BeerBorg

It's warm enough in a lot of places to cook outdoors (although I understand some hearty souls will grill in the middle of a blizzard; I ain't one of 'em). I've been grilling burgers in the evening for a couple weeks now, which The Bhoy-o really appreciates.

And I'm looking forward to Memorial Day weekend, when, through clever planning, I get Sunday, Monday, AND Tuesday off! So that will kick off the smoking season for me. I always like to make a few racks of baby backs, but I may go all out and do a pork shoulder, make pulled pork, and vacuum-seal it to go in the freezer for future yumminess. I also have a whole frozen roasting chicken that I've promised the family will be turned into succulent beer-can chicken at some point (no better way to cook a whole chicken, IMO).

I may have to make more of my Jack Daniels barbecue sauce before too long. We sort of use it instead of ketchup around here, and my wife would like to consider it a beverage, she loves it so much.

What are your plans? What's your specialty? Let's get those salivary glands working with some smokin' posts!

C’mon, man! I’ll give you a million dollars for your sauce recipe.

I'm one of those souls that will BBQ all year long as long as it's not raining which hasn't really been a problem out here lately....

In any case, I'm fixin' to do some ribs soon as well as another batch of pulled pork myself. I haven't smoked anything in about a month and I'm itching to get back to it.

I recently bought a smoker that I once said I would never own. I bought an electric smoker. And I'm so glad I did. I used to use a Charbroil offset smoker that was getting old. It was hard to keep a consistent temperature with. And it became more work than fun. So, my smoking really declined. I bought the electric one this past November and have used it more since then than I used the offset in the past two years. Some of my buddies tell me I'm cheating, but so tell them I'm smoking more than I ever did, and that's what counts the most.

One of my favorites has become smoked chicken legs and thighs. They are cheap, and it only takes 2.5 hours. I think I might do some of those this Saturday.



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Like Dave, I've been grilling for a few weeks, since the weather really warmed up. My youngest son (the butcher) wants to smoke Prime Rib for Easter. His Mom vetoed that, but he proposed smoking half and roasting half, so that's what will happen. I better check out the Akorn before Sunday!

alb wrote:C’mon, man! I’ll give you a million dollars for your sauce recipe.

I'll only tell you this: it's less the ingredients than it is the process.

BlackDuck wrote:I recently bought a smoker that I once said I would never own. I bought an electric smoker. And I'm so glad I did. I used to use a Charbroil offset smoker that was getting old. It was hard to keep a consistent temperature with. And it became more work than fun. So, my smoking really declined. I bought the electric one this past November and have used it more since then than I used the offset in the past two years. Some of my buddies tell me I'm cheating, but so tell them I'm smoking more than I ever did, and that's what counts the most.

One of my favorites has become smoked chicken legs and thighs. They are cheap, and it only takes 2.5 hours. I think I might do some of those this Saturday.

I don't object to someone using an electric smoker, if that suits their needs. And, as you say, you're using it more than you did the offset.

I started with an offset myself, but when it finally rusted out, I came to the decision that it was larger and more costly than what I really needed. I switched to a vertical smoker, and I couldn't be happier. I've learned how to get a consistent temperature, and since it's enameled, it doesn't get hot, and it's very efficient.

Smoked chicken legs and thighs sound great! Herbal seasoning, or something spicier? Or half-and-half?

Bar B Q season is year round here

I use my vertical natural gas smoker all year here in VA. Plan to do a double smoked ham for Easter.

FedoraDave wrote:

alb wrote:C’mon, man! I’ll give you a million dollars for your sauce recipe.

I'll only tell you this: it's less the ingredients than it is the process.

SECRET Family Recipe...


TOP SECRET PROCESS

I've never owned a smoker myself but a brother-in-law of mine did, and he's made some of the most delicious brisket that I have ever tasted. For me its all about marinating hangar, flat iron or strip steak steaks before putting them on the grill. Of course burgers, potatoes, vegetables, hot dogs (my wife cringes at the mere mention of them) and chicken are grilling staples too. So far in 2016 I've barbecued twice so far, pretty soon though dinners will include some barbecue at least once a week.

I smoke year round, have an electric and Brinkman Trailmaster at home and charcoal at the camper. Most times in the winter when I'm out in the garage brewing my electric smoker has brisket, pork butt or ribs, or any combination of on it. I use the electric mainly in the winter cause I can maintain the heat, it has digital control for time and temp, once every our put a cup or so of chips in the tray till internal temp of the meat hits around 145 or so. Was told by a friend who went to a seminar meat stops taking smoke at that temp so anything after that is a waste of chips.

FedoraDave wrote: Smoked chicken legs and thighs sound great! Herbal seasoning, or something spicier? Or half-and-half?

Most of the time I just use McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Chicken seasoning. It comes out full of flavor and really goes well with the smoke. I like hickory along with a fruit wood like cherry or apple the most. I've used alder, it's a great tasting wood, just use a little less than you would if using hickory. It seems to get a little strong if I use too much. Also forgot to mention the temperature setting: I run the smoker at 250 for 2.5 hours.

Found a BBQ chart on FB for time and temps recommendations. Not the Bible but good starting points for different meats.

Thats a great resource Steve...thanks. I'll have to check the meat temp after the 1.5 hour mark the next time I do thighs. I've been doing mine for 2.5 hours.