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***Official Grilling and Smoking Thread*** (8 Viewers)

PinkydaPimp said:
So i picked up some burgers from my butcher.  they are basically 80% ground beef and 20% ground bacon.  Was thinking instead of making burgers to just combine and make a meatfloaf.  If i were to do this, how long would i smoke it?
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I would start with looking at recipes for fatties... but in reality, time is going to vary based on the belnd meat itself, the dimension of the "loaf"... the temperature of the coals, the distance over the coals, the use of a lid,...etc etc etc . Time is very rarely a good unit of determining doneness with meat given so many variables. Internal temp is king. 

I would personally cook it to an internal temp Rare+ (130) and let it carry over to a medium rare. 

 
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[icon] said:
I would start with looking at recipes for fatties... but in reality, time is going to vary based on the meat itself, the dimension of the "loaf"... the heat...etc. Time is very rarely a good unit of determining doneness given so many variables. 

I would personally cook it to Rare+ (130) and let it carry over to a medium rare. 
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But since i have pork in it, should i be taking it up to 165 instead?

 
PinkydaPimp said:
But since i have pork in it, should i be taking it up to 165 instead?
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I think those numbers have been changed.. I believe it's now 145 for pork chops/steaks. You're looking at a relatively low pork content. If you trust your meat supplier, I'd personally feel safe going with medium rare on that beef-heavy of a blend.

If you're concerned, you could go to a bit higher but 145 is medium well for beef, so that 80% of your patty would start to get pretty damn dry and flavorless.... 

 
acarey50 said:
I only have a Weber Genesis gas grill, but I'm thinking of taking my first stab at doing a tri tip soon on it following the directions from the video you posted about the tri tip tacos. Once I get my basketball tourney schedule for the weekend I'll be able to determine if I have enough time at home to go for it this weekend, or if it will be a post 4th of July experimenting.
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I'm doing the exact same thing tomorrow night.  Apprehensive about the "oak chunks" vs "oak chips" in a foil ball thing; never done any smoking on the gas grill.

 
[icon] said:
I think those numbers have been changed.. I believe it's now 145 for pork chops/steaks. You're looking at a relatively low pork content. If you trust your meat supplier, I'd personally feel safe going with medium rare on that beef-heavy of a blend.

If you're concerned, you could go to a bit higher but 145 is medium well for beef, so that 80% of your patty would start to get pretty damn dry and flavorless.... 
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makes sense but i got a pregnant wife so everything has to be thoroughly cooked.  sigh.  might do a separate one for her then thats cooked well done.  thanks.

 
Sad to admit this publicly, but since summer is back around and it's grilling season...I've been having a heck of a time getting my charcoal to light and get white hot lately.

We are between gas grills, so I've been using my smoker and moving the charcoal pan higher in lieu to get my grilling fix in. I've used briquettes I've had for a little while but also have bought new ones and I have a charcoal chimney that I've used for smoking, but going through the process I'm either finding the flame dying out within minutes or overall not getting hot enough even if it stays lit.

The few times I've finally gotten it going it's taken it an hour or so from first light to get hot enough to cook and even then isn't white hot. It becomes more of a game with finally surrounding semi-hot coals with enough additional fuel to finally catch enough surface/fuel to get it going.

I've watched more videos than I'd like to admit on techniques and feel like I'm clearly missing something because following all/any generally leads me to the same place. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 
Spike said:
I'm doing the exact same thing tomorrow night.  Apprehensive about the "oak chunks" vs "oak chips" in a foil ball thing; never done any smoking on the gas grill.
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Nice - definitely interested in hearing how it goes.

Looks like I may be punting to next weekend. Just got my son;s basketball schedule, and it looks like games at 11 and 2 tomorrow, then likely around noon or 1 on Sunday. Not sure how much time I need to plan for the tritip to cook properly, so I'm looking at this as an opportunity to watch some videos and make sure I am doing it right and not feel rushed this weekend.

Guess I will have to console myself by getting something that will cook a bit quicker on the grill, like some ribeyes.......

 
Jayded said:
Sad to admit this publicly, but since summer is back around and it's grilling season...I've been having a heck of a time getting my charcoal to light and get white hot lately.

