***Official 2013 Grilling and Smoking Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[Bigboy10182000]

I still stand that Thighs folded and pinned are the cat's meow for poultry on the grill.. I don't know that I'll ever cook full leg quarters or drummies again. Smoking/Frying I think I still prefer wings.. but I think I'm a thigh man overall now.

How do you cook them?

 

[Tony Jabroni]

Leg quarters tonight--Salt/Pepper/Garlic powder/Tony Chachere

Kingsford Mesquite and some Apple chips.

Hungry now.

F'n fantastic. Will most likely poop myself in the next 30 mins. Just stuffed.

 

[pollardsvision]

Keerock, I haven't tried it yet, but I just started reading about the "snake" or "ring of fire" method for smoking on a Kettle. It sounds pretty intriguing and I'm going to try it soon. My mind's a little blown and I'm a upset I didn't come up with this (assuming it works, which it seems like it would)

It's pretty much a ring of charcoal (and wood chips) running around the outer perimeter of the charcoal grate (80% of the way, not connected). Water pan in the middle. You light one end and the fire walks itself all the way around the perimeter.

People are claiming to get consistent 250ish temps for as much 8 or even 12 hours, never lifting the lid.

Here is one description from a thread at BBQ Brethren:

I have come up with a method to cook on a 22 1/2 silver for up to 12 hours without lifting the lid or adding more coals. I'm not sure if I should tell the method here. What the heck, here is my method, sorry no pics. First line the outside of the kettle with a row of kingsford, lay them flat. Don't connect the ring leave about 6 inches between the coals. Then add another row to the inside of the first row but stand them on edge leaning against the first row. Add a third row on top of the first and then a forth row. You will use about 150 coals. After making your ring put a water pan in the middle and add liquid. Place your wood chips on top of the coals throughout the ring. To get started light only about 10 inches of the coals on one side of the gap in the ring. Let coals get ashed over and add meat to grill. Put on lid and leave alone. This configuration should run about 225-275 degrees for 12 hours. I leave the bottom vents all open and the top as well. If the temp starts to get high I will close the top vent. The coals will continue to light and the fire will walk around the ring.

Good luck. I have used this method many times and have done shoulders and briskets this way. They turn out great. On one occasion I cooked a brisket while I went fishing all day. Started the grill at 5am and the meat was done at 5pm without adding coals or lifting the lid.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81499&page=2

Another thread on the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board with lots of pics:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle

 

[Tony Jabroni]

Keerock, I haven't tried it yet, but I just started reading about the "snake" or "ring of fire" method for smoking on a Kettle. It sounds pretty intriguing and I'm going to try it soon. My mind's a little blown and I'm a upset I didn't come up with this (assuming it works, which it seems like it would)

It's pretty much a ring of charcoal (and wood chips) running around the outer perimeter of the charcoal grate (80% of the way, not connected). Water pan in the middle. You light one end and the fire walks itself all the way around the perimeter.

People are claiming to get consistent 250ish temps for as much 8 or even 12 hours, never lifting the lid.

Here is one description from a thread at BBQ Brethren:

I have come up with a method to cook on a 22 1/2 silver for up to 12 hours without lifting the lid or adding more coals. I'm not sure if I should tell the method here. What the heck, here is my method, sorry no pics. First line the outside of the kettle with a row of kingsford, lay them flat. Don't connect the ring leave about 6 inches between the coals. Then add another row to the inside of the first row but stand them on edge leaning against the first row. Add a third row on top of the first and then a forth row. You will use about 150 coals. After making your ring put a water pan in the middle and add liquid. Place your wood chips on top of the coals throughout the ring. To get started light only about 10 inches of the coals on one side of the gap in the ring. Let coals get ashed over and add meat to grill. Put on lid and leave alone. This configuration should run about 225-275 degrees for 12 hours. I leave the bottom vents all open and the top as well. If the temp starts to get high I will close the top vent. The coals will continue to light and the fire will walk around the ring.

Good luck. I have used this method many times and have done shoulders and briskets this way. They turn out great. On one occasion I cooked a brisket while I went fishing all day. Started the grill at 5am and the meat was done at 5pm without adding coals or lifting the lid.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81499&page=2

Another thread on the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board with lots of pics:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle

This really works. Good luck.

 

[Keerock]

I started ribs on my kettle at 11am. Temp holding at 250... I'm amazed. Smelling GOOD!!

Trying to cook 3 slabs (each cut in half) on a Kettle. Pretty snug fit even with a rack.

 

[pollardsvision]

Keerock, I haven't tried it yet, but I just started reading about the "snake" or "ring of fire" method for smoking on a Kettle. It sounds pretty intriguing and I'm going to try it soon. My mind's a little blown and I'm a upset I didn't come up with this (assuming it works, which it seems like it would)

It's pretty much a ring of charcoal (and wood chips) running around the outer perimeter of the charcoal grate (80% of the way, not connected). Water pan in the middle. You light one end and the fire walks itself all the way around the perimeter.

People are claiming to get consistent 250ish temps for as much 8 or even 12 hours, never lifting the lid.

Here is one description from a thread at BBQ Brethren:

I have come up with a method to cook on a 22 1/2 silver for up to 12 hours without lifting the lid or adding more coals. I'm not sure if I should tell the method here. What the heck, here is my method, sorry no pics. First line the outside of the kettle with a row of kingsford, lay them flat. Don't connect the ring leave about 6 inches between the coals. Then add another row to the inside of the first row but stand them on edge leaning against the first row. Add a third row on top of the first and then a forth row. You will use about 150 coals. After making your ring put a water pan in the middle and add liquid. Place your wood chips on top of the coals throughout the ring. To get started light only about 10 inches of the coals on one side of the gap in the ring. Let coals get ashed over and add meat to grill. Put on lid and leave alone. This configuration should run about 225-275 degrees for 12 hours. I leave the bottom vents all open and the top as well. If the temp starts to get high I will close the top vent. The coals will continue to light and the fire will walk around the ring.

