We have an annual ‘1ST Monday in May’ BBQ.
Lit the fire at 7 AM
Cut and split some firewood into smaller pieces.
I use pecan, oak and a little shag bark hickory.
I Set the wood the “Foxfire” way, kindling on the top.
About 10 minutes after lighting.
It takes about 30-40 minutes for the fire to get good.
Chuck S.
The Paslode cordless siding and fencing nailer drives fasteners reliably without the hassle of hoses or compressors.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
The butts are rinsed in the sink, dry on newspaper and cut into 4 pieces. Follow the bone when you cut. All the pork that's fit to eat.
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No secret recipe, just proportions.
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The butts are put in a drum liner and the spices are rubbed in.
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Got to check the fire.
Chuck S
The fire is getting hot.
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The fire box is 550. sorry for the bad pics.
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The smoke chamber is 520.
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I add some more wood and bank the fire.
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Here is the damper.
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Chuck s
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Did you make pulled pork? Where are the pics when it was done?
It's all about the butt.
J,
This is a real time thread. My pics are about 2 hours behind. I started prepping the pork butts at 5:30 this morning and lit the fire at 7.
Got the butts on at 8. The dampers are closed almost all of the way.
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Good smoking temp is 200`-220`
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A drip pan with about 1" of water is placed under the racks.
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The butts are placed fat side up for an hour or so.
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White smoke is what to look for.
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The pics will get closer to real time as the day progresses.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Looks great! I've got the same smoker, I just love that thing. Slow smoked pork... ummm ummmm goooooooooood!
bps,
I got that smoker almost 10 years ago at "The Grill Outlet" here in Columbus, Ga. They had a scratch and dent sale and I got it for $70.00. The fire box door had a dent. Oh well.
At 9 the butts got spritzed.
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Then turned and spritzed.
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The pecan and hickory are smoldering just right.
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I add a piece of half dry red oak. Slightly green wood gives off more smoke as it releases moisture.
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Chuck S.live, work, build, ...better with wood
Well, this thread is just plain unfair! Now you got us ALL hungry. Hope you made enough to share!
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Mike,
Youall come on down! I only smoked 16 pounds today. I have done 40.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Not a beer in sight.
Yer makin' the rest of us look bad.....
Tom,
The "Rolling Rocks" will roll soon.
Chuck S.live, work, build, ...better with wood
>>live, work, build, ...better with wood<<
I built mine outta steel. ;-)
Tom,
That will be here after we are both long gone.
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Can't see the smoker. It's behind the hanging ivy on the right. Covered up with a blue tarp.
That was during the drought last year. All the grass is back now, with the 12" of rain we've had since January.
Makes all those little feral hogs happy. Plenty of "wallers."
They be fat'n'tasty...
White smoke, eh. Does that mean a new Pope has been selected, or the pulled pork is almost done? :)We always kick off summer with a pulled pork party on May 31st. I tell my wife and daughter that the party is meant to celebrate their birthdays, as they are one day apart, but truth be told it's all about the pork.So, what are you gonna sauce that with?
Pino,
Here is the sauce:
In a medium skillet melt 4T bacon grease and 1/2 stick of butter. This is not diet food.
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Add a medium Vidalia onion that is chopped fine. Add about 40 cloves of minced garlic as the Bam Man sez.
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A shot of tomato paste and 2 cups of cider vinegar.
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1 cup of water
A splash of "Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice", a splash of lemon.
1 cup prepared yellow mustard
1T of dry mustard.
1T salt
1T paprica
1/2t cayenne
1/2t fresh ground black pepper.
Let it simmer till you eat.
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Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
Could you post more pictures?
Especially more of the thermometer
Forrest
Forrest,
You build a real hot fire. This heats the cast iron smoke chamber.
Then you close the fire box damper and the smoke chamber flue. That is how the heat is controlled. The small thermometer is on the firebox. The large one is on the smoke chamber.
Right now I've got it at about 215`.
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At noon I took a sample to make sure it is good. It was lunchtime.
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I think I am going to have to scarf a piece of this awful meat about every 1/2 hour as I spritz it with apple pizz.
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Here is how it looked at 1 PM.
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This is my neighbors view. Her dogs, Buster and Greta are going nuts.
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Forrest I hoped that helped. If you leave now you will be right on time. Bring the family
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 5/8/2007 9:31 am ET by stevent1
Edited 5/8/2007 9:50 am ET by stevent1
So what is that building?
It looks like some sort of man cave. A casual getaway place. Maybe was a carport in a previous life.
And it's past noon, Rolling Rock time.
J,
I built that in 04 before I closed my near 30 year old cabinet shop. I built it as a shop to do small jobs out of, not the institutional and commercial millwork that I did. DW wanted it as a future pool house. I ended up building it 24 X 36 because of a lot coverage issue because of the current "Small Addition" I am doing.
Here is a link http://forums.taunton.com/n/main.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=40575.1&find=Search
The inside is 1 x 6 cyprus bead board.
Here is the column at the shower.
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The sink wall.
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3:30 test piece.
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Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Just added a piece of seasoned pecan. Pecan adds a sweet taste.
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This view of the smoker reminds me of the steam powered, narrow guage logging train in Cass WV. or the one in Durango CO
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Here is how the butts looked at 2PM.
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Nice coler is starting to develop.
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My brother in Albuquerque, NM gave me this hand wrought meat hook last Christmas.
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Beats the heck out of the tongs I was using earlier. Here is another test piece. Still awful. Need more test pieces.
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
If I was still on the food. Me and you would be doing it over that smoker right now. LOL
Who dares, wins.
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
J A,
I resized your pics. Check out 'Infranview.com' It is a free download.
http://www.irfanview.com/
A lot of BT'ers are dial ups (hampsters in cage type thing)
Here is a state of the art gas SS grill. How did you come up with the water fountain? I will put that in my "Great Ideas" log, along with an exterior pull chain shower.
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The ribs and the onions.
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The Spainish rice... NICE!
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Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Thanks for the resize.
I get a lot of comments about the fountain. It's hooked to my hose line so it shuts off easy in the winter. The drain goes to the gutter drain right behind the fence.
I had good intentions of showing Sunday's dinner. Pulled pork. Smoked a Boston Butt all day. Took a picture at start up.
By dinner we all were tired and hungry and I forgot to take more. My wife made a really good potato salad and a pitcher of Sangria.
Good eats.
Maybe you can share your smokin techniques on a gas grill. It seems to me it would be hard to control the heat but you have a very nice unit.Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Oops, I have to clarify. I have a charcoal smoker that I used. The vertical style not the side box that you have.
I was going to smoke some pork on my Webber this weekend just so I could post the pics, complete with the heavenly aroma of smokin' pig! ;-)
Got too busy tho', so it'll have to wait a while. Meanwhile, you can smoke on a gas grill. I have a Webber Summit model that has a separate burner off to the left side that heats only a box containing wood chips. If you get the flame high enough to make smoke (about Med.), the grill only gets up to around 225 degrees or so. Perfect for a 5-hour smoking. It's a bit of a pain because you have to re-load the chip basket every 45 minutes or so if you want max smoke.
If you only have a regular gas grill, you may be able to accomplish something similar if your grill has multiple burners. This is how I used to do it before my old grill croaked. You get an old cake pan, fill it with chips and place it on one of the burners. Well, not ON the burner, but just above it. On Webber grilles, you can place it on the "flavorizer bars". Turn the burner on Low -- just enough to start the chips smoking -- it'll take a while for them to heat up and you'll have to replenish pretty often. I used to remove the portion of the grill (my grill surface was two pieces) above the pan to make it easier to fill the chip pan.
Keep the meat as far away from the lit burner as possible -- make a foil shield if necessary (place the shield near the lit burner so it blocks off any direct heat). Some folks like a pan of water under the meat -- I've never been able to tell the difference with or without it, though. The most important thing is to shoot for a temp under the grill hood right around 225 degrees.
Grab a few cold ones, get some music going, and tend the fire for most of the day. ("Cain't do that right now, Hon. I'm "tendin' the far!") Make your neighbors crazy from the smell. Gloat when they wander by wondering what's makin' their mouths water.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh (Bar-B-Q Country), PA
It's a bit of a pain because you have to re-load the chip basket every 45 minutes or so if you want max smoke.
Can you put chunks in instead of chips?jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Chuck, Your post got e going. For the weekend ... 7 lbs. pork shoulder, 2 fryer chics, 4 racks of babybacks. Sorry no pics , nwext time. Send mean email,I would like to pick your brain on shop dimensions. Tim
"Can you put chunks in instead of chips?"
Sure. I usually start with smaller chips so they start to smoke faster, and then move up to chunks. You still have to load it every 45 minutes or so. After that, they just turn into charcoal and burn without producing smoke.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Good info Mike.
I use a drip pan under the meat with about 1" of water. The water is there so when the fat/grease drips off the meat it does not hit the pan and smolder or catch on fire. I can't imagine having to clean a grill or smoker without the drip pan.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
"I can't imagine having to clean a grill"
Er, what's that? Clean a grill? That's just FLAVOR, son!
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Mike,
In Georgia, we call it 'seasonin'
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
May I humbly suggest that after dry rubbing the butt (I've always wanted to say that<g>) wrap in plastic & let it sit in the fridge overnight (a good 8 hrs). Remove the wrapping & proceed w/your smoking the next day.
Gretchen posted her method for pulled pork on The Dark Side (that would CT). I've used Gretchen's method & Flavorgirl's spice rub ever since they posted. Fantabulous results, even without any pecan wood or legit smoker in the backyard.
My dogs park themselves in the kitchen until I wake up. Guarding the oven, dontchano<g>.
Giant red-eyed bugs soon to emerge...22 MAY!! In the meantime, I'm consoling myself w/Red Admirals.
Here is the 3PM update. A piece of Hickory is added.
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Here is when the lid is first opened, kinda smokey.
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The smoke clears. Starting to look good.
