Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[Fred W]

I'm just in the habit of using the "faux cambrio" (foil wrap, wrap in heavy bath towels) because its easy and leaves the oven free for other stuff as needed. Plus when you are already running the AC it doesn't make much sense to run the indoor oven. Which is also why I've been finishing the foil wrapped briskets on the outdoor gas grille.

 

[Knifemaker]

Sure, but I bet you don't have a new kitten that loves shredding styrofoam coolers.....

And when we are having ribs.... there is no "other stuff". No salads, breads, whatever that would take up space in the belly that could be used to hold more ribs...

 

[Bounce]

I see no difference doing this compared to putting them in an insulated ice chest....other than losing the use of the oven for cooking other stuff.

Consuming limited natural resources? A lot of time I coot the meats and then go to the kids' houses for a gathering so the cambrio is portable. Habit?

 

[Knifemaker]

Well today is our annual "Oktoberfest". Humid out, chance of rain late this afternoon, but I'll be smoking 16 brats in the reverse before that happens. This year we are trying out some locally made brats that apparently won "Best in Show" at some sausage competition. We'll see. I'll add photos later.

Turned out damn good. Two thumbs up on the brats.

 

[Knifemaker]

As noted and pictured above, the brats came out great. And lived up to their hype.

Unfortunately the rain showed up after they had been put in the smoker for about 50 minutes.I put a glass jar over my temperature unit to protect the electronics and just let the smoker go on. I figured the small opening of the smokestack really wouldn't let in that much water, and the grate temperature seemed to stay steady even when the rain was pelting the smoker pretty hard. Seeing the drops of rain dance across the top of the firebox was cool.

After about another hour I went out with an umbrella and pulled the brats. Smoker was still holding 220-225 and the sacrificed brat with the probe was at 177. (I've tried removing brats at 165 as many suggest, but the casing didn't come out crisp enough)

They were placed uncovered in a warm oven and held between 135-170 for about two hours while we waited for some more than fashionably late guests.

However the brats were juicy, the casing wasn't tough, and the smokey flavor was perfect. Served with some sweet German mustard and some home made sour kraut they were a hit.

So the lesson learned here is not to be overly concerned with rain causing issues with the smoker during a cook. Obviously a long cook might be a bit different, but short cooks like sausage or pork loins not a factor.

 

[08FJR4ME]

I moved my smoker to the new old house yesterday. I hope to get another smoke in to resupply the goodies before the white stuff sets in. I purchased a BBQ cover for it yesterday but had to remove the stack in order for it to go on correctly. Only a two minute job to put it back on. Now if only some Ribs would go on sale for a good price.

Dave

 

[Fred W]

Oh shoot. Wish I knew you were looking for a cover. This CharBroil cover fits our OK Joe Highland perfectly, and only $15 on Amazon.

 

[08FJR4ME]

The cheap bastard I am, I got you beat on this one Fred. Ocean state job lot had a 65" BBQ cover on sale for $10.00. I figured what the heck. Initially I went in the store to get a small tarp.

I will have to deal with the chimney though. Still worth it.

Dave

 

[bvail]

Hmmm... lots of options, it seems.
I have looked at the Kamado type ceramic cookers but couldn't really see how they would work all that much better than the basic Webber Smokey Mountain bullet style (which is supposed to work pretty well too) but those Kamados command a sizable investment.

Green Egg seems to have a cult like following. Their restrictive marketing model (only sell through "dealers", don't publish prices) may be a good deal for the manufacturer, not sure it is beneficial to the buyer.

There are certainly many other options for Kamados, and most do publish their prices. One of the appeals to them is that they seem to really stand up to the weather well, unlike the steel barrels with the side firebox. Those things almost always seem to be in decrepit shape after a year or two outdoors. It may be you just have to move up to the heavier gauge units and spend the similar $$ to those ceramic eggs to get one heavy duty enough for New England weather?

The electrics or propanes have a lot of the automatic, set it and forget it appeal. I think they might be better for cold smoking fish and cheese too, which is also something I'd be interested in trying my hand at some day.

So many options...

And thanks especially to ionbeam for the low down on the brining thing. I should have known to "Just ask the Per'fesser!"

I already knew that cooking is one of your primary passions. Should have realized that with your prior history this would include BBQ. We'll have to get together some Sunday afternoon for a Patriots Game Day BBQ Extravaganza (if I ever get something figured out here).

