Also new and grateful for these forums

Monch · February 20, 2009, 11:16:16 AM

All,

Thanks for all the good feedback on this forum. It pushed me over the edge to order the 4-rack Digital.

After a disappointing bout making Andouille in a Brinkmann Pitmaster (top of barrel too hot; bottom of barrel too cold; stupid Wisconsin winters!) I realized that my expectations of success had exceeded my equipment.

Did a bunch of research and also found an extremely competitive price.

Smoker and about 300 pucks will be on their way later today.

Off to the recipes...oh, and off to alert my wife to the new purchase!

canadiansmoker · February 20, 2009, 11:26:05 AM

Welcome aboard. Cook the wife a few good meals with the new machine and she'll wonder why you didn't get it earlier!!

FLBentRider · February 20, 2009, 01:00:33 PM

W E L C O M E to the Forum Monch!

Good luck with your new unit. I would go for some thing easy to start, a chicken or a pork butt.

Smoking Duck · February 20, 2009, 01:55:43 PM

Quote from: Monch on February 20, 2009, 11:16:16 AM
All,

Thanks for all the good feedback on this forum. It pushed me over the edge to order the 4-rack Digital.

After a disappointing bout making Andouille in a Brinkmann Pitmaster (top of barrel too hot; bottom of barrel too cold; stupid Wisconsin winters!) I realized that my expectations of success had exceeded my equipment.

Did a bunch of research and also found an extremely competitive price.

Smoker and about 300 pucks will be on their way later today.

Off to the recipes...oh, and off to alert my wife to the new purchase!

A man after my own heart who knows it is truly easier to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission ;D

Welcome aboard!

SD

Monch · February 20, 2009, 05:40:22 PM

Thanks for the encouragement.

I broke the news over cocktails at our favorite "date" restaurant....Smooth.

All is well and I'm DAMNED if I'm not going to start with Andouille...I've been doing it on the Pitmaster for eight years.

I serve my sausage to 75 to 100 guests at a New Orleans party each year. This year the sausage is going to make their eyes roll back in their sockets!

My "Out of Iowa" pig&corn party is also going to be fantastic this summer. I will be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed because I won't have been up every two hours checking the smoke/fire level of the BBQ!

Life just got better, baby!

nickld · February 20, 2009, 06:37:32 PM

Welcome Monch! Enjoy your smoker and be sure to post pics if you can! ;D

~Nick

KyNola · February 20, 2009, 08:01:27 PM

Monch,
Welcome to the forum! Want to share your andouille recipe? Please?

KyNola

Monch · February 21, 2009, 06:55:01 AM

Wow, already getting asked for my recipes!

The andouille recipe I use is by Chef John Folse. If anyone loves Cajun/Creole cooking, pick up his "Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine". It's a coffe-table sized "tome" of New Orleans history and fantastic recipes.

This is posted on www.gumbopages.com...The website is worth a look

For our tastes, the only thing I change is that I cut the fresh-ground black pepper in half.

Andouille

5 pounds pork butt
1/2 pound pork fat
1/2 cup chopped garlic
1/4 cup cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dry thyme
4 tablespoons salt
6 feet beef middle casing (see butcher or specialty shop)
Cube pork butt into one and a half inch cubes. Using a meat grinder with four one quarter inch holes in the grinding plate, grind pork and pork fat. If you do not have a grinding plate this size, I suggest hand cutting pork butt into one quarter inch square pieces.
Place ground pork in large mixing bowl and blend in all remaining ingredients. Once well blended, stuff meat into casings in one foot links, using the sausage attachment on your meat grinder. Tie both ends of the sausage securely using a heavy gauge twine.

In your homestyle smoker, smoke andouille at 175-200°F for approximately four to five hours using pecan or hickory wood. The andouille may then be frozen and used for seasoning gumbos, white or red beans, pastas or grilling as an hors d'oeuvre.

Recipe by:
Chef John Folse
Louisiana's Premier Products
2517 South Philippe Avenue
Gonzales, LA 70737
(504) 644-6000

KyNola · February 21, 2009, 07:46:34 AM

Thanks for the recipe!!

KyNola

Mr Walleye · February 21, 2009, 08:31:01 AM

Good lookin' recipe Monch... and welcome to the forum!

Lots of great folks and food around here! ;)

Mike

josbocc · February 21, 2009, 08:32:16 AM

Monch,

Welcome to the forum. I see that you found it doesn't take long for us to start picking your brain. Andouille sounds fantastic, perhaps we might also get you to share a decent gumbo recipe with us. Speaking for myself, it's hard to find good gumbo way up North here (Northern, NY).

Best of Luck with your Bradley, and keep us posted.

Jeff

Monch · February 23, 2009, 09:58:00 AM

Jeff,

Thanks for asking. I'll dredge up the recipe my wife uses. It's one of the best I've ever had.

Mind you, neither of us are from Louisiana, but we have our heart in NOLA. Been there seven times in the last 11 years. Threw a party, the weekend after Katrina that earned $3500 for the Red Cross...all because our friends love the food we've learned to love and make.

In the mean time, I'll give some resources:

1) Advice: Make the best roux you can learn how to make. We use a 1:1 ratio of regular vegetable oil to AP flour. We then take it SLOOOOW in getting it done. My wife has it down. She sets the heat (heavy bottomed pot only!) to medium, grabs a beer, and starts stirring. By the time the beer is done, the roux is just about done. Then, in goes the chopped Trinity.

2) www.gumbotrails.com - This is a site maintained by the Southern Foodways Alliance. The organization is dedicated to preserving the rich food-heritage of the American South.

3) www.gumbopages.com - The author of this site should be commended for compiling so much wonderful information about NOLA and all the things that make it great. Of course, food is at the top of that list.

I'll put my nose into my recipes and get our gumbo posted.

If anyone has any questions about Cajun/Creole cookbooks, please ask. I'm no native or true expert, but I have about (20) of them dating back to the seventies.

Laissez les Bon Temps Roullez!

KyNola · February 23, 2009, 10:07:34 AM

Happy Mardi Gras Monch!
Like you, my wife and I love New Orleans. Have been going regularly for 20 years. Headed back again for Easter. Best time in the world to be in NOLA and especially the French Quarter.

KyNola

nascarbbq · February 23, 2009, 12:07:57 PM

I love mine. You must try a fatty

josbocc · February 23, 2009, 02:05:17 PM

Monch,

Thanks for the tips..., and the resources. Hard to think of Gumbo right now as the temp outside is a balmy 10F, with the wind whipping at about 30mph. Someone please remind me why I live up here.

Momma wants to throw a "End of Season" snowmobiling party at camp this weekend. I'm not quite sure we're at the end of the season yet..., but who am I to argue. Perhaps a nice big pot of gumbo would help warm the souls of the hearty that will join us.

Jeff