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Post by Ramen on Dec 9, 2014 1:09:17 GMT
I've heard great things about Community Q, but I love Fox Bros. I prefer Daddy D'z, but barely. Southern Soul slays them all, though. I have eaten a lot, and I do mean A LOT of BBQ in my life and consider myself a BBQ snob (proudly) LOL. While I damn well know that everyone has different tastes and opinions I can say that I find Community Q to be very solid. Without stroking my own ego too much, my food is better than any restaurant I've eaten at. It doesn't mean that I don't like to eat other people's BBQ because I do. I like the change, something different but what I hate is when I plop down my hard earned cash for some 'cue and shake my head thinking that my food kicks their food's ass (this happened at Bone Lick BBQ and they were busy as if people thought it was good!). If I could commit myself to opening a joint and finding a way to fund it, I would do it. I've got my wife "trained" to making rubs and sauces and I've got the recipes written down in case I croak she can still make some good grub. As Ramen said, I'd put my ribs up against anybody. Brisket and pulled pork as well. The one thing I don't cook often OR very well is chicken. To do a proper smoked chicken is not as easy as you'd think. I can burn the shit of it on a grill as good as Bone Lick, but proper chicken is an art and to be honest, I'd rather eat brisket or pork over chicken ANY DAY Yeah, it's crazy how easy ribs are for me. I was not expecting them to be that easy. But you really struggle with chicken? I've done a bunch of whole chickens and one turkey and they were kick ass. I take the skin off, salt the meat directly, and then on top of that I use an olive oil and herb blend. Pull it out at 160F and let it rest to 165F. Haven't had a bad one yet. Brisket is the bane of my life right now. The one last night was pretty solid - finally came out tender and kind of juicy - but still far from my goal. Here are some pics (and yes, I realize that I need to work on slicing the thing properly).
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Post by Ramen on Dec 9, 2014 1:15:24 GMT
And while we're on the subject, for the life of me I cannot understand why so many restaurants do ribs so poorly. My experience is that of all the smoked meats, it is the easiest to get right. And yet most of the BBQ restaurants that I've been to have really crappy ribs. And some of those same places have great brisket, which is one of the hardest meats to smoke. On top of that, they charge ridiculous prices for their crappy ribs and their really good brisket is often a cheaper option. Makes no sense. I don't think that's the case around here. Well, the part about the ribs is probably right, but the brisket isn't any better most places. We should go to Fox Bros. while you're in town. Maybe get Drake to drive up and meet us. Either there or Daddy D'z. Alternatively, road trip to St. Simons Island to eat at Southern Soul. I'm down with it! Anyone else around here want to meet up for some BBQ sampling and Falcons-related bullshitting?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2014 12:27:57 GMT
I can make some mean bird, it's just not as easy as I can do the other animals, lol! I eat so much chicken it's crazy so I guess when it comes to bbq, I'd much rather forgo the chicken and cook some swine or brisket. As for the brisket, use an electric knife and cut against the grain about pencil width slices. While we're at it, why not look at my butt(s)
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 9, 2014 12:33:13 GMT
Those look perfect. I'll be back after the Nativity fast looking for ideas.
I'm thinking of roasting a turkey for Christmas, but I also think I'll be doing a smoke the weekend after. Just not sure what to start with. Maybe a butt, or maybe Ramen can come over and we can do some ribs. Not sure.
At some point while he's in town, though, I intend to sear some good steaks. I'm going to get a cast iron skillet so I can do it right.
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Post by Ramen on Dec 9, 2014 14:32:19 GMT
Those look perfect. I'll be back after the Nativity fast looking for ideas. I'm thinking of roasting a turkey for Christmas, but I also think I'll be doing a smoke the weekend after. Just not sure what to start with. Maybe a butt, or maybe Ramen can come over and we can do some ribs. Not sure. At some point while he's in town, though, I intend to sear some good steaks. I'm going to get a cast iron skillet so I can do it right. For me, starting with pork is the best. Ribs are hard to mess up and they are quicker than shoulder, so you can get a good sense about the basics (rub, type of smoke, etc) more quickly. Pork butt takes longer and there are some other things to consider like "the stall", but also hard to mess up. Both can take higher than recommended heat, so even if you let the heat slip away they'll still turn out fine. I waited months before even attempting a brisket because of how tricky those can be. Other people can jump into the deep end, but I was very hesitant after reading up on how to do brisket. One idea for steak is what's called "reverse searing", which is smoking the steak until it gets close to the proper internal temperature, and then searing on a skillet or grill for about 1 minute each side. I've never made a better steak than when I did that a few months ago. Also, on the cast iron skillet, look around at flea markets and antique stores for older ones. The new ones are fine, but I really like my older ones better. Got a skillet/roaster combination from the 1930s for about $45 at a flea market over the summer. Well worth it.