We are between gas grills, so I've been using my smoker and moving the charcoal pan higher in lieu to get my grilling fix in. I've used briquettes I've had for a little while but also have bought new ones and I have a charcoal chimney that I've used for smoking, but going through the process I'm either finding the flame dying out within minutes or overall not getting hot enough even if it stays lit.

The few times I've finally gotten it going it's taken it an hour or so from first light to get hot enough to cook and even then isn't white hot. It becomes more of a game with finally surrounding semi-hot coals with enough additional fuel to finally catch enough surface/fuel to get it going.

I've watched more videos than I'd like to admit on techniques and feel like I'm clearly missing something because following all/any generally leads me to the same place. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Maybe buy a Looftlighter?

 
Jayded said:
Sad to admit this publicly, but since summer is back around and it's grilling season...I've been having a heck of a time getting my charcoal to light and get white hot lately.

We are between gas grills, so I've been using my smoker and moving the charcoal pan higher in lieu to get my grilling fix in. I've used briquettes I've had for a little while but also have bought new ones and I have a charcoal chimney that I've used for smoking, but going through the process I'm either finding the flame dying out within minutes or overall not getting hot enough even if it stays lit.

The few times I've finally gotten it going it's taken it an hour or so from first light to get hot enough to cook and even then isn't white hot. It becomes more of a game with finally surrounding semi-hot coals with enough additional fuel to finally catch enough surface/fuel to get it going.

I've watched more videos than I'd like to admit on techniques and feel like I'm clearly missing something because following all/any generally leads me to the same place. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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What kind of smoker?

 
Jayded said:
Sad to admit this publicly, but since summer is back around and it's grilling season...I've been having a heck of a time getting my charcoal to light and get white hot lately.

We are between gas grills, so I've been using my smoker and moving the charcoal pan higher in lieu to get my grilling fix in. I've used briquettes I've had for a little while but also have bought new ones and I have a charcoal chimney that I've used for smoking, but going through the process I'm either finding the flame dying out within minutes or overall not getting hot enough even if it stays lit.

The few times I've finally gotten it going it's taken it an hour or so from first light to get hot enough to cook and even then isn't white hot. It becomes more of a game with finally surrounding semi-hot coals with enough additional fuel to finally catch enough surface/fuel to get it going.

I've watched more videos than I'd like to admit on techniques and feel like I'm clearly missing something because following all/any generally leads me to the same place. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Are you having trouble getting the coals hot while in the chimney starter? Or are they dying quickly after you move them from the chimney to the grill?  

 
TheFanatic said:
Sort of a big weekend coming up. Actually, I believe the 4th of July is the biggest grilling weekend of the year. What's on the menu fellas?
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Day 1: Course pepper and salted short ribs smoked with apple wood.  No sauce (never-not-needed, worlds best cut of meat imo).  Smoked potato wedge salad.

Day 2: Dry rubbed baby backs smoked with whatever wood.  Spicy tomato based sauce.  Smoked bacon wrapped onion rings.  Mayo and chipotle dipping sauce.

Day 3: Mustard and rub crusted butt smoked with hickory.  Mustard and onion Carolina sauce for sandwiches.  Fried potato chips, course salt and garlic.

Day 4: Garlic butter grilled Rib-eye steaks. Grilled vegetable medley.  Home made vanilla ice cream.

 
tonydead said:
Day 1: Course pepper and salted short ribs smoked with apple wood.  No sauce (never-not-needed, worlds best cut of meat imo).  Smoked potato wedge salad.

Day 2: Dry rubbed baby backs smoked with whatever wood.  Spicy tomato based sauce.  Smoked bacon wrapped onion rings.  Mayo and chipotle dipping sauce.

Day 3: Mustard and rub crusted butt smoked with hickory.  Mustard and onion Carolina sauce for sandwiches.  Fried potato chips, course salt and garlic.

Day 4: Garlic butter grilled Rib-eye steaks. Grilled vegetable medley.  Home made vanilla ice cream.
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1. I want to spend the next four days at your house.

