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Hightech Hillbillies ITT. I am constantly on the fence about buying an Egg. I would love to have one but I feel my current deck is lovely enough that I wouldn't use it enough.
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Jan 21, 2012 05:55
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 21:49 |
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My first chunk of bacon should be done curing tomorrow. I knida want to smoke it in my grill. It is big enough to hot smoke and if I rig up a soldering iron deal I could cold smoke it I bet. My concern is that it is a cheap one and not at all air tight. Am I going to drive myself crazy trying this? The rational part of me says to oven roast it and see how it goes and then mess with smoking next time, but the lure of smoke is strong.
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Mar 22, 2012 01:14
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While I love the idea of trouble free smoking I feel that half the fun is fussing with it, chopping wood, and hanging out tending the smoker. I had a friend when I was younger who was Quebecois and his dad had this ghetto as gently caress salmon smoker in the back yard and we would spend days back there drinking beer and smoking all sorts of weird poo poo. It didn't allways work out perfectly but it was always an awesome way to spend a day.
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Mar 23, 2012 07:49
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This is I guess why building them into tables or carts is so popular.
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Oct 29, 2012 06:24
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BraveUlysses posted:No, it definitely crumbled at the corner too much to fix it... Plus I doubt any glues can handle the 1000-1500* F temps that the egg reaches. Could you get a huge rear end metal trash can and stick it in there and pack sand around it? Hell, for what those things cost, buy a 55g gallon drum and a drum dolly from an industrial supply house and give it a try.
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Oct 29, 2012 22:16
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I found pork belly at $3.50 per lb. Tomorrow going to try to seal my lovely but large grill up enough to smoke in it. Wish me luck.
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Dec 26, 2012 03:08
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I think I a ready to buy my first smoker. I was thinking about getting a WSM as it seems simple but modable later if I want to mess with it. I am not sure if I want the 18" or 22" one. What, other then size, are the differences? I would also like some suggestions on a simple thermometer to start with. I guess the reading I have done says that the thermometer that comes with it is kinda crap?
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Apr 30, 2013 23:58
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Yeah, I had thought that the bigger one might be better, but my landlord keeps talking about building an actual smokehouse this fall and that should cover any of my large scale smoking needs. So the WSM is a good unit to start with? I have heard they are annoying to add coals too, is there any truth to that?
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May 2, 2013 01:38
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I am very close to buying a smoker. I now have a place to put it.  I am getting a WSM 18" I think. I went to a bbq festival a few weeks ago and looked at both of them and the 22" seems way too big for the amount I will realistically cook. I am looking at getting this [url=http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/TW8060.html?whence=#MoreInfoTab]kit[]/ur/] from ThermoWorks. It is like $130.  I like the idea of having something with robust and easily replaceable probes and like that I can use the meter for other stuff just by buying different probes. Most of the other ones I have been looking at seem to be pretty fragile at the wire-probe junction and I am kinda a brute.
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May 14, 2013 00:26
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Bought a 18" WSM today and it is currently in the middle of a burn-in. Two observations so far: 1) the water pan sits so low it hits the coal pile 2) the thermometer in the dome hasn't hit above 150. I assume it just sucks?
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May 17, 2013 23:59
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cornface posted:If you fill the ring up to just the top and pack it tightly, it should chug along for 13+ hours. Unless you are doing a low heat brisket or giant shoulder and aren't going to be around to keep an eye on it, you probably don't need to fill it high enough to hit the water pan. Yeah, I think I did over fill it, I had most of and old bag of bricks and wanted to get it good and hot to burn the oil off. I did a Minion but only lit a small (20ish) pile of coals. I think the combo of the small pile, the water pan hitting them, and having the vents way shut down kept it from really getting up to temp. I started it at 6:11pm and about 30m ago I opened the bottom vents all the way up for like 5m and then shut them down to just a crack. I stuck an old probe thermometer in some foil and set it on the top rack. It now reads a steady 250 while the one in the dome reads like 225. I have to get the woman from the airport at 10:30 so I can check it again around 12am. Pretty pleased that it seems to be holding temp so far. I ordered one of those Maverick dual-probe remote units and some O-rings and will mount them in the body when they arrive next week. I decided against the fancy Thermoworks one as I really wanted something I could bring inside. Gonna get so loving fat. I heat my house with a wood stove and I have half a cord of cherry that has been drying for like 18 months and access to whatever (local) wood I want as my landlord is an arborist. Super excited to smoke some salmon soon, I have an old rear end cedar log I have been hauling around for years, shopping chunks of off when I get the urge. Rigging up smokers in shady plywood boxes and grills was so annoying, so loving excited to play with this thing.
