Saturday is BBQ day V2 - smokin meats and takin pics

[usmctanker242]

Was it just the cut of meat?

It was a choice cut of meat, and it looked and smelled great when I was prepping it. Lots of people said it had the same, or very similar, texture to a brisket point, but it really doesn't. They were OK, just not what I was expecting, and certainly not worth the effort.

 

[usmctanker242]

I smoked some wings yesterday. Turned out amazing.

24 hour salt/sugar brine. Then for buffalo I did a bunch of buffalo sauce and some chicken dry rub, let that sit for 4 hours in the fridge. I also did salt/pepper/Stubb's BBQ for the others and let that sit for 4 hours.

Smoker at 275, dropped to 210 when putting meat in, smoked for a little over an hour, finished in oven at 300 for 10 mins, bam. So delicious.

Nice man. Myron Mixon just started doing a BBQ box where each month he's kind of giving you a flavor and recipe from different pitmasters around the country. First month was Myron's own stuff, and last month it was Big Bob Gibson's rub and white BBQ Sauce... very different and it didn't really taste good out of the jar, but I used it on some wings (the recipe was included) and after it kind of "set up" on the meat, it was tasty. That was the first time I had ever smoked wings and I was very impressed... so used to generic hot wings, it was good to be able to put my own flavors into them.

Yours look awesome man, and I love me some Stubbs products. Their Sticky Sweet is still one of my favorite BBQ sauces, even after 5+ years of trying different sauces. haha

 

[Oblivian]

I smoked some wings yesterday. Turned out amazing.

24 hour salt/sugar brine. Then for buffalo I did a bunch of buffalo sauce and some chicken dry rub, let that sit for 4 hours in the fridge. I also did salt/pepper/Stubb's BBQ for the others and let that sit for 4 hours.

Smoker at 275, dropped to 210 when putting meat in, smoked for a little over an hour, finished in oven at 300 for 10 mins, bam. So delicious.

I do wings about once a week. My wife loves them. I do it almost identical to yours without the finish in the oven. A lot of times, I'll poor water over the coals to put them out and finish with a strong steam/smoke. It gets the skin nice and firm. We always use stubb's too. Which kind did you get? We've used original a lot and switched to sweet heat, and it ended up being too spicy for her.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

It was a choice cut of meat, and it looked and smelled great when I was prepping it. Lots of people said it had the same, or very similar, texture to a brisket point, but it really doesn't. They were OK, just not what I was expecting, and certainly not worth the effort.

I do want to try a chuck roast in the smoker, heard it's quite similar to brisket. I've done brisket of course but it's pretty expensive here and it's hard to find the point as well, can usually only get the flat.

 

[usmctanker242]

I do want to try a chuck roast in the smoker, heard it's quite similar to brisket. I've done brisket of course but it's pretty expensive here and it's hard to find the point as well, can usually only get the flat.

I thought the same, but I've done two now, and it's not really close to brisket at all in my opinion. It's more like a steak, or tri-tip, and if you smoke it like a brisket your final product is going to be more like pulled beef than a brisket. Give it a go though and see what you think... just not what I thought it was going to be and the texture wasn't very pleasant in my opinion.

Edit: Yeah, brisket can be a challenge in some places. I'm in eastern North Carolina and it's all about hogs out here. I get very shitty select quality briskets from Wal-Mart (only grocery store in the area that carries them) and I do pretty well with them. I can order 50+ pounds of Choice grade packer briskets from Sams Club though... going to have to start doing that here in the near future.

 

[PUO3]

Im a beef fanatic but I dont care for pulled beef at all.

 

[PUO3]

Time to step it up imo. My god.

 

[usmctanker242]

Time to step it up imo. My god.

Awesome, but dear fucking christ, $27,000. haha
I'm looking at expanding and considering something SUPER similar. Almost ready to pull the trigger, but still a hit hesitant.

http://www.johnsonsmokers.com/ultimate-patio-roof/

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Time to step it up imo. My god.

Awesome, but dear fucking christ, $27,000. haha
I'm looking at expanding and considering something SUPER similar. Almost ready to pull the trigger, but still a hit hesitant.

http://www.johnsonsmokers.com/ultimate-patio-roof/

Are you guys competition barbecuers? Geez they are perfect setups. Believe it or not BBQ comps are quite common down here now, I've got some mates in Perth who go in them, sounds like a big weekend on the booze ha ha

 

[usmctanker242]

@TankAbbott4Eva

I'm looking at opening a catering / concession BBQ business here by mid-summer, but I would also love to get involved with BBQ competitions. No matter how I slice it my current smoker is too small to do more than a brisket and few pork butts at a time, so I'm going to need to upgrade. I'd rather "spend once, cry once" than nickel and dime myself by picking up a smaller smoker now, and possibly having to upgrade again in a year or two. Buying a smoker setup like gives me enough storage for all the shit I will need, it's a mobile canopy which is nice so I don't have to drop $500-$1000 on a large mobile canopy, and it also gives me a "base" of operations.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

@TankAbbott4Eva

I'm looking at opening a catering / concession BBQ business here by mid-summer, but I would also love to get involved with BBQ competitions. No matter how I slice it my current smoker is too small to do more than a brisket and few pork butts at a time, so I'm going to need to upgrade. I'd rather "spend once, cry once" than nickel and dime myself by picking up a smaller smoker now, and possibly having to upgrade again in a year or two. Buying a smoker setup like gives me enough storage for all the shit I will need, it's a mobile canopy which is nice so I don't have to drop $500-$1000 on a large mobile canopy, and it also gives me a "base" of operations.

