I'll start this thread for everything grilling, BBQ, and smoking. Recipes, tips and tricks for better results, and questions on what to get and how to cook it. Post away everyone.
OT: What is That Delightful Smell? Or, Is Something Burning?
- Thread starter PAgeologist
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I will start with equipment. In my opion the most important feature is temperature control. Which is why I like my Big Green Egg XL. Once you experiment with the air vents you can really dial in the temps. Because of the thick ceramic construction wind and outside temps have little effect. I can light my BGE and 1/2 hour later I have the vents sent for 250 degrees (my preferred smoking temp) and I don't touch them all day. I use a remote probe to moniter the internal meat temps. So I basically pretend I am hard at work barbequing when I am actually relaxing with a cold beverage.😄 There are alot of ceramic cookers out there and many are equal to the BGE. Depends on your preference. The BGE also makes great steaks and burgers. I can dial mine up to 650 degrees for a great sear. Also you must use a good quality lunp charcoal. The big chunks work best for me as they allow better airflow.
I did have a pellet grill but sold it when we moved. I would reccomend that for someone starting out as it easier to control long cooks. Just don't go cheap as there is a big disparirty among them as they have become real popular. Try to find one made in the USA with USA steel. One drawback is (in my opinion) you can't acheive the same sweet smoke with pellets as you can with Hardwood chunks.
I did have a pellet grill but sold it when we moved. I would reccomend that for someone starting out as it easier to control long cooks. Just don't go cheap as there is a big disparirty among them as they have become real popular. Try to find one made in the USA with USA steel. One drawback is (in my opinion) you can't acheive the same sweet smoke with pellets as you can with Hardwood chunks.
sous vide
a method of cooking food, especially meat or fish, by vacuum-sealing and immersing in warm water.
- Not grilling BBQ or smoking.
- Try getting some fresh air.
Anyone have a wild turkey recipe?
MD youth day is Saturday and I'm thinking we will be on some birds. Taking my son and his friend, both on their first bird hunts.
Fingers crossed and thanks in advance!
MD youth day is Saturday and I'm thinking we will be on some birds. Taking my son and his friend, both on their first bird hunts.
Fingers crossed and thanks in advance!
Yep, a two finger pour with an ice cube..... Oh, the other wild turkey.....
I like making turkey nuggets with the breast meat. I cube the meat and marinade it with yellow mustard for 24 hours. Coat with a corn meal breading of your choice and deep fry. Legs and thighs usually go to a noodle soup.
I would brine it first. They can dry out if overcooked. Here is a link.
Why and How to Brine a Wild Turkey
Learn how to make both a dry brine and a wet brine to keep your wild turkey tender, juicy, and delicious during the cooking process.
hunttoeat.com
Sous vide is great for vegetables, seafood, and pork belly. Never been a fan of cooking other proteins this way. But my family kills for the glazed carrots done sous vide.
Anyone got a recommendation for a thermometer set? Multiple meat probes plus a cooking temp probe would be great. Bluetooth compatible with my phone is a plus.
That was going to be my recommendation as well. I wouldn't be afraid to inject a brine either.I would brine it first. They can dry out if overcooked. Here is a link.
Why and How to Brine a Wild Turkey
Learn how to make both a dry brine and a wet brine to keep your wild turkey tender, juicy, and delicious during the cooking process.
Smoked hot ranch pretzels.
I get the large tubs of Utz pretzels and have typically found best prices at Sam's.
Will first season them and then smoke.
Recipe: (note: you'll have to scale it up for bigger batches)
1-1/4 lb pretzels
1 cup cooking oil
1 pkg ranch dressing mix (dry)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (increase if you prefer hotter)
1 tsp garlic powder
Place pretzels in roasting pan. Mix other ingredients together and pour over pretzels, then mix well.
Bake at 200d for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes
Smoking:
(I have a large homemade (electric) smoker and use pellets for the smoke in an A-maze-n smoker tray. I can smoke about 16 lbs of pretzels in a session)
I set the heat to 85-90d and smoke for about 4 hours, mixing every hour. (This is a typical burn time for my pellet tray, and I have 2 going at same time.)
Then, enjoy with your favorite beverage.
If you like smoky taste, you'll love these.
I get the large tubs of Utz pretzels and have typically found best prices at Sam's.
Will first season them and then smoke.
