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BBQ GAF - Smokin' Your Meat, USA Style
- Thread starter POWERSPHERE
- Start date
RapidCancel
Member
Been a while since I've smoked, but I've got 2 15lb pork butt going on now for labor day weekend. About 7 hours in right now.
Anyone else doing any for the weekend?
Anyone else doing any for the weekend?
ErnieMcCracken
Member
Doing some ribs today. Might do a meatloaf tomorrow.
That looks really good!
My pork shoulders took a lot longer than I though. The first, which was a bit thinner came off at 15 hours. The second came off about two hours later. Both turned out with a great crust and the bone came out like it was never attached. I went to a local kitchen supply store yesterday morning and grabbed a pair of Big Green Egg brand BBQ claws. They worked like a dream. I had tried the Weber brand ones, previously, and they were trash. I highly recommend the BGE claws.
I made a sandwich for lunch and it was awesome. The main event is dinner, though. I made up some slaw to top the sandwich. Have some spicy BBQ sauce. Will toss on a thick slice of red onion and a slice of habanero jack cheese. So good.
Smoked meatloaf sounds amazing. I have everything I need for food for the next week or else I would have tried to put together some smoked egg salad. I need to take another crack at a brisket. Those burnt ends tho.
My pork shoulders took a lot longer than I though. The first, which was a bit thinner came off at 15 hours. The second came off about two hours later. Both turned out with a great crust and the bone came out like it was never attached. I went to a local kitchen supply store yesterday morning and grabbed a pair of Big Green Egg brand BBQ claws. They worked like a dream. I had tried the Weber brand ones, previously, and they were trash. I highly recommend the BGE claws.
I made a sandwich for lunch and it was awesome. The main event is dinner, though. I made up some slaw to top the sandwich. Have some spicy BBQ sauce. Will toss on a thick slice of red onion and a slice of habanero jack cheese. So good.
Smoked meatloaf sounds amazing. I have everything I need for food for the next week or else I would have tried to put together some smoked egg salad. I need to take another crack at a brisket. Those burnt ends tho.
ErnieMcCracken
Member
joeyjoejoeshabadoo
Member
I'm doing prime rib today. Really looking forward to it, since the one I did at Christmas came out amazing.
B
bomb
Unconfirmed Member
about 2.5 hours in. Going to wrap it after 5 hours.
weber smokey mountain. charcoal only. going to wrap in 18in foil to hold those juices in. letting it rest for 30 minutes after pulling it off.
dskillzhtown
keep your strippers out of my American football
I picked up 3 of them in total, lol. They freeze well. They had been on sale for awhile. It was an amazing sale.
I did ribs on Saturday morning for a football tailgate, I did a 7 pound brisket last night. I was planning on doing some hot wings on the Weber Performer today, but I'll save that for the weekend. Pics look good, everyone!
FYI This is the last day for 37 pounds of Kingsford Blue for 9.88 at Home Depot! Limit is 2 per customer. Lowe's has the same sale. Today is the last day though!!!! Definitely a great deal!!!
Captain Tuttle
Member
On the subject of charcoal, I've been using royal oak from home depot and have been pretty happy. Any other recommendations?
Made some pulled pork this weekend on the WSM, turned out great as always. Though this was probably the best I've made, and I actually started everything before I went to bed and didn't check on it for 6 hours. Then it went a few more before finishing the last hour or so in the oven. Fell apart when I got it off the smoker since I didn't have any twine to wrap it this time.
Smoked a couple of chickens as well. Those were great as well.
Smoked a couple of chickens as well. Those were great as well.
The Lamonster
Member
Sweethome says Stubb's Natural Charcoal Briquettes are the best. I haven't tried them yet; I'm fine with Kingsford classic blue bag for the time being.
Shin Johnpv
Member
I like Stubb's briquettes. They're pretty much just charcoal and starch to hold them together. I know people love the kingsford blue back but for me it's got to many chemicals in it, and that stuff puts a distinct taste onto food I don't like.
If I'm grilling I go with some lump charcoal, if I'm smoking I go with Stubbs.
Thought the blue bag stuff was basically just charcoal, coal, sawdust, corn starch, and sodium nitrate? I'd rather trade that for the consistency you get with briquettes vs lump charcoal heat spikes.