I purchased an egg (IIRC got it from Amazon, cheap but I think it's as good as the Green Egg and no ceramics to crack and replace. This Komodo set me back three hundred bucks. Made by Char-Griller,

Tragger would be a good choice for set and forget. My neighbor has one and he loves it.

 

[Fred W]

Set it and forget it is over rated. That’s what kitchen ovens are for.

 

[Knifemaker]

Set it and forget it is over rated. Thats what kitchen ovens are for.

Pretty much. I think I posted this before....that it really doesn't matter what type of smoker you have, what's important is learning it and knowing how to use it.
I've had awesome Q off Kamodos, Webers SM's, various offsets, UDS's,etc...and even Weber kettles that had the "smoker mod". I only see the advantage of a "set and forget" if you are doing a huge chunk of meat that takes 12+ hours or, you just have no time to devote to it. Realistically, doing a huge pork butt, that does take that 12+ hours, I've found no difference in taste pulling it off your smoker and finishing it in your indoor oven.

Not saying that there's anything wrong with the "auto-smoke" cookers, just that some of us like being "involved" in the process and some perhaps .....not so much. It's just your personal choice here. Got a busy life? Yeah, the auto smoker makes sense.

I just think that "set and forget" removes you from the equation. Toss in meat, push button, and wait for it to tell you it's done is pretty much taking your precipitation out of the process.

I like being able to "fiddle" with it myself.

 

[Fred W]

My experience is a bit different.

Ive found that the BBQ methods that reduce involvement also reduce the quality of the end product. And believe me, I have tried to find the easy way to BBQ nirvana. Using charcoal briquettes is easy because you get a nice steady burn. Or the gas burner can give you steady heat, but you still have to feed wood chunks often to get the flavor, and it still isnt up to par. I havent dabbled in electric or pellets, but I suspect there are more or less equal trade offs for convenience in the flavor.

The absolute best most flavorful BBQ, the kind you can be truly proud of when your done, also requires the most attention and work, and thats burning wood for fuel and flavor. Its how it was always done originally, and we just always tried to take the easy way out.

Now, that said, there will be times that Ill still take the easy way. But I wont be deluded into thinking that it wont affect the final outcome.

 

[Bounce]

I purchased an egg (IIRC got it from Amazon, cheap but I think it's as good as the Green Egg and no ceramics to crack and replace. This Komodo set me back three hundred bucks. Made by Char-Griller,

Tragger would be a good choice for set and forget. My neighbor has one and he loves it.

That's what I had at first. I had the locks on the wheel fail so got another with the larger side table. I'd found the 2 small wings were too small. I saved this one for spare parts because the main chamber is still in good shape after about 5 years (including leaving it our for a year that let the cover rot off).

You can see the new one here:

Lump charcoal here for me too.

 

[Knifemaker]

My experience is a bit different......The absolute best most flavorful BBQ, the kind you can be truly proud of when your done, also requires the most attention and work, and thats burning wood for fuel and flavor. Its how it was always done originally, and we just always tried to take the easy way out. Now, that said, there will be times that Ill still take the easy way.

As much as I agree with the "You reap what you sew" concept, I understand the chemistry involved. Smoking meat means subjecting the meat to smoke, and by this we are talking about burning some type of hardwood to produce that smoke. Maintaining temperature is of course important, but it's the smoke of burning wood that produces the flavor we are seeking.
How that wood is ignited I think is secondary. I see no difference between burning a log on a bed of former coals of the first log over burning several large chunks of the same wood on a bed of coals from lump charcoal or even clean briquettes.

The importance of having wood burn and produce the "smoke" is at the crux of the system. Using gas to ignite your wood I think produces abit more water vapor, which can actually be a good thing.. where electric burners are pretty dry. But the question is, what are you burning? Texas BBQ uses stick burners, and it's pretty much post Oak. But we up here in the upper states, tend to vary our wood, using Cherry, Apple, Hickory, etc... I'm not familiar with the chemical make up of "pellets". That said, even using "hardwood lump" there's no guarantee what it actually is made of.

