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I'm a big fan of cooking and more specifically slow smoking meat. Last year I decided I wanted to purchase a new smoker and was in need of a new grill as well. After doing some research and talking to a good friend of mine, who owns a Big Green Egg (egg from now on), I decided to purchase one for myself. Since purchasing my egg I've been on a mission to perfect slow smoking various meats. In this thread I'd like to talk about recipes for slow smoking food. I'll start us off with my latest attempt at doing pulled pork last Thursday night (Ready for serving Friday night). Our victim is a 9 lb pork shoulder, some places call it a boston butt, but they are the same thing. I personally do not brine a pork shoulder, because of how much colagen breaks down into the meat I don't feel its necessary. After cleaning the pork shoulder I lay it out on the counter for a couple hours before cooking in order to bring it closer to room temperature. While the pork shoulder is resting I get the egg lit and set it up for indirect cooking at 225F (I place the meat on at 255F since we lose a lot of temperature when we open the egg). I place a drip pan under the grill grates filled with apple juice and beer. This will help keep the meat moist throughout the cook. Now that my egg is setup and getting up to temperature it's time to make and apply the rub to the meat. I make my own rub and don't really follow a recipe, I just start putting ingredients in until i'm happy with the flavor. I typically use: Kosher Salt, Paprika, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Rosemary and Mesquite flavoring. If you plan on cooking your meat directly exposed to the flames you may want to avoid using Brown Sugar in your rub as it may cause flair ups and irregularities in your bark (The nice charred layer on the outside of the meat). I personally use quite a bit of rub on my pork shoulder but some people prefer just a dusting. Its definately something of personal preferance. After the rub is ready I apply it about 30 minutes prior to cooking. The first few coatings I really rub it into the meat and after I feel it has a good base coat, I dust the remaining rub over the entirity of the meat. Once the egg reachs proper cooking temperature I place the meat directly over the drip pan with the fat cap up (Some people like to use a V-Rack, but I don't bother). I do a final check to make sure everything is ready to go before closing the egg. This last check is important for me because I only plan on opening the egg one time during the entire 18 hour cook and that is only to refill the drip pan in the morning. It takes a lot of patience not to look, but as the saying goes, "If you're lookin, you ain't cookin". It should take about 2 hours per pound to cook a pork shoulder at 225F. When the meat reaches an internal temperature of 195F I take it off the egg and wrap it in tin foil and let it rest for 1 hour before serving. If you find your meat is stuck around 155F to 160F for a long period of time, don't panic. Your meat thermometer is not broken. This stuck point is very confusing at first because it will stay there for HOURS on end and sometimes even drop temperature. It's ok, this stuck point is where all the magic is happening. The collagen and connective tissue in the meat is breaking down and giving your meat all its flavor. At some point the temperature will start rising again and you can stop panicking. After the meat reachs around 170F and if i'm running out of time I will crank the grill temperature up to get it done faster. I find after 170F there isn't much I can do to mess a pork shoulder up and even going as high as 350F has not changed the results. Once the meat has rested for an hour its time to start pulling the meat. Once the meat is unwrapped make sure you have people standing around to see you hand pull the bone out of the meat. They should be suitably impressed when it comes out super easy. You should need nothing more than a large fork to shred and pull the pork. Below are a bunch of pictures from my latest endeavor. The Victim after applying rub:  My Big Green Egg:  This is right after putting the pork shoulder on the grill:  After its 1 hour rest in tinfoil  Hand pulling the bone out, oh ya:  Starting to pull that meat:  Pile of meat right before the natives get restless. Best not stand in there way for much longer.  Please share your slow smoking stories and recipes! Nosthula fucked around with this message at 20:31 on Jan 16, 2012 |
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Jan 16, 2012 19:51
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 06:42 |
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A big green egg uses lump charcoal (not to be confused with charcoal briquettes) as its fuel source. Lump charcoal is wood that has been partially burned and contains none of the fuels and other non wood products that go into briquettes. As well as lump charcoal I use large pieces of smoking woods for different flavors depending on taste. Additional smoking wood can be added throughout the cook but is completely unnecessary. In other words the food is being smoked for the entire duration of the cook. In the above run I cut back on the amount of smoking wood but it was still used. If you look closely at the edge pieces you can see the presence of a little less than a quarter inch of smoke ring which is about where I like it. It had a good but not overpowering smoke flavor. What makes the big green egg different than traditional smokers is its construction material. It is made entirely of ceramic and very well sealed so that it retains the heat from the burning wood very well and can cook for very long times with very little fuel. Additionally because of this construction material it keeps very consistent temperatures. It will hold temperatures better than an oven while being a true smoker. As an example, I was able to keep the grill dead on 225 for 18 hours without messing with it. It can cook about 30 hours on 1 load of wood. Edit: The beauty of the egg is its ability to cook low and slow as well as super hot for things like searing steaks. TLDR: A Big Green Egg is a real smoker. Nosthula fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Jan 17, 2012 |
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Jan 17, 2012 19:46
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The smoking wood I typically use is whole pieces and not chips and will smolder for an entire 18 hour cook without being replaced or soaked. If you are using smoking chips then I agree you would want to soak them but when you use large smoking woods you do not want to soak them at all, at least in an egg. Edit: Wow totally beaten by CapnBry. And yes CapnBry, I use a DigiQ. What controller are you using that gives you that level of telemetry on your cook temperatures. Is it a stoker? Nosthula fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Jan 17, 2012 |
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Jan 17, 2012 23:14
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I find the temperature control devices invaluable for low and slow cooks. I started looking into them for the simple fact that I have people over every Friday night and cook for them. Because I work on Friday baby sitting the Big Green Egg is not possible for me. Having a temperature control device allows me the freedom to slow smoke briskets, pork shoulders and ribs without having to take a day off of work. For regular grilling such as burgers, steaks and chicken I do not use the temperature control device. I find that any grilling where you have to open the grill relatively frequently does not benefit from a temperature control device.
