Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[Knifemaker]

Well that's kinda the bitch here, the grill is down waiting for new burners. (They seem to rust out every 4 years) So "finishing them on the grill" is out. But even when cooking them on the grill, the bacon never was really "crispy".

I kinda figured on putting the probe in the pork, as tempature seems more critical there...then just jabbing it into one of the chickens when I take the pork out.

Party starts at 1:30pm. Plan to eat around 3 or 4pm.

Directions:

38.4111N 90.7811W

 

[gixxerjasen]

Maybe pan fry them real quick at the end? Worth trying on at least one right?

 

[Fred W]

Or toss them in the oven broiler to crisp 'em up. Long as you don't mind the house smelling so good.

 

[08FJR4ME]

This reminds me, I have two sides of ribs in the freezer. Better check supplies to make sure I can smoke this weekend. Now the question is can I get a 20 lb. bag of charcoal on the bike.

Dave

 

[PhilJet09]

Now the question is can I get a 20 lb. bag of charcoal on the bike.
Dave

I do it all the time. In fact, I buy two bags at a time.

 

[gixxerjasen]

This reminds me, I have two sides of ribs in the freezer. Better check supplies to make sure I can smoke this weekend. Now the question is can I get a 20 lb. bag of charcoal on the bike.

Just don't put it in your top box, with the side bags on, or you'll exceed the weight limit of that flimsey ass subframe.

 

[Fred W]

Dave rocks a Webber Smokey Mountain. I'm pretty sure 20 lbs will be more than enough for this cook. Those things are pretty stingey with the fuel.

PS - Dave, go to your local Home Despot. They have a good supply of Royal Oak at a reasonable price.

 

[Knifemaker]

Maybe pan fry them real quick at the end? Worth trying on at least one right?

Actually I could just put a skillet on top of my firebox and roll them across that for a few seconds.....

However the good news is the shop I usually order the burners from had 3 in stock...(out of four) so I'll be able to go that way if I decide to.

A lot of my health conscious family don't even eat the bacon...

 

[Fred W]

A lot of my health conscious family don't even eat the bacon...

Blasphemers!

Give 'em a tuna sammich.

 

[TomInPA]

Screw this! I'm gettng some pork shoulders tomorrow morning for smoking Saturday.

 

[El Toro Joe]

Got mine started, this morning...

 

[Knifemaker]

Sorry , no photos of "after"...the gang pretty much killed off everything before I got a chance to snap a photo.

But here's a slightly out of focus "before" showing 22 of the bacon wrapped chicken thighs and the pork loin:

This time I rolled the chicken in the dry rub before wrapping with bacon. Didn't bother trying to "crisp" the bacon...it was just delicious enough without.

The big hit however was the pork loin. Same rub,same bacon wrap. It hit 145 degrees just under two hours in, (chamber temps stayed between 217-225) pulled the loin out, wrapped with foil and kept it warm in the oven. Chicken took another 40 minutes to hit 165.

Pork was cut with a fork tender, and juicy as all hell. (Was one of those "organic" loins, no preservatives, antibiotics, etc) didn't realize there were in fact two pieces to the loin, so I put the rub on both, stuck them back together and wrapped it with thick cut bacon to hold it together. Wrapped in plastic wrap for a while I prepped the chicken.

Am definetly going to do the pork loin again soon. Think I'll do about nine of them.....

 

[gixxerjasen]

Tip for the UDS guys. Either put anti-seize on your threads or replace the hardware every once in a while. If you don't, they might need some coaxing to get them to come off.

It was time to replace it all anyway. Time to go to the hardware store. Gotta do a brisket next weekend.

 

[Fred W]

Nice looking 'Que boys. Yeah, I keep going back to the smoked pork loins and tenderloins because 1) they are so easy and 2) they are so damn good. I'll have to try bacon wrapping my next one.

Was that a brisket, Joe? And what's going on down in the lower level?

@Jasen - Only reason I foresee taking my ball valve off would be for replacement, so cutting off the close nipple would seem like a small sacrifice to make. I don't think any kind of grease that would prevent the corrosion would be adding a good flavor to the smoker. Just sayin'

I was thinking about my drum smoker the last time I used it. The bottom floor has a little surface rust developing from the moisture dripping on it during cooking. Probably not getting enough grease on it since the grease gets burned up in the fire or caught on the ash catcher. I figured if it gets bad enough I'll just get another free (or nearly free) 55 gallon drum, burn it out and paint it and move all the parts over onto the new one. With all the things that I've learned about making and using the 1st one, I'm sure the second would be even better.

I've toyed with the idea of making UDS smokers as a hobby / business in retirement, along with a couple of other ideas I have for rustic outdoor furniture, and just selling them locally. It's hard to find anything as functional as a UDS for anything close to what you could charge for one fully equipped, and buying the piece parts in bulk would cut those costs down significantly.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Mostly it was the other caps that were rusted on and wouldn't come off. I use those when I need the temps higher for things like smoking chicken. I came up with the idea to take it all apart, and well, jacked up the ball valve one too trying to get stuff apart. Oh well, all new stuff went on it yesterday, and aside from the ball valve, it's all super cheap.

 

[luvtoride]

wow, this conversation about meat smokers is still in full swing... still talking about ball valves & stuff... Carry on ya'll!

 

[gixxerjasen]

With this weekend coming up, I'd expect to see a lot of food porn added to it. My smoker revamp is in preparation for this weekend.

 

[Bounce]

Replaced my Akorn Kamado smoker due to operator error.

A cover doesn't protect the bottom most bits of the legs when leaving the smoker out in the weather for a year.

Liked everything about it except for the work surfaces. I always had to bring out a folding table to cook. Got this to replace it. Will have the original for spares or emergency large events where I need to grill while also smoking.

 

[El Toro Joe]

Nice looking 'Que boys. Yeah, I keep going back to the smoked pork loins and tenderloins because 1) they are so easy and 2) they are so damn good. I'll have to try bacon wrapping my next one.
Was that a brisket, Joe? And what's going on down in the lower level?

Pork Shoulder on both racks...lower one, was only half the size (for dinner), cut the rest up to make Carnitas, The large one on the top rack, is for FODS.

 

[Fred W]

Man, that's a big un. Can't wait to taste it!