Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[Warpdrv]

The thread that just keeps giving. Wrpdrv, what is the sauce of choice in WI?

I was going to try and make your sauce you posted - looked interesting just didn't have time yesterday. Up to this point I basically grabbed a few of my fav sauces and combined them for different flavor...... there are a couple of places here that sell their own sauce that I really like, and those have done it for me.....

But I'm looking forward to trying your recipe and tweaking it for my liking....

Set it low to start to get more smoke into the meat, then I'll crank it up a bit higher for the second half of the day and help it get past the stall.....

I think that, in general, this is a good strategy.

I thin that those are either small shoulders or you have a magnificently large pit. I'm wagering on the latter. Looking forward to your results.

Thanks Fred......

Yes the smoker is pretty large, I could go with a larger smoker for when I throw parties, but this Yoder 640 Competition is pretty darn nice to have around... I got a hankerin to pick up their next model up..... Yoder 1500

Hopper holds about 20 lbs, and after 14 hours I still had a good 4-5 lbs left.... pretty effecient and I don't have to babysit it.... just set the temp I need and it does its thing.....

Heres a couple pics of it loaded up with 2 chickens, 4 racks of ribs and some ABT's....

https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d109/Warpdrv/Yoder%20YS%20640/download_20130817_164743.jpg

https://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d109/Warpdrv/Yoder%20YS%20640/0529151119a_zpsknr6lgwz.jpg

Ok back to the Butts

The Picnics stalled and took longer then I thought they would but they turned out fantastically.... After smoking for a good 7 hours, I turned up the heat to 260 and then Injected them pigs.... I usually just grab all sorts of stuff that I have laying around, no specific recipe - I'm a little unconventional with my methods, and try to experiment with things...... This time my mixture was some Grape juice, Cran Ras juice, a little Arnold Palmer some Red Stag whiskey, add in some molasses, and coarse ground mustard and some siracha. It was a dark colored brew LOL. Basically get some flavored moisture in there, which worked a treat....

I find that if you wait until halfway through the cook the meat firms up and the injection doesn't go to waste.... If the injection liquid is warm it won't add to the stall, but then again - its got a good number of hours to go before it starts to hit the brick wall, so it'll just boil into the meat anyways....

We had a huge annual bike race in town so I was in and out of the house for the next few hours..... So I didn't really have time to take those really nice Q-View Pics. The smaller butt ran through the stall quite quickly, one side was almost 200*, so I took the opportunity to tear off a bunch from that side and ahhh make a swammich..... Oh My.... and again I had to run back to the races...

The Bark turned out fantastic - and the Butts had a nice smoke ring to them - not really as deep as yours looked Fred but still nice.... Tonight we will be able to put it in the warmer and serve up some to friends.... over some good boozy drinks....

 

[08FJR4ME]

Update:

Well the smoking has begun. A little later than planned but oh well. 5:00AM this morning.

First on the Agenda is to get the shoulder on.

Next was to add the chicken thighs stuff with green pepper and wrapped in bacon. 1:00 PM

I just added one more thing I forgot. Since I can't find it on the shelf anymore I will make my own.

This will go in my pepper mill so I can savor the flavor for weeks to come.

I am hoping all will fall in place around 4:00PM to eat the vittles and then callapse for the day.

Dave

 

[kurbennett64]

Update:
Well the smoking has begun. A little later than planned but oh well. 5:00AM this morning.

First on the Agenda is to get the shoulder on.

Next was to add the chicken thighs stuff with green pepper and wrapped in bacon. 1:00 PM

I just added one more thing I forgot. Since I can't find it on the shelf anymore I will make my own.

This will go in my pepper mill so I can savor the flavor for weeks to come.

I am hoping all will fall in place around 4:00PM to eat the vittles and then callapse for the day.

Dave

Dave,

How does smoked pepper work out. I tried beans before and was not happy with them. Is there a specific temperature and length of time you keep the pepper on the smoker?