Good luck. I have used this method many times and have done shoulders and briskets this way. They turn out great. On one occasion I cooked a brisket while I went fishing all day. Started the grill at 5am and the meat was done at 5pm without adding coals or lifting the lid.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81499&page=2

Another thread on the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board with lots of pics:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle

This really works. Good luck.

Giving it a shot this afternoon. I wish there'd be some way to do it for 2 butts, but I just don't think that would work. I'm hoping it'll be great for brisket or a single butt though.

 

[Keerock]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

 

[pollardsvision]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

 

[Keerock]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[[icon]]

I still stand that Thighs folded and pinned are the cat's meow for poultry on the grill.. I don't know that I'll ever cook full leg quarters or drummies again. Smoking/Frying I think I still prefer wings.. but I think I'm a thigh man overall now.

How do you cook them?

On the grill. Indirect face up for 30-40 mins till most of the way cooked then finish for ~5 mins face down direct to crisp up the skin.

 

[Keerock]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

The ribs came out OK. Fairly happy for my first try. A couple of things I'll try to improve on:

1) I think 3 full slabs of spares is too much for my Kettle. Next time I'll try 2, or try baby backs

2) My first three hours probably should have been at a higher temp... hovered around 225

3) They were drier than I'd hoped. I think that might be because I put them in a pan instead of individually foiling them. There was maybe 3 cups of drippings in the pan.

4) The ribs were "thicker" than I'm used to. I think I need to be more careful picking them out.

All-in-All

 

[pollardsvision]

Keerock, I haven't tried it yet, but I just started reading about the "snake" or "ring of fire" method for smoking on a Kettle. It sounds pretty intriguing and I'm going to try it soon. My mind's a little blown and I'm a upset I didn't come up with this (assuming it works, which it seems like it would)

It's pretty much a ring of charcoal (and wood chips) running around the outer perimeter of the charcoal grate (80% of the way, not connected). Water pan in the middle. You light one end and the fire walks itself all the way around the perimeter.

People are claiming to get consistent 250ish temps for as much 8 or even 12 hours, never lifting the lid.

Here is one description from a thread at BBQ Brethren:

I have come up with a method to cook on a 22 1/2 silver for up to 12 hours without lifting the lid or adding more coals. I'm not sure if I should tell the method here. What the heck, here is my method, sorry no pics. First line the outside of the kettle with a row of kingsford, lay them flat. Don't connect the ring leave about 6 inches between the coals. Then add another row to the inside of the first row but stand them on edge leaning against the first row. Add a third row on top of the first and then a forth row. You will use about 150 coals. After making your ring put a water pan in the middle and add liquid. Place your wood chips on top of the coals throughout the ring. To get started light only about 10 inches of the coals on one side of the gap in the ring. Let coals get ashed over and add meat to grill. Put on lid and leave alone. This configuration should run about 225-275 degrees for 12 hours. I leave the bottom vents all open and the top as well. If the temp starts to get high I will close the top vent. The coals will continue to light and the fire will walk around the ring.

Good luck. I have used this method many times and have done shoulders and briskets this way. They turn out great. On one occasion I cooked a brisket while I went fishing all day. Started the grill at 5am and the meat was done at 5pm without adding coals or lifting the lid.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81499&page=2

Another thread on the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board with lots of pics:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle

This really works. Good luck.

For my first trial, it's been about 7.5 hours and the temp is at 275 with about another 6 inches of unlit coals coming up.

The stuff I read said leave the vents open, but that didn't work for me in this trial. Temps were cruising at 300 and even hit 350 for a couple of hours. Closing the bottom vent to 1/8th inch finally got it down to 275.

 

[Keerock]

Keerock, I haven't tried it yet, but I just started reading about the "snake" or "ring of fire" method for smoking on a Kettle. It sounds pretty intriguing and I'm going to try it soon. My mind's a little blown and I'm a upset I didn't come up with this (assuming it works, which it seems like it would)

It's pretty much a ring of charcoal (and wood chips) running around the outer perimeter of the charcoal grate (80% of the way, not connected). Water pan in the middle. You light one end and the fire walks itself all the way around the perimeter.

People are claiming to get consistent 250ish temps for as much 8 or even 12 hours, never lifting the lid.

Here is one description from a thread at BBQ Brethren:

I have come up with a method to cook on a 22 1/2 silver for up to 12 hours without lifting the lid or adding more coals. I'm not sure if I should tell the method here. What the heck, here is my method, sorry no pics. First line the outside of the kettle with a row of kingsford, lay them flat. Don't connect the ring leave about 6 inches between the coals. Then add another row to the inside of the first row but stand them on edge leaning against the first row. Add a third row on top of the first and then a forth row. You will use about 150 coals. After making your ring put a water pan in the middle and add liquid. Place your wood chips on top of the coals throughout the ring. To get started light only about 10 inches of the coals on one side of the gap in the ring. Let coals get ashed over and add meat to grill. Put on lid and leave alone. This configuration should run about 225-275 degrees for 12 hours. I leave the bottom vents all open and the top as well. If the temp starts to get high I will close the top vent. The coals will continue to light and the fire will walk around the ring.

Good luck. I have used this method many times and have done shoulders and briskets this way. They turn out great. On one occasion I cooked a brisket while I went fishing all day. Started the grill at 5am and the meat was done at 5pm without adding coals or lifting the lid.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81499&page=2

Another thread on the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board with lots of pics:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle

This really works. Good luck.

