***Official Grilling and Smoking Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[CletiusMaximus]

At my brother-in-law’s place yesterday - a man whose grilling skills I’ve always respected - came in from the lake and saw he was boiling the ribs. Stunned, aghast, and ultimately disgusted. It was an unplanned visit so maybe they were caught unprepared, but still ...

My poor kids, passing on the burgers, brats and dogs to load their plates up with these sauce-drenched ribs, finished on the Weber. I had to just wait and let it play out. Of course they’re used to my ribs, so it was no surprise when I saw them both sneaking back into the kitchen to offload the ribs and grab a burger instead. 

 

[JaxBill]

I did a fatty on Saturday. Ham, shredded cheddar, onions , Cubanelle and jalapenos. 

Used the gallon storage bag method. Outside was coated with my brown sugar pork rub. Toward the end I glazed it with bourbon and maple syrup for a sweet/ spicy combo.

I find the bacon weave on fattirs to be  unnecessary and complicates things. I like wrapping bacon on lean cuts that need the fat to keep them from drying out. A one pound log of Jimmy Dean sausage isn't one of them.

 

[PinkydaPimp]

I’ll look into those. Decided to go off script and raid the fridge. Onion and shredded pepper jack cheese and then bacon weave around the outside.

Funny you mention butt rub. Using that on shoulder. Might hit fatty with it or go rudy’s For a different flavor. 

Glad i starte early. Traeger is reading at least 50degrees hotter than internal temp. Cranked it up twice now. Shoulder is still only slight brown after 4.5 hours 

How long has it been on?  What’s the internal temp?  Is it probing like butter?

 

[The Ref]

Here's the good thing about smoking.  As a newcomer.  Today is my 3rd ribs cook.  What I like is that it's not like baking where everything needs to be measured out perfectly all the time - both ingredients and time.

No recipe this time, no guidelines.  I know when the ribs are ready to wrap, I know when they are ready to sauce, and I know when they are ready to come off.  

Makes smoking perfect for whiskey drinking

As Obi Won Kenobi once said you took your first step into a larger world.

 

[The Ref]

I'm not sure I can say smoking of meats is a long term good for your health proposition.  That said I'm going Atkins for the next few weeks and some mass cooking of meats has been real handy.

down 11 lbs in 5 days so far.  God bless vodka clubs, bacon and wings.

 

[snore]

my 4pnd shoulder took about 7hrs..

someone here mentioned it's about 1.5-2hrs/pnd. this stuff is serious.

I did an almost 7 pounder on the camp chef yesterday. Threw it on at 9am, wrapped it around 5 and took it off the smoker around 8pm right around 205 degrees. Stuffed my face and passed out shortly thereafter. Delicious. 

 

[snore]

I'm not sure I can say smoking of meats is a long term good for your health proposition.  That said I'm going Atkins for the next few weeks and some mass cooking of meats has been real handy.

down 11 lbs in 5 days so far.  God bless vodka clubs, bacon and wings.

I have a similar diet...goose on the rocks, meat and cheese for dairy. Will mix in a veg or fruit on occasion. 

I figure a heavy meat/protein diet is better than mixing in bread, potatoes (my bane), and pasta.  I am sure there is a name for this type of diet? Psuedo-paleo + grey goose diet?

 

[Softballguy]

Memorial Day Weekend is the best. 

Grilled Pizza

Prime Rib Roast on the smoker

Prime Rib plated

 

[odin33]

How long has it been on?  What’s the internal temp?  Is it probing like butter?

Thanks for checking in pinky. Appreciate the damage control/crisis center help.

 All turned out well. I only have one probe currently and after getting an idea of where the internal grill temp vs the grill stated dailed in I sunk it into the shoulder. Thankfully I was at the stall so pulled, wrapped and set back back on. Was shocked at how quick it came up from there. Pulled at an internal of about 200 then toweled and coolered for an hour or so. Some of the best pork I’ve had and surely ever made. 

Fatty turned out with mixed reviews. Flavor was very good but too much rub and very salty. Sprung a leak too so some of the cheese oozed out. 

