Tag: apples

Old Fashioned Apple Dumplings

written 10/15/2023

What

Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings: Peeled and Cored apples wrapped in dough and baked

Ingredients

Main: Apples, Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, Apple Pie Seasonings (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, or whatever you’d like), Butter (regular or vegan), Dough (handmade or bought pie crust), water/apple juice

Supplies: Peeler, Corer, Baking Dish, Roller, Work Surface, Saucepan, Basting Brush

Optional: Ice Cream

Time

1 hour (peel, core, roll, wrap, and make sauce) + 1 hour (bake) = 2 hours Total

Making

  • Choose your apples
  • Peel and core them
  • Preheat the oven to 375F (190C)
  • Acquire and roll out the dough (whether you make it or buy pie crust)
  • Place the apple in the middle, and then cut a roughly cross shape
  • Using a 2:1 Brown Sugar to White Sugar mix + apple pie spices, put a bit inside the cored-out area, plus a dollop of butter (I topped mine off with some more sugar)
  • Add some around the base of the apple
  • Wetting the pieces so they stick (I used apple juice), wrap the apple up
  • If you’d like, this is where you can get creative with hiding the seams or using them to your decorative advantage (I used some dough to make fun shapes)
  • Put apples on a baking dish
  • In the saucepan, add butter + brown sugar + apple juice (I used the apple juice from wetting the dough and the sugar mixture)
  • Stir it frequently until it becomes a syrupy sauce
  • Using a basting brush, brush it onto the surface of the apples
  • Bake for 50-55 minutes
  • Take it out, and use remaining sauce to drizzle/brush overtop

EAT with ice cream

Notes

I had to bake mine for 1 hour and 30 minutes because I made the mistake of using ALL of the sauce overtop the apples which then created a pool at the bottom of the dish. AVOID THIS. I speculate that’s why it took so long to bake. That’s why I recommend just brushing it overtop and not pouring over the top like most recipes call for

Overbaking causes the apples to dry out and the tops to get super hard especially with the sauce over top

If you don’t like crust (like me), make that dough THIN

I don’t think I’d do this again, instead opting for cut apples in a baking dish and a layer of dough overtop that with fun shapes. I’m not a massive fan of crust

If I were to do it again, though, I’d roll the crust thinner, and maybe add some liquid to the inside of the apple (contemplate leaving the bottom of the apple or making the crust thicker there). It just felt dry even if I did overbake it

Be careful of the seams that will bust open and release any sauce inside

Apple Themed Smoked Ribs

Written: 1/2/2023

Notes for charcoal smoked St. Louis ribs with an apple theme pulling from a variety of online recipes and ideas

What

Charcoal-smoked St. Louis ribs

Ingredients

1 rack of St. Louis ribs, mustard, rice wine, soy sauce, apple juice, 1-2 apples, applewood chips, spices

Spices: coarse/Kosher salt, fresh-cracked peppercorn, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, dill weed/pickle seasoning

Foil or peach paper

Time

Prep, Overnight, 3-5 hours in smoker

Steps

  • Combine the spices in a bowl: coarse salt, pepper, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika
  • Very important: remove the connective tissue lining the bone side of the ribs: Slide a butter knife under the film on a bone. Carefully wiggle until you can grasp the film and then pull. It should come right off cleanly.
  • Cut the rack into 2 if you want (you can also season them differently if desired)
  • Add soy sauce, rice wine, and mustard, spreading evenly on both sides
  • Rub the combined spices into the meat on both sides
  • Very lightly, sprinkle a hint of dill/pickle seasoning
  • Use plastic wrap to tightly bind the rack
  • Refrigerate overnight

Smoking day

  • Take the meat out and let it get to room temperature
  • Optionally, soak some applewood or pecan chips (there is plenty of argument about the functionality of this on the internet)
  • Prepare the smoker (my set up is quite involved, so it’s a good time killer)
  • Start the charcoal in the chimney starter (don’t use lighter fluid)
  • Finish prepping the thermometers, tongs, and workspace
  • Cut the fresh apples into pieces
  • When the charcoal is ready, pour it into the firebox and add a few chips and 1 or 2 apple slices. Yes, apple slices! (apple gives off this neato perfume when it burns)
  • Let the temperature get to be around 250F or so and put the ribs bone side down at the highest point (I’m using a vertical offset smoker)
  • Ribs can be smoked anywhere between 225F to 300F and they’ll still end up great. Faster cook at higher temps, slower at lower temps (duh.)
  • Note: When cooking with charcoal, bigger chunks are good for longer even burning, and smaller chunks give high heat faster. Adjust according to your cooking goals
  • About 30 minutes in and at 60 minutes throw in your wood chips and apple pieces. Remember that you can add smoke flavor, but you can’t take it away, so be wary of over-smoking your meat. I personally don’t like a lot of smoke flavor, so that’s it for the chips at this step for the rest of the cook.
  • About 1.5 to 2 hours in (depending on amount of meat), remove the ribs. They should have a nice bark on them at this point.
  • Brush on or spritz some apple juice all over the meat
  • Using peach paper (or foil), wrap the ribs
  • Place them back in the smoker
  • Add more charcoal to maintain the temperature and any remaining chips or apple pieces
  • After 1-2 hours, do the bounce/bend test: if you give the ribs a nice shake and they start to crack, then they’re done. If not, then brush on some more apple juice and let ’em keep cooking.
  • Good internal temp for the meat is, apparently, 180-200F
  • When they’re done, let the ribs sit for a little and then serve

What happened to me is that it was getting dark, the air temperature was rapidly dropping, and I didn’t want to start up another batch of charcoal, so I took them inside and put them in the convection toaster oven at 275 for an hour. The end product was really, quite good. I like subtle flavors, and this was subtle on every level: lightly sweet from the apple juice, perfect hint of smoke, no overpowering spices, a good bark crust despite the apple juice and peach paper. No need for BBQ sauce! The only thing that could have made it better was cooking at the higher temperatures the whole time (except I had other meats in there, too) and putting enough charcoal in there to achieve that.

I love apples!