Whatcha BBQ/grillin'? (1 Viewer)

Ted

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gonna miss the 300 plus post on the old thread, but let's getting going again.

I picked up two chickens I was gonna run on the Weber rotisserie. What the hell happened to the spit? I had two totally humiliated birds slathered with olive oil, lemon, Tony's, freshly coarsely ground pepper, cayenne and Kosher salt. I usually put the olive oil and kosher salt rubbed new potatoes on the grill below the chickens to bask in the glow of the chicken drippings, but no spit!

So, I just smoked the chickens. THey were great, but not the same as the rotisserie.

Whatcha BBQ/grillin'?
 
This past Saturday I hooked up my newly purchased BBQ Grillware vertical smoker.. Popped some St. Louis-style spare ribs and a large Boston pork butt in it..

I rubbed the ribs down with some yellow mustard, McCormick's pork rub and my own concoction of garlic powder and crushed rosemary.. I really like the flavor the rosemary added to them.. I left the ribs in there for 5 hours at around 225.. They were awesome..

I put the McCormick's on the pork butt and left it in there for the 5 hours as well.. It needed a little longer though, so I stuck it in the fridge (had a party to go to Saturday night) and put it back in the smoker for 4 more hours on Sunday.. I've had some great smoked pork po-boys the past two nights..
 
This weekend I did some jalapeño chicken sausage and ribeyes for the Saints game. Nothing overly elaborate other than it was awesome.
 
We had a big get together this past weekend for the Saints-Steelers game.. My buddies knew I'd just gotten a smoker and requested that I fix a smoked pork butt or shoulder (for pulled pork sandwiches) and my wife fix her famous potato salad..

I picked up a nice sized picnic cut pork shoulder from Winn Dixie.. I made a dry rub from a recipe I found online..

Rub:
1.25c white sugar
1.25c brown sugar
.5c salt
.25c freshly ground black pepper
.25c paprika

I rubbed the shoulder down well with some yellow mustard.. Then I rubbed it with the dry rub.. Had plenty of dry rub left over as well for next time (it's a big recipe).. Then I let the shoulder sit in the fridge for about 5 hours..

I knew it was going to take awhile to smoke it low enough and slow enough to get the internal temperature to 195 (recommended for pulled pork), so I stuck it in the smoker Saturday night around 1 am.. I woke up Sunday morning around 6 and checked on it.. The smoker's temperature was 175, and since it's a propane smoker, I assume it held that temperature all night.. I was hoping it would have been around 225 or so, but 175 wasn't really a problem.. Just added a little bit to the cooking time..

I left it in the smoker the rest of the morning and checked the meat's internal temperature occasionally, waiting for the magical 195 reading.. I turned the flame up a bit and let it get up to around 250 for the remainder of the cooking..

Finally, around 2 PM, 13 hours later, I had a taste of some of the best pulled pork I've ever had.. I was actually really shocked at how good it turned out.. It was so tender that the last time I stuck my digital thermometer in it and pulled it out, it pulled a chunk of the shoulder off with it.. I wish I'd taken pictures of the process.. It was definitely worth it all..
 
Looks like me, Ted and brock are the only ones that grill around here..

I just took my turkey out of the brine solution and stuck it in the smoker.. Brined it for about 8 hours.. I was going to make my own brine but went with some packet I picked up at Bed Bath and Beyond..

This is my first time smoking a turkey, so we'll see how well the brine worked and how the turkey turns out..

Update:

The turkey came out great.. Everyone was raving over it.. I smoked it with a mixture of apple and hickory wood chips for 7 hours with temps ranging from 250 to 275, even reaching 300 a couple times before turning it down..

Here's a pic of the finished product.. Not much left of it now..
 

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I mesquite smoked a roast beef yesterday for the folks who wanted something other than turkey. Took about 2 1/2 hours. I cut slits in the meat and stuck slivers of garlic in them then coverend it with cracked brown pepper and kosher salt. Man was it good and juicy.
 
I will be BBQing some chicken pieces in a buffalo style sauce and putting it in a salad with Blue Cheese, lettuce, carrots and celery.

Did I mention it is going to be -20 degrees C when I do? Yeah meal planning sucks.
 
