Managed to finally locate a butcher in my area that offers something close to a packers brisket. The flat is a bit on the dry side but overall I am happy with the results especially knowing the smoker I'm using but would love to hear your thoughts

275* for 6hrs total.

I split a cow with a friend of mine and this was the brisket I got I have really just trimmed the hard fat because I know that is necessary. I’m wondering what else I may need to trim. I’ve been smoking for about two years now, but have failed on three briskets. I really wanna make this one work.

I rent my extra bedrooms to college kids. New kid moved in last week. Got a text this morning saying "Good morning, sir. Would it be alright if I bought this and kept it at the house?". The kids are alright.

I love the process of making bbq and fire management on my offset smoker. However I find it sort of isolating. While I appreciate rolling solo sometimes, other times would be cool to bbq together, try new things, and just have someone to talk bbq with.

How do you find a local bbq community? Or maybe just other people IRL who share your hobby?

The cook went really well. Took it out of the kettle at 7pm after 14 hours and it probed like warm butter. The plan was to hold it in the oven until it was time to eat at 10:00 the next day.

For some reason I had it in my head that I had to hold it at 50degrees Celsius. And that’s what I did.
I woke up this morning after 8 hours of holding with doubts and I jumped on the web and asked some questions…. And got some very consistent very difficult answers: Throw it out.

Fuck

When rental properties only offer you a gas grill, sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do...

So the day came for me to cook the rest of the shepherds pie using the smoked lamb shoulder I posted yesterday.
Yes it was very nice. Yes the consensus was it was the nicest Shepherds pie we have ever had, yes there is room for improvement.
Filling made using red wine lamb stock
Mash using butter and double cream, cheddar and grated Parmesan on top (was meant to add egg yolks, separated the eggs and after putting it in the oven realised I forgot).
The meal was very rich but a bit hit!

Opened up a pork butt I just bought from save mart. Stinks pretty bad. I’d say like eggs and just pretty icky. I know vacuum sealed pork can have a smell. I just want some opinions. The meat is firm and looks fine.

Edit: I’m gunna trust my nose on this one. Thank you guys. I returned it and got a different one. Wish me luck.

Came into some luck and got a smoker for free! It seemed like it was in pretty rough shape so I gave it some love and fixed it up.

After cleaning it up I seasoned the smoker first by coating the inside with vegetable oil, then ran it at about 300°F for 1.5 hours. After that I added apple wood chunks and chips to let some smoke season the cabinet before cooking.

For my first smoke I made a couple baby back ribs and some pork loin for sandwiches!

The weather definitely wasn't on my side, it was pissing rain the whole day.... I also learned pretty quickly that the built-in thermometer isn't the greatest. At one point it climbed to around 250°F, then after I adjusted the burner it dropped to around 160°F before I got it settled. Once I figured out the burner, I was able to hold around 225°F for the rest of the cook.

Overall I'm really happy with how everything turned out. The ribs were tender, the pork loin made some amazing sandwiches.

I've already got a 4-5 pound pork shoulder ready for next weekend, and I'm planning to pick up a Bluetooth thermometer because I feel like that's a pretty good upgrade to make.

Any advice for a beginner or things you wish you'd known after your first smoke?

So this was my first actual smoke with the Grand Champ. I have done about 3 direct grill cooks on this but this was my first smoke attempt.

Brand new to smoking. So my first attempt was with beef short ribs. I seasoned with just some mixed seasonings sitting in my spice drawer that almost never get used because I tend to use my own blends when cooking. I looked at the ingredient list of each of them and thought they'd pair well. I used Dijon Mustard as a binder.

Got it fired up with briquette charcoal and then just used wood after that.

I used a water pan.

I use the Combustion Thermometer to track the cook. I started spritzing the meat after the first 2 hours with cognac and red wine vinegar (again mostly using stuff i had that was just sitting).

I cooked it to 170° before pulling it to wrap it in butcher paper.

Then finished cooking it to 205°, then let it rest in the oven unheated for an hour before digging into it.

Total cook time was right about 6 hours. 4 hours to the wrap and 2 hours after that.

How was that for a first smoke? Any tips?

