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AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Food4Less had picnics for 1.29 a pound. What they had out was sliced up and a little trimmed, but they got me a 16lb pack of 2. No brand, no enhanced meat warning, they still might be because Food4Less is owned by Kroger, who apparently sells enhanced butts and picnics. I have bought those before (on sale for less than 1$ per pound, or nothing else was available) at Smith's and they were clearly labeled as such. Literally all that was on the packer was the USDA stamp and safe handling instructions.

I guess I will have to find a way to tell if they are enhanced or not before I cook, so I don't inject or use salt in the rub if they are. It probably isn't, the law does state that it has to be on cryovacs and or labels somewhere.

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MalleusDei
Mar 21, 2007

Where do you guys get wood chips locally? I'm inspired to smoke something...

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002

MalleusDei posted:

Where do you guys get wood chips locally? I'm inspired to smoke something...
Home Depot has them, so does walmart, and I've also seen them at kroger. You may have a little more trouble finding chunks than chips, especially if you are looking for an applewood or cherry wood instead of something like hickory or mesquite.

PuTTY riot fucked around with this message at 22:13 on Apr 27, 2012

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002
Also, I found an offset charcoal char broil smoker on craigslist for $50 instead of $150 new, think I am going to jump on that so that I'm not limited to my brinkmann electric.

Jo3sh
Oct 19, 2002

Like all girls I love unicorns!
As a followup to my previous posts in this thread:

I've been looking into a few electric smokers, and while I don't doubt that goons have had good results with them, reviews in various places have been... mixed. And, I have to admit, the idea of an electric smoker seems somehow disconnected to me.

So I am back to wood-or charcoal-fired smokers. Big Green Egg just seems a little expensive for what it is. I've already been through two Brinkmann charcoal smokers. I could weld up something out of some steel drums and various pieces of plate, but that seems like a lot of bother for uncertain results.

Maybe what I need is something that is a smaller step up than I had originally suggested. One thing that catches my eye is the 18" WSM, possibly with the addition of a pit controller of some kind for better temperature control. Or maybe I just need to man up and find someone with a plasma cutter to make the fabrication of the drum smoker less laborious.

gently caress, I dunno. What other suggestions do you guys have?

pork never goes bad
May 16, 2008

Is $75 for a Brinkmann offset and cover a decent price? Apparently it's 1,238 square inches and around $180 new if that helps you guys determine whether it'd be worth looking at. I've made the Alton Brown flower pot smokers a few times, and want to step up to something a little more permanent this time around. The flipside is that the patio at my apartment complex is shared - I don't want a fancy thing.

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002

pork never goes bad posted:

Is $75 for a Brinkmann offset and cover a decent price? Apparently it's 1,238 square inches and around $180 new if that helps you guys determine whether it'd be worth looking at. I've made the Alton Brown flower pot smokers a few times, and want to step up to something a little more permanent this time around. The flipside is that the patio at my apartment complex is shared - I don't want a fancy thing.
Yeah, that's not bad. You could probably flip it on Craigslist if you don't like it. The writer at amazingribs.com says pretty much all cheap offsets are bad, because they are really thin, but then I hear a lot of people who have decent results, so I figure for less than what you'd spend on two choice briskets it's worth a shot.

nominal
Oct 13, 2007

I've never tried dried apples.
What are they?
Pork Pro

CuddleChunks posted:

:ohdear: Please hold me, I'm going to try and smoke a pork butt this weekend. Gonna take some pictures as I work. This thread has been a wealth of information, can't wait to see what happens.

Hi-five, buddy! Me too. On the plus side, I'm fairly confident I have all the bugs worked out of my ghetto smoker at this point, and it should turn out awesome! On the minus side, I'm doing it for a party, and if I screw it up I will be murdered by a bunch of crazed drunk people.

I will say this: I had not anticipated that walking out of a butcher shop carrying a huge gently caress-off nine-pound block of pig flesh would make me feel totally loving badass.

