Slow Smoking Meat: I'm a Microbiologist, Dumbass.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Slow Smoking Meat: I'm a Microbiologist, Dumbass.

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

The admins of the BBQ Brethren Facebook group just approved my group membership that I clicked for like a year and a half ago and completely forgot about

# ? Jul 27, 2016 17:57

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# ? Jun 11, 2024 02:34

Trig Discipline: Jun 3, 2008; Please leave the room if you think this might offend you.; Grimey Drawer

Vulture Culture posted:

The admins of the BBQ Brethren Facebook group just approved my group membership that I clicked for like a year and a half ago and completely forgot about

Like good BBQ, membership to a BBQ group takes time and patience.

# ? Jul 27, 2016 22:15

ada shatan: Oct 20, 2004; that'll do pig, that'll do

I've been smoking on my Horizon offset smoker for 4 years now and while I love it madly, I've finally decided to pull the trigger on a WSM 22". I really want something where I can set it up and get it running and ideally not have to play with it too much for hours on end so I can do more whole packers and shoulders without having to get up at 3 AM to get it started in order to have it finish in a reasonable timeframe.

I've also ordered the WSM 22 kit from Canjun with the door, grommets for the ET-732, and high airflow ring. I've still got some leftover gasket seal that I will use to close everything up. Anything else I am missing to get myself going with the WSM? I'm pretty excited about this.

# ? Jul 27, 2016 23:47

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

ada shatan posted:

I've been smoking on my Horizon offset smoker for 4 years now and while I love it madly, I've finally decided to pull the trigger on a WSM 22". I really want something where I can set it up and get it running and ideally not have to play with it too much for hours on end so I can do more whole packers and shoulders without having to get up at 3 AM to get it started in order to have it finish in a reasonable timeframe.

I've also ordered the WSM 22 kit from Canjun with the door, grommets for the ET-732, and high airflow ring. I've still got some leftover gasket seal that I will use to close everything up. Anything else I am missing to get myself going with the WSM? I'm pretty excited about this.

Depending on where you live and what your weather looks like, I'd recommend some kind of very good wind break. The gaskets will help some, but the WSM is so good at vertical convection that a particularly gusty day will throw your temps all over the place without the water pan. (I've previously mentioned that the 22" WSM is a pig on coal. The water pan is a great asset, but you really want to use it as little as possible.) The WSM also has absolute poo poo insulation (none whatsoever), which is a blessing and a curse, so a good windbreak will help cold air not suck all the heat out through the metal on a cold day.

Your first few smokes on the 22" WSM will be completely all over the place until you get it nicely seasoned.

Vulture Culture fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Jul 28, 2016

# ? Jul 28, 2016 02:38

Doom Rooster: Sep 3, 2008; Pillbug

Depending on how cheaty you want to be, you can get a BBQ Guru for it to control temp from beginning to end. I never personally got to the point where I was comfortable sleeping for 6+ hours while my WSM was going overnight. My BBQ Guru changed that. I don't use it every time, because many times I WANT an excuse to go drink beer and futz around outside with the smoker.

I'm not a big proponent of the waterpan. I feel that it hinders bark development, and really does kinda steam everything. It's fantastic at making temp jumps even out, I just don't think it's worth it. I foiled mine and filled it with sand. Still acts as extra thermal mass to even out spikes, just not as well, but without the moisture.

I totally disagree with calling a WSM a pig on coal though. I'll regularly get 14+ hours out of a full starting load.

# ? Jul 28, 2016 15:09

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

Doom Rooster posted:

Depending on how cheaty you want to be, you can get a BBQ Guru for it to control temp from beginning to end. I never personally got to the point where I was comfortable sleeping for 6+ hours while my WSM was going overnight. My BBQ Guru changed that. I don't use it every time, because many times I WANT an excuse to go drink beer and futz around outside with the smoker.

I'm not a big proponent of the waterpan. I feel that it hinders bark development, and really does kinda steam everything. It's fantastic at making temp jumps even out, I just don't think it's worth it. I foiled mine and filled it with sand. Still acts as extra thermal mass to even out spikes, just not as well, but without the moisture.

