Who's smoking meat this weekend?

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1: You won't get a smoke ring from the MES.

2: Tough to say. Brisket is an art, and I find way too often that it's more dry than I prefer. Brining might help. Foiling or butcher paper might help (although with foil you get closer to that "pot roast" texture going). I like the moisture when foiling, but usually try to avoid it. And IMHO finding a thicker brisket helps too.

How did you measure doneness BTW? I find if it's just a bit underdone, often you end up with dry tough side. When overdone, it's dry and falling apart. Hitting that perfect middle where it's tender and moist is sometimes not easy...

Ya I had read somewhere that you cant get the smoke ring with the MES. But its not hyper important to me. As long as the stuff tastes good then Im happy.

I measured doneness by sticking a temp prob horizontally in the thickest part of the meat. I have read up on "probing" yet so I dont really know what Im doing/what to look for. Like I said, I took it to 194 to be exact and pulled it. I dont know if maybe I should have taken it off earlier or not. Maybe next time Ill try not turning the heat up so high to get a bark. Another thing that I noticed was the fat was pretrimmed and most was about 1/4" thick except probably 1//4 of the brisket where it had completely been removed. So that may have been part of the problem. Will probably go to the butcher next time instead of costco
 
I wonder if it wasnt quite done kev. They can go to 200 or 205. The fat cap and its trim would have certainly mattered, Aaron Franklin speaks to that in that video. Also don't discount looking at the meat and finding a very good marbled piece, verse one that might have just been a little tougher and more lean. I cook everything at 275 and have never put anything in the pan. I tin foil it for easy clean up. I've seen people open them up and spray them every 30 minutes and such. I don't know if it helps, I just set it to 275 and pull it at the temp I want. I add Hickory and Cherry chips sometimes every 30min then 45 to 1hr , until done and if you do that then you will taste some smoke. I leave vent fully open and have since day one.

I have had two different expensive pellet grill meats that I don't think were as good. I can barely taste the smoke in most people's cooking. Made me wonder if I'm doing it wrong. So I tried using less smoke and it just didn't taste good to me. I think it's because it's just a super awesome system. The smoke comes from below the meat then right up through the vent. Wait till you see those two briskets from last night. I have a 14 pound pork shoulder waiting to go on, might just throw it on tonight. See with an electric smoker, looking at it through my back window, I can turn it on and use it whenever I want and I do.

@bwarbiany thanks for the cool threads. Had fun already peaking around.
 
I wonder if it wasnt quite done kev. They can go to 200 or 205. The fat cap and its trim would have certainly mattered, Aaron Franklin speaks to that in that video. Also don't discount looking at the meat and finding a very good marbled piece, verse one that might have just been a little tougher and more lean. I cook everything at 275 and have never put anything in the pan. I tin foil it for easy clean up. I've seen people open them up and spray them every 30 minutes and such. I don't know if it helps, I just set it to 275 and pull it at the temp I want. I add Hickory and Cherry chips sometimes every 30min then 45 to 1hr , until done and if you do that then you will taste some smoke. I leave vent fully open and have since day one.

I have had two different expensive pellet grill meats that I don't think were as good. I can barely taste the smoke in most people's cooking. Made me wonder if I'm doing it wrong. So I tried using less smoke and it just didn't taste good to me. I think it's because it's just a super awesome system. The smoke comes from below the meat then right up through the vent. Wait till you see those two briskets from last night. I have a 14 pound pork shoulder waiting to go on, might just throw it on tonight. See with an electric smoker, looking at it through my back window, I can turn it on and use it whenever I want and I do.

@bwarbiany thanks for the cool threads. Had fun already peaking around.

Good to know! Thanks! Maybe Ill have to give another one a shot this weekend :D
 
Pork Chops

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Ok... One more question about brisket. I promise (I think). Still a newb on this.

I put the brisket flat on this last saturday at ~7am. Injected with chicken broth prior to smoking and rubbed with salt and pepper/ Got it past 150 without crutching. Had the water, steamer thingy with HB hefe. Brisket was top rack in mt MES. at 185 I cranked the heat from 225 to 275 cuz I noticed that I didnt really have a bbark when I opened the MES. Pulled it at ~4pm and (it was at 275 for probably an hour) wrapped in foil, blanket, cooler. Served aout 3 hours later. The thing was delicious. I definitely will be doing it again. That being said, it was a little drier than Im used to with brisket. My friends didnt seem to think so but when I asked my wife, she knows I prefer honest criticism she said it was a touch dry, and I agree.

Any suggestions on what to do? Would brining help? It was so close to being absolutely awesome, but the slight dryness bummed me out a bit. Also didnt have a terrific smoke ring, but had smoke flavor, so Im not overly concerned about that.

Did you add any liquid when you foiled? That might help, and you can use almost anything.
 
Did you add any liquid when you foiled? That might help, and you can use almost anything.

I didn't foil. Didn't want to ruin the bark and made it past 150 no problem. Based on what I've read both here and on the interwebs, general consensus is to avoid foiling unless necessary. But on the brisekt it didn't seem to need it
 
Couldn't figure out what to cook tonight. Decided to break out my new meat grinder and ground up some Chuck and bacon and made burgs. Smoked em with 35% hickory 60% cherry and a smidge of mesquite. Turned out so good

Yes, that the spirit. Those look perfect, what temp did you pull them at? They look like 140.
 
Yes, that the spirit. Those look perfect, what temp did you pull them at? They look like 140.

