Smoked Meat

[K-Guy]

So Sunday morning I get up and it's 6°F outside. What to do, I have a couple of small pork steaks I picked up last week when I thought I'd be on my own for supper, I decided to smoke them. One I seasoned with my standard Goya Adobo and the other liberally with Weber Asian Garlic Rub.


 


 
Goya seasoned on the left.
Now by the time I put them on to smoke the temp was up to 31°F.
They turned out great, my family all thought they tasted good but I was disappointed because the Weber rub didn't really come through. FYI it is great on the grill, just not for smoking.

[Magicman]

I wish that I had taken pictures but the last two times that I smoked chicken wings it has been on the grill.  I first got them sizzling hot over the burners then piled them up one end and left the burner on low on the other end.  Added some Oak chips to the tray over the burner and let it happen.  OK, I'll take pictures next time.  ;D

[K-Guy]

Using the BBQ grill has gin problems smoking if there is too much wind so I got this from Masterbuilt's website. Refurbished $67 including shipping. I tried it out yesterday and it works much better than the grill even when it's snowing.

 

[Raider Bill]

You can smoke with a normal grill but the right tool sure makes things easier.
Master built is a very popular smoker. I got my Son one for Christmas.

[Magicman]

I have smoked "landing gear" on the grill twice during the past few weeks but I keep forgetting to take a picture.  :

[samthesham]

I use a pellet grill for bbq smoking & a Weber kettle for grilling. I had an offset wood smoker that worked great except I never accomplished the art of heat control. I had to baby sit it the complete cooking time to maintain a semi close temp I wanted. The pellet grill works great for maintaining the temperature. I can mow the grass for an hour or so without any worries about temperature..
For the Weber I just purchased a Vortex & it is amazing. Been reading about them for quite a while & wished I had bought it years ago. Anyone use the Vortex?


 

[Magicman]

 

 
I got after a tough ole bird this morning, almost gave me a slip, but I caught him trying to hide underneath the grill where he thought that I would not look.  


 
So instead of going under the grill.....he went in.  :

[K-Guy]

We lost power on early Friday morning or Thursday night and didn't gt back till 4 pm Sunday but we did 14" of snow. So, Easter dinner was Turkey cooked on the grill. I think it turned out pretty good and the family agreed. 

ps the dog loved the giblets.  ;D


 

[Chuck White]

Looks like some real good eatin'!  digin_2

[Raider Bill]

I use a pellet grill for bbq smoking & a Weber kettle for grilling. I had an offset wood smoker that worked great except I never accomplished the art of heat control. I had to baby sit it the complete cooking time to maintain a semi close temp I wanted. The pellet grill works great for maintaining the temperature. I can mow the grass for an hour or so without any worries about temperature..
For the Weber I just purchased a Vortex & it is amazing. Been reading about them for quite a while & wished I had bought it years ago. Anyone use the Vortex?

Tell me more about this vortex!

[Sedgehammer]

 

 

 



 

First brisket we've ever smoked. We bought a camp chef pellet grill last fall. That's a brisket from our own grass fed cow. A little over 9 lbs. Marinated it starting Friday. Put it on the smoker at 7:45 am Easter morn. 4:15 pm it was 196°. Let it sit to almost 5 pm. Was one of the better brisket's we ever ate. Company said same. None of even used BBQ, although it was on the table. I'll change up marinade next time a wee bit. Cooked half of the time with mesquite, then switched to apple, cherry, maple blend.

[K-Guy]

Looks mighty good SH

I like to inject a beef au jus and then use a savory rub on the outside, for beef I've only used hickory so far. 

[sawguy21]

I'm coming to Oklahoma for dinner! That looks really good.

[K-Guy]

I did some chicken legs and thighs with Applewood yesterday. It turned out pretty good but I prefer pork or beef on the smoker. I seasoned it by injecting a herb and garlic marinade but didn't do anything to the outside. I wanted to see how the smoke tasted on the bird.



 

[Sedgehammer]

I had posted this in the quarantine supper thread, as these were found at the bottom of the freezer from a cow we butchered almost 4 years ago and we smoked them. 45 minutes with a 50/50 of hickory and cherry rum pellets, then seared the one side before serving. They were exquisite. I only heavily salted them, as I've found nothing else compares. I forgot to take after pics, sorry. The couple we had over wants me to cook them for his birthday party next month. He always has a all out extravaganza for his birthday.



