Social Saturday is BBQ Day V3 - How big is your meat?

[Rob Battisti]

No garnish is better in my opinion because who wants to waste money and time on something so unnecessary? Even in KCBS rules it states that you don't have to use garnish, but it has definitely become routine to do so. My biggest tip would be to have fun...some of the nicest people I've met have been at BBQ competitions and I still chat on Facebook with a few of the teams who befriended me during the competition.

In terms of cooking tips really just stick with your gameplan and don't deviate at all. Obviously be capable of adapting if something goes wrong, but stick to your plan and timeline regardless of what you see other people doing. Make sure the wood you have is appropriately sized for your smoker, make sure it's well seasoned and will burn well, and make sure you have enough of it. When it comes to thighs do exactly what Myron taught you in terms of whittling them down to an even size, and make sure you can fit 10 of those in a box. They will shrink a bit during cooking, but not much, so make sure your trimming is very consistent across all pieces of meat. For ribs just do your normal thing and make sure to taste taste taste...ribs can actually take a while to taste and pick out the ones you want to put in the box. The more racks of ribs you have the harder this decision can be, so I would recommend 3 or 4 racks, but no more. Make sure your palate is fresh and not blurred by alcohol, tobacco, or wood smoke when you're getting ready to taste the ribs and get them ready for the box. Harry Soo has a good technique of tasting ribs from the left and right side of the rack of ribs, and whichever side is better is the side where he will pull his ribs for turn-in. 10 ribs in a box will be a bit tricky as you'll have to stack 5 on 5, so make sure you're slicing them accordingly. Out of your 10 ribs put your ugliest 5 on the bottom and your most pristine and perfect looking ribs on top.

I'm not sure what your turn-in windows are like (30 minutes or maybe an hour), but it can sneak up very quickly and get away from you pretty easily if you're not paying attention. And this is especially true if you've been up all night tending a stick burner.

Paper towels...just but a 24 pack from Sam's Club and bring the whole damned thing. Unless you're using a food trailer or similar setup with hot water on demand you'll need a metric fuck ton of paper towels. Also have multiple cutting boards and knives so you won't have to worry about cross contaminating anything. A headlamp, for me, is 100% essential during a competition because they are usually in parking lots or areas which are not very well lit.

Also, where are you getting your food? Will they allow you to pre-trim it before the competition?

Great tips!!

undecided on where we will source the meat, but likely from a local central Texas locale. I’ve tried a few different ones which I like. Also, no pre-trim before the competition.

 

[usmctanker242]

Great tips!!

undecided on where we will source the meat, but likely from a local central Texas locale. I’ve tried a few different ones which I like. Also, no pre-trim before the competition.

What kind of competition is this? No pre-trim is tough because you can't get a good look at the piece of meat before you use it during a contest. It's hard to tell how good it is (especially brisket) while it's still in the cryovac.

Either way have fun and take a lot of pics. I envy you guys out there in Texas as there is usually at least 1 competition every weekend of the year...IBCA, KCBS, CTBA, and I do believe that you guys also get some of the GBA and MBN contests as well. Where I'm at in North Carolina I have to drive at least 4 hours, but usually 6-8, to compete as there just aren't many competitions in my area. Lots in western NC, lots in Virginia, and lots in SC and Georgia.

Have fun and do exactly what Myron taught you. Pay attention to the details, get as much sleep as possible, and kick some ass!

 

[HAWTakayama]

Nothing exceptional, but I did a butt and venison tenderloin wrapped in bacon earlier

 

[Saku's Son]

Thought about ordering the Smokefire EX4 but couldn't justify the price of it over here for a first time smoker (£1200).
Bought myself a weber kettle and a Bluetooth digital thermometer to have a go with first.

Cooked a pork spare rib roast on it yesterday, with oak for smoke.
Meat cost me £5 for 3lb.
The flavour was perfect but had to pull it early due to storm coming, so it wasn't as tender as I'd have liked.

Honestly impressed at how well the kettle held its temperature over 8 hours between 220f and 255f.
I hit the stall at about 3 hours in at 165f, and it stayed between 160-170 for another 3 hours.
Had to pull it at 183f internal when meat had been on for around 7 hours.

Tried to post pics but they're not uploading.

Really enjoyed the cook so not sure I'll go pellet grill at all now.

 

[Saku's Son]

Had to take screenshots of the pics because files were too big

 

[usmctanker242]

Nice man...it's hard to beat a solid Weber grill. I tried pellets and didn't enjoy the experience (or smoke "flavor") at all...just wasn't for me and the pellets were quite pricey compared to charcoal or wood. Those Weber's are a simple design but they work so well and are very user friendly. Even a novice can pull of some great BBQ with one of those.

