The Lamonster
Member
Maverick Et-732.
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BBQ GAF - Smokin' Your Meat, USA Style
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SlickShoesRUCrazy
Member
I want one of these lol
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...y-wireless-smart-meat-thermom?ref=fundedtoday
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...y-wireless-smart-meat-thermom?ref=fundedtoday
Generic Power Ranger
Member
Thanks ! Just saw I had a PM with Earnies recipe too. Can't wait to try it out !
The Lamonster
Member
I want one of these lol
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...y-wireless-smart-meat-thermom?ref=fundedtoday
okay yeah this is pretty cool.
Awesome. Just ordered the ET733 with MEAT CLAWS.
I want one of these lol
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...y-wireless-smart-meat-thermom?ref=fundedtoday
That is .. Really cool. Might try it out after some reviews come in.
The Lamonster
Member
protip: don't leave either device in direct sunlight. It fries the display.
Going to be trying a turkey this weekend to practice for Thanksgiving. Any tips? I see most recipes call for 300-350 degrees, but I'm a bit confused on the cook times. I've seen several places say to foil the breasts at 160 while letting the legs and thighs get to 180. Wouldn't foil increase the temp of the breasts even more, like when wrapping a shoulder to power through the stall?
tips:
Brine it, seriously, brine it. Don't even bother otherwise, IMO.
I cook my poultry right around ~290-300. I find if you cook it hotter you start to find the skin to be very blackened or burnt and you end up having to foil. but at this temp you still get the tight firm skin that people want on poultry. Too low of a temp and the skin is a soggy disaster. You can see my examples of a few chickens I've done a few pages back.
Cook times are going to be variable, whole chickens and turkeys are all different sizes. For a whole "young" chicken I find about an hour and half gets it done at 290. For a moderately sized turkey I would probe it at two hours.
I did this turkey brine recipe last year for thanksgiving, with a rub recipe my friend gave me, it was amazing. http://www.biggreenegg.com/recipes/smoked-turkey/
RapidCancel
Member
Anyone have any good recommendations on a good boning and slicing knife?
I got both of mine on Amazon. Made by Victorinox (Swiss army people). Boning and edge knives, very reasonably priced and great quality.
I took your advice and went with pork shoulder, since my wife reminded me her dad requested a different beef dish we've served on for Christmas lunch previously. Don't wanna double up on beef dishes.
So it's 7AM, and I've just put the pork shoulder on. Let's see how this turns out...
Edit:
11 hours later. Turned out okay. Not as good as I'd have liked. Tastes good, but the meat dried out and it didn't pull apart as easily as I expected. Lesson learned.
Next time I'll wrap it in foil at around the 6 hour mark to keep the meat from drying out.
RapidCancel
Member
^Do you have a temperature probe to measure the meat before you pulled it?
that's 194 in freedom units. That's pretty much perfect. How long did you let it rest for?
Sorry guys. With 40 people waiting to eat I didn't have time to take any pics. My wife happened to snap this pic of me slicing a brisket, but that's it.
It went really well. One of the briskets was a bit over, but the ribs were amazing.
1 hour while I made coleslaw and wedges. I think perhaps I'll wrap it in foil next time to keep that moisture in and reduce the cooking time. The only reason I didn't is because the pulled pork article on amazing ribs suggested not doing it.
RapidCancel
Member
^I never wrap mine and it still stays moist. Did you have a water pan and spritz the meat?
I had a slow 'n' sear, so there was water in there. I didn't spritz though. What is that? just spraying the meat with liquid? Wouldn't that lower the surface temp and increase the cooking time?
yes and yes. Every time you open the pit to spritz you lose heat and like you said it increases cook time.
The Lamonster
Member
So how could he have done it differently to keep the meat moist?
I have a Slow n Sear and the water evaporates after about 7 hours, did you ever refill it?
brotherbean
Member
I don't know if this would help but I didn't start to make really good pork shoulders until I started letting it go to 200F. Around 160F (4-5 hours depending on how hot I'm cooking) I wrap it in foil with whatever liquid is handy: vinegar-based mop sauce, bourbon, apple juice, etc...Then let it roll until internal temperature touches 200F.