I'm using the Red Eye recipe from the Smoke and Spice book. What I can't decide is if I want to use the smoker for the entire cook (only actually smoking it for the first 4 hours or so), or pull it off when I'm done with the smoke and finish it in the dutch oven. I'm not sure it will really make much of a difference either way. Kinda tempted to just go the smoker route just because if this homemade collection of cobbled-together crazy rigs actually survives an all-day cook, I'll get a bit more satisfaction out of it than if I just tossed the butt in the oven.

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Jo3sh posted:

As a followup to my previous posts in this thread:

I've been looking into a few electric smokers, and while I don't doubt that goons have had good results with them, reviews in various places have been... mixed. And, I have to admit, the idea of an electric smoker seems somehow disconnected to me.

So I am back to wood-or charcoal-fired smokers. Big Green Egg just seems a little expensive for what it is. I've already been through two Brinkmann charcoal smokers. I could weld up something out of some steel drums and various pieces of plate, but that seems like a lot of bother for uncertain results.

Maybe what I need is something that is a smaller step up than I had originally suggested. One thing that catches my eye is the 18" WSM, possibly with the addition of a pit controller of some kind for better temperature control. Or maybe I just need to man up and find someone with a plasma cutter to make the fabrication of the drum smoker less laborious.

gently caress, I dunno. What other suggestions do you guys have?


I have always liked my WSM, especially since I got my DigiQ2 a couple years back. It makes charcoal almost lazy, there is still clean-up and possibly the hassle of adding fuel but as long as tere is enough fuel and it's sealed well, the guru keeps it really steady. There are 3 different ATC's on the market that you can get for less than 150$, and if you live somewhere windy like I do, they are the best way to smoke overnight ever. They aren't all clunky like a windscreen and they store in their shipping box, which is like 1/4th the size of a shoebox.

Personally I'm looking at a cheap propane smoker, a Masterbuilt GS40 for 200+tax.
Propane for lazy and cabinet for flat ribs. The WSM is fine for butts and turkeys and the like but for flat pieces of meat like ribs or brisket, a square grate would be more convenient.

That said, char-griller is selling a new, relatively cheap kamodo for 300$ at Lowes called the Akorn cooker. But for some flash on the grill grate, it looked pretty nice.

If that Brinkmann's a smoke'n pit, it might be worth it, but I see cheap offsets for 50$ pretty regularly here. I wouldn't bite unless it was well taken care of or fairly new.

AxeBreaker fucked around with this message at 07:14 on Apr 28, 2012

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

TECHNICAL Thug posted:

Home Depot has them, so does walmart, and I've also seen them at kroger. You may have a little more trouble finding chunks than chips, especially if you are looking for an applewood or cherry wood instead of something like hickory or mesquite.

Bass Pro Shops has a ton of smoking stuff, including some famous rubs and most kinds of chunks (OAK YAY) not to mention everything the amateur game butcher would need to process his deer.

I'm going to scratch my plan for picnics this weekend, I gotta softball team to feed next weekend and they will still be good. I'll just get a chicken and do that recipe I was talking about but was (and am) too lazy to post at 12am.

Jonny 290
May 5, 2005



[ASK] me about OS/2 Warp
If you live in an area where there are any sorts of woodworkers or sawmills, it's sometimes worth it to hit them up. Some of them are getting hip to the potential, but others will let you haul off as much cherry or hickory scrap as you can carry.

The scariest thing I've ever seen with my own two eyes was my little brother holding a 6" chunk of cherry on a stump while our friend chewed it up with a chainsaw for chips. Dear God.

Canuckistan
Jan 14, 2004

I'm the greatest thing since World War III.





Soiled Meat

nominal posted:



I will say this: I had not anticipated that walking out of a butcher shop carrying a huge gently caress-off nine-pound block of pig flesh would make me feel totally loving badass.


