Dutch Oven Beef Short Ribs and Brownie for Desert

We cooked some beef short ribs and brownies today in the Dutch ovens.

Here are some pictures:



Beef short ribs

It was my first time trying beef short ribs, but they turned out very well. I just wish they had a little more meat-on-the-bone.



Seasoned with Alchemy spice

 I tried out one of my Christmas presents from Chattanooga's Alchemy Spice.



Carrots, onions, celery and garlic cloves

Linda chopped up the veggies. Today we used carrots, onions, celery and 6 cloves of garlic.


Added tomato paste

 We used 8 tablespoons of tomato paste and probably should have used a few more for 12 short ribs.



Added cooking wine

 We used 2 1/2 cups of cooking wine.


Chattanooga spice company

This spice rub is pretty good.




Browning the short ribs

We browned the ribs a little before adding them to the wine, veggies, garlic and tomato paste.




Adding the brownie batter

We used baker's parchment paper to line the Dutch oven for the brownies.



Top heat in the Lodge #10 Dutch Oven

The brownies needed a little extra heat at the end to finish them off. I wouldn't cook brownies with this much heat for long normally.



Ready to eat

The ribs turned out very well and the flavor from the Alchemy spice rub was fantastic.




Browning plating

It was my first try cooking Dutch oven brownies. They were delicious.

Camp Fire Chicken on the Charcoal Grill

Linda and I stopped by Cracker Barrel last weekend for "lupper" (a meal between the normal time for lunch and supper). They were advertising Camp Fire Chicken on the menu insert and I decided to order it. Their version included a chicken quarter, potatoes, carrots, onions, a piece of corn on the cob, and a small amount of tomato. I enjoyed the meal and immediately decided that I would try to emulate that dish (or a close version) on the bbq grill at home.

There are many ways to prepare this dish. This is my improvised version of Camp Fire Chicken.

Step 1. Prepare the veggies



Celery, carrots, red bell pepper, squash, red onion, new potatoes

 Step 2. Prepare the chicken quarters (put some seasoning under the chicken skin too)



Chicken quarters seasoned with Lawry's poultry blend

 Step 3. Garlic powder



Garlic powder

 Step 4. Butter (or margarine)



A couple teaspoons of margarine seasoned with garlic powder

 Step 5. Pre-assemble the veggies and chicken in foil



The dish assembled in aluminum foil and ready for the grill (before)

 Step 6. Wrap tightly and place on the grill



Wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in the center of the grill with charcoal banked on the sides

 Step 7. Cook at 350 degrees for 60 - 75 minutes or until chicken reaches 175 - 180 degrees



Camp Fire Chicken fresh from the grill (after)

 Step 8. I used chicken quarters, but thighs, drumsticks or breasts would probably work well too



Camp Fire Chicken close-up

I enjoyed my version of the dish. I think this is a nice way to prepare an interesting dish on the grill for a family get together too. I could cook 8 - 10 of these easily in my Backwoods or McCullough upright bbq smokers.

Winter Brisket Cook

Here are a couple of pictures from my brisket cook yesterday. It turned out pretty well with a very nice smoke ring. It was moist throughout, but sliced clean and easy.





Sliced brisket

Brisket close-up

Weekend Pork Butt and Brisket

I started cooking some pork butts and a brisket today. I've got two boneless 5 lb. butts and a 14 lb. brisket on the smoker. Here's a picture from 6 a.m. when I was kicking everything off.

Currently everything is humming along just fine. The smoker is pegged at 230 degrees.

Adding water to my insulated McCullough 2 x 2

We've had 90 something inches of snow so far this year and a month with temps in the lower single digits. This weekend we're close to 35 degrees for highs, but it's still cold enough that cooking all day requires an insulated smoker.

Once I get it up to temp it maintains cooking temps very well.

Brisket Prices

I stopped by the local butcher today to purchase a whole brisket for a cook this weekend. I got sticker shock!

I think back to the good old days when I used to purchase a 13 - 14 lb. briskets for $32-$33. I purchased a 14 lb. brisket today for $71.