Smoking Meat

[Dave the Cook]

I'm with Matthew and guajolote. I doubt it would even make you sick, but the er, aroma won't get better.

Replace it, even if you can't get your money back. And even a short brine will make a difference.

[guajolote]

YUM!

What cut did you use? I have been thinking about the sausage. If I jelly roll the loin, that would add some fat on the inside. That combination of flavors sounds just wonderful. What kind of sausage did you use.

Stone... Definitely toss it.

Here are the details. I think the actual cooking stuff is on page 3.

I used a boneless pork rack (meat part of baby back ribs) because it has more fat, but a loin would work. I butterflied it and stuffed it like a jelly roll. The stuffing was Italian Sausage, sauteed onions and garlic, fresh apricots (I cooked them to get rid of some moisture, dried would be fine), rosemary, an egg, and breadcrumbs. I also basted with a glaze (butter, onions, garlic, rosemary, white wine, and apricots pureed).

[fifi]

Another question...

Have any of you tried substituting the Brinkman pan as suggested on the web site?

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/waterpan.html

They have these pans at my local Academy store and it looks like more water is a good idea.

[MatthewB]

Another question...

Have any of you tried substituting the Brinkman pan as suggested on the web site?

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/waterpan.html

They have these pans at my local Academy store and it looks like more water is a good idea.

I've found the WSM pan to be adequate. I don't fill it every 2-3 hours. (More like every 4-6, if that.)

I have a plastic gasoline jug--that I prominently marked as WATER. Just pull out the spout, open the fuel door, & carefully fill the water pan.

Pretty simple.

[Toliver]

What will pork drippings do to the brisket below? I can't imagine that being a bad thing.

And the Food Gods smiled at this and all was right in the world.

Edited to add:

...chicken sitters...

Say that 10 times fast.

Edited August 29, 2003 by Toliver (log)

[fifi]

Been shopping. I snagged a nice USDA Choice brisket on sale. I will be putting a rub on it that I got out of Virtualweberbullet. The rub recipe doesn't look much different from what I usually use. That site also shows trimming more fat off of a brisket than I usually do. I may trim it some.

I abandoned the pork loin for a really pretty 4 lb. pork sirloin roast. It was also on sale and they left a nice fat layer on this one so it called to me. It is now sitting happliy in its brine bath. I added a good sized glug of some Chinese mushroom soy 'cause I have a big jug that I am trying to use up. I also added some Goya bitter orange 'cause the bullet heads went nuts over pork brined with some orange. I think I will stick with the Central American seasoning and maybe inject some mixed with orange juice and make a mop with the rest of it. We will see.

All of this should make for some good Labor Day eats.

Anyone else doing something special for LD?

[MatthewB]

Anyone else doing something special for LD?

Sounds great, fifi.

I think I'm going to do a smoked Spanish-style pork butt on Monday.

[fifi]

Stupid question #42... I trimmed the brisket and have about 1 1/2 lbs. of "fat". Is this beef fat any good for rendering? Brisket fat seems to have more connective tissue than what I would call tallow. After you have the beef fat, what is a good thing to do with it? I use lard a lot and I just learned about keeping chicken fat from stock making. With beef fat, my pantry would be complete!

Strategy... I ended up cutting the brisket in two, the point and the flat. It will be easier to position on the bullet that way. Also, once the little pork roast is done, I can move the point up to the top grate for the long haul. And I can take out the flat before it goes over the hill.

GREAT TIP! This one I figured out all on my own. Some of you gurus may already know about this but it is a revelation to me. I bought some of those 2 gallon ziploc bags in anticipation of putting the brisket in there with the rub on overnight. One of the brisket pieces fit in one bag with plenty of room so I just poured in some of the rub and tossed to evenly coat and massaged it in. The rub all stuck to the meat and not the plastic. And I don't have a 1/4 cup of rub under my fingernails and they won't be stained for the next week. I am just giddy with this discovery.

edit to add: I just found out this is going to be a soggy weekend due to tropical storm Grace that snuck up on us. It will be interesting to see how the Weber performs in those conditions. It is on a balconey under a roof but it sure won't be the same as a couple of weeks ago at 94 in the shade.

Edited August 30, 2003 by fifi (log)

[Stone]

I've got four butts on my bullet right now. Realized that the second bag of wood I had stored in the back closet was empty, so I don't know when I'll run out. So far, my new wireless thermometer is working great, or so it seems. It's pretty chilly out here in SF tonight, so I'm running about 230 on the top grill with all vents wide open. If it holds, I'll be pretty happy. The two fellas on the top rack will probably be done soon after I wake up. The bottom guys a few hours later.

