I finally gave up on my smoker and decided to get a new smoker. I went with a bigger model but less tech. Yes, its a cheater electric smoker. My 3rd one. I need more space to cook, I don't need help getting my smoke and temp right. :-)
I've also never used injection for flavor except for pork butt or other big cuts of meat. I decided to give it a try. I developed my own injection. Basically like the other recipes you have out on the internet but I'm putting the rub in the injection and using sirracchi.
Full results not in yet but my son and I think its the best sausage we have ever had.
No sauce. Marinated the meat overnight. Injected the meat. Slow cooked the ribs and chicken. Baste it with a combo of butter and apple juice. Using a combination of Apple, Mesquite, Cherry and Hickory wood.
Originally Posted by Dartgod:
I have two 8 lb pork butts going the smoker tomorrow for the 4th (actually the 3rd) of July festivities at my parents.
I've never done two at a time before, should I expect more time than it would take for one?
Bigger butt, closest to heat, expect one to take an extra hour but I don't know why.
Butt:-) by cooking bigger closer to heat source seems to help. I always cook mixed grill during parties and have a Barrel and 2 Weber smokers going. When I can get a weber free I finish the last 10 degrees on the hotter. The Webar promotes crispy bark as heat is closer. [Reply]
Originally Posted by srvy:
As long as you strip the bark that is where the tree retains pesticides as protection. Some orchards spray the piss out of their trees
I had thought about that. Between using the chainsaw and the splitting axe I've put in some work, hope it's not for nothing. [Reply]
Beer can chicken, without the beer. Using sparkling water instead. Spinach salad with mango and oil/ginger/rice vinegar dressing. Some type of rice, don't know what I want yet though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mlyonsd:
It's been my experience no two butts are the same. Even if they are within a quarter pound of each other one might get to a higher internal temp quicker. I did 4 a couple weeks ago and they were all within a pound of each other. Two took longer even though I rotated them after about 12 hours.
I did run into a bit of an issue. I just got this smoker last summer and have only done shorter smokes with ribs. What happened today is there is not enough space between the grate and the bottom of the firebox to hold all the ash from the spent charcoal. So it started to choke out my fire and I was having trouble holding the temp I wanted. Getting all that ash out of there with a bunch of hot coals still burning was some fun.
So I'll have to make some mods and buy a charcoal basket. [Reply]
After a year of not grilling, we bought a Weber 3 burner gas grill today.
Used a Weber 19” kettle since 2003 but it had seen better days and we got rid of it when we moved last November.
Probably get some sort of smoker this fall, but not sure what I want. I want a WSM 22”....but it’s just my wife and I 99% of the time so I’m not sure if a WSM would be overkill .
Anyway....stoked to get back to grilling here in a few days. [Reply]
Originally Posted by srvy:
As long as you strip the bark that is where the tree retains pesticides as protection. Some orchards spray the piss out of their trees
Is it safe to smoke food with orchard wood due to herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides used for the life of the tree? Do these contaminants (if this is an appropriate term) embed themselves in either the bark or wood of the tree from topical exposure. Furthermore, do the varied chemicals get sucked in by the root system. Last part to the question is, if the pesticides, herbicides and fungicides become part of the tree, do they create carcinogenic compounds when smoked?
Grand Traverse County Michigan
1 Response
The following is comments from Dr. John Wise, Dept of Entomology, who is in charge of the MSU IR4 pesticide testing program.
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"We can’t make any guarantees about safety of using apple trees from commercial orchards for smoking food.
But we do know that pesticides on the surface and inside living trees undergo environmental degradation. Pesticide fate on the plant surface is driven primarily by UV degradation, while pesticides inside plant tissue are broken down by various plant metabolic processes.
Residue studies that I have conducted over the years show that in some cases there can be persistence of residues in plant tissue for at least one year after application, but I have no direct knowledge of what happens after a tree dies? Presumably the apple wood is not used for smoking until after the woody tissue has been dead and dried for at least one or more years."
