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Vargo posted:Finally figured out how to use the mini kamado over Super Bowl weekend, but still having trouble getting it to maintain a consistent temperature. I got an "average" of 225, but I kept futzing with the vents, sometimes up to 240, sometimes down to about 210. I need to figure out how to set it consistently early. I don't futz with vents anymore because I bought a Flameboss but from what I recall my method was having the bottom open like ~1/4 of an inch and then making minute adjustments with only the top vent if I got more than 10 or 15 degrees too high or too low. Like if I really nailed it it would stay +/- 5 degrees for many hours but I'm not sure that's always really possible, maybe sometimes you're just going to have a big lump that has more or less surface area exposed or whatever and it's going to naturally get hotter or colder without vent adjustment. But I had a large BGE so I'm guessing the smaller ones are trickier due to having a lot less thermal mass.
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Feb 21, 2021 17:23
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My smokes swing between 200-275. You're really micromanaging it unless you're in a cooking competition. You'll get get 95% of the result without touching it, but you're going to need to double your efforts to get that last 5%. Like previously mentioned, get a controller if you really need the consistency.
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Feb 21, 2021 17:31
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um excuse me posted:My smokes swing between 200-275. You're really micromanaging it unless you're in a cooking competition. You'll get get 95% of the result without touching it, but you're going to need to double your efforts to get that last 5%. Like previously mentioned, get a controller if you really need the consistency. Big truths here
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Feb 21, 2021 19:37
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Vargo posted:Finally figured out how to use the mini kamado over Super Bowl weekend, but still having trouble getting it to maintain a consistent temperature. I got an "average" of 225, but I kept futzing with the vents, sometimes up to 240, sometimes down to about 210. I need to figure out how to set it consistently early.
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Feb 21, 2021 19:53
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Infinite Karma posted:It's honestly just the size that's gonna make it a little bit unstable. Still, I'm head over heels for my big kamado, it's worth the effort IMO. I'm also starting to appreciate the results from more hot-and-fast style smokes at 250-275. At 225, a lot of stuff really dries out during the longer stall. Assuming a shorter stall I’m also assuming you’re not having to crutch. Are you just powering through the stall? Are you remedying a longer stall at 225 or waiting that out too?
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Feb 21, 2021 19:59
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I mean, the stall is sometimes really long if you leave something uncrutched at 225 because of the physics of it all. At 275ish, my pork shoulder and brisket doesn't stall nearly as badly whether I crutch it or not because the heat moves into the meat faster than the moisture diffuses to the surface and evaporates. I'm also impatient and my family doesn't like to eat at 8pm - 10pm when I overshoot my times, so I'll happily work on recipes that I can get done in 6-8 hours instead of 10-12.
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Feb 21, 2021 22:05
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Pulled pork that's a little dry is infinitely better than a juicy one no one wants. Ultimately serving people food when they want it is what makes people want your food again and again.
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Feb 21, 2021 23:28
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Double postin' to remind yall that were in peak cheap pork season. Stock up on butt, ribs, and belly!
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Feb 22, 2021 14:29
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um excuse me posted:Double postin' to remind yall that were in peak cheap pork season. Stock up on butt, ribs, and belly! But why is it cheap pork season? Just because? I may run to my local butcher and grab some pork ribs for sure since my last pulled pork was a loving hit. I also have never done brisket before...but that’s not pork. I just wanna try it
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Feb 22, 2021 15:17
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I usually buy pre-cut st louis or baby backs at the grocery store but this weekend I bought a full spare rib from a butchers. The rips tips are good but why doesn't anyone ever mention the back flap? I trimmed it off put memphis dust on it, stuck it on at 225 with the rest pulled it when it looked done about 90 minutes later and it was AMAZING. Some of the best, most flavorful and tender pork I've had in my life. Kind of like a mini, porky skirt steak.
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Feb 22, 2021 15:18
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life is killing me posted:But why is it cheap pork season? Just because? I couldn't tell you the mechanism why other than it's the way it's farmed. Like how you'll get a lot of cheap eggs in spring, or how beef is slaughtered in the fall.
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Feb 22, 2021 15:23
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I’ve been holding out to find a used WSM on Craigslist or Facebook, and haven’t seen many of them. I’m seeing a lot of Brinkmann charcoal smokers. Good stuff? Anything will likely be an upgrade from my current rig.
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Feb 22, 2021 21:14
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I would pay in the tens of dollars for a Brinkmann. It was my first smoker. Good for cutting your teeth and really understanding the smoking process, terrible for consistant results, temp or fuel consumption. You can get an analogous entry-level starter smoker for like $60 new at a hardware store.
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Feb 22, 2021 21:20
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Okay so that’s about on par with my current setup then. I bought it to learn and get better, and now I kind of want something a little bigger that delivers more consistent results.
