What We’re Smoking (or Grilling, or Curing)!

[CardsFan]

Rack of lamb, smoked in the BGE for 45 minutes at 300F;

Lambie pops -

Wow. 45 minutes at 300F sounds too long, but they look perfect.

Did you cook to a certain temp?

 

[RobbieB]

Nah, just do it by eye. But I put 'em in before it gets to 300. Just after the coals catch.

So 45 minutes from let's say 150 to 300. Grillin' is an art, not a science -

 

[audreyh1]

Nice!

 

[Ronstar]

I’ve ordered mine from Traeger via Amazon before without problems. It’s possible that the pellets are a little more broken up, but not enough to cause problems.

Thanks for the tip! I hadn’t even thought that Traeger sold through Amazon.

 

[braumeister]

Did you add any of the optional ingredients? (pickling spice, brown sugar, garlic, as I recall )

Not when I brine corned beef, but I do use those in some other brines.

 

[Koogie]

This thread pretty much has me convinced to go out and buy a Weber Smokey Mountain smoker now. DW is also on board. I'll need to find something to put under it since I want to keep it on our wooden deck outside the kitchen door.

Prices seem the exact same everywhere so the cheapskate in me will probably buy it from Lowes since I have two unused gift cards for there.

I do great pork back ribs already on my gas grill with my own dry rub concoction (The "Awesome Eight") so I can't wait to get it and post some pics of ribs done on the smoker.

Cheers.

 

[pacergal]

We love our treager and use it almost all year, as long as the temp is over 50. Below that and it just takes too long to keep the smoking temp consistent.
We do have a small webber grill also.
Last night grilled bratwurst and zucchini, the night before a lovely salmon.

 

[Marita40]

An early spring here! I love to grill but sometimes don't like the fuss and unpredictability of the classic charcoal Weber, especially when I want dinner for myself alone. I just bought a Foreman indoor/outdoor grill to grill on the patio. In fact it just arrived in the last 1/2 hour. Lightweight among you serious smokers/grillers I know, but exciting nevertheless! Grilling shrimp and veggies today.

 

[RobbieB]

Lobster tails, split and buttered, grill'in on the hibachi!

 

[Trooper]

I only use my Traeger for low and slow smoking, or perhaps some mid-temp indirect cooking. Steaks go on my gas grill, or in the oven in a cast iron pan, after searing on the stove top.

Great thread! With steaks, you might want to try a process I learned about on the Traeger forum. It's like a reverse sear - cook the steaks on the Traeger until internal temp of about 105-100F, then on a hot gas grill to get 'em charred and up to final temp of 125-130. DW won't eat them any other way now!

I’ve considered buying a whole packer, cutting it in half lengthwise, and using the flat end for corned beef/pastrami and the point end for traditional smoked brisket.

I've been wanting to try that, since the flat and point cook so differently. It just seems daunting when watching how on YouTube. My last brisket I separated the point and flat after cooking and made some pretty good burnt ends with the point meat.

Grillin' is an art, not a science -

Aint that the truth!

 

[CardsFan]

I’ve considered buying a whole packer, cutting it in half lengthwise, and using the flat end for corned beef/pastrami and the point end for traditional smoked brisket.

That is exactly my plan with the whole packer I have (11.5 lbs). Plan to smoke and make burnt ends with the point, per the Amazing Ribs recipe.

 

[CardsFan]

Another tip, for those so inclined. Lately I have been buying whole tenderloins (ranging from 6 to 10 lbs) and cleaning/trimming them myself. Usually get them from Fresh Thyme or Sam's for $10-12/lb. There is an art to breaking it down, and the silver skin has to go. Plenty of youtube videos on this, but it does take some practice.

With the whole tenderloin, there is a piece called the chain. From what I understand, most butchers throw this in with other scraps for ground beef. If you spend a little time cleaning it up, particularly the silver skin, it makes fantastic and tender beef stroganoff. I cut the pieces a little larger than recommended, quick sear them to rare, then add the at the end to finish cooking to medium-rare to medium.

Lastly, there is another piece called the head. This can be sliced into steaks or roasted for chateaubriand.

For the record, I usually end up with 1 to 1.5lbs of pure waste (fat, silver skin, gristle).

Happy grilling!

 

[audreyh1]

Great thread! With steaks, you might want to try a process I learned about on the Traeger forum. It's like a reverse sear - cook the steaks on the Traeger until internal temp of about 105-100F, then on a hot gas grill to get 'em charred and up to final temp of 125-130. DW won't eat them any other way now!

I’ve done reverse sear Traeger to gas grill on larger items like trI-tip and a huge tomahawk/cowboy ribeye (with bone).

But tender smaller cuts like steaks that cook fast - I just prefer straight grill or sear/roast.

I've been wanting to try that, since the flat and point cook so differently. It just seems daunting when watching how on YouTube. My last brisket I separated the point and flat after cooking and made some pretty good burnt ends with the point meat.

FWIW, I’ve smoked whole packer briskets and they’ve turned out just fine. Certainly no issues with the two ends cooking differently. The appeal of cutting one in half is that a whole packer is a huge amount of smoked brisket for just the two of us.

 

[audreyh1]

That is exactly my plan with the whole packer I have (11.5 lbs). Plan to smoke and make burnt ends with the point, per the Amazing Ribs recipe.