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May 18, 2013 01:58
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So I lit my WSM at 6pm yesterday and just 20m ago it was still reading 200f and was just finally dying out. I was able to get the temp to move around pretty well using the vents and by my best guess the water lasted until after 2am last night. If the rain stops I am going to do a half chicken tomorrow as I cannot wait for my new thermometer to arrive. I am going to use the Basic BBQ Chicken recipe from Virtual Bullet. I am going to buy a rub at the store as I dont have 1/4c of decent paprika and if I am going to buy grocery store stuff I might as well just buy a rub. Does anyone have a particular brand to recommend?
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May 18, 2013 18:59
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cornface posted:Also, buy spices from the bulk section. The stuff in jars is marked up like 500%. If your store has no bulk section find one that does. Yeah, I buy a ton of stuff from this mexican grocer who has great spice prices. It's just that the difference between random cheap paprika and the good stuff is so extreme that I hesitate to use it. Unless the smoking process is really going to make it less important.
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May 18, 2013 23:41
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cornface posted:Even the good smoked Spanish paprika is usually only like $13/lb bulk (here at least) and you need less than an ounce for a batch of rub. Yeah, it is more of a "too lazy to drive to get the good stuff" than anything else. I guess I might as well make a small batch of stuff with grocery store spices if sugar content is going to be an issue.
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May 19, 2013 01:43
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The inaugural cook in my WSM was about 6 chicken thighs as I could not find a decent whole bird on short notice. It was a mixed result, the rub was insanely salty but once you scraped it off the meat was flavorful, juicy and all around amazing. I am now pretty sold on only using rubs I make myself and am going to give it another go later this week, maybe even tonight. I didn't really crips the skin as the meat was at 170ish when I went to check it so I was afraid of overlooking if I stuck them right next to the coals. It was fine to eat while hot but too rubbery when cold. Next time I am going to use way less coals and check it more frequently. I should have my duel thermometer soon which I hope will help fix this issue. I also have some pork bellies thawing so soon it will be bacon time.
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May 21, 2013 14:17
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30 Goddamned Dicks posted:Kind of a long shot but I would rather ask here first: I might be interested. I am about 30 min north of the wilson bridge. Let me talk it over with the woman and get back to you asap.
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May 21, 2013 23:10
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His Divine Shadow posted:I read you cover the thing in foil. The more I read I think I will just foil the empty pan and leave it at that. Last night I did a mix of thighs and drumsticks at 350 for like 40m. I had the water bowl in there but empty. The skins were pretty crisp but I stuck them right above the coals for a little bit to further crisp. poo poo turned out great.
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May 22, 2013 18:45
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Going to start my first butt tonight around 11pm. It is 14lbs before trimming and I hope to eat it around 3pm tomorrow. Think I am going to foil it if i can stay up or get up in time. Wish me luck.
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May 26, 2013 16:53
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cornface posted:Sellouts is right. Start earlier or cut it in half and hold it in a towel stuffed cooler if it finishes early. Yeah, recent events have cast the whole loving plan into doubt as I may have to work until noon tomorrow so the woman will have to do most of the smoker sitting. Fortunately this is really just a "test butt" as there is really no one coming over and the plan was to use most of the meat for pork chili later in the week. I may just stay up through the night so I can foil and just be a cranky, smoky smelling bitch at work tomorrow. Really this was an insanely optimistic plan from the get go and if I wasn't so hot to do a butt before I start traveling for work again I would not be in this mess. But the rub is on the pork as of 7am this morning so the die is cast.
