Hillbilly Tenderloin Burnt Ends, AKA: Some fine Aristogrub!

This Summer my family has developed a taste for smoked bologna and personally, I've developed a liking for the "burnt ends". When I saw a package of ends and pieces at my local butcher shop (https://www.shulermeats.com) I knew I had to give them a shot.

So with this video, I give you "Hillbilly Tenderloin Burnt Ends".

Making Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites in a Lidl SilverCrest Sous Vide Machine (Water Oven)

This is a LONG video that covers a box opening and the first use of a Lidl SILVERCREST Sous Vide Water Oven to make a low carb copycat version of Starbucks' Sous Vide Bacon & Gruyere Egg Bites.  The actual cook begins at 8:35 and you can skip ahead to the reveal at 17:18.

Lessons learned:
7:50 Start the machine outside for its maiden voyage and make sure to add water!
8:34 Find a cheese grater and grate the cheese separately and add it to the jars along with the bacon and then top with the blended eggs.
9:44 Spray the inside of the lid as the eggs like to stick there too.
11:30 Crisp the pre-cooked bacon and opt for a brand with thin slices. As a bacon lover, I can't believe I'm saying this, but thinner is better for these.
12:25 Invest in a jar lifter! There are a BUNCH of canning kits available that contain more or less the items that you may find useful. I purchase the Ball kit that can be purchased for less than $10 https://amzn.to/2B3YMje and the 4oz Ball Mason jars were perfect and can be had for around $1 each https://amzn.to/2MbtXOC
14:09 Preheat the water and be sure you have enough time to account for the temperature drop that comes when you add the cool jars to the hot water.

One hour at 172F seems a bit long. I'll experiment with lower temps and or shorter cook time. The Joule app suggests that poached eggs can be cooked at 147F for 90 minutes, so I think I might start at 150F and go from there.

If you don't have a Lidl there are a number of interesting Sous Vide machines on Amazon. Here's the Bluetooth Anova that we own and love: https://amzn.to/2MsMc1v but if I had to do it over I would go with the wifi & Bluetooth version that is available https://amzn.to/2KNXU1K because there have been times that I'll wander away and it will disconnect from my phone. This won't happen with wifi.

There are a lot of "Water Oven" style sous vide devices on the market and it looks like the Hamilton Beach unit is quite similar to this Lidl unit. Can you do better? OH YES! But for the money these work just fine.

Starbucks describes their egg bites as "A foodie delight, even when you're on-the-go. We've taken cage-free eggs and prepared them using the French "sous vide" technique resulting in a velvety texture that's bursting with flavor. We added aged Gruyere and Monterey Jack cheese, and topped them with Applewood smoked bacon for a delicious, high protein, convenient breakfast."

According to the Starbucks website, their egg bites contain:
Cottage cheese, eggs, Monterey jack cheese, unsalted butter, gruyere cheese, uncured bacon, rice starch, hot sauce, and salt.

Nothing bad, really, but to simplify the cook and to ensure that I'm keeping it as low carb as possible, I kept mine to eggs, gruyere cheese, bacon, salt, pepper and a shot of cooking spray.

SILVERCREST Sous Vide Water Oven SVSV 550 B2 as described by Lidl:
* For cooking, vacuum cooking, low-temperature cooking, reheating and keeping foods warm.
* Electronic temperature control allows for precise cooking (104-210°F in 2°F increments)
* Removable interior aluminum pot with non-stick coating
* 24-hour timer
* LED display showing set water temperature and current water temperature, as well as the time remaining (timer)
* Brushed stainless steel exterior
* Removable cord for easy storage
* Includes two stainless steel cooling racks to transfer cooked items
* Pairs perfectly with Silvercrest vacuum sealer and poly tubing
* 550W
* Dimensions: 16.6" x 11.3" x 10.5"

If you are new to sous vide cooking you need to subscribe to two channels immediately!

Sous Vide Everything: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpFuaxD-0PKLolFR3gWhrMw

Chef Steps: https://www.youtube.com/user/chefsteps

Anova has an excellent blog post on how to make copycat versions of several of the Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites that's worth bookmarking: https://anovaculinary.com/easy-homemade-sous-vide-egg-bites

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. (Eggs aren't cheap, you know.  No, wait...)  Anyway, thank you for the support!

Camp Chef SmokePro Pellet Smoker/Grill 2 Year Review. Can it Grill Burgers?

Happy July Fourth! I mention in the video that I posted my first video on this pellet smoker on July 4th 2016, but that was on my other channel https://youtu.be/jEljvuxlCqs and to this day that remains my most watched video! With the popularity of that vid I was encouraged to create this channel, as that one is mostly dedicated to pipe smoking.

