Just got my first smoker

[MileHighGrowler]

(06-28-2021, 12:14 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Seems like all the flavor would be in the skin.

is it possible to smoke skinless chicken?

(06-28-2021, 12:50 PM)michaelsean Wrote: Yeah I suppose you could smoke skinless breasts. That might actually be smarter for pulled chicken flavor wise as the rub would now be mixed in. Might be dry, but at least it would have flavor.

This is why I like smoking chicken wings. They are full of flavor in every bite.

In all honesty, this is a similar issue to smoking pork butts as well. A cube of meat that's 8 inches thick just isn't going to get smoke flavor throughout. But with the pork, it penetrates enough over the hours that when I shred it along with the drippings it all comes together and picks up the smoke.

[*michaelsean*]

(06-28-2021, 04:38 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote: This is why I like smoking chicken wings. They are full of flavor in every bite.

In all honesty, this is a similar issue to smoking pork butts as well. A cube of meat that's 8 inches thick just isn't going to get smoke flavor throughout. But with the pork, it penetrates enough over the hours that when I shred it along with the drippings it all comes together and picks up the smoke.

Yeah pork butt is the least able to get flavor into in my short experience but you do have the bark mixed in and like you said, all the juices. Of course I eat have the pieces with bark in it before I serve it.

I did eat the wings off the chickens and those were good.

[Jason_NC]

Making a pork butt tomorrow. Have to start with a quality cut of pork. Mine is always delicious even a bite without bark.

[*michaelsean*]

(06-28-2021, 07:21 PM)Jason_NC Wrote: Making a pork butt tomorrow. Have to start with a quality cut of pork. Mine is always delicious even a bite without bark.

I’ll go with the on sale $.99 or $1.29 at Kroger.

[*bfine32*]

(06-28-2021, 11:58 AM)michaelsean Wrote: I have no idea why she wanted it. I didn’t brine, but it was plenty juicy. Just bland.  I sauced it up in the pan which I don’t do with pork. Plus chicken like that always make me nervous because there’s always little gobbets of something unknown in there.   Probably would have been decent eating it like a chicken, but still not all that exciting.

You've gotta brine the bird. It breaks down the muscle.

[*michaelsean*]

(06-28-2021, 08:31 PM)bfine32 Wrote: You've gotta brine the bird. It breaks down the muscle.

It cooked fine. Pulled chicken is just stupid.

[Sled21]

(06-28-2021, 12:14 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Seems like all the flavor would be in the skin.

is it possible to smoke skinless chicken?

I do it all the time. When I make pulled chicken I buy skinless boneless thighs, brine them in salt/sugar with some garlic and rosemary, dry them off and coat with Plowbuy's Yardbird rub, then put them on the smoker at 275 degrees until they hit about 175 (just for safety). Take them off and let them rest 30 minutes, then pull. It always comes out juicy and tender. It really doesn't get any easier than this dish. Just don't use breast meat.

[Jason_NC]

How I spent my Tuesday

[WeezyBengal]

(07-01-2021, 02:45 PM)Jason_NC Wrote: How I spent my Tuesday

Bark is too dark for me man. I respect the hustle, though. To each their own. 

[*michaelsean*]

So what’s everybody cooking this weekend? We are going to my parents house Sunday. My sister will be there with her family and some of her neighbors. They will bring grilling stuff like hot dogs, brats and burgers. I’m going to cook a brisket tomorrow and bring it over Sunday where I will reheat it

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

Steaks and burgs here... On the old Barby. Will be a blast with the good ole Brewskies.

Waiting on pay to buy me the Green Mountain Grill.

Agree with Weezy, I like my meat tender. Don't like any dark beef.

[Sled21]

So I think I posted that I sold my Pitmaker Long Rifle Sniper offset smoker to get a gravity fed. Went to Atlanta and picked it up last week. It's a Southern Q Limo Jr. So far I've done ribs and 2 pork butts on it. I'm not getting the flavor I got from the stick burner yet, but I'm still dialing in how much wood to use with the charcoal.

[MileHighGrowler]

(07-21-2021, 08:37 AM)Sled21 Wrote: So I think I posted that I sold my Pitmaker Long Rifle Sniper offset smoker to get a gravity fed. Went to Atlanta and picked it up last week. It's a Southern Q Limo Jr. So far I've done ribs and 2 pork butts on it. I'm not getting the flavor I got from the stick burner yet, but I'm still dialing in how much wood to use with the charcoal.