When I smoke butt, I really smoke butt. I'll fill up my 22" WSM with six 8lb butts and sell the rest to friends as basically cost plus a few bucks for the fuel. I never have a problem selling my pork :smug:. Seriously though, it's just as easy to smoke 6 butts as it is to smoke 1 except you eat up more fuel and will have to refuel at around hour 12.

I just have to remember to put my meat order in early. My local butcher smokes meat on the side and sells it out of his store and he gets a little put out when I go in and buy out his entire butt stock for the week.

Senior Funkenstien
Apr 16, 2003
Dinosaur Gum
How do you guys recommend I prep a pork butt. I didn't see anything posted earlier about the particulars.

I have already rubbed it with my favorite spices but from what I've read elsewhere on the net a lot of people inject and then baste throughout cooking. I didn't see anything about foiling. Any ideas?

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002
I really like this recipe/guide for pork butts. I followed it pretty closely and was really happy with the result.

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/perfect_pulled_pork.html

Here's his rub: http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html

Senior Funkenstien
Apr 16, 2003
Dinosaur Gum

TECHNICAL Thug posted:

I really like this recipe/guide for pork butts. I followed it pretty closely and was really happy with the result.

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/perfect_pulled_pork.html

Here's his rub: http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html

Thanks man! Thats a drat good write up and step by step. Just what I was looking for.

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

This is my basic process:

Rub the butts with Steven Raichlen's Lexington Pulled Pork Rub, from BBQ USA:
4 tsp sweet paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

That makes a little more than enough for one butt, so adjust as needed.
I don't trim much fat, and I frequently inject something like the following, or just apple juice and Worcestershire sauce.

Found on virtualweberbullet.com
Chris Lilly's Six-Time World Championship Pork Shoulder Injection
3/4 cup apple juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar 1/4 cup table salt
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Combine all ingredients and stir until sugar and salt are dissolved.

Then I smoke, fat cap down (on a vertical smoker), with 3-4 chunks hickory at 225 till it hits 190-195, no basting, no foiling. Let rest 30 mins loosely foiled and pull. Or follow the directions for holding and storing meat here:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/storing.html

I serve on a bun with Fat Johnny's Bastardized Piedmont Sauce, and Salad Oil Slaw with my edits. I take out some pepper flakes and chipotle powder because the original was hot as hell with the spices I use. Plus I am something of a wuss when it comes to heat on barbecue.

1 quart cider vinegar
12 oz Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 t red pepper flakes
2 T salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp celery seed
2 T Worchestershire sauce
Juice of one lemon
1 t chipotle powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1 T onion powder

For coleslaw, I make an even lazier version of "Easy Salad Oil Slaw" from "Smoke in the Mountains" by Kent Whitaker.
2-3 pounds bagged shredded carrota and cabbage.
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup vinegar
1 T garlic powder
1 t salt
1 t black pepper

If you use an immersion blender to mix it all up it emulsifies and becomes quite creamy and will stay that way for a day or so.

This is more for NC hill country style pulled pork, not Memphis style. I had to experiment for a while to figure out what I liked, which is pretty much what i grew up with in southern Va. and when I was visiting relatives in western NC.

AxeBreaker fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Apr 30, 2012

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Damnit, the weed burner start is not working out for me. It lights too much every single time. Maybe I need to use it better, or just light 4-5 briqs with it in a chimney starter.

Doing spare ribs on the WSM and chicken on the kettle, and I already botched the ribs. I used the rub from a Rendevous clone recipe and didn't read the instructions closely enough at12am last night. The rub goes on after the cook, and I put it on before. It's for baby backs, and I used St Louis cut, and I had planned on doing them slow but my smoker is running between 275 and 300. Ah well, if I keep mopping them they will still be good.

AxeBreaker fucked around with this message at 20:16 on Apr 29, 2012

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

nominal posted:

I will say this: I had not anticipated that walking out of a butcher shop carrying a huge gently caress-off nine-pound block of pig flesh would make me feel totally loving badass.
Hahahha nice.


