I cut out the coppa muscle in a pork butt yesterday and started the curing process to make capicola. The rest went into my little Smokin- It model 1, with a liberal rub of Meat Church Holy Voodoo. I don't normally go for commercial rubs, but this is really good; a nice balance of sweet and heat. After 11 hours in pecan smoke (much longer than I thought it would go) it came out beautifully.
Making tacos al pastor from scratch this weekend. Will be a horizontal rotary instead of a vertical one, though.
@mneeley490 posted:Making tacos al pastor from scratch this weekend. Will be a horizontal rotary instead of a vertical one, though.
are you going to catch the drippings and rebaste it through out the cook instead for same affect?
Do you use pineapples?
@g-man posted:are you going to catch the drippings and rebaste it through out the cook instead for same affect?
Do you use pineapples?
Yes to both, and if the heat evaporates the drippings, then I'll be spritzing with pineapple juice.
T bones.
@mneeley490 posted:Making tacos al pastor from scratch this weekend. Will be a horizontal rotary instead of a vertical one, though.
Came out pretty good.
Glad to hear it worked out mneeley. I might have to give that a try, although my kids bought me a vertical rotisserie for Christmas I have yet to use...
This weekend smoking a prime rib which will be served with a homemade ramp butter. Also made some Armardillo Eggs to throw in the smoker as an appetizer.
VM
Got a nice chuck roast going on the pellet smoker with Holy Voodoo rub.
Aaron Franklin smokes his brisket at 250°. Lots of people like it.
I tend to get better results at 225°-230°.
Nice and sunny today, so bit of a last minute decision to make smoked Spatchcocked jerk chicken. Rubbed chicken with a thin layer of olive oil and then added a dry jerk rub. Set up the Weber kettle for indirect cooking, with 3/4 of a chimney of lit coals on one side, chicken on the other.
Smoked at 190 (375f) until internal temp reached. I like to have the legs facing towards the coals, as I want to take them further than the breast.
I made the flat breads out of yogurt and flour, about a 50/50 mix, cooked in a pan for a minute each side. I made a simple tzatziki style sauce, out of yogurt, grated cucumber, garlic, lemon juice, mint, olive oil, salt and pepper. Worked really well with the hot and spicy chicken.
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Started an 8 lb pork butt at 4am this morning, at 250° in my Smokin' It Model 1, with cherry wood. As of 1pm, the IT is 180°, so still about another 25° to go. Smells wonderful though.
Greet minds think alike. I put an 8 lb on at 5 AM Sunday morning at 225 (hit 250 for a long while and shortly at 275 until I got it back down). Mix of 2/3 apple wood and 1/3 hickory. 4 hours smoke. Wrapped for another 5. Pulled at 2 PM after it hit 193 internal and a fork would insert and twist as well as the bone would twist when checked.
Mr Brown Sucor Rub overnight and second rubbed 30 minutes before hitting the smoker coming up to room temp.
Pulled at 9 hours right before re-wrapped and placed in a cooler to stand for 2 more hours.
Approximately 6+ lbs of pulled porky the pig goodness.
My pork butt ended up going 12 hours. Pulled at 205°. Used Eat BBQ-The Most Powerful Stuff rub. Turned out to be one of the tastiest I think I've ever done.
Tonight is a 2.5 lb cowboy ribeye. Will be bringing it up to 110° on my pellet grill, then sear over charcoal on the Weber. Sweet spot for me is between med-rare & medium. (There is a high-end steakhouse in Seattle that nails it every time. Still not sure how they manage that.)
Looking to see if there are any smoking fans in the area. I've been a huge fan of smoked food for many years now, a buddy of mine purchased a smoker 2 years ago and I'm jealous. Looking to purchase a smoker at some point this year, was wondering if anyone had some advice and opinions on what is a good beginner's smoker I can buy and learn with. I've already been told not to cook Brisket on my first try.
@mneeley490 posted:Came out pretty good.
wow that looks incredible
@Ahsan posted:Looking to see if there are any smoking fans in the area. I've been a huge fan of smoked food for many years now, a buddy of mine purchased a smoker 2 years ago and I'm jealous. Looking to purchase a smoker at some point this year, was wondering if anyone had some advice and opinions on what is a good beginner's smoker I can buy and learn with. I've already been told not to cook Brisket on my first try.
you've already asked many times and have replied to yourself what you were trying to sell to the google search links.
I'm up at 6am, going to the in-laws later today. Right now I'm smoking a 10 lb prime rib, that last night was doused in Worchestershire and seasonings, and left to dry in the fridge overnight. I will accompany it with a smokey au jus that is so good, I will include it here. It was developed by a good friend, and great chef, who sadly passed on earlier this year. Do try it, the taste is unbelievable. I have been known to drink it from a shot glass.