Wednesday night I BBQed fresh New York Strip steak that had been resting with fresh crushed black pepper. Yesterday, I BBQed a turkey with Lazzari Mesquite charcoal. Absolutely nailed it. Best one I did yet. Wrapped it tight with foil, then when it hit 130 pulled off the foil and browned it for another while til it hit 160. Then wrapped it and set it on the counter til it hit 180. Man oh man it turned out awesome.

Tonight I don't know, maybe some nice fresh elk steak rubbed with black pepper and butter.
 
I will be BBQing some chicken pieces in a buffalo style sauce and putting it in a salad with Blue Cheese, lettuce, carrots and celery.

Did I mention it is going to be -20 degrees C when I do? Yeah meal planning sucks.

Yeah that stinks. I remember BBQing a turkey in 30 below zero and snowing. Ah the good old days before I moved to California. Saves a lot of money on charcoal though.
 
I'm not grilling, but I'm fixin to go pick up some wings that have been done at the wingstop!!
 
Looks like a good bird, TGO. It seems like it would be dry...was it juicy enough?

I thought the white meat portions were somewhat dry, but the dark meat was definitely moist.. Everyone kept telling me it was moist enough, but they may have just been saying that.. At least it didn't turn out like the one on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation..

I think it may have dried out a bit for a couple of reasons.. Number one, I only brined it for 8 hours.. Most things I've read suggest 12 hours or more, but I wasn't able to do that due to time constraints.. I'd never cooked a turkey before and didn't know the recommended thawing process, so I had to thaw mine quickly by leaving it in the sink overnight in water and then moving it to the fridge.. Brining it for longer probably would have added some juiciness..

Also, I checked the bird's internal temperature at several different locations trying to make sure that the entire thing was cooked.. And it was a 16lb turkey, 2 lbs larger than the largest recommended turkey for smoking.. In several places I checked the temp, I got odd readings and decided to leave the turkey in longer, so I possibly left the turkey in the smoker a little too long.. Definitely didn't want anyone getting salmonella..

And because it was so large, I was trying to keep the smoker's temperature above 250, so it's possible the higher heat dried it out some..
 
I think it may have dried out a bit for a couple of reasons.. Number one, I only brined it for 8 hours.. Most things I've read suggest 12 hours or more, but I wasn't able to do that due to time constraints.. I'd never cooked a turkey before and didn't know the recommended thawing process, so I had to thaw mine quickly by leaving it in the sink overnight in water and then moving it to the fridge.. Brining it for longer probably would have added some juiciness..

Also, I checked the bird's internal temperature at several different locations trying to make sure that the entire thing was cooked.. And it was a 16lb turkey, 2 lbs larger than the largest recommended turkey for smoking.. In several places I checked the temp, I got odd readings and decided to leave the turkey in longer, so I possibly left the turkey in the smoker a little too long.. Definitely didn't want anyone getting salmonella..

And because it was so large, I was trying to keep the smoker's temperature above 250, so it's possible the higher heat dried it out some..

Yep, there's your problem. Somewhere amidst all those things.
 
man, we were at the in-laws' yesterday and at my aunt's in N.O. today, so we've got no leftovers. TGO, that looks killer and that's sealed my conviction that I've got to go get a small turkey tomorrow and smoke it. BTW, I've tried the brining thing and I haven't noticed that it makes that much difference. The best way I've found to keep the breast meat moist is to cook it breast side down so that the juices run into it instead of out of it.
 
man, we were at the in-laws' yesterday and at my aunt's in N.O. today, so we've got no leftovers. TGO, that looks killer and that's sealed my conviction that I've got to go get a small turkey tomorrow and smoke it. BTW, I've tried the brining thing and I haven't noticed that it makes that much difference. The best way I've found to keep the breast meat moist is to cook it breast side down so that the juices run into it instead of out of it.

Thanks Ted.. It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself.. It had a nice smoky flavor, but it wasn't overpowering..

I'll have to try the breast down method next time..

The brining thing was definitely a hassle.. I had this 16 lb turkey that I had to find a container big enough to hold it, but small enough to fit in my fridge..

And I'm definitely doing a smaller bird next time..

I think I'll be firing up the smoker again this Sunday for the game.. Boon and some others are supposed to come over.. I think we're doing some baby backs..
 

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