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

Did you do the dry brine this time?

 

I still haven't got to use my new Pit Boss vertical pellet smoker. Last weekend the internal temperature was about 200F lower than the actual as measured on my Smoke thermometer. Pit Boss customer service was great, I contacted them last Saturday and had a new temperature probe on Tuesday. Installed it today, and when the smoker said 250, the Smoke thermometer said 515. I shut it off. Called customer service, on Saturday. They've got a new probe and a new control board on the way. Awesome customer service, 7 days a week. We shall see. Now how to cook the deer shoulder that's brining right now. Was going to smoke it tomorrow. Maybe red wine based marinade and indirect heat on the grill.

 

And the smoked salmon




Brined with salt, brown sugar, soy sauce and spices overnight. Smoked at 250* until done.

Was gonna vacuum pack some for later but I was late; family dug in and it was over.

 

No brine needed. Always comes out juicy (that’s what she said)

 

Yup. No brine needed for spatchcocks. Your bird looks awesome, perfect skin.

Sometimes I add mayo and seasoning under the skin for flavour though.

 

Mayo? Gonna have to try that.

 

I read it the Meathead book or the Aaron Franklin one. My wife does it for turkeys too, she read hers in America's Test Kitchen.

That's what I use as my binder for rubs on chickens.

 

Question for y’all. What rib racks do y’all recommend to use on a smoker? Lemme know. TIA.

 

In my favorite and least amount of time are baby back ribs

 

I had to practice before thanksgiving dinner.

 

I made a Brisket my self for the first time practice for Thanksgiving

 

Anyone DIY a pit barrel smoker? I was reading up on it today, looks interesting

 

Sorry. Maybe I should have phrased the question differently; what rib rack HOLDERS do you guys recommend so I can stand the ribs up and get more cooked at a time? These things:



Just any rack but make sure they are stainless steel? Lemme know.

 

Did the best chuck roast so far today. Pulled it at 205 then let it rest in the foil for another hour. Super tender. Dry brined it last night too. Im REALLY liking the SlowN Sear in my weber. It is dramatically more efficient than the snake method. I could have gone 10 hours easily on today’s basket of coals

 

Today’s Public Service Announcement: Costco now has their fresh, organic, turkeys! I just picked up a 24lb bird...the largest one in the case.

I get one of these every year and they’re amazing. Especially smoked.

My recipe:
- 24-36hr brine soak before smoking. I normally use whatever holiday brine I find at the store, but it doesn’t matter...I’ve never tasted any flavor. I just like everything already mixed and not having to guess on a salt bath. The moister it adds is very critical, so use whatever (even just salt and water). EDIT: skip this step if your bird is already in a salt brine when you buy it. It will get over-salted.
- Prep however you want...we’ve done a bacon weave over the top, herbs in the cavity, butter under the skin. It changes year to year...
- I set the bird in a roast rack over a pan to collect the drippings. Make sure there’s a lot of room around the bird to let the smoke flow. Smoked drippings in your gravy is da bomb.
- Cook at 250 degrees (grill temp) for 20-25 minutes per pound. Yep, I’m up at 3am on Turkey day to get started.
- Remove from smoker when breast reaches 155 degrees, wrap and let rest for 30-60m.
- Eat with pride...enjoy the quiet table as everyone nom nom’s your hard work.

 

I saw 'em yesterday; $3.99 per pound. Ouch. Maybe I'll snag one after the holiday if prices drop. Doing spatchcock again this year. But this time I'm going with a dry brine and will rub the bird in herbed butter. I'll cook at 350* to speed it up.

 

heck yeah, heading to Costco tonight to pick one up!!!!

 

$3.99 at Costco? Mine was $2.99/lb. Maybe that’s the Kirkland discount when you shop at the Kirkland store. Or yours had a more expensive delivery.

 

I would have to double check. They only had 2 turkeys, butterball and some organic one that was $3.99 per pound.

 

Screw that organic BS at $3.99. Albertsons has a good old full of tasty antibiotics normal turkey for $0.68 lb.

 

I load up the weeks after thanksgiving. $0.25-$0.50 per lb

 

Organic as a label doesn’t mean much. A true pasture raised turkey does though, if it grew up eating natural bugs and stuff. I’d love to find one of those, or kill my own would be the ultimate

 

Been a little bit since I stopped by. Here’s tonight’s meatloaf and a dozen bacon wrapped armadillo eggs.

 

Love them eggs

 

I haven’t yet, but the guys at my work have been thinking about building an “ugly barrel smoker” think that’s what it was called. Lots of YouTube videos on how to do it on the cheap.

 

First time making them. Haven’t had them in almost 10 years. They will be a regular thing now.

 

So I ordered a free range turkey from a local farm this year. My wife asked how I was going to fit it in the smoker. I said either spatchcock it or part it out. She didn't know what spatchcock is. I said, like our new dog lays on floor.

 

Trial run for Thursday’s turkey using a chicken. Dry brine in fridge 24 hours (gonna do 48 for turkey) then rubbed inside and out with butter mixed with herbs and then covered breast with bacon.



Smoked for about 3 hours at 350* (not really a smoke at that temp) and final result.



Thighs where falling off when I pulled from the smoker.

Not it’s resting to be eating with baked taters.

Cheers

 

Tip; just get an Egg, period.