Everything smoking...meat smoking !! Tips, tricks, and recipes + (poll added)

Birthday boy? It’s my birthday today as well. Big 4 0. Strips for the wife and I and sirloins for the kids plus an extra for breakfast tomorrow. Wife is making roasted potatoes/onions/mushrooms/garlic along with corn on the cob and some homemade peaches and cream desert. Not quite the Italian cream cake she usually makes but should still be delicious.

 

Happy birthday to me.

 

Happy birthday

 

Love roasting whole garlic!!
Then squeeze it out on a piece of french bread or just eat the garlic by itself!!!

 

One of my favorite things to eat.

 

Myself!!
There's a type of garlic called if I remember correctly elephant garlic or something like that.
The skin is purplish and the cloves are HUGE!!
Easily 4 or 5 times the size of a normal large garlic clove!!

 

Had that before. It was good.

 

No need to flip, IMO. But they sure look tasty...

 

Had two small boneless pork butts in the fridge that needed to be cooked. Tried a slow smoke overnight at 200*, wrapped them around 9 this morning, pulled at 195. Shredded great. My wife had some on sourdough with havarti; I just picked at it till I was full. Didn’t even make to bread or tortillas. I’m happy with it

 

Terrible day on the smoker.

Tried making ribs. Seasoned them up, threw them on at 275* for 2 hours, then wrapped them in foil with a half stick of butter, brown sugar, and some rib glaze. Back on the smoker until 203* (probe tender). Taste was ok, but they were dry and chewy.

Made some smoked mac & cheese to go along with the ribs. The flavor was really good, but there was way too much cheese. It was like eating a block of Velveeta. I can lighten up on the proportions next time, but that batch went in the trash.

To top it off, after showering and letting the smoker cool off, I go to put the cover back on it, and it gets stuck on the drippings bucket and knocks it over all over the deck and my feet.

 

Hmmm...Thats odd.
Sounds like you did everything right as far as the ribs go.
We're the Baby Backs or Beef ribs?

 

St Louis ribs.

 

That makes it even stranger.
They generally have plenty of fat on em.

 

Yeah, couldn't figure it out, but I'm pretty disappointed about the whole meal.

 

Looking quite tasty right there. Throwing a couple bone in pork butts on the smoker is a favorite in my household. Usually goes with my super secret rub and sauce. I usually take mine to the stall, typically 160-170 F, then wrap in heavy duty foil (the good 'ole Texas crutch) and go until 203-207 F. Rest for 1 hour and then pull apart by hand.

If you don't have it, get a

$14 ThermoPro TP19H Digital Meat Thermometer for Cooking with Ambidextrous Backlit and Motion Sensing Kitchen Cooking Food Thermometer for BBQ Grill Smoker Oil Fry Candy Instant Read Thermometer

ThermoPro digital thermometer and a bluetooth meat thermometer

 

Those ThermoPro thermometers are versatile As for using foil, it's my favorite method. I've smoked pork butts naked and with peach paper wraps, but foil works the best. Keeps the pork butt moist and it also speeds up the cook time. So it's important to use some kind of meat probe thermometer while it's on the smoker. I like the bluetooth wireless ones.

 

I usually wrap around the 150ish point and then pull them once the meat starts pulling away from the bone a bit.

 

Sometimes you're the ball and sometimes you're the bat.
Sounds like you know how to tweak the mac.
The ribs? Maybe you got a defective pig? Ribs are one of the few things i do by time. I started with the 3-2-1 method and landed on 3-.45-1. I haven't made a bad rack since. Except when I got some from a grocery store. I figued out they covered the Smithfield label that said spare ribs with a store label that said baby backs. I only buy them from a butcher shop now.

 

Check your local area or nearby larger town/city for a restaurant supply store. They typically have every possible cuts of meat you could want, plus some you never thought about. Usually at good prices too. I get my pellets from my local shop, 20lb bag of Bear Mountain smoker pellets for $10.

 

First time doing smoked baked potatoes

Did the wifes in EVOO and SPG
Mine are in bacon grease and SPG

Taste pretty good. Was hoping for a little more bacon flavor, and a touch more smoke. I would tweak it a little bit next time, but overall happy with the first shot.

 

Looks delicious I’m not hip enough to know what EVOO is, though… something vegetable oil something? Bacon grease - I think I understand that one ok. Haha. I strained and saved some bacon grease a few weeks ago for the same purpose, only to have somebody dump the next batch of un-strained bacon grease on top of it. Doh!

 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I buy bacon grease from Ace. Use it for some extra flavor.

 

Why the hell does ACE Hardware sell bacon grease?

 

Part of their grilling section. They sell a ton of seasonings and sauces too.

 

I have a ceramic jar that I pour bacon grease into and store it in the fridge....did you by chance poke those potatoes with a fork before coating with the EVOO and bacon grease? It helps

 

Yes.

Poked, greased, seasoned, then wrapped in foil. Took the foil off towards the end of the cook to crisp up the skin.

 

ACE’s grill section is heaven. There’s been one, maybe two times I’ve gone in and haven’t walked away with something from there. It’s the best part about going to ACE.

 

I can't remember the last time I went to any store for anything grilling or smoking. I get my pellets from a restaurant supply store, as well as everything I need to make my own rubs and sauces. In fact, since my BBQ sauce is a whiskey and honey sauce, I spend more time at the liquor store cuz I can't find black label Jameson Irish Whiskey anyplace else