would not take that long, but I think to lighten it a bit, I would use the 2x4's for structure then finish with decking..actually you could cut a piece of counter top (easy cleaning, no staining ) for the work top...why do I always overthink shit?
Smoker/ Grilling
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would not take that long, but I think to lighten it a bit, I would use the 2x4's for structure then finish with decking..actually you could cut a piece of counter top (easy cleaning, no staining ) for the work top...why do I always overthink shit?
Maybe you've go too much time on your hands and it's taking away from your sanity.
I know what you mean. I looked at it and thought I would use 1x4 for the top and the bottom shelf. Not much weight involved so there's no need to go extra sturdy.
Unfortunately, don't really have the space or the tools to build something like that. As much as it would be fun to do, it would make more sense for me to just purchase something.
Try it out. if you do not like the sweetness of the Country Bob, just substitute Worcestershire sauce. Just be careful not to add too much of either. You will have issues with the patties staying together. Which is why I use the crackers to keep them together, but too much sauce, nothing will help. But they are very good and a different get away from plain ole burgers. I do them about 50/50 to regular burgers.
Need some help:
A college tradition is coming up, called Meat Week, where we eat as many animals as we can for the whole week. On Thursday, the half year mark from Thanksgiving, is a holiday we coined "Franksgiving", where you eat all the wiener-shaped foods you can, Hot dogs, brats, etc. We finish it off on Sunday by going to one of those Brazilian "All you can eat Meat" Steakhouses.
The problem is, I'm looking for some good, fairly beginner charcoal grilling recipes. I feel like most here have a good go-to or two. I can already do the basics, burgers, dogs, ribeye, pork loin.. but I haven't gotten into the smoking side. Haven't done much chicken either.
Wanted to get a few ideas from the experts here. I'm willing to try smoking recipes, but I'm sure I'll botch them up. No way can I keep my grill at 205 for 9 straight hours.
A college tradition is coming up, called Meat Week, where we eat as many animals as we can for the whole week. On Thursday, the half year mark from Thanksgiving, is a holiday we coined "Franksgiving", where you eat all the wiener-shaped foods you can, Hot dogs, brats, etc. We finish it off on Sunday by going to one of those Brazilian "All you can eat Meat" Steakhouses.
The problem is, I'm looking for some good, fairly beginner charcoal grilling recipes. I feel like most here have a good go-to or two. I can already do the basics, burgers, dogs, ribeye, pork loin.. but I haven't gotten into the smoking side. Haven't done much chicken either.
Wanted to get a few ideas from the experts here. I'm willing to try smoking recipes, but I'm sure I'll botch them up. No way can I keep my grill at 205 for 9 straight hours.
smoked salmon...easy to do, let me know if you want the recipe.
Smoked chuck roast. It's considered a poor man's brisket. Salt the brisket with kosher salt several hours beforehand. Prep a grill or smoker for 225 degrees. Dust with coarse ground pepper and maybe garlic powder. Looking to get the meat to 180. The time will depend on the size and thickness of the roast.
You can use pretty much any type of wood. A fruit wood will be a bit less smokey though.
An easy way to grill chicken for sandwiches. Cut chicken breast into one half to three quarter thickness and size to fit on a burger bun. Marinate in Italian Dressing for a couple hours or even overnight if you want.just takes a few minutes on the grill (I use charcoal). Brush a little of the dressing on when you turn. My family loves it.
My dilemma with smoking is that it's just my GF and I. Sure we get tons of leftovers.. but we aren't getting much use of it when it's fresh. One recipe I saw on Youtube was smoking Pork Butt for 11 hours. Seems like an awful lot of work for Pulled Pork for 2. Maybe I'll make it and bring it to family near by.
I put it in freezer bags and freeze it. 20 oz per bag.
Yea that is what is good about the chuck roast... should be much much shorter than a pulled pork. Maybe only 4 to 5 hours. Can slice it and make sandwiches
Chicken is also fast. Can do chicken breasts in like 2 hours, or a whole chicken in around 4 if you spatchcock it.
Ribs can also be quick but I find them a bit harder to get just right because you can't tell temperature. Still, the 3-2-1 method takes 6 hours and makes good eating.
Salmon is also quick but can dry out quickly.
- 4 parts brown sugar to 1 part kosher salt to make the cure.
- Coat salmon with cure in a deep dish and allow to sit overnight (this will cause all the liquid from the fish to be pulled out).
- Rinse filets in the AM and pat dry. Leave filets on counter top for a few hours (as long as it is not too hoot in your home or just put in fridge uncovered. When completed, the filets will feel semi-sticky. Perfect for smoke to stick to.
- Cook salmon in smoker (I prefer apple wood) for two hours at 150-200 degrees.
- I coat the top of the filets with hot honey for the last half hour.
- Eat what you want and vacuum seal the rest.
Awesome. Gonna try some of these this weekend.
I have a good meat thermometer (Javelin), but that's probably not going to cut it for smoking and making sure something stays a certain temp. I have a classic Weber Kettle grill. Any recommendations?
