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***Official Grilling and Smoking Thread*** (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter bryhamm
- Start date
heckmanm
Footballguy
Loki looks interesting, although the attraction of meater is that I don't have to manage the cables and where to sit the "base station" - I don't have a flat, cool spot on my smoker, so I might end up letting it dangle over the handle, or have to rig something up.Ron Swanson said:
OTOH, the meater probe I think is significantly thicker than the loki, which could make a difference in grilling steaks and such (not so much with a pork shoulder)
Hawks64
Footballguy
Exactly! That's the appeal for me and why the meater block is what I am leaning towards.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
TheFanatic
Footballguy
Agreed to my first deal and just paid for my trip and then some. Thank you to Kingsford for paying me to hang out with Chris Lilly for an hour and posting a couple things to Instagram. One of the few guys in BBQ I haven't met yet so I'm really looking forward to hanging with him friday morning.
![[icon]](/data/avatars/m/5/5167.jpg?1660313464){kind=avatar}
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Insoxicated
This is great. Congrats man! When are you meeting up with Lilly? He'll be down at Memphis in May as well.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
That's where I'm meeting him. I'm working my contacts that have presences at MiM based on the sponsor sheet. That's how I spotted Meater being there. I reached out to my contact and he said he was going to try to get there. Not 100% sure he will be there at this point, but hoping they want to do something.
[icon]
Insoxicated
PICKING BRAINS TIME: There are some pretty damn good cooks/grillers in here so I figured I'd put this before you guys for consideration:
We want to enter the A5 Kobe Ribeye in the beef category at Memphis in May.
Flavor wise, I'm sure the lightly seared blocks with salt and pepper served in tradition japanese style is the best way to truly enjoy the unique flavor of the beef. However we have concerns:
1) Will the judges score us down on appearance, which is graded after opening the box on the table, before tasting. General preference is toward "fill the box", so 6-8 2oz chunks of beef might cause us to be dinged score-wise.
2) When the judges taste the chunks, will they realize what they're eating? There is no labeling of the box. Will the flavor of the A5 Kobe stand out enough against other beef-based entries?
SO, we are looking at possible options for a dish to showcase the beef, in a visually compelling manner, complimenting the flavor of the beef, but making sure to keep it at the forefront so they will hopefully still realize/appreciate what they are eating.
ONE OPTION: "Kobe Carpaccio / Bruchetta hybrid"
Lightly toast/grill a thin slice of a baguette as a base with a bit of garlic butter.... then thinly slice some of the kobe and pile on a nice portion on the toast. Next top it with diced peppers (sauteed in rendered Kobe fat), slivers of carmellized sweet onion, and a pretty drizzle of a "horsey sauce" like those used in steakhouses. Presentation kinda like this but with a thinner slice of bread and different ingredients.
WOuld love ideas on how to prepare, thoughts on that option, etc.
We want to enter the A5 Kobe Ribeye in the beef category at Memphis in May.
Flavor wise, I'm sure the lightly seared blocks with salt and pepper served in tradition japanese style is the best way to truly enjoy the unique flavor of the beef. However we have concerns:
1) Will the judges score us down on appearance, which is graded after opening the box on the table, before tasting. General preference is toward "fill the box", so 6-8 2oz chunks of beef might cause us to be dinged score-wise.
2) When the judges taste the chunks, will they realize what they're eating? There is no labeling of the box. Will the flavor of the A5 Kobe stand out enough against other beef-based entries?
SO, we are looking at possible options for a dish to showcase the beef, in a visually compelling manner, complimenting the flavor of the beef, but making sure to keep it at the forefront so they will hopefully still realize/appreciate what they are eating.
ONE OPTION: "Kobe Carpaccio / Bruchetta hybrid"
Lightly toast/grill a thin slice of a baguette as a base with a bit of garlic butter.... then thinly slice some of the kobe and pile on a nice portion on the toast. Next top it with diced peppers (sauteed in rendered Kobe fat), slivers of carmellized sweet onion, and a pretty drizzle of a "horsey sauce" like those used in steakhouses. Presentation kinda like this but with a thinner slice of bread and different ingredients.
