Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

No good huh?

 

More later and carving this thing is a damn mess, but this was one of the best dinners I've had in a long time.

 

They are worth the time and effort.

 

Kids don’t like medium rare Oh wells

 

So chopped would be better?

 

https://easyfamilyrecipes.com/homemade-ranch-seasoning/

I swapped out the onion and garlic powder for granulated versions simply because they are less messy.

Made this about a week ago and made some chicken with a little olive oil and a tablespoon of this.. nice change from all the rubs. Also added a tablespoon of this to my rice cooker and made some ranch rice. Pretty tasty sprinkled on some tater tots too!

Nothing smoked and only the one picture before I shook it all up in a mason jar
Edit: OK I lied.. I did use smoked kosher salt instead of the regular salt.

 

smoking a brisket for work tomorrow

 

Absolutely - and that is saying something as the amount of time and effort required isn't trivial.

Kind of. The thing with this cut is that I don't see how I could end up with one big hunk of sliced beef and still have all of it tender. Could get away with all chopped, though. At least in this form. Mind you it is the first one that I've ever cooked, but looking at it, I think you are destined to end up with some sliced and some chopped. The sliced on this was plenty good, but the chopped was ultra tender. As I keep practicing it, I'll look in to separating pieces during the cook to have them all end up where I want them (sliced or chopped). Frankly, though, I would have zero issue cooking it just like this again and getting what I get - some sliced here, some chopped there. It was all good.

Prepare for a @Misplaced Nebraskan style pic dump.

I've posted some of these pictures already, but they span multiple pages, so I'll consolidate here, plus finished product.

Beef shoulder clod - just shy of 17 lbs. Trimmed off less than a pound:



Rubbed with what might end up being the next Pitfaced BBQ rub (pepper forward savory rub):



About 10 or so hours in. First hour was as the it was coming up to temperature. Most of the other 9 was at around 225*.



About 13 hours in:



Over 15 hours in, I decided to wrap to capture some of the juices. Heat went up a bit as well.



On the cutting board. Tons of bark due to all the nooks and crannies. The grain runs tons of different ways, so rather than picking a side and starting to slice like you would a brisket, I cut a hunk off, looked at the grain, then started shaving thin slices for sandwiches from there. You can see the bottom side is falling apart. No slices to be had down there, but the meat was super tender and very moist. The slices where a tad on the dry side, but not a disappointment by any stretch.



The menu item for the evening was French Dip Sandwiches (thanks, @Bigdaddy4760 , for the suggestion!). 4 parts mayo + 2 parts horseradish for the spread. Spread on warm french bread, then added some slices of beef and top with baby swiss cheese. The sandwich went back in the oven at 200* for a minute or two to help melt the cheese slightly. Served with a bowl of au jus. The au jus was all of the drippings, supplemented by beef broth and Worcestershire - warmed on the stove. I put some chopped beef in the au jus as well to really bolden up the flavor.



That sammich....



Dip in the au jus and GO. TO. TOWN.



I wasn't quite full, so I went back and made a small open faced version of the same:



Yowza. It is really good meat. It is kind of like brisket, but kind of like chuck roast (frankly the cut is a closer relative to a chuck roast than anything). The grain is wonky, but, like I said, if you cook it just to have a lot of really good beef and are less concerned with X number of slices and X amount of chopped, this is the cut. It was the longest cook I've done in probably 4 years. 18 hours in the pit + 3 hours rest. I would be interested in tinkering with a slightly hotter cook and trying the Texas crutch, but I don't think there is any real hot 'n fast with this. Take your time, enjoy the ride.

I have some other things I will be keeping in mind to try and elevate this thing even further.

1. Inject. If you try this for the first time, I'll go ahead and suggest injecting right out of the gate. This is a very thick cut and injecting a little extra flavor deep in to the core would be welcome. It's flavorful meat, but some extra beef broth or other beefy flavored injection would work. Your going to be cooking for nearly a day .

2. I would use more rub. The bits that had a high rub/meat ratio were great, but, even with all of the nooks and extra surface area bits, the surface/meat ratio is kind of low. Go bananas with your favorite rub - you won't over season this thing.

3. Cook with a pan under it to catch the drippings. I wish I had more of them for the au jus. I should have had a pan, then emptied it in to a jar every few hours and saved them for an even more potent au jus. Next time.

Satisfied with my first go and I will be cooking this again. Hell, I WILL be doing French Dip Sandwiches with this again. Only four of us were eating (I have a LOT of leftovers ) and every one of us left very satisfied.

 

so far. est time about 19 1/2 hours low n slow

 

@b

Great write up. Like we’re talking going to do one when I get home. Will send my details of prep. Glad y’all enjoyed it. You can stick some of the bigger pieces in the freezer for a little while then put em the slicer for thinly sliced beef also then vacuum seal for future lunch meat.

 

Sammich looks awesome! Question: was it worth the effort? As in, better than a prime chuck cooked in much less time, then sliced or chopped and made into french dip sammiches? Asking for a friend. And me.

 

I have, I think, 5 vacuum sealed chunks in the freezer and one in the fridge. Will definitely make sandwich meat out of some. The pack in the fridge is for tacos tomorrow .

Good question. On a weekend like I had this weekend (cooked last night anyways, hung out on the patio, had home projects today, etc.), I think it is a no-brainer to do the shoulder clod. I think liked this better than most chuck roasts I've done. Now, a chuck roast cooks in half the time at most, which is a substantial time savings. Plus, if you only need to feed a handful of people, a chuck roast will be more cost effective, even if less value (higher price per pound). I suppose it depends on the situation.

I don't know. I'll put it this way, though. I haven't done a chuckie in a year or two, but I'll be doing a second shoulder clod soon .

 

There is something about the clods makeup of different cuts(tastes) of meat all together that sets it apart.

 

Agreed. In that picture on the cutting board, the lower left bit - where the meat is shredded - was some incredible tasting meat. I have a hunk of that set aside for chopped sandwiches soon.

 

So it IS better. Can't you call it something other than a clod??

 

If I invited my friends over to eat beef clod, they would say WTF izzat??? And I live in beef country.

 

Big Azz Hunk Of Beef. There you go.

 

I will slice it really thin when cold and eat with some cheese. Sometimes slices in the frying pan. Have reheated with Sous Vide but seems like a PITA to me and takes awhile.

Most often do it pretty much like you do except in the toaster oven. I use a Corning glass storage container much like a small casserole dish and "butter" the top with either bacon grease or butter. Cover with Aluminum foil and cook for 20 min. at 250° depending on the thickness. That is from a cold start and straight out of the fridge, done enough of them I pretty much have a good idea of how long to do it without cooking them further but warm in the center.

Warming up here starting tomorrow and even getting 3 days of rain they say. Going to be a mess when this chit starts to melt. Plus rain.



Going to do chicken on the gasser tonight for the son and I but hoping this weekend will be able to fire up the smoker. Provided don't get washed away in a flood by then.

Damn really want a beef clod, Big Azz Hunk Of Beef, what ever you want to call it. I know better than to come here when hungry but even if I wasn't that really looks good...