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Jan 19, 2012 15:53
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My mind is officially blown. I am definitely going to try this the next time I cook a shoulder. Wonder how much time I need to account for using this. 1 hour a pound maybe?
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Jan 20, 2012 21:53
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No worries CapnBry, I recognized you were just making a joke. I have thick skin so it's O.K. I've always been willing to make myself a butt of a joke simply for the sake of comedy. Let me know how your experimental batch goes. I didn't cook this week for my Friday get together and the natives are already restless. I'm as eager as you to find some results based on these new findings. I may do one this weekend myself and will post back if I do.
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Jan 21, 2012 02:23
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drat that is looking great. I can't wait to hear the results. Around noon today I decided I wanted some ribs so cooked two slabs of spare ribs today. Too exhausted to post all the details and pictures, I'll post them tomorrow. Between cooking ribs and trying to finish my hard wood flooring project for the house I am completely out of gas.
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Jan 22, 2012 04:54
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I decided to do some spare ribs on the spur of the moment on Saturday. I didn't have enough time to do a low and slow so I opted to cook them at 325F. I started off by brining my ribs in Vinegar and Apple Juice (Is it really still called brining if I dont use a salt water mix?). Since I was limited on time I only brined them for an hour and a half, but typically I try to brine them for at least 12 hours. While the ribs are soaking I set the Egg up for indirect cooking at 325F. In the drip pan I once again use Apple Juice and beer which is my favorite. I then apply the same homemade rub as outlined in my pulled pork recipe. Once everything is ready to go I place the ribs on for an hour and a half. After the ribs have been on for an hour and a half at 325F I take them off the Egg and baste them with honey. I then wrap them in foil and place them back on the Egg for about an hour. After an hour I take the ribs off the Egg and pull the drip pan and plate setter off the Egg and set it back up for Direct cooking. Once the Egg is ready to go again I take the ribs out of foil and put them back on to finish up. While they are finishing up I slather them in Sweet Baby Rays, although i'm going to have to try Stringent's sauce recipe. I don't have my camera with me at the office, i'll try to post the pictures when I get home tonight.
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Jan 25, 2012 15:34
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Do you think it would help to remove the foil after the meat clears the typical stuck point? I will probably be starting a butt this weekend and I am interested in experimenting with the foiling method.
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Jan 26, 2012 15:01
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Can't wait to here the results. Sorry to hear about the brisket, I've been wanting to do a brisket again for a while but I always end up doing a pork shoulder when I want to do long cooks. I think I would be heartbroken if I lost a brisket like that. For my friends super bowl chili cookoff I tried to get fancy and do pork shoulder chili. I was really expecting it to come out amazing but I really didn't account for the smoked pork flavor dominating the chili. It was good but not great. Lesson learned.
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Feb 18, 2012 22:49
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Pork shoulder is way more forgiving than doing a brisket. Honestly as long as you don't mind long cooks its probably one of the easier pieces of meat to smoke. It sounds like what you are looking for is a pit probe. I've never looked into them as a standalone product but if you are in the market for a digital controller they all have pit probes. Of course these devices are a bit of an investment. I think the cheapest one I have seen is around $140 (BBQ Guru's PartyQ) and that only gives you pit temperature control. I personally use the BBQ Guru's DigiQ DX2, which gives me temperature control of the pit and food temperature monitoring. Other people in this thread may have input on other pit probe products. Edit: I don't know much about it but the "Maverick Wireless BBQ Thermometer Set - Maverick ET732" is a pit probe and meat probe set. It seems to run about $59 on amazon. Nosthula fucked around with this message at 23:35 on Mar 1, 2012 |
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Mar 1, 2012 23:19
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PhotoKirk posted:Please allow me to add my poorly updated site to this thread: https://www.peppersandsmoke.com Before I make your 100% bacon burger I will be sure that my wife knows who gave me the recipe, so that when I die she can come exact my revenge. I know I shouldn't make it but I cannot resist its siren call.
