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 Smoker thread? Smoker thread. 
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https://www.amazon.com/Camp-Chef-EX60LW ... 0212&psc=1

and

The BBQ box accessory.

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Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:22 am
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I know it has been posted, but a basic recipe for a brisket?

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Mon Sep 21, 2020 6:23 pm
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I was chatting with my brother 2 weeks ago and after congratulating him for winning Class C sporting clays, we started talking smoking....

I mentioned how I has seen a vid of Harry Soo testing rubs on pork butts --- he cooked 3 - naked/no rub, SPG(salt/pepper/garlic) and a competition rub..... no spritzing at all. When he was done, I was surprised to hear him say he preferred the flavor of the naked un-rubbed butt !?!? My brother concurred, saying that many times he just unwraps the butt and throws it on the smoker and they turn out fantastic --- and if he desires any seasoning, he just adds some after it is pulled. Kinda a new concept on pork for me.... I may have to try it sometime to see for myself.... but I wouldn't be surprised since the last butt I cooked had a pretty light rub and it is still delicious!

We also talked about drying chicken parts before smoking --- he learned from his son (butcher/charcuterie master) the importance of drying the chicken (really all meat) --- he said that he tries to dry them at least 8 hours prior to smoking, and that overnight is better if you can plan ahead. We talked about whether the skin blocks smoke --- he seemed to think 'maybe a little, but not much'. He mentioned that he usually peels the skin off his chicken thighs prior to smoking anyways.... which I thought was odd.... he's a hunter and eats anything that moves. His reasoning for this really surprised me.... its because his wife buys the local raised and butchered chicken! He raised and slaughtered chickens (and cows and pigs) for 4H (I remember this all well when I was 3-4) and he HATES that the butchers are so lazy about cleaning the feathers and hairs off the skin! Kinda weird reasoning to me, but understandable being that he cleans and butchers all his own meat.

So... I went about to try and smoke the best thighs to date last week... planned ahead the night before.... put the thighs with the dry rub in a bag for ~2 hours to sweat - pulled them out and put on a rack in the fridge to dry at ~9pm --- smoked them at 3 the next day. I should say too that I decided to slit the skin 3-4 times before rubbing just because these were some monster thighs and I wanted to hedge my bets at making them really tasty --- I wasn't about to remove the skin because I like it! Smoked them up with oak/maple/cherry and they turned out AMAZING! I can't say what had more effect -- the long dry time or the slits in the skin --- but this will definitely be my prep routine for thighs (and breasts when I get around to it) from no on! I don't have any reservations about slitting the skin now.... it actually make a lot more sense to me now to do so -- it lets the rub get in under the skin for more flavor and helps dry out under the skin too --- also lets the glaze get down to meat when finishing the thighs on high heat since it doesn't really stick to the dried out skin. Can't wait to try this again for confirmation!

Edit to add some pics - forgot I took them......
Attachment:
20200922_151957 (Medium).jpg

Attachment:
20200922_185725 (Medium).jpg

Damn those were some big thighs! I think the largest was pushing 1/2#!
Only took one to make a GOOD meal.


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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?


Last edited by JohnMBrowning on Mon Sep 28, 2020 4:28 pm, edited 3 times in total.



Mon Sep 28, 2020 12:03 pm
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You are the Chicken Master JMB. :bow: I can count the number of times i have smoked Chicken on one hand. Just not my thing. :bigsmile:

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Mon Sep 28, 2020 12:16 pm
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I can't claim 'master' status..... yet. I'm still trying to figure out what is missing to be able to make the chicken tasty each and every time --- legs are pretty easy, but I think they may benefit from slitting skin, but not really needed - they meet expectations --- thighs are getting there now - annoyed that I have to slit the skin to get good+++ results, but its all about the flavor. Once I can do full chickens and quarters I'll be happy. It still baffles me how people say they can get deep smoke thru the skin..... I've struggled for a while now just to get it to meet my 'standard'. I could wimp out and do just boneless/skinless --- but that would be too easy. I've still got a nice little 3# whole chicken in the freezer to play with yet..... that will be the test. And I still have a turkey breast in there too ---- I won't feel bad at all about slitting skin on that if it turns out tasty!

AND.... I have to give a huge shout out to Pablo for pointing me in the right direction :bow: :bow: :bow: so that I can continue to keep asking the RIGHT questions on how to make it better. My biggest problem is I am my own worst critic --- so many people are happy with so much less and don't realize how much a little planning and effort really changes things....

