Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Did you cut yourself?

 

And away we go! This 7#+ monster is making my kettle look small

 

ouch...man thats quite deep.

 

Must have been stitches time. Just got 6 of out of my right eyelid this past Monday from an incident of dumbassia the Sunday a week earlier.

 

I spent a year living in Dutch Harbor catching my own king crab and sharing it with the crew almost every day. Since I’ve had that fresh, out of the water and into the pot thence directly to the table, I can’t eat the frozen stuff anymore. Might also have something to do with my frequent visits to the processing plants.

 

Trying to go back next year...I’ll let you know!

 

one of the few things I miss about Maryland. You could go to almost any restaurant and get excellent crab cakes. Crab was fresh and cheap vs inland. But it still isnt enough for me to ever go back

 

Med High heat 5 minutes a side seems to work every time.

Think I have used my Slow N Sear half a dozen times, at most. But I use the snake method at least once a week in the kettle and it holds 225-250 without even working at it anymore

 

Fan was not working on my Flame boss. I guess an ember dropped down into it and melted the plastic fan wheel.

Guess i’ll add a mesh screen before replacing it.

 

Ready to rock!

 

A unicorn in the wild.

 

Some BBQ over the past couple of days. First time cooking porkbutts that was boneout from my local butcher, I’m usta the food lion Smithfield ones, I thought it was gonna be a disaster of a cook because the meat decided to start to peel back 6 hours in. I thought it might come out dry with all that extra surface area exposed. I was way wrong! Probably the best I’ve ever had! It’s hormone free and no preservatives maybe that why lol

 

Some good meats lol

Nice legs and the pork looks like it has some character

 

Last week was a long one. Monday morning, we dropped my daughter off for her first day of 1st grade. I got to see her classroom and she went off like a boss. No jitters, no tears. Oozing confidence. I was so proud. I came back to the house to hop in the truck and go to work when I got the news that my grandmother had passed away. This is my dad's mother. She's been in declining health for a couple of years now, mostly stemming from dementia. She turned 90 five years ago the same night my cousin got married. She was up at midnight out on the dancefloor. A hell of a woman. That's what I'll remember about her, along with the games of cribbage, trips to buy cheese, and the glass of milk she'd pour to go with Grandpa's chili. At 95, the disease took that wild, spunky attitude from her. We all take comfort knowing that, on some plane beyond this one, her mind and body are restored and she's resting easy with my grandfather. Her service is on September 20th.

Work is a bit of a grind at the moment, but it pays the bills and helps me have a little fun, so I won't complain. After the work week concluded, I came home to begin the BBQ posted above. My neighbor and I got the smokers fired up at 6 p.m., then started doing quick prep on the meat. A lazy trim on the briskets, but we got the deckle out and any other large chunks of hard fat, then rubbed with On Point. The pork shoulders didn't get any trimming, just coated very liberally with Meat Massage. All were cooking by 8 p.m. on a mixture of pecan and cherry wood across 4 smokers. Two UDS smokers, an offset, and a vertical offset.

Gary and I stayed up until about 12:30 a.m. when we were satisfied with how the offsets were holding temp. We reconvened at 3:00 a.m., took a quick survey, topped off fuel, then took another break. I actually dozed off in the lounge chair for about 2 hours.

10 briskets and 8 pork shoulders means lots of variation, but everything was off between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. the next morning. We wrapped and cranked up the heat as necessary to get some of the stubborn ones to come along.

Loaded up the cambro and coolers, then headed off to the event.

Got to the park and began to set up:



We were serving pulled pork and chopped beef sandwiches for the BBQ folks. For anyone that wanted hotdogs instead, we had those provided. Years of BBQ experience clearly made me the ideal choice for keeping an eye on the hotdogs.



Food was scheduled to start serving at 11:00 a.m. This line started forming about 10 minutes before that and there wasn't a moment's break until about 1:00 p.m. We served a LOT of food.



I did the hotdogs, chopped the beef, and pulled the pork. Gary headed up the serving station. There were a lot of other volunteers helping out as well. Everything that we provided (drinks, plates, chips, napkins, etc.) was donated in one manner or another, so there was zero overhead. Lots of folks came together to make this all happen.

By the end of it, the BBQ station raised just over $2,000 for Adriana's cause. The money is helpful for that family and it provides a tangible representation of just how much outpouring of support there is for Adriana right now. People can be genuinely amazing.

In addition to the BBQ, there was a kickball tourney and a home-run derby. Those registrations and donations netted another $1,500. They still have a raffle to go that will be on opening weekend in a couple of weeks. There are some GREAT prizes in there, so that'll raise another nice chunk, too.

It is awful to think about why this event took place, but it is inspiring to see everyone come together and make the most of it. I was just a *tiny* part of the whole operation, but humbled to have been able to do so. My neighbor Gary was a beast with the organization and soliciting donations. He did a fantastic job. Other businesses put in time, money, and goods, plus there were a lot of other folks that took up helping however they could, be it serving, collecting money, cleaning, and whatever else needed to be done.

I figured that I'd be so whipped that I would sleep in a bit this morning, but I was wide awake by 7:30 a.m. Ran a few errands, then came back to finish up the keg smoker. I started building this one for my daughter, but remembered I was going to donate one to my Alma Mater's golf program for their upcoming tournament. I've done this for the past 3 years. Stella agreed to let this one be theirs and she'd get the next one. I'll be sure to include her name in the program for being a partial donor .

It's all ready for powder coating. It's an old school Smokey Joe lid with a wooden handle. I have it all sanded down for paint to match the drum. @Kanyon71 will be laser beaming the plate that goes on the front of it.



Long post and a bit of my heart on my sleeve, but I wanted to share with this community - I hold it in pretty high regard.

Thanks a ton.

For me it was just cooking and running low on sleep. Nothing I couldn't handle .

Happy to be a part of it.

I think everyone involved felt really good about how the day went. Adriana couldn't come as she's still going through treatment. Some of her family did, though. They were so appreciative of everything and were excited to go report back to Adriana. Of course, we sent them off with a massive pile of BBQ . She was top of everyone's mind all day long. Liver cancer is a grim thing to be diagnosed with, but Adriana will give it all she's got. Great kid with a good spirit. We're all pulling for her.

We appreciate your support, too. Rest assured that we will continue to get involved in things like this whenever we can .

 

Got my On Point Friday so put a heavy coating on some pork chops last night. Damn good.

 

Brined for a few hours (salt/pepper/garlic/brown sugar) then over hickory at 375-400 with a rosemary sprig. Pretty damn tasty.

 

Sorry to hear about your grandma. Lots of good memories though. That’s what’s important to have. No matter the age life is too short. My grandfather had the same issue and I was always comforted to know his last months were good ones.

Now on to the hotdogs. You should have put them on the smoker just because. I’m glad it was all a success. Then again when a bunch of good people come together for a good cause there is little doubt in my mind that good things will come of it.

 

There are going to be stories to tell later in September when the family gets together, that's for sure.

Not pictured, but I brought my little keg smoker out there and I did smoke most of the hotdogs .

I rolled them across the hot part of the Weber to get a little color and some grill marks, then put them in the keg at about 225* with cherry wood to continue cooking and keep warm. Funny you thought of that. Great minds thinking alike and all .

 

Magazine quality photo, there. Looks great!

 

Yes! Love seeing the On Point start to trickle out there.

I've always been huge on using Meat Massage on my pork chops, but On Point is starting to win me over on that front. I love a good savory chop.

Looks fantastic!