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Feb 22, 2021 21:22
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Bob A Feet posted:I say try it and see. I have friends who swear by it and I have friends who swear against it. Let me know cause I’ve wondered the same thing! Well I didn't end up injecting because it was super early in the morning and I'm not a morning person so I forget things etc. but still turned out amazing. One of the most tender shoulders I've cooked, pretty fall apart at 194! Some I've gotten up to 203 and they still weren't as tender, so I consider it quite a success.
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Feb 22, 2021 21:49
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Does anyone here do traditional dig a pit BBQ? I feel like BBQ is 1/3 taste, 1/3 chilling with people and 1/3 drama, and pulling out a load of meat from a smoking hole in the ground seems like it would be awesome. I'm going to be doing our garden at some point soon so I can design it in, 5 ft brick pit, pulley, adjustable air inlets and outlets. Would also do a clay pizza oven at the same time. Alternatively, I have a lead on a big green egg at potentially cost price. Easier but more expensive and less interesting I think.
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Feb 22, 2021 23:38
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um excuse me posted:My smokes swing between 200-275. You're really micromanaging it unless you're in a cooking competition. If there was just one temperature probe you'd think the smoker stayed right on target temperature the whole time, but actually the temperature is extremely variable even inside a heavy ceramic big green egg. It just goes to show that you only need to get it in the ballpark to get delicious BBQ and even cooking competition folks have to use their eyes and react to what they see happening, even with the tightest of perceived automatic control.
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Feb 22, 2021 23:45
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Definitely. At a certain point you go from reading temperatures to just reading the meat. Seeing how it looks and feels and just knowing what it needs. Because of the bend test, ribs are the best way to learn how to start reading the meat.
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Feb 22, 2021 23:48
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Well I was watching one expert do whole hog bbq and he said he would adjust the heat based off the sound/pattern of the fat hitting the coals. That's both a lot of experience and good teachers. Without that you either will ruin a lot of meat or use a thermometer until you get there.
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Feb 23, 2021 00:39
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If my wife would let me I’d get one of those entry-level drum smokers, but she’d probably be all, “I got you the electric one you wanted for Father’s Day, why do you want a different one now?” Not sure yet how I would answer. Probably that the electric one only has so much temp control and for bigger projects like multiple briskets or something it doesn’t have the space one of those drum smokers does. There’s no way at my current skill level that I’d even bother trying to convince my wife to get a BGE or anything similar—I’d just wait until I’m good at doing it the traditional way and then spend my discretionary money on it if I still wanted it. But, Meathead says in his book you can smoke on a gas grill with indirect heat and even on a small Weber kettle grill the same way. Maybe I could try that first.
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Feb 23, 2021 00:40
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life is killing me posted:But, Meathead says in his book you can smoke on a gas grill with indirect heat and even on a small Weber kettle grill the same way. Maybe I could try that first. I smoke on a Weber kettle no problem. I have a slow n sear but snake method for coals works fine too.
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Feb 23, 2021 00:54
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life is killing me posted:If my wife would let me I’d get one of those entry-level drum smokers, but she’d probably be all, “I got you the electric one you wanted for Father’s Day, why do you want a different one now?” Not sure yet how I would answer. Probably that the electric one only has so much temp control and for bigger projects like multiple briskets or something it doesn’t have the space one of those drum smokers does. "This isn't electric, you wouldn't understand" Enjoy sleeping on the couch. Get the one that lets you grow into it. As someone with a kettle and 22" WSM, the kettle is a relative pain to set up for smoking and use. You have to refill it on most smokes. It's a great learning tool, but if you're past that it won't do much for you. Especially since you're talking about smoking multiple slabs at once.
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Feb 23, 2021 00:57
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The ~$300 investment in my MES has been one of my favorite purchases. It's cheap enough that if I wanted to do it differently, and lived somewhere I could, I would have no problem with selling/giving it away and calling it a good worthwhile purchase.
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Feb 23, 2021 01:08
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Nothing wrong with the MES. In fact, mine is cranking now for the first time this year after weeks of below freezing temps. Doing half a picnic for dinner @ 275. That was the absolute last thing they had at the store. It will work. Tossed some brats on earlier and just had them for lunch. Ah, all is good with the world.
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Feb 23, 2021 19:26
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C-Bangin' it 
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Folks stop smoking when it goes below freezing? Madness
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Feb 24, 2021 04:59
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life is killing me posted:If my wife would let me I’d get one of those entry-level drum smokers, but she’d probably be all, “I got you the electric one you wanted for Father’s Day, why do you want a different one now?” Not sure yet how I would answer. Probably that the electric one only has so much temp control and for bigger projects like multiple briskets or something it doesn’t have the space one of those drum smokers does. you can certainly just get a bge (or akorn or broil king keg) and learn on that, it will have tons of capacity once you figure things out. my first bge was a used medium and then i quickly moved up to a large a year or two later when i found a deal on another used one. now i have an XL with the rack setup so i can do a full packer and ribs at the same time, or 6 racks of ribs laid out flat.
