Dinner... better than sex



J

John Gaughan

Guest
Dinner tonight was roast beef and two racks of hickory smoked ribs.

I roasted the beef for about two hours at 120 degrees, it turned out rare, juicy and delicious. The
ribs had to be finished off in the oven because I had a hard time keeping my charcoal grill hot
enough to cook them through, but the hickory taste is unmistakable.

Anyway, the beef was heavenly... lightly coated in oil and covered in cracked peppercorns, juicy and
tender. I had to inform my wife that from now on I will have to eat roast beef whenever I'm horny
instead of the usual :)

The ribs were good... nothing spectacular but definitely above average. This was the first time I
smoked them on the grill (it is a charcoal grill with attached firebox), but they turned out well. I
think next time I will leave enough room to start a second fire when the first one dies down, rather
than adding charcoal to the dying fire, vainly hoping it will be hot enough to keep it going.

Dessert was a store bought chocolate mousse cake. Very good. The head baker is a woman with over 40
years of experience, so it certainly isn't standard stupidmarket fare.

Right now I am muching on a reuben (whole wheat instead of rye), very tasty...

--
John Gaughan http://www.johngaughan.net/ [email protected]
 
John Gaughan wrote: (snip)
> The ribs were good... nothing spectacular but definitely above average. This was the first time I
> smoked them on the grill (it is a charcoal grill with attached firebox), but they turned out
> well. I think next time I will leave enough room to start a second fire when the first one dies
> down, rather than adding charcoal to the dying fire, vainly hoping it will be hot enough to keep
> it going.

You shouldn't have to do that, but then again I've never "smoked" ribs using an attached firebox.
IMO you shouldn't have to stoke the coals unless the temp gets so cold it won't keep burning. Don't
know what kind of wood you used... apple? hickory? The wood should be well soaked first and (IMO)
there should be a water pan to keep the wood moist. I like to add a splash of wine to the water pan
and toss in herbs, to help with seasoning the smoking process. But then, that's just me.

Anyway, glad they turned out okay. I'm looking forward to Spring when I can once again simply char-
grill a few racks of ribs over low, indirect heat, rubbed with a very dry herb mixture for several
hours until they are falling-apart-tender. Come on, Spring!!

Jill
 
On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 22:40:03 -0600, John Gaughan
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I roasted the beef for about two hours at 120 degrees, it turned out rare, juicy and delicious.

I'll *bet* it was rare. Are you sure 120F is what you meant to type?
 
On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 22:40:03 -0600, John Gaughan
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Dinner tonight was roast beef and two racks of hickory smoked ribs.
>
>I roasted the beef for about two hours at 120 degrees, it turned out rare, juicy and delicious. The
>ribs had to be finished off in the oven because I had a hard time keeping my charcoal grill hot
>enough to cook them through, but the hickory taste is unmistakable.
>
>Anyway, the beef was heavenly... lightly coated in oil and covered in cracked peppercorns, juicy
>and tender. I had to inform my wife that from now on I will have to eat roast beef whenever I'm
>horny instead of the usual :)
>
>The ribs were good... nothing spectacular but definitely above average. This was the first time I
>smoked them on the grill (it is a charcoal grill with attached firebox), but they turned out
>well. I think next time I will leave enough room to start a second fire when the first one dies
>down, rather than adding charcoal to the dying fire, vainly hoping it will be hot enough to keep
>it going.
>
>Dessert was a store bought chocolate mousse cake. Very good. The head baker is a woman with over 40
>years of experience, so it certainly isn't standard stupidmarket fare.
>
>Right now I am muching on a reuben (whole wheat instead of rye), very tasty...
>

Up until dessert, I thought you were doing a zero carb dinner. Meat and meat! In either case, a meal
fit for a carnivore :>

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 16:00:31 -0600, John Gaughan
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Frogleg wrote:
>> I'll *bet* it was rare. Are you sure 120F is what you meant to type?
>
>120 degree fahrenheit, yes. After a few hours it got up to 118F. It was rare, but not so rare as to
>be a bad thing.

120F isn't cooking. It's a very, very hot day. :) I apologize for questioning your methods. I like
(medium) rare, and even steak tartare, but I can't see 'cooking' something at bathwater temperature.
Tastes, however, vary.
 
Frogleg wrote:

>
> >120 degree fahrenheit, yes. After a few hours it got up to 118F. It was rare, but not so rare as
> >to be a bad thing.
>
> 120F isn't cooking. It's a very, very hot day. :) I apologize for questioning your methods. I
> like (medium) rare, and even steak tartare, but I can't see 'cooking' something at bathwater
> temperature. Tastes, however, vary.

It sounds like a recipe for food poisoning.
 
>Frogleg ASSumes:

John Gaughan wrote:
>
>>I roasted the beef for about two hours at 120 degrees, it turned out rare, juicy and delicious.
>
>I'll *bet* it was rare. Are you sure 120F is what you meant to type?

Hmm, didn't write 120F... wrote "120". This is an International Newsgroup... ever hear of Celsius...
120C = 248F

Not ideal but possible... duh.

---= BOYCOTT FRENCH--GERMAN (belgium) =--- ---= Move UNITED NATIONS To Paris =--- Sheldon
```````````` "Life would be devoid of all meaning were it without tribulation."
 
On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 20:43:37 -0600, John Gaughan
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Jean Encinas wrote:
>> Are you referring to the temp. of the meat itself or the oven temp.?
>
>Ack, I see the problem now... yes, 220F oven, 118-120F meat.

Thank goodness! I was wondering if I were crazy, not having heard of the 120F method and result. :)
 
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