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.
When you're doing a short, fast cook, drippings falling onto the embers below can add extra flavor to items like steak, chicken pieces, and seafood. However, direct cooking is not something you want to do for long cooks. The meat juices and fat drippings will cool the embers over time, as well as produce a bitter, dirty smoke. Therefore, you want to keep big cuts of meat away from the flames while maintaining a temperature of about 225ºF.
Originally Posted by Dinny Blues:
I agree with you, tooge. Admire your chutzpah, as well.
There are like carcinogens and junk in the grease-fire smoke. I don't care for carcinogens and junk.
Dinny
Well thanks. I've been doing competitive bbq for almost 20 years. That doesn't make me anymore an expert than anyone else, but it has provided me the opportunity to interact with hundreds of bbq affectionados over the years, and meat slow cooked directly over coals is generally regarded as not as good as meat smoked either over the coals with a pan in between (vertical smoker like the wsm), or meat smoked indirectly in an offset cooker. I'm sure FMB's food is fantastic. I'm just not a fan of the taste of smoke generated from fat drippings. Tomatos, tomahtos [Reply]
Originally Posted by tooge:
Well thanks. I've been doing competitive bbq for almost 20 years. That doesn't make me anymore an expert than anyone else, but it has provided me the opportunity to interact with hundreds of bbq affectionados over the years, and meat slow cooked directly over coals is generally regarded as not as good as meat smoked either over the coals with a pan in between (vertical smoker like the wsm), or meat smoked indirectly in an offset cooker. I'm sure FMB's food is fantastic. I'm just not a fan of the taste of smoke generated from fat drippings. Tomatos, tomahtos
Originally Posted by tooge:
Well thanks. I've been doing competitive bbq for almost 20 years. That doesn't make me anymore an expert than anyone else, but it has provided me the opportunity to interact with hundreds of bbq affectionados over the years, and meat slow cooked directly over coals is generally regarded as not as good as meat smoked either over the coals with a pan in between (vertical smoker like the wsm), or meat smoked indirectly in an offset cooker. I'm sure FMB's food is fantastic. I'm just not a fan of the taste of smoke generated from fat drippings. Tomatos, tomahtos
Most people fill the pan with sand, no drippings will touch the coals/wood. [Reply]
I know a lot of guys are running higher smoking temps to push along larger briskets so to cut smokes from 12 to 14 down to the 8 hour range. I dont know of anyone that pushes 300 or more for a brisket I have done 275 with excellent results and try not to rise over 285 without damping the WSM. I wouldn't smoke ribs at a higher temp simply not worth the mistake as I have always had great results at 220 to 230. I never let drippings drop to the coals I either line the drip bowl or buy foil pans to catch. I dont worry about wood chunks after the first 2 hours as the meat I have been told has taken by then all the smoke they can and to much smoke can be detrimental with off tastes. Now that may or may not be true its just what I have been told over 35 years of smoking and works for me. I say if you smoke like your results and tastes good to you then your doing it right. I dont insist anyone follow anything I post in smoking I just post what I have done. I think some folks think if you dont do it as they say your doing it wrong. [Reply]
Originally Posted by srvy:
I know a lot of guys are running higher smoking temps to push along larger briskets so to cut smokes from 12 to 14 down to the 8 hour range. I dont know of anyone that pushes 300 or more for a brisket I have done 275 with excellent results and try not to rise over 285 without damping the WSM. I wouldn't smoke ribs at a higher temp simply not worth the mistake as I have always had great results at 220 to 230. I never let drippings drop to the coals I either line the drip bowl or buy foil pans to catch. I dont worry about wood chunks after the first 2 hours as the meat I have been told has taken by then all the smoke they can and to much smoke can be detrimental with off tastes. Now that may or may not be true its just what I have been told over 35 years of smoking and works for me. I say if you smoke like your results and tastes good to you then your doing it right. I dont insist anyone follow anything I post in smoking I just post what I have done. I think some folks think if you dont do it as they say your doing it wrong.
Yep.
I'm a 220-230 foil catch pan guy through and through.
Agree 100% with the last part. A million ways to smoke a cow. Or pig.
Originally Posted by Inmem58:
Most people fill the pan with sand, no drippings will touch the coals/wood.
I was under the impression there was no pan in FMB's rig? I've used sand. It works well. I use water for chicken though. I thought FMB's rig had the meat hanging directly over the coals, so the drippings went onto the coals. I might have misunderstood. Dripping into the sand or water is fine IMO [Reply]
Originally Posted by tooge:
I was under the impression there was no pan in FMB's rig? I've used sand. It works well. I use water for chicken though. I thought FMB's rig had the meat hanging directly over the coals, so the drippings went onto the coals. I might have misunderstood. Dripping into the sand or water is fine IMO
You're correct, I assumed you were talking about the WSM. I definitely smoke with a pan under the meat, never did like it dripping on the coals. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Inmem58:
Nothing worse than meat falling off a rib bone. That shit pisses me off lol.
Is falling off meaning when you pick it up or falling off like the meat easily separating from the bone when you bite it? Seems most people like ribs that easily separate from the bone when you bite into them, no? [Reply]
Originally Posted by tooge:
Not trying to be controversial here, but do you really want lots of essentially grease causing your smoke? I don't think so. I wouldn't want the fire to be caused by dripping fat. On a grill it's a different animal, because the steaks are just flamed "kissed", but when smoking for several hours, I would rather have wood smoke than liquified fat smoke.
Grease and juice vaporizing on the coals is the same thing that happens over direct heat in a grill. It's what gives you that "grilled" flavor. I tend to agree, though, not a good combo with something that's supposed to be smoked.
I think I mentioned that earlier - straight out of the box, the manufacturer says don't use wood, only charcoal. And everything coming off it tastes grilled (which is good), not smoked (which is what I want).
Over the smokes, I've slowly increased the amount of wood chunks replacing charcoal and closely monitoring temperature with my Chef Alarm and air temperature probe. I'm up to about 60/40 charcoal to wood, and the air temp has gone from just below 300 to around 310-315. The "grilled" flavor is gone, so whatever is vaporizing on the coals isn't flavoring the meat anymore.
I'm still working on moving the charcoal/wood mix to closer to 40/60. I may have to artificially block some of the air flow to choke the fire some.
Originally Posted by tooge:
From Grillbeast.com
Lesson 5: Cook Over Indirect Heat
When you're doing a short, fast cook, drippings falling onto the embers below can add extra flavor to items like steak, chicken pieces, and seafood. However, direct cooking is not something you want to do for long cooks. The meat juices and fat drippings will cool the embers over time, as well as produce a bitter, dirty smoke. Therefore, you want to keep big cuts of meat away from the flames while maintaining a temperature of about 225ºF.
Sayin....
There are many ways to skin a cat. Lots of folks do hot and fast higher than 225. I don't subscribe to there being only one way to do it, especially since I've done it and created some excellent food.
I haven't noticed any bitterness. For my last brisket (a 10-pound flat), I cooked over direct for the first 2-3 hours until I hit about 165, then wrapped in foil.
Originally Posted by Inmem58:
That's what I was thinking. Drippings on hot embers does create a funny smell, didn't think about that. If FMB likes his product and doesn't have any issues with it, I'd take his word for it.
As I said above, the "grilled" flavor has lessened to the point where I don't notice it. All I get is smoke now.
