Gun store Shooting Locations It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 8:37 pm



Rules WGO Chat Room Gear Rent Me Shield NRA SAF CCKRBA
Calendar




Reply to topic  [ 2048 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 ... 137  Next
 Smoker thread? Smoker thread. 
Author Message
User avatar

Location: Bothell
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015
Posts: 4843
If anyone is interested.... I noticed Safeway has Bear Mountain pellets for $10/bag ---- the one that caught my eye was the new Bourbon BBQ pellets --- I 'think' that is their whiskey barrel oak - I thought long and hard about that one.....

_________________
Plan B is actually repeating Plan A.... it just involves much more alcohol.

Of the ten voices I hear in my head, only three keep telling me NOT to shoot....
Do I go with the majority or common sense?


Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:22 pm
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: RENTON
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2011
Posts: 20751
Real Name: John
MadPick wrote:
Niiiiice. When you first said you were going to fire it up this weekend, I almost text you, "yeah sure you are, you big talker" . . . but you came through! :thumbsup2:


Rolling with real Wood. :bigsmile:


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
Mr. Q wrote: so basically, if you have to smoke some asshole, make sure they become fertilizer and then Bounce? got it.

Guntrader wrote: Huh, maybe I was an asshole.

NRA Member/RSO
SAF 5 Year Donor
GOA Member


Fri Jul 16, 2021 3:38 pm
Profile
User avatar

Location: Bothell
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015
Posts: 4843
I thought this was kinda interesting..... I smoked up some chicken thighs on saturday and shared with my neighbor.... beautifully cooked and smoked thighs -- we both agreed that they were deliciously tasty, but seemingly lacking smoke flavor. I KNEW it had to be impossible that there wasn't any smoke - they got the standard 3 hour smoking. I told him to 'remember' what the flavor profile of the chicken was and I sent him home with one and told him to leave it in the fridge for two days before eating it and report back.... He had it last night and was AMAZED how much smokier and tastier it was!!!

I've always known that the chicken (and pork and meatloaf - just about everything) 'seems' to get better after sitting in the fridge --- I've always chalked it up to the 'smokers curse' from sniffing and breathing smoke from the cook --- but this pretty much proved that that isn't the case. I'm at a loss to come up with any reasonable explanation why the chicken lacks smoke flavor right off the grill, but somehow 'develops' the smoky flavor later in the fridge?!?!?! It seems like this happens more often, or is more pronounced, when I use a higher ratio of oak in my mix....

Anyone notice this paradox too? Any explanation? I'm leaning to the idea that it has something to do with the juices in the meat.... how I'm not sure, but given time to 'rest and reabsorb' in the fridge has something to do with it. And YES, I did let the chicken rest for 25+ minutes off the grill before we ate...

_________________
Plan B is actually repeating Plan A.... it just involves much more alcohol.

Of the ten voices I hear in my head, only three keep telling me NOT to shoot....
Do I go with the majority or common sense?


Tue Jul 20, 2021 10:43 am
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: Burlington
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012
Posts: 5999
Real Name: Kyle
You are either the some sort of savant, worlds best smoker, or out in the weeds, bat shit crazy mad scientist. I truly mean that with tons of respect. I dont know anyone that does all the pellet mixing, countless chicken cooks like you.
I'd like to think I know my shit, but I have yet to use my Chargemaster to weigh out my pellets for a mix. Were the thighs good? Maybe try the same recipe again. I like to experiment, but once I have it down and get the results I want, thats the way it stays.

_________________
Looking for:
S&W Schofield 2x (.38/357)
Coonan 1911
Nemo Omen
JM Marlin 39M
Tikka T3 Tactical(.308)
BAR(.308)


Tue Jul 20, 2021 2:42 pm
Profile
User avatar

Location: Bothell
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015
Posts: 4843
Thanx! I'd like to think I'm a mix of all three :bigsmile:
The chicken always turn out good - its annoying when it falls short of expectation tho. My neighbor has benefitted through out my goal of making the best bbq chicken I could and now he is dumbfounded at the addition of smoke. I'm not convinced that I've hit the 'pinnacle' of flavor yet, so I keep trying new things/mixes as I find or think of them. Lately, I've been trying to tone down the amount of rub to try and let more of the smoke and meat flavor thru. I've pretty much settled on rub recipe I use, just trying to dial in the amount to be good/satisfying but not over powering. I've also noticed that the rub/seasoning has a tendency to strengthen in the fridge too. God help me if I start going off with all different mixes of rub.....

