Smoked Meat

[JasonK]

My aunt and uncle used to smoke smelt. Yummy. They used a good old fashioned smokehouse though.

[Blarg]

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My aunt and uncle used to smoke smelt. Yummy. They used a good old fashioned smokehouse though.

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Wow I never see anyone eating those anymore. They can be pretty good!

[siccjay]

My dad used to own a pizza and barb-q place and had a HUGE industrial smoker. We hickory smoked Ribs and put Lawry's Seasoning Salt on them and they were the best food I have ever had in my life. I used to eat them without Barb-Q sauce they were so good.

[Tinga]

My brother and a friend of his are on the BBQ circuit. I have eaten many of their goods. At the typical BBQ competition, they cook up Ribs, Chicken, Pork Shoulder, and Brisket (all of which you have tried/going to try).

Some of the other stuff they have done at home/rogue competitions are:

- Lamb
- Atomic Buffalo Turds
- Sausage
- Baked ("Pit") Beans
- Prime Rib
- Tri-tip
- Brats / Hot dogs (Brats are so tasty when smoked)
- Beer Can Chicken
- Pizza

If I think of other stuff that we've had, I'll post a followup.

[Klompy]

tinga,

The atomic buffalo turds sound really awesome, and I will have to try them soon.

[Tinga]

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tinga,

The atomic buffalo turds sound really awesome, and I will have to try them soon.

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Believe me, they are awesome. It was really the reason I wrote the reply to this thread in the first place (and the first thing that came to mind), but I figured I'd share some other things too (and I know I'm missing more).

I may have to convince my bro to get on my account and do a 'ask me about BBQn' thread, as he would have more insight into this -- and I'm pretty much there to eat.

[JPinAZ]

Once you're ready to step up in size, get a Kamado. You'll be able to smoke, grill, bake bread, get a nice 700* sear on steaks. Whatever a smoker, grill, or oven can do it can do. I have a #7 similar to the one pictured below but without the fancy tiling. For perspective, the grill area is 22.5" in diameter. I've never used it to capacity, but I've had no problem doing 18lb turkeys at Thanksgiving & could easily get at least 30 pounds or pork but on it should I ever get the desire to make enough pulled pork to last a year.

[rutang]

ok, so I only dabble in other forms of smoking, but I'm damn good at smoking pork butts/shoulders. I'll do my best to explain how to make a masterful carolina pull. I was gonna save this for an attempt to post on EDF one day, but it's clear that this thread is where it belongs. I hope it is helpful to you.

Picking a smoker:

there are a number of options here, and the fact is that even the bad ones will get the job done. I'll try to list them here, with pros and cons.

Indirect heat, charcoal smoker.

pros: best taste overall, good form, not expensive, good tempature control, reload wood chips without wasting heat, doubles as charcoal grill for burgers, etc. I believe it is possible to cold smoke. this is the only affordable indirect heat option, which is a huge plus for smoking.

cons: requires a lot of babysitting.

here is an example of an indirect heat charcoal smoker
these are available from all the box stores, wal-mart, home depot, etc. you can get them sometimes for about $100. If you are serious about your meat, you should own a charcoal grill in addition to your gas grill anyway.

They make baller versions of this for whole hog pig pickins, but you better be a master to run one of them.

Direct Heat, Propane Smoker

Pros: Reasonable Temp Control, somewhat portable, often roomier than other smokers with vertical racks for big smoking in a small package.

Cons: Refilling propane tanks, inferior flavor to charcoal, less authentic, more dangerous, gas can run out in the middle of a cook.

I own one of these and I would not recommend it, although to be fair i've made many tasty meals with this bad boy.

Direct Heat Charcoal grill

why on earth someone would want direct heat charcoal smoker is beyond me, unless you really just want a charcoal grill and will smoke once in a blue moon. even then, i'd get a grill with a sidebox for indirect heat. That being said, many chefs swear by these, and Weber makes some really high quality ones.

Big Green Egg

I haven't used one of these, but I've heard rave reviews from people about them. they're on the expensive side, but I'm really intrigued by the idea of the ceramic cooking to distribute heat evenly.

Electric Smoker:

Pros: very, very easy to use. Recommended for beginners. I'd like to own one for quick jobs. Hassle free with perfect, self modifying temp control.