For my first trial, it's been about 7.5 hours and the temp is at 275 with about another 6 inches of unlit coals coming up.

The stuff I read said leave the vents open, but that didn't work for me in this trial. Temps were cruising at 300 and even hit 350 for a couple of hours. Closing the bottom vent to 1/8th inch finally got it down to 275.

 

[pollardsvision]

Keerock, I haven't tried it yet, but I just started reading about the "snake" or "ring of fire" method for smoking on a Kettle. It sounds pretty intriguing and I'm going to try it soon. My mind's a little blown and I'm a upset I didn't come up with this (assuming it works, which it seems like it would)

It's pretty much a ring of charcoal (and wood chips) running around the outer perimeter of the charcoal grate (80% of the way, not connected). Water pan in the middle. You light one end and the fire walks itself all the way around the perimeter.

People are claiming to get consistent 250ish temps for as much 8 or even 12 hours, never lifting the lid.

Here is one description from a thread at BBQ Brethren:

I have come up with a method to cook on a 22 1/2 silver for up to 12 hours without lifting the lid or adding more coals. I'm not sure if I should tell the method here. What the heck, here is my method, sorry no pics. First line the outside of the kettle with a row of kingsford, lay them flat. Don't connect the ring leave about 6 inches between the coals. Then add another row to the inside of the first row but stand them on edge leaning against the first row. Add a third row on top of the first and then a forth row. You will use about 150 coals. After making your ring put a water pan in the middle and add liquid. Place your wood chips on top of the coals throughout the ring. To get started light only about 10 inches of the coals on one side of the gap in the ring. Let coals get ashed over and add meat to grill. Put on lid and leave alone. This configuration should run about 225-275 degrees for 12 hours. I leave the bottom vents all open and the top as well. If the temp starts to get high I will close the top vent. The coals will continue to light and the fire will walk around the ring.

Good luck. I have used this method many times and have done shoulders and briskets this way. They turn out great. On one occasion I cooked a brisket while I went fishing all day. Started the grill at 5am and the meat was done at 5pm without adding coals or lifting the lid.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81499&page=2

Another thread on the Virtual Weber Bulletin Board with lots of pics:

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?35989-Snake-method-for-slow-and-low-cook-on-a-Weber-kettle

This really works. Good luck.

For my first trial, it's been about 7.5 hours and the temp is at 275 with about another 6 inches of unlit coals coming up.

The stuff I read said leave the vents open, but that didn't work for me in this trial. Temps were cruising at 300 and even hit 350 for a couple of hours. Closing the bottom vent to 1/8th inch finally got it down to 275.

Here was my initial set-up. No food, just a dry run.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40611072@N05/9283924943/

Not related, but here was last night's brisket getting started using the normal method (well, not normal for me, I was testing out just using one side).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40611072@N05/9276750738/

 

[Bull Dozier]

I know no one cares, but here's a quick rundown of how my BBQ went:

I used the small logs I got at the hardware store instead of the chucks I usually went with. For the money value, I will definitely be doing this again. What I discovered (and probably should have figured out) is that since it is a whole log, it creates a lot more heat because it catches fire and burns and keeps burning. I like it, but will have to be more careful with it. The temp got up to 400 for a small bit, and then took a long time to get back down under 300. Fortunately, it did not affect the final product.

I got the pork and brisket on the earliest I've ever done this, by 6 am (plan is to eat by 6:30 pm). I was a little disturbed when I got up out of bed to a thunderstorm, so I had to put the smoker just inside my garage door. My garage is weird, two of the walls are essentially just screened in, so the smoke didn't back up or anything. Worked fine.

This was the first year the meat got up to temp in enough time. I pull the meat with a couple of hours left to cook and finish in the over so I can put my apps (ABTs and Moink balls this year) on the smoker. Worked great. I had a hard time getting the pork out of the pain and wrapped in foil because it was just falling apart as I tried to pick it up with BBQ tongs. Had to use a spatula to keep it together. I could tell the brisket was nice and tender too.

After being wrapped for an hour, I pulled the pork and started to slice the brisket. Pork pulled as easily as I ever had, and it was spectacular. The brisket was just falling apart as I sliced it. The slices wouldn't stay together, it looked like it was chopped. Here's where I made my critical mistake. As it was getting close to meal time and I was a little rushed, I decided to pull it with my bear claws since it was so tender. That, you experienced brisket makers will realize more readily than me, was a huge mistake. Since I didn't cut it, I didn't break the fibers, so wil it tasted good, it was a little chewy. I had left overs the next day and choppped it up, and it was a lot better.

Moink balls were a hit. Thanks for the recomendation on that.

I made a new sauce, a strawberry habanero sauce that had strawberry jam, habanero tobasco, minced ginger, minced mint leaves, and a couple of other seasonings. Wow, that was amazing.

Over all it was a hit and I owe most of my recipes to this thread and fanatics site. Thanks guys!

 

[Buckfast 1]

I got some beer bratwursts and peach whiskey sausages from my local butcher over the weekend.

I cooked the brats last night on my gas grill with a smoker box and tried out a new technique that I thought worked well. I made a mop sauce out of beer (Great Divide Titan IPA), melted butter, and a little apple cider vinegar with some ground black pepper and other spices. Then, I just applied the beer butter mop sauce to the brats regularly throughout the cook. I thought that the beer butter mop sauce helped to give the casings a nice crispness and browned color while infusing the brat with some beer and spice flavors.

I am going to try the same thing tonight with the peach whiskey sausages tonight using a mop sauce of bourbon, fresh squeezed peach juice, butter, and spices.

 

[Tony Jabroni]

I got some beer bratwursts and peach whiskey sausages from my local butcher over the weekend.