I have a good meat thermometer (Javelin), but that's probably not going to cut it for smoking and making sure something stays a certain temp. I have a classic Weber Kettle grill. Any recommendations?
I picked up a vacuum sealer a couple of months ago. Has been a game changer on the bigger cuts like whole brisket or Pork shoulders. We seal up about half and freeze. Working great so far, but I imagine it’s got a short lifespan of a couple years. Almost all of the ones I looked at for $40 to $100 had reviews that were good, or great, but with the knowledge that they won’t last forever.
Those can work great as a smoker.
This website is my smoking bible. Great techniques. For the weber kettle I typically do the banking style, even if it isn't for extremely long smokes.
https://amazingribs.com/more-techni...-and-firing/how-set-charcoal-grill-smoking-or
Im here in Lexington. Where is the closest and or best priced place to get a cut of brisket? Ive smoked everything but that, and they say its the biggest challenge, Id like to try my hand at it. Got everything else pretty well down pat, so I figure why not step up to the plate. IMO, a properly smoked brisket is the absolute best of all the smoked meats. Damn is it hard to beat that.
“Properly smoked brisket”- it is absolutely the best in my mind. Unfortunately, I’m not a smoker with a grill. I’ve had great brisket from a few places though, and it’s great. I’m not near Lexington, but if you could find a beef farmer that sells cuts of beef, would probably be your best bet.
Costco. It's probably not cheaper than a local grocery store, but it is prime beef instead of the lower grades you'll find at the grocery stores.
Kroger and Meijer and such dont handle the cut. If Costco in fact does then I will definitely head out there. My folks have a membership and I need to get a new tank of propane for my gas grill anyway.
Do they handle wood chunks and charcoal? I assume yes, but you never know. Would be nice to just get some bulk bags and giddyup for the whole summer lol
I live in Knoxville, Tn. The Costco here had brisket today but I didn't pay attention to the price too much.
Thet also had some double bags of kingsford professional, 18 pound bags, for 15 bucks, and a giant bag of lump charcoal. I didn't see any wood though. Lowes is where I typically get my wood chunks.
Is you have a Academy near by it’s a great place to buy your charcoal and wood.
Thanks. There is one, but I'm not in that area too much. I've been pretty stocked up though. My older brother lives in Houston, Texas and the last time my parents visited I had them bring me back a ton of post oak.
I bought a bag of this at Meijer a few weeks ago, have used them twice so far, and I can confirm its absolutely been the least fire maintenance Ive personally had to deal with on my offset smoker. Definitely recommend.
Im usually a lump charcoal guy for smoking, I use briquets if Im just doing a grilled meat usually at football tailgates (I have a relatively portable smaller barrel charcoal grill/smoker...works great at Commonwealth!)
Im usually a lump charcoal guy for smoking, I use briquets if Im just doing a grilled meat usually at football tailgates (I have a relatively portable smaller barrel charcoal grill/smoker...works great at Commonwealth!)
We have a Weber and recently picked this up for burgers and breakfast cookin...just sit it on grill grates and good to go.
Sizzle-Q SQ180 100% Stainless Steel Universal Griddle with Even Heating Cross Bracing for Charcoal/Gas Grills, Camping, Tailgating, and Parties (18"x13"x3") Amazon product ASIN B000HQHBSQ
Sizzle-Q SQ180 100% Stainless Steel Universal Griddle with Even Heating Cross Bracing for Charcoal/Gas Grills, Camping, Tailgating, and Parties (18"x13"x3") Amazon product ASIN B000HQHBSQ
We put an outdoor kitchen in a few years ago. We spent too much on a Bull stainless grill that’s plumbed into our natural gas line. I bought a big green egg about three years ago and the only thing I use that stainless grill for is to support the egg. Cleaning the grate, lighting additional charcoal, etc.
I recently bought a souis vide has completely changed the game. It is so much easier and the final product is so much better. I still use the egg to reverse sear. It is nice to get it to 700° for searing but if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a grill the sous vide is absolutely the way to go.
I still love smoking on the egg and I’ve always loved using it as a grill as well. But using this souis vide combined with the cast-iron skillet on the egg is ridiculous.
I recently bought a souis vide has completely changed the game. It is so much easier and the final product is so much better. I still use the egg to reverse sear. It is nice to get it to 700° for searing but if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a grill the sous vide is absolutely the way to go.
I still love smoking on the egg and I’ve always loved using it as a grill as well. But using this souis vide combined with the cast-iron skillet on the egg is ridiculous.
Don't get caught up with going low and slow. Heck Hot and Fast is what 95% of competition teams are doing now. I cook at 300 degrees most of the time. Today I was practicing ribs and hadn't used my Big Steel Keg since I'd cleaned the top vent by taking it apart. I set my vents at 2 and 2 which is usually around 300 and while my ribs were sweating it hit 400. Very hard to get an insulated cooker like that back down so I just ran with it.
