NEW Smoker

I have a new custom built back yard smoker. The other one stays at the lake and I am not able to smoke as much as I would like to. I had this one built by Saltmine Smokers here in Tulsa. I seasoned it on Saturday, and last night I had my maiden voyage and cooked a pork tenderloin on it. I still have some learnin' to do with it as all smokers are a bit different. The meat turned out great, just didn't look as well as I would have liked it to.

11/4/07

We went to the lake and made a terrible attempt at smoking. I haven't done a brisket or butt in so long I almost forgot how. I put the brisket in with the fat cap down (wrong), left the good seasoning at home in BA, didn't have the right wood, (I used hickory, however have begun to prefer pecan). Brisket was not bad, we ate the left overs Sunday, so I would say it could have been worse. Pork I had for lunch Sunday, a little Head Country will fix just about any bland piece of meat.

I guess the moral to the story is use a cook log and review it when you are in doubt. (And dont just put it on your computer and not use it like I did)

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Not much cookin' going on these days. Once the move settles down hopefully I will get back to the smokin'.

Corn on the cob

Last weekend I tried grilled corn on the cob. Peeled the husk back, de-silked them, pulled the husks back over them and stuck them in a cooler full of ice cold water for about 2 hours. Then grilled them on medium heat for about 45 minutes, turning every 10-15 minutes.

The husks will look burned, but the corn had an incredible flavor.

It's been a while, but the garage project is finally over and I am planning on doing some brisket and Butt this weekend. I will post some "food porn" early next week.

Rib Cuts

If you want to see a great diagram of the different type of rib cuts, ie:
what are Baby backs, St. Louis Cuts, Spares, Riblets? This is a very well thought out page and includes diagrams and a few photos.
http://amazingribs.com/technique/rib_cuts.html

3,2,1

I finally learned the 3,2,1 method. 3 hours of unwrapped cooking, 2 hours of wrapped (double wrapped in heavy duty foil) add mop, and 1 last hour of unwrapped. I personally like the last hour to be smoked with sauce on. It will make a nice sticky finish on your ribs. Of course the hours depend on your temps, however with a 225 pit 3,2,1 should work very accurately.

My definition of BBQ

BBQ defined:
Barbecue was created to turn large tough inexpensive cuts of meat like beef brisket and pork shoulder into tender cuts of meat.


The act of “BBQing” is when you place a cut of meat, whether it is beef, chicken, pork, etc. in an enclosed pit, with an indirect fire and let it cook “slow and low” from the smoke of charcoal or wood, these can also be combined. The best cooking temperature usually runs between 200-225 degrees (some cooks like it a little hotter, around 250). This process renders the fat and breaks down the connective tissues of the meat which becomes a very tender meat. Barbecue was created for just this purpose, to turn large tough inexpensive cuts of meat like beef brisket and pork shoulder into tender cuts.

I searched other peoples definintions and came up with a version of my own. I hope this helps you understand the process of Q'ing.

Here are a few pics from my recent cooks.

smokin'

lump vs wood cont'd.

Mike,
I think a lot depends on the cooker you are using. I have cooked on a half dozen offset designs and sizes and every one has it's own unique air flow and problems. With my large trailer rig, I started a pile of lump to get up to temp and then added two splits. As those burned down, I added one split and continued this for the duration. I could maintain a good even temp and clean fire this way. However, I tried this in my Bandera once and skunked my cooker pretty bad. With that small fire and limited air flow, it was hard to control a perfect fire without getting some creosote from constantly lighting new logs.

Now after a lot of practice and experience I was able to make it work in the Bandera, but it took time. I had to switch to one inch long strips of wood and keep the vents wide open to make this work. The fire burnt fast with all this air, the temps were higher than I wanted and it required CONSTANT tending, but I did it! In the end, I decided I would enjoy the process more using lump and adding wood chunks to the fire.

Merrill

We're now a part of the smokering.com!

It's official, the links at the bottom of the page are now working. Here is the email from the smokering.com.

Congratulations!
http://backyardpigs.blogspot.com/ has been added to the SmokeRing.

Lump vs Wood debate

I asked a question to the BBQ digest list of the smoke ring which is posted below. I have included the responses as well. I have also included the author of the responses if applicable.


Q: Is there a specific way when starting an offset smoker to using charcoal (lump) and wood? In other words when you start smoking, do you mix wood and charcoal right as you light the fire, or start with charcoal then add wood once the fire is a bit more established? Some people I have heard use charcoal and wood mixed throughout the entire cook. What is best, are there pros or cons?

A: I usually start out with lump and then add chunks or sticks of wood as desired/it gets to temp (225-250). I usually stop using wood around three to four hours in and let the heat do the rest. I consistently get a favorable smoke ring, and don't have a bitter taste from excessive smoke. I know this may open a caveat of proper firs control discussion, but this is what works for me. I always seek the thin blue/gray smoke from my smoke stacks and a clean fire in the firebox.

-Jason in Dickson TN

You Tube

I checked out a few vidoes on BBQ today from youtube.com. I have to say they were pretty good. A few were even very informative. You do learn something new everyday I guess.

Finally

I am finally getting around to adding some content to the site. I will try to add as much as quality content as possible.

Congratulations!

Team of the Year Results:

First Place Chicken - Lotta Bull
First Place Ribs - Bar B Quau
First Place Pork - Buffalo's BBQ
First Place Brisket - Bar B Quau
Click here to view complete 2006 TOY results

BBQ Season

The weather has been freezing cold so I have not had much of a chance to get outside and smoke. This weekend it appears we will have nice weather so hopefully I will get out and cook some ribs or pork butt.