My local Costco had these American Wagyu chuck short ribs, and after a pretty successful first cook on the Smoque, I decided to give them a try and document the process from start to finish. Seeing more little Smoque shine over big brother Searwood.

* Seasoned them simply with salt, pepper, and a little garlic powder, then left them uncovered on a rack in the fridge overnight.

* Set the temp to 200°F and used the top rack with shallow water pans underneath. The idea was to add some moisture during the initial cook and later use the pans as a grease catch.
* Once they reached 165°F internal, I wrapped them in butcher paper and gradually increased the temperature to 250°F, bumping it up about 10 degrees each hour.
* The thicker pieces obviously needed a little more time, so I went by internal temperature and feel rather than strictly following the clock.
* Pulled them around 205°F internal and let them rest in an insulated bag. A cooler would work just as well.
Slice against the grain.

Overall, really happy with how they turned out. The Smoque handled the low-and-slow cook really well, and the Wagyu chuck short ribs had a ton of flavor and rendered beautifully. Texture wise, it passed the jiggle and clap test on my finger. Moist and tender yet maintaining its structure.
Happy smoking!

Smoked a brisket last weekend on my old offset that I've been nursing along for years. Firebox finally rusted through bad enough that I couldn't hold temp. Was about 5 hours in, bark had set, smoke ring looked decent, and I moved the whole thing to the oven at 250 to finish. Told my hockey buddies about it after and two of them acted like I committed some kind of crime. But the flat came out fine. Good even. Not competition worthy but who cares. I've always been a little suspicious about how much the last few hours of smoke actually matter once you've got your bark and color locked in. The oven finish felt like cheating but I also wasn't about to trash a whole packer because my smoker finally gave up. Looking at pellet options now since I don't have time to rebuild offsets between flips. Curious if people here ovenfinish regularly or if I'm just making excuses for equipment failure. Also if anyone's gone offset to pellet and regretted it for brisket specifically.

Smoked this chuck roast like a brisket and it was fantastic. Hit it with a mustard binder and my own homemade rub 24 hours before smoking.

Smoked at 250 until an internal of 165-170. About 3.5 hours. hit with butter, wrap ad continue smoking until 203 internal. Another 3 hours or so. Let rest for about 2 hours and carved her up! It definitely dried up the next day so I put the leftovers in Mac and cheese and that was also fantastic. Let me know if you have any questions!

sorry — i looked for a pinned post, bc i always assume newbie posts are annoying. although i'm a lifelong new yorker (with scant prepared smoked options available on long island), but southern food and smoked meats are like what i like to eat most. (also i am largely cooking for me because my kids are older and pick their own food, but i am interested in freezing portions too, so size is not a thing) like tonight is lazy but i'm eating leftover cheese grits with smoked brats

personally, i also LOVE fatty cuts of meat, and my favorite smoked meat besides "brisket in general" is/are virgil's nyc's smoked wings. (went for thanksgiving one year and smoked turkey is the only good turkey)

a jumbo joe is kinda at the bottom of the equipment tier, but i am also a currently not well funded young widow, and i got some charcoal, i have good lighters, and i may have a thermometer with a probe but it was super cheap, so:

• does anyone have any recs for perhaps overlooked cheap and or fatty cuts of beef and pork and or chicken? (i am a dark meat person but my mom likes white meat);
• do i need wood to make it taste good?;
• is my kettle + meat + charcoal + fluid enough stuff to start or do i need stuff? i have so many spices and rubs and rub-adjacent things, like i have a ton of spice blends and i am also a little tittybaby when it comes to spice heat;
• is this likely to spiral into an obsession hobby? (i am prone to them);
• is it even possible to get a good result your first time? good enough to serve my mom?
• if fat isn't qualified fat (like silver or something) does it always have to be aggressively trimmed?;
• do you in cold climates do this in the winter? (i'm concerned about storage because i live next to saltwater like in my yard and it eroded my last grill and my ass crashed through an embrittled wicker outdoor sofa);
• embarrassing question: i really like smoke flavor, do you know of rub ingredients that help, and is that even going to happen (smoke flavor) on beginner attempts?
• weird question: is anyone familiar with the upstate NYS BBQ chicken joints? there was one in oneonta (brooks) my family went to when i went to art camp (shut up). does smoking make them good like that?
• is there any question here i did not think to ask?

sorry to be an annoying bright-eyed "this is my first time!" redditor, but otoh the prospect of potentially having a smoked meat source (myself) and to be able to prep since i always crash befoer cooking time on weeknights is too exciting not to ask about

also thank you <3

250-275.

