Smoking...

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Ware
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Smoking...

Post by Ware » April 13th, 2015, 10:56 am

With some nice weather and some free time, I fired up my Jambo on Saturday. First order of business was breakfast, so I smoked a fatty for some sausage biscuits (1lb sausage log + rub of choice + smoke = deliciousness). Meanwhile, I prepped a couple boston butts for pulled pork. I wrapped them in pink butcher paper at 165F, and continued to smoke until they were probe tender (~200F). They turned out nicely. I got lazy on the pictures, but I served it up on toasted jumbo sesame seed buns with baked beans on the side.
Last edited by Ware on August 1st, 2015, 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Michael Wise
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Re: Smoking...

Post by Michael Wise » April 13th, 2015, 11:01 am

That looks amazing!!!

I should've snapped some pics of the ribeyes my wife and I made this weekend. Our best yet, IMO. Pulled them off at just the perfect time for us when the centers hit 135°. That's our spot.

I have to thank you and all the other forum members that turned me on to the Thermapen. That seriously stepped up my steak game.

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Starving

Post by dfw_pilot » April 13th, 2015, 11:11 am

It's 10:00 am and I'm starving! Pics are awesome. I too love the Thermapen. It took us from dry and overdone to perfect and juicy. Love your backyard, Ware.

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Re: Smoking...

Post by ericgautier » April 13th, 2015, 11:12 am

Awesome! I'm a fan of smoked meats... :good:

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Ware
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Re: Smoking...

Post by Ware » April 13th, 2015, 1:04 pm

I'm a Thermapen advocate - perhaps one of the best ~$100 I've spent on a kitchen gadget. No guessing - perfect temperature every time. For those who don't want to spend that kind of money on a thermometer, I hear the Thermowand is a viable alternative.

MW, do you reverse sear your steaks? It was a game-changing process for me... nothing better than a reverse seared filet seasoned only with kosher salt and black pepper. Now you have me thinking... off to the meat market I go. :D


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Re: Smoking...

Post by ericgautier » April 13th, 2015, 1:11 pm

Care to share your pulled pork method? Do you foil?

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Reverse Sear

Post by dfw_pilot » April 13th, 2015, 1:13 pm

I have started to reverse sear steaks with Grill Grates on the Weber. In MeatHead I trust.

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Re: Smoking...

Post by Michael Wise » April 13th, 2015, 1:15 pm

Ware wrote:
MW, do you reverse sear your steaks? It was a game-changing process for me... nothing better than a reverse seared filet seasoned only with kosher salt and black pepper. Now you have me thinking... off to the meat market I go. :D
No sir, I do not. But I will now. :D

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Re: Reverse Sear

Post by Ware » April 13th, 2015, 2:06 pm

dfw_pilot wrote:I have started to reverse sear steaks with Grill Grates on the Weber. In MeatHead I trust.
Do you like the GrillGrates? I've often considered buying a set, but I really like my cast irons.

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Grill Grates

Post by dfw_pilot » April 13th, 2015, 2:14 pm

I won't grill on anything else again. Get the custom cut to fit your exact size and put the cast iron in the garage. The videos on GrillGrate.com sold me, and it's every bit as good as the site and Meathead say. Enjoy!

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Re: Smoking...

Post by Ware » April 13th, 2015, 4:01 pm

ericgautier wrote:Care to share your pulled pork method? Do you foil?
Sure thing...

I buy the bone-in boston butt 2-packs from Sam's. I usually look for a pack in the 15-16lb range that contains two that are about the same size. For prep, I give them a quick rinse and then trim off the fat cap and any other large areas of fat with a flexible boning knife. I've been using Smokin' Guns Hot rub, and I really like it. I've made my own, but prefer to buy - there are some great commercially available rubs. Sometimes I rub them with yellow mustard before applying the rub (to help it stick), and sometimes I don't.

