Garlic Stuffed Pork Loin and Stuffed Tomatoes

I took a head of garlic and pulled out a bunch of cloves and removed the paper. Then I sliced those cloves into slivers. I took a long, thin, sharp knife and cut slits all over the loin and slid the slivers into the slits. Here is the loin with the garlic already inserted



I actually brined this and marinaded it as well. The brine was salt, a couple sliced up apples, garlic, black pepper, a can of sprite, and some brown sugar. I brined it overnight and then marinaded it for a few hours the day I cooked it in Andria's, Worcestershire, garlic and black pepper.

I was intrigued by a prepackaged rub that I found at the grocery store. I threw the rub in a bag and put the loin in the bag to get a really good coating on the loin. Here are the ingredients of the rub



Here is what will eventually be my meal. The tomatoes I will be stuffing, the loin in the bag with the rub and the big bottle of stout I will be sipping throughout the process.



A close up that wonderful beverage



I indirected the loin by putting the coals on one side and the meat on the other. I also added some smoke wood for some added flavor.



Now on to my tomatoes. I am by no means a gardener but I planted some tomatoes the last two years. This last year I planted yellow and red tomatoes. I will be stuffing one of each.

First I slice off the top of the tomatoes and then scrap out the insides with a melon baller.



Then I stuff them with a mixture of corn sliced off the cob, garlic, basil, cheese, black pepper, bread crumbs, salt and olive oil that I premade the last time I stuffed tomatoes and put it in the freezer.



Then I drop them in a tin foil, "nest," that keeps them from falling over or any of the stuffing from oozing out and falling between the grill grate.



Time to check on the loin



Looking good but there is still a great deal of flex to it so I know it still needs some time. This was at 90 minutes at about 250-275 degrees.

After about another 45 minutes I'm starting to feel more than a little drunk. I can't figure it out. I've only had 2 beers and part of a 3rd. Well within my tolerance. I went back inside and checked that bottle.



Ahhhhhh, that explains it. Those 2.5 beers I had in about 2.5 hours were closer to 7 beers in terms of alcohol content in less than 3 hours. After a large glass of water and refilling my mug with more water I put the tomatoes on the grill. They only take 20-30 minutes indirect and even less if you want to put them right over the coals.

Here we have the maters when they are almost done. The cheese is melted and the corn is cooked.



I pulled the loin and let it rest for about 15 minutes and then I sliced



Plated



The rub had a pretty high salt content in it and even though I did not salt the meat before going on because I brined it, it was a bit too salty. I avoid any ribs that have salt as the first ingredient. This listed salt as second so I went with it. Well the third ingredient must have been a distant third because it was pretty salty on the outside. The meat on the inside was delicious, particularly anywhere around the garlic slivers.

If I were to do this again I would go with a different rub use my rotisserie rather than indirecting the meat. The garlic sliver trick and a rotisserie are a match made in heaven....
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So you want to smoke but you don't have a smoker

I don't use my offset smoker to smoke meat all the time. If I'm smoking a couple of slabs or maybe a chicken or two or even a turkey breast I will use my Weber. How is that possible? It's not very hard.

Well the key to smoking meat is keep the temp low and constant for a long period of time and of course smoke. I use a remote thermometer to check the temp and a couple other little gadgets to keep the temp down and constant for a long period of time.

So how do you keep the heat low and constant? The first gadget you need are a couple of charcoal baskets.



They can be purchased just about anywhere that sell Weber accessories. These baskets will keep the meat from being cooked directly by the coals.

The next item that is not necessary but it sure helps which is a hinged grill grate

In order to keep the temp constant over a long period of time you will have to add more fuel to the fire. With the hinges up, it is easy to drop in more charcoal and more smoke wood as it burns up.

Here are the gadgets in action.

Put the charcoal baskets on either side of your Weber



Then place the hinged grill grate over the top with the hinged slats over the baskets.


Put the meat in the middle. In this case a Turkey Breast, drop in a couple chunks of smoke wood. I prefer chunks to chips but either can be used.



Instant smoker



Here is the Turkey Breast after a couple of hours



Can one smoke on a Weber without the charcoal baskets or the hinged grill grate? Of course. Without the baskets simply put all the coals to one side and put the meat on the other. Put the vents over the top of the meat so the smoke is drawn over the meat before exiting the grill.

Smoking without the hinged grill grate is tougher as it is harder to add fuel and more smoke wood. Picking up a hot grill grate is not easy and increases the risk of dumping the meat on the ground.
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Ribs and a Brisket

OK, now onto some serious smoking. I did Ribs and Brisket for my immediate and the wife's immediate fam along with various Significant Others. Total of 13 people. I marinated the Brisket for about 60 hours in coke, teryaki, Worcestershire, Andria's, minced garlic and black pepper. It was a little over 4 pounds so it would be timed well with my ribs which I did with the 3-2-1 method.

I marinated the ribs in Apple Cider, Andrias, minced garlic, and black pepper.

