OT: Grill/Smoker Suggestions?
My dilemma: purchased a Weber 22.5 inch Performer last summer and it has done a great job for me so far with both briquettes and lump charcoal. However, I am just now getting extremely interested in smoking and attempted a makeshift smoke on some wings tonight (turned out well but required a ton of babysitting).
I am now interested in adding a Weber Smokey Mountain ($299) in addition do my Weber Performer OR selling my Weber Performer and splurging on a Big Green Egg (large size - $700-$1,000).
Anyone have a similar situation in the past? Ideas? Options?
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/f/
Answers for EVERTHANG
I once queried - " derp, anyone ever smoke a pot roast?". I had 25 replies inside 2 hours, and I smoked the best got-damn pot roast ever known by mankind.
Love that website.
Big Green Egg's the equivalent to training wheels, by the way.
delicious, evenly cooked, and remarkable-tasting training wheels. Can't beat a BGE.
I must say my Weber Genesis (lp gas) owes me nothing. I treat it like crap, don't clean it and it just cooks great food. Its never been one to get very hot, (like 550 max) but it just works. I will always appreciate Weber grills. That said, I've been studying and lusting over a green egg for a couple years now. I wouldn't fault you for going in either direction.
(Re-reading my dumb comment, I realize that it may not help you make any decisions. Sorry. But I do like where your head is at.)
rusting out Holland Grill it replaced.
At the time I thought I was missing being able to control the temperature. It was very hard to screw up a meal on the Holland Grill, and the smoker box worked really well too.
I have a big green egg and it is awesome. It is very versatile, you can smoke and grill, just about anything you can imagine. I have had it for 5 years and love it.
The best combo I've found is The Big Green Egg. It grills as well as any grill, and is almost as good as a dedicated smoker.
There is a knock off made in Mexico? that is just about as awesome. I think the only real difference is the hinge hardware. They brand is Kamado.
The Big Green Egg is incredible. It doesn't take long to get going and the food that comes off of it is competition level stuff. Highly recommend it!
I have heard about this and I would like to try it someday, maybe it would work for you.
http://cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/elecsmoker.html
This claims they paid $12 for the garbage can, I paid $25 for mine at lowes but I used it for garbage, I would get a new one dedicated to only smoking.
I saved the side burner from an old propane BBQ that was ready for the garbage and I plan to use that instead of an electric hotplate.
I've been smokin' for nearly 20 years. Weber grills work great. The design is really good for indirect heat circulation; perfect for smoking ribs etc. I paid less than $30.00 for mine, but use soaked wood chips and low temps for best results. Rule 1: Low and slow. For pork and fish, try alder wood. Dry rubs are great and add a mop sauce over the last half hour to avoid burning, sticking and over-caramelization of sauce.
Then you're just grilling.
For excellent pork butt:
I saw this years ago and it's a good general approach for a Weber. Can't find the original link but here's one that provides the basic visuals:
http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36757
What this site doesn't show: Put a foil grill pan (those from Weber are perfect) in the middle of the 2/3 charcoal fuse, with hot water in it before you light it (drop a "handfull" of hot briquettes at the start of the fuse).
CRITICAL - Don't use regular (blue bag) Kingsford, which has lighter fluid type chemicals soaked into the outer layer of the coals, and imparts an unpleasant taste when cooking low and slow. Stubb's charcoal (the sauce people), make natural briquettes that are sold at Lowes. Kingsford makes (or made) natural briquettes (burnt-orange bag) called Championship briquettes, but I haven't been able to buy them for a while (at least here in NH) - discontinued? I'm going to try it with natural lump one of these days - but the uniform-shaped briquettes are preferable.
I do not overlap the coals as those photos show (perhaps I might in the winter though), as I've found they burn hotter and a little faster. I also don't go quite as big with the wood chunks, but space them about like that almost all the way around - I will remove the top coals of the fuse and replace with wood chunk wherever they're placed. I don't get 8 hrs - more like 5 give or take, but then I leave my vents all wide open. I've never checked what temp the fuse burns at, but it always turns out great. I've read that when smoking, the meat only really absorbs smoke flavor for the first half or so of it's cooking time (total 8-12+ hrs depending on temps), and therefore folks will finish the butt in the oven - wrapped in foil at the desired, (controlled) temperature-dictaed time. I've gone an additional 3-4 hrs at 300 deg. with great results, and with more time, will go 250-ish for 6-7 more. I wish I took pictures last time! One fuse-burn (~5 hrs) is just about ideal with this approach.
Experiment with venting and everythings else. These are just rough guidelines really.
One last tip: Attain an internal temp of 210-215 deg. I usually hear folks recommend 180-190, but I have found the pork a little tougher and porky tasting in the middle. I think the flavor, and overall product is much better at the higher temp (not alone on that opinion). The moisture (and melted collagen) retention of the foil, works with the bark attained during the smoking session, however you may have rubbed it, to provide incredible juices you can pour over the shredded pork or use for dipping, whatever.
Anyone else do this? Love to hear your tips.
1) Have been always using charcoal, never briquettes. Wegman's has pretty good chunk charcoal for $7 a bag.
2) Have stopped using mesquite; my wife complains that it makes everything taste the same, so have been using a mix of hickory and applewood.
3) Have recently converted to foiling EVERYTHING after 2-4 hours (2 for ribs, 3 for brisket, 4 for butts/shoulder). Got better results with less cooking time, and have eliminated the problem of oversmoking the bark.
4) Typical run temp for me is 250-275, but am going to try running a little hotter today for my pork shoulder. I like watching BBQ Pitmasters, and Myron Mixon keeps saying he runs butt/shoulder 'hot' at 325 for 4-6 instead of 250-75 for 6-8 so...
5) Next task is to start injecting...
I have a Big Steel Keg; kinda a BGE knockoff, incredibly heavy steel instead of the ceramic. Insulated very well, holds temp forever just like the BGE. Cost $400 though :)
The Weber Rocky Mountain is a darn good smoker as well, Slapyodaddy, one of the more successful national teams, uses this exclusively (in addition to those computerized vent fans that auto-manages airflow).
Austin-based Wolverine who works at Stubb's BBQ. No question - splurge and get a Green Egg. Don't get the largest size - more coals and harder to control the temp. Spend more on good charcoal, preferably lump. The BGE is great for smoking and seering. I have a Genesis too and it's more for the wife. While not available in the Lone Star State, always smoke or grill with a Bell's Oberon in your hand. I'm stuck with lesser beers and ales.
Yes, there is an innate, primitve sense of contentment, that comes from hovering over grilling/smoking meat with a beer in hand(especially in the cold of winter).
I got the larger size, and just last weekend (using some rib racks) did 12 racks of baby backs. It is a fine machine with a loyal following and an online community for tips, tricks, and recipes. http://tvwbb.com/.