I totally disagree with calling a WSM a pig on coal though. I'll regularly get 14+ hours out of a full starting load.

The water pan isn't all-or-nothing; if you fill it with just a little bit of water (a quart, maybe?), the added moisture helps the smoke bind to the meat early in the cook when most of your smoke penetration occurs. Then everything has dried up (no more water in the pan) by the time you actually want to start forming bark on your longer cooks, like pork shoulder or brisket. Of course, depending on the wood you're smoking with, maybe you don't want that extra penetration in the first place. Less is more with particularly pungent woods like mesquite. And if you're doing something fairly short, like a 3-hour pork loin or some 5-hour ribs, maybe you can't afford that couple hours because you do need it for the bark formation. Know your circumstances. But people have different styles, and sand or bricks are just fine too.

A "full starting load" on the 22.5" WSM is upwards of 15 pounds of charcoal because of the sheer size of the fucker (I've loaded mine with 60 pounds of meat between the two racks), so yeah, that's a shitload of charcoal! And out of the box, it does have some pretty extreme convection because of the need for gasket tape, replacement doors, etc. It does get a lot better if it's retrofit properly with a good windbreak. The size of the thing poses some unique challenges on windy days.

Vulture Culture fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Jul 28, 2016

# ? Jul 28, 2016 17:25

Random Hero: Jun 4, 2004; I could sure go for a Miller High Life...

lifts cats over head posted:

I upgraded to the steel door and compression latch. It works well but the handle gets too hot to touch. It was only a few hours, did you notice any potential damage to the handle during the 10-12 hr cook (ie melting)?

Also I ordered the gasket as well, did you attach it to the door or the smoker?

It does get a bit hot, but I didn't notice any damage to the handle at all. I saw where some people wrapped the handle in heat resistant tape which I might still do.

As for the gasket, I attached it to the smoker so there was no gasket on the inside of the door closer to the flames.

# ? Jul 28, 2016 20:50

Doom Rooster: Sep 3, 2008; Pillbug

Vulture Culture posted:

The water pan isn't all-or-nothing; if you fill it with just a little bit of water (a quart, maybe?), the added moisture helps the smoke bind to the meat early in the cook when most of your smoke penetration occurs. Then everything has dried up (no more water in the pan) by the time you actually want to start forming bark on your longer cooks, like pork shoulder or brisket. Of course, depending on the wood you're smoking with, maybe you don't want that extra penetration in the first place. Less is more with particularly pungent woods like mesquite. And if you're doing something fairly short, like a 3-hour pork loin or some 5-hour ribs, maybe you can't afford that couple hours because you do need it for the bark formation. Know your circumstances. But people have different styles, and sand or bricks are just fine too.

A "full starting load" on the 22.5" WSM is upwards of 15 pounds of charcoal because of the sheer size of the fucker (I've loaded mine with 60 pounds of meat between the two racks), so yeah, that's a shitload of charcoal! And out of the box, it does have some pretty extreme convection because of the need for gasket tape, replacement doors, etc. It does get a lot better if it's retrofit properly with a good windbreak. The size of the thing poses some unique challenges on windy days.

I concede both points.

# ? Jul 28, 2016 21:08

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

I never get very good bark in my smoker and now I'm thinking it's the water pan's fault. I will use it only early on next time I smoke a butt and see if that helps.

# ? Jul 28, 2016 21:13

OBAMNA PHONE: Aug 7, 2002

You have a ceramic smoker, right? You don't need a drip pan.

# ? Jul 28, 2016 21:40

Flash Gordon Ramsay: Sep 28, 2004; Grimey Drawer

BraveUlysses posted:

You have a ceramic smoker, right? You don't need a drip pan.

Really? Why is that?

(If it matters, it's not actually ceramic, but it is an egg knockoff. Double walled, insulated stainless steel kamado)

# ? Jul 28, 2016 21:50

OBAMNA PHONE: Aug 7, 2002

I guess I don't have a real "reason" i can point to other than my own personal experience of trying to use a drip pan on the 3 different sizes of BGE i've owned over the past 7 years.

edit: The heat retention of ceramic and diffusion provided by the indirect ceramic 'place setter' (not sure what they call it on your cooker) successfully mitigates any of the reasons to use a drip pan, imo.

