Re: The Cooking Thread - Paleo - Baking - Grilling - Q - Sushi - Whatcha got?

[aualum06]

Rump roast pulled at 150 wrapped for 20 minutes. Pretty good results for me

[Watch Out Pylon!]

A guy in my neighborhood was selling this bad boy for $150. I was the 1st to respond out of 23 people. Let the smoking adventure begin y'all.

https://www.oklahomajoes.com/highland-offset-smoker

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Whoo boy, that will be a fun one to learn on. I love it!

Congrats Pylon, you are taking it back to basics and I mean that in a good way. I suspect that thing is not gonna hold temps for shit and you will constantly be tending your fire, but that's a proper christening. I feel like even using my WSM to learn was cheating a bit.

[The Pantry]

A guy in my neighborhood was selling this bad boy for $150. I was the 1st to respond out of 23 people. Let the smoking adventure begin y'all.

https://www.oklahomajoes.com/highland-offset-smoker

Nice find. Seller say why they were parting with it?

[CORNER BLITZ]

Nice Pylon!

[Watch Out Pylon!]

They're moving to Florida and didn't want to haul it that far. Seeing how he only used it three times he probably wasn't that much into smoking.

Or like WBH said, it was a bitch to work with. I'll find out.

[Watch Out Pylon!]

Whoo boy, that will be a fun one to learn on. I love it!

Congrats Pylon, you are taking it back to basics and I mean that in a good way. I suspect that thing is not gonna hold temps for shit and you will constantly be tending your fire, but that's a proper christening. I feel like even using my WSM to learn was cheating a bit.

For $150 I'm willing to write it off as a starter smoker if it's finicky. Something to get my feet wet at least.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Whoo boy, that will be a fun one to learn on. I love it!

Congrats Pylon, you are taking it back to basics and I mean that in a good way. I suspect that thing is not gonna hold temps for shit and you will constantly be tending your fire, but that's a proper christening. I feel like even using my WSM to learn was cheating a bit.

For $150 I'm willing to write it off as a starter smoker if it's finicky. Something to get my feet wet at least.

Hell yes. Don't get me wrong, I am not denigrating the pit or the move at all. This is how you want to learn to smoke. You will learn how to build a proper fire, and how to maintain it, and little tips and tricks to prolong cook times before you have to tend the fire again.

Post any questions you have when you are preparing for your first cook. You may want to invest in some other tools, as well, depending on what you plan on cooking. Like for starters, you probably want to get a cheap-o wireless dual probe thermometer, and probably a cheap-o instant read thermometer probe.

[tGreenWay]

A guy in my neighborhood was selling this bad boy for $150. I was the 1st to respond out of 23 people. Let the smoking adventure begin y'all.

https://www.oklahomajoes.com/highland-offset-smoker

Nice find. Seller say why they were parting with it?

It’s got a couple bodies on it and the owner is starting to feel the heat from the cops.


Feel the heat.

[Watch Out Pylon!]

For $150 I'm willing to write it off as a starter smoker if it's finicky. Something to get my feet wet at least.

Hell yes. Don't get me wrong, I am not denigrating the pit or the move at all. This is how you want to learn to smoke. You will learn how to build a proper fire, and how to maintain it, and little tips and tricks to prolong cook times before you have to tend the fire again.

Post any questions you have when you are preparing for your first cook. You may want to invest in some other tools, as well, depending on what you plan on cooking. Like for starters, you probably want to get a cheap-o wireless dual probe thermometer, and probably a cheap-o instant read thermometer probe.

Well, first thing I need to do is fix the vent on the fuel section. I bent it a bit reassembling it yesterday. Fucking rain is keeping me from doing that.

And will do if I have any questions.

[Watch Out Pylon!]

Nice find. Seller say why they were parting with it?

It’s got a couple bodies on it and the owner is starting to feel the heat from the cops.


Feel the heat.

