Re: Swill Q Thread

[All Your Base]

It's my step son's birthday gathering tomorrow, and I asked him if he'd like some smoked meat. He answered hamburgers. Sigh.

[Code_Warrior]

It's my step son's birthday gathering tomorrow, and I asked him if he'd like some smoked meat.  He answered hamburgers.  Sigh.

Smoke some ribs for yourself and grill some burgers for the kids. Problem solved! Nothing like the smell of a smoker on the 4th of July!

[pulling69]

What is everyone grilling or BBQing today? I have a few types of Brats and mixed up some burgers with bacon and cheddar in them with some corn on the cob.   

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

I know it's not really BBQ, but this seems like a good place to cheer Joey Chestnut on. Hope he gets to 70. Will Kobayashi interrupt this year?

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Joey Chestnut proposes on ESPN before the contest!!!!

[The Pantry]

Baby backs are the only thing I've tried smoking that have never come out right. Have tried at least 6 times and fucked them up every time...over seasoned and/or dried out.

Bought 2 racks of spare ribs to try instead today. Any tips?

[pulling69]

Remove the membrane, rub generously, cook low and slow, drink booze.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

3-2-1 is pretty foolproof for spares. I trim the skirt off so they're St. Louis styles.

I don't really wrap anymore. I use a dry rub and smoke them until they bend and almost break in the middle. Hard to **** up.

EDIT - link to 3-2-1

http://bbq.about.com/od/ribs/a/aa122306a.htm

[The Pantry]

Remove the membrane, rub generously, cook low and slow, drink booze.

Part of past problems has been the rub. Either fucking up the mix or applying too much. Bought some Trade East classic barbecue rub to try today and be less heavy-handed with it

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Chestnut is losing!!!! WE could be watching history here!

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Joey pulls it out. Goosebumps.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

"I am not prone to hyperbole, but if this happens it would be the greatest achievement in the history of mankind"

-hot dog color commentator

     

[Code_Warrior]

"I am not prone to hyperbole, but if this happens it would be the greatest achievement in the history of mankind"

-hot dog color commentator

     

Cotton McKnight: Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I've even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years as a sportscaster have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we've witnessed here today!

[All Your Base]

Smoke some ribs for yourself and grill some burgers for the kids. Problem solved! Nothing like the smell of a smoker on the 4th of July!

Actually, I got some sea bass, line-caught Alaskan salmon and a couple of duck breasts on some brine right now. I'll smoke them up this evening for adult snacks tomorrow. I'll be putting them on about the time the Tigers hit the 8th inning or so.

Pics, process & recipes to follow

[All Your Base]

Okay, so the fish is brined with about a cup of brown sugar, quarter cup of Kosher salt, a few good dashes of lemon pepper, a good amount of black pepper and a bit of Old Bay. It's a dry brine, and it'll pull the moisture right now of the fish for smoking.

The duck is brining in one can of frozen apple juice concentrate with 3 cans of water, about 20 peppercorns, half the dry brine mentioned above with about an extra quarter cup of salt.



I'll let these brine for about 4 hours.

I'm going to try to set the BGE for about 225, and that'll mean about 2 hours or so for the fish and whenever the duck gets up to temp.  No extra wood for smoking this time, just good lump charcoal.

[Code_Warrior]

Actually, I got some sea bass, line-caught Alaskan salmon and a couple of duck breasts on some brine right now.  I'll smoke them up this evening for adult snacks tomorrow.  I'll be putting them on about the time the Tigers hit the 8th inning or so.

Pics, process & recipes to follow

Smoked salmon, mmmmmmmmmmm   

[All Your Base]

Just put the stuff on the smoker.  It's at a consistent 250 degrees, with the plate setter for indirect heat.  Fish is on a cedar plank, and the duck is a little closer to the edge to smoke at a little higher temp.

