Love Your Meat Archives

Thanksgiving Turkey on the Yoder Smoker

November 20, 2023 By Ms. K

We love us some smoked turkey legs. But when we’re craving turkey – I mean Turkey with a capital “T” – a more traditional roasted flavour often comes to mind. So we were curious how the big bird would fare on our Yoder YS640S Competition Smoker – we’ll say up front that we were very pleased, and impressed with how easy it was to prepare.

Oiling and Seasoning Turkey for the Smoker

We began with a frozen turkey thawed over several days in the fridge. On cooking day, we removed it at ~ 10:30 am. We rinsed, patted dry with paper towels, and air chilled in in the fridge until 12:30. Then, we oiled and seasoned it up, and popped it back in the fridge once more for a few hours. We got our Yoder going at ~ 2:30pm, giving it about 30 minutes to heat up to 300 F.

IMPORTANT NOTE: we did up our bird in summer with light, crisp fixings and sides. But it certainly got us thinking that a Thanksgiving turkey on the Yoder has a ton of advantages! Besides the turkey’s deliciousness (and close-to-roasted flavour that should please even your most traditionalist guests), you’ve just freed up your kitchen for a less cramped and chaotic holiday prep. Read on for some tips and ideas!

Inserting the Probe – Final Step Before Smoking

Once our bird was oiled up and seasoned and ready to roll, we stuck a probe in the breast. I know I’m a broken record when I say that the Yoder’s wireless FireBoard monitoring is awesome. You can keep an eye on your cooking and meat temps remotely – so convenient, especially on a hectic party day.

[Oh yeah – worried about using your Yoder Pellet Grill in colder temps? No need. Check out this article on the Thermal Jacket designed to keep your Yoder performing when the thermometer drops.]

Turkey with Probe - Ready to Roll — Turkey with Probe – Ready to Roll

In our competition-edition Yoder, we can’t get over how small our ~ 5 kg (~ 11 lbs) looks in the oven. Obviously, there’s room for bigger birds – even multiple birds if you’re feeding a big, hungry group.

Now for the hard-to-believe but not hard-at-all part: we closed up the oven and virtually walked away from the bird for the next 3 hours and 15 minutes. Other than popping in to baste the breast twice with melted butter, that’s all we did. Our indoor kitchen and our time was open for all the other cooking, cleaning, prepping, visiting and snacking a gathering (even a Thanksgiving gathering) entails.

After 3 hours and 15 minutes on our Yoder, the turkey was done and it was glorious. (Keep your eye on the temps, of course. According to the FDA, your turkey needs to reach an internal temp of 165F.) We brought it in and covered it with foil, and topped with a clean dish towel as it rested to keep things warm and snug. Wow – does a turkey stay hot a while. We rested it for about 40-45 minutes, but are convinced it would have been piping hot an hour later.

What we snacked on while we waited: just had to show off my cheese and cracker board above, featuring both traditional Oka and Oka Mushrooms and Truffle cheeses, a wheel of brie, assorted crackers, and some fresh strawberries and green grapes

And here it is…ready to carve.

A Zesty Green Salad for Summer Thanksgiving

To fit the summertime vibes of this bird, we went with a zesty green salad tossed with a bright Italian dressing, and homemade garlic croutons.

But there is no reason you can’t whip up more traditional Thanksgiving fixings to accompany the delectable Yoder-smoked turkey – we’re thinking mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, roasted veggies, and your family’s fave casseroles and sides. (We haven’t quite figured out how to do homemade gravy since we’re not getting any of the necessary juices from over-roasting in a pan — but there are store bought options that can suffice!).

Ms. K's "GN Club" Sandwich — Ms. K’s “GN Club” Sandwich

And of course what would any Turkey or Thanksgiving feast be without the leftovers! We turned ours into a delectable Club Sandwich, and the next day we went with a Chef Salad.

