Just checked the smoker... Mmmmmmm.... Smells good!

nctom

nctom

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Location
CONCORD NC
Been smoking/cooking Boston butts and turkeys all night. I went out a minute ago to check them and all 3 dogs were standing in a circle around the cooker... Slobbering and drooling!


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Sweet! I've got a Weber Smokey Mountain and smoked a tri tip couple of weeks ago. Post some pictures of the finished meats!
 
Braxton, Turkey breast came from from Harris Teeter. Wasnt a whole turkey.
Tlucier, I had just started to pull it apart so it is not a glamour shot! Hehe. I think this one has the deepest smoke penetration and thickest bark or crust of any so far. The meat inside is so juicy it is unreal. We started using apple juice concentrate in a spray bottle every couple hours. I could not even lift them off the grill with out it falling apart. Creole Butter injection on the inside.

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Might try those. I normaly use my thick insulated rubber gloves. I like them pretty good, plus you just put them in the dishwasher when you are done and back into a clean ziplock for storage. This one was special and decided to fall apart. Its got to come apart anyway, so no biggie.

Just had sandwiches with homemade BBQ sauce, slaw and tater salad. Mmmmmm! Sampled the turkey too, not to shabby.

Petey the friendly pitbull went through the shoulder bone in record time! Nothing left but a happy nap!
 
Jason W. said:
Sooo,,, what time at youre place! Believe Ill bust out the grill today too.
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Jason, I would grill every night of the week if I had the time! I have a Yankee coworker from Philly that is educating me on Bratts and how to cook them right. (They normaly are too greasy for me) Gonna' try those next.

Funny story... I offered to grill for the whole pit crew at the East Lincoln Speedway one night . The haggard looking lady at the gate said I couldnt bring a grill into the pits. It was a fire hazzard. She was standing beside the 2000 gallon, above ground, tank of race fuel... Lighting up a cig!o_O She didnt appriciate me pointing that out to her.
 
nctom - looks great! Nice smole ring and bark! I use those bear claws and it makes quick work of shredding pork butts. Next time you spritzing the pork butts try 3 parts apple cider and 1 part captain morgan's spiced rum. The sugars carmelize and add to the bark. It's awesome! I love to grill and smoke. Got an outdoor kitchen with a charcoal grill, gas grill and my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. Would grill/smoke every night if I didn't have to keep a full time job.
 
tlucier said:
nctom - looks great! Nice smole ring and bark! I use those bear claws and it makes quick work of shredding pork butts. Next time you spritzing the pork butts try 3 parts apple cider and 1 part captain morgan's spiced rum. The sugars carmelize and add to the bark. It's awesome! I love to grill and smoke. Got an outdoor kitchen with a charcoal grill, gas grill and my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. Would grill/smoke every night if I didn't have to keep a full time job.
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That spritz sounds like the bomb! I also like the apple juice concentrate and pinapple juice. It is so sticky and thick that it really clings and builds layers. I just add enough water to get it to spray. I also spritz the coals with it and put it in the water tray, makes some sweet smelling smoke. I ordered a set of the bear claws you and Braxton are talking about. Cant wait to try them out.
Shoot some pics of your outdoor kitchen. I would like to see how you laid it out. Been planning on doing mine under a huge water oak tree in the back yard. Been thinking about using stone and mortar for the station with all the works installed. Have you ever seen an outdoor celing fan hid slightly up inside the canopy of a tree? I'm gonna' try it right over the picnic table for light, cooling, and keep the flys/skeeters away. Thought about a mister on it too. Maybe make it detactchable for winter. Could possibly be a very ghetto idea, I dunno... Might be the coolest thing ever.:D
 
I'll get some pics to you. I like the idea of the fan under a tree. We have twooutdoor ceiling fans under the pergola near the outdoor kitchen and they do an awesome job keeping you cool and keeping the bugs away.
 
It is a rub called Bad Byrons Butt Rub (Food Lion) Rub it down with cheap yellow mustard, then plenty of rub. (Mustard taste goes away, but it keeps the rub in place) I inject cajun butter in side it, Then sprayed it with apple juice concentrate out of a spray bottle evey couple hours. That bark is highly desirable, even though it makes it look like a meteorite but keeps all the juicy juices in. In the smoker for 12-15 hours at 250. Easy peezy. I pulled the shouder bone out with 2 fingers like a hot knife through butta'.
 
Interesting, I havent seen shoulder that looked blackened like that.. My Q is the complete opposite. no rub, no injection, no spray. Its just three spices, salt, black pepper, and crushed red peppers. I cut three slits about 1.5" into the fat cap and pack in the red peppers and black pepper. salt and pepper the entire out side not too heavy though. Smoke at 275ish till its done.


Next time you fire up the smoker go get a cut called sirlion bottom round. Add a rub that has a good balance sweet/savory/spicy. Smoke till it hits rare. There isnt alot of fat in it, so dont try to cook like a brisket. It will finish to med rare once it sits for a while. slice and put it on a sammich or just plain. I make one everytime I fire up the smoker cause its just that good and quick. This cut is comparable to the tri-tip but round here the butchers dont know what a tri tip is unless you go to the specialty meat store.
 
Looks good Tom. I can't believe I didn't fire up my smoker yesterday. Of course I was too busy helping a friend install a lift on a taco.

I have an electric smoker. The brand is a smokin-it. It's way too easy to use and makes me look like I know what I'm doing.
 
nctom said:
I pulled the shouder bone out with 2 fingers like a hot knife through butta'.
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That is how it is done. People who cut it off the bone and chop it up scare me. Your stuff looked good. I never got to use my smoker yesterday... may have to make up for lost time this weekend.

Black Bear, I may try the sirlion bottom round real soon. Nothing like slow cooked smokey flesh!
 
Thanks for that tip Black Bear! Will try that next go round. Its nice to have something you can eat on before the slow cooking is done! I did a small turkey breast yesterday and it was good in a couple hours. The guy who cooks for our Baja pits does tri tip on the smoker and it is really good. I had never heard it called that before, it must be a regional thing.

I dont even try to come off like an cooking expert, but this apple juice thing is a hit with my family. As far as the blackened crust goes, I think the apple juice concentrate carmelizes in layers over the rub and adds the thickness to it. I spray it on out of a big spray bottle every 2-3 hours or so. It adds a great flavor, but I wouldnt describe it as apple. I grew up doing them just like you describe yours, and they are delicious. I got hooked on the cajun butter injection after trying it this year. The thicker than normal crust keeps that marinade almost completely in and steaming the meat inside out.
 
mtbrider said:
Looks good Tom. I can't believe I didn't fire up my smoker yesterday. Of course I was too busy helping a friend install a lift on a taco.

I have an electric smoker. The brand is a smokin-it. It's way too easy to use and makes me look like I know what I'm doing.
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I just got an electric smoker from my father in law, I hope to try it out this weekend. I hope its easy!
 
Good luck with it, DSM! Low and slow is the tempo... 200 to 250 degrees. If you havent used one much, watch some youtube videos for what you are smoking/cooking.
 
Some pork ribs at 200 for 2 hours, then wrap them in foil and throw them back in for 2 more (I put sauce on before wrapping). MMMMMMM, making myself hungry.
 
200 is the temp for sure. My smoker just goes there on its own!

If you wrap a boston butt up after about two hours and hit it with some sauce it turns out really good too.

I usually put ribs in a pan with apple juice, cider vinegar, hot peppers, apple slices and onion slices. Let it simma for a a couple hours and then remove, sauce em up and let the bark form for another couple hours.

Damn I am working up an appetite too!
 
I have always wanted to inject a butt with a hot vinegar bbq sauce. Then coat the outside with red pepper, salt, and black pepper. Let it sit and allow the spice to "sink" into the meat while sippin a cold one.

Then deep fry the fawker like a turkey!!! Anyone ever try something similar?
 
DSM Turbos said:
I just got an electric smoker from my father in law, I hope to try it out this weekend. I hope its easy!
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Do a boston butt or picnic shoulder, either are extremely hard to mess up. You only need smoke for the first couple hours (3 at most) it wont absorb any more once it reaches a certain temp. Cook till 195 and pull it, let it rest and then chop, pull, or slice.

As far as foil goes, the only time you should wrap your meat is when your putting it in questionable places.
 
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