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The obligatory test piece.
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I shared that one with my wife, the lovely Sweet Georgia Brown.
Chuck S.live, work, build, ...better with wood
Best use of wood I have ever seen on BT and maybe the best thread ever!
You may now join the Roayl Order of the Brother of the Pig!
I can't wait until Saturday, I know what I'm ccoking.
Thanks for the photos.Constructing in metric...
every inch of the way.
HH,
Thanx. This is a novelty, out of the blue, off the wall thread. Thought about posting it at CooksTalk or in WT but here it is.
Chuck S.live, work, build, ...better with wood
PL,
I used to do the overnight thing. This way works well for me. I used to smoke on a kettle type grill as well as a Charbroil 920. Indirect heat.
I have a couple of picture threads at CT. CooksTalk is an Informative site
Christmas Eve Seafood Lasagna. 31751.1
Salted Tuscan Bread 31738.1
The sauce is about ready.
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
These are looking good enough to eat.
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Notice the dark red areas around the edges of this slice. That is the smoke rim. These butts are almost done. This is the 4PM test.
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Still smokin' white at 5PM
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One more turn.
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The outside is my favorite.
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I open the fire box damper to about 1/3 to get the heat up to about 275`. This will crispen the outside.
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Guests here soon>
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Man o man-- when I fly down this fall is that what we are going to eat?how many times a year do you- cook da butt- 5yrs . ago when me and the missus got hitched, Butts was one of the things on the menu .
DW,
Maybe 5 or 6 times a year. We eat red meat or the other white meat about once or twice a month. The Saturday after Thanxgiving we make about 12 qts of Brunswick Stew. Usually 3 greys and one fox squirrel.
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
One time quite a few yrs. ago I hit a big ole red fox with ole trusty rusty#1,well I stopped and ran back for the critter , just to finish dispatching it in case it twere suffering , back then fox pelts where bringing 20.00 , so it was in the middle of fur season and I got $ signs floating in my head I allready had a few coon , possum.deer and beef hides so one more to the cache was a good thing for me. I poked him with a stick to make sure he was expired --good there -- so I pulled on my gloves picked him up and went back to the truck,got out my skinning knife and commenced to caping him out , a cut from ankle to ankle across the rectum,about that time as the knife went across the butt he desided to cut loose with the foulest brunch of crud that the good lord ever put here on this earth he had been eating persimmons and rotton deer meat--let me tell ya, i.m a fellow with a strong disposition but this stuff was in my mouth, in one eye just all over me he must have exploded , it ALMOST made me sick,THat ole red furry boy exacted his revenge out on me that evening,but he still went into the old chicken coop with the rest of the hides .That is a good pic reminds me of a louisanna swamp booger I saw a watering hole back in my post divorce days.wheww its almost a sin for one man too have had that much fun.
DW,
Quite a reeking situation. We are at my 91 year young Mom's in Maryland for Mother's Day. The squirrels are fattening up. Here comes ol' flat top.
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Grooving up slowly
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I forget the rest of the song. A test to make sure it is good.
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He's gone.
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Back to yard.
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He'll be back.
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My brother lives with my Mom after his divorce in the mid 90's. He named the blacks "Roundtree Cumberpatch" and his wife "Shy one" The grays are named "Rat face" and his mate is "Noname". These pics are all the black male. They would all be good eats. Just right for Brunswick Stew.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Chuck, ya know I never saw a black squirrel until I visited Winchester ,Va.and as "a young fellow I spent a lot of time in the woods".Then I visited a friend at MyrtleBeach,A.F.B. shortly after that and that place was full of them, all black,where I use to hunt ginseng in the fall there where quite a few albino / piebald squirrels not much saaanngg but plenty of sqeels"as my mother says'--Divorce what an adventure in the journey of life . give me a call if you come down this way on the way back home and I,ll show you around.
Very impressive! It's easy enough to throw some charcoal on the grill and scorch some meat until it only can be identified with dental records. There's a real art to preparing food in a smoker, and I appreciate seeing an experienced chef smokin' his butt!
I never realized the color variations from the outside in were the result of the smoke penetration. (Kinda like ammonia fuming on wood.) Thanks for sharing!
I was in Atlanta in mid-March and went to a place called Fat Matt's, a little bbq joint with live blues music (north of downtown -- Buckhead?). Reasonable prices, very good food. Was thinking of recommending it to my staff who are in Atlanta once again this week.
tony b.
...who believes you really can't have Pork unless you also have the Havana Ducks...
Wait till you see a whole 100lb shoat smoked with the skin on. Ya peel the skin back on the head, and the meat's just like Jello. Wrap it in a tortilla, little salsa, an eyeball horse-diver....no place like Texas... ;-)
Tony,
A lot like amonia fuming. I will not buy anything but steamed walnut.
Havn't eaten at Fat Matt's. Next time you come to Atlanta, check out "One Midtown Kitchen" Eclectic and unique. http://www.onemidtownkitchen.com/home.html
Its is owned by Bob Amick and Todd Rushing. They also own "Two Urban Licks" and a couple of others. Make reservations.
