Gonna Be A Good Day Today Tater!

[Big58cal]

Got one of the butts pulled tonight. OMG that thing was tender! Even cold, the bone pulled out clean! When I went to pull it out of the wrap I had it in, it started falling apart.

Off the one butt, I got a gallon bucket pressed down full. Gotta pull the other tomorrow.

[papa bear1]

Now look what you went and done, I had to go and buy me one of the brinkman smokers going to buy brisket/roast today Cant waite.

Dave

[Ont_Excal]

Yep, it'll last. You've got to add quite a bit for it to last for 12 hours, but it will last. Worst case is that if temp starts going down too much, lift the barrel portion off and take something to stir the coals to knock the ash off the briquettes and then put the barrel back on top. If that doesn't raise the temp up enough for it to last, you can always pitch a few more briquets in there.

Do you find the briquettes better or natural lump charcoal??

[awshucks]

Lookin good '58. I prefer the brickettes, find the trick to be to not wait so long to add a few more [6-10] that the existing hot ones won't kick off the new ones.

For me, that seems to be about 2.5 hrs, but would probably depend on how many one put in the 1st load.
I use a Webber chimney starter plumb full.

I have to buy my mesquite at Mal-Wart and bust the chunks up w/ hatchet about the size of my thumb and use it liberally.

There's supposedly a trick to buying brisket, make sure you can fold the package so the ends meet. I marinade mine in some form of alcohol over night and let it go about 5 hours or until the coals die. I like mine on the med rare side, eat off the edges then put leftovers in alum pie tins w/ BBQ sauce and tin foil covers for freezer. Comes out just right when heated up.

[Ont_Excal]

I have a whole front leg of a hog which in this case includes the shoulder.
Trying to decide if to leave it whole or cut in two pieces before smoking.
I've never smoked a piece that big before. Online recipes and cooking times are rather vague.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

[awshucks]

Whack it in half w/ sawzall would be my vote.

[Ont_Excal]

Whack it in half w/ sawzall would be my vote.

Good enough.
This will be a smoking project next month.
It will be my turn to make ya'll drool!

[bigredopie]

Any suggestions on the best way to ensure it is cooked through properly. We tried to smoke a couple of deer hams for thanksgiving and ended up a bit to much on the rare side as we got into the middle. I guess they were a bit thicker than we thought as the pork tenderlions that were in the same batch came out perfect. Do you use a thermometer or just learn by experience? I don't mind practicing on pork and beef but I hate to waste any wild meat!

[Ont_Excal]

The smoker has a thermometer in the door as well so I can judge cooking temp inside the smoker.

I bought a digital meat thermometer.
The probe has about 4 feet of cable so the readout sits outside the smoker.
I can set an internal temp and an alarm sounds when that temp has been reached.
I felt I had to go this way to be sure larger pieces are thoroughly cooked through.

If your piece of meat is bone in then when the bone is loose, the meat will be ready.

[Big58cal]

I've tried the natural charcoal, but don't really care for it. I have a tough time keeping it lit. Also, different briquet brands will last different amounts of time. Kingsford is good for cooking something on a gril, but it burns up too fast in a smoker. I think the stuff I use is either Royal Oak or the Walmart brand. It does a good job and doesn't burn up as quick as the Kingsford.

As for the internal temp, I've been meaning to get a meat probe but just never have gotten around to it. Now, it's just a matter of having done it enough, watching the temp, and knowing about how long it's going to take. The "bad" thing about the Brinkman charcoal smokers is that the temp dial on the front only has Warm, Ideal, and Hot on it, but the "Ideal" area is a pretty good range. I've had some stuff that came out a little on the rare side, but it's usually pork butts. I go ahead and pull it and freeze it in packages. When I go to heat it up, I just nuke it a little longer in the microwave.

[awshucks]

Hey 58, what rack did you use on that Brinkmanns? I've found the bottom one on top of water pan gets a lot hotter than top, i usually index them 1/2 way through..........

