So I got a WSM...

[52-80 19246]

23 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Best ribs I have done to date were a couple of racks of spares on the WSM at about 240 for 5 hours.  Dry rubbed, spritzed on the regular after the 2 hour mark. 

 

9 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

3-2-1, dry rubbed, squeeze parkay and honey in the foil.  Champ once mentioned this technique, and it works very well.

salt and pepper? random shelf mix of whats available (garlic powder, paprika, brown sugar, etc)?  or something very specific?

[Gil Bang 26020]

Yeah, just a mix of whatever sounds good.  

[52-80 19246]

cool.  thats exactly what i did last weekend - start to finish.  it was decent.  not as great as when i was meticulous doing BRITU... but im lazy and nonchalant about these things nowadays

[TornACL 7722]

34 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

 

salt and pepper? random shelf mix of whats available (garlic powder, paprika, brown sugar, etc)?  or something very specific?

I slather in yellow mustard and do light Montreal steak seasoning, and then Fiesta Pork Rub and turbinado brown sugar.

I like my ribs on the slightly sweet and sticky side. The brown sugar and the honey helps.

[52-80 19246]

46 minutes ago, TornACL said:

I slather in yellow mustard and do light Montreal steak seasoning, and then Fiesta Pork Rub and turbinado brown sugar.

I like my ribs on the slightly sweet and sticky side. The brown sugar and the honey helps.

thnx fellas.  i got a bunch of racks so i might try a different style on each

[thunderlounge 7935]

I do similar to the 3-2-1 as well, but times are adjusted for the temp being ran at the time.

Rub varies, depending on mood. Done everything from 3:1 pepper/salt, to asian, mexican, jerk, even once did a more mediterranean style. All were great.

 

[dcbc 14509]

2 hours ago, 52-80 said:

 

salt and pepper? random shelf mix of whats available (garlic powder, paprika, brown sugar, etc)?  or something very specific?

I've done salt/pepper/garlic powder/onion powder/paprika and some such in the past.  Lately, I have used Stanley's Rib rub with some extra pepper thrown in and have liked the way it sets up. 

If the mood strikes me (and it usually does) I will mix about half a cup of peach habanero jelly with a little bit (a few tablespoons) bbq sauce and a dash of lemon juice (heated up on low for about an hour) to hit the ribs with at about half an hour before I pull them. Good way to mix things up. 

For the rub, I've used olive oil as a binder and later, tried yellow mustard cut with pickle juice and, ultimately, settled on a light mustard rub.  It doesn't come through flavorwise, but I'd rather waste yellow mustard than olive oil.

Edited August 2, 2019 by dcbc

[WhatTheBuck 28798]

I've tried slathering with yellow mustard before but didn't think it added anything flavor wise. What I do now is first rub down the ribs or pork shoulder with a generous dusting of dry mustard powder. Then I add salt and black pepper according to the piece of meat I'm using. The salt draws moisture out of the meat and soaks the mustard powder and that produces a subtle but noticeable tang. (Test it on a hamburger patty and you'll see.)

Then I add my spice rub which is mostly chipotle powder along with some cayenne, habanero, sweet paprika, onion powder, and a 50/50 mix of turbinado and brown sugar to balance out the heat. The turbinado helps make a nice crust but I think the sweetness of the brown sugar helps the heat-sweet balance a little better. I generally smoke over apple wood and spritz with a 50/50 mix of apple juice and apple cider vinegar. 

I'm pretty happy with that formula. The dry mustard base and the paprika produce a nice orange color. I never could figure out how best to work out the ratio of salt to spices in a rub and by doing it this way I can use the same rub on a small piece of meat or a large piece of meat and vary the salt accordingly. 

[Smax 3800]

19 hours ago, 52-80 said:

cool.  thats exactly what i did last weekend - start to finish.  it was decent.  not as great as when i was meticulous doing BRITU... but im lazy and nonchalant about these things nowadays

 

BRITU is one of the best rubs Ive tasted but like you I get kind of lazy and well... but someone on tos linked this place and I swear by the rubs I've used from them. For ribs give this a shot its great

https://www.oakridgebbq.com/?product=dominator-sweet-rib-rub

[pops 7006]

Went hot and fast because I decided late in the day to do some pork spares. Had never done it before. Rubbed with a commercial rub that's pretty standard stuff.

