Smoking meat and BBQ; I live in Texas, I should be pretty good at it by now.

I live in Austin, Texas.  Austin has the best music, the coolest people (me included!) and the best BBQ.  I wanted to try my hand at the BBQ part.  I think the best restaurant, for BBQ, in town is La Barbecue.  I dream about that pulled pork sandwich, truly I do.  I went for their opening and have been back whenever I can sneak over there.  I picked it for my birthday meal with a friend who flew in from Canada.  It was freezing that day.  I wore a screaming hot pink feather boa with my sweatshirt.  It''s how we do winter in Austin.

    

It's not far from another famous BBQ joint, Franklins.  I've had Franklins, it's all hype and a little bit of overpriced meat.  You want REAL BBQ in Austin?  you want ambiance, quality, delicious and a real live REASON to stand in a line?  Go to La Barbecue, seriously, the (local) others are duds.  I do have some solid suggestions for out of town joints to chow down, but, that's another post.  Today, it's about me.

I've done a bunch of BBQ crawls around the area, where you get up early and pile into trucks and drive from one location to the next sampling the best BBQ they have.  Yeah, I've had my fair share of meat coma days. 

ANYway, I make a pretty good brisket, in the oven.  I make pretty good ribs, in the pressure cooker then the broiler but I haven't smoked anything and I was starting to feel like less of Texan than I could be. 

I have no problem whatsoever with the electric smoker over a standard wood smoker.  It does the same thing as a classic smoker without the drama of keeping temperature.  It's sort of like having an assistant watch the temperature without having to give them any beer.  It's the same meat, my own rub and wood smoke, I don't feel as though it's a cop out at all. 

I got a new smoker delivered yesterday, a Masterbuilt 30' Smokehouse.  I followed the directions to put it together, which took about 10 minutes.  I followed the directions do the 'preseason' which took 3 hours of which 2 1/2 minutes of that time involved me directly.

This morning I decided it was time and I was ready to face the smoker and to enter my name into the ring of pretty damned good smokers in Texas.  Yeah, I planned on being ordained after one time.  I know how good bbq and good smoked meat SHOULD taste and what the texture SHOULD be like.  I know how to cook.  How hard could this be? :D

TRACY'S SMOKED CHICKEN (and a RACK OF BABY BACK RIBS)

INGREDIENTS and QUICKIE instructions

2 chickens, about 4 lbs (they were on sale at HEB)
1 small rack of babyback ribs (also on sale, I prefer St.Louis style but that'll be next time)
salt, pepper, smoked paprika, oil
applewood smoking chips
1 Masterbuilt 30' Smokehouse Smoker


Rub meat.  Smoke meat 4 1/2 hours (weight of each chicken) at 225 with applewood chips, refill once. 

That's the short version.

This is how *I* did it.  Right or wrong?  Doesn't matter, it's my version: 

LONG WINDED DESCRIPTION OF MY METHOD (with pics!) 

I turned on the smoker, set it to 225, and went inside. 

I washed and dried the birds and ribs.  I had a cup of coffee. 

THEN, I sprinkled liberally with salt and pepper and smoked paprika.  I drizzled oil lightly over them and rubbed the seasonings in well.  I put them on a tray and took them outside.  The smoker was at temperature.  I filled the water holder with 1/2  a small beer.  I put the chickens on racks and the ribs on top.  

   
I closed the door and put wood chips, half soaked and half dry in the groovy little in the wall wood chip delivery system and went back inside.  I set my iphone timer for 2 hours.

THEY say don't peek, I had to peek

They're coming nicely.  I took the temperature of one of the chickens, it was 150something.  It occurred to me that I cook chickens in the oven for 5 hours so why was I fussing over the smoker?  I closed the door, reloaded some dry chips and went back inside the house.  I my timer for 2 1/2 hours.  

That follows the general rule I'd read about, 1 hr per lb for meat.  

At the 4 1/2 hour mark I went outside with my big tray and opened the door. AMAZING. The smell the sight AMAZING.  I didn't think they'd be THIS good.  