Cons: least authentic of the bunch (you don't get a smoke ring on your meat, which is mostly aesthetic.) I actually argue that the flavor is slightly more authentic than propane.

In a ron popiel "set it and forget it" type of fashion, these are really the training wheels of the smoking world. Many experienced smokers swear by them as well. I have very limited personal experience with them, but they can be very affordable ($150-$200 for the lower end models)

I hope to get a restaurant quality electric smoker one day, with many racks, and a high quality remote thermostat. these are not cheap.

you have to decide if you are going to dry rub or not. In general, I coat the shoulder with olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper. there are much more elaborate rubs than this, and if you aren't going to make a carolina vinegar sauce, perhaps you should give them a shot. I don't know one on the top of my head, but add a bunch of spices you like, or lawry's, or whatever and presto... you're own secret dry rub!

I do not mop my shoulders, but you can make good arguments for mopping. a traditonal mop is:
1 cup Apple cider vinegar, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, 1 cup canola oil or olive oil.

mopping makes it take way longer because of lost heat (i'd speculate an extra 1-2 hours for a 10 lb shoulder) and doesn't really provide that much more flavor. People argue it makes the meat more moist, but I disagree, it may even dry it out.

If you do want to make it more moist, sear the outside of the shoulder in a frying pan (after you've applied the dry rub) I usually do not do this, as it cuts down on the choiceness of the outside "skin"

I recommend smoking pork with Hickory chunks soaked in a 1/2 water 1/2 apple juice blend, soak the chunks for about an hour.

notice I said "chunks". Hickory chips are usable, especially in smokers with small fireboxes, but you'll get a better flavor (more consistant, long lasting smoke) from chunks. expiriment with other woods at your leisure. I've had very tasty Peachwood smoked pork, but it did not mesh well with the traditional vinegar sauce that I love so much.

@10 lb cuts are the best, but different smokers will have different ideal cuts.

Place on the rack in the smoker FAT SIDE UP. smoke at 250 for slightly quicker cook, 225 for mad patience payoff. I like the 225 method, which is usually about an 18 hour smoke. You are cooking to an internal temp. of around 200.

Note that once the shoulder is 170, it is safe and edible. You'll have to chop it rather than pull it, but it will be moist and delicous. If you cook at 250 to an internal temp of 175, you can probably pull it off in about 6 hours, and you'll love it... until the day you go the distance.

*important* when checking the temp of the meat, be sure not to touch bone! the bone is way hotter than the meat, and will throw you off, maybe even to the health detriment of your friends.

once it hits about 200 Internal, it will literally fall apart in your hands. (this actually happens somewhere just past 195 in most cuts, and varies depending on the meat itself) If you have made it this far, congrats! yer friends now love you.

different 'cue comes from different regions. the mississippi river holds the best ribs, from saucy St Louis to Dry rub Memphis. Texas is where you find the best briskit, and beef short ribs, but the Carolinas hold the prime position for pulled pork. The South Carolinians make a mustard sauce that I've stabbed at with some success. here's a starter:
Yellow Mustard base, 3 parts
Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 part,
a LOT of black pepper,
a reasonable amount of salt,
onion powder, red pepper flakes, celery salt to taste

In western north carolina they make a tomato vinegar sauce. I've never tried to make this, because I think they use catsup. i've had some good ones, but I'm just not interested in expirimenting. at least the S.C. Mustard sauce has a very seperate, positive value.

Eastern North Carolina is where I grew up, and Here's a basic Vinegar Sauce for you to try.

3 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
1/8 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup cayenne pepper

shake it up, and spoon or pour over BBQ. Toy with this as much as you like, what is important is that it is salty, spicy, and vinegary. Many carolinians have personal recipes they don't share (myself included, only because I promised not to share to get my redneck friend's recipe) but they pretty much all use this base of ingredients.

If you like coleslaw, a traditional pulled pork dinner or sandwich includes a creamy slaw. (western N.C. sauces go with red cabbage slaw) I like to add banana pepper rings to my sandwiches.

I've had some TRs on experiments i've tried posted to my blog or other message boards. If I can dig them up, i'll add them to the thread.

Have fun with the 'Cue.

[Jeff W]

Smoked Salmon is great.

[Klompy]

rutang,

awesome post, thank you.