Ran the smoker at about 325. Wrapped after an hour with some brown sugar, butter and a little ACV. Unwrapped after another hour and let the bark firm up for another 15 minutes or so. 

They were fantastic. Trying to decide if a 6 hour cook is really worth it anymore. 

[baboso 6057]

Who's got a link to the site that has the habanero jelly rib glaze? 

[thunderlounge 7935]

You looking for Texas Pepper Jelly?

 

https://www.texaspepperjelly.com/

[baboso 6057]

Gracias, amigo.

[52-80 19246]

i got a little drunk and probably lost track of which ribs were which exactly.  but

-mustard rub didnt hurt.  will definitely use it going forth

-just salt and pepper, even lightly, was a bit too salty and peppery.  works for brisket due to ratio of surface area to volume, but for ribs it was a bit strong.  will do the spice medley for future.

-honey and butter and rub half way through was money.  sugars are good.

 

 

[texanbychoice 354]

First smoke in seven years since I moved away from Texas: happy with the result.

[mdleast 8307]

Did beef ribs for the Longhorns game. Easy and tasty. 2 racks were perfect for 4 adults as we each got a big piece and a small piece. Between that and the beers, I was quite full. Good times.

[Fred Willard 115]

Trying to serve brisket around the end of the Clemson game and the beginning of our game. Kind of in no mans land as to when to start it as I am an old and don’t do late night. Put it on at midnight to 1 am and snooze until 8 am. Maybe 5 hours of cooler time. Or put it on at 5 or 6 am and hope for the best?

[mdleast 8307]

I’m a big fan of this hot and fast method especially since, like you, I’m trying to back into the optimal time to serve (though a brisket can certainly stay good foiled and resting under towels in a cooler for a couple/few hours if you’re too early):

https://virtualweberbullet.com/brisket4.html

[Fred Willard 115]

Interesting. I’m also trying to get a few racks of ribs, maybe a chicken, and of course sausage done as well. I could do hot and fast on the brisket and reset the smoker for the rest also hot and fast. Just never used the wsm like that.

So low and slow brisket from midnight to noon (that’s what she said) and then rest. Smoke the ribs etc during rest time at a good pace. Or compress the schedule....

[dcbc 14509]

 

3 hours ago, Fred Willard said:

Interesting. I’m also trying to get a few racks of ribs, maybe a chicken, and of course sausage done as well. I could do hot and fast on the brisket and reset the smoker for the rest also hot and fast. Just never used the wsm like that.

So low and slow brisket from midnight to noon (that’s what she said) and then rest. Smoke the ribs etc during rest time at a good pace. Or compress the schedule....

I'd suggest starting the fire at about 8 or 9 p.m. the night before.  Once it's up to temp and the worst of the white smoke is gone, put the brisket on.  On my WSM (22"), with two vents closed and one opened enough to get a pencil in the hole, it runs at about 238 F.  It might be done at 9 a.m or it might be done at noon.  Whenever it's done, you'll have time to rest it and store it with some towels in a cooler until serving time, at which point, you can cook the rest of the food.  The time in the cooler only will improve matters with the brisket.

[Fred Willard 115]

Ultimately I took dcbc’s advice and am going with low and slow and a potentially a long time in the cooler. 12.5 lb pre trimmed. Started now and will hopefully go to bed in an hour or so when the temps are level. Will post a pic if it’s not daf.

 

[dcbc 14509]

Did the same thing last night.  Finished around 11 a.m. today.  In the cooler with some snausage.  Slicing at 6.  Pics if not DAF

[Landomatic 3813]

48 minutes ago, dcbc said:

Did the same thing last night.  Finished around 11 a.m. today.  In the cooler with some snausage.  Slicing at 6.  Pics if not DAF

Nah man, if that happens, just tell us it was devoured before you could get a pic because it slammed that hard.  Do you even surly bro?

[Fred Willard 115]

7 hours ago, dcbc said:

Did the same thing last night.  Finished around 11 a.m. today.  In the cooler with some snausage.  Slicing at 6.  Pics if not DAF

I pulled at 11 and sliced at 530. Too tired and lazy to post a pic but it turned out pretty good. These overnight smokes are where the wsm shines. Rolled at 240 for 18 hours and only stoked the fire once towards the end. I would have passed out from exhaustion with a stick burner.