For a 6lb shoulder cooking at 275F this typically takes about 8 hours. I occasionally dial in at 300F and finish in 6 if we have somewhere to be.
From my experience 200F is the key to fall-apart pork shoulder. Anything less means I have to get my hands dirty pulling it.
yeah this is my experience as well. I always shoot for 203F internal so I'll pull the pork at ~198F and let it rest for an hour.
RapidCancel
Member
I usually spray it with some apple cider vinegar. I guess it would increase cooking time, but I don't know how much of a difference it makes compared to if I had just left it since I do it all the time. I just do it whenever it's convenient such as checking the fire or something. The last time I smoked pork butt it took me about 10 hours.
I usually refill the water pan in mine. I don't keep a really close eye on it or anything, usually whenever I need to add more charcoal or wood I'll take a look and refill it if need be.
I'll echo what the others have said about temperature. About 200° seems to be the sweet spot for pulled pork. I also like to add a finishing sauce on top after I pull it.
I want one of these lol
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...y-wireless-smart-meat-thermom?ref=fundedtoday
Wow, that looks really cool.
Speaking of BBQ gadgets, is anyone else here running a DigiQ? I splurged and got one for myself last Father's Day and it's seriously made BBQ'ing a lot easy for me.
Image is self explanatory:
Hooks to the bottom of my WSM, blow air on the coals if temp dips too low:
Here's a shot of the device in a padded gun case I got from Amazon for $13:
A 13lb brisket I did using it...turned out amazing:
My only thoughts are to wrap it in foil when you take it off the pit or put it in a cooler/oven, something insulated for the rest period and let it rest longer. Really 1 hour is the bare minimum I would pull pork or cut into brisket. You seem some of these guys that let it rest for four hours or more. The other thought is maybe he just got a bad cut of meat, it happens to everyone.
I always foil, to reduce cooking time. But my buddy who also has a BGE never foils, he uses a water pan, I never use a water pan, I don't know if he spritzes it or not. But his pulled pork is generally moist. I think mine is better, but I am biased.
Interesting you guys go to 200 internal on pulled pork, the one time I went to 200 it was dry, but it could have been other causes. But for brisket I've gone to 205 for super tender brisket.
I want one of these lol
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...y-wireless-smart-meat-thermom?ref=fundedtoday
I have the iGrill and am pretty happy with it, but may upgrade to that when it is available.
xxANTIMONITORxx
Member
Ever see any Black Friday Season deals on grills? I could use a break on a WSM and good digital thermometers
SlickShoesRUCrazy
Member
Wow, that looks really cool.
Speaking of BBQ gadgets, is anyone else here running a DigiQ? I splurged and got one for myself last Father's Day and it's seriously made BBQ'ing a lot easy for me.
Image is self explanatory:
Hooks to the bottom of my WSM, blow air on the coals if temp dips too low:
Here's a shot of the device in a padded gun case I got from Amazon for $13:
A 13lb brisket I did using it...turned out amazing:
a lot of the videos I watch of people smoking on the WSM and BGE have these.
Definitely would be useful for long smokes. When I can get a WSM or BGE I definitely plan on getting one of these.
Made some pulled pork yesterday, one of the benefits of working from home. I can smoke whenever I want.
while making it I recalled something both my buddy and I do on our pulled pork. We both pour the juices from the meat back over the meat once pulled. The meat really soaks in the juices and is a lot juicier afterwards than just pulled straight.
made some pulled pork and chicken nachos today. Our nanny makes authentic homemade refried beans and they are delicious. Figured I would put them to good use.
while making it I recalled something both my buddy and I do on our pulled pork. We both pour the juices from the meat back over the meat once pulled. The meat really soaks in the juices and is a lot juicier afterwards than just pulled straight.
made some pulled pork and chicken nachos today. Our nanny makes authentic homemade refried beans and they are delicious. Figured I would put them to good use.
Yeah, I would say my BBQ has definitely improved since buying this, especially for long smokes as you said. Keeping the temperature steady has a huge impact.
SlickShoesRUCrazy
Member
Smoking a pork butt. In a few hours will throw on a pork belly.
