Who's smoking meat this weekend?

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weirdboy said:
I have a mandolin, but it's not nearly big enough for bacon.
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I use an electric fish fileting knife to cut mine. Works pretty well.

I have this one:

fish knife.jpg
 
That looks like it would work great so long as my wife never touches it.

*sigh* I may end up making some bacon pretty soon. It's starting to get cold enough now that it's nearly feasible to do a colder smoke without rendering all the fat.
 
I was going to suggest using g a filet knife ...... That's what I use when I don't want to get the slicer out. .... Regular, not electric.
 
weirdboy said:
Yes that's what I mean. My wife is notoriously horrible at slicing stuff. I love bacon, but I don't want bacon that's an half an thick and one corner, an inch thick in the middle, and a millimeter thick at the opposite corner, which is what happens with the bread now. It is a never ending battle of me fixing the loaf to actually be straight and uniform for a sandwich, only to have her mess it up again the next time she slices it.

If she does the same thing with bacon, I'll end up with slices that are burnt to a crisp at one and and still raw in the middle.
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Why not just get a cheap meat slicer at Harbor Freight? $29.

http://www.harborfreight.com/electric-food-slicer-69460.html

image_21658.jpg
 
As the weather gets cooler, heavier and higher alcohol beers brewed earlier in the year and conditioned a few months are tapped to warm the soul. Stout is one of those Ales built for the cold: a substantial gravity for cold weather, malty but not too sweet, just enough bitterness to balance. I brewed a great Milk Stout a while back so no better time to tap the keg than last night's first freeze.

Interestingly, I found a Beer-Marinated Chicken recipe by Jamie Purviance that calls for 12 oz of Stout so I figured what better time to tap this homebrew and use it in this recipe. I removed the water pan from the 22.5" WSM and set it aside, installed the Expandable Smoking Rack, inserted the hooks and smoke-roasted this bird over hardwood lump and a chunk of Pecan in the Pit Barrel Cooker - style.

I've never had a bad recipe from Weber or Jamie and this one is no different. Zum Wohl!

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brewbama said:
As the weather gets cooler, heavier and higher alcohol beers brewed earlier in the year and conditioned a few months are tapped to warm the soul. Stout is one of those Ales built for the cold: a substantial gravity for cold weather, malty but not too sweet, just enough bitterness to balance. I brewed a great Milk Stout a while back so no better time to tap the keg than last night's first freeze.

Interestingly, I found a Beer-Marinated Chicken recipe by Jamie Purviance that calls for 12 oz of Stout so I figured what better time to tap this homebrew and use it in this recipe. I removed the water pan from the 22.5" WSM and set it aside, installed the Expandable Smoking Rack, inserted the hooks and smoke-roasted this bird over hardwood lump and a chunk of Pecan in the Pit Barrel Cooker - style.

I've never had a bad recipe from Weber or Jamie and this one is no different. Zum Wohl!

006_zpsms8b9wgn.jpg


007_zpseahbnmyn.jpg


009_zpspirh1g9c.jpg


010_zpsuufsxth7.jpg


012_zpsbcxrsdrs.jpg
Click to expand...

Nice yard bird! Sweet set up ....i like how you can hang stuff
 
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That pork tenderloin is good I'd pay full price for it..... like I said I bought four of them and two of the bbq butts. That tenderloin is super good I I use hickory and cherry and swear by it but would like to mix oak and cherry. I'll smoke them tomorrow I guess upload picture I'm happy I don't have to put rub on..

View attachment 1447565274316.jpg
 
HoppyDaze said:
You made a jive turkey?
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Pretty much, and almost did the same with brisket.

Turns out my propane burner has been throwing some serious yellow flame at higher temps, making everything char-tastic. Smoke flavor is great, but when the meat just tastes like gas...no thanks.

Gotta figure out how to modify the burner so it's not doing that anymore.
 
I had some beef center back ribs pulled them out at 170 chewey and they just aren't very good.... any thoughts are these just crappy ribs I cook them longer and they seem a little better should I just cook them more they have a lot of chewy s*** in them
 
applescrap said:
I had some beef center back ribs pulled them out at 170 chewey and they just aren't very good.... any thoughts are these just crappy ribs I cook them longer and they seem a little better should I just cook them more they have a lot of chewy s*** in them
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You have to cook them a lot longer to break down some collagen and make them tender and delicious.
 
Cheesy_Goodness said:
Pretty much, and almost did the same with brisket.

Turns out my propane burner has been throwing some serious yellow flame at higher temps, making everything char-tastic. Smoke flavor is great, but when the meat just tastes like gas...no thanks.

