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

[jcfradio]

Pork loins tend to be really low fat these days, that may be why you haven’t been happy. I had thought about trying Canadian bacon though.

Definitely try "Canadian " bacon (in quotes because I am a Canadian and we usually refer to this cut as peameal bacon since it is coated in cornmeal). I have done this numerous times using both uncured pork loins which I cured for 10 days and pre-cured pea meal bacon chunks. They key to making this well is to rinse out excess salt for about 2 hours, dry in the fridge overnight to get a pellicule and then smoke for only an hour or so to get the meat temperature up to 135 F. Any more smoking than that is too much and can dry the meat out.

 

[Winemaker]

Trying a recipe for chicken thighs on the smoker @ 200 with salt and pepper, then some sauce after 2 hours, then crank at 375 til up to temp.

 

[HFWR]

Trying a recipe for chicken thighs on the smoker @ 200 with salt and pepper, then some sauce after 2 hours, then crank at 375 til up to temp.

Being a slacker, I don’t smoke as much as I probably should… But the first thing I smoked was two whole chickens, that had been brined first. Two thumbs up!

 

[audreyh1]

Being a slacker, I don’t smoke as much as I probably should… But the first thing I smoked was two whole chickens, that had been brined first. Two thumbs up!

For sure. That’s a regular item for me including the brining. I don’t cook whole chickens any other way anymore, smoking them is so easy and delicious.

 

[OldShooter]

For sure. That’s a regular item for me including the brining. I don’t cook whole chickens any other way anymore, smoking them is so easy and delicious.

Have you seen these? Briner Buckets | LEM Products Very slick.

 

[audreyh1]

Have you seen these? Briner Buckets | LEM Products Very slick.

Yes, I have the smaller one.

 

[HFWR]

I have a food grade five gallon bucket with lid. Don’t remember where I got it.

 

[Lorenzo]

I have a food grade five gallon bucket with lid. Don’t remember where I got it.

Yeah, they can be bought for less than what they're charging for the "Briner Bucket." I have also seen suggestions to ask restaurants for their discarded 5 gal. buckets that their oils and things come in. And you can use a dinner plate and a weight (say, a milk jug full of water) as a spacer to keep things like pickles and sauerkraut submerged. People were making pickles in such buckets long before someone came up with the idea of calling it a "Briner Bucket"(TM).

 

[HFWR]

Yeah, they can be bought for less than what they're charging for the "Briner Bucket." I have also seen suggestions to ask restaurants for their discarded 5 gal. buckets that their oils and things come in. And you can use a dinner plate and a weight (say, a milk jug full of water) as a spacer to keep things like pickles and sauerkraut submerged. People were making pickles in such buckets long before someone came up with the idea of calling it a "Briner Bucket"(TM).

Or Yeti coolers…

 

[Winemaker]

Trying a recipe for chicken thighs on the smoker @ 200 with salt and pepper, then some sauce after 2 hours, then crank at 375 til up to temp.

The thighs turned out very well. Oh, and the upper temp was 275 not 375 degrees, my smoke stops at 275.

 

[imjustawarrior]

Yeah, they can be bought for less than what they're charging for the "Briner Bucket." I have also seen suggestions to ask restaurants for their discarded 5 gal. buckets that their oils and things come in. And you can use a dinner plate and a weight (say, a milk jug full of water) as a spacer to keep things like pickles and sauerkraut submerged. People were making pickles in such buckets long before someone came up with the idea of calling it a "Briner Bucket"(TM).

I just use a Home Depot 5 gallon bucket and whatever I find in the garage or yard to weigh down the food. Just kidding.

I have an old 5 gallon construction water cooler. I like it because I can set it on the back porch in colder weather and just leave it. It is good for the Thanksgiving turkey.

 

[HFWR]

The thighs turned out very well. Oh, and the upper temp was 275 not 375 degrees, my smoke stops at 275.

Thought maybe you were trying to crisp the skin.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Well, spring sort of arrived today.

It hit 65º outside today so I decided to break in my new $69 Wal-Mart charcoal barrel grill by making hamburgers for dinner tonight from ground chuck. They turned out fantastic! For a side, I diced up some potatoes and garlic, mixed in some olive oil, garlic salt, pepper, and a splash of water and wrapped them in foil. For drinks we had generic (Shasta) root beer in frosted A&W mugs.

Since I live close to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I only grill using Kingsford™ charcoal. It was invented in Kingsford, MI. (interesting article)

Anyway, it felt like spring today. Too bad it might snow on Tuesday.

 

[OldShooter]

Yeah, they can be bought for less than what they're charging for the "Briner Bucket." I have also seen suggestions to ask restaurants for their discarded 5 gal. buckets that their oils and things come in. And you can use a dinner plate and a weight (say, a milk jug full of water) as a spacer to keep things like pickles and sauerkraut submerged. People were making pickles in such buckets long before someone came up with the idea of calling it a "Briner Bucket"(TM).

Convenience costs a little money, but the briner buckets eliminate the hassle of mickey-mousing weights and they have a cover that snaps on. Depending on the geometry of the weight, the lid of a 5 gallon bucket may or may not be usable. With a milk jug, probably not.

