Nobody doing any smoking anymore? I'm the one in snow storms. 

I did brisket last week. Did a point and a flat. I've gone to a few butchers, and nobody seems to sell full packers. Costco doesn't sell brisket here (I'm so sad about that), and this was the first time I've seen a point, so I grabbed it. Oh man, it was so good. My flat didn't turn out quite as good. I smoked the point to about 205 and pulled it probe tender. I left the flat on for almost two hours longer. It hit 203, so I took it off. I maybe should have tried to smoke it longer? I don't know. I did them both overnight, no wrap for the first time. Great bark. 

Here's the point. Was so excited to eat it forgot to take pics of it sliced. Also no pics of the flat (sorry @ness). 



Did pork side ribs tonight. Pretty cheap, about $6 for a rack. Made a rub using salt, sugar, brown sugar, pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. I really quite liked it (good thing too, I made a big batch). Did the classic 3-2-1 method. Used applewood with a bit of mesquite. Kept it around 230 degrees for 3 hours. Wrapped it in foil with butter, brown sugar, apple juice, and apple cider vinegar for 2 hours, still at 230. Then took it out, slapped on some bbq sauce, and put it back on the smoker for 1 hour. Great smoke flavour, awesome salty taste from the rub, and wonderful sweetness from the sauce. Ribs are by far my favourite thing to smoke. So consistently perfect. 

Nov 13, 2020 2:36:51 GMT Foos said:

Looks awesome. Now I'm hungry.

Ditto. Please ship!

Need some pointers from the pros here. We're talking Christmas dinner and possibly smoking a whole chicken (turkey is too much food for the 4 of us and my wife doesn't really like it anyway).

I want to smoke the chicken but Mrs RT has confessed that she has been finding the smoked food too overpowering. She liked the ribs I made (probably because they spend half the time wrapped in foil) but everything else doesn't agree with her pallet.

I'm thinking of smoking it for 30-60 minutes for flavour then finishing it in the oven. Any tips for that? Any other ideas?

I'm a n00b still RT, but that sounds about right. Get some of that smokey flavour into the bird, then move it to the oven to finish. That makes sense to me, and my small amount of knowledge. I think All34LOL is the most experienced smoker here, so maybe he can weigh in?

Did another smoke tonight. Always fun to start off a smoke by brushing off two inches of snow off of the smoker. 

More chicken drumettes. Seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic, cumin, sage. And corn starch for an added crunch. 

Smoked them for about 90 minutes at 225 using pecan. I then cranked up the heat to 400ish for 30 mins to crisp them up. Turned out very nice! I also smoked my first side dish. I chopped up and rendered some bacon, then threw it together with some brussel sprouts and onions. It was in the smoker for the same amount of time and temperatures as the drumettes. 

I also made a peach and blueberry pie. Not smoked. If the peaches were fresh, I totally would've smoked them!




It was a great dinner. 10/10 would eat it again. Even my wife ate the chicken, and she generally 1) Hates smoke 2) Hates meat. 

Good God I want to live next door to Foos and eat leftovers, even if they're just crumbs, out of his garbage.

Nov 21, 2020 2:16:56 GMT 🤯 said:

Good God I want to live next door to Foos and eat leftovers, even if they're just crumbs, out of his garbage.

Why does this sound so appealing?!?

Nov 21, 2020 17:47:26 GMT @ness said:

Nov 21, 2020 2:16:56 GMT 🤯 said:

Good God I want to live next door to Foos and eat leftovers, even if they're just crumbs, out of his garbage.

Why does this sound so appealing?!?

You on your gummies? MUNCHIES!!!

Nov 21, 2020 17:54:51 GMT 🤯 said:

Nov 21, 2020 17:47:26 GMT @ness said:

Why does this sound so appealing?!?

You on your gummies? MUNCHIES!!!

Worst place for me to be is with all this food porn.

And neither of you guys shared that banana bread either.

Nov 18, 2020 20:00:24 GMT RT said:

Need some pointers from the pros here. We're talking Christmas dinner and possibly smoking a whole chicken (turkey is too much food for the 4 of us and my wife doesn't really like it anyway).

