66
votes
What qualities to look for in a cut of beef destined for "well done"?
I'm rather surprised by the judgmental tone in some of the answers here. A well-done steak is a culinary preference; just because you don't share that preference is no reason to be rude about it. ...
- 32k
46
votes
Accepted
Why can I have an indoor pizza/wood oven, but not a BBQ or smoker? (or can I...?)
Why pizza/wood ovens, but not BBQ/smoker?
Fire is not fundamentally a problem indoors; there are certainly safe ways to do it, like fireplaces.
The things that make fire dangerous are lack of ...
- 58.1k
43
votes
What is the value of the "Texas Crutch"?
The primary benefit of crutching a large piece of meat on the smoker is to reduce evaporative cooling.
What is Evaporative Cooling?
When water is heated, it evaporates into vapor that we call steam. ...
- 3,825
39
votes
Accepted
What can be done with accidentaly oversalted beef?
Oversalting is best dealt with by serious dilution.
I'd make a large, not very meaty dish from it, with lots of vegetables, cooked for a while. Fry onions and other veg, add liquid, and stir in the ...
- 43k
34
votes
What can be done with accidentaly oversalted beef?
Make a soup out of it! Dice the meat up, sweat some aromatics (onion, celery, etc.) in a pot, put in 1-2 liters of water, add the meat and let it come to a boil. Then, bring the heat down to a ...
- 831
33
votes
Accepted
Is this meat that I was told was brisket in Barcelona the same as U.S. brisket?
That looks like a pretty typical brisket to this American.
The tricky thing is that "brisket" means different things. I'll put aside that butcher cuts are different around the globe, and ...
- 8,987
24
votes
Why do I find rocks inside bags of lump charcoal?
I've often seen small stones in charcoal, and it makes sense.
Charcoal is often a byproduct of logging, made from lower quality wood such as branches and thin growth at the top of trees. During ...
- 43k
23
votes
Is this meat that I was told was brisket in Barcelona the same as U.S. brisket?
American butcher here. Started as a youth dressing out beeves with grandpa and uncles, studied meat processing as a vocational training in 11th and 12 grades (in the early 90's), and have worked ...
- 341
22
votes
Wild Salmon from grill is too dry
The answer to "how do I grill plain wild salmon without it being dry" is both simple and hard: don't overcook it.
Wild salmon fillets are thinner, with less fat, than farmed salmon. As such,...
- 58.6k
18
votes
What qualities to look for in a cut of beef destined for "well done"?
I would avoid "steak", which will dry out and become tough when cooked well done, and cook a cut of meat that is meant to be braised or grilled low and slow. That will mean that the cut has enough ...
- 73k
18
votes
Accepted
Wild Salmon from grill is too dry
Cedar planks.
https://www.thespruceeats.com/cedar-plank-salmon-4140628
So easy, so delicious and it works great.
Get cedar planks. You can pay big bucks for cedar planks intended for this use. Or ...
- 6,596
15
votes
Accepted
Why do BBQ sauce recipes specify that you must cook the sauce?
Most of the popular ingredients for BBQ sauce (vinegar/ketchup/sugar etc.) tend not to mix very well together. I know whenever I've made BBQ sauce, placing all of the ingredients into a pan together ...
- 776
15
votes
What can be done with accidentaly oversalted beef?
Use raw potato. If the meat is already BBqued put in between layers of raw potato slices. Then reheat it [meat] by boiling it with whole potato, then for a short while put on preheated pan.
If you ...
- 4,131
15
votes
Accepted
What can I cook in Kamado Joe egg that I can't cook in Weber Master Touch Grill?
I've used Weber kettle grills for a long, long time and switched to a Kamado Joe II as a lockdown buy. Overall there's almost nothing you can do on a Kamado style barbecue that you can't do on a ...
- 74.1k
12
votes
Dry and Tough Rumproast
The Maillard reaction occurs about 280 to 330 °F depending on the food. For meats this denaturing of the proteins also results in the release of water, so the meat gets hard and dry.