Smokey Au Jus for Beef
1 lg onion
4-5 carrots
3-4 ribs celery
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Toss in pan under the beef, and let smoke for 1 hour. The purpose of smoking the vegetables for 1 hour before adding the broth and herbs is it will concentrate their flavors and sweetness, giving the finished au jus a richer, deeper, full flavor.
After 1 hour, add:
4-6 cups beef broth
2 T. tomato paste
1/2 t. dry Thyme, or 4-5 sprigs fresh
1-2 bay leaf
Finish smoking beef to internal temperature desired.
While roast is resting, pour contents into 2-3 qt. sauce pan and add 1 cup red wine. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Strain, and skim off fat.
The Au Jus can be served as is, or thickened to make a gravy.
6.5 pound brisket on the smoker now
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M & A -- I love reading what you guys are doing with beef (above). I don't have a smoker, but am fortunate to have friends with good kitchen skills, and they do, so I'm not deprived.
I'd be hard pressed to have to choose between those 2 cuts for smoking. It's really hard to beat a good prime rib, but the sandwiches that follow the day after half the brisket has been consumed... Oy vey! 
Briskets for me, are usually overnight affairs, and I'm wiped the next day. So that's why I went with the PR. That only took about 4 hours.
Took some prime NY strips to a dinner our friends hosted, that live 10 mins away. Did my usual routine of salting and drying for several days in the fridge, put them on the smoker at lowest setting (125-130 degrees) for a couple hours, then 2 mins/side (flipping every min) on a piping hot cast iron. Wrapped in foil and rested on the drive to our friends’ house. On a table next to various dishes of clams in black bean sauce, teriyaki salmon, Chinese roast duck and BBQ pork, guess which dish people repeatedly came back to and finished first? “How’d you get that nice crust/char on the outside, like the steakhouses do?” was the universal question I got.
Now the friends want me to do the same treatment every time they make prime rib going forwards……
@Insight posted:Took some prime NY strips to a dinner our friends hosted, that live 10 mins away. Did my usual routine of salting and drying for several days in the fridge, put them on the smoker at lowest setting (125-130 degrees) for a couple hours, then 2 mins/side (flipping every min) on a piping hot cast iron.
I did a similar treatment (minus the smoker this time.) Dry aged a prime NY strip loin in an Umai bag for 28 days. (If you haven't tried these bags, look them up. They're practically foolproof for dry-aging and charcuterie.)
Sliced about eleven 1" steaks, and trimmed the dry edges. Vac-packed and froze 8 of them, then sprinkled the remaining 3 with coarse salt to dry brine for a couple hours. Put a cast iron pan in the oven at 500° for a half hour, then on a med-high burner with 1/2 stick of butter & sprig of thyme. In went the steaks for a minute or so on each side, and then butter-basted for another couple minutes. Restaurant quality at a fraction of the price.
@mneeley490 posted:I did a similar treatment (minus the smoker this time.) Dry aged a prime NY strip loin in an Umai bag for 28 days. (If you haven't tried these bags, look them up. They're practically foolproof for dry-aging and charcuterie.)
Sliced about eleven 1" steaks, and trimmed the dry edges. Vac-packed and froze 8 of them, then sprinkled the remaining 3 with coarse salt to dry brine for a couple hours. Put a cast iron pan in the oven at 500° for a half hour, then on a med-high burner with 1/2 stick of butter & sprig of thyme epoxy flooring charlotte. In went the steaks for a minute or so on each side, and then butter-basted for another couple minutes. Restaurant quality at a fraction of the price.
sounds fantastic
@Vino Me posted:Over the last month I've done the following in the smoker:
Ribeye Roast- Tied with butchers twine. Coated with olive oil and minced garlic and then a simple rub was applied floor preparation orlando. Smoked with manzanita wood. Cooked to rare/medium rare. About 135 degrees internal.
Meatloaf- Wrapped a meatloaf in a bacon weave and smoked it using grapevine wood for about 2.5 hours. Applied a pineapple/habenero bbq glaze and smoked for another hour to about 165 internal.
VM
Good afternoon all. My name is Anthony and this is my first post. I have been smoking meats for about 3 years now. I started with a chargriller trio and was then gifted a Traeger pro 575. I always enjoyed the taste of wood and charcoal and wish to go back to it. However, the quality of the chargriller is terrible and the metal is thin which makes it way too hard to maintain temperatures. I am wondering whether or not at this point to get a gateway drum or another offset. I am on Long Island and have no local access to quality offsets nearby. Can anyone help me make the right decision. I routinely smoke pork butts, brisket, ribs, turkey and schweinshaxe
I have President's Day off, so I am smoking some beef back ribs on the pellet grill. Now to find a nice cab, or possibly even a zin.
Short Ribs today