True Smokers

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jk@home

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Re: True Smokers
« Reply #40 on: 28 Sep 2008, 11:19 am »
Another BGE owner here, have had my Large since June. Lovin it. The temp range is amazing, 225 degrees to smoke, up to 600 degrees plus to sear. It can even be used as a brick oven (We cooked pizza in it last night).

Right now I'm doing the full-blown red neck thing, I grille out in front of my garage on the front driveway. I have it mounted on one of the compact carts w/casters, what's great is I can roll it back into the garage after use, and not worry about a fire hazard.

Tonight going to cedar plank some stuffed salmon.

The only downside is, with purchasing the egg, and all the optional accessories I wanted, I pretty much blew my disposable income this summer, so no audio upgrades. I've recovered now, a Channel Islands VDA2 is on its way to me next week  :D

stone deaf

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #41 on: 3 Apr 2009, 06:44 pm »
I joined the BGE cult a couple of years ago. If you need anything bigger give this guy a call. David Klose

SharkyRivethead

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Re: True Smokers
« Reply #42 on: 4 Apr 2009, 06:14 pm »
 I have a Brinkman Bullet smoker (some call it a pill) I love it and hate it all at the same time. There is nothing worse than the constant monitoring. It has no air flow control, so I have to be by it's side or not to far away when smoking.

 I have smoked a couple Thanksgiving turkeys in the past. (will share my recipe if your interested. It's flipping good) I had to sit there for the total time to cook that bird. Anywhere from 6-8 hours. Lets see here, magazines, water/beer, chair.....ok, ready to smoke.


 I am looking to get a mobile smoker. My friend and I are going to buy a Pizza restaurant from his cousin. It has been around for 20+ years and does very well. After a while I want to add BBQ to a weekend menu to see how people react to it. I have done some research and have let a lot of people try my food. You know, to see if it's worthy. I have also been to most of the BBQ/Grill/Smoke House places around. I know I can do as good as them, if not better. Except one place called Central Texas. This guy rocks! Anyway, I figure if I can supply good food, plenty of it and add pizza and beer in a blue collar worker area. You can't go wrong.
  So, any suggestions? I have looked at a lot of smokers. But I have never used a mobile smoker. I want to go this route in case there is a need for catering and need to go mobile.

Grumpy_Git

PRO Q Smoker/Grill
« Reply #43 on: 6 May 2009, 08:44 am »
All

Being stuck on the wrong side of the pond for everything smoking I'm kind of limited to what I can buy, especially at reasonable prices, so I was thinking of supporting a UK company and getting a PRO Q Frontier.

Does anyone know of this company, and if their smokers are any good?

I won't be buying a HT Reciever due to the total lack of stock ANYWHERE in the UK so have appropriated the cash for this instead. :lol:

Cheers all.

Nick.

turkey

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Re: True Smokers
« Reply #44 on: 28 May 2009, 08:38 pm »
I have an Old Smokey Electric Smoker.

It works really well and it's easy to use. I just set the thermostat and go have some refreshments. :)

That Masterbuilt smoker would be nicer, but I'm happy with the one I have.

BobM

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #45 on: 29 May 2009, 01:03 pm »
Just picked up a Masterbuilt, but it's a fathers day present - so I can't use it yet. That's OK, I can work on where I plan to set it up int he yard. Lowes has a good price on them.

One question though, the manual says don't let it sit out in the rain. So what do you guys do - put it away each time, or throw a plastic garbage bag over it after it cools down?

Bob


PeteG

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #46 on: 30 May 2009, 12:03 am »
Mine came with a nice cover but I still keep it in a corner in the garage. Smoked some nice babybacks that we?re on sale last weekend and they were great. Enjoy the new smoker.

Murphy12

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Re: True Smokers
« Reply #47 on: 30 May 2009, 06:55 pm »
I too have been eying a XL green egg but I am not sure it is big enough.  I currently use a plain ole 24" webber which I love but would like more space to get the whole meal out at once with larger parties.  The XL is 24" so its a step up in function but no more square inches.
Get a large BGE and a small or medium for about the same price. I have a large BGE and love it! With 2 you could have stuff going at lower temp on one or the other. Also, it would be convenient and faster (less lump too) to fire up the smaller one when you are doing smaller cooks for immediate family. A lot of eggheads and dealers will tell you to go 2 instead of one XL.

BobM

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #48 on: 1 Jun 2009, 12:37 pm »
Broke in my smoker this weekend. Made some fish for this first go-round.

Salmon - very simple with some Kosher salt and pepper and a little lemon/garlic/onion/chicken stock sprinkle on top

Bluefish - just used a Penzys spices lemon pepper dry rub on one piece

Bluefish - I tried a marinade of whiskey/garlic/onion/oil on the second piece

I also BBQ'ed some clams on the grill while I was waiting the 45 minutes for these to smoke (Hickory). Overall they cam out really delicious, the salmon being the favorite, & dry rubbed bluefish came in second.

