Hey Dan...got a good dry rub recipe you want to share...

[hilltoppersx]

it has nothing on the one you are using in the truck. but i figured i would start out cheap (and easy) and if I get into it then I will upgrade. It's also tough having an apartment so I need to be able to move it fairly easily.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W4NDPY/ref=oh_details_o02_s02_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have built some good trust in your cooking because I have eaten it, plenty of it in one glorious weekend. But you also turned me on to Dizzy Pig Raging River. I'm now on my fourth bottle. I get 3lbs of wild caught scottish salmon from my fish monger once a week. We been eating it for dinner three nights in a row, just rubbed with raging river and broiled in the oven. He gets the fish daily from the New Fulton St Market so it's ridiculously fresh. I gave my fish monger a bottle, and he contacted Dizzy Pig and found out they will be at the seafood show in NYC this year so he is excited to meet them. He wants to be a distributor or something. Needless to say it's fucking delicious. Best piece of fish I have eaten. I have since tried Dizzy Pig Salt Lick (also a tasty rub) on filets that I pan seared and finished in the oven. So now I figured I would dabble in this whole smoking thing. We have really good farmers markets in the area and I have found a few farmers that will sell butchered meat in bulk. Like I said I'm just starting out.

Hopefully I don't fail as badly as a guy who comes to land rover forums with a freelander on chrome rims asking for advice on why he is losing coolant.

 

[hilltoppersx]

today I picked up 4 racks of st louis style ribs and will attempt my first 3-2-1 method on Sunday.

 

[bri]

This one works good if you do not wish to make your own.
http://www.buttrub.com/

 

[hilltoppersx]

This one works good if you do not wish to make your own.
http://www.buttrub.com/

got a big ole vat of Byron's! good stuff.

 

[Ballah06]

Used this one recently (with hickory wood and spraying with apple juice) on a pork butt and came out pretty damn good:

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup Morton's kosher salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons rosemary powder

Going to stick to this one and use it on flank steak next. Smoked flank steak numerous times before with a different rub, and the meat itself turns out juicy and great.

Source: http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html

 

[Mike_Rupp]

it has nothing on the one you are using in the truck. but i figured i would start out cheap (and easy) and if I get into it then I will upgrade. It's also tough having an apartment so I need to be able to move it fairly easily.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W4NDPY/ref=oh_details_o02_s02_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have built some good trust in your cooking because I have eaten it, plenty of it in one glorious weekend. But you also turned me on to Dizzy Pig Raging River. I'm now on my fourth bottle. I get 3lbs of wild caught scottish salmon from my fish monger once a week. We been eating it for dinner three nights in a row, just rubbed with raging river and broiled in the oven. He gets the fish daily from the New Fulton St Market so it's ridiculously fresh. I gave my fish monger a bottle, and he contacted Dizzy Pig and found out they will be at the seafood show in NYC this year so he is excited to meet them. He wants to be a distributor or something. Needless to say it's fucking delicious. Best piece of fish I have eaten. I have since tried Dizzy Pig Salt Lick (also a tasty rub) on filets that I pan seared and finished in the oven. So now I figured I would dabble in this whole smoking thing. We have really good farmers markets in the area and I have found a few farmers that will sell butchered meat in bulk. Like I said I'm just starting out.

Hopefully I don't fail as badly as a guy who comes to land rover forums with a freelander on chrome rims asking for advice on why he is losing coolant.

This summer, check with your fishmonger to see if you can get some Pacific salmon. The differences between salmon are night and day. Farmed Atlantic salmon is fucking disgusting. Setting aside the damage it does to surrounding areas, the stuff tastes horrible. Wild Atlantic salmon is a huge step upwards. I've had it several times in Europe and I really liked it. Living in the Midwest as a kid, the only salmon we ever got was the farmed shit, so I was shocked at how good the wild Scottish stuff is. Wild Pacific salmon is another huge step upwards. Imagine pacific salmon as being a dry aged ribeye and Atlantic salmon being nice, but grocery store ribeye. Pacific salmon has a much deeper red color and the taste is less delicate. It's intense, but in a good way.

Give it a try if you can get it out there. The Copper River season usually starts in June, but the shit is expensive. But whatever you do, try to get and fresh, wild Pacific salmon.

 

[Ballah06]

it has nothing on the one you are using in the truck. but i figured i would start out cheap (and easy) and if I get into it then I will upgrade. It's also tough having an apartment so I need to be able to move it fairly easily.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W4NDPY/ref=oh_details_o02_s02_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have built some good trust in your cooking because I have eaten it, plenty of it in one glorious weekend. But you also turned me on to Dizzy Pig Raging River. I'm now on my fourth bottle. I get 3lbs of wild caught scottish salmon from my fish monger once a week. We been eating it for dinner three nights in a row, just rubbed with raging river and broiled in the oven. He gets the fish daily from the New Fulton St Market so it's ridiculously fresh. I gave my fish monger a bottle, and he contacted Dizzy Pig and found out they will be at the seafood show in NYC this year so he is excited to meet them. He wants to be a distributor or something. Needless to say it's fucking delicious. Best piece of fish I have eaten. I have since tried Dizzy Pig Salt Lick (also a tasty rub) on filets that I pan seared and finished in the oven. So now I figured I would dabble in this whole smoking thing. We have really good farmers markets in the area and I have found a few farmers that will sell butchered meat in bulk. Like I said I'm just starting out.

