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Post by pairesta on Aug 11, 2016 9:00:05 GMT -5
An all in one at that price raises my alarm bells. It's probably okay but not good at all of them, and I'd suspect the smoker/barbecue part would be the most deficient. Also at that price you'd be looking at replacing it in three to five years most likely. |
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Post by dＬᵒ on Aug 11, 2016 12:08:15 GMT -5
An all in one at that price raises my alarm bells. It's probably okay but not good at all of them, and I'd suspect the smoker/barbecue part would be the most deficient. Also at that price you'd be looking at replacing it in three to five years most likely. the five year replacement I could live with, the deficiency at what it does is what I'm more worried about. And anything gas makes me nervous about explosions. I'm suspecting that it's so discounted because it's a Kmart in an obscure but not ghetto location. |
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Post by LazBro on Sept 6, 2016 8:12:22 GMT -5
Celebrated the return of Mrs. and Baby Snape by finally putting my Egg to work again. Did two big racks of spare ribs with a mustard-kitchen sink rub, then finished on the grill with a bbq sauce glaze. Also did grilled corn and coleslaw. Texturally some of my most successful ribs ever. Tender, but not pull off the bone soft. You could leave a bite mark, which I like. Decent flavor, too. It tasted about as good as ribs always taste to me. I don't know why I cook them, honestly. I never order them at bbq joints. Their messy, hard to eat and pale in flavor to either pulled pork or brisket. Probably it has something to do with pork shoulder or brisket being day-long projects, while with ribs I fired up the smoker at 1:15 and we were eating by 5:30.
(I made two racks, an enormous amount of food, because I wanted to give one to my neighbor. Last Sunday I'm inside the house and hear a mower curiously close to my windows. Look outside, and he's mowing my lawn for me. Decided to pay him back with food.)
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Post by LazBro on Sept 26, 2016 23:04:44 GMT -5
Doing a brisket this Saturday for Baby Snape's big family birthday party. I'll do my edamame-corn salad (never not a hit) and slow cooker baked beans, plus whatever the fam brings. I'll probably make Badger's bbq sauce as well.
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Post by pairesta on Sept 27, 2016 6:50:28 GMT -5
Doing a brisket this Saturday for Baby Snape's big family birthday party. I'll do my edamame-corn salad (never not a hit) and slow cooker baked beans, plus whatever the fam brings. I'll probably make Badger's bbq sauce as well. What's the edamame corn salad? I want to do another BBQ meal again but I'm tired of the potato salad/slaw/beans sides. |
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Post by LazBro on Sept 30, 2016 23:34:42 GMT -5
Doing a brisket this Saturday for Baby Snape's big family birthday party. I'll do my edamame-corn salad (never not a hit) and slow cooker baked beans, plus whatever the fam brings. I'll probably make Badger's bbq sauce as well. What's the edamame corn salad? I want to do another BBQ meal again but I'm tired of the potato salad/slaw/beans sides. Sorry, I saw your question, then forgot. It's easy-peasy. Roast frozen edamame and corn (fresh and shucked, or frozen) in the oven till hot and nutty, but not too dry. I typically do 400 degrees, and I'll do just the edamame for 8-10 minutes, then add the corn for just a couple minutes. Scoop into a bowl and dress with EVOO, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. That's the base. From there, sky's the limit. Mrs. Snape likes it with really good diced tomatoes, which get a little saucy in the dressing. I like it with something salty, like feta or cotija cheese, and it's also great with herbage, like mint or basil (esp. with the tomatoes). Chickpeas, pecans, marinated cold mushrooms... really anything. |
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Post by LazBro on Oct 3, 2016 7:35:19 GMT -5
Brisket was a success. I'm pretty secure in my method these days, but I was a little worried with the product. My Kroger had a stupid good sale on briskets last week, and my full brisket only cost around $26. Thing is: no grade. Looked good on the outside with a health fat cap, but once I finally got into the package it was pretty clear that this was USDA Select meat. Very little intramuscular fat, especially in the flat. Not a big surprise at that price, but I've gotten Choice briskets around that same price before.