[Sopchoppy]

My best buddy and his brother-in-law are big time pork butt (shoulder) smokers. My buddy's smoker is on a trailer and holds 60 butts. I've used his method and never been disappointed even with my "Smoky Hollow" smoker. I keep the temp between 175-200. I use Kingsford charcoal with the hickory in it and also soak hickory chunks in water for a couple of days before I'm gonna use 'em. The wet hickory smokes like crazy. Most meats do not absorb any smoke after 2-3 hours, so I smoke for 3 hours, chicken for 2 hours, then take off and double wrap in heavy duty foil and put back on the smoker for 4-5 hours. I have put them in a cooler and waited until the next morning to pull and they are still hot. I do have to add charcoal to keep the temp up to speed. Oh yes, I have done whole chickens and deer backstraps the same way. Bones will fall out of the chicken and the backstraps will fall apart as well. I smoke them for about an hour, then wrap and back on the smoker for 3-4 hours. There is a "secret" rub my friend gives me to use.

Yesterday, I took the burner out of a cajun cooker and have it in the bottom of the smoker for a heat source. I can maintain the temp better with the propane burner. I'll still use the charcoal pan but put the wet hickory in it on top of the burner. Should work.

[Ont_Excal]

The smoke flavour will only penetrate so far.
So brining and marinating goes a long way to improve internal flavour.

That being said, I still keep the smoke going until the piece is fully cooked.
Just as important is to let the meat rest after ward.
I wrap with aluminum foil and let it rest for up to an hour.
As it cools flavours will be pulled deeper into the meat.
I do this with all whole meat portions.
Fish and sausage I dig right in.

Damn, now I'm hungry again!

[Big58cal]

Hey 58, what rack did you use on that Brinkmanns? I've found the bottom one on top of water pan gets a lot hotter than top, i usually index them 1/2 way through..........

Usually when I smoke, the whole smoker is full. I fill'em both up! The butts that I smoked Sunday were close to 12 lbs apiece, so I put one on each rack.

As far as the wood, I've tried cherry, apple, maple, hickory, peach, and mesquite. Of them all, I prefer the mesquite. I get the chunk stuff from either Walmart or Lowes and soak it in water for at least 24 hours. I'll keep a bucket in the barn and put about half of the bag in the bucket and fill it with water. It stays in the barn soaking until I use it up, which could take up to a month or so before I use it all. The wet wood really produces the smoke and doesn't "burn". A little tip........... A buddy of mine that runs a BBQ place told me that the majority of the flavor from the smoke comes from the bark, so the more bark you have the better.

Another friend of mine has a propane smoker the we use quite a bit on different outings. The propane is good because you can control the temp, but you're tied to that tank. My next smoker though is going to be a propane one so I can control the temp a little better.

A couple of other things you can do when smoking.............. The water pan, I'll slice up an onion and add it to the water pan when I first put it on. I've noticed a difference in the taste of the stuff I've done with and without the onion. The onion stuff is way better. Mashed up garlic is good too.

I've not done it with anything but chickens, but after you get done smoking the chickens, before the water in the pan cools entirely and strain the water to get the onions/garlic and chunks out of it. Take that "flavored" water and put it in ziplock bags or plastic jugs of some sort, and freeze it. That "stock" makes the most awesome chicken soup you've ever had!

[Ont_Excal]

I've never tried anything in the water pan other than water.
Sounds like worth a try.

If you cut your own wood for smoking then try with bark removed. By this I mean outer bark and not the cambium of inner bark. Next underneath is the sapwood where most of the flavour will come from. Alder makes a mild smoke because the bark is a thinner layer than most.

I use hickory and beech mostly with fish, sausage and bacon.
For hams I like to use fruit wood with apple and cherry my favourites. I use branches no bigger than three inches in diameter and just cut up into chunks on the bandsaw or with the sawsall.

I don't add flavouring to the wood itself just to the brine.