The 2nd thing I smoked on my new Bradley was some Baby Back Ribs and followed the advice I found in many of the post about smoking ribs. I used 50/50 hickory/oak for smoke and they were done in 4 1/2 hours at 210 to 230 degrees. I was only doing 3 pounds, didn't want to screw up a lot of good ribs. The rub I used is called Head Country All Purpose Seasoning, produced here in Okla by the Head Country BBQ crew. The ribs were fantastic!! Never thought I would be able to smoke something that good with no more work than the Bradley requires. I've had a couple of other smokers, but they don't even compare to the Bradley. In fact, I had about given up on smoking and just sticking to grilling, but I read a review about the Bradley and then read through the forum and decided to give it a try. I'm a happy camper now.
Question is - if I smoke more than the 3 pounds, it will be left overs as my wife and I are the only ones eating it. Can the ribs be frozen and eaten later without losing much of the original flavor? How about freezing smoked brisket? I plan on smoking a brisket next and know I will have a fair amount left over. I don't want to waste all that smoke on 2-3 pounds of what ever I smoke, I would rather smoke a larger amount and be able to eat on it the next week or so.
Thanks,
Javaguy
Javaguy, I save leftover ribs every time I smoke. Just wrap them tight in layers of H.D foil and either vac seal them or wrap again in freezer paper. You can pop them right out of the freezer into a 300/325 degree oven for about and hour or so to reheat. It helps if you put a little sauce or juice in with them before sealing up. The briskett I've frozen works about the same way. I add beef broth or sauce to it then vac seal it. To reheat you can use the oven or just drop the thawed pouch into a pot of boiling water and turn the heat off then let it sit for 15 minutes or more until it's heated through. I know the guys out here in the forum have other ways to accomplish this and will probably post some ideas also. Hope this gives you some help.
Welcome here.Iceman is right on.Check into the sight food saver for a nice machine that will do all the vacuum sealing you need very nice machine for sealing food after smoking.Once again Welcome and enjoy this new toy.
Javaguy,
Welcome to the forum. Is it java like coffee or java like computing?
Lots of good advice here, and I am sure you will be passing info back. Glad your first smoke came out well. Sorry I can't help you on the leftover question, since that rarely happens in my house. 8)
Arcs_n_Sparks
Welcome to the forum Javaguy!
Keep us posted on what's smoking!
Javaguy;
Welcome to the forum. You will find that smoked food freezes very well. I often vacuum seal and freeze brisket, butt, fish and so forth all the time; and often enjoy the smoked food more after it has "aged".
Microwaving is ok to.I have put the food i have made in the foodsaver then froze it.Then just cut the bag set it in the nuker and 2 mins later done .When in the micro wave do it in 1-2 min then wait.Then if need be do another 1 min.Do not put it in for 5 mins at one time then yuo will have problems.Just the little spurts of time is ok.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on April 13, 2006, 08:26:40 PM
Javaguy;
Welcome to the forum. You will find that smoked food freezes very well. I often vacuum seal and freeze brisket, butt, fish and so forth all the time; and often enjoy the smoked food more after it has "aged".
Funny you should mention that Habanero. Just the other day I thawed out some pulled pork I had smoked about a month back. Threw the vacuum sealed bag into a pot of boiling water until hot. I was amazed how much tastier and how tender the meat was. IMO, much better then when I first pulled it out of the smoker.
Well, it's Java as in coffee - I'm retired from the computer business and want nothing more to do with the computer java. Roasting coffee is my other hobby and one of my favorite coffee's is Java Estate. I started roasting my own about a year ago and wish I had started sooner. Got it made now, do my own smoking and coffee roasting!!!
Thanks for the info on leftovers - I will be cooking more of anything I cook and freezing what's left.
I did a lot of reading of the forum before I bought my roaster and got another idea from you all - the cart to up my smoker on. I got the one at Sam's and set the smoker on the second shelve, did not use the top one at all. It does not seem too top heavy that way and is still easy to work with.
Javaguy
Hey Java Guy!
Another home roaster here. I have been home roasting for about 4 years now, and just can't stand to drink coffee away from home, Starbuck's, restaurant, etc any longer. I roast 3x weekly for the two of us and guests that pass through, and I roast about 5 lbs a week and send it to a buddy, who works for the government, and posted in Baghdad. He lives and works in the green zone there. I am proud to say my coffee is served to most of the Special Ops people who come through his office in Iraq.