That's cool man, good luck with your business. I have a smallish smoker but I never do more than 2 shoulders and a brisket or something. My smoker is shit, I bought a cheap one, it's leaky as hell so very inefficient and hard to hold temp of course. I just use my Weber most of the time, can do everything in it, it's great. I wouldn't' mind investing in a better smoker one day but we'll see.

 

[MASShole]

I do wings about once a week. My wife loves them. I do it almost identical to yours without the finish in the oven. A lot of times, I'll poor water over the coals to put them out and finish with a strong steam/smoke. It gets the skin nice and firm. We always use stubb's too. Which kind did you get? We've used original a lot and switched to sweet heat, and it ended up being too spicy for her.

I used the Smoky Mesquite sauce from them, as it wast the only one I had in the fridge.

These were so good. The 10 mins in the oven was just enough time (maybe I'll do only 8 next time) to get the skin to firm up, but man, I'm going to make these a lot more often. I loved it.

I may try to do it with chicken thighs soon too. Wife doesn't like the bone-in ones, but I freakin love them.

@TankAbbott4Eva I have a small Masterbuilt electric one that's about $300. I have fit 6 slabs of ribs in it at once, and have done a few butts and some brisket flats in it at the same time too. Works great, and you don't have to worry about maintaining heat, as it is automatically controlled for you. Just mop real fast and close the door again, as you normally would.

 

[usmctanker242]

That's cool man, good luck with your business. I have a smallish smoker but I never do more than 2 shoulders and a brisket or something. My smoker is shit, I bought a cheap one, it's leaky as hell so very inefficient and hard to hold temp of course. I just use my Weber most of the time, can do everything in it, it's great. I wouldn't' mind investing in a better smoker one day but we'll see.

Appreciate it man. I've kind of run the gamut when it comes to cookers / smokers. I started with a normal Weber Kettle grill, but at that time I didn't even know what smoking was, so I used it only as a grill and I didn't treat it well. Once I learned about smoking I was able to use that same Kettle to start smoking, but it was falling apart due to years of abuse. So I picked an absolute piece of shit Char-Grill barrel "smoker" which was really a grill lying about being a smoker. I used that with varying success for a year or so and picked up the Akorn Kamodo and holy shit, for the price point, that thing is amazing! It really gives the kamodo experience for about 1/3 the cost... but again, I didn't take care of it and it rusted through. So about 5 years after I started to learn how to actually smoke food I picked up a competition grade offset cooker, my Yoder Cheyenne. That cooker is amazing and it was worth the cost... no way in hell am I going back to cheap cookers. My Akorn kamodo broke down, and while I love my offset, it's nice to have a kamodo, so I picked up the GrillaGrills Kong Kamodo. Fine piece of equipment, similar to a Big Green Egg, and it's a pleasure to use.

So now that I have a passion for smoking I've finally made the choice to go all in... best shit is that my friends are going to pick up some of the initial start up costs. Over the years everybody who has had my food has said I should seriously get into BBQ for a job, and when I announced I was going to make it happen, I was flooded with my buddies who wanted to invest / donate... I didn't even ask, so that was pretty amazing.

Sorry for the rant, just really wanted to talk about the different cookers I've had over the years. haha

 

[Da Speeit]

Im a beef fanatic but I dont care for pulled beef at all.

I'll change your mind

 

[usmctanker242]

Im a beef fanatic but I dont care for pulled beef at all.

Same, just not a good texture. I loved pulled chicken and pulled pork, but pulled/shredded beef just isn't very pleasing to the palate. I ordered brisket at a BBQ restaurant and they gave me shredded beef on a bun... was severely let down.

 

[TankAbbott4Eva]

Appreciate it man. I've kind of run the gamut when it comes to cookers / smokers. I started with a normal Weber Kettle grill, but at that time I didn't even know what smoking was, so I used it only as a grill and I didn't treat it well. Once I learned about smoking I was able to use that same Kettle to start smoking, but it was falling apart due to years of abuse. So I picked an absolute piece of shit Char-Grill barrel "smoker" which was really a grill lying about being a smoker. I used that with varying success for a year or so and picked up the Akorn Kamodo and holy shit, for the price point, that thing is amazing! It really gives the kamodo experience for about 1/3 the cost... but again, I didn't take care of it and it rusted through. So about 5 years after I started to learn how to actually smoke food I picked up a competition grade offset cooker, my Yoder Cheyenne. That cooker is amazing and it was worth the cost... no way in hell am I going back to cheap cookers. My Akorn kamodo broke down, and while I love my offset, it's nice to have a kamodo, so I picked up the GrillaGrills Kong Kamodo. Fine piece of equipment, similar to a Big Green Egg, and it's a pleasure to use.

