Who's smoking meat this weekend?

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9.5lbs'er for tomorrow

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Pork butt in.
The game will not be played today, so all the focus has slid to the Crew trying to cap off the perfect response to the previous ownership trying to rip them away. I really hope they can pull this off for all of their hard-core fans that fought like hell to keep them here.
Go Crew!
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Staying up way too late tonight drinking homebrew but looking forward to tomorrow. Firing up the Pit Boss bright and early to put on a 4# pork butt for pulled sandwiches and then later in the day closer to dinner time I'm throwing on a few garlic lime marinated chicken breasts for the wife who only eats poultry. Going to smoke with the pit boss pellet blend of cherry, apple and maple wood.
 
Bought my FIL a meater grill probe for chrizzy. He visits his butcher like 3-4 times a week and takes his steak pretty seriously. I hope he gets some use out of it, he's into phone apps so it should be right up his alley. Anyone have experience with meater?
 
I think im gonna do some ribs next weekend. Ive been doing the central texas brisket style for years and honestly im kind of tired of it and am going back to making a flavored rub for briskets. Also wanna copy @Dgallo chicken recipe, looks good man, share it?
 
I think im gonna do some ribs next weekend. Ive been doing the central texas brisket style for years and honestly im kind of tired of it and am going back to making a flavored rub for briskets. Also wanna copy @Dgallo chicken recipe, looks good man, share it?
Yeah brother. Not much it in terms of cooking. Just spatch cock the the chicken and set the smoke hot to about 300-325 and cook until internal is 162-165*f. I found sometimes I have set it hotter for the last half of cooking if the skin was thinker and needed to crisp up.

hereā€™s the marinade recipe though. I usually double it and go a little heavier on the herbs and apple cider vinegar
https://981thehawk.com/traci-taylors-spiedie-marinade-recipe/
 
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Smoked some ribs on the pellet grill and honestly they were the best ribs I ever had, a little Chinese 5 spice really worked out and will be a permanent addition to my rib recipe

Chinese 5 spice really offers a unique taste to a lot of things... I could see how it would go well in a rib rub.

What's your rub?
 
I use a light coat of pit boss hickory bacon on both sides, black pepper on the meat side and Rib Rack BBQ seasoning on both sides generously this time I added a little Chinese 5 spice to the meat side and for my personal taste it came through really nice adding some complexity (stole the idea from a local diner that used the Chinese 5 spice on beef short ribs).
I also when it comes time to wrap I brush my ribs down with agave and roll them in brown sugar than wrap with a few ounces of hibiscus tea in the foil and after the wrap I brush on a very mild vinegar BBQ sauce (Stop and Shop The Boss Sauce)


Chinese 5 spice really offers a unique taste to a lot of things... I could see how it would go well in a rib rub.

What's your rub?



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Smoked a 4.5# bone-in pork shoulder w/apple wood on a weber kettle. Used snake fire method which works well for me. Closed the lid at 8:15 am and didn't lift it again until 5:30 pm when I took meat off the grill and wrapped in foil to rest. I'm experimenting with (east) Carolina BBQ sauce (apple cider vinegar bbq sauce). While everyone likes the smoked meat there is a divergence of opinion on the sauce. Too much vinegar twang for some. Guess it stays on the side as a dipping sauce.
 
Last bird before the Traeger goes in the garage for the winter, getting possibly over 1.5 ft tomorrow.

Pit Boss sells a blanket for my pellet pooper so I'd bet Traeger makes one for yours. Snow is coming and I am seriously considering grabbing one from Walmart for me its a $100 purchase and probably would pay for itself in fuel consumption savings alone. Unless your not into cooking outside in the snow which I fully understand as well
 
Pit Boss sells a blanket for my pellet pooper so I'd bet Traeger makes one for yours. Snow is coming and I am seriously considering grabbing one from Walmart for me its a $100 purchase and probably would pay for itself in fuel consumption savings alone. Unless your not into cooking outside in the snow which I fully understand as well
I do have actually have the weather cover, but it was too expensive to take the risk of there are any issues
 
I do have actually have the weather cover, but it was too expensive to take the risk of there are any issues
I understand, I got my Pit Boss for $175 (Walmart can be awesome) and it has a 5 year warranty so I just dont think much if she breaks I have several other options luckily and can wait for the parts.

