Any Time is Grillin Time

[Unforgiven]

...and your purchase price was excellent...

yeah, I probably wouldn't have grabbed it if not for the price. I would have held out for larger / name brand. It was cheap enough to grab and toss in the shed so I can ultimately do a more robust solution. Even once I get the house wired it will be so I can use this generator or another larger portable generator.

 

[olbriar]

yeah, I probably wouldn't have grabbed it if not for the price. I would have held out for larger / name brand. It was cheap enough to grab and toss in the shed so I can ultimately do a more robust solution. Even once I get the house wired it will be so I can use this generator or another larger portable generator.

Getting the house wired is not cheap. There are cheating alternatives but are not approved. A whole house generator and transfer switch would be way sweet and worry free. ....I like to dream. That huge house and pool house I worked on a few years back had a generator the size of a locomotive installed that set in its own dwelling. It had to be placed by a large crane and the dwelling was then constructed around it. Another building, climate controlled, was constructed to house his Tesla backup with his two huge outbuildings decked with solar panels. The owner was serious about the fan getting fouled. It's amazing what money can buy.

I simply long for something to limp by on. A backup only designed to bridge a short outage is my desire. I'm not a prepper. If a total collapse of the grid occurred I could survive for quite some time at the cabin. A short term need is more realistic and I should have a generator for that rare occasion.

 

[olbriar]

Superbowl Sunday, anything special planned? I'm hanging out at home though I was invited to take in the big game elsewhere. I normally jump at the opportunity to enjoy the game with a group of fans of the game but not this year. I've been a Chiefs fan forever and with them playing tomorrow the game goes beyond entertainment. With that in mind, I'm hanging out and smoking some baby backs. They sound good, were on sale, and take little attention to smoke. I'll bake some beans and throw together a potato salad to go with the ribs. If things go really bad for KC I will have rib bones to throw at the TV.

 

[Unforgiven]

Superbowl Sunday, anything special planned? I'm hanging out at home though I was invited to take in the big game elsewhere. I normally jump at the opportunity to enjoy the game with a group of fans of the game but not this year. I've been a Chiefs fan forever and with them playing tomorrow the game goes beyond entertainment. With that in mind, I'm hanging out and smoking some baby backs. They sound good, were on sale, and take little attention to smoke. I'll bake some beans and throw together a potato salad to go with the ribs. If things go really bad for KC I will have rib bones to throw at the TV.

Go Chiefs!!! Nah, I'm kinda agnostic, but I wish both teams well.

I'm actually smoking a shoulder right now, because, I'm doing cubano sammiches tomorrow with the pulled pork. I'll toss the pork with orange and lime juice, add some ham, swiss, mustard, pickles (not for me, but my wife likes them), and good, dense panini bread. I have a cast iron panini pan to press and grill the sammiches.

Beyond the cubano paninis, just chips and dip, cheese & crackers, and some liquid bread. I've also got a little appleshine I may have a taste of too.

 

[olbriar]

Go Chiefs!!! Nah, I'm kinda agnostic, but I wish both teams well.

I'm actually smoking a shoulder right now, because, I'm doing cubano sammiches tomorrow with the pulled pork. I'll toss the pork with orange and lime juice, add some ham, swiss, mustard, pickles (not for me, but my wife likes them), and good, dense panini bread. I have a cast iron panini pan to press and grill the sammiches.

Beyond the cubano paninis, just chips and dip, cheese & crackers, and some liquid bread. I've also got a little appleshine I may have a taste of too.

I'm not optimistic about the Chiefs' chances. My best guess prior to the playoffs was a Ravens 9ers match up with San Fran kissing the Lombardie trophy. Can't help but be excited...

I did the first deep clean of my GM smoker today. I've sucked out the ashes a number of times from the external vac port but had no clue if it was really working as advertised. Today, while cleaning the underneath sides of the grates and replacing the ramp foil, I decided it was time to give the smoker it's first deep clean. I first, once again, vacuumed the burn pot from it's external port. I then took everything out of the smoker to give it a much needed cleaning. I was surprised and pleased to find the external vac port really worked. Out of all of the added gimmicks that are pretty much a joke, the burn pot clean out is a fantastic addition to a smoker and I suspect we will see many more makers adopt a similar maintenance feature.

 

[Unforgiven]

I tried something different for an appetizer tonight. My wife had come home with two bags of frozen, uncooked wings a couple weeks back and they just weren't that good. In the meantime I saw a video of someone that smoked wings (my preferred cook) but then dropped them in oil for a minute or two to crisp up the skin. The biggest lament I get is that smoking the wings leaves them with kind of rubbery skin. Well, I had wings that didn't cook well the original way, a new idea to better my regular smoked wings, so what the heck, I figured I'd give the smoke then fry a go.

