Roasting Garlic in a MAK 2 Star Wood Pellet Grill

How many of us bought a Garlic Baker over the years only to have it sit around collecting dust?  Sure we had great intentions of using it but somehow the opportunity never arose.  So I came face to face with my dust covered Garlic Baker and decided there’s no time like the present to break in the Garlic Baker …  Sounds so simple.

Baked Garlic Recipe:

  • 2 whole heads of garlic
  • 2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
  • ½ tsp Chopped Fresh Oregano, Rosemary, or Basil
  • Salt & Ground Pepper to taste

Soak domed lid in water for 10 minutes.  Remove some of the papery outer skins from garlic.  Slice off the tops of the bulbs so each clove is exposed.  Trim base so garlic heads can sit flat in base of baker.  Drizzle olive oil over garlic bulbs.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and oregano.

Instructions call to cover with the domed lid and place in cold oven.  Set temperature to 325ºF and bake for 45 minutes or until garlic is tender and husks are golden brown.  Baste occasionally with olive oil, if desired.

Since I was smoking a Stuffed Pork Loin Roast at 230ºF in my MAK 2 Star Wood Pellet BBQ Smoker-Grill using Gourmet BBQ Pellets, I decided to throw in the Garlic Baker for 2 hours.

Figured that if the recipe calls for 45 minutes at 325ºF then 2 hours at 230ºF would work out just as good.  WRONG!!   Garlic was barely ½ cooked and tasted horribly …  Back to the drawing board – No harm, no foul.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again!   Round 2:  Prepared the Garlic as per the Recipe.

This time I smoked/cooked Chicken Leg Quarters at 225ºF for an hour and then bumped the temperature to 325ºF until the Internal Temperature (IT) of the Chicken legs reached 180ºF.  From experience I knew that I had at least an hour or more before the Chicken would be done.  I placed the Garlic Baker in the MAK 2 Star Wood Pellet Smoker-Grill just before bumping the temp 325ºF.

An hour later at 325º and the Chicken Leg Quarters reached their target IT of 180º and I was anxious to see how the garlic would turn out.

The Baked Garlic turned out 90+% done and tasted wonderful.  You could press the garlic with a fork and spread on hot, crusty french bread.  Dip in olive oil seasoned with Italian spices.  Each clove can also be pressed out and served as a side dish.  I know many people may not eat Baked Garlic for a side dish but if you love garlic half as much as I do you’ll love it.  Or maybe just add baked garlic to pasta sauces, salads, or pizza toppings.

The Money $Shot$ …  A Chicken Leg Quarter garnished with some fresh Pinto Beans, quick and dirty Spanish Rice, and a side of Roasted Garlic …  Good stuff Maynard !!

I can’t see my my Garlic Baker collecting dust anymore cause I plan on using it as often as possible.

Creole Butter Injected Apple Smoked Chicken

posted in: Chicken 0

Chose Tony Chachere’s Injectable Creole Style Marinade Butter for my 1st injected Chicken.  I was in my local Grocery Store and the bright colors caught my eye.  Figured a Chicken was a cheap enough Guinea Pig for this recipe test to see how moist the chicken will be after being injected and sitting in the fridge overnight.  Not that I have any complaints from the results I achieve with my MAK 2 Star General Wood Pellet Smoker-Grill but it’s always nice to add options to my repertoire!!

Injected about 4 oz of Tony Chacher’s Creole Style Butter Marinade in the Chicken Breasts, Thighs, Legs, and wings at multiple points.  I also rubbed Annie’s Roasted Garlic EVOO and Fagundes Seasoning under/on the skin.  Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and into the fridge overnight.

Removed the Creole Butter Injected Chicken from the fridge to allow it to warm up while preheating the MAK 2 Star General Grill with Gourmet BBQ Apple Pellets.  SETPOINT to Smoke and put the Chicken in for 2 hours.  The temperature of the Smoke setting on the MAK 2 Star is ~180ºF.

After 2 hours of smoke I bumped the temperature to 350ºF until the Chicken Breasts reached an Internal Temperature (IT) of 170ºF.  Took a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes to go from an IT of 42ºF to 170ºF.  When doing a whole chicken I prefer to use a Chicken Roaster to catch all the drippings and fat.  Makes clean up simple and if I had a mind to I could use it to make a scrumptious gravy but my Cardiologist would not be amused!!

Rested the chicken under a foil tent for 20 minutes while making some Faux Rice in the microwave.

It’s hard to beat a chilled ripe Cantaloupe melon this time of year.  Some Faux Rice and a dissected Injected Chicken.

The Money $Shot$ … A Creole Style Butter Injected Apple Smoked Chicken Breast, a portion of Faux Rice, and some delicious Cantaloupe melon … Bon Appétit

The Tony Chachere’s Creole Butter Injected Chicken was simply divine!!  I was impressed to see the flavor infused down to the bone.   The EVOO and Seasoning on the Chicken surface was beautifully complemented with the injected Creole Butter.  This is the first of many Injection Recipes.