Since I'm editing..... My neighbor was smoking another brisket today.... he is one of those 'foodies' that has to try all the complicated seasoning recipes... yet he was NOT using his big egg smoker - doing it on the weber gasser with a smoke tube..... using a bunch of APPLE pellets..... I had texted him to say 'talk to me before you smoke' because I was gonna hook him up with some oak/pecan/mesquite for the brisket, but he never got back to me. HE is the classic example of the guy who thinks he knows what he is doing, but is lacking the fundamental understanding/skill of smoking. I had some of his last brisket and honestly..... it sucked --- I made one sammy out of it and it was so tough with NO smoke flavor --- I used the rest in 'rice'o'roni' with broccoli just to use it up. He keeps thinking that its the 'quality' of the meat thats the problem...... I'm concluding that he really doesn't know what he is doing.

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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?


Mon Sep 28, 2020 5:12 pm
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I have done a handful of SPG Briskets and I think they are amazing! My wife prefers the espresso and brown sugar rub, so that's what it usually gets.


Mon Sep 28, 2020 8:10 pm
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I got my PB 2 series electric smoker on Sunday and assembled it last night. It seems like it is well built. Saturday I will season it, and Sunday it will be brisket time.

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"The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." Thomas Jefferson
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Tue Sep 29, 2020 7:48 am
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Man..... I smoked a pork butt yesterday that took me 13 hours! It was a 9#er so I knew it was gonna take a long time, but I didn't think 13 hours! Started the smoker at 8:15 - meat on the grate at 8:45 - smoked for 10 hours til the coals ran out and into the oven for another 3 -- had the oven at 250 to start, but after 45 minutes the temp didn't even move, so I had to bump it up to 275 - finally out of the oven with a temp of 205 at 9:45...... I set the alarm on my phone for 2 hours to let it cool.... fell asleep and didn't hear it.... woke up at ~2am and pulled it down - it was still at ~100 degrees and I figured if I didn't do it then, I'd have to reheat it to pull it. That was one long ass (butt) cook! I don't know why I'm so surprised that it took that long..... 1.5 hr/# seems to be the standard smoke/cook time for just about anything....

Gratuitous meat pics....
At ~6 hours on the smoker
Attachment:
20201003_172647 (Medium).jpg

After 10 hours ready to wrap
Attachment:
20201003_190151 (Medium).jpg

Attachment:
20201004_101300 (Medium).jpg


I was really happy with the smoke ring and the deep red color of the meat! That was heavy on the (big leaf) maple and light on the hickory for smoke. I'm kinda perplexed tho why I couldn't get it to blacken up more... I was actually trying for that. The first four I did turned black quickly - these last two just kept getting darker red turning to brown..... Not really sure which way is proper anymore, but I'm leaning to the less blackened side now.... And yes, tasty as hell! And the texture is perfect -- not mushy and melts in your mouth!


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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?


Sun Oct 04, 2020 9:34 am
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I have had them run 16 hrs, 13 doesn't surprise me. Try a bone in shoulder next time. :bigsmile:

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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.

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Sun Oct 04, 2020 11:46 am
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Since it was such a nice day..... I decided that I would fire up the grill/smoker.... got buns to use up, so a burger sounded tasty and I had two brats in the freezer that needed to be dealt with so they all went on there..... My plan was to smoke the burger well and then bring it in and sear it in a cast iron pan with butter...... after 2.5 hours (yeah, i was on the phone) it didn't seem like that was needed. DAMN... that turned out really GOOD! A perfect mr/med burger - moist but not greasy..... it was weird - you really couldn't taste the smoke, but it was amazingly tasty! Easy too - I flipped it at 45 minutes to let the grease render thru the top too - good call. Really pretty easy to make an amazing burger with no flare ups and surprisingly the shrinkage wasn't that bad for 80% burger. Did I mention that that I didn't have to pay attention? The brats are going to be great in a day or two also..... Brats have always been good smoked, but smoked burgers have been a drunken experiment --- I proved it to myself tonight that it is real and a sear really isn't needed.... but I still have to do 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?


Tue Oct 20, 2020 5:56 pm
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I realized something last week that really surprised me and I thought I'd pass it along..... I pulled some smoked pork out of the freezer to finish off some hamburger buns I had sitting around.... pork from the last smoke - I gave some to my neighbor because his wife doesn't let him cook beef or pork, and asked him to compare it to the last smoked pork..... I was kinda indifferent about it when it first came off the smoker --- good, but different... hard to say which was better --- but he said it was definitely much better (mainly because I didn't fuck up and pour the fat back in it this time). As I had my second sammy of pulled pork, I had a change of mind.... it was REALLY good! Which is strange because I wasn't all that impressed/happy when it was fresh.... Thats when I realized that freezing the smoked meat really does change the flavor!!! Just like spaghetti sauce and chili, it needs time to meld, mix and soften the flavors. I realized that I was comparing the fresh smoked pork to pork that had been in the freezer for ~2 months and the frozen definitely had a better flavor, and now that the pork has been frozen for ~1 month, the flavor has improved immensely! Thinking back to the previous smoked pork, I realized that the same thing had happened but I just wasn't really paying attention.... fresh off the smoker it was 'good' - I felt like I had over smoked it a bit since the hickory flavor was pretty strong/sharp.... after being in the freezer, the hickory flavor really mellowed and the maple came to the foreground. The same thing happened with the last pork too, only opposite since I had switched/reversed the hickory/maple ratio. I'm thinking that it was the freezing that made more of a difference since a good portion of both porks hung out in the fridge for 1-2 weeks right after smoking and I didn't really notice any real change in flavor over that time --- something about the freezing allows the smoke to migrate/diffuse better thru the meat is what I am thinking....