[Stone]

FYI -- My new ET-73 Redi-Check remote thermometer works like a charm. There's a food probe and an separate oven probe -- unlike the polder which has both sensors on one probe. The oven probe fits easily onto a little clip that attaches to the grate. It holds the probe in place, above the metal of the rack and away from the food. I sat watching tv with the transmitter propped up on the coffee table. When I went to sleep, I set the alarms and put it on my nightstand. It has both high and low alarm for both food and oven temp.

[fifi]

OK Stone. Where does one get this wonder? Link?

[Al_Dente]

FYI -- My new ET-73 Redi-Check remote thermometer works like a charm.  There's a food probe and an separate oven probe -- unlike the polder which has both sensors on one probe.  The oven probe fits easily onto a little clip that attaches to the grate.  It holds the probe in place, above the metal of the rack and away from the food.  I sat watching tv with the transmitter propped up on the coffee table.  When I went to sleep, I set the alarms and put it on my nightstand.  It has both high and low alarm for both food and oven temp.

I have the even newer ET-5073!

This baby can add and remove coals as necessary to maintain the pre-programmable temperature. It will also make a beer run and chill beer to the exact temperature you prefer.

[Stone]

This baby can add and remove coals as necessary to maintain the pre-programmable temperature. It will also make a beer run and chill beer to the exact temperature you prefer. 

Damn. That'll make the girlfriend obsolete.

Fifi -- run a google-search for Maverick Remote Thermometer. They've got a few wireless models.

By the way -- Have you seen butts this plump and juicy since J-Lo went on the Atkins diet:

I think not. And here's a five-gallon pot o' pork:

Atkins or not, I don't think I can eat all that.

Edited September 1, 2003 by Stone (log)

[Dave the Cook]

Let me be the first to say: nice butt ya got there, Stone.

[ronnie_suburban]

Awesome Stone...those really do look amazing.

=R=

[finker99]

Beautiful Butts

I just smoke an untrimmed gooseneck round that I had rubbed with a mexican style rub and the smoked it for 15 hours with cherry and oak. When it came out I shredded it. The meat was rich, smokey and juicy due to the insane amounts of fat on it. I took the meat and heated it with an ancho-chipotle bbq sauce for some enchiladas, REAL tasty with a whack o' sour cream.

I am lucky enough to have a commercial smoker, but have used the bullets in the past and actually developed most of my recipes for my store on a Cammeron stovetop smoker in my garden apartment that forbids outdoor cooking.

At the last place I worked we had an electric bullet that we smoked Jumbo chicken breasts, cooled them, then fried them in a blue cornmeal-sage beer bater, pretty tasty, but a little dry cuz the chef smoked them boneless skinless. I didn't like the electric bullet so much because we would go through them pretty quickly, about 2 a year and we were only smoking a couple of times a week. Plus the temp control was very iffy, this was a few years ago so maybe they are better now.

The stovetop smoker was actually a smaller version of the kind we used to throw together in the kitchen at work. It was comprised of a Deep pan with a pan that fit inside of it and rack that sat in the interior pan. Wood chips went between the two pans and you tun the burner on to regulate heat and smoke; you can also balance the heat by putting the meat on one side and the heat and chips on the other. A lid covers the whole thing. The one I used at home was a little smaller and was hard pressed to fit a full rack or a pork butt without using a foil tent instead of the slide on lid. My stove is by a window and I had an exhaust fan, but not that much smoke actually just wisps out and I did smoke a couple times after the fan broke with an open window and that was enough, although we had to take down the smoke detector.

My smoker at my store Finks funky web site is an old Southern Pride UXR 100 that I bought on Ebay for $1300. It has 5 racks with 3 shelves each on a giant rotisserie. My only shame is that it is a gas fired smoker, the burner really only is used to get logs going, then they go on their own. It turns out very consistant meat, but I do feel like I am cheating a little bit, but the realityies of business sometimes overtake the wishes of art.

I do brisket that we trim well, rub and then restack the fat on top of. They take about 9-12 hours depending on size. We do butts that we butterfly to maximize smoke exposure and speed cooking time (6-9 hours). Chickens we butterfly and smoke for about 2-3 hours. All of these items are smoke at about 220-250 degrees. We also do a quick smoke on trimmed beef ribeye for about 40 minutes at about 120 degrees. We then slice it fine and use it in cheese steaks or cut steaks and throw them on the grill.

Any real horror stories? Two weeks ago I forget to turn the smoker one night with a case of beef brisket in it, about 125# (disadvantage of the gas fire, it is much tougher to forget to get your coals going, etc than it is to just set the thermostat.)