By cooking at a ...
- 2,659
11
votes
Why can I have an indoor pizza/wood oven, but not a BBQ or smoker? (or can I...?)
Please, Please, Please do not try to do indoor smoking without equipment made for it. It is Dangerous! DANGEROUS
Devices that use open flame inside your house take advantage of a chimney to let the ...
- 389
11
votes
Accepted
How long to cook a 150 lb. pig in the ground?
Last time I did one it was an overnight proposition, sources I find recommend planning on 24 Hours for a 150lb Kalu-a-que.
A pig roasted in the ground, Hawaiian or Kalua style, can take 12
hours ...
- 18.2k
10
votes
What qualities to look for in a cut of beef destined for "well done"?
I would look for cuts which can stand marination, and marinate them. Onglet (Hanger), Bavette, and Flank steak come to mind. The type of cut I'm thinking of tends to have a ropier texture, and be ...
- 1,865
10
votes
Accepted
Dry and Tough Rumproast
That cut of beef is OK for 'low and slow' however, you did not provide 'low and slow.'
At 300, even wrapped, the internal temperature gets high enough that it will expel moisture. This is happening ...
- 3,526
10
votes
Why do I find rocks inside bags of lump charcoal?
When buying lump charcoal (which is my preference) I've found that the brand is really important. Some of these producers are sourcing their wood from worksites or other potentially contaminated ...
- 247
9
votes
What's the formula for cutting vinegar acidity?
Cut it with water.
Commercial white vinegar is basically nothing but water and acetic acid.
3 units of 5% vinegar and 2 units of plain water give 5 units of 3% vinegar.
- 1,880
9
votes
Accepted
How do you barbeque a whole piece of fish?
I BBQ whole fish or fish filets with or without skin quite regularly. You suspect the BBQ was too hot, but usually BBQs are not hot enough (unless you were REALLY hot and over like 800F?). Make sure ...
- 1,840
8
votes
Why do BBQ sauce recipes specify that you must cook the sauce?
There are some sauce recipes where you need to thicken them to the point where they'd stay on whatever it is you're grilling. If you didn't cook them down, they'd have the consistency of a marinade, ...
- 79.3k
8
votes
What qualities to look for in a cut of beef destined for "well done"?
It does not matter 'why' you want to make 'well done' steaks, if that is what you want to do, for yourself or your guests, it is 'ok'. No, it's not actually bloody but some people are stuck with that ...
- 18.2k
8
votes
What can I cook in Kamado Joe egg that I can't cook in Weber Master Touch Grill?
Short answer...nothing. The Weber is well-suited for all grilling and BBQ tasks. I have had a Big Green Egg for 20 years. I've used lots of kettle grills. The advantage of a ceramic cooker like ...
- 73k
7
votes
Accepted
What cooking techniques can be used on a barbecue?
First off, you can use a gas grill as a gas burner, and cook anything you could on the stove. It won't be very efficient, and won't be as pleasant as using a stove, but it'll work. The one big ...
- 58.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Smoker or Sous Vide first?
Smoke first, then sous vide.
There are a few reasons as to why you could smoke first:
(i) It has been shown that cold food/meat will take on smoke flavor better than warm meat (Source: AmazingRibs)
...
- 165
7
votes
Accepted
Bottom of my charcoal grill keeps falling out
Push & twist, very similar mechanism to a bayonet-fitting light bulb.
Three hooks go over three pins, then you turn it to lock.
I cannot tell from the photos whether the pins are in situ.
...
- 28.8k
6
votes
What is the history of souvlaki and is there any benefit in cooking meat on a skewer?
Historically, the practice of skewering meat had several advantages over building a rotisserie and cooking a single large piece of meat. Think about the advantages of cooking over a primitive camp ...
- 2,638
6
votes
Why do BBQ sauce recipes specify that you must cook the sauce?
Most sauces that I make require cooking because they have sugars that need to be heated to blend properly in the sauce. Spices that are added also need to be cooked to blend into the sauce evenly. BBQ ...
- 1,815
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