The ribs; perfect.  A perfect slight smoke ring, the meat tender and juicy and doesn't fall off the bone, yet melts when you pull it off with your teeth, gently.  AWESOME.  I've never made any ribs so good. 

The chicken; perfect.  Tender, juicy, smokey.  I'm shocked at how juicy it was really.  Wow. 

I highly HIGHLY recommend this product and method... Wow.

   

  

just.  wow.  

enjoy
/tracy

Pappadeux and my restaurant love. Was I schmoozed? or has the love just gone cold? Neither, it's still love!

Lovely ice cold Pinot

No recipe today... instead, I have a little story to share. 

I love LOVE one of our local restaurants, Pappadeux.  It's seafood and extravagant and generally fabulous, delicious and somewhere you would probably like to go if you have some $$ to drop.

Over the years, on special occasions  I've cocktailed in the bar, fabulous.  I've eaten lunch, dinner and mystery meals in the late middle of the afternoon.  fabulous.  I take the out of towners, our of countriers (is that a word?) and we go for birthdays and anniversary dinners.

THAT being said, there was *shudder* the unfortunate cardboard crab cake incident of 2012 that about did me in.  I got teary because it was abysmal but I'm not supposed to complain or comment when I'm out so I had to suffer until it blew out of me. 

The usually delicious, plump, juicy, flavorful, crispy, soft, crab cake came to be as a thin, hard, dry, cardboard-esque slab of nothingness.  Now then, all restaurants have their glitches, however on this day, I told the waiter who ARGUED with me.  Oh no no no that's not OK.  I got teary, my table mate was furious that I'd SAID anything, my birthday dinner was ruined, painful to just get through, I hated it, I hated every minute.

I went back a time or two but frankly, the bloom was off the rose.  I usually took my mother, from out of State, when she came but we started to go to Pappasitos (my NEW MOST FAVORITE)  

I, sadly, lowered my expectation of Pappadeaux.  Frankly, I was starting to arrive there prepared for unpleasant staff and potentially disappointing food.  I'd order 'safe' things and never repeated an order in case it didn't live up to memory. That's no way to feel when you're about to drop $50 (that I could make at home :)).  

Last week, I got a last minute "let's go for a drink and a fabulous lunch" call from a friend.   She said Pappasitos, which delighted me!  I jumped in the car, braved the construction on the roads and rushed there.  When I got there, she wasn't to be seen so I called.  She was already into cocktails when we realized she said Pappasitos but MEANT PappadeauxI called to ask where she was so I just walked over.  I shared the story of the bad food and waiter with our new favorite waiter, Preston.  Preston then shared the story with his manager, Sarah.  Sarah came over and apologized and was absolutely charming.  She said they were taking care of my crabcake as a "sorry for your bad experience, thanks for coming back in" gesture.  DELIGHTED!  That's the sort of customer service I'm used to here in Texas and any less shocks me now.

Did I mention that Preston, our waiter, was positively charming as well?  There were a few glitches in translation of definitions of specific cocktails but nothing that's a deal breaker. 

OK, look, I asked him to pose like this with my girlfriend, I said the way to tell if someone is truly sweet is the "side hand shelf" post... and look, he DID!  He doesn't know us but he played along.  THAT is why we are going back today.  

The meal was lovely, even though they changed their sweet potato strings to regular potato springs which sort of taste like french fries.  HOWEVER, the ambiance is fun, the staff is lovely and the company was fun.  

DELICIOUS, shame about the fries on top

The crab cake redeemed itself.  It was plump, delicious, filled with crab, lightly fried with crawfish and a beurre blanc.  I don't like the french fry strings they put on now but it's not the end of the world, I just flick 'em off.

OOOOH, look how DElighted we are at our BEAUTIFUL food!  Hardly hamming it up at all!!  HAHAHAHAHA   (yeah, we're very very silly ;D)

 

After a short time, Dean, the GM, came over.  I love a table side visit from a GM. He was charming.  He even seemed interested in my rant over potato vs sweet potato strings on food.  If I WANTED french fries, even skinny ones, I'd have ASKED for french fries.  He gave each of us his card and asked that we call when we are going to come back with girlfriends.  I was going to suggest we go to Truluck's but I think we may hit Pappadeux instead.  CHARMING! 