The advantage of a stick burner is you know exactly what you are burning. This perhaps gives you a "constant" to build on as opposed to the unknown make up of your charcoal pick. However using gas or electric to ignite a known wood seems to eliminate that unknown variable. 'The bottom line is I don't think anything is written in stone here. Much like using various seasonings to flavor your food, I don't think you can discount some alternate wood/fuel source as there is nothing that says any combination of variables wouldn't produce something extraordinary.

That's what cooking is all about. Not doing same old same old, but changing the rules and looking for something that's different. Let's not define smoking meat in some narrow path. Innovation and experimentation are key directions in moving the "art" forward.

 

[Fred W]

I attribute the difference in flavor being from the kind of smoke you get due to the type of fire. When you add wood chunks or chips to a charcoal fire, generally that wood is only allowed to smoulder to generate the smoke. You also regulate the heat by controlling the oxygen allowed to reach the fire.

When stick burning you keep the wood burning with a flame by regulating the quantity of fuel rather than regulating the oxygen and snuffing the fire out.

When I use propane I get close to the same effect by continually feeding chunks at regular intervals, so the smoke quality is good, but you just dont get the same amount of smoke quantity.

In the end, it is all just a hobby. Whatever you feel comfortable doing to create food you enjoy eating is a good thing to do.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Well I fired up the OK Joe today. I scored some baby back ribs that were on sale this week. $2.99 a lb. I bought 3 full racks. Had one for supper tonight and put the rest in the freezer for another day. Sorry no pic's but I will say they were the best ones bar far to date. I use the apple wood that I cut earlier this spring. I didn't put anything on them until the last hour. I coated them with some Weber north Carolina BBQ sauce. Even the wife went back for more. Unless we get a warm week in November this may have been my last smoke.

Dave

 

[Fred W]

I had at it today too, Dave. I had been up in Vermont at my sons all week, rewiring his barn/garage, so when I got home yesterday I was hankering for something to put on the BBQ pit. Wifey had bought a nice little frenched out (boneless) leg of lamb, so I put that on the UDS while I did my homeowner chores of leaf collection and lawn mowing. Seasoning was just kosher salt, course black pepper, and a healthy dose of granulated garlic powder.

Smoked the lamb for about 4 hours on charcoal and hickory chunks at 235F, well controlled with the Digi-Q, then foil wrapped w/ a healthy slosh of beef stock and braised on the pit for another hour and a half. Came out quite tender and so delicious, and the stock / au jus was a nice accompaniment. No need for mint jelly. :nono:

So far Ive been very successful with cooking lamb low and slow and up to beef brisket type temps. I highly recommend trying some if you can get it (not the crap from New Zealand)

 

[Knifemaker]

Well no smoke this weekend. However, our subdivision had its annual "Fall Festival" Usually warmer than it turned out (cloudy high 52)

So no water games for the kids. They had a chili cook off that I decided to enter this year. Made my usual 6 bean chili, but instead of using ground beef or turkey this time, I put in about 2 lbs of pulled pork I had left in the freezer.

Was busy helping with stuff there so didn't get to devote as much time as I normally do making the chili. Surprisingly it turned out pretty good, and the chili seasonings did not overtake the smokeyness of the pork. So, not your average chili, but it was tasty. Didn't win, a more traditional no bean chili that used Bison meat did.

Got about a half gallon of mine left, so will be taking some for lunches until I get burnt out eating it.

So, another use for pulled pork discovered.

 

[Bounce]

I find that no matter the choice of briquettes, they leave a taste in the meat that lump charcoal doesn't. That's why I quit using it.

 

[Auburn]

Tragger would be a good choice for set and forget. My neighbor has one and he loves it.

I have a Traeger, but it is temperature limited to about 425 max. Even with the insulating blanket, the best I have seen on it was 440. Doesn't sear too well at that temp. Plus the ones they sold at Costco don't have the wifi controls, or their good controller. We BBQ and grill year round, and I want a unit that can do both.

I just ordered the RecTec Bull RT-700 Like the Traeger, not cheap, but it will do both, has the Wi-Fi functionality so I don't have to sit right on top of it and monitor it. Some of my coworkers have the 680 and like how closely it maintains temps, even lower temps for smoking and BBQ. The Traeger tended to drift around too much. sometimes it was +/- 50 degrees depending on how cold it was outside.

The Traeger wasn't bad, just had to do more monitoring than I want to do right now. It will still be a back up and used when we have to do large batches or stuff, or when I have two different things going at the same time.