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May 26, 2013 19:34
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The butt was placed in the smoker at 10:30pm EST. The temp at gate is at 214 and I am going to go to bed when it is at 225 and seems stable. I have to leave for work at 5am. Please say a prayer for me and Janice. Which is what we named the butt.
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May 27, 2013 03:49
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Got home at noon, the coals were mostly gone so i lit a starters worth and added them. Shot up to 280 then got it back down to 226 in like 10 min. Pork is at like 155-170 depending on where I poke it. On my second beer about to crack a third
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May 27, 2013 17:47
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May 27, 2013 18:01
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My butt turned out ok.  Took about 16.5 hours. In the future I will do two small ones instead to get more bark I'm the mix. Also will try to foil to cut down on cooking times. Also also did a fatty because I was drunk.  It was not super good, my bacon was too think and maybe the whole idea is overrated. Or maybe I was just drunk.
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May 28, 2013 19:23
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Taxes posted:How large was the butt? That's quite a long time. Like 13 pounds. I wasn't able to tend it for the first 9 hours or so.
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May 29, 2013 02:39
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I did a burn in with a full load of coals to get an idea of how the vents worked and what kind of burn time I could expect. It was helpful and worth whatever the coals cost.
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Jun 4, 2013 23:58
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Today I built a thing. It took about 4 beers and other than a brief use of a level, it was all improvised with just a tape, screwgun, and hand saw. Tried to do some chicken in the grill using some bricks to make it into a smoker.  It worked just ok. The temp loss from opening the lid was insane but I did get it to hold at like 305f without messing with it. The idea was to see if I could use the grill for anything if I had a pile of people over and the WSM was full. I think I could get away with fast and hot dry ribs or chicken if I planed it better and brined the parts. I also tried to make some jalapeno cheese things. I took this hot pepper jam my friend made and mixed it with cream cheese and stuffed the peppers.  Sadly, I hosed them up. I put them on the toasting rack in the grill but it was just a bit too low and knocked some of them over, spilling cheese into the grill which I am super excited to clean out tomorrow. The holes in the holder are too small in any event and I am going to open them up a bit so the peppers sit lower and better. Also this guy was loving with me all day:  Then I got drunker and sat around a fire until I was too tired to drink anymore. 
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Jun 9, 2013 04:51
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FlutterShock posted:Looks like a decent grill, how did the chicken turn out? Not well. I made many mistakes in the prep and ended up not leaving enough thaw time (in retrospect I should have brined them as both seasoning and to speed up thawing) and ended up thawing them in the smoker when it hit 150 which (clearly) dried the meat out. I will say my rub is getting better. I think with a brine to get salt into the meat it will be really great. 3 tbsp Black Pepper 3 tbsp Paprika (not the really nice stuff, but the "ok" grocery store stuff) 1 tbsp Garlic Powder 1 tbsp Mustard Powder (I want to switch to the Colmans' powder, might need to back off the amount) 1.5 tbsp Sugar 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes 2 tsp Salt It is reasonably spicy and sweet but I am still trying to balance the two. I think next time I might get rid of the mustard powder and the salt try some Soy Sauce in it's place.
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Jun 10, 2013 04:51
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I am pretty pleased with my 18.5 WSM but that doesn't help with moving away from charcoal. Have you looked around Amazingribs.com? They have a pretty decent review section.
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Jun 14, 2013 19:37
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Going to try to do ribs for the first time tomorrow using the recipe from Virtual Bullet. I much prefer dry ribs but am going to do traditional ones this time to get a feel for doing them slow. The price difference between ribs and a huge pork butt is kinda alarming. I understand demand and all but I do feel slightly ripped off paying for 80% bone.
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Jun 21, 2013 17:46
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Siochain posted:So I have a pair of 5 pound bone-in pork shoulders to smoke for pulled pork. I wish I could find ones this small. I can only ever seem to find pre-marinated trash or huge 14lb ones.
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Jun 21, 2013 18:25
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cornface posted:Have you tried going up to the meat counter at the grocery store and asking them to cut you one? I am misunderstanding I think. What is there to cut? Like, what do you cut away? I assumed Siochain was just finding smaller ones from like small pigs or whatever.
