Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[Knifemaker]

Yep, nothing beats sipping a large glass of Merlot, warming yourself up on a cold winter morning (34F here) by standing right next to the fire box and watching the sun come up.

Edit- So anyway, here's the plan. I got the meat on at 4:00 this morning. I'm going to smoke it for 7 hours. Not so anal about watching the temperature here, looks like average swings are from 225-246. Using nothing but apple wood. At the 7 hour mark am going to transfer it to my convection oven set at 230F. We have to run into town for awhile.

When we return I'm going to bump the temperature up to 280-300F to hopefully hit the internal target of 203f by 6pm.

 

[Knifemaker]

On a side note here. I have been wondering since I got my reverse offset smoker about how much heat is being "wasted" from

the top of the firebox. Temperature measurements early on showed the top of the box reached 780-825 F. Enough that one could cook up a steak..

So today, lacking a chunk of fiberglass insulation, I decided instead to try and insulate the top of the box with a row of bricks:

It does seem to help as far as keeping a more steady temperature, although the mean average of my pit has been raised from 230F to 243F.

 

[Knifemaker]

Sorry about the shadow. But how it looks after 7 hours in the smoker. Next, into the convection oven @227F while we go do some errands.

The good thing here is we will be gone for a while and won't have to be torchured by the smell filling the house now.

...

 

[Fred W]

Good lookin shoulder there. I like your cooking plan too. I think I’m going to split the next one between smoke and oven and see how that comes out.

 

[Knifemaker]

Okie Dokie. Came out well, a bit dry, but saucing it fixed it. Baby Ray makes a "Sweet Mustard BBQ Sauce" that works well with pulled pork.

Happy with the results. But not as "juicy" as my last one.

 

[Fred W]

Dry, huh? Never had that problem before. How long and at what temp did you cook it in the oven? Covered or uncovered? I’d think if you stuck with 225F and covered the pan it wouldn’t dry out.

 

[Knifemaker]

I'm sure if I stuck with 225 it would have not been as dry, but dinner would have been at midnight.

And understand by "dry", I'm just saying it was drier than my last one, which I thought was a bit "fatty".

There's plenty of moisture looking at the bags I made up last night with it. And the meat was tender, so that bit of dryness is forgotten once reheated or sauced.

I knew I was going to risk drying out the meat a bit when I pumped the oven temp up to 280 just to get it to finish sooner. The crust however was way better this time by not covering it.

So no way disappointed here, and I got lunch for the whole week

 

[Fred W]

Yep. You just can’t rush Bar B Que. It’ll be done when it’s good and ready! I’ve never tried to cook a shoulder for eating that night. Too much variation in how long it will take. Maybe if you start it before bed and let it cook through the night...

 

[Knifemaker]

Well, I had the alarm set for 3am to get up and start. But upon waking, I opted for another hours sleep. Last time I used the propane burner, this time I went with charcoal and used up 600 cubic inches of applewood. After 7 hours in the smoker I transferred it to my convection oven set at 227F. I didn't cover on purpose so I'd get a crispy bark. (Which definitely was) after about 3-1/2 hours in the oven, I bumped the temperature to 280F. After another 4 hours it hit 203 internal. (Which was around 7:30pm) so that's about 15 hours total cook time. This was a much larger butt than the other one, which lacked a hard bark, and as I said was "fattier".

So comparing the two isn't a matter of saying one was "better". This one was actually more on par with pulled pork I've had at local smoke houses. Which I'm told do theirs at higher temperatures. It was comparable....Tender with crunchy parts.

Pork butts are pretty forgiving. I've done pulled pork before in a slow cooker, and although it lacked that smokey flavor profile, it was still pretty tasty.

I am happy that I found a mesh basket that fit perfectly into my roasting pan..leaving a good inch and a half space to the bottom of the pan. (see photo in post 1802) This made transferring the meat quick and easy. (I had a 50/50 cup of red wine and water in the pan when it went into the oven)

A side note here is I almost picked up a corned beef instead. They had some nice "point" cuts at the store, which they always have available for St. Patrick's Day here. But I saw that big butt and just had to have it. I can not lie. (Cue that song here)

Side note #2. Took some of that Sweet Baby Rays Sweet Mustard BBQ sauce, added some ketchup, apple cider vinegar, fresh garlic, some cayenne pepper and made a spicy little sauce that worked well with the pork. (Although the Baby Rays stuff is good right out of the bottle)

 

[Bounce]

Dry, huh? Never had that problem before. How long and at what temp did you cook it in the oven? Covered or uncovered? I’d think if you stuck with 225F and covered the pan it wouldn’t dry out.

I have had some turn out dry before. I now cook to a lower target temp and let it finish in a foil wrap that's then wrapped in towels.

I'm still honing my indoor skills for now.

Beans and coan braid. Just what mamma made (but these recipes is my Mamma's in Law who always was the better cook).

 

[eflyguy]

KM, I think being in a *convection* oven might have something to do with it being a little less moist than you expected.

