| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Hey all- given that we're going into a big grillin'/cookin'/noshin' weekend, let's have your favorite ideas for working the smoker and grill- in particular, methods for brining and prepping meats prior to smoking. I'm hoping to fire up my smoker sometime soon, having beaten my "first-timer" fear a couple of weeks back... given that my chicken was YUMMY, I'll do more of that, plus maybe a turkey. Also, maybe a small Boston butt... I've found a couple of recipes for brine, haven't done the Google digging too deep yet- so I figured my BW grub hounds would have some good ideas. Holla!  | ||
| S21125r |
I highly recommend the BBQ Bible written by Steven Richlein (sp?) Thing is about as think as a Dictionary and had almost type of meat cut, sauce, and rub you can think of. One of my secrets for good Butt/Shoulder is to mix in a little rub after shredding. I also add maybe a quarter cup of Coca Cola post shredding. Makes the meat nice and juicy, helps distribute the smoke and spices better. It adds a tinge of sweetness without BBQ sauce. One other piece of well known advice I can give you with regard to Butts and Briskets... If you take steady temperatures you will see the internal temperature plateau somewhere around 170-180ish mark. In some case you might even see the temp go down and sit there for quite some time. Resist the urge to stoke up the heat thinking that something is wrong. This plateau stage is when all the tough connective tissue turn to gelatin so the longer you keep it at this stage the more tender the finished product will be. Happy grilling! | ||
| Strokizator |
If your butcher can get some double thick (1.5" to 2") porkchops, one of my favorite meals is grilled stuffed chops. http://tinyurl.com/cmfkk3 Just about every brand of cooking appliance (BGE, Treager, etc.) has a forum where recipes are exchanged. You don't need to own any of these to come away with some good tips. Don't forget seafood too. Put scallops, mussels, clams, shrimp, potatoes, ear of corn cut in half, a hot link, parsley, Old Bay seasoning and butter in a foil bag, pour in a bottle of beer, seal it up and place on a rack over the coals. Yummo! | ||
| 86129squids |
+1 to both of ya! Steve Raichlen simply amazes me- I used to watch every show I could find on PBS, but he's not been on in a while... The seafood angle is great too... I may have to postpone trying that, we may be with a friend who has a severe allergy to shellfish- breaks my heart for her, I LOVE about every kind there is! Mebbe my honey will fix me up with a "BBQ bible" for my B-day Sunday- at the very least we'll be char-grilling something! | ||
| Oldog |
All of these dishes sound so good - road food | ||
| Sifo |
Still figuring out my new smoker. Pizza is amazing. Even a frozen pizza came out with a much better flavor IMO. Going to try some ribs this weekend. I've been trying to figure out some side dishes that can be slow cooked in the smoker, but experiments so far have not been great. I wish I had more to offer, but I'm only a few weeks into this smoker thing. I'll be watching this thread like a hawk though! | ||
| 86129squids |
Sifo- my sous chef at work said potatoes do well in a smoker- then you get smoked potato salad, mashers, yadda yadda. I did corn the last time, just trimmed the tassel and base, dripped in a bit of olive oil on the top to soak down into the cob... Onions on the smoker... Good point, focusing on the veggies too! | ||
| Sifo |
Tatters, onions and bell peppers all work pretty well. Corn isn't in season yet, but I was having a discussion with a co-worker the other day who said to soak it in sugar water. I knew about the water thing but the sugar is new to me. She said it really saves the marginal cobs that are past prime. I'm not crazy about adding sugar to my "healthy" foods though. It's already too hard to avoid salt and sugar. | ||
| Lloydxt |