# ? Jul 28, 2016 22:39

Hed: Mar 31, 2004; Fun Shoe

I would actually love to explore that more because I feel that controlling humidity (and resulting wet-bulb temperatures) inside the egg is another variable in cooking that is kinda neat to mess with.

# ? Jul 29, 2016 01:39

Dale Meets Wall: Aug 17, 2004; Dale will always steer you in the RIGHT direction!

Once again I struggled with my 18.5 WSM getting hot. Lit about half a chimney and threw it in, vents wide open it took a while to hit 300. Threw my two whole chickens on (spatchcocked) and once the temp destabilized it never got hotter than 260. No water in the water pan, ambient temp of around 80-85F. It was a bit windy but if anything I would have thought it would cause flare ups. Any ideas on why I can't get my WSM hot? Even when doing low and slow I struggle to keep it at 225, it always runs cold. I've added gaskets around the dome, haven't replaced the door yet. Could I be losing that much heat out the door?

Chicken still turned out well, I wrapped it in foil and finished it in the oven so it was still done on time for the rehearsal dinner, but then the dog knocked over the smoker. I fear the top may have been bent, the lid doesn't seem to fit properly, I'll have to wait until I fire it up again to see how bad it leaks.

# ? Jul 30, 2016 14:41

my turn in the barrel: Dec 31, 2007

How much have you use your Weber Smokey Mountain? Is there a decent layer of seasoning built up on the inside?

Are you filling the coal ring with coal and adding a lit half chimney or just using a half chimney? Mine holds about 2 chimneys of coal total so if you need it hotter put a full chimney of unlit and dump a full chimney of lit on top. Make sure your top vent is 100% open and choke the bottom vents if you need to drop temps during your cook.

Is your coal old or has it possibly gotten damp at some point? What kind of coal are you using?

# ? Jul 30, 2016 15:42

my turn in the barrel: Dec 31, 2007

If you think your wsm isn't sealing right read this link and check for out of round.

http://virtualweberbullet.com/partstrouble.html#middle

Some gap is ok and will seal up with use but if it's bad call weber and they'll fix it.

# ? Jul 30, 2016 15:46

lifts cats over head: Jan 17, 2003; Antagonist: A bad man who drops things from the windows.

Is it possible your thermometer is off? I don't trust the built in one.

# ? Jul 30, 2016 18:29

vulturesrow: Sep 25, 2011; _{Always gotta pay it forward.}

Have a 14lb brisket ready to go and thinking I might like to try the high heat method this time. Anyone have any good or bad experiences with this? Advice?

e: This is on a WSM.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 00:45

qutius: Apr 2, 2003; NO PARTIES

Has anyone done burnt ends with a chuck roast? Seems like a pretty good idea, just wondering if someone has a preferred method they've used.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 03:25

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

If you're having problems getting the wsm up to a high temp why not just dump a lit charcoal starters worth of lump, leave vents wide open with no other charcoal, and see how hot you get?

# ? Jul 31, 2016 03:32

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

sellouts posted:

If you're having problems getting the wsm up to a high temp why not just dump a lit charcoal starters worth of lump, leave vents wide open with no other charcoal, and see how hot you get?

Yeah, some charcoals just don't burn that hot for a number of reasons besides humidity or environmental conditions. I have a hard time getting more than 265 out of Kingsford Professional briquets for prolonged cooks (which, frankly, is exactly why I like them for long smokes). If I let it, the dog poo poo lump charcoal I bought for 50 cents a pound at BJ's will get my smoker well over 400 degrees for the entire two hours it manages to burn for before it's spent.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 03:41

DiggityDoink: Dec 9, 2007

With lump charcoal I'm usually having the opposite problem and it burns way too hot. Maybe I'll try regular briquettes for lower temperatures then.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 08:02

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

Or you could just control the oxygen properly

# ? Jul 31, 2016 10:37

DiggityDoink: Dec 9, 2007

sellouts posted:

Or you could just control the oxygen properly

I only know this after doing some reading between my last post and now but different types of charcoal definitely burn at different temperatures, so now you know too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal#Types

# ? Jul 31, 2016 10:50

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

Charcoal isn't an oven. You don't just turn it on.

