BBQ GAF - Smokin' Your Meat, USA Style

Kumquat said:
After doing some research I think a pellet smoker will be best for me. They can be rather expensive. Would like a recommendation best bang for the buck on a pellet smoker
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I have the Daniel Boone (Black) w/ WiFi. Haven't had any issues with it in 4 years, works well. Getting the WiFi addon (was added later) was a great idea, can go to the store and check the temps & adjust.
 
Smoking a pork butt for a small dinner with a few friends tonight.

3 hours in... many more to go. :)
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PlayALLtheGames said:
So what's GAF's consensus on grill mats? Kind of want to try one of the nicer/more expensive ones since veggies on skewers can be a pain sometimes.
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I just use six inch cast iron skillets on the grill. If it's something like carrots, I'll give them a couple minutes over the flame directly. I do have a veggie/fish basket, but it's big and annoying so I hardly use it.
 
zbarron said:
I and several others here use the Slow N Sear which is similar. I'd suggest you check it out, but if you're having good results with your smokenator, no need. Do you have any pictures of recent smokes?
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This was July 4 with the smokenator.

3 layers in the kettle:
1.) Pulled pork
2.) 3 lbs chicken wings
3.) whole chicken

Turned out great.
 
phanphare said:
is it really $119 for a .75 lbs ribeye?

shit looks amazing but good god
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That's not that unreasonable. I've heard prices of about $110-$150/lb and with how hard it can be to find the real stuff in the US plus cost of shipping such a perishable item it seems fair.

I could never justify it, but if you got the scratch go for it.
 
zbarron said:
That's not that unreasonable. I've heard prices of about $110-$150/lb and with how hard it can be to find the real stuff in the US plus cost of shipping such a perishable item it seems fair.

I could never justify it, but if you got the scratch go for it.
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Rommel said:
To put it in perspective. I paid $40 an OZ in Vegas last weekend for A5. If the casino wasn't paying for my food I probably wouldn't have pulled the trigger lol
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good god
 
snacknuts said:
GAT DAM. I would probably order this for the experience if I weren't so certain my wife would murder me.
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One bite and she'll forgive you ;)

It's definitely an experience kind of meat. My first crack at cooking A5. I've done a lot of American Wagyu but never the Japanese good stuff. I'm nervous I'm going to screw it up. I'll probably watch a few hours of preparation videos before going into it.

If the A5 is too much I'd bookmark the site because they often have American Wagyu for sale usually every other month or so and it's about 1/2 the cost of the Japanese Wagyu. I've bought a lot of it (freezer full in the garage) and it is good stuff. Grass fed Wagyu is decent but honestly you want at a minimum grain finished. Much better marbling in the grain fed or grain finished beef.
 
Cross-post from IronGAF:

If anyone in North America is in the market for a ThermaPen, you can get one TODAY from ThermoWorks for $76 (normally $99). They are open box models, which might be demo units, refurbs, returns, etc., but they all come with the standard 2 yr warranty. This is supposed to be the best instant-read thermometer you can buy. You have to use this link (it's from a promotional email I got and does not benefit me in any way) to access the sale; you can't get to it from just going to their website. Just thought I'd pass on the deal if anyone was interested.
 
NLCP Gaming said:
So anyone have a YouTube video on how to bbq. I want to get into bbq but I don't know where to begin. I have a charcoal grill btw if that helps
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This guy is my go to for BBQ on YT. I started watching him when I started. Laid back, doesn't take it too seriously and has a pretty basic set up. Warning he is self-taught so don't look for some culinary theory.

Louisiana Cajun Recipes
 
did some brisket, homemade hot links, pork shoulder, ribs, and beer can chicken on the lil wsm 14in this weekend.

ribs turned out the best and I think I've finally perfected my homemade rub. the brisket was alright and still juicy but didn't have a very noticeable smoke ring. Pulled pork was just alright too. gonna have to get some more smokes in with the bigger cuts to figure this little guy out.