Ms. K's Take on the "Chef Salad" — Ms. K’s Take on the “Chef Salad”

We’re all for traditions — but sometimes it’s time for a new one. Consider cooking your turkey on a Yoder Smoker this year. Happy Thanksgiving!

Prime Rib on a Yoder Pellet Grill

September 15, 2022 By Ms. K

Not sure what meat prices are like in your neck of the woods these days. But when prime rib roasts went on sale at our local grocery story, we had to snap one up. It’s summer, and we usually equate Prime Rib with Yorkshire pudding, hearty garlic mashed potatoes and other cozy fare. But we decided to go for it – and seize the chance to throw it on our Yoder YS640S Smoker

Yoder Smoker S640S Competition Smoker - Beautiful — Yoder Smoker S640S Competition Smoker – Beautiful

We fired up the grill, and brought it to a super-low 200 degrees F.

You can’t go wrong with a simple seasoning, so we chose our go-to blend of Malcolm Reed’s A.P. Rub and The BBQ Rub – no one does the basics better. And this way we figured we’d have to the best chance to tasting just what the smoker offers one of our all-time favourite cuts.

The 2.7 kg (~6lbs) roast took 5 hours to reach 132 F with virtually nothing for us to do. Now and then, we just needed to check our app linked to the built-in Fireboard temperature monitoring system (more info on this here). We might have stretched our legs once to go out and check the pellet levels, too. But truly – the Yoder makes this so easy.

We rested the meat for 30 mins, although we’d consider a 45 min. rest time for even more juiciness. While the meat did its thing, we roasted up some of the summer bounty from a local farm – multi-coloured carrots and purple potatoes. We boiled a yellow potato and a couple of cobs of corn for good measure, too – bringing summer sides to what’s often a winter dish.

Prime Rib - Plated and Ready! — Prime Rib – Plated and Ready!

The whole meal was delicious. The smoker worked great, and imparted a subtle smokey taste to the meat, which is what we were hoping. It may not replace our much-loved approach somewhere deep in December when we’ll be roasting prime rib indoors and whipping up Yorkshires and mashers – but it’s certainly a worthy option!

Charcoal-Grilled Tri-Tip Steak Ultimate Feast

August 25, 2022 By Dr. T

Steaks on the grill - indirect heat — Steaks on the grill – indirect heat

We were in the mood for steak done up just right on our Weber Charcoal Grill. We went with uber-flavourful tri-tip steaks – times two – perfect for slicing and serving to a small crowd.

While we were at it, we thought we’d add not one but two BBQ-worthy salads and mess of bacon-heavy baked beans. Take a look, Nation – get hungry, and inspired.

Simply Seasoned (Salt and Pepper) Tri-tip Steak

Seasoning the meat with Meat Church's Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub — Seasoning the meat with Meat Church’s Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub

Not sure what it’s like in your parts, but tri-tip isn’t always easy for us to find. We like it for its marbling, its tenderness and the fact that it just loves the grill. So when we saw these babies, we grabbed them.

We seasoned them in two different ways: simple salt and pepper for one (can’t go wrong), and a generous dose of Meat Church’s Holy Voodoo BBQ Rub for the other (can’t go wrong there either).

With steaks ready for the grill, we got our sides on. Must give a big shout out to Southern Living’s Ultimate book of BBQ by Christopher Prieto for recipe and inspiration. (Let’s just say the pages of this go-to book are well-worn in our home.)

Prieto's Grilled Corn and Butter Bean Salad — Prieto’s Grilled Corn and Butter Bean Salad

Pieto’s Grilled Corn and Butter Bean Salad is a standout – a key ingredient being – wait for it – the grilled corn. We fired up our TEC gas grill for this purpose and threw on some cobs. We’re pretty sure it’s the corn in this one that makes going back for seconds almost mandatory.

A tangy slaw balanced out the creamy richness of the corn and bean salad…

Prepping the Baked Beans with a plethora of bacon

…and a bacon-rich baked bean dish rounded out the supporting cast for the feast. Now to the meat.

We got our charcoal going on one side of the grill to create an indirect heat situation.