Gourmet BBQ Pellet Apple Smoked Bone-In Turkey Breast

posted in: Turkey 0

After my initial test and review of Pacific Pellet’s Gourmet BBQ Hickory Pellets I chose a Bone-In Turkey Breast to test their Gourmet BBQ Northwest Apple Pellets.  My neighbor Tom was kind enough to supply me with a 5 lb Gobbler.  I had planned on using a Chicken Roaster stand but part of the backbone was removed so I just placed it on a Frog Mat and used a pan for the drippings which worked great.

Rubbed Annie’s Roasted Garlic EVOO under/on the skin and seasoned under/on the skin with Fagundes Seasoning .

Preheated my MAK 2 Star General Wood Pellet BBQ Smoker-Grill with Gourmet BBQ Northwest Apple Pellets.  SETPOINT to Smoke (~180ºF).  Smoked the Bone-In Turkey Breast for 2 hours at which point the temperature was bumped to 350ºF until the Internal Temperature (IT) at the thickest part of the breast hit 170ºF.

Took 3½ hours to go from an IT of 38ºF to 170ºF.  Let the Bone-In Turkey Breast rest under a foil tent for 20 minutes before slicing while steaming Asparagus and boiling a few ears of Corn.

The Money $Shot$ … Apple smoked Bone-In Turkey Breast slices, Asparagus, and an ear of Corn on the Cob … I Love simple light Summer meals!  I think I will be doing more of these types of meals during the Winter.

The Pacific Pellet Gourmet BBQ Northwest Apple Pellets performed beautifully and provided a wonderful Apple Smoke infused flavor to the Turkey Breast.  Bone-In Chicken or Turkey Breasts provide very moist results and accept smoke flavors like a sponge accepts water!!

I expected similar superior results from the Gourmet BBQ Northwest Apple Pellets that I observed with their Gourmet BBQ Smoked Hickory Pellets and I wasn’t disappointed.  Visit Gourmet BBQ Pellets Review for the results of the Hickory pellet test.

Started with a freshly vacuumed MAK 2 Star General Grill.

As with their Hickory Pellets the Apple Pellets had no discernible sawdust when filling the pellet hopper nor was there any at the bottom of the 20 lb bag. I also found the pellet to be uniformly sized.

The Apple pellets are a darker, richer color than it’s Hickory counterpart which I’m sure is attributed to the actual Hardwood itself.  The photo below shows the small amount of pellets used over the 4+ hours of use (preheat, smoke/cook, and cool down).

Started with 20 lbs and this shows the consumption of a couple of pounds for the Smoke (2 hours at ~180ºF) and Cook (~1½ hours at 350ºF) plus 20 of cool down.

These Gourmet BBQ Pellets from Pacific Pellet are proving to be a great efficient product and as you can see below produce minimal amounts of ash.  Apple pellets from other manufacturers have shown to produce more ash than other flavors in my MAK 2 Star Grill but these pellets are producing noticeably less amounts of ash.  I am very excited and pleased with these pellets and the reactions I’m receiving from my Family and Guests are a testament to their out-of-this-world grilling experience claims.  Give them a try, you’ll appreciate the difference!!

Pacific Pellet “Gourmet BBQ Pellets” Review

Pacific Pellet of Redmond, OR has a new line of Hardwood BBQ pellets for use with all types of grills.  Wood Pellet BBQ Grills, Charcoal Grills, Gas/Electric Grills, and Pellet/Gas/Electric Smokers.  Pacific Pellet’s line of Hardwood BBQ pellets are called “Gourmet BBQ Pellets”.  The flavors are Smoked Hickory, Rancher’s Mesquite, Northwest Apple, Country Cherry, Mountain Maple, and Pacific Alder.

The initial test was performed on the MAK 2 Star General Wood Pellet BBQ Smoker-Grill using Hickory Gourmet BBQ Pellets and 2 Apricot & Sausage Stuffed Pork Chops.

The Gourmet BBQ Pellets are manufactured with 100% Select Hardwoods and NO Binders or Oil Additives.  Smoked Hickory, Rancher’s Mesquite, Northwest Apple, Country Cherry, and Mountain Maple Hardwoods are mixed with a blend of Pacific Alder.  The Gourmet BBQ Pellets are a blend of 30% flavored hardwood with 70% Alder base wood.  The Gourmet BBQ Pacific Alder however is 100% Alder.

 

Vacuumed the MAK 2 Star General Smoker-Grill to ensure a fair appraisal of the fly-ash in the body.

The MAK 2 Star General firepot was also vacuumed.  It’s a common practice of mine to clean my MAK 2 Star Grill after every cook.  This has given me great insight to the amount of ash produced by different pellet flavors and manufacturers.