They have been recognized by The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Wall Street Journal to name a few.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
I admit to being a BBQ snob.
Fatt Matt's wins for ambiance, but the food is kinda gross (see attached photo of greasy ribs and pork sandwiches akin to sloppy joes). Compared to the effort steven1's put into his butt, they go the lazy route. Ribs aren't smoked low and slow- they appear to be boiled then grilled. And they're greasy as heck as a result.
For much better Q, there's a co. called Fox Brothers that's about to open their own stand-alone place. But until then, their Q is served at Smith's, a bar on Piedmont just down the road from Fatt Matt's. You'd also do well trying Rolling Bones downtown, Pig n' Chik, or (if you're really serious) making a pilgrimmage to Sam & Dave's BBQ-2 in Marietta or Swallow at the Hollow in Roswell. Across from Swallow at the Hollow is Greenwood's on Green St, owned by the same guy and does massive portions of excellent Southern food (fairly reasonably priced, too). We always take home more than we eat at Greenwood's.
they appear to be boiled then grilled
There should be a law against that, or something.
mrsludge,
Sounds like you know your Q. I have found most places in Atlanta are more concerned with cracking the nut than good food. I have found rural BBQ joints are the best. Anything left over goes into the Brunswick Stew. A lot of the Black Churches do fundraisers and have the best at $3.50 or so a plate (Q, two sides, 2 slices of light bread, Sweet Tea or regular), you can't beat it. Deserts $.75 such as Lane Cake, Pecan Pie, Red Velvet Cake, etc.
Post some more pics!
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 5/15/2007 8:06 pm ET by stevent1
That's kind of it for the food pics. I have food photos for other places I didn't like as much. Attached are photos of the exterior of a few places. And food at Spiced Right in Lilburn, which I like pretty well, also. Note that the Sam n Dave's photo is of BBQ-1, which is more of a takeout place (just a few, small tables). I think BBQ-2 on Whitlock in Marietta has actual seating.
Unless I head way out of town, Q is going to be about the same price in ATL. Haven't hit any church fundraisers, though.
I added one photo of the absolute diviest place I've been. It's called "The Boss" and it's on the south side of Decatur, GA. The inside is dim and downright scary. Plus I admit to being a touch nervous about being the only white person amongst the crowd of regulars. The first time I had their food, I thought it was amazing. The next time it wasn't as good. Haven't tried it a third time.
FWIW, my favorite places in Columbus are probably Macon Rd BBQ, Rose Hill Seafood, and the taqueria on S Lumpkin in the last strip mall before the golf course and Ft Benning. Haven't been in a while, but I also used to hit Cannon Brewpub for beer.
I'm a much better cook than I am a carpenter. That and I'm not doing either for a living.
I Like the looks of "Boss". Could be used as a setting for "America's Most Wanted" or "911". Maybe the second time you went they had a differnt Pitt Master working. The Pitt Master is the key.
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For me, something about store front or strip mall BBQ joints don't get it, but AJC's John Kessler did like Sam and Dave,s.
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BTW. The taqueria on S Lumpkin Road is "Borinquen Foods" They make a good 'Cuban Sandwich'. About a mile before Benning on S Lumpkin is "Millie's Market". Millie's has a bigger menu and bake authentic Cuban bread daily as well as a good selection of items not found at grocery chains.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Everyone,
Lets see some BBQ pics this weekend. Every body has a cook out for Memorial Day.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Check out this wild hog.
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This Hog would be good eats. It is great to see an 11 year old bag a record. Here is the story.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/289/story/45564.html
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
OK, Nothing too special, just the family tonight. Gas grill as most the time. I have a new setup and I'm still adjusting to it. I like to cook ribs slow so I had to really watch the temps.
The onions I just learned from a friend. One onion per person, quartered, tablespoon of butter and teaspoon of beef paste per onion. Cook a half hour and add white cheese like meunster, and cook another half hour. Ends up like french onion soup. Sort of, they're all sweet and salty.
My wife made spanish rice. It's pretty simple. Rice a Roni Spanich Rice plus a couple cups of homemade pasta sauce.
Edit: Hey Rez...
Edited 5/26/2007 10:22 pm ET by JAlden
Chuck,It'll be hard to live up to the standard you set, but I'll post some tomorrow. Kebabs with pork and swordfish. Yum.Best,
Steve
Steve,
Sounds good. I have a feeling 50% of Americans are doing some sort of BBQ or cook out and at least .oooooooooooooooooooooo...1% are BT'ers. I know that we have some great folks, pics and stories to be shared.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Fat Matt's Rib Shack!I was driving by years ago and smelled the BBQ from the street, then heard the music. Had to stop in for BBQ, brew and blues.Good find. I have to head back there some day.
I'm afraid I'm gonna short out my laptop with drool.
J,
The apple pizz makes me drool. 1 part apple cider vinegar, 1 part apple juice. Haven't seen much on your house lately.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Still plugging away. Just finished the kitchen counters. Started work on the back deck. Have not posted any blog updates. Been busier than a one-armed paper-hanger at my "real" job.