Call me, he said.  We'll take care of you, he said.  I DID call, but no luck. 

Since last Friday, I called and left a message, I called and got no answer and I called and was disconnected when I asked for him.  Hmmmmm.  I'm not saying for sure it was ME but 3 strikes and you're out. 

Fast forward to today.  

Some girls and I are going to lunch.  We like to cocktail then nibble then giggle then cocktail some more and nibble some more. We don't hurry.  I tried to call the GM, since he DID give me his card, he DID ask but again there was some inability to transfer my call from the phone at the desk to wherever they were trying to connect me. That's one too many calls... nice sentiment but I'm wondering if maybe I was schmoozed? maybe I need to move away from this restaurant and the love that's been no good for me.  I'm not feeling the love.

I get that GM's are busy but if the staff can't forward a message or the GM can't call back or the front desk can't transfer a call; c'mon, maybe it IS me?  

For reasons still unknown, we have decided to go over there today for our Ladies who Love to Lunch.  The original plan was 5 at 11:30 but life takes over so now we are 3 whenever we get there.  No worries, we 3 are a hell of a force :)  




I am going to eat, drink and be merry.  This is the last chance for this place.  I'm also pretty sure I'm going to share the story with the waiter of how we almost didn't come today.  I wonder if we'll see the GM ...... 

ADDENDUM (and end) to the story....

WELL!  I'm home :) Lunch lingered 3 hours at the restaurant then moved to my backyard where the wine flowed and "lunch" continued another 5 hours.  If nothing else, I KNOW how to do this!  

We arrived at the restaurant and were greated warmly.  Sarah was there and remembered us and took care of us.  She seated us, chatted about our recent experience and I told her about my blog and my story and she made sure we were very well taken care of. 

Our new favorite waiter, Mark, was as good a sport as Preston had been the week before.  Dean even came out of the kitchen, to greet us, and said he'd make sure our food was sublime.  It was.  I don't think I've ever had a better meal at Pappadeux or at any seafood restaurant in Austin, if I'm honest.  It was THAT good. 

We had wine and we had 3 fried oysters to taste before we ordered.  I'm not usually a fan but they were crisp, lightly breaded and the oyster was moist and tender and not a little rubber ball.  DElightful.  I'm suddenly glad we came back. 

I had the seafood grill... it was perfection.  I can't even begin to describe the subtle flavors of the seafood, the crisp slight char on the veggies or the perfectly separated highly seasoned dirty rice.  The melted sweet butter and uber fresh lemon wedge, sure standard things but with a little flare and extremely fresh and joyful on the plate.  

The fish was perfectly cooked, the scallops were merely kissed with heat through to their centers, the salmon was pink and slightly underdone in the middle so the rest couldn't overcook.  The whitefish was like a pearl before me.  

Seriously, I'm not a gusher but it was THAT damned good.  My friends had equally as delicious, perfectly prepared meals. 

My skewer...  perfection.  I haven't had such a combination of food that was so perfectly cooked in a very long time.  Skewers are hard!  The shrimp was perfect, a slight char on the outside but they still popped when I ate them.  I shared with the girls, but I didn't want to.  I didn't want to even a little itty bitty bit but I did. 

Peggy had the Mahi with crab beurre blanc and polenta.  It was amazing.  Suzann had Tilapia with shrimp and crap and parmsean risotto.  Perfection.

 

Mark entertained us with stories, kept us entertained and well doused in wine and cocktails.  It was a lovely time with lovely people and simply exquisite food.  This trip to Pappadeux was a trip back in time, to when I first arrived here in Austin and we went to gasp at the sheer delight of the food.  It's back on the top of the list of places we need to go with the Ladies who Lunch, the Moms who need Margaritas.  It's the top of the list for the out of towners, the hot spot to take the relatives from across the pond and across the border.  THIS is my goto once again. 

Mark (what a good sport!) did use his charm for evil purpose and he tempted us with the standard dessert tray.  Then he told us about those special items that were NOT on the try but that he knew would delight and thrill us...  

