BBQ Brian
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Posts posted by BBQ Brian
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I've been stuck on the thought of a pound per person for planning - it seems to be generally right. If you take into account alot of sides - especially with turkey like potatoes, veggies ... - the pound per person might be too much. However, turkey freezes well and is always welcome.
Brian
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I'd plank them on a cedar or alder plank - get a smoky flavor with them. Add some rum and maple syrup as a glaze, maybe some green onions or ginger and there she be. Yum.
Brian
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William,
My two bits on brining pork... go for it and be adventurous however a couple of things I've learnt:
- sugars, even dissolved haven't added to the flavor as much as I expected - I've generally dropped them from the experiment - save them for glazing, basting and finishing sauces
- herbs, root vegetables etc are great and add flavor however make sure the flavor is "dissolved" in the brine liquid - if not the flavor stays on the outside of the pork... make a tea from dried herbs or simmer all the ingredients, chill and then brine - all of these add to the complexity of flavor
- citrus - great for short brining times - i.e., chicken/fish - not as much for something that you wanna cook for a lengthy period of time - the acids will make the outer portions of the meat mushy; the flavor will not penetrate as much as salt or other flavors
Good luck and let us know the results
Brian
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Ok so after visiting my knife supplier and staring at the wall of sharpeners, I feel a bit more knowledgable now. I can see and understand the difference between one steel over another and I can also see the utility of a more "advanced" sharpening system for the periodic thorough-going-over sharpening.
Even though the eGullet article was a foundation in education, one pressing element still remains... how many people are actually sharpening to particular angle? for example a 15/20 degree angle? Or is it simply sharpening to get an edge alone?
Maybe I'm thinking about this too much... but I do appreciate a nice knife edge when slicing a brisket!
Thanks
Brian
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I speculate, hopefully, that there are many like me... I have a knife collection (more than one pairing knife too! Ha) that I really have come accustomed to using however, I really feel like they need more attention from me.
Yes the edges seem lost here and there then I do pull out the steel and attempt to use it - and frankly, I am not too sure that I know what I am doing. Yes, eGullet has a great course
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&F=108&t=26036&
however, I'm still doing the minimum with my precious resource. How about you? Are you like me and sharpen only here and then or are you an astute knife person? And if you are, how did you learn to sharpen knives? Do you, as a point of maintaining your knives, take them for "professional" sharpening?
Share with me how to be a sharp guy - pun intended.
Brian
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Arne... what's Riedel?
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Great stuff Arne.
A stall at 150 is not out of the ordinary... however frustrating when you expect it higher... i.e., in the 160's. The point though in all of it is to wait for it to break and wait, wait, wait until you get that hunk o'meat to 190 when shredding is easiest. It looks as though you hit that with the nice shred.
If you have any left overs and you're tired of smoked meat sandwich after sandwich - make yourself the best tasting grilled cheese ever with some nice soft-sourdough (or french) with cheese and the pork. Yum!
Cheers
Brian
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Oh my goodness! Nice fire action Tracey! Yes, that is indeed what happens when you don't use a water pan.
What other than pork, ribs, or beef have people smoked on their grill?
Brian
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Big topics and well, you're amongst friends with information here at eGullet.
Here is a link to a recent thread with a similar question - what type of smoker:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...choosing+smoker
This might get things started. However, in my opinion for what you say you'd like to cook, there are two directions - lighter "maitenance" cookers such as pellet smokers or ones that use "pucks" (not the kind the Habs use!) and on the other hand, charcoal/wood smokers that require a bit more maitenance. What I mean by maitenance is the first category is generally "set it and forget it" (until done) and the other requires alot more regular attention to the fire (heat source) for your cook.