The far end of the flat was a bit dry, but everything else was fatty, juicy, salty, peppery and everything I want it to be. I'm particularly proud of the bark this time around. Despite the simple salt-pepper rub with not a grain of sugar, I'd swear certain bites with a lot of bark tasted exactly like a sugar cookie. Just heaven!
Mission accomplished.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 3, 2016 8:31:27 GMT -5
I've weirdly been craving making barbecue myself lately. I thought I was done until next spring. But I may do a pork shoulder soon, or try beef ribs again.
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Post by pairesta on Oct 3, 2016 8:35:30 GMT -5
Saturday I did a Texas Oktoberfest meal and bought two enormous, double cut Berkshire chops from Central Market, then added to my odds of success by brining them for a couple hours. I went hotter than normal with the smoker and took out the water bowl. They were done in less than an hour, and I really should have planned more things to smoke because the coal load went another four hours after that. (I did manage to smoke some feta though).
The chops were bronzed and crackly from the heat, but perfectly juice and suffused with smoke on the inside. I made apfelkraut (sauerkraut sauteed with apples and onions and simmered in apple juice) and German Potato Salad on the side. Wife loved the meal, the kids picked at it because of the peppery bark on the chops and the weird sweet and sour flavors of the sides. Drank some German Oktoberfest beer with it, and as always, I wanted to just go to bed at 7:30.
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Post by LazBro on Jan 7, 2017 10:35:19 GMT -5
13 degree weather? Ha! My Big Green Egg laughs at your 13 degree weather!  |
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Jan 9, 2017 10:59:38 GMT -5
My father received an indoor smoker/pressure cooker as an early birthday gift and while my parents are on vacation this week, he's asked me to make Steven Raichlen's coffee rub to have ready for a brisket on Sunday after they return. We haven't used the rub or the smoker before, so I'll come back to this thread and give you all an update on how it went! My guess is that it will be delicious, but hey, you never know. |
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Jan 17, 2017 14:45:48 GMT -5
The brisket in the pressure smoker was a success! It didn't even need a full hour to smoke/cook; I took it off after about 45-50 minutes. I'm sure going longer wouldn't have hurt it, though. Also, our upstairs smells like oak chips, which helps mask the usual smell of weed and Febreeze. Trio: Smoking apparatus, uncooked brisket, cooked brisket.  The slicening:  |
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Post by LazBro on Jan 17, 2017 15:32:55 GMT -5
The brisket in the pressure smoker was a success! It didn't even need a full hour to smoke/cook; I took it off after about 45-50 minutes. I'm sure going longer wouldn't have hurt it, though. Also, our upstairs smells like oak chips, which helps mask the usual smell of weed and Febreeze. Oh! This is interesting. Based on the color it looks like it was cooked to doneness (135-145) rather than typical barbecue temperatures (185+). Or does the pressure create one big, border-to-border smoke ring effect? What was the texture like? Was it steak-like, or did it resemble more traditional brisket texture, in other words, sliceable but those slices could be pulled into little pieces by hand. Fork tender. The fat cap looks delicious! |
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Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Jan 17, 2017 15:52:15 GMT -5
Oh! This is interesting. Based on the color it looks like it was cooked to doneness (135-145) rather than typical barbecue temperatures (185+). Or does the pressure create one big, border-to-border smoke ring effect? What was the texture like? Was it steak-like, or did it resemble more traditional brisket texture, in other words, sliceable but those slices could be pulled into little pieces by hand. Fork tender. The fat cap looks delicious! I definitely should admit that I had to color-correct the initial photos because the overhead lights in our kitchen make everything look sorta flat and unappetizing. It looks a bit redder, as a consequence, than it really was. Also because I posted the photos to Instagram initially, so I wanted them to stand out a bit more on small screens. I did use a meat thermometer to gauge and the temp I got was something like 200 degrees! But in the end, it was cooked more to medium, rather than well-done. The smoke ring was absolutely enormous, though, at least half an inch deep all around. I would say that it was halfway between steak and traditional smoked brisket in texture. Toothy and satisfying, but not stringy or tough. Tons of smoke flavor. Plus the rub was amazing! It went beautifully with oak. A+ would recommend. Steven Raichlen does know what's up. One thing, though. We did get an error message about 20 minutes in that we realized meant it was out of water; I'd put in the recommended amount before starting the smoking process, but it evaporated quickly. I had to dump in more. So if you buy/use a pressure smoker, add in a little extra water (or beer or whatever you're using) at the beginning and you'll save yourselves some trouble. |
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Post by pairesta on Jan 19, 2017 9:18:43 GMT -5
So I've had this nice, skin-on, bone-in 7lb hunk of pork shoulder kicking around my freezer waiting to be smoked. I decided to do it Superbowl Sunday and have been eagerly counting down the days, since I haven't made proper 'cue since early August.
