BBQ!

[Muffin Man]

Since the pork butt, I have smoked a rack of ribs, a couple fillets of salmon, and sausages. I am getting pretty obsessed and considering going all in on this and getting a proper offset smoker, even though they are the most expensive options, will be more work than my weber kettle, and won't even necessarily yield better results until/unless I get good at it.

That goddam salmon was the best I've ever had





smoked salmon omelette:

Very nice looking smoked salmon. Guessing a nicely controlled lower heat. I'm going to build a cold smoker, eventually, a tall wood box with hanging rods. Got the plans around here somewhere from an old First Nation smoker.

[renfield]

Getting a little better at controlling the heat, yeah. Look at that nice ideal logarithmic arc on the salmon temp! Sorry for the blurriness. I pulled it at 135

[Pissy]

I've always been a water smoker fan.  The cheap ones can work well.  Used they're pretty cheap. 

You can find Weber Smoky Mountain (WSM for the card carrying internet people) 18" and 22.5" used, and they're pretty good, though there's a learning curve.  New, they're too expensive now.  I wouldn't go that route looking at how much they are vs alternatives. 

The old reliable Brinkmann Water Smoker hasn't been made for a number of years, but they're out there used.  I used one of those for 20 years and won neighborhood competitions with it. They do rust easily if left out in the elements or uncleaned of the ashes (which pull in moisture like a motherfucker) but if you're diligent about cleaning them out and storing they can last. 

Offsets can be had used cheaply too if you look.  But there's good deals on new ones.  I was at a Buck-ees and saw a nice hefty one for like $400 last year.  The next heftier one was more than double that and it would likely last a lifetime. 

Stay away from the cheap ass sheet metal objects that look like offset smokers.  They can work with modifications if you get one for free off the curb, but only if they're not rusted.  Most at the curb are.  I would wager that to be true even in the dry southwest.  Of course modding one takes money and putting money in one doesn't make it more valuable afterwards.  That's why only if it's free and in decent starting condition.  The mods needed involve sealing off the drafty areas. 

So i use a WSM my wife bought me for my birthday about 7 years ago.  I put a lid hinge and felt sealant kit on it.  Added a BBQ Gurus temp controlling blower and upgraded the thermometer in the lid.  Also added a second coal grate pitched 90° from the first to keep the coals from dropping through the grate and disintegrating the fire.  It can go on a full basket of charcoal for 20 hrs at 220° or so. Longer at lower temps. To do all of this on a new one NOW would cost close to $900.  So not worth it, but the temp controller is $300 and it can get used on other smokers down the road. 

[Muffin Man]

Picked up the Kamado Jr and trying the steak press thing. hey alright! Soapstone under, oven-heated salt block pressing down. Grill sizzling at 400F, 15sec clip attached, but working on getting that heat up. I'm using the Kamado big block wood charcoal but man they blow out a lot of ash. I think I gotta let them burn down with the lid open or it's gets everywhere inside. It crackles and pops and out flies sparks, from that char-coaled wood.

Marinaded the tri-tip overnight slathered in Doubanjiang. Been doing that for awhile and it works well. I forgot to rinse it off this time so the steaks are a little too salty. Tasty flavor with that marinade but it's potent.



I did the vegetables in a cast iron skillet lid closed for about 1 hours; potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, whole garlic all tossed in avocado oil and hatch spice mix. Added some lemon halves, for what, I don't know. Clementine oranges cooked separate, those are nice, tossed in oil and little bit of granulated garlic. Those are good.

Cast iron skillet loaded and then later soapstone meats. Also did chicken breasts. Need to figure out the lump fuel and get the heat figured out. The thing cooks well and heats up pretty quick but the dial goes to 900 but I've yet to pass 400 so far. I need 600+. If I can eek out 850 or peg the dial! then look out. lol

Cool device, and the quality; design, materials, is so far very good. The cost rises astronomically with the accessories, the cooking surfaces. I have the cast iron grate to try next. More to buy if ambitious - a flat top, charcoal basket, grate riser, rotisserie,..endless. I can see living out of it though.

[RAGER]

Oh you got one of those kamado jobs. Kinda like those green eggs. Prolly heavy as shit. Solid build.

I'm still over here doing this.

