I got myself the low-end chargriller with side box and thought I'd be able to smoke a butt overnight and only tend to the fuel every 2-3 hours but uh, no. Fail. I got some learnin to do.
this may be sacrilege, but if i'm cooking over night and don't want to keep up with the wood. i'll smoke the night before for three or four hours (till i'm drunk and ready to sleep) then take the but up stairs and put it in the crock pot over night. from what i read the meat will only take so much smoke before its saturated. if you don't have a crock pot the oven works too if you wrap the meat in tin foil. like i said it may be frowned upon by the bbq gods, but it has given me good results
this may be sacrilege, but if i'm cooking over night and don't want to keep up with the wood. i'll smoke the night before for three or four hours (till i'm drunk and ready to sleep) then take the but up stairs and put it in the crock pot over night. from what i read the meat will only take so much smoke before its saturated. if you don't have a crock pot the oven works too if you wrap the meat in tin foil. like i said it may be frowned upon by the bbq gods, but it has given me good results
Slow and cold. I've never left anything in a smoker overnight unless we are in a competition. In that case time allowed and quantity of meat go hand in hand. That said, start early in the day, prep your coal bed and go. Low temps around 200 f. Just stop by the pit ever so often check the temp.
As alluded to earlier, the meat takes all the smoke it's gonna take during the first 3-4 hours. After this you can put it in your oven over night around 220F. Do not, do not, again, do not wrap it in foil.
If you are going to do that then at least do it in the oven on its lowest setting and not the crock pot.
As alluded to earlier, the meat takes all the smoke it's gonna take during the first 3-4 hours. After this you can put it in your oven over night around 220F. Do not, do not, again, do not wrap it in foil.
Yep, and the colder the meat is, the more smoke it will take. I like to take whatever I am smoking direct from fridge to grid for the best affect. Don't dilly dally and leave it out for a while before putting it in the pit.
Hand over your man-card. Crock-pots are for cheese dip and keeping chili warm.
i've actually heard to leave it out for a while so the heat doesn't shock the muscle fibers (or some ****) and it keeps it tender.
First time I did a pork butt I stuck a probe in it. I was amazed by how long the temp hung at 160. Once it finally broke through it wasn't long before it was done.
i have done it in the oven at the lowest setting. the thing i like about the crock pot is that it doesn't let any of the steam escape and keeps all that fat in the meat. you should give it a try, it ends up being this really tender meat/butter hybrid. i've never had pork come out that tender.
First time I did a pork butt I stuck a probe in it. I was amazed by how long the temp hung at 160. Once it finally broke through it wasn't long before it was done.
That works if you are grilling steaks. I leave mine out for an hour before hitting the grill.
For low & slow smoking, the meats are not tender in the first place, hence the low & slow cooking. The low temperatures will allow the connective tissue (collagen) to render into gelatin and melt over time which is how brisket and pulled pork become tender.
In that case why not just do the whole thing in the crock and dump in some liquid smoke? The final product between the crockpot and dry cooking method are very different.
because liquid smoke doesn't taste the same as real smoke to me. look, i'm not arguing that i'm right. just that i've done it this way and it worked well. i was wondering if you guys knew of any other difference than the bark gets soft (which i understand is a problem in it self), and if that was why you said not to use foil (or crock pot). i'm the noob here, and i know that. just asking for advice
ok. is that the reason for no foil too?
Bobby,
I have a used a Chargriller for over 8 years.
The Mods I made:
Large Charcoal Basket for the fire box.
Lined the cooking chamber with fire bricks and inverted the large charcoal grate/holder and placed it in the cooking chamber on top of the fire bricks.
This acts like a tunnel and helps draw the smoke and heat under the grill grates.
I also took some almuminum flashing, rolled it up and used it to lower the chimney to about 1" above the grill.
With the fire brick it takes a little longer to get up to temperature, I can start my fire and in about an hour I'm up to 220 to 230F.
The fire brick will act as thermal mass and help maintain your cooking temps.
I usualy start with 20lbs of charcoal in the fire box and 3 large chuanks for wood. I run a modified Minion Method (look it up), in that I use a little more little briquets to help get the fire up to temp.
I think the only way I'd do overnight smoking is to get an electric cabinet smoker. From now on, it's up earlier in the morning.
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