BUT! My wife pointed out that in fact we'd be out of town until mid-day Superbowl Sunday, driving back from Dallas. There'd not be enough time to smoke a piece of pork that big.
Rather than scrap those plans though I decided to pre-smoke it one of the days before we leave. So take it all the way through, then either wrap it or leave it in its foil packet, refrigerate, and just re-warm in the oven. That'd work, right? I mean, it's not gonna be as good as the real deal made that day, but it will still be good?
(I would never do this with brisket)
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Post by LazBro on Jan 19, 2017 14:56:27 GMT -5
So I've had this nice, skin-on, bone-in 7lb hunk of pork shoulder kicking around my freezer waiting to be smoked. I decided to do it Superbowl Sunday and have been eagerly counting down the days, since I haven't made proper 'cue since early August. BUT! My wife pointed out that in fact we'd be out of town until mid-day Superbowl Sunday, driving back from Dallas. There'd not be enough time to smoke a piece of pork that big. Rather than scrap those plans though I decided to pre-smoke it one of the days before we leave. So take it all the way through, then either wrap it or leave it in its foil packet, refrigerate, and just re-warm in the oven. That'd work, right? I mean, it's not gonna be as good as the real deal made that day, but it will still be good? (I would never do this with brisket) Here's AR's take: amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/cook_today_serve_tomorrow.html. They say they've had good results with this method, so I'd trust it, though I'll admit I'm still skeptical. My fear is it won't "pull" properly, though I can't base that on anything concrete. Definitely save whatever meat juices you can and work them into the pulled meat at the end to restore any lost moisture. I look forward to your report. |
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Post by pairesta on Jan 19, 2017 15:57:11 GMT -5
Here's AR's take: amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/cook_today_serve_tomorrow.html. They say they've had good results with this method, so I'd trust it, though I'll admit I'm still skeptical. My fear is it won't "pull" properly, though I can't base that on anything concrete. Definitely save whatever meat juices you can and work them into the pulled meat at the end to restore any lost moisture. "This is called serving leftovers." " . . . Rethink your plan. Skips the pulled pork, brisket, and ribs." That's a brutal opening salvo. I figure shoulder will be pretty forgiving. I'll have it still in its foil packet it finishes in, so the juices should stay in there, and it's skin on, so no worry on bark. Edit: The comments get a little more interesting. One of their mods (Jerod) is instead swearing by the method of cooking it all the way to completion, cooling it at room temp, refrigerating til whenever, then slow reheat. That's pretty much what I'm gonna do. |
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Post by GumTurkeyles on Jan 20, 2017 6:26:08 GMT -5
Here's AR's take: amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/cook_today_serve_tomorrow.html. They say they've had good results with this method, so I'd trust it, though I'll admit I'm still skeptical. My fear is it won't "pull" properly, though I can't base that on anything concrete. Definitely save whatever meat juices you can and work them into the pulled meat at the end to restore any lost moisture. "This is called serving leftovers." " . . . Rethink your plan. Skips the pulled pork, brisket, and ribs." That's a brutal opening salvo. I figure shoulder will be pretty forgiving. I'll have it still in its foil packet it finishes in, so the juices should stay in there, and it's skin on, so no worry on bark. Edit: The comments get a little more interesting. One of their mods (Jerod) is instead swearing by the method of cooking it all the way to completion, cooling it at room temp, refrigerating til whenever, then slow reheat. That's pretty much what I'm gonna do. At the very least, the swearing. |
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Post by dＬᵒ on Jan 22, 2017 16:15:55 GMT -5
pairesta For the business we cook pork shoulder, shred, put it in a hotel pan, and cool it. Then when it's ready to be served it goes into the oven to be warmed at 350 for about two hours, put into a cambro/hotbox and taken to wherever the chafer is going. Although with our cooking it's just cooked in either bbq sauce, carnitas, or butter rosemary so I would save the juices and maybe make a sauce out of it. So yeah, if you have a crockpot or chafing dish maybe plan on using that to keep warm.
