Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[TomInPA]

I went out on some motorcycle tags today, but left a picnic ham smoldering on the Komodo smoker. The rewards of simultaneous smoking and riding were outstanding! Pulled pork? The BBQ sauce is from the garden including fresh tomato, yellow bell pepper, jalapeno, onion, garlic, vinegar, worstershire, tomato paste, sugar and love.

Techncally, the temperature was a bit too high, but I returned and damped it down and still had dinner on the table at 6:00. Pork is forgiving...go ride.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

Soylent Green would be some true recycling. When you think about it pragmatically, what a waste of food source we burn to ash or bury in the ground, just due to our emotional sensibilities.

(boy is this drifting perilously off topic)

So how long would you have to smoke Soylent Green?

(there, back on topic now)

We're half way there Fred!

https://www.soylent.com/

 

[Knifemaker]

Way back in the late 60's, my chemistry teacher told me that we could make healheir food in a lab using alge and microscopic life forms then what's produced on farms. But he joked "Who'd buy it?"

I'm asking this now....

 

[08FJR4ME]

Well I will be putting a pork butt on the smoker tomorrow along with some brat's just to give them a try. I think I will just sit around and drink beer. I need to self medicate for doing to much today.

Dave

 

[TomInPA]

Just put on a whole clod prime brisket this morning. This was supposed to be a project earlier this summer, but things got in the way, and the beef has been sitting in a roasting pan under plastic and foil in the freezer. Started the thaw on Friday, and today is the day. Uncooked brisket isn't very interesting looking, but I'll try to post the results photo after the football game...Go Steelers.

 

[Fred W]

If you're just getting it on the pit now, it'll probably be done after the Eagles / Bears game tonight.

 

[TomInPA]

Pit temperature at half time is 244 F and the meat is at 169...I like my chances for 6:00-6:30. I get pretty good results at under 250 degrees, and this is not the largest brisket I have ever done.

 

[TomInPA]

Okay, Steelers are on the verge of wining this with 14 seconds and a kneel-down pending. The meat is still 169 and the pit 224 with heavy rain here. When I took the picture, I realized I had to re-stoke the pit, and that stalled the whole works. This is a little higher stall temp than I usually see, but that's what it is. Fred might be right. Damn I hate saying that!

 

[TomInPA]

Well it's 6:30, and the thermometer is reading 192. I'll go move it to make sure I've got a complete cook, but I think this is coming off for a 7:00 carve.

Edit: this is going to sit a bit, but

Winner winner this ain't no chicken dinner.

 

[Fred W]

Glad I was wrong about the timing.

How many lbs. was that one?

And the results photos... ?

 

[TomInPA]

I honestly don't recall the weight because the packaging was removed so long ago. Can do pics. Results had the flavor and texture I was looking for, with good cohesiveness in the cuts, but tender, and the smoke contribution was right on (Apple wood). There was some excessive fat in the seam between the flat and the point that had to be eaten around, and it would have been nice to see that render out more which usually happens with a finishing temperature closer to 195-198.

 

[Fred W]

MMmmm NICE!

Yeah, I don't think that big seam between flat and point ever renders out completely, even in the longest cooks. You just have to trim it out afterwards, although some will trim it before hand and then put the two halves back together somehow, or else just cook them separately since the leaner Flat is done so much sooner than the Point.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Question?

Am I doing something wrong? I have been smoking mainly with wood and only use a small amount of lumps to start the fire. I seem to be getting a creosote type substance on the inside of the smoker. Is this normal? I don't remember ever getting this thick sticky substance with my little round smoker. Am I slowly killing myself? Should I cut back on the wood used and use more lump charcoal? When I reload the wood which is about twice in a 10 to 12 hour period I get thick heavy smoke to start out.

Help, Dave

 

[Bustanut joker]

What wood are you using Dave? Sounds like you're not getting a good fire before you lid it..

I always let it "free burn" for ten or 15 minutes before I lid it. Maybe your wood selection is too 'sappy"?

I get at least 14 hours of decent smoke with a softball sized pile..It's strong at first but it tapers down.

From my experience the first 4 or 5 hours are when you want good smoke

 

[Hudson]

Last two days we ditched the BBQ to use the Staub rooster braising pot we got on sale a year ago and hadn't used.