So, I did the smoke just like I always do. I put a couple quarts of oil in a dutch oven, and transferred the wings from the grill to the oven. Let them sizzle for about 3 minutes and brought them in. They came out fantastic. I can't wait to try it with regular wings.

 

[olbriar]

Interesting. Poultry skin does not smoke well. A frying finish.. hmmm I'll have to give that a go. I wonder if an air fryer would work well for that?

 

[Unforgiven]

Interesting. Poultry skin does not smoke well. A frying finish.. hmmm I'll have to give that a go. I wonder if an air fryer would work well for that?

I just put an inch or so of oil in the bottom of a dutch oven.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

See. Once you get into Grillin' anything that can be cooked outdoors anyway becomes a topic. If probably had plenty of smoked meat here in my city. It's just not something that usually comes up in conversation.
Just so you know I do know what a smoker is. I'll grab a pic of the one over the hill and post it here. To me it looks huge but it's for a little occasionally seasonal rib shack that goes the KC way from my one trip to that city.

 

[olbriar]

I just put an inch or so of oil in the bottom of a dutch oven.

I get it now. When I try the fry finish, I think I'll use a deep dish cast skillet I have. My Dutch oven is a bit large for the project. I'm just cooking for the wife and I unless I'm at the cabin.

My BB ribs turned out better than normal. I rarely deviate from the 3-2-1 method to smoke them. Yesterday, unintentionally , the cook was more like 3-3.5-.75. I didn't glaze them on the finish. The last forty five minutes just dried the ribs from being steamed. The result was a tender juicy rib that had that "competition bite" that my normal cook never achieves. They normally are fall off the bone tender.

 

[Unforgiven]

I rarely deviate from the 3-2-1 method to smoke them. Yesterday, unintentionally , the cook was more like 3-3.5-.75. I didn't glaze them on the finish. The last forty five minutes just dried the ribs from being steamed.

LOL, that's the beauty of smoking and grilling. Precision is optional.

 

[olbriar]

LOL, that's the beauty of smoking and grilling. Precision is optional.

Every cook varies with the meat as you well know. I often flex the cook to accommodate a thicker cut etc but I don't stray far from the given path. Yesterday was an exception. I entertained surprise company and then worked in my scheduled bike ride in spite of its delay. The result was excellent and I'll try something similar on the next rack I smoke. It's hard to mess up a rack of ribs.

You have proven through time to be the far more adventurous chef. I have learned a lot from your willingness to go outside the box.
Thanks!

 

[Unforgiven]

Every cook varies with the meat as you well know. I often flex the cook to accommodate a thicker cut etc but I don't stray far from the given path. Yesterday was an exception. I entertained surprise company and then worked in my scheduled bike ride in spite of its delay. The result was excellent and I'll try something similar on the next rack I smoke. It's hard to mess up a rack of ribs.

You have proven through time to be the far more adventurous chef. I have learned a lot from your willingness to go outside the box.
Thanks!

I pulled my biggest audible on pulled pork on Saturday. I was about 5 hours into the cook with meat temp at about 140 degrees when my wife informed me we were going out to dinner. I bagged up the roast and cranked the smoker to 350 and got it up to about 155 when I had to leave, so I tossed it on a sheetpan, and put it on a timed cook in the oven to finish. I got home after dinner, oven was off, and the meat was at 199 degrees. I may have sacrificed the bark and a little flavor, but it was going into the aforementioned cubano sammiches, so all was well.

 

[olbriar]

I pulled my biggest audible on pulled pork on Saturday. I was about 5 hours into the cook with meat temp at about 140 degrees when my wife informed me we were going out to dinner. I bagged up the roast and cranked the smoker to 350 and got it up to about 155 when I had to leave, so I tossed it on a sheetpan, and put it on a timed cook in the oven to finish. I got home after dinner, oven was off, and the meat was at 199 degrees. I may have sacrificed the bark and a little flavor, but it was going into the aforementioned cubano sammiches, so all was well.

Outstanding recovery! I doubt you lost much flavor.. perhaps a bit of bark. It's been my observation that once meat reaches the 140 mark or so, there isn't much additional smoke added. One could easily finish the cook from that point in a conventional oven. Ramping up the temp to 350 and it still turning out tender is surprising to me. Good to know info.

My son has taken to doing a long cook with his pork butt lately. More pellet consumption with added bark being the reward. A much longer cook without the wrap but it is his preferred cook now.