I've got the meat on my grill and I think the first batch of wood chips are just about done. Have another soaking right now to add to the pile. The internal temp of the meat is rising steadily and my external temperature gauge makes me very happy with how well this grill maintains heat. I've thrown some tinfoil on the back to block a bit of the perpetual wind but really it's just part of my environment. It's only hour two of this process so I imagine things will get interesting here a while down the road.

Oh, and I'm not using a traditional smoker because I don't have one. Instead, I have this huge new gas grill my parents got me as a housewarming gift and I want to know if it will work to smoke meats. Today is that adventure.



We're over 90 degrees internal and still keeping around 230 - 250 or less on the big temp gauge up top. :dance:

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Get a second probe thermometer asap so you can measure temperature at the grate, grill thermometers are usually off quite a bit and lid temps are usually different one way or the other by a lot. That said, you are probably still in a good range regardless just keep an eye on the meat temp.

Ribs!



Ghetto Smokenator for Chicken!



Dr. Pepper barbecue sauce.

AxeBreaker fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Apr 29, 2012

PhotoKirk
Jul 2, 2007

insert witty text here

Jo3sh posted:

As a followup to my previous posts in this thread:

I've been looking into a few electric smokers, and while I don't doubt that goons have had good results with them, reviews in various places have been... mixed. And, I have to admit, the idea of an electric smoker seems somehow disconnected to me.

So I am back to wood-or charcoal-fired smokers. Big Green Egg just seems a little expensive for what it is. I've already been through two Brinkmann charcoal smokers. I could weld up something out of some steel drums and various pieces of plate, but that seems like a lot of bother for uncertain results.

Maybe what I need is something that is a smaller step up than I had originally suggested. One thing that catches my eye is the 18" WSM, possibly with the addition of a pit controller of some kind for better temperature control. Or maybe I just need to man up and find someone with a plasma cutter to make the fabrication of the drum smoker less laborious.

gently caress, I dunno. What other suggestions do you guys have?

How much do you want to spend?

I dropped about a grand on my Gator.
http://www.gatorpit.net/backyard_pits/traditional.htm

I spent about the same on my Traeger.

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Got done with the ribs.

Bend test.


Plated


The half I didn't eat right away.


The smoke ring was not as good as last weekend's wet ribs, and the rub was way too spicy for my taste. they were less tender, and it's no surprise since the smoker ran hot. Ah well, I will eat the leftovers instead of giving them away. I wanted something different, and as the Doctor says, buys the ticket, take the ride.

Since the ribs were done early, that freed up my smoker so I'm doing a head to head comparison of my "ghetto smokenator" rigged up on my 18.5" Weber kettle with two bricks vs my WSM and DigiQ2. I have the Q set at 275 and it's holding steady- it's not acting up like earlier, if figure I didn't get the middle section seated right. The kettle is doing respectably well, and it's staying right around 260-280 with a tiny minion start of 5 briquettes lit in a chimney via weed burner . I used the knob more, and the high heat trigger less and that worked out well.

I gotta keep my eyes out for a 22" on Craigslist, it would work much better in terms of distance, coal capacity and food capacity. With a new coal grate I might be able to do a double decker.

Jo3sh
Oct 19, 2002

Like all girls I love unicorns!

PhotoKirk posted:

How much do you want to spend?
I dropped about a grand on my Gator.
I spent about the same on my Traeger.

Honestly, if I knew the Traeger was going to be a solid piece of work, I would spend a grand on it. I mentioned a little earlier that I had seen some reports of shoddy workmanship on the newer ones, though.

How has yours been? Happy with it? I had in mind the ~$800 Lil Tex Elite for the digital thermostat.

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

Oh lordy

Oh sweet jesus

can't move, full of delicious pork

At the seven hour mark, just hit 150 or so


Hahah, the bone just pulled right out. Total time was ten hours - 7 in the smoker/grill and the last 3 in an oven wrapped in foil. Final temp was 190.


A bunch of it shredded on a platter, seconds before it evaporated before my very eyes! It was magic!



