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Thread: Outdoor Cooking (smoking, grilling, barbecuing, open spit, etc.)

  1. #21
    Big Green Egg at the Crews house. We do all kinds of stuff, but here lately we have really been enjoying a nice smoked meatloaf. Sounds crazy, but it's really good!


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  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by LorenzoS View Post
    Interested in anyone's experience with electric pellet smokers. Unfortunately charcoal is not an option for me.
    You can make some wonderful bbq on a pellet grill, although I think the taste of charcoal is stronger. They also aren't cheap for a good quality one. I used to have a Royal Tailgater until a burn back put it out of commission. Due to the small size of the hopper I didn't do any overnight cooks and if I wanted to do a brisket or a pork butt I'd choose a smaller one and start early. For a family of 3 it wasn't a big deal. After it was trashed I decided to try a pit barrel cooker instead of another pellet grill.

    Make sure you get one that can hold enough pellets in the hopper for overnight cooks. Having suffered from the burn back I'd recommend a model that has the pellets drop a good distance into the burn pot. Double walled construction helps insulate so you'll generally burn pellets more efficiently. Yoder, Memphis, MAK and Englander (sold through home depot) were the brands I was looking at.

  3. #23
    I use my Kamado Joe Big Joe for brisket, butts, rubs and big cooks and a Portable Kitchen cast Aluminum grill for steaks and small cooks.


    "Hell bent on being intentionally anachronistic"

  4. #24
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    I'm a Weber fan too and use a Genesis for grilling and an 18.5 Smoky Mountain for smoking. Butts are my favorite and we make traditional Southern pulled pork, tacos, nachos, chili, and more out of it.

    I too use Kingsford blue bag along with a Weber chimney. I have a huge pecan tree and use chunks I cut from fallen branches for my smoking wood.

    I also use a Maverick wireless two probe thermometer (some of the best money I ever spent) with a probe in the meat and one on the rack.

    I've also found the Amazing Ribs website a great resource for reviews on equipment, recipes, tips, and techniques.

    I did a brisket for Easter using the technique and recipe from the site and it turned out wonderfully. His technique for reverse searing steaks also yielded some delicious results on a couple of 14oz Prime Meyers All Natural Strips recently.

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt O View Post
    I've moved away from grilling and pretty much exclusively spend my time smoking meat. I've been using the pit barrel smoker for the last couple years with pretty decent success. Everything from venison shoulders to smoked chicken, pork butts, ribs, easter lamb, thanksgiving turkey, etc.
    I've been having a lot of fun with my pit barrel smoker, although it did give me some trouble getting the air intake adjusted properly when I first got it. I like a good bark on brisket and pork but and I haven't been happy with the results when I have wrapped to get over the stall. I tried aluminum foil and then butcher paper, but still no joy. So I really like being able to start a brisket or pork butt in the morning and have it ready by dinner, even when just letting it go through the stall. Easter ham turned out really well this year as I found an uncut ham. Last year I had a spiral cut ham and the cuts started separating and drying out even though I had it over a pan full of apple juice. I love a good tri-tip too as it takes on a lot of smoke flavor, but cooks start to finish in under an hour. Thanksgiving brined turkey is also fantastic, and it's nice freeing up the oven for sides.

    Another thing I've started doing is smoking roaster chickens and then using them in other recipes. I have some favorite gumbo, jambalaya, and chicken tortilla soup recipes that are far better when made with the smoked chicken, and stock made from the carcasses. Chili made with leftover brisket is tasty too.

    I've been using Kingsford Charcoal. Home depot had a half off sale at the end of the season last year and I picked up 20 bags. They just recently ran the same sale but I didn't get a chance to get there. I think I'm down to 6 or 8 so I will need more before summer is over.

    It bothered me to follow the pbc directions and let the charcoal burn, seemed like a real waste to me. I tried plugging the vents with aluminum foil but that was a pain. Then I got a galvanized steel trash can small enough to fit in the pbc and now I take the rebar out and smother the coals with the upside down trash can. Once they're out I take out the charcoal pan and store it inside the trashcan, outside, and bring the smoker in the garage.

    My weber chimney was a little too big to pour the coals into the basket while in the pbc. I ordered the smallerr chimney from PBC, but I find it doesn't have good ventilation and often goes out. So i start the coals in the weber chimney, pour them into the pbc chimney once lit, and then into the basket in the pbc.

    For grilling I have a Weber Genesis that works well. I've been playing with the smoker a lot recently but with the warm weather coming I'll be doing less cooking inside and more grilling outside.

    Wireless thermometers are awesome, especially when you're working and smoking at the same time! Before I had one, I had a brisket get too soft and fall into the coals before I had a chance to take it off the hooks and put it on the grill grate.

  6. #26
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
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    Nov 2011
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    SE FL
    re: charcoal...