I first started cooking on a shitty 18" Weber kettle a long time ago. I used it as a grill for a long time, but watched a ton of videos on YouTube about how to use it as a smoker. I still remember my first smoke ever; BabyBack Ribs with Weber brand Applewood Rub. They were AMAZING! I did 6 hours at 200-225° and didn't wrap at all, but did cut them in half and do the "stacking method." I was hooked and have had a great life experience with BBQ ever since...so much so that I've turned it into a business.

 

[Saku's Son]

After seeing the reviews and issues with the Smokefire pellet grill, I'm so glad I went with the kettle.

Rained off work today so prepping the grill and trimmed/dry brined beef short ribs ready for Saturday.
6lbs (4 rib plate) cost me £10 this week, butcher cut it from a side of beef for me there and then.

I've probably trimmed 3/4 of a pound off in skin and subcutaneous fat, just thrown that in the oven for the dog's dinner tonight.

 

[usmctanker242]

After seeing the reviews and issues with the Smokefire pellet grill, I'm so glad I went with the kettle.

Rained off work today so prepping the grill and trimmed/dry brined beef short ribs ready for Saturday.
6lbs (4 rib plate) cost me £10 this week, butcher cut it from a side of beef for me there and then.

I've probably trimmed 3/4 of a pound off in skin and subcutaneous fat, just thrown that in the oven for the dog's dinner tonight.

Me too...I feel pretty bad that I even brought it up at all. I'm sure in the next couple of months Weber will release the SmokeFire 2.0 with a fucking drip plate (like all other pellet cookers) and some small design changes. Until then I think it's best to do what you did and that's to stick with what's tried and true. That's a hell of a deal on beef plate ribs...those are probably my favorite part of the cow to eat and right up there with brisket.

 

[Saku's Son]

Me too...I feel pretty bad that I even brought it up at all. I'm sure in the next couple of months Weber will release the SmokeFire 2.0 with a fucking drip plate (like all other pellet cookers) and some small design changes. Until then I think it's best to do what you did and that's to stick with what's tried and true. That's a hell of a deal on beef plate ribs...those are probably my favorite part of the cow to eat and right up there with brisket.

I'll take a few pics on Saturday, going to light the coals at around 7am, hoping the ribs will be good for 6pm.

I've been watching Justin/Baby Back Maniac's Smokefire vids on YouTube, and can't help but feel for the guy, recommending it to his viewers, and as he says drinking the Kool Aid; for it to turn into a complete shit show on release.

He says he was offered a freebie from Weber but decided to buy his own (and is now returning it), fair play to him.
Wonder whether Harry Soo will do any videos on it now, or whether Weber will recall the grills they've sent out so far.

On a side note, something I've seen since searching Weber pellet grills is the Spider 22, a pellet attachment for the 22 inch kettle, $280usd for a PID controlled auger fed pellet burner.

 

[usmctanker242]

I'll take a few pics on Saturday, going to light the coals at around 7am, hoping the ribs will be good for 6pm.

I've been watching Justin/Baby Back Maniac's Smokefire vids on YouTube, and can't help but feel for the guy, recommending it to his viewers, and as he says drinking the Kool Aid; for it to turn into a complete shit show on release.

He says he was offered a freebie from Weber but decided to buy his own (and is now returning it), fair play to him.
Wonder whether Harry Soo will do any videos on it now, or whether Weber will recall the grills they've sent out so far.

On a side note, something I've seen since searching Weber pellet grills is the Spider 22, a pellet attachment for the 22 inch kettle, $280usd for a PID controlled auger fed pellet burner.

Yeah, I have seen that Spider pellet attachment, but I don't know anything about it. BabyBackManic is a great YouTuber and you can really see how bad he feels for talking up that SmokeFire so much before it was released to the public. He 100% bought all the bullshit they were feeding him...poor bastard. It's good to see him being a bit somber and very straight forward about the issues. Weber isn't going to recall anything as so far they are still towing the line of "Everything is fine, nothing to see here." With a launch of this size there's obviously going to be some problems, but their testing department missed some serious issues. That "grease system" they keep talking about is pure bullshit and even moving towards batshit insane. All that grease on the right side of the cooker is being pushed directly towards the fucking fire pot. Then add in the excessive ash being blown around that cook chamber and no wonder there are grease fires happening left and right. Not to mention the firmware issues, the hopper issue with the pellets not feeding, and the god damned controller locking up and it all adds up to a poor showing by Weber.