Hopefully I don't fail as badly as a guy who comes to land rover forums with a freelander on chrome rims asking for advice on why he is losing coolant.

Dooood, although I haven't tried the propane smokers before and am fairly new to smoking myself (just over a year), I went with the all wood one from Lowe's (basic model to see how I do at this whole thing) and although it is time consuming, I dig the whole experience and the final product. Would recommend just going with one of those. Tons of smoke, heat, etc.

The one I currently have. Got it under $200 at Lowe's.

http://www.amazon.com/Char-Griller-...393007800&sr=1-2&keywords=char+griller+smoker

Also, just recently got one of these remote thermometers to gauge temps more accurately. Haven't tried it yet, but maybe something worth looking into in the future.

http://www.amazon.com/Ivation-Range...+dual+2+probe+bbq+smoker+meat+thermometer+set

 

[hilltoppersx]

i was checking out the all wood smokers. the only problem I have is storage. i hear ya loud and clear. hopefully when i get a house i can upgrade and have more storage. i have remote thermometers for meat and air so im not 100% retarded.

 

[hilltoppersx]

Used this one recently (with hickory wood and spraying with apple juice) on a pork butt and came out pretty damn good:

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup Morton's kosher salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground ginger powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons rosemary powder

Going to stick to this one and use it on flank steak next. Smoked flank steak numerous times before with a different rub, and the meat itself turns out juicy and great.

Source: http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/meatheads_memphis_dust.html

why just apple juice? why not apple juice and apple cider vinegar mixed? just curious. like I said I'm still new.

 

[Ballah06]

why just apple juice? why not apple juice and apple cider vinegar mixed? just curious. like I said I'm still new.

I tried the apple cider vinegar before, as recommended for injections and other things by a buddy who has been smoking for quite some time and personally did not see the benefit. The vinegar, when injected a day or two before the smoke, is supposed to start breaking down the connective tissue, etc. I have mixed it into injections before but since then was not impressed and stayed away from injecting things altogether. As far as spraying with apple cider vinegar, I just don't see a reason. The apple juice adds some moisture, flavor as well as helps things crystalize IMO, so just that by itself is enough. I have also used pineapple juice when I smoked ham (with just brown sugar, honey dijon and spice rub) and those turned out awesome. Precooked hams that is. Just what I have found works for me. Others who have experimented more or have done this longer may have other suggestions, ideas, etc. which I would be interested in hearing and trying.

Just IMO, give flank steak a shot. It is a much faster smoke than a shoulder, butt, etc. and turns out great. Kind of hard to screw up IMO. I have made brisket before, but just did not dig it as much as the juicy and more flavorful, smoke-penetrated, etc. flank steak. Maybe that is due to it being much thinner than the brisket.

 

[Ballah06]

i was checking out the all wood smokers. the only problem I have is storage. i hear ya loud and clear. hopefully when i get a house i can upgrade and have more storage. i have remote thermometers for meat and air so im not 100% retarded.

I hear you. Storage and having space to make things with crazy smoke billowing is definitely a consideration. I just wanted to try the bare bones approach and see how well it works out. A buddy uses the Big Chief electric smoker for fish and that turns out great. Not a lot of smoke coming out by any means, but it definitely works on the trout he makes. Although with those, you got to have a good brine to start with, so I have been told.

Granted there are a ton of BBQ sites, blogs, etc. this one has some injection info
http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/...en_of_injecting_meat_and_meat_injections.html

 

[hilltoppersx]

i dream of the day when i can buy firewood from someone nearby. I am buying my wood chunks for the smoker off amazon, only other option is home depot. i did get some lava rock to help keep the heat level. excited to give it a go sunday with ribs and get better. i need to do more and more reading so any website links are appreciated.

 

[adriatic04]

this is another hobby like homebrewing that I do not need but love. cooking and brewing go hand in hand.

on chicken in addition to the regular dry rub ingredients I find dry chipotle does great things.

 

[az_max]

My mom's marinade for brisket. Not sure where she got it. We cooked over a charcoal fire with mesquite chunks.

1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
Marinate brisket for 12 hours before smoking.

