Food Smokers and Smoking Tips/Tricks/Techniques

To be honest, my next grill will probably be a Primo Oval XL. I'll always keep the Traeger, but I want a ceramic.

http://www.primogrill.com/en-us/products/grills

 

The sell by dates are really close to "going off" - fry it or freeze it for red meat.
I'm done with "Manager Special" labels especially for chicken but if the date is close I'll buy and use same day...

 

Yeah if I ever did go to a ceramic for me it would boil down to either the Primo Oval XL or the Kamado Big Joe with the edge to the Primo IMO.

Would have to reinforce the deck to use it though LOL. I can't really justify it to myself though. It is down to -9 right now and the WSM is running at 250* steady without the silicone jacket and the stacker on it.

I have found even at Costco that is true. They almost always only have 2-3 days from the time they set it out on the beef here. Just one time I waited until 2 days after the sell by date and it was really starting to go downhill. Still the best prices, and some of the best cuts in town. But I vac seal and freeze as soon as I get home what I am not going to cook that night now. Chicken sometimes has a couple of weeks especially wings.

 

What makes a ceramic different/special?

 

Heat retention mostly, plus they look cool.

http://www.firepit-and-grilling-guru.com/ceramic-grills.html

 

Costco had some great deals on Kamado Joe's last weekend, my wife even said if I really really want one to get one.

But, I have a lot of truck parts I want, and $1k for a grill gives me a small panic attack.

 

It’s why I don’t have one yet, plus I already have a Traeger.

 

Does it allow you to use significantly less charcoal?

 

supposed to

 

But if you grill more then not really? LOL

 

I laugh every time I see your WSM, it looks like R2-D-BBQ is on life support.

 

It used lump charcoal. I smoked 3 racks of ribs one weekend and a Boston butt on another and never replenished the lump charcoal. Ceramic also helps with moisture without adding a water pan (Supposed to).

 

well if you are grilling more on a different grill that uses more charcoal to begin with then you would be double the usage.

 

Ceramic is the way to go. My large BGE with a small bag of Royal Oak (something like 8.8lbs of lump) set at 225* will burn and maintain 225 for around 40 hours. It is also unaffected by temp and weather.

 

@Woundedyak said something like this awhile back, he has a Primo oval.

 

All the cool folk have smoker droids

 

Yep Droid uses Unite LOL!

As long as I was smoking last night grilled the 2 lb. of raw shrimp that I marinated in @Aloha Scout soy and brown sugar sauce. Freaking awesome doesn't even begin to describe how they turned out! On grillgrates of course.





The ribeye that I sliced thin stacked with green peppers and onion on a PBC skewer, the largest one they sell.



Cooked at 250* for 3.5 hours directly over coals. The smell and smoke from the dripping fat imparted a flavor much like a Brazilian steakhouse.



Only hit 135* internal temp. in the ball of meat after 3.5 hours and wasn't going to stay up any longer freezing my ass off. Son likes the meat cooked more than that but when I took it off was about a perfect medium rare. The bottom piece and several of the outer edges were black. Not really burnt but toasted. And tasted like meat candy with the Dr. Pepper marinade.

Let it sit in the fridge all night and chopped it up this morning. Took a smaller glass dish and added some grated cheddar cheese



and cooked in the toaster oven for half an hour at 300*. While that was heating up heated up some butter and a lot of garlic oil then made some Texas toast with English Muffin bread.



Plated



The combination of everything together was perfect including the Dr. Pepper marinate. Now excuse me I gotta pee....

 

Black Forest Maple Bacon.............Done.

10 day in cure
4 days coated in maple sugar
4 day rest in fridge to equalize and dry out the surface
44 hours of smoke over a 4 day period
3 day hanging aging

It turned out AWESOME. Glad I have another 12-1/2 pound slab curing as this will not last long.

 

You are one creative cat.

 

So I need to find me a decent electric smoker whether its pellet style or chip style doesnt matter. Looking for something I can fire up and smoke some smaller cuts of quick meats, jerky, peppers etc also for days Im smoking large meat so I dont occupy space in the big smoker.