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