Not too shabby for a first attempt. Next time I'll pay more attention to the chips so that it keeps more smoke in the cooker. Also, I may try and cover up a few more holes so it stays smokier inside. Also, I think I can bring the heat up a bit internally and not hurt anything. In the end, not bad at all for a first attempt.

Canuckistan
Jan 14, 2004

I'm the greatest thing since World War III.





Soiled Meat
Don't cover up too many holes. If you don't have good airflow you can end up with creosote building up on your meat. That shits nasty yo.

Flying Fortress
Oct 23, 2008

AxeBreaker posted:

Damnit, the weed burner start is not working out for me. It lights too much every single time. Maybe I need to ...just light 4-5 briqs ... in a chimney starter.


There's your answer.

CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

Canuckistan posted:

Don't cover up too many holes. If you don't have good airflow you can end up with creosote building up on your meat. That shits nasty yo.

Ewww that would be nasty. Thanks for the warning. I think I need to get a bigger bag of chips before I start and change them out once an hour or every couple hours. I wasn't too fussed about it this time around and there were plenty of times on the grill where not much smoke was being produced.

I'm really happy with how well it held its temperature over time according to the external gauge. I love the cool data collection rigs I'm seeing in this thread but for now I'll stick to dumb old probe thermometers and such... For now.

PuTTY riot
Nov 16, 2002

CuddleChunks posted:

Ewww that would be nasty. Thanks for the warning. I think I need to get a bigger bag of chips before I start and change them out once an hour or every couple hours. I wasn't too fussed about it this time around and there were plenty of times on the grill where not much smoke was being produced.

I'm really happy with how well it held its temperature over time according to the external gauge. I love the cool data collection rigs I'm seeing in this thread but for now I'll stick to dumb old probe thermometers and such... For now.

Just remember that the smoke typically is only absorbed during the first few hours of the smoke and that you definitely can oversmoke something-- I'm not talking about creosote though that's a concern too.

quote:

5) Smoke. For charcoal or gas cookers, add 4 ounces of wood at this time. On a gas grill, put the wood as close to the flame as possible. On a charcoal grill, put it right on the hot coals. Resist the temptation to add more wood. Nothing will ruin a meal faster and waste money better than oversmoked meat. You can always add more the next time you cook, but you cannot take it away if you oversmoke.

http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/best_BBQ_ribs_ever.html


Love to see some pictures in this thread. I'm cooking fajitas on the grill this week but I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to smoke something again, my fiance is kind of a picky eater and isn't really big on ribs. I wish I could find raw sausage, instead of stuff that was already smoked at the factory. I may just get a sausage stuffer and make my own.

Canuckistan
Jan 14, 2004

I'm the greatest thing since World War III.





Soiled Meat
You don't need much smoke and you only need smoke for the few first hours.

A good tip for lighting 10-20 briqs in your chimney is to flip it upside down and pile your briqs up on the bottom. It's usually easier to arrange them properly this way.

I just opened my WSM for the first time since November. Mmmmm moldy.

PhotoKirk
Jul 2, 2007

insert witty text here

Jo3sh posted:

Honestly, if I knew the Traeger was going to be a solid piece of work, I would spend a grand on it. I mentioned a little earlier that I had seen some reports of shoddy workmanship on the newer ones, though.

How has yours been? Happy with it? I had in mind the ~$800 Lil Tex Elite for the digital thermostat.

Mine has run like a champ. I got it two years ago and I haven't had any problems yet. It lives under its canvas cover on my back porch. Texas heat and humidity haven't been able to kill it.

I like the Traeger for overnight cooking. I can put a brisket on it at bedtime and run it all night. With my Gator I have to wake up every hour to add another log.

niss
Jul 9, 2008

the amazing gnome
Cooked some ribs this weekend, came out so tasty. No real measurements on the rub, just through a bunch of my usual spices along with some brown sugar onto it the night before. They were on the egg just shy of 7 hours at about 225, the meat fell right off the bone.

