Smoking Meat Questions and Discussion

[Jer]

I've been really pleased with my Grill Grates that I bought so far for my Weber gasser. They provide awesome grill marks and my grill doesn't flare up nearly as much. It gave my the gas grill some new life. My Traeger only gets to about 425 so I like to finish/sear my steaks on my Weber gas after smoking them.

I did some grilled zucchini the other night and brushed on a "sauce" consisting of melted butter, garlic, dijon mustard, thyme and lemon juice. The sauce/basting liquid can be used on about any vegetables. The recipe came from a Sam the Cooking Guy video.

I don't have a Costco membership, but Kosmos Q mentions that you can actually get some pretty good ribeyes at WalMart and use the salt brine technique in the video below.

I liked the Grill Grates for our Weber Spirit 310, but man are they a ***** to clean. I don't take care of my grill nearly as well as my Traeger so it's probably my fault, but the channels are very difficult to clean without using a pressure washer. Finally tossed them after 3 years and will use the standard grates (hadn't unboxed because I had the GG's ready) until I decide if I want to buy new ones.

 

[ScottyP]

I liked the Grill Grates for our Weber Spirit 310, but man are they a ***** to clean. I don't take care of my grill nearly as well as my Traeger so it's probably my fault, but the channels are very difficult to clean without using a pressure washer. Finally tossed them after 3 years and will use the standard grates (hadn't unboxed because I had the GG's ready) until I decide if I want to buy new ones.

I probably need to get one of their special brushes because mine are getting pretty dirty between the grates. I am like you that I don't keep that grill as clean as my Traeger.

 

[JM4CY]

I liked the Grill Grates for our Weber Spirit 310, but man are they a ***** to clean. I don't take care of my grill nearly as well as my Traeger so it's probably my fault, but the channels are very difficult to clean without using a pressure washer. Finally tossed them after 3 years and will use the standard grates (hadn't unboxed because I had the GG's ready) until I decide if I want to buy new ones.

I don’t know if your suppose to but I straight up power wash mine on my driveway.

 

[tm3308]

I probably need to get one of their special brushes because mine are getting pretty dirty between the grates. I am like you that I don't keep that grill as clean as my Traeger.

Definitely get their specially-designed brushes. I went without one initially and cleaned them as best as I could with my Weber brushes, but none of them would fit well between the rails. Eventually I had to soak them, take a BBQ fork and scrape up as much of the gunk as I could manage. Then I bought GG's wire brush and use it right after every cook, while the grates are still hot. You'll never get them spotless, but the level of cleanliness you get with that brush is a huge improvement.

 

[tm3308]

I don’t know if your suppose to but I straight up power wash mine on my driveway.

I don't think that would hurt them at all, unless you're using any sort of soap in the process, in which case you'd just have to re-season them.

 

[JustAnotherTimeline]

I have a PBC. I wish I would use it more but when I do use it I love it. I've made brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, turkey, ratatoullie (awesome btw), and don't remember what else. How did it go?

Interesting idea on the ratatouille. Will have to put that on the list.

It went ok not great.. Bark could have been better. And they didn't fall off the bone like I like.

 

[JM4CY]

I don't think that would hurt them at all, unless you're using any sort of soap in the process, in which case you'd just have to re-season them.

Nope. Just blast away at the bastards to get as much of the black crap off of them.

 

[Gonzo]

Interesting idea on the ratatouille. Will have to put that on the list.

It went ok not great.. Bark could have been better. And they didn't fall off the bone like I like.

They're actually not supposed to fall off the bone. That basically means you've overcooked them. Obviously it's all personal preference though.

 

[JustAnotherTimeline]

They're actually not supposed to fall off the bone. That basically means you've overcooked them. Obviously it's all personal preference though.

Oh! Well then. Didn't know that.

 

[Gonzo]

Oh! Well then. Didn't know that.

Again, it's about personal preference. If you ask purists they'll tell you the meat shouldn't fall off the bone, it should pull off very easily.

 

[JustAnotherTimeline]

Again, it's about personal preference. If you ask purists they'll tell you the meat shouldn't fall off the bone, it should pull off very easily.

Oh ok. Maybe my expectations are in line. Yeah, I don't want it to fall of, but come off easy. My ribs didn't really come off the bone at all. The meat was still tasty though.

 

[JCity]

Again, it's about personal preference. If you ask purists they'll tell you the meat shouldn't fall off the bone, it should pull off very easily.

