Charcoal grill/smoker recommendations? | Page 12 | FerrariChat
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Charcoal grill/smoker recommendations?

Discussion in 'Drink, Smoke, and Fine Dining' started by Nurburgringer, Apr 20, 2011.

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  1. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #276 darth550, Aug 11, 2012
    I buy that too in a pinch. The flap meat they use at the stores around here is generally lower grade though.

    What I usually do is buy their home made carne asada rub and marinate it myself, but with a better store bought flank steak, olive oil, cilantro and onions. Make damn sure you keep and blacken those onions for flavor overload! :D :D :D
     
  2. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
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    #277 wax, Aug 11, 2012
    Darth - it's been years, but if you and Eric go into Hollywood - on Western below Santa Monica - there was a Carneceria that carried a Lot of Skirt Steak. I didn't bother with any other meats there . . . Didn't see many dogs in the 'hood. Coincidence? At that time, Chilean wine was Great, and plentiful, and there, cheaper than Trader Joes, as was Negra Modelo . . . All made for some great Carne Asada, Fajitas, parties . . .

    If you head from there to Glendale, you'll find the Armenian stores carry Filet Mignon at fell-off-the-truck prices. I'm sure you already know the Armenian and Persian sit-down joints feature Filet even on cheap Kabobs and Barg, mind you. Their Lule-Kabob (spiced burger grind meat) is also well worth getting, and Eric may surprise you with more skills in the Kitchen.

    Damn it, now I want some Shawerma.



    via rubber ducky
     
  3. joker57676

    joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #278 joker57676, Aug 11, 2012
    To get them falling off the bone, you braise them in a baking dish for somewhere between an hour or an hour and a half and then grill/smoke in the sauce or rub. Works perfectly every time but you don't get the depth of smoke flavor....or the joy of doing yourself.


    Mark
     
  4. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #279 Nurburgringer, Aug 11, 2012
    Don't know what you get (in CA?) but in both TX and now Milwaukee (at El Rey Mexican super markets) "barbacoa" comes exclusively from slow roasted cow's head. It's only available on weekends, and is divine.
    Not smoked so it doesn't satisfy that craving, just ungoldy rich, tender and full of lovely beef flavor.

    Gotcha, thanks. I've had very tasty ribs done that way, but not only am I not at all dissatisfied with the smoker-only method, heating up the oven inside AND the smoker outside just seems unnecessarily wasteful.
    The fall-off-the-bone ribs I remember most were from an old German restaurant in New Ulm, MN about 6 months ago. They had a wacky but intriguing sauce made with mustard and mayo, that somehow worked nicely with the ultra tender meat.
    Just googled their name and found out Veigel's Kaiserhoff was named best ribs in MN for 2011. Not exactly the same as winning such an award in Texas or Tennessee, but still pretty nice.
    http://www.nujournal.com/page/content.detail/id/524799.html
     
  5. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #280 Nurburgringer, Sep 3, 2012
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    Not BBQ/Smoked, but the talk here about beef brisket inspired me to finally cook up the vacuum packed 3lb corned beef that's been hanging out in our freezer since our St. Patty's day plans changed.
    Threw it in the slow cooker at 9AM with carrots, potatoes and onion with a bit of water. That's all. House smelled incredible, but the meat still rubbery at 3PM. By 6PM she had given up the fight and was literally fall-apart tender.
    Thickened 1/2 of the liquid with cornstarch, fresh pepper and garlic powder for an awesome gravy/dipper for the exploding-cardboard tube biscuits, local sweet corn (microwaved, my new favorite corn cooking method after grilling) and a cheap tasty Pinot rounded out a FANTASTIC dinner.
    Good old pre-packaged supermarket corned beef, you've earned an honored place in my freezer :)
    Leftovers will be served with kraut, swiss cheese and russian dressing on rye bread.
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  6. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #281 darth550, Sep 3, 2012
    Tomorrow morning I'll wish for a hangover and your address... :)
     
  7. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #282 darth550, Sep 5, 2012
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  8. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ
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    #283 GuyIncognito, Sep 5, 2012
    WTF?!?!?!?!

    did you get a part time job at Hogly Wogly's?
     
  9. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #284 darth550, Sep 5, 2012
    I know, right? This thing is bigger than I thought it was gonna be.... It'll probably do a turkey, a couple briskets and ribs to boot!
     
  10. GuyIncognito

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    #285 GuyIncognito, Sep 5, 2012
    you could toss the whole pig in there and be done with it! :eek:
     
  11. joker57676

    joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #286 joker57676, Sep 5, 2012
    Nice, let us know how it works out.

