Who's smoking meat this weekend?

beernbourbon said:

So didn't get a pic of the final result, but color wise looked great. I couldn't get my temps to stabilize much above 260 with charcoal alone, so it took longer, and dried her out a bit. Flavor was good, just a bit dry. Have to figure out how to get those temps up. I have a cheapy smoker/grill combo, and the fire box is only about 1' square so.... Ideas? The open door thing maybe?

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More airflow to the fire tends to equal more heat. If you can seal up leaks in the main body of the grill you should be abe to keep a little more heat in there. Offset grill/smokers do not seem to like to get too hot, which can be a good thing for lower and slow smoking, but a PITA in cases like this.

Yeah, I've got nomex all around the firebox and the smoker, plus inserted a sheet metal extension for the chimney, but might need to look a little more and see where else it might be leaking. Air temps were in 60's all day....little breezy, but I had that once last year too. Seems like charcoal alone is the issue. When i added wood (chips or chunks) it got temps up. But, like I said, I don't want the smoke the whole time. Is there a wood I can use that won't add the smoke? Or do I just have to keep playing with opening the firebox to increase the air for combustion? (I know, simple principle of fire, but seems to only increase temp so much)

Are you lighting all of your charcoal or doing a form of the minion method? More coals should equal more heat though it would require topping off more often. Maybe a hair dryer blowing into the air intake on the firebox to get it roaring and see if you can bring it up to temps that way?

LOL....minion method? I am not familiar with that term. I had visuals of the Minions running around throwing charcoal briquettes on and jumping up and down on some giant bellows.....
I use a charcoal starter (paper under, lights coals, then they come out the bottom.) I would add a layer of charcoal when the existing charcoal had turned gray. Small box, foot square...so not much area for fire. Damn, such a shame, I might be forced to buy a larger smoker. Tsk.

ah....loves me some Google. Ok, no, I do not do the minion method. Too small of a space. Additionally, what I was just reading.....

http://www.dirtysmokebbq.com/2011/10/whats-minion-method-bbq-charcoal-smoking-meat.html

seems to indicate temps up to 275......?

I don't have any pictures, but I did a brisket on Friday for the Passover seder that night.
Was on my green bullet smoker for roughly 7 - 8 hours, I only used a few chunks of wood (small one of mesquite, big hickory and medium apple) with the main heat being natural chunk charcoal.
Came out great, but had a hell of a time keeping temps steady in that little thing for that long. Most other smokings I've done are in the 3 hour range for roaster chickens and ribs.
I do want to dump that old thing and go for a nice offset rig. Those are supposed to be easier to keep temps going - though from above posts, not so much at high hear (that;s OK, I like the 225 - 250 range for just about everything I've done anyway.)

I made some ribs for dinner today. Unfortunately, I don't think they'll be as good as my first attempt.
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Just finished smoking a chicken. 2 hours maybe at 320-350
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Perfect

Nice looking bird there. Nice job!

OMG I haven't been able to BBQ or brew in weeks... WEEKS.

Since I'm in Ohio I haven't been able to smoke for quite a while. I'm hoping to get a new smoker real soon.

Melana said:

OMG I haven't been able to BBQ or brew in weeks... WEEKS.

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But I thought it was only your kitchen you were gutting/renovating. How can you survive with neither kitchen or grill/smoker?

DocDriza said:

Since I'm in Ohio I haven't been able to smoke for quite a while. I'm hoping to get a new smoker real soon.

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Better get with the program! I've been using the smoker all winter, no better time for cold smoking IMO! That, and I don't do much hot smoking so I take the warmer weather off...

hllywd said:

Better get with the program! I've been using the smoker all winter, no better time for cold smoking IMO! That, and I don't do much hot smoking so I take the warmer weather off...

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Any day I would agree with you. It's hard to smoke in general with my current smoker, that's why I'm getting a new one. Once I get my new one, then it will be -20° and I'll be smoking.... and brewing.

I have a few bellies curing since 8 days ago. They are still not firm enough, but the plan is to do a long cold "amazen" smoke on Sunday.

It's gonna be a gorgeous weekend here in CT and I'll be doing some smoking and grilling. Figured I would pick up some ribs and do some wings on the WSM. Haven't done apple chunks yet so I'll be smoking with that. Can't wait

I'm grilling some chicken thighs I deboned and they have been marinating for about 24 hours. I have a charcoal grill, so I'm going to put a small piece of hickory wood on the charcoal.