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Post by pairesta on Jan 22, 2017 20:58:48 GMT -5
pairesta For the business we cook pork shoulder, shred, put it in a hotel pan, and cool it. Then when it's ready to be served it goes into the oven to be warmed at 350 for about two hours, put into a cambro/hotbox and taken to wherever the chafer is going. Although with our cooking it's just cooked in either bbq sauce, carnitas, or butter rosemary so I would save the juices and maybe make a sauce out of it. So yeah, if you have a crockpot or chafing dish maybe plan on using that to keep warm. Yeah. It's pork shoulder. That's part of why it's so awesome. |
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Post by pairesta on Feb 2, 2017 10:13:19 GMT -5
Got the shoulder on now to smoke the better part of the day. God help me.
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Post by pairesta on Feb 6, 2017 10:24:41 GMT -5
The shoulder wound up smoking for 9 hours, then once the coal load died, into the oven for another two, to cook fully past the 200 degree internal temp mark. Then it was slowly re-warmed at my parents for Superbowl dinner.
It was a pretty solid success. I can't say that there was any noticeable decrease in quality. But that's the wonder of pork shoulder. I don't think any other cut, even pork ribs, would have been so forgiving. I pulled the skin off and tried to crisp it on the grill to chop and mix with the meat, but most of it scorched.
We devoured our meal and watched the first half of the game and the halftime show. It was such a blowout that I didn't even bother to pick it up in the second half after we got home. Even though it was such a boring one sided game, at least I'm getting some money out of it, since I bet my daughter's college funds on the Falcons! Welp, off to check the day's headlines . . .
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Post by pairesta on Mar 6, 2017 9:57:14 GMT -5
I have a number of relatives in town this weekend, so for such a high stakes event, sure, why not do brisket for the first time in 7 months.
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Post by LazBro on Mar 7, 2017 10:01:19 GMT -5
Have y'all ever smoked a full cut - so like shoulder or whole brisket - that had been hard frozen before? Did you notice any problems or drop in quality?
I'm sitting on both a frozen brisket and a frozen pork shoulder, and I can't decide if it's worth the effort of going through the whole rigamarole of smoking them, or if I should just find another use. If my question sounds crazy, it's because I'm notoriously suspicious of frozen meat and almost never use it at all.
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Mar 7, 2017 11:14:20 GMT -5
Have y'all ever smoked a full cut - so like shoulder or whole brisket - that had been hard frozen before? Did you notice any problems or drop in quality? I'm sitting on both a frozen brisket and a frozen pork shoulder, and I can't decide if it's worth the effort of going through the whole rigamarole of smoking them, or if I should just find another use. If my question sounds crazy, it's because I'm notoriously suspicious of frozen meat and almost never use it at all. I've had no problem at all smoking formerly frozen pork shoulder, but I suspect my standards are a lot lower than some of the regular participants in this thread.  |
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Post by pairesta on Mar 7, 2017 11:23:08 GMT -5
Have y'all ever smoked a full cut - so like shoulder or whole brisket - that had been hard frozen before? Did you notice any problems or drop in quality? I'm sitting on both a frozen brisket and a frozen pork shoulder, and I can't decide if it's worth the effort of going through the whole rigamarole of smoking them, or if I should just find another use. If my question sounds crazy, it's because I'm notoriously suspicious of frozen meat and almost never use it at all. That pork shoulder I did on superbowl was frozen. Pork shoulder's pretty forgiving. I'm sure the BBQ masters of pork would probably be appalled, but I didn't notice anything. Brisket, on the other hand, there's debate about. Aaron Franklin (of course) is against it; it makes the product "mushier" because of the freezing process breaking down the muscle fibers. But I've also read that that's actually a plus: the finished product is softer and "juicier". |
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Post by LazBro on Mar 13, 2017 8:04:57 GMT -5
Got an awesome price on a USDA Choice whole brisket at the store a couple nights back. Pretty much bought it on a whim. Then as I started to piece together the schedule, I realized I didn't actually have an opportunity to cook it, at least not before the "best by" date. Which I know may or may not be meaningful, but let's move on...