Ugh. You're the worst.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

What's wrong with the vent?

fuel system firebox

[Watch Out Pylon!]

What's wrong with the vent?

fuel system firebox

Lingo acknowledged. Don't want to look stupid when talking to other smokers.

So we had to take the legs off the smoker to get it off the previous owner's deck. He had stairs that turned 90 degrees to get to the ground. Anyway, I had to lift it up on the side to reassemble the legs when I got it to my place. It has a fan attachment that stuck out on the vent that I didn't account for and it bent the vent inwards a bit. Just need to pop it off and straighten it back out in a vice... once it stops raining.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Fan attachment? That's not stock. That's part of a wireless thermometer system most likely. And perhaps pretty pricey. Did he give you any additional supplies? Anything that looks like a digital thermometer? Does the fan have any kind of branding on it?

https://www.bbqguru.com/productinfo/howtheywork

[Watch Out Pylon!]

Fan attachment? That's not stock. That's part of a wireless thermometer system most likely. And perhaps pretty pricey. Did he give you any additional supplies? Anything that looks like a digital thermometer? Does the fan have any kind of branding on it?

https://www.bbqguru.com/productinfo/howtheywork

Nope. He added that himself as well as some De-Sta-Co clamps to keep the door shut tight. He said the fan attachment didn't work very well. Made too much smoke.

I've got my own digital thermometer to keep an eye on the meat temp. I'll have to snake it though one of the vents with a super tight seal on the front door.

Let's see. There's a drip bucket (smoker lingo!) added. Not sure how that's gonna do much good when I do a full rack of ribs. He added some extra grates and said he would wrap them in tin foil to better control heat in specific areas of the smoker. Oh and he hooked me up with some cherry wood for the firebox.

[Watch Out Pylon!]

OK I see how the bucket works now. The drippings all funnel down into it. The bucket collects it outside of the smoker. Good to know.

[Watch Out Pylon!]

A few pics now that it stopped raining. You can see the aftermarket stuff added on.

[Watch Out Pylon!]

Ok, pretty decent 1st attempt. I'll give myself a B. Started out with wings since everyone I heard from said that was the easiest.

So yeah, these soldiers above died for my learning curve. There definitely is a zone of death in this thing. Got too close to the firebox.



Did a layer of charcoal and then put the cherry wood on top. I was aiming for 250 degrees. Started out there and the smoker creeped up to 300. Dinked around with the vents and got it back to 250 after a bit. Later on it dipped down to 200 so I threw some more charcoal on top of the wood, and added a couple more blocks of wood after the 2nd layer of charcoal. It crept back up near 300 and I couldn't bring it back down.

The wings finished about 30 minutes sooner than what I was aiming for but I'll take that for my 1st attempt.



Hard to see, but there is a smoke ring in there.

I finished them in the oven to crisp up the skin. Coated them with a couple of different sauces, and a few I left dry. I liked the dry the best. All of them got a dry rub before going in the smoker.

[Jake from State Farm]

Ok, pretty decent 1st attempt. I'll give myself a B. Started out with wings since everyone I heard from said that was the easiest.

So yeah, these soldiers above died for my learning curve. There definitely is a zone of death in this thing. Got too close to the firebox.



Did a layer of charcoal and then put the cherry wood on top. I was aiming for 250 degrees. Started out there and the smoker creeped up to 300. Dinked around with the vents and got it back to 250 after a bit. Later on it dipped down to 200 so I threw some more charcoal on top of the wood, and added a couple more blocks of wood after the 2nd layer of charcoal. It crept back up near 300 and I couldn't bring it back down.

The wings finished about 30 minutes sooner than what I was aiming for but I'll take that for my 1st attempt.



Hard to see, but there is a smoke ring in there.

I finished them in the oven to crisp up the skin. Coated them with a couple of different sauces, and a few I left dry. I liked the dry the best. All of them got a dry rub before going in the smoker.

