Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Outstanding!

 

Picked up a pork loin and some bacon for tomorrow.

 

Brisket's done, time for bacon! Two sides of cured pork belly and a bunch of cured loin aka canadian style

 

Hardcore, I like the dedication.

 

Taking one of my first shots at brisket. Picked up a flat, 9 lbs and it's been on my WSM for 2 hours now. Temps have held at 250 and things are going smoothly for the time being. Me and a few of the Northern CA members will be eating well tonight, hopefully.

 

The transition was a lot more feasible cuz I only had to smoke the brisket for 5 hours lol

 

Today's high heat brisket was by far the best I've done. No mop sauce, no BBQ sauce, just meat and rub all the way. Never had better anywhere myself, and a friend said the same. Good friend

Total time was 4.5 hours including half hour rest in cooler. So 4 hours cook time. 2.5 unwrapped, 1.5 wrapped. Pulled at 205.

The only thing I really did differently aside from no sauce in the wrap is that I applied rub the night before, set it on a rack on a sheet in fridge, and just loosely covered that with foil, no contact. No idea if that was what made it extra good, but I'm doing it that way always from now on.

 

Nothing fancy. Left over brisket here for dinner

 

Alot fancier than I get. I'm good with a tortilla, a hunk of meat and an ice tea.

 

Cooked Brisket question... I am averse to freezing meat for probably unfounded reasons. After slicing and cooling, does it work to vac seal and freeze the brisket slices? If so, how to reheat?

 

If your seal is good you can put the packet in hot water, but I usually just throw it in a hot pan for a few minutes. The thinner the slices the better it reheats. A light oil, and very few drops, works for me.

 

I vacuum seal mine right after a cut a good chunk then straight to the freezer. When I'm ready to eat, i put the bag in boiling water for 10min. I take the meat out of the bag then place it for a few more minutes in my steamer. Take it out then start slicing. It's never the same straight out of the smoker but it's still not bad

 

It took me a minute to figure out what was going on with the top of your wsm. I normally hang my temp probe unit from the front handle of the lid or wedge the stand into the seal of the lip of the lid.

 

Amazon Sunday delivery showed up, so time to get started on the pastrami! Prague Powder #1 is hard to find locally.



The brine is prague powder, salt, sugar, garlic and pickling spice.


All into a tupperware for at least a week of brining. I haven't decided how to cook it yet. I'm tempted to smoke it long like a regular brisket, but some folks smoke it to stall then steam it. Guess I have a week or so to figure it out.

 

Never made pastrami....is there a limit if you will to how long you can brine it?

 

I don't know for certain - never made it before. I've read you can leave it a couple weeks if you need to. You soak it for a bit after the brine, to pull out some of the salt. I've heard Katz's soaks theirs for weeks.

 

Made bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers and some lollipops for the underwhelming Seahawks game last night. They came out great!

 

I saw on Diners Drive Ins and Dives some dude did his for a month. Not sure what that long bought him but who knows.

 

Got my fresh cider Saturday from the cider mill. Will be trying this Cider Brined Smoked Turkey Breast this weekend.

 

Did some ribs this weekend. 321 style but I was slacking so it was more like 3.5 3 1.5

Still turned out great and I got to repay my wood hookup guys with a rack.