WOuld love ideas on how to prepare, thoughts on that option, etc.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
@[icon] I liked where you were headed with this until I saw the picture. I would go with something similar to this but scale back the accoutrements. You want the meat to be the star. Don't pile on the peppers and onions like in the pic. Go light with those and let the meat shine. Don't let the peppers and onions overshadow that A-5. Add them sparingly for a slight flavor punch. Use them more for presentation than flavor.
Hawks64
Footballguy
Granted I've never had Kobe but I'm not sure it will stand out as such in comparison to the others, especially if they are using prime beef. Instead of entering it maybe use it for your big sponsor dinner? Then you can talk it up and the sponsors will be floored.
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Insoxicated
Yeah the photo was more just a ballpark visual aid. we would thin out the toast and absolutely not cover the beef with toppings I’m envisioning a 2:1 ratio of beef to toppings. No doubt the beef has to be the hero.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Binky The Doormat
Footballguy
Brony
Footballguy
I had an apple tree cut down in our front yard and considered cutting in chunks for smoking. Took about 3 years for bigger pieces to have a chance at splitting and even then it absolutely sucked without a wood splitter. I took 1 or 2 tries with a Sawzall and unless you have that branch vised in, that sucked too. A bag of apple wood chunks is $6 or 7 at Home Depot and lasts me 2 or 3 years. That was my lesson from all that.
Note that I'm obviously a total novice at this. The apple wood did make for excellent firewood for the next 3 years.
PinkydaPimp
Footballguy
A5 Wagyu/Kobe should stand out significantly from prime. I havent had Kobe, but i have had A9 marbled Wagyu in Australia which is close and it is lightyears ahead of prime and really any beef i have had here in the states. So if its true A5 Kobe, that stuff will literally melt in your mouth. its like eating butter but its steak. Now i want some.
PinkydaPimp
Footballguy
I say keep the A5 simple. Salt and pepper. That stuff should just melt in your mouth. As long as its cooked properly, it sound shine. Where i had close to a5, they served it with little bowls of different types of fancy salts that you could sprinkle on top. It really wasnt needed though.
I cut down an apple tree in the backyard and cut up chunks of the smaller limbs for the smoker. Let it dry out for a year or so and it seemed fine in the Weber Smokey Mountain. However I went back to buying chunks of wood at the store as I like to use cherry wood and right, wrong or indifferent I felt that I got a better smoke from the store bought apple wood vs the tree I cut down.
Bottom line is the store bought stuff is easy.
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Insoxicated
I hear you... 100%... from simple “how i want to eat it” perspective... but the concerns from a competition perspective stated above still stand.
If 2 of 6 judges give us a 9 out of 10 for appearance before tasting, we are likely out of contention for hardware. One 8 and we are out.
I dunno if we have the balls to try that...
PinkydaPimp
Footballguy
true. I have zero experience with competition so on that front i guess you have to do what you have to do.I hear you... 100%... from simple “how i want to eat it” perspective... but the concerns from a competition perspective stated above still stand.
If 2 of 6 judges give us a 9 out of 10 for appearance before tasting, we are likely out of contention for hardware. One 8 and we are out.
I dunno if we have the balls to try that...
Did my first smoke...ribs and a fatty. Used the timing I had based upon my old Weber Smokey Mountain. That was a mistake. Usually I could produce good quality ribs in 4 hours on the charcoal smoker (probably cause I ran it closer to 250 than the 220 the camp chef ran at). However after 4+ hours the ribs had a little morw chew to them than I wanted and the bacon on the fatty was a little undone (could have used the sear station but the 3 shots of tequila didn’t help in that).
Lesson reinforced...cook to temp not time. Still happy with the pellet smoker as It held temp well and will make future cooks more predictable.
Soulfly3
Footballguy
Watched a few Youtube vids on the snake method and gonna give her a go this spring/summer.
Is it really as easy as it looks? I live in farm country (NOTL) so varying woods will be easy to get a hold of... Only problem is, I think my Weber might be a bit small for the application?
It's just the wife and I, so maybe that wont matter as much... I think it's a 18" weber (smokey joe)
Gonna try it on a pork shoulder first, I think. just a 4pounder. That way if it doesnt turn out, Ill only be slightly sobbing.