All is good and can’t wait until I get a chance to try something else. I think ribs are up next. Yeah I’m hooked  

I was not all that pleased with the swings in the Traeger ( gauging purely by the temp reading on the grill). Witnesssed an 80 degree swing, 30 below target and 50 above. Hoping to get a second meter here soon so I can gauge the actual swing inside the grill as well as it’s affect on meat. I’m guessing/hoping it’s not that severe

overall a very successful Memorial Day. And a thank you to all who have served who have made this trivial B.S. possible

 

[The Ref]

I have a similar diet...goose on the rocks, meat and cheese for dairy. Will mix in a veg or fruit on occasion. 

I figure a heavy meat/protein diet is better than mixing in bread, potatoes (my bane), and pasta.  I am sure there is a name for this type of diet? Psuedo-paleo + grey goose diet?

Fairly sure that's what it is.  I'm also mixing in cheese as well

 

[In The Zone]

Well our Memorial Day Cook turned out pretty well. Pork shoulder and Pork Belly Burnt Ends came out great. The PB Burnt Ends were incredibly easy to make. The only downer was that it was raining when I started my chimney @ midnight and was still raining when I woke up@ 9am. Other than that everything was smooth.

Smoker with raingear

4.8 lber

Butt and Belly

Instant Pot Lima Beans with Ham

Wife's Mac n Cheese

Pulled Pork

Pork Belly

Good call @icon on the Pork Belly Burnt Ends. They turned out great and will join the rotation.

 

[PinkydaPimp]

damn i really need to do pork belly burnt ends.  might have to do this next weekend.

I also want to do beef cheeks.  Need to see if my butcher can order. 

 

[The Ref]

I bought the pork belly slab over a month ago and ended up putting it in the freezer - got to bust that out

 

[Joe Bryant]

my 4pnd shoulder took about 7hrs..

someone here mentioned it's about 1.5-2hrs/pnd. this stuff is serious.

If there's anything I've learned over the years is that's super hard to predict times. Myron Mixon told me "It's done when it's done". Simple but true. There are tons of factors, especially when you're cooking with live fire. So don't sweat the time too much and just focus on the internal temp. Have fun Fellas. 

 

[heckmanm]

another reason why I like to finish big cuts 4-5 hours early and plan on holding them at temp until it's time to eat. Not only does it help the texture dramatically, if your meat takes two hours longer to finish because every animal is different, you've still got a two hour rest and you'll still serve some damn good food on time. 

Especially true with pork shoulder.  I swear you could hold it at 200F for DAYS without hurting it.

 

[Joe Bryant]

another reason why I like to finish big cuts 4-5 hours early and plan on holding them at temp until it's time to eat. Not only does it help the texture dramatically, if your meat takes two hours longer to finish because every animal is different, you've still got a two hour rest and you'll still serve some damn good food on time. 

Agreed. Always better to have a little extra hold time than to be scrambling trying to rush at the end. 

 

[SayWhat?]

And by “hold time,” is that always wrapped in towels and placed in cooler/microwave/oven/etc?  Or does how you hold vary by what you’ve smoked?

 

[joker]

I broke in the Camp Chef this weekend - I did two pork shoulders this weekend, burgers, and some filets. The pork shoulders took about 7 hours total, and were sooo good when they were done. The bark was just ridiculous and everyone was trying to grab bark pieces while we were setting the table. The burgers were cooked completely even all the way through inside and outside, instead of hotter on one part and cooler on the other like my last grill was giving me. The side sear is definitely a game changer - on both the burgers and the filets I got it up to about 10 degrees below where I wanted to be on the internal temp, then seared them all on the side sear for about 30 seconds a side and bam - perfect temp and a crust. 

We also had good luck with bacon-wrapped asparagus, bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, and stuffed mushrooms.

I had a big swing and a miss with some ribs, though - it started pouring out about 2 hours in, and I had no choice but to shut it down because I had no coverage for the Camp Chef. Is there any reason I can't throw them back on today around 1 pm and have them ready for dinner at 6 or 7?

 

[odin33]

And by “hold time,” is that always wrapped in towels and placed in cooler/microwave/oven/etc?  Or does how you hold vary by what you’ve smoked?