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Jun 21, 2013 19:35
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cornface posted:They take the big 14lb hunk of shoulder and saw off what you ask for. I used to get 3lb cuts for crockpot stuff. I think usually they just basically cut it in half. Huh, I have never seen boneless shoulder before. I just assumed small pigs.
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Jun 21, 2013 21:22
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coronaball posted:Double post: I also got a flavor injector for Father's Day, and I mean to take it out on a test run before the 4th of July. Any secret pork butt/shoulder injections? I'm thinking apple juice, apple cider vinegar, and some of my rub but I'm open to other suggestions. What is the point of injecting meat you are going to shred before eating? Go get a huge rear end turkey breast and shoot that bitch full of flavor. Or maybe a pork loin to see if that helps keeping it from drying out.
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Jun 22, 2013 01:04
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rigeek posted:You will definitely get flavor from the injection.. it's like a brine or a marinade. The injection gets absorbed by the meat, thus adding flavor. Plenty of BBQ competitors on the KCBS circuit inject and rub and spray. I guess I assumed that any flavor you want to add can just be done during the pulling process? If marinades have been shown to not penetrate more than a few mm into meat that I would think that only the meat adjacent to the injection site is going to benefit at all.
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Jun 24, 2013 16:37
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It is about to start storming and I still have like 1.5-2 hours to go. Should I ride it out or foil them and finish in the oven?
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Jun 24, 2013 22:10
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Did a ton of cooking for the 4th. Main course was pulled pork:   After the butt was done I still had a ton of coals left so we started just throwing stuff on the smoker. Fresh corn, remove the silk, rub with butter and sprinkle with lime juice and chili powder, then smoke hot until cooked. poo poo was insane. I might do the rest of the bag the sameway tomorrow. We also threw a few peaches on there and they were amazing as well. Going to do the rest of them tomorrow as well. We also did this:  Rotten-ish log with a hole in the middle. We packed it full of charcoal and lit it. When the coals fell through we stuffed it full of mint cut from the field behind the house to smolder and keep the bugs away. After a few hours, it got so hot from the chimney effect that we were able to melt a glass bottle laid over the hole. I am totally going to rummage through the woods for more hollow logs.
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Jul 5, 2013 21:42
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Mach420 posted:
Yeah, I think I oversmoked the pork I posted above but everyone seemed to love it so idk. I think that good BBQ is so hard to find in MD that people have very low standards. I used like one fist sized chunk of hickory and maybe like 2-3 chunks of cherry wood. It is a huge pain to try and saw off thick chunks of wood so I usually end up with like 6-8" by 2" thick sticks and I think they burn too fast.
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Jul 6, 2013 00:52
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Smoked Corn was so good on the 4th I am doing up the rest. Shuck corn, butter, sprinkle with ancho powder and lime juice. Added a layer of wet husks to the bottom rack:  Piled the corn on top. I added the rest of my peaches to the top rack but didn't get a picture. I might make a version of Elote with it.
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Jul 7, 2013 20:44
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MixxMaster posted:I did smoked corn, kept the inner layer of husks on, just removed all the hairs, added some butter then rolled the husks back over, then smoked it at 225 for about an hour...really good flavor. Yep, more or less this. However this time it was a bit too smokey, last time all the wood had burnt off. When I do it again as am going to go way way light on the wood. Also I didn't even check temp, just went out and poked the corn with a knife tip every 30-45m.
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Jul 8, 2013 01:12
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 21:49 |
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His Divine Shadow posted:Personal taste, I dislike ribs that aren't coming off the bone easily. My fiance thinks differently I found out when we where out eating and she had ribs and I had steak. She said to try these ribs they are wonderful, but I found them so woefully underdone I couldn't finish the one. Yeah, I feel the same way. I did height heat dry rub ribs the week before last after work with some friends and we got them just shy of fall off the bone and I thought they were too tough and were more like beef ribs. I put the leftovers, foiled, in the oven for like 90m and they were much better. In general I wasn't pleased with the dry rub result but ribs in 90m is really appealing so I am going to keep messing with them. Before:  After 90m high heat:  Close up: 
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Jul 30, 2013 13:24
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