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Managed to do some smoking for the first time in a long while. It turns out the grocery store has started selling packs of beef ribs, and amazingly, the quality is actually better than what I can get from the local butchers here.  The probe started reading a temperature 20 degrees lower than when I first wrapped them, so I'm not sure what was going on. I pulled the ribs a bit earlier than I'd have liked (at around 190), but they were incredibly succulent and tender. I also made vegan baked beans, chili using leftover brisket and beef cheek from a previous smoke, vegan mac & cheese and vegan cornbread. I also smoked some sausages to give me something to snack on for lunch. This was the first time using cherry pellets, and it worked quite well.
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Sep 24, 2021 00:20
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| # ? May 15, 2024 22:33 |
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That looks delicious! I’m curious though—how can mac and cheese be made vegan? The cheese would seem to nix the vegan part. I’m honestly asking, not trying to be a dick
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Sep 24, 2021 00:32
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Cashew cheese is the bomb. https://www.seriouseats.com/gooey-vegan-nacho-cheese-sauce-recipe-food-lab https://www.seriouseats.com/vegan-stovetop-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe
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Sep 24, 2021 00:34
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toplitzin posted:Cashew cheese is the bomb. You had me at J. Kenji López-Alt ninja edit: also like I had no idea you could make a cheese-tasting sauce from that stuff. Sweet
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Sep 24, 2021 00:37
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Those recipes look a lot better than what I made. But yeah, I use a cashew cream as a base, then season with various spices and add a bit of mustard. I think there's also an element of 'accepted flavours' with some vegan stuff, like how nutritional yeast usually equates to a cheese flavour, despite not actually tasting a whole lot like real cheese. I'll need to try those recipes next time, they look really good
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Sep 24, 2021 01:01
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life is killing me posted:That looks delicious! The box mac and cheese I buy is vegan and gluten free.
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Sep 24, 2021 02:47
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The Thermoworks Smoke is only $60 today (40% off) for anyone who hasn't replaced their soon-to-break Maverick yet. edit: It's a private sale or whatever so you need this link https://www.thermoworks.com/Smoke-Special-Sep21
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Sep 24, 2021 16:45
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Anyone ever pastrami a turkey? Thinking about doing it for Thanksgiving.
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Sep 25, 2021 20:43
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You thinking curing in some form first, or just smoking it with a pastrami rub? The rub part probably turns out fantastic. I've never heard of doing a corned beef style cure on a bird though lol.
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Sep 25, 2021 21:48
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Yea I was thinking full cure as well. Turkey pastrami isn't unheard of, I was wondering if the extra effort is worth it over just smoking it.
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Sep 25, 2021 21:51
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I'd just do a 2 day dry brine and then rub, I think. Trying to do a full cure on a bird feels like it's a risky way to mis-judge how much time or curing salt you'd need exactly.
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Sep 25, 2021 21:53
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:The Thermoworks Smoke is only $60 today (40% off) for anyone who hasn't replaced their soon-to-break Maverick yet. Grabbed a green one. Thanks!
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Sep 25, 2021 22:11
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Just to close the loop on this, one down three to go.
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Sep 26, 2021 16:22
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Dog Faced JoJo posted:Just to close the loop on this, one down three to go. That’s awesome. I saw the one from Fireboard. Any luck finding something like this on Amazon? I can’t find anything but I may not be getting the keywords down. (I have an Amazon GiftCard I’d rather use than order straight from Fireboard)
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Sep 27, 2021 00:08
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Bob A Feet posted:That’s awesome. I saw the one from Fireboard. Any luck finding something like this on Amazon? I can’t find anything but I may not be getting the keywords down. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BLFB9D4/
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Sep 27, 2021 02:06
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Bob A Feet posted:That’s awesome. I saw the one from Fireboard. Any luck finding something like this on Amazon? I can’t find anything but I may not be getting the keywords down. Weber sells them and I think they’ve randomly come up for me when I was looking at thermometer stuff
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Sep 27, 2021 07:54
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So my wife suggested I get a pit boss (440D2) several months ago and I’ve been having a blast with it ever since. Made some spare ribs last night.  Went around 4 hours at 225 spraying with apple cider every 20 minutes or so after the third hour, an hour at 300, suddenly hit 210 and finally sauced. I was caught off guard with that, I think I just lost track of how many times I've cleaned out the fire box and needed to do it again before the next time I cook something. Forgot to take pictures of the inside right after slicing, so here are a few ribs I pulled out or the fridge from last night for lunch.  They were pretty much falling off the bone but the temp spiked right before I sauced so I think I can do better next time around. Still not bad for a Sunday dinner! Solkanar512 fucked around with this message at 20:15 on Sep 27, 2021 |
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Sep 27, 2021 20:12
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Woke up early to get these on by 6am. Not real happy with the cut of the ribs, but that's how they showed up.
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Oct 2, 2021 17:58
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Enos Cabell posted:Woke up early to get these on by 6am. Not real happy with the cut of the ribs, but that's how they showed up. Ribs cut like that are an abomination.
