Things We're Cooking

[Across The Field]

Doing my first brisket smoke this weekend. About to go pick up an 8-lber from a butcher close to downtown.

Anyone ever do a brine on a brisket? Thinking I'll do that this afternoon through the night before putting it on tomorrow morning.

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Doing my first brisket smoke this weekend. About to go pick up an 8-lber from a butcher close to downtown.

Anyone ever do a brine on a brisket? Thinking I'll do that this afternoon through the night before putting it on tomorrow morning.

I've only done brisket twice and I didn't brine either one.

Maybe @4down20 or @bamabear82 have tried brining a brisket?

 

[bamabear82]

I've only done brisket twice and I didn't brine either one.

Maybe @4down20 or @bamabear82 have tried brining a brisket?

I always brine chicken beforehand but have never done so on any other meat. Chicken is MUCH easier and more likely to dry out than your typical meats that have fat that will break down during the smoking process helping to keep it moist. Having said that, I can't imagine that it'll hurt anything.

 

[4down20]

I've only done brisket twice and I didn't brine either one.

Maybe @4down20 or @bamabear82 have tried brining a brisket?

Nope, I'm a pork guy. Need one of them Texas boys.

 

[4down20]

I have a weber kettle grill so I use charcoal with wood chips that I soak before hand. I normally use hickory or mesquite.

Never done it that way, always used the offset and wood only.

I've considered trying charcoal in my offset because it'll last longer, it's cheaper and I won't have to mess with the fire every 5 minutes, but I'm scared of the smoke because the white smoke is supposed to be bitter, and you can really smell the sweetness in the smoke when it's a nice thin blue. I always chicken out and go wood only though.

Do you get blue smoke?

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

Never done it that way, always used the offset and wood only.

I've considered trying charcoal in my offset because it'll last longer, it's cheaper and I won't have to mess with the fire every 5 minutes, but I'm scared of the smoke because the white smoke is supposed to be bitter, and you can really smell the sweetness in the smoke when it's a nice thin blue. I always chicken out and go wood only though.

Do you get blue smoke?

a little blue, not much. I just got an offset this past spring. I haven't done ribs since I got it though. I'll have to find some real wood for it and see what happens. Do you soak the wood?

 

[Across The Field]

I'm planning on using mesquite and hickory chips. Do you guys soak your chips overnight and with what?

 

[Edisto_Tiger]

I'm planning on using mesquite and hickory chips. Do you guys soak your chips overnight and with what?

I soak mine in water and/or beer. Don't ask me why I use beer sometimes, I just do.

 

[Across The Field]

I soak mine in water and/or beer. Don't ask me why I use beer sometimes, I just do.

I could see that being good, especially if it's paired right. Like an amber or brown ale for beef. Not a bad idea.

 

[Across The Field]

Brisket is in. 215-225 for about 10.5 hours. Didn't brine, just did a simple rub. Used mustard and honey mix as the binder, should yield a nice, thick bark. Hickory and mesquite chip mix.

 

[4down20]

I'm planning on using mesquite and hickory chips. Do you guys soak your chips overnight and with what?

I don't want to say people are doing it wrong, but I do not recommend that. Good flavor choices for beef as I understand it though.

Or at least I should say - I use to do that, and never really had good results. I didn't have bad results really, but the majority of my result was from the slow cooking, not because of great smoke flavor - which I know how to get now.

Basically, white smoke is terrible. It's bitter, it makes your food taste terrible and that is generally the kind of smoke you get from soaked wood chips. It means you have a smoldering smoke going on, and soaked chips promote that. The good thing about wood chips is you don't get a whole bunch of it, so it doesn't ruin the flavor, while a huge amount of thick white smoke will.

The best thing for smoking is - no charcoal at all, no wood chips, but instead just burning wood in an open flame. Small hot fires are the secret. When the wood burns down to the coals, those are good too, but you want to get them there with an open flame and those coals are used to start the next one usually.

If you have white smoke, it's smoldering and you need to increase the airflow. If your temp is too high at that point, you have too much wood and need smaller amounts. You can cut down the airflow as much as possible while not having white smoke for longer burns without maintenance.

The smoke you want is actually damn near invisible. I can only see mine when I have something black behind the stack. A thin blue smoke is what you should see, and the thinner the better, and those only come from clean open fires.