I never put salt in a marinade. I put the salt on right before the meat hits the heat. I also never put salt in my rubs. I don't use garlic or onion salt. I want to know how much salt I am using. If I use a rub or garlic salt I don't really know how much I am using.

Here is a pic of the rub ingredients.



The largest jar is granulated garlic which is immensely than just garlic powder. The little jar on the right is powdered roasted peppers from Alberqueque. Adds a great flavor and a little heat but not much. The stainless container is brown sugar. I use a lot of the Sugar in the raw and just a little of the brown sugar to keep the burning down. I will say that I made this rub before I found the wonderful world of Penzey's spices. No one makes better spices.

Sorry I can't give you exact amounts of anything because I don't cook like that. I just add a dash of this a TBSP of that. A quarter cup of this. Here is what the rub looks like when mixed up



This was actually the first brisket I had ever done so I didn't do a rub for the brisket as I wanted to get a taste for the meat with just coarse salt, black pepper and the smoke flavor. But here is a pic of the Ribs with a nice coat of rub on them as well as a shot of the rib tips and the brisket





Before we get to the cooking process let's talk about the grill itself. The Grill is a Chargriller Smokin Pro which is an offset horizontal smoker with a fire box on the side.



I was not happy with the smoke distribution that this grill provided. The smoke would come through the hole from the firebox rise straight up, travel over the meat and out the chimney on the other side. The meat that was on the right side of the grill, right over the opening to the firebox, got all the smoke but the rest didn't get as much. With some simple disposable tin trays from the grocery store I resolved this problem.



Over the opening to the firebox I put a deep tin to act as a baffle to push the smoke down. Then along the bottom of the grill I put in to flat cookie tray tins with holes poked in them to usher the smoke along the bottom of the grill. The holes allow for the smoke to come up evenly throughout the cooking chamber. You will see what I mean in a minute.

I put the 4 LB Brisket on first as it needed to cook for about 6 hours but would also need about an hour in some foil at the end. The Ribs were cooked using the 3-2-1 method. Keep the temp at 225-250. 3 hours of smoke. 2 hours in foil with something sweet slathered on top. You could use syrup, honey, brown sugar, molasses, etc. 1 hour back on the heat with no smoke. The meat isn't absorbing anymore smoke at that point so don't waste the smoke wood.

Here is a pic of everything on the grill.



Here is what the augmentation with the tins do for the smoker



That's some serious smoke action

Here we have about 2 hours into the process. Ribs on the bottom and the brisket on top. Not exactly sure on the time as there was some drinking going on



No picks of the foiled ribs. Did I mention that there was some drinking going on?!?!

I did the foiling in two ways. One was just some maple syrup and back on the grill. The other was honey and more rub and back on the grill. Adding more rub will make a really flavorful bark once the ribs are pulled from the foil and put back on the heat for an hour. I prefer the bark to any sort of sauce but one has to cook to ones audience and I had a large contingent of people wanting BBQ sauce on the ribs so I did two whole sides with sauce. So I sliced them, dunked in sauce and put back on the grill to caramelize the sauce.

All of the ones I foiled with maple syrup and one of the honey with no extra rub got the sauce. The other two half slabs I did with Honey and extra rub I did not sauce and put back on the grill for hour or so as well as .

Here is a pic of the non sauced ribs. I should not have taken the pic with a flash because the smoke ring is washed out. You will see what I mean in a second when you see the pic of the Brisket with a flash.



The ribs were not fall off the bone, but they were incredibly tender, which is the way they should be cooked. If they are fall off the bone all you really have is pulled pork and that is very expensive pulled pork.

Here is the brisket. After about 6 hours I put it in foil and took it off the heat.



That is a serious smoke ring

I didn't get a chance to take a pic of the sauced ribs. I had a legion of very hungry people that were already giving me all kinds of grief by holding up dinner to take some pictures of the food.

I received many compliments which I don't ever know if they are sincere. No one is going to say, "hey the food you just cooked me sucked." Everyone just says, "hey, great job," etc. After many more beers I pretty much passed out at about 10. It wasn't until the next morning that I got the best compliment with how little food was left. Four thin slices of brisket, that made a great sammich, and about 6 bones which made for lunch at work the next week. An even bigger compliment than that was some dessert that my mom made in a large 9X13 pan had not been touched at all. Not a single slice. Everyone was too full. And my mom is one helluva baker....
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The Perfect Steak

I am a true believe that the perfect steak is rare or medium rare. Anything beyond that is cooked improperly. That being said, using this method for grilling a steak can improve steaks cooked beyond medium rare as well.

My favorite steak of all time is the bone in ribeye and that is exactly what I cooked for this meal. This particular steak was indeed a monster. I put my cell phone into the picture for reference. My cell phone is a standard Motorola Razr.



Another angle to get the idea of the shear size of this thing



All I did was add a little coarse salt and fresh cracked black pepper to this bad boy. To some this is all one needs. Normally I marinade my steaks, even filets. The key is using the right kind of marinade for the right kind of cut. But for this one, and for my first demonstration here I went with a simple, almost pure steak.