When things were hot and ready, we slapped on the steaks, covered them up, and kept then on for about 20-25ish minutes to get a nice medium rare.

Weber Charcoal Grill - Covered — Weber Charcoal Grill – Covered

Check out the results below. Awesome colour, right?

We were feeding a small group, so we sliced it all up and urged everyone to try both seasoning styles.

The verdict was that both the salt and pepper and Holy Voodoo steaks tasted great. The take-home message was that the salt and pepper was no slouch at all. So if that’s all you have on hand, you’re good to grill.

Here’s a (first) helping plated and ready to eat. Plenty of seconds and leftovers to enjoy!

Now go get yourself some tri-tip and have some fun.

The Feast - Plated and Ready to Rumble — The Feast – Plated and Ready to Rumble

Where’s Summer? We’re Ready to Grill!

April 18, 2022 By Ms. K

Well, we’ve cracked the mid-April threshold, and we’re still digging ourselves out from yet another load of snow. In these parts, we love a good extreme-conditions, winter-grilling tale – but we are chomping at the bit for some warmer grilling times!

Here’s hoping that many of you in the Nation are already stripping down to shirtsleeves and grilling to your heart’s content. But for those of us still floundering in flurries, here’s a gallery of some of last year’s greatest hits from our still-rather-new Yoder Smoker, the Yoder YS640s pellet grill. Let’s hope these pics help to coax summer grilling time our way…

Burger Patties
Building Burgers
Burger Art
Beef Short Ribs
Smoking the Short Ribs
Shorts Ribs in Red Wine Braise
Short Ribs Plates
Pork Shoulder
Pork Shoulder Seasoned with Killer Hogs Rub
Pulling Apart Tender Smoked Pork
Pulled Pork for Days
Pulled Pork Sandwich
Seasoning a Beef Brisket
Come closer…
Brisket in Butcher Paper
Brisket Plated
Salmon
Salmon Flaking Beautifully
Salmon Plated and a Crisp White
Baby Back Ribs
Traditional Boston Baked Beans
Best Version Ever of Pork and Beans

You’ll notice a few common themes in our gallery that deserve a shout out. First, all this glorious food was prepared on our spectacular Yoder Smoker’s Yoder YS640s pellet grill. We bought ours through the good folks at Luxe Barbeque Company – assembled and delivered, thank you very much. We often find ourselves stocking up on pellets, specialty seasonings and other grilling supplies at this one-stop luxury bbq stop.

Speaking of seasonings, we’ve been taking our grilling and smoking to the next level with the superb line of Killer Hogs barbecue rubs and seasonings, created by brothers Malcolm and Waylon Reed. Big shout out to Malcolm not just for the killer blends, but also his awesome recipes and smoker video tutorials. We’ve certainly learned more than a thing or two about doing ribs, pork shoulder, brisket and more from his award-winning competition bbq expertise.

Finally, as you can tell from our pics, we like our wine. Our go-to local shop for the finest bottles as well as curated cottage cases for easy summer sipping is Jones and Company Wine Merchants. A friendly, first-class shop!

Looking forward to summer (- if you find it, let us know)!

Korean Inspired Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage, Garlic and Pho Broth, Veggies and Noodles

August 6, 2018 By Dr. T

Made this dish the other night inspired by a great selection of Korean-inspired marinades at our local grocery store, a fresh cabbage, and a charcoal grill.

As torrents of rain came pouring down on our little corner of Grill Nation, we feasted on hot pho and charcoal- grilled pork tenderloin, cabbage and garlic. In fact, we pulled the whole thing in and off the grill just as the first drops started to fall…

So, yeah. It was going to be a good night.

Pork and cabbage just off the grill

Used a Korean-inspired marinade for the pork, and charcoal-grilled it on the Weber Kettle Grill (~ 45 minutes). To this we added wedges of cabbage drizzled with a bit of olive oil.