Over the years, my roasting has evolved from a Popcorn popper to Zack and Dani's(Used once and sold it on Ebay), an Alpenröst, which I burned up and had replaced under warranty, then gave to son, and now either roasting in the Hottop roaster, or a 2lb. Stainless hopper that is designed to roast on the Weber Grill, which I no longer use and will only be used for roasting.
Since I work nights, I started drinking real coffee at work again, but at home have a commercial single head Rancillio S27 and commercial grinder, and drink Lattés throughout the waking hours. Cardiologist used to worry about me, but I can have a triple shot and take a nap, and it doesn't even spike my B.P.
I used to use www.sweetmarias.com (http://www.sweetmarias.com) for coffee, but now use www.baldmountaincoffee.com (http://www.baldmountaincoffee.com) as my source for green beans. Great service and good selection, and no tax here in California. I usually buy 60-80 lbs of beans at a time, and get a good volume discount.
My house blend:
2 parts Josuma Malabar Gold
2 parts Colombian (or Sumatran)
1 part Costa Rican
1 part Guatemalan
When it is in stock, I use Panamanian Hartmann Estate for sipping coffee. I have not seen it on the market for a year, but have about 20 lbs of it on-hand. Coffee supplier doesn't have as much as I do!
For those who have never done this, beans will hold for a couple of years, then roast about 1/2 lb at a time for the best coffee you have ever experienced.
One of the other guys (Bigsmoker) home roasts too, and also sells rubs and Big Green Egg related stuff. He does roasted coffee and sells on his website along with the Dizzy Pig line of rubs. http://bbqshopping.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=27&osCsid=a543438b4fa854e1e3d9a3a0e32bc5e5 (http://bbqshopping.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=27&osCsid=a543438b4fa854e1e3d9a3a0e32bc5e5). Cruise by and take a look.
If you haven't visited this site, check it out. A bunch of coffee heads hang out there. www.coffeegeek.com (http://www.coffeegeek.com)
Home roasting is my passion too, and really my first love....smoking meats and cooking, the second.
Glad to see another coffee fanatic on board!
Bill
Quote from: nsxbill on April 14, 2006, 01:06:33 PM
My house blend:
2 parts Josuma Malabar Gold
2 parts Colombian (or Sumatran)
1 part Costa Rican
1 part Guatemalan
Man...that would make a good Baptist start speaking in tongues! Sounds so good.
That is a funny one MW ;D ;D ;D. Nothing like fresh roasted coffee :P :P :P. welcome aboard javaguy
HEY to all the coffee roasters!!!
Bill, sounds like you are into roasting pretty serious. That's great what you are doing, know those guys love it! I use a new model Zach & Dana's and have been real happy with it, but would like to roast at least a pound at a time. I have read that the old model Z&D was very slow and would not hardly get to a full city or full city + roast. I buy from Sweet Maries and U-Roast-Em and have been happy with the beans. Pay no tax here in Okla for orders outside the state. I've been roasting different flavors and do not blend too often, but will blend sumatran with colombian or papua ng.
Like you, coffee does not bother my sleep - I can drink it anytime of the day and not worry about sleeping.
Since the beans keep so long, I like to keep several different flavors and always have a couple of different ones roasted. I use a Starbucks burr grinder and it's been one of the best grinders I've ever had. Brew most of my coffee a cup at a time in a special 1 cup brewer, man, you can get it prefect everytime.
Picked up a brisket today and got to read up on some post about smoking it - will do it next week.
Thanks for the sites, I'll check them out.
Javaguy
Javaguy,
If I may suggest, with your left overs wrap them in plastic and place in frig for a couple of days before you freeze them. This allows the smoke to mellow through out especially with larger cuts.
Olds
Javaguy,
Unless you are doing bulk, selling or preparing lots of gifts of coffee, the Hottop is absolutely the best coffee roaster out there for the home roaster. The capacity of 250 Gms is perfect. We use it up in a couple of days, and I am roasting another batch.
I have 3 of the Rancilio burr grinders, one for decaf and flavored coffees when, on the rare occasion, I do them for gifts, one for regular coffee, and the commercial grinder, the MD25 Rancilio that I leave set for the espresso grind only. I know, over-kill.