I really want to start playing with sausages, but the other parts of my job keep me running or too tired at the end of the day to deal with it, but I just noticed that the butcher across the street from me has some excellent fresh ground pork in two grades of fattiness ( a lot and a little.) I have been experimenting a little with breakfast sausage patties, soon I think I have to dig out my sausage horn for my Kitchen-Aid because smoked patties just don't cut it, and links are just that good.

Anyway, sorry for my verbosity, I look forward to hearing a horror story or two (no "my house burned to the ground" please, that would be a little too horrible )

Fink

fink

[Toliver]

My only shame is that it is a gas fired smoker, the burner really only is used to get logs going, then they go on their own.  It turns out very consistant meat, but I do feel like I am cheating a little bit...

Screw the shame...what matters is the meat! 'Tis the butt in the end that justifies the means....

[ronnie_suburban]

I spent what was a glorious Sunday here "around the smoker" as I put my brand new unit through its inaugural paces. I used mesquite wood and smoked a 7 pound brisket (brined and dry-rubbed), a 4 pound chicken (brined) and a slab of ribs (brined, dry-rubbed), which are not finished yet. I smoked the brisket and the chicken for about 8 hours...I think I could have gone a little longer, but darkness has finally come. I should have started earlier this morning but I just couldn't quite get it together in time to do so. The ribs are finishing up under the stars.

I've done some smoking before with a friend who owns a smoker, but never on my own until today. The results were very good and conveniently, I left myself a little room for improvment.

Here are a couple of shots:

The Brisket

The Chicken

The Brisket, sliced

I can hardly wait until I get a chance to give the process another try.

Next weekend is Rosh Hashana...do I dare to smoke a brisket for the High Holidays? I don't want to give any of my relations a grabber, so I'll probably hold off.

=R=

Edited September 22, 2003 by ronnie_suburban (log)

[fifi]

Absolutely loverly. Did you tell us what smoker you just inaugurated? You were very brave to start with brisket. I chickened out when I first used my bullet and did a pork butt. It is pretty hard to screw up pork butt.

I have the same problem with starting early enough and always wish I had let the brisket go just a bit longer. I am still working on my brisket technique. I am beginning to trust my bullet enough to set it up and let it go overnight.

[ronnie_suburban]

Did you tell us what smoker you just inaugurated?

It's a bullet wannabee...got it for $29 last weekend. I'd like to get something a with a few more bells and whistles, but I thought this would be a good starter unit. After one trial, I already foresee upgrading but probably not right away. I have many more mistakes to make on this one first.

=R=

[Shelby]

Bumping this topic--and I haven't read through it --but need to ask really quick and hopefully get a quick answer.

 

Is there any reason why one shouldn't use green wood (meaning not dried) to smoke meats with?

[gfweb]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

Bumping this topic--and I haven't read through it --but need to ask really quick and hopefully get a quick answer.

 

Is there any reason why one shouldn't use green wood (meaning not dried) to smoke meats with?

Controversy here. Some do it...many more soak dried chips and then heat to smoking. In fact that’s the textbook advice for home smokers.

 

To me this makes an acrid bitter smoke/steam, like a campfire smells when you douse it. Ewww.

I don’t want that taste. 

 

I dont believe the big smoker machines use wet wood either.

 

So so I use dried twigs wrapped in foil or even better the @rotuts pellet smoker. You get a blue sweet smoke that way. 

 

I can taste the difference 

Edited October 23, 2019 by gfweb (log)

[Shelby]

38 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Controversy here. Some do it...many more soak dried chips and then heat to smoking. In fact that’s the textbook advice for home smokers.

 

To me this makes an acrid bitter smoke/steam, like a campfire smells when you douse it. Ewww.

I don’t want that taste. 

 

I dont believe the big smoker machines use wet wood either.

 

So so I use dried twigs wrapped in foil or even better the @rotuts pellet smoker. You get a blue sweet smoke that way. 

 

I can taste the difference 

 

Thank you for the fast answer!

 

We have apple, mulberry, hackberry and plum--all green.   Gonna try it then--well, really, Ronnie used to use that years and years ago.  Will report back  

[gfweb]

15 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Thank you for the fast answer!

 

We have apple, mulberry, hackberry and plum--all green.   Gonna try it then--well, really, Ronnie used to use that years and years ago.  Will report back  

Maybe there are a few dead branches to Use?

[Shelby]

10 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Maybe there are a few dead branches to Use?

Probably are. 

 

I can't go with him due to all the damn poison ivy around there.