Food Thread

[MelroseHawkins]

Looks good Fry. When the weekend comes I’ll post some Traeger magic.

I'm gunna really like this thread!

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Last night I boiled some pasta, then stirred it in with crab meat, shrimp, diced tomatoes, a little butter and Italian seasoning. Fantastic!

Need a pic or it never happened!!

 

[westender]

As for anything creamy, chicken salad, or any cream sauce, yogurt is an excellent and healthier substitute for mayo.
A recipe I have yet to try, maybe someday is to take a walleye or pike fillet (bigger white fish) and roll it up and cook in a lobster cream sauce. When I do it I will let you all know how it goes.
As for a trager, meh. Not worth the $ imho.
Sure you can set it and walk away, but you can with electric too. I do it with charcoal (never briquettes ,only chunkcharcoal). Plus you are not burning whatever binding agents they use in pellets. But it takes way longer. You have to get it going, let it burn down to about 50% (good coals), then adjust temp, then fill it up with charcoal again, let burn for another 15 minutes and adjust temp again.
One trick to try and speed the process is, after you run it wide open to get it going, and after you turn the heat down and are getting ready to fill it up with charcoal, carefully (steam) pour some water over the smoker.
Not a butt load, but enough to cool it a little.
(Trick I figured out one day while smoking in the rain) it brings the heat down faster and your charcoal doesn't all burn up before you get your temp set. Also just spray a little water on the charcoal, but then you have a ash everywhere and it's harder to get the temp up then down.

Happy cooking/grilling/smoking my friends.

If you have pellets with a binder in it you are using the wrong ones. Anything for cooking is bound only by water they used to mix and extrude and then dried. Pellets for home heating may have something else for binding but ones for cooking do not.

 

[westender]

What do you do on a Traeger that you wouldn’t or can’t do on a gas or charcoal grill? How is the food different? Our local ACE carries them and I’m thinking about getting one. People I’ve spoken to love theirs.

What pellets do you like the best?

I have a GMG largest size and tailgating/camping size. For burgers and dogs and brats or brat patties I still use a gas grill as I don't mind managing/watching those hands on for a half hour or so. Anything else, especially stuff that is hard to keep moist or needs to cook slower and longer, like a turkey or ribs, etc. gets cooked on one of the GMG pellet grills. You can either add a lot of smoke flavor by cooking at lower temps or get right to grilling at higher temps which won't add much or any smoke flavor to the meat. I did some salmon the other night and it tasted as good as anything I have ever had in a restaurant. The pellet grills just require much less hands on while cooking and are about as fool proof as you can get with cooking. It is basically like an oven where you can cook at constant temps and add smoke based on the wood pellets you use. Chicken breasts turn out great. I can do them great on a gas grill too, but I am there babysitting them constantly and I can't get a good smoke flavor in them if I wish to. I made a bread pudding on the GMG at Christmas also. Anything you can cook in a conventional oven you can cook on one. Higher temps don't produce much if any smoke flavor in the food. I do have a thermal blanket for my large GMG so cooked through the winter and maintained good temps and used less pellets.

 

[4thngoal]

If you have pellets with a binder in it you are using the wrong ones. Anything for cooking is bound only by water they used to mix and extrude and then dried. Pellets for home heating may have something else for binding but ones for cooking do not.

I did not know that.
I have never used one, so never checked into it much. Lots of friends use them and love them. But until I win one, or find a good deal on a used one, I will do without.
I've always said, I would rather be a bum on a beach in Paradise then the king of a shit hole. As such I would rather have steak or brisket on an old charcoal, then hotdogs and hamburgers on a $600 set up. Lol

 

[westender]

I did not know that.
I have never used one, so never checked into it much. Lots of friends use them and love them. But until I win one, or find a good deal on a used one, I will do without.
I've always said, I would rather be a bum on a beach in Paradise then the king of a shit hole. As such I would rather have steak or brisket on an old charcoal, then hotdogs and hamburgers on a $600 set up. Lol

They do use either soybean oil (very little) or corn starch. I know Traeger uses a little soybean oil so the pellets go through the dyes properly. It is all food grade and stuff we use in cooking at other times.

