BBQ Smokers

[scott_vt]

Good Morning General Lee,
OMG, some real good looking food here ! Never look at this type of thread when hungry ! :licking:

Started with a little $40 Brinkman, then got a larger smoker with a firebox off on the left, and last year bought a Master Built electric smoker, still use all of them, and after looking at all those beautiful shots of food..... we will be smoking something soon !:thumbsup:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

For those of you that are perfectionists, I would suggest that you buy the "Smart Chicken"...at least that's what they are called here. They have never been frozen, and they have a noticeably better flavor than the run-of-the-mill fryer. The are considerably more expensive, but they are worth the difference. As you probably know, frozen chickens are almost always dark around the bone after being cooked; the Smart Chicken does not exhibit this.

 

[IslandTractor]

For those of you that are perfectionists, I would suggest that you buy the "Smart Chicken"...at least that's what they are called here. They have never been frozen, and they have a noticeably better flavor than the run-of-the-mill fryer. The are considerably more expensive, but they are worth the difference. As you probably know, frozen chickens are almost always dark around the bone after being cooked; the Smart Chicken does not exhibit this.

I haven't tried one yet but I have a good friend in Cambridge who swears by chicken from a store that kills the live chickens right there. I guess there is a balance to be sought between convenience and cost on one hand and natural or farm fresh on the other.

I had a Chinese colleague who didn't like US chicken because it was too tender, too much breast meat and not as flavorful as the free range village chickens he was used to. To each his own.

 

[/pine]

I did some country style ribs on Sat...4hrs of low and slow heavy on the pecan wood smoke...then on the grill to 170* internal...
...I usually trim the fat but like to leave a little...once on the grill it turns to smokey flavored "cracklins"...

I also try to cook a few extra (country style) ribs for tossing into a pot of snap beans and new potatoes...the smoked ribs give the whole pot a great flavor...

 

[2LaneCruzer]

I did some country style ribs on Sat...4hrs of low and slow heavy on the pecan wood smoke...then on the grill to 170* internal...
...I usually trim the fat but like to leave a little...once on the grill it turns to smokey flavored "cracklins"...

I also try to cook a few extra (country style) ribs for tossing into a pot of snap beans and new potatoes...the smoked ribs give the whole pot a great flavor...

Sounds really good...especially if you substitute Purple Hulls for beans. I too like Pecan wood, but I mix mine with Mesquite and Blackjack. Once I discovered Mesquite, I haven't looked back.

 

[/pine]

Sounds really good...especially if you substitute Purple Hulls for beans. I too like Pecan wood, but I mix mine with Mesquite and Blackjack. Once I discovered Mesquite, I haven't looked back.

Pecan (a member of the hickory family) is my mainstay but I always use some mesquite when doing beef...I also use some oak and a few different species of local hickories...

In FL a lot of cooks use citrus (orange, grapefruit etc.,etc...)...before it was illegal to cut...the best smoke flavor (for fish anyway) was from "button wood" (mangrove).

Some meaty beef ribs are next on my slate...if they come out right (the way I like them)...the "inside" meat has a moist, almost melt in your mouth texture that tastes like (real) beef jerky...!...again I leave a little fat on the beef ribs...crisping up the fat on the outside offers some very uniquely palatable flavors to the beef...


...Don't know about other parts but around here if you order BBQ out...you have a choice of "inside" or "outside" meat...I always opt for outside as it has the smokiest flavor...

 

[IslandTractor]

Some meaty beef ribs are next on my slate...if they come out right (the way I like them)...the "inside" meat has a moist, almost melt in your mouth texture that tastes like (real) beef jerky...!...again I leave a little fat on the beef ribs...crisping up the fat on the outside offers some very uniquely palatable flavors to the beef...


...Don't know about other parts but around here if you order BBQ out...you have a choice of "inside" or "outside" meat...I always opt for outside as it has the smokiest flavor...

As much as I generally like beef and BBQ brisket, I've never been a fan of beef ribs. I've had them at well known BBQ restaurants in Dallas so they should know how to make'm. Maybe I've never had true "fall off the bone" beef ribs but given my introduction to BBQ was in North Carolina, I am still loyal to pork ribs. More tender in my experience. IMO, Beef is for steaks and burgers!

 

[/pine]

As much as I generally like beef and BBQ brisket, I've never been a fan of beef ribs. I've had them at well known BBQ restaurants in Dallas so they should know how to make'm. Maybe I've never had true "fall off the bone" beef ribs but given my introduction to BBQ was in North Carolina, I am still loyal to pork ribs. More tender in my experience. IMO, Beef is for steaks and burgers!

I don't do them that often (too **** expensive for what you get)...but I've had a tooth for them for a while...other than brisket the ribs and occasionally an eye of the round cut into jerky...I never add smoke to beef...

Always like this picture from what I call the meat and trophy hunter's bible...

 

[dragoneggs]

As much as I generally like beef and BBQ brisket, I've never been a fan of beef ribs. I've had them at well known BBQ restaurants in Dallas so they should know how to make'm. Maybe I've never had true "fall off the bone" beef ribs but given my introduction to BBQ was in North Carolina, I am still loyal to pork ribs. More tender in my experience. IMO, Beef is for steaks and burgers!

My sentiments exactly.

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't do them that often (too **** expensive for what you get)...

That's why we should encourage the Texans to eat beef ribs. Helps keep the cost of the better cuts of beef down for the rest of us.:thumbsup: