Smoking Meat Questions and Discussion

dmclone

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What’s a smoke tube?

I assume they are talking about something like this
Oval Tube Smoker - 12 in | A-MAZE-N (amazenproducts.com)

AZACC001240085-primary_new(resize).jpg
 
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cstrunk

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I noticed someone posted a picture with Meat Church rub. I was looking all over for this one day and finally gave up and bought something else. Last week I was out at Jordan Creek Scheels and they have a TON.

Meat Church makes my favorite rubs. +100

Fired up my new (used) Traeger last night. Had to shut it down and suck out a bunch of sawdust built up and start it back up. Did some Iowa chops quick just to see how it went. Did well but I didn’t feel like it had as much smoke flavor as I thought and it didn’t seem to produce consistent smoke out of the chimney. Any quick fixes to things to look at for those that have a Traeger?

Your Traeger won't produce as much smoke in the 275-300+ range, because the pellets have to burn with more flame to keep the temp up which produces less smoke. To compensate, try starting your meat on smoke setting, or 180-225F, which will produce much more smoke, for about 30-60 minutes before cranking up the heat to finish.

I assume they are talking about something like this
Oval Tube Smoker - 12 in | A-MAZE-N (amazenproducts.com)

AZACC001240085-primary_new(resize).jpg

I have this and it works well. I haven't tried adding it to meat smokes but I used it to cold smoke cheese which turned out pretty good.
 

JM4CY

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Meat Church makes my favorite rubs. +100



Your Traeger won't produce as much smoke in the 275-300+ range, because the pellets have to burn with more flame to keep the temp up which produces less smoke. To compensate, try starting your meat on smoke setting, or 180-225F, which will produce much more smoke, for about 30-60 minutes before cranking up the heat to finish.



I have this and it works well. I haven't tried adding it to meat smokes but I used it to cold smoke cheese which turned out pretty good.
Thank you. I was wondering if it was something like that.

What the hell is a cold smoke? I’m kinda new to some of this.
 

Jer

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Did first batch of chicken breasts on the Traeger last night at 220 for about 80 mins. Very good smoke flavor going that low and yet the juiciest we've ever had.
 
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BACyclone

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I'm a few pages behind, but the smoky flavor actually probably comes from the gouda cheese in the recipe.

I followed a recipe similar to that, and happened to also find smoked cheddar at the store and used that in addition to gouda. If you prefer less of that smoked cheese flavor, cut back on the ratio or substitute in some other kind of cheese.

Also -- I think I may have used this exact recipe -- mine turned out a little dry. Next time I will not be afraid to add an extra hit of milk or 1/2 n 1/2 to kick up the liquid and see how that fares. Yours looks like it had a much better cheese consistency than mine did.



I ended up following this recipe. I thought it turned out well, but it had a strong flavor that the rest of my family thought was a little too smokey View attachment 85791
 

BACyclone

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I'd like to smoke brisket sometime but they can be expensive so I worry about if I mess it up I am stuck with a pricey big chunk of meat I am disappointed in. Eventually will probably try a small brisket I'm sure. Ive gotten very comfortable with ribs and pork butts along with some chicken at times too I rather just stuck with what I know I am good with and keep improvingon it. Recently have done some smoked pork loin roasts that turned out great that I think a whole pork loin is in my future to try. Smoked a bone in turkey breast and couple drumsticks for Thanksgiving for the first time too I could see myself trying a whole turkey some day too.

In all truth, there is very little difference between smoking a pork butt well and the brisket. My process is roughly the same for both, except a pork butt gets taken off at 206 and I remove my brisket at ~195 so I can slice the flat. Be sure to mark the grain of the flat before you cook so you can slice across the grain when you are done.

In both cases, cover the meat with a couple towels for about 2 hours after you are done smoking to let it rest and equalize the juices -- rest at least an hour if you are trying to eat the same day.

And I encourage you to give it a go if you find a brisket at a decent price. When you nail a brisket on your smoker -- well there is probably nothing better than this. It's incredible!

An underrated thing I love to do, that also takes much less time, is to grab some thick Iowa pork chops, dry rub them up (actually I think I use a little BBQ sauce coating then rub) and smoke them to 145. Only takes a couple hours. HOLY mackerel are those delicious.


Snap10131.jpg
 
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Gonzo

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Did first batch of chicken breasts on the Traeger last night at 220 for about 80 mins. Very good smoke flavor going that low and yet the juiciest we've ever had.

Anytime I cook chicken breasts I pound/tenderize/thin them down so their all about the same thickness. I've never smoked chicken breasts though. Did you tenderize them down at all or put them on the smoker as is?
 
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BillBrasky4Cy

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I have a Camp Chef pellet smoker - which has been excellent for the price. But I'm thinking about buying a WSM to scratch the more traditional charcoal/wood itch.

I like my WSM but my only complaint is that as they get older you will have to babysit it more. I used to be able to park my between 225 and 250 but it got to the point where I had to constantly adjust the vents.
 
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BACyclone

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I’m looking to try something different (probably not brisket yet, not experienced enough). Have done a bunch of ribs and pork butt and have tried the chuck burnt ends (good but texture wasn’t perfect) and smoked wings last weekend (will definitely do again). Anyone have any suggestions for something they really like?