Is it really as easy as it looks? I live in farm country (NOTL) so varying woods will be easy to get a hold of... Only problem is, I think my Weber might be a bit small for the application?
It's just the wife and I, so maybe that wont matter as much... I think it's a 18" weber (smokey joe)
Gonna try it on a pork shoulder first, I think. just a 4pounder. That way if it doesnt turn out, Ill only be slightly sobbing.
Softballguy
Footballguy
Weather was finally decent enough to get a real cook in on my new Traeger. Pretty happy with the results (sliced, smoke ring). Could use a little more smoke flavor, but tenderness was spot on.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
A few years ago, my FiL trimmed a bunch of low branches off a pear in his yard. I asked him to take the thicker branches (think a little thicker than a baseball bat handle) into three inch chunks. I smoked with them that day. The food I cooked with that uber green wood was served to the food critic of the local paper in St. Louis. The guy has an unbelievable palette. He didn't notice a thing.
Also, Myron Mixon likes to smoke with the greenest peach wood he can find. So use it whenever you want. It will be fine now or 5 years from now.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
I reversed seared a couple FAT steaks on the Akorn over the weekend and got a boatload of video. I plan on doing some instructional videos (hired a videographer) on how to reverse sear. It was a fun day hanging out with my dad swillin' beers and grillin' steaks. It blows my mind that I get paid to do this. I would pay someone else to let me do this!
Kanil
Footballguy
I thought the same thing until I tried it. Insane amount of difference and worth every penny, imo.
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Insoxicated
So just got the woodwind set up this weekend and pretty close to burning through a 20 lb bag of pellets (ribs, fatties, jerky, wings x 2, filet mig).
I have reverse seared wings twice and they were amazing. Better than deep fried wings.
Reverse seared the filets as well and probably the beat steaks I have ever made. Never been able to get grill marks nor crust like that on my gas weber. The sear station is a straight up game changer for me.
Well worth the investment. Deciding between brisket or pork butt this weekend in addition to some fat garlic butter pork chops from the local meat market with a nice reverse sear.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
TheFanatic
Footballguy
Did an Instagram Live last night (you can see the replay on my IG Story for the next 8 hours or so. (only available on your mobile device)
It was in conjunction with the Kansas Farm to Food Connection. I talked pork. Particularly pork loin (and the subsequent chops I made from it), ribs and myths about brats. Went more than 30 minutes all the while talking while I was actually cooking. It was a good time. check it out when you get a chance, if for anything to see the bacon pants!
It was in conjunction with the Kansas Farm to Food Connection. I talked pork. Particularly pork loin (and the subsequent chops I made from it), ribs and myths about brats. Went more than 30 minutes all the while talking while I was actually cooking. It was a good time. check it out when you get a chance, if for anything to see the bacon pants!
CletiusMaximus
Footballguy
The 34lb bags of Cowboy lump are back at Costco for $19.99 - must be that time of year again ...
I know there are mixed opinions, but this stuff works great for me for the price, even if I do usually end up dumping a pound or so of dust and small bits from the bottom of the bag.
I know there are mixed opinions, but this stuff works great for me for the price, even if I do usually end up dumping a pound or so of dust and small bits from the bottom of the bag.
Brony
Footballguy
After smoking for a few years, good pulled pork is almost automatic now. I also took advantage of the long smoke to put some chicken breasts and brats from the freezer.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
After working most of the weekend (planting hostas and building a wood rack for a boat load of oak), I decided to forgo sunday dinner at the in laws and enjoy a prime grade rib eye. Salt, pepper, and a little granulated garlic. Cranked up the Akorn to about 600. Cross hatched one side and single hatched the other. Simple and delicious.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
CRAVING ribs. Jerk ribs that is. I just checked my calendar. Free both Sat and Sunday. That NEVER happens! Oh, happy day! 
I'm thinking jerk ribs and something else milder for the kids. Yes indeed!
I'm thinking jerk ribs and something else milder for the kids. Yes indeed!