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3-2-1 method for the ribs that got a tiny bit extended
 
bucklam66 said:
Probably should only cook to an internal temp of 145, it will dry out if it gets higher than that...or maybe wrap it in bacon. Pork loin has very little fat
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Agreed. Even wrapped in bacon I wouldn't take it higher than 145. You might even want to go lower than that since with a thick roast there will be some carry over cooking.

I'd rub it with your favorite rub, smoke it at 225 until you hit 140 and then rest it for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. It should be a very quick smoke and pretty simple.
 
Did you smoke your pork loin? I smoked mine and baked some sweet potatoes.
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It's hard to tell with the lighting but I got a nice thick smoke ring around the whole thing.
 
dskillzhtown said:
I have to try pork loin. That is one cut of meat I have never tried cooking.
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its a great cut of meat, cheap. Id recommend brinning it cause its very lean, but you dont have to.

for pork tenderloins theres not much point in slow cooking them theres not anything in there that needs to be rendered out.
 
zbarron said:
Good. This being BBQ Gaf I was afraid you were going to grill it. I look forward to impressions so I can live vicariously through you. You already have sel gris and a really sharp knife on hand I hope.
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They send a container of Sel Gris with every order and I have a Zelite Infinity Santoku Knife so I'm good to go on that front :)
 
Greetings! I'd like to ask a bit of advice from smoking GAF as I've recently just become interested in the whole concept. I recently built a DIY cheap-o cold smoker just like the one in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC7tZy-ZwIY&t=221s

I did a couple racks of ribs in it and they were alright, but only now am I doing more research into cold smoking and learning about potential hazards associated with it. I've still got more research to do to decide how to proceed, if at all with doing more smoking like this. Now in my case I'm just doing this smoking to impart a bit of flavor before I sous vide the food. I know liquid smoke is an option, but I had originally felt this would be a better option. I had dreams of putting ribs, brisket and pork shoulders in this lil' smoker but am I tempting fate? I know if I leave the meat in there for too long it'll encourage the breeding of bacteria and whatnot. But then of course I'm using sous vide and I'm wondering if that's really enough to kill off anything that may have grown during the smoking process. Is chicken a huge no-no for something like this?

I'm not yet willing to invest in a proper smoker and I want to see how this all plays out first. Also just for the record, while my first attempt did use aluminum foil and wood pellets in a burrito-like fashion as demonstrated in that video, I have since picked up a tube smoker so I don't have burning aluminum adding lovely toxins to any food. Also, I have no intention of doing ground meat in the lil' smoker like he did in that video. I'm not that crazy :)

Thanks for any advice.


EDIT.

Extra question, what do y'all think about sous vide first, and then maybe 3-4 hours in a smoker like this? Now that the meat is cooked is it any safer?
 
After thinking about everything I posted above, I'll be going a different route for future smoking. I decided that the bootleg smoking technique with the aluminum trays is just too risky. Now I'm not yet ready to invest in a true smoker, but after watching numerous videos of people turning random things into smokers I think I have an idea that MIGHT work. Years ago I bought one of these propane camping ovens:

https://www.campchef.com/deluxe-outdoor-camping-oven.html

I figure I can use the propane oven feature here to achieve the temperature you would get in an actual smoker, and then I can just toss in a tube smoker with some wood pellets (or 2) to infuse that smokey goodness into the meat. I'm still unsure if the wood pellets will have enough oxygen to smolder and if the smoke will affect the propane flame burning at all, but I think this is a safer option than what I talked about above.
 
vivftp said:
After thinking about everything I posted above, I'll be going a different route for future smoking. I decided that the bootleg smoking technique with the aluminum trays is just too risky. Now I'm not yet ready to invest in a true smoker, but after watching numerous videos of people turning random things into smokers I think I have an idea that MIGHT work. Years ago I bought one of these propane camping ovens:

https://www.campchef.com/deluxe-outdoor-camping-oven.html

I figure I can use the propane oven feature here to achieve the temperature you would get in an actual smoker, and then I can just toss in a tube smoker with some wood pellets (or 2) to infuse that smokey goodness into the meat. I'm still unsure if the wood pellets will have enough oxygen to smolder and if the smoke will affect the propane flame burning at all, but I think this is a safer option than what I talked about above.
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A smoker is essentially an outdoor oven with smoke so that might work. I'd do a dry run first with no food to make sure adding smoke to the oven doesn't put out your flame and gas keeps pouring into your cooking chamber. If you think you might want to pick up a smoker in the coming months, most big box stores put their grills and smokers on clearance at the end of summer to clear out their inventory and to make space for fall and winter stuff. Depending on where you live you won't be able to use it much until Spring, but you'll save a lot of money doing it that way. That is if you only want to smoke in nice weather. Some of us smoke year round.

