Smoking Meat...

[Hammer]

i use a webber for smoking. google aussiebbq and you will find a wealth of information. My technique is low (100C) and slow. I make a charcoal snake and put wood chunks on top of it. light one end of the snake and it slowly burns. I hae a remote thermometer to monitor the temp, which is control the temp via the vents.

i use a fry rub first, then will apply and marinades later. look up the 3,2,1 method.

As for jerky, i use a dehydrator for that.

 

[Fents]

Cocko loves smoking the meat

 

[johnw]

Yesterday I had the family over for a bit of a Johntoberfest. They aren't so much into the beer side of things but they all were great in bringing a few German themed dishes.

I smoked hocks for about 4 hours on a nice low temp, then threw them on the rotisserie for the another hour or so to crisp up the skin. After having a few cracks at hocks i think i have a good method now. Brine for 3 - 4 days, remove from brine and leave in the fridge for 24 hours, then low temp smoke finished with either a few hours on the rotis or a go in the oven. With this method i have achieved fall off the bone meat with crispy skin. The hocks went down so well that i didn't even get a chance to photo some food porn. All i have is the below pic from the day.

 

[johnw]

More about this please.


Our house orange soda bbq sauce is loosely based on the recipe below

2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup orange soda
1 oz cider vinegar
2 oz Worcestershire sauce
1 T golden syrup
2 t mustard sauce
1 T some kind of hot sauce

Combine all ingredients and gently heat to simmer. Hold simmer for 15 min or longer if you want to thicken the sauce.

I like to get the soda on a simmer and get it to reduce. I love that zingy citrus hit on the pork. Also i love hot sauce too, so i sneak some of the Blairs Hot Sauce range in there too.

Sauces are like brewing, everyone has their own favourite flavours and profiles. i love hot sweet sauces on my meat as they go well with the saltyness of the rub.

The greatest thing smoking has taught me is how to make cheap cuts of meat taste like top dollars.

Here is one of the best beef briskets I have managed

 

[johnw]

 

[mjadeb1984]

hey has anyone ever smoked jalapeno chilies, making chipotle chilies. i am going through a major chipotle phase at the moment and have just planted some jalapenos, and when ready to harvest was planing on smoking them. would they be hot smoked?

 

[benno1973]

hey has anyone ever smoked jalapeno chilies, making chipotle chilies. i am going through a major chipotle phase at the moment and have just planted some jalapenos, and when ready to harvest was planing on smoking them. would they be hot smoked?

I've cold smoked them, but yes they would normally be hot smoked. Preferably in pits with pecan wood if you want to get all traditional. I cold smoked them for around a day and they were pretty pungent, but then I dried them in the oven and they lost a lot of that smoky smell. Took them forever to dry out, somewhere around 3 days I think from memory. They're still pretty good, lightly smoky, but nowhere near a regular chipotle.

I love chipotles too - they certainly are addictive!

 

[mjadeb1984]

Sweet. So how long do you reckon to hot smoke them?

 

[benno1973]

I think the key is low and slow, so you don't cook them, just dry them out. I'd guess around a day or so, but I'm just guessing as I don't have a hot smoker (apart from my bbq).

 

[Bizier]

I just realised I have a dead almond tree that is a little out of sight and thus mind. I might have to assist my landlord by removing it and docking it up.

Here is some snags and a salmon tail from yesterday on the Weber. Was about 5 hours with mesquite. The salmon was delicious.

 

[Malted]

So Cockmeister, what smoker have you decided to buy?

I have looked at a number and I see faults with all of them. I think I'd like to build a Texas Smoker style http://www.urbangriller.com/Texas_Smoker.html of beast just for the fun of building but I have too many projects on the go.

