Minor update: apparently nobody in this stupid city sells proper pork shoulder/butt like in the video above. I found one butcher in the city that sells it but it was bigger than the one in the video and cost like $55. If I was hosting ten people I'd go for it but I'm not so, yeah..

I stopped at our usual butcher and spoke with the staff. They sold me a pork rib loin which is almost the same cut according to them. The butcher said he uses it when he makes pulled pork because it's a bit more tender and it's an easier, cheaper cut that is less hassle than a whole shoulder, but still has the fat cap and muscle that you want to render down when cooking. I got 3.5 lbs for $20. Boo yah.

So yeah, after the Bills dominate on Sunday I'll get it on the smoker and follow the above steps. I figure the cook time will be less since it's smaller, so I'll get it going in the early afternoon and see what happens.

Hope it works out for you RT. I smoked my first pork shoulder today. One of the benefits of working from home part time. 

Was a combo of applewood, hickory and mesquite. Spritzed it with an apple juice/apple cider combo a few times. Smoked it to 170 degrees. Pulled it off, wrapped it, put it back on until it reached 205. Basic rub of salt, pepper, garlic, onion, paprika. Rubbed mustard on it first. Made a quick slaw, toasted my bun, put some sweet bbq sauce on it, and presto. 

I would like photos RT,

That looks really good Foos, I have never tried to smoke or cook pork shoulder.
When I have bought it out I find it sometimes fantastic and at other times really stringy.
Anybody know why?

Sept 12, 2020 3:38:25 GMT iNCY said:

I would like photos RT,

That looks really good Foos, I have never tried to smoke or cook pork shoulder.
When I have bought it out I find it sometimes fantastic and at other times really stringy.
Anybody know why?

I'll post on twitter like last time and post it here.

Sept 12, 2020 3:38:25 GMT iNCY said:

I would like photos RT,

That looks really good Foos, I have never tried to smoke or cook pork shoulder.
When I have bought it out I find it sometimes fantastic and at other times really stringy.
Anybody know why?

Stringy bbq is caused by one of two things. It was either overcooked/cooked to quickly. Or it could have been chopped or sliced with the grain. That’s sort of three things I guess.

Twitter thread for today's smoke. Will update as I go:

The food porn in this thread makes my stomach's pee-pee rock hard.

Added a pic to the twitter thread. Just wrapped it and put it back on the smoker.

Drizzled Diana's Original all over before wrapping and sprinkled a little brown sugar for good measure. Now we wait for it to come up to temp.

Finished product is posted. Its as good as it looks.

Bills big win and a big delicious dinner, RT keeps on winning.

Sept 14, 2020 1:33:08 GMT Blindy said:

Bills big win and a big delicious dinner, RT keeps on winning.

I'd share if I could.

Nice work RT. Are you going to stick to this kind of cut next time you do pulled pork, or try a shoulder (if available) ?

Sept 14, 2020 3:10:50 GMT Foos said:

Nice work RT. Are you going to stick to this kind of cut next time you do pulled pork, or try a shoulder (if available) ?

I'll probably try a shoulder to see the difference. Butcher I talked to said if I give them a couple days notice they'll get me one.

Sept 14, 2020 1:24:16 GMT RT said:

Finished product is posted. Its as good as it looks.

Looks mad good made, how long was the cook all up?

Sept 14, 2020 4:03:42 GMT iNCY said:

Sept 14, 2020 1:24:16 GMT RT said:

Finished product is posted. Its as good as it looks.

Looks mad good made, how long was the cook all up?

3 hrs smoked then another 2.5 after I wrapped it. Was cooking at 250F for most of it but bumped it up to 275F for the last hour because the temp wasn't climbing as much as I'd hoped.

Nice, I am trying to build up my knowledge RT,

Would you do Loin again or go for the shoulder?
I would imagine you could cook the loin much faster because it doesn't have as much sinew to break down.

Sept 14, 2020 9:43:53 GMT iNCY said:

Nice, I am trying to build up my knowledge RT ,

Would you do Loin again or go for the shoulder?
I would imagine you could cook the loin much faster because it doesn't have as much sinew to break down.

I want to try the shoulder next to see the difference. And yeah, the cook time will probably be a bit longer. I was told ~2 hrs per pound and the loin was 3 lbs. So 6 hours, and it took about 5-1/2 in the end. I figure the shoulder will be about 7-8 hrs.

Sept 14, 2020 9:43:53 GMT iNCY said:

Nice, I am trying to build up my knowledge RT ,

Yeah me too, so I'm happy to share things with you iNCY, RT,All34LOL, and anyone else who smokes or grills or uses their BBQ otherwise. 

Still haven't found any macadamia nut oil though!

Ribs spotty style.


Rub:

Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Smoked paprika
Garlic
Onion
Celery salt
Cayenne pepper
White pepper
Black pepper
Dry mustard
Chili powder


Smoke from hickory and applewood.


Smoker temp 225

Rub ribs generously with seasoning. Some people will tell you to let them stand for a while after rubbing.

I’ve done it both ways and can’t tell the difference.


Smoke for three hours.


Wrap in foil meat side down the in a solution of apple or pineapple juice.
Hot sauce, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire suace and melted butter.
Smoke two hours.