    My smoker manufacturer recommends lump, and sells their own (probably re-branded) or recommends some particular brand. I tried it, and got super frustrated. I had inconsistent heat across the fire box, and in turn the smoke box. Had trouble predicting my burn rate, and found trash in the lumps. I thought I was all screwed up until I found this
    http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech..._charcoal.html

    Went with the Kingsford standard and haven't looked at lump since then. Now I kinda think lump is pretty much hype, but don't fault someone else if they're able to get good results with it.

    Which brings to mind, some guys are all about the fiddle-fart (another similarity to guns) and some are all about the results. Repeatable cook times and temperature maintenance, monitoring the temps of the smoke and meat, and similar tricks and gear gets me to smoked meat with the least amount of fiddle-fart, and that's what I'm about. (which doesn't mean I'm above sitting in my shop and having a beer while I "keep an eye on the smoker").

  7. #27
    One of my best friends is US born Argentine, has lived down there many times (and is there currently). Through him, I learned to grill in the Argentine style which we do every Sunday, year round.

    Argentine grilling is pretty crude and effective. Cuts are typically skirt steak, flanken-cut beef ribs, sweetbreads, beef heart, country ribs (pork), chorizo (not the spicy Mexican - Central American style typically found in the US), and blood sausage. Non-sausage is heavily seasoned with salt. I use fresh ground pepper as well. Everything is well-done. Chorizo is often served as choripan in a small baguette with chimichurri.

    I use a POS fire pit with grill to cook and a chimney starter. Typically I use hardwood charcoal. One day I will spring for a setup like this Braten Campfire Stainless Steel Grill, but because my fire pit is about to completely collapse I may go with this Original Kettle Premium Charcoal Grill in the near term.

    I love BBQ and smoked meats, but for a quick and easy charred animal flesh experience, I have become a huge fan of grilling in this style.

    One of our larger cookouts:

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  8. #28
    Member Greg's Avatar
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    Utah
    This thread is seriously lacking pr0n...
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    Beef short-ribs smoked over oak.

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    yardbirds on the rotothang

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    Dutch ovens are outdoor cooking too so I'm throwing these into the mix.

    Yeah, those are briquettes in the chimney starter. Old picture - briquettes suck.
    Last edited by Greg; 04-27-2017 at 11:05 AM.
    Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for that dumb bastard.

  9. #29
    Site Supporter rob_s's Avatar
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    Nov 2011
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    SE FL
    re: the grill...

    I currently use a Weber Genesis E-310 purchased about two years ago. I picked that one because it lacked any sort of side-burner, rotisserie, or other unnecessary breakable widgets and gadgets. I had a Genesis Silver B for ten years before that and only bought the 310 because we were spending time at two houses. Once we consolidated it made sense to keep the newer model, and we gave the Silver B to a friend for their lake house. They have since confirmed that it is still working. I called Weber once or twice over the ten years regarding minor issues with the Silver B, and their response was always to send out new parts, including once sending all new burners after I'd left the grill out in the rain too many times and killed the original burners. That kind of service has me sold on Weber for life.

    My one complaint with the E-310 was the casters, being that they went to four small casters and got rid of the two big wheels. On my paver patio the stupid office-chair casters weren't cutting it, so I upgraded to 3" x 7/8" Total Lock Brake Rubber Wheel Ball Bearing Grip Ring Stem Caster #215060. I do wish I had gone with a 4", but even the 3" is night and day over the old POS.

    I'm glad to see that the new Genesis II are back to the big wheels on one end, although I'd probably upgrade all the wheels on any Weber right out of the box from now on. I really like the look of the new Genesis II and am lusting after one but I can't really justify it with a current grill that works great. The particular model I'm eyeballing is the Genesis II LX E-440 Black (don't buy stainless grills!) My reasons for wanting the new II are the turn-to-ignite controls, the new burner design, the iGrill integration, and the aforementioned big wheels. I also want more burners, in part because of the...

    GrillGrates! These things are awesome! I found out about them from the Amazing Ribs site mentioned above, and then Steve Raichlen started using them as well. Once again, some of the issues I had been having with using the grill turned out to be scientifically explained and the solution that Meathead suggested works great. I also bought their spatula and one of their brushes (protip, get the longer handle. I got the 15" and I wish I had the longer one), and I'm sold on the system. part of the reason I need/want the extra burners on a new grill is that I recently discovered flipping over the Grillgrates for things like burgers and creating a kind of a griddle. Makes awesome burgers with great sear on the flats. I'm just lazy and would like to have the flat side up on 2-3 burners and the grate-side up on the other 2-3 burners.

    I have a few other accessories I use, like the Weber grill basket in two sizes, and the iGrill2 (which I don't use much, to be honest).

    I mostly use the grill for burgers (I do a mean blackened blue cheese burger with grilled onions...), chicken breasts (pounded thin, mostly for sandwiches), veggies, and lately even things like watermellon and starfruit. Steaks now mostly get done in the Joule now, but that's a different topic.

  10. #30



    "Hell bent on being intentionally anachronistic"

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