I want to smoke the chicken but Mrs RT has confessed that she has been finding the smoked food too overpowering. She liked the ribs I made (probably because they spend half the time wrapped in foil) but everything else doesn't agree with her pallet.

I'm thinking of smoking it for 30-60 minutes for flavour then finishing it in the oven. Any tips for that? Any other ideas?

Sorry been absent for a spell gents. RT is your wife’s objection to the smoke flavor or the rubs and or sauces you use. If the latter I smoked a turkey last year and used traditional turkey seasoning rather than a bbq rub. It was a hit. I used parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and butter. Meat still had the Smokey taste but not the kick of cayenne, chilli, paprika and whatnot. Hope that helps.

As for transfer to oven. Don’t see what could hurt there as long as your temps stay consistent. Though with poultry it’s not as important as with pork. Never try to speed up pork in the oven by increasing the temp... it will make your meat tough.

Dec 12, 2020 20:13:44 GMT All34LOL said:

Nov 18, 2020 20:00:24 GMT RT said:

Need some pointers from the pros here. We're talking Christmas dinner and possibly smoking a whole chicken (turkey is too much food for the 4 of us and my wife doesn't really like it anyway).

I want to smoke the chicken but Mrs RT has confessed that she has been finding the smoked food too overpowering. She liked the ribs I made (probably because they spend half the time wrapped in foil) but everything else doesn't agree with her pallet.

I'm thinking of smoking it for 30-60 minutes for flavour then finishing it in the oven. Any tips for that? Any other ideas?

Sorry been absent for a spell gents. RT is your wife’s objection to the smoke flavor or the rubs and or sauces you use. If the latter I smoked a turkey last year and used traditional turkey seasoning rather than a bbq rub. It was a hit. I used parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and butter. Meat still had the Smokey taste but not the kick of cayenne, chilli, paprika and whatnot. Hope that helps.

As for transfer to oven. Don’t see what could hurt there as long as your temps stay consistent. Though with poultry it’s not as important as with pork. Never try to speed up pork in the oven by increasing the temp... it will make your meat tough.

I think it's the smoke flavour. She has a weird pallet because her sense of smell is off. She broke her nose when she was a kid and it healed funny. So certain flavours taste off for her and it's kind of random what is going to set it off.

I think I'm going to try changing pellets first. I've only been using one kind this year. She bought a huge bag of "championship blend" when she bought the traeger. Maybe using straight up pecan or apple (or something else light) with poultry will help. The blend I had was apple, cherry and oak and maybe the woody flavours she was getting was doing it.

Dec 12, 2020 23:35:30 GMT RT said:

Dec 12, 2020 20:13:44 GMT All34LOL said:

Sorry been absent for a spell gents. RT is your wife’s objection to the smoke flavor or the rubs and or sauces you use. If the latter I smoked a turkey last year and used traditional turkey seasoning rather than a bbq rub. It was a hit. I used parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and butter. Meat still had the Smokey taste but not the kick of cayenne, chilli, paprika and whatnot. Hope that helps.

As for transfer to oven. Don’t see what could hurt there as long as your temps stay consistent. Though with poultry it’s not as important as with pork. Never try to speed up pork in the oven by increasing the temp... it will make your meat tough.

I think it's the smoke flavour. She has a weird pallet because her sense of smell is off. She broke her nose when she was a kid and it healed funny. So certain flavours taste off for her and it's kind of random what is going to set it off.

I think I'm going to try changing pellets first. I've only been using one kind this year. She bought a huge bag of "championship blend" when she bought the traeger. Maybe using straight up pecan or apple (or something else light) with poultry will help. The blend I had was apple, cherry and oak and maybe the woody flavours she was getting was doing it.

Didn’t think of that. I think Apple on it’s own is a good idea. Hope she likes it.

I also been too busy to grill, except for lunch at work where my Dad is on grilling duty and we have steak for lunch every day...

With the objection to smoke flavour, I would say wrap in foil early.

It's happening. It's brisket day.