The one question that I asked that I failed to answer is can you grill on this pellet smoker? In my opinion, not foods that cook quickly like burgers. Yes, the burgers cooked just fine and were juicy and tasty, but I like a burger with a nice char, so that's why I have the optional sear box on my smoker. But seeing that burgers cook so quickly I prefer to either smoke them low and slow on this pellet smoker followed by searing on the sear box, or grilled over charcoal on my grill. I fully expect that I'll get comments saying the brand X or Y can grill, and I'm open to testing them out, but if they only get to 400 degrees they aren't hot enough for the way I like my burgers cooked, which is over 600-degree charcoal.

 

Where have all the Pellets gone? Happy July 4th!

Checking in as I prep for the Fourth of July and search in vain for hardwood cooking pellets. I know that this week is the perfect week to stock up on charcoal and other grilling and smoking commodities, and it looks like someone else had the same idea!

So which wood pellet do you and your family prefer and for which meats?

Duncan Donuts vs Krispy Kreme vs Lidl K-Cups

Bored at the beach we decided to do a blind taste test of the K-Cup coffees we brought with us. Kim is a HUGE Duncan Donuts fan while I have been enjoying the coffee from the German-owned grocery store, Lidl.

Funky Chicken Pricing at Bojangles' but still a Low Carb Hack

On several recent trips to "Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits" I began to notice that though I was ordering the same items the price varied by several dollars. What's up with that?

Still, as far as I'm concerned "It's Bo Time!"

KNOW Better Low Carb Cookie Review. 4g Net Carbs But Are They Any Good?

Here's a link to all the KNOW BETTER foods on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2E1nhKW Yes, it's an affiliate link, and thank you very much for clicking on it.

As a low carb dieter I've been on the lookout for some good alternatives to high carb baked goods, and in this video, I'm taste-testing the KNOW Better Cookie. In fact, I try four different flavors:
Cinamon, Lemon, Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate Chip.

Thankfully they have proven to me that they are delicious, low carb cookies, with just 4g Net Carbs each!

On top of that, they are natural, non-GMO, grain/gluten-free, high protein, high fiber, and low sodium and if you are diabetic the best news of all is that have a near zero glycemic index!

Visit http://www.Aristogrub.com

DISCLAIMER: This video and description may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on and purchase from one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!

Vegetarianism Sucks! Moving on to Low Carb. Smoked Lemon Pepper Pork Loin

After way too much talking about weight loss struggles, (Do yourself a favor and jump to 3:00) I give you a glimpse of the star of our low-carb dinner, which is a Smoked, Garlic-Stuffed Smoked Lemon Pepper Pork Loin, inspired by Malcom Reed and his YT channel "How To BBQ Right". Check it out on Malcom's blog here: http://howtobbqright.com/2017/05/15/smoked-lemon-pepper-pork-loin

After eating so much low and slow cooked pork butt since we purchased the Camp Chef Smoke Pro pellet smoker I have to admit that I wasn't ready for the porkchop texture of the pork loin, but as I ate it I can say that it grew on me.  This was smoked over Camp Chef apple wood pellets, which imparted a wonderfully sweet smoke.

If you choose to make this pork loin, and I really think that you should, be sure to make the accompanying Caper Dill Mayo. No one in my family is a huge caper fan, but we all thought the mayo provided a nice counter-balance of acid. Together they were really yummy.

Vegan Jerky? What could go wrong? Louisville Vegan Jerky Co.

How good or bad could Vegan Jerky really be? I had to find out for both of us!  Here's a link if you want to try it: http://amzn.to/2DxIufp

I tried:
Enid's Sriracha Maple,
Pete's Smoked Black Pepper,
Tod's Smoked Chipotle

On their site, Louisville Vegan Jerky Co. says "We like to think we stand out from the other folks — our jerky is hand-seasoned with thoughtful ingredients and spices, and each flavor contains a little piece of our hometown." I like that.

DISCLAIMER: This video and description may contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on and purchase from one of the product links, we’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!
#VeganJerky #Vegan #FakeMeat #Jerky #FAKEAF #KeepItFake

Eating the Calendar: July 4th is National BBQ Day! Or is that Barbecue Day?

Of course July 4th is National BBQ Day but if you don;t care to make or eat BBQ it also happens to be National Cesar Salad Day. In fact, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a nice Cesar salad with your BBQ.

Visit http://howtobbqright.com for excellent recipes and to get some of Malcolm's BBQ Rub.  Also, check out his Youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/howtobbqright

Eating the Calendar: July 3rd is National Chocolate Wafer Day!

Since National Chocolate Wafter Day is clearly a food holiday for kids I was able to gather 5 of our 7 grandkids around to taste test a couple different chocolate wafers.

Eating the Calendar: July 2nd is... NOTHING!

