time I reduced the viscosity a little so that it can work in the dripper bottle.  The plastic squeeze bottles have a thing I don't like which is they get a ring of Capsaicin around the threads of the cap, which is brown, and doesn't look good.  So, altogether I am pretty happy with this batch even though it only made five, and a half bottles.  Burn...

Fuego

My first batch of Hot Sauce, Fuego...

Let me elaborate...  Lets get a big bag of dehydrated chiles, and turn them into some Hot Sauce.  What does that take?  Well first we have to sort, and clean the Chile.  Then we have to take the stem, and caylex of each, and every one of the Chiles...

 All of them, like a thousand Chiles...

Then there are the seeds left over, throw then in there as well...

Then we will put all of this ina pot of water, and rehydrate them on stove in simmering water.

I going to add some Garlic to this Hot Sauce, so I peeled two heads pf Garlic, and am sauteing them in Olive Oil.  Not too brown, I want the Garlic to have a bite in the Hot Sauce.

So, after the Chiles are rehydrated, and the Garlic is sauteed we are going to combine them in the Food Processor, and turn them into sauce.  I'm going to discard the hydrating liquid, and use fresh Spring Water.  Then also I'm using Bragg Vinegar, and Sea Salt to season the Hot Sauce.

I made a spectacular mess in the kitchen doing this.  Not just making the Hot Sauce, but bottling it.

I think the viscosity is a little high, and would have used more liquid, but the Food Processor was more than totally full capacity, and even overflowed when I was trying to add more liquid, adding to the mess.  So, yeah the Hot Sauce is a little thick, but it's good.  Hot, garlicky, saline, and maybe a little too viscous.  It still gets the job done...

Notch

Do you remember Emeril Lagasse?  I saw him doing an infomercial for the Air Fryer last night.  He's an amazing Chef, has many restaurants, and is probably the biggest influence on my culinary attitude.  Well he had a thing, "Kick it up a Notch".  Exponentiate the Spice...

OK, yeah I can do that, but the people that eat my food can't always handle the level of Heat that I like.  So, this has spawned an idea to push the spice over to the side.  I call it Notch.  It's a little condiment cup of Hell Fire that you use to Kick it up a Notch.  I'll start with some Habaneros...

You want the "Notch" to be potent.  You want a little to go a long way.  There is no better way to do this than Capsicum Chinense, aka Habanero, or Bhut Jolokia, or Naga Jolokia...  Really Forkin' Hot Chiles...

I also want to add some flavor to this mix, not just heat.  So, I'll combine Garlic, White Onion, Water, Bragg Vinegar, and Sea Salt in a Sauce Pan, and simmer this mixture down for around half an hour.  Make sure that your exhaust fan works before doing this because this mixture is very odoriferous, and can actually hurt you.

 Once this mixture is cooked put it in the blender, and turn it into a smooth liquid.  This took some time on the high setting.  I have made a lot of sauces that turned out like a paste, and that is not what you want here.  You want a thick liquid that can be portioned one drop at a time.  Yeah, it is that hot.  Notch is meant to kick up the Heat Level of the Food.  One drop here, a couple bites later, another drop there.  Then, BAM!  Culinary Nirvana...