What Are You Smoking?? (meats and vegetables, not intoxicants)

[CarpetCrawler]

3 hours ago, Sherpa said:

 

They are the best item to start.

Almost impossible to screw up.

Time is very predictable, five to 5 and a half hours.

If you lose indirect heat grill space, curl them into a circle and use a skewer to keep the circular shape.

No temp monitoring. Sight alone and a few other criteria tell you when they're done.

 

Pork shoulder/butt is next easiest, but the timing can vary a couple hours. Using 225, I plan 12-14 hours, but it must get to at least 195, and 200 is better.

Brisket a little more difficult.

Not mentioned, but important, is to take the meat out and let it climb to near room temp before starting. Provides for more uniform temps from the outside to the middle.

I've found the times recommended for this on the internet are oddly inaccurate.

I stick a temp probe in after a half hour outside the refrigerator, looking for at least 58 to start cooking, but not more than 60. Usually takes an hour and a half. (Not necessary with ribs).

 

I have found this especially important with lower fat items, like turkey.

 

 

Would you brine the turkey first?

[Just Joshin]

Here is a wing recipe to try.  This is designed for a ceramic smoker but will work in a regular smoker.

 

I like full wings with the tip removed, cut skin between flat and drum.  It is optional to brine but adds flavor and keeps the wings juicy. 

 

Prep:  Rinse and dry.  Cover with a light layer of mayo - this will help with crisp skin.  Apply your choice of rub.  I like Plowboy's Yard Bird rub.

 

Get smoker to 325.  Use fruit woods - apple, cherry and pecan work best with chicken.  Hickory can be too strong.

 

Place wings in smoker.  Smoke for 25 minutes.  Flip and smoke for another 15-20 or until they temp at 180 degrees.  Joints should pull easily.  If skin is not crisp, raise heat to help crisp.

 

Apply BBQ or Buffalo sauce at end or eat plain.

[Just Joshin]

6 minutes ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

Would you brine the turkey first?

Always brine a Turkey because of the lack of fat.  I prefer a bourbon based brine but here is a turkey specific brine.

 

Turkey Brine:

1 gallon water

1 cup coarse Kosher salt

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

4 tablespoons black pepper

3 - 4 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon Allspice

 

Heat water/salt/sugars to rolling boil. Take off burner, add other ingredients. Allow mixture to cool before placing meat into solution. 

Place 10 - 12 lb. turkey in non-reactive container and cover with brine. Refrigerate for minimum of 24 hours, preferably 48 hours.

 

I use a device called "The Briner" to keep the bird/meat submerged.  Not necessary but I like BBQ toys.

[Sherpa]

1 hour ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

Would you brine the turkey first?

 

I always do.

For background, I have roasted them, deep fried them, wet brined and dry brined them.

Deep frying is great, but way too much mess and bother, and the peanut oil costs more than the turkey, even if you use it twice.

Wet brining is not my favorite. Takes a lot of space to wet brine a turkey, and it must be done below 45 degrees and above 32, so if the weather is OK it works, but if not it is taking a huge amount of refrigerator space. The worst part is that yu are actually adding salty water to an otherwise perfect turkey.

 

What I have done for the last three years is dry brine.

Defrost, which takes over three days, then apply the salt and let sit, wrapped for two days. 

I get course or Kosher salt, (never table salt), under the skin on the flesh as best I can, and finish off using the kosher on the skin. Table salt simply doesn't work.

Twenty fours prior to cooking, take the wrap off and let the skin dry out in the refrigerator.

Dry skin at start of cook is important.

 

I let it get to 55 degrees internal before cooking. Takes about two hours for a twelve pounder.

I use 450 for 30 mins breast up. This dries the skin and compensates for what is going to be a slow cook.

Turn the heat down to 250 while flipping it over to breast down.

Cook breast down for one and a half hours, then flip again, breast up till it hits 165 at the deepest breast part. Sounds counter intuitive, but moisture is the issue with turkey, and this works.

Works out to be 450 for 30 mins, then 250 for about 20 mins per pound.

 

Wrap and put in a cooler for 30 mins before carving.

 

Things to note.

Always have it on a grate over a roasting pan. Do not let it sit in juice while cooking.

The weight is after removing the giblets and other trash on the inside, not the stated weight on the price tag.

Be careful buying heavily injected turkeys if you are dry brining. I haven't had a problem buying normal turkeys, but I have heard of folks who have over brined because of what had already been injected. Its on the label.

