Put a 6½ pound pork shoulder butt on the Big Green Egg this morning.
Rubbed it with Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust and then covered it with peach preserves. Peach wood for smoke. 250° until it's done, about twelve hours.
I just checked - it is 224 miles if I follow Highway 460 east and 230 if I follow I-64 east then get on 460 but that way is 14 minutes faster. How is traffic on I-64 this time of day? ffcheesy
sounds good
2,348 miles for me
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QuoteRubbed it with Dizzy Pig Dizzy Dust and
ffcheesy ffcheesy Growing up on the farm, raising pigs and cleaning pig pens, this dust on the pig just conjur's up a different mental visual image. ffcheesy ffcheesy Am sure it is going to taste very, very good.
Quote from: DDW_OR on February 10, 2025, 12:49:15 PMsounds good
2,348 miles for me
We will have eaten it all up before you get here. food3 ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy
I like the idea of covering the meat in preserves...
Quote from: WV Sawmiller on February 10, 2025, 01:46:16 PMQuote from: DDW_OR on February 10, 2025, 12:49:15 PMsounds good
2,348 miles for me
We will have eaten it all up before you get here. food3 ffcheesy ffcheesy ffcheesy
airline
ffwave :wink_2:
Ended up nicely, bone came out clean as usual and meat shredded easily with "Bear Claws". Plenty of bark chunks in the meat.
The only reason there is bark in the meat is because I am no longer allowed to shred the meat. My job ends when I set the butt on the kitchen counter. Me and the Basset Murphy (RIP)used to enjoy the bark...
We will have BBQ for supper, with snaps and new potatoes.
First smoke of the Year. Two 3 lb chickens with navy beans in cast Iron pan on lower rack to catch drippings. One chicken herb seasoned mild side and the other with rub on the hot side. 4 guy with a couple beers and there was not much left.
Plan to make a metal 8x10 smoke shed to put my smokers into.
Will be next to the 760hdx wood furnace
Well, let's see if I get food poisoning... This is my first attempt at some pork ribs. I've had a pig in my freezer for 2+ years now and these ribs have been calling my name for a few weeks. All the pig is vacuum packed and it was in good shape when I thawed it out, so we'll see. The weather is beautiful and I've moved the grill to a better spot! Now it's flat and I can hang out in the shop while grilling!
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I have had a Big Green Egg for a very long time. I love it.
I can control the heat from 200 degrees up to 700 degrees.
Most of what I smoke is pork ribs or butts at about 225.
I have attempted to do some other things and it is very difficult to maintain 150.
I find things like fish to over cook and under smoke on it.
My solution
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/65100/smoke_house.jpg) (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=358624)
It has taken a few attempts and modifications on the firebox, it is a low temperature smoker.
It's easy to maintain 150-225, and I think I can keep it to 100.
It will take some time to learn the fire control.
my first attempt at smoking salmon was a great success, about 3 hrs at 150, I had salted it over night
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It tasted even better after being refrigerated.
I put a pork but on at the same time and will have to finish it in the oven, I could not keep the temp high enough to get the meat to really break down.
My ribs were pretty tasty but I had the same issue of getting the temperature up and running out of time until dinner. I use lump charcoal and I seem to be getting decent at maintaining a temperature, I was maybe a bit low yesterday, around 210 the whole time until the end, when I got up to maybe 240. My Rib temp was around 192.
Happily, this pig is over 2 years old, in the freezer, and it did not make me the least bit sick or bad feeling. I wasn't sure when I pulled it, thawed, out of the bag.
Not meat, but cold smoking some cheese!
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Is that homemade or store bought cheese? I've never tried such a thing but it's intriguing, and I assume I'd have to rig something up on the charcoal grill to do it without getting hot.
Store bought cheese. I use a smoke tube. You can find on Amazon. Put wood pellets in it and light it and let burn Aa minute then blow flame out and the pellets will then smoke. Have to keep temp low so cheese won't melt. I only do it when outside temps are 60 degrees or below.
My brother does cheese on a smoker. He gets cupcake pans with the smaller size depressions. he does it at the higher temps and the cheese does melt, but it molds in the pan and is perfect for finger food at family reunions. some cheese gets an oily bit after heating at 250. only take 30 minutes to get the smoky flavor.
Well, that seems real simple on both accounts, and probably pretty dang tasty!
What do you guy say are the best cheeses and woods to use?
The best cheese is cheese from the land of cheese, America's Dairyland... Wisconsin! ffcool ffsmiley :thumbsup:
I'm partial to New York State cheese myself. :snowball:
I have a heat defuser plate in my smoker.
I smoke nuts too.
In Kansas, we get ours at Dillons/Kroger/Walmart! ffsmiley
We get blocks of cheese from sams club. You can cold smoke a lot of things. I have smoked cheez-it's and crackers. Also have put seasoning on cream cheese and cold smoked it for dips.
Here is a tube I use from Amazon. I just buy hickory pellets to use.
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Welp, a shopping I must go!
Thanks for the info!
We got some mighty fine cheese at a Cabot Creamery (https://cabotcreamery.com/) in Vermont. :thumbsup:
Well thanks to you guys, I got a new mini hobby. I got a smoke tube and some hickory pellets and cold smoked some good ol Wisconsin cheddar. Like
@Resonator says, we got the best cheese. Also did some summer sausage that was already cut up. Nice way to add the flavor.
I made some beef Jerky with mine, sliced a london broil, marinated it over night and smoked at 150 till it was dry.