Bastard...  we were weak and caved.  Moments later, before us appeared the Bananas Foster Crepe filled with Hagen Daaz vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate and caramel. 

There was a strawberry on top so we justified devouring it by the fact fruit is healthy... so the plate was technically health food.  Bananas AND strawberries, c'mon, it's a fruitplate!   :)  

LOOK! what we ate! Seriously, sometimes it's good to be me and at the moment in time this food was on the table, it was that EXACT moment when it was VERY VERY good to be me.

  

I've forgiven Pappadeux.  In my opinion, the crap crab was an anomoly.  The GM not returning a call was unfortunate but not a slight. The rude waiter last year was the exception, not the rule.  I don't think I was schmoozed.  I think they were genuinely apologetic and genuinely happy to see us back.  I think they can cook a plate of seafood as well or better than any place in town.  I'd easily put them up against Truluck's and they're not nearly as expensive.

Take your out of towners, your special someone or just a couple of girlfriends for lunch, it's worth going.

I'll tell you though, I need to take you the Pappasito's, you're going to faint over the crab stuffed shrimp over there.  Yeah, I'll take us there next week.  Until then, go drop some cash at Pappadeux, tell them I sent you if you go the restaurant in Austin.  Let's make some noise. 

/tracy

Greenling Vegetable Delivery Day (4th time)

I've been stressed out about vacations, secret missions, BabyAlice (pug) and now Lola (boxer cross) who is having 'experimental' surgery on Friday to try to help her stripped ACL.  Needless to say, it's been an emotional week. 

BUT

I opened my door this morning and found my fabulously refilled with local farm produce in a neon green plastic box on my porch.  YAY!  

Here's what came and what I'm going to do with it: 

Ahhh, the big reveal!

 

first a treatie! I LOVE a treatie!  Unfortunately, I hate kettle corn but Connor loves it so he snarfed the bag and ran upstairs to do science experiments, while eating kettle corn.  Nice!

So, let's look to see what we have and what I'm going to do with them: 

Strawberries:  We're just going to eat those, maybe some will appear on the next pavlova!  I am going to Cauliflower: I'm going to cook the cauliflower in the pressure cooker and fry it up as a side as needed this weekend. 

Greens: Another bag of delicious mixed greens.  They make a fabulous salad and that's what these are destined for.  I will make an orange vinaigrette with the oranges I got and maybe some of the strawberries on top.  Yeah.

Arugula:  I love arugula and it's peppery edge.  I will mix some in with the greens with my salad and some I will use in my egg salad sandwiches, on the homemade farmhouse loaf I just pulled out of the oven.
   
Oranges:  2 will be eaten and 1 will be zested and juiced for the salad I'm having tomorrow.

Mushrooms.  I'm going to fry them in butter and use then as a sauce on my chicken breast on Saturday night.

Kohlrabi:  I love this, I like it shredded and added to a slaw, I will salt and drain it a bit before I add it to some shredded cabbage and apples as a lunch on the weekend, nothing like a fresh, crisp coleslaw on a springtime Texas day.

Cilantro:  it'll go in, on and around everything.

   
Swiss Chard:  Love it sauteed in some bacon fat with garlic slivers until it's just tender then piled high as a side for whatever I make this sunday night.

Butter lettuce:  I love butter lettuce under grilled chicken with a chicken fat/olive oil vinaigrette ;)
 
Well, this is a beautiful box and I can't wait to get cooking with it! I <3 box="" farm="" font="" local="" my="" nbsp="">

/Tracy

Local Vegetable Farm Box delivery day!

My Greenling local farm box came today. I love the big green box on my stoop and I love opening it to discover the goodies! 

OH! SWEET!  I got a reusable bag as a little giftie.  I do love a little giftie.  

They passed a single use plastic bag ban here in Austin that started Monday.  I always have bags with me anyway but it's nice to get a new one...

There's not quite the same size haul it seems as the last two weeks but it's still delightful!  I got (and what I plan to do with it): 

Spinach

We love it raw or cooked in a little olive oil and garlic and a splash of water to get it steamed quickly so it doesn't go soggy.  I think we'll cook it tomorrow.