[All Your Base]

Couple more gratuitous smoker porn shots in the California late afternoon sun

[Code_Warrior]

Today will be the pork butt. I'm going to cut out the money muscle and smoke it separately later on (it only takes 1.5 - 2 hours to smoke by itself) to make awesomely tender pork medallions with sweet bark all the way around. I'll wrap the rest of the butt after about 4 hours of smoke and probably put the money muscle on at about 3:30, so it should be ready about 5 to 5:30 for dinner. I'll pull the rest of the butt when it gets to temp, probably around 6 or 7 and let it rest, and then pull it for snacks tomorrow and lunches next week.

Damn, love me some pork butt!

[Code_Warrior]

Fvcking pork butt is bad. I could smell that shit the moment I opened the cryo-vac bag. Pisses me off. I have to take that shit back and get my money back. That was a Tyson cryo-vac pork butt. It must have been bad when I bought it. I'll have to go to the butcher and get one for tomorrow and grill the steaks tonight instead.

[Code_Warrior]

Well, since I didn't have my receipt for that rancid pork butt, I was only allowed to exchange it for another food item.  They didn't have any pork butts left, so I got a 9lb pork loin instead. I've never done a pork loin before so I wasn't sure how long it would take to smoke. The loin only took 2 hours to smoke at a pit temp of 250 deg. To get such awesome goodness in such a short time, I think I have a new favorite meat.

Here it is after prep and some Memphis Dust rub (Meathead's recipe):


The 2 small pieces are the pitmaster's treats during the smoke.

I took it off at 145deg to let it rest:


I let it rest for 20 min using a tin foil tent and then sliced it up:


It was smoky, tender, and juicy.  I didn't put any BBQ sauce on it and the flavor was awesome.  That being said, it was a little salty since it was brined in its cryo-pac.  Next time, I'll get one that hasn't been brined and see if it comes out as juicy.  Gotta believe it will.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Looks great. I've actually never done a loin before either. Not a huge fan of pork outside of spares. Might have to give it a shot.

[The Pantry]

Smoked a 4# pork loin roast a couple years ago. Wrapped it in thick cut bacon. Came out great. Had a pic of it but can't find it now

[All Your Base]

Here's the shots of the fish I smoked on the 4th. The salmon was good, but the sea bass was like Davis' walk-off grand slam the other night. So freaking good!

[The Pantry]

Here's the shots of the fish I smoked on the 4th.  The salmon was good, but the sea bass was like Davis' walk-off grand slam the other night.  So freaking good!

That looks awesome. Is that a glaze on it? If so, what's in it? Sea bass is so buttery...one of my favorites.

Decided not to do the spare ribs on the 4th. Just put them in a little while ago

[Code_Warrior]

Here's the shots of the fish I smoked on the 4th.  The salmon was good, but the sea bass was like Davis' walk-off grand slam the other night.  So freaking good!

Damn that fish looks good! What kind of sauce did you add? That wasn't just the brown sugar rub was it?

[All Your Base]

Damn that fish looks good!  What kind of sauce did you add?  That wasn't just the brown sugar rub was it?

Thanks - it really IS good!

That rub actually gets rinsed off before it goes on the smoker.  After a couple of hours on the Egg, I add the glaze.

half a jar of apricot preserves
quarter cup real maple syrup
quarter cup soy sauce
two tablespoons of Sriracha chili sauce

heat these ingredients until boiling and reduce a little bit, then start brushing it on.

Sweet, salty and spicy

[The Pantry]

Thanks - it really IS good!

That rub actually gets rinsed off before it goes on the smoker.  After a couple of hours on the Egg, I add the glaze.

half a jar of apricot preserves
quarter cup real maple syrup
quarter cup soy sauce
two tablespoons of Sriracha chili sauce

heat these ingredients until boiling and reduce a little bit, then start brushing it on.

Sweet, salty and spicy

Did you air dry the fish after rinsing off the rub?

