Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

That's not limited to just Austin!

 

Still can't get over Frank Beard... Not having a beard...

 

No such thing as overly hoppy beer.


It’s like saying too much bacon!

 

I actually remember watching this movie. With a young Melanie Griffith I didn't think it was too bad for an apocalyptic movie. But I didn't remember those Glen blue kettles. Might have something to do with coming of age in the late 60's through mid 70's.

 

Success Wasn't hard at all. Just took almost 2 hours because I'm old.

 

Good job. Like I said they are usually pretty easy now. Especially if replacing one. When I had my house built I had someone else install mine because there was nothing there and I didn’t want to run the wires and all that. I did the upgrade on mine after the fact so I could monitor and control them through an app.

 

Pastrami day!

Brisket flat trimmed and in a brine a week ago.


After four days, turning daily.


Pulled it out last night, let it dry overnight, then mustard and dry rub this morning. Into the smoker!


Smoked to stall, and now steaming on the stovetop. Hopefully it turns out! I over smoked a batch I made a couple years ago and just now trying it again. Only smoked it for 3.5 hours this time. Will steam until it’s 200 degrees or so, rest and slice.

 

Looking good.

 

Looks great

 

Ah ha! That explains the shallow bowl of the freebie kettle I found at the side of the road. I was curious why I never saw that shape before, now I know. I use mine when I want the charcoal closer to the grates (skirt steak comes to mind). Can’t beat the price of free at least lol

 

What makes a pastrami is the rub.. which is coriander and black pepper based.. and I definitely don't think you can over smoke one.

Definitely want to use freshly cracked coriander and freshly cracked black pepper too.

Pastrami Rub

 

I used both in my rub.

 

I usually cheat and get an already corned beef and transform that into pastrami... Good on you for going the whole way with yours!

 

Hell you must be old I am 62 and replaced my old Craftsman last winter in an hour and a half with a belt drive including track and mounting brackets plus had it hooked up to the WiFi and internet gateway.

Just kidding it took me around 2 hours also and I finally broke down and bought one of those heavy duty ladders that extend and contorts to "unnatural" shapes. Because I figured I no longer would bounce if I fell but break something when I hit the deck instead. SOB is heavy though when I picked it up my first thought was Holy Crap are you sure you want something this heavy?! And solid, yeah I do...

Nice job!

Agree about the springs one of mine broke a few months ago and did not hesitate to call a garage door company. Just over $100 and I still have all my fingers and limbs. Worth every penny.

My house was built in the late 60's so all the wiring was already done easy retrofit for me. On the other hand running Cat 5 every where I first moved in took me almost a week. And now WiFi at, erh never mind

My wrists still hurt from the last one I did a few years ago. Really need to break down and get one of those electric grinders.

 

I had my house wired up as it was built for most everything. Completely forgot about putting in the wires for the eyes for the opener.

 

It’s pretty delicious. Could have brined another day, there’s a sliver of meat in the middle of the thick end not cured. But the smoke and salt is right on and there’s plenty of heat from the rub.

 

Looks really good. I’ve not tried from scratch pastrami. Going to have to give it a go sooner or later.

 

I feel like I don’t belong. I drink bud, not a beer fan. I eat like maybe 4 lb bacon per year total. Not a huge bacon guy. Not a big red meat guy. I do love me some pork butt though.

pastrami is one of my favorites despite not being a big red meat guy. But I think a reason is because of how often I have it, the moderation keeps the heart fond. There’s a Katz’s deli in CT I was going to hit on my road trip but they were closed (long term closed for COVID) I was so sad. Reins deli is out there though, that’s only about an hour from home so I might make the trek one day when I’m bored and need something to do. Maybe in the winter - come to think of it though I’ll be out that way in Hartford area for a training in Q1 next year

 

Damn it’s about 40min away and she won’t hold it until I get there. I’m sure it was just user error/grease fire

@Misplaced Nebraskan