I use one all the time to dry things out, even at very low temps - like jerky at barely above room temperature (most ovens can't go this low..)

I have half a slab of pork belly in the fridge now, elevated over a pan, with a fan blowing on it - it's been curing in brine for about 10 days in a wet brine and appropriate seasonings. I have patted it dry, but it'll be much drier in the AM for rolling.

The other half of the slab? Salt cured, and will be finished off on the Kamado in a day or two.. then sliced thick.. portioned, vacuum sealed, frozen..

By the way - my girl bought some of the KJ coals, and we've cooked on it a few times now - without any added wood for flavor, the results are VERY nice. I can't wait to try a butt and/or ribs over it..

 

[Knifemaker]

LOL, I guess I never should have used the word "dry". Y'all taking it like it was a bad thing. I meant compared to my last butt it was drier....however that last shoulder had no real bark, and had quite a bit of fat that apparently didn't get cooked down. This one was cooked the way I did it intentionally to avoid the "mistakes" of the last one. So what I'm saying is I plan on doing it the same way again.

Keep in mind here I'm not that familiar with pulled pork. I've only been eating it for a few years. I had some about 10 years back and didn't see what all the fuss was about it, it just wasn't impressive really.

I made some (basicly) about 6 years ago by doing a small butt in a slow cooker. It was OK, but again nothing to write home about. Then I had a pulled pork sandwich at a real smokehouse. Ah, I kinda get it now...it's the smoke that makes it better. (Exactly what I learned about ribs)

So, other than those times I've never eaten PP except what I've made at home. Which so far is 3 times. After getting the smoker we don't eat Q out. No matter how well rated a restaurants BBQ is, just haven't found one that does ribs any tastier than ones we do at home. Or now it seems, any better at pulled pork. NOT saying my Q is better than some professional smoke house, just that I don't see a big difference,.....much of that I'm sure is due with the added experience of that smell invading your senses for the HOURS it does at home, as it likely amps up your taste buds much more than the short time you sit in a restaurant.

Unfortunately my oven can only go as low a 170 degrees. I would guess if you left the door open a crack you could get it a bit cooler, but I decided just to buy a dedicated dehydrator to make jerky instead.

Next cook will definitely be a brisket. Cooked in a similar way, smoked for a while then finished in the oven.

 

[Knifemaker]

As mentioned,we don't eat much BBQ out, but anyone that plans on visiting the St.Louis area, there are several great places that have great Q.

https://www.stlmag.com/dining/the-best-BBQ-joints-in-st-louis-in-2015/

I can recommend Salt+Smoke in the Famous Delmar Loop. And everyone should try the smoked-then grilled giant pork steak at the Beast across the river in Bellvile Il.

Took out two racks of ribs last night from the freezer. Damn. only two left now.

Sorry, no pics, but you've seen them before.

 

[Knifemaker]

Sad part. Ate up the last two racks of ribs from the freezer.

So, looks like another smoke coming soon. ..

 

[Fred W]

Tis the season.

Not technically cooked on the smoker, but Ive been doing some outdoor cooking with smoke, in a different way.

A while back I bought one of those small cast iron boxes for wood chips, from Home Despot, to put into my Weber Silver gas grille. For Easter I cooked a boneless leg of lamb with added smoke from apple wood chunks in that smoke box. While not as smokey flavored as if done on a true smoker, it was quite nice, and an easy way to go.

Today I threaded a couple of whole roaster chickens onto the rotisserie spit of the same gas grille and filled the smoker box with hickory chips. Ran the front and back burners only, to get as much indirect heat possible, and parked the smoke box over the running back burner.

The chickens came out delicious, as rotisserie chicken usually does, and the light smoke flavor was a welcome addition at very little added effort. Worth trying, IMO.

 

[Knifemaker]

Don't have a rotisserie, but before I got my smoker that's how I did my ribs. Have a 4 burner gas grill..

So I'd get 4 slabs in a old Webber rib rack, place them over the right 3 burners, which would be off, and put a chip box over the far left burner. I'd even use some tinfoil to close up the back vent. It would hit around 230 F after a while with just the one burner on. They came out pretty good really....

 

[Blind Squirrel]

A lot of people get "wrapped around the axle" on how to cook good que. The best que I have had as been some of the simplest cookers (e.g. pit cooked, converted 50 gal drum, etc.).

 

[Knifemaker]

Looks like Walmart has Baby Backs on sale for $2.94 a pound. Guess that rib cook is coming this weekend

 

[Fred W]

We scored some St Louis cut ribs on sale that will be going on the smoker tomorrow at noon. This retirement thing is freaking awesome!

 

[Knifemaker]

We scored some St Louis cut ribs on sale that will be going on the smoker tomorrow at noon. This retirement thing is freaking awesome!

I'm so jealous. Still have 2 years 7 months to go. On STL ribs I always yank off the membrane on the back. I do those for six hours (@225-235F) have had good luck dry brining and THEN marinating with Italian dressing before adding the rub.