Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[falafel]

I'm not blaming Utah. I'm using Utah vernacular so the Utah locals can better understand me

Neither I nor Y84it are Utah locals!

Also, while Utahns may invite people to a BBQ in the backyard, I don't think very many of them would claim they are going to "barbecue" some burgers.

[The_Douger]

??? Ribs take more effort than brisket or pork butt. Start with something easy. Go with tri-tip because then you can prove that you need both the smoker and the grill.

Do the ribs in the thread on the site. They are awesome. I make them like once or twice a month for family.

[Green Monstah]

I used a light coating of mustard on some spares last weekend. I was happy with the results.

Those do look delish. Everytime I've used mustard on ribs or pulled pork, the bark has been bitter. I don't know if the charcoal and the particular brand of mustard I use just don't react well, but I go without mustard now, and my rub has no problems adhering to the meat.

[Drunk Tank]

Was meaning to post these. From a big cook last month. I wish I would have taken a pic of the finished product. A big pile of pork!

Fed ~120 people with plenty of leftovers.

I decided to ask this question here instead of the PP thread...

JL, How much room do you have on the top grate? It doesn't look like you'd be able to fit a pork butt or large brisket up there?

I have not had a chance to use the Assassin 28 for much as I have not done any large cooks for a while. I keep thinking that I'll get rid of either the FEC100 or Assassin. I don't need to, but having both on a small patio takes up a lot of real estate. Admittedly, I don't have enough cooks on the Assassin to say that I don't like it, so it wont be going anywhere just yet. The only turn off to me about it is the time it takes to come up to temp. The ease of use and the versatility to change temps quickly and easily on the FEC has me spoiled. When I want to smoke something quick such as a tri-tip or chicken, I find myself always using the FEC because I don't have to wait an hour for the thing to come up to temp. So confused right now....#firstworldproblems

[Jeff Lebowski]

I decided to ask this question here instead of the PP thread...

JL, How much room do you have on the top grate? It doesn't look like you'd be able to fit a pork butt or large brisket up there?

There are seven rails and five grates. You can slide the grates in and out to configure how you wish.

I have not had a chance to use the Assassin 28 for much as I have not done any large cooks for a while. I keep thinking that I'll get rid of either the FEC100 or Assassin. I don't need to, but having both on a small patio takes up a lot of real estate. Admittedly, I don't have enough cooks on the Assassin to say that I don't like it, so it wont be going anywhere just yet. The only turn off to me about it is the time it takes to come up to temp. The ease of use and the versatility to change temps quickly and easily on the FEC has me spoiled. When I want to smoke something quick such as a tri-tip or chicken, I find myself always using the FEC because I don't have to wait an hour for the thing to come up to temp. So confused right now....#firstworldproblems

Yeah, it takes 45-60 minutes to get up to temp. Takes a little getting used to and some planning. But I still have my Traeger so I use that for smaller cooks, especially when I want to get things going in a hurry.

[hostile]

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150522-is-this-the-perfect-barbecue-method

[kccougar]

My son's Priest Quorum was talking about "Swineapples" on Sunday, and I've been volunteered to cook one next week. Looks interesting.

http://www.thatsnerdalicious.com/meat/swineapple/

[Y84it]

My son's Priest Quorum was talking about "Swineapples" on Sunday, and I've been volunteered to cook one next week. Looks interesting.

http://www.thatsnerdalicious.com/meat/swineapple/

Boneless Ribs stuffed in a pineapple wrapped in bacon. I would love to hear the results.

[Drunk Tank]

Picked this up this morning. Decided to go old school traditional. Lang 36" reverse flow patio smoker. Will be fun learning this one.

[TripletDaddy]

That's a great front shelf. Man why doesn't every smoker come with a killer front shelf like that

[Drunk Tank]

That's a great front shelf. Man why doesn't every smoker come with a killer front shelf like that

You are not kidding. The shelf comes in handy.

I smoked a rack of baby backs and a brisket this weekend. They were ok for a first smoke on a new cooker. I had a hard time keeping the temps below 300° on the door thermometer. Ribs were slightly overcooked and ended up with chopped brisket.

[TripletDaddy]

haha. your cooking "fails" crack me up.

[Green Monstah]

Looks pretty damn good, DT.

I had an up and down weekend with BBQ. I tried trimming my brisket differently to maximize bark on my burnt ends, but the flat ended up drying out (the fat cap on it was pretty thin as well). The burnt ends were great, but the flat was a little dry, but still passed the pull test.

I also smoked two whole chickens. I brined them overnight, and stuffed them with apple, lemon, onion, garlic, carrot, and fresh sage. The breast was amazing, but the dark meat didn't get cooked enough to be really tender. Also, I noticed that all of the meat looked like white meat, which was odd, so I wonder if I just picked up two particularly GMO'd chickens. I made broth from the carcasses last night. I've done this is the past, and the mild smoky flavor goes great with certain recipes. I highly recommend.

Finally, I made the Traeger mac and cheese recipe. It was so/so. I didn't add enough salt, so it was a little bland, but most importantly, I don't think the charcoal smoke complemented the cream cheese in the recipe. W

[Jeff Lebowski]

I cooked for 110 people yesterday. Huge success and way less stressful than last time.

[Drunk Tank]

Looks pretty damn good, DT.

I had an up and down weekend with BBQ. I tried trimming my brisket differently to maximize bark on my burnt ends, but the flat ended up drying out (the fat cap on it was pretty thin as well). The burnt ends were great, but the flat was a little dry, but still passed the pull test

I was reading on this topic this morning. Apparently a lot of the competition cooks trim all the surface fat from the point end of the brisket to maximize surface area for bark. They still leave 1/4-1/2" of the fat cap on the flat.