First off, let the steak come up in temp. Pull it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Second is the real trick to cooking the perfect steak - two zone cooking. Coals on one side. Nothing on the other. Sear the outside on each side to form a nice crust to seal the juices in, then pull off the heat to the side with no coals, put the lid on and bake till desired doneness.

And when I say sear, I really mean sear. I don't jerk around with searing. I get the coals flaming hot and then I pour on some sort of veggie oil and flame sear my steaks. ***Disclaimer - I do not recommend doing this near siding, a wood deck or anything else that could melt or catch on fire. Also avoid doing this in high wind. I almost learned that one the hard way.


To give you some perspective in the day light. Here is a picture of me grilling steaks at my folks this last Summer. This is the flame searing process and thus the necessity for the disclaimer. And yes the GrillinFool did have hair at one time before he started shaving it all off:


The hardest part is having the patience to let that expensive cut sit over those flames without flipping it. Sear for a couple of minutes and rotate 90 degrees and sear for a couple more minutes for nice grill marks. I don't really care about grill marks so I just sear it.

For this steak I seared it and then pulled it over to the side with no coals for maybe 5 minutes. Realize that this bad boy was close to 24 ounces. Smaller steaks (and more importantly thinner steaks ) will take less time to bake to the desired doneness.

Now comes a very critical step. Resting. You just created a nice crust to seal the juices in. You just pulled that steak off a hot grill. Those juices are in a very excited state. They are moving a million miles an hour inside that steak. If you slice it now all the juices will run out before you get to your 3rd bite. Hence the criticism of using a grill fork to turn steaks over in my inaugural post.

The ideal resting place would be on a cooling rack for cookies so that the juice that does leak out (and there always will be just a little) will not soak through the crust on the bottom. I'm not that anal. I just put it on a plate to rest. More perspective on the size of this thing. It is resting on a standard size Fiestaware dinner plate.



A steak of this size needs to rest about 5 minutes. It should rest long enough to allow the juices to settle down. You're not going for letting it rest until it gets cold. Just till those all important juices calm down.

Those of you who are not fans of rare or medium rare steaks usually get to this point and assume that the blood and juice is going to leak all over the plate when I slice it open. I will prove you wrong with what I like to call the money shot



And here's an even closer view of the money shot


Normally I like my steaks just a little redder than that, but this thing was so huge that I baked it for a little longer than it probably needed. Despite that, it was juicy and delicious from the first bite to the last. And I ate the whole thing....
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The inaugural post

I am a man of many passions. Some would call me a fan of many things. A veritable fanatic if you will. One of my greatest passion is cooking outside. I love grilling/BBQing/smoking/indirecting everything from Angus Beef to Zucchini. Yes, we can grill veggies as well. From the basics of burgers and brats to the complex such as a spiral sliced stuffed pork loin.

Cooking on the grill is not just throwing a slab of meat over a some hot coals and then serving. For me the prep work can have as much an impact on the outcome as the actual cooking process. I will discuss all manner of marinades, brines and rubs that can take you to the next level in the eyes of your family, friends, and even that annoying neighbor with the huge outdoor kitchen that uses a fork to flip his steaks and expects you to enjoy the shoe leather he will be serving when those steaks are done. Or in my case show my Father in Law that a steak is best when red and not well done with holes poked all throughout during the grilling process.

I will talk about all manner of different cooking methods from high heat/short duration grilling to low heat/long duration smoking. The former may not lend itself to a lot of time around the grill enjoying your favorite beverage but it is ideal for making that perfect steak. The latter may not be good for cooking a great steak but it is ideal for enjoying your favorite beverage as well as slow cooking a pork shoulder or a few slabs of ribs.

Speaking of beverages. I am a big fan of beer and wine. I will discuss some good pairings of beers and wines to compliment the meal as well

Cooking outside is not a science. It's an art. And it will never be completely mastered by anyone. It is only limited by the imagination of the cook. I have a great imagination and have come up with some pretty interesting stuff. But I can't cover it all. So I hope that I have plenty of people who will contribute to this site with things they have created and want to share them with others.

A little about me and what I use to make my outdoor concoctions. I currently own 3 grills. Two of which are Weber Kettles. One of the two is more than 20 years old and was recently replaced by a brand new 22 inch Weber One Touch Gold that was given to me on Father's day by my 2 month old. Not sure what he was doing to earn an allowance that allowed him to afford it but I love it. He and I are posing with the grill in my profile pic. In fact he was the first thing to go on that grill. Little shrimp on the barbie so to speak.

While I do about 85% of my grilling on those two Webers, I also have a Chargriller Smokin Pro which I use for smoking large amounts of meats or for grilling say brats and burgers for a crowd. I have a rotisserie attachment for this grill as well. While I am strictly a charcoal person nearly everything I do can be done on a gas grill. Outside of maybe smoking a pork shoulder for 10 hours, a gas grill can do nearly anything a charcoal grill can do.
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