(02-26-2021, 02:27 PM)fredtoast Wrote: So you can buy just straight tallow?

That reminds me of the time I was turning one of my goats into sausage.  When you make sausage from lean meat instead of pork you actually have to add some pure fat.  So I went to Swaggerty Farms plant outside of Sevierville to buy casings and fat.  The pure pork fat was $1.99 a pound.  As I was paying for it I saw a pork shoulder roast for $1.59.  That just seemed crazy to me.

Luckily I was just making a small one-goat sized batch.

You sure can!  I've bought lard before to make tortillas and such.  Comes in a tub, usually a few pounds at a time.  

I wouldn't be surprised if that cost was higher for the lard because it takes more work.  To butcher the cuts, they're just going on and cutting the animal down, doing a little trimming.  But it's a quick process.  The tallow or lard has to be cleaned and rendered down and is more time intensive for them, or so I would imagine.  

(02-26-2021, 02:29 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Large commercial marijuana farms should package and sell their by product (leaves and stems) as pellets for smokers.

Pellets are made and sold out of specific woods... pecan, hickory, peach, apple, mesquite, etc.  I doubt "dope smoke" would be a very good tasting smoke.

(02-26-2021, 02:31 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote: You sure can!  I've bought lard before to make tortillas and such.  Comes in a tub, usually a few pounds at a time.  

I wouldn't be surprised if that cost was higher for the lard because it takes more work.  To butcher the cuts, they're just going on and cutting the animal down, doing a little trimming.  But it's a quick process.  The tallow or lard has to be cleaned and rendered down and is more time intensive for them, or so I would imagine.  

Yep, and if you're trimming briskets, it's very easy to make your own. It's just easier to buy it.... (and I'm not at all confident that is Franklin's secret. I watched the video and all, but I just don't buy it)

(02-26-2021, 12:51 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I think tending the fire would be great, but I’m pretty happy I blindly stumbled on to a pellet smoker. I’m almost 54, and learning two things at once is just not something I’d want to do. I said earlier that if I feel I’m decent smoking then I may decide to take up learning how to cook on a stick burner.

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(02-26-2021, 04:44 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Pellets are made and sold out of specific woods... pecan, hickory, peach, apple, mesquite, etc.  I doubt "dope smoke" would be a very good tasting smoke.

But just think of the fun you could have tending the flame 

(02-26-2021, 04:46 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Yep, and if you're trimming briskets, it's very easy to make your own. It's just easier to buy it.... (and I'm not at all confident that is Franklin's secret. I watched the video and all, but I just don't buy it)

I'm not convinced it's THE Franklin secret, but I'm willing to bet it's part of the equation.  And having been to Franklin's, what he explains in his videos and what you'll see if you're able to pop into the smokehouse isn't telling the whole story.  His briskets do get unwrapped in soaking wet paper, but there's no good explanation if he's not adding fat somewhere along the line, so I do believe it's at least a factor.  The rest of it comes down to to technique and to equipment in my mind.  He gets some of the most consistent packer briskets ever delivered to him, and his smokers are massive and as a result, easy to control.  The lack of variation from one brisket to the next is, in my opinion, his biggest secret.  But the moisture content in those briskets?  It has to be coming from some added fat.  I just don't think brisket smoking is complex enough to really allow for much more to factor into the picture.  

As far as making your own tallow or lard, it's not hard, but it's definitely more work than buying a tub of it.  Honestly, just getting the fat cleaned up to render cleanly is enough extra labor it's not worth it in my mind.  Time is money and there are just some things I don't want to deal with.  

(02-26-2021, 12:51 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I think tending the fire would be great, but I’m pretty happy I blindly stumbled on to a pellet smoker. I’m almost 54, and learning two things at once is just not something I’d want to do. I said earlier that if I feel I’m decent smoking then I may decide to take up learning how to cook on a stick burner.