[dcbc 14509]

20 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Nah man,

if that happens, just tell us it was devoured before you could get a pic because it slammed that hard.  Do you even surly bro?

 

Was not DAF.

Edited September 8, 2019 by dcbc

[mdleast 8307]

Did a hot and fast brisket for last night’s game. Always looks less impressive than but more importantly tastes as good or better than (at least my) slow and low briskets.

[Anastasis 23485]

1 hour ago, mdleast said:

Did a hot and fast brisket for last night’s game. Always looks less impressive than but more importantly tastes as good or better than (at least my) slow and low briskets.

temp and time?

[mdleast 8307]

7 minutes ago, Anastasis said:

temp and time?

Cooking at 325-375 fat side down for around 2 to 2.5 hours until it probes around 170.  Then foil and flip it fat side up for another 2 to 2.5 hours until it probes like butter (internal temp being around 210 or so but mainly by feel of no resistance at all when probing).  Being fat side up in the foil with all the juices collecting makes the bark not look as nice but I love how easy it is to plan a cook this way.  Game starts at 7:00? OK, put it on at 1:30 knowing I'm gonna pull it around 6:30 and then let it cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Simple.

[Anastasis 23485]

Looks great.  I love the idea of a 5 hour brisket. 

[Incredulity 11683]

16 hours ago, mdleast said:

Cooking at 325-375 fat side down for around 2 to 2.5 hours until it probes around 170.  Then foil and flip it fat side up for another 2 to 2.5 hours until it probes like butter (internal temp being around 210 or so but mainly by feel of no resistance at all when probing).  Being fat side up in the foil with all the juices collecting makes the bark not look as nice but I love how easy it is to plan a cook this way.  Game starts at 7:00? OK, put it on at 1:30 knowing I'm gonna pull it around 6:30 and then let it cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.  Simple.

How much did that brisket weigh raw?

What are you smoking on?

[mdleast 8307]

12.5 lb. Here’s a pic of it pre-trimmed.



I have a 18.5 WSM. With a brisket this size, it’ll fit though you have to kind of wrangle and wedge the point inside the lid and then twist it around to get it initially shut and seal (but the brisket then, of course, shrinks down as it cooks).

[mdleast 8307]

For the West Virginia game I got curious what are any “West Virginia-style” BBQ options/recipes and decided on doing Shenandoah Valley-style BBQ chicken if for no other reason than the name. Was actually very tasty and spicy other than I thought the sauce leaned a little too heavy on the apple cider vinegar but was still very tasty and might make it again just relying on the rub but no sauce.

[mdleast 8307]

Anyone ever buy just the point of a brisket?  Have hankering to do burnt ends for the Kansas game and don't really want to cook/store a whole brisket for it.  Thinking maybe grocery stores that sell the flat only might also sell the point?

[Spur08 382]

I bought a whole brisket and split the 2 muscles. Flat was cut up for chili and I've frozen the point for burnt ends

[Anastasis 23485]

1 hour ago, mdleast said:

Anyone ever buy just the point of a brisket?  Have hankering to do burnt ends for the Kansas game and don't really want to cook/store a whole brisket for it.  Thinking maybe grocery stores that sell the flat only might also sell the point?

If you have a grinder throw the flat in there. Or save it for a pastrami.

[dcbc 14509]

12 hours ago, Anastasis said:

Or save it for a pastrami.

Mmm hmm.

[pch 1261]

22.5 was on sale today at Nebraska Furniture Mart for $435.

[mdleast 8307]

I ultimately decided to BBQ a Jayhawk tonight.

It was tasty but just barely...

[baboso 6057]

13 hours ago, pch said:

22.5 was on sale today at Nebraska Furniture Mart for $435.

Wow, $4 less than Amazon's every day price.

[BradInATX 9208]

Any of you guys had issues with pork butts sticking to the grate? My last three or four, i've left a ton of the bark from the bottom on the grate, which really sucks. I've tried removing in multiple ways - pulled off with heat proof gloves a couple times, tried to use a big spatula to get under it once, and even essentially dumped it from the grate (flipped over) onto the cutting board. All fails - bark stuck to grate.