Looks pretty yummie. Good job Pylon.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Nice job WOP. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on The Process. How are you measuring surface temps in the smoker? thermometer on lid?

Next challenge - pork shoulder. You literally can't fuck it up unless you put it on top of the fire or pull it too early.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Also fwiw, don't let a lack of a smoke ring fool you into thinking your bbq wasn't good. TL;DR - smoke ring is purely superficial. I have to tell you that even though I know this, it plays into my consciousness. For example, a kamado for some reason has a really hard time producing a smoke ring. My ribs come out totally grey and I don't like that, and I probably am less pleased with the results. I want some pink on my ribs.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/bbq/the-science-of-the-smoke-ring/

[Watch Out Pylon!]

Nice job WOP. Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on The Process. How are you measuring surface temps in the smoker? thermometer on lid?

Next challenge - pork shoulder. You literally can't fuck it up unless you put it on top of the fire or pull it too early.

Yep. Not sure how accurate they really are. The side furthest from the firebox was reading about 50 degrees cooler than the near side. I tried keeping the wings in the middle as much as I could. A few of them got in the super hot zone and burnt up. At least I know where to stay away from now. Maybe I'll try tin foiling that area next time to help spread the heat a little more evenly.

Yeah, some pig is up for the next go round.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

You might want to look into some firebricks to put inside the cooking chamber close to the firebox, so long as you aren't interfering too much with the flow of the smoke. Might help...but I find on mine I just don't cook on that side unless I have my damper 100% closed and need the room.

[Rocinante]

I don’t have a smoker but ribs were cheap so I bought a couple racks, put a rub on them and prepped them in the oven today. They are chilling overnight and I made a bbq sauce to finish them on the grill tomorrow. So far they look and smell great. I’ll let y’all know if it works out for my grill poor ass. I decided to add finely ground coffee and a significant amount of paprika to the rub and sauce and the taste is really great. If it turns out as awesome as the sauce tastes, I’ll post the recipe.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

God speed my friend.

Do some googling for tests for when ribs are done. I personally have a really hard time determining when to pull the fuckers and imo that is the key. There's the 3-2-1/2-2-1, bend test, Franklin uses some kind of a feel test, internal temps of course...I honestly struggle with ribs more than I do with brisket.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

How is the offset coming along Pylon?

Roc how did the ribs turn out?

I am getting my regular grill and Blackstone converted to a natural gas line today. That should be fun. Ultimately should save me money on propane refills, as well.

[aualum06]

Watching triple d anyone been to the fly trap?

[Rocinante]

How is the offset coming along Pylon?

Roc how did the ribs turn out?

I am getting my regular grill and Blackstone converted to a natural gas line today. That should be fun. Ultimately should save me money on propane refills, as well.

Fucking tight.

So I put a dry rub on and wrapped them in foil and baked them in the oven at 300 for 3 hours. Then I took them out and let them cool, wrapped them in cellophane and refrigerated them overnight to firm them up for the grill. Then the next day I slathered them in some home made bbq sauce while turning them frequently over a medium grill heat. The sauce carnelized on the ribs while they basically just heated up and they were fall off the bone Smokey good with a crispy crust. Really easy to do and I’ll definitely do it again.

[The Pantry]

Just stumbled upon an old pic.  Mom wrote down Lehto's original pasty recipe printed in a newspaper many years ago.  I think it's a little too heavy on potato and equally light on rutabaga.  I'd skip the short(ening) and go full lard.  Add a bit of sea salt to the dough mix.

[CORNER BLITZ]

Smoked the dry aged brisket this past weekend. The flavor is very good and you can tell a difference - but so much loss through the dry age idk if I'll do it again. While I'm cutting it up I obviously eat - ended up eating nearly half the flat. Also learned I need a new knife because I could not get through the bark for shit.