There's a ton of talk about it on the BBQ-Brethren forum, and it's really shocking. I was rooting for Weber here, and it sucks to see them have so many issues.

Anyways, that sounds like a super long cook time for plate beef ribs. I usually cook them for about 5-7 hours at 250-275°. You said you trimmed them pretty aggressively, so watch that internal temp really closely. I'm not sure what temp you're cooking at, but start checking for tenderness at an internal temp of 195° and adjust as necessary from there.

 

[Saku's Son]

Yeah, I have seen that Spider pellet attachment, but I don't know anything about it. BabyBackManic is a great YouTuber and you can really see how bad he feels for talking up that SmokeFire so much before it was released to the public. He 100% bought all the bullshit they were feeding him...poor bastard. It's good to see him being a bit somber and very straight forward about the issues. Weber isn't going to recall anything as so far they are still towing the line of "Everything is fine, nothing to see here." With a launch of this size there's obviously going to be some problems, but their testing department missed some serious issues. That "grease system" they keep talking about is pure bullshit and even moving towards batshit insane. All that grease on the right side of the cooker is being pushed directly towards the fucking fire pot. Then add in the excessive ash being blown around that cook chamber and no wonder there are grease fires happening left and right. Not to mention the firmware issues, the hopper issue with the pellets not feeding, and the god damned controller locking up and it all adds up to a poor showing by Weber.

There's a ton of talk about it on the BBQ-Brethren forum, and it's really shocking. I was rooting for Weber here, and it sucks to see them have so many issues.

Anyways, that sounds like a super long cook time for plate beef ribs. I usually cook them for about 5-7 hours at 250-275°. You said you trimmed them pretty aggressively, so watch that internal temp really closely. I'm not sure what temp you're cooking at, but start checking for tenderness at an internal temp of 195° and adjust as necessary from there.

Okay cheers, I was banking on 7 maybe 8 hours on the heat at 250-275 and an hour plus to rest before serving.
Mistake I made with the spare rib was only giving them 7 hours to cook and half hour to rest before dinner, so didn't want to pull the food early twice in a row.

 

[usmctanker242]

Okay cheers, I was banking on 7 maybe 8 hours on the heat at 250-275 and an hour plus to rest before serving.
Mistake I made with the spare rib was only giving them 7 hours to cook and half hour to rest before dinner, so didn't want to pull the food early twice in a row.

Beef spare ribs usually take me about 4 hours at that temperature as they have almost no meat on the bones. We're in different parts of the world though with different breeds of cattle, so there's a lot variables in there. Just do your thing and have a good time!

 

[MASShole]

I bought a Pit Boss series 7 Copperhead last weekend. I need more capacity because my catering business is actually working LOL

I get the smoke flavors from these, not sure why you don't @usmctanker242 . I just bought a smoke tube so I can do cold smokes for cheeses and fish now, should be fun.

 

[Te Huna Matata]

Beef spare ribs are acceptable but plate ribs are where it's at.

 

[usmctanker242]

I bought a Pit Boss series 7 Copperhead last weekend. I need more capacity because my catering business is actually working LOL

I get the smoke flavors from these, not sure why you don't @usmctanker242 . I just bought a smoke tube so I can do cold smokes for cheeses and fish now, should be fun.

Right on Buddy, so glad to hear things are working out for you. When it comes to pellets it's just something I didn't enjoy using, and the smoke flavor just wasn't there for me. For what it's worth I did look at my historical data and during that ~2 months when I was using the pellet cooker my sales did drop about 12%...could be a coincidence, but I just wasn't happy using it. I'm LOVING my cabinet smoker though and if you're talking about capacity that thing is the way to go. I have 4 racks and can do 9 pork butts or 5 briskets on each rack...that's some serious capacity. And I can smoke all that food on a 20Lb bag of charcoal with some wood chunks. It took me a few cooks to get things working the way I wanted, but now it's like a well oiled machine and that thing holds temp perfectly (mind you, I use a CyberQ fan system haha).

Here's what I'm using right now :

It's the Large model there on the left. Absolute beast of a cooker and it makes life much more enjoyable for me. I still have my front offset hog smoker as well, as I still get requests for whole pigs every now and again.

 

[MASShole]

That's a ton of capacity!


Yeah, we have been asked to do a 300 person event with BBQ (I'll be cooking all week!), and three weeks after that a 5 course meal for 225 people. Kinda nuts.

 

[usmctanker242]

That's a ton of capacity!