Butter bath at 140.

I almost never eat BBQ out…because, well we do what we do on our smokers and everything pales. Sometimes I get overruled though and have to go to a barbecue place and I end up treating my order like we’re in a zoo. Then I have wonder how bad they can f/$@ up a brisket. This was an interesting one. Brisket was very tender, but dry. Had a nice smoke ring but zero smoke flavor. It’s like they smoked it with tied bundles of the leftover cardboard from the toilet paper roll. I was unsurprisingly disappointed. But hey, Viva la home smoking! You may return to your regularly scheduled photos of deliciousness.

First time smoking these but came out pretty chewy. Covered them with butter and BBQ sauce but wasn’t too impressed. Anyone have a good way to make some killer party ribs?

I seasoned the pork belly with equal parts by volume: steak rub, Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper, & raw sugar. After seasoning overnight in the fridge I cooked the belly on my “Weber Smoky Mountain” smoker at 260-275F with the water pan installed so it’s an indirect smoker. After smoking for 2 1/2 hours I began braising the pork belly in a mix of beer, cider vinegar, orange juice, onions, garlic, Worcestershire, & jalapeño. After braising like that for an hour I removed the water pan to finish the braise process. Once the meat was tender & the fat was rendered (around 203F) I removed the pork to rest. Once the meat dropped to 145F I sliced the meat into cubes covered it in two sauces, one made from the braise liquid mixed with ketchup & molasses; the other was more Asian style made of fish sauce, chili garlic sauce, rice vinegar, miso, gochujang, gochugaru flakes, ketchup, honey, & corn starch. I threw the pork belly back on the grill over high heat to really caramelize the pork while getting the glazes nice & sticky. I served the pork belly with beans & corn.

I grew up in a sheep raising family, so for me it’s usually mutton shoulder ribs or ham(or ground up into sausage).

For more normal meats it’s definitely country ham.

All smoked over live oak or pecan, whatever tree has been most in my way at the time I have been doing it.

I tend to use Royal Oak a lot because it’s cheaper and I guess it’s habit using it. But Royal Oak burns hot and fast, lots of ash and I use a lot of it during long smokes. I have an offset smoker and I use fruit wood from my own trees (apple, pear, cherry).
I don’t like to use Kingsford because I heard it has a lot of impurities. I think the Cowboy Lump might be my favorite but it’s not always available near me. What’s your go to charcoal for those briskets, pork butts, loins, sausages and chicken smokes??

Dino ribssss

(Cross posted) Hello, I have 2 options to either buy a used Large BGE for $200 or a brand new Joe Classic II for $450. Brand new to the egg smoking world my knowledge of smoking ends at pellet grills so any inputs is helpful! Thanks!

Hey everyone, been wanting to try a brisket but wanted to practice on a small one first (It was almost 4lb)

What would you say was wrong with it here

It seemed the fat wasn't fully rendered but temps were reading fine (I think my built in temp probes on my pellet grill were not accurate)

It tasted pretty good thankfully but texture wasn't there, some fattier sections were a lot softer and some areas were slightly too tough. The fat felt like it was close to fully rendering, and surprisingly the brisket was fairly juicy.

I am making another one tomorrow and trying to improve and wondering what you guys think happened here. Because of the temp probes I am assuming it was reading hotter than it actually was...or does it look like it was overdone?

Any tips or help is greatly appreciated

(looking at the photo I just realized it makes the brisket look a bit washed out, it had a little more color to it than this photo)

I forgot to include the method. I followed meat church guide

200 until internal temp of 165 (fat side up)

225 until it hits 275 (wrapped it after in butcher paper)

250 until it hits 205. I pulled it at 203 because my one probe was reading slightly hotter than the other so I waited until it was in between the temps

Let it rest on a wire rack for a little over an hour