Smoking Meat Questions and Discussion

[cycloner29]

Thank you!

I'm one of those people that see a recipe and then adds my own flare to it. After making this I probably should have added some more broth or sauce to it because it firmed up overnight in the fridge thanks to the macaroni. Still pretty good on the second day!

 

[swiacy]

I was always under the impression that most of the boxed beef in the US was wet aged as primal cuts. Would you say that most beef we buy is not wet aged? Just curious because you would obviously know more as a producer

When Packing companies purchase steers, they schedule them for delivery. A packing plant has a set number of cattle that they can process per day based on the size of the plant and the speed they run the cutting line. I may sell my steers and the delivery date may be two weeks or so ahead. Upon delivery, I get paid. That’s when the clock starts clicking and the Packer wants his money from Fareway or whoever ASAP. The delivery is scheduled early morning and the steer is hanging on a rail or in a box within 48 hours. When it gets in a cryovac pkg in a box, it goes into a semi truck and is purchased by Piggly Wiggly, Fareway etc. and delivered and they pay the Packer. He got his money back in a few days. The grocer puts it in his cooler unfrozen and starts selling it over the counter or in a cooler case ASAP to get his money back. So in most cases, beef is sold “green” so the middleman can get his money ASAP. If the grocer can’t sell it quick enough he freezes it and then thaws it later to get it out the door. That’s why your standard retail meat doesn’t taste as good as an Omaha Steak or Ruth Chris’s Steak etc. who age their meat. There are also different grades of beef ranging from “standard” (the 12 year old thin cow) “prime” ( young, corn fed well bred steer) to “wagyu” ( a breed that has internal veined fat in the fat). Fat=Flavor. Bottom line: most beef is sold green without proper aging. Aging is free and you can buy cheaper green beef, age it yourself properly and enjoy a Ruth Chris’s steak without Ruth.

 

[AgronAlum]

I don't understand how people can temp probe ribs. What I mean is, I don't understand how you can feel confident you're getting an accurate, representative temperature between a couple little bones.

I just use the 'bend test.' Pick the rack by the end, when it 'bends' and starts to tear away the meat, it's done.

I don't don't mess with foil or paper or any of that crap. Same with sauce, basting, mopping, spritzing, etc.

Just cook the damn meat.

I will say every time I’ve done ribs, I’ve foiled them with butter, honey and brown sugar. I think wrapping makes a huge difference in the end product. You’re basically braising them inside a foil pouch.

Same with pork butt. I put them in a foil pan and cover with foil after the stall. The juices collected make a big difference when it gets pulled.

 

[tm3308]

I don't understand how people can temp probe ribs. What I mean is, I don't understand how you can feel confident you're getting an accurate, representative temperature between a couple little bones.

I just use the 'bend test.' Pick the rack by the end, when it 'bends' and starts to tear away the meat, it's done.

I don't don't mess with foil or paper or any of that crap. Same with sauce, basting, mopping, spritzing, etc.

Just cook the damn meat.

I stick a Thermapen in them, and while I consistently get 200-210 readings when I do it, I'm sticking it more for feel than for getting a reading. If it goes in like butter, I know I'm in good shape.

 

[Nader_uggghhh]

When Packing companies purchase steers, they schedule them for delivery. A packing plant has a set number of cattle that they can process per day based on the size of the plant and the speed they run the cutting line. I may sell my steers and the delivery date may be two weeks or so ahead. Upon delivery, I get paid. That’s when the clock starts clicking and the Packer wants his money from Fareway or whoever ASAP. The delivery is scheduled early morning and the steer is hanging on a rail or in a box within 48 hours. When it gets in a cryovac pkg in a box, it goes into a semi truck and is purchased by Piggly Wiggly, Fareway etc. and delivered and they pay the Packer. He got his money back in a few days. The grocer puts it in his cooler unfrozen and starts selling it over the counter or in a cooler case ASAP to get his money back. So in most cases, beef is sold “green” so the middleman can get his money ASAP. If the grocer can’t sell it quick enough he freezes it and then thaws it later to get it out the door. That’s why your standard retail meat doesn’t taste as good as an Omaha Steak or Ruth Chris’s Steak etc. who age their meat. There are also different grades of beef ranging from “standard” (the 12 year old thin cow) “prime” ( young, corn fed well bred steer) to “wagyu” ( a breed that has internal veined fat in the fat). Fat=Flavor. Bottom line: most beef is sold green without proper aging. Aging is free and you can buy cheaper green beef, age it yourself properly and enjoy a Ruth Chris’s steak without Ruth.

