What's in your smoker?

[T.G]

Nice. BBQ'd chuck makes for some awesome Mexican food. It's actually one of my favorites to cook.

Originally Posted by Mr B

It turned out Very good. the family loved it. It did not "pull" like it would have liked. Certain parts did but not the entire thing.

I've noticed that safeway 7-bone chucks have a tendency to be stubborn. I'm not sure if it's the supplier for this area (don't know for certain if the Safeway markets in your area are being supplied by the same cattle ranches, although it is very possible that we are in the same distro chain), or just the fact that it's only USDA Select, or a combination of both.

I found that a longer cook and foil wrapping for the last hour or two while still in the bbq helped tremendously.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by T.G

Nice. BBQ'd chuck makes for some awesome Mexican food. It's actually one of my favorites to cook.





I've noticed that safeway 7-bone chucks have a tendency to be stubborn. I'm not sure if it's the supplier for this area (don't know for certain if the Safeway markets in your area are being supplied by the same cattle ranches, although it is very possible that we are in the same distro chain), or just the fact that it's only USDA Select, or a combination of both.

I found that a longer cook and foil wrapping for the last hour or two while still in the bbq helped tremendously.

I tried to pick one w/ the most marbling but what you are saying might be true. I couldnt let it go any longer in the Q. It already reached 196* (6 hrs @ 210*) and I didnt want to over cook it. It still came out Great. It just didnt "pull" very well. Chopped worked fine.

[Ender]

I'm going to try a brisket for the first time this weekend. I'm new to smoking and have a Smoke Hollow electric smoker. Any suggestions, pointers, advise, directions will be much welcome.

[T.G]

Originally Posted by Mr B

I tried to pick one w/ the most marbling but what you are saying might be true. I couldnt let it go any longer in the Q. It already reached 196* (6 hrs @ 210*) and I didnt want to over cook it. It still came out Great. It just didnt "pull" very well. Chopped worked fine.

I tend to foil wrap my chucks at somewhere between 150 and 160, then let them go for another two hours, at which point they will usually hit around 205-210 internal, but because they are braising in their own juices they stay moist and they don't really overcook in the traditional sense they just simply fall apart because the connective tissue breaks down very quickly at the slightly higher temperate. You can literally open the foil up after the rest period and reach in, and give the bone a tug and it'll pop right out clean and you could shred the meat with your fingers if you wanted to (and had some wicked callouses so you didn't burn your hands).

[tuxpuff]

Forgot to post the pics of the finished lamb breast. The flavor was absolutely incredible...smokey lamby goodness.

[T.G]

Nice.

What did you use for smoke wood?

[tuxpuff]

Apple and hickory are what I had laying around...seemed to do the job.

[T.G]

Thanks.

One of these days I'll get around to smoking some lamb, not sure why I never have, no particular reason I guess.

[tuxpuff]

I've never smoked any other cut except for the breast...but if you can find it...it's the most fatty delicious piece of meat ever. They are cheap...like $9 for what you see. I would guess that 2/3 of it is fat that is thrown away after you smoke it...but what remains...amazing. Possibly the best smoked meat that I've ever had...of course I'm a huge fan of lamb. I smoked it for 8 hours...but with the fat on it...you could probably smoke it for 2 days without it drying.

[Mr B]

Very nice!

[T.G]

Nine bucks? That's it? GTFO! Damn, you Texas guys always get the great prices on meat. I doubt I could find an untrimmed lamb breast for anywhere near that cheap, but I'll look.

[BigAsh]

Originally Posted by tuxpuff

Forgot to post the pics of the finished lamb breast. The flavor was absolutely incredible...smokey lamby goodness.

Looks .....Never tried it....yet!!

[OLS]

Originally Posted by T.G

Nice. BBQ'd chuck makes for some awesome Mexican food. It's actually one of my favorites to cook.

It certainly is the best tasting lower priced meat. Maybe the best tasting beef.
I like the texture of tenderloin, but the taste, ehh.

[T.G]

Just pulled off a batch of cheese that I cold smoked over cherry wood. Just put on a new batch of cheese, this time being cold smoked over mesquite & apple. If I can manage to stay awake long enough, I'll do a batch over either plum or persimmon.


yeah, it's a nice cool night out there, perfect for this plus I bought another new soldering iron, so let's see how long this one lasts...

[BigAsh]

Originally Posted by T.G

Just pulled off a batch of cheese that I cold smoked over cherry wood. Just put on a new batch of cheese, this time being cold smoked over mesquite & apple. If I can manage to stay awake long enough, I'll do a batch over either plum or persimmon.


yeah, it's a nice cool night out there, perfect for this plus I bought another new soldering iron, so let's see how long this one lasts...