 

Calibrate your oven and meat thermometer.

Someday, when you've nothing to do, boil water and stick your meat thermometer probe in. It should read 212f at the boil point. If it doesn't adjust your plan accordingly. The one I use reads 207 at boil, so its about 5 degrees off. Not that serious, but I cook meat to a specific temp, so anything more than +/- 3 degrees is important.

Calibrate your oven as well, using a thermometer. Know that when you put meat into a grill or oven, and the grill temp probe is nearby, it will reflect the cooler temp from the meat being nearby for a half hour or so.

I don't adjust for this, I simply know it happens.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Sherpa

[CarpetCrawler]

8 hours ago, Just Joshin said:

Here is a wing recipe to try.  This is designed for a ceramic smoker but will work in a regular smoker.

 

I like full wings with the tip removed, cut skin between flat and drum.  It is optional to brine but adds flavor and keeps the wings juicy. 

 

Prep:  Rinse and dry.  Cover with a light layer of mayo - this will help with crisp skin.  Apply your choice of rub.  I like Plowboy's Yard Bird rub.

 

Get smoker to 325.  Use fruit woods - apple, cherry and pecan work best with chicken.  Hickory can be too strong.

 

Place wings in smoker.  Smoke for 25 minutes.  Flip and smoke for another 15-20 or until they temp at 180 degrees.  Joints should pull easily.  If skin is not crisp, raise heat to help crisp.

 

Apply BBQ or Buffalo sauce at end or eat plain.

 

7 hours ago, Just Joshin said:

Always brine a Turkey because of the lack of fat.  I prefer a bourbon based brine but here is a turkey specific brine.

 

Turkey Brine:

1 gallon water

1 cup coarse Kosher salt

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

4 tablespoons black pepper

3 - 4 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon Allspice

 

Heat water/salt/sugars to rolling boil. Take off burner, add other ingredients. Allow mixture to cool before placing meat into solution. 

Place 10 - 12 lb. turkey in non-reactive container and cover with brine. Refrigerate for minimum of 24 hours, preferably 48 hours.

 

I use a device called "The Briner" to keep the bird/meat submerged.  Not necessary but I like BBQ toys.

 

6 hours ago, Sherpa said:

 

I always do.

For background, I have roasted them, deep fried them, wet brined and dry brined them.

Deep frying is great, but way too much mess and bother, and the peanut oil costs more than the turkey, even if you use it twice.

Wet brining is not my favorite. Takes a lot of space to wet brine a turkey, and it must be done below 45 degrees and above 32, so if the weather is OK it works, but if not it is taking a huge amount of refrigerator space. The worst part is that yu are actually adding salty water to an otherwise perfect turkey.

 

What I have done for the last three years is dry brine.

Defrost, which takes over three days, then apply the salt and let sit, wrapped for two days. 

I get course or Kosher salt, (never table salt), under the skin on the flesh as best I can, and finish off using the kosher on the skin. Table salt simply doesn't work.

Twenty fours prior to cooking, take the wrap off and let the skin dry out in the refrigerator.

Dry skin at start of cook is important.

 

I let it get to 55 degrees internal before cooking. Takes about two hours for a twelve pounder.

I use 450 for 30 mins breast up. This dries the skin and compensates for what is going to be a slow cook.

Turn the heat down to 250 while flipping it over to breast down.

Cook breast down for one and a half hours, then flip again, breast up till it hits 165 at the deepest breast part. Sounds counter intuitive, but moisture is the issue with turkey, and this works.

Works out to be 450 for 30 mins, then 250 for about 20 mins per pound.

 

Wrap and put in a cooler for 30 mins before carving.

 

Things to note.

Always have it on a grate over a roasting pan. Do not let it sit in juice while cooking.

The weight is after removing the giblets and other trash on the inside, not the stated weight on the price tag.

Be careful buying heavily injected turkeys if you are dry brining. I haven't had a problem buying normal turkeys, but I have heard of folks who have over brined because of what had already been injected. Its on the label.

 

Calibrate your oven and meat thermometer.

Someday, when you've nothing to do, boil water and stick your meat thermometer probe in. It should read 212f at the boil point. If it doesn't adjust your plan accordingly. The one I use reads 207 at boil, so its about 5 degrees off. Not that serious, but I cook meat to a specific temp, so anything more than +/- 3 degrees is important.