This is good stuff, thanks! I always tell the locker to hang my beef for 2 weeks before processing so I'm guessing that's another variable that helps tenderness. Next time I buy a short loin or ribeye from Fareway I'll try a wet age.

 

[BACyclone]

I stick a Thermapen in them, and while I consistently get 200-210 readings when I do it, I'm sticking it more for feel than for getting a reading. If it goes in like butter, I know I'm in good shape.

This is the way.

Usually I double-test all my large hunks of meat this way too, even when my probe says it's ready.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Just some comments on pork and beef. I am a long time family beef and pork producer, from pasture to plate. Pork prices are in the tank right now due to China’s economy and demographic changes there so they have cut back on US imports along with over production domestically. That’s why ribs are so cheap now. So if you have freezer space now would be a good time to load up on pork. On the other hand, the national beef cow numbers are the lowest since 1951 so don’t expect any beef bargains. Just a suggestion if you like to grill steaks. Go to Fareway when they have a special on ribeyes or NY strips. Buy a fresh unopened cryovac loin. Do not open it. Put it in the bottom of your refrigerator for 30 days, or from the date on the package. Do not freeze it. After the 30 days, cut it in your desired thickness and wrap in butcher paper, one or two per pkg. The aging is the secret to quality steaks, this is the same process that premium steak companies like Omaha Steaks perform.

What do you do with it after you wrap it? I'm not planning on eating steak every night

 

[NWICY]

This doesn't fit into this thread, however............
Looking for a propane fish fryer. Any suggestions on brands or ones to avoid. Thanks

Do you mean a deep one like a turkey frier or are you looking for something shalkow,

 

[NWICY]

I don't understand how people can temp probe ribs. What I mean is, I don't understand how you can feel confident you're getting an accurate, representative temperature between a couple little bones.

I just use the 'bend test.' Pick the rack by the end, when it 'bends' and starts to tear away the meat, it's done.

I don't don't mess with foil or paper or any of that crap. Same with sauce, basting, mopping, spritzing, etc.

Just cook the damnshallow,

LOL that was me last night. Got home opened up a package of ribs threw some rub on them 90 minutes later at 325 in the oven I had some pretty decent ribs. At 60 minutes I did put a little BBQ sauce on them to let cook for the last 30.
Turned out pretty darn good.

 

[KLP630]

Do you mean a deep one like a turkey frier or are you looking for something shalkow,

Shallow, love fish, poulty, not so much !

 

[NWICY]

Shallow, love fish, poulty, not so much !

Could you use the propane burner from a turkey fryer and then just put a cast iron skillet on it? We did that to make funnel cakes once.
Could always cut the turkey fryer pot off to the height you want also.

 

[mkadl]

LOL that was me last night. Got home opened up a package of ribs threw some rub on them 90 minutes later at 325 in the oven I had some pretty decent ribs. At 60 minutes I did put a little BBQ sauce on them to let cook for the last 30.
Turned out pretty darn good.

That reminds me. When I smoke smoke meat in the winter and intend to wrap. I move it to the oven for the final wrap/cook. The meat doesnt know where it is at, just need the correct temp.

 

[swiacy]

What do you do with it after you wrap it? I'm not planning on eating steak every night

 

[swiacy]

Put in your freezer. Meat will normally keep for two years, when wrapped properly. Which means two layers of paper. I lay my steaks out to thaw in the morning and season them with Cookies or Lawry’s at noon or later for grilling in the evening. They can go in the fridge if need be but don’t refreeze meat after it had been frozen once. We recently found a 5 year old frozen Turkey in the bottom of a chest freezer and it was fine. But I wouldn’t plan on doing that.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Put in your freezer. Meat will normally keep for two years, when wrapped properly. Which means two layers of paper. I lay my steaks out to thaw in the morning and season them with Cookies or Lawry’s at noon or later for grilling in the evening. They can go in the fridge if need be but don’t refreeze meat after it had been frozen once. We recently found a 5 year old frozen Turkey in the bottom of a chest freezer and it was fine. But I wouldn’t plan on doing that.