I'm cooking on a Jambo Backyard pit now. I started smoking on an 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain, then added a 22.5 WSM to the fleet. A few years ago I got rid of them and bought a Kamado Joe Big Joe (ceramic). It was great, but I was ready to try something different - with a little more capacity. I almost bought a vertical cabinet style smoker, but something about a quality stick burner caught my interest. The Jambo is the real deal - it has an insulated firebox, 3/8" rear door, and a 5" stack with a butterfly valve-style damper. It requires a little more attention (tending the fire) than some of the other smokers I've owned, but it performs really well. The process, like lawn care, is almost therapeutic to me.

For cooking temperature, I've smoked at 225-250F and I've smoked at 300-350F (hot & fast) - I've made great BBQ both ways. I don't think temperature matters as long as you adjust your process accordingly. I cooked these butts at about 300-325F. I used to get a little OCD about maintaining a tight pit temp window, but the longer I've done it, the more relaxed I've become. I think even +/- 25F temp swings really do not matter much when you're talking about smoking something for hours. I monitor pit and meat temps with a Maverick ET-732. I've used more complex bluetooth/wifi varieties, but I keep coming back to the simplicity/range/battery life of the Maverick.

Once the butts hit about 165F internal temp, I wrap them in pink butcher paper (Aaron Franklin style). I used to wrap in foil once I got the bark color I was looking for, but I've found that the paper maintains a nice bark texture. I think the butcher paper breathes a little and keeps the bark from getting mushy like it does in foil. When I was using foil, I would typically finish the cook unwrapped to reset the bark. With paper, I don't have to do that. I start probing them at about 195F and let them go until the Thermapen goes in with little to no resistance - usually somewhere between 195-205F internal temp. After I pull them off the smoker, I let them rest for a good 1-1.5 hours before pulling (monitoring temp to make sure I'm in a safe range).

Is that the kind of info you were looking for?

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Re: Smoking...

Post by ericgautier » April 13th, 2015, 4:21 pm

Ware, thank you for the detailed response. :good: I usually don't wrap but it takes forever to get pass the "stall". I will try butcher paper next time.

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Re: Smoking...

Post by SACole » April 13th, 2015, 10:31 pm

I have had the itch to smoke a Boston Butt recently. This has me really wanting to do it.

I have done almost everything on the smoker but a brisket. Have you had much luck with one?


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Re: Smoking...

Post by Ware » April 14th, 2015, 9:12 am

SACole wrote:I have had the itch to smoke a Boston Butt recently. This has me really wanting to do it.

I have done almost everything on the smoker but a brisket. Have you had much luck with one?


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I do brisket occasionally... usually seasoned with salt/pepper and smoked until the thickest part of the flat is probe tender. Sometimes it doesn't probe tender until the IT is north of 200F. I think the trick is not getting worried that you've overcooked it. I usually wrap it once I see the color I like.

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Re: Smoking...

Post by SACole » April 25th, 2015, 1:24 am

Just put this one to bed for the night.
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Re: Smoking...

Post by JustAGuy » April 25th, 2015, 7:01 am

How is it looking now?
I have a Stoker power drafter https://www.rocksbarbque.com , so a long cook required for a nrisket is not a headache for me. For ribs, I usually don't bother using it.

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Re: Smoking...

Post by SACole » April 25th, 2015, 12:25 pm

It's moving along. Up to 156 now.

I'll take a pic when I stick the chicken on.


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Re: Smoking...

Post by JustAGuy » April 25th, 2015, 1:50 pm

You are getting close to the stall zone.
The grocery store had corned beef on sale today, so I'll be smoking one later. :D

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Re: Smoking...

Post by SACole » April 25th, 2015, 9:58 pm

The pork cooked for a lot longer than I would have liked. I usually like resting for 2-3 hours. I had to pull right off the smoker today. It was still really good. Almost none left. The chicken turned out pretty good too.
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Re: Smoking...

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » April 26th, 2015, 6:18 am

I'm taking notes. Hard to find good BBQ and smoked meats in my area.

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