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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 17:27:23 GMT
Wow! Look what happens when I step away, lol. Yeah, a faux cambro literally means a fake cambro. A cambro is a well insulated box to hold food at a safe temp. Used in catering and sometimes in restaurants. Redneck ingenuity took this idea and made the faux cambro. What I do is take my coleman cooler and put a nice thick bath towel on the bottom of it and then take the brisket or pork butt, whatever, and double wrap it in foil and lay it in the cooler and then take another towel or two and lay that on top of the foiled meat. Close the lid and it will keep the meat hot for 4 hours or longer. I always let brisket and pork rest for at least an hour in the cambro before cutting/pulling. I throw several meat coma parties a year and the faux cambro has been a lifesaver. I don't have to worry about a butt or brisket getting done early because if it does I just cambro that bitch and I'm good to go.  |
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Post by Ramen on Oct 4, 2014 17:37:59 GMT
Wow! Look what happens when I step away, lol. Yeah, a faux cambro literally means a fake cambro. A cambro is a well insulated box to hold food at a safe temp. Used in catering and sometimes in restaurants. Redneck ingenuity took this idea and made the faux cambro. What I do is take my coleman cooler and put a nice thick bath towel on the bottom of it and then take the brisket or pork butt, whatever, and double wrap it in foil and lay it in the cooler and then take another towel or two and lay that on top of the foiled meat. Close the lid and it will keep the meat hot for 4 hours or longer. I always let brisket and pork rest for at least an hour in the cambro before cutting/pulling. I throw several meat coma parties a year and the faux cambro has been a lifesaver. I don't have to worry about a butt or brisket getting done early because if it does I just cambro that bitch and I'm good to go. Thanks for the info. I read a bunch about how to make them and what to do with them, I was just curious if experienced people like you use them a lot. I've read a lot of stuff about smoking brisket, and it seems like only about half of it is actually rooted in science and reality. So I wasn't sure if this was a real thing or one of those nonsense ideas that I've been reading. It made sense in the same way that letting a steak rest for a few minutes before serving makes sense. Just wanted to see if you and others used them. We're at 3 hour mark with the brisket and it's almost at 150F, so maybe another hour or so and then the Texas crutch when it starts the stall. Also have a gigantic rack of short ribs in there for good measure. It's a beef-a-palooza Saturday. |
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Post by Ramen on Oct 4, 2014 17:40:41 GMT
Also, I tried an experiment the last time I smoked ribs. Got some baby portabella mushrooms, stuffed with a couple of baby spinach leaves, and then topped with mozzarella cheese and some mediterranean spice (just a pinch). Put it in the smoker with foil underneath to catch the cheese. After an hour the mushrooms and the cheese were smoked. Never thought smoked mushrooms would be good, but they were.
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Post by Ramen on Oct 4, 2014 22:36:18 GMT
Holy s***, those short ribs were nothing short of meat porn. No pics, but...wow. Still got a few hours left on the brisket, but I'm already entering meat coma territory.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 23:52:13 GMT
Short ribs are legit on the smoker. Since you like shrooms, try this. Get you one of those big ass mushroom caps and use a spoon to take out the gills. Oil the cap with a little evoo and put it on your smoker for about 10 minutes to soften it up a little. Take it off and put pizza sauce and cheese and whatever toppings you want and put it back in the smoker until cheese is melted and it's like having a crustless pizza. Good shit.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 23:55:38 GMT
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Post by Ramen on Oct 5, 2014 0:10:19 GMT
Short ribs are legit on the smoker. Since you like shrooms, try this. Get you one of those big ass mushroom caps and use a spoon to take out the gills. Oil the cap with a little evoo and put it on your smoker for about 10 minutes to soften it up a little. Take it off and put pizza sauce and cheese and whatever toppings you want and put it back in the smoker until cheese is melted and it's like having a crustless pizza. Good shit. Gotta say, that does sound tasty, but the spinach/cheese stuffed shrooms are the real deal. It smokes the cheese at the same time that it smokes the shrooms. The brisket is sitting at 202F right now. Waiting for it to hit 203F and then in the faux cambro for an hour. Pics coming soon, assuming it came out okay. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2014 0:19:32 GMT
That last degree makes no difference. I pull mine off anywhere from 190-200, usually 195-197. You're good to go bro! I am sure it's going to be excellent.