Some resources on the net regarding smokers (other than first searching here at eGullet) are:
http://www.thevirtualweberbullet.com
or
http://www.barbecuen.com/ask.htm
As for grill smoking, thats a bit more straight forward. Instead of turning on all your burners and directly cooking whatever you are cooking, turn one side off... thus creating an INDIRECT heat source. That is, you are going to warm up your grill (both burners) then turn one side off, place a foil tray on top of (but under the grill grate) the lava rocks or ceramic bricks or whatever is in your grill with water, apple juice or whatever for a liquid in it, then place your meat on the SIDE THAT IS OFF, place foil wrap wood chips on the HOT side... now you are smoking. The overall temperature in the grill should be below 300 F or so... allowing the slower process to smoke and slowly cook the meat. The foil packs of wood chips will need to be replaced every 45 minutes to an hour as you cook. As you try this and gain more experience with your grill, you will learn if there are hot spots or areas where the temperature cooks faster than others... thus leading to turning or rotating your meat as it cooks but still leaving it on the burner-OFF side.
As for equipment, I prefer Weber Smoky Mountain cookers for slow smoking even though I've used my grill a number of times for smoking chicken, turkey and pork.
I hope that gets you started but please ask away.
Brian
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Hey Chefworks,
Where to start with your question... might I ask for some clarity? Some topics:
- equipment considerations - hot or cold smoking; charcoal, wood or gas?
- different meats - chicken, pork, beef, sausage, fish, other things?
- techniques - brining, slathering, rubs, sauces, temperatures, foil or no foil?
- competition methods or simple backyard cooking
All common smoking topics however a world of replies and information.
Let us know whats on your mind.
Cheers,
Brian
BTW where are u in Canada?
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Michael,
A couple of thoughts... cooking with the bone in won't change the cook time (really) but will add flavor to the PB. I started using boneless and likely won't go back after cooking bone-in. Besides, its on the really cool list when you can pull the bone out cleanly right in front of your guests before shredding - drool matts are usually required.
Brian
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Jacqui,
I'm reading between the lines and interpretting that it appears you might be more of a cold-smoker. The indications were sausage, bacon and ham (to a degree for cold-smoking - sometimes hot-smoked)). With that in mind and the challenges you mentioned about your location, I'd point towards the electric/propane options for smokers. Why? Well, that type of smoker most often uses the pucks or pellets for smoke wood. These are typically easily available in North America and in turn via the internet for other locations... but in my opinion, they do a better job for cold smoking than the charcoal/wood burning units that are designed for hot-smoking.
If I was to turn my Webers into cold smoking units, I would need to re-engineer a bunch of things and face the task of not-too-sure-what-I'm-gonna-get-at-the-end-of-this scenario (learning curve). The electric/propane types will be a "set-it-and-forget-it" type of unit.
As for native types of wood for where you are, it simply and generally needs to be hard woods - they burn slower thus provide more smoking time.
I hope that helps.
Good luck,
Brian
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Hey Jacqui,
It all depends on what ya wanna smoke... for fish, I'd quickly agree, Bradley's got the market well covered. For backyard meat smoking (ribs, pork...), Weber's Smokey Mountain is very popular and I hazard to state "standard" issue. Of course there are the larger horizontal-offset kettles that have a fire box off-set from the smoking "oven". And don't get me started on trying to describe the trailer format "stick burners" (aka bigger cash).
Things to consider:
- charcoal, wood type? or
- gas? or
- electric?
There are a number of experienced cooks who smoke here at eGullet - ask away...
Cheers,
Brian
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But only when you are not stuffing your mug with Q, right?
By the way, I'm glad I moved from the garage - it was getting a bit damp lately.
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I'm loving the comments on this thread... it's a perfect recruitment venue for bbq judges.
In late May at Eat Vancouver will be the BC BBQ Championships and guess what, once the teams cook their stuff, it needs to be judged. So what does it take to be a bbq judge? Well, an interest in bbq of course, being able and willing to eat more than your fair share of meat and well, being in the throws of blind-judging competitors creations. Judges take a course that is two to three hours in length (usually) and learn how to judge bbq as well as competition rules. If interested, kep your eyes open for more details at the Eat Vancouver webpage (www.eat-vancouver.com) or at the host organization the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association (www.pnwba.com).
As for me, the best bbq in the city is in my front yard.
Brian
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I was on a quest for the same thing... found the answer with Angie at:
http:\\www.wellseasoned.ca
She has a variety of sizes available.
Brian
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As I perused through the comments I got all worked up over a pet-peave I have with fresh fruit and vegetables.
I gotta ask, what anal-retentive, perfectionist individual decided it was a great idea to put security slits on fruit labels?