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Oct 2, 2021 20:02
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Hasselblad posted:Ribs cut like that are an abomination. Yeah, this was from a cow raised by my father in law, and they were forced to change processors at the last minute. They did a really lovely job, but at least they tasted good. Pork butt is in the stall now, hoping it will be done by 7:30ish
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Oct 2, 2021 22:50
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Big boys at Costco 
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Oct 2, 2021 23:02
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Huh, where are you at? In northern virginia our brisket are still 4.99/lb
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Oct 3, 2021 01:32
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I haven't seen anything but flats @ 8.99 at our Costco for months now Butt is still at 180, but in the meantime I smoked some stew meat that I'll use for chili in a few weeks 
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Oct 3, 2021 01:57
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Enos Cabell posted:I haven't seen anything but flats @ 8.99 at our Costco for months now drat that’s a good idea
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Oct 3, 2021 01:58
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NomNomNom posted:Huh, where are you at? In northern virginia our brisket are still 4.99/lb It says “Enfield, CT” on the label.
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Oct 3, 2021 04:40
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Finally hit 203 at 10:15pm after 16 hours, worth the wait.  
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Oct 3, 2021 05:30
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So . . . rookie question here (again) . . . is smoking much more hands-on with thermometers and the like? For example, with Sous Vide, once you have a time/temp that you like for a given cut of meat, you can pretty much just keep plugging those numbers in and everything Just Works. No thinking required! With smoking, is it pretty important then to Always Have A Probe - and therefore make decisions based on what the device is telling you, rather than a time/temp chart? Edit: If that is the case, that's perfectly fine! It won't make me shy away from getting into it in the slightest. Just wondering what kind of mental framework/worldview I should have around it is all.
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Oct 3, 2021 05:37
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Yes, you're right, you're going to want to know the temp of the meat. A good remote thermoter like the Fireboard is real nice. Smoking can be almost as hands of as sous vide with an electric smoker. That's the route I went and that was one of the reasons why.
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Oct 3, 2021 06:53
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Internet Explorer posted:Yes, you're right, you're going to want to know the temp of the meat. A good remote thermoter like the Fireboard is real nice. Great tip, thanks! I'll have to pick one up. I was in Menard's today and wandered through the "backyard" aisle (almost started drooling at the half-barrel sized firepit they've got nowadays, too bad I live in an apartment for now) and saw they had a shelf of minifridge-sized smokers. If they had had the thread recommended one, I might have just bought one then and there, but they were Char-Broil and Pit Boss and since I know the thread favorite is MasterBuilt, I decided to pass for today. So, then, another dumb question from the resident thread dipshit (who is me) - I'm guessing that it is NOT possible to take a hunk of meat directly from the freezer to the smoker, correct? That is to say, I want to smoke thawed/never frozen meat, yeah? Again, just checking in because it is definitely the height of Being Spoiled to just bulk-buy meat, vac seal it, freeze it, and then throw it in the puddle. I'm guessing I'll want to be smoking something I picked up from the store that week. (If weekly trips to the store are the price I have to pay for smoked delectables, then that is the price I will pay)
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Oct 3, 2021 10:55
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Zarin posted:So . . . rookie question here (again) . . . is smoking much more hands-on with thermometers and the like? There is just a lot of variance in smoking that isn’t really present in sous vide. Fluid immersion is pretty much the gold standard of even, consistent heat transfer over an entire surface. Convection on the other hand just is hard to be consistent with. Air temps from a live flame? Air currents over odd shaped cuts of meat? Local weather effects? Etc… If you look at what most pros are doing it’s spending thousands of dollars reducing variables to get consistency.
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Oct 3, 2021 13:36
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Zarin posted:Great tip, thanks! I'll have to pick one up. I’ve smoked a partially de thawed (outside thawed, inside still frozen) pork butt and it came out just fine. I’ve frozen and completely dethawed meat a ton with no issue. Most people here have an instant read thermometer (you stick it in, it reads) which is an awesome kitchen tool all around; as well as a digital remote thermometer that either displays temps via analog radio ways to a receiver or via Bluetooth/wifi through an app. That being said, old school bbq is done by feel of the meat, akin to tooth picking a cake to see if it’s done. I’m not good enough to be old school so I just use thermometers. Thread recommendation it seems is either masterbuilt or Weber’s Smokey mountain line if you want to use charcoal.
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Oct 3, 2021 16:23
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Zarin posted:So, then, another dumb question from the resident thread dipshit (who is me) - I'm guessing that it is NOT possible to take a hunk of meat directly from the freezer to the smoker, correct? That is to say, I want to smoke thawed/never frozen meat, yeah? Again, just checking in because it is definitely the height of Being Spoiled to just bulk-buy meat, vac seal it, freeze it, and then throw it in the puddle. I'm guessing I'll want to be smoking something I picked up from the store that week. (If weekly trips to the store are the price I have to pay for smoked delectables, then that is the price I will pay) Sounds like you already have a sous vide setup, but if you haven't tried it yet they work amazingly well to thaw meat quickly as well. Set your temp to 32F/0C and just let it circulate, most stuff I've done will be completely thawed within 30min or so.