So now that I have a passion for smoking I've finally made the choice to go all in... best shit is that my friends are going to pick up some of the initial start up costs. Over the years everybody who has had my food has said I should seriously get into BBQ for a job, and when I announced I was going to make it happen, I was flooded with my buddies who wanted to invest / donate... I didn't even ask, so that was pretty amazing.

Sorry for the rant, just really wanted to talk about the different cookers I've had over the years. haha

That's cool man ha ha. My offset is actually a Char Grill, never again. I now know that you get what you pay for in these things, thank god for the weber. I got a Weber OTG a few years ago to replace the 30 year old one I had handed down to me, best thing ever.

Have wanted to get a Big Green Egg but really can't justify it to the wife, we'll see what happens down the road I guess.

 

[usmctanker242]

That's cool man ha ha. My offset is actually a Char Grill, never again. I now know that you get what you pay for in these things, thank god for the weber. I got a Weber OTG a few years ago to replace the 30 year old one I had handed down to me, best thing ever.

Have wanted to get a Big Green Egg but really can't justify it to the wife, we'll see what happens down the road I guess.

I hear it man, that Weber is a good piece of gear though as long as you take care of it. I would say to look into something like the GrillaGrills Kong versus the BGE, but your location is Australia and I know you guys are pretty limited out there. I did see a few posts in another BBQ forum about the Dragon kamodo coming to Australia... a lot like the Akorn in terms of it being a steel kamodo-style cooker.

https://www.barbequesgalore.com.au/barbeques/barbeque-brands/dragon-kamado-gkeg

Looks like they have quite a few dealers in Melbourne who sell these grills. Much easier on the budget, certainly something to look into if you're interested in a Big Green Egg but the price point is a too rough.

 

[MASShole]

Yo USMC that's awesome, man. Keep us posted on what you end up doing.

Just make sure you nail down at least 5 sides too: mac and cheese, baked beans, cornbread, potatoes and slaw. Those basics will get you through for awhile until you want to get crazy and make potato salad or some more time intense sides.

 

[usmctanker242]

Yo USMC that's awesome, man. Keep us posted on what you end up doing.

Just make sure you nail down at least 5 sides too: mac and cheese, baked beans, cornbread, potatoes and slaw. Those basics will get you through for awhile until you want to get crazy and make potato salad or some more time intense sides.

Right on man, working on the business plan and the menu right now. Looking at doing Texas style brisket, Kansas City style burnt ends, and Lexington style spare ribs and pulled pork. Sides I'm looking at exactly what you said : mac and cheese, coleslaw, cornbread, and baked beans with chopped brisket.

I live in Jacksonville, NC which is home to 3 different USMC bases, so we have people from all of the country who are all stuck here. So it makes sense to diversify the flavors a bit... at least that's my gimmick. The BBQ here in eastern NC is basically well smoked meat that is then slathered in a horrible vinegar sauce... blows my mind how they will slow smoke a hog for 20 hours, then dice it, and absolutely drown the meat in such an abrasive sauce. I cook for my wife and her employees every few weeks and I've kind of been testing things out on them... Texas style brisket is a big hit, and my burnt ends make everybody go crazy. I do a more mild pulled pork which seems to appeal to everybody, even these Carolinians. I'm still working on perfecting a spare rib recipe which I can easily replicate, but I'm close.

The big part is just getting the thing off the ground with all the regulations. No commissary kitchens in my city, so I'll have to drive 30+ miles just so I can cook my meat, and then another 30 miles back to serve it. Unfortunately regulations say you can't cook at home and sell to the public, so it's either the commissary kitchen, or buying a food truck as a mobile kitchen. I was deadset on that, but the prices are tough for a start-up. Looking at $25K for a mobile kitchen which is reliable... so many of these foodtrucks have 300K miles on them, just too risky when money is tight.

So yeah, certainly working towards it man, just a few hoops to jump through before I can really get it off the ground. I'll post my menu here once I do a test run on the USMC base and see their responses.

 

[GhostZ06]

@TankAbbott4Eva

I'm looking at opening a catering / concession BBQ business here by mid-summer, but I would also love to get involved with BBQ competitions. No matter how I slice it my current smoker is too small to do more than a brisket and few pork butts at a time, so I'm going to need to upgrade. I'd rather "spend once, cry once" than nickel and dime myself by picking up a smaller smoker now, and possibly having to upgrade again in a year or two. Buying a smoker setup like gives me enough storage for all the shit I will need, it's a mobile canopy which is nice so I don't have to drop $500-$1000 on a large mobile canopy, and it also gives me a "base" of operations.

oh man ill need to go an taste of your shit next time i go and visit my biological.