I cooked the brats last night on my gas grill with a smoker box and tried out a new technique that I thought worked well. I made a mop sauce out of beer (Great Divide Titan IPA), melted butter, and a little apple cider vinegar with some ground black pepper and other spices. Then, I just applied the beer butter mop sauce to the brats regularly throughout the cook. I thought that the beer butter mop sauce helped to give the casings a nice crispness and browned color while infusing the brat with some beer and spice flavors.

I am going to try the same thing tonight with the peach whiskey sausages tonight using a mop sauce of bourbon, fresh squeezed peach juice, butter, and spices.

For your brat mop, try adding some italian seasoning. I love it and its worked well for me.

 

[Buckfast 1]

I got some beer bratwursts and peach whiskey sausages from my local butcher over the weekend.

I cooked the brats last night on my gas grill with a smoker box and tried out a new technique that I thought worked well. I made a mop sauce out of beer (Great Divide Titan IPA), melted butter, and a little apple cider vinegar with some ground black pepper and other spices. Then, I just applied the beer butter mop sauce to the brats regularly throughout the cook. I thought that the beer butter mop sauce helped to give the casings a nice crispness and browned color while infusing the brat with some beer and spice flavors.

I am going to try the same thing tonight with the peach whiskey sausages tonight using a mop sauce of bourbon, fresh squeezed peach juice, butter, and spices.

For your brat mop, try adding some italian seasoning. I love it and its worked well for me.

Yeah, I think some Italian herbs would definitely go well with the brat mop. I'll put some in my bourbon sausage mop tonight.

 

[E-Z Glider]

I got some beer bratwursts and peach whiskey sausages from my local butcher over the weekend.

I cooked the brats last night on my gas grill with a smoker box and tried out a new technique that I thought worked well. I made a mop sauce out of beer (Great Divide Titan IPA), melted butter, and a little apple cider vinegar with some ground black pepper and other spices. Then, I just applied the beer butter mop sauce to the brats regularly throughout the cook. I thought that the beer butter mop sauce helped to give the casings a nice crispness and browned color while infusing the brat with some beer and spice flavors.

I am going to try the same thing tonight with the peach whiskey sausages tonight using a mop sauce of bourbon, fresh squeezed peach juice, butter, and spices.

For your brat mop, try adding some italian seasoning. I love it and its worked well for me.

Yeah, I think some Italian herbs would definitely go well with the brat mop. I'll put some in my bourbon sausage mop tonight.

mopping brats sounds like an excuse to stand around the grill and drink more beer, NTTAWWT

 

[pollardsvision]

I got some beer bratwursts and peach whiskey sausages from my local butcher over the weekend.

I cooked the brats last night on my gas grill with a smoker box and tried out a new technique that I thought worked well. I made a mop sauce out of beer (Great Divide Titan IPA), melted butter, and a little apple cider vinegar with some ground black pepper and other spices. Then, I just applied the beer butter mop sauce to the brats regularly throughout the cook. I thought that the beer butter mop sauce helped to give the casings a nice crispness and browned color while infusing the brat with some beer and spice flavors.

I am going to try the same thing tonight with the peach whiskey sausages tonight using a mop sauce of bourbon, fresh squeezed peach juice, butter, and spices.

For your brat mop, try adding some italian seasoning. I love it and its worked well for me.

Yeah, I think some Italian herbs would definitely go well with the brat mop. I'll put some in my bourbon sausage mop tonight.

mopping brats sounds like an excuse to stand around the grill and drink more beer, NTTAWWT

Never mopped a brat, but it sounds good enough and gives me another random phrase to throw out to my wife when I crack a beer and head out to the grill.

 

[TobiasFunke]

My wife's got some pregnancy related iron deficiency thing so I've been on the hunt for cheap red meat recipes. Found this one recently, tried it yesterday, and it came out amazing. Prime rib-ish meal for like $5 a pound.

Top Sirloin Roast (3-4 lbs)

4 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 TBSP fresh rosemary, minced

Garlic, minced or pressed, whatever amount floats your boat (I went with 7-8 cloves pressed)

Combine all non-beef ingredients to make a rub. Apply rub to roast. Wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate at least overnight, up to 24 hours or so.

Fill chimney halfway with coals, light and burn as normal, place coals to one side of grill- I guess you could light one side of gas grill to med-high if you're cooking on gas. Remove Saran Wrap (duh) and place roast on grill directly above coals to sear- a couple minutes per side, ten minutes total.

While searing, grab a cheap aluminum roasting pan and poke a bunch of holes in the bottom of it. I just used a skewer and then pulled the skewer through to make the holes a little bigger. When searing is done, place roast in aluminum pan and put pan/roast on the cool side of the grill. Cover and cook for another 40-50 minutes, turning roast 180 degrees once halfway through. You're looking for 125-130 degrees internal temp on the roast.

Remove, let rest for a while, and slice thin. Maybe the best bang for the buck of any steak I've ever made.

 

[[icon]]

Mopping brats?!

 

[E-Z Glider]

My wife's got some pregnancy related iron deficiency thing so I've been on the hunt for cheap red meat recipes. Found this one recently, tried it yesterday, and it came out amazing. Prime rib-ish meal for like $5 a pound.

Top Sirloin Roast (3-4 lbs)

4 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 TBSP fresh rosemary, minced

Garlic, minced or pressed, whatever amount floats your boat (I went with 7-8 cloves pressed)

Combine all non-beef ingredients to make a rub. Apply rub to roast. Wrap in Saran Wrap and refrigerate at least overnight, up to 24 hours or so.

Fill chimney halfway with coals, light and burn as normal, place coals to one side of grill- I guess you could light one side of gas grill to med-high if you're cooking on gas. Remove Saran Wrap (duh) and place roast on grill directly above coals to sear- a couple minutes per side, ten minutes total.