Sunday was a tri-tip we had intended on smoking but threw in the freezer. I assumed it was toast as it looked like it had freezer burn, but 3 hours later, it sat moist and fork-tender on my plate with a cabernet de-glazed gravy made from the pan drippings. A hearty meal with an inexpensive cut of meat - had the texture of fine pot roast.

Tonight the missus braised a Halibut filet - 5min pan seared on each side, then braised 15 min in a white wine and caper butter reduction sauce, served over kale mixed with galic, and red/yellow peppers. It was the best I've ever had Halibut - by a mile.

Maybe we should start a "braiser" thread.

 

[Fred W]

Question?
Am I doing something wrong? I have been smoking mainly with wood and only use a small amount of lumps to start the fire. I seem to be getting a creosote type substance on the inside of the smoker. Is this normal? I don't remember ever getting this thick sticky substance with my little round smoker. Am I slowly killing myself? Should I cut back on the wood used and use more lump charcoal? When I reload the wood which is about twice in a 10 to 12 hour period I get thick heavy smoke to start out.

Help, Dave

Dave,

Yes, the black on the inside is wood creosote. It will always form on the inside of a wood fired smoker. Contrary to a lot of "conventional wisdom" that kind of creosote is not necessarily bad. It is not the same kind of tar based creosote that they dunk telephone poles in as a preservative.

As Barry said, your goal is to use very well dried wood, and run the fire as hot as you can without overheating the pit. On our pits that means adding only a little fuel at a time and leaving the end door open until the new sticks have pyrolized and have started to burn with a flame. This is the kind of fire that gives you the best "TBS" (thin blue smoke), which is our goal in wood burning.

Don't worry too much about the black stuff forming on the inside of your pit. That stuff will always form even when you are cooking with TBS. The inside of mine is as black as a coal mine after only a little more than a year of use. Just work to keep the smoke as thin and blue as you can and everything will be great.

One thing I do that helps cut down on the white billowy smoke when adding new wood to the fire is to preheat the wood sticks on the top of the firebox throughout the cooking. Sometimes I will put a couple of sticks inside the firebox away from the fire to pre-dry. That way when you do add those sticks onto the fire they literally burst into flames and start making TBS. Smoldering wood makes white billowy smoke. Burning wood makes TBS.

FWIW - If you didn't have any creosote formed, you wouldn't get any smoke flavor in the meat. The creosote is just part of the smoke that we are flavoring the meat with.

 

[Knifemaker]

You do want to make sure that black goo isn't dripping on whatever food you're smoking. Doesn't hurt to wipe the lid and the upper parts off now and then. I seem to get some dry black flakey stuff too, which I scrape out occasionally.

I know many say they never clean out the inside of their offset/reverse smokers, but any organic matter left inside has the potential to attract bacteria....not so much of an issue of being "infected", as the heat will kill it off, but it can produce unwanted smells or compounds that could effect the taste.

See:

https://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/grill_and_smoker_cleaning_and_maintenance.html

Heating up the wood on top of the FB seems to work for me. A few minutes of white smoke when you add wood shouldn't have much of an impact on a long cook, but trying to minimize it is a good idea.

 

[eflyguy]

Hi guys.. haven't been active here for a while.. new house, many projects..

I'll just throw some stuff out -

- the black goo is good, it insulates, protects and exposed steel, and is not toxic.

- white smoke isn't bad - if I use chips for a short cook (I finished up a slab of home-cured bacon in the kamado over hickory yesterday) I get a ton of it. Chuncks don't smoke as much. BUT smoke from briquettes isn't good. You discussed getting them going outside the smoker, that is the way to go, but pure hardwood lump is best for smoking..

- OMG Hudson, I have that in gray, it's my favorite thing (besides my FJR!!) - I have many of my kitchen things on display in my new home, and the staub is in the place of honor! Have you made coq au vin? You MUST in that pot. It's your initiation..

 

[El Toro Joe]

Three slabs of baby backs, going in the smoker in the morning.

 

[Bounce]

Pulled 5 racks of ribs from the freezer to thaw. Sunday is our family day.