Christmas vs X-Mas Ales

Sunday, I posted SheppyBrew vs Breckenridge Autumn Ales where I compared Breckenridge Autumn Ale with my Will-o'-Wisp Autumn Ale (no pumpkin).

Of course, I also have my X-Mas Ale 2024 on tap, and it just so happens that I also have some bottles of Breckenridge Christmas Ale.

Breckenridge Christmas Ale actually inspired my traditional base beer recipe of my X-Mas Ales.

"The chill of winter calls for a beer with extra flavor and strength! An abundance of carefully roasted malts create notes of caramel and chocolate, while Chinook and Mt. Hood hops contribute a spicy quality for balance and a clean finish."

Recent BBQ Photos

I have not posted much about my BBQ adventures recently.

I've been posting about Brewing and local breweries and biking.

Just no BBQ.

I believe the last time I posted about BBQ was over a month ago with Pork Butt Burnt Ends.

Of course, I have been cooking BBQ between then and now.

I thought I'd share pictures from some of those cooks.

On Sunday, August 11, I cooked some spare ribs on the weber kettle.

Helles in a Hand Bock-sket (Batch 356) and Chicken

It is almost May. 

Well, when I post this (and likely when you are reading), it will actually be May.

I don't know if I've mentioned it on this blog, but I'm making an effort this year to brew a Seasonal Beer for every month this year.

In SheppyBrew Seasonals, I identified 12 Seasonals.

Last year (see 2023 Seasonals), I brewed 8 out of 12 of those beers.

I missed March (McShepardSons Irish Ale) and May (Helles in a Hand Bock-sket) along with a couple of other months.

This year, I've already hit 2024 McShepardSons Irish Ale (Batch 352). Last weekend (as I type this ... by the time I post it, it will have been 2 weekends ago), I got my "May Seasonal" brewed as well:

Helles in a Hand Bock-sket

 

KFC Thighs Again

I made dinner last Wednesday.

I was planning on cooking chicken thighs, and at some point during the day, I was looking through this blog and came across my KFC posts.

Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC)

I grill / smoke chicken thighs quite often, but I don't think I'd made KFC in almost two years.

Since it had been awhile, I decided to give it a try again.

I went with a pretty simple KFC coating this time. I oiled the thighs up, put a few tablespoons of Progresso Italian Style Bread Crumbs into a plastic bag, added some random spices, and shook the thighs in the mixture.

2024 McShepardSons Irish Ale (Batch 352) and Chicken

I was originally planning on brewing McShepardSons Irish Ale this past weekend, but my son had an Ultimate Tournament, and I would rather watch him play when I have the opportunity.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and I wanted the beer to be ready to drink by the 17th. 

So ... rather than delay the brew day, I brewed it earlier than originally planned. 

February 25th.

This is the 2nd time I've brewed this beer, and is the 4th batch of beer I've brewed this year. It is the 352nd batch of beer I've brewed all time.

If you're interested in seeing the recipe ...

McShepardSons Irish Ale

Chicken Crack

You might remember in Humdinger of a Brisket, that I went down a little rabbit hole that included hitting my 2020 Thanksgiving Turkey post.

I had used Crack Seasoning on that Turkey, and I remember liking it quite a bit.

I decided to track some down and grabbed some for this year's Thanksgiving Turkey.

As I was ordering the spice, I saw they now have "Spicy Crack Seasoning", and I picked some of that up along with the "Original Crack Seasoning".

I had to try it out, and I had planned to cook a chicken, so I used the Spicy Crack Seasoning on my chicken last Sunday.

Smoked Chicken Bombs

I subscribe to and watch various BBQ Youtube channels. One of my favorites is Hey Grill Hey.

Recently, Susie had a video called Amazing Smoked Chicken Bombs with a cheesy jalapeno center! So easy anyone can can do it!.

 

Another Chicken Spatchcocked and Halved

Well ... in Chicken Spatchcocked and Halved, I mentioned that I wanted to try the technique again.