Put a very light coat of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on them and put them on. Spritzed with water about every 20 minutes. After an hour and 15 I wrapped them and another 45 minutes they were done. I did have a diffuser under them which helped keep them from getting charred. They were great.
Find a good all purpose rub, and find Blues Hog Original and thin it with apple juice. You can add honey, brown sugar and butter when you wrap or even just put in a splash of apple juice for moisture. Piece of cake.
Put a very light coat of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on them and put them on. Spritzed with water about every 20 minutes. After an hour and 15 I wrapped them and another 45 minutes they were done. I did have a diffuser under them which helped keep them from getting charred. They were great.
Find a good all purpose rub, and find Blues Hog Original and thin it with apple juice. You can add honey, brown sugar and butter when you wrap or even just put in a splash of apple juice for moisture. Piece of cake.
Saturday I fired up 8 ball park franks, 6 Johnsonville cheddar sausages, 4 hamburgers, and 2 ears of corn. On the other egg I had 17 pounds of butt going. Took that off on Sunday after 17.5 hours.
I pulled the first one straight off the fire on a half sheet pan. Tore easily and was very moist all the way through.
Second one, I wrapped it tight in AF and put it in a cooler for 2 hours. This one was more tender than the first one and more moist. I could tell the difference in the amount of liquid in the sheet pan after pulling.
Both were great. Each was cooked at the same temperature for the same time and the only real difference was the rest.
I've cooked butts and briskets hot and fast and low and slow. If I've got time I'll go slow. If it's a rush job, not too hard to pull off.
I pulled the first one straight off the fire on a half sheet pan. Tore easily and was very moist all the way through.
Second one, I wrapped it tight in AF and put it in a cooler for 2 hours. This one was more tender than the first one and more moist. I could tell the difference in the amount of liquid in the sheet pan after pulling.
Both were great. Each was cooked at the same temperature for the same time and the only real difference was the rest.
I've cooked butts and briskets hot and fast and low and slow. If I've got time I'll go slow. If it's a rush job, not too hard to pull off.
I've had a Weber Smokey Mountain for about 10 years now. It's great and probably my go to smoker if I want to tend to the fire most of the day...Several years ago I took a deep dive researching the pellet grills. I finally settled on a Camp Chef Woodwind smoker. The ease of cleaning out the ash tray and changing pellets made this one stand above others IMO. Added the sear box and I love it! My only complaint was I didn't get as much of the smoke flavor I would like. I purchased one of those "smoking tubes" and that seemed to fix that concern.
Didn't do any smoking this past weekend, but the one before I made a smoked chuck roast and also a boston butt.
Brisket is on sale at Kroger for 2.99 a pound this week, so maybe if I can get some people to split the costs with me, I'll try that this weekend.
Smoked a couple pork shoulders on Saturday for a party. Sunday smoked some beef short ribs finished with a honey soy glaze that were pheromonal.
Turkey breasts were on sale for $0.99 a pound last week at Kroger. My WSM did a great job on one using pecan wood chunks every half hour for the first two hours. The nice thing about turkey is that there isn't any connective tissue that needs to melt low and slow. So temperature control isn't that big a deal (within reason). Good choice for beginners.
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Think I'm going to buy a smoker. Going with electric, seem to be fairly easy to use, judging from my research. Any recommendations in the $200 neighborhood? I trust my BBN buddies.
Don't buy electric.
less smoke and less overall fun. Get a WSM and learn to adjust it properly.Overall, if you get electric, just get one that is well sealed. Should largely only release smoke from the vents. No need for the windows that some come with, you won't be able to see through them anyway.
Don't buy electric.
Overall, if you get electric, just get one that is well sealed. Should largely only release smoke from the vents. No need for the windows that some come with, you won't be able to see through them anyway.
I sold my big WSM to upgrade to a Traeger pellet. The pellet does make it somewhat easier to control temp , but I sure do miss my WSM.. Thinking hard about getting another..
Laugh all you want to, the Ninja Foodie Convection Oven and Air Fryer is the best $200 you'll ever spend. I've already had the best Hamburger, Pork Chop, Chicken Tenders, etc. I've ever had on the Air Fry Mode. Still don't see how it can cook Chicken Tenders so crispy on the outside and Tender on the inside.
Don't buy electric.
Overall, if you get electric, just get one that is well sealed. Should largely only release smoke from the vents. No need for the windows that some come with, you won't be able to see through them anyway.
The WSM looks to be a nice unit for a beginner, don't think I want to deal with charcoal for hours to smoke a pork butt though. Looking into a propane smoker also, probably go electric though.
My first was one of the safe style ones that was both propane and charcoal. It was cheap and leaked like crazy, but I made some modifications to lessen it and it wasn't too bad.
I've got a propane smoker. Love it. Easy to keep the temp where you want it and overall operating cost would be a lot less than electric (had an electric grill years ago and you see the meter spinning while it was on).
Don't know the smoker's brand, but it's the kind that looks like a small fridge with a door. Has 3 shelves in it, smoke box for chips, water tray, and vent on top for smoke. Has a temp gauge in the door but it's way off so it's useless.
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