What's in your smoker?

[dijit]

Originally Posted by MarkinCA

A 4 1/2 hr indirect cook between 225* and 250*. Bird is currently wrapped awaiting side dishes to complete...

Dammit Mark I thought I was over my turkey cravings for this weekend! That bird looks damn good!

[timj219]

Originally Posted by MarkinCA

A 4 1/2 hr indirect cook between 225* and 250*. Bird is currently wrapped awaiting side dishes to complete...

Beautiful looking bird Mark. I used the side firebox for our Thanksgiving bird as I do most years. Trouble maintaining temp this year because we were low 30s and a stiff wind. Fortunately I started at 06:30 so the bird was finished at 13:30. 25 pounds of charcoal plus three apple logs over 7 hours for an 18 pound turkey.

Only problem I have with doing turkey this way is I always end up with skin that's more leathery than crisp. But I can't imagine going back to oven roasting and losing the flavor I get now.

[mahtofire14]

Originally Posted by 357

Pete, we're going to need some update pics.

Forgot to post the finished result, and never even saw this post! So here it is. 7 hours, tough time regulating the temp, but with it being about 20 degrees I wasn't surprised. Turned out really good especially with the injected marinade. Also got a really nice smoke ring on it!

[MarkinAZ]

Originally Posted by dijit

Dammit Mark I thought I was over my turkey cravings for this weekend! That bird looks damn good!

Thanks Michael. Tasted good too! As side dishes, we had sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and gravy made from the turkey drippings

Originally Posted by timj219

Beautiful looking bird Mark. I used the side firebox for our Thanksgiving bird as I do most years. Trouble maintaining temp this year because we were low 30s and a stiff wind. Fortunately I started at 06:30 so the bird was finished at 13:30. 25 pounds of charcoal plus three apple logs over 7 hours for an 18 pound turkey.

Only problem I have with doing turkey this way is I always end up with skin that's more leathery than crisp. But I can't imagine going back to oven roasting and losing the flavor I get now.

Thanks Tim. That sounds like some challenging weather conditions to do a bird in. It was in the 60*s out this way, overcast with clouds threatening of rain. Fairly easy smoking conditions. I agree with you, pretty had to revert back to the gas oven for this annual meal

[Steve]

Looks great Mark!

[EricF]

Forgot to post this the other day. This is the bird from Thanksgiving done with Magic Dust and a few hours on the Traeger!

[OLS]

Well, I smoked some pork neckbones last night, I wanted them smoked before I put them in a pot of Pinto beans,
and man, was it devastating. I went out to shoot some photos of a few bands last night, left them on low and
covered for the entire 4-5 hours. Unbelievable....just PERFECT. Extremely bony, which means I suck.
and suck, and suck. Wow, what a flavor.

And then tonight, since I had the fever again, I cut a butt down into 4 big slabs and put it on the smoker.
I am counting on this being a little dry, but as much as I love the idea of a true, slow smoked butt, the
flavor once you get past the bark is SO BORING. I love pork roast, but once its cold, the flavor goes off some.
So this way, MAYBE I get a lot more bark than blah.

yeah, its Me....surprised

[T.G]

Originally Posted by OLS

And then tonight, since I had the fever again, I cut a butt down into 4 big slabs and put it on the smoker.
I am counting on this being a little dry, but as much as I love the idea of a true, slow smoked butt, the
flavor once you get past the bark is SO BORING. I love pork roast, but once its cold, the flavor goes off some.
So this way, MAYBE I get a lot more bark than blah.

yeah, its Me....surprised

I agree Brad, once you get past the bark, butt from supermarket pork is pretty boring. Commercial pork has gone the way of the supermarket tomato, bred for size and appearance and in the process, turned flavorless.

I've taken to 24+ hour brining and injecting the heck out of supermarket stuff for this reason. Only time I don't do it is when I buy the heritage breed seed feed pork from one of the local farmers - it doesn't need it since it actually has flavor.

[OLS]

It came out really nice, I was worried it would be bone dry, but the slow cook seemed to simply make for four slabs
of nice, barky, juicy meat. I pulled it and put it in the freezer to take to my mother for my holiday visit.

[bruceolee]

Dammit! Looking at this thread is making me want to get the smoker out again and smoke something for Christmas. I usually pick thanksgiving or christmas but i'm thinking this holiday season needs a twofer. Although it's not really hard to convince me to smoke anything. "geez you all want me to hang out smoking a pork shoulder this year? Well, i guess i will as long as you buy the wood, the pork shoulder, and buy me this list of cigars that i can enjoy while smoking i MIGHT do it" They fall for it every time!

[EricF]

Pork! it's what's for dinner!!

[Stevez]

Originally Posted by OLS

It came out really nice, I was worried it would be bone dry, but the slow cook seemed to simply make for four slabs
of nice, barky, juicy meat. I pulled it and put it in the freezer to take to my mother for my holiday visit.

That's a great idea Brad; never thought of it for the reasons you mentioned. Thanks for sharing and will this be your go to method from now on? Thanks.

[OLS]

I think I am going to do this from now on Steve. I know that purists will still do what they do, and maybe they
get better smoke penetration than me, besides. But there is enough fat in a butt to make for great bark no matter
how you cut it up. I had to stop flaying it near the bone, but where I could easily cut it away, I did so. I like it.
It is the one smoked meat I hate to do, simply because the payoff is so weak. Now it is back in contention.

[tupacboy]

any of you guys use halal meat ?

supposedly no hormones etc?

just wondering what some of your experiences are with it...

[kydsid]

I use grass feed beef if making pot roast as it makes a huge difference. I've tried various kinds of other meets including kosher/halal etc and while I noted differences they never where enough to justify the difficulty and cost.

[tupacboy]

"Halal meat should be antibiotic and hormone free, and the practice of draining the animal’s blood may reduce the amount of toxins in the meat. "

guess its not technically grass fed... but does seems better then regular meat...

run the same risk of it all being bs as organic etc... hope the vendor is honest

[thebayratt]

For Christmas, I cold smoked a few blocks of sharp & medium cheddar, longhorn cheddar, pepper jack, Colby jack, Mozzarella, and some proscutio wrapper mozzarella. I few I sold to people who had tried them before, some I gave as gifts and some I took to various Christmas parties.
I made enough money selling some of them to pay for the entire cheese lot. I may start putting orders up on FB for other friends to buy and make myself some cigar and bourbon money~

[tsolomon]

Started off by corning a brisket as a test run for St. Patty's Day, but had some friends over and roasted a couple of ducks instead. Now I have moved on and I'm going to try my hand at making it into pastrami for the Super Bowl. This goes on the Traegar tomorrow morning.

[Fordman4ever]

Howdy fellas. Got the smoker going, got some apple pie moonshine brewing, and I'm about to throw some chicken legs on the grill. time to break out the beer. I love Saturdays. Can't wait til tomorrow to eat/drink all these delicious treats. Well, the chicken legs are for today. I might even try to brave the cold for a cigar, a small one.

[kydsid]

Super Bowl Sunday folks! I got some baby racks about to go on the smoker. What about y'all?