Well, the Brisket came out better than the butt did. The "burnt ends" were absolutely the cherry on the top of the entire effort. Man, I just might consider just buying "points" instead of whole briskets in the future. The "Flat" unfortunately came in just a bit overcooked. It wouldn't "pull" and I made the rookie mistake of slicing it thinking it was overdone based on the color instead of the texture. The IT on the flat was 203 so I thought I was good. Lesson learned the hard way as the connective tissue still hadn't broken down even at that high IT. The Butt came out ok. I got the IT up to 205 but it was just a tad stringy when I pulled it. Had to chop it to mix well with the pulled pieces. All in all, well worth the effort although I will stay with Shoulder over Butt when it comes to pulled pork. This weekend, I'm doing Pork Sausage. Gonna smoke it low and slow trying to get to an IT of 165 or so. I got a 10# shoulder I plan on smoking as well but I'm saving my whole brisket for another day. I still have a 2-bone Prime Rib in the deep freeze that I'll break out at some point. Not in any particular hurry as I'm still learning how to use my MES 40 Gen 2. I will crush a charcoal briquet and put it in with the wood chips to see if I can get a smoke ring working. Oh yeah, the bacon came out pretty damn good too. Finally learned how to slice it as you need the bacon damn near frozen to do it right. I was light on the brine so this last belly, fresh off the hog as of last Tuesday, should be my masterpiece. I have a simple but great brine recipie and the belly will be in it for 7 days. Then a cold smoke for 12-24hrs. Then a 24 hr rest.. I'll keep you guys posted on how it turns out.
First Long Bone Beef Short Ribs.. Yep, was bored to death today so I attempted this project. The pictures tell the story as the meal was fabulous. I smoked these bad boys at 225F for 4.5hrs. Foil wrapped for 1hr after 2 hrs and sauced (Masterpiece KC Style BBQ Sauce) for the final 1.5hrs.. Here's the pics for your approval: Fresh from the butcher: Rubbed: and finished: just in case curiosity is getting the better of you: Not too shabby I think.. :beer:
Missed this the 1st time round and I'll be up all night tracking Hurricane Irma so figured I'd add my experiences. I started out years back with a vertical Char Broil charcoal smoker. Cost me less than $45 and lasted me many years of smoking turkeys, Boston butts, ribs, etc. Sometimes basic works the best or so I thought until I picked up my Masterbuilt Vertical Electric Smoker. The last 2 years smoking in this has produced some of the best tasting food I've ever made. Getting the right cut of meat, putting together the best brines and rubs for the particular cut and choice of wood chips to match the different meats are key. I have currently been on a jerky making frenzy, the last batch was a lime chili beef jerky. I have yet to try smoking fish but after reading StinkyB's post, I think I'll be trying some soon. Maybe some smoked mullet. If anyone needs any suggestions for pairing wood chips to meats or in need of any recipes let me know.
I know this has nothing everything to do with "Slow Smoking Meats" so please indulge the lame pun just this one time....