Yeah - I guess I meant crosswise, not lengthwise.

Maybe you had already mentioned it, but I started considering it when folks here started talking about pastrami and corned beef. You can’t buy just the flat here.

Burnt ends ain’t my thing. My favorite part of the brisket is the fatty end, with both point and flat and the fat layer in the slice.

 

[RobbieB]

Did up some sous vide drumsticks for supper. Salt & pepper & garlic powder, 155F for 3 hours, then whipped 'em on the hibachi for the skin browning / crisping.

Amazing, going on regular rotation. Next time pics, we ate the evidence this time.

 

[folivier]

DW picked up a couple pork loins yesterday. Tomorrow I'll inject them with an unsweetened cherry juice infused with garlic. Then I'll put them in the smoker with just a light coating of Tony Chachere's seasoned salt. I pull them off when they are still pink. Once done I'll slice them about 3/4 to 1" thick and vacuum seal and freeze them. These are great when we want a quick piece of meat either with sides or on a salad. Just a quick sear in a skillet and they're tender with a nice hint of smoky flavor.
Also have a couple butts and rib racks that I'll do next week. Most of this will be vacuum sealed and go in the freezer for this summer.

 

[Markola]

Here’s what we’re smoking but I haven’t tried any grilled yet!

 

[skipro33]

Bacon wrapped pork loin

Roast beef

Beef short ribs AND brisket flat

Prime Rib

All products of my CookShack SM0025 smoker;

 

[audreyh1]

Did up some sous vide drumsticks for supper. Salt & pepper & garlic powder, 155F for 3 hours, then whipped 'em on the hibachi for the skin browning / crisping.

Amazing, going on regular rotation. Next time pics, we ate the evidence this time.

So, you got that sous vide thing working for you!

 

[audreyh1]

DW picked up a couple pork loins yesterday. Tomorrow I'll inject them with an unsweetened cherry juice infused with garlic. Then I'll put them in the smoker with just a light coating of Tony Chachere's seasoned salt. I pull them off when they are still pink. Once done I'll slice them about 3/4 to 1" thick and vacuum seal and freeze them. These are great when we want a quick piece of meat either with sides or on a salad. Just a quick sear in a skillet and they're tender with a nice hint of smoky flavor.
Also have a couple butts and rib racks that I'll do next week. Most of this will be vacuum sealed and go in the freezer for this summer.

I was thinking about doing Canadian bacon which uses the pork loin. Then I discovered that my homemade bacon pretty much had that flavor - I think because it’s hot smoked.

I still might try it. If I do, I’ll try to find a heritage pork loin.

 

[doneat54]

We do salmon on the grill almost weekly, our local grocery store gets great seafood. Skin side down, on med-lo heat, do not flip it, brush with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and sometimes finely chopped basil. When it's done perfectly, a thin metal spatula slips right between the fish and the skin.



Other staple is swordfish, but we try not to eat it more than about once a month because of mercury. Brushed with melted butter, minced garlic, toasted sesame seeds and finely chopped parsley. Grilled on med, flipped once. Served with a mandatory fine chardonnay.

 

[Gumby]

Smoked spare ribs for dinner last night. I just have a simple propane fired cabinet smoker, but it does a great job. I have no idea how we managed to survive before we got a smoker.

 

[CardsFan]

I mentioned this in the other thread, but I am about to make some corned beef, and probably smoke the point for burnt ends.

I plan on using the Amazing Ribs recipe (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/beef-and-bison-recipes/home-made-corned-beef-recipe).

Any one tried this? Any recommended tweaks? Seems pretty simple.

Will cut the flat in half. Might make pastrami from one. Depends on how big they are after trimming.

OK. The brisket is in the brine, and I smoked the point 2 days ago (sorry, no pics. I took a couple but am too lazy to upload right now).

The point was small, and cooked in less than 7 hours (Texas crutch for the last 2). Used the Amazing Ribs recipe for burnt ends with some of it (fried in fat from the brisket). Absolutely "Amazing". The rest is in the freezer for a later day.

Corned beef will be ready mid week. DS and DDIL are coming in town for the weekend, so may keep it until then.

 

[audreyh1]

Cool!

 

[skipro33]

I mentioned this in the other thread, but I am about to make some corned beef, and probably smoke the point for burnt ends.

I plan on using the Amazing Ribs recipe (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/beef-and-bison-recipes/home-made-corned-beef-recipe).

Any one tried this? Any recommended tweaks? Seems pretty simple.

Will cut the flat in half. Might make pastrami from one. Depends on how big they are after trimming.

Ever make pastrami? I love the stuff I've made! A couple of my secrets; after smoking, wrap in cheese cloth and place in a glass dish with heavy bricks on top of it. You want to compress it for a few days in the fridge. Makes for a very dense pastrami that holds together well when slicing paper thin if you like that. Then vac seal it and freeze for later. When ready to serve it as pastrami, take it out and place in a pan with a wire lift to keep it off the bottom of the pan. Then add cola to the pan and cover with foil. Place in the oven and steam the crap out of it. Remove and slice when it gets to 160 degrees. Some folks don't wait that long, so sample as you go for effect. The steaming is what makes corned beef turn into pastrami. The cola is very sugary and really adds a great flavor to the pastrami.

Cheers!