 

[Unforgiven]

Ramping up the temp to 350 and it still turning out tender is surprising to me. Good to know info.

I wasn't completely shoting blind, I learned that from a book I read when I first started smoking. Same place I learned about FTC (foil, towel, cooler) to keep the meat hot for hours.

My son has taken to doing a long cook with his pork butt lately. More pellet consumption with added bark being the reward. A much longer cook without the wrap but it is his preferred cook now.

Yeah, if you have the time, the pellets, and don't mind a 15 hour cook, it's definitely the way to go.

 

[olbriar]

I found the flank steaks marked down a bit so I bought a couple today. Not a rip roaring bargain but man I'm hungry for them. I'm not doing any rub, I'll oil them up with some avocado oil and season with coarse salt and pepper. I'll keep them wet with some apple juice and worchestershire spritz and wrap them when they reach 160° or so. 195° is my target temp to put them in the hot box for an hour or so rest. I'm past ready to eat some flatiron steaks.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Maybe I don't know what a smoker is

Is this one?

 

[dontpanicbobby]

It's an honest to dog shack.

 

[Unforgiven]

Maybe I don't know what a smoker is

Is this one?

Anything you can regulate heat and smoke can be a smoker. I've seen them made out of filing cabinets.

 

[Unforgiven]

I don't know what to say, but I could watch this all day.
https://twitter.com/DubbsGrubs/status/1226201856386457601?s=20

 

[olbriar]

I don't know what to say, but I could watch this all day.
https://twitter.com/DubbsGrubs/status/1226201856386457601?s=20

That's pretty much tender.

 

[ocnbrze]

so i'm still mulling over the treager vs weber smokefire. i'm just curious how much time do you guys do maintenance on your grills. how much time is spent on cleaning it? how much time is involved? do you cover your grills? do you use multiple grills depending on what you are cooking? i already have Car-Broil's version of the Green Egg called the Kamander. it grills and smokes pretty good on its own. i do like a wider area for cooking more then a few rack of ribs at a time.

i'm thinking of using the kamander as my grilling thinks like burgers and steaks. and a pellet grill for things like ribs and bigger cuts of meats......basically to smoke and doing a low and slow cooks.

or is the pellet grills enough to do both? or do you think i should save my money and keep using the kamander. i'm very happy with my grill now. but i do like the idea of a more controlled low and slow cook.....which is really hard to do in the kamander at least in keeping a slow and steady temp.

thoughts??????

 

[Unforgiven]

i'm just curious how much time do you guys do maintenance on your grills. how much time is spent on cleaning it? how much time is involved?

It
Less than 20 minutes a month, and I cook on it 3-4 times a week, year round.

do you cover your grills?

I store mine in my shed, roll it out to cook, put it away when I'm done.

do you use multiple grills depending on what you are cooking?

I had a Weber when I purchased my pellet smoker, as the Traeger was meant to replace my electric smoker and I'd continue to use my Weber for grilling. After a year of not using my Weber I got tid of it. I use the pellet grill for everything.

i'm thinking of using the kamander as my grilling thinks like burgers and steaks. and a pellet grill for things like ribs and bigger cuts of meats......basically to smoke and doing a low and slow cooks.

or is the pellet grills enough to do both? or do you think i should save my money and keep using the kamander. i'm very happy with my grill now. but i do like the idea of a more controlled low and slow cook.....which is really hard to do in the kamander at least in keeping a slow and steady temp.

thoughts??????

I haven't used one of those, but it sounds like you are in a size crunch. That's a tough call. How often are you out of room? How often do you cook the meals you can't fit on the smoker/grill you have? I swear by my pellet grill, but as I said earlier, I use it 3-4 times as week year round. They aren't cheap, so the viability for you may vaary.

 

[ocnbrze]

it is not so much as a size crunch per se. the kamander is about the same size as your typical weber kettle grill. however, cooking more then one rack of ribs, i have to cut them into smaller sizes. the main reason why i'm considering a pellet grill is that the kamander is hard to control the temp. sometimes it gets way too hot, way too fast or it does not keep the heat consistently. i like the temperature control that the pellet grills offers. the kamander is great for searing, but low and slow cooking is a bit more challenging.

 

[Unforgiven]

Temperature control is certainly not a problem, even in 10 degree temps as I had yesterday. There is a thermostat inside the cooking area that controls the pellet feed. Depending on what you get, it will be insulated, or have optional insulatio avaialble. My Treager is from before the inbuilt insulation, so I have a winter jacket. I seem to remember you are in a more mild climate, so that extra expense may be overkill.