***Official Smoking (Meat and Stuff) Thread***

Mr Janny

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I use mild woods on fish since it picks up so much smoke. Fruit woods, pecan, oak. If you want to be authentic for smoking salmon use alderwood.

Beef I mostly use oak. The only wood that you can overdo from my experience is mesquite.
Agreed on mesquite. I don't use it, because it's easy to overdo.
I primarily use hickory, or hickory blended with other woods. To me hickory is the gold standard. I try others, but I always come back to hickory.
 
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Cardinal2001

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Highly recommend home smoked corned beef. Amazing Ribs also has a good recipe.

You can even modify one of those cryovac corned beef kits in the supermarket, if you want. Amazing Ribs tells you how.
 

Mr Janny

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I normally do bone in with skin, set it on smoke cycle for 1.5 hours, then turn it up to 275 for 30 minutes, flip, then about another 20 minutes.

Boneless/skinless same procedure just -10 minutes on each side.
The reason I do skinless is because the skin can be a little off-putting to some folks. I don't mind it, but it can be rubbery. Now, when it comes to wings, I'll leave the skin on. Smoked wings are amazing
 

Cardinal2001

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The reason I do skinless is because the skin can be a little off-putting to some folks. I don't mind it, but it can be rubbery. Now, when it comes to wings, I'll leave the skin on. Smoked wings are amazing

Have you tried increasing heat to crisp the skin at the end? I have even fired up the gasser to crisp it up. The PBC is notorious for rubbery skin, and cracking the lid to increase heat really helps.
 

iahawks

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Highly recommend home smoked corned beef. Amazing Ribs also has a good recipe.

You can even modify one of those cryovac corned beef kits in the supermarket, if you want. Amazing Ribs tells you how.

Just did one this weekend. But once it is smoked, it is no longer corned beef, it is pastrami. Very good. Just had a sandwich for lunch.
 
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cycloner29

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[Internal debate on whether or not I should click on this link at work ensuing]

C'mon Ang!! Live for the moment!! Like in the movie Risky Business - "Sometimes you gotta say, what the F#ck!" (probably already on the thread "Favorite Line in Movie History")

Site is all about grills, pellet smokers, recipes, cuts of beef, pork, chicken. Provides a ton of info for people just getting started in grilling and smoking.
 
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TruClone

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I have one of those and it constantly loses it's signal.


These guys actually delivered? Last I had checked, which was probably over a year ago, there were a lot of unhappy people that had paid up front as it was crowd funded and after 2 years still hadn't gotten anything.
They did deliver and it was fairly quick. Works great!
 
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Angie

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C'mon Ang!! Live for the moment!! Like in the movie Risky Business - "Sometimes you gotta say, what the F#ck!" (probably already on the thread "Favorite Line in Movie History")

Site is all about grills, pellet smokers, recipes, cuts of beef, pork, chicken. Provides a ton of info for people just getting started in grilling and smoking.

I just worry that I'm going to get on a list somewhere of questionable activities! :p

That's pretty awesome, admittedly - luckily Janny does all of the cooking, so he can click on it and live dangerously!
 

TruClone

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I grow my own cayenne peppers. When they are ready to harvest I let them dry for a few weeks and then I put them in my smoker and use mesquite. Once dry, usually a couple of hours, I grind in my coffee bean grinder. Believe me if you like ground cayenne pepper, this will change your life.
 

Mr Janny

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I grow my own cayenne peppers. When they are ready to harvest I let them dry for a few weeks and then I put them in my smoker and use mesquite. Once dry, usually a couple of hours, I grind in my coffee bean grinder. Believe me if you like ground cayenne pepper, this will change your life.
grow, smoke, and grind your own cayenne peppers? I think you might have just become my hero. Seriously, that's amazing.
 

cycloner29

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I just worry that I'm going to get on a list somewhere of questionable activities! :p

That's pretty awesome, admittedly - luckily Janny does all of the cooking, so he can click on it and live dangerously!

Actually a guy I used to work with got caught going around a firewall in corporate company to look at porn at job previous to when he worked at the same company I did. Fast forward about 5 years to last year (he worked for a different company yet again). He got caught looking at the wrong kinda porn on a corporate company computer. Now I see he is on the state sex offender registry!!:eek::eek:
 

Angie

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Actually a guy I used to work with got caught going around a firewall in corporate company to look at porn at job previous to when he worked at the same company I did. Fast forward about 5 years to last year (he worked for a different company yet again). He got caught looking at the wrong kinda porn on a corporate company computer. Now I see he is on the state sex offender registry!!:eek::eek:

I don't know which reaction to use on this. There's no "shocked" reaction, for some reason. That guy is a special kind of idiot!
 
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Gonzo

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Actually a guy I used to work with got caught going around a firewall in corporate company to look at porn at job previous to when he worked at the same company I did. Fast forward about 5 years to last year (he worked for a different company yet again). He got caught looking at the wrong kinda porn on a corporate company computer. Now I see he is on the state sex offender registry!!:eek::eek:

A guy I worked with in Chicago got arrested and convicted of crossing state line to engage in inappropriate acts with a minor.

Hold my BBQ sauce.
 
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CyTwins

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I've seen a few people talk about having success with chicken thighs. Anyone have a good recipe they use? I've never done them before, usually I stick with pork.
 

Cardinal2001

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I think thighs are easier than breasts. Stay moist, and much more forgiving if you miss the temp.

I dry brine them (salt them, and let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour). Then rub with some oil, and apply your favorite rub. Smoke them until internal temp is 150-160. You can discard the skin if you wish, and cook them bare. I like the skin, and will raise the temp when they are done, and crisp the skin.
 
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NickTheGreat

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I've seen a few people talk about having success with chicken thighs. Anyone have a good recipe they use? I've never done them before, usually I stick with pork.

I've found with things that used to have feathers, brining really helps a lot. I found this one online and have stucks with it since
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/favorite-whole-chicken-brine.124234/#post-830678
Families Favorite Brine

1/2C Kosher Salt

2T Paprika

2T Gran. Garlic

2T Gran. Onion

2T Dry Thyme

2T Black Pepper

1C Vinegar (Any)

1-11/2Gal Cold Water to cover Chix

1T Red Pepper Flake Optional

Mix well and Soak the Bird over night or up to 24 Hours.

Remove the Chix, rinse if desired and pat dry with paper towels.

I don't get carried away with "low and slow" on chicken. And I think cooking at a higher temp 300-325 gets the skin crispier.
 
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Gonzo

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Mr Janny

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I've seen a few people talk about having success with chicken thighs. Anyone have a good recipe they use? I've never done them before, usually I stick with pork.

I usually go boneless and skinless, just because they're easier. A deboned chicken thigh basically rolls out to a flat piece of meat that's roughly the same size as a smallish boneless breast. You can certainly brine them, but I don't usually just because they're small/thin enough that you don't need it. I just hit them with a fair amount of a good rub and pile them in a ziploc bag in the fridge overnight. I will make my own rub sometimes, and others I'll go with something store bought. Depends on how much ambition I have that day.
The beauty of the chicken thigh is that they're basically a blank slate. That's why I don't really have a recipe. Any rub that you like will taste good on them. Any wood that you want to use will probably taste good, too. And they're cheap enough, and quick enough to cook, that you can experiment without really worrying about the results.

In fact, I'll often toss some thighs in along with other things that I'm smoking, just because I like to have them available as leftovers. Slice them up and put them in pasta dishes. Or make BBQ chicken pizza. They're really good in chicken salad, too.