Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[Knifemaker]

We usually reverse sear on the Blackstone as it has two zones, so one can be set real low and the other side cranked up. Works the same on the grill where I leave the middle burner off, and turn the side burners to vaporize/warm. A good instant read thermometer is a must.
Steaks usually just get salt and pepper, and like Fred, sometimes a dash of garlic. If it’s a fairly thick steak, a little shake of Monterrey Steak seasoning is OK. (Which is mostly salt, garlic, black pepper, cayenne pepper, with usually some coriander and dill) Wife prefers white pepper.
Have used a wood chip box to get a bit of smoke flavor on a steak using the grill, but it’s always very subtle as steaks, even on low, cook quickly.
I’ve actually thought of putting a dish of Monterrey Steak seasoning in the smoker to impart some smoke flavor/aroma into it.
Would not use anything juicy-sweet on a good steak, but I’ll use hot sauce on pot roast, horseradish on brisket, and almost anything on a hamburger

 

[biknflyfisher]

Not sure that what you had was really tri tip as typically it’s not served with a sauce (but certainly could be…..). Usually has a big beefy flavor.
It seems to be a California “thing”…..
Keys with tri tips are you cannot overcook it or it will be tough, and it MUST be cut against the grain or it will be chewy (but you know that as a seasoned smoking guy).
I have pork back ribs rubbed up with The Spice Tin’s Honey BBQ Rub (a great little spice shop in Murphys , CA); country style ribs in Meathead’s Memphis Dust rub; tri tips in salt/pepper/Triple S Seasoning that is safe for my Grandson’s temperamental gut.
Meat goes on Smoky Joe at 0930……
Biknflyfisher

 

[Bounce]

Not sure that what you had was really tri tip as typically it’s not served with a sauce (but certainly could be…..). Usually has a big beefy flavor.
It seems to be a California “thing”…..
Keys with tri tips are you cannot overcook it or it will be tough, and it MUST be cut against the grain or it will be chewy (but you know that as a seasoned smoking guy).
I have pork back ribs rubbed up with The Spice Tin’s Honey BBQ Rub (a great little spice shop in Murphys , CA); country style ribs in Meathead’s Memphis Dust rub; tri tips in salt/pepper/Triple S Seasoning that is safe for my Grandson’s temperamental gut.
Meat goes on Smoky Joe at 0930……
Biknflyfisher

They were cut and cooked right. Just not what I look for in Q I guess. But if it's a CA/PNW thing, then that's perfectly fine with me.

 

[Knifemaker]

Tri-tips are great cut up in the slow cooker for chili or a stew. (Brisket is good too) The strands of fat keep them tender, as leaner meats like sirloin tends to get tough.
I think I’ll try a whole one in the smoker some day. Does seem to be regional thing, much like pork steaks

 

[Bounce]

We get ham steaks all the time. Cubed, they make pintos great.

 

[Fred W]

Cooking steak is grilling. No matter what technique you use. Certainly not BBQ, at least in my worthless opinion. I still grill quite a lot of things. For instance, I can’t imagine BBQ fish, or shrimp… Or steak.

 

[Knifemaker]

I’d counter that with smoked salmon.
But you’re right, Grilled steak is just as good as off a griddle or off a cast iron pan, it’s all about how you apply heat and for how long.
Many top steak restaurants are “grilling” their steaks. It may be an infer-red broiler, but it’s still grilling.

 

[Fred W]

So, I’ve been going down a “Smoker” rabbit hole on you tube this winter.

I’ve found a bunch of guys and gals building cement block “open” pits in the old school tradition. These are really cool, but a real lot of work to tend.

You end up needing two pits. One is to burn the wood down to coals and the big “open” pit where you cook the meat, you shovel hot coals in under the meat on a rack. There is generally some sort of a cover over the pit, but honestly that type of pit is a lot like a gigantic grille with the heat directly under the meat.

The tangent rabbit hole is all of the country “smoke houses” where you have a (very) remote firebox smoke generator piped to a usually wood sided, vertical structure to hang your meat in. These people are usually smoking hams, bacon, sausage and other salt cured meats. These are very cool, and run the range from shabby to ultra spiffy. The more remote the firebox is (including a smoke pipe running 10-15’ underground) the cooler the smoke can be.

I’m not sure I want to get into cold smoking on that scale just yet, but if I did, I can see building a nice smoke shack out in the hill out back.

 

[Knifemaker]

I remember an episode of Steve Riachlens “Project Smoke” where he was somewhere that he showed a concrete pit like you describe. I think there was a metal top to it. Looked OK if you plan on doing up 2 dozen briskets.
There was a restaurant in town when I was a kid that had a similar pit, basically a 5 foot long 3 foot wide stone vat with iron bars for a food grate, and huge metal doors on top. Not sure how it was fed.

The Italian guy that lived next to my grandfather had an actual smoke house in his back yard. He did hams, bacon, and a lot of sausages in it. I remember being a kid and him giving me slices of salami he made.

