The Best Rope Prep Method I've Found (after 50 years)

[georged]

TOOLS ---

--- Heavy plastic cutting board with rubber (non-slip) feet

--- 8 inch chef knife that's been "sushi-ized"... meaning ground to an edge on only one side

--- Standard tallboy-beercan-sized spice grinder


METHOD ---

Slice rope into 1/16" thick disks with a simultaneous rocking-slicing motion

Put the result into the spice mill in pinches about the size of a whole walnut

Cover and blip the button twice. Do not let it rev up. Two "touch blips" it all it takes

The tobacco will NOT be ground up or otherwise cut. The disks will just turn into ribbons. Why? Because the blade's cutting ends get instantaneously wrapped by the ribbons, so all that's actually hitting the tobacco is a tiny, soft-ended barbell.

Remove cover, dump onto a paper plate, repeat (leave the "wrapped barbell" in place, only removing at the end of the batch)

When all the disks have been fluffed into ribbons, zap the pile in a microwave oven for 15 seconds (for the quantity seen in the photos & 1100 watt oven), and then slide-spread that---it will be steaming-hot---onto several paper towels to cool.

When completely cool, transfer to a mason jar.

 

[gamzultovah]

Well, it’s got pictures and everything, so it seems legit. I’ll bite…why microwave?

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Well, it’s got pictures and everything, so it seems legit. I’ll bite…why microwave?

Probably to soften the Gum Arabic?

 

[LotusEater]

That’s how I prep plug minus the microwave step.

 

[georged]

Well, it’s got pictures and everything, so it seems legit. I’ll bite…why microwave?

Rope is quite wet and oily (at least oily feeling... I'm not sure if something other than water causes it), and burns like crap unless dried quite a bit.

For years I just left the fluffed pile on a plate out of the way somewhere and checked it every few hours, but seasonal variation in temps and humidiity kept that from being predictable enough to not get annoying.

A quick blast in a microwave compresses the Drying Drama into less than a minute, though. Zap for a few seconds, spread on a paper towel, and fan with the paper plate you just dumped it off of. Done.

(A good way to actually see how much moisture is extracted by that few seconds is to put some tobacco on a microwave-safe hard dinner plate like Corelle, zap it, and slide it off. The plate looks like it was sprayed with a squeeze bottle of water.)

 

[gamzultovah]

I’m going to try this method next time. Ropes have always been a challenging smoke. Thanks.

 

[proteus]

I use the Mandolin. This is the way.

 

[Peter Turbo]

I just use a cigar cutter and let the slices dry out, hard pass on the microwave method.

 

[telescopes]

That’s how I prep plug minus the microwave step.

+1

 

[greeneyes]

Rope is quite wet and oily (at least oily feeling... I'm not sure if something other than water causes it), and burns like crap unless dried quite a bit.

George, at least according to one of the old factory videos, they did indeed oil the ropes, I believe prior to cooking them. I believe it was olive oil.

 

[ThermionicScott]

^ The black ropes, at least.

 

[kcghost]

Well, done, George!!

 

[didimauw]

Huh. You made that turd look like something smokeable! Well done!

 

[Tbaggins]

End result looks great. Gonna try this with best brown no.4

 

[Winnipeger]

Yep.

 

[georged]

I use the Mandolin. This is the way.

Rope tobacco is MUCH too tough, stringy, and fiberous. Without some sort of rope-diameter, nearly-touching-the-blade sliding tube designed for the task, the rope couldn't be held perpendicular to the blade---it would bend on contact with the cutting edge and immediately shred and come unwrapped.

Either you used some sort of soft rope (?!) from a company other than G&H, or you're a home chef who's running through the exercise in your mind but never actually tried it.

 

[georged]

...hard pass on the microwave method.

All they do is heat objects by making them microscopically vibrate, which causes intermolecular friction. They don't "inject radiation" or something untested or that has unknown Mysterious Properties. (My sister refused to eat anything from a microwave oven until she was into her twenties.)

I assure you they work fine on tobacco. The only caution is that it doesn't take MUCH... just a few seconds. Definitely experiment and work up to where you get a feel for how long a given pile of tobacco needs with a particular oven (they vary in power).

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

I slice off some coins then half rub them out. I like some chunks in there. Leave it to dry then smoke.

Obviously, takes a bit more time to get lit and start burning than shag, but once it gets going it's fine.

 

[georged]

I like some chunks in there.

Your customer type is treasured by the business & marketing world:

 

[LeafErikson]

My goodness the end result is beautiful! Excellent job.