In The Zone
Footballguy
Well, I finally got a day off of work yesterday and brisket was on the menu. My 1st USDA Prime I got at Costco. It was an 8.5 lbs after I trimmed it up. Turned out great.
Whole Packer
Getting Ready
Mid Cook
Flat
Bend Test
Burnt Ends Rub
Burnt Ends
YUM
Didn't get my normal smoke ring but everything else was spot on.
Whole Packer
Getting Ready
Mid Cook
Flat
Bend Test
Burnt Ends Rub
Burnt Ends
YUM
Didn't get my normal smoke ring but everything else was spot on.
Last edited by a moderator:
TheFanatic
Footballguy
That bend test was phenomenal, particularly with how thick that slice was.
Smoke ring is cosmetic. Doesn't have any impact on flavor. Some argue that keeping the brisket moist will give a better smoke ring. I have yet to do a side by side, but I might tomorrow with a couple slabs of ribs.
Been a while since I have been on photo bucket. They are REALLY milking the monetization there.
Soulfly3
Footballguy
Well... Did up a 4pnd pork shoulder, just to give the snake method (weber kettle) a whirl (didnt wanna go to big, it's just 2 of us, and i didnt knwo if it's turn out)
Used apple wood to smoke with.
Looks absolutely gorgeous. It sat in there for a solid 7hrs before I pulled it and wrapped it in foil... gonna crack it open in about 30min and see how it turned out.
But Im a bit thrown off that a 4 pounder took 7hrs to get to 195 internal.... I dont think I'd find the time in the day to do anything bigger... is this normal? I was half expected 5hrs or so.
(thermometer seemed to indicate that I was always in the 225 range)
Used apple wood to smoke with.
Looks absolutely gorgeous. It sat in there for a solid 7hrs before I pulled it and wrapped it in foil... gonna crack it open in about 30min and see how it turned out.
But Im a bit thrown off that a 4 pounder took 7hrs to get to 195 internal.... I dont think I'd find the time in the day to do anything bigger... is this normal? I was half expected 5hrs or so.
(thermometer seemed to indicate that I was always in the 225 range)
PinkydaPimp
Footballguy
Soulfly3
Footballguy
Not sure I can control the heat utilising the snake method. It is what it is... Or maybe not, I'll have to look into it
Soulfly3
Footballguy
So, spoke to my boy last night who is a massively rated chef, working at one of Niagara's top restaurants about this.
We got on the topic of buying a Traeger, but how I wanted to learn the ropes first... He proceeded to tell me he was sponsored by Traeger and has their timberland series (walked me through it)... Beyond ridiculous machine. Not for me.
Anyways, his suggestion was to wrap my pork shoulder about 3/4 of the way thru the cook to retain more moisture.... I found my shoulder was a tad dry. It shredded ok, but not like the ones I see on TV.
He also suggested a pan w boiling water in the Weber to enhance the moisture levels...
Overall I'm fairly happy. He gave me a good amount of Cherry and Oak wood to to use.
THis is gonna take some time to master.
We got on the topic of buying a Traeger, but how I wanted to learn the ropes first... He proceeded to tell me he was sponsored by Traeger and has their timberland series (walked me through it)... Beyond ridiculous machine. Not for me.
Anyways, his suggestion was to wrap my pork shoulder about 3/4 of the way thru the cook to retain more moisture.... I found my shoulder was a tad dry. It shredded ok, but not like the ones I see on TV.
He also suggested a pan w boiling water in the Weber to enhance the moisture levels...
Overall I'm fairly happy. He gave me a good amount of Cherry and Oak wood to to use.
THis is gonna take some time to master.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
I was part of that team last year (Timberline, not Timberland. I did the same thing for about 6 months!). It's not for everyone, but it's well engineered.
TheFanatic
Footballguy
Had a great weekend around the grill. Saturday, dad and I cooked on the Ofyr all day. Started with some halibut and then some grouper then some burgers then a filet (overcooked the last one taking too many pics!) and a slab of ribs. Yes, I did a slab of ribs on the Ofyr. More on that in a minute. Gotta talk about the burger.