I bought a Rancilio Silvia Espresso machine, base and the new grinder, then two weeks later saw the S27 offered on Ebay...Negotiated a good price with an MD that was about 3 hrs away, and drove down with cash in hand. It was the deal of the century! His wife wanted a more respectable, smaller stainless espresso machine for a house they were just about to move into, so the bulky commercial model had to go. Got a rig, grinder and stainless base that had a value of about $7.5 K for $700 cash. Didn't ge many bidders when he set the scene for the deal by only wanting someone to come down to pick it up instead of shipping. He had it serviced every year by the company too, so in excellent shape. The advantage of it, once it is at temp, no P.I.D. needed for optimal temp. It is always at perfect temp and pressure up to crank out 40 cups an hour easy. Despite the additional expense of another machine, and the heat I got from my wife for getting another one so soon after buying the package I had just purchased, I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I will keep the Silvia and one of the grinders for the RV and while on the road. Was going to sell that machine and one of the grinders with P.I.D. ready to go, as well as the stainless base, but would have lost my butt on the essentially new equipment, so I opted to keep it.
Here is the current configuration. Won't post a picture, because it is posted somewhere else on the forum. The biggest challenge was bringing it up from the car to the bar. It weighs about 125lbs and is really bulky. I keep it hooked up to bottled filtered water on a 110v pump instead of hooking into plumbing.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nsxbill/S27.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nsxbill/S27.jpg)
Roast on.
Bill
If you want to get real serious into roasting my commercial model will roast 3 lbs every 15 or so minutes depending on the roast level you prefer. It will do anything from city to french. Best small batch comercial roaster I could find. You would be looking at appx. 3,500.00 bucks to get yourself one ;). I do plan on opening a coffee shop in the semi near future(within 3 years) where I roast the coffee on site ;D. Just wish I could secure the spot next to Starbucks hahahaha.
I would love to do the coffee shop thing too, but what a hassle unless you run it with yourself and family only. I had two retail flower shops for ten years running out of Napa, and the Accounting, salaries, overhead and dealing with the politics, rent, etc was such a hassle.
Where did you get your commercial roaster again? Any hassles since you have had it? In your area will you have any hassles with E.P.A. and need a catalytic converter for the smoke generated during the roasting process?
Good luck on the venture! How is the sales of coffee doing on the internet?
Bill
Man, sure appriciate all the info - and it's real good to find other coffee roasters too.
Bill, you really got a deal and have quite an operation! Looks like a real coffee shop setup. I may have to move up to a bigger roaster, but for now, I'm real happy with the Z&D. It's biggest problem is the noise, I can't hear the cracks, but that is due do in part to my hearing. I have tiniitus and sometimes have a hard time seperating out sounds.
Anybody wanting to try a some good products and one of the best rubs I have ever used, check this site out, these guys are good. I know rubs are subjective to ones taste, this one hit my taste buds just right.
http://www.headcountry.com/
Javaguy
I have never tried the rub or sauce, but do like "HEAD." :-X The sauce and rub probably good too? OK, let's get serious now. What do you use, the Championship Rub? Peppery? Chili Hot? Mostly Paprika and sugar?
On coffee stuff...The nice thing about my Hottop roaster is that you can hear the cracks as clear as a bell, and thanks to the Army, significant hearing impairment. I tried the first edition Z&D roaster, and after one try...off for sale on Ebay. How did they improve the second generation unit?
Mine was too noisy, didn't roast enough coffee, and it was a joke thinking I could roast in the kitchen under the range fan. As you know there are beaucoups smoke associated with roasting coffee. I do all my roasting under the covered patio outside. One day, before he knew I had a roaster, my neighbor came over to tell me my porch might be on fire because of all the smoke.
Bill
Bill, I use the championship rub - have not tried the others. I've often wondered how they came up with that name - makes your imagination work overtime!
What I like about the Z&D is the roast time to the 2nd crack is about 15 to 16 minutes, there is no smoke, it roast the size of batch that works for me, and it didn't cost too much. It is easy to maintain and I've not had one problem with it. It does make too much noise to hear the cracks, but I've learned to judge the color and approximate time. Since if varies by the type of bean, I keep a record of every roast, so I have a reference as a guide. I did break the glass container for the beans, bought a new one, then when ordering a few beans from Z&D, I told them about the one I broke, they said send it in and they fixed the broken one for free. They are real nice to work with. I roast in the garage, have a roasting bench and use a fan to cool the beans. Works great for me. Also, I do not use the Z&D cooling cycle, I stop the roast and dump the beans into a wire mesh container and cool them over the fan.
I'm the only coffee drinker in my house, and I only drink 2 to 4 cups a day, I don't roast but every 3 or 4 days (1 or 2 batches at a time) unless I am doing some extra for my son.
I will probably buy a bigger roaster at some point, one that would to 1/2 to 1 pound at a time, but am in no hurry.
One thing I've learned about on this forum was the FTC for the smoked meat - kept reading about FTC, didn't have an idea what it meant, then did search on FTC and found out what it meant and why you would want to use it. Will try it on my brisket since everyone has bragged it up so much.