Funny thing, the neighbor came over when I was getting the egg up to temp, she thought our house was on fire from all the smoke coming up. Had a good laugh about that one.



CuddleChunks
Sep 18, 2004

Unnghhhh lookit all that meat.

:( The weekend looks so far away and it's not even lunch time where I can share my smoked pork. I'm going to go bankrupt smoking meats on that drat grill.

MalleusDei
Mar 21, 2007

MalleusDei posted:

Where do you guys get wood chips locally? I'm inspired to smoke something...

Welp! Probably oversmoked and definitely didn't leave it on the grill for long enough.

Temp control on a regular old Weber was *way* more difficult than I thought it would be. Giving it enough air to keep the coals going made it too hot (seemed to hover around 300F), and anything less was killing the fire.

I had to finish the pork in the oven, but it actually turned out to be not too bad.

I think I'm going to have to throw a pan of water in for the next go 'round, and I need to tap a hole in the lid, so I can get a thermometer in there. The oven thermometer I put on the grill got smoked along with the meat :doh:.

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Just stick a probe therm in through the lid vent if you don't want to drill.

Anyways, my setup with the bricks was able to hold 270 degrees on an 18" kettle with the vents half open on a minion start for like, 3 hours. Lower can be done, especially on a 22" with more volume to heat.

Bass pro shops should have the gas smoker I want in tomorrow, I will definitely post pics unless something puts me off the purchase. It's take a lot, I know it's cheaply built and will take tweaking, but it's only 200$ + tax and I have an extra tank already.

I just want to make a whole mess of flat ribs on the lazy, if Weber made a cabinet smoker for under 500$ I'd buy it.

AxeBreaker fucked around with this message at 02:00 on May 1, 2012

OBAMNA PHONE
Aug 7, 2002

Senior Funkenstien posted:

How do you guys recommend I prep a pork butt. I didn't see anything posted earlier about the particulars.

I have already rubbed it with my favorite spices but from what I've read elsewhere on the net a lot of people inject and then baste throughout cooking. I didn't see anything about foiling. Any ideas?
Coat with plain yellow mustard (I do this for ribs too), apply rub and smoke that poo poo up!

Canuckistan
Jan 14, 2004

I'm the greatest thing since World War III.





Soiled Meat

AxeBreaker posted:

I just want to make a whole mess of flat ribs on the lazy, if Weber made a cabinet smoker for under 500$ I'd buy it.

You can fit a boatload of ribs on the WSM 22". Using a rib rack I've put 12 racks of ribs on.

I tend to smoke in volume and then freeze or sell the extra. I just can't see the point of doing a smoke for a few racks of ribs or a single pork butt. A food saver vacuum sealer is great for freezing Q.

I think this weekend I'm going to do some meatloaf. I can fit 6 good size loafs on and do a high heat cook in a few hours.

Alleric
Dec 10, 2002

Rambly Bastard...

Senior Funkenstien posted:

How do you guys recommend I prep a pork butt. I didn't see anything posted earlier about the particulars.

I have already rubbed it with my favorite spices but from what I've read elsewhere on the net a lot of people inject and then baste throughout cooking. I didn't see anything about foiling. Any ideas?

I could swear I posted this recently, but maybe not. Work's been hellish lately, and I've been forgetting my own name at times.

Anyway, this is how I do pork shoulder.

1. Make brine from 1 gallon of water, 1 cup kosher salt, 1 cup dark brown sugar/light brown sugar/molasses/whateveryoudig.

2. Add to said brine 2 full batches of your rub of choice MINUS whatever salt and sugar they call for. If you're using a purchased rub... just throw it in. For me this is usually about 2 cups of rub.

3. If you own a Jacqard, poke the poo poo out of the shoulder (you can find knock-offs that work perfectly well at Wal-Mart, Cabellas, Bass Pro, etc...)

4. Brine pork at least overnight, and up to 1 full day (I clock in at 24 hours in brine).

It's now smoke day! It's now day before eat day!