There was no discernible sawdust when filling the pellet hopper nor at the bottom of the 20 lb bag.  I found the pellet to be uniformly sized.

From ignition to a stable 225ºF  took approximately 15 minutes.  This fell withing the range of 15-30 minutes for other brands of pellets.  The test consisted of 15 minutes preheat, 3 hours at 225ºF, and 20 minutes MAK cool down procedures.

My initial observation was how pleasant and aromatic the Gourmet BBQ Pellet Hickory was.  My observance was verified when my neighbor, who owns a Traeger Pellet Grill, peeked over the fence to learn what smelled so good!

To date I have never had any issues from flame outs with my MAK 2 Star and the Gourmet BBQ Hickory Pellets didn’t change that record.  I was impressed to see how easily my MAK 2 Star was able to maintain a temperature of ±5ºF relative to the 225ºF SETPOINT.  All MAK Grills are equipped with the Vesta Award Winning Pellet Boss Control and I have the luxury of using the Remote Boss allowing me the ability to completely monitor and adjust my MAK grill from inside my home.

My MAK 2 Star General Pellet Grill provides me a copious amount of smoke from a SETPOINT of SMOKE to 250ºF and the Gourmet BBQ Pellets didn’t disappoint me in that respect.  My MAK 2 Grill performed flawlessly using these pellets.

The photo below shows the pellet usage to be minimal for this test considering the 3 hour and 40 minute duration of this cook at 225ºF.  I would not have expected to burn much more than this at this temperature.

Emptied the MAK 2 Star pellet hopper into a MAK Pellet Bucket and it clearly shows how few Gourmet BBQ Pellets were used during this cook from the original 20 lb bag.  Very efficient burning pellets.

As you can see from this photo there was almost NO ASH in the body of the MAK 2 Star Grill.

A closer look at the firepot also shows very little ash.

I emptied the firepot and measure just a touch over 2 tablespoons of ash.  All in all I am very impressed with my initial test of Pacific Pellets “Gourmet BBQ Pellets”.  In the past I have had major ash issues with certain pellets at the lower temperatures.  Since I prefer the Low-and-Slow method one of the important factors for me is the ash issue and Gourmet BBQ Pellets have passed with flying colors.

It’s often said on Forums that ” … no pictures means it didn’t happen … “.  Just click on the  2 Apricot & Sausage Stuffed Pork Chops to see the details.

My next test will be of the Northwest Apple Gourmet BBQ Pellets with a small bone-in Turkey Breast at a SETPOINT of SMOKE for 2 hours and then finishing at 350ºF.  It doesn’t get any better than Smoked Turkey.

Hickory Smoked Apricot & Sausage Stuffed Pork Chops

posted in: Pork 1

To test and review a new entry in the family of BBQ wood pellets, Pacific Pellet Gourmet BBQ Pellets, for my Blog, I visited a local grocery store and found these Apricot & Sausage Stuffed Pork Chops.  After speaking with the person behind the meat counter I discovered that these were Pork Loin Butterfly Chops which are actually a double chop, about two inches thick, which comes from the boneless loin eye muscle. It was sliced in half to form two sides resembling a butterfly and layered with Pork Sausage and Apricots before being rolled and tied off.

After getting them home I noticed that these Pork Loin Butterfly Chops had more fat then I would have preferred but none the less would work just fine.  They were sprinkled with some Parsley and here I show both sides.

Preheated the MAK 2 Star General Wood Pellet BBQ Smoker-Grill to 225ºF using Hickory Gourmet BBQ Pellets.  The Gourmet BBQ Pellets performed exceptionally well providing a fragrant Hickory smoke aroma and flavor with a very low pellet consumption holding the temperature steady during the cook.  I was pleased to observe on the MAK 2 that the temperature swings rarely strayed outside the ±5ºF range.

At 225ºF it took 3 hours and 20 minutes for the Stuffed Pork Chops to reach an Internal Temperature of 160ºF.  After the cook I confirmed how very efficient the Gourmet BBQ Pellets performed when I measured only 2 tablespoons of ash.

Threw together some Cole Slaw and boiled some Yellow and White Corn on the Cob to accompany the Hickory smoked Apricot & Sausage Stuffed Pork Chops.

The Money $Shot$ … A Hickory Smoked Apricot & Sausage Stuffed Pork Chop with Corn 0n the Cob and a side of Cole slaw … The Stuffed Pork Chop had a wonderfully infused Hickory Smoke flavor and the Apricot provided a nice sweet contrast.

As I stated, there was more fat than I would have preferred for a Pork Loin cut but it served it’s purpose well for my initial test of the Gourmet BBQ Pellets.  There’s a lot to be said for stuffing your own Pork Loin and I learned that I can butterfly a Pork Loin, slice it about 2 inches thick, smoke/cook a small portion and freeze the rest for future use.

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