Using a smoke tube on the grill makes it incredibly easy to vary the mix any way you want --- If I were running a big hopper, it would be a totally different story and would be a major pain in the ass. My goto mix as of late has been equal apple/cherry/pecan with a bit of oak thrown in --- I feel bad that I haven't been using much oak, so I'm trying to start using more. The last smoke - I lost track of how much I mixed and I came up short for filling the tube and decided to just add some more oak in..... I think that is what changed the flavor in the end. I'm thinking that anything more than ~10-15% oak has a tendency to wash out the flavor of the fruit woods ---- that was my biggest problem when I first started mixing pellets. I've never seen any info for recommended ratios for mixing smoke flavors --- whenever you see a bag of mixed flavors, I've always assumed that its an equal mix of them, but I'm guessing that is not the case. I've been thru all the 2 and 3 combinations of apple/cherry/maple/pecan in equal amounts and they all turn out fabulous - just slightly different. And they always have a good smoke flavor right off the grill - but they too get better as they sit in the fridge. I'm pretty certain that there is something about too much oak 'flattening' the smoke flavor now that I think back about all my cooks..... I'm thinking that was one of my problems when I switched over from legs (most of my smoke testing was with legs) to thighs and was getting sub optimal results.

At times --- I wish it would have just picked up a bag of mix for my first bag of pellets instead of pecan..... I would have been just as blissfully ignorant as most about smoke flavors. But I am happy that I've gone down this road --- I would have always been wondering and asking 'what am I missing' if I hadn't. Another huge shout out to Pablo for his generosity when I was first starting --- my goal was to NOT have 6 or 7 bags of pellets in the garage.... but now I do and I don't mind it. I figured that testing with the pellets would lead me in the right direction for buying wood chunks for the WSM, but that seems to run just fine with cherry/apple/pecan and even the hickory that I burned myself out on when I first got it --- hickory NEEDS something else just to tone it down. I'm really itching to get my hands on some plum and peach wood ---- gotta find out what I'm missing!

_________________
Plan B is actually repeating Plan A.... it just involves much more alcohol.

Of the ten voices I hear in my head, only three keep telling me NOT to shoot....
Do I go with the majority or common sense?


Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:50 pm
Profile
Online
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: South Seattle
Joined: Thu May 2, 2013
Posts: 12419
Real Name: Steve
May I also suggest quality of chicken could also make a difference?

Also, cooling technique matters, chilling in chlorinated water .vs Air-chilled.

Chlorinated water chilled chickens do absorb a bit of the water, and that could inhibit marinade and/or smoke absorption.


Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:43 pm
Profile
User avatar

Location: Bothell
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015
Posts: 4843
Safeway chicken has been proven to be pretty solid - same for Foster Farms... the only one that I've been disappointed by is Heritage Farms at FM --- got some really tuff legs and thighs that just turned me off from them.

I've got my prep down pretty damn solid now --- sprinkle rub on the parts - into a bag into the fridge for ~2 hours mixing and massaging 2-3 times - pull from bag onto rack on pan and back into fridge to dry and 'dry brine' longer --- again a HUGE shout out to Pablo for 'pellicle formation' - that seems to be a key factor. When I was just bbq'ing, I'd keep them in the bag for 6-12 hours and just throw them on the grill wet ---- that just doesn't work with smoking - it really needs to be dry. And yes - I still slit the skin on thighs before the rub just to get some seasoning into the meat --- it REALLY does make a huge difference.

Its amazing to think that something as silly as too much oak could change the outcome so drastically after dialing everything else in --- but stupider shit happens. OCD can be a good thing at times - or not.

_________________
Plan B is actually repeating Plan A.... it just involves much more alcohol.

Of the ten voices I hear in my head, only three keep telling me NOT to shoot....
Do I go with the majority or common sense?


Tue Jul 20, 2021 7:13 pm
Profile
Online
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: South Seattle
Joined: Thu May 2, 2013
Posts: 12419
Real Name: Steve
We find a huge difference in the air-chilled.

Leave a package of regular chicken in fridge a day or so past the date, open it, an$ it smells like bleach.