Yeah, we have been asked to do a 300 person event with BBQ (I'll be cooking all week!), and three weeks after that a 5 course meal for 225 people. Kinda nuts.

Good stuff! 5 course meal for 225 has got to be brutal! What are you serving with the 300 person BBQ event? I just did a catered event on Wednesday for 60 people ; Pulled Pork, Chicken Drumsticks, Cornbread, and Mac&Cheese. Only 33 people showed up though, so I sent the guy away with 7 pans full of meats, sides, and sauces. haha

You did say that you have a professional kitchen from which to work, so that will give you access to a ton more space than I have. My trailer works, but it is quite small, so doing 2 bigs pots (water and cheese sauce) for Mac & Cheese on a hot plate is a bit slow and irritating. It works, but I'm glad you have access to some solid equipment.

 

[MASShole]

Good stuff! 5 course meal for 225 has got to be brutal! What are you serving with the 300 person BBQ event? I just did a catered event on Wednesday for 60 people ; Pulled Pork, Chicken Drumsticks, Cornbread, and Mac&Cheese. Only 33 people showed up though, so I sent the guy away with 7 pans full of meats, sides, and sauces. haha

You did say that you have a professional kitchen from which to work, so that will give you access to a ton more space than I have. My trailer works, but it is quite small, so doing 2 bigs pots (water and cheese sauce) for Mac & Cheese on a hot plate is a bit slow and irritating. It works, but I'm glad you have access to some solid equipment.

Yeah, we have a full commissary kitchen to work with, but I still smoke most of the stuff at my house before service. Everything else is cooked there. We have 1 large Cater Gator and 2 med Cambros for food storage, and they keep food warm for about 4 hours each so it's super nice.

It's so funny giving so much food away. We get paid for the whole event, and then give like 20% of the food away to the organizer and just say "please put in the fridge right away!".

For 300 people I'm thinking a mix of brisket and pork butt or chicken, plus sides (mac, beans, pickles). Pork butt takes a long time, but chicken takes like an hour, and with this new smoker I can cook tons of it at a time. Tacos? Easy peasy! For the next event with multiple courses, super unsure of menu yet, and we'll figure it out if we win the bid. Likely brisket and some other smoked meat, prepped, sealed and ready to reheat appropriately.

 

[usmctanker242]

Yeah, we have a full commissary kitchen to work with, but I still smoke most of the stuff at my house before service. Everything else is cooked there. We have 1 large Cater Gator and 2 med Cambros for food storage, and they keep food warm for about 4 hours each so it's super nice.

It's so funny giving so much food away. We get paid for the whole event, and then give like 20% of the food away to the organizer and just say "please put in the fridge right away!".

For 300 people I'm thinking a mix of brisket and pork butt or chicken, plus sides (mac, beans, pickles). Pork butt takes a long time, but chicken takes like an hour, and with this new smoker I can cook tons of it at a time. Tacos? Easy peasy! For the next event with multiple courses, super unsure of menu yet, and we'll figure it out if we win the bid. Likely brisket and some other smoked meat, prepped, sealed and ready to reheat appropriately.

I didn't mean that I gave that food away...dude paid for 60 plates and only 33 showed up, so I gave him the rest of the food for which he had paid. For catering gigs I always cook more than needed just in case, and then I'll let them know I have extra, but if they want it they're paying for it. I had 60 trays set aside for the gig and use that as my method for controlling how much food goes out the serving window. I've gotten a lot better at using left-overs by making "Pork and Beans" when I have leftover pulled pork, and I make an awesome "Brisket Chili" on the rare occasion when I have left over brisket.

I always love pairing brisket with pork butt because they are both "long cooks" and take about the same amount of time to cook. This way I can do all my sides and get the trailer ready to go while the smoker is doing its thing. I used to cook my chicken "hot and fast" but I've been messing around with smoking it at 250° and people are absolutely LOVING it. I use Lawry's Seasoning Salt as a base rub because it has corn starch in it which helps to dry out the skin. Then I'll add my own rub as a top coat and smoke chicken legs / thighs for about 3.5-4 hours. They come out so good and it's damned near as crispy if I was using an air fryer.

Good luck with your event and I'm really happy that this catering thing is working out for you. It's stressful (at least in my experience) but it's satisfying watching people eat and their eyes light up and then a huge smile after they eat some awesome BBQ. Out here in North Carolina brisket isn't a common meat, so it's a pleasure to be able to give people their first bite of brisket.

 

[Rob Battisti]

Currently at the comp. brisket went on at 11:45 PM. Got dang it looks good!