I tried a chunk of extra sharp cheddar, the cheese taste overpowers the smoke flavor
Some Bacon Smokies
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Let's see the outside of that box. What's it made from?
So, bacon smokies, explain please?
An elevated rack with a vented drum over the top making bacon. Works well for cold smoking salmon also. Last week I rebuilt my CookShack smoker that is at least 35 years old and brought it back to new condition. The CookShack for poultry and big meats can't be beat for moist higher temp cooking but a lot of the time I want cooler smoke for fish and bacon.
Hard to beat a old cookshack smoker.
New ones have too much electronics.
Quote from: Raider Bill on April 17, 2025, 04:16:26 PMLet's see the outside of that box. What's it made from?
So, bacon smokies, explain please?
SmokeHouse is made from 2x6 and plywood 4ftx4ftx 6 ft high when it was given to me it was painted green and looked like an old outhouse.
I sided it and blended it in with my shop and most people don't even know its there. It's fired with a Tiger torch through a stove pipe to a steel plate with wood chips on it
Bacon Smokies are just a variation of Canadian smokies which are similar to Brats.
In fact there are some Thai barbecue smokies in there as well (a bit warm)
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As a neighbor, I can confirm that they take cheese very seriously in Wisconsin- they're not called cheeseheads for nothing!😊
Thought maybe you had a recipe for bacon sausage, not that I need another way to eat bacon. :uhoh:
@Machinebuilder The cheese I used was sharp cheddar and it came out plenty smoky. This was my first try at ever smoking anything so I looked everything I did up on the interwebs. I used a decent chunk of cheese, not big brand pre-packaged. In Wisco we have some pretty good cheese sections in the grocery store. Cold smoked for 2 hours. Cut into pieces about the size of a stick of butter, some recipes recommended slicing first. Used hickory cuz that's what the internet said. In fact, most recipes I saw said to vacuum seal for a few weeks to mellow out the smoke.
Does the cheese state also have good prices on cheese? In these parts, a small block of something tasty, may cost 15-20 bucks per pound. I don't know that I've ever shopped for a good big block of cheddar, so I'm not sure of the pricing there.
"Specialty" cheese is in that price range. I've got several different kinds that I pick up as I travel throughout the state, but usually not buying huge blocks. Cheddar is pretty standard so it wasn't very expensive, matched or cheaper than big brands ( I always look at the per oz. price when I'm shopping, midwest ope).
I almost thought about starting a favorite cheese thread, but I figured it would be mostly me posting. My current favorite cheese is Marieke Gouda, specifically the Truffle Gouda. They have a bunch of flavors. It's available online to order. I certainly am not sponsored by them but if you like cheese I recommend trying it. If you're ever driving through WI they have a store and do tours.
Edit: I should add that pretty much every cheesery in the state has a store and they are all worth stopping at.
We like pepper jack. heat it up a bit and it melts and conforms to the small cupcake pan spots. looks nice on a platter. 30 minutes at 200 or so.
I grew up on ny state cheese.
I have it shipped in from Pete from bear swamps area.
Cheddar so sharp you think you bit your tongue is my preferred.
After many years looking for source of sharp cheddar in Wisconsin, I settled on this Bucky Badger brand. $7.29/lb and consistent sharpness.
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I grew up on Wisconsin cheese. ffsmiley
My dad worked for years at a small family run cheese factory, knew the milk truck driver and the dairy farmers who provided the milk on a first name basis. Had there own special reserve cooler for aged cheese, I think some was 15 or more years old.
Big specialty in summer was hundreds and hundreds of pounds fresh made cheese curds. The local fairs, tractor shows, or other special events would serve them. Deep fried in a beer batter, hot and fresh. (You ain't lived unless you've had some IMHO). ffsmiley
They had a little retail store in the cheese factory too, we would buy cheese curds made within the hour. So fresh you had to plug your ears because they squeaked so loud. ffsmiley
Cheese curds are one of the best things out there. I'm not sure how I feel about the squeek.
I tried Cabot Extra sharp cheddar. I may have had the temp too high.
I grew up in western NY, around dairy farms. NY had some good cheeses.
The place next to the church we went to was known as the cheese factory, I don't think it was in operation.
My Mom's Grandfather grew up in Owen, WI.
My Mom told a story that they were visiting when she was a little girl.
The kids would follow her uncle when he took the milk to the cheese factory with a wheel barrow so he would give them a ride on the return trip.
This is near Colby, WI where colby cheese was developed to be a better melting cheese than cheddar.
During some of my research to figure out where the farm was in Owen, I came across a list of cheese factorys in WI from the early 1900's. it seems they were everywhere.
My guess is its because they couldn't ship milk without refridgeration.
Yup, milk was put in a "milk can", and hauled immediately to be used fresh.
Back in the early days rural dirt road areas in the mid west, everything was a horse and wagon ride or walking distance apart. The schools, churches, cheese factories, and taverns were many, and small. Because they only had the close by area population to draw from.
Owen/ Withee, Colby, Abbotsford are only about 45 min west of me on the highway. I drive past there fairly often. If you have any addresses or places you want a picture of, let me know.
I went through there a couple years ago.
I did find the farm Grandpa grew up on, its on the south west corner of Bridge road and Robin Dr near Curtis.
It was rented by a young Mennonite family.
I found the old Norwegian Church (St Paul Norwegian Lutheran Church) and some of his parents and grandparents graves.