Thanks in advance!

 

[08FJR4ME]

The pepper spent about 2 hours on the smoker. You could see a visible difference when I took everything off. I won't now how good it worked out until tomorrow for breakfast when I put it on my eggs. I will follow up later. The shoulder was slightly more salty than what I would have liked. I will atribute that to the brining. It was still very good with a strong smoky taste. To tell the truth the bacon stuffed chicken was to die for. Best I ever had and would deffinately do it again. I wanted to put the potatos on the grill but there just wasn't any more room.

Now I got that out of my sytem, Thanks guys for getting me motivated.

Dave

 

[Fred W]

What? No "after" photos of the porkie? Dave, you're killing us here...

PS - Warpdrv, that looked like quite a pulled pork feed you put on. The one picnic I did Friday fed my entire family of 6 adults and 2 grand kids yesterday, and we still have about 1/2 of it left for later. I guess we are light eaters... It was a success all around the table.

 

[08FJR4ME]

What? No "after" photos of the porkie? Dave, you're killing us here...

PS - Warpdrv, that looked like quite a pulled pork feed you put on. The one picnic I did Friday fed my entire family of 6 adults and 2 grand kids yesterday, and we still have about 1/2 of it left for later. I guess we are light eaters...

It was a success all around the table.

Photobucket was on the fritz last night. I couldn't load anymore pic's.

More to come,

Dave

 

[hppants]

Dave - were the chicken thighs de-boned? Also, that bacon looks to be thick-sliced, but relatively lean. Is that a commercial brand, or do you get that bacon from some special source.

As you can tell, Pants is plotting some smoked bacon wrapped chicken thighs. That looks absolutely delicious.

 

[Warpdrv]

Fred - yes that was a pretty large amount of pig, I tend to cook for an army, but made that much for a couple of reasons....

I always like to freeze some of the extra for adding product to appetizers / future cooks that need a bit of dressing up......
Pork & Lamb are great for that....

I'm going to add some of this batch to the cowboy beans that I'm making today or tomorrow....

+

One of the guys at my business also loves to cook / smoke and we always bring in extra food we dabble in, for sharing and bragging rights....

Makes for a great work environment when you can enjoy watching the employees / workmates lose their minds over good comfort food. I could totally go hungry and not eat a damn thing I make, when I can see the people enjoying what I made - its well worth it...

 

[08FJR4ME]

Dave - were the chicken thighs de-boned? Also, that bacon looks to be thick-sliced, but relatively lean. Is that a commercial brand, or do you get that bacon from some special source.
As you can tell, Pants is plotting some smoked bacon wrapped chicken thighs. That looks absolutely delicious.

Yes they were deboned. I did trim the fat which the dogs appreciated at the time.

It was a premium bacon just regular cut. It came three in a package and price was right. I am nut sure what the brand was. I threw out the box it came in. My sauce was a mixture of Budwieser orgininal and Mr. STubbs burbon. Then I also put a tablespoon of Worcestere sauce in with the 50/50 mix. I will be making these chicken things over and over again.

Dave

 

[kurbennett64]

Started this a few minutes ago. The store had a sale on Boston Butt cut into ribs, so I rubbed them down and threw them on at 225 degrees. Also added some chicken thighs that I had in the fridge as well. Will post another pic when I get them off.

 

[Fred W]

That's an interesting thing. I've never heard of cutting the butt into boneless rib strips. I bet that cuts down the cooking time tremendously.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Not only that Fred the smoke would most likely permiate all the way through.

Well here are the last two pic's. of the final product. An hour before finishing smoking I added the sauce. I don't think I did the pepper long enough. I didn't seem to taste it in my eggs this morning. Then again I do put 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in my omelet along with tumeric and ginger. You could call me a health nut.

Before sauce, 1 hour to go. No it is not burnt! I kept that smoke going all day long.

With sauce before taking off the smoker

I will have to say the brinkman could use some improvements. I might try to alter some things on it before the next use. It was a gift from quite a while ago. Considering what they go for you can't complain.