Broccoli

I will say I'm a little disappointed that they keep cutting the stalk off the broccoli they send.  The stalk is delicious and one of the best parts.  They need to keep them on, I'm going to send a note to that effect.  With this beautiful head, I'm going to make a broccoli casserole quiche on the weekend.  It's CRAZY delicious  Here's the link to the recipe  http://www.tracycooksinaustin.com/2012/12/broccoli-casserole-quiche-yes-really.html

Beets

Again, I love them and will roast them in tin foil with oil, salt and pepper.  When they're cool, I'll rub off their skins and slice them.  Maybe as a side, at room temperature, with the egg salad sandwiches OR more likely, as a side to the broccoli casserole quiche.

Radishes

I will have some, sliced thinly and have them with my winter salad mix, and a nice orange vinaigrette.  I'll have some, sliced thin on thickly cut, heavily buttered french bread (recipe I'm working on and will post a link here)  Radishes love bread and butter and salt.

I'll cut up the greens and have them tossed in with the spinach that I saute.  Oh yeah, hot, cold and combined, that's how to do it!

Winter Salad Mix

I see a salad in our future :)  I may save some to put in a bean soup I'm making on Sunday.  I'll post the recipe when I do it. 

Fennel

I like fennel simply roasted in a hot oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper, as a side.  It'll be a side on the weekend meal. 

Herbs

Looks like they sent Dill, I'll use it in dips and on potatoes and in the salad.  Anything left, I'll just use 'em :) 

Red leaf lettuce

it's a BEAUTY and will make a number of fabulous salads.  I'll also use it in the new recipe white bread I alchemied the other day (recipe to follow) and I'll use this lettuce in egg salad sandwiches because there's nothing better. 

Oranges

We're just going to eat 'em.  I will zest them first to keep the zest, frozen, to use for my next orangy dessert item. 

Grapefruit

Todays lunch!  Sprinkled with sugar and slurped up greedily, I can feel the amount of juice in this one and THAT makes me a happy gal. 

So, that's my plan for the things in today's local farm box. Here's the few beauty shots I took.

    

Third delivery box, third time I'm absolutely delighted.  IF you are local and want to sign up for the delivery, message me, I have a code you can use to get 10% off

/enjoy!!

LOCAL FARM BOX DAY! and some bread alchemy

Just some chit chat from me for the moment:

YAY! it's local farm box delivery day from Greenling, Austin! I was so delighted about my box last time and the whole experience and the fact you don't have to sign your life away in blood. I am equally as thrilled that three people signed up as a direct result of my waxing poetic and cooking with the bounty that arrived on my front porch. Oh yeah, I like that.

I have dutifully put my neon green box on my front porch and am waiting for delivery man to swap my sad empty box out for a happy, delicious, full, box. I'm going to try not to ambush him on the front lawn this time, yeah, I'm sort of scary like that. Again, I have not gone on their site to see what's coming today. I think it takes all the fun out of it. Isn't mystery the thing?

Speaking of mystery, I am also going to start receiving a "nibble box" from Graze this week. Husband signed me up for a healthy snack to be delivered weekly. I'm very excited and figure anything I'm not delighted with will merely be combined and dipped in chocolate... that's my idea of a healthy snack! I'll blog the results of the weekly box. Hopefully it'll be fantastic, I have reasonable faith at the moment but then I'm full of the fresh fruits and vegetable delivery spirit at the moment and may be looking through pale green colored glasses :-)

I have to say that I have noticed that people are starting to take my recommendations to heart. I know a number of people who went out and bought the Nesco pressure cooker that I own, bought the pampered chef garlic slicer solely on my recommendation. If the Graze thing works out, I know a couple of people who want to jump on that band wagon as well. I am rather enjoying the fact that I have an every growing online presence as well a voice that is being noticed among the small circle of cyber foodies who come to stop here. I also like that I stopped at least 2 purchases of the Cuisinart Hard Anodized pans based on my experience with their quality as well as their shoddy public customer service, it's only a 600 dollars I stopped (and I do realize that doesn't put a dent in a company of their size) but in my mind, it mattered. I'll keep my eyes open for cool things and certainly report my findings. I think we all need to stick together here and use our money, time and energy wisely. I don't mind taking the lead here at all.

