it is a positive that he didnt think to call me for a 645 meet up on friday morning though, hes got a little left in the tank
I got one part of the butt a little over 192 but another area is just at 185. Would it be okay to pull and wrap or should I let it go a little longer.
The Super Bowl spread. My part was the standing rib roast, beer bread, and vanilla and cake batter ice cream for dessert.
The goose turned out phenomenally well. I might actually prefer this over pan searing. Just stupidly tender. Spoiler The rest Spoiler
TBH, with this discussion about the butt: use a good rub (the Memphis dust, for a homemade, or Plowboys, for a store-bought) at least 4-5 hours ahead of time, and there's literally no need to inject, etc. Plenty of flavor. If you want to hold it on low heat (165ish) and safe temp for 10-12 hours, there's enough fat to make that happen without drying out, too. In fact, it will just render everything so that you just have that middle piece of fat to pick out. If you're that concerned about the flavor that much, just use a "wet rub" type thin sauce (like Dreamland here in Alabama) in a small amount (say, 2-3tbs), and you're good. I don't love using sauce, but there it is. I prefer beef bbq, but the ease of a shoulder is just really attractive when the only time you have to smoke is overnights, etc.
what a great reference to some good cooking . you guys make me proud, continue to make some good food . 124 pages of good cooking..
not bbq, but did tri tip for the game last night my friends, misunderstanding what I wanted them to pick up at the butcher shop, bought 17 lbs of tri tip back in September. we froze most of it, and used it as needed. this was, sadly, the last of that. bittersweet (but delicious) meal last night
very good. all told it was on for almost 9.5 hours for a 6lb. i pulled it at 185, at that point my smoker was at 260 and the temp wasnt moving so i didnt wanna oversmoke the shit out of it. wrapped in a cooler for 45mins and it came out fine, bone came out with just a couple of twists
with pork shoulder you can't really "oversmoke the shit out of it". probably could have used a bit more time, but 185 is just fine. might have been better for chopped than pulled, but that just depends on the individual piece of meat.
shot my first goose this weekend. Would you mind writing out what you did? Recommendations/alterations? Wasn't sure what I was going to use it for, possibly use it as the meat in my family duck gumbo recipe, but this has me thinking
also, feel like everyone in this thread has a better feel on prices. Do we have a more comprehensive range of meats and their prices, of maybe an over/under for each meat letting you know when you are getting a good deal vs. overpaying? Feel like I'm never really just shopping for deals, I just go buy meat when I know I'll be smoking, but with summer coming up, I will let the prices dictate my menu more as I cook more often
Really varies depending on your region (Texas gets cheaper beef than almost anywhere, here in GA I can find butts cheaper than most, etc). If you are really wanting to look into detailed pricing history the USDA is where I would go. http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/meat-price-spreads.aspx Otherwise it's just a matter of shopping around your area and knowing what you can find.
I'd break it down personally but you're welcome to try it on the whole bird. FWIW the legs dried out pretty bad and just tasted more like jerky than anything. If you do break it down just make sure you leave the skin on if you can. I started with a modified version of this brine: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/lemon-brined-smoked-chickens I basically just used that recipe to get the salt/water ratio and then added the juice of 4 lemons and a clove of pressed garlic (I didn't use the Franks or any of the other seasonings. Just water, salt, and lemon). Let it cool and add it to a ziploc bag with breast(s) and then tossed in two sprigs of rosemary. I let it brine for 1.5 days but I think anything over 6 hours would be fine. While the smoker was warming up I placed 5 or 6 sprigs of thyme in the middle of the breast and folded it over and trussed it with some bamboo skewers (kitchen twine works better but I discovered I didn't have any so had to make do). The idea here was to use the skin to protect the breast and use the thyme to add another dimension of flavor. Smoked indirectly at 200 for 8 hours (increased to 215 the last couple of hours) with a handful of pecan chips.
motion to move TD's Smoked Goose to the OP you think wrapping the legs would've prevented drying out?
Possibly. The leg meat on the goose is so tough to begin with I think I'll braise them next time but it's definitely worth trying out.
yeah braising is probably the way to go if you're going for 8 hrs. on a turkey I will brush some oil on aluminum foil and cover the wing/leg tips for the first half of the smoke to prevent drying out. thats what prompted the question.