While searing, grab a cheap aluminum roasting pan and poke a bunch of holes in the bottom of it. I just used a skewer and then pulled the skewer through to make the holes a little bigger. When searing is done, place roast in aluminum pan and put pan/roast on the cool side of the grill. Cover and cook for another 40-50 minutes, turning roast 180 degrees once halfway through. You're looking for 125-130 degrees internal temp on the roast.

Remove, let rest for a while, and slice thin. Maybe the best bang for the buck of any steak I've ever made.

Skirt steak is probably my favorite grilled red meat nowadays. It really soaks up the flavors of a marinade and gets a nice crispy crust over high heat. This Alton Brown Marinade is bangin. If you've never cooked/cut one, this will help too.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Skirt steak is probably my favorite grilled red meat nowadays. It really soaks up the flavors of a marinade and gets a nice crispy crust over high heat. This Alton Brown Marinade is bangin. If you've never cooked/cut one, this will help too.

I did a flank steak over the weekend. Think I'll try a skirt steak next. Thanks. Did you do the weird thing about putting the the steak on the coals from the Alton Brown recipe, or did you just use the marinade?

This iron deficiency thing is the best medical condition ever.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

I got some beer bratwursts and peach whiskey sausages from my local butcher over the weekend.

I cooked the brats last night on my gas grill with a smoker box and tried out a new technique that I thought worked well. I made a mop sauce out of beer (Great Divide Titan IPA), melted butter, and a little apple cider vinegar with some ground black pepper and other spices. Then, I just applied the beer butter mop sauce to the brats regularly throughout the cook. I thought that the beer butter mop sauce helped to give the casings a nice crispness and browned color while infusing the brat with some beer and spice flavors.

I am going to try the same thing tonight with the peach whiskey sausages tonight using a mop sauce of bourbon, fresh squeezed peach juice, butter, and spices.

For your brat mop, try adding some italian seasoning. I love it and its worked well for me.

Yeah, I think some Italian herbs would definitely go well with the brat mop. I'll put some in my bourbon sausage mop tonight.

mopping brats sounds like an excuse to stand around the grill and drink more beer, NTTAWWT

Never mopped a brat, but it sounds good enough and gives me another random phrase to throw out to my wife when I crack a beer and head out to the grill.

Buy good sausage and grill it over good charcoal. Don't overcook or it will dry out. Born / raised in Wisconsin; people here argue endlessly about the best way to do brats - soaking in beer before, after, different spices and mops. Its all a huge waste imo. The best brats I've ever had are grilled direct, naked. Drink the beer.

 

[Softballguy]

Buy good sausage and grill it over good charcoal. Don't overcook or it will dry out. Born / raised in Wisconsin; people here argue endlessly about the best way to do brats - soaking in beer before, after, different spices and mops. Its all a huge waste imo. The best brats I've ever had are grilled direct, naked. Drink the beer.

 

[E-Z Glider]

Skirt steak is probably my favorite grilled red meat nowadays. It really soaks up the flavors of a marinade and gets a nice crispy crust over high heat. This Alton Brown Marinade is bangin. If you've never cooked/cut one, this will help too.

I did a flank steak over the weekend. Think I'll try a skirt steak next. Thanks. Did you do the weird thing about putting the the steak on the coals from the Alton Brown recipe, or did you just use the marinade?

This iron deficiency thing is the best medical condition ever.

No, I just use the marinade and grill it direct/close/hot. Flank steak used to be my go-to on the rare occasions when we ate red meat, but I havent gone back after trying the skirt steak.

Its great paired with this BLT smashed potatoes recipe (which I think was also recommended here once upon a time?)

Man, now Im hungry.

 

[Megla]

I'm going to use the next few weekends to test cook some meals that I want to do during the upcoming NFL season.

Test Cook # 1-Low Country Boil

I have very little experience with this, so if there are those that have I would appreciate some feedback.

I know that I will use, fresh corn, small potatoes, andouille sausage, 21-25 ct shrimp, old bay or zatarans seasoning

Any thoughts on adding

Onions, lemons, softshell crab, carb legs, crawfish, any or all?

I'm also going to do a varity of chicken cordon blue, my thoughts are to go three routes, the traditional pan fry and finish in the oven, deep fry and smoke. Going to use combinations of, sweet ham, prosciutto and honey glzed hams along with swiss, pepper jack and cream cheese.

Going sweet ham/swiss for the traditional with maybe a rasberry chipotle glaze.

Going with several combinations for the deep fried and may include some minced jalopenas and then finish with a buffalo wing style glaze (using Franks and other things) and a Mango/Ginger/Habenreo glaze

Going to bacon weave and use several combos for the smoked and will try covering the chicken with mayo or apple sauce before I bacon wrap. I'll BBQ rub them and then finish with a sweet/heat BBQ sauce.

After the first cook I'll take what I like and tweek some more so that I have what I want for the first few weeks of the season to go along with what I've done over the past few years.

 

[The Commish]

I'm going to use the next few weekends to test cook some meals that I want to do during the upcoming NFL season.

Test Cook # 1-Low Country Boil

I have very little experience with this, so if there are those that have I would appreciate some feedback.

I know that I will use, fresh corn, small potatoes, andouille sausage, 21-25 ct shrimp, old bay or zatarans seasoning

Any thoughts on adding

Onions, lemons, softshell crab, carb legs, crawfish, any or all?

I'm also going to do a varity of chicken cordon blue, my thoughts are to go three routes, the traditional pan fry and finish in the oven, deep fry and smoke. Going to use combinations of, sweet ham, prosciutto and honey glzed hams along with swiss, pepper jack and cream cheese.