How do you like the blanket? Did you notice any differences? Gimmick? Does it get messy?
 
Got a new smoker-Rectec RC-700. Love it. Gonna smoke a huge brisket flat this weekend. Tried my hand at pizza last week and was amazed.
Did 3 whole chickens this past weekend and tried a slightly different pellet in a smoke tube for the first hour. It really added some good smoky flavor. My only minor gripe on this RC-700 is short cooks aren't smoky enough so having this smoke tube fixes it perfectly.
Smoked oysters for New Years Eve!
 
I understand, I got my Pit Boss for $175 (Walmart can be awesome) and it has a 5 year warranty so I just dont think much if she breaks I have several other options luckily and can wait for the parts.

How do you like the blanket? Did you notice any differences? Gimmick? Does it get messy?
It seems to work great keeping it dry. Iā€™ve been staying on top of cleaning the grill every time I have to clear out the firebox so it hasnā€™t gotten messy
 
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Staying up way too late tonight drinking homebrew but looking forward to tomorrow. Firing up the Pit Boss bright and early to put on a 4# pork butt for pulled sandwiches and then later in the day closer to dinner time I'm throwing on a few garlic lime marinated chicken breasts for the wife who only eats poultry. Going to smoke with the pit boss pellet blend of cherry, apple and maple wood.
I mixed that blend with pecan pellets. F'n awesome! pecan and maple are a fantastic combo.
 
I haven't had a chance to smoke venison yet. I'd like to try it someday, as my in-laws hunt and the venison isn't as good roasted in the oven, Crock-Potted, or made into stroganoff as I'd like.

It would make my life easier if I could find a way to enjoy venison.
 
I haven't had a chance to smoke venison yet. I'd like to try it someday, as my in-laws hunt and the venison isn't as good roasted in the oven, Crock-Potted, or made into stroganoff as I'd like.

It would make my life easier if I could find a way to enjoy venison.
I love most cuts of venison. Smoked backstrap is absolutely stunning and so is smoking some of the hind quarter and chopping it up and adding it to verde chili with hominy and lime is so amazing. But the ribs for me are the gamiest cut of of venison and I just canā€™t do it. Even the smell of the meat while cooking just is not for me. Itā€™s especially worse in older deer.
 
Brisket for Christmas! Haha, I put killer hogs rub on it. I have never used anything on steak other than evoo and oil. Didnt cut it in half, was a weird trimmed brisket they called a flat at Sam's. Seemed like a full packer trimmed up. Needed very little trimming, was a little more iirc, but minus loss of fat and stuff would consider again.

Sry, back to the brisket, I dont have time right now to go further but this was the worst brisket I have ever made by far. Still awesome though :) . My theory, by cutting the packer in half, I cook each half independently pulling the flat often HOURS before the fatty thick point. That way I cook each side perfectly. In full size this holds even more true. This flat was as thick as point. On the other hand I did take to 200 which is high for brisket for me, iirc. I dont leave a whole lot of fat on them. Look forward to any all discussion.
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Maple Glazed Smoked salmonDA174B99-7A62-4CDD-9C1D-4ACAB5F527E5.jpeg042974AD-CC4F-4838-985B-0A07CA1B0DB9.jpegC5F42BDE-EA0A-46CD-A4A0-BC60C8F55E6F.jpeg6028BE55-1E8B-43AE-AB3A-18F129783E1D.jpeg
Use external smoke chamber with alder for the complete smoke time.
After a couple of hours, build a fire inside smoker to bring finish temp of salmon to 135-140*.
Amazing results.
 
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Brisket for Christmas! Haha, I put killer hogs rub on it. I have never used anything on steak other than evoo and oil. Didnt cut it in half, was a weird trimmed brisket they called a flat at Sam's. Seemed like a full packer trimmed up. Needed very little trimming, was a little more iirc, but minus loss of fat and stuff would consider again.

Sry, back to the brisket, I dont have time right now to go further but this was the worst brisket I have ever made by far. Still awesome though :) . My theory, by cutting the packer in half, I cook each half independently pulling the flat often HOURS before the fatty thick point. That way I cook each side perfectly. In full size this holds even more true. This flat was as thick as point. On the other hand I did take to 200 which is high for brisket for me, iirc. I dont leave a whole lot of fat on them. Look forward to any all discussion.View attachment 711001View attachment 711002View attachment 711003View attachment 711004View attachment 711005View attachment 711006
I always bring my brisket to 203*f and after a good rest I can squeeze the juices out as if it were a sponge, so I would say itā€™s not the internal temp.