 

[Raider Bill]

What is the orange looking stuff?

[Sedgehammer]

Grass fed based fat. 

[Raider Bill]

Hmmm. Mine doesn't do that. The fat is darker than normal but not orange.
I was thinking you had some trick using peaches..

[Texas Ranger]

Grass fed based fat.

My doctor tells me human fat is that color.  Hmmmm :P ???

[BradMarks]

Sedgehammer:  You raise some Dang fine cattle.  I'll take that fat marble (or should I say fat marvel!) every time. Looks fantastic.

[gspren]

What is the orange looking stuff?

The fat on Jersey cattle tend to have that color, not known for beef but what I've eaten was fine.

[Don P]

Oh the thought came and went while we were talking this morning Stan (over my static phone line, dang rain) eastern hophornbeam is another good wood to try, it resembles hickory smoke. If the coffeetree doesn't work out there might be another smoking report :D

[Sedgehammer]

@BradMarks she was a Kerry. Irish dual purpose breed
@gspren Jersey are actually a very well marbled dairy breed. Better then many a beef. High fat content milk typically crosses over to higher marbled meat
@Raider Bill I cannot then say it's just because they are geass fed . It might be a combination of breed and diet. A red Angus goes to the butcher in July, so we'll see guess. 

[Raider Bill]

I steer before last we did was red Angus but his fat wasn't like that.
I'm sure your cattle graze on better grass than what mine do.

 

 

[Sedgehammer]

Do you grain also?
Ours get just a 2 hand cupped in the am fir salt, minerals and diatomaceous earth. 4 grained, soy with some molasses 

[Raider Bill]

Nothing but grass and hay.

[Sedgehammer]

Hay might be. It's a no, no for grass fed at least 60 days prior to butchering. 

[Raider Bill]

Hay might be. It's a no, no for grass fed at least 60 days prior to butchering.

Didn't know that. We try to get them in solitary and grain before the deed but I have to rely on the farmer who isn't really all that motivated.
Mostly he just gets up one day and that's the day they go.

[gspren]

  I've bought/eaten several dairy and dairy cross steers and no complaints on any but the only one we saw the bright yellow fat on was a Jersey that was grain and pasture raised. The local butcher said that's common on Jersies.

[K-Guy]

This weekend I tried pork belly in the smoker.  The cherrywood didn't really give it much smoke but it turned out pretty good. 

 

 

 

[Texas Ranger]

A 3 x4 black iron nipple with caps on the end, with a 1/4 inch drilled in one end, on the burner of a grill gets all the smoke I need.  Mesquite my favorite.

[Corley5]

We got a Master Built smoker a couple weeks ago.  It rocks!!  Smoked some pork chops the other night.  They were great.  Brats, polish sausage, a ham, chuck roast.  All good.  I need to make ironwood (hophornbeam) chips to try.   

[gspren]

A 3 x4 black iron nipple with caps on the end, with a 1/4 inch drilled in one end, on the burner of a grill gets all the smoke I need.  Mesquite my favorite.

Give a short description of how you use it, such as shavings or chunks, damp or dry, etc.

[Texas Ranger]

I use chunks that fit, naturally, and dry or wet never made a difference, to me.  It is just my low tech method.  It is basically a flavor thing, not a smoker.

[K-Guy]

We had a leftover piece of steak that didn't get cooked the other night, so I decided to smoke it.  It turned out fantastic and my son agrees. 




 

 

[Walnut Beast]

 

 

 Cookshack gets the job done perfect every time 

[Walnut Beast]

 

 Done. Smoked with apple wood

[Raider Bill]

Love my Cook Shack!
Mines a older one like yours. Next size up in black.

[K-Guy]

I finally bought a new smoker, a 30" analog electric smoker. I like it better than the little one I had before. Nothing fancy for a first run, just apple wood smoked cheese and onion Italian sausage.