Was just going to ask this. Also, is there a point where the wrapped, toweled, and cooler maybe needs external help like placing into a warmed oven?

 

[Worm]

I did a shoulder yesterday. My gf bought the meat and I thought she got a relatively small 5 pounder. She did the prep and rub the night before so I never saw it. Well when I go to put it in the smoker at 11 AM I see it looks a LOT bigger than 5 pounds. It had to be at least 8-9 pounds.

Needless to say, it didn't hit 190 til 11:30 at night.

I'll be damned if I didn't have the most delicious midnight snack I've ever eaten though. Holy crap was it good. The gf also picked up some jalapeno pale all bbq sauce that was on point.

 

[GAlmgren]

Any problem with freezing pulled pork? I’ve got dinner for a group of 15 after a long day of rafting and want to have something ready to go ahead of time because folks are going to be hungry. Assuming you all don’t see issues with freezing it, any tips on reheating? Would be using a camp stove and skillets/pots. Two 7-8 lb shoulders enough? Thanks!

 

[heckmanm]

Any problem with freezing pulled pork? I’ve got dinner for a group of 15 after a long day of rafting and want to have something ready to go ahead of time because folks are going to be hungry. Assuming you all don’t see issues with freezing it, any tips on reheating? Would be using a camp stove and skillets/pots. Two 7-8 lb shoulders enough? Thanks!

I freeze leftovers all the time. Vacuum seal, freeze, then reheat (in the bag) in a pot of simmering water. 

As for the amount, you're going to end up with ~60% of pre-cooked weight, in my experience, so 15# raw will give you ~9# cooked.  That should be enough for 15 people - I can feed 4 of us with 1.5# of leftover pork and not use all of it.

 

[snore]

I freeze leftovers all the time. Vacuum seal, freeze, then reheat (in the bag) in a pot of simmering water. 

As for the amount, you're going to end up with ~60% of pre-cooked weight, in my experience, so 15# raw will give you ~9# cooked.  That should be enough for 15 people - I can feed 4 of us with 1.5# of leftover pork and not use all of it.

I always save some of the jus if possible to add back in when warming it up.

 

[Joe Bryant]

And by “hold time,” is that always wrapped in towels and placed in cooler/microwave/oven/etc?  Or does how you hold vary by what you’ve smoked?

Good question. I'd say try different things and see how you like it. The big difference will be moisture retention. Some places will wrap in Saran wrap which really holds moisture in. Some will do butcher paper that breathes. Others will do foil. All have different insulation. Then after the initial wrap, people will use towels or blankets. Or you can also set in a warm oven. There are lots of ways to do it. 

Basically , you want to avoid the extreme up or down. Meaning you don't want it too hot as it'll continue to cook. And you don't want it too cool as it could get down to unsafe temps. 

 

[TheFanatic]

So Memorial Weekend was an adventure. First off, it was ridiculously humid and in the mid 90's so it was a sweat fest. That is until the rain came in. Somehow this weird little cell came out of nowhere and I mean nowhere. It came from the north east and move to the south west. The rain started about a half hour before the guests were to arrive. It rained so hard that it took my pit temp down to 230 while I was right in the middle of the stall. It rained for a good hour. So my 4:00 dinner time turned into 6:00. This year, I decided to server some appetizers. I had an entire case of Salt Lick sausage in the freezer and thawed them out the night before. That saved my butt. 

I also found out that shoulders from full grown hogs take longer to cook than an entire 100 lb pig. I added a couple extra shoulders to the cook just in case. Turns out I didn't need them. Probably because of the sausage. 

So here's a short video clip of my cook. This was right after the rain stopped and about 2 hours before we ate. 

On the cooker are that hog, two shoulders, a slab of ribs (my son, the birthday boy wanted plain old ribs), a case of sausage and four pans of these beans which drop more panties than any french fries could ever do!

Despite the rain happening right when people were supposed to arrive, we wound up with 85 of the 95 guests that RSVP'd. It was quite the party. I was sore as hell from standing on a driveway for about 15 hours, but soooo worth it. 