Hands down, the best burger I've ever eaten. The flavor crust was so even and perfect and even had a slight crunch. Sort of like a smash burger that has the crispy edges, but this was wall to wall crispy. And the toasting it did on the brioche buns was amazing as well. All I put on the burger was a slice of white and a slice of yellow American cheese. No condiments. No tomatoes. Nothing. Oh my!
Even with my neighbor over to help me and dad eat this feast (and drain my beer fridge), we had a lot of food. By the time we got to the burger, both dad and I were stuffed. We cut the burger in half and each of us said we would only have one bite. Each of us ate the entire thing. It was that good.
Now, how did I cook ribs on this thing? It has a rack that goes over the fire and elevates the meat a foot or more over the fire. I pushed the firewood and coals to one side and put the ribs on the other. I mopped them about every 20 minutes with a combo of beer and vinegar. I overcooked them a bit, again, part of the inherent problem with taking pics/vids all day. They weren't terrible. Had I pulled them off 20 minutes earlier they would've been fine. I probably could've done a better job of keeping the coals and wood to one side. As the wood burned, the heat would drift toward the middle of the fire bowl. I would definitely do it again. Next time I'll pay more attention to the ribs. Flip more often, shove wood and coals back over to the side and mop more often. The flavor was great. Just a little dry.
Oh, to cap off my grilling weekend, made deck breakfast on Sunday and then Sunday night made fajitas on the grill on a cast iron griddle and in a cast iron pan. Need to refill the beer fridge tho.
Hands down, the best burger I've ever eaten. The flavor crust was so even and perfect and even had a slight crunch. Sort of like a smash burger that has the crispy edges, but this was wall to wall crispy. And the toasting it did on the brioche buns was amazing as well. All I put on the burger was a slice of white and a slice of yellow American cheese. No condiments. No tomatoes. Nothing. Oh my!
Even with my neighbor over to help me and dad eat this feast (and drain my beer fridge), we had a lot of food. By the time we got to the burger, both dad and I were stuffed. We cut the burger in half and each of us said we would only have one bite. Each of us ate the entire thing. It was that good.
Now, how did I cook ribs on this thing? It has a rack that goes over the fire and elevates the meat a foot or more over the fire. I pushed the firewood and coals to one side and put the ribs on the other. I mopped them about every 20 minutes with a combo of beer and vinegar. I overcooked them a bit, again, part of the inherent problem with taking pics/vids all day. They weren't terrible. Had I pulled them off 20 minutes earlier they would've been fine. I probably could've done a better job of keeping the coals and wood to one side. As the wood burned, the heat would drift toward the middle of the fire bowl. I would definitely do it again. Next time I'll pay more attention to the ribs. Flip more often, shove wood and coals back over to the side and mop more often. The flavor was great. Just a little dry.
Oh, to cap off my grilling weekend, made deck breakfast on Sunday and then Sunday night made fajitas on the grill on a cast iron griddle and in a cast iron pan. Need to refill the beer fridge tho.
Softballguy
Footballguy
I was supposed to be competing in the Masters in May KCBS competition in Appleton, WI this past weekend, but they ended up canceling my division (rib contest on BGE only). Still went and got to watch all the larger competition teams. Got a chance to talk with Joe Pearce from Squeal Like a Pig, some dudes from Pellet Envy, and a few other teams that were on some of the BBQ shows. It was a pretty good time, and a few of them let us sample some of their BBQ.
What struck me the most though was how damn near every team had barrel smokers running. Most had their larger pits like Jambos or whatever, but they almost all had barrel smokers running along with them. Guess I didn't know those were that popular.
What struck me the most though was how damn near every team had barrel smokers running. Most had their larger pits like Jambos or whatever, but they almost all had barrel smokers running along with them. Guess I didn't know those were that popular.
In The Zone
Footballguy
berndog
Footballguy
You can definitely keep the Weber kettle in the 275-325 range with the snake method. You may need a little more fuel but on mine on mine I keep the top vent 1/2 way open and 2 of the bottom vents about 1/4 open and the other one closed. That will put me in that range and then I can adjust as needed.
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Insoxicated
TheFanatic
Footballguy
That's what I was channeling with the cook![icon] said:
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