Recipe: (note: you'll have to scale it up for bigger batches)
1-1/4 lb pretzels
1 cup cooking oil
1 pkg ranch dressing mix (dry)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (increase if you prefer hotter)
1 tsp garlic powder
Place pretzels in roasting pan. Mix other ingredients together and pour over pretzels, then mix well.
Bake at 200d for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes
Smoking:
(I have a large homemade (electric) smoker and use pellets for the smoke in an A-maze-n smoker tray. I can smoke about 16 lbs of pretzels in a session)
I set the heat to 85-90d and smoke for about 4 hours, mixing every hour. (This is a typical burn time for my pellet tray, and I have 2 going at same time.)
Then, enjoy with your favorite beverage.
If you like smoky taste, you'll love these.
Thermoworks makes a variety of products. I use them. This is another area not to go cheap. Lots of inexpensive junk out there.
ThermoWorks | Professional Thermometers from the Temperature Experts
Specializing in cool, unique and professional temperature tools. Super-Fast thermocouples, thermistors, infrared thermometers, data logging and more.
That sounds awesome. My wife makes a similar recipe using the large sourdough pretzel pieces. But bakes them rather than smoke. I'll have to try that for sure.
Heard real good things about them. If I were going to buy another I would strongly consider them. Made in USA.
A quick word of advice for newbies. Check the calibration of your temp gauges periodically on your smoker or grill. In particular when smoking, cooking temp is super critical. I calibrate mine with boiling water.
It is a bird. Feed it to the cats, and go find some meat!
I've had mixed luck with wild turkey as it's very easy to overcook and end up with a dry bird. A remote thermometer would be helpful. I found this link which seems pretty good at covering the bases for brined and unbrined birds:
https://www.binkysculinarycarnival.com/how-to-cook-a-wild-turkey/
To me the meat doesn’t have the same texture with Sous vide. You can try finishing it on the grill to get a bit of char but it still has the texture like it was boiled. Not a big fan.
I love steaks sous vide. You just sear them afterward in a cast iron skillet with some butter and thyme. They can turn out amazing. That being said, I like steaks on the grill too. The only thing that really throws me off is chicken sous vide.
To each their own, but I love pork chops sous vide. I'll usually get a whole pork loin, do something fun on the smoker with the center roast, and then slice the ends into 1.5" thick chops. Then I just preseason them and put two 2 in a vac seal bag and into the freezer. Great relatively quick easy weeknight meal for the GF and I. Of course patting it dry and getting a sear on there is a must. The other benefit is the bag juices make an amazing pan sauce. I originally bought the sous vide for steaks, and I still do like a sous vide steak, but I generally will reverse sear them on the smoker instead.
Due to a heat exchanger failure at one of my customer sites, I stumbled across the Maillard Reaction. Due to the failure, they got marshmallow in their boiler system. The smell from the boiler water was amazing, despite having to tell the guy he had marshmallow in there.
Maillard Reaction is what creates many of the aromas floating around the kitchen, as well as what browns bread and meats and marshmallows and other things. The reaction is between amino acids and carbohydrates, and many other compounds are created when you start to add heat.
The point to this story is it's a fascinating topic when you start to consider brines, or why you add certain things to recipes. I'll be paying a lot closer attention to it, now that I'm aware.
Maillard Reaction is what creates many of the aromas floating around the kitchen, as well as what browns bread and meats and marshmallows and other things. The reaction is between amino acids and carbohydrates, and many other compounds are created when you start to add heat.
The point to this story is it's a fascinating topic when you start to consider brines, or why you add certain things to recipes. I'll be paying a lot closer attention to it, now that I'm aware.
Sorry long. I’ve never barbecued a wild turkey, but have done many store bought turkeys. I have barbecued most every cut of meat, except whole hog, on a BBQ pit I welded together myself from 1/4” steel. In my opinion, all cuts of meat turn out great, when barbecued properly, but turkey is the one meat that totally transforms, in a barbecue pit and in a very good way. I start by brining the turkey over night in 1 cup of kosher salt and 1 cup of dark brown sugar, in cold water. Then I season heavily, both inside and out, as I only do a large 20 to 23 LB turkey. I keep it simple salt, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. My dad used to joke that all my big cuts of meat looked like I dragged them through the dirt, attesting to how heavily I season big cuts of meat. Then onto my pit, I welded a large charcoal basket, that I fill up with regular charcoal, like Kingsford. I’ve tried hardwood firewood and lump and with my pit, I’ve found that regular store bought charcoal briquettes works best and once the basket is full I get about 11 to 12 hour burn. I barbecue at 225 and utilize a digital thermometer inside the pit and one in the meat. I spray the turkey with extra virgin olive oil every hour. I put the thermometer prob in the thickest part of the breast and remove it to rest when the temperature hits 172, this assures the breast will remain very moist. I let it rest for 20 minutes and proceed to carve. The flavor and moistness you get from this method is indescribable. And the turkey’s transformation, compared to doing the exact same method, in the oven is to die for. Incidentally, I’ve done whole chickens this way and they do not go through this transformation, for whatever reason, still very good though.