 

[TheFanatic]

For those that were talking about tri tip. One thing about that cut. While I LOVE rare steak, the rarer the better. This steak/roast needs to be taken to medium rare if not medium. It can be really stringing rare and it's hard to do it rare because it's generally 1.5-2.5 lbs. Don't be afraid to over cook these a bit. And it is indeed steak. It comes from the bottom of the primal sirloin. And while some of you just wrinkled your noses at the mention of sirloin, this isn't Ponderosa sirloin. This stuff is phenomenally tender and flavorful. 

I reverse sear mine. Smoke for about 30-45 minutes at 300 until it hits about 125-130 then sear to take it to 140-145. Also remember, the grain runs two ways on this cut, so you have to cut it vertically on one side and horizontally on the other. Slice it right down the middle at the point and then slice each half accordingly. GREAT way to feed a crowd. One of them can feed 4-6 people rather easily. 

 

[E-Z Glider]

I did some super-easy carnitas this weekend and I dont think Ill ever do them any other way again.

I took 1 medium sized picnic roast (boneless shoulder) and cut it into 2-3" cubes. I put it in a gallon zip-lock bag overnight with a packet of Frontera Garlic Pork Carnita Sauce (this stuff is the bomb). The next day I dumped it all in a medium foil pan (uncovered) and into the smoker. Went kayaking for about 5 hours. Came back, shredded into smaller chunks, heated up some tortillas and served with pickled red onions, homemade salsa verde, and crumbled queso fresco.

Cutting the pork shoulder allowed it to cook faster and provided much more surface area for bark than cooking it whole. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

 

[TheFanatic]

I did some super-easy carnitas this weekend and I dont think Ill ever do them any other way again.

I took 1 medium sized picnic roast (boneless shoulder) and cut it into 2-3" cubes. I put it in a gallon zip-lock bag overnight with a packet of Frontera Garlic Pork Carnita Sauce (this stuff is the bomb). The next day I dumped it all in a medium foil pan (uncovered) and into the smoker. Went kayaking for about 5 hours. Came back, shredded into smaller chunks, heated up some tortillas and served with pickled red onions, homemade salsa verde, and crumbled queso fresco.

Cutting the pork shoulder allowed it to cook faster and provided much more surface area for bark than cooking it whole. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I do the same thing when I smoke bologna. Most people leave it as a whole chub and score the sides, I chunk it into cubes. More surface area, higher rib to meat ratio. The only downside to this method for either meat, is smaller window to get them right. Much easier to overcook. 

Here is a link to the smoked bologna bites. Forgive the REALLY old post and the fact that a couple pics aren't loading. Looks like I need to get my photog another assignment. I hired a guy to reshoot some old content. 

 

[Brony]

I do the same thing when I smoke bologna. Most people leave it as a whole chub and score the sides, I chunk it into cubes. More surface area, higher rib to meat ratio. The only downside to this method for either meat, is smaller window to get them right. Much easier to overcook. 

Here is a link to the smoked bologna bites. Forgive the REALLY old post and the fact that a couple pics aren't loading. Looks like I need to get my photog another assignment. I hired a guy to reshoot some old content. 

Smoking bologna chub was my high school nickname. 

 

[The Commish]

I decided to dive in an really start working on a bbq sauce of my own....starting with sweet/spicy profile.  This was a pretty damn good start...big hit

1 1/4 cups ketchup preferably organic
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon worchestire sauce
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper use less if you don't like the heat
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cumin

I had a tablespoon of chili powder in my first attempt, but that was too much....questioning if even needed.  This works well with the rub that I put on my ribs which is pretty savory, but it might be too sweet if you have a good amount of sweetness in your rub.

 

[SayWhat?]

Ok, I'm getting serious about getting a wood pellet grill/smoker.  The options:

Woodwind - Like the idea of a sear station, comes with cover and some pellets (not a big deal)

Traeger - Don't know much other than how well known they are, and that @proninja recommended the Pro model due to the better controller.  Any more word on the possibility that these are on sale nearing Father's Day?  @proninja - Sale or not, which particular make/model would you most recommend?  I'm hoping to stay in the $500-1000 range, and assuming it's going to be on the higher end of that.