2. Wth is smoked potato wedge salad?

 
Cowboysfan8 said:
Hmm...cold? I'd be interested to find out how you smoke the potato's sometime if you wanna share. (How hot/long)
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All my recipes are at home written in various cook books I've adapted (still at work starting at the clock trying to make it go faster).  But, here is one that is close.  You can do warm or cold, I prefer cold.  Put the potatoes on at the start the same time as the ribs and you'll be able to pull them off early and put the salad in the fridge for a couple of hours (also, don't go to 275 like it says in the recipe if you are cooking with ribs, keep 200-220 and just pull off when tender).  I always use yellow mustard instead of dijon and I don't include any of the other fancy stuff like olives or capers. 

 
TheFanatic said:
Sort of a big weekend coming up. Actually, I believe the 4th of July is the biggest grilling weekend of the year. What's on the menu fellas?
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Not sure yet. Tomorrow is farmers market day, and here in KC almost all the good veggies are in. Corn is even starting to show up already. So there will be a ton of various items on the grill.

Haven't decided on the protein yet. Going walleye fishing in the morning also, so there may be some fresh walleye or catfish to deal with.

On the 4th we are going to a buddies house. He is doing the meats and I am going to town on my world famous french fries, as chronicled here.

 
tonydead said:
All my recipes are at home written in various cook books I've adapted (still at work starting at the clock trying to make it go faster).  But, here is one that is close.  You can do warm or cold, I prefer cold.  Put the potatoes on at the start the same time as the ribs and you'll be able to pull them off early and put the salad in the fridge for a couple of hours (also, don't go to 275 like it says in the recipe if you are cooking with ribs, keep 200-220 and just pull off when tender).  I always use yellow mustard instead of dijon and I don't include any of the other fancy stuff like olives or capers. 
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?

 
heckmanm said:
Are you having trouble getting the coals hot while in the chimney starter? Or are they dying quickly after you move them from the chimney to the grill?  
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In the chimney. I've got a pretty basic chimney I bought years ago that's pretty much just a cylinder with one inch holes on the bottom. 

The only way I've been able to keep a flame is put somewhat hot coals onto an unlit bunch in the smoker and wait a while for the energy to spread, meanwhile pissing off my wife as she's helping get the other stuff coordinated. 

 
shuke said:
What is your "special" blackened rub?  I usually do a glaze of olive oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, ground ginger, dill.
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Zest a lime or a lemon...I prefer a lime, but both work.  Add 1 TBSP brown sugar.  2 tsp of each: smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, pepper.  1 tsp of each: kosher salt, Tonys/Old Bay, cumin, oregano.  1/2 tsp nutmeg and cayenne (can use full tap if you like the heat; I use Chipotle pepper flakes instead of cayenne as I like the smokey flavor).  This will be enough rub for a few filets, so save any leftover.

Rub salmon in olive oil, both sides.  Pat the rub into the filet liberally and let rest in the fridge until your ready to grill.  Grill skin side down at 350ish for 3 minutes, carefully flip and grill other side 3 minutes, finish skin side down 3 more minutes.  Let it rest a few minutes and serve.  Skin will peel right off.

Best blackened salmon evah!

 
Jayded said:
In the chimney. I've got a pretty basic chimney I bought years ago that's pretty much just a cylinder with one inch holes on the bottom. 

The only way I've been able to keep a flame is put somewhat hot coals onto an unlit bunch in the smoker and wait a while for the energy to spread, meanwhile pissing off my wife as she's helping get the other stuff coordinated. 
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Just caught a Good Eats episode where he suggested spritzing a little canola or other veg oil on the newspaper before wadding it up under the chimney.  Gives a longer burn of the paper that may help get the charcoal burning better. So maybe give that a shot, if I'm understanding your issue.

I haven't had to do that with mine.  I crumple up about 2 full sheets of newspaper for a full chimney, and within 10-15 minutes it's roaring like a jet engine.  

 
Jayded said:
In the chimney. I've got a pretty basic chimney I bought years ago that's pretty much just a cylinder with one inch holes on the bottom. 

The only way I've been able to keep a flame is put somewhat hot coals onto an unlit bunch in the smoker and wait a while for the energy to spread, meanwhile pissing off my wife as she's helping get the other stuff coordinated. 
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Maybe the issue is your chimney.  I put a bunch of paper towels under mine.  I dont even have to light it much and my charcoal is ready in 15-20 mins. 