You can get different kinds to get your grill the same temp, you just control the oxygen differently.

Royal oak lump will cook at 225 or 800+. Just depends on the oxygen.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 18:24

MrYenko: Jun 18, 2012; #2 isn't ALWAYS bad...

sellouts posted:

Charcoal isn't an oven. You don't just turn it on.

You can get different kinds to get your grill the same temp, you just control the oxygen differently.

Royal oak lump will cook at 225 or 800+. Just depends on the oxygen.

Hence my plans to build a bottled-oxygen-fed blast furnace for steaks.

:black101:

# ? Jul 31, 2016 19:21

ada shatan: Oct 20, 2004; that'll do pig, that'll do

Vulture Culture posted:

The water pan isn't all-or-nothing; if you fill it with just a little bit of water (a quart, maybe?), the added moisture helps the smoke bind to the meat early in the cook when most of your smoke penetration occurs. Then everything has dried up (no more water in the pan) by the time you actually want to start forming bark on your longer cooks, like pork shoulder or brisket. Of course, depending on the wood you're smoking with, maybe you don't want that extra penetration in the first place. Less is more with particularly pungent woods like mesquite. And if you're doing something fairly short, like a 3-hour pork loin or some 5-hour ribs, maybe you can't afford that couple hours because you do need it for the bark formation. Know your circumstances. But people have different styles, and sand or bricks are just fine too.

A "full starting load" on the 22.5" WSM is upwards of 15 pounds of charcoal because of the sheer size of the fucker (I've loaded mine with 60 pounds of meat between the two racks), so yeah, that's a shitload of charcoal! And out of the box, it does have some pretty extreme convection because of the need for gasket tape, replacement doors, etc. It does get a lot better if it's retrofit properly with a good windbreak. The size of the thing poses some unique challenges on windy days.

So far things are working out alright. I did an empty burn on Friday at high temp to burn off manufacturing residue (the grates were oily as heck when I assembled), and also to get a feel for it. Yesterday I did a run at around 275-300 and smoked a bunch of cheap greasy bacon to start building up some residue. Today I've got a couple of racks of spares going, plus a bunch of round that I'm smoking as jerky. Top grate is measuring around 240 and has been consistent for the last hour and change. Really liking the WSM so far.

Did you buy or build a windbreak? Any suggestions for me? I'm in New England and would love to be able to run this all year. My Horizon is a pain to get hot once December hits.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 19:46

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

ada shatan posted:

So far things are working out alright. I did an empty burn on Friday at high temp to burn off manufacturing residue (the grates were oily as heck when I assembled), and also to get a feel for it. Yesterday I did a run at around 275-300 and smoked a bunch of cheap greasy bacon to start building up some residue. Today I've got a couple of racks of spares going, plus a bunch of round that I'm smoking as jerky. Top grate is measuring around 240 and has been consistent for the last hour and change. Really liking the WSM so far.

Did you buy or build a windbreak? Any suggestions for me? I'm in New England and would love to be able to run this all year. My Horizon is a pain to get hot once December hits.

I have a set of large coolers I prop open vertically around the smoker. It's not particularly effective in the cold, but it also sucks because I'm usually using the coolers already when I need to entertaim guests outdoors. VirtualWeberBullet.com has a lot of homemade windbreaks featured if you want to get some better and less lazy ideas.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 20:12

Dale Meets Wall: Aug 17, 2004; Dale will always steer you in the RIGHT direction!

For the chicken I did about a chimney of unlit and about a half chimney of lit. The smoker wasn't out of round, it might be now that it got knocked over. I use a maverick et-733 so I'm pretty confident the temps are accurate. I use kingsford blue bag for briquettes.