This thread is awesome by the way.

Something that is super amazing and doesn't take much time at all is smoking a pork tenderloin. You only smoke it to 145, rest a little and slice and serve. If you inject it with some different marinade and of course coat it with rub, it is really versatile...and won't last long! If you happen to get leftovers the slices make an amazing sandwich.
 
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BACyclone

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I made that same recipe last weekend on our Traeger and while it was ok, it was just ok. You are spot on that the texture is what makes it much different than real brisket burnt ends. Unfortunately, it was enough that I‘m not sure I’d do it again if I had access to a brisket.

A great cheater way to make burnt ends without a brisket is to buy a chuck roast as your starter.

Chuck Roast Burnt Ends
 

Clonedogg

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I love smoking a chicken, I splay it in half, liquid brine it over night, add a rub, smoke it at 225-250, so good.
I need to find a good rib recipe, I dont like the fall of the bone kind. I like them smoked with a good rub, sometimes I add BBQ sauce as I eat.
 

dmclone

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In all truth, there is very little difference between smoking a pork butt well and the brisket.

This has not been my experience I've always been happy how my pork butts have turned out. With brisket, it seems like I can use the exact same method and the results are always different.
 
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BACyclone

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This has not been my experience I've always been happy how my pork butts have turned out. With brisket, it seems like I can use the exact same method and the results are always different.

Have you ever tried injecting with a marinade? I typically do this and I believe (while adding some flavor) it helps keep the meat juicy despite variations in the meat.

I do think that briskets by nature are just more varied in their qualities than a typical pork butt, so that could be part of your differences. My last brisket cook was fine -- I got a great smoke ring and good flavor -- but it wasn't as juicy as I've had before. But I still got all compliments so I guess it was OK. I'm only saying that to say I agree with you, but in general I kind of follow the same process between butts and brisket and usually the results are pretty good to great.

This was the last one:

Snap10132.jpg
 

Nader_uggghhh

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In all truth, there is very little difference between smoking a pork butt well and the brisket. My process is roughly the same for both, except a pork butt gets taken off at 206 and I remove my brisket at ~195 so I can slice the flat. Be sure to mark the grain of the flat before you cook so you can slice across the grain when you are done.

In both cases, cover the meat with a couple towels for about 2 hours after you are done smoking to let it rest and equalize the juices -- rest at least an hour if you are trying to eat the same day.

And I encourage you to give it a go if you find a brisket at a decent price. When you nail a brisket on your smoker -- well there is probably nothing better than this. It's incredible!

An underrated thing I love to do, that also takes much less time, is to grab some thick Iowa pork chops, dry rub them up (actually I think I use a little BBQ sauce coating then rub) and smoke them to 145. Only takes a couple hours. HOLY mackerel are those delicious.


View attachment 85931
+1 on the 2 hour iowa chops, stupid good. Same on pork loin, it's really hard to mess up if you have a meat thermometer.
 
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Nader_uggghhh

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I love smoking a chicken, I splay it in half, liquid brine it over night, add a rub, smoke it at 225-250, so good.
I need to find a good rib recipe, I dont like the fall of the bone kind. I like them smoked with a good rub, sometimes I add BBQ sauce as I eat.
If you dont like fall off the bone I've found 5 hours at 225 to be about right. Do the bend test to see when they're done

Edit: I dont wrap when I do it this way
 

ScottyP

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I'm a few pages behind, but the smoky flavor actually probably comes from the gouda cheese in the recipe.

I followed a recipe similar to that, and happened to also find smoked cheddar at the store and used that in addition to gouda. If you prefer less of that smoked cheese flavor, cut back on the ratio or substitute in some other kind of cheese.

Also -- I think I may have used this exact recipe -- mine turned out a little dry. Next time I will not be afraid to add an extra hit of milk or 1/2 n 1/2 to kick up the liquid and see how that fares. Yours looks like it had a much better cheese consistency than mine did.
I ended up adding some milk in, which helped. I’ll try maybe using a different cheese instead of Gouda.
 
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dmclone

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Have you ever tried injecting with a marinade? I typically do this and I believe (while adding some flavor) it helps keep the meat juicy despite variations in the meat.

I do think that briskets by nature are just more varied in their qualities than a typical pork butt, so that could be part of your differences. My last brisket cook was fine -- I got a great smoke ring and good flavor -- but it wasn't as juicy as I've had before. But I still got all compliments so I guess it was OK. I'm only saying that to say I agree with you, but in general I kind of follow the same process between butts and brisket and usually the results are pretty good to great.

This was the last one:

View attachment 85933
That looks good.
 
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cstrunk

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Thank you. I was wondering if it was something like that.

What the hell is a cold smoke? I’m kinda new to some of this.

Cold smoke means avoiding adding heat. You just want to add smoke. When I do cheese, I put them in my smoker on one side, and my smoke tube on the other. The pellets still burn obviously and create some heat so you have to be careful to avoid melting the cheese. Doing it in winter works best. The pros will even pipe in their smoke through an outside source with a long tube that will disperse the heat before it reaches the smoke chamber, so the smoke is "cold".
 

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