You know the tiny, tiny labels that identify the SKU number of the type of apple you have, or tomato or... but somehow, someone thought it was a good idea to put little tiny slits in the label so that it was harder to get them off - with the intention to minimize label switching of products I can only presume is the only reason why... however, to now pick at a label, over and over again is now a nuisance for us that don't steal fruit.
If there are any distributors out there reading, I purposely choose other produce/product that doesn't have that kind of label.
So I got that off my chest now, I feel better. Thanks
Brian
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Doc,
I've been there and experienced that nasty taste... long story short, it's from too much smoke. Lighten up on the amount of wood and that should help. Make sure its got good air so it's smoking and not smouldering and that should do the trick.
It's unlikely that you are getting the off-flavor from spices or sauces unless your spices or sauce are bad.
Cheers,
Brian
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Getting bbq to the right "done-ness" and flavor is one thing however cooking in one kitchen for two locations and holding meat for a period of time is another challenge.
In my opinion holding bbq meat is like holding a pot of coffee... at one point in time it's either gotta go
or it's gotta be basted, mopped or simply, re-hydrated. If you've had beef or pork that has a texture like cardboard, you know what I mean.Try to see if Memphis Blues will dip the brisket in the "debris" - the what you ask? I learnt that term when ordering a po'boy in NOLA - it's the drippings in the pan after something has cooked a long time - aka meat-juice. That should give you a nice coating of flavor.
Brian
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Here's the credentials page:
http://www.wcwed.com/aboutjohn.htm
and of course, his wine tips (best bets) for the month of January:
I also know John is teaching a Sommelier course at Vancouver Premier College of Hotel Management.
Cheers,
Brian
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The place I go to for knives is in Langley... called Stuffers. It's a sausage-making supply company that has a retail-front for spices, knives, cutting boards, grinders, casings etc. The knives are all high quality and are "commercial" quality. Their website is www.stuffers.com however I know that there is more stuff (pardon the pun
) available in the store.Cheers,
Brian
houseofq.com
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I read a mail insert yesterday and found a link on the net today for some wine courses... what was also interesting about the Port Moody Art Centre listing is that they also have a coffee course (!) which I thought would be cool. None the less, great wine course by John Gerum is listed:
http://www.pomoartscentre.bc.ca/pages/pdf_...al_Interest.pdf
Cheers,
Brian
houseofq.com
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I too am a hot smoker with interest in attempting cold smoke. Here's where I am getting my education on the topic - especially focussed on using a Weber kettle:
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/coldsmoker.html
As for salmon, indeed cure it first. I met a few of the salmon processors here in British Columbia and they often cure with salt, sugar and sometimes maple syrup before cold smoking to create "Indian Candy" - a wonderful sweet yet still soft jerky-like cubes of salmon.
Good luck
Brian
www.houseofq.com
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I met John Gerum last year and took one of his classes in a private setting. Great information, wonderful tastings and great advice for food pairings. Since then he's been nominated as a finalist for Entrepeneur of the Year... not bad for a somelier turned educator.
I encourage you to take a peak if this fits the bill for the class you are seeking. By the way, check out his monthly wine selection tip, always a good resource:
www.wcwed.com
Brian
www.houseofq.com
Smoking a Turkey
in Cooking
Posted
Susan,
That's a big bird you are planning and it should, hopefully, fit intact on one grate in a WSM. I know of another eGullet-er that needed to split the bird and place half on one grate and the other on top. Something to consider.
I've cooked a 15 lb bird in around 2 hours in the smoker - running up to 400 F at the dome - really hot for a WSM. Additionally, the water pan was dry (sand) which helps get the temperature up there - in fact I don't think you'd be able to get that high of a temperature otherwise.
So, thinking through this, a 22-24 lb bird could and should be done in 3-3 1/2 hours. Importantly though is to hit the minimum of 165 F in the breast.
Here's some pic's of a recent turkey adventure:
As for brining, I find that 1/3 cup coarse salt and 1/3 cup brown sugar to 1 gallon (4L) of water is good base to work with. Add any other enhancers from there. Keep it cold, cold, cold and it should all come together.
Good luck
Brian