Also keep in mind your plan may have the inside of your oven looking a little nasty, if that bothers you.

You don't even need a smoker per se. A Weber 22" would be a great start. Just arrange the coals in the fuse method and add some wood chunks on top of the coals and you'll get good results. You can upgrade with more tools from there if you get into it.
 
So I had to pass on the Webber kettle grill earlier last month due to the cost. Turns out it paid off. I just grabbed an offset smoker on discount for £45. Sure it's not as high quality as the Webber but it's more smoking I wanted it for anyway.

So any ideas what's a good starter to try as my first go? Any recommended wood types?
 
zbarron said:
A smoker is essentially an outdoor oven with smoke so that might work. I'd do a dry run first with no food to make sure adding smoke to the oven doesn't put out your flame and gas keeps pouring into your cooking chamber. If you think you might want to pick up a smoker in the coming months, most big box stores put their grills and smokers on clearance at the end of summer to clear out their inventory and to make space for fall and winter stuff. Depending on where you live you won't be able to use it much until Spring, but you'll save a lot of money doing it that way. That is if you only want to smoke in nice weather. Some of us smoke year round.

Also keep in mind your plan may have the inside of your oven looking a little nasty, if that bothers you.

You don't even need a smoker per se. A Weber 22" would be a great start. Just arrange the coals in the fuse method and add some wood chunks on top of the coals and you'll get good results. You can upgrade with more tools from there if you get into it.
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Thanks for the advice. Yeah, definitely going to do a dry run in the oven before I dare put any food in there. I don't mind mucking it up a bit since I honestly don't use it.

I'm currently doing a test run with liquid smoke for the first time on some ribs and brisket and will see how this works out first.
 
UpDownLeftRight said:
So I had to pass on the Webber kettle grill earlier last month due to the cost. Turns out it paid off. I just grabbed an offset smoker on discount for £45. Sure it's not as high quality as the Webber but it's more smoking I wanted it for anyway.

So any ideas what's a good starter to try as my first go? Any recommended wood types?
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Pork St Louis style ribs and hickory or apple wood.
 
Have fire. Will eat.

So we just moved and I have a slight problem in the kitchen. I have a gas stove, but it still needs to be plugged in and it can't reach the outlet. There's a 220 hook up for an electric stove and a gas line. I love my stove, and I don't want to give it up either.

So tonight I brought out the grill and cooked up some chicken wings and a piece of salmon. Now I'm just sitting here waiting for the coals to die off. Ohh and like 99.9% of my kitchen stuff is still in storage, which means all my utensils too. I only have my cast iron pans with me.
 
Eye for an Eye said:
Have fire. Will eat.

So we just moved and I have a slight problem in the kitchen. I have a gas stove, but it still needs to be plugged in and it can't reach the outlet. There's a 220 hook up for an electric stove and a gas line. I love my stove, and I don't want to give it up either.

So tonight I brought out the grill and cooked up some chicken wings and a piece of salmon. Now I'm just sitting here waiting for the coals to die off. Ohh and like 99.9% of my kitchen stuff is still in storage, which means all my utensils too. I only have my cast iron pans with me.
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Don't give up your gas stove. Electric stoves are so much worse. Is there a solution to make it reach? If not at least go with induction.
 
Eye for an Eye said:
Have fire. Will eat.

So we just moved and I have a slight problem in the kitchen. I have a gas stove, but it still needs to be plugged in and it can't reach the outlet. There's a 220 hook up for an electric stove and a gas line. I love my stove, and I don't want to give it up either.