[All Your Base]

Did you air dry the fish after rinsing off the rub?

I pat dry with paper towels, THEN air dry and let it come up to room temp a little bit. Letting it raise temperature seems to make a difference with the sea bass, not so much with the salmon.

[Code_Warrior]

Thanks - it really IS good!

That rub actually gets rinsed off before it goes on the smoker.  After a couple of hours on the Egg, I add the glaze.

half a jar of apricot preserves
quarter cup real maple syrup
quarter cup soy sauce
two tablespoons of Sriracha chili sauce

heat these ingredients until boiling and reduce a little bit, then start brushing it on.

Sweet, salty and spicy

What temp did you smoke that at? How did you know when to take it out? I've always wanted to try smoking salmon but everything I've read says to smoke it at 180 and I can't get my smoker to stay that low.

[All Your Base]

What temp did you smoke that at?  How did you know when to take it out?  I've always wanted to try smoking salmon but everything I've read says to smoke it at 180 and I can't get my smoker to stay that low.

I smoked at 250, and that seems about perfect for the sea bass. The salmon SHOULD be smoked lower, but my egg doesn't do well below 200.

As far as when it was done, I did nibble testing. It was obviously cooked after a couple of hours, but I let it go until I got the color I wanted - about 5 hours total. In the straight-shot pic, the 3 pieces on the right are the sea bass. The one towards the middle didn't have any glaze at all on it.

I will try salmon again someday, but this sea bass is SO good, I'll be sticking with that for a while. It's dense but not quite as dense as say halibut, but it's also flakey and the skin gives is so much good oil and moisture. The individual segments just fall apart.

[The Pantry]

Wrapped the spare ribs at 2 hours 45 minutes. Put them back in the smoker for 2 hours. They were falling off the bone when I went to take them out of the foil. Very tasty and much better than my previous attempts with baby backs. Too fatty, though. Will try doing baby backs again next time.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Baby backs are not good for smoking imo. I stopped making them about 5 years ago and go spares only now.

I'm throwing a rack of spares on in a minute here. I'm going to see if I can do 2 hr ribs at 350.

[Chitown_Badger]

I've got two racks of baby backs in the smoker right now. Going on three hours. Rubbed with the Memphis Dust as well. Will eat these suckers outside while listening to the live music from Taste of Lakeview going on across the street.  

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Tonight is a prime example of why BBQ is BBQ.

I have been cooking these spares with lump at 350 for now 4.5 hours. They aren't big or thick. 3.4 lbs. I trimmed a bit of fat off, in fact. They aren't done yet, and don't appear close.

I guess I need to pour another drink. I feel sorry for my European clients.

[tTy]

Tonight is a prime example of why BBQ is BBQ.

I have been cooking these spares with lump at 350 for now 4.5 hours. They aren't big or thick. 3.4 lbs. I trimmed a bit of fat off, in fact. They aren't done yet, and don't appear close.

I guess I need to pour another drink. I feel sorry for my European clients.

No shit???? I was going to ask you how that was going about 2 hours ago.

[CORNER BLITZ]

I've got two racks of baby backs in the smoker right now. Going on three hours. Rubbed with the Memphis Dust as well. Will eat these suckers outside while listening to the live music from Taste of Lakeview going on across the street.  

FYI those aren't actually ribs from the backs of babies   

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Yup. Shit ain't done until it's done.

God dammit, I thought i was gonna pioneer something here. Hot and fast is the way to go, I'm convinced of it. I've heard rumors of 5 hour perfect briskets. Tonight just ain't my night.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

FYI those aren't actually ribs from the backs of babies   

        

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

5 hrs. Not bending. Maybe I barked them up too much and it's preventing them from bending. They seem to be retreating from the bone at the proper rate. And I don't really care if I **** them up or not, so gonna keep going.

Pouring another. Sorry Spain. Sorry Italy. Sorry France. Sorry Mrs. WBH.

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