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Feb 24, 2021 05:57
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I totally understand not wanting to sink that kind of money on a grill if you're just starting out, but kamados aren't some magic "experts only" smoker/grill. I absolutely love mine and get good results off of it, and I am a clown and a buffoon who's only been into smoking for a few years now.
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Feb 24, 2021 06:01
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Hasselblad posted:Folks stop smoking when it goes below freezing? i still use smoker when it's cold. Just don't expect to see higher temps so I usually smoke stuff that only needs 225
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Feb 24, 2021 12:51
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tater_salad posted:i still use smoker when it's cold. Just don't expect to see higher temps so I usually smoke stuff that only needs 225 I’ve found that it is not so much the smoker body of ours, as it is the cold air coming through the stoker. To the point where I am tempted to have the hose draw air from inside the garage rather than the outside. Our double walled keg gets use all the way down to 0F, as long as there’s no wind.
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Feb 24, 2021 13:10
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When I ran my Keilbasa through my WSM it was close to 20°F out. Vents were fully open and was still only doing 225°F. Went through what takes 10 hours in summer in 2 hours. If you're not using an insulated smoker load that sucker up to make using the coals worthwhile.
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Feb 24, 2021 13:12
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CancerCakes posted:Does anyone here do traditional dig a pit BBQ? I feel like BBQ is 1/3 taste, 1/3 chilling with people and 1/3 drama, and pulling out a load of meat from a smoking hole in the ground seems like it would be awesome. For me, it's all about taste and convenience. Having a smoker that I can get to that's one step outside my patio door is great, especially when it's 2am and you need to load in more charcoal or frig with the vents. The WSM + fan controller goes a long way to making those 2am trips a thing of the past, but I'd get a MES in an instant if the WSM was not in the picture.
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Feb 24, 2021 13:27
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BraveUlysses posted:you can certainly just get a bge (or akorn or broil king keg) and learn on that, it will have tons of capacity once you figure things out. my first bge was a used medium and then i quickly moved up to a large a year or two later when i found a deal on another used one. Are they halfway affordable if small and used? Last I looked a BGE at least was quite a lot of cash. I’ll check on the others, it never occurred to me that other brands of this type of smoker might exist in different qualities. In other news I’m thinking of smoking salt just to say I did because I’ve never met anyone else who smoked salt before
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Feb 24, 2021 14:35
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Hasselblad posted:I’ve found that it is not so much the smoker body of ours, as it is the cold air coming through the stoker. To the point where I am tempted to have the hose draw air from inside the garage rather than the outside. Our double walled keg gets use all the way down to 0F, as long as there’s no wind. my MES sometimes struggles when it's cold and windy.. I have in teh past wrapped a scrap blanket from the thrift store around it when I wanted to smoker in the winter..
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Feb 24, 2021 14:57
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Buddy of mine picked up a big cheapo welder blanket at Harbor Freight and covers his smoker with that during winter, he does overnight cooks without issue. Temps are supposed to be good here the rest of the week but I'm gonna run out and grab one to have on hand just in case.
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Feb 24, 2021 15:00
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life is killing me posted:Are they halfway affordable if small and used? Last I looked a BGE at least was quite a lot of cash. I’ll check on the others, it never occurred to me that other brands of this type of smoker might exist in different qualities.
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Feb 24, 2021 15:51
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Infinite Karma posted:The Louisiana Grills version of the BGE XL (24" size) sells at Costco every spring/summer for $500-$600. I think the BGE brand one is over 2 grand, and they're close to identical. Yeah they are proud of those things
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Feb 24, 2021 15:57
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Infinite Karma posted:The Louisiana Grills version of the BGE XL (24" size) sells at Costco every spring/summer for $500-$600. I think the BGE brand one is over 2 grand, and they're close to identical. That's what I have. Even came with a cover. Unloading that thing was fun for the whole family.
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Feb 25, 2021 01:08
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Just kick it off the back of the truck. It'll bounce, right?
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Feb 25, 2021 01:15
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life is killing me posted:
Do it. I smoked a bunch a few years ago, probably posted photos here... I made multiple different flavors, even a Siracha flavored salt. I still use it every day. I also gave jars away to friends. I bought a 20lb bag of sea salt off of Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GIZGSUC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 20lbs is an absurd amount of salt. Don't buy that big of bag unless you plan on making it as gifts for people. I did make gifts and I still have probably half that bag unused. Edit: Found the post. I did more after this to get the other flavors. Currently using Cherry smoked salt in most things as that is the one I have on the counter right now. Trastion posted:I made some Pulled Pork today to replenish my stock of freezer bags for quick meals. Trastion fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Feb 26, 2021 |
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Feb 26, 2021 17:30
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Trastion posted:Do it. I smoked a bunch a few years ago, probably posted photos here... That’s something I wonder about—do you just have to work fast to get the flavoring in so the salt doesn’t dissolve? Smoked sriracha salt sounds pretty nice
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Feb 26, 2021 17:49
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