Going sweet ham/swiss for the traditional with maybe a rasberry chipotle glaze.

Going with several combinations for the deep fried and may include some minced jalopenas and then finish with a buffalo wing style glaze (using Franks and other things) and a Mango/Ginger/Habenreo glaze

Going to bacon weave and use several combos for the smoked and will try covering the chicken with mayo or apple sauce before I bacon wrap. I'll BBQ rub them and then finish with a sweet/heat BBQ sauce.

After the first cook I'll take what I like and tweek some more so that I have what I want for the first few weeks of the season to go along with what I've done over the past few years.

We typically add veggies like onions, garlic cloves etc to the pot for flavor. The key to the boil is putting in the protein at the correct time so that it's all done at the same time. I've never done any sort of crab, but have done shrimp and crawfish.....the crawfish add awesome flavor, but shrimp are easy to overcook and can get rubbery if you aren't paying attention. I'd cook the shrimp IN their "shells" though.

 

[Megla]

I'm going to use the next few weekends to test cook some meals that I want to do during the upcoming NFL season.

Test Cook # 1-Low Country Boil

I have very little experience with this, so if there are those that have I would appreciate some feedback.

I know that I will use, fresh corn, small potatoes, andouille sausage, 21-25 ct shrimp, old bay or zatarans seasoning

Any thoughts on adding

Onions, lemons, softshell crab, carb legs, crawfish, any or all?

I'm also going to do a varity of chicken cordon blue, my thoughts are to go three routes, the traditional pan fry and finish in the oven, deep fry and smoke. Going to use combinations of, sweet ham, prosciutto and honey glzed hams along with swiss, pepper jack and cream cheese.

Going sweet ham/swiss for the traditional with maybe a rasberry chipotle glaze.

Going with several combinations for the deep fried and may include some minced jalopenas and then finish with a buffalo wing style glaze (using Franks and other things) and a Mango/Ginger/Habenreo glaze

Going to bacon weave and use several combos for the smoked and will try covering the chicken with mayo or apple sauce before I bacon wrap. I'll BBQ rub them and then finish with a sweet/heat BBQ sauce.

After the first cook I'll take what I like and tweek some more so that I have what I want for the first few weeks of the season to go along with what I've done over the past few years.

We typically add veggies like onions, garlic cloves etc to the pot for flavor. The key to the boil is putting in the protein at the correct time so that it's all done at the same time. I've never done any sort of crab, but have done shrimp and crawfish.....the crawfish add awesome flavor, but shrimp are easy to overcook and can get rubbery if you aren't paying attention. I'd cook the shrimp IN their "shells" though.

My plans are to cook them peel and eat and I have seen plenty of videos so I think I have a pretty good time line for when what food needs to go in the pot.

Thanks for the info

 

[E-Z Glider]

I'm going to use the next few weekends to test cook some meals that I want to do during the upcoming NFL season.

Test Cook # 1-Low Country Boil

I have very little experience with this, so if there are those that have I would appreciate some feedback.

My two recommendations are more visual, but...

1. Figure out how you're gonna serve it. When my wife and I were dating she took me to a family reunion where they served "Frogmore Stew". They were a bunch of farmers and they served it in a trough. I raved about how cool it was and ended up getting one as a wedding present a few years later. Perfect for this. Dumping it out on a table covered with paper is cool too. Something is just lost in a steam table tray.

2. I like to use the Zatarain's Boil Packets and rip it open and dump a little (not too much) of the seeds/seasonings/stuff over everything just before serving.

 

[Keerock]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

The ribs came out OK. Fairly happy for my first try. A couple of things I'll try to improve on:

1) I think 3 full slabs of spares is too much for my Kettle. Next time I'll try 2, or try baby backs

2) My first three hours probably should have been at a higher temp... hovered around 225

3) They were drier than I'd hoped. I think that might be because I put them in a pan instead of individually foiling them. There was maybe 3 cups of drippings in the pan.

4) The ribs were "thicker" than I'm used to. I think I need to be more careful picking them out.

All-in-All

Anyone with any suggestions on how to improve?

 

[Megla]

I'm going to use the next few weekends to test cook some meals that I want to do during the upcoming NFL season.

Test Cook # 1-Low Country Boil

I have very little experience with this, so if there are those that have I would appreciate some feedback.

My two recommendations are more visual, but...

1. Figure out how you're gonna serve it. When my wife and I were dating she took me to a family reunion where they served "Frogmore Stew". They were a bunch of farmers and they served it in a trough. I raved about how cool it was and ended up getting one as a wedding present a few years later. Perfect for this. Dumping it out on a table covered with paper is cool too. Something is just lost in a steam table tray.

2. I like to use the Zatarain's Boil Packets and rip it open and dump a little (not too much) of the seeds/seasonings/stuff over everything just before serving.

I have several of these

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-34-qt-Latch-Box-Set-of-6/20699654

and was going to cover a couple in paper for the boil

 

[Megla]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

The ribs came out OK. Fairly happy for my first try. A couple of things I'll try to improve on:

1) I think 3 full slabs of spares is too much for my Kettle. Next time I'll try 2, or try baby backs

2) My first three hours probably should have been at a higher temp... hovered around 225

3) They were drier than I'd hoped. I think that might be because I put them in a pan instead of individually foiling them. There was maybe 3 cups of drippings in the pan.

4) The ribs were "thicker" than I'm used to. I think I need to be more careful picking them out.

All-in-All

Anyone with any suggestions on how to improve?

What liquid/sugar did you use when foiling?

What do you mean by thicker? Did you cook the whole slab, flap and all or did you trim them or St Louis cut them?

