Who's smoking meat this weekend?

[betarhoalphadelta]

I’d probably cook spatchcock chicken every night of the week if I could. This is going to be used mainly for enchiladas

Looks delicious! What sort of seasoning are you using? You're getting a gorgeous skin on it.

I don't cook chicken often (wife has a poultry allergy), so it's only when she's got plans and I'm only cooking for the kids and I. But I generally just roast it with John Henry's "Texas Chicken Tickler" rub and I don't get anywhere near that color.

 

[corkybstewart]

Tomorrow we'll have our annual "clean out the freezer" barbecue for the French family. I have 2 pork shoulders to smoke, a variety of bratwurst style sausages, pork chops, chicken and who knows what else.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Cooking up some poor mans brisket(~1.7kg chuck roll).
Will be served with homemade bearnaise and oven baked potatoes and carrots.

 

[Dgallo]

Looks delicious! What sort of seasoning are you using? You're getting a gorgeous skin on it.

I don't cook chicken often (wife has a poultry allergy), so it's only when she's got plans and I'm only cooking for the kids and I. But I generally just roast it with John Henry's "Texas Chicken Tickler" rub and I don't get anywhere near that color.

I have a few different seasonings I use on chicken. Since this one was being used for enchiladas it had a more southwest/mexican vibe to it;
S&P, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, chili powder, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, touch of cumin.

How to get the skin crispy; I pat the skin dry and then using my fingers, separate the skin from the breast and thighs, keeping it attached along the sides but making “pockets”. I then put thick slices of butter underneath. I’ll cook at 300*f until about 120-130IT and then crank the heat to 375-400 until I pull around 163*f at the thickest portion of the breast

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I have a few different seasonings I use on chicken. Since this one was being used for enchiladas it had a more southwest/mexican vibe to it;
S&P, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, chili powder, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, touch of cumin.

How to get the skin crispy; I pat the skin dry and then using my fingers, separate the skin from the breast and thighs, keeping it attached along the sides but making “pockets”. I then put thick slices of butter underneath. I’ll cook at 300*f until about 120-130IT and then crank the heat to 375-400 until I pull around 163*f at the thickest portion of the breast

Got it. Thanks!

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Put this leg of lamb in the smoker earlier today, should be ready soon.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

And it came out great, put some sweet potatoes in the smoker with it too.

 

[OleBrewing]

And it came out great, put some sweet potatoes in the smoker with it too.

looks fantastic. had braised lamb leg once from indian resturant and was great. this part of the states lamb is not popular, can get it frozen but fresh. would like to do a nice roast once to really see what i am missing.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

19# turkey on the spinner. I cut the wings off before cooking so I can deep fry them later to make buffalo wings.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Put this leg of lamb in the smoker earlier today, should be ready soon.View attachment 827999

Question... Is that the netting that's on the lamb from the store or do you add your own?

When I buy leg of lamb from Costco it always has the netting, but I take the netting off and truss it up myself. I've never tried cooking it in the original netting.

 

[bailey mountain brewer]

Question... Is that the netting that's on the lamb from the store or do you add your own?

When I buy leg of lamb from Costco it always has the netting, but I take the netting off and truss it up myself. I've never tried cooking it in the original netting.

See, I was debating this myself when I got it, it was the netting that came on it. I went back and forth for a while before deciding to try it with their netting on as it says you can do either. I experienced no ill effects, it came off easy after smoking and did the job just fine.

 

[cfrazier77]

Half rack of pork spare ribs while camping.

 

[McHop]

I did 5lbs of pulled pork. Then took it to a friend's who made 2 racks of St. Louis stlye ribs, 2 racks of baby back ribs, chicken wings and a brisket. Not a vegetable in sight at this feast.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

 

[OleBrewing]

First cured ham and made amateur mistake. Trying to shorten brine time with injecting and missed a spot this was four day brine with injection. Otherwise fantastic. Bacon next.

 

[day_trippr]

Youngest Son smoked a Tri-Tip last weekend, super tasty. The lad has some mad BBQ skillz that never disappoint. Wish I could say he learned it all from me

Cheers!

 

[GrogNerd]

t-bone may be a tad overdone

oh... you wanted "smoking meat"

didn't know if you were ok with "boiled meat"

 

[Rodent]

Beef ribs and freshly picked corn on the BGE Friday evening

Ribs in their final state prior to slicing up and digging in

 

[YeastFeast]

A sixteen-pack of wings for myself!
Big green egg, indirect heat, 400°F, cherry wood for a little smoke, one hour.
Crispy skin & tossed in a bit of BBQ sauce after pulling them off.

 

[Kent88]

Well I think my masterbuilt smoker is finally done. I already replaced the controller on it and have no desire to mess with it further. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for what new smoker to buy.

I really liked that I could throw a brisket in, set the temperature and mostly just leave it alone, and I have a cold smoker attachment that I used to make a lot of smokey cheese. I'd like to keep those features. I didn't like how the display on it was hard to read, the app is pretty much garbage, and that the high temperature was only about 300°F.