Pho bubbling on the stovetop

While the meat was cooking, we made a tasty soup. Our aim was to go heavy on the flavour, veggies and noodles, and relatively light on the liquid, so we could enjoy it more like a sauce for the pork and cabbage than in its own a bowl. Spotted a tasty prepared pho broth at the store, so we used that and kicked it up with a single Thai chili pepper adding a noticeable hit of heat. Veggies and noodles went in right at the end to keep things bright and crisp.

Pork Platter Perfection

Giving my self major bonus points for presentation here. Just look at this awesome platter. Sliced up the tenderloins (4 in total) fairly thick, fanned them out on the board and garnished with cilantro and lime wedges. Beautifully charred cabbage also went on the board to amp up the visual feast.

Pork Tenderloin with Pho Broth and Grilled Cabbage

Served the whole thing family style. Everyone helped themselves, first piling on some pork with cabbage wedge on their plates, then ladling broth, noodles and veggies on top to make a sort of ‘undone saucy soup’ you can eat with a fork. A squeeze of lime over top brought it all together.

Grill-perfect for a cool, rainy summer night.

Cedar Planked Salmon on Weber Charcoal Kettle Grill

June 30, 2018 By Dr. T

1 Kilo of Canadian Salmon Goodness

Saw this B.C. beauty being unloaded at the fish market and got inspired. When asked “How much of it do you want?”, just had to respond: “All of it.”

Salmon looking good on the Weber Grill

Soaked a cedar plank for a couple of hours, then fired up our Weber Charcoal Kettle Grill. Used one Weber Rapidfire Chimney – full of coals (handy, that thing). Set up the salmon to cook over indirect heat – top vent closed ~75%- for about ~20/25 minutes.

We used Humble and Frank Salmon Finishing Rub (found it at the local Safeway – nice!) to season it up.

Cedar Planked Salmon – ready to serve

Looked and tasted spectacular – nothing like fish on the charcoal grill.

Beef Tenderloin on the PK Charcoal Grill

May 21, 2018 By Ms. K

Beef tenderloin ready to grill

Mmm…we sure like our beef, and we are loving our PK360 Grill and Smoker. (Kicking off our second grilling season with it – very, very pleased.)

We’ve been hibernating a bit in these parts, but are dusting off the grill and starting things off with tenderloin steaks. Went super-simple tonight, seasoning a trio of good-looking tenderloins with salt and pepper – that’s it that’s all.

Preparing to cook on the PK Charcoal Grill

We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again – the PK 360’s smart design means it’s a cinch to clean up, quick to prep for grilling, and easy to tend while cooking. (Getting excited thinking of all we’re going to cook on it this summer…)

I have created fire!

(Just an action shot as we get those coals ‘a-glowing.)

The PK Grill in action

(And flames make for cool pictures.)

Delicious – enjoyed with Heartland’s Director’s Cut – Cabernet Sauvignon (2013)

Success.

Served medium rare with a simple Greek salad and beautiful bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here’s to summer grilling!

Custom Backyard Platform for Karubecue KBQ C-60 Pit

September 26, 2017 By Ms. K

So, we love our Karubecue KBQ C-60 Pit and also like having a not-burned-down wooden deck. This summer, in anticipation of KBQ smoker goodness, we had a stone platform constructed where we can safely use this wood-burning wonder for hours and hours. And, it looks great – don’t ya think?

No, this is not an archaeological dig. (Maybe barbecuelogical.)

Custom BBQ Platform Step 1

Getting things on the level…

Custom BBQ Platform Step 2

Ingenious pattern devised by a brilliant 17-year-old mind (after applying much-appreciated 17-year-old muscle to the excavationary details…)

Custom BBQ Platform Step 3

Cool stones that are going to weather years of bbq to come…

Custom BBQ Platform Close Up

Almost there…

Custom BBQ Platform Step 4

Pit platform perfection!

Inaugural rib fest. Totally. Worth. It.