I'll try and get some pics up again soon and mention it here.
J,
Sounds good. Some folks don't realize the effort to take pics when you are trying to get some work done.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
What. No grand finale picture?
Who dares, wins.
http://thewoodwhisperer.com/
G,
I know you are on a restricted menu and thought about that. We had a chunky Vidalia onion salad with no burp cukes, halved grape tomatos with a cockeyed vinaigrette.
Mr Publix spud salad.
Ham bone baked beans.
SGB's cole slaw with her Aunt Mary's famously good dressing.
Light(white) bread, Pickles, tea, and so on.
We fed the pork butts to the dogs.
Don't forget the official Alabama BB BBQ hat. Fends off wayward flying objects.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 5/8/2007 6:18 am ET by stevent1
Edited 5/8/2007 10:10 pm ET by stevent1
Still stinken of smoke 2 showers later. It gets in your skin.The pork butts rest.
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Here is a glimps of some ways it was served.
Sliced. You can see a good smoke ring.
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Chipped or minced.
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Bite sized.
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Inside or outside cuts can be requested. Here is the Official BB BBQ hat.
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Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 5/8/2007 7:25 am ET by stevent1
Hey . . . Rolling Rock. Now yer talkin' MY language!
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Mike,
Small world. RR's are from Latrobe. We can't get Iron City here.
My Mom grew up in Pittsburgh on Bertha Street on 'Mount Worshington'. She was a Badaracco. My cousins are Catalano, Marmo, Zeto, Attinazio,etc. My Aunt Louise was married to Louie Muzzio. At her funeral back in the late 70's, every black Cadillac on the East Coast showed up. Her wake was at 'La Mont' at the top of the incline. Tony Soprano who?
My Mom, 91, remebers when Art Rooney, in 1932 or 3 wanted to borrow $500.00 from her father, a WOP green grocer, to buy a franchise in the NFL. Wish he had had the money to lend.
Is Kennywood Park still around?
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
"Small world. RR's are from Latrobe. We can't get Iron City here."
Actually, I think they closed the Rock plant in Latrobe and sold it. I think it's now made somewhere else by the purchaser. IC is also on shakey ground -- they owe about a million bucks to the water & sewer authority and are just barely able to keep going. Shame -- I actually like the stuff.
"Is Kennywood Park still around?"
Absolutely! And most of the old rides are still going strong. Still a required stop on the roller coaster circuit for the afficionados. The Racer is one of the few (if not the only?) dual-track coasters. They also built a nice waterpark nearby.
We had a Zeto (Donna) working for us at a firm I used to work for. Nice lady, so she's probably not related. ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Mike,
We are on our way back to Columbus Ga, staying in Commerce GA tonight. My Mom told me over the weekend her Dad owned stock in the Duquense Brewery and shareholders could come in on Saturdays and drink all the beer they wanted. My Mom used to take the incline from Mount Washington and catch the trolly to UP. I think the Duquense and Monangahela inclines are still running.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 5/14/2007 10:08 pm ET by stevent1
"[Duquesne] shareholders could come in on Saturdays and drink all the beer they wanted."
Sure, but who'd wanna? Did you ever drink that stuff? The Duquesne Brewery ("Have a Duke!") is now loft-type space rented to artists, etc. The "Duke" clock on the top that, even for years after the brewery closed continued to advertise the brand, has been refurbished and now advertises natural gas or somethin'.
"I think the Duquense and Monangahela inclines are still running."
Yep. The little buildings on tracks still go up & down "Mt. Warshington".
BTW, this thread inspired me. I smoked some butt myself over the weekend. First of the year, with more to follow. (Had leftovers last night for dinner -- even better that way!) I don't have a nice dedicated smoker like yours, though. I've got a Webber that has a separate burner under a chip basket way over at the edge of the grill. It's kind of a pain because you have to refill it every 30 minutes or so, but it does a good job of putting out smoke while still keeping the temp down to around 225°.
"Ain't no 'moo' in Bar-B-Q."Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Mike,
I have in fact had 'Duke till ya Puke' 30 years or more ago at family reunions. (mostly wakes, just kidding) I switched over to RR real fast at those gatherings. Rolling Rock back then was in painted pony bottles. I think 6 1/2 oz.
Glad you do the smoke thing. I did it on a Weber for years and found that I could use hardwood chuncks about the size of a 2 X 4 or 4 X 4, six to eight inches long off to the side. I cheated though and used a side bed of charcoal to lay the wood on. I used my reciprocating saw and cut about 1/5 of the meat grate off so I could slip in some more wood without disurbing the meat. I ended up buying another grate for regular grilling.
I hope you and anyone else uses this thread to post Smoking, BBQ, grilling, or ground pit Pics. It will be fun to see how people do their outdoor cooking in different regions of BT readers. New techniques are always good to learn.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Can't remember if I've already mentioned it, but I've got a Cousin Dave (although no one has ever explained to me how we're related) that converted two residential oil tanks into smokers. He has them mounted on either end of a car carrier trailer with some SS counter in between. On the larger, back one, he has revolving rows of baskets (can't remember what he used, but it was parts he got from something else).