Javaguy
other than my bourbon :o the best 2 things I got going are my smoke and my roaster(not counting the flesh ;). nothing I mean nothing beats my own smoked food and fresh roasted coffee. I have a hottop roaster too and it does work great. I plan on using it again to roast coco beans to add to a coffee blend one day ;D. Can't say as these folks are the best to buy coffee from but the roaster rocks. http://www.sonofresco.com/Roaster/default.asp (http://www.sonofresco.com/Roaster/default.asp) The roaster is made somewhere in washington state. Have fun guys.
QuoteI have 3 of the Rancilio burr grinders, one for decaf and flavored coffees when, on the rare occasion, I do them for gifts, one for regular coffee, and the commercial grinder, the MD25 Rancilio that I leave set for the espresso grind only. I know, over-kill.
We expect nothing less from you Bill! ;D
T2
Jeff (BigSmoker),
You have inspired me to start thinking about what I want to do in retirement again...I'm 61, and have to start thinking about that! Damn It! Now retired from Army (former 82nd Airborne, 5th Special Forces, then Drill Instructor, then Army Nurse Corps when I took a commision at end of career), again, Retired from the Army and from State of California, and now working for large HMO giving medical advice on night shift. I want to keep busy, and have always had stuff going on the side. I love to smoke stuff....why I have Bradleys and lots of doo dads, but really love cooking and roasting coffee is a big interest of mine, despite the feeling my cardiologist has about my drinking triple shots of espresso a couple of times a day.
I am thinking seriously about picking up one of the small commercial roasters and providing quality roasts to some of the smaller restuarants in the Sacramento area that are specialty restaurants that have a dedicated following of diners that enjoy their fine faire... As always, this is a field where I could take advantage of fine dining, and as a vendor, allow me to visit, write-off the visit, and at the same time develop a client base of customers to promote the business. Hell, might even open a really small little coffee shop with very cool atmosphere, alternative music and a place to cruise the internet, have a cup of coffee and enjoy a bit of relaxed time in the early a.m.... Would never want employees, and would want to just have limited hours. Who knows, might even offer little home baked goodies to enjoy with the morning brew.
Perhaps the shop is a fantasy, but the roasting is something I would really like to do. Maybe even do a web-based venture to market the beans. My roaster capacity is only 1/2 pound, a real short-coming when I roast up for friends for gifts, or want to take coffee to gathering of friends where my coffee is being served. Example, I send 5 lbs a week to Baghad to Navy S.E.A.L. friend who serves in his office there. Now working for D.O.D. there, has lots of Special Ops folks coming through his office, and really enjoys quality coffee like I do.
You have inspired me, Jeff! Somone has a Sonofresco roaster on Ebay for sale now, but crazy if they think they are going to sell a used unit in need of repair for $100 less that the price of a new one. Did you get the hood that matches the unit? Is it pretty effective if you did get it? Do you run your roaster off a large propane tank? How much fuel does it use to do a typical roast--any idea? Something that can be run off of 5lb tanks, or do you have large tank?
Bill
Bill,
Only problem I have run into so far with selling my roasted coffee is "coffee" is regulated by the Georgia State Deptarment of Agriculture. They would require of me if I want to sell my roasted beans to have a location with 2 operating sinks with hot water a tiled or finished concrete floor with a drain. So unless I get another house where I can rig all this up I'm stuck retail wise until I get a shop :'( :'( :'(. I did not buy the hood as we have quite a few local sheet metal fabricators where I have done business so I can buy the hood when it becomes necessary at a better cost. I bought a rolling cart from Sam's that holds the roaster and brings it to just the right level. I bought a 90 lb propane tank and have roasted probably close to 200 lbs and have used hardly any propane so gas use is very minimal. The unit itself is so easy to us my 10 year old could do it. It has 9 roast levels so you can achieve what ever kind of coffee you desire. The darker roasts will of course produce more oil and a little more cleaning of the machine but other than that cleanup is a snap. You can do 3lbs at a time and depending on your roast level start a batch every 15 minutes. Thats a lot of coffee everyday in a short amount of time. Right now I just roll mine onto the front porch to roast then right back in when I am finished. I am going to open a coffee shop just got to wait until a few things fall into place. With both my girls in college balancing the budget can be tricky hehehe. Let me know if you have any other specific questions about the roaster ;).
Edit: Their site says 1.2 lbs of coffee per batch but it seems much heavier than that. I will weigh a full batch when I get home