Perfect weather for pot roast!

Pot roast sounded good. So into the smoker we go been super cold here the last couple days. Hit -18 last night was -13 when I got up. About 8 right now. Running the mini at 285* cherry and pecan.







Making Smokey Au Jus and roasted veggies too.

IGrill performed flawlessly in the single digit weather!



As did the Mini-WSM

Tri Tip Pie!!!

Hit a high of 32° yesterday!!!! Woke up this morning to 15°!!! BRRRR. So this meal was a perfect leftover for the weather!!!!

I decided that I would make Smokey Au Jus after smoking the Oh Heavenly Tri tip.

I used this recipe from Chef JimmyJ. I modified it to include the beer, I used Deschutes Black Butte porter. To start I trim the fat off the Tri tip and render it down then add beef broth and beer. Simmer that in the smoker for 30 minutes. Remove the fat and add the other ingredients, return to the smoker for a hour, or until veggies are soft.



Smokey Au Jus

1- Lg Onion,
4-5 Carrots,
3-4 Ribs Celery
3-4 Peeled Cloves of Garlic
Toss them in a pan under the Beef, and let the whole deal Smoke for one hour,
THEN add 4-6 Cups Beef Broth,
One 12 oz beer

2 Tbs Tomato Paste,
1/2tsp Dry Thyme (4-5 sprigs Fresh)
1-2 ea Bayleaf


So that brings us to tonight's dinner. I had left over Tri-tip, the veggies from the Au Jus, and left over Au Jus. With the snow falling and the wind blowing I decided that these ingredients would make a great Shepard's Pie.


Chopped veggies from the Au Jus! Onions, garlic, carrots, and celery.



Tri-tip diced and ready



Simmering down the Au Jus with the veggies and Tri-tip.



Pie filled and topped with taters and brushed with paprika butter.



Out of the 400* oven, nice and golden brown.



MMMMM!!!








What can I say, Fantastic! All in one meal!

Spatched Chicken on the Mini-WSM Smoker

Of all my smokers the Mini-WSM's are my goto smokers for the most part. If I'm cooking for a crowd I'll fire up one of the larger ones. I had strayed away from charcoal and wood for a while but have returned over the last couple years. The main reason was inferior smokers that even with mods never performed. I live in a cold, sometimes wet, snowy place in the winter and I don't like to stop bbq'ing or smoking. So I used GOSM exclusively for over eight years. Then I built my first Mini-WSM, them my UDS, then the second mini, all charcoal now year round! Stick burner is on the wish list.

Anyhow on to the smoke simple Spatched Chicken. SPOG plus paprika. Smoker running KB with Pecan and cherry 50/50 mix. Rab the smoker around 325° most the time.

ENJOY!!!!

Tri-tip with Steamed golden beets, beet greens and Caprise salad

Due to a late start, I decided to sue a higher temp cook in order to make sure we could have dinner at a decent time. I normally like to run the smoker around 265*-285* for tri-tip. I also like to have the terracotta saucer in place as a diffuser. For this cook I ran the smoker at 308* (that's where it wanted to settle and hold) and I did not use the diffuser. I also let this tri cook to an IT of 145* because he in-laws to be like there steak more towards the side of well done. The tri turned out good, but not really to my liking. One issue that occurred is that the side that was down turned out more done than the side that was up. Normally at the lower temps and with the diffuser in you do not need to flip the steak. If I do another high temp tri I will definitely flip part way through. So quick re-cap 308* Mini-WSM Kingsford Blue and pecan, Cooked to an IT of 145*.

Cooking away on the Mini, juicy!

After the rest

About a 1/3 cup of juice in there!

Split the Tri. Can you tell which side was up and which side was done?

Sliced and ready for plating!

Steamed golden beets and beet greens.

ENJOY!!!!