When the church did a fund raiser a couple years ago, Cousin Dave had his smoker trailer in the church parking lot like TWO days ahead of time, smoking 2-3 hogs (minus the sausage). I can remember going by there at midnight or so one of those nights to find him camped out next to the trailer, tending the smokers (and the cooler).
That was some amazing BBQ. Vanished all too soon.
[edit to add] During the church fundraiser, the ultimate sin was to open the smokers. If you wanted to have the wrath of Cousin Dave come down upon you, just open up that smoker :)
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Edited 5/15/2007 1:04 pm by JohnT8
JT,That is a serious rig. Sounds like Cousin Dave is ready for "Memphis in May"Post some pics if you got em.Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Post some pics if you got em.
Somewhere. Maybe on the home PC.
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
That is a serious rig. Sounds like Cousin Dave is ready for "Memphis in May"
Post some pics if you got em.
I'm usually a picture packrat, but must have accidentally deleted the pics of Cousin Dave's setup. I dug some up on Ma's PC, but her pics tend to be of people, not grills (sheeze, what was she thinking?!)...so there wasn't a good shot of his trailer setup. But here are a few she had. These were from the fundraiser for a local teacher who was injured in an accident.
Hard to make out, but here is a late night pic of the trailer setup. He salvaged 90% of it from other things (for instance the smokers are old oil tanks). He was shooting for a riverboat theme, so that is why there are the tall smokestacks on the front smoker and fins on the back one. You can't really see it, but he has SS counter along the back (between the two tanks) as well as a small section of SS counter near the gate (you can see white plastic bags sitting on it)
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Here is Cousin Dave on his late night watch. He was camped out in the church parkinglot for a day or two straight, manning the smoker. You can see the back smoker in this one. This one has revolving baskets inside, so you really don't have to open it very often (opening it is considered a sin cuz you let out all the smoke/heat). The side he is sitting on has a heavy-a$$ door you open to feed in the charcoal/hardwood. To check the meat, you have a larger door on the other side. This one might have had a blower on it too, but I'm not sure about that. He wants to sandblast and repaint the whole rig, but I tend to think a bit of surface rust on the outside doesn't hurt anything.
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For this fundraiser, they'd had multiple whole hogs donated, a local processor donated the hog processing, and Cousin Dave smoked the whole sheebang (minus the sausage). After smoking for 1-2 days, the meat was removed, shredded and put into cauldrons. Cousin Dave added his secret recipe of spices and the mixture was allowed to bubble along in the kettles for several hours. In this pic he is cauterizing the kettles prior to adding the meat.
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This picture is mangled a bit, but shows some of the crew inside who were shredding the meat. Cousin Dave (or a friend of his) donated some maple that they'd been planning on making a butcher block counter out of. Instead of counter, Cousin Dave made kettle-stirring sticks out of the maple (he's got them in his hand).
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Kids from the injured teacher's school manned the cauldrons.
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The fund raiser was a huge success and that was some of the best pork I've ever tasted. I have to admit that I was kinda hoping they'd have some left over that I could buy (& put in the freezer for later), but it was a hot commodity! The volunteers putting together the BBQ containers had to switch to a smaller ladel for the pork because they had so many people lined up.
If I hear about Dave doing another big smoking project, I'll try to get some better pics.
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Your cousin Dave is one heck of a dude.
jt8,
That's what it is all about. Food,Fun, and Fundraising.
Just don't open the lid to the smoker.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
You are my hero but all that testing drove me insane;)
Ye GODS!! The smell is driving me nuts, please shift the wind the other way!Giant red-eyed bugs soon to emerge...22 MAY!! In the meantime, I'm consoling myself w/Red Admirals.
>>Giant red-eyed bugs soon to emerge...22 MAY!! In the meantime, I'm consoling myself w/Red Admirals.<<
OK, I'll bite. Should I load the shotguns, put water in the bathtub, and stock up on oatmeal and crackers....or just buy more beer?
ROAR! (grinning) Nothing that dramatic. Some scientific guy said that Brood X (that's the brood of 17yr cicadas) is supposed to emerge on 22 MAY based on some formula that uses base soil temp. Yesterday, I heard the date changed to 21 MAY. I'm in an area that will see THOUSANDS. The older your part of town(bigger trees, less mucking about w/the soil) the more you will see.My cousin's wife used to sweep her driveway every morning because she didn't like to hear the crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch when she backed out of the driveway. Her German Shepard, Nadia, used to follow the broom & eat as many of the cicadas as she could.They are a good 2-3 inches long, maybe an inch or so wide, wings & bright red eyes on the females complete the picture. I can hardly wait!!http://www.cicadamania.com has got some decent photos in the gallery.Giant red-eyed bugs soon to emerge...22 MAY!! In the meantime, I'm consoling myself w/Red Admirals.