Gotta figure out how to modify the burner so it's not doing that anymore.
Click to expand...

I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting to hear the riveting conclusion to this...

I did 2 minutes of research and found that spiders like to build tiny nests in the venturi tube, which restricted the air flow, which causes yellow flame.

All I had to do was remove the tube and run a pipe cleaner up there, which brought back a nice compact little web. Hooked it back up and it started burning beautifully. Currently in the middle of the stall for a pork butt and couldn't be happier.
 
Cheesy_Goodness said:
I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting to hear the riveting conclusion to this...

I did 2 minutes of research and found that spiders like to build tiny nests in the venturi tube, which restricted the air flow, which causes yellow flame.

All I had to do was remove the tube and run a pipe cleaner up there, which brought back a nice compact little web. Hooked it back up and it started burning beautifully. Currently in the middle of the stall for a pork butt and couldn't be happier.
Click to expand...

I'm happy for you! little bugs like that got in my pop up camper furnace outlet
 
applescrap said:
Here is picture of those ribs I think I didn't cook them enough so I just finished them off and definitely a bunch of fat melted off them they don't have a lot of meat I think that they're the cheap type of beef ribs just brown sugar and salt rubbed
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Baby back (pork back loin) are fairly lean and tasty. That's why they are so much more expensive than other cuts.

I haven't done beef ribs in a long time, but I remember thinking they weren't as good as the pork.
 
Got stuck with cooking ButterBall Boneless Turkey Breasts (ugh, would rather cook a real bird) for a big Thanksgiving party. Did a test run today, sous vided them, and then moved to the grill to finish. Not much you can do to impart good flavor to boneless, artificially raised, salt water (and god knows what else) injected meat, but turned out OK considering.
 
Curtis have you tried an overnight brine in a solution with aromatics, fruits etc? This has been a game changer for my smoked poultry, and also pork chops.
Best damn turkey I have ever had I made last year with the apple cider brine and smoked. I'll be doing the recipe again this year.
 
I have 20 pounds of Boston Butt to brine over the week, and smoke sometime this weekend.

Molasses brines are the best for this...

:)
 
passedpawn said:
Baby back (pork back loin) are fairly lean and tasty. That's why they are so much more expensive than other cuts.

I haven't done beef ribs in a long time, but I remember thinking they weren't as good as the pork.
Click to expand...

I like beef ribs as well as pork ribs, but they are a little more finicky when it comes to flavour, IMHO. Pork can handle some sizzle & burnt, whereas beef ribs don't want to be burnt, nor do they like and "burnt" flavours, so flareups are to be totally avoided.
 
slym2none said:
I have 20 pounds of Boston Butt to brine over the week, and smoke sometime this weekend.

Molasses brines are the best for this...

:)
Click to expand...

I've never brined a pork shoulder. I brine to add moisture to meat like chicken, but pork is so phatty, doesn't seem to need it. I like a thick rub of mostly chili powder just to make the bark spicy.
 
EHV said:
Curtis have you tried an overnight brine in a solution with aromatics, fruits etc? This has been a game changer for my smoked poultry, and also pork chops.
Best damn turkey I have ever had I made last year with the apple cider brine and smoked. I'll be doing the recipe again this year.
Click to expand...

Sounds good, but given that this damn thing is already pumped full of junk, not sure how well it would penetrate. Maybe better on a real bird?
 
Thanksgiving bird is in the brine and smoker will be fired up at noon tomorrow. Favorite day of the year is only a few hours away!
 
Curtis - I think you're right. If the meat has been injected with salt water solution at the production line it won't take up much, if any of the flavor from the brine. That's pretty much the standard deal with the stand alone breast packages. Really sucks.

That said, I routinely do a brine very similar to what you describe EHV and agree with you 100% - the apple brine does wonders for white meat of any kind. I use apple juice, soy sauce, olive oil, salt, sugar, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, tarragon, and juniper berries in my brine. Soak for an hour per pound and smoke with hickory, oak, and apple (also for an hour per pound). What do you use in your brine?
 
I've brined pre injected birds with great results. Natural birds are hard to come by around here so I must use what's available.
This particular brine for the turkey is apple cider, sliced oranges, kosher salt, brown sugar, Rosemary, crushed garlic, black peppercorns, and bay leaves.
 
Quick question about how you guys brine: I have ratios for salt, sugar, & water in the brine, so that part is pretty standard. What quantities of herbs and spices are you using?
 
I use about 2 tsp of each herb per gallon of liquid. Truth be told I'm more of a pinch of this and pinch of that cook so I don't necessarily measure all ingredients. We have a rosemary plant and I just put in whatever looks right.
 

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