You could look at mini blow torches.  Ive seen some for ~$30.  if your chimney is off you might just use that to light it.  :shrug:

 
Aw man, I just overcooked 2 T-bones. About 3/4" inch thick, I cooked for 5 minutes each side. Did the touch test, and they still felt too soft. So I cooked another 2 minutes. 

They came out medium-well when I was going  for medium to medium-rare. I'm  so disappointed. Should have trusted my instinct and not done those last 2 minutes. 

Still... I had steak, corn on the cob, and roasted red skin potatoes for dinner so can't complain too much. 

 
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Tri-tip I did today on a whim. Rub was based on this, a bit more paprika (Smoked Spanish) and cayenne.

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

 
Hawks64 said:
Tri-tip I did today on a whim. Rub was based on this, a bit more paprika (Smoked Spanish) and cayenne.

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
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nice work!

 
PinkydaPimp said:
nice work!
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Thanks! I forgot to mention the most important part, the cook. Cooked it on my WSM, fully lit chimney with a single chunk of hickory. All vents 100% open, got close to 400 degrees. Took about 25 minutes, turning every 6-9 minutes. First time I made a Tri-tip and it was awesome, medium-rare perfection. The pics didn't show it very well though.

 
Hawks64 said:
Tri-tip I did today on a whim. Rub was based on this, a bit more paprika (Smoked Spanish) and cayenne.

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Click to expand...
I've seen tri-tip at the store, what's its story? I thought it was a cheaper cut of meat for braising, but this looks like you grilled it. Is it a good grilling steak? Any special preparation needed? 

 
MikeIke said:
I've seen tri-tip at the store, what's its story? I thought it was a cheaper cut of meat for braising, but this looks like you grilled it. Is it a good grilling steak? Any special preparation needed? 
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Tri tip is super tender.  No need to go through great lengths like brisket to get it tender.  thats the best thing about it.  its also really flavorful.  Honestly its my favorite beef to smoke right now. 

 
MikeIke said:
I've seen tri-tip at the store, what's its story? I thought it was a cheaper cut of meat for braising, but this looks like you grilled it. Is it a good grilling steak? Any special preparation needed? 
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Not cheap by me, and I cooked it via a hot smoke so pseudo grilled I guess. Top rack on the WSM so about 18-20" above the coals. As close I can get to Santa Maria :)

 
Jayded said:
In the chimney. I've got a pretty basic chimney I bought years ago that's pretty much just a cylinder with one inch holes on the bottom. 

The only way I've been able to keep a flame is put somewhat hot coals onto an unlit bunch in the smoker and wait a while for the energy to spread, meanwhile pissing off my wife as she's helping get the other stuff coordinated. 
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It's pretty windy in my backyard, and I was having trouble getting the charcoal lit with newspaper.  Try these starters.

 
Going to do a pork belly(skin on) tomorrow.  Probably just cook it like a picnic.  But any tips/suggestions?  ill probably score the skin, then brine it over night.  Then cook it low and slow until probe tender.  :shrug:

 
acarey50 said:
I only have a Weber Genesis gas grill, but I'm thinking of taking my first stab at doing a tri tip soon on it following the directions from the video you posted about the tri tip tacos. Once I get my basketball tourney schedule for the weekend I'll be able to determine if I have enough time at home to go for it this weekend, or if it will be a post 4th of July experimenting.
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Ended up doing two tritips last night - a little over 4 pounds of meat combined, purchased the prime tritip from Costco.

One I put a Cajun seasoning mix I had on, the other got a carne asada seasoning. Did each the same way in that I seasononed and put a little olive oil on each, placed in a ziploc to toss it around a bit and ended up leaving them in the fridge overnight. Took them out the next afternoon, and shortly before getting them on the grill I added a little more seasoning to each.

Weber Genesis - I bought the Weber Smoker box and picked up some hickory and pecan wood chips. Went with Pecan for this go round. Gave the chips a soak, put them on the grill with the left Burner at high. Wasnt getting much smoke, so based on some reading I had done, I added some dry chips to the box and let that go and the magic started. The temp was registering between about 250-275 - placed the tritips on the raised rack and let them go for 40 minutes - checked at that point with the meat thermometer and they were reading at about 100 degrees - flipped them, closed the lid and came back out about 15 minutes later and they were at about 115 degrees. At some point here all the wood chips had burned out so no more smoke.