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The big problem wild turkeys pose vs store bought is fat content and water added. You got a lot less cooking leeway with a wild bird. Unless you are big on presentation of the whole bird, I find spatchcocking gets a better cook.
@WexfordWarrior I have the Thermoworks monitor and about 5 or 6 thermopens, but after I got the Meater probes, I never pull the Thermoworks monitor out of the drawer. It is so freaking easy to use. Still use the Thermopens all the time.
Meater - The Best Selling Smart Meat Thermometer
Remove the guesswork from cooking with MEATER, the smartest cooking thermometer for your BBQ and Kitchen.
@WexfordWarrior I am thinking about getting this unit for the cottage. I have the XL BGE at home. Bad or good idea in your opinion?
www.recteq.com
RT-2500 BFG Wood Pellet Grill
Grill big or go home with the RT-2500 BFG wood pellet grill. The RT-2500 BFG is the king of the mountain in pellet grilling with 2500 square inches of cooking space and is built like a tank.
www.recteq.com
If you are new to smoking you can eliminate some frustration by buying a pellet smoker.
it takes a bunch of trial and error out of cooking so you can focus on recipes.
these guys build some decent for the money smokers/grills.
‘they are supposed to have incredible customer service.https://www.recteq.com/?utm_source=...MIm-m8nPuT9wIVMT2tBh1j7QcYEAAYASAAEgLg5vD_BwE
it takes a bunch of trial and error out of cooking so you can focus on recipes.
these guys build some decent for the money smokers/grills.
‘they are supposed to have incredible customer service.https://www.recteq.com/?utm_source=...MIm-m8nPuT9wIVMT2tBh1j7QcYEAAYASAAEgLg5vD_BwE
this is one of my go to sources for smoking tips, answers, etc.
link below will take you to the smoking meat forum site
www.smokingmeatforums.com
link below will take you to the smoking meat forum site
Welcome to SMF!
www.smokingmeatforums.com
Just got one last week, and my fiancee was questioning why I was cooking a steak at 9:30 PM. Now she knows. 👍🏼
Isn't that where the Pitt wrestlers found their girls at the Midlands?this is one of my go to sources for smoking tips, answers, etc.
link below will take you to the smoking meat forum site
Welcome to SMF!
If you want brisket but don’t feel like paying an obscene brisket price, I’ve turned to smoking Chuck roasts and they turn out fabulously.
That thing is massive. It should make large cooks a lot easier. I actually was looking at rec tec and yoder. Both good brands. Rec tec has a good warranty which is important when dealing with Chinese steel. I had bought a silver back grill from grilla grills. Unbeknowst to me they had started sourcing their steel from China. Sure enough my heat deflecter and hood/door both became warped. They replaced both (from a different supplier) with no further problems. As with all pellet grills use only high quality all wood pellets. It says the BFG can fit a 130# hog or 15 Briskets. Way too big for me.@WexfordWarrior I am thinking about getting this unit for the cottage. I have the XL BGE at home. Bad or good idea in your opinion?
RT-2500 BFG Wood Pellet Grill
Grill big or go home with the RT-2500 BFG wood pellet grill. The RT-2500 BFG is the king of the mountain in pellet grilling with 2500 square inches of cooking space and is built like a tank.
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I've done a couple London broils. They're tough to do cause they are so lean and dry up easily, but cook quickly. I have been eyeing up chuck roasts. Now that winter is over, I will give them a shot.
He is inviting BWI and Hawkeye Report for a cookout. All of them.
I got an OK Joe's that will fit 9 racks of baby back ribs. No problems with the steel on mine, other than surface rust and peeling paint. I tend to forget to cover it, so I'm sure that doesn't help. I plan on painting it this fall.
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