Archive for November, 2005
Turkey Fryer Pump
This scary looking contraption is a battery operated pump designed for emptying the used oil from a turkey fryer. I used it for the first time this year after cooking up our deep fried turkey.
It’s got a little filter on the intake that strains out the muck, allowing you to reuse the oil. All in all, the pumps works pretty well. However, it’s kind of slow and it leaves about 2 inches in the bottom of the cooking pot, so I’m not sure its worth the hassle. A stainless funnel works just as well I think, especially if you end up usinga a funnel to get that last bit of oil anyhow.
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BBQ Matches Collection
Here’s an interesting gift for that barbecue lover in your life. A ready-made collection of matchbooks from some of the best BBQ joints in the country.
This nice little gift is only $9.95, so the price is right too. I guess you could argue that it would cost your thousands of dollars in airfare to collect all these at the actual BBQ joints, so that’s quite a bargain! You can order it direct from their website.
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Quest for Fire: Part 1
I’ve been trying to learn the secrets of creating a long burning fire in my smoker so that I won’t be forced to continually add charcoal every hour or so. Recently, I read about the “Big Dan” method, described in this FAQ at the Barbecues Galore Forums.
To summarize, you put in all your charcoal in at the beginning of the smoke cycle, pretty much filling up the smoker box. You then pour one chimney load of lit charcoal atop the pile, and allow the pile to gradually burn itself down in the process.
First step was block the vents on my Hondo Deluxe. Turns out that the replacement charcoal grill grate from a standard Weber grill works fine. That is the lower grill grate the charcoal rests on, not the cooking grate. Picked one up from Home Depot for $10. Placed it inside the smoker box, where it’s almost a perfect fit, leaned up against the outside vents.
Now here’s where I deviated from the plan. I didn’t have any lump charcoal, so I used a 20 pound bag of Kingsford briquettes. As predicted by the article, these didn’t work out perfectly due to the large volume of ash they produce.
Things looked great for awhile, I got a good 2 and half hours before I had to mess with anything. By then, the piles of ash from the briquettes were beginning to choke out the fire. A few quick stirs with a stick and I was back in business. But, I had to keep stirring the coals every 45 minutes to an hour. When I was done I was left with a 8” deep pile of ashes that were still hot 2 days later.
Next time I’m going to stick to lump charcoal and I think I’ll be all set. This will make barbecuing much more convenient, especially when cooking brisket.
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2006 Chile Calendar
Holiday seasons coming up, and the perennial favorite, the niche calendar, is poised to begin making its appearance. If you have someone on your list who likes things hot and spicy, you could do worse that the Peppa Heads’s Chile calendar.
This calendar first and foremost features pretty pepper pictures (Say that 10 times fast) but it also includes a number of pepper related recipes. The pictures all come from the author’s own (extensive) pepper garden.
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