Always wanted to try to do this.....How to? Inquiring minds (i.e. me) want to know!!

[T.G]

Originally Posted by BigAsh

Always wanted to try to do this.....How to? Inquiring minds (i.e. me) want to know!!

Sure. This is method is still kind of new to me, but here's what I've got...


Easy. All you need is a tin can and a new soldering iron.

This page basically covers how to build it:
http://www.smoker-cooking.com/build-a-cold-smoker.html

You could also use a heavy ceramic coffee cup and fill it with chips and just jam the soldering iron down in it.

Couple of "construction" notes:

1) Obviously, you don't have to use smoke pellets. Wood chips are fine, as are dried twigs from whatever smoke wood trees you have around. Since they don't pack as compactly, should fill the can a bit more for twigs and chips, like 2/3.

2) You can do this in basically any grill or smoker. The smoke can doesn't have to be below the food it can be next to it, it really doesn't matter as with all the vents closed, the whole chamber will fill with smoke. If the can is below the food, don't put any food directly in the path of the rising smoke, at it will end up coated with a nasty, bitter, tar type substance.

3) Super cheap wound resistor soldering irons won't hold up here. Wound resistor irons are the ones with the ventilated barrels. Avoid them. One of the solid barrel Wellers which uses a ceramic resistor should hold up fine. I'm using a Weller SP23L. $10-$15 depending on if it comes singly or in a kit with some extra tips and crap. Keep the receipt and packaging handy for the first few runs in case you burn the iron up.

4) If your soldering iron has a removable tip, remove it and check for high-temp anti-seize grease. If you buy a Weller SP23L or SP40L you can count on it being in there. Clean it out as best as you can (a few q-tips work well here, just screw them into the hole and then back out, wipe the threads off on the screw in tip). After cleaning and reassembling the tip, set your iron up someplace safe, plug it in and let it run for 15-20 minutes to burn off any crap you missed.



Smoking notes:

1) It takes about 15 minutes for the smoke to get going. I've done whole 8 oz blocks of cheese for 1 hour total smoking time and last night I was smoking deli sliced cheese, so I only had the iron going for 30 minutes at a time (kind of a SWAG).

2) While the smoked flavors are more intense in the home smoked stuff, don't expect to see the heavy coloration you see in commercially available smoked cheeses.

3) After you smoke the cheese, pull it off and vacuum seal it for a week or two (or longer) to allow it to mellow and blend. Mr. B and I were talking about this earlier in the thread and if you don't have a vacuum sealer, we suppose that a few layers of really tight saran wrap would work too.

4) No need to stop at cheese. I've put a foil tray of pimento stuffed green olives in there and smoked them, a tray of roasted almonds, etc. You could make your own lox or other cured meats, you could put a tray of salt in there and so on, it's whatever you can imagine.

If you do olives, I would not put them back in the brine. Just serve right away or into a clean jar for storage.



(sheez, this post is longer than the whole process... just go do it. It's sooooo easy)

Doing some chickens today, have a few mesquite chunks in the firebox with standard kingsford briquets. I seperate the skin from the meat and load up that space with garlic, and then I rub down the skin. Hopefully it turns out as nicely today as it normally does!

[68TriShield]

Originally Posted by tuxpuff

I've never smoked any other cut except for the breast...but if you can find it...it's the most fatty delicious piece of meat ever. They are cheap...like $9 for what you see. I would guess that 2/3 of it is fat that is thrown away after you smoke it...but what remains...amazing. Possibly the best smoked meat that I've ever had...of course I'm a huge fan of lamb. I smoked it for 8 hours...but with the fat on it...you could probably smoke it for 2 days without it drying.

You are now officially.... a God

[Mr B]

Many people are Cold Smoking their steaks (about 1 hour)before using their Gas BBQ too.

Pour out a bottle of Paprika onto a Aluminum Foil tray and cold smoke for 1-2 hours. Small bottles of smoked Pap go for $8-$10 in the grocery store.

[BigAsh]

Originally Posted by T.G

Sure. This is method is still kind of new to me, but here's what I've got...


Easy. All you need is a tin can and a new soldering iron.

This page basically covers how to build it:
http://www.smoker-cooking.com/build-a-cold-smoker.html

.....

(sheez, this post is longer than the whole process... just go do it. It's sooooo easy)

Thanks Adam!