Bradley smokers appeared to have a very good element but I don't like the idea of 'having to use' their briquettes. Other ones I have seen had a grub screw to feed extruded smoking pellets into the burner (therefore couldn't really be used without smoking).
I have kind of settled on the Hark Smoker (spewing we don't have Aldi down here) but can't decide on the electric or gas. Electric convenient but not as hot as the gas. Electric more precise variable control than the gas, perhaps. I'm thinking heat would be good for roasting meats etc, but maybe I should leave that for our oven. Electric means you won't run out of gas. Gas means it is more portable (camping etc).
Also thinking on low without smoke stuff, one might use such a device for drying herbs, hops, jerky and biltong and stuff?
Maybe I expect too much from a 'smoker'?

 

[mr_tyreman]

here's the latest incarnation of the doom and plume smoker i built and rebuilt...and im building more

 

[Cocko]

So Cockmeister, what smoker have you decided to buy?

I have looked at a number and I see faults with all of them. I think I'd like to build a Texas Smoker style http://www.urbangriller.com/Texas_Smoker.html of beast just for the fun of building but I have too many projects on the go.

Bradley smokers appeared to have a very good element but I don't like the idea of 'having to use' their briquettes. Other ones I have seen had a grub screw to feed extruded smoking pellets into the burner (therefore couldn't really be used without smoking).
I have kind of settled on the Hark Smoker (spewing we don't have Aldi down here) but can't decide on the electric or gas. Electric convenient but not as hot as the gas. Electric more precise variable control than the gas, perhaps. I'm thinking heat would be good for roasting meats etc, but maybe I should leave that for our oven. Electric means you won't run out of gas. Gas means it is more portable (camping etc).
Also thinking on low without smoke stuff, one might use such a device for drying herbs, hops, jerky and biltong and stuff?
Maybe I expect too much from a 'smoker'?

I went the Hark electric, as you say, better temp control and agree, roasting can be done in the webber or oven.

I plan on running it low to do jerky, hops etc... So, my train of thought was very similar to yours. Also, I will be running it on our deck and didn't like the idea of having flames or beads out there....


Jerky...
:icon_drool2:

 

[CosmicBertie]

If you want bling, then you cant go much further than the Weber Smokey Mountain.

I've done pulled port, brisket, pork and beef ribs, and its amazing.

It'll cook for +12 hours without needing extra charcoal.

Like brewing, once you know your smoker, its light it, set it, forget it. I love it.

One question though, where do people get their smoke wood from? I've only ever seen Hickory chunks in Masters, cant find anywhere that does any fruit wood.

 

[benno1973]

Bunnings tends to have some choice, as does BBQ galore. Often though, they are mixes of woods, soaked in champagne, blah blah blah. I have a pack from BBQ Galore that is apple and mesquite I think, and it's labelled for chicken and pork. I've seen plain Hickory wood available in Bunnings, but no single fruit woods. We save our fruit wood cuttings when we prune, so we end up with a bunch that way.

 

[punkin]

Can you please explain your jerky recipe mate?

Its the best I have had...

Another pack left for you yesti.

Without going too much into a commercial recipe, i find that brines that include terryaki marinade are extrememly good. Don't add salt (except for nitrites) but you can add a little soy. It takes a LOT of cracked pepper to give a zing, while tobabco style sauces can add heat for those who prfere it hot.

One of the most popular of my recipes has a lot of szechuan pappercorns in it for the mouth zing.


Thanks for the orange sauce recipe too, i'll give it a go soon. B)

 

[Malted]

while tobabco style sauces can add heat for those who prfere it hot.

So you'd use chewin baccy yeah?

 

[Malted]

One question though, where do people get their smoke wood from? I've only ever seen Hickory chunks in Masters, cant find anywhere that does any fruit wood.

BCF has fruit woods (shavings and the likes)

 

[Phoney]

For my cold smoker I bought pellets from mistygully.com.au

They also sell wood chunks but they're quite expensive. I bought hickory & mesquite from bbq's galore, and for apple I found an old apple tree growing on the banks of a river and chainsawed a branch off. Chopped it up into small chunks, dried it out for 6 months and now I have enough to last me for the next 20 years.

 

[Crusty]

I wish I had the cash for the 6 rack Bradley Smoker