Just as a reminder ... the "new" chicken technique was to Spatchcock the bird, cut it in half and cook it as two halves of a chicken.

It turned out nicely the first time I did it, and I had another bird to cook this past weekend, so I tried it again.

Last time, the only change I thought I needed to make was to give myself a little more time.

So ... last Saturday, I got the Weber Kettle fired up in time to cook a little less than 2 hours.

I started earlier in the day by cutting out the backbone and dry brining the chicken. I then let it sit in the fridge for a few hours.

Chicken Spatchcocked and Halved

Lots of people say that spatchcock is the superior way to cook whole chickens and turkeys, but as I have mentioned a few times on this blog, I've never really found spatchcocking to turn out as good as cooking the whole thing upright like beer can chicken.

However, as I wrote in More Chicken in the Vortex ... I mentioned:

"I did realize that I've never spatchcocked a chicken on my Weber. To be fair, I should probably give that a shot."

In case you don't know, spatchcocking a bird is basically cutting out the backbone of the bird so that the whole thing can be laid out flat. People who believe in this method say it helps cook more evenly.

It also theoretically will cook the bird faster.

It makes sense to me, and it has worked out fine for me. I just find the other way results in juicier more delicious chicken or turkey.

Gypsy Magic, Wings and Corn

So.... I sort of had a weird issue with Gypsy Magic Bière de Garde, but I seem to have gotten past it.

The issue was that the beer was quite cloudy when I kegged it.

I'm really not sure why. It attenuated fully and I thought I had given enough time to clear up.

I thought that once it was chilled it would take a day or two to clear up, but it really stayed cloudy for longer than I expected. Eventually, I added gelatin to help settle out the "crud", and a couple days after, that seems to have done the trick.

But, I probably had almost a whole gallon of beer before it was where I thought it was finally good to drink.

I guess the good news is that the beer is exactly what I think it should be now. 

Smooth and malty with clean yeast character. Fairly strong, but dangerously drinkable. Not much hop character. Nice and dry. Beautiful dark amber / brown.

Grumkins and Poppers

My oldest son was home from college this past week. He had never had my homemade Jalapeño Poppers, so I thought I'd better make some.

If you need the recipe ... see Jalapeño Poppers. They are awesome, and everyone should make them from time to time.

I had some of my Grumkins and Snarks Oatmeal Stout while grilling the poppers and chicken.

If you follow along on my Brewing Notes on the Grumkins and Snarks recipe page, you probably read that I have really been enjoying this beer.

More Chicken in the Vortex

Well ... like I mentioned in Whole Chicken in the Dutch Oven, I was pretty sure that next time I grilled a whole chicken I would do it in the Vortex ...

... Like I did in Whole Chicken in the Vortex ...

... and ... Another Whole Chicken in the Vortex ...

Lots of people say spatchcock is the best way to cook birds, but I have not found spatchcocking to make my birds turn out as good as cooking the whole thing upright like beer can chicken.

Cooking the bird upright on the kettle brings the top of the chicken close to the lid of the kettle, so at some point I decided to try to cook on the charcoal grate rather than the cooking grate.

The Vortex (or the Dutch Oven) protect the meat from too much direct heat while allowing the bird to be down with the coals.

Mardi Bock and other Sunday Activities

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. 

It was also my first Brew Day after Fixing the Foundry.

And ... it was my first brew in which I'm using a new toy and trying out Pressure Fermentation.

Of course, it being Super Bowl Sunday, I had to make food for the game.

And ... it was beautiful out, so obviously I had to get a bike ride in.

It was a busy day for me.

I was up ridiculously early. Not necessarily because I wanted to be. I just couldn't sleep.

But, regardless, I woke up at 4:00am. I sort of half heartedly tried to go back to sleep, but it was not happening. I got up and started brewing ....

Mardi Bock

Whole Chicken in the Dutch Oven

So ... remember Another Whole Chicken in the Vortex?

At some point I realized that I could basically do the same thing in a cast iron Dutch oven.

So ... fairly recently I gave it a try.

It was a snowy work day back in January. 