Calibrate your oven as well, using a thermometer. Know that when you put meat into a grill or oven, and the grill temp probe is nearby, it will reflect the cooler temp from the meat being nearby for a half hour or so.

I don't adjust for this, I simply know it happens.

Thanks so much, I was wondering about smoking wings, that sounds delicious.

 

I love the science behind all of this, cooking is one thing, but smoking and BBQ require an eye on the science behind transforming the meat into a delicacy. 

 

It's gonna be a fun summer. This is turning out to be a great resource.

[CarpetCrawler]

Finally used the smoker for the first time yesterday !!!!!!!!!!

 

I had a 5 lb. pork shoulder that i dry rubbed and then had in the smoker for about 7 hours. The first 3 was at 250* with smoke for the first 2 hours (two thirds apple/one third hickory) and spritzing with half apple cider, half cider vinegar every hour. Then i wrapped it in foil and dropped the temp to 225* and waited for the meat to hit 200*. The last hour and i half i threw in some ears of corn. After letting the pork rest about 15 minutes i shredded it up and added a little bourbon BBQ sauce. 

 

The result was delicious, just the right level of smokiness, i totally lucked out on that. My family loved it and everyone was back for seconds. I couldn't have been happier with the way it came out. There's just the tiniest bit left and I think i'm going to grill a hot dog and throw the pork on top of that with a little baked beans.

 

And the corn came out excellent too. I was worried it would get over cooked and starchy, bit it was juicy and crisp and perfect, I just pulled down the husk enough to get the silk out and then put the husk back as good as i could and lined them up in the smoker. No pot, no boiling water, it was nice. And when you peel down the husk it makes a perfect handle. 

 

Anyone else do any smoking over the weekend?

[Just Joshin]

52 minutes ago, CarpetCrawler said:

Finally used the smoker for the first time yesterday !!!!!!!!!!

 

I had a 5 lb. pork shoulder that i dry rubbed and then had in the smoker for about 7 hours. The first 3 was at 250* with smoke for the first 2 hours (two thirds apple/one third hickory) and spritzing with half apple cider, half cider vinegar every hour. Then i wrapped it in foil and dropped the temp to 225* and waited for the meat to hit 200*. The last hour and i half i threw in some ears of corn. After letting the pork rest about 15 minutes i shredded it up and added a little bourbon BBQ sauce. 

 

The result was delicious, just the right level of smokiness, i totally lucked out on that. My family loved it and everyone was back for seconds. I couldn't have been happier with the way it came out. There's just the tiniest bit left and I think i'm going to grill a hot dog and throw the pork on top of that with a little baked beans.

 

And the corn came out excellent too. I was worried it would get over cooked and starchy, bit it was juicy and crisp and perfect, I just pulled down the husk enough to get the silk out and then put the husk back as good as i could and lined them up in the smoker. No pot, no boiling water, it was nice. And when you peel down the husk it makes a perfect handle. 

 

Anyone else do any smoking over the weekend?

I did some baby backs and a pork belly Monday.  Threw a few baking potatoes onto the smoker for the side.  Delish.

[CarpetCrawler]

46 minutes ago, Just Joshin said:

I did some baby backs and a pork belly Monday.  Threw a few baking potatoes onto the smoker for the side.  Delish.

Baby backs are next. Potatoes are a great idea. what do you do with the pork belly, I'm intrigued.........

 

Working my way up to brisket, but I know i'm not ready for that yet.

[KD in CA]

1 hour ago, Just Joshin said:

I did some baby backs and a pork belly Monday.  Threw a few baking potatoes onto the smoker for the side.  Delish.

 

I did baby backs yesterday too.  They are just so damn good.  Wifey made a polenta dish and roasted corn to go with it.  I still felt stuffed six hours later.   👍

Edited June 2, 2021 by KD in CA

[Just Joshin]

10 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

Baby backs are next. Potatoes are a great idea. what do you do with the pork belly, I'm intrigued.........

 

Working my way up to brisket, but I know i'm not ready for that yet.

The key to pork belly is getting the fat rendered.

 

So I start with a brine.  For pork it is usually has apple juice plus some apple flavored bourbon.  Let it sit over night.

 

When preping, I score the fat and then treat like ribs.  Use a mustard slather and a pork rub.  

 

Smoke at 235 dependent upon the size for time.  Mine smoked 5 1/2 hrs as I was just doing a smaller piece.  I do not wrap but you could.  I target 195 - 200 temp but mostly look for tender when I put the probe in to check temp.