Today, I have a new experimental version of my crusty Italian boule rising. I usually just toss everything in the mixer but last night, I looked at my original "recipe" and took out a 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water and 1 tsp of yeast, combined them and covered it and left it on the counter. This morning, I noticed it had risen about 2 inches above where it started but then had deflated before I got to it 9 hours later. Feeling brave, I added the rest of the ingredients I usually do, mixed it until it was a soft dough and put it aside to rise on the counter. I also used cool water instead of slightly warmer than room temperature. In my mind, I will develop more flavor from the starter/bigga/poulish whatever you call it in your neck of the woods. It may also become a lifeless blob that does nothing, I'll let you know.

I have reasonable faith will get this right, eventually. Luckily, I have a willing group of victims who are willing to test, test, test the food I deliver to them. I am pretty happy with the other breads I've mastered. I think they all taste separate and distinct. Unlike the store bread, even the "artisan" stuff that all tastes the same, has the same internal texture but merely the outsides look slightly different. I want DIFFERENT. I want my ciabatta, my baguettes, white sandwich bread and bolillo and Portuguese rolls to be different from each other, I think they are. Once I nail this Italian crusty boule thing, I'll be dancing in the streets.

I am delivering today's boule to a friend to test while we go on our way to Book Club (for teens) later today. I'll be itching for the report.

I'll report back after my green box delivery... with pictures, and my meal list based on what I see. We will do like last time, I'll do a list of what I think I'll be making then will post the dishes separately, all tagged with Greenling.

/Tracy

9:40 am! It's HERE!!! THE BOX IS HERE!!

WEEEE!  *yeah, I'm really this excited.  I am going to list my plans for the food here.  I'll blog the specific recipes when I do them and then will link back here.  All this is off the top of my head as I open...

I open and VOILA!  It just smells fresh and clean, let's dig through...  Ooooh, an oregano plant?!  cool! There's beautiful fresh spinach in here.  I'll eat some in today's salad and I'll put the rest in filling for some fresh pasta I'm going to make and roll into mini lasagnas.  NEW plan, I'm doing pasta for lunch, with olive oil, garlic and lemon and i'll chop half the spinach in. Yummy!

  

Brussels sprouts, ah, my favorites.
Last time, I cooked them in the pressure cooker and kept them in the fridge and tossed them in a little bacon fat when I wanted them as a side or just threw them in whatever I was cooking as a delicious addition.  I will do that again this week with them. 3 minutes on high over water in the pressure cooker, rinse, and put in a ziploc in the fridge.  YAY!

Oranges and meyer lemons.  I'll use a little zest and juice from both for a vinaigrette today.
I will eat 2 of the oranges ;)
I will use one orange to make the orange/lemon buttermilk pie minis that I experimented with and mastered.
I'll make lemon curd (recipe on the blog but I'll redo it with these) and fill the tart shells I made and froze a couple of weeks ago.

 

Chard, I love it.  It'll be chopped and sauteed and eaten with the chicken thighs and rice I'm doing tomorrow

 

Kale:  I'll make kale chips.  Toss lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper and into a hot oven for about 15 minutes.  Delicious snack!

Lettuce, oh look, still with roots.  Avocado!!  FABULOUS!
I see a greens (and thin red onion) salad at lunch, with a lemon/orange vinaigrette from some of the orange and lemon above and the avocado

 

Cauliflower.  Wow, it's a beauty.  Super quality.  It'll be steamed (in the pressure cooker) and then become cauliflower and cheese.  I'll make a bechamel, add some grated old Irish cheddar I have, drape the cauliflower, add bread crumbs and bake it until it bubbles.  It's a great satisfying meal.  I'll blog the long form of course.

 

So, here's this week's haul.  Bounty from the local garden.  All beautiful, fresh, clean, healthy and exactly the quality I'd pick at a farmer's market.