My friend and his girlfriend are up from Vancouver this week on a ski trip. They spent the night in our basement on Sunday and he brought with him a 5lb cut of brisket. He dropped it in my deep freeze and said they'll be back Thursday for dinner :lol:

I called in sick to cook this today so it better turn out! I will post pics on the weekend. I have to use social media to post everything and would rather be safe than sorry. Make it look like I did this on Saturday. :suspic:

I've done some research and it looks like I can have it done in about 8 hours or so, cooking at a slightly higher temp and wrapping it half way through. It's a pretty thin piece of meat so I'm not too worried about it not cooking all the way through but I am worried it might cook too fast. Also I can't really do an overnight smoke where I live anyway. I'm in an enclosed townhouse complex and I'm certain someone would complain if I left Chris Traeger running for 12-18 hours.

Updates to come!

Mar 4, 2021 16:23:53 GMT RT said:

It's happening. It's brisket day.

My friend and his girlfriend are up from Vancouver this week on a ski trip. They spent the night in our basement on Sunday and he brought with him a 5lb cut of brisket. He dropped it in my deep freeze and said they'll be back Thursday for dinner

I called in sick to cook this today so it better turn out! I will post pics on the weekend. I have to use social media to post everything and would rather be safe than sorry. Make it look like I did this on Saturday.

I've done some research and it looks like I can have it done in about 8 hours or so, cooking at a slightly higher temp and wrapping it half way through. It's a pretty thin piece of meat so I'm not too worried about it not cooking all the way through but I am worried it might cook too fast. Also I can't really do an overnight smoke where I live anyway. I'm in an enclosed townhouse complex and I'm certain someone would complain if I left Chris Traeger running for 12-18 hours.

Updates to come!

Awesome! Do you have meat probe thermometers to monitor temps?

Mar 4, 2021 23:05:42 GMT iNCY said:

Mar 4, 2021 16:23:53 GMT RT said:

It's happening. It's brisket day.

My friend and his girlfriend are up from Vancouver this week on a ski trip. They spent the night in our basement on Sunday and he brought with him a 5lb cut of brisket. He dropped it in my deep freeze and said they'll be back Thursday for dinner

I called in sick to cook this today so it better turn out! I will post pics on the weekend. I have to use social media to post everything and would rather be safe than sorry. Make it look like I did this on Saturday.

I've done some research and it looks like I can have it done in about 8 hours or so, cooking at a slightly higher temp and wrapping it half way through. It's a pretty thin piece of meat so I'm not too worried about it not cooking all the way through but I am worried it might cook too fast. Also I can't really do an overnight smoke where I live anyway. I'm in an enclosed townhouse complex and I'm certain someone would complain if I left Chris Traeger running for 12-18 hours.

Updates to come!

Awesome! Do you have meat probe thermometers to monitor temps?

Hell yeah. I forgot to take a pic before I wrapped it but oh well.

Got it to 150 then wrapped it in foil. The internet tells me I should have used butcher paper but fuck them. Didn't have time to plan.

Pellets are the Traeger signature blend: hickory, maple & cherry. I want a smokey flavour but also a sweetness to it, so I figured this was my best bet.

Probe tells me it's cooking a little slower than expected but we should still be eating at a decent time. 7pmish. Mrs RT made corn bread and we're doing baked beans and coleslaw. And beer. So much beer. I am drunk.

Update: I mostly nailed it. I cut it the wrong way (with the grain) by accident but it was still ok. Then we figured it out and cut the rest against the grain. Its amazing how different it tastes depending how you cut it.

I have some ideas to make it better but this was an 8/10. Damn good for a first try. I'll post pics this weekend.

Made beans, corn bread and coleslaw with it. So good.

Atta boy RT. I've done three briskets so far. I have one ready to go in the freezer, but I have no propane. Baby coming in the next few weeks so I don't think I'll be smoking anytime soon.

My first brisket was the best. My second was the worst. Third in the middle. Keep doing it, brisket is awesome! I've wrapped twice in foil, and let one just ride throughout the stall (best bark).