This is the one I have
https://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Culinary-M13914-Millennia-14-Inch/dp/B005P0OIBM/

works for a few cuts - then craps out. Will have to try to resharpen, have only used honing steel before cutting/after washing to try to keep the edge

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

I have one of those, very similar, granton edge slicer and I concur, it sucks. I bought a Wusthof slicer with a serrated edge, 11" years before that and I use it when carving every roast from brisket to turkey. I'm not even sure it's a meat knife but it beats the hell out of that edge slicer and I've never had to sharpen it.

[Watch Out Pylon!]

Gonna smoke a pork shoulder this weekend. Any tips before I dive in?

[Floyd Robertson]

I have one of those, very similar, granton edge slicer and I concur, it sucks. I bought a Wusthof slicer with a serrated edge, 11" years before that and I use it when carving every roast from brisket to turkey. I'm not even sure it's a meat knife but it beats the hell out of that edge slicer and I've never had to sharpen it.

You mean their super slicer? Awesome knife.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Gonna smoke a pork shoulder this weekend. Any tips before I dive in?

Lots of coarse ground black pepper for a rub. 2:1 ratio of pepper/kosher salt. If you want help getting it to stick, rub it down with something as a binding agent like mustard, or any kind of old sauce you have in the fridge. It will burn off with no aftertaste. And just don't pull it early.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

That's not the one I have Floyd. I can't find the one I have online. The one I have is skinnier.

[MiamiSpartan]

Gonna smoke a pork shoulder this weekend. Any tips before I dive in?

Lots of coarse ground black pepper for a rub. 2:1 ratio of pepper/kosher salt. If you want help getting it to stick, rub it down with something as a binding agent like mustard, or any kind of old sauce you have in the fridge. It will burn off with no aftertaste. And just don't pull it early.

Do you always use that high of a pepper ratio, or just on a shoulder? No sugar?

[GirbaudJeans]

Lots of coarse ground black pepper for a rub. 2:1 ratio of pepper/kosher salt. If you want help getting it to stick, rub it down with something as a binding agent like mustard, or any kind of old sauce you have in the fridge. It will burn off with no aftertaste. And just don't pull it early.

Do you always use that high of a pepper ratio, or just on a shoulder? No sugar?

Texas style.

[WhiteBoyHatcher]

Yes I prefer Texas style. I rarely use anything else in my rubs. I use some cayenne in my rib rub for heat. I don't notice much difference in taste with sugar. I used to do all kinds of stuff - brown sugar, turbinado, etc. I think most of it burns off. The pepper helps form a nice bark and gives you a little spice. I also like salty stuff but with a 2:1 ratio the salt doesn't really overpower the meat. The bark is such a low ratio of the food anyway.

[MiamiSpartan]

Yes I prefer Texas style. I rarely use anything else in my rubs. I use some cayenne in my rib rub for heat. I don't notice much difference in taste with sugar. I used to do all kinds of stuff - brown sugar, turbinado, etc. I think most of it burns off. The pepper helps form a nice bark and gives you a little spice. I also like salty stuff but with a 2:1 ratio the salt doesn't really overpower the meat. The bark is such a low ratio of the food anyway.

I'll give it a try sometime. I love my usual rub, but in these lockdown times with a lot more cooking, I'm changing things up now and then on how I do some of my regular dishes. Most rubs I see are usually 40-50% salt, with the rest split about evenly between sugar (usually brown) and heat/other spices. I'm not sure what style that is, but years and years ago, that's what I picked up on some BBQ forums when looking for recipes/ideas. I usually do something around those percentages (though I just wing it as far as the exact measurements, and do a pinch of this and a dash of that, Wilma Flintstone style). I like a bit of sweetness in my BBQ, so brown sugar is a staple for me.

[MiamiSpartan]

Did a Founders Breakfast Stout Beef Stew last night. Usually it's a Guiness stew, but I had gotten Founders Breakfast Stout at Publix recently. Pretty amazing, better than usual. Not sure if the Founders made it better, but it does seem richer in flavor than Guiness when drinking it, and I also used more stout than usual.

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