# ? Jul 31, 2016 21:28

djfooboo: Oct 16, 2004

Bought another pork shoulder. babby's 2nd smoke :angel:

# ? Jul 31, 2016 22:52

vulturesrow: Sep 25, 2011; _{Always gotta pay it forward.}

So since none of you answered my post about high heat brisket I went ahead and did it anyway! Long story short, it turned out great. I did find it very fiddly to get the smoker(WSM) to steady out in the correct temperature range(325-375) and it got away from me a couple times. Definitely some of this was due to inexperience on my part with high heat. I used one full chimney of briquettes in the ring and then dumped a chimney full of hot ones on top. Water pan had nothing but foil in it. Bark formation is an issue due to the foiling. I didn't take any extra steps to mitigate it because I was more concerned with getting the temps right and not turning 14 pounds of brisket into a rock. It did develop an OK bark though. It was good enough that if I can get the hang of the handling high temperature early in the cook I can't see myself going back to"low and slow" for brisket.

# ? Aug 1, 2016 02:28

sellouts: Apr 23, 2003

MrYenko posted:

Hence my plans to build a bottled-oxygen-fed blast furnace for steaks.

Yo seriously though. Go sous vide then use a searzall to mimic the surface of the sun for searing. It is even bottle fed!

I also use this to carmelize the Bbq sauce on my ribs and it's great.

# ? Aug 1, 2016 07:01

DiggityDoink: Dec 9, 2007

What's a good use for leftover ribs? I made 3 full racks of baby backs today and I've got a bunch left since there are only 2 of us in the house. I'm guessing just reheating them works, but what's a good plan for that and does anyone have an idea on how to maybe turn them into another dish?

# ? Aug 8, 2016 02:09

McSpankWich: Aug 31, 2005; Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center. Sounds charming.

If you reheat BBQ (covered) at 225 it will taste basically like it came fresh off the smoker. For ribs you could pull them off the bone and chop them up. Once you do that you can do anything with them that you could do with pulled pork: put them on a sandwich or tortillas with pickles and cole slaw, toss them into finished baked beans or chili. Make nachos! So many possibilities, my favorites by far are tacos and nachos.

McSpankWich fucked around with this message at 13:48 on Aug 8, 2016

# ? Aug 8, 2016 13:45

lifts cats over head: Jan 17, 2003; Antagonist: A bad man who drops things from the windows.

I like to throw leftovers into some mac and cheese.

# ? Aug 9, 2016 02:05

briefcasefullof: Sep 25, 2004; [This Space for Rent]

About how long does bbq keep in the fridge? Ive had some sealed in a ziploc bag since I smoked it on the 24th. It's mostly together, not pulled. Didn't smell off, fwiw.

# ? Aug 10, 2016 02:12

Stringent: Dec 22, 2004; image text goes here

QuarkMartial posted:

About how long does bbq keep in the fridge? Ive had some sealed in a ziploc bag since I smoked it on the 24th. It's mostly together, not pulled. Didn't smell off, fwiw.

Forever as far as I can tell. Worst I've ever seen is some freezer burn from a bag with a bad seal.

*edit*

Sorry I read that as freezer. Yeah, wouldn't want to go over a week in the fridge.

Stringent fucked around with this message at 03:29 on Aug 10, 2016

# ? Aug 10, 2016 02:29

OBAMNA PHONE: Aug 7, 2002

You're probably pushing your limits (I wouldn't eat 2 week old pork) but next time just freeze it.

# ? Aug 10, 2016 03:20

Vulture Culture: Jul 14, 2003; I was never enjoying it. I only eat it for the nutrients.

The smoke doesn't penetrate more than like 1/8" to 1/4" into the meat, so it doesn't significantly impact the shelf life of the meat at all. Treat it just like something you slow-roasted in the oven.

# ? Aug 10, 2016 03:31

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# ? Jun 11, 2024 02:34

briefcasefullof: Sep 25, 2004; [This Space for Rent]

I was afraid so. I'll toss it to be safe. Gotta be better about freezing it next time.

# ? Aug 10, 2016 04:29

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Slow Smoking Meat: I'm a Microbiologist, Dumbass.

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