I was just on The BBQ Guru site and noticed Fred has silicon smoking/grilling mats. First time I have seen these and they are reasonably priced. I have always had problems with my smoked salmon sticking to my trays (both regular and jerky trays), this seems to be the answer to my problem. I am going to order a few.
http://www.thebbqguru.com/hole_e_smokes.htm
PS
I couldn't find the actual size of each mat, but it looks as if you would need 2 per tray, a set of 4 mats cost $38.00.
I have a silicone rolling pin for pastry and baking use. Nothing sticks to it, as I would have expected from a silicone based material. I also have a mat that fits on a cookie sheet. Wonderful stuff. The best gizmo is a mitt. It is intended to protect one's hands from hot cooking utensils and it Works. It is waterproof, heat proof, and everything else. I can dip my hand in a pot of cooking meat and pull something out of the boiling liquid. It is, however, relatively clumsy in use, and it is not immune to cutting.
B.F.
These mat's look like a great idea.
HS... Please keep this thread in mind as you test them... I would really like to know your opinion as I hold it in high esteem.
Olds
(http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/gif/Launch47.gif)
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Oldman</i>
<br />HS... Please keep this thread in mind as you test them... I would really like to know your opinion as I hold it in high esteem.
Olds
(http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/gif/Launch47.gif)
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
<font color="green"><font size="4">Please!!! </font id="size4"></font id="green">I can't function under pressure.[:D]
But seriously; thanks for the compliment. It means a lot.
I have 4 of them that I got last week. They are different than the Silpat mats that I have 4 or 5 of for lining cookie sheets. These are small, and you can roll them up. They have a rather large grid on them. I want to try them with some ground beef and sausage, but surgery on Monday precludes giving them a try right away. Won't be able to eat much for awhile.
Bill
<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>
Good luck and a speedy recovery, Bill!
John
Newton MA
They are great to use when smoking almonds too.
/Lasse
Will keep U in our thoughts and Prayers Bill[;)].
Jeff
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Jeff100/shopping.gif)
(//www.bbqshopping.com)
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Won't be able to eat much for awhile.
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Yeah, I guess the rest of your life could be considered "awhile"
[:D][;)][:D] <font size="4"><font face="Arial Black"><font color="blue">JK</font id="blue"></font id="Arial Black"></font id="size4">
You may not be able to eat a lot, but guaranteed, you will be eating good!!![;)]
Seriously Bill,
We will all be thinking of you especially on Monday. We are sad to have any member suffer, but we are excited for your decision and determination to take this step to improve your health. You will always have our support!!!
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/xcelsmoke/FREEGIF.gif)
<font size="4"><b>Doug</b></font id="size4">
Thanks Guys! I appreciate the nice words! Tomorrow will be my last day at work for a couple of months--what the heck, if they are going to pay the same while on disability, I will stay home and work on the tan! Ooh, there is that period of time that that I have to eat nothing but liquids, then bland, and you are right about not eating much, but it will taste good!
Lots of the ladies at work came over to wish me well today, nice hugs (oh yes!) and well wishes. Ah, the advantage of being a male RN working with about 200 females!
I have lost about 50lbs getting ready, and hitting the weights for an hour and then water aerobics for an hour daily for the past 3-4 weeks. I am nut brown with all the sun, even with 45-50SPF blocker. Everyone asks if I just got back from Hawaii.
I will post up a status report when I can. Will be in surgery about 3 hours then to ICU one or two days, step-down unit for 1-2 days then home, I hope. I will be on a morphine drip which I control...wish I could bring some music with me...A little Steppenwolf for the "Magic Carpet Ride!"
Will miss driving my little SSR for awhile, and stuck at home until I get cleared to drive. I fully intend to loose at least 60-70 lbs by end of December. I think that is reasonable.
Looking to get my wt down to about 200lbs in the next two years. A little reward when I hit 250(90# to go). I am going to go out to the jumping center at the airport and take a jump from about 13K feet. I need the rush. And to think, the army used to pay me to do it! I think I am going to take Spanish lessons while I am off too, and catch up on some things.
Best wishes to all!
Bill
<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>
Bill;
Good luck with your surgery. Looking towards your future posts.
Although it's beginning to sound like a Club-<font color="red">Med</font id="red"> vacation - availability to 200 women and morphine [:D][:D][:D]
Bill you already know my feeling concerning this so enough of the soft good feeling warm fuzzy stuff...[:D]
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Lots of the ladies at work came over to wish me well today, nice hugs (oh yes!) and well wishes. Ah, the advantage of being a male RN working with about 200 females!
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*nsxbill dreaming of his recovery nurse*
(http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/kiss1.gif)
You Dog! I knew there was another reason you where going to go through with this surgery! You're not fooling me one bit~~! [^]
Now wake up before your wife comes in~~!
Olds
(http://www.susanminor.org/Rayeimages/gif/Launch47.gif)
Geez Louise! If my nurse looked like that I'd play sick for a good long time...[:p][:p][:p]
Best wishes Bill!!
Cold Smoke
Called BBQGuru and the matts are 7"x7". Bradley racks are a little over 10"x12" on the bottom. And good luck Bill.
First use of Hole-E-Smokes.
The size of the mats makes them convenient for making sausage without casings and small meat loafs. I made four 12 ounce meat loafs and the mats made it easy to form uniform small loafs and keep the loaves together during smoking/cooking. I stuff each loaf with sharp cheddar cheese. With out the cheese I figure I could have made a 14 ounce loaf, or maybe as much as a pound each. After forming the loaves, just overlap the mat by at least one row of slots, and insert a toothpick at each end. I had not problem with the mats staying in place. I placed them directly on the tray, and was able to get four on a tray, with plenty of room left for air circulation. The slots in the mats are wide enough to insert a temperature probe or you can insert the probe through the end. Also there was good smoke penetration.
Very little if any cheese escaped. The mats helped the meat loaf maintain its shape, and therefore I feel that the mats prevented the cheese from oozing out. So they may work well with other stuffed foods. Just to note; because the loaves were stuffed with cheese, I could not get an accurate internal meat temperature with the temperature probe, so I had to test the doneness with a handheld thermometer.
As for the size; each one is 7 15/16" x 7 1/4". It takes 2 mats to cover about 85% of the rack. There is about 1/8" overlap which is not a problem, and about 1/2" – 3/4" uncovered area the length on each side of the mats, but I don't believe that will cut down on the amount of fish, poultry or meat you can place on each rack. The mats cleaned up easily. There is also some cleanup with the trays. I did coat the trays with Pam, and the clean up of the trays seemed easier, but on the other hand the total time the trays were in the smoker was less then four hours, and there was no sugar based rubs or glazes used. I still have to test it with salmon, to see how well they will function; that is the main reason why I bought them. I'm sure the salmon will not stick to the mats; I'm just not sure if the cleanup of the trays will be any easier.
Overall; if you purchase the 4 pack, that is enough to cover two trays; or make four small meat loaves or sausages. I'm going to purchase another 4 pack, because I like being able to make small meatloaves, and sausage. I hope to smoke some salmon within the week, so I should be able to report my findings on that. This weekend I will be doing a couple of chickens, and I'm going to line the trays with the mats, to see if they are practical for general use and if they make the cleanup of the trays easier.
Thanks for the review Habs. Looks like a winner product. I will order some soon.
Jeff
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/Jeff100/shopping.gif)
(//www.bbqshopping.com)
Some say BBQ is in your blood, if thats true my blood must be BBQ sauce.