Haven't used Stubb's briquettes yet.
Shin Johnpv
Member
You also have borax and limestone in there, plus the charcoal/coal in it is a mix of wood char, mineral char, and mineral carbon. Stubb's and a few other brands of briquettes are basically just wood char and starch.
I just use lump for grilling with, and us Stubb's for smoking.
dskillzhtown
keep your strippers out of my American football
I've used Stubb's before. I got it while on sale at Amazon of all places. It was good, burned consistently but I can't say no to these Kingsford sales every year. I stock up twice a year and I am good. I might try out HEB charcoal at the local grocery store. It's priced right, but I have zero idea how it burns.
Captain Tuttle
Member
Royal Oak is lump. What's the advantage of briquettes?
temperature and burning consistency
it really depends on the type of smoker you are using. If you are using a komodo style smoker, lump is the only thing you should use because they are insulated and you can really control the burn rate and produce a lot less ash than briquettes. If you're using a Weber or something, then its just down to personal preference. People have already mentioned several, with Kingsford having a lot of chemicals in their briquettes, lump burning faster etc.
Captain Tuttle
Member
Thanks for the replies. I use a kamodo style so lump it is
Welcome brother!. What type of komodo do you have? I have a BGE.
Captain Tuttle
Member
Someday I'll have a BGE, I've got a Char Griller Akorn, got a great deal on Amazon on Fathers Day. I thought I'd dip my toe in and see how I liked it. It's great, light it up, cook and seal everything back up and the charcoal goes out, ready to use for next time. It holds temp pretty well, not rock solid but good enough that I feel comfortable walking away for a spell.
Chuckie
Member
POWERSPHERE
Member
I've stopped using lump charcoal and now just get my favorite hardwood (in Australia, it's Ironbark) and have a log burning weber next to my weber or my offset and just shovel the coals in from that. Way easier to keep consistent heat, and you get a nice little open fire to sit around.
The Lamonster
Member
lump and hardwood are the same thing, at least in the USA
are you talking about actual wood?
POWERSPHERE
Member
Yeah, actual wood. Burning it down to charcoal. Then you can also balance out how far in you want to put the logs to control the amount of smoke if you're doing shorter stints. Works great.
Hey BBQ-GAF
I just recently moved into a house and have the chance (for the first time) to have my own grill. I was looking at the Weber Kettle 22" and was going to pick up the Slow N' Sear that someone posted on last page, as I'd love to slow cook/smoke various meats. Is that grill a good choice?
I just recently moved into a house and have the chance (for the first time) to have my own grill. I was looking at the Weber Kettle 22" and was going to pick up the Slow N' Sear that someone posted on last page, as I'd love to slow cook/smoke various meats. Is that grill a good choice?
You should go for the one touch gold with the easy cleaning system.
http://m.lowes.com/pd/Weber-Origina...rcelain-Enamel-Kettle-Charcoal-Grill/50330261
Can also find them on craigslist for a pretty good price
I would also recommend the performer if you have extra cash -its just nice to have the integrated table and charcoal storage
The Lamonster
Member
Ah, that is cool. I've heard there is a growing trend in the states to make your own charcoal, particularly in the Pacific NW.
Thanks! I'll grab that one instead. The performer is a bit out of my price range.
brotherbean
Member
I second the One Touch Gold recommendation, and I'd wait on anything like the Slow N' Sear for now. Try out various methods for lighting the charcoal such as the snake and minion, and experiment with using water as a heat sink and adjusting the air inlets on the bottom of the grill. I've found that for smaller things like chicken, 2-3 racks of ribs or a 6-7lb pork shoulder, the Weber kettle is an extremely capable smoker.
The Lamonster
Member
The Performer series is overpriced. The $150 Weber kettle is the sweet spot in terms of value.
If you want a table and charcoal storage, check out the Kingsford Kaddy at Home Depot and the Lifetime Folding Personal Table available on Amazon.
Also make sure you pick up a chimney starter.
Irobot82
Member
I'll third the One Touch Gold. Maybe it is overpriced, but the cart, coal holder is super nice. I think I have the platinum because I also have the propane starter.
Learn the snake method, it works well. Or pile on one side with the tray that works too.
Its convenient to have it all together. Buy used or spend a lil more - its whatever you can afford
OP pick these up with your grill and chimney - http://m.lowes.com/pd/Weber-24-Pack-Paraffin-Wax-Charcoal-Starters/3151081
Makes starting every 🔥 a thing of ease
RapidCancel
Member
How much does lump charcoal actually spike with heat? I've always just used the Royal Oak lump and have actually never tried the briquettes. It seems to hold the temperature decently, but there are times I'm constantly going out there to adjust the vents.
It took me about 10 hours for both of them to be done. I really need to pick up a set of claws, I always just use a pair of forks and it takes forever. We ended up having pulled pork tacos. I love smoking, but I hate cleaning up the smoker afterwords.
It took me about 10 hours for both of them to be done. I really need to pick up a set of claws, I always just use a pair of forks and it takes forever. We ended up having pulled pork tacos. I love smoking, but I hate cleaning up the smoker afterwords.
I really cannot overstate how much I enjoyed the BGE claws. After trying the Weber one's, I thought I was going to forever have to pick apart shoulders by hand. Of course, the relative tenderness of the meat plays a big part. The two shoulders I made were some of the best I've made, to date. The double fork deal never really worked for me since the tines were always too brittle.
We have a local restaurant supply store here named Kessenich's that I like. They sell a crazy variety of restaurant supply equipment, and I've gotten some fairly reasonably priced pans and containers that have been really useful when dealing with large cuts of meat. Especially whole briskets. The BGE claws were cheaper there, than on Amazon. The website says to call though, and not sure what they would charge for shipping.
Sounds like you answered your own question. If you're constantly having to adjust your temperature, sounds like you're spiking quite a bit. That's why a lot of people prefer briquettes to lump for smoking.
xDUMPWEEDx
Banned
Gonna get a half slab of spare ribs and some baked beans from the local BBQ restaurant this weekend.
Their food is 100000000/10.
Here's their site. If you are ever in the area you gotta give them a try.
http://www.calhounfamilytexasbarbeque.com
Unfortunately I suck at BBQing. I just leave it up to the professionals these days.
Their food is 100000000/10.
Here's their site. If you are ever in the area you gotta give them a try.
http://www.calhounfamilytexasbarbeque.com
Unfortunately I suck at BBQing. I just leave it up to the professionals these days.
RapidCancel
Member
Thanks, I think I'll try out a bag of the Stubbs briquettes for my next smoke.
I'm wanting to try them out myself, now. I've been happy with Kingsford blue bag and stuck with it due to Meathead's recommendation at AmazingRibs, open to new things though.
The Lamonster
Member
Same. I found them at Lowe's. Gonna do ribs next week.
xxANTIMONITORxx
Member
What smoker do you use? Were you smoking or just slow n low cooking? It's my DREAM to be able to start a smoke before bed and let it take care of itself. I love my Weber Genesis and it's smoker box, but it will burn through chips and wood chunks in 45 minutes!
I'm going to be smoking my first brisket a couple weekends from now, how long is a 10lb brisket going to take? I cooked a 5.5 pound pulled pork last weekend and it took about 11 hours at around 240 degrees. I'll do some thorough research leading up to the smoke bit if I want to eat around 6pm, around what time in the wee hours of the morning am I going to have to put this bad boy on?
brotherbean
Member
Can't speak for OP but I can say that using the snake method on a Weber One Touch kettle, if I spend the 30 minutes or so up front to dial it in I can go at least 8 hours without touching it. I'd still set an alarm to get up and look in on it at least once (along with baste/wrap/whatever depending on what I'm cooking), but I wouldn't hesitate to start an overnight smoke on it. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Weber kettles really are extremely capable little smokers for the money, if you mind your charcoal layout.
xxANTIMONITORxx
Member
Yeah, I'm keeping an eye out for one on Craigslist. What's the diff between a kettle and the Smokey Mountain?
xxANTIMONITORxx
Member
Others may have a different opinion, but every brisket I do takes pretty much 12 hours give or take. Some may use an oven or the Texas Crutch to speed it along, but on the pit expect 12ish
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