How can this even be? With all the things that don't have their won official day how can there be a day on the calendar with nothing to celebrate? Is there a National Pixy Stick Day? Shouldn't there be?

Eating the Calendar: July 1st is National Ginger Snap Day!

Yeah, I got this one right!
July 1st is National Ginger Snap Day, and though I've never been a fan of them I give them another try so you don't have to.

Eating the Calendar: June 30th is National Mai Tai Day, but I thought it was Ice Cream Soda Day!

Being a non-drinker, when I saw that June 30th was Mai Tai Day the first thing I thought was "OK, I'll get a virgin version of the drink, but after reading the recipe I realized that it just wouldn't work. After a bit more Googling I found out that it was also Ice Cream Soda Day, so I preceded with that as my plan. Low and behold, I come to find out that no, Ice Cream Soda Day was June 20 and that I'd missed it!

So, here's a video of me enjoying a delicious Chocolate Ice Cream Soda on National Mai Tai Day.

Eating the Calendar: June 29th is National Almond Butter Crunch Day! Microwave recipe and video

I had no idea what Almond Butter Crunch was until I Googled it and was thrilled to learn that one of my favorite candies, Heath Bar, is considered an almond butter crunch!  While not an entirely original recipe, mine was unique in that I was determined to make this as easily as possible. That meant utilizing the microwave for the cooking and skipping the traditional roasting of the almonds... sort of.

Ingredients:

1C (2 sticks) Unsalted butter. (Don't have unsalted? See note below) 

1 1/2C Sugar
1/4tsp Salt (Omit if using salted nuts and butter)
3Tbs Water
1Tbs Light corn syrup
1tsp Vanilla or artificial vanilla
1/3C Roasted, salted sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4C Roasted, salted almonds, finely-chopped (Reserved for toping)
1/2C Dark chocolate chips (Or semi-sweet, or milk chocolate)

NOTE: Because I was using  pre-roasted and salted almonds as well as salted butter I opted to omit the salt. 

On a microwave safe plate scatter the whole, pre-roasted almonds in a single layer and microwave on high for two-three minutes, stopping at two minutes to stir.  Set aside to cool and once cool enough to handle.

Remove 1/4C  of the almonds and finely chop with a knife or food processor and reserve.

Coarsely chop the balance of the almonds with a knife or food processor and reserve.

In a large microwave safe container melt the butter on high for a minute or two. We are looking to melt but not actually cook the butter at this stage.

Add the sugar, corn syrup and water and mix evenly with a spoon or silicone spatula.


Microwave on High for 6 minutes, keeping an eye on mixture to prevent overflowing.

Remove from microwave and stir quickly to prevent the mixture from cooling.

Continue cooking in one to two minute intervals until the mixture begins to develop a light brown color, or when the temperature reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Remove the mixture from the microwave and quickly stir in the 1/3C of coarsely chopped almonds and the vanilla and pour out and pat to  a1/4" thick layer on a nonstick sheet pan.


Scatter the chocolate chips in a single layer across the mixture and cover for two minutes with a second sheet pan to retain heat.

Using a spatula spread the melted chocolate chips across the mixture and then scatter the reserved 1/4C of finely chopped almonds.

Allow to cool until firm. If you are impatient as I was place the sheet pan into the freezer for 30 minutes. 

When cool, give the pan a slight twit to break the candy free and break into cookie-sized pieces with your hands.  

Enjoy or store in an airtight container of zipper-top food storage bag.

Finally this is happening! Happy Pigs in a Blanket Day!

Tonight’s #Aristogrub was some savory homemade #LowCarb #PigsInABlanket. Happy Pigs in a Blanket Day! #PigsInABlanket2018 #PIAB#PigsInABlanketDay #FatheadDough
via IFTTT

Frisch's for a Super Big Boy!

via IFTTT

Heading for home today we just had to stop by Frisch's for a Super Big Boy! #Aristogrub #FrischsBigBoy

Tonight's Aristogrub was the Idiot Burger at The Village Idiot

via IFTTT Tonight's #Aristogrub was the Idiot Burger at The Village Idiot gastropub in downtown Lexington, KY. This burger has a 1/3 lb patty, smoked pulled pork, an onion ring and in a moment of inspiration that should have been on the menu, #Bacon.

This, ladies and gentleman, is a HotBrown.

This, ladies and gentleman, is a HotBrown.  Apparently this is "THE" meal to eat in Lexington, KY. This is an Atkins dieter's dream! #LowCarb #Bacon #Cheese #Aristogrub #HotBrown

Tonight's Aristogrub was some excellent chicken and waffles at a place called "Saul Good".

Tonight's #Aristogrub was some excellent chicken and waffles at a place called "Saul Good". What a clever name. #SaulGood With @dumpsterbobbo