We were scheduled to attend a family birthday party at Cici's of all places for Mrs. Snape's father, so I asked if maybe they'd like me to host a cookout instead. Uh... yeah!
But for a couple of quick smoke sessions in the interim - chops, chicken thighs, things like that - this will be my first big piece of meat since I think Thanksgiving turkey*. Looking forward to it. Doing whole smoked brisket, and some good southern sides with hominy casserole, tangy stewed collards, and homemade bread. Though as I type this out, my mind has drifted to cornbread, so maybe I'll do cornbread instead.
It won't be a very big crowd, either, so leftovers are a certainty.
*ETA: Oh, uh, never mind I guess. According to this thread's history, I was smoking something back in January. I think that was a pork shoulder. Yeah, it must have been, because I bought two at the same time, cooked one then, and I still have the other one in my freezer.
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Post by pairesta on Mar 13, 2017 8:32:42 GMT -5
I wound up making the brisket (and ribs, and sausage) Saturday. It started raining about two hours into the cook and didn't stop. This kept the heat of the smoker down to about 250, when I prefer it in the 275-300 range. You wouldn't think that 25 degrees would make such a difference, but it did. The brisket was on for ten hours, and after slicing and seeing not-thoroughly rendered fat, I realized it probably needed another 2. It was still good, moist, juicy, but not meltingly tender the way the best specimens can be. Nonetheless, the crowd loved it.
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Post by LazBro on Mar 20, 2017 9:39:59 GMT -5
The brisket was a hit, and I was happy with how it turned out. 8 hours on the smoke, another 3 in the oven, then rested for an hour. The furthest reach of the flat had tightened up a little too much. Dry. But the fat cap did it wonders, and maybe 90% of the meat was just right. I was greedily eating big hunks of bark and fat as I sliced.
I was a little worried, because in addition to cooking the brisket, I was also the sole child entertainer for the day, as Mrs. Snape had to work. I had to keep leaving the smoker to do its thing while I went off on trips to gymnastics class or to the library. Lost a few degrees each time I came back, but nothing critical, and altogether I'd say this was one of my more successful days with the egg.
Probably two meals worth of brisket left. As stated before I'm considering brisket poutine for one night, and have no certain plans for the other. (Tacos?)
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Post by Floyd Diabolical Barber on Apr 14, 2017 18:10:29 GMT -5
I'm getting ready to tune up and modify my grill and smoker setup. The grill is a combo unit, maybe 4 or 5 years old, One firebox for propane, and one for charcoal. I rarely have the patience for charcoal, so it is underused, and still in near mint condition. Last year I put in new drip shields on the gas side, and now I'm going to replace the burners. Other than that, it's in really good shape considering how much it gets used. The smoker seems fine as is.
It's kind of a minor pain in the ass refilling the separate ten pound propane tanks for the grill and smoker, and I have three extra 100 pound tanks, so I'm going to cut and splice the gas lines, and build a setup with a single regulator (neither of the ten pound tank regulators will work on a 100 pound tank, due to the connections being threaded differently), with shutoff valves for both the grill and the smoker, and feed them both off a single 100 gallon tank. I will add fittings to the regulators I take off so that either or both the grill and smoker could be set back up for 20 pound tanks at any time. My buddy has the professional equipment to crimp the fittings to make the splices in the gas lines, and I have chemical and gas grade thread tape, and soap mixture to check for leaks, so the risk of blowing something up should be only slightly higher than at, say, your typical alcohol fueled local cookout.
I could go with quick disconnect fittings, but they are a lot more expensive, and I don't imagine we will want to separate the grill and smoker often, if ever.
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