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Smoking Food Thread

deacfan78 said:
The chunks still burned and had white ash on top and produced white smoke after about 30 to 45 minutes of blue smoke. I pulled those wood chunks out, added more lava rock and put more chunks in and they never got hot enough to even smoke. Back to the drawing board I guess...
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How did your smoke ring turn out? There's only so much absorption the meat can take. If you were happy with the smoke flavor and the penetration, you may not need more than 30 to 45 min of thin blue smoke. Its all up to your preference though.

tsywake said:
Today just reinforces my decision to go to a stickburner. Its so much easier.
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By adding the third section to the smoker, plus the extra meat, I overloaded the capabilities and never could get my temp up to my satisfaction, even after removing the water pan. I decided the amount of meat and extra space was just too much for the charcoal pan to overcome. Fortunately, a few of the butts nearest the bottom were completely done, so I pulled those and moved the rest to the oven to finish. Next time, I'll most likely cook the butts at home and transport them to the place pre-cooked. Then I can use my big smoker, and wont have to deal with the fuel cost of pulling the trailer to the location.
 
tsywake said:
How did your smoke ring turn out? There's only so much absorption the meat can take. If you were happy with the smoke flavor and the penetration, you may not need more than 30 to 45 min of thin blue smoke. Its all up to your preference though.
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Smoke ring was good and overall flavor was good. Is that normal for the wood to do that after so long?
 
Yes, it'll do that. Another option you could do is take the wood chunks out, soak them in water really quick and then throw them back on there. They'll still produce a bit of smoke before they completely ash out. When the wood ashes, its essentially burned every bit of moisture out of the fibers which leaves you with the ash.

What's important is the final taste and appearance. If 30-45 minutes of smoke gives you the smoke ring and flavor you like, stick with what you are doing, and you may not need to add another round of wood. As long as its good and you are consistently producing it, how you get to that result isn't that big of a deal. Each smoker is slightly different and has its own quirks, as do the people running them. If the results are good, I wouldn't worry too much about trying to adjust your technique.
 
OK. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to ash up that quickly or at all. I am looking for a place where I can get consistent chunks of wood, about fist size. Where did you say you get your wood from? The stuff I have picked up at Lowe's and Ace Hardware is just not consistent in size.
 
All wood will eventually ash up, it just takes longer in hardwoods than it would your typical flavoring wood like apple. I get my wood from a local sawmill, but it wouldn't be of much use to you. I get mine in 6ft wide bundles that are 10ft long. From there I cut them into 12" lengths, but even then they're only 1 or 2" thick. One thing I've done with a lot of success is to buy one of those 1/2 barrel whiskey planters from Lowes/HD/Tractor Supply. They're like $30 apiece and I then tear apart the planks and throw them in the smoker. The whiskey in the wood gives it a nice sweet flavor and you cant beat the aroma as the wood is burning.
 
I will try that! I have heard of people using whiskey barrel wood but thought the ones for planters were possibly treated with something. Good to know!
 
deacfan78 said:
OK. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to ash up that quickly or at all. I am looking for a place where I can get consistent chunks of wood, about fist size. Where did you say you get your wood from? The stuff I have picked up at Lowe's and Ace Hardware is just not consistent in size.
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I've ordered from both these places:
http://www.smokinlicious.com/index.php?Refill Boxes
http://bbqsmokingwood.com/products.asp?cat=15

Also, Weber has wood chunks you can order in most of the major "flavors" from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-17005-Apple-Chunks-5-Pound/dp/B002Y0KA1S

Or you can often find them locally at Ace Hardware or other Weber dealers.
 