Grilling up some chicken later

Right now they're marinating in greek dressing + brown mustard + garlic

Got a 10# shoulder on the Weber with hickory smoke going on. Smells great! Perfect grilling day here.

Not smoking ,but going to grill a couple of strip steaks tonight.I've got six racks of baby backs in the freezer so I'll be smokin this week.

Brineing turkey legs for tomorrow

Plopped a brisket on the pellet smoker.....mmmmm

Some photos from this very successful bbq weekend

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Genuine said:

Some photos from this very successful bbq weekend

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What size WSM is that?

That's the 18" WSM. Was able to fit 4 racks of ribs on it, no problem

I smoked 5 racks of ribs on my Green Egg for 4 hours Saturday. They were pretty damn good but 3 hours at 275 would have been long enough.

ive founds ribs do best on my BGE and Memphis pellet rig at 220. This allows for a full 6hr smoke on spares doing the 3-2-1. If I go any hotter they will turn to mush over that time

jammin said:

ive founds ribs do best on my BGE and Memphis pellet rig at 220. This allows for a full 6hr smoke on spares doing the 3-2-1. If I go any hotter they will turn to mush over that time

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This is my first attempt at ribs on the BGE. On my old steel smoker I would cook them at 200 for 5 hours, and that was perfection. I'm not a fan of foil wrapping pork, it makes them more like boiled meat(strictly my opinion)

In-laws are coming over so I'll throw a couple racks of BBs on the smoker.

Dem ribby's look damn good. Got me think'n I may do a few racks this weekend. Maybe some chicken wings too.

Genuine said:

That's the 18" WSM. Was able to fit 4 racks of ribs on it, no problem

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Yeeeeeaaaaah boi! I'm about to pick one of those up next week. If you only got 4 racks with no stand, then I can't wait to see what I could get with the stand I have.

Chill'n amd grill'n some chicken thighs..

jammin said:

Chill'n amd grill'n some chicken thighs..

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Your pic is making the next week, until I buy a Kamado Joe, interminable...

Have a small brisket flat going on tomorrow that's sitting in the fridge now all rubbed down. Also going to do some homemade beans with any drippings I can catch and some homemade sauce.

My Traeger is on the fritz again. I am soooooo sick of always having to fix it. If the fix this time costs me any more than $25 Im just going to get rid of it.

So should I get a Big Green Egg or a Weber Smoky Mountain? Pros/Cons? I have used or seen either one in use.

BGE costs >>> than a WSM

BGE is >>>>> more versatile than a WSM.


I grill on my BGE all the time. I also own a Memphis pellet rig (replaced my 4yr old traeger). I fought all the battles you have and then some I'm sure.


You won't regret a BGE

I'm not worried about spending a grand if it's really going to last a lifetime. Does the color fade with exposure?

I really enjoy my WSM but if you don't mind the price tag, a BGE would be a better choice I'd say. I use my weber kettle for all searing etc, the WSM isn't capable, or for that matter, meant to do so.
The amount of ceramic would be a huge benefit for those colder days when you want to smoke as well. It's a pain to have to load more charcoal in a WSM because it's burning faster to maintain temps to offset the ambient temp effect.
If I could find a deal, I'd jump on one.

HoppyDaze said:

My Traeger is on the fritz again. I am soooooo sick of always having to fix it. If the fix this time costs me any more than $25 Im just going to get rid of it.

So should I get a Big Green Egg or a Weber Smoky Mountain? Pros/Cons? I have used or seen either one in use.

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How far are you from Bend?

http://m.costco.com/kamado-joe-schedule.html

Apparently the Classic Joe are going for $779 and the BigJoe for $1199. Size-wise, those are identical to the L and XL BGE, respectively. That includes the stand, heat deflector, and their cool "Divide and Conquer" grate system.

Kamado Joe is generally regarded as equal in quality to BGE, and at normal retail just provides more value. At Costco road show prices, it's a steal.

That's why I'm buying a BigJoe at the San Diego Costco this coming Saturday

See the kamado thread I started just below this one for my thought process on grill selection.

Almost 200 miles from Bend. Gas and time would wipe out any savings. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be looking for something more local