They're supposed to taste like almonds. If you google "cicada recipes" one of the universities has got some pretty decent sounding ones.Gunner could add them to his diet as a once-every-17-years protein source<G>.Giant red-eyed bugs soon to emerge...22 MAY!! In the meantime, I'm consoling myself w/Red Admirals.
PL,
One chocolatier has them by the pound. Dipped, half dipped or double dipped. White, dark or light. Wonder if Joseph Smith conquered cicadas, not locusts?
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
We had'em here in Md a couple years ago.
They were serving them in sushi bars!
Great thread by the way, my stomach is growling!
Mclaren
Mc,
Grew up in Bethesda off River Road. Lived in Cheverly, near Tuxedo before moving to Columbus GA,
I think the Cicada decimal level peaks above 85. ??
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 5/8/2007 11:36 pm ET by stevent1
Cs,
It was terribly loud.
I'm in Catonsville, old neighborhood west of Balt.
Prime cicada country.
Grew up in Upper Marlboro, friends in Cheverly...
Sister lives in Bethesda now, Battery Park area.
Small world. Just was over in CT looking at the
seafood lasagna recipe, that looks fantastic!
I'll try to make w/ DW.
Mclaren
We used to have "cricket plagues." Be so thick on the streets that cars would skid on them under the lights and cause accidents,
Gooooood fish bait.
Don't know about dippin'm in chocolate.....
OK then, if the cicada's are red-eyed, what are these green eyed bugs?
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(probably just a big-a$$ horse fly)
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
Edited 5/9/2007 11:01 am by JohnT8
The wings & the mouthparts are wrong for a cicada on that photo. I really think it looks more like a REALLY big fly. Female cicadas have the red eyes:
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Note to self: No tennis during cicada weather
Giant red-eyed bugs soon to emerge...22 MAY!! In the meantime, I'm consoling myself w/Red Admirals.
Well I thought I heard it saying, "help me! help meeeee!"
But I tried to swat it anyway. It got away.
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
LOL
I thought I heard it say, "Come here little boy, so's I can suck out your BRAIN!!"Giant red-eyed bugs soon to emerge...22 MAY!! In the meantime, I'm consoling myself w/Red Admirals.
Thats a "Caty-did".
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
Try to avoid playing tennis when the cicadas are swarming.It's just too ugly to describe.
badmitten rackets are better.
jt8
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." -- Arnold H. Glasgow
i'm wanting to smoke a whole hog for a party any suggestions?cook time ect.leave skin on or take off?
Mike,
I have never gone 'whole hog' but a friend did and rented a smoker that was fabricated from a 300 gallon oil tank with a 55 gallon fire box that could be towed. Here is a link to a book called "Smoke and Spice" These folks are the Gurus.
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0697/barbecue.html
Post pics when you do it.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 5/11/2007 6:24 am ET by stevent1
I'm impressed by the photos of the Q (though a little late to the party). Impressive even more so that someone who can probably drive to Macon Rd BBQ is spending the time in the backyard doing his own.
I've played with that type of offset before, I even own one (minus the side firebox) that I use for charcoal grilling.
You ought to check out some of the tweaks folks have done for those- here's a good writeup with photos:
http://www.bbqinstitute.com/SmokerModifications.pdf
I used to have a Bandera, which is similar with an upright smoke chamber. The baffle/heat shield made a big difference.
Cheers!
Ted
Mrs Sludge,
Thanx. Macon Rd BBQ is good. My favorite is "Smokey Pig" on Linwood Blvd and also the original in Phenix City Alabama.
Thanx for the PDF.
Chuck S.live, work, build, ...better with wood
Friend of mine down the road has a 250 gal propane tank smoker, and cooks whole 80-100 lb (before processing) feral hogs. Usually removes the hair and leaves the skin. Cooks'em about 10-12 hours. About the same as a rack of briskets.
Well here was the start.
Marinaded overnight with brown sugar and black pepper as I learned at Cook's Talk from one of the ladies.
My favorite Cowboy Charcoal. Ten hours of slow cooking. Took the cover off the pool, worked around the house. A good day in my book. Good and hungry at dinner time.
Sliced and shredded. No buns needed. Feta cheese potato salad along side.
I guess I could have taken pics of the leftovers but it's not the same. The carnage wasn't pretty.
JA,
Nice smoker! What brand is it?
I resized yout pick. You probably don't use the kitchen much in the summer.
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Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
>>You probably don't use the kitchen much in the summer.<<
I often wondered why people in the south and S/W don't have "summer kitchens" anymore. It usually was a separate building with a wood stove etc. I remember talking to my GM, and her saying that they had to have separate kitchens so the slaves wouldn't burn the house down. However, they were responsible for kindling the fires in the stoves in the house.
Having them outside always made sense to me, that's why we built ours. Guess it's like peeing outside. People think you're weird....
I would not know anything about pork, but or anything else.
But I did smile about the Kosher salt.
I still don't think my Rabbi would eat it, though.
Quality repairs for your home.