I enjoyed the leftovers today,

Dave

 

[kurbennett64]

Dave, that looks competition ready. Love the bark! Great job.

 

[LittleJon]

So it appears that I'll have to learn how to upload photos. Friday night/Saturday morning, we will be throwing a 250 pound hog onto the smoker. It's a home-made jobbie. A "Franken-smoker" if you will, built on a HF trailer with a 250 gallon oil tank, cut around the middle and raised, a 2 bay sink, with 2 on-board holding tanks (kegs) for fresh water and gray water. A hog this coming weekend and a dozen chickens, a few racks of ribs, and maybe a brisket for the weekend of the 4th.

We've done a few competitions. We've never placed higher than 4th, we've never placed last, and we've never left hungry.

Can you tell I've been following this thread, just waiting to jump in?

 

[Fred W]

Yes, we will NEED many pictures of your smoker and the pig roast.

There is a thread here in the Forum Software and Board Operation section that should give you some leads on how to get your photos to post.

Looking forward to seeing the "Franken-smoker"!! :thumbsup:

 

[Cav47]

I too have been reading this thread with purpose. On Sunday, I tried some methods described on here. I went real simple and smoked the ribs at 215 for 3 hours. Foil sealed them up with a little bit of slurry(water and spices) for 30 min at 250 degrees. Then finished them with a light dry rub for 30 min (my family does not like BBQ sauce of any kind) So I had to go with just a dry dusting of spices. (think buffalo spice from Buffalo Wild Wings) I expect my kids to eat what I fix and any sauce will kill that notion.

This is just before finishing them off.

They do not look like much, but they were great tasting. Not fall off the bone like some of you guys are fixing. I need to refine that process(any suggestions are welcomed) Taste was an 8.5 out of 10. Tenderness was a 6.5. Appearance was 8 out of 10 My younger two boys will not eat stuff that has "crispies" on it cause it tastes burnt. What the heck do 7 and 10 yr olds know??? Gas Grill with Water trays made. Gives off a really nice steam effect and does not dry out the meat. The water was boiling over direct heat and the ribs were over the middle section of the grill at a lower temp. First try will get better.

 

[TomInPA]

Josh, those look like genuine Irish ribs...a bit on the green side, or is it blue? Might want to check those camera settings.

That looks like a grill with direct fire rather than a smoker.

 

[Warpdrv]

I used to make Ribs in the oven - 6 Racks rotated in a large chafing pan, more like steamed on low with a good rub, then on to the weber for finish.... Those were always fall off the bone and delicious...

But now that I have become "more" of a seasoned smoker - that is not what you want from ribs... They should maintain their structure, and allow you to do a full bend when picked up on the end with tongs.... yet the meat should cleanly and easily tear away from the bone...

Check your temp gauge to make sure you are cooking at what you think you are, the 3-2-1 and the 2-2-1 cooking method is a good rule of thumb and place to start. The bend test and pullback will tell you exactly how your ribs are doing. Of course quality of meat makes a huge difference as well, I always tend to spend a bit more on quality meat. You get what you pay for.

Not my pic, but here is a good example

 

[Cav47]

Josh, those look like genuine Irish ribs...a bit on the green side, or is it blue? Might want to check those camera settings.
That looks like a grill with direct fire rather than a smoker.

You are so right. For sure, it is a direct fire. And the picture was taken with a cell phone in poor light. I have aspirations of making a smoker or purchasing one, but that is just not gonna happen right now. Need my grill to work like my woman-Get up to temp quickly and reliably. I envy some of you guys set ups. But not your woman. Mine is a keeper!!! That was said with all sarcasm. Except for the part about mine being a keeper, she is one you would mount on the wall........wait, that sounded bad too.

 

[Warpdrv]

I'm also lucky enough to have that same awesome setup..... Awesome woman here as well...

I just buy what ever I want and she loves every moment of the things I'm into...