[Muffin Man]

well doin there. That fire breathing dragon you got is hard to tame but yeah you done it and that stacked grate is the bees knees. I'll have that one going this year again after I copped your grill-game last year. I mean you know I bought the dang thing from Idaho. yoo-hoo. That thing is ferocious so I bought the egg to try to get more mellow. Looks like I gotta play the long game because they both tricky. yep

[Muffin Man]

Let's not forget Pissy's old place whatwith the carnival size build-out suited for fixin' hundreds of folks. When I get an extra 5-acres I'll be looking that up you betcha. Though that was all above ground. My long game is to dig a pit. wink-wink.

[Pissy]

That thing is still feeding a thousand mouths a summer.  

I'm 5 degrees away from pulling my first attempt at pastrami out of the oven.  Brined for 10 days.  Desalinated it yesterday, smoking today.  I cut the fat out of a whole packer brisket to do this, so if it's not good, like too salty - my biggest fear- there's a lot of it to stink up the place.  Will post pics. 

[RAGER]

Weird autocorrect.  I edited my post. Sorry.

[Muffin Man]

hmmm, I guess I'll retrieve the giant slab of brisket from the freezer this week. It might be spoiled, golly, I hope not.  But now I got the egg and can let it cook for 14 hours at 200. haha. Dangit, I need a wifi probe with a beeper. Oh well, grill game.

[Pissy]

This was the smallest section i cut out of the brisket when i cut the fat lines out of it.  

It's pretty good.  Tomorrow I'll cut the rest up for dividing and freezing.  

[Muffin Man]

it looks, um, hmm...I guess? The end pieces look totally bonus I was just wondering about, well, how was it? Is that seasoning fairly heavy would you say? Nice presentation though. chop chop/

[RAGER]

Man that looks spot on. I'd do things with pastrami you're not u' sposed ta do

[Muffin Man]

all yours. I have never had a pastrami ______(instert blank) EVER than I though was worth a toad. And I've had Katz, Carnegie, on light rye, dark rye, hot, cold, 1000 Island, kraut, nothing but notiing on rye, mustard, you name it and a number of known "house" made etc. all rubbish. Isn't that weird? It's just a thing I would never eat again - never had one bite that was worth a toad .No single bite was anything but turd. I'd eat raw oysters, a dumbass move, but I wouldn't eat that nasty pastrami. horrible! I would profer, in fact, say, pastrami is a giant joke or, if real, the worst thing ever I'm not kidding, it;s that bad. and you can't fix it later, either, I tried.

[Pissy]

If I just had a plate of it like it was bbq, it would be too salty for my taste, but on a sandwich with rye and swiss and mustard it was fantastic.  It's difficult to slice through the bark since it's so tender at this point.   I put it in the fridge overnight, hopefully that makes it easier to cut.  

[Pissy]

Much much better cutting after a night in the fridge.  

[Pissy]

Up at 3:00am starting the smoker for bbq tonight.  A brined butt. Nothing to show but darkness and my temp control thermometer.  

[Pissy]

On at 3:35. 

[Pissy]

1:00pm, I three on the ribs at 11:00. 

[RAGER]

You must like your ribs with quite a bit of chew and not fall off the bone.

[Pissy]

I like them to show a bite mark, but cleanly separate from the bone. 

[RAGER]

I guess this goes here cuz there might be smoke and a grill involved.

Imma try my hand at summer sausage. I'll harken back to a tine in the 70's of a variety I really liked. It was venison but if I can't get that I'll try something else. The grind is a bit more rustic, lots of mustard seed and coriander seeds too I think. And I swear I had it out of a canning jar once. Maybe I'm crazy

[Pissy]

I can imagine a pickled summer sausage jar on top of a bar somewhere in a backwoods watering hole.  

[RAGER]

I remember having it when we would be deer hunting or turkey hunting in the fall and we always hunted with my uncle by marriage and he was Finnish. So I'm thinking it was some Midwest/Finnish type thing but man was it good and there was never enough.

[Pissy]

I happen to be from the land of the largest Finnish population outside of Finland, so I would imagine if I saw it, it was in the UP.  My dad's fishing buddy is fluent in Finnish and hunts. Or at least he used to hunt.  I'll ask.