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Mar 2, 2012 18:30
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I hope my posts about the electronic gizmo's didn't come across as implying that they were in any way necessary. I certainly did not intend for them to come across that way. Smoking meats is an art that ultimately doesn't require much more than wood and meat. Friday is my Father's birthday and hopefully he wants me to slow smoke ribs, a Boston butt or a brisket. I haven't done a low in slow in a couple weeks and i'm getting the itch! We definitely need some more pictures to slobber over. I really like your idea of having a journal. I'm going to have to do that myself, because I know my Rub has evolved over the years and because I make my rub flying by the seat of my pants I can't recreate some of the older attempts.
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Mar 14, 2012 16:30
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Flying Fortress posted:The journal is fun because if you are like me, you probably consume some quantity of beer or alcohol while cooking. This has lead to some pretty amusing (to me at least) entries in my journal. Like the time I fell asleep in a lawn chair while cooking, and woke up hours after the meat was done but still in the smoker. I believe the entry was along the lines of "way to go, rear end in a top hat! Note for next time: Less beer." I need to amend my post about only needing wood and meat for slow smoking food. Alcohol in some form or another is also required.
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Mar 15, 2012 13:55
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Put a 9 pound butt on last night around 11pm. When I left for work it was at about 170. Wife is keeping an eye on it for me. This one is cooking a bit faster than the last few. I was planning on having it done around 4 but its looking like its going to be done a bit earlier. I took a bunch of pictures but left the camera at home. I'll try to post them tonight but most likely they will be tomorrow because i'm throwing a birthday party at my house for my dad tonight. Everyone get something on your smokers this weekend!
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Mar 16, 2012 15:17
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PainBreak posted:Here's the pellet smoker: You can smoke cheese on a Big Green Egg: Cold Smoking Cheese I'm pretty sure this technique will work for most smokers as well.
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Mar 23, 2012 17:32
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Bone_Enterprise that food looks amazing. Has anyone tried smoking meatloaf. I'm wanting to try something a little different tomorrow for dinner and I don't have time for a super long low and slow.
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Apr 5, 2012 18:46
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Astronaut Jones posted:You guys and your off the shelf controllers... I built one based on CapnBry's design earlier in the year, but have only had my smoker out once this year so far. Need to remedy that. Do you have a link or instructions for building this? My dad is building his own smoker and I would love to complement it with a homemade controller. Edit: Some quick googling and I found it. https://github.com/CapnBry/HeaterMeter/wiki/Heatermeter-hardware
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Apr 16, 2012 16:10
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MoosetheMooche posted:What tools will I need to start my first smoke, other than charcoal and wood? Do I need some kind of charcoal starter (I was raised with propane)? Chimney style starters work fine, but I've switched to using a small propane or butane tank with one of these attached: http://www.thebbqguru.com/pdf/Guru_Golf_Club.pdf You could buy the device but if you are the DIY type it would be a pretty easy project.
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Apr 19, 2012 17:20
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You did not cook your brisket long enough. You want the brisket to reach an internal temperature of 190F to 200F. As a general rule of thumb it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours per pound at a temperature of 225F to cook a brisket. This is if you are not foiling your brisket. You can cook one faster if you use a foiling technique. I've yet to try foiling yet but a lot of people have had success with it.
Nosthula fucked around with this message at 20:43 on May 14, 2012 |
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May 14, 2012 20:29
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I know I've basically abandoned this thread but please keep it positive. I started this simply to have a chill place to chat about a hobby I enjoy. Edit: On a topic related note. My big green egg has a crack all the way around the base. I can't find my darn receipt to try to get a replacement. It gave me over 10 years of service and I will replace the base if it comes to it. Just gotta get around to it. I haven't smoked anything in over 6 months. Sad times. Nosthula fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Sep 24, 2020 |
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Sep 24, 2020 17:34
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Chemmy posted:Maybe the store you bought it from can look it up? I am friends with the manager and it predates their electronic records. He told me to come in and see if they could do something about it though. I just haven't wanted to because of covid! Enos Cabell posted:drat, sorry for the chili derail.. didn't realize it was such a spicy topic! As penance I bought a 20lb prime packer brisket at Costco, and only part of it will end up in a chili pot. This is acceptable penance and all your sins are forgiven!
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Sep 24, 2020 18:09
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 06:42 |
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I don't know how people get shorter boston butt cooks at @225 but for me it's drat near perfectly 2 hours a pound. I almost exclusively cook 9 to 10 bone in shoulders. I'm wondering if people aren't getting an accurate read on their cook temps. I will put my shoulder on around 9-10 pm Thursday to be ready for dinner on Friday. Edit: Holy crap on the 17 lb shoulder!
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Sep 25, 2020 17:52
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