43 / 60
ROUSES.COM
41
fried chicken and fish. Eric, as usual, did nothing.
Tommy used the Big Green Egg for 15 minutes. I used mine for 6
hours; Donny used his for 16. —Tim
Tommy didn’t use HIS Big Green Egg. Tommy didn’t even cook.
Craig and Don did. —Donny
Steak and fish cook really fast on the Green Egg, which is why we
brought out the fryer. We figured as long as we were cooking, and
drinking, we might as well test out some other recipes for Mardi
Gras and Lent.
As long as WE were cooking? —Donny
Here comes the Judge
I’ve got to give my dad and his buddies credit for assortment.
There was a lot to choose from, and
apparently lots of beer and cocktails,
too. Mr. Craig lives not far from me, and
on my walk over I could hear that it was
already getting a little loud, even early
on a Saturday afternoon. The steak was
excellent, as was the tuna. The sliders
were great, though that’s more of a win
for the Rouses butchers. —Ali
LEE’S THANKSGIVING TURKEY
I was the last house on the run, so I figured
I would probably come in last in the voting,
too. Plus I’m not family. And I’ve known
Donny a long time; if there is a competition,
he’s going to do everything he can to win
— including calling the Executive Chef at
Commander’s Palace for a little advice.
I made the same turkey I make every year
for Thanksgiving. I gave Donny the recipe
a few years ago, and he made it for his own
Thanksgiving.
It’s a good turkey, but it’s still a turkey.
That’s so November. —Donny
I used a buttermilk brine, which is one
Tommy Rouse (in yellow) supervising his entry by his friend Chris Berger
— Steak and Tuna “Bergers”.
gallon buttermilk, one gallon of water, two quarts of Kosher salt
and six tablespoons of Cajun Blast Rub. I like that rub because it
has brown sugar listed as its first ingredient. I marinated the turkey
for 12 hours in the fridge, and inject it with Stubb’s Texas Butter
before cooking. For a 10-12 pound bird, you need 5-6 hours at 225
to 240 degrees.
Here’s the rub ... No one actually saw Lee cook because we got
there too late. The only thing on or near the “black egg” was
some dried up deer jerky. When Lee brought his turkey out it was
in a Magnalite Dutch Oven, and my first thought was, he cooked
it on the stove? But when he took the lid off so we could taste, you
could see that it had all of this great black char. That’s when I
knew it had actually been smoked — in our Smokehouse at the
store. —Donny
Donny knows I cooked this
turkey. He just doesn’t want to
admit that he can’t make the
same turkey on his Big Green
Egg that I can make on my
Kamodo Joe, even when he uses
my recipe.
Here comes the Judge
Poor Lee. He was last on the
list, and I think got the most
smack talk (aside from my
husband Billy, who had just
gotten his own Big Green Egg
the day before). The turkey
was superb — very moist
even after hanging out in a
Magnalite for awhile. —Ali
THE RESULTS ARE IN:
•
Most Original
– Donny
•
Best Seasonal Entrée
– Lee
•
Best Apprentice
– Billy
•
Best Food Cooked by
Someone Else
– Tommy
•
Best Overall
– Tim
Lee preparing his Thanksgiving Turkey.