So tonight I brought out the grill and cooked up some chicken wings and a piece of salmon. Now I'm just sitting here waiting for the coals to die off. Ohh and like 99.9% of my kitchen stuff is still in storage, which means all my utensils too. I only have my cast iron pans with me.
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so put an extension cord on it?
 
Not really a good idea. Plus you don't want to run too much on one circuit. The landlord is going to send someone out to label the outlets and circuits. Its a patch work of knob and tube and romex and modern stuff.

Doesn't solve my problem on lack of utensils either. I was more concerned with getting the big stuff that I needed the uhaul truck for, and didn't grab any boxes, since I can get that stuff in the car. Everything was put in a storage unit. I hate a house full of boxes that take ages to get unpacked.
 
Ok BBQ GAF I finally got round to putting my new smoker together. Whole house is kind of upside down since we're decorating too right now, but here she is!

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Don't worry I won't be using it that close to the oil tank of course but half the kitchen is also in the back garden right now hence the location. Needed to ask if I've done the grill setup right since the instructions were practically non existent. Came with a top rack and bottom rack which I assume I've gotten right. Not really sure what the point or benefit of a second rack is tbh.

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I still need to get a couple things like a digi thermometer and the briquettes/logs. Don't want to break the bank on the thermometer so if anyone has suggestions for a good yet affordable wireless one would be awesome. There's lots on Amazon but I get a little worried that many of the cheaper ones won't be very reliable. I remember some recommendations coming my way a few pages back which I'll have to go over again and see if they're in my price range.

It mentioned in the instructions too that the grills have a coating that needs cooking off. I assume I can do that using just briquettes? I figure I should probably also wait til I have a thermometer to do that and use it as a chance to try get used to balancing the temperature through air flow. Also how important is the lighting chimney? I intend to grab one at some point anyway just trying to get started asap but working on limited cash. Also need a very good heat proof mitt and that's a high priority.

Glad to just finally be close to starting now! Would have loved to get the Webber but that was more than 4x the price I got this for so even if I only get a couple years and some practice in I won't be flying blind anymore and know what to look for when I'm happy to put a bigger wad of cash down on one.

The two digi's I'm looking at are https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06ZYBNGDC/ and https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B014DAVHSQ/ if anyone can vouch for either.

What's the best thing to clean with to preserve it by the way?
 
UpDownLeftRight said:
Ok BBQ GAF I finally got round to putting my new smoker together. Whole house is kind of upside down since we're decorating too right now, but here she is!
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Nice looking offset.

Yes you can cook off the gross stuff with briquettes. I'd do a nice hot fire for that, and a seperate lower more controlled burn to calibrate it and get a feel for vent control, how much coals/wood to use and placement.

Since yours doesn't looks like a reverse flow offset smoker, your temps will be higher on the side closer to the firebox. A thermometer with multiple probes would be ideal so you can tell the temp difference between the sides at the same time.

Maverick, iGrill, and Thermoworks, are the three main brands of smoking thermometers usually recommended.

Edit: I have no experience with either of those thermometers. Before I got my iGrill I used a $10 wireless thermometer I got from Walmart. It did it's job until it broke 2 months later.
 
zbarron said:
Nice looking offset.

Yes you can cook off the gross stuff with briquettes. I'd do a nice hot fire for that, and a seperate lower more controlled burn to calibrate it and get a feel for vent control, how much coals/wood to use and placement.

Since yours doesn't looks like a reverse flow offset smoker, your temps will be higher on the side closer to the firebox. A thermometer with multiple probes would be ideal so you can tell the temp difference between the sides at the same time.

Maverick, iGrill, and Thermoworks, are the three main brands of smoking thermometers usually recommended.

Edit: I have no experience with either of those thermometers. Before I got my iGrill I used a $10 wireless thermometer I got from Walmart. It did it's job until it broke 2 months later.
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Thanks! Yeah the cheaper one in particular has been getting the suspicious eye from me since I suspect it would either read poorly or die quickly. Seems only two of those brands are common in the UK but the Maverick isn't that much more than the second one I was thinking of so could probably save a bit towards something like that. That said picking up just a cheap one to get some use in before the summer comes to an end is also tempting since I could just get a proper one come next summer.
 
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