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 9, 2014 15:10:52 GMT
For me, starting with pork is the best. Ribs are hard to mess up and they are quicker than shoulder, so you can get a good sense about the basics (rub, type of smoke, etc) more quickly. Pork butt takes longer and there are some other things to consider like "the stall", but also hard to mess up. Both can take higher than recommended heat, so even if you let the heat slip away they'll still turn out fine. I waited months before even attempting a brisket because of how tricky those can be. Other people can jump into the deep end, but I was very hesitant after reading up on how to do brisket. One idea for steak is what's called "reverse searing", which is smoking the steak until it gets close to the proper internal temperature, and then searing on a skillet or grill for about 1 minute each side. I've never made a better steak than when I did that a few months ago. Also, on the cast iron skillet, look around at flea markets and antique stores for older ones. The new ones are fine, but I really like my older ones better. Got a skillet/roaster combination from the 1930s for about $45 at a flea market over the summer. Well worth it. I'm actually going to try a non-reverse sear first. I've heard that if you take a good cut and sear it for about 2-3 min. per side (depending on what you're after) over high heat, then shut the vents down and slow cook it the rest of the way, it will beat any steakhouse steak on the planet. I aim to find out. I'll try a reverse sear later, though. I'm definitely going to be experimenting with all of them. Oddly, on the BGE forums, one of the cooks that gives people fits is a simple burger. I'm guessing the way to go there is treat the Egg like a Weber kettle and cook them elevated over moderate direct heat. A lot of folks treat them like steaks, and I don't think that works real well from all accounts. Perhaps if you pan sear them and then slow cook them, but my impression is the slow cook tends to dry them out after the sear and people have a hard time calculating how long to leave them on, so simple is probably better. That and getting good meat (I think a lot of folks try low fat, which is the wrong way to cook any burger, but definitely the wrong way to grill). Really, as best I can tell, bad burgers on a BGE is the result of people trying too hard.
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Post by Ramen on Dec 9, 2014 15:26:00 GMT
For me, starting with pork is the best. Ribs are hard to mess up and they are quicker than shoulder, so you can get a good sense about the basics (rub, type of smoke, etc) more quickly. Pork butt takes longer and there are some other things to consider like "the stall", but also hard to mess up. Both can take higher than recommended heat, so even if you let the heat slip away they'll still turn out fine. I waited months before even attempting a brisket because of how tricky those can be. Other people can jump into the deep end, but I was very hesitant after reading up on how to do brisket. One idea for steak is what's called "reverse searing", which is smoking the steak until it gets close to the proper internal temperature, and then searing on a skillet or grill for about 1 minute each side. I've never made a better steak than when I did that a few months ago. Also, on the cast iron skillet, look around at flea markets and antique stores for older ones. The new ones are fine, but I really like my older ones better. Got a skillet/roaster combination from the 1930s for about $45 at a flea market over the summer. Well worth it. I'm actually going to try a non-reverse sear first. I've heard that if you take a good cut and sear it for about 2-3 min. per side (depending on what you're after) over high heat, then shut the vents down and slow cook it the rest of the way, it will beat any steakhouse steak on the planet. I aim to find out. I'll try a reverse sear later, though. I'm definitely going to be experimenting with all of them. Oddly, on the BGE forums, one of the cooks that gives people fits is a simple burger. I'm guessing the way to go there is treat the Egg like a Weber kettle and cook them elevated over moderate direct heat. A lot of folks treat them like steaks, and I don't think that works real well from all accounts. Perhaps if you pan sear them and then slow cook them, but my impression is the slow cook tends to dry them out after the sear and people have a hard time calculating how long to leave them on, so simple is probably better. That and getting good meat (I think a lot of folks try low fat, which is the wrong way to cook any burger, but definitely the wrong way to grill). Really, as best I can tell, bad burgers on a BGE is the result of people trying too hard. That's actually a really good idea about searing and then slow cooking to temperature. And yeah, the brilliant thing about this stuff is that it's very easy to do experiments and see what works and what doesn't, what you like and what you don't.