 

[Keerock]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

The ribs came out OK. Fairly happy for my first try. A couple of things I'll try to improve on:

1) I think 3 full slabs of spares is too much for my Kettle. Next time I'll try 2, or try baby backs

2) My first three hours probably should have been at a higher temp... hovered around 225

3) They were drier than I'd hoped. I think that might be because I put them in a pan instead of individually foiling them. There was maybe 3 cups of drippings in the pan.

4) The ribs were "thicker" than I'm used to. I think I need to be more careful picking them out.

All-in-All

Anyone with any suggestions on how to improve?

What liquid/sugar did you use when foiling?

What do you mean by thicker? Did you cook the whole slab, flap and all or did you trim them or St Louis cut them?

No liquid/sugar when I foiled them in the pan. There was a boatload of brown sugar in the rub though.

Many of the ribs where literally 2"-3" thick. Made them a little tough. I did not trim anything but a little fat and removed the membrane.

 

[Megla]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

The ribs came out OK. Fairly happy for my first try. A couple of things I'll try to improve on:

1) I think 3 full slabs of spares is too much for my Kettle. Next time I'll try 2, or try baby backs

2) My first three hours probably should have been at a higher temp... hovered around 225

3) They were drier than I'd hoped. I think that might be because I put them in a pan instead of individually foiling them. There was maybe 3 cups of drippings in the pan.

4) The ribs were "thicker" than I'm used to. I think I need to be more careful picking them out.

All-in-All

Anyone with any suggestions on how to improve?

What liquid/sugar did you use when foiling?

What do you mean by thicker? Did you cook the whole slab, flap and all or did you trim them or St Louis cut them?

No liquid/sugar when I foiled them in the pan. There was a boatload of brown sugar in the rub though.

Many of the ribs where literally 2"-3" thick. Made them a little tough. I did not trim anything but a little fat and removed the membrane.

You need to add a liquid when foiling, it can be any number of things, apple juice, apple cider, apple sauce, honey, butter, margerin, soda, what every.

If you are cooking untrimmed spares then yea, the ribs closest to the head are going to be thicker, that is why many trim them to St Louis style for a more even slab making them cook more evenly.

 

[Keerock]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

The ribs came out OK. Fairly happy for my first try. A couple of things I'll try to improve on:

1) I think 3 full slabs of spares is too much for my Kettle. Next time I'll try 2, or try baby backs

2) My first three hours probably should have been at a higher temp... hovered around 225

3) They were drier than I'd hoped. I think that might be because I put them in a pan instead of individually foiling them. There was maybe 3 cups of drippings in the pan.

4) The ribs were "thicker" than I'm used to. I think I need to be more careful picking them out.

All-in-All

Anyone with any suggestions on how to improve?

What liquid/sugar did you use when foiling?

What do you mean by thicker? Did you cook the whole slab, flap and all or did you trim them or St Louis cut them?

No liquid/sugar when I foiled them in the pan. There was a boatload of brown sugar in the rub though.

Many of the ribs where literally 2"-3" thick. Made them a little tough. I did not trim anything but a little fat and removed the membrane.

You need to add a liquid when foiling, it can be any number of things, apple juice, apple cider, apple sauce, honey, butter, margerin, soda, what every.

If you are cooking untrimmed spares then yea, the ribs closest to the head are going to be thicker, that is why many trim them to St Louis style for a more even slab making them cook more evenly.

Interesting... OK... I will trim them next time. What do you do with the trimmed meat?

As I mentioned, there were a LOT of drippings in the pan after foiling. What would that do to the liquid added prior?

 

[Megla]

For the "2" part of the 3-2-1... can I put the ribs in an aluminum pan and cover with foil?

It works fine for me.

Awesome! Thanks!

The ribs came out OK. Fairly happy for my first try. A couple of things I'll try to improve on:

1) I think 3 full slabs of spares is too much for my Kettle. Next time I'll try 2, or try baby backs

2) My first three hours probably should have been at a higher temp... hovered around 225

3) They were drier than I'd hoped. I think that might be because I put them in a pan instead of individually foiling them. There was maybe 3 cups of drippings in the pan.

4) The ribs were "thicker" than I'm used to. I think I need to be more careful picking them out.

All-in-All

Anyone with any suggestions on how to improve?

What liquid/sugar did you use when foiling?

What do you mean by thicker? Did you cook the whole slab, flap and all or did you trim them or St Louis cut them?

No liquid/sugar when I foiled them in the pan. There was a boatload of brown sugar in the rub though.

Many of the ribs where literally 2"-3" thick. Made them a little tough. I did not trim anything but a little fat and removed the membrane.

You need to add a liquid when foiling, it can be any number of things, apple juice, apple cider, apple sauce, honey, butter, margerin, soda, what every.

If you are cooking untrimmed spares then yea, the ribs closest to the head are going to be thicker, that is why many trim them to St Louis style for a more even slab making them cook more evenly.

Interesting... OK... I will trim them next time. What do you do with the trimmed meat?

As I mentioned, there were a LOT of drippings in the pan after foiling. What would that do to the liquid added prior?

You can do several things with it, make a stock, make rib tips, I often smoke it and them cut it up into small pieces and put it in my baked beans. Here is a good tutoral.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYOLV66XukY

The dripping are in the bottom of the pan and are most likely renderd fat from the ribs. The sugars that you are adding will be placed on the rib(s), not in the pan, as it cooks in the foil it will braise the meat. You can stack your ribs if you have more than one spare, just put one in the pan cover with whatever and then place the next slab on top of that one and repeat, just make sure you get a good tight seal with the foil.

 

[Keerock]

Awesome. Really appreciate it Megla!

 

[[icon]]

Megla is the ####

 

[jamny]

Doing up some braised short ribs today.

