MikeUSMC: "Bury Me in Smoke"

MikeUSMC · Nov 4, 2019

(Continued)

Ok, now on to Halloween :party:

Weather sucked (raining and windy), so we had to set up inside the garage this year, instead of out in the driveway with the fire pit, Tiki torches, etc. :mope:

On the Menu:
-Brisket
-Pulled Pork
-Turkey Chili w/ Warrant Man's sauces (on the side)

-Cornbread
-Warm Apple Cider w/ Jack Daniels Tennessee Fire
-"Texas Twinkies" :shocked:

-free Bud and Bud Light cans, and Fireball shots for the adults :party:

"Hugz the Clown", aka my father in law, made a special appearance and scared the living shit out of a bunch of people :rofl:

We tied an extension cord around his ankle (under his pants) so it looked like he was an animatronic Halloween decoration, haha!

"Hug the clown, and you get a piece of candy, kid!"

Pulled pork

Brisket

(More to follow)

MikeUSMC · Nov 4, 2019

(Halloween, continued)

Took some of the leftover brisket from the other day and used it in some "Texas Twinkies"
(brisket stuffed, cream cheese, shredded cheddar, and Ancho powder stuffed jalapeños, wrapped in bacon and lightly dusted with BBQ rub)

"Texas Twinkies"

I wish I'd taken a better final pic of these, because they were delicious

(More to follow)

MikeUSMC · Nov 4, 2019

(Halloween, continued)

Here's a few pics from setting up, earlier in the day

Weather sucked (raining and windy), so we had to set up inside the garage this year, instead of out in the driveway with the fire pit, Tiki torches, etc. :mope:

Despite the crappy weather, we still made it work and we all had a great time! Can't wait until next year, when Halloween is on a Saturday night!

Like always, thanks for looking
:cheers:

(Halloween 2018 pics here)
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/63957-mikeusmc-bury-me-in-smoke/?p=1590889

The Hot Pepper · Nov 4, 2019

Are there any houses available in your neighborhood? :lol:

Rajun Gardener · Nov 4, 2019

Damn Mike, you're killing it!! If you're not careful you just might smoke yourself into a job, that food is :onfire:

and you already have a following.

You need to hand out cards for catering gigs and see where that takes you.

I'm glad you checked in, I was wondering. Take Care Brother and Happy Holidaze!!!

Walchit · Nov 4, 2019

Killed it like usual! I saw a post on facebook that asked why there wasnt adult trick or treating, with booze and bbq, I told him I knew a guy, lol

MikeUSMC · Nov 5, 2019

Walchit said:
Killed it like usual! I saw a post on facebook that asked why there wasnt adult trick or treating, with booze and bbq, I told him I knew a guy, lol

Going strong, 4 years in a row, Andy! I actually bought twice the amount of food that I'd cooked, but froze half of it because we weren't expecting as much traffic this year due to the weather. I had a 5lb slab of pork belly that I was gonna make burnt ends out of too. Hopefully the weather's better next year, plus Halloween falls on a Saturday in 2020 :party:

MikeUSMC · Nov 5, 2019

(I almost forgot about this)

I thought I'd taken more pics of this "event" from a few weeks back, but apparently not (shrug). Got invited to a backyard chili cook off at my son's baseball coach's house that he calls "Crocktoberfest," hahaha. He's been hosting this for 12 years in a row, but I'd just found out about it this year. Looking forward to going/competing again next year, since my crockpot of chili didn't make the top 3 :mope:

I really thought I was gonna do a lot better because there was a LOT of "buzz" going around about my brisket, pulled pork, pork rib meat, and spicy chorizo chili. Oh well, wish me luck for next year!

This pic was from right when we got there, and there were probably another 10 more crocks set up in addition to these. My personal favorite was a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Chili that (I think) placed 3rd overall

My entry (still cooking). I always cube up a block of pepper jack and a block of horseradish cheese (sometimes a block of habanero cheese too), and put them INTO the pot, while it's cooking. That's what those little white cubes are

Against my better judgement, I "played it safe" and made more of a traditional chili. Next year, I'm definitely gonna make the green chili I made last year:
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/63957-mikeusmc-bury-me-in-smoke/?p=1606878

:cheers:

BDASPNY · Nov 5, 2019

now that's a party!

the food looks incredible, I can almost taste the brisket and jalapenos.

also the spicy chorizo chili sounds incredible!

Downriver · Nov 5, 2019

Now I know where you've been - cookin your azz off!

