Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Thanks to google it logged me in when I went there. Although never posted on SMF but have spent some time reading it over the years. In fact when I started to type the URL it took me to the last post I read there. After you posted about doing tater tots on the grill it had me thinking about doing a smoked tater tot casserole and sure enough, someone had a recipe there Took me right back to it.

 

I once made my own tater tots... not like the factory ones and totally not worth the time LOL http://concoxtions.blogspot.com/2016/06/homemade-tater-tots.html

 

I’ve seen that the reason the home ones don’t come out like the stuff in the freezer case is that the frozen ones are flash frozen which helps them hold their texture.

 

I did flash freeze mine as well (see my blog post) Don't get me wrong.. they were delicious.. but a LOT of work

 

I'm stubborn enough to try this! Awesome!

 

If you do.. post up the results.. I'm guessing you'll be more patient than I was. I used a cake decorating gun that didn't have enough leverage to squeeze them out. That's the part that discouraged me.

 

will do. I like me some tots and the ability to play with them a bit sounds fun.

 

They looked like a LOT of work! But the last picture cooked sure does look good... Damn now I am hungry!

When I moved here didn't take long to get introduced to tater tots. I miss hush puppies, sweet tea and a bunch of other things from the South. But tater tots done well makes up for a lot of it LOL. Pretty much every place here serves tater tots, even the places with "fine cuisine".

 

I'm thinking we need someone to design a super caulking gun type gun with extra leverage.

Thanks!

 

Hey we lose buoys all the time, but I’m not sure you want anything to do with the multiple types of cancer that the paint will give you.

 

why not use a sausage stuffer? Its got plenty of leverage. also I'd take out the dill and oregano.

 

Well.. because I never thought of a sausage stuffer... but that's a great idea. And why take out the dill and oregano? it's gotta have that "je ne sais quoi".

 

lol...I just dont know if id like that in tater tots but I guess theres stuff in ranch so same difference

 

how about a jerky stuffer? that might work also?

 

Just be sure you're checking the thickest part of the flat. You're at that point where a regular probe or thin skewer can tell you all you need to know. Give it some pokes and see if you get the resistance of room temp butter. If so, it's time to start resting!

 

I haven't watched that video, yet, but I'll check it out. I know he tends to cook at 325*, if I recall .

Watch this video, though. He talks extensively about his methods, how to select a brisket, etc., but the really shocking thing to me is what happens at 14:15 when he goes to start slicing and providing samples.

He handles raw meat for nearly 15 minutes, rubbing it, setting it on the cutting board, spritzing, etc. Then, when it comes time to handle an example of the finished product, he uses the same gloves and puts it on the same cutting board. Yuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN7ltONTH3M

 

I determined that it needs to be a 1 inch nozzle .. so if a jerky gun has that or a sausage stuffer would work.. I'm leaving it up to @Misplaced Nebraskan to sort all of that out now! HAHA

 

I have a jerky cannon already I'll see what the nozzles are for it...

 

Whoever posted that GMG Facebook group, I’ve been lookin at that Jim Olsen dudes mods to his grill. Holy. Shit. I want all of them haha

 

Just googled that.. looks like it would work wonders if you made the right tip for it. I would recommend 1 inch (or larger) so that you have decent sized (but still bite sized) tots.

Also, a food processor to shred the potatoes would take all the hard parts out of this. I shredded all mine by hand.