Speaking if Steve Raichlen, I had this page saved on my phone, where he goes over how to build a “smoke house”
https://barbecuebible.com/2016/03/04/how-to-build-a-smokehouse/

 

[Bounce]

Cooking steak is grilling. No matter what technique you use. Certainly not BBQ, at least in my worthless opinion. I still grill quite a lot of things. For instance, I can’t imagine BBQ fish, or shrimp… Or steak.

I can't tell you the number of Yankee's I hear use BBQ when they really mean grilling.

 

[Fred W]

I can't tell you the number of Yankee's I hear use BBQ when they really mean grilling.

Around here, if someone invites you to a barbecue, most likely you’ll get hot dogs and hamburgers. Maybe some chicken if you’re lucky. Real BBQ hasn’t been popular up north for very long.

 

[BigOgre]

Since moving south I've been trying to get my wife to use regional terms but it's a losing battle after all this time. Just yesterday she suggested bar-b-quing a couple of steaks. When she gets the look she'll correct herself with an emphatic and twangy 'griille', usually with the eye-roll. It ain't worth it.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I can't tell you the number of Yankee's I hear use BBQ when they really mean grilling.

Definition of barbecue
(Entry 1 of 2)
transitive verb
1: to roast or broil (food, such as meat) on a rack or revolving spit over or before a source of heat (such as hot coals or a gas flame) barbecuing chicken for dinner
2: to prepare (food, such as beef, pork, or chicken) by seasoning (as with a marinade, a barbecue sauce, or a rub) and cooking usually slowly and with exposure to low heat and to smoke

Definition of barbecue (Entry 2 of 2)
1a: a large animal (such as a steer) roasted whole or split over an open fire or a fire in a pit
b: barbecued food //eat barbecue
2: a social gathering especially in the open air at which barbecued food is eaten
3: an often portable fireplace over which meat and fish are roasted

Barbecue definition

 

[El Toro Joe]

Definition of barbecue
(Entry 1 of 2)
transitive verb
1: to roast or broil (food, such as meat) on a rack or revolving spit over or before a source of heat (such as hot coals or a gas flame) barbecuing chicken for dinner
2: to prepare (food, such as beef, pork, or chicken) by seasoning (as with a marinade, a barbecue sauce, or a rub) and cooking usually slowly and with exposure to low heat and to smoke

Definition of barbecue (Entry 2 of 2)
1a: a large animal (such as a steer) roasted whole or split over an open fire or a fire in a pit
b: barbecued food //eat barbecue
2: a social gathering especially in the open air at which barbecued food is eaten
3: an often portable fireplace over which meat and fish are roasted

Barbecue definition

Thanks for the clarification...

 

[Bounce]

Leave it to Yankees to use the dictionary (created by Yankees) to conflate grilling with smoking (Q).

 

[Knifemaker]

And to make it worse, if you pour BBQ sauce over ANYTHING, it becomes barbecue-________ , regardless how it’s cooked. Or anything with BBQ sauce flavoring...(Barbecue Potato Chips come to mind)

 

[wingshot]

So many options, so little time to figure out one.

 

[BigOgre]

Well two days after the fact but after my son just polished off the little left-overs today for lunch it made me remember. Recently went into Costco and saw they had blister packs of two "pork loin tenderloins" on sale so grabbed one. (Why can't you go there and walk out with just what you went in for?) One went in the freezer and the other was dinner sooner. Or at least I thought it was the other 'one'. They way they were packaged I thought I was buying two but after cutting open the one pak the meat came apart in two. Ok. Was thinking we might have a good deal leftover but I was wrong. They came out very moist and tender, no knives needed, and we put a good dent in the serving there at the table.

Dry brined for about five hours prior to the rub. I used just a touch of the butter spray there as I find most oils don't play nice with my stomach.



Two probes to my separate thermometer and one to the smoker's readout. Been trying to see how accurate the Pit Boss reads but I think I'm satisfied now that it's pretty accurate. I do like the remote read-out inside though so I'll probably keep using both.



So maybe accurate wasn't the right word. Both probes were reading within a few degrees of each other and when the first hit 140 I went to pull them off. Could tell right away they weren't ready and a few pokes with the instant read showed them to be around 125. I thought I had the probes into the thickest parts but maybe not? Funny how they both read similarly.

Pulled off at 140 and sat for maybe 10 minutes before slicing.



Don't think the other will stay in the freezer long.

 

[Bounce]

There's a blue cheese stuffed pork tenderloin recipe I stole from Alton Brown (on line) that everyone loves. I've smoked a few too. Quick to do and tasty if pulled before dry.

I got caught up with that 2-in-1 pack the first time, too. 4 tenderloins is better than none. Always.

 

[Knifemaker]

They sell those two piece tenderloin packages around here. As each loin tapers at one end they wrap two together pointed in opposite directions so the overall thickness is even.
I usually just tie them together and smoke them that way. This means you can season the inside, and even sort of stuff them.
The guy that built my smoker says he takes the thicker loins and slices them lengthwise, but still attached at one end, into three strands.
Then he seasons them and braids them back together. Haven’t tried that yet.