And while you may not see a bunch of smoke, you will smell the difference and what you smell will also be the flavor going in.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I call it Dad's Pesto Chicken

Warning: This makes a shit ton. I love to eat the leftovers all week.

• 6-8 chicken breasts (cubed w/ fat trimmed off)
• 20-24 strips of thick cut peppered bacon (chopped into 1" squares, add more pepper)
• 8oz package of Mozzarella cheese (cubed)
• 12oz bag of fresh green beans
• 7oz Basil Pesto Sauce (Buitoni or whatever fresh kind they have, never tried the jarred versions)
• 10.5oz of cherry tomatoes (halved)
• Garlic, diced
• Garlic salt
• Pepper

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet, drain the bacon grease & set aside about a cup of it. Put the bacon into the serving bowl.
2. Stir-fry the green beans with bacon grease (about 1/4 of what you saved), diced garlic & garlic salt. I aim to make these as crispy as I can without burning them, but some burn marks are inevitable. When finished, put the green beans into the serving bowl.
3. Stir-fry the cherry tomatoes in the pan with whatever grease remains. I like to char the faces of the cherry tomatoes as best I can so try to keep them cut-face down. Move/flip the skillet often because they tend to stick if you don't. Add olive oil if necessary. Once done put them into the serving bowl.
4. Add the rest of the bacon grease you saved and then add chicken & more diced garlic. Drain if you get too much liquid in the pan. Add garlic salt & pepper. Cook until you get the browning crispy exterior. The hotter you get the bacon grease the better the results. Just be careful not to burn yourself when you put the chicken in. Once finished add to the serving bowl.
5. Mix in the mozzarella & basil pesto sauce into the serving bowl.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I don't want to say people are doing it wrong, but I do not recommend that. Good flavor choices for beef as I understand it though.

Or at least I should say - I use to do that, and never really had good results. I didn't have bad results really, but the majority of my result was from the slow cooking, not because of great smoke flavor - which I know how to get now.

Basically, white smoke is terrible. It's bitter, it makes your food taste terrible and that is generally the kind of smoke you get from soaked wood chips. It means you have a smoldering smoke going on, and soaked chips promote that. The good thing about wood chips is you don't get a whole bunch of it, so it doesn't ruin the flavor, while a huge amount of thick white smoke will.

The best thing for smoking is - no charcoal at all, no wood chips, but instead just burning wood in an open flame. Small hot fires are the secret. When the wood burns down to the coals, those are good too, but you want to get them there with an open flame and those coals are used to start the next one usually.

If you have white smoke, it's smoldering and you need to increase the airflow. If your temp is too high at that point, you have too much wood and need smaller amounts. You can cut down the airflow as much as possible while not having white smoke for longer burns without maintenance.

The smoke you want is actually damn near invisible. I can only see mine when I have something black behind the stack. A thin blue smoke is what you should see, and the thinner the better, and those only come from clean open fires.

And while you may not see a bunch of smoke, you will smell the difference and what you smell will also be the flavor going in.

Good info here.

Up until this past week, I've been cooking on a weber kettle and not much low and slow. Got myself a real smoker/grill now, and next weekend I will be doing my 1st low and slow cook...beef brisket and I'll get a slab or two of ribs maybe the following weekend.

My buddy who is a long time low and slow cooker mentioned...with poultry, go light on the smoke...birds soak that stuff up...apple, cherry tends to have more milder flavor than say a mesquite or hickory. Secondly, he uses wood chunks and doesn't soak them at all...(wraps them in foil with a few holes poked in the foil and he can get 2 or 3 chunks to smoke for 5 or 6 hours.

 

[romeo212000]

I call it Dad's Pesto Chicken

Warning: This makes a shit ton. I love to eat the leftovers all week.