 

[westender]

I did not know that.
I have never used one, so never checked into it much. Lots of friends use them and love them. But until I win one, or find a good deal on a used one, I will do without.
I've always said, I would rather be a bum on a beach in Paradise then the king of a shit hole. As such I would rather have steak or brisket on an old charcoal, then hotdogs and hamburgers on a $600 set up. Lol

I use our gas grill for burgers, dogs and brats. I can cook those on the pellet grill just fine, but given doesn't take much time and I don't really want wood smoke flavor in those things I just use gas and these tend to be messier so easier clean up.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

Need a pic or it never happened!!

I ate it, no evidence. It looked something like this photo

 

[hawkdrummer1]

For you smokers out there...here's a twist on potato salad. I've made this several times and people who say "I don't like potato salad" love it. No current pics but the basic recipe follows (make your own tweaks).

Note: Better to undercook rather than overcook the potatoes lest they become mushy. It only takes 10-15 min in the smoker to get the flavor you're lookin' for. I slice em a little thicker for boiling and break em up into chunks after smoking. Pair this with your ribs, brisket, burgers, etc.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spicy-smoked-sweet-potato-salad-2120914

 

[westender]

For you smokers out there...here's a twist on potato salad. I've made this several times and people who say "I don't like potato salad" love it. No current pics but the basic recipe follows (make your own tweaks).

Note: Better to undercook rather than overcook the potatoes lest they become mushy. It only takes 10-15 min in the smoker to get the flavor you're lookin' for. I slice em a little thicker for boiling and break em up into chunks after smoking. Pair this with your ribs, brisket, burgers, etc.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spicy-smoked-sweet-potato-salad-2120914

Looks good, but in my house I would be the only one eating it I am pretty sure.

 

[Fryowa]

For you smokers out there...here's a twist on potato salad. I've made this several times and people who say "I don't like potato salad" love it. No current pics but the basic recipe follows (make your own tweaks).

Note: Better to undercook rather than overcook the potatoes lest they become mushy. It only takes 10-15 min in the smoker to get the flavor you're lookin' for. I slice em a little thicker for boiling and break em up into chunks after smoking. Pair this with your ribs, brisket, burgers, etc.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/spicy-smoked-sweet-potato-salad-2120914

That’s on my list now

 

[Fryowa]

Had the day off work to umpire later, and my 12 yo kiddo didn’t have school.

So grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup for lunch it is. The recipe I use has no cream in it so it freezes well. If anyone wants the recipe let me know

 

[hawkdrummer1]

Looks good, but in my house I would be the only one eating it I am pretty sure.

I'm not a big sweet potato guy...and my wife "hates" potato salad but we both dug this.

 

[eledmonster]

We have a music and funnies thread, it’s the off season, let’s do a food thread.

Had an hour to kill after work so I went in search of some Iowa-sourced fish tacos.

Looks friggin' awesome!

 

[Fryowa]

Looks friggin' awesome!

The bluegill spawn depending on where you’re at either has started or will be starting in the next week or two. Head out and catch a few.

 

[EstronHawkKing]

We have a music and funnies thread, it’s the off season, let’s do a food thread.

Had an hour to kill after work so I went in search of some Iowa-sourced fish tacos.

I'd wash those tacos down with a Corona Light

 

[eledmonster]

Homemade Chicken and waffles from the long weekend. it was good!

 

[MelroseHawkins]

The bluegill spawn depending on where you’re at either has started or will be starting in the next week or two. Head out and catch a few.

I think they are spawning in the Iowa City area. One of my boys went out with some buddies on a neighborhood pond and got into them yesterday.

 

[Fryowa]

I think they are spawning in the Iowa City area. One of my boys went out with some buddies on a neighborhood pond and got into them yesterday.

We’re still at 60-65° ish water temp up here but I’m only 20 miles from Minnesota. Weekend after next we should be in full swing.

Tell your son to bring a few home. If you don’t clean fish or know anyone who does I’ll help you through it.

 

[Fryowa]

View attachment 5324

Homemade Chicken and waffles from the long weekend. it was good!

I haven’t done that in ages.