 

[richardsok]

Like everything else, charcoal is getting more expensive. I generally did my smoking/grilling on a cheap Weber and would mix charcoal with bits of hardwood, easily obtained when walking in our local park, picking up dead sticks lying on the ground and snapping them to size to fit in a little bag. In five minutes I could have more fuel than I'd use in a month. Wife used to think I was nuts but now there's lots of things she refuses to serve unless I smoke or grill it outside.
Having moved here in Florida, there's an abundance of southern oak trees which smoke to a very nice aroma. Gardeners are glad to get rid of sticks on the ground around the perimeters of parking lots. A mix of 50/50 charcoal/oak sticks works out about right, except the natural sticks burn faster so have to be replenished more often.
Lighter fluid is absurdly expensive. I just sprinkle a few drops of kerosene and I'm good to go. Make sure it's fully burned away, though. You don't want any kero aftertaste.
Haven't bought any charcoal in two years.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

A friend of mine built a still ( on the QT ). I give him some rye every year and he gives me some product in trade. The clearest hooch you've ever seen.

I can't drink the stuff. I use it to start my charcoal grill. Works great, no smell or taste on the charcoal. Burns hot. Don't tell my buddy. He thrinks I drink it.

 

[HFWR]

A friend of mine built a still ( on the QT ). I give him some rye every year and he gives me some product in trade. The clearest hooch you've ever seen.

I can't drink the stuff. I use it to start my charcoal grill. Works great, no smell or taste on the charcoal. Burns hot. Don't tell my buddy. He thrinks I drink it.

Real shine is like the juice from a can of corn mixed with hell fire…

 

[CP Soon]

DS was in town for weekend, so I made my smoked baby back ribs (see my prior post in this thread). I must say, this was probably one of my better batches. My electric smoker would struggle to maintain a consistent temperature sometimes fluctuating 20 degrees. This time while I didn't adjust the temp setting from prior use the smoker just wouldn't get to temp as measure on the thermometer on the door. I felt something was amiss, so I put my electric meat thermometer in the oven and discovered my door thermometer is way wrong. Temp was 50 degrees too low. I adjusted the temp setting up (it's just a low - high dial) and per the electric thermometer, I finally got to the target 250 degrees. To avoid this error in the future, I purchased a $15 digital thermometer on Amazon for my next set of ribs.

 

[imjustawarrior]

5 lb pork loin cooked on Weber with lumped charcoal and wood chips. Plenty for dinner and lunches for a while.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

5 lb pork loin cooked on Weber with lumped charcoal and wood chips. Plenty for dinner and lunches for a while.
View attachment 55322

Looks fantastic!

 

[johnmiller13]

Great idea starting a dedicated thread—outdoor cooking definitely deserves its own spotlight. I’ve been doing a lot of cold smoking lately (cheese, garlic, even butter), and it’s amazing what a basic smoke tube and some curiosity can produce. Looking forward to seeing what others are grilling, curing, or experimenting with. Bring on the smoke rings and fat caps!

 

[HFWR]

From the archive, an early salmon smoking. These were Costco frozen wild caught of some sort. I did a brine, then dabbed with a paper towel, and then further dried in the fridge. Attempted temp was 225F, though that’s almost below the minimum of my decidedly analog smoker. Smoked with applewood chips to 140F. Pretty darn good on a bagel with cream cheese.

The pieces were placed skin side down, on pieces of paper grocery bag cut to size. After smoking, the meat comes right off, leaving the skin stuck to the paper.

 

[aja8888]

From the archive, an early salmon smoking. These were Costco frozen wild caught of some sort. I did a brine, then dabbed with a paper towel, and then further dried in the fridge. Attempted temp was 225F, though that’s almost below the minimum of my decidedly analog smoker. Smoked with applewood chips to 140F. Pretty darn good on a bagel with cream cheese.

The pieces were placed skin side down, on pieces of paper grocery bag cut to size. After smoking, the meat comes right off, leaving the skin stuck to the paper.

View attachment 55327

View attachment 55328

View attachment 55329

Looks very good!

 

[sengsational]

Did ribs in the Orion Cooker yesterday.

The original cooker uses charcoal on the bottom ring, but I modified it to use propane, which is much more economical. I still used about 20 briquettes on the top.

This smoker is so easy! The cooking chamber is separate from the heat source, so the smoke comes from just a couple of handfuls of wood chips. A $4 bag lasts me years, and it's easy to get plenty of smoke flavor. The never flare up because the cooking chamber is sealed (not enough O2 to allow the chips to burn).

I didn't take an "after" photo, but I pulled the ribs out after two or 2.5 hours and they were falling off the bone tender. I keep the chamber temp at 225 - 250 by adjusting the propane flow. The recipe and results from the Orion recipe book are KC style (chew off the bone) but faster. Of course when you light the charcoal in the lower ring, it's hotter and you have no control. And it runs out of heating sooner. That's why I like the propane mod. I spent a few minutes loading and lighting, and ignored it for the cook time. Well, I did check the temp a few times, but no adjustment was needed. BTW, the temperature dial is a mod as well.

I do Boston Butt pork too. And I've tasked my wife with finding the dino slab to try next.

 

[djsander]

Nothing yet, but our neighbor called us up and asked if we wanted the grill. Her husband passed away about a year ago and she said she will never use it again. Went over and looked at it and it was an older model Weber Genesis all stainless with three burners and side controls and the side stove to type burner. Did a Quick Look and other than extremely greasy said oh yes. Got it home ordered a new regulator and hose catch pan and drip tray. Did a pretty good cleaning the last two days. No rust through anywhere. Burners gave good blue flames. So, just over a hundred dollars in parts and some elbow grease and I’m ready for the Summer. It’s a 2009 and I used to have almost identical grill and had hesitated to buy a new one as they are now over $1000. Wife is happy not spending much and I’m thrilled to have a grill again.