Pretty weird to realize this, but two back to back smokes proved it really is happening! I also realized that this has been happening all along with my smoked chicken.... I usually smoke up enough for 3-4 meals and just store it in the fridge instead of freezing.... I am always amazed how good the last meal ~a week later always is with the chicken.... It makes it really hard to get sick of it when it keeps getting better.....

So last night, I decided to mix things up a bit.... smoked some chicken legs (they didn't have any thighs, dammit) and did my standard rub and prep, but I decided to spice things up a bit by adding some red thai chili to the rub for a bit of heat.... just sprinkled some into the bag with the rub to mix/sweat. Damn! that was a nice game changer! That is what the rub has been needing - nice bit of background heat and flavor --- after the third leg is when I realized that my lips were burning! Seems like it was just about the right amount - hope I can repeat it without going too far next time. Can't wait to try a reheat this week after some more pork sammys.... Don't think I'm quite brave enough to add the thai chili to the rub en mass yet, but thinking I'm going to have to pick up some mustard powder and cumin to see what they are like too..... Gotta say the base rub has been pretty solid for the last 2 years or so, but I think it is time to start playing with more spices.

_________________
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?


Mon Nov 09, 2020 10:55 am
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Did everybody quit smoking now? I didn't expect a nice day yesterday or else I would have smoked up something good... I was able to thaw some burger and smoke it up, finishing it off by searing it in cast iron with butter on the stove -- it got dark on me....

So... I pruned up my Bing cherry yesterday - gave it a good cutting and got some pretty sizeable chunks of wood off it - I kept anything over 1" dia. Now I'm trying to figure out the best way to get it drying.... I'm realizing there is going to quite a bit of work to get this wood ready for the WSM. I'm feeling compelled to take a stiff wire brush to the limbs/logs to remove any moss and lichens -- figure that will be bad -- and to the branches to knock off any buds too. I'm planning on grabbing my neighbors chop saw and cutting it down into ~3" chunks and storing it in the garage in hopes of it drying faster so it will be ready for next spring --- summer for sure. Any hints/suggestions for speeding seasoning of the wood?

Edit to add ---
Took the brush to the limbs and got all the moss and lichens off --- it was much easier than I thought it would be. Moved the wood into the garage and let it dry on the floor for a couple of days since it was out in the rain.... Got the smaller 1" branches cut up with my loppers -- easy. Got the bigger stuff 1.5"+ cut up into ~2" thick chunks --- chop saw worked really well for that, tho it did seem kinda sketchy at times with the nubs and burls.... Got an overflowing 5 gallon bucket of NICE chunks out of it - with the 1" branches, I figure I filled two 5 gallon buckets :thumbsup2: They are all in paper bags up high on the shelf in the garage for drying --- hoping they will dry quickly and at least some will be useable my march/april.

_________________
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?


Mon Nov 16, 2020 12:15 pm
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I stopped at Smart Foodservice (aka Cash & Carry) today for the first time in a loooong time . . . oh, how have i missed thee! :inlove:

I bought a package o' tri-tips, which ended up being five of them, all ready for the smoker here:

Image

But man, I forgot how much work they are to trim . . . I started at 20 pounds even, and was at 12 lb 12 oz after trimming. icon_eek

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Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:59 pm
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Yeah, there is lot's of drop on those Cash and carry (i can't call it the other name) Tri Tips. The Price beats the hell out of the Grocery stores though, it's typically 10.99 a LB for what used to be a cheap cut of Meat!
I haven't done one in awhile due to the grocery store pricing and not wanting 5 or more at a time in the Cash and carry bag, but you may have just enticed me.
Those look damn good Steve. Well trimmed and lots of cracked pepper and salt. :thumbsup2:

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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.

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Sun Nov 22, 2020 6:17 pm
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usrifle wrote:
Yeah, there is lot's of drop on those Cash and carry (i can't call it the other name) Tri Tips. The Price beats the hell out of the Grocery stores though, it's typically 10.99 a LB for what used to be a cheap cut of Meat!


These were $3.29/lb. After trimming, that works out to $5.17/lb.

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Please support the organizations that support all of us.

Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Sun Nov 22, 2020 6:46 pm
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