Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Been too long, 9 months since I smoked anything on my own smoker. First cook at the new house.

Pork belly and some chicken breasts on the kettle, charcoal and hickory for some smoke. Belly is at 165F, pulling at 200F then shredding for sandwiches.

 

I'm looking to get a 26" Weber but they're saying a month or two for delivery. Looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer for my first BBQ at the new house.

 

damn.

go check Facebook Craigslist etc. people buy these things all the time not knowing what they do or how to use them and sell them after a year. I’ve gotten a few cast iron pans that way.

 

Nice mark down on pork butts at one of our local Sam's. Use or freeze by July 30th. I can do that for 47% off.

 

I'm going to take a crack at smoked wings this weekend. I found a brine recipe to try and will go with a very basic dry rub.

 

Mr Moneybags over here

Yeah - if first time, keep it simple - also keep in mind brine will cut down your cooking time a bit too.

 

are wings expensive? Aldi usually has a decent price on them?

 

Usually cheap here

 

(a) per pound, wings are usually more expensive anyway and (b) https://www.concordmonitor.com/chicken-wings-supply-chain-shortage-41549739

I just do whole chickens, I freeze the wings and usually do them every 2/3 chickens, sometimes I just chuck em back in the freezer after I cook them and just use them for stock. I'm not a huge wing guy (I know, I'm weird). I go for the leg quarters mostly, and then chicken salad/cutlets from the breasts.

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Im making something for my lunches for the week so wings pack easily. I've done thighs. I need to see if my Publix can get in quarters, those would be good

 

i just do whole chickens. Two quarters two breasts two wings and then a carcass to make stock.

 

Smoked Spatchcocked Chicken with Red Miso Butter Corn and Smoked Ranch Potatoes

 

Yumm

 

well, I shouldn’t have used the rub I found. Too spicy for me. I don’t like my lips to tingle after eating. I think I’ll look for a different rub next time, get wings for Publix since Aldi wings are kinda tiny looking st them, and try again.

or just do a whole chicken since it is my lunch for the week. I could also do chicken breasts for pulled chicken Sammiches. But I could do the same with a whole bird and just chop it up into a hash, drizzle a little sauce on it and put it on a bun. Yep, should have done that

 

The Publix wings are my goto. They have never disappointed.

 

Oh for sure but Publix wings are where money bags McGee would have to be my alter ego.

 

Party wings and pork loin

 

Our new house has a gas line to the back porch for a grill. Should we get another Genesis or just go to all charcoal?

Still haven't decided on a new smoker yet but we have room for both. Kinda. I was strongly considering a 26" kettle to have one tool for everything but it looks like they won't be available for another couple of months. I'm not sure a 22" would do the trick and then we'd still need a dedicated smoker.

 

I put a gas line on the porch of a house that I recently built for myself and I find myself using the gas grill quite often. It's nice to have something quick and easy for stuff like burgers and dogs.

In my mind I have the perfect setup - a gas grill for the quick stuff, a kettle that will do just about anything, and a WSM for those long, low and slow cooks. It's good to have a variety.

 

That's my usual - Whole chicken, quarter it. The leg quarters are great to smoke.

$$$$$

If you already have the gas line there, to me that's a no brainer. As much as I love charcoal grilling, some times you just want to get your shit on the grill and make dinner.