 

Good luck.

[Just Joshin]

10 hours ago, KD in CA said:

 

I did baby backs yesterday too.  They are just so damn good.  Wifey made a polenta dish and roasted corn to go with it.  I still felt stuffed six hours later.   👍

Nice.  I prefer baby backs over spares to smoke.  A bit harder but slightly better flavor IMO.  That said, spares are not turned down.

[Sherpa]

15 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 The last hour and i half i threw in some ears of corn. After letting the pork rest about 15 minutes i shredded it up and added a little bourbon BBQ sauce. 

 

Sounds like a successful operation.

As a confidence builder, there are times when the timing of the pork/brisket is not going to be just right for dinner plans.

If you take either of those off at the appropriate temp and wrap them in foil, you can then stick the finished meat in a small cooler for up to two hours, depending on size. (The bigger, the longer they will hold).

I have done this a few times as a meal management thing-ie., the grill was needed for other things the last hour, and monitored the meat temp for up to two hours in the cooler.

I find that one hour is perfect, and two not bad.

Turkey included, though I wouldn't go beyond an hour with such a lean meat.

Anyway, it gives you flexibility and the meat is best when allowed to rest for at least half an hour.

 

I never cut/serve pork butt, brisket or turkey less than 45 minutes after removing from the grill.

For what it's worth.

Anyway, well done.

 

[Uncle Joe]

11 hours ago, Sherpa said:

well done.

You had me until well done. 🥩 🍺

[plenzmd1]

On 6/2/2021 at 8:04 AM, Just Joshin said:

The key to pork belly is getting the fat rendered.

 

 

is no matter what the prep, deep fry at the end!!! LOL

 

BTW, a really nice  butt recipe for when time matters  is a South Carolina Butt. A dry mustard based rub overnight, including deboning , and rubbing rub internally  all along cut as well as outside.

 

Smoke at 225-250 for two hours under heavy smoke. 

 

Remove from smoker, use a simple wet mustard based BBQ sauce all over butt, including inside on the cut...place on V rack in roasting pan, tighly cover pan with foil...into a 325 over for about 3 hours...till 198. 

 

Rest,  ( in towel in cooler if pulling more than 90 minutes after you pull from oven)...use same BBQ sauce ...taste awesome.

 

Only downside to this method is no real deep bark...

Edited June 3, 2021 by plenzmd1

[Just Joshin]

12 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

is no matter what the prep, deep fry at the end!!! LOL

 

BTW, a really nice  butt recipe for when time matters  is a South Carolina Butt. A dry mustard based rub overnight, including deboning , and rubbing rub internally  all along cut as well as outside.

 

Smoke at 225-250 for two hours under heavy smoke. 

 

Remove from smoker, use a simple wet mustard based BBQ sauce all over butt, including inside on the cut...place on V rack in roasting pan, tighly cover pan with foil...into a 325 over for about 3 hours...till 198. 

 

Rest,  ( in towel in cooler if pulling more than 90 minutes after you pull from oven)...use same BBQ sauce ...taste awesome.

 

Only downside to this method is no real deep bark...

Mustard BBQ sauce was a mystery to me until I had it at Sweatman's whole hog bbq in South Carolina.  It works wonderful with pork.

[Foxx]

Anyone have a rub they like to put on baby backs?

[CarpetCrawler]

9 minutes ago, Foxx said:

Anyone have a rub they like to put on baby backs?

 

I usually kind of wing it.

 

Half brown sugar and the rest in decreasing order cumin, paprika, chili powder, celery seed, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt and pepper.

[plenzmd1]

Take out BBQ from some place in VA Beach. Long story. Every bit of it sucked. Pork, Beans, cole slaw.  It all sucked. 
 

how the hell dontou F up pork butt?

[Foxx]

15 hours ago, CarpetCrawler said:

 

I usually kind of wing it.

 

Half brown sugar and the rest in decreasing order cumin, paprika, chili powder, celery seed, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt and pepper.

Baby back wings?

[IDBillzFan]

17 hours ago, Foxx said:

Anyone have a rub they like to put on baby backs?

 

Elizabeth Karmel knows her stuff. The rub recipe in this link is pretty standard. Pretty much every pork rub has some assemblence of these ingredients.

 

Bubbas Bunch BBQd Baby Backs