Smoked my first meat today....

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Brian in Oregon

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Yeah, figured no matter how I wrote the subject line, I'd be setting myself up. Might as well say it loud, say it proud.

Bought a Big Chief Smoker on sale the other day. Planned on giving it a test run today.

Went to White's Meat Market, the local mecca for carnivores. Told them I was smoking for the first time, and needed a slab of meat that was forgiving of amateurs and would not easily dry out. The gal said pork shoulder, because it was marbled with fine fat. Chose a three pound hunk of boneless.

Marinated it for a couple of hours in a mixture of half a bottle of cheap white wine, half a cup of soy sauce, enough water to cover the meat, onion powder and garlic powder, and about half a shaker of sea salt, after stabbing it full of holes, in a big mixing bowl. (Edit - Forgot to mention I added a half cup of maple syrup for a bit of sweetness. I ran out of brown sugar, and maple syrup is my backup substitute.)

After marinating it, gave it a rub using a commercial rub made specifically for pork. It said not to coat the meat, but hey, I'm a mudder, so while not completely coating it, I did put it on heavy.

Put it in the smoker at mid-height and used a mixture of apple wood chips and alder shavings. The instructions said to smoke it for 20 minutes per pound, which would have been 60 minutes, or no more than two hours. But hey, I'm a mudder, so I smoked it for three hours, adding fresh chips about every 45 minutes as they were consumed. Very little fat dripped off. The outer 1/4" was cooked, but the inner was not.

Wrapped it heavily in tinfoil, and put it in the center of my grill. Fired up only the outer two burners, which were not under the roast, and put them on low. This gave me 475 degrees, which is the lowest this grill can go with two burners running. Cooked it for about two hours or so, turning it once after about an hour. Didn't really go by time, I wanted it to hit at least 165 degrees internally. The meat thermometer said it was 170. Turned off the grill and let it stay warm while we made potatoes and the rest of the fixings.

Two hours marinate, three hours smoking, and a bit over two hours cooking (at 475) results in pure sinful please.

It was just that easy.

Got the Big Chief smoker on sale for $89. Money well spent. Wish I had done it years ago.

Served it up with a crisp butter and red leaf salad with a raspberry vinegarette dressing, and a baked potatoes. Plus the rest of the cheap white wine.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
 
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I made the Bomb White chicken stew today......

I was also told that I bought 1/2 a beef on Friday, looks like I need to look into the smoker.

Shane
 
The Big Chief and Little Chief Smokers are mainly curing smokers. They really aren't designed for cooking thick slabs of meat. That's why I smoked the meat then put it on the grill (or oven) to finish it. It will cook thinner pieces, and will cook fish, etc., but it works best for jerky, smelt, etc. I doubt I could have gotten the temp of the pork roast to 165 degrees internally with it. That's why I finished it on the grill. But it is a very inexpensive way to get started. The only thing cheaper is to get iron smoking boxes and put wood chips in your charcol or propane grill. But that means you have to do both processes at the same time, smoking and cooking. I figured being a rank novice, it was easier for me to do them separately. You can also get a large smoker that gets hot enough to cook the meat. These start around $250 and the sky's the limit from there. Yeah, I fantasize over those giant BBQ smoking trailers. Talk about the ultimate! But the price, yikes!
 
My neighbor has a smoker he uses regularly. It uses LP gas, and he goes through a lot of it, that's some expensive meat by the time he's done.
 
Next time smoke it longer, to 180 meat temp. You want the smoker temp to be 220-250.

Slower is better. For a full size Boston butt (butt end of the shoulder), about 8-11 hours is what it takes for me. That's 8-10 lbs
 
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I'm married to a good cook. If I could make better food than her I wouldn't, that opens up too many potential problems.
 
Yeah, she can't slow down enough to grill as well as me, gots to be doing twelve other things while the meat cooks.
 
yooper said:
Next time smoke it longer, to 180 meat temp. You want the smoker temp to be 220-250.

Slower is better. For a full size Boston butt (butt end of the shoulder), about 8-11 hours is what it takes for me. That's 8-10 lbs
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yooper said:
Brian's is electric

I use charcoal and wood.

I can't buy barbecued pork that's as good as mine.
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I have witnessed this in person. I like yooper's smoked meat. His butt is the best. :)



:doh:




That's the reason you see good smokehouses starting up when the sun rises--you need to start the process a good twelve hours before consumption, when all is said and done. Brian, if you can't do the full time in the smoker, it's better to take it out and put it in the electric over at 225 for the remainder than cook it at 475 in the gas grill.

:cheers: Now I am getting hungry. . . .
 
Liam said:
anyone ever do cold smoking?
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I cold smoked an esse who was eyeballing my novia a few years back.








I'll smoke a boston butt for a few hours over wood and charcoal, then take it inside, wrap it foil, and finish it in the oven. It's easier to finish it off and maintain the temperature in the oven.
 
Liam said:
anyone ever do cold smoking?
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wob said:
I cold smoked an esse who was eyeballing my novia a few years back..
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:lol:

Not yet. I'd really like to do some fish and/or make some jerky. An electric smoker like Brian's is the way to go for that, just set the thermostat. I'm not into checking the temp and fire every 20 minutes for three days...
 
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