Cranked the grill up to high just to put a little sear on the tritips - gave them about a minute on each side and pulled them off.

Let them rest about 15 minutes or so while I grilled some asparagus.

Sliced them and they were a very nice medium rare, maybe pushing medium. Received good marks from my 12 and 10 year old taste testers. My wife is not a fan of the smoky flavor, so she did not have much even though I said it was a minimal amount of smokiness that transferred to the meat. The 6 year old, who is usually will eat as much meat as the older 2 opted for the mac and cheese we made for the 6 and 3 year old my wife was watching for the night. Still, between my two boys and myself, there was maybe half a pound left, if that much, and I think I could have easily finished it off if I really wanted to.

My wife loved beef, steak, etc., just not a fan of smoked flavor - I'm thinking next time I may do the low/slow on the grill without the smoker box in there for her - as she likes that BBQ flavor, I may try do the next tritips with a simple BBQ rub, or just do some BBQ sauce and hope it caramelizes up a bit.

I'll still go with the smoke route from time to time, but have to be sure to have alternative options for the wife.

Wife is taking the kids to the beach this afternoon and likely staying for a bonfire - I'm planning on having the leftover tritip for dinner unless the kids decide to finish it for their lunch, but I doubt that they will. I hid it on the top shelf of the fridge to up my chances of it surviving the day.

 
acarey50 said:
My wife loved beef, steak, etc., just not a fan of smoked flavor - I'm thinking next time I may do the low/slow on the grill without the smoker box in there for her - as she likes that BBQ flavor, I may try do the next tritips with a simple BBQ rub, or just do some BBQ sauce and hope it caramelizes up a bit.
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If your wife likes the flavor of beef, do one just with salt, no rubs, sauces or anything. Just coarse salt.

#Brazilianchurrasco #Saltisenough #Meatygoodness

 
msommer said:
If your wife likes the flavor of beef, do one just with salt, no rubs, sauces or anything. Just coarse salt.

#Brazilianchurrasco #Saltisenough #Meatygoodness
Click to expand...
I will do this next time. Assuming i get the two pack from Costco again, perhaps I'll do one with just salt, and one with some BBQ sauce. 

 
:blackdot:

Been following along with this thread for a while now, guess it's time I marked it.

I am planning a UDS build soon. I'm ready to up my smoking game (I think). I've been using a Char Broil Infrared to smoke, but I want a stand alone smoker, and more rack space. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a new smoker, and building a UDS looks like a fun project. I think I'm just handy enough to pull it off ...

 
Have an 8 lb pork butt and 3 racks of baby backs on my 22" WSM and what do you know? As soon as I got my temp dialed in to 250 a nasty thunderstorm rolls through. Current temp is sitting @ 216. The bottom vents have been opened to about 2/3 the way open. Hopefully the temp will start to climb. 

 
I did pork belly burnt ends yesterday. Turned out great! Followed the vindulge method posted back a few pages. Only difference is that I marinated in bourbon, maple syrup, salt mustard for 2 days. Not sure how much difference it made.  Used Memphis dust rub and sweet baby Rays as finishing sauce. 

I forgot pics as time was tight. 

I'd make again but these beauties are best for a crowd.  This was my first time smoking pork belly. The ones from Costco don't have skin on em which was perfect for my needs. 

 
Got pork shoulder going on the wsm today . Looks like mine didn't thaw long enough. This one is taking forever. Fortunate that friends had to bail or else we'd be eating domino's while smelling backyard smoke. 

 
Doubling up on my pork butts for pulled pork tomorrow. Two six pounders are in their brine ready to be smoooooked :thumbup:  

Using Grillinfools siracha recipe but with Stubbs habanero sauce this time :fire: 

 
5 lb pork butt been on since 9 AM est and still only at 190.

I didn't foil until a few minutes ago but people are hungry so pulling it at like 8:30 and hoping for the best

Note to self:  start earlier... you can always foil and let rest of its done early 

 
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