• 6-8 chicken breasts (cubed w/ fat trimmed off)
• 20-24 strips of thick cut peppered bacon (chopped into 1" squares, add more pepper)
• 8oz package of Mozzarella cheese (cubed)
• 12oz bag of fresh green beans
• 7oz Basil Pesto Sauce (Buitoni or whatever fresh kind they have, never tried the jarred versions)
• 10.5oz of cherry tomatoes (halved)
• Garlic, diced
• Garlic salt
• Pepper

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet, drain the bacon grease & set aside about a cup of it. Put the bacon into the serving bowl.
2. Stir-fry the green beans with bacon grease (about 1/4 of what you saved), diced garlic & garlic salt. I aim to make these as crispy as I can without burning them, but some burn marks are inevitable. When finished, put the green beans into the serving bowl.
3. Stir-fry the cherry tomatoes in the pan with whatever grease remains. I like to char the faces of the cherry tomatoes as best I can so try to keep them cut-face down. Move/flip the skillet often because they tend to stick if you don't. Add olive oil if necessary. Once done put them into the serving bowl.
4. Add the rest of the bacon grease you saved and then add chicken & more diced garlic. Drain if you get too much liquid in the pan. Add garlic salt & pepper. Cook until you get the browning crispy exterior. The hotter you get the bacon grease the better the results. Just be careful not to burn yourself when you put the chicken in. Once finished add to the serving bowl.
5. Mix in the mozzarella & basil pesto sauce into the serving bowl.

I’m gonna give this a shot. Looks good. May sun chicken thighs for breasts.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

I’m gonna give this a shot. Looks good. May sun chicken thighs for breasts.

Doesn't matter. Might have a harder time cubing the chicken but it doesn't make much of a difference in how you cut the meat.

 

[4down20]

Good info here.

Up until this past week, I've been cooking on a weber kettle and not much low and slow. Got myself a real smoker/grill now, and next weekend I will be doing my 1st low and slow cook...beef brisket and I'll get a slab or two of ribs maybe the following weekend.

My buddy who is a long time low and slow cooker mentioned...with poultry, go light on the smoke...birds soak that stuff up...apple, cherry tends to have more milder flavor than say a mesquite or hickory. Secondly, he uses wood chunks and doesn't soak them at all...(wraps them in foil with a few holes poked in the foil and he can get 2 or 3 chunks to smoke for 5 or 6 hours.

Yeah, for chicken you will want like Cherry/Apple. Then for pork you can take it up a step and be like Apple/Hickory and then beef go up again to like Hickory/Mesquite. I would not use Mesquite on pork. My favorite for pork, which is what I smoke 90% of the time is Apple. But I'll throw some Hickory in there without worry. (I will be using Hickory this weekend because they were sold out of Apple). I also use Hickory on my pulled beef. Mesquite I've not used for smoking yet, I think I would probably use it with a mix of Hickory for something like Brisket.

I have a small smoker. I burn about 2 or 3 of those chunks an hour, but not at the same time. I have to tend to my smoker about every 10-15 minutes. The results are worth it though.

 

[4down20]

Anyone ever made any smoked pull pork chili?

Smoking a pork butt this weekend(shocker), and was thinking about using the leftovers in the chili in place of normal ground beef.

I see recipes online, but still a little nervous.

Should I eat all the bark pieces or save it for the chili? I love those and sure as hell don't want to waste them, but if they'll take the chili to the next level, that's also cool.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Yeah, for chicken you will want like Cherry/Apple. Then for pork you can take it up a step and be like Apple/Hickory and then beef go up again to like Hickory/Mesquite. I would not use Mesquite on pork. My favorite for pork, which is what I smoke 90% of the time is Apple. But I'll throw some Hickory in there without worry. (I will be using Hickory this weekend because they were sold out of Apple). I also use Hickory on my pulled beef. Mesquite I've not used for smoking yet, I think I would probably use it with a mix of Hickory for something like Brisket.

I have a small smoker. I burn about 2 or 3 of those chunks an hour, but not at the same time. I have to tend to my smoker about every 10-15 minutes. The results are worth it though.

Noted...thanks, especially no mesquite on pork....I know it's a bit strong for poultry but learning something here.

I will report back with pics...loving my new Smoker/grill though...Got a Primo XL Oval.

 

[4down20]

Noted...thanks, especially no mesquite on pork....I know it's a bit strong for poultry but learning something here.

I will report back with pics...loving my new Smoker/grill though...Got a Primo XL Oval.

GL. I think it's generally pretty hard to fuck up BBQ.

 

[romeo212000]

GL. I think it's generally pretty hard to fuck up BBQ.

And yet so many manage to do so.