...

Hey guys.  Top 5 fruits:

1) Pineapple
2) Grapefruit
3) Green Apple
4) Mango
5) Metamucil

Thanks for reading.

Edit 4:19pm 2/9/2013: Seems that was a bit hasty.  How could I leave off blueberries.  Blueberries are the bomb.  So replace Mango with blueberries.

Thanks again for reading.

-ES

Tamales of the Candy Cane Brisket Variety

You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas. And I will eat Tamales. - Davey Crockett

Greetings from beyond the internet void that was created in the past months with the lack of El Smokeador Y Smokehopper posts. You have no doubt been trying the various restaurants on the Fort Worth Restaurant List that Smokehopper compiled. Thank you for doing that Smokehopper. Fuzzy's truly is a gem in our small corner of this great state. We have been busy in the lab since the FWRL post coming up with new ideas that will mark 2012 as a banner year for our blog posting, meat smoking, most important, unimportant, little corner of the web community known as the internet. A taste of what we plan to bring you in 2012:

1) Chocotaco with brisket as the taco - brisket formed into a taco shell and filled with chocolate.
2) The Brisket - a silent brisket that is the best silent brisket since the silent brisket era. Film buffs will like this one.
3) Karaoke Brisket featuring a Wolf Parade reunion and BBQ Beans
4) Untitled Brisket Music project collaboration with Dan Auerbach and the Ghost of Lightnin' Hopkins
5) A how to on microwaving a brisket and ribs. From scratch.
6) Another turkey sandwich from Smokehopper.

Exciting. On to tamales.

Since we are the number 1 internet stop for confectionery BBQ, we have been toying with the idea of a Christmas brisket for some time. Candy canes certainly had to be involved, but ended up playing a minor part in this. Kind of like Tea Leoni in Deep Impact. In this sites opinion, that tidal wave should have ended her storyline in the first 10 minutes. Just a terrible movie.

Back on topic. I crushed up a bunch of candy canes with a hammer, rubbed it with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, etc. and the crushed candy canes, smoked it and it was good.








It is time for a new smoker. The New Braunfels that has treated me so well for the past 3+ years isn't doing it for me anymore. 7lb brisket took almost 14 hours. Also, I need to take better pictures of the sliced brisket. This looks rubbery and tough, but that was not the case. The candy cane added no flavor to the meat. I was disappointed after the success of the butterfinger brisket, but I guess that was to be expected. Long story short, after making a sandwich I still had half of brisket leftover. Luckily, I saved the drippings from the smoking process and had stowed them in the freezer. Couple of days later LSmoke and I conversed and decided that brisket tamales are not featured very often and it needed to be done.

We started by soaking the husks for 45 minutes in warm water. No pictures of this. Put the husks in a pot and turn on the water from the sink. Add it to the pot. Let them soak.

Chopped up the rest of the brisket. This is only some of it.


Took the layer of lard off the top of the frozen drippings and put the drippings in a pan and heated it up.


Added the chopped brisket and a beer to the drippings. Let it simmer for close to an hour while adding some water and another beer.


Moved meat to a bowl to be strained.


Strained the meat and this was leftover.


Added that to this along with some of the lard (maybe a quarter cup) and mixed it up.



Could have used a Cornballer here. Made the mix into golf-ball sized balls of corn.


Next part is a little tricky. Grab two husks, put a ball of the corn mix in between the two and mash it down until its flat and resembles something you could roll up and put meat inside of. Then add a scoop of the meat and roll it up.


Pack them into a steamer.


And let it sit for about an hour.


Celebrate like you're at a dirt bike rally at the AAC when they are done.


Finished product.



You can see the brisket in there. I am not the best at plating. We had an idea of making a white queso and an ridiculously red salsa to make a candy cane looking bed of stuff on a plate to put the tamales on. But I was hungry and didn't. Next time maybe, but probably not. Tamales all look the same from the outside anyway, right? Reconstituting the brisket in the drippings and using the strained juice in the masa added so much flavor that it was really like eating a tamale filled with brisket. I don't know how else to describe it. Delicious? Smokey? Candy caney? Yes, yes, no.

We also made tamales with rib meat. Post forthcoming.

Fort Worth Restaurant List

OK Everybody. We were all tired of not having an adequate Fort Worth restaurant list...SO I BUILT ONE.

The criteria for the list is as follows

1) The restaurant cannot be a "chain restaurant". (Although there are exceptions)

2) The restaurant must be inside the 820 loop. (Although there are exceptions)



Here it is. Please let me know of any restaurants that I missed. This list is ever changing and I need everyone's help to keep it current, and accurate. As suggestions are made, I will update the list under this post heading. Please use it!!!!!

Also, there is no ranking going on here. It will be up to you to determine if these places are worth going to.