Then for BBQ sauce:
1/2 cup fat from brisket
1-1/4 cups ketchup
1/2 cup Worcestershire
4 tbs brown sugar
Juice of two lemons
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup hot water
1 tbs hot pepper sauce
Render meat drippings from brisket fat. You need about 4 tbs. Combine the drippings with remaining ingredients. Simmer 30-40 minutes. Makes about 2 cups.

 

[D Chapman]

Propane?!?! Oh man...

What you may be able to do, however, is build yourself a custom pan to fit on top of the propane burner that would allow you to fill it with charcoal and wood chunks. Then just use the propane to get the fire going... I'm not sure how insulated that cooker is so you may need to add fuel later in the cook. Either way, with the pan it comes with for wood chunks, it's a start.

Honestly, it does not matter what you cook with. You could have a $10k Jambo pit or a $50 55-gallon barrel, you can make good BBQ if you pay attention to what you're doing and are willing to learn. It all comes down to temperature control. You don''t want to be cooking along at 225* and then have the temp spike to 300*. Or the other way around, you don't want to be cooking at 300* and have the temp drop to 200* during the cook. The name of the game is consistency. So, first thing to do is get some good thermometers.

When you season your pit, do a test cook with some plain Pillsbury biscuits. Place a few biscuits on each cooking rack, front, middle, and back. Cook them at whatever temp you think you might be cook the most at, say 250*. Every 15 minutes or so, take a quick peek to see how the biscuits are cooking. Take notice at which biscuits are cooking faster and which ones are not cooking as fast. This will tell you where the hot spots are on your pit. Every pit is going to be different. But this is good information to know for obvious reasons.

And don't get mad if the first few times you cook the BBQ is crap. It takes time to learn your pit. So don't start off learning with a Snake Rivers Farms brisket.

I also saw a post here about smoke billowing out of a smoker..... This is NOT what you want. Heavy smoke will result in bitter BBQ. What you want is a thin blue smoke that you can hardly see. A thin blue smoke means the fire is burning clean. A clean fire is a happy fire.

A few websites to peep for great seasonings (and reading) is.
http://www.theingredientstore.com/
http://butcherbbq.com/
https://dizzypigbbq.com/

Chris at Dizzy Pig is a great guy. He likes his beer, too. If anyone reading this lives or passes through Manassas, VA, Chris does a few open house events throughout the year. It's totally worth going to. You'll learn a lot. Or, look to see which KCBS events he's attending along the East Coast, show up and talk shop, and you're sure to get a behind-the-scenes look at how to cook great BBQ.

I just bought a pair of new smokers. Both are Back Woods Smokers. I got the G2 Party, and a Pro Jr. These are a bit different than my stick burner Lang 60D, and they cook differently. If I'm cooking pork butts or brisket, I like the stick burner better. But for ribs, I like the vertical.

Once you get your new smoker dialed in, try a smoked Prime Rib. It's the bomb. Easy to do and it's fucking amazing.
Rub:
1/3 coarse black pepper
1/3 salt
1/3 garlic powder

Smoke at 200* until internal temp of 135* (4-5 hours). Let rest 30 minutes and slice as thick as you like. I like mine thick with a side of horseradish sauce.

And if you can't eat it all, slice it thinly for sandwiches at work.

 

[Ballah06]

Dan, thank you for the detailed and useful info; will monitor the smoke. Btw, just had chicken from Whole Foods (cooked food bar) and Daaayum, is it good. They smoke it in house and its juicy, extremely flavorfull and tasty. If u get a chance, try it and see what u think.

 

[hilltoppersx]

thanks dan. one of the reasons i bought the *gasp* propane smoker was for portability, but like you said you can convert it to charcoal very easily and that was one of the reasons I bought this model. i was reading comments of people using cast iron pans with charcoal and wood chunks in the smoker i purchased. as you suggested i have some testing to do. I got it all assembled last night and im going to season it today and do the biscuit test later tonight. I picked up some lava rock and apple wood chips and chunks for my first couple smokes. Going to give the ribs a go tomorrow using 3-2-1. thanks again for all the info.

 

[Mike_Rupp]

Dan, if you want to take the roast beef up a notch, lightly oil the roast and then torch the outside with MAPP gas until it looks like a steak that came off of a grill. Then proceed with the rest of your recipe.

 

[hilltoppersx]

Seasoned it yesterday did the biscuit test to figure out hot spots and check temps on different racks. then i made these today. they were already the best ribs i ever made. I used the 3-2-1 method but I know I can do better. The color is a bit weird because of my dark ass kitchen and cheap ass phone.

 

[Ballah06]

Seasoned it yesterday did the biscuit test to figure out hot spots and check temps on different racks. then i made these today. they were already the best ribs i ever made. I used the 3-2-1 method but I know I can do better. The color is a bit weird because of my dark ass kitchen and cheap ass phone.

Looks pretty tasty. Did you spray them with anything as they were cooking? Membrane on or off?

Btw, ordered that BBQ book Dan recommended; should be here in a day or so.