    I did a brisket on Sunday that came out excellent. I tried a new method that I think will be the norm from now on. No pics this time, I didn't even think about it. The damn thing cooked WAY faster than I was expecting so I really wasn't ready for it. Either way, it was good and now I'll have brisket sandwiches for the next week or so since the other half is a filthy vegetarian.


    Mark
     
  12. Norm512TR

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    #287 Norm512TR, Sep 5, 2012
    Probably want'a move that baby off the carpet and out of the house first. :)
     
  13. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #288 Nurburgringer, Sep 5, 2012
    :O
    Planning on "seasoning" it first, before smoking food?
    Might want to open up all the windows in the house ;)


    Do I need to twist your arm to get details on this "new method"? :)
     
  14. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #289 darth550, Sep 5, 2012
    Gonna happen today, and tomorrow night, the shoulder goes in the brine for Saturday! :D :D
     
  15. vincent355

    vincent355 F1 Veteran
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    #290 vincent355, Sep 5, 2012
    Cool. be ready with a blanket (preferably non flammable), sometimes the temps are hard to keep steady without it in those.
     
  16. powerpig

    powerpig F1 World Champ

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    #291 powerpig, Sep 5, 2012
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  17. joker57676

    joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #292 joker57676, Sep 5, 2012
    I trimmed the brisket and then injected and marinated over night. Took it out of the fridge and let it come up to room temp for about an hour before smoking. Got the smoker dialed in at 250 degrees with plenty of wood so it was a little extra smokey at the start. I then put the brisket in a pan uncovered in the smoker. After about two hours, I opened the smoker and added some reserved injection/marinade into the bottom of the pan. Then, I covered the pan with aluminum foil and let is smoke covered until it was done. After it was done smoking, I wrapped the brisket in 4-5 layers of foil and let it rest in a cooler bag for a little over an hour. The brisket came out very moist and tender. Probably the best one I've done so far.

    For sauce, after it was done smoking, I strained all the juices and marinade that were left in the bottom of the pan. After slicing the brisket, I poured about half of the strained juices over it. With the other half of the juices, I mixed them with some of the BBQ sauce I made. I mixed in enough sauce so the juice/sauce combo was probably the thickness of milk. I then poured some of that over what I was eating and reserved the rest for future meals.

    I was very pleased with the result.

    Mark

    PS: This was the fastest I have ever had a brisket smoke. For a 6-7 pound flat, it was done in 4.5 hours. That's incredible time for keeping the smoker dialed in at 250. The last one I did about that size took about double that time. I was shocked how fast it came up to temp.
     
  18. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #293 darth550, Sep 5, 2012
    Please elaborate?
     
  19. joker57676

    joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #294 joker57676, Sep 5, 2012
    I think he means ambient temps, wind, etc. can effect the smokers ability to maintain temp. It's fairly normal. A blanket will help insulate it.


    Mark
     
  20. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #295 Nurburgringer, Sep 5, 2012
    thanks for elaborating Mark - what'd you marinate it with?
    You (and the corned beef we're 2/3 of the way through) are talking me into trying a smoked brisket myself one day...
     
  21. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #296 darth550, Sep 5, 2012
    I ran some hickory through it for 2 hours.
     
  22. joker57676

    joker57676 Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #297 joker57676, Sep 5, 2012
    Marinade and injection was concentrated au jus and beef stock. It works pretty good to make it beefier.

    Mark
     
  23. Nurburgringer

    Nurburgringer F1 World Champ

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    #298 Nurburgringer, Sep 5, 2012
    Nice - pretty tight, no leaks?

    Gotcha, thanks.
    Tonight we watched a DVR'd a new "No Reservations" from Monday I think, with Anthony Bourdain visiting Austin for a big music festival. He went to Franklin BBQ, supposedly one of the best around, for brisket, sausage and ribs. The part on how the owner made his brisket was literally food porn.
    Only prep was a salt and pepper rub, then 18 hours(!) of 250-275F smoke with white oak (what my FIL in east TX uses) and spritzing with something. I could almost taste the goodness through the screen....
    Bonappetit ranked Franklin the best BBQ joint in the USA:
    http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/slideshows/2011/07/aaron-franklin-barbecue-best-restaurant-in-america#intro
    Eighteen hours... even for a restaurant making a dozen or more briskets that's a long freakin time!
     
  24. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
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    #299 darth550, Sep 6, 2012
    Not really, no. The other good thing I noticed was that the temp held for about an hour after I turned off the burner. It's on my patio so there's not a lot of wind exposure there. :)

    I was thinking of breaking it in with a couple chickens, salmon and some spares.

    Any tips on smoking Gouda?
     
  25. vincent355

    vincent355 F1 Veteran
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    #300 vincent355, Sep 6, 2012
    blankets for wind and heat loss those boxes are prone
     
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