 

[barbender]

My wife bought me a Pit Boss digital electric smoker for my birthday. I love it, it makes it really easy to smoke food. Set the temp, and it maintains it on it's own. You don't have to babysit it. Just talking about it, I think I better go get some pork shoulders and get some pulled pork smokin'😊

[K-Guy]

I thought about getting a digital one but there are too many reviews complaining about the controls failing even when stored and used properly. I hope that isn't your experience. Let know how it's working in a couple years if you remember, who knows I might even remember asking you.  ;D

[Old saw fixer]

I use my Large Big Green Egg or my Karubecue C-60 wood fired smoker to smoke chicken and pork.  Beef has gotten too expensive for more than an occasional burger. 

[doc henderson]

I still use my cousins trailer style Yoder smoker.  I can use actual wood.  i am now doing the smoking, then into the oven if it is after dark.  it will go 2 to 4 hours without needing more wood.  did 4 butts for nurses week but none for us, so just did one for us and vacuum sealed for future use.  

[Crossroads]

When I was quarantined with the covid in December of 20, I built a smokehouse that is roughly 4'x6'x7'   I have the wood stove from my wall tent in there and it does well. If I'm doing a cold smoke I use a smoke tube with mesquite pellets. 
About 25# of cheese



Smoke tube in action 



15# of jalapeño beer sausage 



The back straps off my daughters buck this fall. I'll never cut the back straps into steaks again. 

[SwampDonkey]

Neighbors make bacon and brought us some for Christmas. No sugar and no nitrates added. Tastes like bacon used to.

[newoodguy78]

That's a nice smoke house. What temperature do you aim for with the cheese. I've smoked cheese before with various levels of success. Some came out great some didn't come out at all. Melted right into the bottom of the smoker. 
Was using a charcoal/ wood fired smoker with offset firebox. Had a metal bucket on the ground with the fire in it and  piped into the firebox. Found out I probably needed more pipe to cool the smoke. 

[jb616]

@Crossroads do you season or marinate the backstraps first? 

[doc henderson]

we use the little muffin pans, and if it melts, it comes out muffin shaped, and the oil lets them dump out.  cannot mess it up.  smoke and cheese.

[Crossroads]

On the cheese, I just try to keep it below 95°. With the size of the smoke house, that's typically not an issue with the smoke tube. In the summer, I smoke the cheese at night to help keep the temp low. 

The back straps were not marinated, just cleaned and cold smoked with the smoke tube and mesquite pellets for about 8 hours before wrapping and freezing. When I cook them I do a dry rub, sear it in a cast iron pan, then bake it at 325° until I get an internal temp of 140° and let it rest for about a half hour. The first time I cooked one like this, I was amazed at how tender it was and the flavor was excellent. Next year I'm going to try this with all of the steak cuts. 

[barbender]

K-guy, sorry I never responded to you back in November🤦‍♂️ I kind if forgot about this thread. I can see the digital control failing, especially since my smoker sits outside with a cover on it. Hopefully the digital control will be an affordable part if that is ever the case.

[aigheadish]

I just bought the little mini-grill or smoker attachment for my barrel grill. I haven't tried it yet but it looks like it should do ok. I just bought a couple hundred pounds of pig too, so I'm sure it'll get some use!

[DDW_OR]

following



 

[newoodguy78]

That 90-95 degrees for cheese is what I tried for seemed to work well. Anything much over 100 and it goes squirrelly pretty quick.

[K-Guy]

These are from a week ago. I took the week off to help take care of the wife and get ready for winter and it feels like I was busier at home than work.

I smoked a whole pork butt with cherry wood chips. Before I put it in I injected a mix of orang juice, soy sauce, garlic powder, ginger powder and brown sugar. i used no sauce or rub. After it was smoked 4 hours, I wrapped and finished it for another 4 or so. Lots of pulled pork. The 2 sauces are the difference between me and my wife, Kraft brown sugar for her and vinegar based for me.

 

After 4 hours smoke

Pulled and ready to eat.

 

[DDW_OR]

That 90-95 degrees for cheese is what I tried for seemed to work well. Anything much over 100 and it goes squirrelly pretty quick.

a thought.
use a working fridge as a smoker.
fridge will keep it cool while it is smoking.
do a dry run with smoke and an indoor/outdoor temperature setup.
then adjust fridge setting till it is 60 to 70
or make a cold smoke generator