Pretty basic smokes on them. Bone-in butt, slathered in olive oil, salt and pepper rub. Cooked at between 225 and 250 the whole time. Sprayed grate with pam, etc. WSM 18.5.

Don't have the same issue with briskets. Any ideas? They're coming out really nicely, but losing all that bark really grinds my gears.

Edited December 29, 2019 by BradInATX

[baboso 6057]

I've had the same issue.  I now put the butt in one of those aluminum foil steam table pans after about 7 or 8 hours on the grate and let it finish cooking in the pan.  That way most of the fat has already rendered but it is still firm enough that it doesn't fall to pieces when you pick it up to go in the pan.

[dcbc 14509]

1 hour ago, baboso said:

I've had the same issue.  I now put the butt in one of those aluminum foil steam table pans after about 7 or 8 hours on the grate and let it finish cooking in the pan.  That way most of the fat has already rendered but it is still firm enough that it doesn't fall to pieces when you pick it up to go in the pan.

I generally wrap mine when it hits 165.  Never had an issue with anything sticking to the grates though.

[Dutch 4479]

On 12/28/2019 at 9:35 PM, BradInATX said:

Any of you guys had issues with pork butts sticking to the grate? My last three or four, i've left a ton of the bark from the bottom on the grate, which really sucks. I've tried removing in multiple ways - pulled off with heat proof gloves a couple times, tried to use a big spatula to get under it once, and even essentially dumped it from the grate (flipped over) onto the cutting board. All fails - bark stuck to grate.

Pretty basic smokes on them. Bone-in butt, slathered in olive oil, salt and pepper rub. Cooked at between 225 and 250 the whole time. Sprayed grate with pam, etc. WSM 18.5.

Don't have the same issue with briskets. Any ideas? They're coming out really nicely, but losing all that bark really grinds my gears.

Never had that happen in my experience. There's a little stickage to the grates (like a millimeter or two in both directions), but nothing serious like you're describing.  Like dcbc, I'm usually wrapping around 160-165 and then letting the wrapped butt finish in a foil pan. 

[BradInATX 9208]

When you put the meat on, is the grate already in the WSM? So are you heating the grate when you're bringing the smoker to temp, then placing the butt on the hot grate? Or do you keep the grate off of the smoker until it and the butt go on? 

I'm wondering if my problem is I'm putting a cold butt on a hot grate when I start the cook?

Doesn't seem to be a problem with brisket though.

[Dutch 4479]

No, I don't preheat the grate.  When to add the hunk of protein may be a point of contention (straight away or once the WSM has hit temp) among WSM pitmasters. Me? I've always added my lit coals to the unlit, given them a minute or so exposed to the air before assembling the WSM, adding water to the pan, and putting the meat on straight away.  

Were you going the whole cook unwrapped? If so, try one wrapping just before the stall and see if it makes a difference.  Only other thing I can think is are you cleaning your grates?  If they're full of crud, maybe the crud is making it stick.

Edited January 3, 2020 by Dutch

[TornACL 7722]

I'm going to blame the PAM. Completely unnecessary. Oiling the meat and oiling the grates is overkill, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's some other mystery ingredient in that PAM spray bullshit along with the oils that is causing some kind of problem. Especially if PAM is being used to skip the step of cleaning your grates. 

Occasionally if I've rubbed a pork butt with mustard, and rub, I assumed something with the brown sugar might be causing a slight bit of stickiness to the grates, but never had any issue like huge chunks of bark coming off. 

In short, fuck PAM. Throw that shit in the garbage. 

[McFly 606]

“Cleaning” the grates is done with a wad of foil. Wipe off the shit from last cook and you’re good to go. 

[Baboontyme 2824]

I don't understand this tomfoolery. Meat sticks to grates. Scrape it off. Especially a pork butt. What exactly are you losing by scraping off the parts stuck to the grate and feeding them back into your pan where you pull the roast? Hell I usually just leave it and burn off whatever remains before the next cook. 

[Chico_SA 521]

I may have found my favorite WSM cook.  Burnt Pork Belly Ends.  Did these last Sunday and damn they were good.  I just used the first recipe that popped up on an internet search.  Smoked with a rub for a couple of hours, then honey, butter, and brown sugar for a couple more hours.  

[dcbc 14509]

Did some ribs today. About six hours no wrap.