AaronR Construction
Vancouver, Canada
we're going to have my daughters birthday party friday evening, and i'm going to smoke a whole hog. will try to post some pics
Mike,
Birthdays are better than Christmas. It is your daughter's day! I guess you are south of Columbus, OH.
I have never done a whole hog. Would love to learn your techniques.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
Edited 6/6/2007 9:23 pm ET by stevent1
Aaron,
That is the only salt in our abode.
My DW, The lovely Georgia Brown, wears a Star of David proudly. She has been talking to Rabbi Max Roth, with whom she shares a great Jazz interest.
Chuck S
live, work, build, ...better with wood
DW,
Turns out that Wild Hog was a pet and in my humble opinion a hoax. Here is a link.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/need_to_map/story/50739.html
Ever seen a Homeless Person's BBQ Grill?
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
hey ole bud ,man that tile looks great and I,m still thinking about BBQ ,do all old farts get up at 3 a.m.? me too -except after a toddy or two of absolute vodka& peach shnapps. hmmmmmm good cracker. Welp we had a intruder here at the webb homestead a long toothed ,big fat tailed rat, invaded the refridgerator and truned off the thermostat we lost all our deer/trout /and other assorted frozen vituel critters. well the rat is what My son Gabe said it was anyway--he seen it ---yech right , I wanted to bring the switch out on that one --but I just couldn't, never a dull moment around here.
Anybody got some July 4th BBQ pics to share?
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
You know, I KNEW this would happen. We DID smoke a butt on the 4th. A 6- or 7-pounder. Started at 11:30 a.m. and let it smoke away while my lovely assistant (i.e., wife) & I grouted a shower. Finished the shower work and pulled it off the grill a little after 6:00 p.m. (The aroma was surely making our mouths water while grouting.) As I was pulling it off the grill, I thought "Damn, I shoulda taken pics for Breaktime." Next time, I'll remember.
This was the first of the summer for us. A friend of ours said it didn't seem like summer without some of our pulled pork & that got us motivated. Used our traditional recipe -- coat the butt with dry rub (spicy). Smoke it 5 or 6 hours. Meanwhile, carmelize a couple of pounds of sweet onions, along with some burn-yer-eyes-when-you-chop-'em hot peppers. Mix that in with the pulled pork, along with a bit of BBQ sauce, and you're done. (We just used Jack Daniels sauce this time since we didn't have time to make up a home brew, but it's pretty good sauce.) Serve hot in tortilla wraps. Yum.
Along with the pork, we served corn on the cob, cooked on the grill (husks off) on HIGH heat, brushed with garlic butter laced with "secret spices" while it's grilling. Done when it's slightly toasted. Sweet. We also smoked a hunk of salmon while the pork was working. My wife makes killer red potato salad. Mixed the smoked salmon in with the potato salad and served. (This is an idea we got from Fine Cooking. If you haven't tried this, you really should. Top notch.)
Nobody was hungry or disappointed -- except for me. NO leftovers! Guess I'll have to do it again right soon.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Edited 7/6/2007 9:28 am ET by MikeHennessy
That just made me hungry. We do onions like that as well. Put a note in your smoker to remember pics. We rarely have leftovers either.Let's see some shower pics. I know I am not the only one doing a masterbath right now.Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
"Let's see some shower pics. I know I am not the only one doing a masterbath right now."
Well, I think the pork butt pics would be of more interest, but I'll post some bath pics in another thread in photo gallery. Look for "Master Bath- Hybrid Kerdi"
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
We have been walking a lot lately, weather has been great here in the midwest. There's a Farmers Market at the train station on Saturday mornings. Stop by and get a few things.
Beans, tomatoes and melon this time. Grocery store had prime rib on sale.
Fire up the grill and life's good. Charcoal for the meat, gas to cook the other stuff. Too hot to cook inside and running the air is a pain.
JA,
That's a fine looking piece of prime rib. How long does it take?
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A bud e-mailed me a pic of his July 4th BBQ.
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Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! MmEEEEEATTT!! Good.....I,m gonna be cooking a fake bbq.--I saw it on an epasode of the food channel--Emirel--I beleive it was, so far I've done three of them with the bos. butts pretty good ,but i,m sure nothing like what you come up with. Now a few years back my hunting buddies would make bbq. out of all the front shoulders and rib cages /necks of the deer we would harvest as they were so overpopulated in the co. I lived in back then.
The fake bbq., you cook in a roaster pan--prep the meat the same way as you would for a real smoked bbq.--but use a roasting pan with its rack and about a cup of water -- preheat the oven to 375 degrees ---bast every 30 min. with an apple cider base mixed with the cooking juices--cook about two hours or better until the meat is ready to fall off the bone. then I make a bbq. sauce very simular to yours -vinegar based --or if my SonIL is here from S.C. then I use a mustard based sauce . welll boy younguns are a hollerin --good eaten--DW
MMM..MMM...M, Sounds like good eats.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
DW,
Stopped by a friends new BBQ joint yesterday. He had a sign on the wall next to the menu.
"You can beat our prices, but you can't beat our meat."
Chuck S.live, work, build, ...better with wood