Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

The day has finally come boys....




Also had prime brisket for $3.97/lb. Too bad they were to big to fit on my 18in kettle

 

Nice pick up! And too big?... Just fold it up a bit. It'll shrink as it cooks. Common method.

 

Costco F T M F W!

 

I gotta find me one of those fish plants!

 

That's like @Cold Iron 's bat signal. He'll be here in no time .

I used to drape it over an upright soup can until it shrunk up a bit.

 

Venison meatloaf from the oven, next time it will be from the Chargriller Akorn!

 

26" kettle is built. I won't tell @t4daddy how long it took, lest he shame me. I was working with my two-year old, though!

That 26" is *YUUUUGE* compared to the 22". The extra area looks bigger than I imagined. A couple minor gripes about it. First, it is only available in black. I love my copper 22" and would have preferred a color other than black, but it is still a classic look. Second, the threads/nuts for the lid holder come out above the cooking grate rather than below. Such a simple design element that they completely flubbed. When we build the UDS, thermometers, support bolts, etc. all get placed just below the rack. Oh well. I'm still gonna love this thing.

Here's all the equipment, now. We'll call this the @itzyoboipaul starter kit.

22" Weber, 26" Weber, 2 rack UDS (that I burned up a month ago), 1 rack UDS, beer keg tailgating smoker (two 14" racks):

 

Are they done yet? Mine were awesome.

 

they grow in my pondwas goin to smoke a possum but didnt have time

 

I'm throwing a large party after the Avery Brewing 25th Anniversary party. On the menu is Coney Island Chili Dogs. The chef at Avery is good friends with the Nate Singer the head butcher at Black Belly Butchery and Market in Boulder.

Check out the photo gallery from Black Belly here, Nate took me into the aging locker which among many types of aged sausage were around 20 proscuitto hams from 3 month old to 3 year old which is the usual finish.

http://www.blackbelly.com/gallery/

He hooked me up with 16 lbs of premium Hot Dogs, a total of 65 dogs so they are quarter pounders. I exchanged 2 cases of higher end Avery beer for the dogs. We'll be going back sometime soon to hang out and try some of his charcuterie. Then he ask what my favorite steak was, and I said Ribeye Cap steak, and he suddenly left and came back with a 48 day aged cap, and handed it to me..... Holy crap that's an $80+ piece of meat. He wouldn't take no for an answer, we'll be bringing him more beer, his staff was totally psyched to share the beer. Here is a shot of the Cap steak and the hot dogs.

 

Very nice! Cook any of the dogs yet? That's a hell of a haul and worth a trip back!

 

12 pounds of ground vension cooked up and cooling so I can get into fridge for future recipes. Or maybe I'm making a meat cake

Hmmm...

 

I'll probably try one before saturday, need to find some footlong buns now, those dogs are gonna dwarf the regular buns. Made up some basic coney chili recipe I found on the interweb. My first job as a 16 year old back in 1977 was at a Coney Island hot dog place, spent the beginning of every shift chopping up a big tub of onions. The chili turned out pretty good, just a mild chili, lots of cumin, not really hot at all.

The key is steaming the buns, I have a large wok and put a collapsible colander upside down over a pool of water and can steam 12+ buns at a time.

 

Uh, yes. I live in the heart of the mid coast 14 hours drive from CO and I dream of Blackbelly’s BLT. Have a photo somewhere...

 

They’re hitting the grill Friday the second I get home from work

 

I wanted to pick up the brisket sooooo bad, I just couldn’t see how I could fit a 15lb-er on an 18” kettle

 

Lol, here it is. Still have the photo from like 2 years ago, the last time I was there.



Actually this sammich inspired me to make my own buckboard bacon for the first time.

 

Mine didn’t make it that long.

 

I wanted too do them tonight, but the monsoon I was racing home from Costco had other ideas, and I have a work dinner tomorrow. My enlightenment will have to wait...

 

U ever grind up brisket trimmings in ur deer burger? Holy cow that makes some good burger