Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

Thought you would have eaten it by now.

 

Oh yeah, you’re looking at a ten (ish) hour cook at 225. Should have the same softness as a brisket between 195-205, but go on the room-temp-butter method

 

Watched a reel last night of a guy smoking flank steak, looked phenomenal. I'm hoping to try it soon. Only thing I didn't like was him having to use a searing gun/flamethrower on it. Seems like cheating somehow?

 

I've done flank on my smoker but could never get the sear I wanted. This freaking griddle is a cheat code.

 

A smoker isn't for searing though

 

100% but my smoker can get up to 600° and I'm able to sear on it but it doesn't come close to the sear from the griddle.

 

Agreed, flank isn't for a smoker imo. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

 

Too low of a fat or blue skin content for a slow dry heat. Rare dry heat or braised.

 

Smoking a couple butts for my sons 4th birthday. He loves when I make some “smoked meat”. First time using the new Meaters.

 

I need to skim through this thread now that I've dove into smoking. I get bulk beef every year from a family ranch and generally grill or smoke simple stuff. I've also smoked some venison jerky and some elk. I have some brisket I'm going to try to smoke this weekend starting with a 4 and half pound cut of flat brisket. Any quick tips? I have a simple PitBoss, nothing fancy.

 

Watch some YouTube videos on brisket flats. Take notes during your cook to reference next time you do brisket. What did you season with, what pellets, temp, time, wrap vs. unwrapped, etc.

 

All done

 

Starting some pork with a wet chili rub.

 

Pig shots and queso ready for a neighbor’s meet-n-greet deal tomorrow.

My pig shots (the picture is a double batch)

- 16 oz. (single 2 pack) Eckrich Farms skinless/casingless sausage (flavor of your choosing)
- 16 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz. sharp cheddar, grated
- 1 cup diced pickled jalapeños. This is subjective to your taste. I err on the side of too spicy to get the leftovers
- seasoning of your choice (I use my fajita seasoning)
- 1-1.5 lbs. thiccc cut bacon. You need the structure. I use Costco’s thick cut center bacon because it’s gluten free. This measurement is subjective - a half slice of bacon per sausage round. Plan accordingly.

THE NIGHT BEFORE - this helps harden the bacon into shape. Very important.

Mix up your filling (cheeses, jalapeños, seasoning). Taste and season as you see fit (start with less jalapeños and work your way up until desired tangy spice).

Slice sausage into 1/4” rounds. You’ll get about 32, perfect for the 1.5 lb. package of bacon I mentioned (16 slices).

Place the sausage round flat on your working surface, wrap the bacon (meat side down, as best as possible) around the sausage, and toothpick through the ends and other side.

Fill a ziploc with your cheese mixture, cut the tip, and pipe in 1/2-2/3 of the way to the top (cream cheese expands, give it room). Refrigerate overnight.

Season the outside of the bacon 2 hours before smoke.

Bacon is another subjective topic. I run 225-250 for 1-3 hours, depending on how thick the bacon is or how the pit is actually treating me. I don’t want extra crispy on these, I want rendered and one bite soft, but not chewy. Bank on 2 hours with a few brews in the cooler to tie you over

I'm sorry if I missed anything, I’m running on little sleep this week.

 

Why would bacon contain gluten?

 

The cures can often contain spices with wheat or wheat products as anti caking agents. Some get sauces/syrups using wheat or wheat products as thickeners.

 

Why is there wheat in Werthers and Twizzlers? To annoy the celiacs.

 

Yup, think I need some of that in my life.

 

Side quest.

In 2024, or 3, not sure exactly when, the regulations around Soy changed. Now, if you had soy-adjacent stuff, the controls to keep soy out were way more dramatic, more inspections, more controls, etc.

Instead, companies said "Oh, we have to have controls if there's no soy in the meals....? Let's just add Soy!"

So as of late, if you are allergic to soy, check the ingredients lists again. So many things were changed to add soy, because if it's part of the recipe, it doesn't have to be controlled as an allergen.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/food-...-update-allergen-statements-by-january-1-2023