Louisiana Grill with Smoke Box (Costco), also their Direct Website - If unhappy with this one, Costco's return policy makes this an easy return but I know nothing about this manufacturer nor the pros/cons of having a smoke box on the side.  Looks like an absolute insane amount of cook space though. 

Anyone with anything else I should be considering?  Anyone with a strong opinion on any of the above?  TIA!

 

[Hawks64]

Ok, I'm getting serious about getting a wood pellet grill/smoker.  The options:

Woodwind - Like the idea of a sear station, comes with cover and some pellets (not a big deal)

Traeger - Don't know much other than how well known they are, and that @proninja recommended the Pro model due to the better controller.  Any more word on the possibility that these are on sale nearing Father's Day?  @proninja - Sale or not, which particular make/model would you most recommend?  I'm hoping to stay in the $500-1000 range, and assuming it's going to be on the higher end of that.

Louisiana Grill with Smoke Box (Costco), also their Direct Website - If unhappy with this one, Costco's return policy makes this an easy return but I know nothing about this manufacturer nor the pros/cons of having a smoke box on the side.  Looks like an absolute insane amount of cook space though. 

Anyone with anything else I should be considering?  Anyone with a strong opinion on any of the above?  TIA!

If you can wait, Costco has Traeger in twice a year and have a model for 799 that is a really good value from what both @proninja and @TheFanatic have said. I think I'll be grabbing one either this year or next year, depending on when they back.

 

[Soulfly3]

Graduating to a 6.5pnd pork shoulder this wknd. 

Going "au natural" too. Salt. Pepper. Hickory. 

 

[JaxBill]

What's the going rate on tri-tip? ( maybe compared to ribeye or other cuts?)

Local Earthfare has tri-tip for 11.99 a pound. (Regular price). By comparison they have $4 off ribeye/strip  to bring it down to 9.99. (All cuts choice)

It's a cut you don't see that much in these parts.

 

[The Ref]

What's the going rate on tri-tip? ( maybe compared to ribeye or other cuts?)

Local Earthfare has tri-tip for 11.99 a pound. (Regular price). By comparison they have $4 off ribeye/strip  to bring it down to 9.99. (All cuts choice)

It's a cut you don't see that much in these parts.

I get $4.99 a lb in Florida on sale

 

[JaxBill]

I get $4.99 a lb in Florida on sale

 I believe you but where? And i realize you're South Florida

 

[Hawks64]

What's the going rate on tri-tip? ( maybe compared to ribeye or other cuts?)

Local Earthfare has tri-tip for 11.99 a pound. (Regular price). By comparison they have $4 off ribeye/strip  to bring it down to 9.99. (All cuts choice)

It's a cut you don't see that much in these parts.

Usually 9.99/lb up in the western Chicago burbs.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Salt. Pepper. Hickory. 




 

That's the way God intended BBQ to be made. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

I did some super-easy carnitas this weekend and I dont think Ill ever do them any other way again.

I took 1 medium sized picnic roast (boneless shoulder) and cut it into 2-3" cubes. I put it in a gallon zip-lock bag overnight with a packet of Frontera Garlic Pork Carnita Sauce (this stuff is the bomb). The next day I dumped it all in a medium foil pan (uncovered) and into the smoker. Went kayaking for about 5 hours. Came back, shredded into smaller chunks, heated up some tortillas and served with pickled red onions, homemade salsa verde, and crumbled queso fresco.

Cutting the pork shoulder allowed it to cook faster and provided much more surface area for bark than cooking it whole. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Love it. Surface area is key there. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

For those that were talking about tri tip. One thing about that cut. While I LOVE rare steak, the rarer the better. This steak/roast needs to be taken to medium rare if not medium. It can be really stringing rare and it's hard to do it rare because it's generally 1.5-2.5 lbs. Don't be afraid to over cook these a bit. And it is indeed steak. It comes from the bottom of the primal sirloin. And while some of you just wrinkled your noses at the mention of sirloin, this isn't Ponderosa sirloin. This stuff is phenomenally tender and flavorful. 

I reverse sear mine. Smoke for about 30-45 minutes at 300 until it hits about 125-130 then sear to take it to 140-145. Also remember, the grain runs two ways on this cut, so you have to cut it vertically on one side and horizontally on the other. Slice it right down the middle at the point and then slice each half accordingly. GREAT way to feed a crowd. One of them can feed 4-6 people rather easily. 