That's the thing about a hobby.  It should be fun.  Relaxing.  An escape of some kind from the rest of the daily routine.  If a pellet smoker gets you there, that's awesome.  I think learning the techniques and management of stick burning is awesome, but it's not necessary for solid BBQ.  At the end of the day, if what attracts you is having a great meal and sharing it with your friends and family, you've hit the jackpot.  If it becomes a chore or a burden or is stressful from the time you're spending keeping watch or losing sleep, it's no longer a hobby.  Unless you've got a different idea of hobby than I do! 

(02-26-2021, 04:56 PM)MileHighGrowler Wrote: I'm not convinced it's THE Franklin secret, but I'm willing to bet it's part of the equation.  And having been to Franklin's, what he explains in his videos and what you'll see if you're able to pop into the smokehouse isn't telling the whole story.  His briskets do get unwrapped in soaking wet paper, but there's no good explanation if he's not adding fat somewhere along the line, so I do believe it's at least a factor.  The rest of it comes down to to technique and to equipment in my mind He gets some of the most consistent packer briskets ever delivered to him, and his smokers are massive and as a result, easy to control.  The lack of variation from one brisket to the next is, in my opinion, his biggest secret..    But the moisture content in those briskets?  It has to be coming from some added fat.  I just don't think brisket smoking is complex enough to really allow for much more to factor into the picture.  

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As far as making your own tallow or lard, it's not hard, but it's definitely more work than buying a tub of it.  Honestly, just getting the fat cleaned up to render cleanly is enough extra labor it's not worth it in my mind.  Time is money and there are just some things I don't want to deal with.  
[/quote]

These are my thoughts on it. They have cooked enough brisket on those smokers they know exactly how long they will take and when to take it off.  He says all he puts on it is salt, pepper, and garlic. I suspect there is another ingredient or two he's not revealing. If anything, maybe he's coating the second wrap of paper with tallow to keep the paper from soaking up moisture itself, but I don't believe it's going back into the brisket. But I'm just guessing. I'm also assuming being in Texas his beef is supplied exactly how he wants it and fresh from the slaughterhouse. 

(02-26-2021, 12:56 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Some ribs I did before it got cold.....

Those look mighty tasty. How did you handle the cook? Do you spray? Wrap? Slather on BBQ at the end or are those dry? 

(02-26-2021, 05:07 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Those look mighty tasty. How did you handle the cook? Do you spray? Wrap? Slather on BBQ at the end or are those dry? 

I have no secrets...lol. I pulled the membrane, coated them with Rib Tickler, then came back over that with Yardbird Rub. (or Dirty Bird, I use them interchangably) My pit loves to run at 250 in the middle grate. So I cook them for 1.5 hours on the grate. When the rub starts to look dry (which it will) I spritz with apple juice from a spray bottle. I then wrap them in foil with some butter and Tiger Sauce (for bite) and just a little more apple juice. Cook them to they have a nice bend to them when you pick them up, usually another hour or so, then unwrap and sauce, put them back in to set the sauce. These were actually sauced pretty heavy, I just left them in probably 5-10 minutes or so longer than I should have. My sauce sets in about 15 minutes. And I like my ribs "fall off the bone" and not the "one clean bite" competition. That is just to see if you can hit a mark that is very tight. I like fall off the bone so that's how I cook them. All I have to worry about is going to long and getting mushy.

(02-26-2021, 05:03 PM)Sled21 Wrote: [quote pid='994436' dateline='1614369374']

As far as making your own tallow or lard, it's not hard, but it's definitely more work than buying a tub of it.  Honestly, just getting the fat cleaned up to render cleanly is enough extra labor it's not worth it in my mind.  Time is money and there are just some things I don't want to deal with.  

These are my thoughts on it. They have cooked enough brisket on those smokers they know exactly how long they will take and when to take it off.  He says all he puts on it is salt, pepper, and garlic. I suspect there is another ingredient or two he's not revealing. If anything, maybe he's coating the second wrap of paper with tallow to keep the paper from soaking up moisture itself, but I don't believe it's going back into the brisket. But I'm just guessing. I'm also assuming being in Texas his beef is supplied exactly how he wants it and fresh from the slaughterhouse. 
[/quote]

When I was there a couple of years ago I was told every brisket comes in according to Aaron's specific specs.  He basically has his own distribution channel to ensure he can get the number he needs and that they meet all the criteria.  I believe it's local, at least within state, not necessarily Austin area. 

