BBQ Smokers

[NS Gearhead]

Sounds good. I'll report back.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...Here's an Internet article about cooking steaks using Sous Vide method without any special device...

https://www.yahoo.com/food/how-to-sous-vide-a-perfect-steak-without-buying-128263434291.html

 

[IslandTractor]

FWIW...Here's an Internet article about cooking steaks using Sous Vide method without any special device... https://www.yahoo.com/food/how-to-sous-vide-a-perfect-steak-without-buying-128263434291.html

Yep. That would work but you are basically enslaving yourself to the stove to keep the temperature of the water at exactly 135 for an hour or two. Doable but tiresome. Still it would be a great way to test whether sous vide gets you a steak the way you like it before investing $150-200 in a proper digital circulator.

I was thinking this weekend about just adjusting the home hot water heater to about 130 (pretty hot but within range for domestic HW) and then using an insulated cooler full of HW with a constant small flow of water to make up for heat loss. Sous vide at 130 for an hour or two followed by a high temp sear for a minute or so each side should get you a perfect 135 medium rare steak.

 

[rrrkkk]

1" thick pork steaks at 225 will probably take at least 2 hours and I would smoke them for the whole time.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

1" thick pork steaks at 225 will probably take at least 2 hours and I would smoke them for the whole time.

I cook 1 inch thick pork chops in my BGE at 250 for about an hour and 1/2 and they are usually perfect. I too have never smoked steaks, but I would think that an hour at 250 for a one inch thick steak would give you a steak that was medium to medium rare. Pork is perfect for smoking; beef is another matter. My best results (and failures) have been with brisket.

 

[TBDonnelly]

My mom used to cook pork chops to something akin to shoe leather out of something she heard from the old "slop the hogs" days.

My dad was the best at well done roasts. If there was any moisture left in the meat it just wasn't done enough. He had this dial thermometer and would always make sure to check the meat for doneness. Fast forward about 25 years, I became the proud owner of my dad's grill thermometer. I put it in the drawer with my thermometers. Next time I grilled, I grabbed a thermometer from the drawer to check the meat for doneness. Amazingribs.com always recommends using a thermometer to check for doneness so even though I've been grilling for 30 years and have a pretty good idea what finished roast or chicken looks like, thought I would check with a thermometer. When the meat looked ready, I checked with this thermometer and to my surprise, it read 20 degrees under cooked. So.....I left it on the grill for another 20 degrees of cook time. Low and behold the finished product was reminiscent of one of my dad's grilled roasts!

The thermometer I used was my dad's. When I checked it for accuracy, it was a full 20 degrees out of calibration (for years and years I'm sure.) :confused2:

 

[IslandTractor]

My dad was the best at well done roasts. If there was any moisture left in the meat it just wasn't done enough. He had this dial thermometer and would always make sure to check the meat for doneness. Fast forward about 25 years, I became the proud owner of my dad's grill thermometer. I put it in the drawer with my thermometers. Next time I grilled, I grabbed a thermometer from the drawer to check the meat for doneness. Amazingribs.com always recommends using a thermometer to check for doneness so even though I've been grilling for 30 years and have a pretty good idea what finished roast or chicken looks like, thought I would check with a thermometer. When the meat looked ready, I checked with this thermometer and to my surprise, it read 20 degrees under cooked. So.....I left it on the grill for another 20 degrees of cook time. Low and behold the finished product was reminiscent of one of my dad's grilled roasts! The thermometer I used was my dad's. When I checked it for accuracy, it was a full 20 degrees out of calibration (for years and years I'm sure.) :confused2:

AmazingRibs points out that bimetal oven and meat thermometers, almost certainly what your Dad used, are based on the best of 1850's science and notoriously inaccurate.

One of the very best bangs for the buck to improve grilling is a modern rapid read digital thermometer. They cost as little as $10 and are quite accurate and fast. The big boys spend $99 for a Thermopen that gives a highly accurate reading in two seconds. I have a $25 knockoff from Lavatools that reads in 4-5 seconds. Very nice device that folds up like a pocket knife so easy to carry.

AmazingRibs also puts out a refrigerator magnet chart of meat temperatures for about ?$5 that is very useful.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Well they turned out great! I got a nice pack of strip loins from Costco. Started them like I do most steaks; coarse salt, minced garlic and rosemary left for two hours. Rinse and dry. (I challenge you to do your steaks like this...it's amazing). Smoked them for an hour turning them over half way through. Used misquite chips. Hand full at the start and a hand full half way. I let them rest about 15min wraped in tinfoil und er a towel. They came out med/ well I'd say. 3/4 of the inside was light pink. Moist, tender and great flavor. Visually, they're not very appealing... looks like it had been boiled. Next time I think I'll smoke them a little less and sear them over high heat on the BBQ for a min or two per side.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Well they turned out great! I got a nice pack of strip loins from Costco. Started them like I do most steaks; coarse salt, minced garlic and rosemary left for two hours. Rinse and dry. (I challenge you to do your steaks like this...it's amazing). Smoked them for an hour turning them over half way through. Used misquite chips. Hand full at the start and a hand full half way. I let them rest about 15min wraped in tinfoil und er a towel. They came out med/ well I'd say. 3/4 of the inside was light pink. Moist, tender and great flavor. Visually, they're not very appealing... looks like it had been boiled. Next time I think I'll smoke them a little less and sear them over high heat on the BBQ for a min or two per side.

