Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)

[Knifemaker]

I am retired, and to be honest just sitting outside smoking a cigar and swilling some scotch while I watch the temp gauges on my offset for hours is an enjoyable pass time for me.
But sometimes I want to watch Jeopardy or work on some other project AND smoke some meat…

 

[Fred W]

Agreed. With or without pellets.

BBQ Guru recommendations for your smoker if doing chunk charcoal (how can that NOT be the best?).

Yeah. I’m becoming less enamored with the taste of charcoal as time goes on. As you know, I have a UDS and BBQ Guru too. I really like how easy it is to cook pork butts, BUT… that’s about it.

iI’m starting to dislike the charcoal flavor on pretty much any other BBQ. I’m afraid I brought it on myself by starting to cook with well seasoned hardwood on the offset.

Seriously, the difference in flavor between pork ribs on the wood fired offset and the pellet burner, vs. any charcoal burner is tremendous. I’m not trying to be an elitist. I really wish the pellet smoker did it all, because… it’s so damn easy! But it isn’t.

It just makes those ribs happen a little less often, and maybe that makes them taste even better?

 

[Bounce]

Nice. I looked into one once. Like a BGE they are above my pay grade. :LOL

 

[Knifemaker]

Guess I’ll be able to taste the difference as I got two slabs of baby backs I’m going to toss on the new grill this afternoon.
I’ll prepare them as I usually do, dry brine overnight, and saltless rub. 225 for 4 hours, no basting. Photos and opinions to come……

 

[Knifemaker]

Well, all went well. The Pit Boss did a great job of holding temperature, only seemed to vary 5 degrees occasionally. Cooked ribs at 225 for 4 hours.


Not quite as browned as ones off the offset. However they were tender, pulled off the bone with no sticking, and did have a nice subtle smoke flavor. (Used Pit Boss Apple Blend)
Smoke ring was not as deep…


General consensus from the family was that they were “Good”. Not great, not “awesome”, but “good”. Better than local fare, but not as outstanding as some I’ve done before.
First off I’ll admit these were some new Walmart brand, not local sourced pork. That and for a first cook on a new pit I didn’t expect to wow anyone.
I did just what one would want from one of these pellet smokers…I put the meat in, set the temperature and walked away. For that it did an admirable job. Given it didn’t vary much in temperature as my offset, I’d say I could have let them cook a bit longer (like 30-45 minutes more)
Anyway, “good” is still good, and I really didn’t get this rig to do ribs anyway. I got it for short cooks like chicken thighs, brats, maybe a steak (it has a searing feature) and..maybe a brisket flat.

For $160 I think I got a deal on a useful tool. It heats up fast, which is a plus for me as trying to hit 400+ degrees on my offset requires a lot of fuel (if even attainable) and the ability to roast not just smoke,
is a plus.
So, pretty much pleased with this

 

[biknflyfisher]

I finished off the last of the pork baby back ribs last night that I had smoked on Monday. They turned out fantastic, probably my best rib cook yet (on my OK Joe).
I used oak as the main heat source and supplemented with some hickory chunks for extra punch.
I’ll do something with the smoked tri-tip this weekend……
Biknflyfisher

 

[Fred W]

@Knifemaker - Get some better pellets and try again. Hickory or Charred Hickory pellets will put more smoke flavor and more ring on those ribs. But honestly, they will never be as “outstanding” as pork ribs cooked on a live wood fire, and apple wood is my choice.

Just cooked and consumed some Jalapeño turds on the pellet grille with some nice peppers from my wife’s garden. Cut peppers in half, inserted a slice of the Pepper Jack cheese that I smoked this spring, topped with a half of a Li’l Smokie sausage and wrapped with a thick half slice of maple smoked Kayem bacon. Only wanted to use a half slice because the bacon was so thick, so used one toothpick to hold things in place. 2 hours on the pellet smoker at 250F. Quite delicious. Sorry no Fud pR0n photos.

Next up tonight are a couple of small fillets of Salmon that I dry brined during the football afternoon, and are now cooking on the pellet smoker at 225F. Simple recipe of 2 Tbsp of dark brown sugar to 1 Tbsp of kosher salt for the dry brine. No rinse, just cook on a foil boat with the skin side down. Estimate is about 1 hour, but cook until 140F inside

I’ll try to get a photo when it is done, as this is a first attempt for me.

 

[Fred W]

salmon was nicely cooked but far too salty. Followed the recipe, which said no need to wash off the dry brine. Yeah, no. Wash off the salt next time.

