Turkey dinner is done and cleaned up. Pulled some sweet corn out of the freezer, soaked for a bit, wrapped in foiil and steamed on the top rack of the gasser. Everything turned out great. I'm loving the Bradley..
Next up, 5.5 lb pork butt for a friend.
Rubbed (CYM and Famous Dave's rib rub) and resting.
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn37kS2FRdI/AAAAAAAA5l4/LpcE_agOmiE/s720/0808091719-00.jpg)
Ready to go, adding one more thermo to double-check the temps.
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn4bEWHJSvI/AAAAAAAA5ms/VqhOTqrTmK0/s720/0808091808-00.jpg)
SquirtTheCat digging the first 2 hours of Hickory and standing guard over the 'patio'.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn4bU_xNJhI/AAAAAAAA5nY/4bSz0PPt1Rg%3Cbr%20/%3E/s720/0808091925-00.jpg)
Got too close to the perimeter..
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn4bXDlXr6I/AAAAAAAA5ng/uDqIFVi0zIY/s720/0808091927-00.jpg)
Your a smokin' machine STC! :D
Looks like your new setup is going to work perfect.
Lookin' good, can't wait for the completed pictures. ;)
Mike
Thanks MrW! The OBS is just too much fun...
I write software for what feels like 24x7.. No kids. So this is my primary hobby.
My buddy is in he same boat, so we call it "Sport Cooking".
(cooking as a Sport, try new things, eat some of it, and give the rest away to friends/coworkers)
The wives like the byproducts as well. :)
20.5 hours later... My Maverick finally beeped. 190 - yeah! (next time I'll up the cabinet temp - this one stayed at 200 most of the time - I was just nervous last night while it sat out there unsupervised)
Out of the Bradley...
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn8sfiQeR2I/AAAAAAAA5oo/0u2_JSftJeo/s720/0809091434-00.jpg)
And into the pan to get foiled.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn8shE_7T0I/AAAAAAAA5ow/RsxLnK6gU0Q/s720/0809091438-00.jpg)
Going to Wally World for some supplies, and I'll pull it when I get home. Should be easy - it felt like Jello trying to pick it up off of the rack..
Thanks for all of the tips/advice everyone!
A shot of yellow sauce on that when you pull it will make a great sammie!!
Just pulled it... OH MY!
Unfortunately, it's not for me. (barter for the use of a coworker's pickup truck + gas) But I will set aside a little bit to nibble on!
Is that bone 'dog safe'? I know a guy with a couple of Beagles... This would make their day.
Final results...
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn9jx6XCLCI/AAAAAAAA5pk/1yWD4p2yCbg/s720/0809091741-00.jpg)
Was expecting a little more meat than that, but know I can get a feel for meet <> fat <> waste.
(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_CbvAIVzmFFM/Sn9jzsF59lI/AAAAAAAA5ps/ryLfiK2Wr_c/s720/0809091741-01.jpg)
All in all, very good! Too bad I have to give it away tomorrow..
Good looking eats there Squirt! I'd definitely recommend 225 deg. next time. Saw your cabinet at Home Depot yesterday while buying a new water heater (old one sprung a leak - fun, fun, fun) and thought about your project. If'n I hadn't just already bought my new cabinet, I'd have bought me one.
Thanks! Yes, I will amp it up a bit next time. There wasn't much 'pulling' involved, gravity did most of the work..
I finally heard back from my landscapers on the concrete work, they are coming after Sep 1st do do the curbing, strip the sod and pull a tree stump that is in the way. After they clear out, I will cover in landscape fabric and move a METRIC #&#^^TON of rock into place to fill..
Actually, I'll hire a couple nearby college boys (football players at a school that just dropped their football program - so they are big, and bored..) to move the rock in exchange for $15/hr and a Bradley full of smoked turkey legs!
I will have an entire pictorial on that project.
I hate to change the subject, but what kind of cat is that squirt?
Quote from: js185vx on August 10, 2009, 10:40:34 AM
I hate to change the subject, but what kind of cat is that squirt?
He's just a big mutt. Born under my neighbor's chimney.
18 16 pounds and diabetic..
Looks great, I'm about to do 4 butts on Friday. Probably around 20lbs worth. Did you have to trim off the fat before you smoked it?
I leave them just the way the come out of the package.
With that much meat in the smoker, don't be concerned, the temp will take a while to come back up.
I put the probe under the lowest butt.
You might also have some fun getting them to fit. Sometimes I stand them on the bone end and put two on each rack to get four in there.
Like this:
(http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/kk7/flbentrider/bradley/DSCN2161.jpg)
Quote from: degenerazn on August 16, 2009, 09:36:20 PM
Looks great, I'm about to do 4 butts on Friday. Probably around 20lbs worth. Did you have to trim off the fat before you smoked it?
No, I didn't trim it a bit. I just let it warm up to room temps a bit, then slathered some yellow mustard and Famous Dave's rib rub all over it... Came out great.
FLB..that looks exactly like how I plan on doing it. I see that you don't want your pork butts touching each other. How long did you smoke those butts with and with what flavor smoke? Did you switch the trays midway thru the smoke? Overall, how long did that entire process take? I have a potluck to go to this saturday and want it to be hot and ready by 7pm.
Also, with the fat, I buy these buys from costco and they come with a good size layer of fat on top. Its better to cook with the fat on, and just remove it when I pull it?
You don't want them touching each other or the sides of the smoker.