Yeah the disdain for fall of the bones ribs in the smoking community is ridiculous, like ya say make it however you like it. Also no matter how great we smoke them they are never gonna be as good as multiple different Asian style ribs.

 

[MLawrence]

I would be interested in a good country style ribs recipe as well. They are cheap but I don't buy them often because I don't know how best to prepare them. (i'll also take some crockpot/instant pot recipes for this as well for during winter).

This my non smoking recipe for country ribs (it take a while but is pretty easy):

Use coarse salt and pepper to season the meat. Cut and dice a few stalks of celery, carrots, shallots, and garlic. In a Dutch oven, heat a some olive oil. When oil is heated, hard sear each side of the rib for about 2-3 minutes or until desired color like a dark brown.

When the sides are done on the meat, pull off the heat in order to cook vegetables. Do not clean the bottom! Throw all the veggies minus the garlic in Dutch oven for about 2-4 minutes. Add garlic for a minute or until fragrant. Add 1-2 T. of tomato paste, cook for about 2 minutes or until paste softens and spread across veggies.

Next add 2 cups of a dry red wine and 2 cups beef or just enough liquid to submerge the ribs. Place covered Dutch oven in 325 degree oven and braise for about 2 hours. Test tenderness with fork, and if it’s still not fork tender, keep cooking.

 

[Jer]

Yeah the disdain for fall of the bones ribs in the smoking community is ridiculous, like ya say make it however you like it. Also no matter how great we smoke them they are never gonna be as good as multiple different Asian style ribs.

People forget that if it makes your belly happy, it doesn’t matter how traditionally you made it.

Case in point; my favorite style of ribs are country beef ribs and they aren’t even really ribs. Not only that, I like them most when cooked in the Instant Pot. Take that for traditionalism.

But brisket cooked traditionally is damn good.

 

[Jer]

This my non smoking recipe for country ribs (it take a while but is pretty easy):

Use coarse salt and pepper to season the meat. Cut and dice a few stalks of celery, carrots, shallots, and garlic. In a Dutch oven, heat a some olive oil. When oil is heated, hard sear each side of the rib for about 2-3 minutes or until desired color like a dark brown.

When the sides are done on the meat, pull off the heat in order to cook vegetables. Do not clean the bottom! Throw all the veggies minus the garlic in Dutch oven for about 2-4 minutes. Add garlic for a minute or until fragrant. Add 1-2 T. of tomato paste, cook for about 2 minutes or until paste softens and spread across veggies.

Next add 2 cups of a dry red wine and 2 cups beef or just enough liquid to submerge the ribs. Place covered Dutch oven in 325 degree oven and braise for about 2 hours. Test tenderness with fork, and if it’s still not fork tender, keep cooking.

That’s almost exactly my favorite recipe as well. I’ve found I can short cut it on a week night by doing the same prep and browning but cooking for 45 min in the Instant Pot.

 

[tm3308]

Yeah the disdain for fall of the bones ribs in the smoking community is ridiculous, like ya say make it however you like it. Also no matter how great we smoke them they are never gonna be as good as multiple different Asian style ribs.

It all comes from the competition side. Fall of the bone is definitely overdone at a competition. But cooking for yourself/family/friends, it shouldn't matter as long as it tastes good. That said, I always shoot for competition doneness when I'm cooking.

 

[cycloner29]

I don’t know if your suppose to but I straight up power wash mine on my driveway.

I take mine to the car wash. That way no mess on my driveway.

 

[JM4CY]

I take mine to the car wash. That way no mess on my driveway.

Oh I’ve thought of that. The other adult in the house is NO fan of mine when I pull the pressure washer out.

 

[cyclonewino]

My wife bought me an Oklahoma Joe's offset smoker this summer. Smoked a whole brisket (18#) this weekend, followed a recipe that smoked to 203 rested for 30 minutes and the cut the point off and cubed with bbq sauce and smoked for 2 hours. The point did not cut in cubes so I ended up with shredded beef (it was very popular). Looked at burnt end recipes this morning one cut the point off before starting and cubed at 190 and the other did whole brisket to 190 before removing point and making burnt ends. What do others find work best for burnt ends?

 

[mkadl]

I take mine to the car wash. That way no mess on my driveway.

You better clean up after that or I will step in it!!! (I help a friend run his carwash when he is out of town) Stock cars and hunters are the worst followed by grease and then yard waste. Clean up when your done! Yes I wash all my vehicles for free.