 

[Knifemaker]

I had no complaint about the smoke flavor, was just noting the smoke ring wasn’t as deep as ribs done on the offset.
The winner here was the lack of work needed. I literally just put them in after preheating the smoker and walked away. 4 hours later pulled them out and brought them in. (Let them rest a bit before serving)
I think the pellets were fine, I could smell the applewood smoke throughout the cook. I think a better grade of pellets will be more useful on cooking for a shorter time like for pork tenderloin or sausages.

I have a recipe for salmon but I think it uses a wet brine. I also heard to cook the salmon on a piece of heavy paper (like a paper grocery bag) instead of foil. The skin sticks to the bag making serving easier.
May try this out soon, your photo got me interested

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I put my selection of meat on the pellet smoker before firing it up. Mine produces a lot of smoke while heating which helps with getting the smoke taste into the meat.

 

[Knifemaker]

The instructions on my pellet grill said to wait for the thick white smoke to disperse before putting on the food and setting the cook temperature. So actually I was not “pre-heating” just getting the pellets burning cleanly.
The initial setting just turns on the igniter and the auger. Once you get the pale blue smoke, you then turn the controller to your desired cook temp. Not sure if all pellet smokers work similar.

 

[Fred W]

One thing I’ve done with Pork ribs or a Beef Pot Roast cut (which we have quite often) is to leave the Pit Boss on the lowest “Smoke” setting for the first hour or so. That has a temp setpoint of 180F, but it also seems to feed more pellets with less air to make more smoke. After an hour I’ll raise the temp setting to whatever I want to cook at.

Being able to completely walk away from it for long periods of time is definitely the biggest benefit. And I‘ve actually come to prefer the smoke flavor of the pellet burner over a charcoal fired smoke. Stick burner still gives the best results, but it occupies your entire day.

 

[Knifemaker]

So…doing some Chicken Cordon Bleu tonight in the new pit. Following this recipe;
https://heygrillhey.com/grilled-chicken-cordon-bleu/
Came out great. Cooked at about 15 min a side @ 400F. So 30+ minutes. Used red wine vinegar instead of apple. Sauce was a good compliment.
Oddly recipe calls for 8 slices of ham, but directions say to use 4. So I just doubled up using two slices per breast. (They called for “thick slices”, so normally deli slices are thin)
Used one slice of baby Swiss. Had no “cheese leaks”.
Very easy and quick to put together,

 

[Fred W]

No posts to this thread in over a month? I thought my notifications were broken.

Had a good BBQ day today. Put a couple of racks of St. Louis cut pork ribs on the offset at 11AM. Added a whole chicken at around 1PM at the chimney end, which is my hot spot in the Brazzos current configuration. I think between the tuning plate and the extra high chimney it pulls all of the heat down towards the chimney.

Chicken was done after about 2 hours. Took it off and wrapped it up to rest. Was really just cooking it because I had the pit up to temp. The ribs are the main goal.

I’m sort of surprised how satisfied I am with my modified Old Country Brazzos. It really does cook quite well considering the reasonable cost.

Obligatory BBQ pR0n:



photo is upside down. That bottom rack isn’t that much shorter than the other one.

 

[biknflyfisher]

Thanks for breaking the drought with this.
I’m not familiar with Old Country Brazzos smokers……
Biknflyfisher

 

[Fred W]

Old Country Smokers are made in Mexico, sold in Texas, and used to be available through the Acadamy Sports chain of stores, though they don’t seem to have any stock anymore.

The Brazos model is a 1/4” steel, traditional 20”x40” offset pit with a 20”x18 firebox, comparable to many of the $3-4k texas pipe style pits.

I bought their Brazos DLX model which comes with a counterweighted lid, tuning plate in cooking chamber, and an ash tool. I think I paid $1600 total at Academy, with freight shipping to my home in Vermont.



Here’s my Brazos yesterday while I was cooking, with the 13” pneumatic tire/wheels and wagon type steering that I welded onto it. I also used some 6” stove pipe to extend the chimney for better draft. Runs like a dream.

 

[Bounce]

Was scrambling to get all the unfinished exterior projects wrapped up in the 2 to 3 weeks of Fall we typically have. Got done and 2 days later... colder and raining non-stop for the week. Just made it.

NOW, when there's a break in the rain, I can look at smoking every piece of meat in my freezer and have it at-hand as-needed.

 

[biknflyfisher]

The pipe on that smoker is huge - like the exhaust pipes that knucklehead kids put on diesel pickups now.

 

[Knifemaker]

No smoke, but did finish off the last rack of baby backs from the freezer:


As temps cool here, will be trying to smoke some cheese. Will also try doing a brisket in the pellet smoker.

 

[Bounce]

Being busy with exterior projects may have slowed the smoker work, but I did a pot of beef stew last week and just did one of chicken noodle soup yesterday.

Both got top marks from the victim...er... family members.