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I would add that the really persistent insecticides containing lead or arsenic have not been used in apple orchards since before the 1970's. However, semi-persistent insecticides are still being used. For example, Lorsban is still used as a trunk spray in some orchards, but would likely be discontinued for some years as a orchard is slated for removal. Even organic apple orchards are usually sprayed with copper for disease control.
There is no easy answer to your question. My opinion is that this is low on the list of risks that a person faces during the day. I am confident that you are much more likely to suffer from an auto accident on the way to the store to buy the wood chips than from ill effects from your smoker.
12210169993_91854b509e_m_thumb Bill Shane
Replied August 18, 2015, 10:08 AM EDT
And then I found this post on The BBQ Brethren forum.
Here is the answer I received from the ISU Extension.
The following response was provided by Donald Lewis, an Iowa State University extension entomologist.
Pesticides such as insecticides and fungicides applied to orchards have short residual times, measured in days and weeks, not months and years. Any residues that were on the trunk or branch wood would have long dissipated in the 2+ years the wood is curing as firewood.
Further, insecticides used in a commercial orchard are not systemic; they would not be located in the wood of the trunk, they would be located on the bark. Removal of the bark would eliminate all residues.
And finally, from what I've been told, removing the bark before barbequing or grilling is preferred as bark sometimes imparts an off flavor as it burns. Again, removal of the bark solves the issue.
Data on persistence of pesticides is not easy to find. Sometimes it is on the MSDS, other times you find it by searching online. Below is persistence information for two common Iowa apple orchard pesticides. You can find information for products of concern by requesting a pesticide application record from the commercial orchard and looking up the half life of the products used.
Assail is a newer, popular broad spectrum insecticide. Though the concentrated insecticide is toxic, the label directions state that fruit can be harvested 7 days after spraying (another indication of how little time the products persist). [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dartgod:
I did run into a bit of an issue. I just got this smoker last summer and have only done shorter smokes with ribs. What happened today is there is not enough space between the grate and the bottom of the firebox to hold all the ash from the spent charcoal. So it started to choke out my fire and I was having trouble holding the temp I wanted. Getting all that ash out of there with a bunch of hot coals still burning was some fun.
So I'll have to make some mods and buy a charcoal basket.
Lump or briquets?
Lump will definitely leave less ash. Why not stick burn?
I had a friend make me a charcoal basket a few years ago for $40. Was half the price of any thing online and double the durability. Check around your area and see if a small metal shop would build you one cheaply with scraps they may have. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dayze:
After a year of not grilling, we bought a Weber 3 burner gas grill today.
Used a Weber 19” kettle since 2003 but it had seen better days and we got rid of it when we moved last November.
Probably get some sort of smoker this fall, but not sure what I want. I want a WSM 22”....but it’s just my wife and I 99% of the time so I’m not sure if a WSM would be overkill .
Anyway....stoked to get back to grilling here in a few days.
I have a similar set up...WSM 22 and bought a Weber Genesis II recently. while the 22 seems like a lot, it gives you a lot of flexibility... cannot do a full rack of ribs on an 18" without cutting the rack in half and you have more hood clearance for a turkey or chicken easily with the 22" [Reply]
I have 2 -22" Weber kettles and find that rarely do I ever use my rev offset barrel smoker. I have been cooking on the Weber's forever and it just takes a hosing off to maintain them. One is 35 years old, never been covered looks good when hosed off. the lid on the other took flight in a storm and has a surface area with a little rust on the inside.
If they made a 30" kettle i would buy one in a heartbeat.
The skin over the breast was torn when I got these organic free range birds
The inner ribs looked even better.
Originally Posted by Dayze:
After a year of not grilling, we bought a Weber 3 burner gas grill today.
Used a Weber 19” kettle since 2003 but it had seen better days and we got rid of it when we moved last November.
Probably get some sort of smoker this fall, but not sure what I want. I want a WSM 22”....but it’s just my wife and I 99% of the time so I’m not sure if a WSM would be overkill .
Anyway....stoked to get back to grilling here in a few days.