You continue to up your game my friend. Well done.

MikeUSMC · Nov 12, 2019

I've never made chicken thighs once in my life, so I guess I should post some of my failures in here too :rofl:

I must've watched 25 videos on "Competition Chicken Thighs" over the weekend, and decided I should give it a shot, just to see how I'd fare. What a freakin pain in the ass these are to prep! Here's a couple of good videos:

Anyway, here we go. I used a combination of techniques in a bunch of the videos, only to find I was in over my head, lol. Forget winning the "Whole Hog" category in a comp; I think the #1 spot should go to whoever the hell has the patience to scrape the fat off the back side of the chicken skin

Total pain in the ass

Smoked over lump with a BIG chunk of Pecan wood, and used "Plowboys Yard Bird Rub"

I deboned them so my wife would eat them too. Next time, I'll definitely leave the bone in because it's practically impossible to inject them the way I did it. Disaster

Wrapped back up in the skin and onto the smoker at 300*, uncovered for 30 minutes

Skins blew apart. Disaster

Added a big pad of butter on top of each thigh, then wrapped in foil for 90 minutes
Butter pads slid off IMMEDIATELY. Skins REALLY blew apart. Disaster

Glaze... used a combo of these 2 sauces (1cup each) with a few tablespoons of honey

I was only able to salvage 2 of the skins out of 9. Disaster :mope:

Was very tasty though!

Had to have a little fun with it

Definitely gonna need a LOT more practice with these!
Thanks for looking
:cheers:

stettoman · Nov 12, 2019

Skin or no, that shi' looks yuuuum-MEE!

I think Jameson is overrated for infusion though. Had a friend off the boat years ago who made all manner of sauces and such with Paddy (The real Paddy, before those damned Americans didled with it)...Cheap blend? Perhaps, but it had the most wonderful undertone to everything it was added to....and it had the added component of being smuggled into the USA...

And yes, of course her name was Colleen....

Rajun Gardener · Nov 12, 2019

I tried that a few times, what a pain. Try using the biggest thighs you can find and trim down the meat so the skin wraps all around it, start at a low temp(250) then bump it up once the skin sets. OR cheat and use meat glue!!

Harry Soo has a good video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGDwVMehUw&t=205s

MikeUSMC · Nov 18, 2019

This weekend's test run came out MUCH, MUCH better with a few tweaks :party:

I had some leftover parsley from last weekend, so I made another box :rofl:

I also could've done a little more (post cook) trimming, for better presentation, but hunger got the best of me

Thanks for looking
:cheers:

Walchit · Nov 18, 2019

Looks really good Mike! I just got my rotisseri up and running yesterday. I'm gonna post a couple pics to my smoking thread after I get the wife to work and the kid to school.

PtMD989 · Nov 18, 2019

Looks like you are ready for some BBQ competitions [emoji106][emoji16].
All your food looks excellent [emoji106]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Downriver · Nov 18, 2019

Looks great Mike. You getting ready to jump into the competition pool? :drooling:

Shorerider · Nov 18, 2019

Looks killer, mate. :clap:

boutros · Nov 18, 2019

That Halloween party looked like a good time, especially like those brisket pics... What do you currently use for probe/meat thermometer? Just wondering. Never used one yet, and I'm sick of having some briskets turn out and others sucking.

MikeUSMC · Nov 20, 2019

DownRiver said:
Looks great Mike. You getting ready to jump into the competition pool?

I've been thinking about it, Rick

Definitely something small, if I can find one - maybe 100 people/teams or less (?). I don't think I'm quite ready for "Memphis in May" yet :rofl:

boutros said:
What do you currently use for probe/meat thermometer?

Last year, for Christmas, my wife got me a Nutrichef Bluetooth grill thermometer, and I'm really happy with it. I think it only comes with 2 probes, but can accommodate 6, so you have to order the other 4 probes separately (I did). It's nice for doing big cooks (multiple pieces of meat). Plus, you can just roll over and look at your phone in the middle of the night, instead of having to go outside and check on everything. It also has alarms you can set, and temperature graphs you can monitor/look back on, which is nice. Very user friendly too :cheers:

Smart Bluetooth BBQ Grill Thermometer - Upgraded Stainless Dual Probes Safe to Leave in Outdoor Barbecue Meat Smoker - Wireless Remote Alert iOS Android Phone WiFi App - NutriChef PWIRBBQ80 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076B36HF9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Xwr1DbGDP7SSK

MikeUSMC: "Bury Me in Smoke"

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