Updated: 9/12/11

Fine Dining:

1. Del Friscos

2. Grace

3. St. Emilion

4. Ruth’s Chris

5. Bob’s

6. Chop House

7. Schula’s

8. Eddie V’s

9. Bella West

10. Bailey’s Prime

11. La Piazza

12. Silver Fox

13. Lonesome Dove

14. Ellerbee’s

15. Bonnell’s

16. Reata

17. Lambert’s

18. Lanny’s

19. Pop Safari

20. Ray’s Prime Steak / Seafood

21. Piola

22. Fort Worth Club/Petroleum

23. Various Country Clubs

24. Six 10 Grille

Casual Dining:

1. Cat City

2. Lilly’s

3. Nonna Tatta

4. Patrizios

5. Tillman’s Roadhouse

6. Fireside Pies

7. Brownstone

8. Michael’s

9. The Tavern

10. Sapristi

11. Grady’s

12. Rufino’s

13. Taverna

14. Buttons

15. Winslow’s

16. Bricks

17. Cafe 1187

18. Shaw’s

19. Simply Fondue

20. Italian Inn

21. Yucatan Taco Stand

22. Texas De Brazil

23. Lucille’s

24. Magnolia Motor Lounge

25. Ferre

26. Cowtown Diner

27. Daddy Jack’s

28. Paco and John’s

29. Milano’s

30. Sardine’s

31. Spiral Diner

32. Mama Mia Italian

33. Café Bella

34. Pappadeaux

35. Margie’s Italian

36. Fortuna

37. Mancuso’s Italian

38. Cattleman’s

39. H3 Steak House

40. Charleston’s

41. Vidalia’s

42. Zambrano’s

Even More Casual:

1. Mellow Mushroom

2. Rock Bottom

3. Hoffbrau

4. M&M Steakhouse

5. Williamson Steak House

6. Fuzzy’s

7. The Point

8. Zeke’s Fish and Chips

9. Buffalo Brothers

10. Perroti’s

11. Drew’s Place

12. Mama’s Pizza

13. Texas Grill

14. Boomer Jack’s

15. J & J’s Oyster Bar

16. Lone Star Oyster Bar

17. Flying Fish

18. Cabo Grande

19. Red Cactus

20. Blue Mesa

21. Parton’s Pizza

Fine Mexican:

1. Mi Cocina

2. Gloria’s

3. Cantina Laredo

4. Hacienda San Miguel

5. Revolver Taco Lounge

Tex/Mex:

1. Joe T Garcia’s

2. Chimey’s

3. La Familia

4. Pullido’s

5. Esperanzas

6. El Rancho Grande

7. Rio Mambo

8. Chuy’s

9. The Original

10. La Playa Maya

11. Tres Joses

12. El Asadero

13. Salsa Fuego

14. Tortillandia

15. Dos Gringos

16. Benito’s

17. Pappacitos

18. Mi Cocinita

19. Uncle Julio’s

20. Mercado Juarez

21. Los Vaqueros

22. Mi Charito

23. Los Mier

24. Don Juan’s

25. Fiesta Mexican

26. La Playita

27. Dos Molinas

28. Mexico Real

29. Cancun Restaurant

Sushi:

1. Axiom Montgomery

2. Axiom Hulen

3. Blue

4. Hui Chan

5. Piranha

6. Tokyo Café

7. Edohana

8. Sushi Q

9. MK Sushi

10. Hammerhead Sushi

11. Wasabi Sushi

12. Sanjuku Station

13. Temaki Sushi

14. Japanese Palace

15. Taste of Asia

16. Sushi Yoko

Thai/Viet/Korean:

1. Thai Tina’s

2. Thai Orchid

3. Pho Nam

4. Sam Won Garden

5. Thai Rice and Noodle

6. Thai Select

7. Pho’s Saigon

8. Jun Suree Thai

9. Bangkok House Thai

10. Sikhay

11. Sonny’s Diner

12. Tu Hai

13. Pho Noodle and Grill

Foreign Flavors:

1. Maharaja

2. Bombay Grill

3. Byblos

4. King Tut

5. Chadra Mezza

6. Terra

7. Greek House

8. George’s Specialty Food

9. Greenwood’s

10. Eddelweis

11. Bavarian Bakery

12. Sczheuan

13. Pei Wei

14. PF Chang’s

Lunch /Breakfast Only:

1. Jazz Café

2. Carshon’s Deli

3. Montgomery Street

4. Vickery Café

5. Paris Coffee Shop

6. Paul’s Doughnuts

7. Old Neighborhood Grill

8. Yogi’s

9. Galligaskin’s

10. Café Brazil

11. Park Hill Cafe

12. The Lunch Box

13. Pack a Pocket

14. The Great Outdoors

15. Zoe’s Kitchen

16. Mi Cocinita

17. Carniceria dos Hermanos

18. Black Rooster Bakery

19. Bluebonnet Café

20. McKinley's

21. Swiss Pastry Shop

22. West Side Café

23. Day Break Café

24. Ol’ South

25. Central Market

26. Blue Bonnet Bakery

27. The Gardens Restaurant

28. Montgomery Antique Café

29. Emi G’s Sandwiches

30. Star Café

31. Blue Tower Cafe

Burgers:

1. Fred’s

2. Charlie’s

3. Dutch’s

4. Love Shack

5. Tommy’s

6. Kinkaid’s

7. Pappas Burgers

8. M & O Burger

9. Five Guys’ Burgers

10. Smash Burger

11. Chubby’s

12. Jake’s

13. Your Way

BBQ:

1. Railhead

2. Angelo’s

3. The Smoke Pit

4. Sammies BBQ

5. Smokey’s BBQ

6. William’s BBQ

7. Risky’s BBQ

8. Coopers BBQ

9. Cousin’s BBQ

Tacos:

1. Taqueria San Luis

2. Tacos Don Miguel

3. Melis Taqueria

4. Taco Heads

5. Salsa Limon

6. Yes! Taco

7. Yum Yum Truck

8. Tortas La Hechizera

9. Granny’s Tacos

10. Quickway Burritos

Bars with Food:

1. The Pour House

2. The Flying Saucer

3. Fox and the Hound

4. The Ginger Man

5. Baker Street Pub

6. The Aardvark

7. Lucky Strike

8. 8.0’s

9. Embargo