Anybody have this "GrateTool"? It's made for the Grill Grates, but I'm curious if the prongs will fit between the grates of a Weber. Spoiler
Going back to this...My feel here in Alabama is that they tend to undersmoke (e.g., not use enough smoking wood) all the meats. Of course, I like smoking damn near anything with mesquite, so maybe I'm not the best judge. However, I had Full Moon tonight, for example, at a party. That stuff is so shitty and tasteless...like I have no idea how they can "smoke" something and have so little flavor. In addition, the texture is all wrong, and it's chopped terribly. Just awful bbq. /rant QUESTION: what's the smoking time for the dreamloaf? Paging Duval and Zack Zedalis
if you prefer mesquite then you definitely like a harsher smoke taste on your pork. Alabama bbq is hickory based with little exception. if you happen to be in North AL then there are a number of spots I can point you to that have exceptional 'cue.
Ha I think that is probably true. That's like eating a meal and saying it doesnt have enough seasoning, but I generally put Dale's all over it. And Full Moon is horrible.
Whitt's has locations in Moulton, Athens, and Decatur and is exceptional Lawler's is also great, I think they have an Athens location of course Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur I have heard good things about Brooks in Muscle Shoals but never been Old Greenbrier between Madison and Mooresville is solid - but the catfish and hushpuppies is probably better than the bbq Granville in Huntsville Little Paul's in Huntsville New market BBQ - the pies, oh man the pies are awesome HenryLeeJackson may be able to add to this list - as it may be slightly dated
Is that whitt's the one based in Nashville? Big fan, if so. Have you ever had Bunyan's in Florence? BBQ isnt incredible, but they have, by far, the best hot slaw I've ever had.
Yeah - it's now based in Nashville but I believe the original is the Athens location. never had Bunyan's but I love a good hot slaw. will see if we can check it out next time I'm out that way
Not sure how far away form Florence they have it, but Bunyan's now sells the slaw in grocery stores. Always buy a few to take back to Nashville when I'm there. Also just found this recipe,might have to try it: Spoiler Veggie Ingredients 2 cups - Grated green cabbage 2 Tbs - Grated carrot 1 Tbs - Grated onion 1 Tbs - Grated green pepper (no seeds or membrane) Sauce Ingredients 1/4 tsp - Paprika 1/2 tsp - Red cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp - Salt (non-iodized) 1/4 cup - Sugar 1 Tbs - Goya/Crystal hot sauce (or similar) 2 Tbs - Ketchup 4 Tbs - Prepared yellow mustard (like French's) 1/4 cup - White vinegar (add last, stir-in) 1/4 cup - Apple cider vinegar (add last, stir-in) Directions Add dry sauce ingredients to a medium sized pot and mix well. Stir in the ketchup and mustard until well blended and paste-like. Stir in the vinegar a little at a time to avoid clumping. NOTE: The cayenne and hot sauce can be adjusted to whatever level of heat that you prefer. Heat up to just short of boiling while stirring occasionally. This will blend and bring out the flavor of the spices. Remove from heat and let cool a little while you grate the veggies. Grate the veggie ingredients. Put the grated veggie ingredients into a pint-size container with a lid that can seal. Pour sauce over the veggies and stir well. It may seem like there's not enough sauce for all the veggies, but once stirred well it should cover everything. Cover and refrigerate a minimum of 24 hours, allowing time for the flavors to blend, soften and pickle the veggies, and generally thicken up. Even better to let it go for a week (seriously, it takes time). Best served over plain pulled pork wrapped in a hamburger bun. Note that at Bunyan's BBQ, they only use about a Tbs of hot slaw to top a pork sandwich, and there's plenty of spice and flavor from that little bit to add the perfect complement.
Interestingly, Big Bob's rub is pretty spicy (at least compared to Plowboys and what I usually do for pork, which is Memphis Dust plus more black pepper and cayenne). I actually found it way too much if it was applied at any usual rate. Also, yes, I prefer mesquite, but my point is that all the BIrmingham places all are way too light on the hickory even. I feel like it's almost to the point of being crockpot+liquid smoke. Very disappointing if you're used to any of the Texas style bbq's. EDIT: also, f u guys. I was in all of these cities (very briefly) two weeks ago for business, but am unlikely to be back in any of them soon. This would have been nice, but hey.
This was 6 1/2 lb butt and actually took me about 14 hours. It was good and everyone liked it at the party. Was also scared I was going to over smoke it since it took forever to get over 190.
Anybody else visit the smoked meats forum .com? Looking for Jeff's secret rub recipe. He puts out some great smoked meat recipes, but they always call for using his rub, which he sells through the site
not sure if I've posted about this place before but whatever if you ever happen to find yourself in Demopolis, AL then check out Smokin' Jacks. Great spares and pulled pork, above average potato salad also.