Bob

PhilNYC

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #49 on: 1 Jun 2009, 01:16 pm »
Any pictures, Bob? :drool:

BobM

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #50 on: 1 Jun 2009, 01:40 pm »
No - we ate the results all too quickly.  :thumb:

I think I'm going to prep a brisket and some ribs for next weekend's adventure. For those who are interested I was turned on to this book by someone I work with who actually belongs to a BBQ team. Apparently this book is a smokers bible, of sorts.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558322620?ie=UTF8&tag=alsyin-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1558322620


Bob

turkey

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Re: True Smokers
« Reply #51 on: 1 Jun 2009, 05:12 pm »

BobM

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #52 on: 15 Jun 2009, 02:00 pm »
Smoked some pork this weekend, both ribs and a hunk of meat. I went to 3 stores and the local butcher but couldn't get a shoulder (pork butt) or a picnic, so I opted for a much leaner pork loin (at 3x the price/lb). Delicious, but it needed to be fattier. Next time I'll order in advance from the butcher. I also tried usiing Mesquite this time instead of Hickory. Obviously I'm still experimenting with a lot of things.

I also learned another valuable lesson - don't use the same dry rub on the ribs as the pork. The port was delicious, but the ribs were way spicy and hot and peppery. Must be the surface area to meat ratio. Still delicious, and plenty of leftovers for tonight.

I don't remember the exact rub ingredients, but it was something like this:

1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup Paprika
tablespoon Cayenne
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
not sure what else, but this was the basis for it.

I also used a mop of vinegar, water and a splash of worstershire and any leftover rub about 1.5 hrs in and again about an hour before it finished.

Enjoy,
Bob

Update: I did take pictures and will post them tonight  :drool:
Based on some suggestions from experienced BBQ'ers here at work, they suggested using the Mesquite for only the first 1.5 hours. The meat takes in 90% of the smoke in the first hour or so. Then, if you want to, you can use a small amount of wood again towards the end of the process. This keeps the Mesquite from being overwhelming. I cooked about 3lbs of pork, so at 1.5 hrs per lb it went for 4.5 hours.
« Last Edit: 15 Jun 2009, 03:21 pm by BobM »

PhilNYC

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #53 on: 15 Jun 2009, 02:37 pm »
Smoked some pork this weekend, both ribs and a hunk of meat. I went to 3 stores and the local butcher but couldn't get a shoulder (pork butt) or a picnic, so I opted for a much leaner pork loin (at 3x the price/lb). Delicious, but it needed to be fattier. Next time I'll order in advance from the butcher. I also tried usiing Mesquite this time instead of Hickory. Obviously I'm still experimenting with a lot of things.

I also learned another valuable lesson - don't use the same dry rub on the ribs as the pork. The port was delicious, but the ribs were way spicy and hot and peppery. Must be the surface area to meat ratio. Still delicious, and plenty of leftovers for tonight.

I don't remember the exact rub ingredients, but it was something like this:

1/4 cup ground black pepper
1/4 cup Paprika
tablespoon Cayenne
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
not sure what else, but this was the basis for it.

Enjoy,
Bob

I propose a new rule for this thread...no discussing what you smoked unless you include a picture of the end-result.... aa

Btw - how long did you smoke things for?  My experience with mesquite says that it is too strong (and somewhat bitter) for meats in long-smoking...

BobM

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #54 on: 17 Jun 2009, 12:11 am »
OK, here's some pictures from last weekend's smoke out.




rahimlee54

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Re: True Smokers
« Reply #55 on: 17 Jun 2009, 12:13 am »
What rub is that?  Man that meat looks great.

BobM

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #56 on: 17 Jun 2009, 12:53 am »
See my previous post for the ingredients. It was perfect on the pork, but too spicy on the ribs.

Mariusz

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #57 on: 17 Jun 2009, 01:44 am »
OK, here's some pictures from last weekend's smoke out.





Man, those pictures make me hungry. aa
great job Bob!

Mariusz :thumb:

rahimlee54

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Re: True Smokers
« Reply #58 on: 17 Jun 2009, 02:12 am »
Sorry I didnt even realize this thread had multiple pages  :duh:.  Man after seeing all those pictures and rubs my charcoal grill may need a friend.  I may have to try smoking later this month.

PhilNYC

Re: True Smokers
« Reply #59 on: 17 Jun 2009, 11:00 am »
Update: I did take pictures and will post them tonight  :drool:
Based on some suggestions from experienced BBQ'ers here at work, they suggested using the Mesquite for only the first 1.5 hours. The meat takes in 90% of the smoke in the first hour or so. Then, if you want to, you can use a small amount of wood again towards the end of the process. This keeps the Mesquite from being overwhelming. I cooked about 3lbs of pork, so at 1.5 hrs per lb it went for 4.5 hours.

FYI - when doing pork ribs, you want to be smoking for the entire process (5-6 hours).  Doing it for 1.5 hours will impart the smoke taste, but you won't get the "smoke ring" (pink meat) unless you go the whole time.  Basically, a smoke ring indicates that you've smoked the meat long enough to actually cure it, and it completely changes the texture and taste of the meat.  Here's a batch of babybacks I did a while ago:



More info on the smoke ring here:

http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuehelp/g/gsmokering.htm

http://www.grillmaestro.com/explanation-of-the-pink-smoke-ring.htm