These are two of my favorite chicken brines The first is a sweet brine for smoking. Brine over night. The second has the addition of lemon. Brine for four hours. Water 2 QTS Sugar, Brown 2 CUPS Salt, Steak Seasoning .50 CUPS Garlic, Granulated 3 TBL Sauce Tabasco 2 TBL Water, Tap 1.00 GL Salt, Kosher 2.00 CP Sugar, Brown, Light 4.00 OZ Sugar, Granulated 4.00 OZ Thyme Dried 1/4 Cup Garlic, Peeled 1.00 OZ Minced Zest, Lemon, Fresh 1.00 OZ Minced 1/8" | ||
| Sifo |
I've also been told that adding cola, or even a lemon lime type of soda to a brine solution is great. Haven't tried it yet though. | ||
| Skntpig |
Try different species of wood too. I like Orange, Hickory, Mesquite, and Sugar Maple. Can't remember where I found some online but it's not too expensive if you buy 20-30 lbs at a time. | ||
| Lloydxt |
Ive made carnitas with both root beer and cola with the condensed milk. Both good. I also smoke with cedar but it doesnt take much to over power. | ||
| Ceejay |
Bacon wrapped LARGE shrimp, brushed with bbq sauce of choice, and cooked over applewood. Same day(important part) caught walleye with butter, garlic, asparagus, potatoes, and onions all wrapped in foil. They are both quick, easy, and most excellent! Medium sized pig-head, entrails, and hair removed, never frozen. Wrap in chicken wire, inject with water, vinegar,bbq, and brown sugar mix. Cook over spit with charcoal for about 18 to 20 hrs. Add friends, beer, volleyball, 'shoes, and a pond. best party's I've ever been a part of. | ||
| Gunut75 |
Vadalia onions: Cut the stem out. Put a tablespoon of butter and a beef bullion cube where the stem was. Wrap it in tin foil and grill it for 45 minutes or so. Had them last night.  Unfortunately I had my trusty Weber in the back of a truck. The lid of the grill somehow got (or jumped) out of the truck, thought it was a motorcycle tire, and left it's handle somewhere in the ditch after a brief off roading session. Now I have no handle on my grill. Time for a new one anyway (about 10 years old). Still sticking with my charcoal. I swear I could eat 10 of those onions though. | ||
| Stalker |
gunnut... made a couple of them the other day, I call them granades just from the way I wrap them up. good eats sifo, are you using any kind of heat diffuser? a cheap metal 15" pizza pan to go above the coals works pretty good. having one in there keeps the pizza stone from getting hotter than the air in their, also makes the low and slow cooks turn out alot better. | ||
| Sifo |
sifo, are you using any kind of heat diffuser? a cheap metal 15" pizza pan to go above the coals works pretty good. having one in there keeps the pizza stone from getting hotter than the air in their, also makes the low and slow cooks turn out alot better. That's exactly what I'm using. I only take it out when doing "grilling". | ||
| Sifo |
Actually the dough is done and the smoker is heating up all set up for a lunch pizza! | ||
| Stalker |
nice... just got done with some pizza myself, now cooling down for some baby back, and beans. | ||
| Gunut75 |
Actually the dough is done and the smoker is heating up all set up for a lunch pizza! nice... just got done with some pizza myself, now cooling down for some baby back, and beans. ........................and I'm stuck here at work all durn weekend........................YOU GUYS SUCK!!!!!!!  | ||
| Gunut75 |
I am about to get out and stock up on beer for the weekend though. Then it's back to it. My fridge sure is cold. I just may crawl inside it for a few minutes. | ||
| Cowboy |
I just finished chowing down on some smoked Bass that we pulled from the local lake yesterday----7 hrs. on my masterbuilt smoker-----it realy does a hell of a job, | ||
| Sifo |
I did ribs yesterday. Still learning to control the heat on the smoker so they cooked a bit hotter than I wanted. They still came out tasting great though. The only bad thing is that with just two of us to feed, we have a bunch of leftover ribs and pizza! | ||
| Gunut75 |
Hows this for ironic? I'm working till 6 pm, and going to my mother's house for grilled pizza. wow! Cowboy: Few things better than fresh bass. Good on ya! Cheers fellas! I'm going to go stuff myself. |
