Smoking Meat...

[Spiesy]

I get the feeling you don't know the definition of hot and fast. Hot and fast is cooking at 275-325f as opposed to 225-275 as is traditional.
It is still not as hot as say your oven or over a grill. It is still a slow cook. You still use your smoker. It just doesnt take as long.
Read up on it, lots of people getting great results.

Okay. Correct, I thought when you meant "hot" - you meant hot. Not 30-degrees warmer.

And I'm not trying to be smart-arse. That's just how I read it, sorry.

 

[seifer]

You have misinterpreted me.

What I was trying to say was, broad strokes speaking, in terms of general cooking (of which BBQ falls under) - big, tough, pieces of meat are generally recommended to be cooked low and slow.

I edited my post above, I believe you dont fully understand what is meant by hot and fast.
Myron Mixon (im guessing you watch BBQ Pitmasters) is a hot and fast guy.

 

[seifer]

Okay. Correct, I thought when you meant "hot" - you meant hot. Not 30-degrees warmer.

And I'm not trying to be smart-arse. That's just how I read it, sorry.

Ha all good, im not trying to sound to so up myself either haha, hard to get tone across in text form.

 

[peteru]

I think I see the disconnect here. My assumption was that this thread is mainly concerned with relative BBQ newbies that need some tips on getting their BBQing into shape. On the other hand, Seifer appears to be talking on the level of semi-pro or at least a dedicated and experienced pitmaster.

If you are looking at relative newbies, chances are that they have both poor temperature control and incorrect readings. The majority of thermometers mounted on BBQs are by default wildly out of whack. Even when you do calibrate those thermometers, it is often only possible to do that to one temperature - 100C. If you are cooking with charcoal or wood (which you would be for real BBQ), you will need something like the Maverick to learn how to control temperature on your equipment.

I don't dispute that as you become more experienced, you can rely on the wireless probes less and less, but to get to that level they are a very, very useful tool. Case in point, for the last 8 weeks or so, I have done on the order of 20-30 cooks and used my Maverick exactly once. That was for a 20 hour (overnight) cook with lump charcoal. It was there mainly as an alarm, in case the temperature went out of range. For all the other stuff, a quick poke with the Aldi version of a thermapen is sufficient - mainly to confirm both the texture and temperature. Yes, I'm too lazy to setup the Maverick for things that I know how to cook with my Akorn. If I was using someone else's BBQ rig, I'd be putting the Maverick into action as the first item.

 

[Bribie G]

Back to the newbie stuff :lol:
Apart from the fact that my airlock isn't bubbling, I'm doing my first "mega smoke" for a family thing in Sydney. Prepped and rubbed them today and will chill then smoke tomorrow.



30 fairly large chicken thighs, a No 14 Free range for the envirowarrior lady and a couple of dozen supermarket thick snags. One batch with hickory, the other with apple/cherry. I'll be doing them on hottest setting (Hark / Aldi) and now have a hand held probe.

I'd appreciate a couple of ball park figures - based on previous I'd guess an hour for the snags, hour and a half for the thighs and two hours for the chicken? Or maybe three? Any suggestions for internal temps?

Also would this stuff handle freezing for the trip then being thawed then "refreshed" in a conventional oven?

 

[sp0rk]

I find snags are best sloooooow
the skin gets a bit tough, but the insides are like melted butter

 

[WarmerBeer]

30 fairly large chicken thighs, a No 14 Free range for the envirowarrior lady and a couple of dozen supermarket thick snags. One batch with hickory, the other with apple/cherry. I'll be doing them on hottest setting (Hark / Aldi) and now have a hand held probe.

I'd appreciate a couple of ball park figures - based on previous I'd guess an hour for the snags, hour and a half for the thighs and two hours for the chicken? Or maybe three? Any suggestions for internal temps?

Also would this stuff handle freezing for the trip then being thawed then "refreshed" in a conventional oven?

Your timings look right, but I would be looking to cook at around 125 C, rather than full bore. On my Aldi, that's with the dial pointing to around 7 o'clock.
You can most certainly smoke them the day before, cool them down to fridge temp, and transport in an esky down to Sin City. Reheat in the normal oven. I wouldn't refreeze them, it'll change the texture of the meat.

 

[seifer]

Morning Bribie, I only ever cook chicken in competition (cupcake chicken, google it for next time), generally speaking for thighs at 300f/150c (hot n fast lads lol) they'll be in the cupcake tins in a chicken broth for around 1.5 hours, they then get sauced and put on the grill for another 30-45 depending on doneness. ( definately use your probe for chicken thighs aim for 165f/73c). If your cooking lower at 120 then take these times out longer.

Whole chicken at 300f/150c id go for around 1.5 to two hours, pull it when thighs are at 165f/73c.

It may be too late now but ill also brine my chicken pieces overnight, if you have an injector you can hit them all with a bit of chicken stock and some spices, avoid dark coloured spices ie paprika as it will make your meat look red/raw.

Sausages at these temps an hour is about money, if not more than enough.

You can freeze i suppose, i normally refrigerate and "refresh" with no ill effects. Try putting a water bowl in the over when refreshing to keep things moist.

Good luck and post your porn.

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks chaps.
Doing the sausages separately so I'll do them slower and try the suggestion of putting them into hot water for a while to rehydrate the skin. I'll get the finished product down to near freezing but not iced in my lager fridge.

 

[indica86]

It may be too late now but ill also brine my chicken pieces overnight,

Brined whole chicken is freakin amazing... Still new to smoking - ie only Weber Q half arse smoking but a brined whole chicken even on that is unbelievable.

 

[peteru]

One thing I like to do when smoking chicken is to brine with thyme. We have a large rosemary bush in the backyard, so when it's time to put the chicken in the smoker I break off a few twigs and make a "nest" for the chicken to sit on top. I smoke it with apricot wood chunks.

 

[Bribie G]

Hey lookout rosemary bush out the front you are about to lose some serious foliage tomorrow

edit: what about putting rosemary twigs actually in the wood chip tray?

 

[peteru]

Yes, adding fresh rosemary to the woodchip tray works very well too. The volatile oils from the rosemary tend to evaporate pretty quickly when it's so close to the heat source, so you get an intense blast, but it won't last. When the meat is sitting in the nest the process is a bit slower, so you get more time to infuse. The flavour profile also changes a bit. The cooler nest imparts a different infusion and sweeter aroma than the hot smoke. Both are nice.

 

[tugger]

I did some brisket pieces and a piece of bone in chuck over the weekend.
Used some red gum for the fire in the box and slowly added used oak chips.
Around 5 hours on smoke and finished in the oven on low for a few more hours.
Turned out great all pulled and mixed together for pulled hot dogs at a party.

 

[peteru]

Red gum is a nice smoking wood, you probably didn't even need the oak - not that it would have hurt anything!

 

[Bribie G]

Where do you guys get your chips from? I've only been able to find Apple/cherry/mesquite or Hickory at Bunnings.

 

[Mardoo]

Awesome guy, lot of different woods. Give him a ring, he usually has more kinds than on the website. His "Convict Rub" is damn good too.

 

[barls]

i get most of mine from something I've ether turned or from my fruit trees.

 

[sp0rk]

Country Brewer Toormina has a bunch of different woods, last time I was there they had saw dust and small chips in big containers to weight out yourself
Down here I'm about to get some apple offcuts from Tilse's Cidery and a few other people locally have offered me pecan and nectarine offcuts

 

[Bribie G]

I get my Yogurt and Kefir cultures from CB and I will check with them.

I'm on my tablet and the auto complete did all the words from Yogurt up to the word "check". And that includes CB.
Bloody frightening.