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

Going to be a good day, Tater.

 

Don't kill me for the following question....
Would an egg style smoker/grille be a good option for someone who usually only throws beef skirt steak or fajita chicken on the grille? Or should i just stick with the typical style of a grille?

 

Absolutely. Not as convenient as gas for that (nor is any charcoal grill), but my Akorn with a full chimney of charcoal and open vents will heat up to 650+ in just a few minutes. Perfect for searing steak or even cooking Neapolitan pizza.

If all you usually do is quick-sear cooking, then an egg is not what I would buy. But if you want to make really good bbq and need to sear every once in a while, an egg rocks.

I have a Weber kettle and I do bust it out for burgers and steaks, but it always amazes me when I put a full chimney of charcoal in there and still wish it stayed hotter longer. Convenient, but inefficient.

 

Do you plan on smoking stuff, or just grilling? If you don't think you are going to do much smoking, then I would just get a Weber charcoal grill. You can still smoke stuff on it, it is less expensive, and it is a great griller. Harder to maintain temperatures for smoking, though.

 

18lbs of pork shoulder. Should be a good halloween party. Been on for about 5hrs and 154°. My neighbors probably hate me right about now cause they all woke up to that lovely smell and craving some BBQ. Haha

 

Tried your rub but used brown sugar in place if Raw. Only because I didn't have raw. Will let ya know how it came out. Thanks for the recipe.

 

Yes, a weber kettle 22 inch. base starts at $99, I would get the $169 model tho with the ash catcher system and flip up grates.

You can grill or smoke on one and crank out some damn good food.

Tons of videos on youtube, it is what I mostly use at the moment. For a smoker/cooker/grill its a great one for the money.

 

Sorry for the late replies to this thread, @NewImprovedRon @driverdog @Pudge Thank you for the compliments.

Doing a over night cook of a couple butts to take out to work, on at 8:30, wrapped at 2:30 and already falling apart, LOL. Oh well cant hurt a butt and hey have the hickest layer of bark I think I have ever had, going to be awesome.

 

I got a Woodwind smoker for my birthday and have been doing the ribeye reverse sear eversince. Smoke it at 220 until it gets to 112 internal and then put it on the side searer to caramelize the outside. I get a fantastic even med-rare edge to edge, with the smoke flavor accompanying. I also find coating the steaks in kosher salt for an hour or two sitting out at room temp and then drying them off before going on the smoker really helps.

 

Results of last nights cook

Damn that bark

 

You guys ever try ribeye cap? It’s expensive as hell, but good lord it’s good.

 

No I have not and hadn't heard about it until you just mentioned it.

 

Costco has it. It’s pretty amazing.

http://virtualwebergasgrill.com/2018/03/usda-prime-ribeye-cap-steaks-costco/

 

Mine came out awesome but didn't get any pics cause i was in a time crunch. Had a 10lb shoulder and an 8lb shoulder - the 8lb came out perfect- great bark, fell apart and juicy. The 10lb needed some more time but it was on first and off last- it was 197 when it came off but still didn't fall apart as easy and taste was great.

 

Yeah, I've had the issue too. Get meat to right temp and doesn't fall apart. Must have something to do with how much connective tissue each butt has. You just never know sometimes.

 

Yeah it may have just been the cut

 

For those of you with electric pellet smokers, does anyone have one of those fiberglass blankets to keep the smoker warm during the winter? If so, do you recommend said blanket? Let me know.

 

Dug a flat of beef ribs out of the freezer today. Got rubbed down with a layer of mustard then a rub of salt/pepper/chili/onion/sugar. Smoker is running hot - about 330 but I left the vents set to where it should stabilize at about 250 in an hour or two. Will smoke for as long as the coals hold up (5 to 6 hours I’m guessing) and then into the oven tented at 250 until the meat hits about 204 deg.

 

Can’t believe I’m just now finding this thread! Lol
RLHOK - can you give me a quick rundown on the Webber? I have the ash-catcher, flip up grill sides, propane start assist model - and I love it.
I’ve used it to smoke a handful of times, and consistent temps are hard to maintain. I run charcoal on one side, meat on the other. I drop wood chips directly on the charcoal for smoke - I was previously placing a small chip tray over the coals but it wasn’t working as good.

I’ve been contemplating a Treager or Egg for a while now, but with 2 Webber’s (charcoal and gas) taking up some real estate on my back porch I haven’t pulled the trigger.

 

Three hours later and it’s running 236 deg and one of the scotties is guarding the food. I’m inside monitoring temps remotely and watching football.

 

Brined overnight and three hours in hickory smoke. Not bad.

 

Sean - do you have a link to this kick ass thermometer? I googled ibbq and nothing came up. Thanks!!

 

I got this one. I know thermopro makes some good ones. I'm not sure what brand I have is

 

4 hours in and she’s humming along at 243 degrees. Haven’t touched the vents since I put the meat on 4 hours ago. A little more smoke now - the one piece of wood I added at the start must have caught a new side or something. I love how efficient this thing is! Started with 1/3 chimney of Stubb’s. Probably 20 briquettes. Guessing it’ll go another 2 hours before I need to reload or move it to the oven.

 

Whatever you get, money spent on a probe thermometer is well spent. I don’t even use a meat probe anymore, just an instant read probe therm to verify internal temp when it feels done. But a probe for the smoker itself is critical. Right now my dome thermometer reads about 210 degrees, but thanks to my remote probe I know it’s 243, which is right in the sweet spot. My dome thermometer can be off up to 50 degrees sometimes. I never trust it.

 

Thanks!!
I do have a small 1 probe ThermoPro, but it’s not Bluetooth. And the multiple probes would be sweet!

 

Yep! Makes sense! Thank you!

Any thoughts on this one? Seems to have good reviews.

$53 Inkbird IBT-4XS Bluetooth Wireless Grill BBQ Thermometer for Grilling with 4 Probes, Timer, Alarm,150 ft Barbecue Cooking Kitchen Food Meat Thermometer for Smoker, Oven, Drum

https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Blue...hermometer&dpPl=1&dpID=41HO8CsCMXL&ref=plSrch

 

No experience with it. Looks nice tho. I have this one. Doesn’t tak to your phone, which would be really nice, but I’d never use 4 probes. If I could find one with good reviews that talk to your phone for $35 with 2 probes, that would be the sweet spot for me

ThermoPro TP-07 Wireless Remote Digital Cooking Turkey Food Meat Thermometer for Grilling Oven Kitchen Smoker BBQ Grill Thermometer with Probe, 300 Feet Range

$49 ThermoPro TP07 Wireless Meat Thermometer for Cooking, Digital Grill Thermometer with Temperature Probe, Smart LCD Screen BBQ Thermometer for Grilling, Oven Safe Food Smoker Thermometer for Kitchen

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014DAVCP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_I2C-BbQT1YMKY

 

Just probed the meat with my instaprobe. 185 near the bone, 200 on the extremities. Figure another hour. Looks like it’ll be a 6 hour smoke with no oven finish needed. Should be timed perfectly for dinner.

 

The probes can measure true air temperature in the grill right?
If so, 2 for different meats and one for true air temperature would be perfect for me. Seems it’s either 1,2, or 4 though.