Is there actually a way to check temp on a small patty? Haha. Honestly I kinda just guessed. 50 mins at 240 and they came out just about medium, more on the mid rare side
 
In-laws are coming over Sunday to help us plant flowers, tomatoes, herbs, etc. (including the peppers and eggplants my MIL grows from seed) so I'll do a couple racks of baby backs on the WSM and I'll throw some veggies on the kettle grill.
 
@kev211 Yes, there is and I do.


I always use the Thermapen on burgers and I pull them when they're between 125and 130. Carryover cooking makes them perfect. (And the butcher shop I go to proudly holds itself out as the place to go for beef you can serve as tartare so I don't have any hesitation about serving them nice and rare.)
 
Picked up some Chicken Breasts, legs & thighs to smoke Saturday for the in-laws. Also picked up a 14 brisket to smoke Sunday! It's been tooooo long!
 
Not exactly smoking it but I coated some spare ribs with the New Mexico Trinity (garlic,onion, and green chile). I added a half pint of brown ale and a little water to braise the meat for 4 hours.
 
Full pork shoulder, I think it was. I dont like them as much as the butt. Didnt quite finish. 192 because I was off to bed. Tore up ok but I like it more done. Hickory and cherry mixed. Used commercial competition rub, but only a little because better half doesn't like it. Not quite as good as my brown sugar salt imo
 
Didn't bother taking pics, but the chicken turned out good despite cutting way back on the salt for my father in law. Brisket was probably the best one I've done. Bought a 14# packer, cut off 8# rubbed it overnight and smoked it at 240 for 4 hrs. It was at 180. Turned it down to 230 for 4 more hrs and hit 201. Wrapped in foil and towels and into the cooler for 2 1/2 hrs. Very juicy and tender.
 
Figured this would be a good place to ask:

My neighbour downed a large-ish juniper from their yard yesterday and all of the sudden asked me if I want the debranched trunk, heck yea I wanted it and am now trying to figure out ways to make good use of it. I've understood it would be great for smoking but I suppose a little strong to be the only wood burned. Anyone here smoked their own grains? I'd looooove to try to brew a juniper smoked rye porter, also thought about spicing it with juniper chips if I could figure out an effective way to make some but have absolutely no idea how much would be a good amount.

I'm not entirely sure what species it is but up here the commonly used decorative variety is what we call a "pillar juniper", it has a single straight trunk and it grows more or less like a stretched teardrop shape.
 
In Sweden they have a long tradition of smoking meat & fish with juniper. I've read Pork loves Juniper smoke.

I've also read about a BBQ place that is on the left (west side) of I-5 as your coming into Yreka Oregon that uses Juniper exclusively. Huge smoker out front. I hear you'll be impressed.
 
Been studying in the meantime, it seems only 20mins of smoking the grains would be quite enough. Suits me. Planning to brew a rye porter which I will first smoke, juniper berries in @10min, then add juniper chips/cubes at secondary, and finally spice the whole thing with tar in the bottling bucket :D Target ABV well above 10. Better be careful not to spill it or my floor will start to grow chest hair!

Also plenty of wood left for experimenting with smoking meat. It's almost dripping wet as it was just cut last night but when I have time gonna cut it in smaller pieces and put away to dry.

The first problem though is I've never brewed a dark beer before so gotta study what goes into those, what I've understood is they don't get 60min hops at all?

Ok back to smoking meat now :D
 
@bikermatt arent juniper berries poisonous? I had a hippy girlfriend, when I lived in boulder, who would eat a few when we went on hikes. She said they were good for the lungs. Come to think of it arent most gins made from juniper berries? So guess they aren't poisonous. I smoked some wet crabapple once, I can't remember the results though sorry. I appreciate this idea and hope to hear how it turns out. Porters are fairly easy to make and they always turn out better than my other beers. Hope to see some pics of the grains smoking and completed. One last thought maybe make a tincture with the berries, or leaves which can be added at kegging.
 
They indeed are -somewhat- poisonous so the intake should be monitored, they are however being sold here dried in the spice shelf. Moderate consumption has little more side effects than increased urine and sweat production -so if you're on the beer you wouldn't notice anyway :D The amount being used is something like 20g (0.7oz) per boil so you wouldn't get too much at all from it per serving.

Juniper berries give more of a berry-ish flavor, the tangy sting of a gin is I believe in the needles.

Deffy gonna make a thread for it when it's time to make this happen, might be a lil while though, the riding season has already started and my bike is still in bits so that's a priority right now. Besides my fermenters are full :D
 
Figured this would be a good place to ask:

Anyone here smoked their own grains? I'd looooove to try to brew a juniper smoked rye porter, also thought about spicing it with juniper chips if I could figure out an effective way to make some but have absolutely no idea how much would be a good amount.

I don't think 20 minutes will do much for you. I usually smoke grain for about an hour and a half. The key is to keep the fire very cool and smoky, you don't want to roast your malt. Periodically spray the malt with a little water and stir it. And let it sit a couple of weeks before you use it so it will mellow out. I'm really curious how this turns out, I've got seve\ral junipers on my property that I could prune.
 
In Sweden they have a long tradition of smoking meat & fish with juniper. I've read Pork loves Juniper smoke.

I've also read about a BBQ place that is on the left (west side) of I-5 as your coming into Yreka Oregon that uses Juniper exclusively. Huge smoker out front. I hear you'll be impressed.

Yreka is in California :D
 
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