 

[Rodent]

@Kent88 - what are you looking for - propane/gas, lump charcoal, pellets, electric, or ??? for this replacement smoker?

 

[Kent88]

Pellets or chips.

 

[Rodent]

I won't be of much hands-on help then, as I've only used propane, lump charcoal, and wood (i.e. Texas side style) and have owned a small electric that I forgot unused in the shop at my previous place

seems a lot of places have pellet smokers on sale right now, closing out what they can before winter sets in. good time to buy if you're ok with limited inventory options to choose from

 

[Broothru]

Love my Traeger. Son loves his upright water smoker (pellet auto-feed). Can’t remember his brand, maybe SmokeMaster? Both do a really good job of smoking, but in honest confession I use my Weber gas grill a lot more often than the smoker. Two to three times per week for the grill, as long as it’s not raining or snowing; couple of times a month for the smoker, assuming we’re not traveling.

 

[YeastFeast]

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for what new smoker to buy.

I know you said pellets or chips but I would seriously consider a big green egg. Lifetime warranty on all parts can't be beat. I've had my XL for almost 15 years and have only replaced the grid that the charcoal sits on (free of charge). I use it to grill, smoke, bake, anything you can think of. Mine sits out year round without a cover in Wisconsin winters with no issues. Just throwing it out there, good luck on your search!

 

[OleBrewing]

bacon this weekend. if they turn out as good as the homemade hams last weekend i will be happy.

 

[Rodent]

I know you said pellets or chips but I would seriously consider a big green egg. Lifetime warranty on all parts can't be beat. I've had my XL for almost 15 years and have only replaced the grid that the charcoal sits on (free of charge). I use it to grill, smoke, bake, anything you can think of. Mine sits out year round without a cover in Wisconsin winters with no issues. Just throwing it out there, good luck on your search!

I also am an avid Big Green Egg (or similar Komodo type ceramic dome cooker) fan, but refrained from recommending because of the pellets/chips preference restriction. I regularly use mine to

- smoke meats
- slow cook meats, casseroles, whatever
- grill
- bake
- sear
- roast veggies
- pizza
- etc

still works when the power's out

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

@Kent88 what's the intended budget? That'll have a big impact on a recommendation. Also, what are you asking it to do and what other cookers do you have? I.e. if you're replacing a Masterbuilt, and this is a dedicated smoker and you never ask it to grill, then it changes what I'd recommend.

Chips/Similar: Honestly the cheapest and easiest thing here is to just replace the Masterbuilt with... Another Masterbuilt. They make great food. Another option would be Bradley which use the hardwood "bisquettes". One of the issues I had with my propane Masterbuilt is the chips/chunks flaring up, so I had to watch it closely. I haven't heard of that with Bradley. Grate space is massive on most of them as well, especially if you go for the 40" rather than 30" models. Only downside is that it is ONLY a smoker, and useless for anything else. But if that's all you need......

Pellets: For pellets I've seen that Green Mountain Grills seem to be very good, and the last time I looked at them they were priced better than what you'll get from Traeger. Although I haven't priced it against a Traeger Costco Roadshow if you have that as an option. If you want to go higher-end, I like Rec Tec a lot. And if you want something that can REALLY do it all, the prices and options go up (Yoder, MAK, etc).

Other: If you want something that has more grill / outdoor oven capability, I'm a huge Kamado fan. They make great smokers (I have a Kamado Joe Big Joe and a Traeger, and I use the Joe for smoking, not the Traeger) and give you the versatility to do almost anything. Budget-wise, you can get that style of grill with the Char-Griller Akorn much cheaper by avoiding ceramic--but it won't last as long. Only downside is that your grate space can be a little more limited. I'm also intrigued by the newer Masterbuilt electric charcoal grill/smoker concept. It gives you the automatic nature of a pellet grill but is actual charcoal and can use wood chunks for smoke. I've never used one of these though.

 

[Mr. Vern]

I'm also intrigued by the newer Masterbuilt electric charcoal grill/smoker concept. It gives you the automatic nature of a pellet grill but is actual charcoal and can use wood chunks for smoke. I've never used one of these though.

I am on board of their gravity series, my buddy scored one this last summer and I am impressed. He loves it.

Being a guy who strictly uses UDS or stick burners, I might have to keep an eye out for a good sale price on the Masterbuilt.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I am on board of their gravity series, my buddy scored one this last summer and I am impressed. He loves it.

Being a guy who strictly uses UDS or stick burners, I might have to keep an eye out for a good sale price on the Masterbuilt.

Good to hear. My Traeger is a hand-me-down and is quite old, so I'm always wondering how long it will stay alive. Having both a big kamado and small kamado beside it, I use the Traeger as my general "day to day / after work" grill when it's a cook that doesn't justify the effort to prepare the kamado.

When the Traeger dies, I'll need to decide between a gasser and something like the Masterbuilt as I don't like the sear capability of the Traeger..

How does your buddy use his? Does it make a functional grill as well as a smoker?