A virgin no more!

[Gerg]

All

I'm a new DBS owner (fathers day gift), and it has officially been used....thus the subject "virgin no more"  I hope to become an avid poster, and will include picks in the future...it was a rainy 4th so I left the camera inside...hopefully the rain didn't hurt the DBS much.

Seasoned the grill with one puck of each flavor made by Bradley...at 150F.

The results:
1) Portobello and Zuchini:  EVOO (Extra Virgin Oline Oil), S/P (Salt and Peper)
60m Alder, (20m warming up to 210F, then 40 minutes @210F)
I was rushed by a deadline or I would have cooked at least another 20 minutes...but since I don't eat either Mushrooms or Squash I didn't mind.  Portobellas were eaten but the comment was ...too much smoke.  The smoke taste on the zuchini was said to be right on but the zuchini was also a little undercooked which I suspected was going to be the case.

2) Roma Tomatoes: EVOO and S/P
60m Hickory@220F, 3h cook@220F no smoke, 60m Special Blend@220F
Served as a topping for a "garlic-less garlic break" (Sourdough, EVOO, S/P, Mozzerella).  The only thing smoked for this recipe was the tomatoes on top of the bread, but they were definitely the hit of the night.  I will do this recipe often.  Would make a great pasta sauce...or pizza sauce.

3) Corn:
90m@220, first 60m with Special Blend
Used a varient of the Bradly smoked corn, I removed the silks, left on the husks, soaked in water for an hour or two, but no EVOO or scallions on the corn during cooking.  Served with lime and Chipotle Butter (ie. Chipotle Powder mixed with butter).  For the first time in my life I felt like I could eat corn on the cob completely plain.  I ended up using the Chiptle Butter on the first ear but ate the second ear with nothing but my teeth (no butter, no lime, no salt)...and was completely happy.  I wouldn't change a thing on this, I thought doneness and flavor were absoltely perfect.

4) Ribs
When I come to my father-in-laws beach house, as I am this weekend, I always make ribs, but I have to use his charcol grill...which is nearly impossible to control.  Always too hot or too cold....and he doesn't have a charcol starter...so even mor edifficult.  This dam hot and cold grill is one of the reason I bought the DBS...low and slow...something that is do-able with a gas grill (which he doesn't have), but IMHO impossible on a wood grill....well maybe not impossible but who wants to babysit charcol for 5 hours?

Used my homemade rub...I'd give the recipe but I left it at home...I'll post another time.
60m Hickory@220F, 3h cook@220F no smoke, 60m Special Blend@220F
I wanted to try as close to a set it and forget it smoke...really only one or two turns and shelf changes and only cause I was rearranging to stick in other this (like the corn above).  So NO spraying or mopping, and no FTC (cause we were out of F and had no C) and no sauce added at the end either.
ALL the ribs were very tasty, right amount of smoke.  One rack was a little dry but it fell right off the bone and had just the right amount of chew.  If I had mopped it a little I would have been completely content.  The other rack was less fall off the bone but also a bit more juicy.

No doubt in my mind that with a little more rearranging, a little more mopping, and a little FTC, I will get the hang of the ribs.  All in all I was very pleased with the ribs....but I see room for improvement and was very happy with my first try.

I also smoked 4 Vidallia Onions and will be making Onion soup for lunch tomarrow with it, I'll post a followup with the results, but it is looking good so far.

Thanks to all of you for the inspiration...I read probably a hundred of these forums before buying  the DBS and getting it going on the maiden voyage.

Gerg

[Gizmo]

Welcome to the world Greg.  Quite an ambitious 1st time out but sounds like it payed off.  Congrats.

[Consiglieri]

Gerg: looks like you have a handle on your plans and looking forward to reading about your adventures.

But read the part about the rain.  Spoke to a buddy of mine in Houston and talked about all the water probs.  You out there?  If so, good luck, and kuddos on top for making the best of a bad situation.

Happy fourth.

[West Coast Kansan]

 :) Gerg, great start. BS ribs you are happy with the first time is a result to be proud of...ribs are still off for me but a pursuit that will continue.  Welcome and stay on line  ;D

[HCT]

Welcome gerg, it's great to see you off and running with the new BS. You just can't get enough!!! :D

[Habanero Smoker]

Greg;

Welcome to the forum. I have to agree, that was an ambitious start. Mushrooms are like sponges, when it comes to smoke. With the zucchini, after the smoke has been applied you can finish cooking on the grill, oven or stove top.

[hillbillysmoker]

Welcome Gerg.  Quite an undertaking for the first effort.  Glad to see it all worked out for you.  I hope to see you often on the forum.

[SKSmoker]

Nice to have another avid DBS user to the growing list! :) Ribs are tricky the first time, but you'll get the hang of it!

[Gerg]

All

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement.  Here is an update:
Used the onions mentioned in previous post for the recipe located here:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=757.0

I added a little bit of dried Thyme to the recipe cause I felt it needed some herbs and Thyme goes well here I think.  I liked the flavor a lot....and I do think the Thyme helped.  My pesonal feeling is that my onions were still too firm even after 30m of carmelizing (again rushed by a time limit...and these were real big onions too).  I like a little crunch in grilled/cooked onions...just not in an onion soup....next time I'll cook thoroughly...maybe even cut them up a bit to speed the process.  Also I like cream based soups to be a bit thicker (maybe some more flour...or add a pureed smoked potato to the base...even better).

Overall my customers (wife and in-laws) gave all the items high marks.  Very unique flavor...even from the folks who typically think charcol is the only way to add smoke flavor to food.

Side Story
One of my first jobs, when I was early 20s, was waiting tables at a seafood buffet rest.  There I noticed the head cook looking through the garbage.  I asked him what he was doing and he told me, "everyone will tell you they love it to your face...their real opinion can be seen by looking at what is in the trash.  If the plates are empty (and the trash can has nothing but bones)....they really did like it".  This weekend passed the trash can test as well.

A lot of people thought I was ambitious for the first try and I agree, but for the newbies out there (I am a veteran now right...) it is interesting to see how differently each food absorbs the flavor.  As noted by Habanero Smoker mushrooms were a sponge for smoke (and I think the same could be said for the tomatoes)....but the zuchini not as much even though they were on the same shelf as the mushrooms for the same amount of time.  One reason I tried and cook so many things the first time was to see just how different foods "perform" (soak up smoke) when all else is equal.

I wonder if there is a "formula" to determine the "smoke absorbtion" of a given food....did the mushrooms and tomatoes absorb better because they were more "watery" vegetables then say the zuchini?  Did the Pericarp (the outer covering of the corn kernel) repel smoke flavor on the corn on the cob?  How does fat content of meat figure into things....do fatty ribs absorb more or less smoke then say a lean pork tenderloin?  Maybe a topic for another day once I become more of a student of the DBS....for now let the learning process continue!!

Gerg

FYI - I'm from Northern Va...about 30 miles west of DC, and Gerg is my real name "Greg" spelled backwards (was a goofy name game in gradeshool but kind of stuck around during my beer drinking years and I use from time to time when I can't think of a good nickname).

[coyote]

Welcome Gerg , Looks like you hit the ground runnin' ! :) Enjoy the smoke and savor the flavor !

                                                                                  Coyote

[LilSmoker]

Welcome Gerg, and congrats on your early success!, next time can we have pics?, we love pics  ;)

LilSmoker