5. Evacuate pork from brine and put it on a rack or something to drip and dry a bit while you get more rub made and get the smoker going.

6. Get more rub made. Get smoker going.

7. Try to dry off the surface of the pork as much as you can. Quite a bit of brine will have leaked out.

8. Rub up the pork. Mustard if you like (wife doesn't, and I don't care that much, so I never use it).

9. Smoke pork to 200F and hold it there as long as you can.


Shoulder is a 2-day event for me. 24 hours in brine, 24 hours in the smoker. It sees smoke only for the first 4-6 hours in the smoker, then it's brought up to temp over the course of about 12 hours and then held there until serving time. Killer crust, and meat that just falls apart. It's a total pain in the rear end to get out of the smoker because you just touch it with tongs or spatula and it disintigrates.

Beer, buns, slaw and eyes start rolling back in their heads. Pansies use sauce (I kid, I kid... do what you like).

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Canuckistan posted:

You can fit a boatload of ribs on the WSM 22". Using a rib rack I've put 12 racks of ribs on.

I tend to smoke in volume and then freeze or sell the extra. I just can't see the point of doing a smoke for a few racks of ribs or a single pork butt. A food saver vacuum sealer is great for freezing Q.

I think this weekend I'm going to do some meatloaf. I can fit 6 good size loafs on and do a high heat cook in a few hours.

Yeah, but it's 400$, not cabinet style accessible and one of my goals is to learn how to use a variety of low cost but capable and highly recommendable smokers. That, and cheap offsets because I want to be able to teach people to deal with what they have if they've already got a smoker.

EDIT: If you have hot smokers, you can just stick an AMNPS in there with no other heat to cold smoke things, right? I put one on my graduation gift list and I would like to be able to use it for tofu, cheese, veggies and the like for my vegetarian wife. My plan is to use it in the propane smoker I should have by the time anybody gives me any graduation gifts.

AxeBreaker fucked around with this message at 19:46 on May 1, 2012

AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

Sarah Palin Smoker!



Like her home state, she is full of pork. A whole suckling pig in fact!

There is a Photoshop thread going on in GBS right now: (where this was shamelessly stolen from)

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3482360&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1

And here are some real articles on it's debut last year and its more recent showing in Chicago.

Memphis:

http://www.gomemphis.com/news/2011/may/23/tastesee-creations-marry-form-function/

Chicago:

http://linkstomemphis.com/2012/04/premiered-in-memphis-j-taylor-wallaces-metal-palin-smoker-now-showing-in-chicago.html

unknown
Nov 16, 2002
Ain't got no stinking title yet!


GigaFool posted:

Great ideas, thanks guys.

I've been smoking on a Weber kettle for over a year now and it's definitely time to get into painless smoking. Not that I didn't enjoy the process, but the time investment required ends up being the major obstacle. Plus the ability to cold-smoke is hard to pass up.

Got the same setup myself - in fact I just got the AMNPS and did cold smoked salmon overnight on the weekend. A quick heads up, the AMNPS does give off some extra heat and the MES is insulated - outside temp was ~32F, inside was like 70F. Just tossed in some ice to keep it down below the critical 80F point that fish cooks at.

(Cell phone pick of the end product)

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AxeBreaker
Jan 1, 2005
Who fucking cares?

I got my smoker and assembled it last night. It all looks good except for the know design issues (i.e. crappy wood chip pan, small water pan)and the door being bent on the hinge side, leading to a sizable gap and an annoying whine at low heat. I'm going to try and gently fix the door with a clamp before resorting to returns or a furnace gasket.

Beyond that I was immediately impressed by the size and the amount of cooking space. I had seen one before but somehow it was different putting it together in my backyard. It lit up immediately but it took longer than I expected to get up to temp, a little less than a WSM on a minion start.
Dry it wouldn't stay at 225, putting water in the pan helped it stay stable. I usually don't do wet pans, or at least not on my WSM, so maybe I will have to try sand. I'm going to play with it more tonight and continue the seasoning/burn in process.

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