It looks pretty!  That dialing in to get the right wood / charcoal balance is what's always worried me about gravity fed.  I'm curious to hear how it goes after a few more smokes. 

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(07-21-2021, 08:37 AM)Sled21 Wrote: So I think I posted that I sold my Pitmaker Long Rifle Sniper offset smoker to get a gravity fed. Went to Atlanta and picked it up last week. It's a Southern Q Limo Jr. So far I've done ribs and 2 pork butts on it. I'm not getting the flavor I got from the stick burner yet, but I'm still dialing in how much wood to use with the charcoal.

Sweet! I'm still tweaking the wood/charcoal ratios on mine too. That thing there is a beaut. I bet she turns out amazing q.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

That is down right paradise Sled.

[*michaelsean*]

Looks cool.

[*michaelsean*]

I was watching a Malcom Reed brisket video, and it’s funny because I know someone has said it here, but he said there is no way you could sit down to a meal with a competition brisket. I just keep shaking my head wondering how it got to that point. Apparently everyone including judges are aware. Why would you want a completion like that?

[MileHighGrowler]

(07-26-2021, 03:57 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I was watching a Malcom Reed brisket video, and it’s funny because I know someone has said it here, but he said there is no way you could sit down to a meal with a competition brisket. I just keep shaking my head wondering how it got to that point. Apparently everyone including judges are aware. Why would you want a completion like that?

It's about control and hitting specific benchmarks.  It's about how well you understand the meat and equipment to make it to a specific spec.  That's the competition.  Taste is subjective, so I'm guessing that competition Q got where it is because they had to make it objective in some way.  I think it misses the point of bbq completely, and has no appeal to me, but in my head it makes sense as well at the end of the day. 

I've compared it to the beer competitions I used to enter.  Every style winner is based on specs.  Best in Show is the only one truly based on taste, which is completely subjective.  The bigger issue with beer comps was how hard it is to find enough qualified judges, so at a table of 4 judges who would do a style or two, it wasn't uncommon to have 2-3 of the 4 be people who just liked to drink beer who didn't even understand the specs.  I stopped competition brewing for a reason a long time ago... 

I finally got a couple of racks of spare ribs done yesterday.  First time I've smoked on my home smoker in a couple of months.  Been too busy and hate smoking when it's 95* outside! 

[Sled21]

(07-26-2021, 06:45 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote: It's about control and hitting specific benchmarks.  It's about how well you understand the meat and equipment to make it to a specific spec.  That's the competition.  Taste is subjective, so I'm guessing that competition Q got where it is because they had to make it objective in some way.  I think it misses the point of bbq completely, and has no appeal to me, but in my head it makes sense as well at the end of the day. 

I've compared it to the beer competitions I used to enter.  Every style winner is based on specs.  Best in Show is the only one truly based on taste, which is completely subjective.  The bigger issue with beer comps was how hard it is to find enough qualified judges, so at a table of 4 judges who would do a style or two, it wasn't uncommon to have 2-3 of the 4 be people who just liked to drink beer who didn't even understand the specs.  I stopped competition brewing for a reason a long time ago... 

I finally got a couple of racks of spare ribs done yesterday.  First time I've smoked on my home smoker in a couple of months.  Been too busy and hate smoking when it's 95* outside! 

Right. That's why I quit competing, I hated spending all that money to cook BBQ I didn't like. They want you to hit a mark on ribs where it bites clean, but I like mine fall off the bone. Most people that come to the house want them "fall off the bone" But in competition that would be overcooked. Brisket in competition is way to salty to enjoy. Chicken doesn't even look like chicken in most cases. As I was told by a friend of mine when I got into it, you can't cook to impress, you have to cook to offend the least amount of judges, so it can't be too tangy, too sweet, you have to shoot for what I call bland. I wouldn't even take the leftovers home. Now I find it much more relaxing and rewarding to cook what I like. 

[Sled21]

(07-21-2021, 06:35 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote: It looks pretty!  That dialing in to get the right wood / charcoal balance is what's always worried me about gravity fed.  I'm curious to hear how it goes after a few more smokes. 

Getting closer.....