Brisket pics as promised. Forgot to post them on the weekend because I was still hungover from Thursday night. I mean Saturday. SATURDAY!

It cooked quite well. Probably not quite as tender as it would have been had I not sped it up a bit, but I'm no pro and I think I did pretty good for my first try. Everyone loved it, even Mrs RT, who isn't super jacked on smokey food. She said it was just right, although she won't touch the leftovers. More for me!

Mrs. RT made cornbread and one of our friends made coleslaw dressing from scratch. Was a great meal. We were fat and happy afterwards.

Next time I'm going to smoke it longer and wrap it in butcher paper like you're supposed to. I guess it allows it to rest longer without making the meat soggy. I could only rest it for about 20-30 minutes before we grew too antsy and were worried we would ruin the bark.

Do another brisket yet RT? Once you start doing them...you can't stop!

Bought a real nice pork shoulder for $12. Safeway was clearing them out because they had to go that day. I threw it in the freezer for a few weeks. Ended up smoking it the other day. 

Did a 10 ingredient rub. A new one that I've yet to try. Will definitely use it again. Big win on that. 

Smoked the pork shoulder at 225 for about 8 hours using cherry wood. Took it off at about 155 and wrapped it. Put it back on for another 4 hours or so. Took it off at 195. Let it rest for about 3 hours, and pulled it. Oh baby, this is the best pulled pork I've done yet. This was restaurant quality. It was super fatty so just full of flavour. I'm really impressed. 

 

This was when I took it off at 155 right before I wrapped it. 



Final product. Put it on some tater tots tonight with melted cheddar and bbq sauce. Divine. 

Foos I wish you could send me that!!

I have not done another but I'm planning on it. My neighbour gave me some barbecue rub that his chef friend made and I plan on using that on ribs I have in the freezer...possibly this weekend.

Apr 13, 2021 3:50:28 GMT Gyro LC said:

Foos I wish you could send me that!!

You're going to be so disappointed that none of your chocolate and candy is pulled pork flavoured.

I don't have a smoker or a BBQ or anything but this thread inspired me to try some big boy cooking. I buy precooked pulled pork all the time so wanted to give it a go making my own. I got a pork shoulder, rubbed it with paprika, cumin, brown sugar, salt & pepper and put it in a casserole dish with a can of apple cider. Six hours later with the oven at 130 it turned out like this:





Results really surpassed my expectations, it was lovely and juicy and you could really taste the cider in the meat. I've tried a poached chicken in cider recipe before and it was a bit of a waste of time - I guess the long cooking time makes all the difference here. Next time I'll be a bit more liberal with the spices.

Served it up on some white bread with BBQ sauce and pickles - and now I've got enough meat leftover for a month. :lol:

@admin nice!!!

Do a quick slaw to mix it up and bit for your pulled pork sammiches.

Bake off some tater tots, throw some shredded cheddar cheese on the tots once they're out of the oven, then toss on your pulled pork and bbq sauce - faux pulled pork poutine.

I love my smoked pulled pork.

That looks awesome @admin, how was it?
Tender or a little stringy?

Also 130 seems a little high. I would've tried 105-110 to be honest.

May 10, 2021 3:06:07 GMT iNCY said:

That looks awesome @admin , how was it?
Tender or a little stringy?

Came out really well considering the pork was from Woolies and as I'm sure you've experienced supermarket meat can be hit and miss. After peeling off the skin there was next to nothing I tossed while shredding. Since this was such a success I'll make the effort to go to the butchers next time I have family over.

May 10, 2021 3:09:28 GMT Foos said:

Also 130 seems a little high. I would've tried 105-110 to be honest.

Unless I'm missing something I don't believe my oven can go lower than 120! The recipe I was following said 4-8 hours and I really needed to leave it for six until it took on that caramel colour. My pot is pretty thick ceramic though (I often use it for baking bread) so that likely makes quite a difference. 

Who knew!

Best way to check when you cook meat low and slow is never time but the internal temperature of the meat. I'd drop $15 and get a decent insta read temperature probe to check to see when meats done. I like to do my pork to around 195-200 F.