Might as well ask, Do you know anything about this beef out of Dow City?
https://glcbeef.com/

 

[NickTheGreat]

Put in your freezer. Meat will normally keep for two years, when wrapped properly. Which means two layers of paper. I lay my steaks out to thaw in the morning and season them with Cookies or Lawry’s at noon or later for grilling in the evening. They can go in the fridge if need be but don’t refreeze meat after it had been frozen once. We recently found a 5 year old frozen Turkey in the bottom of a chest freezer and it was fine. But I wouldn’t plan on doing that.

Meat will keep indefinitely, assuming your freezer works properly, and it was packaged appropriately. I've read articles about scientists eating small bits of Woolly Mammoth they found in a glacier.

All jokes aside, you do lose some quality after a while. I haven't gone back to the Ice Age, but I have cooked meat that has been in the freezer for several years.

 

[swiacy]

Might as well ask, Do you know anything about this no beef out of Dow City?
https://glcbeef.com/

No, don’t know them personally. I watched their video and I would recommend trying a sample. If you pass thru Dow City you could buy a couple steaks or a pkg of hamburger or Pattie’s without buying a bundle. There are a lot of these types of families marketing home grown beef this way. Ask how long they have been doing this, it doesn’t take long if there are problems for this type of effort to fail. I would not recommend grass fed, which this is not. The non-use of chemical additives is ok, it’s a marketing effort. The home raised calves, feed and tracing the meat from the pasture all the way to the retail counter is a plus. Ask how long it is aged, two weeks at a minimum, longer is really good.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

No, don’t know them personally. I watched their video and I would recommend trying a sample. If you pass thru Dow City you could buy a couple steaks or a pkg of hamburger or Pattie’s without buying a bundle. There are a lot of these types of families marketing home grown beef this way. Ask how long they have been doing this, it doesn’t take long if there are problems for this type of effort to fail. I would not recommend grass fed, which this is not. The non-use of chemical additives is ok, it’s a marketing effort. The home raised calves, feed and tracing the meat from the pasture all the way to the retail counter is a plus. Ask how long it is aged, two weeks at a minimum, longer is really good.

I have my eye on the KC Strip bundle

 

[cycloner29]

With my temp sensor on the fritz, I soldiered through and got three rib sections from prime rib roasts. Oven therms really helped out today, Even though these got done a couple hours early, I wrapped in foil and kept in the oven around 200 degrees. The rub I used was Special Sh!t. I added some coffee grounds to it. Great flavor and the meat was not dry! Thought it would take 6 hours but was done in 3.5 hours.

 

[CyPhallus]

When Packing companies purchase steers, they schedule them for delivery. A packing plant has a set number of cattle that they can process per day based on the size of the plant and the speed they run the cutting line. I may sell my steers and the delivery date may be two weeks or so ahead. Upon delivery, I get paid. That’s when the clock starts clicking and the Packer wants his money from Fareway or whoever ASAP. The delivery is scheduled early morning and the steer is hanging on a rail or in a box within 48 hours. When it gets in a cryovac pkg in a box, it goes into a semi truck and is purchased by Piggly Wiggly, Fareway etc. and delivered and they pay the Packer. He got his money back in a few days. The grocer puts it in his cooler unfrozen and starts selling it over the counter or in a cooler case ASAP to get his money back. So in most cases, beef is sold “green” so the middleman can get his money ASAP. If the grocer can’t sell it quick enough he freezes it and then thaws it later to get it out the door. That’s why your standard retail meat doesn’t taste as good as an Omaha Steak or Ruth Chris’s Steak etc. who age their meat. There are also different grades of beef ranging from “standard” (the 12 year old thin cow) “prime” ( young, corn fed well bred steer) to “wagyu” ( a breed that has internal veined fat in the fat). Fat=Flavor. Bottom line: most beef is sold green without proper aging. Aging is free and you can buy cheaper green beef, age it yourself properly and enjoy a Ruth Chris’s steak without Ruth.

Do you have any opinion on the dry aging bags that are popular now? Like these https://umaidry.com/

YouTubers seem to get pretty good results with them but I don't know if it's all just marketing hype.