July 10, 2004
It’s A Public Service
[Update: 7/11/04, 19:00]
It’s pepperoni! Or close enough. I doubt if you could cut it wafer thin like the supermarket slices for pizza and its much leaner than supermarket pepperoni. I used 15% ground beef and a lot of the fat drained away during smoking and I’m fine with that. Texture is a little more mealy than supermarket, probably a fat issue or the grind of the meat. Doesn’t matter, it’s good eats and worth your time and expense trying it on the smoker or in the oven.
The beef ribs were just OK on my scale. They could have used another hour in the smoker but then there wasn’t enough meat on them to be worth any effort. The baked beans were awesome. As I suspected the flavor depends a lot on the BBQ sauce and this time I used my own hearty sauce. I also used mix of red kidney beans and pinto beans instead of white/navy beans. Kick ass beans.
I do have pictures. Maybe I’ll get around to posting them. Or not. Try the Pepperoni. I’m thinking a two day cure wouldn’t hurt anything. What will I do the mealy pepperoni? If I don’t eat eat it all out of my hand, it would make a nice pasta. Maybe a Rosa sauce. Some store bought marinara, half moons of home made pepperoni and some amount of half and half. Muy Delicisio! Or chopped in a Calzone. Or all of the above. Or anywhere near the above.
[7/10/4 ]
“It’s been a week since my last BBQ, Father”
“Then you must BBQ and tell everybody about it”
I can do that! And learn something. In an uncommon burst of energy, I’ve prepped and rubbed down some beef ribs (3 ribs, single serving) for Sunday dinner, I’ve got beans soaking overnight and I’ve got a batch of pepperoni curing overnight. I’m really curious about the pepperoni. I sure hope it’s good because Fennel seeds and Anise seeds do not come cheap. At least they are seeds and not powders so they should keep a long time. It doesn’t have to be pepperoni it only has to taste good and that seems likely based on last years experiment with smoked meat loaf.
I have no idea how long it’s going to take to smoke it all. It’s 1.75 lbs of beef ribs and one pound of the ground beef mixture so it’s not a lot of mass. I’m guessing 3.5 hours, maybe 4. Or Five. I think I’ll shoot for four hours at 210F. 17 or 18 lit briquettes. So many variables and untested recipes. It’s all about public service at the CCDL Rancho.
Speaking of public service, I learned how to keep radishes in the fridge. When you get them home from the market, trim the green leaves as close to the bulb as you can. You can probably do that without a knife. Wash the dirt off and place them in your air tight plastic container of choice, cover with water (they float, so go figure) and put the lid on and store in the refrigerator. I just tried one that’s been in the water for a week and it’s still crisp and flavorful. I left the tail root on. I got this tip from a checker at the Albertsons. She claimed they’ll hold for two weeks. It may be a mega mart but they all call me Cecil.