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Post by Ramen on Oct 5, 2014 0:37:21 GMT
That last degree makes no difference. I pull mine off anywhere from 190-200, usually 195-197. You're good to go bro! I am sure it's going to be excellent. Yep, pulled it early. Unfortunately, doesn't look like I got any kind of smoke ring. We'll see what it's like after an hour in the cambro. Not a bad flavor, but the short ribs were the star of the night. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2014 0:58:34 GMT
SOmetimes I get a far better smoke ring than others but it always tastes smokey so don't worry so much over the smoke ring. What I've found to help the smoke ring is salt. I use salt on all of my smoked meats but I put it on just before it goes on the smoker. Back when I used to mix salt in the rub and let it marinate for a bit it would give me more of a smoke ring. I don't usually mix salt in my rub theses days, I like to add it separately so I can SEE how much I am putting on and also it doesn't wick out the moisture as it does when you let in marinate on the meat.
Looking forward to the pics!
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Post by Ramen on Oct 12, 2014 20:25:15 GMT
So update on brisket - it ended up not being nearly as dry as it seemed originally. I think that the thiner part got drier, but the thickest part was pretty good (and it had a smoke ring). I realize the smoke ring doesn't add flavor, but it's just something fun to look for. I've still got a portion of the brisket left and I'd rate it as good, not great, which isn't bad for a first time ever smoking a brisket.
Today I've got chicken wings, boudin, and pork shoulder for pulled pork.
I was experimenting some with the wings and did two different types. First, I left half the wings in buffalo sauce overnight in a ziplock baggie. The second half I coated with my memphis rub. Both went into the smoker at the same time and stayed there for about 2.5-3 hours. Then finished them under the broiler to crisp up the skin. The buffalo wings were spectacular. Not sure why, but the smokiness comes through very strongly plus you get the spiciness of the buffalo sauce in the background. Easily the best wings I've ever made (and I used to do them in a deep fryer). I love blue cheese sauce for dipping, but I wouldn't even dip these in the sauce. They were great all by themselves. Doesn't need anything other than the sauce for marinade and the smoke from the smoking.
The memphis rubbed wings were good enough. Basically a BBQ chicken flavor on a wing. Will do it again, but nothing all that special.
The pork shoulder needs about 5 more hours or so. The boudin is always good, but then I love boudin so there's that. Pics of the pork shoulder if I remember them. Ate all the wings before thinking about pics.
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Post by Ramen on Oct 18, 2014 22:11:20 GMT
Did a chicken today as a cheap practice round for turkey on Thanksgiving. I've become a *big* believer in temperature and temp control. That was the juiciest, best tasting chicken that I've ever cooked. Smoker at 275F (the hottest it goes) and took it out at 160F internal temperature.
Next time, I think that I'm going to remove the skin and use a rub of some kind, maybe something with honey and herbs. The idea is that the smoke flavor was all in the skin and I'd rather have it on the meat directly. Without the skin, the smoke flavor stays on the rub.
Also just ordered a Maverick ET733 Wireless thermometer along with a meat injector with the goal of injecting the turkey with melted butter and maybe some Tony Chacheries mixed in. The thermometer on my smoker is fine, but I want something much more precise. Going to have to experiment a few more times with chicken and maybe a turkey before Thanksgiving, but I'm having a lot of fun working the bird these days. Up next are some beef ribs.
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Post by Lou Dog on Oct 19, 2014 15:58:49 GMT
Did a chicken today as a cheap practice round for turkey on Thanksgiving. I've become a *big* believer in temperature and temp control. That was the juiciest, best tasting chicken that I've ever cooked. Smoker at 275F (the hottest it goes) and took it out at 160F internal temperature. Next time, I think that I'm going to remove the skin and use a rub of some kind, maybe something with honey and herbs. The idea is that the smoke flavor was all in the skin and I'd rather have it on the meat directly. Without the skin, the smoke flavor stays on the rub. Also just ordered a Maverick ET733 Wireless thermometer along with a meat injector with the goal of injecting the turkey with melted butter and maybe some Tony Chacheries mixed in. The thermometer on my smoker is fine, but I want something much more precise. Going to have to experiment a few more times with chicken and maybe a turkey before Thanksgiving, but I'm having a lot of fun working the bird these days. Up next are some beef ribs. just a tip. Whenever I cook a turkey or chicken I cook it upside down for the majority of the time and then flip it over just long enough to get a good brown on the skin. If ya cook it upside down all of the juices that would normally drain out of the bottom of the bird, will flow into the breast meat instead |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 22, 2014 2:12:49 GMT
Alright gents. I know there's gonna be lots of food happening here in a few days. Post some pics of your feast. I'll try to take a few myself to post. I plan on smoking a brisket and a boston butt this weekend to use for making chili and brunswick stew, I'll post some of that food porn as well! LOL
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Post by Ramen on Nov 22, 2014 2:39:12 GMT
You got it, RG. I'm smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving.
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