I placed the Dutch oven down on the charcoal grate and place lit charcoal around it. 

The chicken went on the Beer Can stand up in the middle.

You can see what I mean in the following pictures.

Basically the same as in the Vortex ... only in the Dutch oven.

Another Whole Chicken in the Vortex

It's been quite awhile since I've cooked a whole chicken. 

I think the last time (before this time) was Whole Chicken in the Vortex.

I told myself at the time I wanted to try cooking inside the vortex cone again. I've just never gotten around to it.

Until a couple Saturdays ago.

And this one turned out better than last time. In fact, I think this might be my best whole chicken ever.

For a rub, it was basically just SPG. (Salt / Pepper / Garlic).

I set up the vortex just a bit off-center with unlit charcoal all around. I lit about 3/4 of a chimney and placed that in the middle of the unlit coals, allowing the fire to move both directions around the cone.

KFC Thighs

KFC. Kettle Fried Chicken. 

Chicken thighs are probably the meal I make most on my weber kettles.

For awhile, I was really experimenting a bunch with KFC. Lately, I have made more non-kettle-fried.

Last Sunday, I found a box of "Easy Bake Chicken Seasoned Coating Mix" in the pantry. I don't remember buying it, but I must have at some point. Since I had it, I thought I'd try it out.

So I did.

The box had two bags in it. I applied one bag to my chicken. As it turns out, this covered exactly half of the chicken thighs I had.

So, I made some of my own coating to cover the rest of them. Some flour. Some seasoning.

Soapy Mole

My wife has this box of recipes, and one of the cards in this box is labeled "Sopa & Mole".

It is an old family recipe from a grandmother or great-grandmother or something. One of those that my wife had to write down by interrogating her mom, because it actually was never written down.

It's sort of been a tradition to have this on Christmas Eve when my in-laws are in town for the holidays.

I love it. One of my favorite meals. I usually refer to it as "Soapy Sheep" or "Soapy Mole". Weird, I know.

This year, for reasons I won't go into, I cooked for Christmas Eve and decided to try it out ... sort of.

You know me and the trouble I have following recipes ... luckily, it isn't a real precise recipe anyway, so I feel like it is sort of expected that you take liberties with it.

KFC on the Vortex

I've been playing around with Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC) for a few months now. 

When I got my "Vortex" for father's day, one of the things I really wanted to try on it was KFC to see how it affected that recipe.

This past weekend, I had chicken thighs I wanted to grill, and I decided to use them to make KFC and test out the "Vortex" to make them.

So. That is what I did.

I started early in the afternoon by combining flour, bread crumbs, corn starch, and various spices in a bag.

Whole Chicken in the Vortex

So ... if you've been following along for the past couple of weeks, you might remember that I've been using a (knockoff version) Vortex in my Weber Kettle for some of my weekend meals.

I've done Chicken Thighs and Steaks with corn.

One of the specific reasons I asked for a Vortex was based on a Weber Kettle Facebook group post I saw awhile ago where someone cooked a whole chicken inside the cone with charcoal surrounding it.

The main advantage to this (at least in my mind) is that the chicken can sit upright without being in danger of hitting the top of the kettle lid.

In my experience, whole chickens seem to turn out best when sitting upright like this.

So, on Saturday, I got to try this Vortex configuration with a whole chicken I had thawed from my freezer.

First Vortex Use

On Fathers' Day, I received a new accessory for my Weber Kettle. It's a cheap knockoff of a Weber Vortex called a "Whirlpool". For the purposes of this blog, I'm going to refer to my new toy as a "Vortex".

The Vortex seems to be very popular on various Weber / BBQ forums I look at. It's shaped like a cone with the tip cut off. 

It can be used in various configurations, but I think the most common way to use it is to fill it with charcoal in the center of the kettle and have it concentrate the heat to allow a really high concentration of heat up the center.

It is supposed to provide an air-fried effect and many people swear it helps give really crispy skin on chicken (most often I see posts specific to wings).

A couple of Saturdays ago, I tried it out with this configuration for the first time with some chicken thighs.