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Oct 3, 2021 16:43
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Zarin posted:So . . . rookie question here (again) . . . is smoking much more hands-on with thermometers and the like? Yeah, depending on what kind of smoker you have, at least one remote thermometer is pretty essential. A weber kettle, kamado, an offset wood smoker, etc all rely on you to control the temperature via adjusting the airflow the fire's getting. The probes built in to the lids of a weber are notoriously inaccurate, you need something you can put on the grate right next to where your meat actually is. Monitoring the temp on the meat is pretty important too, just because every cut is different, and might have more/less fat, or more or less moisture that needs to cook off in the stall. Smoking isn't just a matter of temp on the meat, it's gotta take a certain amount of time, too, for some of the tougher cuts to render out all the fat and turn the connective tissues in to gelatin. If you want to spend a bit more cash, there's other options that make it far more hands off though- Pellet smokers (A smoker that burns wood pellets automatically with an electrically driven augur/thermostat control), electric smokers, or a probe/fan setup for a weber kettle all offer set it and forget it smoking. With one of those, you can just check the temp on your meat with any thermometer you have, remote or otherwise. Generally something like the Thermoworks smoke (A good two probe thermometer with a remote display) is gonna be an assumption /a thing that makes your life very easy when smoking.
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Oct 3, 2021 22:26
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Zarin posted:So . . . rookie question here (again) . . . is smoking much more hands-on with thermometers and the like? It depends on you honestly. At this point over used my WSM enough I can roughly tell the temp at grate level based off the temp on the lid. So I’ll just eye ball that sometimes and adjust. You can def have a grate and meat level probe to precisely monitor and adjust.
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Oct 4, 2021 02:08
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Somebody local to me is selling a Traeger Pro 575 pellet grill for $400 (MSRP is $900). Is this going to be a good smoker (knowing it can also bring high heat if desired)? Or are there any red flags to be aware of? This is it
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Oct 4, 2021 04:16
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It’s not great at high heat but it’ll be a great smoker. I own an older model and paid about that much and I’ve been very happy.
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Oct 4, 2021 04:24
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Chemmy posted:It’s not great at high heat but it’ll be a great smoker. I own an older model and paid about that much and I’ve been very happy. yeah it depends on what you want from it. you can still grill steaks and hamburgers and whatever on it, but its only hitting 450-500. if you want an easy smoker that can still top out at like 700~ temps I have to recommend the masterbuilt 560. It's only $500 and while there are issues I have had with it (generally just making sure that the chimney and hopper door sensors. its mostly an issue with making sure that they are free of crud so that the bottom fan continues to run) the experience has been great. I have made ribs and pizzas (with the aid of a pizza steel) on the same grill. I don't think it's the greatest smoker in the world. I think the insulation on the lid is an issue. But the inside temp is still really consistent. Its a very flexible grill/smoker and for a moron like me it is a great entry level thing.
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Oct 4, 2021 06:16
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Borsche69 posted:yeah it depends on what you want from it. you can still grill steaks and hamburgers and whatever on it, but its only hitting 450-500. if you want an easy smoker that can still top out at like 700~ temps I have to recommend the masterbuilt 560. It's only $500 and while there are issues I have had with it (generally just making sure that the chimney and hopper door sensors. its mostly an issue with making sure that they are free of crud so that the bottom fan continues to run) the experience has been great. I have made ribs and pizzas (with the aid of a pizza steel) on the same grill. I was just checking out the Masterbuilt GS560 today. A store near me has their grills all at 20% off right now for the end of the season. I went in to check out a Green Mountain Grills Ledge Prime Plus but was intrigued by the Masterbuilt. Pizza capability on both of them is a plus l. Do you supplement the charcoal with hardwood in the ash tray to boost the smoke production?
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Oct 5, 2021 20:42
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rockcity posted:I was just checking out the Masterbuilt GS560 today. A store near me has their grills all at 20% off right now for the end of the season. I went in to check out a Green Mountain Grills Ledge Prime Plus but was intrigued by the Masterbuilt. Pizza capability on both of them is a plus l. Do you supplement the charcoal with hardwood in the ash tray to boost the smoke production? Yeah, you can do that or stagger some wood in the hopper. I've done both and also a combination of the two and they all worked pretty well.
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Oct 5, 2021 22:12
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I was thinking of doing some duck meatballs for pasta. I thought I would put them in the smoker for a while, then sauté to get a millard reaction. That said, my concern is that the meatballs will dry out and fall apart if I leave them in a dry, low temp environment like a smoker. Has anyone tried meatballs or anything like that on a smoker - any suggestions? Am I worrying for no reason?
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Oct 11, 2021 00:54
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