Karubecue in Action on Custom Platform

Flight of Ribs on the Big Green Egg

June 23, 2017 By Ms. K

It’s the beginning of summer. The hose has been uncoiled. The deck furniture has been dusted off and set out. The comforting hum of distant lawn mowers fills the air… You’ve probably been grilling and even bbq-ing all winter, but now begins the season of ‘low and slow’. What better way to herald in those glorious pitmaster meals than by smoking up a tasty rack of baby ribs?

Baby Back Ribs with Assortment of Rubs

The answer is by smoking up four racks of baby back ribs.

And for bonus points, why not approach each rack like the work of art it is and treat it to its own rub? That’s what we did for a recent gathering of hungry pit aficionados. We took four different approaches to our racks using a couple of stellar spice blends from The Spice House and some other tasty favourites:

Gary Wiviott’s Barbecue Rub – a tangy/herby blend with definite spicy zip. The paprika gives the meat a gorgeous reddish-orange colour. They look yummy even before the smoking begins…

Bronzeville Rib Rub – You’re gonna get a sweetly spicy hint of nutmeg here – sensitive noses may catch a unique smoky sweet scent as it cooks. Mmmmm…

Rub Some Butt BBQ Seasoning (from Old World Spices and Seasonings Inc.) – as a Carolina-style rub, this one’s mustard-based combined with tangy apple cider vinegar and a sweet dose of brown sugar. Definitely stood out as different among the other two where chili and paprika played more of a leading role,

Last but not least, we went salt-and-pepper only, then brushed on some Rufus Teague’s Honey Sweet Sauce, a great sticky-sweet sauce whose name says it all.

Preparing for the Flight of Ribs with the Big Green Egg

Three hours or so of smoking goodness on our Big Green Egg resulted in our first ever ‘Flight of Ribs’, our bbq spin on what you might find on a fine-dining menu. (Frankly, paired with Two Left Feet, an unctuous Molly Dooker Shiraz/Cab/Merlot, our meal was as exquisite as it gets. And it’s inspired us to develop a beverage pairing for our next Rib Flight. It’s going to be one, luxurious summer.)

As for the verdict on which rub was best, each approach was appreciated, but one of our guests singled out the saucy goodness of the “Rufus” ribs while another preferred the spicy bite of Wiviott’s blend. A lengthy discussion ensued on the ideal order for the various ribs to be eaten (spicy to sweet? tangy to saucy?) and how that might have affected the palate. Debates are great because to resolve them, you have to revisit the evidence, so to speak.

Fours Racks of Baby Back Ribs on the Big Green Egg

To sum up, ‘food flights’ are no longer for the fancy folk. Get creative with your ribs – but put out the white cloth napkins at your peril.

– Ms.K

Steaks Defined: T-Bone vs. Porterhouse

January 22, 2009 By Chip Carter

Hey Roy, “Love Ya Meat” from up here in Buffalo! Need you to settle a bet: What’s the difference between a Porterhouse and a T-bone?

Devon
Buffalo, New York

Thanks Devon. Lets start with what they have in common (other than being delicious and ideal for grilling!!!). Both the T-bone and the Porterhouse consist of a ‘T’ shaped bone with meat on each side. The larger side contains meat from the striploin while the smaller side contains meat from the tenderloin.

Example of Porthouse Steaks

The Porterhouse is a big beautiful steak – pushing 2 to 2 ½ pounds. It’s cut from the large end (rear) of the short loin and contains more of the tenderloin than the T-bone. Usually pretty pricey, but worth every penny when the mood strikes you.

The T-bone is cut from the narrow end, which is further forward in the short loin and also very tasty!

But in case you need numbers to settle this bet, the good old USDA is here to help. According to their Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications document, the tenderloin must be at least 1.25 inches (32 mm) thick to be classified a porterhouse, while the tenderloin must be at least ½ inch (13 mm) thick for the steak to be classified a T-bone.

Nice.

Devon, you gotta let us know who won the bet and what the ‘steaks’ were!!!

Until next time – like I always say…

Love Your Meat,