Thanks tsy and Racer! I will try some of the "single filet" chunks from smokinlicious.com and I will definitly buy a whiskey barrel and cut my own chunks
 
deacfan78 said:
I will try that! I have heard of people using whiskey barrel wood but thought the ones for planters were possibly treated with something. Good to know!
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All of the ones I have seen were untreated, and the receiving manager at Tractors Supply said they arrived untreated off the truck. Look at the outside of them before you buy the barrel though. It should be a dull, pale color. There may be some stains from whiskey dripping, but those are just nuggets of flavor. If they are shiny and slick, then they've been treated. We bought another one and used it as a planter box and polyurethaned the outside, and its noticeably different.
 
Week 2 of smoking every weekend for a month is on tap. Breaking out the big boy for this one. 8 boston butts again, and a venison shoulder. The folks I'm cooking the butts for aren't the type for stepping out of their comfort zone, so I'm just salting the butts before they go on. No rub, no injections. I know its the traditional style, but it misses out on so many flavors.
 
wtf, its not like a simple rub is that complex and daring
 
Exactly, but its for a bunch of old people who are stuck in their ways, and they're very emphatic that its Lexington style. I'm bringing some rub along in case anyone wants to sprinkle it on their bbq once its pulled, but its just not the same.
 
I was watching Worldwide Exchange this morning on CNBC and they were referencing the spike in beef prices. One of the guys has a running thing about language differences with one of the British correspondents and asked him if they ever grill in England.

In his pretty boy British accent he responded "Here we are with that language difference. Over her we call it barbecuing."

Talk about a crumbling empire.
 
tsywake said:
Exactly, but its for a bunch of old people who are stuck in their ways, and they're very emphatic that its Lexington style. I'm bringing some rub along in case anyone wants to sprinkle it on their bbq once its pulled, but its just not the same.
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That's exactly how my father in law does his hogs. They're great, but end up a little plain. Thankfully we've got a kick ass vinegar sauce recipe (family recipe) that helps amp up the flavor. Good, plain pork can be delicious, but even a simple rub goes a loooong way. I'm a big fan of the bark myself and you just don't get that without a rub.
 
tsywake said:
Exactly, but its for a bunch of old people who are stuck in their ways, and they're very emphatic that its Lexington style. I'm bringing some rub along in case anyone wants to sprinkle it on their bbq once its pulled, but its just not the same.
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throw some rub on like two of the eight butts. Mix it all in together. See if anybody notices.
 
leftcoastdeac said:
That's exactly how my father in law does his hogs. They're great, but end up a little plain. Thankfully we've got a kick ass vinegar sauce recipe (family recipe) that helps amp up the flavor. Good, plain pork can be delicious, but even a simple rub goes a loooong way. I'm a big fan of the bark myself and you just don't get that without a rub.
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That's how I grew up cooking them. Whole hog on a cinder block pit with nothing but salt on the meat, and copious amounts of dip. It crisps up the skins very nicely, but like you said, it doesn't have as much flavor. One interesting technique my family used to do was to put the hog in a large plastic trash bin (never used for trash of course) and fill the bin with water and one can of Bud heavy. They swear by it, but likewise, I couldn't really taste much of a difference.
 
The deer shoulder turned out really well. We seasoned it with our brisket rub, and injected it with beef stock. Cooked it to 160 and pulled it off. The family I smoked it for hasn't stopped complimenting it yet.
 
Watched BBQ Pitmaster marathon today.

I'm currently trying to decide if I should just redo the ECB with mods or step it up.
 
Did a butt on Saturday. Used the Adam Perry Lang rub with my own modifications. It was on about 9 hours and came out great. I still haven't figured out how to regulate temp with airflow and I still have to add fuel every hour. I think it's a consequence of not having a true smoker. May buy the firebox accessory for my Char Grill.

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Deacon923 said:
Did a butt on Saturday. Used the Adam Perry Lang rub with my own modifications. It was on about 9 hours and came out great. I still haven't figured out how to regulate temp with airflow and I still have to add fuel every hour. I think it's a consequence of not having a true smoker. May buy the firebox accessory for my Char Grill.

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Oh man, I feel your pain. When I left the Char Grill for the WSM it was life changing.
 
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