Sometimes it can get tricky. I had to put the "beat down" on one once to get it to cooperate.
I usually use Hickory for butts, but I have also used oak, apple, maple..
Butts are very forgiving. Most of the time I:
Brine 24 hours
Rub 24 hours
Smoke 4 hours @200
Pull from the smoker, foil wrap and into a 200F (convection) oven until the IT is 190F to 200F
FTC at least 2 hours, I have done up to 8 hours.
You can leave it in the smoker the whole time if you want, change the water bowl and rotate racks every four hours. change the water every four hours even after the smoke is done, you don't want the bowl to overflow with pork fat drippings that near the heater.
My process takes 14 to 18 hours. If I wanted them ready @ 7pm I would start no later than midnight. Since that is a time I don't fancy to be tending the smoker....
I would put them in around 9 or 10 pm, pull them @190F-200F and FTC until 6pm, then start pulling.
When I take them out of FTC, I remove the foil, put it on a cutting board with a "moat", kinda break it apart a little, then go get a beverage, come back in 10 minutes to pull..
I separate the meat from the fat in large chunks, I don't shred much anymore, it tends to dry out. If it's going on a sammy I'll shred at serving time.
I leave the fat on, I usually try to keep the butts fat side up, but sometimes that is not possible.
Here is a link to the recipe I use:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=3263.msg120734#msg120734
I don't have time to brine. Can't leave the rub on for 24 hours either. I'll probably let the rub sit for maybe 4 hours before I smoke it, but I do plan on injecting it.
This is the recipe I'm following.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html
What you think FLB? :)
I didn't brine mine either. Just ~60 minutes sitting out with the mustard rub on it, then into the OBS. 20 hours later, it was perfect..
Quote from: degenerazn on August 17, 2009, 11:27:38 AM
I don't have time to brine. Can't leave the rub on for 24 hours either. I'll probably let the rub sit for maybe 4 hours before I smoke it, but I do plan on injecting it.
This is the recipe I'm following.
http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/pork4.html
What you think FLB? :)
That will work fine. I don't remove the fat cap. I just take them out of the package, rinse off, pat dry, etc..
I would think that the reasoning for trimming the fat would be to get more rub on the meat, but the fat is one of the things that will keep it moist on a long cook.
Like I said, pork butt is one of the most forgiving cuts of meat, as long as you don't rush it.
Look at it this way: The longer it takes, the better it will be!
One other tip: make sure your temp probe is in meat, not a fat pocket. The fat will read 10-15 degrees higher than the meat, since it is much denser. I always "stick" the butt multiple times/places to make sure my temp is good.
Just to add. I dont brine mine either. They come out so tender that I cant pick them up after the boating because they fall apart.
I have done it both ways with great results eather way
Brine pump 10% of green weight then place it in the brine, in the fridge 24 hr then rinse and dry, add some rub and in the fridge over night
Or
Take out of the package rinse and dry, add some rub and directly in the smoker
Degen, go for it! Its all about what taste you are after - not a right way or "better" way. In some form all methods work, you just come out with somewhat different results. I salt/pepper/mop, others brine, others inject, others rub for 2 days, etc.... I suggest you try more than one way as experiments. I like brining, but only on loins, not on butts. Others rub and let the butt sit in the rub for hours and hours - personally I do it just before it goes in the smoker. My rub is usually simple - salt, pepper usually, but sometimes add garlic and cayenne. I usually don't enjoy the complicated rubs much more, and I just can't develop a taste for sweet rubs. I like to mop - I really like bark on my 'Q and mopping really helps with the formation of bark - and I don't mind the extra time in the smoker because of the mopping. But what do I know, pork is not my specialty, I've been doing beef for 40 years and that's how I've done beef, and just adapted (well not much) it to pork. It's the way I like it. Now having said that, the real fun of barbecue (well other than eating it) is finding out what you or your family likes and tweaking your process/recipe until you hit it on the head every time. I might not rave about it, but who gives a hoot - you and your family likes it and you are probably not likely to be cooking for me! The bbq contests you see around, the guy who gets the tallest trophy and the biggest check is not usually the person with the "best" barbecue, but the one who along with others, presented a well and properly prepared and cooked dish (most in the contest can do that), but with a taste that that day impressed the judges - in other words "subjective"
So it would behoove me to do a
Naked butt
Next time, to see what just smoke and pork tastes like, before all the brining, rubs, etc...
Or maybe I should just ask the G-string man...
Quote from: FLBentRider on August 18, 2009, 12:06:47 PM
So it would behoove me to do a
Naked butt
Next time, to see what just smoke and pork tastes like, before all the brining, rubs, etc...
Or maybe I should just ask the G-string man...
Wouldn't do you any good to ask him cause he aint never done a naked butt either!! Well maybe once or twice down at the swimming hole when he was younger.
Quote from: FLBentRider on August 18, 2009, 12:06:47 PM
So it would behoove me to do a
Naked butt
Next time, to see what just smoke and pork tastes like, before all the brining, rubs, etc...
Or maybe I should just ask the G-string man...
The closest i came to doing one was with just salt and pepper and it tasted like a pork chop not bad but nothing to brag about
When I do butts, I use CYM and rub the day before, then 4 hours of HICKORY. Into the house oven uncovered and unwrapped for the duration of the cook time. When finished I FTC for a couple of hours and then pull. Not quite naked but more naked than some. Love it!
KyNola