What grade was the brisket
 
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Sams typically sells those flats as choice grade and you have to be really picky with them, the whole packers they sell are usually prime (by me anyway) so I always grab the packers especially considering they are significantly less money and it's prime it seems crazy to me they even sell those flats. I just grabbed this one yesterday $41 for a 15lb prime packer it's almost like stealing
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Sams typically sells those flats as choice grade and you have to be really picky with them, the whole packers they sell are usually prime (by me anyway) so I always grab the packers especially considering they are significantly less money and it's prime it seems crazy to me they even sell those flats. I just grabbed this one yesterday $41 for a 15lb prime packer it's almost like stealing
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Thatā€™s a great price! Most places by me are 8.99/lb for prime full packer
 
Brisket for Christmas! Haha, I put killer hogs rub on it. I have never used anything on steak other than evoo and oil. Didnt cut it in half, was a weird trimmed brisket they called a flat at Sam's. Seemed like a full packer trimmed up. Needed very little trimming, was a little more iirc, but minus loss of fat and stuff would consider again.

Sry, back to the brisket, I dont have time right now to go further but this was the worst brisket I have ever made by far. Still awesome though :) . My theory, by cutting the packer in half, I cook each half independently pulling the flat often HOURS before the fatty thick point. That way I cook each side perfectly. In full size this holds even more true. This flat was as thick as point. On the other hand I did take to 200 which is high for brisket for me, iirc. I dont leave a whole lot of fat on them. Look forward to any all discussion.

Ok... Lots of questions...

  1. When you cut a packer in "half" how do you cut it? Do you carefully remove the point muscle from the flat muscle (they overlap significantly) or do you literally cut the big hunk of beef in half cross-wise?
  2. You pull the flat before the point? My experience has been that the point often gets cooked through before the flat--and with all the fat in the point, it's tender and juicy before the flat too.
  3. This looks like a flat, but you're saying it seems like a full packer trimmed up? I don't think I have a clue what you're saying.
  4. 200 often isn't a very high temp for brisket. Did you probe test it? Was it tender?
I suspect what might have happened is that you undercooked it. Typically undercooked is dry and tough, properly cooked is moist and tender, and overcooked is moist and falling apart.

That said, doing a flat specifically has a little more tendency to dry out than a whole packer--getting the flat of brisket perfect is an art. If you're doing just the flat, sometimes that's a good time to wrap in foil when you reach the stall and it helps to keep it more moist.
 
Sams typically sells those flats as choice grade and you have to be really picky with them, the whole packers they sell are usually prime (by me anyway) so I always grab the packers especially considering they are significantly less money and it's prime it seems crazy to me they even sell those flats. I just grabbed this one yesterday $41 for a 15lb prime packer it's almost like stealing

I don't trust grading on brisket. Grading of entire cow is based purely on the rib section, so what you actually end up with elsewhere on the animal may not always match. Usually I go by sight and feel.

And likewise I don't buy flats. If I want to make just a flat (for example my wife and I might do our own home-cured corned beef this year for St Patrick's Day), I buy the full packer and either grind the point into a burger mix, or use it to simply smoke some burnt ends, or something... Not going to pay double per pound to let someone else trim for me when I'm certainly going to get every bit I can out of the whole thing for much lower cost.
 
I don't trust grading on brisket. Grading of entire cow is based purely on the rib section, so what you actually end up with elsewhere on the animal may not always match. Usually I go by sight and feel.

And likewise I don't buy flats. If I want to make just a flat (for example my wife and I might do our own home-cured corned beef this year for St Patrick's Day), I buy the full packer and either grind the point into a burger mix, or use it to simply smoke some burnt ends, or something... Not going to pay double per pound to let someone else trim for me when I'm certainly going to get every bit I can out of the whole thing for much lower cost.
100% agree, I usually go through every piece/pack of meat before I make my choice my wife is a little embarrassed and usually tells me "I'll be over here go get your meats"

And the point going into the grinder for burgers sounds awesome
 
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