Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

^I am making those today. I will not be able to smoke them though.

 

Well here is my results for the 4th of July BBQ:
10lb Brisket.
So what all did everyone make and enjoy on the birthday of the greatest country ever?





Making my BBQ never gets old.

 

On a BBQ side note...I did not have a nice picnic bench to enjoy my BBQ outside in the traditional manner...all pre-made ones at Lowes were poorly made P.O.S....so I made my own based on a few designs I found on the internet that can withstand Category 5 winds. It integrated into my existing benches on my deck. A nice little project for my day off.

 

looks yummy

 

Random good eats over the last month.

 

Oh man, all those look so good! Can I ask what the block is in the pic above? Salt?

 

First attempt at ABTs, won't be my last!!!

 

Another brisket this past weekend
I started using a thermometer and I am not happy with the results... I wrapped in butcher paper at 160 and then took it off at 190. It still tasted great, but it wasn't 100% tender. But this was a choice 8lb..and I am thinking it was too thin/small (but it was on sale for $2.47/lb, so what the hey) . I am going to stick with 10-12lb and try this thermometer one more time.

 

Primo just go by feel like you were doing...I have a thermopen and the only use it as a probe to check doness on briskets. Poultry thats another story..you need a therm to make sure its cooked to temp.
That said id still like a bite

 

I smoked a tri tip for the first time this weekend. Knowing it would probably cook pretty quick my plan was to smoke it @ 200 for 2-3 hours and then finish it in the oven so it wouldn't dry out. I pulled it off the smoker after ~2:45 and put a thermometer in it, wouldn't you know it was at 131 degrees so instead of going into the oven I just let it rest for about 20 minutes. Sauteed up some onions and green peppers, threw them on a toasted roll with cheese and served it with a side of beef broth for dipping. The meat turned out perfect, not too smoking and on the rare side. Unfortunately no pictures of the finished product, I was starving

 

Been on vacation for a couple weeks, but I'm back in town now and fired it up yesterday. Wanted some burnt ends, and since brisket is over $8 a pound here right now, I used chuck roast. Chuck burnt ends are quickly becoming my favorite smoker recipe.

Here are two roasts along with some western pork ribs (pork shoulder sawn into 2" planks)



After 6 hours at about 230 degrees, the roasts cubed with sauce, some root beer and more rub added.



And after about 9 hours. I stirred them about every 30 minutes after saucing so that they'd caramelize evenly.

 

I saw a recipe for burnt ends that added sauce & vinegar for the last step & then cooked the cubes for 30 minutes on the smoker. I knew that wouldn't be nearly long enough to get a good "burnt" texture, but I was intrigued by what the vinegar might add. When I realized I had an open bottle of root beer in the fridge, I decided to add about 1/2 cup to the pan with the sauce & rub to add some acid & liquid instead of going right to vinegar. It added some sweetness for sure. Not sure that I'll make it a permanent addition to the recipe but I always like to try something new. The key for me is giving the sauce time to reduce, but not letting the meat get too hard or crusty. It's a fine line. I would have liked a better bark on the roasts before I cubed them up, but I can't figure out how to get bark on beef without drying the meat out too much. The smoke flavor is awesome, there's just not that really great bark like you get from a pork shoulder. After saucing & caramelizing, you've basically forced a sugar bark at that point, so they are pretty awesome, but the chuck I sliced for sandwiches doesn't have a great bark layer.

Yeah, I couldn't believe the brisket prices. $8+ for a trimmed flat and around $7 for a packer. Beef is definitely at record prices in the midwest. Heck, I paid $5/lb for the chuck roasts! I really do think a chuck roast is a great substitute for a brisket tip when doing burnt ends.

 

So this chuck roast...smoke the same as a brisket and then cube it? I might try one this weekend?

 

Exactly. There are more veins of fat running through a chuck, compared to the fat intermingled with the meat of a fatty brisket tip, but it smokes up just the same for burnt ends in my eyes, for a lot less $$.

 

Didn't realize there was a thread dedicated to smokers! I have some catching up to do. Here are the two I have and LOVE...

 

GOOD GOD

 

Choice Brisket went down to $1.97/lb at the local grocery chain...Super Walmart...then dropped it to $1.50/lb...never seen it that cheap.

Here is 11lbs . 11 hours over oak at about 230, salt & pepper only..wrapped in BP the last 2 hours.

 

Fine looking piece of meat!!

 

I smoked some stuff this weekend. ATBs, I had some leftover ground beef so I made some cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped meatballs, pulled pork, and a fatty.

The fatty was a play on a hot pastrami and swiss sandwich with onions. Turned out real nice. Here's a bunch of pictures from start to finish.

Rolling out the sausage


Lay out some swiss


Add pastrami


Then some sauteed onions


Roll that bad boy up


Make a bacon weave for it


Roll that up


Ready to go


On the smoker with the other goodies


After a few hours on the smoker


Done


And done