The winds of change

[Backyardsmoker]

Well spring is nearly upon us. For me its the best time of year. After a slow long cold winter everything starts coming alive. The world around us feels fresh and new. And personally I start to feel energised ready to face the year. A couple of more weeks and the weather should be improving daily. Aiding me in sorting the garden. I have got my plans to do my entertainment area in the garden. Im purchasing a summer house and next to thst im putting down decking with a brick bbq with three areas. The grill, the fire for a pot and my 45 gallon drum smoker with a seperate garden incinerator bin for the charcoal and wood.

Im looking forward to nice cold drinks, lovely bbq food and ace company over the summer whilst bettering my skill of smoking.

Whats everyone elses plans for the year?

[CyderPig]

Watch out with the garden incinorator most of them are galvanised, look at posts on UDS builds as a cooker they rock.

Simon

[Pecker]

The two big things which spring immediately to mind are to get going as quickly as possible, and to do that goat's head I keep threatening.

Steve W

[aris]

Look up a classic Nigerian dish called Isi-ewu made with goats heads. I've tried it. If you can stomach the though of the ingredients, it is actually very nice.

[Pecker]

I think this is where the Caribbean Goats Head Soup comes from, too.

The meat is supposed to be tough, hence the fact that it's usually simmered like a stew, low and slow. But a barbecue should do the trick as long as the temperature is controlled enough.

Steve W

[aris]

I'm not sure how brains would come out in a smoker.

In the Nigerian dish, it is cooked in a pot - on a high heat. The brain dissolves and essentially becomes the sauce. The rest is cooked until tender. Basically I was nibbling on bits of ear, tongue, eyeballs, and cartilage which had been cooked until very soft and tender.

Very similar to cow-foot. If you've ever been into an 'ethnic' butchery and seen cows feet (the bit below the shin) - this has no actual meat on it. It is pure cartilage and marrow and bone. Basically cut up (you need a saw) boiled (high heat) for an hour or two until the cartilage is soft, then a blend of tomato, onion, spices, chilles are added, and simmered on a low heat (or in the oven) for another hour or so. Absolutely delicious!

[Pecker]

Thanks for the tips - I'm looking forward to it.

Basically, I'm thinking there are maybe 5 levels ot 'urgh!'.

1 - Exterior meat (cheeks, etc)
2 - Inside the mouth
3 - Tongue
4 - Eyes
5 - Brains

Not sure how far I'll get.

Steve W

[aris]

Suffice to say that the head of any animal will need some very thorough cleaning (as does cow foot).

[Backyardsmoker]

The reason I was going to use the the incinerator was because I had read on google to use it. The 45 gallon drums are only 25 quud refurbished from a juice factory so I might get two and cut one down a bit. I know I am safe then... as for all the goat head stuff it sounds a bit bizzar haha. Id try it if someone had cooked it. But dont think I would go out my way to do it.

[BigG]

The reason I was going to use the the incinerator was because I had read on google to use it. The 45 gallon drums are only 25 quud refurbished from a juice factory so I might get two and cut one down a bit. I know I am safe then... as for all the goat head stuff it sounds a bit bizzar haha. Id try it if someone had cooked it. But dont think I would go out my way to do it.

Do you know what sort of lining/coating treatment is inside the juice barrels? Just because they're food safe or liquids doesn't always mean they're safe when heated ! I wrote a article about using these barrels a while back, although nothing more satisfying than cooking/smoking with a self build in my opinion have a massive fire in the barrels and strip em back to bare steel then respray the outside and oil/season the inside. I love my UDS