BBQ Smokers

bunyip · Sep 2, 2019

Smoking can be something of a black art and takes a bit of practice, I have oversmoked and although the texture was good the taste was terrible.
We just don't talk about these events.

3Ts · Sep 2, 2019

bunyip said:
Smoking can be something of a black art and takes a bit of practice, I have oversmoked and although the texture was good the taste was terrible.
We just don't talk about these events.

The speed in which the brisket cooks is important too. I plan on 12 hours from the time it goes on the grill to the time it comes off. I shoot for 195* and let it rest (wrapped in a towel) for 2 hours before serving. The last one I cooked on Saturday, I got distracted and the cooking temp went up to 350 instead of 250* it turned out a little drier than I like but flavor and texture is good.

dragoneggs · Sep 3, 2019

Every meat demands a different smoke. I am no expert on brisket but ribs, chicken, mini lobster tails, assorted veggies I can talk. Defintely time and temp is an art.

bunyip · Sep 3, 2019

Brisket has worked for me and cooked for about 12 hours with a smoke at the start, I got a bit overzealous with woodchips on a couple of chooks I was doing and they came out really dark and not a nice light brown like my previous efforts, was really bitter and hit the back of your throat, even the dogs rejected them.

2LaneCruzer · Sep 3, 2019

bunyip said:
Brisket has worked for me and cooked for about 12 hours with a smoke at the start, I got a bit overzealous with woodchips on a couple of chooks I was doing and they came out really dark and not a nice light brown like my previous efforts, was really bitter and hit the back of your throat, even the dogs rejected them.

I have never had much problem with too much smoke, although I always add plenty of smoking wood in the beginning, and only put the meat on when the grill is up to temperature. The only time I recall eating something too smoky, was meat cooked (by someone else) at a low temperature. I always cook at 225-250 when I use the BGE, and of course the grill is always considerably higher and for shorter periods of time. I would NEVER use unseasoned or water soaked wood, and only Mesquite, Oak, Pecan Hickory and maybe an occasional hand full of apple or cherry.

om21braz · Sep 3, 2019

I have eaten some with the so-called perfect looking smoke ring that did not taste much different from my experiment. On the other hand, I have had some without it that tasted smoky enough to possibly been injected with something. Fortunately maintaining temperature on the pellet grill is almost foil-proof. It is the rest of the equation I will have to work on. Starting with 2Lane痴 rub next time out.

dragoneggs · Sep 3, 2019

om21braz said:
I have eaten some with the so-called perfect looking smoke ring that did not taste much different from my experiment. On the other hand, I have had some without it that tasted smoky enough to possibly been injected with something. Fortunately maintaining temperature on the pellet grill is almost foil-proof. It is the rest of the equation I will have to work on. Starting with 2Laneç—´ rub next time out.

Traeger's are great in holding temp and being able to walk away. For ribs I like applying a dry rub and smoking them uncovered (lid down) for the first couple of hours. Then I cover them tightly with foil in a deep pan so you can hydrate them with apple juice or better yet cheap bourbon. Meat side up and be sure to pull off the membrane on the bone side prior to cooking. Sometimes I will smother them with a BBQ sauce for the last hour depending on how I feel. If they aren't falling off the bone, you didn't cook them long enough... but too long can dry them out thus the foil job. Lots of ways to do it though for sure.

joefromga · Sep 4, 2019

Here's my smoker :

Will Cook 1,000 lbs at a time. Propane with smoke box on permanent trailer.
We do a dry rub and cook around 180 for 14 hrs. (pork).