Do the same with air-chilled, and it smells like chicken.

I can smell the difference even if it’s not past the date...taste it, too.

Not sure what “proven” means, but okay, as long as you’re happy :thumbsup2:


Tue Jul 20, 2021 7:27 pm
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: RENTON
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2011
Posts: 20751
Real Name: John
KeystoneCowboy wrote:
You are either the some sort of savant, worlds best smoker, or out in the weeds, bat shit crazy mad scientist. I truly mean that with tons of respect. I dont know anyone that does all the pellet mixing, countless chicken cooks like you.
I'd like to think I know my shit, but I have yet to use my Chargemaster to weigh out my pellets for a mix. Were the thighs good? Maybe try the same recipe again. I like to experiment, but once I have it down and get the results I want, thats the way it stays.



I pretty much roll like you. If it works and your people like it? Yeah, I'm done.

Pellet mixing for a smoke tube in a gas grill is an interesting idea, but mixing pellets by the ounce would be annoying.

I'll stick to Lumberjack blend's. I really should try the Pecan blend, haven't used any yet.

JMB...i have two 20lb bag's of 100% Red Oak i'd sell you at 12 bucks a bag. You would be smoking Chicken for the next Year in that smoke tube. :thumbsup2:


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

_________________
Mr. Q wrote: so basically, if you have to smoke some asshole, make sure they become fertilizer and then Bounce? got it.

Guntrader wrote: Huh, maybe I was an asshole.

NRA Member/RSO
SAF 5 Year Donor
GOA Member


Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:46 am
Profile
User avatar

Location: Bothell
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015
Posts: 4843
Thanks, but I'll pass - still have ~2/3 of a bag of oak and I'm already more than a year into it. If I were to get another oak, it would be a bourbon/whisky barrel oak -- that sounds much more interesting....
Its really not that hard to mix the pellets -- do it by #s of coffee cans into a bucket its not that hard - the hardest thing is to predict how much you need for a cook - and what to do with any overage after a cook....
You should give the pecan blend a try --- at 60% oak, you won't get the 'true' flavor of the pecan, but its still tasty. I was mixing oak and pecan 50/50 when they were my only two flavors and it was good..... just not as good as the apple/cherry/pecan or cherry/maple/pecan --- if someone made either of those mixes, I'd be all over it.

_________________
Plan B is actually repeating Plan A.... it just involves much more alcohol.

Of the ten voices I hear in my head, only three keep telling me NOT to shoot....
Do I go with the majority or common sense?


Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:11 am
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: Everson, WA
Joined: Sun Jan 6, 2013
Posts: 28149
Real Name: Ace Winky
:ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: Traeger is rolling out an IPO.

_________________
Why does the Penguin in Batman sound like a duck?

Because the eagle sounds like a hawk.


Wed Jul 21, 2021 8:45 am
Profile
User avatar

Location: Bothell
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015
Posts: 4843
For anyone down south looking for an offset smoker --- check out my post in the CL/offerup thread --- OKJ offset in really good shape for free!

_________________
Plan B is actually repeating Plan A.... it just involves much more alcohol.

Of the ten voices I hear in my head, only three keep telling me NOT to shoot....
Do I go with the majority or common sense?


Thu Jul 22, 2021 6:33 pm
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: olympia
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013
Posts: 3783
Smoked this 10 pound bone in pork shoulder yesterday. Took way longer than I was planning on. But you can't rush these things, especially when the result is amazing. Before and after.

Attachment:
20210722_211345.jpg


You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.


Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:04 pm
Profile
Site Supporter
User avatar
Site Supporter

Location: RENTON
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2011
Posts: 20751
Real Name: John
Wetpaperbag wrote:
Smoked this 10 pound bone in pork shoulder yesterday. Took way longer than I was planning on. But you can't rush these things, especially when the result is amazing. Before and after.

Attachment:
20210722_211345.jpg


Shoulders and butts always take a long time, almost always longer than you thought.
Looks damn good though!

_________________
Mr. Q wrote: so basically, if you have to smoke some asshole, make sure they become fertilizer and then Bounce? got it.

Guntrader wrote: Huh, maybe I was an asshole.

