Brisket, butt and burnt ends.

[CF74]

a few beers

That's all you really had to say..:beer2:

 

[DallasCowpoke]

That's all you really had to say..:beer2:

Yeaaaa, so true! I should'a titled this thread "BEER, brisket, butts and burnt ends".

 

[SDogo]

That's probably the hardest part of smoking, and it's not really that hard per se. c0wb0y_m0nkey's right, it just takes practice and repetition.

It's knowing how much, of what kind of fuel, it takes to get your particular pit to the desired temp.

Then, depending on the ambient temp and how much wind is blowing, how open or closed the vent/s into the firebox need to be to maintain it, and, how long it will stay there.

That can take several times to get a good handle on, and even then, little things such as the size of the product you're cooking can change all that significantly.

Honestly, besides the obvious of producing the good food, building a sweet fire in a smoker, then spending half the day nursing the thing (along with a few beers), are the [strike]2[/strike] 3 main reasons I love doing it.

For a rookie smoker what do you suggest attempting to smoke? Family loves Ribs but they are a little expensive to go messing up.

Here's why I ask. Over a month ago my wife bought me a $200 barrell smoker. Not a competition grade I'm sure but probably well enough to get learning.

It's about time I try the damn thing out. I can grill the hell out of anything but I'm scared of the smoker.

Oh yeah, I never use gas so I'm used to charcoal/wood.

 

[Meat-O-Rama]

For a rookie smoker what do you suggest attempting to smoke? Family loves Ribs but they are a little expensive to go messing up.

Here's why I ask. Over a month ago my wife bought me a $200 barrell smoker. Not a competition grade I'm sure but probably well enough to get learning.

It's about time I try the damn thing out. I can grill the hell out of anything but I'm scared of the smoker.

Oh yeah, I never use gas so I'm used to charcoal/wood.

Try building a couple of fires in there without food. Mess around with the vents and see what works as far as keeping a consistent temp in the smoker. I recommend lump charcoal vs. charcoal briquettes.

As far as something easy, throw some sausage links in there. They don;t take too long and are incredibly hard to mess up.

Do yourself a favor and invest in a nice digital probe thermometer. Most smokers include a cheap dial grill that can be pretty inaccurate. Move the probe around to different spots in the smoker and find out if it's keeping a pretty even temp or if it gets (significantly) warmer closer to the firebox.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

For a rookie smoker what do you suggest attempting to smoke? Family loves Ribs but they are a little expensive to go messing up.

Here's why I ask. Over a month ago my wife bought me a $200 barrell smoker. Not a competition grade I'm sure but probably well enough to get learning.

It's about time I try the damn thing out. I can grill the hell out of anything but I'm scared of the smoker.

Oh yeah, I never use gas so I'm used to charcoal/wood.

A brisket or a pork shoulder. Primarily because they both need long smoke times at low temps, so that gives you plenty of time to learn how your pit works heat-wise. Also, it won't hurt them if your fire gets a little too hot or too cold since they need such long cooking times.

My foolproof technique for brisket and butts is:

1. Inject them the night before. For beef I use the boxed beef stock or broth and a few Tbls of the rub I'm going to use on it. For pork I use apple cider or apple juice, about 2-3 Tbls of mustard and again, the rub. Then wrap them and refrigerate overnight.
2. I start my fire using only lump charcoal and the Minion Method. I never ever, EVER use lighter fluid in my smokers/grills.
3. Pull your meat (shut-up bob!) and unwrap. Apply a liberal amount of your rub on both sides, and once your fire gets evened out, on goes the meat.
4. I try to maintain a temp between 200-260, but if it goes over, like I said, it's not a tragedy. I add wood for smoke to my fires for the first 6-8 hours, but then only control the heat by adding more unlit lump charcoal if needed.
5. After about 9-10 hours, I pull the meat off (seriously bob, shut-up!), then wrap it in a double thickness of foil with a small amount of liquid in it, no more than a couple of jiggers. Something like a coke diluted w/ bbq sauce, stock/broth, or some kind of juice diluted with bourbon or wine.
6. Put the wrapped product in a barely warm oven, I set mine on warm and that's 170, and leave them overnight or at least 8 hours.

If you smoke and wrap your meat using this method, I promise you it will not overcook. The liquid in the foil essentially braises the product and makes it fork-tender but it will maintain that nice bark on the outside because of the long slow smoking time.

Here's what last week's brisket and butt looked like after a 10-hour smoke and all night in a 170 degree oven:

​

Here's a really good forum board that's small enough you'll get any questions answered pretty quickly, if you can't find the answer already posted there.

Good luck and if you have any other questions, holler.

 

[bbgun]

I had very poor luck with Kingsford's "Match Light" charcoal last weekend. Word to the wise: buy the damn lighter fluid if you intend to eat.

 

[DallasCowpoke]

I had very poor luck with Kingsford's "Match Light" charcoal last weekend. Word to the wise: buy the damn lighter fluid if you intend to eat.

Invest in a starter chimney. You'll never need lighter fluid again.

 

[Duane]

Looks awesome Poke. Any weekend guests are in for a real treat.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Anyone who uses charcoal doesn't know what their doing. Now, propane is the way to go!

 

[SDogo]

A brisket or a pork shoulder. Primarily because they both need long smoke times at low temps, so that gives you plenty of time to learn how your pit works heat-wise. Also, it won't hurt them if your fire gets a little too hot or too cold since they need such long cooking times.

My foolproof technique for brisket and butts is:

1. Inject them the night before. For beef I use the boxed beef stock or broth and a few Tbls of the rub I'm going to use on it. For pork I use apple cider or apple juice, about 2-3 Tbls of mustard and again, the rub. Then wrap them and refrigerate overnight.
2. I start my fire using only lump charcoal and the Minion Method. I never ever, EVER use lighter fluid in my smokers/grills.
3. Pull your meat (shut-up bob!) and unwrap. Apply a liberal amount of your rub on both sides, and once your fire gets evened out, on goes the meat.
4. I try to maintain a temp between 200-260, but if it goes over, like I said, it's not a tragedy. I add wood for smoke to my fires for the first 6-8 hours, but then only control the heat by adding more unlit lump charcoal if needed.
5. After about 9-10 hours, I pull the meat off (seriously bob, shut-up!), then wrap it in a double thickness of foil with a small amount of liquid in it, no more than a couple of jiggers. Something like a coke diluted w/ bbq sauce, stock/broth, or some kind of juice diluted with bourbon or wine.
6. Put the wrapped product in a barely warm oven, I set mine on warm and that's 170, and leave them overnight or at least 8 hours.

If you smoke and wrap your meat using this method, I promise you it will not overcook. The liquid in the foil essentially braises the product and makes it fork-tender but it will maintain that nice bark on the outside because of the long slow smoking time.

Here's what last week's brisket and butt looked like after a 10-hour smoke and all night in a 170 degree oven:

​

Here's a really good forum board that's small enough you'll get any questions answered pretty quickly, if you can't find the answer already posted there.

Good luck and if you have any other questions, holler.

I appreciate you taking the time to type that all out. I have 12 days vacation and a lot of time on my hands.

I'm going to give it the old college try. I'll let you know how it turns out!

 

[Meat-O-Rama]

Another BBQ Forum: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/

Looks like it's pretty active and full of knowledgeable people. I'll definitely be adding it to my website rotation.