Thanks .When you sear do you do that on a grill or flattop or something else?

 

[Soulfly3]

That's the way God intended BBQ to be made. 

well, if I wanna eat it for dinner time, I think God also intended that Ill have to get it on the smoker around 5-6am. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

well, if I wanna eat it for dinner time, I think God also intended that Ill have to get it on the smoker around 5-6am. 

I say it all the time. Real BBQ is not for smart people. 

 

[SayWhat?]

So I dropped into a local Costco with the Traeger road show there until this Sunday.  They’re selling what they call a Century 34 for $899.  Features; 24lb hopper w clean out, warming drawer, digital pro controller w advanced grilling logic and temp probe.  Has three removable grates and includes extra 12” cast iron grate which can replace one of the regular grates, grill cover, 5pk drip tray liners, and some cookbook/spice/misc crap.

 @proninja—> He said they just started putting the pro controller in these about a week ago, which is why you recommended “buying up” to the Pro series. Seems like a decent option if going with a Trager, no?  I’m not sure I’d use the warming drawer much, but other than that seems about as good as I’d get for Traeger, no?

 

[SayWhat?]

Sounds like a great deal. 

Awesome, thanks! So now that the Traeger rep has given his approval ( ), can anyone else speak to weather they would go with a Traeger as their primary grill/smoker?  

And seriously @proninja, thanks for all the feedback.

 

[The Ref]

 I believe you but where? And i realize you're South Florida

Western beef - it was on sale this week and its as low as I've seen it.

 

[snore]

Awesome, thanks! So now that the Traeger rep has given his approval ( ), can anyone else speak to weather they would go with a Traeger as their primary grill/smoker?  

And seriously @proninja, thanks for all the feedback.

I have the woodwind with the sear station. The sear station is just big enough to do about 6 burgers or 4 strips if I want to do a quick cook like I did on my gas weber. 

Basically I went from weber gas grill and weber smokey mountain to just the woodwind. I love the sear station for reverse sear steaks and for searing off smoked chicken wings. Best of both worlds imo.

YMMV. 

 

[SayWhat?]

I have the woodwind with the sear station. The sear station is just big enough to do about 6 burgers or 4 strips if I want to do a quick cook like I did on my gas weber. 

Basically I went from weber gas grill and weber smokey mountain to just the woodwind. I love the sear station for reverse sear steaks and for searing off smoked chicken wings. Best of both worlds imo.

YMMV. 

Sweet.  I was wondering about whether you could use that sear station as a mini-gas grill when you want to throw some quick burgers/brats/etc on.  Sounds like that’s a “yes.”

Dang, I’m pretty torn on the Traeger vs Woodwind.

 

[Soulfly3]

So, I dunno why I didnt think of this earlier to get the coals RIPPING hot to start off the "snake method", but I put 10 coals in the chimney and got em started, then I used my portable air mattress inflator and blew them coals til they were shiny red... I think this SHOULD have a very positive effect overall on getting things moving a bit quicker.

Anyways... 6.5 pnder, on the weber smoking for what I expect to be at least 9hrs. bringing it to a buddy's who is doing smoke with some type of beef, dunno what yet. 

But ya... we'll see. never done one this big yet, and internal temp at cook time started at 38 degrees. gonna try to track the temperature movements hourly, is possible.

 

[TheFanatic]

Sweet.  I was wondering about whether you could use that sear station as a mini-gas grill when you want to throw some quick burgers/brats/etc on.  Sounds like that’s a “yes.”

Dang, I’m pretty torn on the Traeger vs Woodwind.

I've used both the Traeger and the Camp Chef. The sear station on the camp chef is a game changer. I don't understand why Rec Tec, Green Mountain, or whatever doesn't add a sear station. Either of them will smoke great. But the added functionality of the sear station tips the scales for me. 

 

[Soulfly3]

Fot those that care, just for educational purposes, temp went from 38 to 60 in hour 1. 

I was expecting about 20-30 degrees hr1, and more in hour 2 (40-50) before it settles. We'll see.