NRA Member/RSO
SAF 5 Year Donor
GOA Member


Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:22 pm
Profile
Online
Site Admin
User avatar
Site Admin

Location: Renton, WA
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2011
Posts: 51917
Real Name: Steve
Apologies in advance . . . no pics, just a wall of text. :frust:

I went to Costco yesterday intending to buy some exciting beef cuts of some kind, but I wimped out at the price tags for beef and instead I came home with a 2-pack of boneless pork butts for $2.99/lb. Smoke . . . grind . . . smoke . . . grind . . . fuggit, I smoked them both today.

I'm still a relative newbie to the pork butt game. I think this is maybe my third time? And, I learned some meaningful things today:

- Because they are boneless, the end where the bone was removed is kind of . . . tattered, maybe that's the word. It's nice because you can get rub onto more surface area, but you don't have a nice solid roast in that area anymore. I have some butcher's twine, and I took the time to look up how to tie a butcher's knot in order to make the job easier. And it was! Pretty cool. This isn't the video I used, but in hindsight I would try to do it his way because it looks easier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxvUhBPkoLM

- I smoked them on half-sheet pans with racks: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B5SVPJQ/. I think it was easier to clean the pans later than it is to remove and clean the drip pan in the smoker.

- When they were at 165-ish degrees, I put each of them in a "foil boat" -- a couple of pieces of aluminum foil wrapped around the lower half of each roast, but leaving the top half exposed. I'm not sure how much (if at all) this speeds up the cooking time, but it does a nice job of catching the juices that escape from the meat.

- I actually had two temperature probes in each roast, both in the biggest/thickest/solid part of the meat. The probes were all reading just about the same temperature, so when they hit 203 I went out to make sure they were "probe tender." Sure enough, a probe slid EASILY through the biggest part of the roast. It's done, right? WRONG. I just happened to poke down in the "boneless" area where the smaller pieces of meat were, even though I was sure that part was overdone by now . . . nope! It was as low as 185 degrees in some areas, and definitely NOT probe tender. I ended up moving the probes an continuing to cook both of them for much, much longer in order to get the rest of it up to 203-ish and probe tender. And when I finally pulled the meat, the whole roast WAS indeed very tender.
Related note: In this YouTube video, they cook both a bone-in and a boneless butt, and they found that the boneless was harder to pull. I wonder if they experienced the same thing that I did, but just didn't notice it while it was still cooking? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7pH2J7lj5o

- Because the top of the butt was exposed for the entire cook, I had some pretty serious, thick, hard bark on it. When I pulled the meat, I set the bark aside, then used a knife to cut it into small pieces, which I then threw back into the meat. I saw this done on another YouTube video, and I think it worked well -- you retain all of that flavor, but nobody gets stuck with a giant piece of bark that's hard to chew.

- Lesson learned . . . when your roast is in a foil boat and you're checking for probe-tender, be CAREFUL how far you push in the probe! Yep, my foil boat popped a leak. :frust: Fortunately it was sitting on top of those half-sheet pans, so I was able to rescue the juice.

- Another YouTube lesson -- I bought these cotton gloves and wore them under my nitrile gloves: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MVWY6XR/. WOW, what a difference when working with hot items and hot meat! As soon as the roasts had rested for about a half hour, I tore into them with just my gloved hands, without any problem at all. These gloves gave me a lot of dexterity, which is much different than the thick silicone "BBQ gloves" that I usually use. Another perk is that I was able to pull off the cotton/nitrile glove combo multiple times, so I could keep re-using the same gloves as I went from task to task.
Related side note: I also bought these nitrile gloves and used them for the first time tonight, and they worked really well. They are much stronger than other nitrile gloves that I have, and didn't tear even though I beat on them pretty good: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FT7L7VT/

And in the end, the meat all pulled easily, and I poured the juices from the foil boat back into the pulled meat. It really tastes great, much better than the pulled pork I've done in the past!

_________________
Steve

Benefactor Life Member, National Rifle Association
Life Member, Second Amendment Foundation
Patriot & Life Member, Gun Owners of America
Life Member, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
Legal Action Supporter, Firearms Policy Coalition
Member, NAGR/NFGR

Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:57 pm
Profile
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Reply to topic   [ 2048 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 ... 137  Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: MadPick and 10 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum



Rules WGO Chat Room Gear Rent Me NRA SAF CCKRBA
Calendar


Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
Designed by ST Software for PTF.
[ Time : 0.744s | 18 Queries | GZIP : Off ]