Remove wrap and coat with your favorite bbq sauce. I like stubs sweet and sticky.
Or sweet baby rays.

Smoke one more hour or until internal temp is 175 to 180....
though really when the bones are showing about a half inch or so they ready.

Enjoy.

yyyyaaaaaasssss All34LOL. Those look great.

I'm a huge fan of smoking with applewood and hickory. Next bags I buy will probably be pecan and cherry just so I can keep experimenting.

Digging the pullback on those ribs All34LOL, but you got to show us the smoke ring.

Fuck, All34LOL is making me HUNGY.

Well boys, I did a brisket. This late 30something Canadian smoked a brisket for the first time in his life.



1) Bought the smallest one the butcher had. 4.5 pounds. Cost me $22

2) Brined it for 24 hours in water, brown sugar, salt, apple juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, peppercorns

3) Air dried it in the fridge after the brine for about 12 hours

4) Put the rub on it for about 24 hours - paprika, salt, cumin, chili powder, garlic, pepper, and some cayenne

5) Smoked it at around 230 degrees for about 12 hours until it hit 165. I had a tough time keeping the temperature totally stable, but it was mostly 225-240. I used applewood.

6) Wrapped it in foil at 165, and put it back until it hit 200. That took about 3 hours.

7) Let it rest for at least an hour before slicing. I actually wrapped some towels over the foil and put it in a cooler because it was almost 1am so I was bagged. I sliced it at 7:30 the next morning and had the best brisket for breakfast



Thoughts -



The flavour was awesome. Very happy with the smoke and rub. As what seems to be standard for me, it was a little on the salty side. My rubs need some work but continue to be very passable.



About 80% of the brisket was super tender. There was a chunk of it that wasn't as tender as I would have liked. It was still great, and I put those pieces on a bun for a stellar brisket sandwich. Side note, I made a fantasy football trade where one of the conditions was that I had to deliver 1 lb of brisket to my friend in order to make the trade go through. He said he loved it.

Who's done a brisket before? All34LOL ? Any advice on what to do differently? 🤯, let me tell you what. Brisket and key lime pie indulgence this week has been epic. 

Looks like a mighty first effort Foos,
I had never heard of brining a brisket before.
Did you spritz it as it was cooking uncovered? That helps keep it moist and sets the bark from what I have read.

Sept 24, 2020 2:26:08 GMT iNCY said:

Looks like a mighty first effort Foos,
I had never heard of brining a brisket before.
Did you spritz it as it was cooking uncovered? That helps keep it moist and sets the bark from what I have read.

My friend is a chef and one of the things he's known for is his smoked brisket. So I mostly followed his guidance on this. He said the brining was for the moisture and would ultimately replace the spritzing (I specifically asked!). For my next brisket attempt I will skip the brine and do the spritzing instead and see how that compares.

Either way, I've enjoyed several days worth of briskets and did give myself the meat sweats during my first brisket meal.

Only tried it once. It tasted very good but I screwed something up because it was not tender. I love good brisket and I want to try it again. Just gun shy I guess. And I never seem to
Catch a sale on a good cut at a convenient time.

A friend of mine is a chef and his advice to me on brisket was this:

"Be prepared to waste your money at least once. It has a mind of its own and even if you follow every step perfectly, you're probably still going to fuck it up."

I'll try it one day.

But that day is not today. Today its CHICKEN WINGS!

The kids favourite food and for the first time I'm smoking them. They like them crispy so I tossed them in...

-1/2 cup corn starch
-1 tbs paprika
-1 tbs garlic powder
-1 tbs onion powder

Smoking at 275 for about 45mins - 1 hr rotating half way. I'll take the temp at the 45 min mark and see.

Salt and pepper after theyre cooked. The kids like plain shit. I'll try one to see how they taste. If I remember to take pics I'll post my twitter.

Sept 27, 2020 23:54:23 GMT RT said:

A friend of mine is a chef and his advice to me on brisket was this:

"Be prepared to waste your money at least once. It has a mind of its own and even if you follow every step perfectly, you're probably still going to fuck it up."

Well go me then. I ended up sharing my brisket with two friends who both said it was really good. So that probably means I'll screw up my next batch!


RT,iNCY,All34LOL,🤯, and anyone else...I plan on smoking a turkey on Wednesday. It's pretty small, 8.5 lbs. Who has experience with this?

I plan on a brine, then a mild seasoning, stuffing it with aromatics (apples, lemons, garlic, onions, rosemary). I plan on using hickory. 

Any suggestions? 

Sept 28, 2020 1:10:56 GMT Foos said:

Sept 27, 2020 23:54:23 GMT RT said:

A friend of mine is a chef and his advice to me on brisket was this:

"Be prepared to waste your money at least once. It has a mind of its own and even if you follow every step perfectly, you're probably still going to fuck it up."

Well go me then. I ended up sharing my brisket with two friends who both said it was really good. So that probably means I'll screw up my next batch!


RT,iNCY,All34LOL,🤯, and anyone else...I plan on smoking a turkey on Wednesday. It's pretty small, 8.5 lbs. Who has experience with this?

I plan on a brine, then a mild seasoning, stuffing it with aromatics (apples, lemons, garlic, onions, rosemary). I plan on using hickory. 

Any suggestions? 

My only experience is on the consumption side of the equation.