(02-26-2021, 04:55 PM)bfine32 Wrote: But just think of the fun you could have tending the flame 

Leaves and stems??? 

(02-26-2021, 04:44 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Pellets are made and sold out of specific woods... pecan, hickory, peach, apple, mesquite, etc.  I doubt "dope smoke" would be a very good tasting smoke.

Hard to say.  I have never been sitting around a campfire, gotten a face full of smoke from hickory logs and said "Mmmmm.  That is delicious"

(02-26-2021, 07:09 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Hard to say.  I have never been sitting around a campfire, gotten a face full of smoke from hickory logs and said "Mmmmm.  That is delicious"

It's really not. Woods for smoking must be a hardwood variety. Oak, Pecan, Hickory, Mesquite, Peach or Apple. If you try to smoke something with a soft wood like Pine or Cedar, you are going to have so much creosote all over your food it will be inedible. I'm going to just go out on a limb and say as much harsh smoke that comes off marijuana plants when you burn them in a field is just going to ruin your food. 

Going to put some chickens on the smoker today. Will report back with how it went and how I did it.

(02-27-2021, 12:12 PM)Sled21 Wrote: It's really not. Woods for smoking must be a hardwood variety. Oak, Pecan, Hickory, Mesquite, Peach or Apple. If you try to smoke something with a soft wood like Pine or Cedar, you are going to have so much creosote all over your food it will be inedible. I'm going to just go out on a limb and say as much harsh smoke that comes off marijuana plants when you burn them in a field is just going to ruin your food. 

Yeah, it would probably taste like shit, but it wouldn't really matter.  I once ate an omelette made with skittles and cheetoes after tending my "smoker" for a couple of hours.

(02-27-2021, 05:43 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Yeah, it would probably taste like shit, but it wouldn't really matter.  I once ate an omelette made with skittles and cheetoes after tending my "smoker" for a couple of hours.

Somehow that sounds amazingly good.....

Put some chickens on today - 315 for about 2 hours. I put some olive oil on them, put two different rubs on, and then put a can of beer up their butt. I basted with butter halfway through. They turned out juicy and delicious. Honestly, I'm not sure I will do whole chickens again though. They were kind of a pain in the ass and I'm not sure it was worth it. The yield on a chicken also isn't near as much as something you would get from a pork butt or bigger cut of meat.

I mean the chicken breast off this thing was definitely better than what I can do in the oven...but I wouldn't say ground breakingly better.

Also, I'm not convinced the beer up the butt thing does anything. There was as much liquid in the can when I took them off as there was when I put them on. Im not convinced it actually evaporates up into the chicken.

Did a brisket today. I think it was a little dry but I swore I wasn’t taking it off early. Still really good. Made some KC burnt ends also. I probably didn’t do it great but based on that I’d rather have the slices from the point. Oh yeah my son put ranch on his brisket. If anyone wants to live with a 19 year old moron, there’s a homeless one wandering around the streets of Norwood.

(02-27-2021, 08:41 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Put some chickens on today - 315 for about 2 hours. I put some olive oil on them, put two different rubs on, and then put a can of beer up their butt. I basted with butter halfway through. They turned out juicy and delicious. Honestly, I'm not sure I will do whole chickens again though. They were kind of a pain in the ass and I'm not sure it was worth it. The yield on a chicken also isn't near as much as something you would get from a pork butt or bigger cut of meat.

I mean the chicken breast off this thing was definitely better than what I can do in the oven...but I wouldn't say ground breakingly better.

Also, I'm not convinced the beer up the butt thing does anything. There was as much liquid in the can when I took them off as there was when I put them on. Im not convinced it actually evaporates up into the chicken.

They look great. Did you soak them in a brine?