Let it sit for a couple of hours after spreading some mustard and putting some Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust on it (my first real test of Dizzy Dust)

Used some cherry wood to smoke for just over 2 hours @ 225, got the meat to 160.

Smells great so far!

I just put it into an aluminum pan (I really gotta get a good cast iron one) and poured in a Dogfish Head Chicory Stout.

Looking at another 2 hour or so at 225 to get the meat to 200 degrees.

My wife likes ribs saucy so I've throw some on a couple of them for her towards the end. Probably one for me too to taste the difference.

So hungry right now!

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Anyone have a good way to smoke lamb?

 

[jamny]

Doing up some braised short ribs today.

Let it sit for a couple of hours after spreading some mustard and putting some Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust on it (my first real test of Dizzy Dust)

Used some cherry wood to smoke for just over 2 hours @ 225, got the meat to 160.

Smells great so far!

I just put it into an aluminum pan (I really gotta get a good cast iron one) and poured in a Dogfish Head Chicory Stout.

Looking at another 2 hour or so at 225 to get the meat to 200 degrees.

My wife likes ribs saucy so I've throw some on a couple of them for her towards the end. Probably one for me too to taste the difference.

So hungry right now!

Hmmm, so the meat temp shot up in 45 minutes from 160 to 200. Is that because of the covered aluminum pan and liquid?

I was really trying to plan this for 6PM. How can I prevent the meat from drying out by that time? I'm knocking down the temp now.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Doing up some braised short ribs today.

Let it sit for a couple of hours after spreading some mustard and putting some Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust on it (my first real test of Dizzy Dust)

Used some cherry wood to smoke for just over 2 hours @ 225, got the meat to 160.

Smells great so far!

I just put it into an aluminum pan (I really gotta get a good cast iron one) and poured in a Dogfish Head Chicory Stout.

Looking at another 2 hour or so at 225 to get the meat to 200 degrees.

My wife likes ribs saucy so I've throw some on a couple of them for her towards the end. Probably one for me too to taste the difference.

So hungry right now!

Hmmm, so the meat temp shot up in 45 minutes from 160 to 200. Is that because of the covered aluminum pan and liquid?

I was really trying to plan this for 6PM. How can I prevent the meat from drying out by that time? I'm knocking down the temp now.

Yes, its because yuo had them foiled.

Wrap them in a couple of layers of foil and place them in a cooler covered with some towels. They'll keep their temp for a while if you do that

 

[phowler13]

Bought a pork belly the other day. Was thinking of trying homemade bacon but it seems like there are ther ways to go at it. Any recipes?

 

[TheFanatic]

First smoke ever last night, on a vertical gas smoker. Did some salmon up on a slow smoke over applewood after brining it for the previous 24 hours. Didn't plan this out very well, so ended up having to smoke it from 10pm-3am and pretty incoherently tasted it at 3am. Seemed ok, though I accidentally let the heat get a bit high the last couple hours which toughened up the outer layer a little more than it should be. I'd give it a 5/10 for my first go at it.

Getting pretty excited to try something else now. Any suggestions for type of meat and corresponding instructions/recipes/words of wisdom for a rookie smoker? Ribs? Brisket? Chicken? Pork? Suggestions for what is the easiest/best for a beginner?

My advise would be to use a progression with these meats to get a better feel for your smoker.

1. Whole Chicken, brine for 10-12 hours, season however you would like, cook at 250-275 for 4 hours

2. Baby Back Ribs- remove membrane, season as you like, cook at 250-275 for 2 hours, foil with a liquid sugar for 1 hour, remove from foil and smoke for another hour basting with a BBQ sauce of your choice

3. Spare Ribs-Whole- repeat above but cook, for 3 hours , foil for 2 hours and last hour is the same

4. Boston Butt- slather with mustard is you want a thick bark, if not just season as you like. Cook at 250-275 for approximatley 1.5 hours per lb. Cook to an internal temp if 185, pull and spray with a sugar liquid(i use apple juice) foil and let rest to 195-200 internal temp, remove bone, break into large chunks and let cool for 30 minutes and then pull or chop. I add a vinigar based BBQ sauce at this time.

5. Prime Rib Roast- Trim and season as you wish, cook at 250-275 to an internal temp of 130 (med rare) remove and let stand for 45 minutes and then slice

6. Whole Turkey- Brine for 24 hours and season howover you like, cook to an internal of 150 in the breast, 170 in the thighs, pull and let rest at least 1 hour, then carve.

These should set you up to where you are comfortable enough to cook whatever comes your way in the future.

I think your temps are too high for a true low and slow smoke. 225 is my target when smoking. 250 would be my absolute max.

I smoke all the time at 300-350. Myron Mixon does his briskets at 300+

Low and slow works just as well, but isn't necessary. I do baby back ribs in 2 hours, spares in 2.5. These are not fall off the bone, mind you, but then fall off the bone is over done...

 

[TheFanatic]

Anyone have a good way to smoke lamb?

I generally do lamb hot and fast like beef. LOVE lamb

 

[TheFanatic]

How about a grilled breakfast two-fer?

Portobello Eggs

Avocado Eggs

 

[McGarnicle]

Smokenator arrived yesterday.

We're having friends over Saturday and I'm going to smoke a whole fresh turkey since the wife doesn't eat red meat. Any suggestions for marinade/rubs and roughly how long per lb.?

 

[sho nuff]

Don't marinade...brine it.

I used to go crazy with a maple syrup in the brine or citrus...(citrus like a can of frozen lemonade or something...works great for a whole bird because you can then half or quarter some fresh lemons and jam them in the cavity of the bird while smoking it)

But have gone simple lately and stuck with a simple cajun seasoning and garlic rub.