I take it that you like the Mesquite? I wouldn't think that it would be readily available in Canada, but what do I know. It grows wild here, so it's a known commodity. I love Mesquite and use it both for smoking and for grilling. I use small dry chunks and they last pretty much for the entire cooking time.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Yeah we can get all types at the big box stores in bags. I chunked up a five gallon pail full of maple, so I'm gonna be using that for pork and poultry. I just read somewhere that mesquite is best for beef. I have a bag of hickory to us as well.

I'm doing 5lbs of jerky tomorrow. Last time I did some I found it to have too strong of a smoke flavor. I used the same wood and intervals as the steaks....so I'll skip the mid way chips this time and see how that does.

 

[teejk]

My dad was the best at well done roasts. If there was any moisture left in the meat it just wasn't done enough. He had this dial thermometer and would always make sure to check the meat for doneness. Fast forward about 25 years, I became the proud owner of my dad's grill thermometer. I put it in the drawer with my thermometers. Next time I grilled, I grabbed a thermometer from the drawer to check the meat for doneness. Amazingribs.com always recommends using a thermometer to check for doneness so even though I've been grilling for 30 years and have a pretty good idea what finished roast or chicken looks like, thought I would check with a thermometer. When the meat looked ready, I checked with this thermometer and to my surprise, it read 20 degrees under cooked. So.....I left it on the grill for another 20 degrees of cook time. Low and behold the finished product was reminiscent of one of my dad's grilled roasts!

The thermometer I used was my dad's. When I checked it for accuracy, it was a full 20 degrees out of calibration (for years and years I'm sure.) :confused2:

I think many thermometers will read low on purpose to avoid lawsuits resulting from undercooked meat. I've read that is true for newer crockpots also so the suggestion was to seek out the older ones at garage sales.

 

[SirMaxwell]

Yep. That would work but you are basically enslaving yourself to the stove to keep the temperature of the water at exactly 135 for an hour or two. Doable but tiresome. Still it would be a great way to test whether sous vide gets you a steak the way you like it before investing $150-200 in a proper digital circulator.

I was thinking this weekend about just adjusting the home hot water heater to about 130 (pretty hot but within range for domestic HW) and then using an insulated cooler full of HW with a constant small flow of water to make up for heat loss. Sous vide at 130 for an hour or two followed by a high temp sear for a minute or so each side should get you a perfect 135 medium rare steak.

We've been Sous Vide for a couple of years now. Nothing beats it for low, slow, perfect through and through. Tried just doing it on stove top, but as you note, no way to jeep temp perfect. Paid the 200 bucks, bought a Sansaire. Chicken Breasts, Cheap Cuts, Ribs, Roast (comes out like prime rib). Thing is, you set the temp to exactly what you want, walk away, come back and its perfectly cooked. Sear it and enjoy. Really handy to make a bunch of med-rare, and have waiting for walk-ins, late comers, regular quests. Yank it out, sear it and cook to med or urrgghhh as desired by some. Can easily 'hold' your meat for hours without over cooking. Plus it cheap to heat and doesn't heat up the summer kitchen.

 

[LeeL]

Well it looks like this thread dies out for a while. Did everyone stop smoking? Lets get this thing rolling again. I like smoking but am far from a professional. I just enjoy it and have some adult beverages at the same time. Here are some pics of my smoking

 

[grsthegreat]

i put mine under cover for winter..... getting ready to smoke again soon though

 

[LeeL]

Here's some ribs from last night

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Here's some ribs from last nightView attachment 600419View attachment 600420

Any testimonials? Looks good; although I prefer mine with dry rubb only.

 

[LeeL]

Any testimonials? Looks good; although I prefer mine with dry rubb only.

I agree on the dry rub. I make my own but was out so I smoked with only black pepper and garlic. On these about 30 minutes before I remove them I crank up the heat and pour some Habanero bbq sauce on top.

 

[PILOON]

Well it looks like this thread dies out for a while. Did everyone stop smoking? Lets get this thing rolling again. I like smoking but am far from a professional. I just enjoy it and have some adult beverages at the same time. Here are some pics of my smoking

LOL, got mine as end of season sale and it is still a virgin but soon to lose that status.
Problem is there is still much too much snow around to get me into the 'smoking mood'.

 

[FTG-05]

Bucked up all this Hickory a couple days ago; now I'm splitting it up. All this wood will strictly be reserved for smoking. It should be GTG for it in 2-3 years or so.

 

[dragoneggs]

Bucked up all this Hickory a couple days ago; now I'm splitting it up. All this wood will strictly be reserved for smoking. It should be GTG for it in 2-3 years or so.

Excellent!