Edit: struggling with the Flickr app lol
The Lamonster
Member
SnS gets the job done, and Smoke EZ looks complicated - not confusing, just more work. Plus it costs over twice as much as the SnS!
...but I don't know what you hated about the Smokenator
Yeah, I'm a total novice so I think the mistakes I made were not letting the barrel sit open w/ the charcoal long enough to really build up a solid base. For some stretches the meat went down to 130, and I had to remove the meat and re-add charcoal.
I'm guessing I should be around 160?
Also - totally wasted money on a 9 lb brisket. What more affordable meats should I be training on- ribs?
For the PBC, absolutely use their recommendations. That rotating plate on the bottom is the only way to control temps, and it will be affected by wind and outside temperatures. It also uses a good bit of fuel, so for longer cooks, have the gloves and other stuff needed to move the meat around.
My friend has one and uses it often. Does real well with chickens and pork shoulders. Ribs are also nice, but sometimes you have to cut them so that they don't hang too low and burn the bottom few bones. I don't think he's tried a brisket yet.
A key to good BBQ is a steady consistent heat. Fluctuations tend to turn out bad results.
I would recommend buying a few different digital temperature probes, one so you can see what the temperature of the smoker is cooking at. Your smoker probably has a temperature gauge in the dome but those are hardly accurate. Then you'll want another for the meat.
Brisket isn't like a cut of steak, so in order to break down the fats and collagens, you'll want to get the internal temperature of your brisket up to anywhere between 185-205...there's no precise temperature to take it to because every brisket is different, it's one of those things where it's more about the feel.
Was it a 9lb full packer brisket, or just a flat? Flats are extremely lean, and I've smoked flats only with bad results, so I only deal with full packers anymore.
Pork shoulders are your best best for practicing long cooks.
Was a full brisket. As far as temperature goes, this "Pit Barrel Cooker" has no temperature meter, and actively discourages users from checking temps. There's no real way to control it outside of a small gauge on teh bottom.
I could futz w/ this, but I might just go again and try to set up my coal more evenly and get the initial temp better before inserting my meat.
RapidCancel
Member
so first, things first. And this is something everyone has to learn when they start out, you should let the pit sit at your target temp for close to 30 minutes if not more. Your looking for the light blue/grey smoke. anything else is not what you want for smoking. You can also smell it, when its white and billowy its very bitter and you don't want bitter tasting meat, when its blue/grey it should smell like whatever wood your using, so sweet, fruity or nutty etc.
If your target cooking temp is 225, let the pit get to 225 and let it sit there for a while. Also not sure about using a pit without a thermometer, not sure how you get anything done. I mean yea you shouldnt be fiddling with the pit all the time, small changes take a while to take affect. But you still want to know what temp your cooking at when your starting out.
Secondly brisket and pork butt you want to take to 195 internal tempature, at least. Some like it even higher at 200 or 205. I would practice on pork butt because its the same process as brisket. Ribs and chicken are done differently than big hunks of meat.
Yeah, I definitely agree with your first point.
I've gotten decently okay at charcoal grilling, and for that my first few attempts were ruined by prematurely putting the meat on
Yes, this is precisely what I meant. The company probably meant "don't lift the lid often", which I agree with.
You can get a dual probe thermometer (or a cheaper one) like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FOCR4UI/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Just run both wires under the lid, it shouldn't damage it or let much heat escape.
Sheriff_Battlesnake
Banned
<3 want to get into my grill more. I'm down here in Texas where the BBQ is spectacular. I have a traeger but never bothered to master it. Now that I have a few roommates and met someone special, I want to prepare meals more and I think the grill is where I start.
Idk where to even start.
Idk where to even start.
Eye for an Eye
Member
I'm doing a test run on a smoked turkey this friday. Any tips? I'll be using a weber grill and I use a roasting pan to catch the drippings. I also have a brine from world market. I'm planning on soaking it tomorrow in it.
I've done pork butts a few times. Low and slow all day, and they've turned out great.
I've done pork butts a few times. Low and slow all day, and they've turned out great.
dskillzhtown
keep your strippers out of my American football
Check YouTube. There are many Traeger tutorials there. My uncle did a quick search and found a few channels that helped him get going with his.
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