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Post by Dago on Dec 9, 2014 15:41:50 GMT
My brother in law was trying to sell me on electric smokers today. He's a big grilled, and said the electric smoker is just too easy and makes great meat. They are very easy to use, but there are some things that an electric smoker just cannot do. If you're obsessed with the "smoke ring", then the only way to get one in an electric is to either add charcoal or to use meat tenderizer. Also, the one that I have does not go over 275F, so it's purely for smoking. On the other hand, it's about a fourth of the cost of a kamado or pellet grill. And I basically set the temperature and it stays there the entire time without having to fool with vents and the like. It's that ease of use that led me to buy one. I wanted to learn the basics of low and slow cooking, and one of the most important aspects to that is constant temperature, which electrics do brilliantly. I'll probably make a move up to a kamado next year, but I will have had a full year and a half experience with the electric by then. It gave me time to do consistent cooks and experiment with different rubs and techniques. I seriously doubt that I could have learned as much with an offset smoker or something more advanced. Basically, the electric smoker, while admittedly limited, holds constant one of the most important parts of smoking - the temperature. This is the one that I bought: I have smoked tons of ribs, a couple of pork shoulders, a bunch of trout, chicken, turkey, sausage, and two briskets (including the one that I nailed tonight). Never had a single complaint. Again, you won't be able to do competition grade BBQ on it, but it's still damn good stuff. I put my ribs well above any of the local BBQ restaurants around here and I've done a few pulled pork shoulders that came out pretty good. Highly recommended for beginners wanting an easy transition into the smoking world. Does that do cold smoking? The Bradley I got has the smoke generator on the outside and it can be operated without turning on the main heating element here is a closeup. there is a heating element on the end of the feeder arm that chars the wood disks and it cycles every 20 minutes. the charred disks are dumped into the bowl to make steam
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Post by Ramen on Dec 9, 2014 15:48:56 GMT
The Masterbuilt does not do cold smoking, unfortunately. I think the minimum setting is around 180F. It could be easily modified for that. The wood is put into the smoker on the side near the bottom, so it would be easy enough to have a smoke box beside the smoker and run the smoke in through a tube to the side opening.
The Bradley looks like a great design and maybe more versatile than what I've got. I've never used one and don't know anyone who has one, so I'd ask around and see what other people's experiences are. Whichever model you get, the key to electric is how easy it is to maintain constant temperatures. The tradeoff is less airflow and fewer chemicals in the smoke that creates certain reactions during the cooking process. The obvious one is the lack of a smoke ring, which isn't a big deal, but I've read that there are some other things as well.
So electrics are a lot easier, which is why I think they're great for beginners like me, but there are just some things you can't do that you can with a charcoal or wood-fired smoker. For me, the tradeoff is worth it until I feel like I've learned the basics.
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 9, 2014 15:58:54 GMT
I think most folks who cold smoke with a Kamado use 2, but I am sure you could do it with some kind of smoke box as well. They do the same thing and just run a tube to the bottom vents as best I can tell.
I'm not there yet, so I'll reserve that for a later time.
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Post by Guvmintcheeze on Dec 9, 2014 16:07:27 GMT
I just roll around with my big honkin' ugly old wood smoker. (I'll be building a huge wood-fired cinder block roll in smoker maybe next year, to replicate the old ones I learned to smoke in at Ulrich's Meat Market.) Ulrich's Meat MarketI may not be as skilled as most at this, but I'll put my ribs and rubs up against anyone.
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Post by Ramen on Dec 9, 2014 16:10:29 GMT
I just roll around with my big honkin' ugly old wood smoker. (I'll be building a huge wood-fired cinder block roll in smoker maybe next year, to replicate the old ones I learned to smoke in at Ulrich's Meat Market.) Ulrich's Meat MarketI may not be as skilled as most at this, but I'll put my ribs and rubs up against anyone.
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Post by JDaveG on Dec 9, 2014 16:13:11 GMT
I just roll around with my big honkin' ugly old wood smoker. (I'll be building a huge wood-fired cinder block roll in smoker maybe next year, to replicate the old ones I learned to smoke in at Ulrich's Meat Market.) Ulrich's Meat MarketI may not be as skilled as most at this, but I'll put my ribs and rubs up against anyone. I've always figured the dudes who fab up a smoker out of old barrels and throw wood they chopped themselves are the best at this stuff. One thing a bunch of folks on the BGE forum are doing is cooking steaks "caveman style." It doesn't sound appetizing -- cooking directly on the charcoal -- but these fools swear by it. I might get the stones to try that one day.
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Post by Guvmintcheeze on Dec 9, 2014 16:13:46 GMT
I just roll around with my big honkin' ugly old wood smoker. (I'll be building a huge wood-fired cinder block roll in smoker maybe next year, to replicate the old ones I learned to smoke in at Ulrich's Meat Market.) Ulrich's Meat MarketI may not be as skilled as most at this, but I'll put my ribs and rubs up against anyone.
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Post by Ramen on Dec 9, 2014 16:17:25 GMT
I was just kidding around. The best rub I ever had was from you.
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